Always (Dragon Wars, #3) by Rebecca Royce Page A

raised her hips to meet his rhythm. Soon, they were lost in it. She moaned his name and he said hers sounding something akin to a prayer and a curse. Tension travelled her spine. The pleasure was unlike anything she knew, this claiming, this total possession his movements made over her body.
    “Shit.” Robert moved between them, reaching to press his thumb against her clit as his body continued to slam in and out of her. The extra pressure did her in and she came again in a long wave of pleasure—she’d peak and start to ebb just in time for his thrusting to send her over the edge again.
    How long it went on she wasn’t sure except when she finally floated back to reality she did so on wave of bliss. Only she still felt lacking. What was the matter with her?
    Above her, still buried deep inside and somehow still hard although he had come hard, Robert’s face looked pained .
    She stroked his cheek. “Are you okay?”
    He nodded and opened his eyes, although he’d shielded his emotions. She immediately missed the openness they’d shared. Why had he put his guard back? “I’m really happy, Tatyana. You’ll never know how much.”
    “You don’t seem happy.” The opposite, actually .
    “I’m trying not to bite you. Its hard.” He pulled out gently. “In fact, I’m going to take a few minutes. Please don’t read anything into it more than me simply getting my wolf under control.”
    “Oh.” She hadn’t thought about the biting at all when she climaxed. Yet since he’d mentioned it, her neck tingled. She wished he could. If only she could be sure she’d make the change and not be the worst werewolf ever.
    After he withdrew, he jumped to his feet. With his back to her, he spoke. “I’m going to shift. I think it might be better if I spent the next couple hours as a wolf.” His back muscles were tense. “Do you think you could also do me a favor, sweet love, and give me a little space? I’ll come back to you when I know I’m safe. I didn’t expect...” His voice trailed off, and when it came back, he sounded gruffer than she’d ever heard him. “I didn’t know it would be so hard. I didn’t understand, but I’ve got this.”
    “Okay.”
    He nodded, his neck muscles straining. “Will it freak you out to watch me shift?”
    “No. Not at all. I’ve seen it before.”
    Robert turned around to regard her with dark circles under his eyes. “Of course you have. One more favor?”
    She pulled her legs forward to cover her breasts, suddenly feeling exposed. “Anything.”
    “Unlock the door. I’m not going to be able to do it in wolf form. I don’t want to break it.”
    “Sure.” She got to her feet. It was nice to have a destination, something to do besides sit around and feel exposed. The distance between them, from not being able to be bitten, sucked. Everything had been extraordinary then it had plunged to the ground in a brutal dose of reality she’d preferred never to have.
    Tatyana picked up her clothes on the way to the door. She could never be his mate. What had she been thinking? Watching him for years didn’t make him hers. Something was confused here. She was leaving in four days, and he was a werewolf. He couldn’t bite her—an absolute must-have for a werewolf. All the mated females were marked.
    Why had they done this? How was she going to survive since she knew his sweetness and couldn’t have it?
    “Tatyana.” She shoved her shirt and underwear on before she turned around to face him.
    “Yes?” She unlocked the door.
    “Make no mistake, we will figure it out. You are mine, with or without the bite.”
    Having obviously said what he needed to, he shifted into his wolf form. Although she’d seen him shift many times, she’d never been so close to him while he had. It was a fast shift, much quicker than others she watched, and when he was done his entire body realigned to become a tall, brown-black wolf. His eyes were different, greener than in his human