My body ached in places I’d never felt before, but I had zero regrets. I wouldn’t give up a minute of the past twenty-four hours with Tane for anything.
“C’mere, baby.” Tane tugged me closer, nestling his face into my neck and licking over my mating mark. “How are you feeling?”
I tilted my head to give him better access. “I’m a little sore but in a good way. It’s like I can still feel you inside me.”
His hips surged forward, pressing his morning hard on against my butt. “Get used to the feeling. I’m going to spend a lot of time in your tight pussy.”
His breath was hot against my neck, and I let out a shuddering sigh. “If that’s your plan for the day, you have my stamp of approval.”
“Only after you take a nice, long bath to ease those aches so you won’t hurt when I take you again.” He brushed a kiss against my cheek and gave me a squeeze. “And at some point, I’d like to call my parents to give them the good news. Be warned, I’m sure my mom will want to video chat so she can meet her new daughter-in-law.”
“Then I definitely need a bath.” I wiggled out of his hold and scrambled off the mattress. I was completely naked, but I’d lost most of my shyness throughout the night. Waving my hand down the front of my body, I still blushed as I muttered, “She can’t see me like this. I’m covered in hickeys and come!”
His dark eyes filled with humor as a low chuckle rumbled up his chest. He crawled across the mattress, hooked an arm around my waist, and pulled me down next to him. “You’re fucking gorgeous and smell delicious.”
I laughed and pushed against his chest. “And you’re delusional.”
“Not even close.” After rolling on top of me, he flared his nostrils as he inhaled my scent. “My tiger would love nothing more than to roll around in your scent until it seeped in my bones.”
“Then maybe he should,” I suggested.
My sexy mate lifted his head and grinned. “You want to meet my tiger?”
He was offering to show me the six-hundred-pound tiger that lived inside his skin. I was normally a fairly timid person, but I already trusted Tane enough to know that I had nothing to fear from him. So my answer was a no-brainer. “Yes, please.”
“Do you want to take a moment to think about your answer?” I shook my head, and he chuckled. “Okay then.”
He claimed my mouth in a deep kiss before sliding off the mattress. My gaze dropped to his cock, but my head jerked up when I heard cracking and popping sounds. I blinked in shock, and when my eyes reopened, a giant tiger was standing in front of me. “Whoa! That’s so cool.”
Tane padded across the floor to sit in front of me and butted my hand with the top of his head. “Hey, there. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything more stunning than you, buddy.”
I scratched under his chin, in awe of the gentleness of the huge beast who let me stroke him as though he was a fluffy kitten. When my fingers dug into the fur at his side, he started purring and my heart melted. “I must’ve done something awesome for fate to have given you to me.”
He made a chuffing sound and dragged his rough tongue over the mark on my neck. Even though he wasn’t in human form, I knew exactly what he meant. “Yeah, yeah. I get it. You’re the lucky one.”
His cell rang from the table on the other side of the bed. He backed up and leaped over the mattress, making me gasp in surprise. After he landed on the floor, he shifted back to his human form and winked at me. “You’re going to want to grab some clothes, baby. It’s my mom.”
“Oh, crap!” I jumped up and raced over to the closet.
“Get some shorts for me, too,” he requested as the phone rang for the third time.
I tossed him a pair of athletic shorts as he answered. “Hey, Mom.”
As I listened to the low murmur of his voice, I yanked on a bra, panties, jeans, and long-sleeved top. Then I started to run my fingers through my hair about five seconds before he called my name. Taking a deep breath to settle my nerves, I walked out of the closet and cringed when he turned the phone screen toward me so I could see the couple squeezed into the frame. The man was an older version of Tane, but the woman’s eyes were an exact match for his. I forced a smile onto my face and tried not to freak out over the fact that my hair looked like I’d spent the past twenty-four hours rolling around in bed...which was fair since that was a pretty accurate description.
“Oh, my gosh! She’s gorgeous, Tane!” his mom cried.
Tane’s dad chuckled and shook his head. “The girl can hear you, honey.”
“Oops, right.” She grinned. “I’m
