There was only one man she'd kneel before, and he was a deadly beast capable of killing her. Drake's body swelled as he covered her during their love-making. He said he was dominant, but he was also a patient lover. Maybe with time he would change? Like Bradley had?

No, she couldn't think that way. Drake was different. He was a shifter, and shifters were loyal and loving. Even at the diner, the panthers had told her the same thing. The way they talked about their mates and their children was a testament to their love for their forever mate.

Forever mate.

She wanted to test the saying on her tongue, but she wouldn't do it while Drake was around. Especially while he was buried deep inside her.

"Tessa," he growled. "Don't think. Just feel, little one."

"Yes, Sir," she replied, shaking all thoughts from her mind.

Tessa felt her body relax the moment Drake wrapped his huge hand around her neck. There was no pressure against the column of her throat until he slid his hand up to her jaw in a dominant hold. The movement held her face immobile, and she felt the stirrings of an orgasm waiting on the wings of his next move. Even with this dominant hold he had over her, she trusted Drake with everything she had.

Drake's eyes flashed gold as his beast made itself known, and he slid from her body. His mouth opened and fangs grew from where his human teeth once were. The sight before her was raw and wild. She panted hard, feeling his cock where it laid heavily against the inside of her thigh. All she had to do was shift, and he'd slide right into her pussy again...right where she wanted him...right where she needed him.

"You are mine now, Tessa," he growled, his voice thickening with each word. "I'm going to mount you from behind and bite your neck to mark you. If you're going to stop me, now would be the time."

"Do it, Drake," she panted, still unable to move her head. "Make me yours."

He released her, his hands working fast to push her over to her belly. Those large hands of his grasped her hips and lifted her ass into the air. She knew better than to move, and she was right. Drake's hand wrapped around the braid in her hair as he slid his thick cock back into her. The change of position bubbled her orgasm to the brink.

"I need to come," she begged on a soft breath.

"You will when I mark you," he growled as he pulled her upright on the bed. She was on her knees facing away from him as he pounded into her body. Oh, god, she needed him so bad.

"Do it," she begged. "Please?"

A snarl echoed in the room as he tilted her head to the side. The strike of his teeth into the spot where her neck and shoulders met sent her into a release so intense, all she could do was whimper. It didn't matter. Drake knew what he was doing as he gave her everything she needed.

Tessa closed her eyes and let the orgasm consume her. Drake's punishing thrusts fed her need to be taken. She smiled into the darkness as he slowed, finally coming to a stop when his own release subsided.

He lowered her to the mattress and curled his body around her, pulling just a thin sheet over their bodies. He kissed the spot on her neck where he'd bitten her, and she hummed her contentment.

"You okay?" he whispered against her ear. At no time had he let go of her hair or the hold he had on her hip. The left side of her neck throbbed from his bite, but it subsided the moment he made a pass over it with his tongue.

"I'm good," she sighed, going limp in his arms. There was no way she could move after a that. "Tired."

"We will sleep," he promised, helping her to lay on her side. He spooned up behind her and kissed the spot where he'd just bitten her. "It's healed already, but the scar remains, Tessa."

"That means we are forever mates?" she asked, finally hearing the words from her own lips. She liked the sound of it.

"Yes, Tessa," he breathed against her skin. "If we were not, the bite would've vanished after it healed."

"So, I'm yours?" she asked, needing to hear it one more time.

"Yes, Tessa...You are mine."