In Willful Mate, Jane is a librarian with a taste for submission. Bender is the Dom who broke her. Minutes after arriving at the Eagle Eye headquarters, she’s learned three things: (1) Shifters are real. (2) Bender is one of them. (3) He claims she’s his mate.
Under threat from an assassin, Jane agrees to let him keep her safe, but she’s determined to protect her heart. Is Bender Dom enough to convince his willful mate they belong together?
Willful Mate is a novella in the Gryphons Fated Mate series. It’s available in Lust in Summer, which releases June 28, 2017 on Amazon.
Excerpt from Chapter 4
She fell asleep with the TV on sometime after eleven. Dreams kept waking her up, nightmares of being chased through endless corridors. In one, Oleg Kusmenitz cornered her in the archives, his expensive pen turning into a knife.
Then her dreams shifted toward the erotic. Flashes of reality mingled with the surreal. She was on her knees in front of a hulking beast while a crowd surrounded her, murmuring in delight. The creature bent over her, its erection halfway down her throat, sharp claws ruffling her hair and trailing down her naked back. Hot breath panted against her shoulder. Bender whispered in her ear, “Take me.”
A loud banging and the roar of her name jerked her out of the dream. For a moment, she didn’t know where she was.
She groped for a bedside lamp and heard her name again. Untangling herself from the covers, Jane stumbled to the door, touching the screen to turn on the peephole. He was in the hall, alone. In a black t-shirt and khaki pants, he looked tough. Dangerous. She shivered, remembering the dream. Remembering the reality.
Activating the camera had turned on the mic. Bender looked into the lens like he knew she was watching. “Open the door.”
She pressed the button and stepped back, folding her arms over her chest while the panel slid open. “Why are you yelling outside my door at four am?”
“I’m leaving in ten minutes,” he said. “I wanted to make sure you’re okay, and say good-bye.”
Her annoyance faded in a surprising rush of regret. “You’re leaving?”
“Yeah. Gotta get back to my team. Emmy is still out there.” He scowled at her. “Don’t let yourself be alone with an unmated male. Don’t leave the campus until Pruitt says it’s safe. And for fuck’s sake, quit smelling like that.”
Jane took a step back at his fierce expression. “What? I’m not doing anything.”
“You smell like you want to have sex.”
“I do not!” She looked down at the t-shirt and sweatpants. Oh, god. Her nipples were poking against the thin fabric.
“You do. You’re wet right now. Were you dreaming about me?”
“Of course not!”
“Liar. Were you thinking about that night? It’s all I’ve been able to think about.” He picked her up and carried her to the couch, sitting her sideways on his lap. She pushed against his arms and he squeezed tight until she gasped and subsided.
“I’m going to kiss you, and then you’re going to admit you’re wet. That’s all, and this isn’t really cheating on Seth.”
“No! Bender, stop.”
“Yes.” He cupped her chin and rubbed a thumb along her bottom lip. “Weird to think you had my cock in your mouth, but I haven’t kissed you before now.”
“Don’t,” she gasped. Please, don’t let him talk about that night.
“This is going to happen. I need something to take with me.” He bent, tilting her chin up at the same time, and settled his lips over hers.
Whatever she might have expected from his kiss, it wasn’t the gentle brush of soft lips, or the tenderness of his tongue seducing her into parting for him. He slipped inside, velvet warmth, minty toothpaste, and a taste uniquely John Bender. Her hum of pleasure was echoed by his groan.
A moment later, he pulled away. “You smell so goddamn good. Feel how hard I am? I forgot what it feels like, getting an erection. It’s been three years.” He bent for a swift kiss. “Admit you’re wet.”
“You can’t—.”
He stopped her with another kiss, biting down on her bottom lip just enough to zing her nerves. “I don’t care if I go to hell for this. Admit I’m right. You’re wet, Jane, and you’re wet because of me.” He nuzzled her neck, breath warm against her skin, in a move so like the creature from her dreams she wondered if she was still asleep.
“Should I spread your legs and prove it to you? I’d like to have the scent of your pussy on my fingers. I could spend the trip out licking them clean.”
“Stop!” She clenched her thighs closed, everything inside going liquid at the thought of his fingers inside her. “Alright, I’m wet. Satisfied?”
“You’re wet because you were thinking of me,” he insisted.
“God, you’re an egotistical bastard. Yes, because of you. Not like I could help it. I don’t control my dreams. Go away and leave me alone.”
“I’m going.” He set her on her feet and rose. “Stay safe. Stay away from the infirmary. If Silas gets a whiff of you, he’ll kill himself trying to find you again. Hopefully, he was so out of it he won’t remember.”
Even though she had no intention of having sex with him, ever, unfulfilled arousal made her ache, which made her grumpy. She scowled. The sooner he left, the sooner she could take a cold shower. “Fine. Go away.”
He bent and kissed her on the forehead, then was gone.
I hope you enjoyed the excerpt! Leave me a comment, I’d love to know what you think. Willful Mate is the second novella in the Gryphons Fated Mate series. Check it out on Amazon.
The first novella, Captive Mate, is available in Lust on the Wing.
Note: Although characters from each novella cross over to the other, they can be read in any order.
Crush Blush 
[…] And there’s more! Lust in Summer, the 7th volume in the Lust anthology, is available June 28. Pre-order your copy now for only 99 cents. We’ve included four seriously scorching tales, including my new Gryphons Fated Mate novella, Willful Mate. (Click for a tasty excerpt.) […]
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