Having no success, Kathy glared at her daughter. “Roni!”
Blinking in surprise, Roni demanded, “How is this my fault? God, you’d blame me for the fall of Eve if you damn well could.” Roni was probably right, though Ally was coming to suspect that Kathy only used her daughter as a scapegoat to keep her on her toes.
Suddenly Eli came storming over, pointing his cell phone at his sister. “Oh my God! I can’t believe you did that!”
Leaving the siblings to argue over whatever prank was now being played, Ally headed to her mate. She had to smile at the sight of him holding a chuckling Willow, who was tugging hard on his hair. “Everything okay over here?” Damn, he looked edible in that gray shirt and those dark pants.
Derren tickled the little girl under her arm, making her release him with another chuckle. “She likes to see me in pain. She’s a sadist.”
“My daughter is not a sadist.” Shaya took her daughter with a playful huff.
“She shoved a breadstick up Greta’s nose.”
“Because she senses evil.”
Derren blinked. “I can’t argue with that.” With another huff, Shaya walked away to join Stone, Brad, and Wyatt. Glad to be alone with his mate, Derren yanked her against him and took a moment to sip and nip at her lips. “I missed you.”
“I was gone five minutes.”
“And in those five minutes, I was repeatedly assaulted by an infant. You weren’t here to protect me.” He hungrily devoured his mate with his eyes as she scooped some of the chocolate cake into her mouth. She looked truly amazing in that silk, midthigh coral dress with her hair slightly curled and hanging loose around her shoulders. He just wanted to lick every inch of her. His wolf wanted to take a big bite.
“At least I didn’t leave you with my uncle Chase.” Cain and her uncles had returned home the day after Kerrie and Miranda’s execution, but they had come back to—or, more accurately, snuck back onto—Mercury territory the previous night with two of her other foster uncles. Whereas Sam seemed to like her mate, Chase did nothing but grunt and scowl at him . . . purely to fuck with him.
“No amount of animosity could make me hate your uncles.” The news they had brought on their arrival had shocked the shit out of Derren. At Ally’s request, the males had done some investigating and meddling, and they’d managed to achieve something Derren hadn’t ever imagined would occur: they’d cleared his name.
In Cain’s words, “It was just a matter of putting the right pressure on the right people.” And since the sociopath had also had The Movement backing him, he’d done it quickly too. Despite the false accusation no longer hanging over Derren, he’d had very few apologies from his old pack. His sister had been one of those to contact him, despite her mate’s disbelief. Derren was simply glad to no longer feel the weight of a guilt that didn’t belong to him.
“Oh, look out, here comes the old dragon.” Ally smiled as Jaime, Dante, Dominic, Trick, Ryan, Tao, and Greta approached. Other than the dragon, they all once again congratulated Ally and Derren, making complimentary comments about the ceremony. Well . . . Ryan merely grunted his agreement to the others’ compliments, but still.
Noticing that Trey’s grandmother was sneering at her, Ally arched a brow. “You do realize you can’t kill me with your glare, right?”
Greta narrowed her eyes. “You might have healed my Roni after she was shot, but I still don’t trust you. I’ll never like Seers.” Tao and Trick rolled their eyes.
Tilting her head, Ally studied the woman from head to toe. “I guess Satan appears in all sorts of packages.”
When Jaime laughed, Greta huffed at the Phoenix Beta female. “You find her funny, do you?”
Jaime wagged her finger, leaning back into her mate, who wrapped his arms around her. “Now, now . . . Just because you’re so old the Three Wise Men helped you with your homework doesn’t mean you need to take it out on me.”
Dominic smiled at Ally. “If you were my homework, I’d do you on the table.” Trick yanked him aside before Derren’s fist could connect with the prick’s face.
Tao shook his head at the enforcer. “Dom, why do you want to die?”
“We should get him away before Derren breaks his nose again,” proposed Trick. Grunting, Ryan—who seemed to mostly communicate in grunts—grabbed a laughing Dominic by the back of his shirt while Trick and Tao followed.
Derren was about to suggest to Ally that they leave . . . but then Taryn, Trey, Marcus, and Roni—who had Kye wrapped around her like a boa constrictor—approached.
Greta gazed at Roni adoringly and kissed her on the cheek. “Hi, sweetheart.”
Tightening his grip possessively on Roni’s neck, Kye frowned at his great-grandmother as he firmly stated, “Mine.” The kid loved Roni.
“We know, we know,” Greta gently assured him. “Roni, you look beautiful tonight. Doesn’t she, Marcus?”
Looking awed, Taryn leaned into Roni’s other side and whispered, “Roni, once again I have to ask: How did you do it? How did you get her to like you?”
Planting one hand on her hip, Greta turned a glower on Taryn. “Whispering again? You’re no better than Dante’s sorry excuse for a mate.” Jaime smiled at that while Dante groaned into his mate’s neck.
Taryn sniffed at the dragon. “Easy there, Old Mother Hubbard. You’re just mad because the Wrinkle Fairy did a tap dance on your face again.”
As an argument between Taryn and Greta then commenced, Trey sighed tiredly. He spoke to both Derren and Ally as he said, “You won’t believe it, but my mate and Greta actually like each other.”
Derren cocked his head. “Yeah . . . I don’t believe it.” Done with these crazy people, he whispered into his mate’s ear, “Let’s go home. I want to be alone with you.”
Just as quietly, Ally replied, “We shouldn’t. It’s our party.” But then she smiled. “Yeah, let’s go.”
They kissed, fondled, and laughed all the way back to their lodge. Closing the door behind them, Derren grazed his teeth over his claiming mark. “Finally I have you all to myself.” He doubted he’d ever be okay with sharing her, even as he knew it was both childish and selfish. But he figured he had a right to be at least a little selfish about his mate. “Tonight, I want to take you in our bed. For a change.”
It was true that since they both seemed to have instant-gratification issues when it came to sex, they often didn’t make it to the bed. “Then you’d better let me go.”
His hands flexed on her ass. “I don’t want to.” But he released her. “Upstairs.” The little minx stripped as she walked, so that she was wearing only her black lacy thong by the time she reached the bedroom. Apparently wanting to tease him, she did a little feline stretch that pushed out her ass and pulled a growl from his wolf.
Taking off his shirt, Derren came up behind her and splayed his hand on her stomach, looming over her as he spoke slowly into her ear, enunciating every word. “When I saw you walking toward me to begin the mating ceremony, all I wanted to do was flip up your little dress and fuck you right there in front of everybody.” His hand snaked up to span her throat. “But we both know I’m much too possessive to let anyone else see what you look like when you come. Because you’re mine and only mine,” he added with a low growl. “Aren’t you?”
Ally shivered as his hand squeezed her throat—a clear caution not to defy him. His tone was calm, even, confident, and assertive. He was seemingly in the mood to dominate her. Yeah, well, she was in the mood to fight him. “I won’t deny that I’m your mate. I’ll even concede that—”
“There’s no conceding, baby. The situation is what it is. You belong to me.” Releasing her throat, he whispered into her ear, “Turn around.” She did it very, very slowly—a rebellious gesture that was all Ally and made him smile. Sliding a hand to the back of her head, he fisted her hair and tilted her head back. “Always so defiant. Just how I like you.” He licked and kissed her neck, groaning as the scent of her need assaulted his senses. “It’s not going t
o be soft and slow tonight, baby.” He needed her too much. “It’s going to be fast, and hard, and deep.”
“Feel free to get started any minute now.”
“Not yet.” Using his grip on her hair, Derren brought her face to his and took her mouth with a kiss that was dominant, consuming, and demanding—needing to taste and feast on his mate. But he wanted another taste on his tongue too. He pushed her back onto the bed, shoved aside her thong, and thrust a finger inside her. “So fucking wet already.” He loved that.
Bending over her delectable body, he raked his teeth over her nipple. “You’re the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen.” His tongue swirled and licked its way down her body, pausing to deliver suckling bites here and there and renewing any fading marks. At the same time, he teasingly danced the tips of his fingers along her soft skin. When she bucked demandingly, he pinned her flat with a grip on her hip. “I know what you want, but I’m not done here. Now be still and let me make you come.”
Heat and need raged through Ally as his talented mouth lapped, sipped, and licked at her pussy. It was more leisurely than seductive, like this was for him, not her; like he just wanted to taste her, feel her come on his tongue. Still, Ally’s pussy began to spasm, making her feel so much emptier than she already did—a taunting reminder by her body that she didn’t have what she wanted most right then.
“Derren . . .” It was something between a warning and a plea. It was ignored. He continued to feast and gorge, until her body was being tormented by an unrelenting, savage ache; screaming to be filled and fucked. At this point, she was literally burning for him. “Derren, no more.” To her surprise, he didn’t ignore her again. Instead, he plunged two fingers inside her and suckled on her clit, throwing her into a release so intense it stole her breath.
Having shed the rest of his clothes, Derren covered her tremoring body with his. Fuck, her taste drove him as crazy as the scent and feel of her did. His cock hurt and throbbed, wanting to slake its need on the female beneath him. “Ready for me, baby?” He didn’t give her time to answer, just grabbed her hips and lunged. Her pussy was swollen from her orgasm, but he thrust hard and deep until his balls slapped against her. Her slick pussy was blazing hot as it tightened around him almost possessively. He rolled them so he was flat on his back with her straddling him. “Ride me.”
Any other time, Ally might have teased him with slow, easy downward thrusts. But right now, she felt like she’d lose her freaking mind if she didn’t come soon. Digging the tips of her claws into his solid abs, she impaled herself on him over and over. Her pace was fast and relentless, her body hurting with the need to rid herself of the burning ache inside her.
“That’s it, Ally. Fuck yourself on me.” Tangling a hand in her hair, Derren pulled her down so he could bite and suck at her neck. Her movements became even more frantic, and her soft little moans turned into desperate whimpers. He could feel how badly she needed to come, could sense her frustration at being unable to reach that peak. He flipped them over and rode her hard. His cock plunged in and out of her pussy as he took, owned, and possessed her.
Ally’s back arched as she went plummeting into her second orgasm, but he didn’t stop, didn’t even falter in his pace. His dark eyes gleamed with raw unadulterated hunger, looked at her like he believed he had every right to touch and take her as and when he pleased. But there was also total adoration burning there—a love she could feel through their bond.
“Get ready to come again,” he growled into her ear. Withdrawing from her body, he got to his knees, gripped her hips, and yanked her toward him as he thrust as deep as he could go. Each time he slammed into her, he jerked her to him, hitting her sweet spot with every thrust. He knew he’d never get enough of her, that nothing would ever be more important to him than her. Knew he’d always need her, always crave her. Not just her body, but everything about her—her smile, her eyes, her laugh, her prickly nature. She was burrowed deep inside him, exactly where she belonged.
“Fucking come. Now.” Then she said three little words, and he lost all hold on the little control he had left. “Jesus, baby.” He pounded into her so hard he knew it had to hurt, but he couldn’t stop. Her body bowed as she screamed, and her lusciously hot pussy tightened, quivered, and contracted around him—milking him, making him come so fucking hard, and dragging every ounce of come from his cock.
Sated and drained, he collapsed on top of his mate. Her eyes were closed, and her body had practically melted into the mattress, shaking with aftershocks. He kissed her forehead before rolling onto his side, keeping her locked against him. She fit there perfectly. “Love you, baby.” All he got in response was a dreamy smile. “You okay?”
She didn’t open her eyes. “Best. Day. Ever.”
He laughed. Considering it had been their mating ceremony, followed by some seriously hot sex, he’d have to agree. He inhaled deeply, taking her warm, sex-spiced scent inside his lungs. “I love how you smell after we have sex.” It made him want to fuck her all over again.
She released a soft, happy sigh as his tongue lapped idly at her neck. Her wolf basked in his attention and reverence. “Is that your cell beeping?”
It was. Reaching over the bed, he pulled the phone out of the pocket of his discarded jeans. And growled at what he saw.
“What’s wrong?”
“Dominic,” he bit out, going back to cuddling his mate. “The little shit sent me a message with some tips on how to give multiple orgasms.”
“That’s not too bad.” For Dominic.
“And asked if I want him to join us.”
Her chuckle made Derren growl again. She play-punched his shoulder. “Lighten up, learn to laugh a little. He’s not serious. He just does it to needle you. Instead of always reacting violently, you should try ignoring him.”
Yeah, but . . . “I don’t want to.” What Derren wanted was to lunge at the prick again, then ensure Ally didn’t heal him this time.
“You know, you could try being a little remorseful for your earlier actions. You broke his nose. Twice.”
“Now who needs to lighten up?”
“Derren.”
He sighed. “Okay, I’m sorry.”
She snorted. “No, you’re not.”
“I’ll ignore him next time.”
“No, you won’t.”
“Which is exactly why this conversation is pointless.” Nuzzling her, he smoothed a hand down her back to softly shape her ass. “We should talk about how much you love me instead.”
“We should?” She smiled, teasing, “I don’t know if I should risk it. I mean, those three words tend to get me fucked a lot, and I need a little time to recover.”
He bit her neck. “Say it.”
“Fine. I love you, even if you are a pushy, interfering fucker at times.”
“And I love you, even if I do keep catching you using my razor to shave your legs.”
“One time. That happened one time.”
He chuckled. “So easy to rile up.” Toppling her onto her back, he smoothly drove his cock back inside her. “I still don’t know why I like that.”
Curling her limbs around him, she smiled. “Let’s just be glad that you do.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you so very, very much to my family for all your endless support, patience, and acceptance of my social ineptness. I apologize for all the times I nod along to what you’re saying when, really, I’ve zoned out because I’m stuck in my book.
Massive thanks to my editor, JoVon Sotak, and the rest of the Montlake Team—including Jessica Poore, who’s always ready to help, and Melody Guy, who always has the best ideas and advice. You’re all amazing.
Lastly, an enormous thanks to anyone who has taken a chance on this book. I sincerely hope you enjoyed it! If for any reason you would like to contact me, please feel free to e-mail me at [email protected]. I can also be reached on Facebook, Twitter, and my blog.
Take care!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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br /> Photo © 2012 Steven Wright
Author Suzanne Wright, a native of England, can’t remember a time when she wasn’t creating characters and telling their tales. Even as a child, she loved writing poems, plays, and stories; as an adult, Wright has published ten novels: From Rags, Burn, three Deep in Your Veins novels, four books in the Phoenix Pack series, and this, the first book in the Mercury Pack series. Wright, who lives in Liverpool with her husband and two children, freely admits she hates housecleaning and can’t cook, but that she always shares chocolate.
Website: www.suzannewright.co.uk
Blog: www.suzannewrightsblog.blogspot.co.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/suz_wright
Facebook: www.facebook.com/suzannewrightfanpage
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