He smiled. “Oh yeah. I’m going to fuck you so hard and deep you can’t take it. But I won’t stop. I’ll keep taking and owning what’s mine.” And maybe he’d include some anal play. “Seriously, I hope you have pet insurance, baby, because I’m going to destroy this pussy later.”

She shook her head. “You really are beyond weird.”

“This is not fresh news to you.”

“You’re right, it’s not.” Snuggling into him, Mila closed her eyes as the cool breeze slid over her, ruffling her hair and clothes. It was hot as hell, but she wasn’t complaining. Despite the heat, it had been a relatively relaxing day. Pressed tightly against her mate as he rocked her from side to side, she listened to the swish of grass, the chirping of birds, and the water burbling. Her cat basked in the serene moment.

As he rubbed his cheek against hers, Mila drew back slightly and scraped her fingers over the stubble on his jaw. “You need a shave.”

“You can take care of that for me tomorrow.” His mate still worked at the barbershop through the week, just as she still sang at the Velvet Lounge on weekends—it hadn’t taken long for the Mercury Pack to fix up the club, adding fresh security measures. And since Emilia was proving to be just as talented a singer as her mother, it wouldn’t surprise Dominic if his daughter one day started performing herself.

Even though Mila moved to the pack, Vinnie still considered her part of his pride—and, by extension, Dominic and the twins. Although Dominic had ceased feeling threatened by Joel’s presence a long time ago, he was glad that he and Adele had returned to Joel’s pride shortly after the battle. They apparently had kids of their own now.

Dominic didn’t mind being considered part of Vinnie’s pride. The only person in the pride he really had a problem with was Alex. It wasn’t that they didn’t get along. In fact, he considered the wolverine a good friend. The issue was that Alex still turned up in Dominic and Mila’s bedroom whenever he felt like it, and no one had yet worked out how he kept sneaking past their security.

It had been more unnerving the morning Dominic had woken to the sight of her wolverine uncles gathered around the bed shortly after the twins were born.

Isaak had instantly complained, “You did not give the babes Russian names. Why is this?”

All in all, though, Dominic liked his in-laws a lot. “Oh, your mom called. She—” Hearing Emilia scream in fury and Dillon let out a battle cry, he turned and saw his children fighting over what seemed to be a pine cone.

Mila sighed in sheer exasperation. “There are several other pine cones all around them.”

After breaking up the fight, she declared she was heading back inside with Dominic and the kids. Everyone else decided to do the same, so once everything was packed up, they all returned to the dwelling.

For once, bath time went without incident. Soon enough, she and Dominic were tucking the twins into their beds in the room next door to their own. That didn’t go without incident, since Emilia threatened to fart in Dillon’s face while he slept. And why would she want to do that? “Because,” was Emilia’s response.

Retreating to the room she shared with Dominic, Mila let out a sigh of relief. The space hadn’t changed much when she moved in, since she hadn’t brought a lot of stuff with her. But her little touches had made the room less masculine.

Over the years, it had become more their space as opposed to a room she’d merely moved into. Knickknacks they’d collected sat on the dresser. Family photos now hung on the walls. Pictures of the twins as babies had been framed and set on the shelves.

She kicked off her shoes. “I’m gonna take a shower. Want to join—” Hands gripped her hips and yanked her back into a hard body. “Well, hello.”

Dominic swept her curls aside and kissed her nape. “Unless you want the straps cut again, take the tank off.”

Mila’s brows lifted. “Not wasting any time getting started, are you?”

“No. I’ve been thinking about stripping you all day.” He swirled his tongue over a freckle on her nape and then blew over it. “Take it off.”

Mila shivered at the feel of his cool breath on her neck. “I need a shower.”

“You can shower after. Now, arms above your head. Good girl.” He bunched the bottom of her tank in his hands and peeled it off, baring all that bitable flesh. He hummed, his lips grazing her cheek. “I like this bra.” Black. Silk. Lacy. “But it’s gotta go.” One-handed, he flicked open the clasp and whipped it off.

“Smooth, GQ.”

With a soft chuckle, Dominic swept a hand up her sleek back and knotted his fingers in her hair. “Mouth.” She turned her face to his, her lips parted, and he took her mouth. Greedy. Possessive. Almost savage. She sucked on his tongue, and he groaned, deciding she’d be sucking something else later.

Mila reached back and tangled a hand in his hair as he pinched and tweaked her nipples. Her nerve endings sprang to life, and each tug on her nipples sent a spike of pleasure straight to her clit. Yeah, that felt good. As did the hands now squeezing and plumping her breasts.

She melted into him, hissing as he scraped his teeth over her shoulder. He knew every one of her buttons. Knew how to make her crazed with need. Knew how to make her so desperate she begged.

Her cat purred, rubbing against him to mark his skin with her scent. Staking her claim. Warning off other females. Making sure he knew who he belonged to.

Snaking his hands over his mate’s delectable skin, Dominic snapped open the fly of her shorts and let them puddle on the floor. The sight of the black lacy thong adorned with little red bows made him swallow hard—it was one of his favorites. Especially because it only took a little tug on those bows to untie them, making the thong fall away. It was like unwrapping a present.

“It’s a real good thing I didn’t know you were also wearing this little scrap of lace today, or my cock would have been so painfully hard, I doubt I could have walked without limping.”

Untying the knots on her thong, he let it drop to the floor and cupped her pussy hard. “Mine.” He slipped his finger between her warm folds, rubbing her clit just right. And there was that smoky little moan he loved. “Let’s see if we can get you to make that sound again.” He caught her clit between two fingers and slid them forward, stroking both sides of the little nub. “Yeah, there it is. Good girl.”

He kept on playing with her clit, his eyes drawn to the way her breasts heaved with each ragged pant. His head spun as the heady scent of her need drifted up to him and poured into his lungs. His cock thickened even more. Raging hard, it pushed against his fly and dug into her back.

Dominic dipped his head and grazed her pulse with his teeth. “Shall I let you come before I fuck you?”

“You’d better.”

“Hmm. Not sure you deserve it. You knew I’d be rock hard all day if you wore that tank, but you did it anyway. And as we were at the picnic, I couldn’t even sneak off somewhere with you and do something about it.”

Mila’s breath caught as he clamped his mouth over his claiming mark and sucked. “You liked that, though. Delayed gratification is your thing, not mine.” She was a cat, after all.

“There’s delayed gratification, and there’s plain teasing your mate for your own amusement.” He slid his hand up to her throat and collared her, brushing his thumb over her pulse. “You made me wait, so why shouldn’t I make you wait?”