by Trina Lane
His hand slid down the smooth expanse of her abdomen and his fingers dipped into the slick creases of tender flesh he longed to drive his cock between. One finger circled the opening of her body, tracing the contours in a lazy pattern. Nicole's thick cream coated his finger and Jaryn spread it around the blood-infused folds. Her hips thrust up towards his hand.
"Jaryn!"
"I want to hear you, sweetheart. Tell me what you want. Tell me about the need raging through your body."
"Oh God...” Nicole panted. “I... I need to be filled. I need you to claim me."
He stared down at the woman he loved, as he fed a single digit into the tight channel of her pussy. “Is that what you needed?"
"More!"
He added a second finger and his thumb brushed over her clit, causing Nicole to arch up and a soft pleading cry to escape from between her lips.
"How about that?"
"Please, Jaryn. You. I need you,” she pleaded.
"You have me, love. I'm inside you just like you asked."
"Your cock. I need your cock."
"All you had to do was ask."
Jaryn rolled onto her body. His arms gathered Nicole close as their bodies rubbed together. Her hard nipples skimmed the hair on his chest. Jaryn cupped one thigh and lifted it. His hips slid into position and his cock nudged the wet opening of her body. He moaned as her pussy stretched around his invasion. He slowly moved up into her, taking his time to fully merge his body with hers. Her fingers dug into his shoulders and her nails scored his skin, adding another sensation on top of the ones already rioting through his system as Nicole's body enveloped his cock in fiery bliss.
"That's right, love. Let me feel your mark."
His voice was raspy even to his own ears. He took a large breath and his torso shuddered. There was a distinct burn on his back as Nicole dragged her fingers up to the top of his shoulders. He started to move, slowly drawing out of her body. The motion made all the nerve endings in the head of his cock jump in excitement and the veins climbing the hard length pulse in a throbbing tempo. Her thighs closed around his hips. Their skin pressed together. The sweat created by their exertions made their motions slick. A whimper rose from her lips as he thrust deep, his entire body heaving against hers. His hand pushed back the damp edges of her hair and he pressed a kiss to her mouth.
He kept his momentum steady, driving his cock deep with each thrust. This wasn't a time to rush their coupling. Jaryn wanted to draw out every moment in Nicole's arms. Pleasure caused his body to tighten and his lower back tingled as their need climbed. His mouth left hers and her neck arched. Jaryn watched her pulse flutter in the moonlight. His teeth grazed the side of her neck. His cock plunged hard enough to rock the bed, and his mate met every thrust with her hips as she pleaded for more. His lungs burned as pleasure washed over him. The wave slammed over him, at the same time Nicole's pussy clamped around his cock. Jaryn held her tight as he buried his cock deep inside her, sank his teeth into his mark, and offered up every ounce of his seed into the clutches of the flesh that milked him to completion.
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Chapter Nine
* * * *
Nicole rolled onto her back without opening her eyes, reaching out beside her for Jaryn. However, instead of the strong warm male body she desired, she found cool cotton. Her lashes slowly lifted, and she turned her head to look at the clock on the bedside table. She smiled when she noticed that the room was darker than it should have been given what the glowing blue numbers implied. She rolled to her right and scooped up Jaryn's pillow, pulling it close. She inhaled his scent from the fabric. How considerate of her mate to activate the smart-dimming windows in their bedroom. He'd quickly realised that nothing bothered her more than waking up to a face full of blinding sunshine.
Nicole curled herself around Jaryn's pillow, reluctant to leave the haven of their bed, knowing that by now Jaryn was already in the air on his way to the Northwoods. What dangers he would face when he got there, Nicole didn't know and quite frankly was scared to contemplate. But time waits for no man or woman, and there was a lot to do while Jaryn was gone. Not the least of which was find out exactly who'd been following her.
She rolled across the expanse of mattress till she reached the edge and pushed until she sat up. Her feet dangled over the side of the mattress and the cool air made her bare skin chilled. The weather had become decidedly colder, and Nicole swore she could scent snow in the air. They were predicting another winter storm to hit sometime in the next twelve hours. When she'd chatted with Landon upon her arrival in town back in September and he'd mentioned the town turning white, Nicole hadn't been quite prepared for exactly what he'd implied. Stonepass had already exceeded what she was used to on an annual basis. When she'd asked Jaryn, he'd laughed and told her that their quaint little town averaged somewhere around seventy inches a year, and it wasn't unheard of for there to still be white stuff on the ground come St. Patrick's Day. She'd been a little shocked, but then logically thought that, as wolves, her mate and his pack probably weren't that fazed by the winter conditions. However, why the humans chose to settle here still bewildered her. In her opinion, mornings like this called for a hot shower then a snuggly place in front of a roaring fire.
A few steps and Nicole found herself in the master bath Jaryn had designed. After taking care of her morning needs and brushing her teeth, she eyed both the shower and sunken tub. While a hot soak did sound nice, she knew only the pounding jets of shower's multiple heads would wake her up.
She tapped the screen of the control panel outside the enclosure to bring it out of hibernation. “Activate for Nicole."
The sound of water hitting the smoothed floor of the stone filled the space, and she stepped under the spray. Nicole felt every single drop of water pelt her skin, and while she'd been hoping for a soothing morning wake-up, the antsy feeling that had plagued her all week seemed to increase.
Over the last several days, she'd tried to hide from Jaryn just how unsettled she was. She tried to talk herself into believing that it was nerves about her mate raiding a compound run by a sadistic wolf, but something deep inside argued. Nicole had even found herself talking out loud, and occasionally she could have sworn she heard a voice answer her back.
She got out of the shower as quickly as possible and hurriedly dressed in a pair of jeans she'd managed to finally break in from the wardrobe Jaryn had bought her when she first arrived. At the time, she'd specifically told him all she needed were a few pairs of jeans and some tops until she got settled and figured out what she was going to do for a job. But Jaryn had spent a fortune, in her estimation, on a full wardrobe he'd bought from department stores on the world network. She smiled as she remembered the time shortly after their mating when she'd come into his home office to find him perusing a lingerie store using the 3D virtual modelling feature and an uploaded scan of herself. Now she thoroughly appreciated not only her mate's generosity, but his taste for good quality clothing.
She went out into the great room and headed for the kitchen, needing her morning infusion of caffeine. The stimulant probably wouldn't help her nerves calm down, but she was a creature of habit.
"There's some coffee already made on the stove."
Nicole jumped and clutched her hand to her chest. “Holy shit, Cooper! Don't startle a woman like that."
Cooper bowed his head and took a step back. “My apologies."
She felt bad about the sharp exclamation. Jaryn had explained to her that the other wolves in the pack now looked at Nicole as being the Alpha female, and as such would actively seek out her praise. Yelling at Cooper probably meant to him that she was displeased with him, which was not at all the truth.
She went over to the window where Cooper stood and placed her hand on his arm. “No, I'm sorry. I'm not much of a morning person and for some reason today that seems to be doubly the case. Thank you for making the coffee."
"I put the kettle on to boil when I heard you
activate the shower. So it should be finished brewing by now."
Nicole smiled. “Come have a cup with me?"
Cooper nodded and they went into the kitchen together. Nicole sat at the table while Cooper brought over the carafe and mugs. He seemed to like doing this for her, and while it went against the training her mother had given about being a proper hostess, at this moment and with this man it felt right.
"I'd like to go visit Jaryn's parents today. I promised Charlie the other day that I'd help him with his science project."
A little grin arched the corners of Cooper's mouth, but he quickly covered it with the rim of his mug.
"Better watch out. That pup will have you twisted around his little tail in no time, and you'll find yourself doing most of the work."
Nicole laughed and for the first time in days a lighter emotion filled her heart. “You forget that I was a teacher. I know all the tricks kids pull to get out of an assignment. Don't you worry about me."
"We'll have to contact them to make sure they're home. I won't leave the house without express knowledge that we have a secured location waiting for us. Also we'll take the back way through the pack lands. The main roads may not be safe."
"I leave myself in your capable hands. So now that we have that out of the way, I'd like to revisit our discussion that was so rudely interrupted the other day. Are you seeing anyone?"
Cooper rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I don't believe that was part of our discussion."
"Oh, come on. I'm going stir crazy here. I need some gossip to keep my head from rotating on the axis of my neck."
"No, what you need is a target to focus all that restless energy on, and I have just the thing. Follow me.” Cooper got up from the table and walked into Jaryn's home office. He sat at Jaryn's desk and powered up the E-sphere.
Nicole sat in the chair beside Cooper. It was a little weird to see Cooper sitting at Jaryn's desk, but obviously whatever task he had in mind required the use of her mate's computer. Nicole eyed the wall and watched as Cooper opened the word processing document she'd written, listing all the inhabitants of Adam's compound that she could remember.
"We're going to go through this list and examine who we think are the most likely suspects for our watchers."
"What good is that going to do?"
"If I know who I'm fighting then I can get the information I need to know how to fight them."
"All right, let me think."
Nicole closed her eyes for a moment. She let her mind drift back to Wisconsin. It would most likely be one of the inhabitants that volunteered to be a part of Adam's pack, or one of the security detail. It simply didn't make sense that Adam would send shifters that were prisoners? That certainly narrowed the list down as there were only a handful of individuals in Adam's intimate circle. There was Greg, but he was a huge bear shifter. Not exactly built for blending in and shadowy observations. There was Frank, a lynx. He was most definitely capable of silently stalking his prey. But Frank was as cold as they came. He'd given Nicole the creeps from the moment they met, and the voices they'd overheard sounded more innocent and inquisitive than sinister. But in reality it could be anyone. Adam had those people so completely under his control that there was no telling who he would have sent. She wouldn't put it past him to threaten one of the prisoner's loved ones if they didn't come to Stonepass and report Nicole's every move. Adam was a master manipulator. He could give the world's scariest interrogators a run for their money.
"Coop, there're so many possibilities. It could be any of them. Hell, it could be someone that I don't even know exists. I had more freedom than most, but I didn't have access to all parts of the compound."
"Okay, then tell me about all of them."
She stared at him, as it was evident that she was now dealing with Sheriff or possibly even Lieutenant Tessen. There was little of the smiling jokester who'd made her laugh a couple of days ago present stern man beside her. Nicole examined the list, trying to decide where to start.
Suddenly there was a loud crash from the living room. Cooper was up from the chair and out the door before Nicole could process his hurried order to hide somewhere safe. She looked around the office. Under the desk would be too obvious. The closet wasn't an option because it was full of shelving. She looked to full curtains draping on either side of the wide window, but she'd seen enough horror movies to know that intruders always looked there. There was really only one option.
Nicole pushed open the window and climbed out. Too bad she wasn't trapped on the other side of the house. She could've sneaked out one of the French doors leading to the stone patio. Instead she had to pretend she was a teenager trying to sneak out of the house in the dead of night once again. Nicole managed to slip through the window quietly with ease.
Guess I'm not as rusty as I thought.
She got down on all fours in the snow covered field. Her jeans were quickly soaked and her hands became numb, but a little discomfort was worth her life. Worse, though, was the wind. Her face felt as though each blast stripped layers of her skin away, and her hair whipped around her head to the point where it was actually difficult to see. She was very grateful in this moment that Jaryn kept the land around his home mostly in its natural state. The meadow had plenty of shrubs and rocky outcroppings for her to hide behind. She was making her way over towards the car when the front door opened and Cooper ran out, calling her name.
"Cooper!” She scrambled up to her feet and ran towards her designated protector. She threw herself at him and was very thankful when his warm strong arms encircled her.
He ushered her inside and shut the front door. “Are you insane? There's a storm blowing in! I told you to hide, not commit suicide."
Nicole went over to the fireplace and knelt in front of the flames, holding the red skin of her hands out. Tiny pins poked beneath the surface as they thawed. “There wasn't anywhere in the office to hide. Not anywhere that wasn't obvious anyway. I was making my way to the car. It's not like I was stupid enough to take off without proper gear. And what the hell happened out here?"
"That was me, Nicole."
She spun around and found Jeff leaning against the door to the office. “What are you doing here?"
Jeff stared straight at Nicole. “I came to tell Cooper that I think I might have your watchers in custody."
"How did you get in the house? The system wouldn't have unlocked the doors for you automatically."
"The door wasn't locked. I knocked but I guess the two of you were busy with something else.” He arched his eyebrow and looked back and forth between Cooper and Nicole.
Nicole stood then strode over to push Jeff back into the wall. His eyes widened a little at the strength behind the shove. “How dare you imply anything inappropriate between Cooper and me! I love my mate, and Cooper would never be so disrespectful towards his Alpha—something I obviously can't say about you. Now inform Cooper of what you supposedly came to tell him and get out of my home."
Nicole turned her back on Jeff and crossed the living room to hers and Jaryn's bedroom. She slammed the door shut and paced around the room. Something about Jeff didn't sit right. Aside from his gross insubordination not only towards Jaryn, his Alpha, but Cooper, his superior officer. Something about the man's eyes raised Nicole's hackles.
She stripped her clothes and donned dry ones. Part of her wanted to hide in the bedroom all day—curled up in front of a fire in the stone fireplace just like the one on the other side of the wall in the living room. The other part of her wanted to storm back out there and confront Jeff by demanding answers to her questions.
Nicole had turned to make another circuit around the room when there was a quiet knock on the door.
"Nicole? It's Cooper. He's gone."
She walked over the door and slowly opened it. When she saw that it was in fact her protector, she let the door swing open. “Is it over? Does he really have the watchers in custody?"
Cooper leaned on the doorframe and crosse
d his arms. He frowned and Nicole wasn't assured by the pensive look in his eyes.
"He says he has two men in lockup. When I asked him on what charges, he told me he arrested them based on outstanding warrants."
"That makes no sense. I can with almost complete certainty guarantee then that they aren't Adam's goons. Adam would have had his tech wizard Jasper wipe out any hint of criminal record for the people who are there willingly, and for those who aren't...well, of those I actually met, they just aren't those kind of men and women."
"You'd be surprised who can have a warrant out for their arrest. If any of them had outstanding speeding tickets, before their kidnapping for instance. A fairly minimal charge, but if the fine wasn't paid or the person didn't appear in court then a warrant is automatically issued. Unpaid parking tickets will get you a warrant. It's not only hardened criminals the police are looking for."
"Well, damn. So what you're saying is, the men Jeff took may or may not have anything to do with Adam or our watchers."
"Pretty much.” Cooper unfolded his arms then rested a hand on Nicole's shoulder. “Sorry. Look, why don't I give the Chaunterels a call. I think we need a break from all this. You can go over for a nice visit and relax for a few hours, and I can touch base with Jaryn and the task force."
Nicole nodded and smiled up at Cooper. “Thanks."
* * * *
"Nic, you came!"
Nicole hugged Charlie for a second. “I told you I would. Now where is this project of yours?"
