Free Mine for Eternity [Council Enforcers] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Keyonna Davis Page A

for hours and still had no idea what council member was hiding rogue attacks or why. Tessa had brought them snacks a few hours before, but that was the last he had seen of her. He wanted his mate. He wanted to relieve the tension that had been building in his body by burying himself balls deep in her. Sounds like a plan to me. Let’s go find our Tessa. His lion perked up at the thought of claiming their mate. Too bad he still needed to have a talk with her about being his mate and what it meant.
    He found Tessa curled up on his couch with Nico in her lap. They were both sound asleep. Mitch lifted Nico from her arms and lay him back down on the couch. After covering him with a blanket, he found Ry standing behind him silently watching.
    “Can you keep an eye on him for a little while?” Mitch asked.
    “No problem. I’ll watch the little guy while you talk to your mate.” He patted Mitch on the back. “Good luck.”
    Mitch had already told his friends that he planned on informing Tessa they were mates. They all knew how special mates were, even Ben, and they all wished him the best. He lifted Tessa in his arms and carried her to his bedroom. He wanted her in his bed so that his scent could surround her. Having his scent covering her was the next best thing to marking her and soothed his beast for a little while.
    Tessa hadn’t woken yet, so Mitch sat beside her and watched her sleep. She was beautiful, the way her long, black lashes fanned her rosy cheeks. Her lips were parted in sleep with the bottom one slightly pushed forward. Mitch had the urge to run his tongue along her lip and suck it into his mouth. His lion was pushing him hard, but he was able to deny the urge, barely. He knew if he started, there would be no stopping until he had Tessa under him and he had come no less than a few times deep inside her body.
    Somehow, I don’t see her complaining if we do it right.
    “Shut up.” Mitch growled at his lion.
    “I didn’t say anything.”
    Mitch groaned when Tessa yawned and stretched revealing a narrow strip of skin between the bottom of her T-shirt and the waistband of her jeans. He wanted to taste the bit of flesh showing there before heading further south with his mouth. “I’m sorry, baby. I wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to my lion.”
    “How does that work?” Tessa asked, sitting up. “I thought you and your lion were one in the same.”
    “It’s kind of complicated. We are technically two different beings, but I’m still me no matter if I’m human or beast. My lion and I can communicate with each other in either form, and while I remain dominant , for lack of a better word, I can give total control over to my lion when needed. I don’t do that very often though.”
    “Why not?”
    Mitch thought for a moment before answering. “Remember when I told you rogues are shifters that had let their beasts take over their human side?” When Tessa nodded, he continued. “They are that way because they let their animal have too much control too many times. For some reason, the more you let your beast take over, the harder it becomes for your human side to take the reins again. All shifters are taught as kids to only let their animals take over in times of extreme danger.”
    Tessa was quiet for a few minutes before speaking. “This is all just so much to take in. I feel like I should be pinching myself right now to get myself to wake up from this crazy dream.”
    If she felt that way by all the information he had already given her, Mitch wondered if he was doing the right thing by telling her they were mates. He didn’t want to push Tessa too far too soon.
    Maybe we should give her more time, he told his lion.
    No, no more waiting. I want my mate. If you can’t claim her, then I will do it myself.
    Mitch felt his fangs begin to lengthen as the hair on his arms began to change from wiry hair to a soft pelt. His lion was fighting him, and it was taking all Mitch’s strength to keep from