Talon/Xavier (Bayou Heat) by Alexandra Ivy, Laura Wright

clenched the sheet beneath her. “Admit it, Isi,” he urged, continuing to torment her as she remained stubbornly silent. “Tell me that you belong to me.”
    “I…” Her words broke off in a blissful sigh, her hands reaching to grasp his hair as he expertly tongued her to a swift climax. “Yes.”
    “Yes, what?”
    “I belong to you.”
    He lifted his head, meeting her dazed eyes. “Forever.”
     
    ***
     
    Isi understood on a basic level that she’d lost her mind.
    There could be no other explanation for the joy that bubbled through her as she lay entangled on the bed with her annoying cat.
    Hers.
    Talon was right.
    She’d felt a connection to him before they’d ever met.
    The scent of his musk had not only eased her illness, but it’d stirred a longing deep inside her that she hadn’t fully appreciated until Talon had appeared.
    It was as if her heart and soul had already realized that she’d found the man destined to break through her barriers to claim the lonely woman beneath.
    Just the sort of corny, fairy-tale ending that used to make her gag.
    As far as she was concerned, Disney was selling a load of crap to young girls.
    And then Talon had crashed into her life.
    The prickly, impossibly arrogant cat had done his best to piss her off from their first meeting.
    So was it any wonder she was struggling to admit to her growing bond?
    Not that Talon was going to allow her the time or space to come to terms with their intense, rapidly changing relationship.
    He was leaning on his elbow, glaring down at her with a narrowed gaze.
    “You said it,” he accused. “You agreed you belonged to me.”
    She tried to be annoyed by his insistence. Unfortunately, she could barely form a coherent thought as she studied the spectacular beauty of his face. Christ. No man should have such stunning eyes. It was completely unfair.
    “You can’t hold a person responsible for anything they say in bed.” She said, her voice pathetically weak. “That’s the rule.”
    “Whose rule?” he demanded.
    “Mine.”
    He leaned down until they were nose to nose, the light picking up the copper highlights in his hair.
    “This is my bed and my rules. You said you belong to me, so you do.”
    She shook her head. She might have shoved him away if her body hadn’t been too lethargic from her last explosive orgasm.
    “You can’t just make the decision.”
    Talon abruptly stiffened. Almost as if her words had struck a nerve.
    “Actually, I should probably admit that…”
    Isi arched a brow as he hesitated. Since when did arrogant, “I’m always right” Talon pause to consider his words?
    “What?” she prompted.
    “That I marked you.”
    She stared at him, waiting to hear the punch line. Surely he couldn’t actually be saying what she thought he was saying.
    “You mean…you marked me , marked me?” she demanded. “As in mating mark?”
    His expression was somber as he ensnared her gaze, forcing her to accept that this was no joke.
    “Yes.”
    She licked her dry lips. “What does that mean?”
    “You know what it means.” His hand slid down her spine, lingering at the sensitive spot on her lower back where he’d marked her. “You’re mine.”
    Isi struggled to be pissed at his outrageous proclamation.
    What right did he have to mark her?
    She wasn’t a piece of property he could just claim.
    She was a thoroughly independent woman who had no intention of tying herself to another human being, let alone a Pantera.
    But she wasn’t pissed.
    In fact, she had a disturbing suspicion that if she’d just let down her guard she would discover that his mark was the inevitable conclusion to their heated mating dance.
    “Don’t you think you should have asked me if I wanted to be yours?” she forced herself to demand.
    His eyes were more jade than gold as he studied her face with a tenderness that made her heart pound in her chest.
    “It’s not a question of choice.” His fingers lightly feathered over his marks of