Psy & Changelings 06 - Branded by Fire

realized she couldn’t make a direct leap from tree to tree. Since Riley was way over in the wrong direction, she jumped off the branch and came to a crouching, catlike landing on the small clearing below.
    A familiar hand closed around her throat from behind an instant later and she found herself hauled up against a firm, gorgeously male chest, his free arm clamping across her body to immobilize her own arms. Heat against her ear, the possessive brush of lips that she wanted to feel on every inch of her skin. “Gotcha.”
    She reacted on instinct, kicking backward with her legs as she attempted to wrench her body loose. All that got her was a grunt and some rough swearing before she was pressed front-first to a tree trunk, her hands manacled behind her back, her shoulders immobilized by his arm, and her legs held in place by heavy male thighs. He’d left her just enough leeway that she could turn her head.
    Both of them were breathing hard, their animals at the forefront, but she was very aware of one thing. Through it all, Riley had taken every care not to hurt her. Even now, he was pressing into her with a fraction less strength than he should’ve done if he really wanted to keep her contained.
    Test not only passed, but aced.
    Because this was a game. Hurting your partner wasn’t the aim. “Riley?”
    “Yeah.” He didn’t break his hold, even as he pressed closer, his erection insistent against her lower back.
    The tiny hairs on her body shivered in reaction. “I think you’re sexy.”
    Riley narrowed his eyes at Mercy’s teasing comment. “I’m not trusting a word that comes out of that pretty mouth until you acknowledge my dominance.”
    “If I do, will you use your pretty mouth to lick me between my legs?”
    Christ Almighty! “Mercy, I’m this close to tearing off your pants and just mounting you.”
    The lush tang of feminine arousal had flirted with the air since the moment he put his hand on her, but now it blanketed everything around them. The wolf rose to the surface. Lifting his arm off her shoulders, but pressing his chest against her back, he ran his lips over the shell of her ear. “Or is that what you want?”

CHAPTER 18
    Her hands were close to his crotch and now one of those hands closed over his erection. “Bite me.”
    “Okay.” He sank his teeth into the sensitive zone between neck and shoulder.
    She jerked. “Fuck!” Her hand tightened on him and it felt so good, he almost came.
    Reaching between them, he pried her fingers off with his free hand as he licked his tongue over the bite marks on her skin. “No playing down there. You might use claws.”
    “I won’t.”
    “Why not?” He kissed the spot he’d bitten, luxuriating in the clean, sexy, dangerous scent of her. Instead of growling, the wolf in him rolled around in it, demanding more.
    Demanding she carry his scent pounded into her skin.
    She angled her head slightly, giving him better access. His cock throbbed, his throat grew thick, but he held firm and avoided giving her what she wanted. Instead, he drew back. “Yes.”
    “What?”
    “Yes, if you acknowledge my dominance, I’ll lick you between your thighs.” And this time, he’d take his time. “I’ll lick and suck and—”
    “I yield.”
    Everything stilled. He couldn’t believe he’d heard right. He’d expected a grudging acknowledgement of his dominance at most. But this . . . His wolf wanted to nip at her, pet her, make sure she knew he’d take every care of the gift she’d given him.
    “ Only for this, only now.”
    The time limit changed nothing about the value of the gift. And it was a gift. One dominant females very rarely gave. “Accepted.” He released her hands and slammed them palms-down on the tree trunk. “Keep them there.”
    “If I don’t?”
    He slapped her lightly on the rump. “I don’t think you know what yielding means.”
    A snarl lifted up into the air. “Hands off my butt.”
    “Yeah?” Spreading his hand, he squeezed in a deliberate tease.
    When she shuddered, he moved away and put his hands on her hips. That got him a growl but she stayed in place. Sliding his hands up under her T-shirt, he stroked them over the silky warmth of her skin to close over her breasts. The warm, sexy weight of her filled his palms, her nipples beaded against the fine cotton of her bra.
    “Skin,” she ordered. “I want skin.”
    Since that was what he wanted, too, he withdrew his hands and used his claws to shred the T-shirt