Nature is not a place to visit 42

Chapter 42
*“And this wasn’t lying, not really. It was leaving out.”*
*Stephen King*
You know when you get a shot at the doctor, and even though they tell you it’s just going to be a little pinch, the needle
looks impossibly large? That’s kind of what a claiming bite is like – except I wasn’t exaggerating the size of Ambrose’s
canines.
They really were *massive.*
The good news is that I didn’t have a lot of time to anticipate the pain. One moment he was hovering over me, his fangs
gleaming in the light, and then those fangs were buried in my neck.
There was a quick sting of pain, but it turned to pleasure almost immediately. It was a dull, achy pleasure that started at
the bite but spread throughout my body like a wave. I couldn’t help but pull Ambrose closer, moaning quietly.
His fangs stayed embedded in my neck for a moment, but then he pulled back to look at me. I was, to no surprise, a
mess. The bite was still tingling with pleasure, and I felt like I was floating. My limbs felt weightless – I could hardly feel
the stone floor beneath me.
*Is this what claiming marks are supposed to feel like?*
*None of the girls in my pack mentioned floating when they talked about their marks.*
Ambrose was breathing heavily, his giant canines still exposed in the light.
He looked *wild.*
He cupped my cheek, and as soon as his skin touched mine, the tingling increased tenfold. I actually moaned, and all he
was doing was touching my face.
*Yeah, they didn’t mention this either.*
“You look so beautiful with my mark on your neck, little wolf,” he rasped, and then one of his fingers reached down to
touch the mark. The effect was immediate – a shockwave of pleasure rocked through me, and I arched off the floor.
The look on his face was nothing short of a man who’d just been handed everything he wanted on a silver platter. He
smiled when he saw the way I practically convulsed in pleasure.
“You truly are mine now,” he said, “We’ve completed the bond, and my claiming bite serves as proof. Any wolf within a
mile of you will be able to smell my scent on you.”
I was still recovering from the overload of pleasure, so I was only able to muster a nod. That seemed to satisfy him
though, and he settled on the stone floor next to me, pulling me into his side. I snuggled up to him immediately and
tried not to moan when the skin-on-skin contact caused another ripple of tingling pleasure to shoot through me.
If you’d told me a couple of months ago that the first time I had sex with my mate would be on an uncomfortable stone
floor in a throne room, I would’ve laughed.
Or told you that you were reading too many fantasy novels.
*But here I am.*
Ambrose’s eyes scanned my naked body. “You’re not feeling any physical discomfort, are you, little wolf?” he asked. “I
should be able to feel most of your emotions, especially strong ones, through the bond now…but I still want to make
sure.”
I shook my head. “No, not right now. Can’t say the same for later – I’m sure having our first time together on the stone
floor is bound to cause a little back pain, but it was worth it.”
He brushed a stray piece of hair out of my eyes. “Good. I’m glad it doesn’t bother you that your first time was…
spontaneous,” he said, and then he leaned down to nip at my neck, “But I’ll make up for it, little wolf. I’ll fuck you in a
bed next time.”
It was impossible not to breathe a little heavier when he was licking at my neck like that, but I still managed to say, “A
bed or no bed – doesn’t matter to me. Our first time together lived up to expectations.”
He suddenly froze, his face still buried in my neck, and I had a feeling I’d said something wrong – but I had no idea what
that something was. He pulled back to look at me, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
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“What?” I asked.
“You keep saying ‘our first time together,’” Ambrose replied.
“Well, it was our first time together.”
“Yes,” he said blankly, “But it was also your first time too.”
My heart sped up – *shit.* It was times like these when I forgot how observant Ambrose was, how easily he could see
through me.
Still, I couldn’t help myself.
“…Yes. Totally my first time. I was a, uh, virgin before this.”
*That sounds convincing, right?*
Ambrose moved faster than my eyes could track him, suddenly hovering over me. “You’re lying, I can smell it,” he
growled, “You told me you’d never been with anyone else.”
My mind flashed back to that first conversation we’d had in the woods.
“Well, technically,” I said, “I didn’t say that.”
His eyes narrowed further. “You told me there was nobody else.”
“Well…nobody else *presently*,” I explained, “And it’s not like I’ve been with anyone else romantically.”
“But sexually?” he countered.
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I could tell by the look on his face that I wasn’t going to get away with another half-truth. I could only hope that by the
time this conversation was over, Luke would still be very much alive.
“Technically, yes,” I said, “But it was just one time – and a couple of years ago.”
That explanation did nothing to convince him. “Saying ‘technically’ doesn’t make it any less true. You were with someone
else. Now, tell me, who do I have to kill?”
“Nobody. You shouldn’t be killing anyone,” I shot back. “I told you – it was a couple of years ago. It doesn’t matter
anymore.”
*Oh, poor Luke. I don’t want to be responsible for his death.*
“Another man has been with *my mate*,” he snarled, and I could see the way his eyes sparked with jealousy. “Why didn’t
you wait for me?”
Anger bubbled up inside me. “Oh, and I suppose you waited to be with me?”
Ambrose’s silence was the only answer I needed.
“Look, I don’t like thinking of you with other people,” I continued, “But I can accept that it happened, and that it was
before me. We’re in the twenty-first century now – virginity, purity, none of that shit matters anymore. A drunken onenight stand doesn’t change the fact that you’re my mate. Maybe this wasn’t my first time or yours, but it was *our* first
time. That’s what I care about.”
It took a few seconds, but slowly, Ambrose seemed a little less tense until finally, he said, “I suppose you’re right.”
“See? It’s all –”
I gasped when Ambrose suddenly flipped me over until I was laying on my stomach.
His weight pressed on top of me. “Even so,” he whispered, and I moaned when he started nipping at my ear, “I cannot
change how possessive I am of you, little wolf – just as I can’t change the past. So, I suppose I’ll have to settle for fucking
you until you’ve forgotten everything but me.”
And, believe me, he did