I ran down the street as fast as my legs would carry me, refusing to glance back to see if Grayson was still chasing me. With a burst of energy, I threw open the store doors and couldn't help but smile brightly.

And it only took a second for me to feel arms wrap around my waist. I was tugged backward into a hard chest.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Grayson growled in my ear.

I turned to face him and wrapped my arms around his neck, smiling. He looked surprised by my display of affection.

“It took you a while to catch up,” I said.

He tightened his arms around me. “I wanted to see where you would go.”

“You weren’t afraid that I would run off and spend all your money?” I said, waving his credit card in his face.

“What’s mine is yours. You will never want for anything ever again.”

---

His eyes had been black when he bit into her neck. Belle didn’t remember much from last night, but she remembered that. Before the pain and pleasure had pulsed through her, overpowering her, he had looked at her with eyes that hadn’t even been human.

The next thing she knew, she was waking up in his bed. His massive, muscular arms were wrapped around her, his hot breath ghosting over the throbbing bite mark he had left on her throat.

Against all reason, she wanted him to seal his lips over the mark again, to lick and suck and bite. She wanted his hands to wander, his low voice to whisper filthy promises in her ear before he follows through.

But that’s insane.

Sure, he’s any woman’s wet dream, but he’s also a complete stranger. The only thing she knew about him is how he introduced himself. Alpha Grayson.

But was Alpha a title or a name? And why did he keep calling her his mate?