by Leila Brown
Jason skidded to a halt and tumbled and fell. Something was wrong. He felt eyes on him. The forest was full of movement, so he couldn’t find who was watching him. A scream filled the air; then he was knocked sideways. Jason pushed up and lifted his claws, preparing to fight.
He stopped just in time to see Gio looking down at him. Her eyes were wolf blue. It seemed that having sex all day and night yesterday hadn’t helped. Her wolf had taken over. And she wanted to play.
He should lead her back to his cabin. He should make her understand the danger to them both. He should not be getting turned on from her fingers stroking his side. There were a lot of things he should do. Instead he rolled on top of her, doing his best to keep the majority of his weight off her.
When she scrambled from beneath him, he let her go. She crouched and watched him, then pounced on his back. Heat burned through his fur where her legs wrapped around him. She might as well have been naked. He could feel her fire and smell her arousal.
If he could smell it, so could they. That realization sent thoughts of play from his mind. They would be watching, and Donovan would make sure that was all they did, until they smelled her arousal. Then all bets were off. Those who hadn’t mated in a while would consider her fair game. And the others would definitely report the scent of her heat back to Dane. The second he could live with. The first? Not a chance.
He shook her off of him then backed up a few feet and growled. She got up on all fours and stared at him. Jason sniffed the air. They didn’t have time for this. Her scent was getting stronger. She growled back.
He nipped at her. This time letting his teeth slice a little cut in her skin. She jumped back, and he surged forward. She moved back again; then she started to run. He easily kept up with her. When she tried to veer to the left or right too much, he growled deep and butted his head against her hips. By the time the cabin came into sight, he could feel the anger rolling off her. Which was too damn bad.
He followed her onto the porch and pushed her inside. Once she was safely in the house, he scanned the woods. There were four other wolves in those trees besides Donovan. They were watching, but not interacting. Which meant Dane had a plan.
He shifted, then used his arms to crawl into his chair. He wheeled back into the house. Donovan would report back after he followed Dane’s spies back to the man. Jason pushed through the slightly ajar door and slammed it. He watched Gio pacing the living-room floor. That little bite was going to cost them. It would make her wolf stronger. Kind of like taking a double dose when one was more than sufficient.
“Why the hell did you do that?” Her eyes blazed a vibrant blue.
“Did you not hear Donovan and I talking about people trying to kill you?” Anger flowed up from his stomach as his words hit him square in the chest. The taste of it burned his throat and tongue.
“Honestly, no.” Her anger seemed to whoosh out of her with those two words. “When the idea to run hit me, it turned into the most important thing. I might have heard the word kill, but it didn’t matter. I just needed to run. I couldn’t stop myself.”
He’d told her that her wolf could take over. She hadn’t believed him. She hadn’t been prepared. She should have been.
“Seems your wolf wanted to come out and play.” Her wolf would have to be very strong in order to take over just to run.
“You told me as long as I kept her satisfied, she would be dormant.”
“Look, it’s not as if I do this every day. It’s different for everyone.”
“What’s so different about me?” She stopped and stared at him.
“I don’t know. Maybe because you were bitten by an Alpha? I have no idea. All I know is if you go outside again, Dane and his men will snatch you and kill you. Until the solstice, you need to stay here.”
Gio heard him, but this was crazy. Why kill her? It wasn’t like she’d done anything to anyone else in the pack. “I still can’t really wrap my head around the fact that they want to kill me because I’m here with you?”
“To get to me.”
“And why do they want to kill you?”
“Because I used to be the Alpha. I’m the one that made all the rules about how to deal with humans, about how to handle the newly converted wolves—all of this.” He waved his hands in the air.
“This is your fault.” She took a couple of really small steps. “Well then, you can fix it, right?”
“No. I used to be the Alpha. After the accident, I stepped down.” He moved the chair back and rolled around her.
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did you step down?” She followed him into the bedroom.
“Why the hell do you think? An Alpha has to be able to take all comers. How the hell am I supposed to do that with this damn chair and only two good legs in wolf form?” He turned on her, almost running over her foot.
Gio stumbled back into the wall, then quickly righted herself. “Your wolf looked fine to me. You scared me to death. And out there in the woods, you ran without a problem. So what’s the real issue?” She crossed her arms.
“Have you ever seen wolves fight?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “It’s not a fair fight. You always go for the weak spot. Mine is so evident it wouldn’t be much of a fight. And I would be so busy trying to protect my backside, it would only take a few seconds for the right wolf to end the fight.”
“You don’t have much confidence in your ability, do you?”
“Look. I was Alpha of this pack for almost six years before the accident. I know I can’t be Alpha in this chair. Every second, another newbie would come out of the woodwork just knowing it will be a cinch to kill a handicapped Alpha. The pack would never know a second of peace.” He wheeled over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of sweats.
“And then again, if you soundly beat one man, all the others might take notice and decide it wouldn’t be worth it.” She wasn’t going to let this go.
“There is no sound beating. A fight for Alpha is to the death. If the challenger or losing Alpha is still alive, then the new Alpha isn’t considered strong enough to make the final blow for the well-being of the pack.” He pulled a shirt over his head.
“How many of these Alpha fights did you win?”
“Enough,” he told her as he pulled his pants on. He looked really uncomfortable as he basically rocked his way into his pants. “If they catch you, Dane will force me into an Alpha fight. And they will kill you when I lose the fight.”
“What about Donovan?”
“Donovan can’t help me during an Alpha fight. Not to mention that Dane would be sure to take care of Donovan before he challenged me. Are you done with the questions?”
“Just one? Can my wolf come out to play?”
He looked up and saw the blue gleam of her eyes. She licked her lips and stalked over to him. As soon as she was within reach, she ran her hands up and down the sides of his arms.
“What does your wolf want to do?” He was a bit wary. There was no way he was agreeing to play if that was her code word for taking a run.
“I just want to taste you,” she whispered as she moved in front of his chair.
Jason closed his eyes and relaxed. He felt her massage the tops of his thighs. When she started tugging on his pants, he propped his hands on the chair arms and lifted his body up. The pants slid straight down. As soon as the elastic of the waistband slipped over his erection, it sprang to life.
It had been so long since he’d felt lips on his cock that he knew he couldn’t have stopped her even if he wanted to.
Gio stared at his erection and licked her lips. Suddenly, tasting him had become as essential as breathing. Something deep inside her wanted to taste him, and although she wanted to tell herself that it was just her wolf, she knew it wasn’t.
“Open up,” he told her as he ran his hands along her cheeks then down her jawline and under her chin. The husky, masterful tone of his voice sent a thrill through her. It was almost as good as
having him slap her ass during sex the previous day.
She crouched up so she could take the head of his cock in her mouth at a good angle. The second she touched the soft flesh of his cock with her lips, she was lost. She wanted him. Everything he had to give and more.
He guided her head up and down. At first he started with her only taking the head of his cock in her mouth. She moved her tongue along the length and over the top of his shaft. Before she could get used to the rhythm, he pulled her head down farther. She put a hand at the base of his cock, and as she moved one hand up and down, she also tightened the fingers encircling the bottom of his penis. He sucked in a deep breath, and his hands went a little slack on her head.
“So good,” he murmured.
She clenched her fingers and started a pulsing rhythm right above his scrotum. She tried to stay at a slow pace, but it didn’t work. Every small moan that escaped his lips enticed her to go faster and suck harder.
Within minutes she was taking him deep enough for the tip of his cock to knock against the back of her throat. He moaned low, then let go of her head and put his hands on her shoulders. She pushed farther and felt him knock into the tight lining of her throat. She pushed him out almost immediately, then pulled him in again. If the way his fingers were squeezing her shoulders were any indication, he liked that. She did it again.
“I’m about to come.”
Just as he said the words, she felt a tensing along his shaft. A spray of cream flowed into her mouth before she could move up. When he finished, she walked over to his bathroom and stepped inside. She bent to spit out the cream in her mouth. But before she could think about it, she swallowed. She coughed several times then stared at herself in the bathroom mirror.
“Look, we’re going to have to come to an understanding. I don’t like to swallow.” She knew she was crazy for talking to herself, but at this moment, she didn’t care. “I am in control here. When I’m down on four legs and covered in fur, then you get to be master. Not now.”
This had to be how insanity started. Doing things you wouldn’t normally do. Talking to yourself as if you could answer. Not to mention she was actually starting to care about a man who’d turned her life upside down and inside out. Her entire world was being washed away because of a bite. How could she even think about liking him? As she looked in the mirror, she realized she wasn’t about to get any answers—at least not ones she was ready to face.
“Are you ever coming out of there?” he asked from the bedroom.
She barely managed to keep from screaming that she was coming. The fact that she really wanted to run out there and dive into the bed held her back. She couldn’t want him like this. It didn’t make sense. Her girl parts were tingling as she thought of him touching her again.
“If you don’t come out, I’m coming in.” Was he right outside the door? He sounded like it.
Shit. Gio sucked in a breath and walked out and right into him. Had he been there the whole time?
“Give me some room.” She pushed at his chair, but he didn’t move. She squeezed past him and stood behind him. “Have you ever heard of personal space? I require three feet.”
He turned around then raised a brow. “You need to relax. And I know just how to make that happen.”
Gio looked at his smirk and narrowed her eyes. What did he mean?
He rolled toward her, and she backed up. He moved closer, and she moved away. They played the cat-and-mouse game until she felt the edge of the bed at the backs of her legs.
“What are you doing?” she asked, more than a bit nervous.
“Helping you relax.” He took her legs and pulled, making her fall backward onto the bed. He trailed a finger up and down her legs.
She knew what he was going to do, and his little touches were doing nothing but torturing her into jumping and shivering in anticipation. Then she felt his teeth on her. There was a sharp, scraping pain followed by the soothing caress of his tongue. He bit up one leg and down the other.
She closed her eyes and concentrated on not shattering right there. Her body was still humming from earlier, so she had no clue how long she would be able to hold out.
He used his tongue to trace the sensitive skin covering her clit, and she grabbed the sheets. “Jason, please.”
He dipped through her wet crease and stroked her tiny bud. She was so sensitive that she almost screamed at the first touch. But after a few more swipes, she was riding a cresting wave and ready to come. She was almost there; all she needed was a little more.
Something must have tipped him off about her upcoming orgasm. He pushed two fingers inside her and sucked her clit into his mouth at the same time. Fire started deep in her belly and worked its way up and out to every cell in her body. She released the sheets and let the fire burn straight through her.
When she could suck in a breath and concentrate enough to open her eyes, he was gone.
“Are you hungry?” he called from outside the bedroom.
She was starving. But food wasn’t number one on her list, and that scared her. His relaxation technique had done nothing but make her want to jump into bed with him again. Her need to be with him was going beyond the need to quench that fire smoldering inside her. She actually liked being touched by him. And touching him. The man in that chair was vulnerable, approachable, and so drop-dead delicious in bed that she couldn’t imagine… Stop. Stop right there. She was not about to do this. He wasn’t her type. And she wasn’t his. Wasn’t that what had started this whole mess in the first place? No more thoughts about him, the future, or anything else that led down that forbidden path. Right now she needed to live day to day. Concentrate on surviving.
When she walked out of the bedroom, he was nowhere to be found. The smell of toast pulled her into the kitchen, where he whizzed around, popping something into the oven.
“What’s for lunch?” she asked, putting on a cheery face—one that probably didn’t fool either of them.
“A precooked roast Donovan picked up.” He looked over his shoulder at her. His phone rang, and whatever else he was going to say died on his lips. He opened the phone and put it up to his ear. “What’s up, Donovan?”
“I just left Dane’s house. It looks like Toni is headed your way. I think Dane’s trying to get info on Gio. Be careful. A lot of the pack is about to go into heat.” Donovan’s voice was as clear as if she had been on the phone with him. How the hell was she hearing that? She doubted Jason’s cell phone could broadcast that loud. And it wasn’t as if she had been specifically trying to listen in.
“Thanks,” Jason said then shut the phone.
“Who’s Toni?” It could be a guy. It could. But hadn’t Jason said only the females went into heat?
“Huh?” He looked at her as if she’d grown another head.
“Don’t know how, but I heard your entire conversation. Who’s Toni, and why is she headed this way?” He blushed, and suddenly she was on high alert. It was a simple question. He held her gaze for several seconds, long enough for her to know she wouldn’t like his answer.
“Toni is Dane’s sister and one of the stronger females in the pack.” He turned his head away from her as he said the words. “She’ll be here in about fifteen minutes with the way she drives. Stay in my bedroom. No need to give Dane more information than he already has.”
“Hold on. His men have already seen me, so what difference does it make if I meet this Toni?” She felt her wolf rising to the surface. The primal need to fight burned through her. She wasn’t a meek little mouse. She never hid from a challenge. Not before this change and she had no plans on doing it now.
“A dominant female can spot another one. Her wolf will come out, and knowing her, she will either test you with a fight in human form, or she’ll transform into her wolf and try to tear you to pieces.” He looked directly at her. “Either way, if I help you, you’ll be seen as weak. I prefer to wait till after your change, so you will be on somewhat fairer footing.”
“How
can it be fair? She’s been a wolf for how long? And I’ve been a half wolf for what…a few days?” She shook her head at his logic.
“When you shift, the wolf inside will know what to do. It’s not like being born; you don’t have to be taught everything. Some things are instinctual. If you’re dominant, you’ll fight. If you’re submissive, you’ll submit.” He didn’t smile, didn’t offer her comfort.
“Basically I hide so this bitch coming to visit doesn’t try to tear me a new one. Gotcha.” Even as she said the words, her wolf cried out for her not to do it. To stand strong and fight. But what if she was a submissive? She didn’t want to bow down to another woman with him watching. Then again, she didn’t want to get her ass kicked in front of him either.
