Never More

by Dana Marie Bell

  Ruby went immediately to her closet and picked out one of Amanda’s favorite skirts. “This.” She then plucked a sweater out that would go perfectly with it. “And this.”

  Amanda eyed the outfit for a moment and smiled. “Grab my Mary Jane heels.”

  Ruby placed the outfit on Amanda’s bed and went back for the heels. “Well?”

  Amanda nodded in approval. “Me likey.”

  “So will he.” Ruby tossed the shoes on the bed. “Now for your hair…”

  Chapter Eleven

  Dinner was promising to be a loud and boisterous affair. All of the Dunnes were present, intermingling with Michaela’s brothers and sister as if they’d known each other forever. Even Matthew Exton had begun to thaw, the charm of Aileen working on him until he agreed to help her in the kitchen. It seemed the eldest Exton was a cop, so the suspicion was just part of his nature.

  The only ones missing were Amanda and Ruby, but just as Aileen seemed to be gearing up to call them down to the table the girls appeared.

  Raven smiled as the girls stepped into the dining room. Ruby came in first, wearing a nice pair of jeans and a pale coral sweater. Behind her was…

  Raven blinked, feeling light-headed as all of the blood in his body rushed to his cock.

  Amanda wore a long-sleeved sapphire-blue sweater over a short black skater skirt, showing a creamy length of thigh that had him drooling for a taste. The neckline was a simple V, the fabric looking soft to the touch. On her feet were a pair of simple black heels that showed off her red painted toes. She’d slicked her lips with red as well. Her hair was curled, giving her a sort of Veronica Lake slick charm. She looked absolutely edible.

  She’d bared the ear where he’d left his feather mark, showing off exactly who had Claimed her. Raven sighed at the sight of it. She hadn’t tried to remove it yet. In fact, when she saw him, she smiled and reached up, fingering the small feather.

  A napkin was waved in his face. “Here. For your drool.”

  Raven snarled at Liam for interrupting his fantasy. “Remind me why I like you again?”

  “I give good ‘web’.” Liam smirked as behind them Melissa Exton giggled.

  “Dickhead.” Raven grabbed the napkin and threw it back at Li before smiling a welcome at Amanda. “Hello, little bird.”

  “Hey.” She snuggled into his side and eyed Liam. “I don’t think I’ve met you.”

  Liam held out his hand. “Liam Kang-Dae Kwon.” He winked and leaned in closer. “AKA, Big Red, Robin’s tech expert extraordinaire.”

  Amanda blinked. “Can I have an eight hundred credit score?”

  Liam laughed. “Depends. What do I get in return?”

  Raven swept Amanda behind him and snarled at Li. “Mine.”

  “Of course she’s yours.” Li gave Amanda a huge, fake smile. “Just watch out. He might break out the Sharpie and put his name across your forehead, like you’re one of those plastic cups at a barbecue.”

  Raven thought about that for a moment. It would certainly cause him less stress if—

  “He’s thinking about it, isn’t he?”

  Li nodded in response to Amanda’s question. “Hell yes.”

  Amanda smacked him in the back. “Let’s go to dinner.” She moved until she stood in front of him and put her hands on his shoulders. “Afterward we can discuss what you can mark me with.” She winked and sauntered away, that sweet little skirt swishing over her backside.

  “Guh.” Raven snatched back the napkin and used it to wipe up his drool. When he was done he followed his sexy-ass woman into the Dunnes’ dining room.

  Aileen was already handing out bowls and platters of food to be passed around. Raven quickly took a seat next to Amanda and took the platter she held out. The scent of roast beef filled his nostrils, and he quickly added some to his plate.

  And so it went, the family chatting easily amongst themselves, Li introducing himself to Michaela’s family as one of Robin’s groomsmen. Raven really didn’t give a damn though. If asked later, he wouldn’t have been able to tell you what he ate, or why Melissa nearly snorted soda through her nose, or even why Ruby looked so gleeful as she shared a look with Amanda.

  All he knew was that his truebond was an evil, evil woman.

  It started with a simple touch to his thigh, one that could easily be brushed off as accidental. Her foot brushed against his, sliding up until she was brushing his ankle. She kept glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, smiling as she licked mashed potatoes off her fork like they were the best goddamn potatoes in the world. Hell, she moaned as she sucked a baby carrot slowly into her mouth.

  She. Was. Killing. Him. Hadn’t he said they should wait? And hadn’t she agreed?

  But here she was, doing everything in her power to seduce him, and damn if it wasn’t working. Every objection he’d had fell before the onslaught of his truebond, who was making it more than clear that she’d made her decision.

  Would this dinner never end?

  Her fingers inched up his thigh, brushing against his balls. Raven closed his eyes and desperately tried to hold on to his human appearance, but she made it more and more difficult for him as she cupped him through his jeans.

  “What’s wrong? Are you all right?”

  Raven glared at Amanda, not surprised by the innocent expression she wore. He was certain her pretty golden halo was held up by Texas-sized horns. “I’m fine.”

  Fuck it. Two could play at this game. If his bondmate wanted table play, he could give her what she wanted.

  He stroked her bare thigh, delighted when she drew in a sharp breath. “Problem?”

  “Nope.” She smiled sweetly and impaled another baby carrot on her fork. She lifted it to her mouth and slowly nibbled it away until nothing was left. “Isn’t dinner delicious?”

  Raven nodded and slid his hand higher up her thigh. With his left hand he managed to get some of the roast beef onto his fork despite his shaking hand. “It is.” He licked a drop of beef gravy off the tip before biting into the meat, enjoying the way her pupils dilated in response. “Absolutely yummy.”

  She began rubbing his erection, causing him to almost choke on a bit of beef. “I’m looking forward to dessert.”

  “So am I,” Leo choked.

  Raven blinked and looked around the table. Everyone was staring at them, some with horror, some with unholy amusement. Robin was laughing quietly, leaning against Michaela, who put her hand up to her mouth to stifle her own amusement. Aileen was beet red and had pushed her plate away.

  “It is some damn good beef, love.” Sean cackled as his wife threw a roll at him.

  “If they start cunnilingus on some cantaloupe I’m out of here,” Akane muttered, biting savagely into her beef.

  “Aw, Miz Akane. You never know. I might pick up some tips to please ya with.” Shane winked at his pregnant bondmate, who glared at him in return.

  “Don’t worry, bro. From the sounds coming from your room at night, I think your cantaloupe-eating skills are just fine.” Leo ducked as Aileen threw a roll at him this time. “Ma!”

  “I don’t want to hear any more about my boys eating cantaloupe!” Aileen stood and picked up her plate. “Now. Who wants dessert?”

  Most of the people had barely touched their dinner, but not one of them complained as Aileen began clearing the table.

  “Um. What are we having?” Moira asked meekly. Both of her mates were studiously looking at the top of the table, but from their shaking shoulders they were communicating in that silent way they had.

  Aileen glared at both men before smiling sweetly at her daughter. “Chocolate torte, apple crisp with ice cream, and—” she glared at Raven and Amanda, “—banana pudding.”

  Raven sank lower in his seat, conveniently pushing his hard-on against Amanda’s hand. “Sounds good.”

  “Mm, appl
e crisp.” Moira rubbed her hands together gleefully. “I love your apple crisp, Ma.”

  Aileen relaxed at her daughter’s praise. “Thank you, sweetheart. I made it with you in mind.”

  Moira danced happily in her seat. “Yes!”

  Aileen left the room, and Duncan lost it. He put his head on the table and howled with laughter.

  Jaden smirked. “She didn’t tell you why she loves apple crisp, did she?” He waggled his brows, ignoring the way Sean Dunne suddenly glared at him. “See, this one time, Moira was bent over—”

  “Boy, if I were you, I’d stop right there.” Sean got up and joined his wife in the kitchen, but not before Raven saw the spark of laughter on the man’s face.

  “What?” Jaden flung his arms up as Moira smacked him. “I wasn’t going to give the gooey details!”

  “This isn’t going quite the way I’d planned,” Amanda muttered as Moira and Jaden began bickering like little children.

  “That’s what you get for sucking on my mom’s carrots.” Leo blinked. “Dear gods did that come out wrong.”

  The whole table erupted into laughter and, despite himself, Raven found he’d joined in. Amanda’s hand moved to a much safer area of his thigh, but she’d made her point. Without coming out and saying anything, she was ready for what he’d offered her.

  Raven would show her later what it was like to make love with the Raven Lord, but for now he had a different dessert to share with her.

  Aileen and Sean returned, each bearing a bowl. “What’s going on?” Aileen set the banana pudding ridiculously close to Amanda and Raven. “Do I want to know?”

  Sean patted his wife’s rear as he passed behind her. “Nope. Not at all, love.”

  “Hmph.” Aileen glared at everyone equally before returning to the kitchen.

  “For the love of God, pass me the damn pudding,” Amanda sputtered.

  Raven spooned out a heaping glob and plopped it on her dessert plate. “Eat up, sweetheart.”

  She tilted her head. “What would you say if I told you it looks like—”

  “Amanda!” Aileen’s shout could be clearly heard from the kitchen, and the laughter that had started to die down picked up again.

  Amanda winked at him and scooped up a huge bite, slurping it off the spoon with an evil smirk.

  Now that the time had come Amanda found herself oddly nervous. Here she was, following Raven up the stairs to her bedroom, ready to allow him to finish binding them together, and her heart was racing with both fear and desire.

  This was it. This was the man she’d spend the rest of her life with. A long life, if Raven was to be believed.

  It wasn’t until she felt his hand on her cheek that she realized they were standing in front of her door. “We don’t have to do this yet.”

  She looked up at him, at the sincerity in his gaze, and smiled. “Yeah, we do.” She kissed his hand and stepped around him, opening the door. “Come on in.”

  Raven nodded and followed her, closing the door softly behind him. “Come here.”

  She went, sighing as he hugged her tight, the craving for his touch so strong she almost wept. If this longing had tortured Ruby before she and Leo bonded, then that just proved once and for all how strong she’d always known Ruby was, because this sucked.

  Raven kissed her, slowly joining their mouths together, keeping it soft and sweet as he eased her sweater up. He caressed the skin of her back as he began walking her backward toward the bed, carefully stepping to the side she’d slept on since she’d arrived. He eased her down onto the mattress, her knees bent and her feet dangling over the edge.

  Raven broke the kiss and knelt before her, easing her shoes off. He kissed the top of her feet before stroking the backs of her calves, rising up until he reached her knees. Those, too, were gently kissed before he leaned over her and pushed her skirt up to her waist.

  “Lay back, sweetheart.”

  Amanda shivered at the intent in his eyes, the way he gazed with hunger at her cloth-covered pussy. When he licked his lips she moaned and did his bidding, lying down.

  He slipped her panties down her legs, easing them off her completely. He gently pried her legs apart and ducked his head.

  “Oh shit,” Amanda grunted. Fuck, that felt good. His tongue was warm and wet, lapping at her pussy in slow, easy strokes. He made sure to catch her clit on every pass, tantalizing her with what it would be like for him to concentrate solely in that area. But the feel of him thrusting his tongue inside her only to pull it out, dragging it upward, was making her crazy.

  He didn’t bother trying to do that “spell the alphabet” bullshit, either. He just licked, and licked, and licked until she was squirming on the bed, desperate for him to take her throbbing clit into his mouth and suck.

  Finally she’d had enough. She grabbed hold of his ears and positioned him right where she wanted him. Ignoring his dark laughter, she sat up long enough to take off her sweater and toss it behind her.

  She arched her back as he finally took her clit into his mouth, sucking on it like it was made of sweet hard candy. She spread her thighs even farther apart, sighing when he gripped them and held her wide open.

  Amanda screeched as her orgasm shuddered through her, her vision going red and black with the strength of it. She was still shuddering when Raven moved from between her thighs, taking the tight, long-sleeved T-shirt off to reveal his delicious body to her hungry gaze. He had a large raven tattoo on his chest. It was in flight, its wings sweeping forward, its head between them. Its claws were extended, as if it were coming in for a landing. The tattoo was so large it covered his chest, the bottom wing almost touching his navel. She wanted to lick it, touch it, caress that dark skin to see if it felt any different than the lighter skin beside it.

  Raven reached down and pulled off his boots, then slowly unbuttoned his jeans. Dear God, she loved button-fly jeans on a man. When he pushed them down, she smiled.

  Commando. Of course.

  He kicked off the jeans and leaned over her, bracing himself with his hands on either side of her face. He kissed her deeply and she tasted herself on his tongue, the pleasure he’d given her still throbbing through her veins. When Raven cupped her ass she wrapped her legs around his waist, fully expecting him to enter her.

  But he did no such thing, instead lifting her and settling her farther back on the bed, crawling along top of her as she hadn’t removed her legs from around his waist.

  He settled her down, still askew on the bed, and unwrapped her legs from around him. Her skirt was whisked away, as was her bra, leaving them both bare to the other’s gaze.

  Amanda looked her fill. She couldn’t say if she’d ever been in bed with a sexier man, but she could say that so far, he was turning out to be one hell of a lover.

  Raven kissed her again, caressing her breasts in his big hands, the palms rough on her delicate flesh. His thumbs rubbed her over her nipples until they were ripe peaks, eager to feel his mouth on them. Amanda thrust into his hands, moaning into his mouth as he tweaked her nipples into aching hardness.

  He grunted as her wet pussy brushed against his erection. Amanda did it again, the feel of him on the edge of her opening causing an ache so deep she had to have him inside her. She wrapped her legs around his waist again, tugging him urgently down, desperate to feel him sliding his hard length into her.

  Raven broke the kiss, gazing into her eyes as he granted her wish, pushing into her until she felt full to the brim. He stilled as they joined for the first time, watching her with an intent expression until she was ready to either strangle him or flip him over and do the deed herself.

  “Please.”

  Her broken whisper seemed to spur him into action. He shuddered and began thrusting, fucking her with slow, deep thrusts designed to allow her to feel every inch of his cock. She palmed his ass, urging him on, loving the feel of
the hard globes in her hands. Amanda closed her eyes, concentrating on the sensations pouring through her as Raven fucked her, pumping into her until she was crying out breathlessly.

  Raven bit the side of her neck, sharp enough to sting but not sharp enough to draw blood. “Say you’re mine.”

  Amanda felt his breath against her neck, the request more of a demand.

  That sharp nip came again. “Say it.”

  The desperation in his voice couldn’t be ignored. Amanda gave him the only answer she could, the one that was already lingering in her heart. “Yours.”

  Raven shivered. Black feathers swirled around him, caressing them both. They were lifted into the air, inches above the mattress then feet, Raven’s back almost touching the ceiling. Their hair whipped around them, gold and black mingling together, yet Amanda felt no fear, only pleasure. Raven had not once stopped his thrusts, not once denied her his cock. He continued to fuck her with steady strokes even as his eyes bled from sapphire blue, through green, and all the way to black. His fingernails became black claws, barely scratching her skin, the slight sting only adding to her desire.

  And then, the strangest thing happened. Those dancing feathers speared into them both, but there was no pain. Instead, it was like she could float all on her own if she wanted, fly high into the sky without a plane, soar on the winds like the Raven Lord himself. She shivered as bits and pieces of his life flashed before her eyes, and she wondered how much of her past he saw as well.

  Raven gasped, those obsidian eyes going wide as he picked up his pace. “Amanda.”

  “Yes.” She tugged on his feathered hair, pulling him down for a hot, sloppy, wet kiss as he began pounding into her, all of his finesse gone as they slowly bonded.

  And it was a bond. It wound their very souls together, cradling the two in fierce heat and gentle warmth, much like the man himself.

  Amanda met him thrust for thrust, aware through their bond that it would not be complete until they both came, until their joining was complete in the flash fire of their mutual orgasm.