The deer shifter’s words trailed off and she made a hasty retreat when he swiveled round. Henry’s muscles bunched, and grew as his wolf fought him for comeuppance, and he knew his beast showed in his eyes, when he looked at her. Even his voice came out distorted.
“Are you questioning my authority, deer.” He took a step toward her and Olaf got in front of his Ma’am and bowed his head in clear submission to his Alpha. The act deflated some of Henry’s irrational anger. Olaf might be his second in command, but right now he was protecting the woman he lived to serve. Everyone in his pack lived the lifestyle in various forms, and his chest ached anew. No, his little red didn’t belong here, but he had to take care of her, and he had to do that himself. No one else, not even Rhonda was going to touch her pale skin.
“Rhonda only wants to help, Boss. She meant no disrespect,” Olaf said, and looked up at Henry from under his lashes.
Taking a deep breath in Henry calmed his agitated beast and forced it to stand down. It did so slowly and settled for keeping a watchful on Joanne. Even covered in blood and out cold she was beautiful. Her pale skin had an almost luminescent quality to it in the candlelight, and Henry found himself enchanted with the line of freckles that disappeared into the opening of her blouse. His cock hardened at the thought of where else she might have freckles and he ruthlessly squashed those thoughts down. It would be fucking torture to touch her and not be able to claim her, but it would hurt more to not be the one to take care of her.
“Boss, are we cool?” Olaf’s grumbled question tore his gaze away from the sight of her slightly open mouth and the way her breast fell and rose as she breathed, and he nodded.
“Yes, we fucking are. Now quit wasting my time, and get me the stuff I need to take care of my mate.” The words were out before he could stop them and a collective murmur of surprise rung in the tense stillness of the room.
Olaf’s eyes widened and then a small grin spread over his second’s battered features.
“Ah,” he said. “Well, that explains some things. Are you sure, Boss?”
Henry resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and answered the guy instead.
“As sure as I am that I shift into a fucking wolf, and that this can never be, yeah, I’m fucking sure, Olaf. The blasted universe is having a great big laugh at my expense, it seems.”
Olaf seemed to find this most amusing, because he threw his head back and laughed.
“Take it from me, boss, no point in fighting it.” He glanced at Rhonda, who regarded Olaf through narrowed eyes, and punched Henry lightly in the shoulder. “I feel the need to apologize for not trusting her earlier. Had I known she was your mate, I wouldn’t have worried half as much.”
Henry chose not to comment on that. It was a well-known fact that mates could never harm each other. They were drawn together by the fates and nothing could tear them apart, even before the actual mating took place. With Joanne being a paranormal being she would feel that need as strongly as him, and he knew she did. Even through his pain filled haze earlier he’d sensed her unwilling arousal. His little red had been confused by her reaction to him, but her body had known what she needed, even if her mind struggled to accept it. A glimmer of hope flared in his chest and his wolf yipped in excitement. Maybe, this bond they shared would mean that she was willing to at least try to be with him on his terms. Surely the fates wouldn’t be that cruel to send him a mate, who was repulsed by his sexual needs.
Those were dangerous thought processes, and he squashed them down and, nodding at Olaf, turned to take the stairs three at a time. When he reached the landing LaVida exited his room, and gave him a shy smile. Shouldering his door open he was pleased to see that she had followed his instructions. The light had been fixed, a fire was lit, making the room nice and warm, and she had laid out a selection of her clothes on the bed. A steaming bowl of water also sat on the nightstand, the sheets had been folded down, and a large towel placed on the bed. He smiled at the selection of sandwiches, and the carafe of drinking water, she had also placed on the nightstand.
Bless the rabbit, she had thought of everything. He kicked the door shut behind him, and carefully lowered Joanne onto the towel. Seeing her here in his bed, send his hormones into overdrive and groaning he reached down to adjust his dick away from his zipper. He would need a long cold bath after he’d seen to his little red.
Taking care not to disturb her unduly, he used his claws to rid her of her clothes, until she lay in front of him in just her sensible white bra and knickers. The darker triangular shade just visible through the thin cotton above her thighs snared his gaze and he suppressed another groan. He preferred his women bare, but that was easily taken care of, if the time came.
Henry damn well nearly swallowed his tongue as his imagination went into overdrive. In his mind’s eye he was between her thighs, shaving her cunt bare, and he shook his head to rid himself of those far too erotic images. Yes, he would insist on doing that for her, and after that he would eat her out, bite the soft, fragrant skin of her inner thighs, until she begged him to take her. Henry couldn’t help it. It might make him an ass, considering she was out cold, but he bent his head, spread her knees and inhaled against the damp gusset of her knickers. The cotton was darker than the surrounding fabric and stained with her arousal. She was wet—for him, and his wolf whined his appreciation mixed with need as Henry pulled her sweet musk into his lungs.
Joanne stirred and mumbled something, and her hips lifted up in a silent offering that he couldn’t resist. Using the flat of his palm he pressed against her damp slit, and rubbed. Joanne’s breathing sped up, and her hands fisted into the bedcovers, as the most delightful blush spread across her breasts. Her nipples firmed under their white covering. Hard little buds of need that acted like beacons to his starving wolf. With his free hand Henry reached up and ran circles around one then and the other, and a deep-throated groan was his response.
It shot straight to his cock and his balls ached as they drew up to his body. He knew he’d have to jerk off soon, or come in his pants like a randy teenager. Getting his little red off in her sleep was one thing, but he couldn’t do what his wolf was urging him to do.
His senses told him she was still fast asleep, yet her body knew exactly what it needed, as she pushed her feet flat into the bed and rode his palm in ever faster movements. Her underwear was now soaked through, and using his claws Henry ripped the thing off. LaVida had provided new knickers, too, and Joanne’s own would be uncomfortable for her. Her wet cunt greeted him, and Henry groaned. Covered in the same shade of red as her hair, her slit opened for him, as he pushed her legs apart further. It revealed that little bundle of nerves at the top of her hood. Her nub quivered and yet more of her juices spilled out of her pussy hole.
“Yes, please…oh god.”
For one heart stopping moment Henry thought she’d woken up and his cock jerked and lengthened at that thought. If she was awake… Alas a quick look at her flushed face showed her to be still very much out of it. Her firm little breasts rose and fell with her rapid intake of breaths, and she kept murmuring to herself. One of her hands found her erect nipple, while the other snaked between her legs and found her clit with unerring precision.
Hot damn. His little red had done this before. Maybe she wasn’t as innocent as he’d first thought, and a grin spread across his face, as he watched her rub her clit in ever faster circles. He shouldn’t watch, he knew that. She would be mortified if she knew she was doing this in front of him, but his baser instincts won out. It was too damn fucking erotic, as she now alternated between dipping a finger into her hole and rubbing her clit.
Giving into his own needs, Henry freed his aching cock and hissed through his teeth as he fisted himself. Already he could feel his release building as he swiped a thumb through this pre-cum slicked slit and used his own lubrication to set up a fast rhythm, his eyes fixated on Joanne’s fingers between her legs.
She seemed to struggle to come, hovering on the precipice,
her head thrashing from side to side, and not releasing the firm grip he had on his dick, he bent and nudged her fingers away with his nose.
A whimper escaped her and Henry blew against her little bud, and then allowed his wolf free rein. Two swipes of his rough tongue across her clit was all it took for Joanne to climax, and Henry lapped up the gush of her juices, like a man starved of sustenance. His own orgasm burst from him and he groaned into her sweet cunt, while jets of his cum spurted out of the end of his dick, and splashed across his abs and hand. By the time he finally stopped coming, Joanne seemed to be hovering on the edge again. Henry released his junk, wiped his hand clean on his jeans and digging his hands into her ass, set to work in earnest.
Her scent surrounded him, driving his beast wild, as he licked, and nibbled across her sensitive flesh. Flattening his tongue he thrust it into her pussy hole as far as he could, mindful of her virginity, and her inner muscles tightened around the invasion in rhythmic ripples that told him how close she was again. Despite his release mere seconds ago, Henry felt himself harden anew and he groaned into his delightful pussy. The vibrations sent Joanne tumbling into another release, and Henry greedily sucked down her arousal. Only when the last tremors of her frame had subsided, did he let go, after placing a gentle bite on the inside of her thigh. Not enough to draw blood, just enough to appease his wolf, and to leave his mark where others could not see.
His beast thus satisfied, he sat up slowly and looked up at his little red. She was even more beautiful when she came, her skin flushed with the fine sheen of arousal, her breasts jiggling with her harsh breathing, and her mouth open in a now silent scream. Henry kicked his sticky jeans off, and grabbing the washcloth out of the bowl, used it to tidy her up.
By the time she was all clean, he was rock hard again, and pulling fresh underwear up her long shapely legs was pure torture. The job done, he pulled the covers over his sleeping beauty, and taking the washbowl with him padded across the landing to the bathroom.
Fortunately none of his pack was around to witness him sneak out of his room with a purple headed boner to rival all boners, and he smirked at his predicament. Henry chucked the dirty water down the toilet and then drew himself an ice-cold bath. The cold made him gasp, but did nothing to deflate his erection, so with the taste of his little red still on his tongue, he took himself in hand, and rubbed out another fast and furious climax. No doubt he would be doing a lot of that in the near future, because Henry was under no illusion that Joanne would welcome his attention as willingly once she was awake. A twinge of guilt assaulted him at his earlier action, but the self-satisfied smirk on his wolf won out.
He would gladly take whatever the little witch would dish out once awake. Having thrown on another pair of denims, he stuck his head round the door, to make sure Joanne was still sleeping. The little witch had turned on her side, one hand under her head, her red hair spread across the pillow like a flame, and Henry filled his senses with his mate. It felt unbelievably good to have here in his bed.
With a grin he closed the door and went down the stairs. He would make sure LaVida sat with her, while he did his rounds. She was safe here in the house, and he had some information to extract, and god willing, a vamp to kill.
Chapter Five
Joanne woke slowly, her limbs heavy and her mind groggy. She’d had the most delicious dream, and she squeezed her thighs together to relieve the leftover tingles in her clit. A groan escaped her as she did so. She felt swollen and slightly sore, and oh so sensitive. In fact if she just continued to tighten her muscles like that, she was sure she could come again.
A female cough to her side made her eyes fly open in terror. Who the hell was that and why were they in her room. The cotton sheet slipped as she sat up, and Joanne made a hasty grab for it to cover her naked boobs. Naked? Where the dickens was her nighty, and…
A yelp escaped her as the events leading up to her being knocked out rushed back into her mind, and she clamped her free hand over her mouth to stop the hysterical screech, bubbling in the back of her throat from escaping.
A curvy brunette approached the bed from out of the shadows in the room, and smiled.
“Oh, good you’re awake. I’ll send for the Alpha. I think he’s back from his rounds. There’s some refreshments by the side of the bed. No doubt you’ll be hungry. Doing what you did must use up a lot of energy.”
She smiled again and made to leave the room, and Joanne finally found her voice.
“It worked? He’s okay?” She couldn’t quite believe how much her stomach churned waiting for the other woman’s answer, and the sheer relief washing over her when she smiled.
“Yes, he’s back to full strength, thanks to you. The Mongrels owe you a great debt. I don’t know what we would do if we lost our Alpha. He’s just so…” A far away expression fell over the woman’s features and the unfamiliar bitterness of raring jealousy poked Joanne in the gut.
“You and he are?” she asked, and the other woman blushed.
“Oh, no, never. I mean, I would love to, but he’s never looked at me twice, not like that anyway.”
Joanne let out the breath she hadn’t been aware of holding, and uncurled her fingers. They were holding onto the sheet with a death grip, she noticed.
“Not the way he looks at you, miss.”
That made Joanne’s mouth fall open in surprise, and the other woman giggled.
“If that’s all, I best run along. He’ll serve me for Sunday lunch if I don’t tell him right away that you’re awake.”
Joanne knew her eyes must be as wide as saucers as the implication of the woman’s words sunk in.
“He wouldn’t, surely?” she asked, and was rewarded with another giggle.
“Well, he might, if I annoy him enough. I’m a rabbit after all.” She winked at Joanne as she said that, and Joanne was glad she was sitting.
“A rabbit?” she echoed. “But I thought this was a wolf pack.”
The rabbit shifter grew serious and sat down on the edge of Joanne’s bed, or rather Henry’s bed. Joanne realized with a start that she must be in Henry’s bedroom. His scent clung to the bed covers, and she was pretty sure the jeans she spotted by the door, now that the other woman had turned on the lights were the ones he’d worn earlier. Sure enough, one leg was blood stained and her stomach churned anew.
“This is a wolf pack, but our Alpha does not believe in exclusivity. He will take in any shifter as long as he or she swears allegiance to him and the Mongrels. We have strength in numbers, especially with what’s out there right now, and the Alpha says us shifters have got to stick together.”
Joanne mulled this over in her head and slowly nodded.
“I guess that makes sense.” She looked at the young woman and smiled. “What’s your name?”
“LaVida, miss, but I really must go now and tell him. And I was only joking about his serving me up for Sunday lunch. Our Alpha would never do that. Now the Lupines, however.” A shudder went through LaVida’s body, and Joanne put out a hand to touch the other woman’s shoulder. A blast of her terror hit her right in the gut and took her breath away, as she received snatches of a blood bath.
Joanne hastily withdrew her hand and took a deep breath in to calm her nerves.
“Have they done that to someone close to you?” she asked and LaVida blanched and stood up.
“How could you possibly—“
“You may go now, LaVida. I’ve got this.”
Henry’s deep voice filled the room, and Joanne jumped and sunk further under her covers when the man who’d played such a starring role in her dream walked into the room.
By all the elements he looked good enough to eat. He had done before, but now seemingly all healed she was struck by his mere presence. The faded denim of his jeans clung to his thick thighs and the fabric of his shirt stretched across his wide shoulders, as he lifted a hand to tuck an errand strand of hair back behind LaVida’s ear. The woman blushed deep red, and dropped her gaze to the floor.<
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“I’m very pleased with you, sweet girl. Now run along and get some rest yourself. I’ll take care of our guest.”
LaVida didn’t need telling twice. She almost ran from the room, and the solid thud of the door shutting behind her, placed Joanne on her own with the man who now turned his crystal-blue gaze on her with an intensity that took her breath away. He slowly ran his gaze over her body, and back up again in such a way that made Joanne acutely aware of how little she wore under the sheets.
“Where are my clothes?” she finally said, her voice a breathy imitation of its usual self, and she held her breath when Henry sat down in the spot just vacated by LaVida. This close to her the heat of his body surrounded her, and his scent… Lordy, the man just smelled so good, it was unreal. She had to fight the urge to lean closer and take in a deep breath of his scent.
Instead she scooted away from him as far as she could with his delectable backside sat on the sheet, which wasn’t very far at all.
Henry’s full lips kicked up into the most sinful smile, as her hands resumed her earlier death grip on the sheet. She held her breath as he reached out and wound a strand of her long hair around his finger and lifted it to his nose. A most curious action that nonetheless made her stomach tighten in need, and her clit tingle in waves of arousal so fierce that her knickers grew damp. Henry’s nostril flared as though he could smell her need and Joanne wanted the ground to swallow her up, when she realized that he probably could. Supercharged hearing, smell, and speed and all that…
She shut her eyes to ward off temptation, and wondered briefly if she knew a spell to turn herself into a mouse, so that she could shuffle off into that mouse hole in the skirting board she’d spotted earlier. Unfortunately no such spell came to mind, and far more worrying, her powers seemed to have completely deserted her at this moment. They had from the minute Henry entered the room, which was something to mull over once she could get her brain to work properly.
The Witch's Protector [The Protectors 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 4
