With his front pressed against her back and one arm looped around her, he steered her through the club. As they were nearing the dance floor, Mila picked up a flash of red in her peripheral vision just as someone called out in delight, “Dominic!”

He twisted quickly, keeping Mila in front of him so that she stood between him and the other female, who came to an abrupt halt. “Eden,” he greeted simply.

Mila felt her scalp prickle. The brunette didn’t even look at her in spite of the fact that he was wrapped around Mila like a freaking victory flag. No, Eden just eyed him like he was candy while smoothing a hand down her red dress. Going by her lustful, nostalgic smile, she knew him biblically. Ugh.

Intellectually, Mila understood why the female wasn’t deterred by her presence. It wasn’t disrespect on Eden’s part; it was that it would simply never occur to her that Dominic thought of Mila as more than tonight’s entertainment. Still, she was pissed. Dammit, he was hers. Her cat bared a fang, wanting to peel off the bitch’s flesh. “How are you?” Eden purred.

“Fine,” he said, his tone even. “Have you met my Mila?”

The brunette stilled, and then her brows shot up so high, they almost hit her hairline. “Your Mila?” Her gaze dropped to Mila, and her smile faltered. “No, I haven’t. Although you do look familiar.” Her gaze then cut to where Dominic’s fingertip was circling the bite on Mila’s neck. Lips parting in shock, Eden blinked at him. “So, wow, I did not see this coming. Like ever.” She moved closer, reaching out to touch his shoulder. “I mean—”

“Lower your fucking hand,” said Mila, her voice cold as frost. “Hey, I get it. Dominic didn’t do commitment before now. It’s hard to believe he’s suddenly changed. Hard to truly respect that mark on my neck when you’re not convinced it has any real meaning. Well, it has meaning to me. And unless you want me to jam a chair leg so far up your skinny ass that you’ll be forced to choke on your own shit, you need to back the fuck up . . . fast.”

Shuffling ever so slightly backward, Eden lowered her hand and swallowed nervously. “I remember you now. You’re the one who hurt my pride mate, Randal, a few weeks back at Enigma. You smashed a barstool so hard over his head, you fractured his skull. He’s doing okay now, in case you were wondering.”

“I wasn’t.” The male tiger had tried slipping a drug into Mila’s drink—he’d had it coming. “You can go now.”

Eden looked from Dominic to Mila. “Enjoy your evening.” She sashayed away, but Mila’s cat didn’t relax.

He put his mouth to her ear. “Did you really hit her pride mate over the head with a barstool?”

Her mouth quirked at the mix of pride and humor in his voice. “Twice,” she replied.

Chuckling, he patted her ass. “Get moving.”

On the dance floor, the mass of bodies bopped, gyrated, and swayed as they laughed, kissed, and hooted. He caught Mila’s nape and pulled her flush against him, splaying his free hand on her ass. His cock, hard and full, dug into her stomach, reminding her what it felt like to have him inside her.

She hooked her arms around his neck as they swayed. Writhed. Grinded. His mouth alternated between devouring hers and ravishing her neck. Each nip was like a whip of pleasure to her clit.

He thumbed her nipple as he sucked the hollow beneath her ear. “Are you wet for me?”

“You know I am.”

“Shame we’re not somewhere like Enigma right now.” The nightclub was exclusive to shifters and allowed full sexual contact—even on the dance floor itself. “I could take you in front of everybody, so they’d know who you belonged to.”

She slanted her head. “I wouldn’t have thought your wolf would like the idea of you making me come in front of other people.”

“He wouldn’t be too happy about that part, but he likes that others would get the message that you’re taken.”

She frowned. “I really don’t think that your fucking me on the dance floor would seem at all territorial.” She doubted he was new at that activity.

“No, but anyone watching would see me bite you.” Her pupils swallowed the color in her eyes, and Dominic smiled. “You like that idea.”

She just shrugged one shoulder, nonchalant.

“Hmm. Maybe I should bite you right here and now. Just because.”

“That’s really not—” She hissed as his teeth sank down on her neck. There wasn’t just territorialism in that move. There was an assertion of dominance that made her cat buck. His teeth bit harder, as if to hold her still, and he ground his cock against her.

Gasping, Mila pricked his nape with her claws. And as a mix of possessiveness, defiance, and pleasure whipped through her, she involuntarily raked his nape hard enough to draw blood—hard enough to leave a permanent mark. Oh shit.

As he pulled back to meet her gaze, Mila said, “I am so, so sorry. I didn’t mean—”

Snapping his hand on her throat, he took her mouth with a growl. The kiss was hard and hungry and out of control. “Now we leave. I need to be in you.”

She licked her lips. “Yeah, now we leave.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

As Dominic drove his SUV up the rocky trail, Mila drank in the scenic views around them. His territory seemed to go and on—an endless stretch of land that was all majestic trees, steep mountains, and rocky terrain. “This place is huge.”

“The forest goes on for miles,” said Dominic. “Your cat would probably love exploring it.”

Oh, the feline definitely would—she was currently enthralled by the vast amount of territory. Mila couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have this as her backyard. When her pride mates wanted to shift and let their cats play, they either used the rooftop garden of the apartment building or the massive communal yard behind it. The backyard looked neglected to the human eye with its tall grass, thick bushes, nonsensical rockeries, and clusters of mossy trees. But it was a perfect playground for one of Mila’s kind.

Pallas cats were highly territorial and didn’t like sharing their space. But since her pride mates had been forced to do so since they were kits, they were used to it. Her cat would love having this kind of territory to run in.

“See that mountain up ahead?” he asked, pointing. “Look closely.”

Squinting, Mila leaned forward a little in her seat. Surprise had her lips parting. “No way. Am I seeing windows and balcony doors?” There were also narrow stairways carved into the face of the mountain. “You live in an actual mountain?”

He nodded, his mouth hitching up. “It has several floors and a huge maze of tunnels that can be hard to navigate at first, but you get used to it.”

Fascinated, she twisted in her seat to face him. “How set in the Stone Age is it?”

“If you mean, do we go without electricity and running water, no. The dwelling is as modern as your apartment building.”

“Wow.”

“I’ll take you on a tour, but that will come later. I know your cat doesn’t like being in crowded rooms, so I suggested to the pack that we all meet outside. We’ve just finished building a tree house for the kids at the spot where we sometimes camp for the night, so everyone has gathered there.”