by Katie Reus
“What took you so long to ask me out?” she murmured, arching slightly into him, her breathing erratic and her pupils dilated. “My wolf likes to be chased, but I’ve been getting very, very impatient. I thought I might have to take drastic measures to get you to notice me.”
She might be a beta female, but he’d learned that didn’t mean what he thought it had. Betas ran the gamut in their personalities. They were just slightly weaker than alphas in actual strength. She might not be as physically strong as others in her pack, but she was all sass and sexiness. “I want more than a date, Maria. I’m not in this for something casual.” His grip around her tightened, possessiveness swelling inside him like it always did around her. He’d learned that shifters liked people to be blunt. Even if they didn’t, he couldn’t hold back.
Not with her. Not about this.
“Good, because neither am I.”
He crushed his mouth to hers, taking and tasting what he’d been dreaming about for months. By this time next year he planned to have a ring on her finger and claim her for everyone to see. Human and supernatural alike.
Because she was his. And he’d chase her for the rest of their damn lives if her wolf wanted it. He’d do whatever she wanted. She was a female worth fighting for.
* * *
“Dude, Parker and Maria? I wondered when that would happen.” Kat linked her arm through Jayce’s as they headed down Main Street. They’d just had the best dinner and she felt like going home and falling into a food coma. But they had other stuff to take care of tonight.
“I’m surprised it took him so long.” Her sexy mate half-smiled, the action out of character for him except when he was with her or their adopted daughter, Leila.
It wasn’t like Leila called them Mom and Dad; that would be a little strange, given that she’d been sixteen when they’d taken her in, and she had been deeply loved by her parents. But they’d made things official so that no matter what, Leila would always have a family, always have a place to belong. In the shifter world that was important. Her own parents had been murdered because they’d been packless and unprotected and had refused to pay protection money to thugs.
“So, I heard you reached out to Leila’s boyfriend yesterday.”
Jayce’s expression darkened, but he nodded. “Yeah. Invited the fucker to Christmas dinner.”
“And do you plan on introducing him as ‘the fucker’ to everyone?” She kept a straight face as she asked.
Which earned her a scowl from him as they continued down the sidewalk. She was aware of holiday shoppers creating a subtle path for them on the sidewalk, but figured Jayce didn’t even notice it at this point.
With a shaved head, a wicked-looking scar on his face, and intense gunmetal gray eyes that had seen far more death than any individual should, the male screamed danger. And to Kat, he screamed raw sex appeal. She’d never forget the first time they’d met—and the first time she’d put him in his place.
“I just don’t get why she’s with a human. He’s weaker than her.”
Kat snorted. “She’s a teenager. And he rides a motorcycle and has tattoos.” It wasn’t that hard to see. At least not to Kat.
“I want her with someone strong. He doesn’t even have to be a shifter. Just someone stronger.” The frowning continued.
His logic was something she actually understood. She wouldn’t have a year ago, but now that she’d been entrenched in the shifter world, having been turned herself, she appreciated what he wanted for Leila. He wanted someone who could literally have Leila’s back, who’d be able to be her equal in all matters, especially the physical ones. They lived in a violent world sometimes and Jayce just wanted her to have a mate who could back her up. She could respect that.
“Baby, this isn’t the male she’ll be with long-term. Trust me,” she murmured, stepping around an elderly couple on the sidewalk so they wouldn’t have to move.
“How can you know?” He scrubbed his free hand over the back of his neck.
She snorted again. “I just do. She started dating him mainly, I think, to rile you up. You push her so hard in training and…” Kat figured this human boy was a way to let Leila rebel slightly. She was an enforcer-in-training and a gifted hacker and almost, but not quite eighteen. Even when she turned eighteen she’d still be considered a cub for a while, at least by pack standards. She needed an outlet. Kat wasn’t sure how to word that to make Jayce understand, though, so she said, “Now that you’ve outwardly accepted him I have a feeling their relationship will be short-lived.”
Surprise clear on his face, he turned to her. “That doesn’t even make sense.”
“Teenagers don’t make sense.”
He just grumbled to himself as they continued down brightly lit Main Street. She loved it down here around the holidays. Last year she’d worked at one of the local ski lodges and had spent most of her time on the mountain. She loved being able to be part of the town more now.
“All right, try not to snarl too much if her boyfriend is with her,” Kat murmured as he opened a glass door to the local hardware store.
It was almost closing time and they were picking up a box of books the owner was donating. Kat, and now Leila too, volunteered at the local literacy center. About once a month various local business donated boxes of books, usually new. She and Jayce had picked up most of the boxes yesterday but were down here to grab a straggler tonight.
“What took you slackers so long?” Leila asked, leaning against the glass countertop, clearly having been talking to the owner’s teenage daughter, who smiled at Kat—and gave Jayce a wary look.
“Dinner at Kelly’s.” Jayce shot her a grin. “And we stopped at Clara’s Ice Cream shop afterward.”
“Without me?” She pushed up from the countertop, her gray eyes filled with annoyance, and a trace of hurt.
“He’s messing with you,” Kat murmured. Jayce and Leila went to the ice cream place at least once a week. Usually three times, and ate far too much. It was like their little ritual, one Kat knew that Leila held dear. More than a trainer, he was her mentor and father figure as well.
“Where’s your boyfriend?” Jayce’s voice was butter smooth, no hint of the annoyance she knew was lingering beneath the surface. “I thought he was going to come with you tonight.”
“Oh, ah, we broke up.” She lifted a shoulder.
Told you! Kat shouted along their telepathic link, unable to hide her smugness.
Now Jayce full-on growled. “Did he hurt you?”
Leila laughed and rolled her eyes with the flair only a teenager could manage. “Please. Now, if you two are ready, let’s get this show on the road. I’m hungry.” She turned to the girl at the counter. “Thank your dad again for these books. I’ll see you at the New Year’s thing?”
The human teenager, who had Korean roots like Leila, nodded, her grin widening. “Definitely.”
Jayce lifted the box, carrying it in front of him as if it were empty, and they headed out again. He cleared his throat as they stepped onto the sidewalk. “So, what’s happening on New Year’s?”
Another casual shrug. “Party thing with some human friends.”
Kat wrapped her arm around Leila’s shoulders. “I’m glad you’re making friends.” Later she’d find out where the party was and who would be there, but the truth was, Leila could take care of herself better than some full-grown shifters, and Kat and Jayce had to show her they trusted her. “Want to talk about your breakup?”
“Not really… Can we stop by December’s Book Nook before getting ice cream? I want to pick something up.”
“No problem.” Jayce moved in front of them on the sidewalk to make room for a cluster of laughing teenagers headed in the opposite direction. “Then you can tell us about your breakup. I need to make sure this boy didn’t hurt you.” His words were low, but they had no problem hearing him with their shifter senses. There was no room for argument in his voice either.
Leila rolled her eyes to Kat, but she also half
-smiled. Jayce might not completely understand how to talk to teenagers, especially teenage girls, but he understood Leila, understood their family dynamic. And for him, for all of them, they didn’t often have secrets. Kat also knew that while Leila would never say it out loud, she was glad that Jayce cared enough to be protective of her.
Something Kat was grateful for as well. She loved her newly adopted pack, but Leila and Jayce were her immediate family now. They were still learning as they went with a lot of things, but more than anything, they always communicated with each other. Sometimes, according to Leila, it was too much.
But Kat knew the girl liked how open they all were with each other.
I have a feeling she broke up with him, Kat said along their telepathic link. She’s not nearly sad enough about it.
Good. I won’t have to see his stupid face over Christmas dinner now.
Kat nearly snorted aloud at her mate’s words, but contained herself. “So, you guys want to guess how many pregnancies we have at the ranch right now?”
Leila’s eyes widened and Jayce just cocked an eyebrow as he fell back in step with them.
“What? It’s not like I can help knowing.” She’d been a seer as a human, literally seeing things not visible to the human eye, but under the surface of a person. It was how she’d known about shifters, vampires and other things that went bump in the night long before they’d come out to the world. The same gift translated to other things, including seeing the spark of new life in pregnant women. It was like a little glow and only happened after a certain stage in the pregnancy. She wasn’t even sure of the science to it, because she hadn’t known when December had been pregnant in the beginning stages.
“Four?” Jayce asked.
“Three,” Leila said.
Kat shook her head, grinned. “Five.” And one of those pregnancies was going to be a huge deal. All cubs were a big deal, but the Alpha and his mate having a baby? Pretty huge news.
“Who?” Leila asked.
Kat just grinned as they reached the bookstore. “My lips are sealed.” And maybe in a few years she and Jayce would have one or two or half a dozen. But for now, she was enjoying her family and wickedly sexy mate.
Pretty sure I have ways of making you talk. Jayce’s voice was dark and sensual along their telepathic link, that rich chocolate scent of his lust making her lightheaded for a moment.
Give it your best shot. No matter what he did, she’d be a winner. Because having Jayce worship her naked body? Oh yeah. She’d take his brand of torture every day of the week.
Chapter 10
Nathan stepped out of the shared bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist, and paused as Noel’s scent permeated the hallway.
Frowning, he stepped out into the living room, surprised to see her sitting on the couch, a hot cup of cocoa in her hand as she talked to his packmate, Jacob. His very single packmate. The Christmas tree they’d decorated was lit and the fire crackled, giving a soft, romantic glow to the room. Yeah, Jacob needed to be gone like ten minutes ago.
Noel turned at either the sound of his footsteps—which he doubted because he was ghost-silent—or because she’d scented him too. Her amber eyes darkened as she raked an appreciative gaze over his bare chest.
Pleasure swelled in his chest as she blatantly checked him out, the hunger there so vivid it made him forget how to speak. For only a second.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he snarled at Jacob, knowing that 1) he sounded like a crazy jackass since Jacob lived here; and 2) he didn’t much give a fuck. The mating heat was starting to ride him hard now that the walls between Noel and he had come down. He didn’t want his single packmate looking at her, much less talking to her while they sat on a couch a foot away from each other. And he didn’t care if he was acting like a caveman throwback to his ancestors.
Noel let out a small gasp as Jacob’s mouth dropped open. Just as quickly the obnoxious male grinned and shoved up from the couch. Sighing, he shook his head. “Another one bites the dust.” A grin on his face, he nodded at Noel, murmured a polite goodbye before turning to Nathan. “You’ll have the place to yourself tonight.”
With that, the other male shut the front door behind him. Nathan was aware of Noel standing and setting her mug down while he quickly locked the front door. No one would be interrupting them. She hadn’t come out and said it but he was almost positive that this was the night things changed between them, the night he sank into her sweet body, the night he claimed her.
“I know we didn’t have plans until later, but I thought it would be okay if I stopped by early. I missed you today.” Noel’s hesitant voice made him realize she didn’t understand what was going on with him.
Probably because he’d never acted this possessive before. “You can come by anytime you want. You could move in with me tomorrow if you wanted.” He inwardly winced at his not-so-smooth words. Way to be subtle about things.
Her mouth parted slightly and he took that as all the invitation he needed. Screw subtlety. This female was his and it was time he showed her that. Erasing the distance from the door to the couch in seconds, he closed his hands around her hips, tugging her flush against him.
She molded to him without pause, her hands sliding up his chest and around his neck. The feel of her fingers skating over his skin was pure heaven. They’d made plans to have dinner together tonight but now he had something else entirely in mind if she was ready.
“Too many clothes,” he growled against her mouth.
Laughing lightly, she pulled back. “I’ve never seen you like this.” Her breathing was erratic, her eyes shades darker than normal as she looked up at him, her wolf peeking through.
The hunger punching through him was a byproduct of the mating heat but… “This is who I am. I’m not normally jealous but I’ll always be possessive and protective of you. That won’t change.” Wolves were more primal than humans by nature, but he still wanted her to know the truth of who he was. To go into this relationship with her eyes wide open.
“Good.” The word was a breathy whisper. Eyes going heavy-lidded, she lifted the hem of her cream-colored sweater and tugged it over her head.
He forgot to breathe as he drank in the sight of her. The scrap of material covering her breasts shouldn’t even be called a bra. Little black lace triangles barely covered her hard, pink nipples. His cock was rock hard, the towel around his waist doing nothing to hide his reaction to her.
Not that he wanted to.
She was his. And while they might not be bonding tonight, he was damn sure going to claim the female—if she’d have him.
“I want to mark you tonight,” he growled out. More than want, he needed to rake his teeth against her skin, to give her his mark. It would be temporary. Only bonding was permanent. But temporary was better than nothing right now and it would show their pack that she was his. He didn’t even trust himself to touch her again until he got the okay from her.
In response, she unbuttoned her jeans and started to push them down, but that was the go-ahead he needed from her. Well, that and the heady scent of hunger rolling off her, making his wolf wild and just a bit out of control.
He took over. Moving swiftly, he had her on her back, stretched out in front of the Christmas tree, the lights flickering off her almost bare body.
She stretched out, making the sweetest sound as he tugged her jeans and panties fully off. Oh yeah, this was what he’d been fantasizing about for a year.
His female splayed out like an offering to him and only him. There would be no other for him, that much he was certain of. Had been since pretty much the moment he’d met her.
“If I’m going to be naked, so are you.” Sitting up, she grasped his towel, yanked it free so that it fell to the ground.
When her eyes widened at the sight of his erection, he felt a hundred feet tall at the pleasure that played across her features. Letting one of his claws free, he carefully sliced through the front of her bra. He’d buy her a new on
e. A hundred more if she wanted. But he couldn’t go another second without seeing her fully naked.
Before the material had fallen away from her, she grasped his cock, taking him by surprise.
Groaning, he rolled his hips into her hold, breathing hard as she stroked him. For several moments he stared down at her working him, watching her hand wrapped around his length. All the muscles in his body were pulled tight, the pleasure of her soft touch almost too much.
“Noel,” he rasped out, gripping her hand and stilling it.
She looked at him, all sultry heat and hunger even though he knew she was a virgin. Which was why he was going to make damn sure she came before he ever got inside her. He wasn’t screwing things up with her.
Shifters were damn superstitious and even if they weren’t bonding tonight, this was still their first time together. He would make it perfect for her. He refused to give her anything less.
“Gotta taste you.” The words tore from his throat, a savage growl. It was the only warning he gave her before he had her back on the soft blankets by the tree, his face between her legs.
She let out a gasp of surprise, but slid her fingers through his hair as he inhaled her exotic scent. It was wild and spicier than normal tonight. Though he wanted to, he didn’t just bury his face into her pussy. He needed to make sure she was ready, to work her up more.
Gently, he flicked his tongue up her slick folds, barely touching her.
She squirmed, her fingers tightening against his scalp even more, with just the hint of claw. The prick of pain only added to how turned on he was.
Keeping his wolf at bay, keeping himself under control until she was primed, was necessary. He flicked his tongue against her again, his teasing soft and gentler than he’d ever been with anyone else. She was sweet, her taste unique, making him think of the desert under a moonlit sky.
“Nathan, more.” Her needy voice cut through his thoughts, the hunger he heard there raw and real.
