“Not at all. It’s impressive. You’ve done as much as you have without harnessing your power. I always assumed you’d used it at least once while defending yourself against all those attacks.”
“Honestly? I never even thought about it. Never realized it was a possibility. I’ve let it rise to threaten them, let them feel it, but I’ve never unleashed it.”
“It’s always a possibility. It’s just not a legal one.”
I laughed. “Yeah, thanks to my dad.”
“Yes, well, your power will be stronger than his ever was. Stronger than any Alpha’s.”
I fell silent trying to grasp what he was saying. I’d felt my dad’s power before he died. He had liked to scare me with it. It was usually when he wasn’t planning to hit me. But if I flinched when it reached me, I was in for a beating like no other. I’d learned to take the sting of his power without revealing any notice of it. If I did that, he’d leave me alone. At least for a little while.
In a sick, twisted, fucked-beyond-belief way, he’d forced me to be stronger. Do I wish he’d loved me and showed me affection, hell yes. I’m not that broken, but I am also glad I’d risen to his sadistic challenge and learned to say “fuck you” to the bullies while kicking the shit out of them. Though, I wish I’d had the chance to kick his ass just once.
“What are you thinking about?” Liam asked.
“Nothing. Just wondering what you meant by my power being stronger than his.” I wasn’t ready to go into depth about my past just yet. It was too nice lying in his arms without trying to find a polite way to leave like I usually would.
“The mark. It gives your power a boost.”
“How do you know?”
“That’s what I do.” He grinned at my confused look. “I fuck and I know things.”
I chuckled at his loose reference to the Game of Thrones. The diversity of his knowledge was impressive. “That’s good to know. Something tells me I’ll need it soon.” Any happiness I’d felt disappeared when I remembered my conversation with Stella. “Do you mind if I go for a run alone?”
“No, I don’t mind. We may be mates, but you are still you and I am still me. Don’t feel like things have to change.”
I grinned. “You mean now that I’m yours?”
He growled as he grabbed me, pulling me on top of him. I lowered my lips to his as he used his hold on me to lower me onto his cock. “Yes, now that you’re mine and I’m yours,” he said, holding me still as he thrusted upward. I gave myself over to the pleasure, letting him set the pace. He rolled us over, his body covering mine as he moved inside me.
“You can do whatever you please,” he said, lowering his hands to my hips as he shifted his position so he was deeper inside me. I arched my back, pushing myself even closer to him, urging him on. “As long as I’m the only one that pleasures you.”
He rose to kneel between my legs and with his hands on my knees, he spread my legs as he moved his hips in a circular motion. I cried out when his thumb found my clit, the sensation making me grind myself against him. Our lips met as we came together.
“Do you want children?” I asked out of nowhere after we’d caught our breath. Mainly because I was curious, but also because it was close to my ovulation phase, and we hadn’t been careful. The chances were slim but still there.
He pushed himself up to look at me. He studied me for a long while, clearly thinking it over. “I’m not sure. It’s been just me for so long. I’m used to it. Do you?”
I shook my head. “Not really. Even though neither of my parents had it, I assume at least one of my kids will have the mark. I had such a shitty childhood because of it, I don’t want to subject a child to that kind of life. And even if they don’t get the mark, I have it. They’d still have to contend with being the red skunk’s offspring.”
“Red skunk?”
“Yeah, kids are better at being cruel than clever.”
He ran a hand over my hair, kissed me, and grew hard inside me. “This is new to us. Let’s enjoy each other and see where it goes. If we never have children, at least we have this,” he said, pulling out then slowly sliding back inside me.
I laughed as I smacked his ass lightly. “You’re insatiable.”
He gave me a devilish grin as he pulled out and thrust back in. “I know. Isn’t it great?”
“Yeah, it is. It really is.”