“Um, okay.” She frowned, confused and disappointed. She’d expected a kiss. “Who will I ride?”
“You’re riding Sleipnir.” He spoke over his shoulder as he moved to get the tack.
“You let other people ride your horse?”
He grinned as he threw the blanket and saddle across the Hunter’s back.
“No. I let my mate ride my horse. Y’all need to get acquainted.” He tightened and double-checked the saddle, then slipped the bit into Sleipnir’s mouth. “Come on, give me your little foot. You’re short, you know that?”
She punched his biceps, feeling perversely proud of the flinch he couldn’t quite hide, then put her foot in his laced hands and bounded onto the big horse’s back with glee.
“Who will you—? What are you doing?” she exclaimed as he grasped the saddle horn and swung up behind her.
“Push up, baby.” He thrust his pelvis against her backside and chuckled when she scooted forward with an irritable “humph!”
She found it hard to concentrate—or breathe—with his arms around her, her head against his chest, his breath in her ear…his cock pressing into the cleft of her butt through her thin sweatpants.
“I’ve never ridden double with another adult,” she fretted.
“Me neither. But it already feels like fun.” He Elvis’d her again, pushing against her until her lady bits almost rubbed the saddle horn. She bit her lip, repressing both a giggle and a moan.
“Will he be okay with both of us? What about the weight?”
Cade’s breath tickled her neck when he laughed. “He’ll be fine. We’re not running.” Sleipnir gigged along easily. “You don’t weigh anything anyway. Just mind your balance.” He shifted behind her and thrust forward a little.
“Cade! You’re gonna make me lose my seat!”
“Thought you knew how to ride.”
“Asshole,” she muttered.
He kissed her cheek again. “Oh, hush. Ask for a canter.”
“That’s too fast with both of us, he’ll get—”
“Jesus, Allison. You argue with everything I say!”
“No, I don’t! And watch your language!”
He put his hands over hers on the reins and shifted his weight deep into the saddle. She instinctively loosened her grip on the reins and deepened her seat as well. Soon they were cantering across the gently sloping fields beside the riding ring, headed west away from the compound.
In just a few seconds she and Cade were riding the canter in perfect tandem. She forgot her pique and lost herself in the joy of the ride.
His scent enveloped her as she relaxed into his broad chest and listened to his heart pounding against her back. She stared at the big, calloused hands gripping the saddle horn, hands she knew could stroke her tenderly or hold her down while he drove her wild. For now she was content to ride with the wind in her face and Cade at her back.
“Is the weather always perfect in Colorado?”
“Around here, in summertime, usually. Have you ever been in snow?”
“Just vacation snow. I saw it, I threw snowballs, I went home. I’ve never lived in it.”
“You’ll love it. We’ll go up to the mountains for Christmas, just the four of us.”
A few minutes passed before she said in a carefully neutral tone, “Must be nice.”
“What?”
“Knowing that everyone’s going to do what you want them to do.”
“It’s good to be the Alpha.” He sighed. “The burdens are great, the responsibilities heavy, but the rewards are—”
“Shut up.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Soon she recognized where they were.
“We’re headed for the ravine!”
“Yeah,” he replied, his voice suddenly husky and hoarse. “That okay with you?”
“Yes!”
“Good. Take him to a walk.”
“Why?”
He snorted against her neck, and she giggled. “’Cause it’s my horse, female. Now slow him down.”
“Fine,” she grumbled. “I don’t see why we have to…oh.”
Cade gathered her hair in one hand and pushed it aside. She giggled at the soft scratch of his beard, then moaned when he kissed the nape of her neck, tongue dipping into the hollow at the base of her skull. He slipped his other hand beneath her T-shirt. The heat of it penetrated all the way to her core, fanning embers smoldering since he’d smiled at her in the barn. The reins shook in her hands.
“Cade…I can’t—oh!” She jerked a little as he nipped at her shoulder.
“Can’t what, Ally?” he murmured.
His mouth traveled to her other shoulder and she arched against him.
“Cade!” She squeaked a little. “We’re out in the open!” She halfheartedly tried to turn her body away, but she didn’t have much room to maneuver and she couldn’t let go of the reins, and besides—even as her mind quailed at the exposure, her body flexed restlessly against his, begging for more.
He covered her hands with his and jerked back on the reins, holding them ’til Sleipnir had resumed a slow, steady walk. “There’s no one around, I promise.”
“No one can see us?”
“Nope. And we’re about to be in the trees.”
She opened her eyes. They’d almost reached the stand of trees fringing this side of the ravine.
“You planned this?”
He nodded and smiled against her skin. “Sleipnir knows where he’s going. You don’t have to guide him much.”
“I can’t guide him at all if you keep doing that to me.”
Clever, calloused fingers were gently teasing and pulling her nipples. She shivered at the sensation of his hot, rough skin against her tender breasts
Soon they were in the cool shade of pine and juniper and cedar. Sleipnir ambled through the trees, stopping to nibble at the carpet of grass beneath the ceiling of branches. She smelled the river, heard it moving lazily through the ravine that dropped away to their left.
In a small clearing lay a blanket. On the blanket lay a pillow and some linens and another blanket, this one folded. A bottle of champagne sat nestled in ice in a beat-up metal bucket.
Her squeal of excitement turned to a gasp as Cade’s hand swept down into her sweatpants. He cupped her mound, his finger dipping into her folds, pressing into her but not moving. She felt the first rush of wetness as her thighs tensed around his hand. Her sex began to throb.
“Show me, sweetheart,” he breathed into her ear. “Show me you want it.”
She bucked restlessly against him in the saddle. He knew she wanted it. His fingers stroked faster now, and she was dripping wet, juices flowing in a hot torrent of need.
She put her hand over his, outside her sweatpants, grinding against his palm. “Right there, right…oh God, yes, that’s good, Cade…” She gasped as he began rubbing circles around her clit.
“Do you like it like that?”
“I love it—a little faster, a little…” Rocking forward, she brazenly ground his hand beneath hers to show him the stroke she needed. When she sat at just the right angle, and his strokes matched the pulsing rhythm of her body, she gave a helpless, ragged cry and began to ride his hand with wanton abandonment.
“Is that better, baby?”
“It’s perfect,” she moaned.
“Good,” he whispered. “Now take off your shirt.”
“I can’t…I can’t hold the reins…”
Chuckling, he dropped her hair and took the reins, his other hand never missing a stroke.
She wouldn’t have cared if anyone was watching as she peeled off her shirt and bra. He did that to her—he pushed her past herself, past her own restraint and reluctance.
She’d never been naked outdoors. The wind whispering across her skin and the filtered sunlight warming it, and the chance, however remote, that someone might see them, triggered the beginning of her climax. She was almost disappointed to start coming so soon. Grasping the saddle horn i
n both hands, she rocked forward further and faster.
Sleipnir had stopped and now stood patiently waiting. Cade dropped the reins to twist her head up to him. He kissed her hard, speaking into her open mouth. “Hurry up and come. I need to get inside you.”
His words pushed her over the edge. She felt her sex throb and contract around his fingers. The orgasm burst over her without further buildup or warning. She cried out and held his hand in place while she thrashed against it as his tongue plunged into her mouth. When her release had wrung her out, she slumped against him, too blissed to think about his need or how hard and hot he was behind her.
He slipped from Sleipnir’s back.
“I don’t think I can stand,” she said, woozy from the afterglow.
“I don’t intend to let you.” He laughed as she slid off the saddle into his arms, and he laid her on the blanket. She lazily shed her sweats and panties while she watched him rip off his own clothes, graceful even in his frantic haste.
As he tossed his jeans aside, she rose to her knees and took his cock in her hand, laughing at his startled intake of breath.
He groaned her name. “Baby, I can’t—”
“Shh. Yes you can.” Taking the thick base of his penis in one hand, she ran her tongue up and down the length of it as her other hand wandered over the smooth, hard expanse of his stomach. Then her hand went around to cup his ass, stroking his hot skin. His hips jerked, his hands tightening in her hair. She felt his legs tremble.
Shielded by the trees surrounding them, excited by the wind blowing over her naked body, emboldened by Cade’s whispered pleas, she lost all inhibition. A delicious shiver ran through her as he cried out her name again.
“Don’t you dare come until you’re inside me.” She kept her eyes locked on his as she took him into her mouth. She sucked slowly, drawing him out like a lollipop, then took him back in, her mouth working in time with her hand, all the while watching his expression.
His eyes narrowed to slits, wonder and need illuminating his face. He took rapid, shallow breaths, the strain of holding back his release plain to see. Once again, she exulted in the power she held over him, the knowledge of how much he wanted her, what her mouth and her hands and her body could do to him.
He stroked her cheek with one hand while he pumped into her mouth. His expression began to harden, growing wilder and fiercer as his thrusts got harder and faster.
With a harsh cry, Cade withdrew from her mouth, pulling her head back. She gave a small cry of pain and surprise, but he didn’t seem to hear. He was panting, his face twisted in ecstasy. He stepped behind her and shoved her forward, forcing her to her hands and knees.
She screamed as he dipped two fingers deep inside her. “Hurry up!”
He didn’t answer. He withdrew his fingers, grasped her hips and yanked her back, impaling himself in her.
He held her ass in an iron grip while he drove into her once, twice, three times. With every thrust she begged for more. On the fourth, he growled and exploded inside her. He shuddered as his hips rammed against her in the frenzy of his release. With a final growl, he collapsed on top of her.
She lay beneath him, stunned and almost sated, his lush hair spilling across her back. His breath was ragged and hot against her neck. Stars danced behind her eyes. Sex had never left her hyperventilating before. She started to laugh.
“Ally?” He brushed the hair away from her face, nuzzling her neck. “Baby? You all right?”
Her laugh turned into a small whimper. “I’m fine, but—ow. You’re crushing me, sweetie. Let’s switch.”
He rolled onto his back, taking her with him. Happy and tired, she played her fingers across his stomach while he stroked her hair. She loved his stomach, loved its warmth and taut muscles and the fine, dark treasure trail that tickled her palms.
“I’m sorry.” He sounded gruff and shy at the same time.
Her hand paused in its travels. “What for?”
“For being so rough. I got carried away. I promise, baby, I won’t do it again. I know you haven’t—”
She scooted her body ’til they were face-to-face. “Like hell. You will do that again. We’re gonna do a lot more of that, werewolf. I loved that.”
“But…” He grimaced in confusion. “You didn’t come, did you?”
She laughed so loud it startled Sleipnir, who whinnied. “I didn’t have time.” She stopped laughing when she saw his mortification and kissed him tenderly. “You’re a big, tough werewolf. You lasted a really long time. I just shouldn’t have given you such a good hummer.”
That elicited a sly grin. “You’re right. It’s your fault for blowing me so well.”
Of course she blushed. Looking away, fingers nervously plucking at his chest hairs, she couldn’t resist asking, “So…you really liked it?”
He put a hand to her chin, turning her head back to him.
“I think I said something like ‘fuck, baby, don’t stop,’ yeah?”
She grinned. “Yeah. And you said you loved my mouth.”
“Did I? Then I guess I liked it okay.”
He rolled her over onto her back and nipped at her bottom lip, laughing and pulling his mouth out of reach when she tried to kiss him, nibbling at her neck and her breasts. Not until she tugged at his hair did he relent and return to her mouth. Their tongues dipping and sparring, she clung to his shoulders and sighed into his mouth as his warmth permeated her.
He broke the kiss to stare at her, their noses almost touching, his crystal green eyes boring into hers as he tangled his fingers in her hair.
“Admit it,” he growled.
Her hands paused in their exploration of his biceps. “Admit what?”
“You’re happy. I make you happy.”
He was so shamelessly proud of himself—sure of himself, pleased with himself—and she wished, not for the first time, that Eir had given her the self-assurance of an alpha along with all the physical attributes and instincts.
“Yeah,” she conceded softly, “I admit it. You make me happy.” As his triumphant grin spread, she added, “And Becca makes me happy, and the horses, and the swimming pool—”
“And the pack?”
“And the pack.”
His grin didn’t falter. “But you can’t have Becca and the rest of it without me. So I make you happy.”
It was true. And it scared the hell out of her.
Cade nipped at her nose and rolled off.
“Hey! Where are you—?”
“Just lay there and look happy.” He tossed her a small towel, then retrieved the champagne and glasses.
She stretched and sighed, watching the tree branches swaying above her, soaking in the sun’s warmth, until he held out a glass and she sat up to take it.
“Oh, that’s good. That’s really good. I haven’t had champagne in a while.” She sipped, forcing herself to relax under his gaze, as if sitting naked and sipping champagne post-coitus came naturally.
She envied him his unconscious ease as he knelt on his haunches, drinking and watching her. He didn’t need to make conversation or pose his body.
If he knew how badly he still rattled her, how she feared she’d never get used to this—to him—would he think her nuts? Would it even matter, given the mate bond? In spite of all the pep talks she’d been giving herself, she still couldn’t get past the idea that he only wanted her because he had to.
“Stop thinking.”
“Crap. How do you do that?”
“Put your glass down.”
Some of the champagne spilled over on the towel in her lap as she started at the abrupt command. She carefully placed the glass on the blanket beside her.
“Toss the towel.”
She liked the towel in her lap. It made her feel secure.
“Ally. Toss the towel and lie back down.”
“Oh, the hell with it,” she muttered and did as he told her. Everyone did as he told them. Eventually it was bound to get on her nerves, accustomed as she was t
o directing all the traffic in her life, but sometimes it wasn’t so bad.
She lay back.
“Close your eyes.”
She closed her eyes. Then she squealed and bucked as cold, cold champagne trickled onto her breasts and across her stomach, running off either side over her ribs. Goose bumps erupted all over her torso. Opening one eye, she saw him set aside his now empty glass. Before she could sit back up he was on top of her, pinning her hands to her sides.
She gasped again, not at the cold this time but at the tip of his tongue plunging into her belly button. Giggles turned to groans when he travelled up to her nipples, sucking each until it was taut and swollen and almost painfully sensitized. She arched her back, her shoulders pressing into the blanket.
His tongue heated the champagne against her skin. She twitched and twisted and giggled as he worked his way down.
His mouth travelled back to her navel, and then lower, and then lower still. She yelped when he put his hands under her butt and squeezed. Her legs fell open to admit his clever tongue, and she stretched to pick up the half-full glass by her hip. She caught him peeking at her. Feeling shameless, brave and spoiled, she held his gaze as she knocked back the rest of the champagne in one gulp and then collapsed against the blanket. He didn’t stop working that outrageous magic with his mouth, but he chuckled against her mound, and it tickled.
The ride home was sticky.
Chapter Nineteen
Aaron remained in a coma. They wouldn’t give up hope yet, but the doctors talked of transferring him to a long-term facility.
There was no word of, or from, Rufus Stapkis. They started to think he’d died. Seattle picked a new Alpha and was the second major Pack, after Houston, to recognize Rocky Mountain. Chicago and St. Louis followed immediately afterwards.
Cade bought a garage; Seth ran it. Dylan spent every spare moment in town. Ally suspected he had a girlfriend, but she didn’t pry. She wanted him to go to college, but Cade expected him to do a stint in the military first.
Cade let Sarah Jane stick around. She moved into Ally’s old room. He even ignored Dec, who spent all his time with Sarah Jane and Sindri and never managed to find the right time to talk to Cade.
They grew closer. He told her about the dream, about his parents’ deaths and his family’s life before the tragedy. She told him about her life. They told each other things about themselves they’d never shared with anyone.
Yours, Mine and Howls: Werewolves in Love, Book 2 Page 22
