by Knox, Abby
Without another word, Gavin picked her up with his two beefy hands and rolled her onto her back. It seemed to take no effort for him to change her position. “Then let me do the work. We’ll figure it out together. Remember, I’ve never done this before either.”
The two of them shared a laugh that turned into gasping as Gavin started to move inside her. The gentle slide in and out felt so delicious, but her need was not satisfied. It only expanded; she needed to be touched everywhere. She rolled her hips into him, and his thrusts grew slightly rougher and deeper. This was a revelation, a rediscovery of parts of her that only she had touched in secret before. Their shared friction allowed her clit to make contact with his hard, pumping body. The sensation gave no relief to the ache, only made her more desperate.
Each time her clit made contact, she dug her nails into Gavin’s back, and he answered her with curses, grunts, and growls she’d never heard from another human.
“Fucking hell. So tight, sweetheart.”
Her feelings were everywhere. She wanted to laugh, to cry, but mostly she wanted to get closer. Impossible, she thought. There was no distance between them. Still, Chastity’s legs seemed to act on their own and locked around Gavin, trying with all her human strength to bring him in closer.
Gavin grunted louder with the rhythmic effort of each thrust, his face a combination of attention, care, but also a deepening, fierce need.
“Tell me what you need, sweetheart,” he rasped, his beard tickling her neck as he lowered his head to speak close to her ear. “It’s okay, it’s me. Tell me.”
She finally said it. “I need you to touch my clit, but I don’t want to let you get farther away from me.”
Chastity felt silly admitting this. He was right there. She knew he wasn’t going anywhere. But her body didn’t know it.
Gavin never paused when he reached down between them to strum her aching clit.
To her delight, her body’s reaction to this was far more intense than the rolling and thrusting of her hips against his groin.
Something changed inside her, as if someone had flipped a switch. Chastity no longer cared about anything but this. The past and the future were meaningless; she was for the first time in her life completely immersed in the moment, and she had never felt so happy.
Chastity was the wrong name for her. Her body was built for pleasure as much as her curious mind. She smiled like a feline demon and clamped her sex hard around his shaft.
“Fuck,” he moaned. His voice sent electricity up her spine.
“Do you remember if I made you come last night, sweetheart?”
Chastity groaned. “I wish I could remember.”
Gavin’s breath hitched, his voice trembling over with emotion. “I’m never letting you forget me again.”
She was beyond words now. Words were replaced by something else. Chastity hardly recognized this primal, feral part of her rising to the surface.
Nobody could tell them that the two opposing magical beasts could not mix, because if this felt so perfect, it could not be wrong. The pull of pure animal instinct could not be denied.
The release took hold of them both at the peak of overwhelming pleasure, seeing them both howling, snapping, desperately scratching, and biting.
The pair let go of their grip on each other as the beasts took over completely. Chastity transformed into her sleek, black panther and Gavin his wild, powerful wolf.
The snarling, hissing, and growling abated, soon replaced by playful canine nips. Chastity retracted her claws as she batted her mate’s snout.
Both creatures would have been lethal to the other had either of them remained human at this moment. But they both calmed down and, instead, played. The two opposing creatures pounced, wrestled, and knocked over priceless spindly furniture. Eventually, the panther and the wolf grew tired and nestled into the bed together for a much-needed sleep. Chastity relaxed in the curve of her mate’s abdomen and rested, letting the room dissolve into nothing but the contented sounds of wolf sighs and cat purrs.
Chapter Twelve
Chastity
Rosemary and Ash’s wedding was as perfect and as imperfect as it should have been. Everyone was a little tipsy by the time the ceremony rolled around because the bridal party had extended the cocktail hour into two hours while the groomsmen executed their plan to get Uncle Lionel to the ceremony.
When Gavin had taken Chastity’s arm in his to walk up the aisle, wearing a tailored suit, long hair neatly combed into a man-bun, his beard freshly trimmed, she thought he looked like a movie star.
It was thrilling to see all the last-minute surprises that the couple had included. But they weren’t the only ones with surprises up their sleeves. When the officiant had asked if anyone had any reason why this couple should not be joined in marriage, everyone held their breath when Uncle Lionel stood up.
But instead of saying what everybody thought he would say, it went in a slightly different direction. In the end, Uncle Lionel had surprised everyone, in more than one way. But that would be another story for Uncle Lionel to tell for himself.
After all this excitement, Chastity was ready for the wedding drama to end and for life to finally start.
“Let’s get out of here,” she said, pulling Gavin by the tie and tugging him in the direction of the gangway.
“Dance with me,” he said. “I need to tell you something.”
Chastity was less in the mood to dance and more in the mood to disappear with her new hulk of a boyfriend…but suddenly, the air around them turned ice cold.
Her father, Theodore, blocked their path to the dance floor. She’d been avoiding this conversation for the last two days.
“I just want you to know I see what’s happening here, and I would like to remind you about your solemn oath, young lady.”
Gavin, without another word, stepped in to block Theodore from towering over Chastity. “She’s 22 years old and doesn’t owe you anything.”
Theodore said, “I’ve seen you. I’ve seen the way you and the rest of the filthy wolves look at our females. God knows why Lionel allowed you people to marry into our family. There’s a lot to consider, starting with your trust fund, missy.”
Chastity put her hand on Gavin’s shoulder. “Daddy. I’m not your young lady or your missy. I know you mean well, and I know that the trust fund was meant to take care of me when I decide to get married. Well, Gavin and I are together, and I don’t need your money.”
Theodore thought on this a moment. “You’ll have a lot more to contend with than money. If you let a damn dirty wolf have his way with you, take your purity away from you, I’m bound by our oath to kill him before the wedding. You know I don’t have a murderous bone in my body, Chastity. I didn’t think it would play out like this. I was just trying to scare you. But now, if you take one more step into this relationship, I’m bound by magic.”
A high-pitched but soft voice interrupted the discussion then, as Chastity’s mother, Irene, entered the conversation. “Perhaps then you should not go messing around with tourist-voodoo-shop magic, Theodore.”
All four pairs of eyes turned and landed on Irene.
“Mrs. DuChamp,” Gavin said, nodding as she held out her hand. Gavin, not knowing what to do with it, held on to it and shook it. Chastity stifled a giggle.
“Irene, what in the Sam Hill are you talking about?” Theodore blustered.
Irene said, “I found out from my sister-in-law that that voodoo shop you bought that book from is owned by an old friend of the Boudreauxs. Miss Lucy comes from a long line of voodoo priestesses, and she sold you the same joke book of spells she sells to out-of-towners.”
Theodore’s eyes widened. “Excuse me?”
“It’s over, Theo. I love you, but your reign is over. That is, if you want any kind of relationship with your half-blood grandchildren.”
Both Chastity and Gavin started at this. “Mama, what?”
Irene replied, “A mother knows. That’s real magic.”
>
Leaving both Gavin and Chastity stunned, Irene led Theodore away from the dance floor to get a drink at the bar.
Gavin and Chastity talked about what they had just witnessed, both reeling from this new bit of news.
As they slow danced, the talking and the making of plans gave way to joking, which inevitably ended up in the arena of teasing, tickling, kissing, and dirty talking.
Gavin had decided to torture her by whispering in her ear, “You don’t know this, but watching you stand up to your daddy like that got me all kinds of horny.”
She giggled. “You getting in between the two of us did the same for me. I wondered what your plan was. Were you going to knock him down? I wondered, because even if he was in the wrong to invoke magic, I would not have wanted that.”
Gavin shrugged. “I don’t know what I would have done if he pushed things too far. I didn’t have a plan. All I know is he got me wound up. In fact, I’m still kind of wound up.”
Chastity quirked up an eyebrow. “Same kind of wound up as I am right now?”
His voice dropped an octave, and he murmured wickedly into her ear. “And something else, that ballgown is making me want to pound you like a jackhammer. I’m gonna suck the juice out of you while you’re still wearing it.”
Gripping the front of his shirt in her fist, she said, “Big boy, you better make that happen right now because I don’t think I can wait until we get back to your apartment.”
She indeed could not wait, and neither could he.
Chapter Thirteen
Gavin
As soon as Chastity had given him the green light right there during the reception, they had gone on a hunt all over that damn riverboat for a private location. Hilariously, they had opened a broom closet only to come across his pack mate Vann and Chastity’s other cousin, GiGi.
They had finally found an empty bathroom on the lower deck that had a separate lounge area with a small settee. It was a pretty damn fancy riverboat. One heavy armchair pushed against the door to keep it closed, and they were in business.
Turns out giving oral pleasure underneath that ballgown was just as hot as Gavin had imagined. His fingers gripped the top of her thigh-high stockings as he knelt in front of her. Her crinolines and silk that got in the way just made it all that much better, serving as a reminder of how inappropriate it was to be shoving his face in someone’s pussy in the middle of a wedding reception. Damn. This was working for him. The garter belts and thong and all the other contraptions he had to push out of his way to access her sweetness were no match for his hunger. Holy shit, she became hotter, sweeter, and wetter with every nip, every squeeze. He could not believe how lucky he was to own this delicious female for as long as he wanted. And he wanted her forever.
“Gavin, nobody’s ever done this to me before. I’m so happy it’s you.”
The lips between her legs were made for his kisses. Built to be pleasured by his lips and tongue.
His hands were made for creating beautiful art, but nothing he had ever drawn could compare with how beautiful she was between her thighs. He smiled as he sent her through the roof, arching her back with spasms of bliss. He wondered for a moment if she would be opposed to him tattooing an image of her pussy somewhere on himself. It might be a ridiculous idea. But weren’t they already pretty ridiculous?
After ditching the end of the reception—they’d stayed long enough for a piece of GiGi’s amazing cake—Chastity and Gavin held hands as they drove to the tattoo shop. They were both exhausted and happy and satisfied. But Chastity wanted to change out of her ballgown now.
“You don’t have to stay at my tiny apartment for the rest of your stay in New Orleans. I can get you a hotel room if you don’t want to go back to your uncle’s place. I’ll get your luggage,” Gavin said.
She chided him. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m moving in.”
Gavin frowned a bit and said, “Babe, you’ve seen my place. I don’t have room for all your clothes in my closet. I assume.”
She laughed. “No, you don’t. But fuck that. Mama and Daddy can keep all my shit. I’m starting over. I’m moving in, getting a job, going to art school, and living with you above the Pho Palace.”
“Well, babe, you can’t wear that dress to work at the tattoo parlor.”
“Who says I’m going to work at the tattoo parlor?”
Gavin growled and squeezed her hand. “I meant it when I said I wasn’t letting you out of my sight. It’s your choice. I can teach you how to do ink, or you can be support staff.”
Chastity clucked at him but ultimately acquiesced. “But listen. If I find another job that pays better, you’re just going to have to suck it up.”
Keeping his eyes on the road as he parked the car in front of his tattoo parlor, he replied, “You can sell shirts at my store with your art on it.”
Chas perked up. “Oh. Okay, then. You got yourself an employee.”
Gavin laughed as he put the car in park and leaned over, planting a sloppy, joyful kiss on her mouth.
She laughed. “You kiss like a puppy.”
“You love it. Now let’s get you changed before you terrify my customers. The shop has some shirts in your size.”
At the tattoo shop, which Gavin had closed for the day because of the wedding, he was surprised to see Manny.
“Manny, what are you doing here?” Gavin asked.
His longtime employee answered, “Oh, just cleaning up a mess.”
Weird. Gavin let it slide and then asked, “Hey, it’s a good thing you’re here, ‘cause we need to talk. Remember yesterday when I asked you if you’d seen me in here the morning after Ash’s bachelor party? Why did you lie?”
Manny was staring creepily at them in the dark, the streetlights from outside the window making ominous shadows along his square face.
“Because my plan didn’t work.”
Gavin’s stomach suddenly tied into a knot. And then the truth started to dawn. A memory came back. The needles. When he and Chas were drunkenly getting prepped for their matching tattoos, Manny had said something like, “Here, boss, use these needles, I just cleaned ‘em.”
“Manny? What did you do?”
Manny scoffed. “You know what I did. You know the clans are not supposed to mix. I did what I had to do.”
“You poisoned us? How?” Gavin was dumbstruck.
Manny laughed. “You’re so naïve, man. I put a hex on the ink so you would lose control and turn on each other. So you would show yourself to her and then the wolf would do to the cat what a wolf is supposed to do.”
Chastity laughed out loud. “That voodoo stuff isn’t real!”
Manny pointed a finger at her. “You’re a shapeshifter, but you think voodoo isn’t real? How do you think we all ended up this way? I bind you, little girl.”
And with that, Chastity was shoved by some invisible force to sit down. She struggled to get up out of the padded client chair, but it was no use.
Gavin felt the knot in his stomach grow to a full-blown urge to kill Manny with his bare hands, but at the same moment, Manny was faster. Gavin’s arms and legs were not responding, but moving as if controlled by magic.
“Gav, buddy, just because you hired a wolf doesn’t mean you hired a friend. If you want to prevent a dark practitioner from coming into your space and using the magics to protect the clan, then you really are not seeing the big picture. It’s too bad the hallucinogens didn’t work on you two, but this is better. It will be so much more of a tragic story. The debutante and her forbidden lover found dead in a murder-suicide pact.”
“You’re demented,” Gavin spat out.
“And you’re almost dead,” Manny said. “You won’t listen to reason, and spells don’t seem to work. So now I do what I have to do. Say your goodbyes, lovebirds.”
Gavin watched helplessly as Manny sauntered over to Chastity, who was struggling to move away from him, fighting against invisible restraints. Manny pulled out a .22 pistol from inside his leather vest. He pre
ssed it against her temple, then traced it down toward the lower back side of her skull. She whimpered and tears fell as she made eye contact with Gavin. Gavin grunted and kicked.
“Don’t worry,” Manny said, his voice flat with the tone of a sociopath. “I’ll make it quick.”
Gavin finally stopped his fighting and snarling and just stared into Chastity’s eyes with as much tenderness as he could muster. He did not want her last memory to be of him acting like a mad, caged animal.
If this was going to be their last moment on earth, he wanted her to feel calm and loved. Gavin could lay Manny flat as a pancake in a fair fight. But this was not a fair fight, and unless the voodoo spell wore off soon, this was the end of everything.
Chastity looked back at him and seemed to understand. The two lovers would their last moment together by making it their own. They both understood that no matter what happened, there was no Manny, there was no pistol, and there was no invisible magic holding them apart. It was just them, and in the end, that’s all that mattered.
And then, something strange crossed over Chas’s face.
It started with a smile.
Gavin was not sure what this meant, but he was sure of one thing: He had hope.
Chapter Fourteen
Chastity
Leave it to Chastity to give away the element of surprise.
She wasn’t expecting to see in the dark a pair of wolfish eyes reflecting the light, lurking in the shadows behind Manny. So when she and the wolf made eye contact, Manny followed her gaze.
Chastity didn’t know which was worse: him tracing lines around her face with the barrel of his handgun like a freaking psychopath, or letting her captor know that the cavalry had arrived.
Her inability to maintain a poker face was going to get this new wolf killed—a wolf she hoped and prayed was one of Gavin’s pack matess.
In the split second before the chaos, Chastity also spotted another presence, her fellow bridesmaid, Pen, her silver gown glinting in the light. No, god, what was she doing here?
