Huntress and the Thorn Court: An Urban Fantasy Shifter Romance (The World of the Hunter Order Book 1)

by D. C. Gambel

  He took a seat on the couch leaving me standing in the middle of the room.

  “Tomorrow morning,” he brought up again.

  “Are you going to sleep with Carla?”

  He cocked his head studying me. “Is it truly Carla that you take offense to? What if I decided to fuck Sandra or Vicky? Would you approve of them to share my bed?”

  I gritted my teeth feeling my anger boil. Holy hell! I was jealous. I glanced up at Gideon, who just sat there studying my reaction. He smiled sympathetically like he knew the conclusion I’d just come to.

  “I have to have sex with someone, Isabel. I don’t have much of a choice. My wolf is powerful. If I don’t regain control, I can go feral.”

  “Do you want to have sex with Carla?” The answer might hurt, but I demanded to know.

  Hearing the command in my tone, I wondered if the Alpha in him would even answer. “No.”

  “Vicky?”

  Running his fingers through his hair, Gideon exhaled heavily. “Enough beating around the bush, Isabel. The full moon rises in a few hours, so my time is limited. I don’t want to fuck Carla, or Vicky, or any of the other she-wolves begging for a spot in my bed. I want to fuck you.” Just hearing him admit that had warm tingles racing down my body. “And based on the scent of your arousal filling this room like a sweet perfume, I’d say you want to fuck me too.” He huffed pinching the bridge of his nose. “But I know the reasons you deny me. They haven’t changed and I can’t hold everything waiting for you.”

  The silence hung heavy between us. Something about this man called to me in a primal way. If anyone ever discovered what I’d already done, it’d not only ruin my reputation, but I might never rule the Order. Who would follow a hunter that had tainted herself by sleeping with the enemy? But that wasn’t the main problem at hand. Could I sit by as Gideon slept with someone else?

  I sauntered across the floor letting my hips sway with each step. Gideon watched every move with intrigue. As I stopped in front of him, he looked up so his eyes could stay locked with mine. Bending down, I cradled his face between my palms. Gently I brushed my lips against his. He didn’t hesitate to kiss me back, but when I tried to deepen it, he broke away.

  “Isabel,” he groaned.

  “I thought…” I bit my lip nervously taking in his sullen appearance.

  “I can’t be your dirty little secret,” he hissed brushing my hands from his face.

  I stood straight staring down at him with a harsh glare. “What do you want from me, Gideon? To call my father and tell him we’ve slept together.”

  “I want you not to feel ashamed about it!” he barked. His words were like a slap across my face. Blinking away my surprise over his surge, I realized he wasn’t wrong. I was embarrassed but not in the way he assumed. It wasn’t because I slept with him, but that I enjoyed the depravity of sleeping with a werewolf.

  The moment I admitted it, even just to myself, it was like a weight was lifted. I wanted Gideon, werewolf or not. The Hunter Order didn’t have the right to make me feel guilty for wanting a man.

  Dropping to my knees, I placed my palms on his thighs.

  “Isabel,” he exasperated.

  “Shhh…” I placed a finger on his lips before giving him a gentle shove so he leaned back against the couch.

  Curiously, he watched as I made quick work of his belt and undid his slacks. When I reached into his boxers, he groaned my name once more, but didn’t stop me. I loved the feel of him in my hand. It was like steel encased in velvet. Having touched him, I could only think of one thing better. I didn’t wait to see if he’d stop me to tell me again what a bad idea this was. Leaning forward, I took him into my mouth. He let out a long hiss as my mouth stroked down his hardened length.

  “What are you doing, minx?” he asked.

  I let him slide from between my lips, but kept my hand firmly wrapped around his base. “If you have to ask then I must not be doing it right.” He chuckled throatily. Taking him back into my mouth, I found my rhythm. I paused for a moment when Gideon’s fingers clutched my hair. Glancing up at him from under my lashes, I saw only desire. He assisted me as I bobbed my head letting out a groan enjoying the masculine taste of him.

  “Stop,” he hissed. Ignoring him, I continued with my task, but he gripped my hair firmly popping me off him. I stared up at him seeing the hunger in his eyes. “Clothes off.”

  Nibbling my bottom lip, I stood, ripping my shirt over my head revealing my bare breasts. “I thought you said this was a bad idea?”

  “It’s a terrible idea,” he explained shoving his pants and boxers down his muscular legs.

  Once I was completely naked, he pulled me onto his lap. Straddling him, I lowered myself onto his erection. Throwing my head back, I absorbed the sensation of him entering me. God, it was just how I remembered it. I thought I imagined how perfectly we fit. I tried to raise myself up, but Gideon gripped my hips firmly and flipped us, pinning me between him in the couch. His fiercely green gaze met mine just before he thrust. I gasped arching into him as he began to move.

  “Is this what you want, Isabel?” he asked moving his body skillfully within mine. “To be fucked by a werewolf? To come all over my werewolf cock?” He kissed me hungrily before I could answer. The pleasure I felt all the way down to my toes. His words were vulgar and yet I responded to them. Hearing his dirty talk was enough to send me soaring over the edge.

  “Yes!” My thighs gripped him as I cried out. Gideon groaned following me moments later. Neither of us had lasted long, but I hadn’t needed a long drawn out session. I just wanted him.

  Fluttering my lashes open, I saw the most gorgeous green eyes staring back at me. We were still connected. Neither of us seemed in a hurry to break away. Perhaps the spell would be broken if we did.

  “What do you want, Isabel?”

  I exhaled rubbing my forehead against his shoulder trying to shield myself from his probing stare for just a moment. “To not feel sick when I think of the full moon approaching.”

  “And what can make that stop?” he asked nipping playfully at my ear.

  “To know that you won’t be sleeping with any of the she wolves.” I smiled even as I spoke the words. How could I not when this delicious man was teasing me?

  “Hmm…” he grunted trailing his hand up my abdomen. “Then whom do you propose I sleep with?”

  “You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?” I turned to glare at him. It wasn’t just my pride that was making it hard to have this conversation, but my insecurities. I could say exactly what I wanted and Gideon could turn around and tell me no. There were dozens of scenarios. The fact that we’d just had sex and I was still naked under him, didn’t help me feel more confident.

  He pulled back so we could easily meet the other’s gaze. “I think I deserve to hear it.”

  Swallowing hard, I whispered the word. “Me.”

  “You?”

  “Tomorrow morning come to me after you change. Not Carla.”

  He sighed heavily. “If we do this—if—you need to understand that there can be no refusal after a change. You must give yourself willingly or I will return to Carla and this will not continue.”

  “Okay, but you need to understand that what happens between us stays there. I’m not ashamed of what we’re doing but this could compromise us both. I’m not some irrelevant hunter. This could affect my position, but it could affect yours too.”

  He smirked seeing my angle. “You want discretion?”

  “I do.”

  He nodded, but the way he did it didn’t feel like he was agreeing but that he simply heard me.

  Gideon studied me for a pregnant moment before disengaging our bodies. Grabbing the tissues off his desk, he handed them to me to clean up.

  “I want to show you something.”

  He gathered our clothes as I cleaned up. Afterwards he led me to a door in the back corner of his office. Opening it, I was stunned to see an elevator. Smirking at my reaction he led m
e naked onto it. He chuckled when I hesitated. What if it opened up and someone saw us?

  “No one will see you like this but me.” I relaxed. “And Clyde.” He pointed at what appeared to be a security camera.

  “Gideon!”

  He chuckled. I think it was the first time he’d ever made a joke. “It’s just for show. There’s no Clyde.”

  We rode in a comfortable silence. The doors opened up to a bedroom. “Yours?”

  He nodded. Stepping out of the car he moved throughout the room flipping on lights. The place was three times the size of mine. He had enough space for a makeshift sitting area, a king-size bed with still plenty of room to move around. There was even a small table with two chairs resting in the corner. Taking a seat on the bed he called me over. “Come here.” I smirked having half a mind to disobey. “I’m a very dominant wolf, Isabel. It’s best to pick your battles with me.”

  I padded across the floor to where he stood feeling completely comfortable in my lack of attire. Once I was within reach, he grasped my hips tugging me between his thighs.

  “If you’re serious about doing more of this,” he rubbed his palms up my sides. “Then I want you to stay here during the full moon.”

  “But I thought…”

  He silenced me with a nip between my breasts. “This is my room. Anyone that enters would be declaring a challenge. So far, I’ve missed their scent as it’s been too mixed with others, but here I only smell me, and now you. If anyone enters, I’ll know. It would also make fucking you in the morning less conspicuous.”

  Before I became too distracted with what his mouth was doing, I asked, “Am I bait?”

  “No,” he nibbled at my rib causing my muscles to contract. “But just to be safe.” He eased me to the side ceasing all touching. I was curious what he was doing, but silently chose to admire the view as he stood and strutted across the room to a cabinet. I sat on the edge of the bed tracing my eyes over him. His backside was taunt and defined. Opening the cabinet, he withdrew a black velvet bag.

  Coming to sit back in bed, he handed it to me. “Here.”

  Weighing it in my palm, I opened it, spilling the contents into my palm. It was Eric’s pocketknife.

  “I know you’re not going to use it to escape, but you need to be able to protect yourself.”

  “Thank you.”

  Gideon nodded. Taking it from me, and careful not to touch it directly, he placed it on the bedside table. “I want you to hide it somewhere close when you sleep. You cannot carry it around the manor with you. Even in the bag, in the cabinet, I could still smell the silver.”

  I didn’t know how to imply how much it meant to me. Not only did he trust me enough with a weapon, but that he was allowing me the opportunity to protect myself.

  Gideon’s fingers trailed down between my breasts toying with the gold trinket that rested there. It was a thick hexagon shaped cylinder, appearing more like a piece of raw gold than the locket it was. “I’ve seen this a few times now. How did Eleanor miss it?”

  “I hid it.”

  His mouth tugged up in the corner. “Liar.” He looked into my brown eyes with a devilish gleam in his. “She let you keep it, didn’t she?”

  “It was my mother’s,” I explained avoiding his question. Gideon’s face softened. He wasn’t ignorant to the tale. “Are you going to take it?”

  Slowly he shook his head. Finding the opening, he stared at me silently asking for permission with his eyes. I nodded. Inside were two pictures. On one side was one of my mother; on the other was my father. “You look just like her.”

  I smirked halfheartedly. “My dad says the same.”

  Closing it, he rested it back against my skin. “I need to shower or the pack will scent you on me.” The mention of leaving the bubble we were in caused me to stiffen. While here I could pretend the outside world didn’t exist. I knew we’d have to come up for air eventually, but it seemed too soon. Gideon ran his hands down my arms in an attempt to soothe me, which a week ago I might have found strange, but after the short time we’d spent together today something shifted and I was able to appreciate the comfort he offered. “Shower with me.” The way his eyes glittered wickedly, I suspected a shower wasn’t the only thing on his agenda.

  15

  Gideon’s bed was by far the most comfortable thing I’d ever slept on. It was truly like sleeping on a cloud. I hadn’t even meant to fall asleep but was so cold after my shower that I crawled under the blankets before Gideon left to join the others to shift.

  The mattress sank rousing me.

  “Gideon?” Smiling sleepily, I received no reply. Our earlier escapades did nothing to quench my desire for him. Weight shifted on the bed as someone began crawling over me. My eyes fluttered open preparing to roll over to meet him, but as I blinked away the sleep, I wondered why it was still dark. Wiry hair brushed my leg that I had draped on the outside of the bedding. My internal alarms were going off. My hand reached under the pillow where I left the knife. Turning slowly as to not alert whomever it was, I caught sight of a wolf crawling over me. My heart took off like a jackhammer. It wasn’t Gideon. His brown coat was a dead giveaway. He noticed me eyeing him and growled, shoving my head into the pillow. His claws glided up my leg, not drawing blood, just tracing the contours. If he expected me to lie there and let him do what he wanted he was in for a surprise.

  The pillow muffled the click as I snapped open the knife. I swiped backwards hitting air. The wolf sensed my move. He roared trying to lunge at me but fell to the floor with a thump as a streak of black slammed into him. The brown wolf didn’t seem scared to face the Alpha. Stupid. They both snarled at one another like they were speaking. The unknown wolf glanced at me and I swear I saw him smile. Gideon bellowed then charged. They were nothing but teeth and claws. I couldn’t tell who was winning. I wanted to assist, but as they were a blur of movement. I’d just get in the way.

  Just as quickly as it began, everything ceased. My brain caught up with what my eyes were seeing. Gideon held the other wolf by the neck with his teeth. Glancing up at me, he dragged the wolf, who was still alive, out of the room.

  There was a slight scuffle then everything was silent. The moment Gideon reentered, the energy changed. He stalked toward me. I reached for the bedding, covering myself having forgotten that I was naked. Gideon grabbed the covers from where he stood at the foot of the bed. With a firm tug, he yanked them from my hands. His eyes traced over my exposed skin taking in every contour. My breathing grew heavy enjoying the feel of his studious gaze.

  Locking eyes with me, he crawled onto the bed with a grace and determination that caused a tingle between my thighs. He leaned down running his nose up my leg. His humanoid hands, covered in soft black fur and long claws pultruding from each finger, followed closely behind. It took me a moment to realize he was assessing me. He brushed his hands everywhere the other wolf had, erasing the touch, marking me with his own. I leaned back on my elbows watching, giving him the liberties he needed.

  Parting my thighs, he breathed me in deeply at my junction. Just a few caresses and I was already aroused.

  “Gideon?” I breathed cautiously. My body reacted to his presence all the same in this form as it did when he was completely human. Logically I knew I shouldn’t want him anywhere near there, but that didn’t stop me from spreading my thighs wider putting myself on display for him. There was something erotic about the forbiddance of what we were doing. He growled seeing my arousal glisten. I gasped and jolted when his rough tongue lapsed at me.

  “Gideon,” I moaned falling back onto the bed. A few swipes of his tongue, then suddenly I was flipped on my stomach then tugged up onto my knees. His tongue went back to my folds exploring every crevice. When he found my opening, I wantonly shoved myself against his mouth. I thought I heard the wolf give the slightest chuckle as he took what I offered. He didn’t relent until I screamed, burying my face in the pillow to muffle the sound before collapsing on the bed.

  Gideon roll
ed me on my back as I basked in the heady feel of my release. He shifted my legs giving himself room to crawl between them. It was then I saw his erection. Gideon was well endowed to begin with, but in his wolf form he was bigger. His girth was the size of a coke can.

  He watched me as he rubbed himself against my sex. “I don’t think it’s going to fit, big guy.”

  He attempted a few times before Gideon’s body began shifting. His face returned to human. His chest was smooth once more. But then he froze partially shifted. Claws still protruded from his hands as he gripped my thighs. His back and legs were still covered in fur, but instead of wiry like the other wolf, Gideon’s midnight coat felt like silk. Groaning, I opened wider as he continued to rub against me. Thankfully, he was more to Gideon’s normal size. I didn’t know what I was doing. Sleeping with Gideon in human form was dishonorable enough to the Order, but his wolf—even half shifted as he was—I’d be defiled, contaminated. I’d never marry in the clan. I’d probably never rule.

  “Mine,” he growled clearer than day, rubbing between my wet folds. When I didn’t reply he growled again, pressing against my opening.

  “Yours,” I agreed and he pushed excruciatingly slow into me, stretching beyond anything I ever felt before. My mouth fell open feeling every sensation. Even in this form, he wasn’t animalistic. He allowed me time to adjust. My hands gripped his arms feeling the silkiness of his fur between my fingers while he supported himself above me. He withdrew just as slowly. His pace was leisurely and patient. His thrusts never attempted to bury him fully as if knowing I couldn’t accept him completely.

  I stared down at where our bodies were connected and watched as his long length disappeared inside of me. I couldn’t believe what I was doing. I was literally fucking a werewolf. There was no mistaking him for human even in his half form. The worst of it was I’d never been so turned on in my life.