by J. L. Wilder
He gripped her waist like he was going to push her away, and she whimpered before realizing that he was just holding her, stretching his fingers across her back and brushing his thumbs under her breasts. “Fuck, Maggie.”
She locked eyes with him and lost herself in the depth she found in his. He always was able to tear down her walls and leave her feeling vulnerable. “Don’t make me go.”
He shook his head. “Never could and never will, Mags.”
She kissed him again, her heart in her throat. His lips were soft and warm, the taste of cinnamon on his breath. She sighed into his mouth even as he kissed her deeper, stroking his tongue into her mouth. He kissed like he liked to have sex. The memory slammed through her like a hurricane. Wyatt was all control, slow and steady, hard and slow thrusts until she screamed and lost her mind. He kissed like he had all the time in the world to own her body.
She clung to him as he moved one of his hands to capture the side of her face, tangling his fingers in her hair. He possessed her completely, made sure she knew exactly what he wanted. He burned her up and slowly put her back together again, touched and never the same.
His lips trailed over her jaw, and his breath was a growl against her ear. “In the house, Maggie.”
The control he possessed turned her on so much that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to walk to the house. She knew that what awaited her inside was worth trying, though, so she climbed down from his waist and straightened her skirt with shaking hands.
He grasped the back of her neck and pulled her closer. “I tried. Remember that.”
She nodded and took his hand. “In the house, Wyatt.”
He flashed her a devastating grin and squeezed her neck gently before letting her go. He nodded towards the house and followed behind her as she walked on unsteady legs out of the barn.
She heard a car, but not until it was already stopping close by. She glanced over just as Wyatt swore and frustration washed over her. Whoever it was needed to leave. She wanted Wyatt. She didn’t want to wait. She knew he’d make her wait long enough once they got inside.
“Go on in, Maggie.” Annoyance darkened Wyatt’s voice, so, of course, she stayed to see what was going on. Seeing her standing there, unmoving, Wyatt just shook his head. “Good to see you’re still the same old Maggie. Stubborn as the day is long.”
She looked out at the car and saw Jessi Flint climbing out of it. “What’s she doing here?”
Wyatt sighed. “Her little brother works here, but she’s never visited before.”
Maggie watched as the woman’s face turned dark as she spotted Maggie. “I have a feeling she isn’t happy to see me.”
“Then she can fucking leave.” Wyatt looked down at her and held her gaze. “As far as I’m concerned, only one of you belongs here, and it’s not her.”
She bit her lip and nodded. She could handle Jessi Flint not wanting to see her. That wasn’t her problem. She was there visiting Wyatt and that was all that mattered.
Jessi drew closer and the scowl on her pretty face twisted it into something unpleasant to look at. “You. I can’t believe you’re here. The rumors really are true then.”
Wyatt stepped slightly in front of Maggie. “Can I help you with something, Jessi?”
The younger woman’s face reddened and she looked away. “I was just coming to see my brother.”
“He doesn’t work today.” Wyatt nodded to her car. “Be careful heading back out. That road can be rough.”
Maggie had a feeling Jessi knew that her brother didn’t work that day. The blush on her cheeks as she looked at Wyatt was telling. Anger was bitter to swallow down, but Maggie wasn’t going to lash out at the woman for wanting Wyatt. She couldn’t exactly judge anyone for wanting more than one man. Although, it felt different.
Jessi stared at Maggie, her mouth pressed together tightly as anger clearly bubbled up in her. “You cost my baby a chance at a good life, you know? Before you waltzed back into town, acting like you own the place, we had a chance.”
Maggie put her hand on Wyatt’s arm, sensing he was going to stand up for her. “I’m sorry you feel that way. Being alpha isn’t the only way you can have a good life, though. You’re having a baby. You’re with Ray. Those are important—”
“Oh, can it!” Jessi threw her hands in the air. “Perfect. I work my ass off to get into a position of power in this clan and some bitch who thinks she’s perfect comes in and steals it away. Then, she’s going to lecture me on what a good life is!”
“That’s enough.” Wyatt’s growl was scary as he glared at Jessi, but Jessi wasn’t finished.
“You’re gross, you know? Fucking three different brothers, back to back like you are?” Jessi spit on the ground and scowled. “You’re a disgusting piece of trash and everyone knows it. That’s the only joy I take out of any of this. Knowing that no one in this clan will ever look at you and see anything other than a whore will help me sleep at night.”
Maggie’s face went red, and she felt that old shame wash over her, but she wasn’t going to just lay down and let Jessi trash her. “Will you and Ray try to find another clan to take control over or will you be able to live with knowing that you lost all your power to a whore?”
“That’s enough. Jessi, you need to leave. You’re wrong about Maggie. You’re wrong about a lot. Don’t come back here.”
Jessi glared at Maggie as she backed towards her car. “You cost my baby a chance at power. It’d be a shame if anything happened to your son the way you happened to mine.”
Fury unlike anything Maggie had ever known washed over her. She was moving towards Jessi before she even knew what she was doing. Rage burned so hot inside of her that she thought she might be on fire, but still, she moved. “What did you say?”
Jessi had no good sense, as she stood her ground, but with fear in her eyes. “Your fucking son doesn’t deserve anything! My baby does! Your bastard kid could die tomorrow and no one would lose out. Your—”
Maggie let out a shocking scream as fire engulfed her and her body seemed to explode all at once. She felt herself changing, growing, burning up. Panic came hard and fast, but just as fast came a sense of rightness and calm. She looked out at the world through different eyes, everything tinged with red. Jessi, so small and weak, looked pathetic as Maggie looked down at her.
When she spoke, it wasn’t her voice she heard. “You threaten our boy, and I’ll burn your whole family alive. Don’t mess with us.”
From behind her, she felt Wyatt, felt him touching her, felt him soothing her. She looked back at him and growled. Suddenly, things felt bigger, more desperate. She could see so clearly that he was hers.
The sound of Jessi’s car speeding away didn’t even phase her as she turned to face Wyatt completely. She needed him. How had she been able to wait so long? Her body ached with need, her core pulsed around nothing, and she whined from want.
“Okay, baby. It’s okay. You can shift back, okay? Just close your eyes and envision yourself the way you are.”
Maggie couldn’t understand him. She just needed him. Why wasn’t he taking her already? She pressed closer to him and frowned when he stumbled. She wasn’t that strong. Why did he stumble?
“Maggie? Close your eyes.” His voice came out firmer, and the command in it stroked over her nerves, soothing them for a moment. As soon as she closed her eyes, he spoke again. “Think about yourself, think about your body. Envision your body, baby. That’s it. You’re doing it.”
She burned again, her body like a river of lava. But when she opened her eyes, she was in Wyatt’s arms, naked. She looked down at herself and raised her eyebrows. “Did I strip?”
He laughed lightly. “Not exactly.”
15.
***Maggie***
She had questions, but his arm brushed over her chest and another wave of need unlike anything she’d ever felt before overtook her, and she grabbed Wyatt’s arm. “Inside. I need you. I’m burning up for you. Please.”
&nbs
p; He growled and adjusted her so she was wrapped around him and then he rushed them inside. Kicking the door closed, his long legs ate up the floor before the front door and the main bedroom. He moaned as she bit at his neck and licked his throat.
As soon as he put her down on the bed, she was up on her knees, ripping his clothes off. It didn’t occur to her to stop and question her strength or the way Wyatt let out a long, low growl as she did it. She couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe until he was inside of her.
When he was naked, finally, she pulled him with her onto the bed and pushed him down on his back. Looking down at him, she felt powerful and wild. Her body buzzed with energy as she ran her hand down his chest and then took his heavy shaft into her hand and stroked him.
Wyatt locked his hands above his head on the headboard and growled louder. “Take what you need, baby.”
She leaned over and took him into her mouth, stroking him and sucking him deep before straddling his thighs and looking down at him. Hers. He was hers and she needed to mark him. She ran her nails down his chest and watched as red lines appeared. Hers.
She braced herself on his chest and lifted her hips so she could line his shaft up with her core and then she sank down onto him in one hard drop that filled her completely and stretched her walls in the best way. He was where she needed him. She needed to ride him and to claim him.
Wyatt gripped her hips and growled low in his chest, his eyes glowing as they looked her over. He watched as she reached up and cupped her breasts, needing even more. He swore as she started riding him, hard and fast, her pace intense.
Maggie moved over him in a dizzying pace, driving herself towards a powerful orgasm. She took what she needed, watched him as she did it, and let the feelings wash over her. She braced herself on his chest again and rolled her hips, rubbing her clit against his hard body. She was so close, so on the edge of shattering.
Wyatt slipped his hand between their bodies and pinched her clit at just the right moment, and she came with a wild scream and a powerful surge of energy that rolled over her like hot waves. She clenched down on his cock and then collapsed on top of him, her body weightless as she floated in a weird pleasure space.
Wyatt stroked her back and whispered comforting words to her until she was back and then he kissed her. It was a claiming kiss, all of his passion poured into it. Maggie felt her body responding to him again while she was still shaking from her orgasm.
He rolled them over and looked down at her, his expression tight. “Fuck, baby. That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. It’s my turn now, though.”
She shivered and moaned as he pulled out of her and thrust back in. Hard and slow, it was pure torture. The pleasure built slower, drew out for longer, and made her crazy. He lifted her legs and pressed them together, squeezing her core even tighter around his cock. Then, with a dark smile on his face, he spread her thighs and reached down to slap her clit.
Maggie tossed her head back and panted. “Wyatt! Wyatt, please!”
He drew his fingers through her wetness and painted it over her thighs, his expression pained as he drew out their pleasure. He was always so in control, so poised. Until he came.
She clenched her core down on his shaft and watched his face grow hard. It earned her another slap to her clit, and then he stopped moving as he pressed his thumb down just over her clit and rubbed tight and fast circles over her. She came again and found herself begging him. She needed him to come with her, in her.
Wyatt gripped both of her thighs tight and slammed into her harder and faster. He was close to coming, and his control was slipping. His face was pure beauty as he met her eyes and let a vicious-sounding growl fill the room. “Come again with me, Maggie.”
She shook her head, unsure she could do it, but his thumb found her clit again and his eyes demanded she listen to him. Her body tightened, clenched down on him, pulsed hard as another orgasm grew. When he filled her with three more powerful strokes and then called out her name as he filled her with his seed, she came with him. She felt the room spin as pleasure shook her, wearing her out and leaving her limp.
Wyatt slowly opened her thighs and pulled out, his fingers stroking over her lower lips and thighs. “Fucking beautiful.”
She just smiled as he lowered her legs and then sank into the bed beside her. As soon as he was on his back, he pulled her on top of his chest and held her. It was warm in the house, and she was already starting to feel sore, but there was happiness in Wyatt’s arms, and she didn’t want to move.
After a little while, Wyatt stroked his hand over her hair and grunted. “You’re a pretty badass little dragon, Maggie.”
She thought back on what had happened before she lost her mind for him and let out a little gasp. “I shifted.”
He chuckled. “Yeah. You shifted. And you’re beautiful. A little pushy, but I like her.”
Warmth filled her chest and she sat up beside him. “I shifted and I didn’t hurt anyone. All my dragon wanted to do was have sex with you.”
Wyatt sat up and scooted up against the headboard before pulling her up against him. “She likes me.”
“A lot.”
He made a little sound of acknowledgment but didn’t say anything else about it. “You scared the hell out of Jessi.”
“She deserved it. I don’t have the energy to get angry again right now, though. I think shifting took it out of me.”
Wyatt snorted. “Yeah, it was shifting that did it. Not the fact that you basically threw me on the bed and had your way with me.”
She felt herself blush and rested her head on his chest so he wouldn’t see. “You’re just not used to someone taking control besides you.”
The idea of him with other people seared her brain and she sat up immediately, frowning. Had he been trying to get someone pregnant, too? Had he been sleeping with Jessi? As the thoughts flooded her, she felt her dragon closer to the surface than she normally ever was, heat bubbling up. Anger at Jessi, she realized, was right there. Anger at any woman who would’ve touched Wyatt.
“You okay?”
She met his eyes and shook her head. “She’s freaking out.”
He scooted forward and wrapped his big body around hers. “What’s she upset about?”
Maggie met his eyes and shook her head. “I can’t tell you.”
“Okay, that’s okay. Come here. Let me hold you. She’ll calm down. Whatever it is, she’ll realize that everything is okay. I’ve got you.”
Slowly, the heat faded, and all she could feel was her own feelings towards Wyatt. They weren’t any less scary. She still stayed in the comfort of his arms until she couldn’t stay any longer.
16.
***Maverick***
Maverick probably wasn’t the best person to give dragon lessons. He wasn’t exactly the model of control himself, but he could cover the basics. Maggie needed the basics. Of course, he was giving the lessons to Milo, but they were all for Maggie. Milo could understand some of the lessons, but mostly he just smacked Maverick and giggled a lot.
Maggie was even doing her best to pretend like she wasn’t paying attention to the things he said, but he could see her leaning in and listening. He’d heard that her dragon appeared. He was only sad he hadn’t gotten to see it. Wyatt told them about how fierce she’d been, how only the threat to Milo had brought it out of her. Maverick was proud of her. They all were. He hoped that if she learned to trust her dragon a bit more, she could start letting go of some of the need she seemed to feel to be normal.
So, he gave dragon lessons and spent his free time watching her and Milo learn together. It felt good to be with them. He missed them when he wasn’t with them. They felt like a family. Milo called him Da-da, and Maggie looked at him with so much warmth in her gaze that he wanted to run away with her and keep her all for himself.
He knew that she was sleeping with his brothers. He knew they’d all broken their promise to each other, but they weren’t talking about it. He found that he wasn’t
upset about it. As weird as it was, he wasn’t mad. The only emotion he felt was fear. He was afraid that she’d make a decision one day and it wouldn’t be him.
Out of the three brothers, he knew he was the worst option. Wyatt had the ranch and was an impressive, good man. Sawyer ran the clan’s lumber company and had held steady leadership positions in the clan for years. Meanwhile, Maverick was just Maverick. He worked when his brothers needed him and he did what he wanted the rest of the time. Sometimes he went on trips across the country for weeks at a time. Sometimes he holed up in his house and didn’t step foot outside unless he was in dragon form and hunting for food.
He wouldn’t even blame her for picking one of the other two, but it would kill him. He cared deeply for her. He wasn’t sure he’d ever stopped. He wanted it all with her, but he just wasn’t sure how that worked. They had always had an odd arrangement. It’d never been just him and her. Would she even want just him?
He tried to keep all the thinking to a minimum when he could help it. He had her and Milo at least some of the time. He didn’t want to mess things up and lose her. He knew he’d never lose Milo, that she would never do that to him again, but he didn’t feel the same security with Maggie. He was scared if he held on too tight, she’d just slip away.
Maybe that was why he was watching her without her knowing at times. He didn’t mean for it to be so creepy, but he just needed to make sure she was okay. If she was okay, she wouldn’t leave. So, he kept an eye on her when she was off on her own, quietly practicing her dragon lessons.
He’d watched her shift a few times, but it always seemed to scare her a bit. She almost gave him a scare when he saw her trying to fly. He’d never given away his position to shout at her to stop. Flying wasn’t something she should just jump into. Not many people did it much. It was exhausting, even if it was really cool. No matter what, though, Maggie wasn’t ready for it.
