Free Prowl (Pride Riders Book 3) by Kassanna

and brushed his mouth across her cheek. “I’ll be all right by tomorrow. Do you trust me?”
    Bane turned her head, her lips a hairbreadth from his. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”
    Ari caged her with his arms. Coarse, rutted bark bit into his palms. The scent of her arousal, tinged with a hint of honey, curled around them. He eased a leg between her thighs and hiked her up. Her top caught on the bark, pulling the material taut across her breasts. Ari brushed his cheek against hers, reveling in her softness of her skin.
    She skimmed her palms up his arms and over his vest, slipping her fingers through the short strands at his nape.
    Gently, he dropped minute kisses along her jawline up to her ear and caught her lobe between his teeth. She moaned, squeezing the muscles along his neck.
    He traced the shell of her ear with his tongue. “Tell me what you want.” If it was in his power to give her whatever she asked, he would make it happen.
    Bane pulled her face away and stared at him. “In what order?” Her lips curved in a half smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
    “Surprise me.” His tone deepened with unchecked emotions. She made him feel things he didn’t think possible. He wanted to erase the doubt he saw flitting across her face. He’d never been so certain about anything in his life. Their mating was meant to happen.
    “Trust, security, love, not necessarily in that sequence.” She cradled his head between her palms.
    “Sugar.” He dipped his head and claimed her mouth.
    Ari felt the moment she gave into the kiss. Bane relaxed. The heat of her core radiated through the denim and flowed into his thigh. She rolled her hips, grinding down. His erection grew, jammed against the metal teeth of his zipper. At the rate they were going, they wouldn’t make to the landing, let alone into his house. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply.
    She kneaded his shoulders. The faint thud of her heart pounding reverberated against his chest. Ari eased his hands between them and skimmed them down her body. His knuckles grazed her belly as he worked the button on her pants free and lowered the zipper. He kissed her collarbone, licking and lapping as he dragged his tongue along her neck, swirling his tongue across the mating bite.
    Bane slid her hands down his back and grasped his ass, urging him closer. He chuckled against her skin before stepping back. Her warm damp palms slid around his waist. “I don’t want to wait.” He shoved the denim down her legs.
    She hopped, trying to get a leg free. “I was hoping you wouldn’t.” Her tone lowered an octave into a sexy tenor.
    He undid his jeans, yanking the garment off his hips. His cock bobbed free, curving toward his stomach.
    “Watching that never gets old.” Bane closed the narrow space separating them.
    Ari toed off a boot and shook his leg, freeing his foot. The step quaked with his movements and she clutched his bicep. He hauled her close and spun them around. He hit the trunk with a light thwack . His shoe toppled down the stairs, landing somewhere below them with a hollow thud . Her pants tangled around his feet. She giggled as he kicked at the clothing. They were flung over the side of the stairwell. His cheetah’s lips curled back in the imitation of a leering smile.
    He cupped her ass and heaved her up. Her dirty, torn T-shirt bunched between them, exposing the gentle curve of her breasts. She clamped her knees onto his hips. Slick heat permeated his rod as he slid it between her folds. Bane kissed his temple and pulled up her arms to set her elbows on his shoulders. He eased his shaft into her channel and she plunged down on his dick. He spread his feet to keep them steady. Bane rolled her pelvis, rose up, and plummeted again. The wood’s rough edges raked his scalp when he bumped his head back. He flexed his pelvis forward as she bounced on his rod. Her passage undulated around his dick, tightening with every lunge.