Mine for Eternity [Council Enforcers] (Siren Publishing Classic)

her.
    Tessa had no idea how much time had passed when she was finally able to open her eyes. She had a feeling she may have passed out because Mitch was no longer in the bed with her, and she never felt him get up. She saw a light coming from the bathroom and heard the water turn off then he was strolling toward her with the grace of a cat. Now that she knew he was part feline, Tessa was starting to see signs that she hadn’t noticed before.
    He used the warm rag he was carrying to clean her up, and Tessa felt her cheeks heating. It was odd that the act had her blushing after he’d had his face buried there, but she couldn’t help it. The act was almost too intimate. She had never been taken care of like that before.
    “You feeling okay, baby?” Mitch tossed the rag toward the bathroom before climbing in bed and pulling her in his arms.
    Tessa sighed and snuggled closer to his warmth. “I’ve never been better. Where is Nico?”
    “I left him sleeping downstairs on the couch. Ry was watching him for me so that I could talk to you.”
    Tessa froze. “Mitch, please tell me they don’t know what we were doing up here.”
    Mitch laughed before responding. “Baby, with the way you were screaming, I’m pretty sure half the state knows what we were doing. Don’t worry. Ryan and Kenneth are mates, so they know what claiming is like. Ben is the biggest perv around, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he was listening at the door.”
    Masculine laughter sounded in the hall, and Tessa could only bury her face in Mitch’s chest and groan. She could feel his chest rumbling as he laughed. She had no idea how she was going to face his friends with a straight face ever again, but she couldn’t bring herself to be angry. She would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Mitch chose that moment to run his tongue over the bite mark on her neck, causing Tessa to scream.
    “Jesus, Mitch! What was that?” It felt like electricity was coursing from her neck straight down between her legs to her cunt. Tessa shivered and clenched her thighs.
    “That is my claiming mark. It will eventually heal, but the sensations will always be there. From now on the spot will be an erogenous zone for you.”
    “I knew there was a reason I allowed you to claim me,” Tessa joked. “Do it again.” Tessa spared a moment’s thought hoping Nico wasn’t frightened by her screams, but all rational thought flew out the window at the feel of his mouth on her shoulder again.
     
    * * * *
     
    Tessa giggled when Mitch’s hair tickled her nose as she bent down to sniff him. “Why do you suddenly smell so good?” She had woken up that morning to the wonderful smell. It had taken her a moment to figure out where she was, but once she had regained her memories and realized she was in Mitch’s bed, it didn’t take her long to figure out the smell was coming from him.
    “It’s a part of the mating bond. You will gain a few shifter abilities like I told you last night.”
    “Will I be able to change like you?” Tessa wasn’t sure how she felt about that. On one hand the thought of being able to turn into an animal seemed kind of cool, but on the other it was truly frightening.
    “No, you won’t be able to shift, but you will get other things. You will have more strength. All of your senses will increase. It looks like you have already discovered your sense of smell has been magnified.”
    Tessa nodded. She was starting to smell more than just Mitch. It was almost overwhelming. “What else?”
    “Well, you will heal a lot faster now, and now that we are mates, your life span will increase to match mine.”
    That bit of information had Tessa sitting up. She remembered him explaining the night before that he was semi-immortal, but the thought never crossed her mind that she would be, too, after mating him. His comment also reminded her of what she had wanted to ask him the previous night before she had become too distracted by the thought of having sex with him. “How old are you, Mitch?”
    The man winced. “Keep in mind we can possibly live forever so age doesn’t really matter when it comes to mating. Also, my friends and I are new-generation enforcers, so we are younger than most.”
    Tessa held up her hand to stop him from stalling. “How old?”
    “I’m seventy-two.”
    In her opinion Mitch didn’t look a day over thirty. She must have spoken out loud because he confirmed her thoughts.
    “We stop aging in our late twenties and early