Mated to the Griffin (Elemental Mates 5)

She felt a small smile appear on her own lips as she pressed herself against him.

“Good?” he asked her—sounding both hopeful and just a little bit smug, as if he knew exactly what he’d done to her.

And of course, with the way she’d been writhing beneath him, it had been more than obvious how good it had been for her. He’d completely earned the right to be a little smug about it.

But that didn’t mean that she couldn’t do her part to make him feel good, too...

“Incredibly good,” she sighed, wrapping one arm around his shoulder.

Her other hand slowly trailed down his body, admiring the hard muscles rippling across his stomach with every breath he took. Her hand drifted even further down—and there he was, beautifully hard and hot, his skin strangely soft, like velvet over steel.

He groaned in appreciation as she closed her hand around him. Then he buried his hand in her hair to pull her into another kiss.

That was new, too. The way he seemed to want to be close to her, constantly.

So far, she’d thought that men mainly wanted sex. The men she’d dated had hated cuddling in bed—and, she realized only now, none of them had been a good kisser.

Jared, on the other hand, kissed her as if he couldn’t get enough of her, his tongue playing with hers until she was breathless again.

She stroked him, slowly and demandingly, wishing she was better at this. But then, everyone had to start somewhere, and she certainly wouldn’t mind getting to practice a lot on him...

Embarrassed, she realized that she was daydreaming about a future with him.

A future with a shifter.

But right now, all the things she’d dedicated her life to—the werewolves, the aliens, the magical artifact—seemed completely and utterly unimportant.

There was nothing that could possibly be more important than the sensation of his lips against hers, the hot, demanding tongue exploring her mouth—and the rock-hard erection she was stroking.

Experimentally, she tightened her grip a little, twisting her wrist every time she reached the tip, and he moaned in appreciation into the kiss.

She stroked him again, once, twice, loving the breathless sounds he made. And then his body tightened, his muscles going hard against her body, and he came with a gasp against her lips.

A warm glow filled her. Chiara realized she was smiling. She trailed her fingers across his body, appreciating the way the muscles moved beneath his skin.

Shifter or no—nothing about this felt wrong. If anything, it felt more right than the sex she’d had with human men.

Which admittedly wasn’t that much—but enough to know that something about this was special. That she didn’t regret a single second of it.

And that she wanted to do it again.

Maybe it’ll all be all right, somehow, she thought as she allowed him to pull her against his body again.

His powerful chest made an unexpectedly comfortable pillow for her head. After a moment, she let her eyes drift shut.

She had absolutely no idea where all of this was going to lead. But she knew that she was tired of running, tired of hunting for information, tired of people calling her crazy.

Just once, she wanted to rest and relax and get to feel normal again. Like someone with a future.

Like someone who could be loved.

Chapter Fourteen: Jared

In the morning, they left the little cabin together. Jared shifted and flew them back to the mountain valley with its picturesque little town.

They only spent a few minutes hastily grabbing Chiara’s things from the small hotel, and then they were off again, just in case Zane had set a watch.

Chiara hadn’t yet figured out what the map on the amulet they’d found might mean. But it had to be a map.