Ravenwood

by Margaux Gillis

  Caleb gave another low sound and his grip tightened further and he moved against her, counterpoint to her own rhythm. It was exactly what she wanted, but she hadn’t known until it happened. She bit her lower lip, a sigh escaping her throat as she felt Caleb’s manhood press into her backside. His entire body felt hot against hers and part of her wanted to throw off the covers, but the other part of her was still shy and nervous and she was grateful for their cover. She felt the moment Caleb came to consciousness, the slight pause in his movements as he figured out where he was and what he was doing, before he pressed his lips to the back of her neck, sucking on the slight protrusion of bone there, his teeth pressing into her flesh and causing a muted sigh to break from her throat.

  Wanting to feel him under her palm, Elinore untangled her hand from his and reached back, finding the curve of his leg. She pressed her hand against the muscled flesh of his flank, marveling at the way the muscles shifted and moved under her fingers as he rocked against her. His breath was hot against her skin, moving from her neck to her ear. His teeth bit down on her earlobe and she arched her back, trying to push herself against him, wanting to feel so much more. His hand, heavy on her belly, slid downward and with an exquisite sense of what was about to come, she moved one of her legs up back, stretching it over his own, opening her body up for him. His teased at the entrance of her for a minute and she dug her nails into his backside, half in desire and half in chastisement. He huffed in her ear, a delightfully amused sound that made her smile in return. His fingers finally slipped into her and her breath hitched at the sensation, still so new and exotic, but at the same time also familiar and desired.

  Caleb moved his hips back and she had a fleeting moment of loss and panic before he pressed against her again, only this time, the hard length of him was between her thighs, so close to penetrating her, but not quite. As he rocked his hips, his length moved against the seam of her, in time with his fingers and she gasped at the intimacy of it. He was so close to being inside her. His fingers were inside her, but the idea of the hard length of him penetrating her made her gasp with want and a little bit of nervousness. She could hardly focus on the fluttering in her belly while his clever fingers moved against that spot in her that made her feel hot, heavy and liquid all at the same time.

  “Come for me, Elinore.”

  His lips moved against the shell of her ear. His fingers circled and pressed into her, and his manhood moved against her tender flesh. She felt sensation build inside her; her heart pounded and her breath came out in gasps. He was breathing against her ear and he cursed - the same word he’d said the other day and she didn’t think it so vulgar now. She wanted it, she wanted to feel it, to feel him, to have more of this, forever, to do whatever it took to have it. As if he read her mind, he said it again as he rolled his hips against hers, breathing out against her neck, mouthing at it. A high-pitched sound escaped her mouth - a sound of want and desire.

  He growled in response - the sound reverberating in her chest. His body rolled over her slightly, pressing her into the bed as he moved on top of her, his fingers working against her sensitive core. Her insides spasmed and she cried out in release, her hips rocking against his hand and his pelvis as he pushed against her. She felt his teeth, too sharp to be his human ones, biting on the meaty part of her shoulder and then he soothed the pain with his tongue.

  Elinore was limp and languid, her body soft and pliant as Caleb continued to move against her; rutting, her mind supplied. She arched her back, gasping at how sensitive her flesh felt between her legs where his erection slipped against her. His fingers were no longer pressed inside her and she missed the feeling of them, the feeling of having some part of him inside her. She moved her hips a little more, pushing back and felt the tip of him slip between her folds, catching slightly. Caleb’s breath hitched and he gave an almost pained grunt. She wanted him inside her; she wanted to hear those sounds from his lips while he was inside her.

  Elinore turned her head as far as it would go. Caleb surged forward, licking at the seam of her lips and she opened them quickly, letting his tongue into her mouth and tangling it with her own. She pulled away slightly so she could say, “I want, I want…” She felt like she couldn’t say the words, but then in a rush, they spilled out of her. “I want you inside me.”

  The rocking of Caleb’s hips slowed for a moment as he stared down at her and she held his gaze, not wanting to turn away even though his heady look made her face blush and her heart hammer. He moved back a bit more, and pulled at her hips, making as if to flip her over onto her back.

  “No, like this,” Elinore breathed, unwilling to move. She liked the way it felt. She wanted to feel the weight of him against her back, the two of them joined, like wolves in the forest, in the wild. He said her name, his voice sounding pained and rough and then pressed against her hard, finding her mouth with his own and kissing her almost roughly. She felt his other hand reach down between them and then she could feel the tip of him pressing against her again, her insides soft and slippery. She tensed up as he slowly began to push into her, feeling the width of him so much more than just his fingers had been the other night. Her mouth fell open at the feel of it, her whole awareness narrowed to the place where he pressed into her. Caleb nipped at her lips and then he wiggled his hand back underneath her, slipping down to where he’d had his fingers before. He teased at her there and it was almost too much after her release moments before, but the overstimulation was something else to focus on other than the hard length of him stretching her wide.

  “Do you want me to stop?” he asked, his voice barely audible even as close as he was. He soothed his fingers slowly, lightly over the sensitive spot there.

  She gulped in a breath, and shook her head. It was slightly painful, but she wanted this. “No, I…” she gasped as his fingers pressed against her and a small spasm rolled through her insides, not as great as before, but still causing her sex to pulse and throb. He seemed to slip in further and this time, it was his breath that hitched. Elinore moved her hips slightly, feeling as Caleb’s erection sunk inside her as she did. She liked the way it felt so she did it again. A deep rumbling started in Caleb’s chest, resonating through her own rib cage. He rolled his hips, sliding against her, his length moving almost out of her and then pressing back in.

  Caleb’s hand slipped out of her and before she could bemoan the loss, he was using his strength to pull her up to her knees as he bent over her, his erection pushing deep inside her. He was saying her name over and over again, all she could hear was his voice, all she could smell was his scent. All she could feel was him - around her, inside her. She pressed her forehead into the bed, feeling like she needed something to anchor her. His fingers slid inside her again, rubbing over the sensitive nub at her core and then moving down to where he was pushed inside her, feeling where they were joined and then moving back up again. Oh God, she would happily die from his - it was so much and she never wanted it to end. He made a familiar sound, and she realized she recognized what he sounded like before he was about to spill his seed. He would spill it inside her, marking her on the inside like he had done the night before on the outside of her skin. He was marked with her scent now as well. No one, no other wolves, would be able to smell him and not know that he was hers, he belonged to her. His hips jerked against hers in short, sharp thrusts and then she felt him release into her, hot and deep, a satisfied groan drawn out long and beautiful from his throat. He thrust against her a few more times, leisurely, unhurried thrusts, and she felt the length of him pulse again inside her. His fingers pressed against her intimately and her insides spasmed again, this time pulsing around him, feeling like she was squeezing him. He bit at her neck and she arched her back again, driving her shoulder up against his teeth and feeling her insides clutch at him once more.

  Caleb released her neck, gasping for air and she found she was breathing hard as well, as though she’d run through the forest without a break for several minutes. He was n
o longer hard inside her and as he slipped out, she shivered at the loss, feeling all of a sudden exposed and vulnerable. Caleb fell to his side and then pulled her close, peppering her neck with kisses and asking in a soft, quiet voice if she was all right, if she wanted or needed anything.

  “Just this,” she said quietly, and she turned in his arms and wiggled closer to his body, sighing when she felt his arms come around her and hold her tight. She was exhausted, but her mind felt a whirl. Was she different now? Was it the wolf inside her that made her feel so strongly and deeply for Caleb, physically and mentally, or had those feelings always been insider her, waiting for a release? She didn’t know and she wasn’t sure if it mattered. She tucked her face down slightly, closer to Caleb’s neck and she found her own scent was mingled in with his now, intertwined. An absurd giggle rose up from her belly, like a gurgling fountain. Caleb pulled back slightly and frowned at her, a bemused expression on his face.

  “That’s hardly the reaction I was hoping for,” he teased and she couldn’t help but giggle again. He tipped his head forward a bit, pressing his nose against her hair. “You smell very happy.”

  “I am.”

  Epilogue

  After their very pleasant morning with each other, Elinore detailed to Caleb the conversation she’d had with the omega. She told Caleb of the omega’s howl, the one Elinore had interpreted to mean that he wanted to be part of the pack.

  “What do you think of this?” Elinore asked.

  Caleb looked up from the breakfast table very calmly and said, “I shall do what my Alpha wishes.”

  Elinore paused, her toast halfway to her mouth, not understanding. “What does that mean?”

  Caleb’s lips had quirked and he took a long drink of his spicy tea. “It means, dear Elinore, you are Alpha of Ravenwood now. We will all abide by what you decide.”

  Elinore swallowed hard, feeling a deep weight settle in her stomach. “Me?”

  “Yes, you.” Caleb set his cup down. “You came here, befriended the household, started taking care of people, talked to people, listened to them, worked with them, did things for them and last night…” Caleb sighed, his face seeming slightly sad, but serene. “Last night you protected them. I was too blind to my uncle for so long. I was so desperate for things to be as they had always been for me - a strong Alpha in charge of the pack. I… couldn’t see what he’d become. But you saw it and Ravenwood rallied around you. You are now Alpha of our pack. We will defer to you.”

  Caleb tipped his head slightly to the doorway behind Elinore. She turned to see Mrs. Davenport, Alice, Mrs. Thistlewaite and two of the stable men huddled in the doorway, all appearing anxious for her to speak. Elinore had a full minute of stunned silence before she could. They waited for her patiently, their expressions open and ready to hear what she had to say.

  “I would like to offer the omega a place in the pack. In our pack.”

  Caleb nodded and gave her an encouraging smile. “We can do that after breakfast.”

  Elinore turned again and saw the small group clustered in the doorway nodding in agreement and then departing, leaving Elinore and Caleb to finish their meal. She felt a thousand butterfly wings flapping madly in her stomach. She’d made a decision for the pack. She inhaled and then exhaled slowly, her breath coming out slightly shaky.

  “I think you’ll make a very fine Alpha,” Caleb said, reaching his hand out across the table. She slipped her fingers into his, finding his fingers strong and warm and feeling so grateful for them.

  “I hope to make you all proud of me.”

  “We are.”

  After that, it seemed her days for the next two weeks had been a flurry. Meeting with the omega, inviting him into the pack, learning about the estate, being tutored in the financial records and visiting tenants. Of course, she also had her new abilities to deal with. She had not yet shifted again into her full wolf form, but every day she worked on partial transformations with Caleb, learning how to feed her emotions into her shifting abilities to make them quicker and sharper. Caleb had marveled at the amount of control she already had over her emotions, which Elinore found quite amusing. As a woman, she often had to watch her tongue and mind her words in public, so yes, she was quite schooled in monitoring her emotions.

  Of course, all her work had hardly left time for her correspondence with Charlotte. Elinore penned her a long, detailed letter, managing to leave out all mention of werewolves, (there were some things that ought to be shared only in person with one’s best friend) but conveyed her changed relationship with Caleb. Elinore wished dearly to see Charlotte in person and invited her several times in the text of the letter to come to Ravenwood. She wasn’t quite sure if she was ready to leave her new home just yet. Caleb had said it was quite usual for new wolves to feel very attached to their den for a few full moons and want to stay close to hearth and home.

  It was only when she’d sat down to write her letter this morning that Elinore realized it had been weeks since she’d written Charlotte. Detailing all her love and fiendish friendship, Elinore folded the many pages together, knowing that Caleb was certain to laugh when he saw how fat and thick her correspondence was. She’d likely have to pay double the postage just to send it.

  A knock at the library door had Elinore looking up just as she finished folding. Mrs. Davenport stood in the doorway a slight smile on her face.

  “Yes, Mrs. Davenport. What can I do for you?”

  “There’s a young boy here, from the county over. He’s asking to speak to the Alpha.”

  Elinore felt a surge of strength and spirit at the word. She smoothed her skirt and smiled back at Mrs. Davenport. “Send him in.”

  Author Notes

  Gentle reader,

  I love older books and historical stories. My favorite book of all time is Jane Eyre and while I don’t believe I could ever create an homage that would do it justice, this book is the closest I’ve come yet. I wanted to write a historic, Gothic novel that had an independent heroine such as Jane herself, or Lizzie Bennet, or so many of our heroines of time gone by. Women who, although constrained by society and customs of the time, were still great thinkers, feelers and doers.

  I was not concerned with historical accuracy, however, merely the feel and sway of those types of books, where the narrative style is longer and less dialogue heavy at times. I hope you enjoyed this book, as it is. I thoroughly enjoyed writing it.

  Much love,

  Margaux

  Author Bio

  Margaux Gillis is the pen name of Margarita Gakis’ for her Gothic Historical novels.

  Margarita loves the art, creativity and romanticism of storytelling. Sometimes, however, the act of putting pen to paper proves challenging. She works to develop genuine, relatable characters which grow in the hearts of her readers. From that foundation, the stories flourish into a warm friend.

  She enjoys pursuits which blur the lines between the analytical and creative sides of her brain. This includes her day job in electronic data management, where she uses her creativity to solve logical problems, and also her lessons learning to play the cello, where she finds beauty in the structure of music and the instrument. She believes there is a place for both logic and imagination to work together. When they do, the results are magical.

  The ‘label’ she identifies most with is ‘storyteller.’ According to Wikipedia, storytelling is the conveying of events in words, and images, often by improvisation or embellishment. It seems to fit pretty well with how she feels about her work.

  You can find her blog at www.margaritagakis.com. Once there, you can sign up for her newsletter and keep up to date on her current work and upcoming releases for both Margaux and Margarita.

 

 

 
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