I wake up overly warm with a hard cock pressed against my ass. The arm around my waist is like a steel band keeping me in place. Ignoring the pressing need of my bladder, I take a moment to revel in the feeling of waking up next to someone. It’s not something I’ve ever done before, and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. In the years since I won the lottery, I had plenty of opportunities to go out and get laid but, I never did. Instead, I chose to hold out for something more meaningful than simple one-night stands. When I was living on the streets, I would dream of a life filled with love and happiness, with a man who would cherish me until the end of our days.

Normally, I keep my guard up, afraid that if I let myself care for someone, they’ll prove that they’re only with me for my money and not for me. But, in just a short period of time, Griffin has already proven that he’s not the type of man to do that. Sure, we barely know each other, but I feel this sort of pull to be with him, and it’s that feeling that has me knowing I can trust him and maybe one day, love him. With a grin, I gently extricate myself from his hold and make my way into the bathroom to relieve my aching bladder. Peeing with a hard on is hard to do but I manage. After brushing my teeth with my finger, I hurry back to bed and return to my spot before he wakes up.

This time when he wraps an arm around me and pulls me in close, I deliberately press back against his hard on, in an attempt to seduce. I’ve never done anything like this before so I’m not sure it’ll work but I hope it will. The first time I do it, he makes a sound but doesn’t move, so I try it again. And again, until finally, he responds by rolling us so I’m laying on my stomach with him on top of me. If I hadn’t moved my head to the side just in time, his weight would be pressing me down into the pillows and I’d probably be suffocating.

His hands slip under my shirt as he licks and nips a path up the side of my neck. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I want you. Just, be careful okay? I haven’t done this since…you know.”

He kisses the back of my neck and says, “I’ll take care of you.” Then suddenly, his weight is gone, and I hear the sound of a drawer opening along with the rustling of clothes. Lifting my hips, I push my shorts down and kick them off, glad I decided to not put on boxers last night then raise up on my knees long enough to take off my shirt. As soon as I return to my original position on the bed, Griffin moves in behind me and begins pressing kisses over every inch of skin starting at my neck and working his way down.

He traces the tattoo on my ribs with his fingers and says, “Why a panther?”

“Panther’s symbolize strength, honor, valor, and wisdom. I didn’t choose it for those reasons though. When I went into the tattoo parlor, I had no idea what I wanted to get, just that I wanted to be sure to leave with something inked into my skin. It was one of the first things I did after winning the lotto. I’d always wanted a tattoo but could never decide on a design. I figured with my newfound lease on life and my freedom to do whatever the hell I wanted, it was the perfect commemorative moment. For some reason, I was drawn to the panther and that’s what I got.”

He traces the tattoo again and says, “I like it.” Then continues his path of kisses. It’s the best kind of torture. When he licks my hole, I nearly jump off the bed in surprise. “What are you….oh my god.” Reaching down, I pinch the base of my cock to stave off my orgasm. If I come now, I’ll embarrass myself and that’s the last thing I want but Griffin is making it hard to hold back.

When a lubed finger replaces his tongue, I sigh in relief. I’m not sure how much longer I could’ve held out. He takes his sweet time inserting another finger, and I have to fight back a growl of frustration. I can feel my excitement and impatience growing and I know if he doesn’t hurry up, I may have to take matters into my own hands.

As soon as he inserts a fourth finger, I resort to begging. “Please….I’m ready…please…please, I want you.”

Griffin’s fingers disappear and he moves until he’s hovering over me, his cock pressed against my entrance. He kisses my neck and says, “Ready?”

“I’ve been ready for a while now.”

He laughs and says, “I know, but I wanted to make sure you wouldn’t feel any pain.”

“Thank you, now will you please…please get on with it already? I feel like I’m about to burst.”

Still shaking with laughter, he slowly pushes forward until he’s completely inside. Finally.

“Are you okay?”

Looking over my shoulder at him, I grin and nod. “I’m perfect.”

He leans forward and takes my lips in a kiss then slowly, starts to move. I know he’s taking it easy to make sure he doesn’t hurt me and it makes me happy, but slow and steady is not what I want and need right now. Pushing back against him, I try and get him to pick up the pace. It seems to be the confirmation he needed because he pulls out almost completely, then thrusts forward, hard. “Fuck…yes. Give it to me.”

He sets a punishing rhythm that has me crying out for more. Pretty soon, I’m riding the edge again. Just a little more and I’ll come. Griffin’s thrusts become erratic and I feel his breath on my neck as he growls, “You’re mine.”

“Yes, I am.”

Feeling a sharp pain in my neck, I almost cry out, but the pain quickly morphs into pleasure and my orgasm hits me so hard, black spots begin to form in front of my vision. I barely have time to register the fact that Griffin has found his own release before I pass out. I’m not out for very long and when I come to, I’ve been moved out of the wet spot and have been cleaned. Looking around for Griffin, I see him pacing back and forth at the foot of the bed, ranting to himself.

“Griffin? Is something wrong?”

He looks sideways at me so fast, I’m surprised he didn’t give himself whiplash. “I bit you.”

“And I liked it so much it gave me one hell of an orgasm, what’s the problem?”

“No, you don’t understand. By biting you, I started the bonding process.”

Tilting my head in confusion, I say, “Bonding process?”

“Yes. The bonding process. I’m not human Cas. I live for a very long time, so fate gives paranormals like me a fated mate, which is something like a soul mate. When we find that person, we do everything in our power to keep them happy and loved and claim them so that they live as long as we do. It’s essentially marriage but with perks like you’ll live as long as me, you’ll never get sick, it’ll be harder to hurt you and I’ll never get hard for anyone else but you, so I won’t stray. The downside is, since I didn’t complete the bond by spilling inside you without a condom you can still walk away which will kill me. And before you ask, paranormals can’t give or get human diseases so, if we complete the bonding process, we’ll no longer need condoms.”

Before I can say anything, he goes back to pacing and continues to rant. “I know it sounds unbelievable but it’s true. Paranormals are real. This city is filled with them. Shifters, vampires, witches, demons, and pretty much anything ever written about in mythical stories is real. Though most of the stories aren’t true. I’m a shifter and I share my spirit with a panther. In my panther form, I’m completely cognizant just like any other shifter so, you don’t have to worry about my animal side hurting you. You probably think this is crazy, that I’m crazy but I would never lie to you.”

Grinning, I say, “I know.”

He’s been speaking so fast, it took me a minute to understand everything he’d been saying but now I get it. Before he can launch into another rant about paranormals or try and prove it to me, I slip from the bed and stop him from pacing. Grabbing his wrists gently, I pull until he lets go of his hair, taking his hands in mine and say, “I believe you.”

His eyes widen. “You do?”

With a grin, I nod. “Yes. I also don’t think you’re crazy.”

“You don’t?”

Trying not to laugh at him, I nod again. “No. I don’t.”

His expression turns skeptical. “You’re taking this surprisingly well.”

This time I do laugh. “That’s because I already knew paranormals existed. I didn’t know about anything else other than that though.”

“Wait, you know? How?”

Shrugging, I say, “I lived on the streets of Rockydale for years and would see things occasionally. The first time I saw someone shift, I thought I was going nuts, until a few weeks later when I saw someone else do it.”

“How did you manage to not run for the hills?”

“I’ve always loved paranormal books and movies and have wished on multiple occasions to live in a world where paranormals existed, so I was more excited than scared when I realized paranormals walked among us.”

He grins and pulls me in for a kiss. “You’re amazing.”

“So, I’ve been told.”

Turning him towards the bed, I push him, so he falls back on it and straddle his hips. Waggling my eyebrows at him, I say, “Want to go for round two? Without the condoms this time.”

His grin lights up his entire face, and he strokes my cheek. “Are you sure? There’ll be no going back after this. You’ll be mine until we die just like marriage only without the option of divorce. Shifters are incredibly possessive. If anyone touches you, I will kill them.”

“That’s fine with me. The way I see it, is this mates thing goes both ways. If I’m it for you, then that means you’re it for me. No one else will ever come close to what we could have. I’d be a fool not to accept what you’re offering. Especially, since it sounds like everything I’ve ever wanted.”

He kisses me softly and says, “I promise, I’ll love and cherish you always.”

Winking at him, I say, “You’d better, or I’ll put a chastity belt on my fine ass.”

He barks a laugh. “You’re trouble.”

“You’ll get used to it. I know there will be times when we’ll fight but, that’s part of being in a relationship. So, right here and now, I want you to promise me that even if we fight, we’ll never go to bed without working things out.”

“I promise.”

“And I know we still have Bill to deal with and that I’ll be moving into my new house as soon as it’s done, but once our bond is complete, does that mean you’ll be moving in too?”

“Yes. I was going to buy a house for the purpose of sharing it with my mate when I had enough money, but since you already have one, I’ll keep the money and put it towards our future children’s college fund.”

“Children huh?”

“I want at least two, but we’ll have centuries together so I’m not in a hurry.”

“Exactly how long do shifters live?”

“The average lifespan is five hundred years.”

“That’s a lot of years.”

“And I can’t wait to spend them all with you.”

“Then I suppose we’d better finish the bonding process.”

“Oh, we will. But first, I want a kiss.”

Winking at him, I lean forward and say, “As you wish.” Then I press my lips to his.