He nodded, surprised at her reaction. “Didn’t Raven or Tanya tell you?”
“No, they didn’t.” She stepped back from him. “What exactly do you mean by claim me? Like what? A tax deduction? Like calling dibs?”
“No. Not at all.”
“Explain it, then. I’m carrying your child which put a mark on my arm, and I get that. It’s a physical thing that happened. Involuntarily. What else has to happen?”
“I have to mark you during sex. All shifter mates have to be claimed. Otherwise the union is incomplete.”
“Incomplete.” She crossed her arms. “Look, I’m not trying to be a brat. I’m just a little hormonal. You’re talking about marking me like it’s a territorial thing. Males in the animal kingdom mark their territory in pretty gross ways. If you think I’m letting you lift your leg on me, you’re crazy! I may like a little kink, but I am not into golden showers.”
Luke blinked and then burst out laughing. He laughed so hard, he had to lean on the ruined chimney block.
“It’s not funny, Luke!”
“Oh, bébé. It is. It so is. Claiming a mate facilitates a union of souls. A meshing of preternatural essence. Not urinating on your partner! It happens during at the moment of climax, during the hottest sex you will ever have in your life. As my cock pierces your body, my fangs must pierce your flesh.” His fingers touched the top back of her shoulder. “Here. It is sublime and utterly intimate, or so Jared says.”
“I’ll have to ask Tanya about that when I get her alone. Her and her blabbermouth mate.”
“Ask Raven if you want. I know Aiden claimed her as his alpha female. The entire clan felt the aftershock.”
“Ew.”
He chuckled again. “Not that kind of aftershock. A coalescence. We knew the next line had been solidified. Remember, we’re three different packs, but one clan. If I was already alpha of the Laval, they’d feel it when I claim you. Like a sense of order and peace.”
Gabrielle’s arms were still crossed. “When. Not if? Don’t I get a say? I may be new to this paranormal game, but no matter how I feel about you, I’m not comfortable with anyone putting a stamp on me. I am a person. Independent. Not some breed mare in need of a brand of ownership.”
“You’re missing the point.”
“I don’t think I am. I’ve fallen for you, Luke. There’s no getting away from that fact. My body craves you, and our baby recognizes you even now, but I have to think about this.” Exhaling, she shook her head. “Everything is happening so fast.”
He nodded, closing the space between them slowly. “I know it is. Of course you need time to absorb everything and make decisions based on what’s good for you and our baby. I’m not going anywhere.”
She stepped into his arms, letting him hold her tight. “Thank you.”
Luke kissed the top of her head. “While you’re thinking, though, just remember you are my mate. Claimed or not. You wear my mark. The Laval mark, and no one can deny that.”
Looking up, she searched his face. “No one? Not even good ol’ Greg?”
“Not even him. If he so much as says boo about us, Marie will use your metaphoric shovel, and bury his ass six feet under.” Luke stepped back, but only so he could cup her face.
His mouth claimed hers, demanding and possessive, and for the first time since they’d been together, she felt what he meant when he said the hottest sex ever. The tingling in her arm no longer stung.
The pins and needles dive-bombed her sex, setting her nether regions aflame. The hard bar of his cock pressed against the thin fabric of her yoga pants, and she gasped at the slick throbbing need coursing through her body at the feel of him. If he so much as reached down to stroke her through the Lycra, she’d come hard, fast and wet.
He walked her back against a remaining half wall, and lifted her onto the flat-topped foundation. Pushing her knees wide, his hand glided over the seam of her pants and the seam of her sex and she cried out.
“Spread yourself for me, Gabrielle.” His lips trailed the tender underside of her throat up to her ear. J’te veux, mon amour…”
Chapter Four
Luke’s husky voice and the sensual sound of his murmured French filled her, and Gabrielle reached for him. He bit the fleshy part of her lobe, letting his hands trace their way to her breasts.
“You’re so warm and soft, and your skin tingles under my touch like charged velvet. Your scent is so drenched with need, it makes my dick hard.
He reached for his backpack, pulling a woven blanket from its center pocket. With a quick flick, he laid it on the wild grass, flattening it to a soft base beneath the blanket.
Gabrielle went to jump down from the half wall, but in one fluid motion Luke lifted her by her waist, letting her body slide over his as her feet touched the ground.
She sat to one side of the blanket, lying back with one arm stretched behind her head. Luke crawled forward, kissing her thighs, then her belly, her throat.
He reached her mouth and kissed her softly at first and then harder, hungrily, teasing her mouth with his tongue and his teeth.
His lips trailed over her throat, past the deep scoop of her yoga top. “If we were at the chateau, I’d shred your top in two. But we’re here, and since there are laws against nude boating, you’d better take it off.”
Gabrielle sat up slowly, stretching cat-like as she lifted the clingy fabric over her head.
“Braless. Ooh, bébé. I like.”
He reached for her small, but full mounds, but Gabby stopped his hand. “Garment
