The Wolf Lord's Mate

Chapter Thirty-Six

I blinked, staring up at him as his expression hardened, his sweetness shifting into something far more serious. A different sort of shiver ran down my spine at his sudden change, and I could not say I didn't like it.

"You do. Whatever you were going to say, you do and you will." Nathaniel's voice had grown impossibly deeper. "You are mine, Mira, and whether or not you have chosen to accept that yet does not change the fact that it is true. So if you choose to wash dishes, then I will wash them beside you. If you choose to go for a walk, then I will escort you. And from now on, when you choose to sleep, you will do so my side."

I tried to open my mouth to protest at his final point, but his grip on my jaw tightened; not enough to hurt, but just enough to show me who was in control. The hardness of his expression was a bit terrifying, but there was something about it, the way his true alpha nature shone through that made my knees go weak.

"Mates share a bed, sweetness, and I will never go back to sleeping alone after having experienced the bliss I felt from having you in my arms last night. I do not care if I have to carry you to bed myself and pin you beneath me in order to make you stay, I will do what needs to be done. I promise to continue to offer you patience, but understand that it is not a choice to accept me that I am granting you, but merely the time to accept the inevitable."

Nathaniel leaned in closer, hot breath fanning across my face, "You are mine, and I am yours, and if you ever attempt to leave me, I will chase you to the ends of the world. No matter where you go, I will find you because you are mine. Do you understand?"

I glared at him, motioning to the thumb covering my mouth, but Nathaniel merely smiled.

"Nod." Nathaniel said, his voice hard and unyielding, his unwavering tone quelling my fury with a single word.

I paused, the humiliation of my position willing me to disobey, but Nathaniel's smile held a warning, and I did not wish to push my luck when he was in this mood. I took a deep breath and nodded slowly, but I did not stop glaring at him.

"Good girl," Nathaniel said, and his praise sent an unwanted rush of pleasure through me. I couldn't help but preen at his words, subconsciously leaning into his touch, and by the time I realized what I was doing it was too late, Nathaniel already noticing the effect he was having on me. 

Nathaniel tilted his head, studying my expression and surely listening to the increasing rhythm of my heart. The thumb on my mouth shifted, stroking across my lower lip before his hold on my jaw tightened once more. He squeezed, forcing my lips open just enough for him to slip his thumb into my mouth, pressing it down onto my tongue.

My eyes widened, fury boiling up inside of me that he would dare do such a thing, to force me into such a submissive position, and yet—if I had been wearing undergarments, they would have been ruined. Warmth coiled in my belly, and as pleasurable tingles crawled across my skin, I only barely managed to hold in a moan. Nathaniel could tell—he could smell my desire, I knew by the self-satisfied smirk on his face as he pressed down harder on my tongue.

"Something wrong, my love?" Nathaniel tilted his head at me with mock-curiosity, "Did you have something to say?" Desire and fury warred with one another inside of me at the position we were in, but I forced myself to shake my head, and Nathaniel slipped his thumb from my mouth, running it once more over my lips before releasing me.

I stepped away immediately, wiping a palm over my mouth, "You should be glad that I did not bite you," I spat, "I would have had every right to."

"And yet you did not," Nathaniel mused, grabbing a shirt from the drawer and slipping it over his head, "I think you rather enjoyed being good for me, darling, but I would have no problem reminding you of your place should you disobey. You'll find that my punishments are most pleasurable, little mate, and I am quite fond of leaving behind marks of my affection to remind you who it is that you belong to."

Nathaniel tucked the shirt into his trousers, tugging on a vest and making quick work of the buttons. "You are still yet unmarked, as I would never force that on you, but know that if you bite me, I would have no problem biting you back. I'd enjoy that actually; I think you would look so pretty with my mark on your neck, although I'm not opposed to other places too. Your shoulders, your breasts, your thighs—"

"Enough." I stuttered out, my hands curling into fists. I did not know whether I wanted to strike him or grab him, but the urge to touch Nathaniel was overwhelming in its power. In truth, I do not think he would have minded either way, so long as my hands were on him.

"Are you ready to go downstairs?" Nathaniel gave a wolfish grin, opening the door and gesturing for me to follow, "I believe we have dishes to do, little mate."

"I must change," I said, collecting myself and smoothing my hands down the side of the shirt I had borrowed, "Give me a moment."

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