Mated to the Enforcer (Mafia Wolf Shifters) (Encantado Shifters Book 2)

by Georgette St. Clair

  “Don’t let it take you. What are you feeling?”

  Need. Desire. Craving.

  God, every time her magic flared when he was around, she wanted to jump on him like an alley cat. What the hell was wrong with her? But then, it also did the same to others when it got out of control around them.

  What the hell?

  He jerked her by her neck, a quick shake hard enough to snatch her out of her thoughts. “What are you feeling?” he repeated.

  “Need.”

  “For?”

  You. Kalinda almost said it, but she bit her lip. It was a freaking study in solar flares between her legs. She’d never felt her heartbeat there, pulsing and throbbing. She was slick, achy. Romano’s nostrils flared again.

  “Every time,” he forced out past a growl.

  “What?”

  He shook his head. “You’re going to say it. You have to figure it out.”

  Her power. What it was doing. She hated to admit it, but he was trying to help her. But she was too frustrated to—dammit.

  “Sex,” she mumbled.

  “I can’t hear you.”

  Damn wolf could hear everything. But she still threw her shoulders back, daring him to laugh at her. “Sex.”

  “Every time?”

  “Yes.”

  “And?”

  He wasn’t going to let it go. He wanted everything, demanded her to face it. Demanded her to be the woman she could be. She took a deep breath, taking in his masculine scent. “Sex … with you.”

  His grin could only be described as wolfish.

  “So you wanted me to eat you.”

  God, that shouldn’t have made her clench. But it did.

  “I can’t do this, Romano. I can’t do mindless. I can’t do freefall.”

  “Why not? I’m going to be there to catch you.”

  “And after? You can’t think I’m going to believe in forever.”

  Once more, his smile disappeared and she got the real Romano. “You don’t have to believe in forever. Believe in the fight. I won’t give up … and neither will you.”

  He crashed his mouth into hers, and on some silent accord, they still kept their gazes locked. Other than his hands on the back of her neck, their lips were all that touched. Romano claimed her, forcing her mouth open with his tongue and tasting his way over every surface inside. Slick, silken lips slid against hers with precision, fitting them together. He turned her head slightly, deepening the kiss.

  She’d never been touched like this. With his mouth alone he proved she’d been missing more than she’d ever known. How did one be claimed with sensuous power? He sucked her tongue into his mouth and bit it, testing the firmness against his teeth, and it sent her desire through the roof. She wanted to feel his teeth on her skin, on her breasts, along her rib cage, between her legs, everywhere.

  That dance against a razor-sharp edge.

  Kalinda knew he was strong enough to physically break her, rip her to shreds, and something in that strength made her weep with need. No one had ever been strong enough. She’ always had to temper her fire, her rage, her emotions, her words. Every step had to be careful controlled and managed. Head up, shoulders back, walk strong, run her business, maintain her image. She’d never truly let her hair down. But he forced her, ripping any command she thought she had right out of her hands.

  Finally, he plunged his fingers into her hair, scattering her carefully placed bobby pins and gripping the strands. Each prick of near pain reminded her of his overwhelming power against hers. She sank into him, letting him lead.

  It feels good to let go.

  To give in.

  To be cared for.

  His hand placement allowed for his arms to cage her against his chest and take her weight. She didn’t run away. Instead, she gave him more. Pushing into him, she craved more. Kalinda didn’t realize he was moving them until her legs straightened.

  Her feet didn’t touch the floor.

  He held her with the strength of his arms, hovering off the floor.

  That’s hot.

  He broke their kiss. “You’re wearing too many clothes. How much do you like of what you have on?”

  She blinked. “Clothes?”

  He chuckled. “Good answer. Grip the poster rail above your head.”

  Romano maneuvered until one arm was wrapped around her waist so she could reach up and grip the iron rail above his bed.

  “You’re so beautiful.”

  She could see just enough in the darkened room as he lifted his free hand and partially shifted until he had sharp claws.

  “Don’t move,” he ordered.

  His claws raked through her top, bra, pants, and underwear like warm butter, leaving her exposed, her breasts full and plump, nipples hard, and her trimmed curls damp. He cupped her hot center, his sharp nails resting against the base.

  Danger. Edge.

  “Trust me.”

  Romano lowered slowly, taking her weight on his shoulders, and kissed down her neck. His teeth grazed across her heated skin. Collar bone. Sternum. Over the swell of her right breast before his tongue snaked out and laved one nipple. He kept going, starting fires and setting them to smolder with his damn kisses and sharp bites.

  He’d read her mind, he had to. He bit and kissed his way down every spot she’d wanted him to. Touched each place she’d needed until she was panting. He knelt between her legs, her thighs on either side of his head.

  When he looked up at her, his eyes flashed golden for a moment.

  “Every bit of power you have pent up, waiting to rush out, I want you to give to me. Don’t hold it, don’t think about it. Let this be the safe place.”

  “Romano,” she started.

  He bit her inner left thigh, hard.

  I like that.

  “I’m not asking, Kalinda.”

  She closed her eyes. Could she? What if—

  His hot tongue licked over her curls and down, swirling around her clit without touching it. Her body tensed, muscles locked in anticipation. Magic jerked in her chest, demanding release. She gasped, nearly choked with it.

  One deep breath. In. Out.

  And then she let go.

  Of all of it.

  Chapter Eleven

  Romano’s silken tongue was the counterbalance to Kalinda’s complete loss of control. Magic, alive and breathing, crested within her blood and, for the first time, was freed of all inhibitions and controls. Like a second lover, it caressed her skin, heated her blood, and ignited her senses. Sex was heavy in the air—a combination of her sweetness and Romano’s rugged, earthy scent. Her gifts swirled in her mouth, leaving behind traces of chocolate and spice even as Romano sucked her clit into his mouth and flicked it eagerly with his tongue.

  He applied hot, steady pressure on the nub, giving her no escape and even less room to understand the sensations pouring through her. A heartbeat thundered in her ears, deeper and heavier than her own. Scalding breath danced over her heated flesh, sending shockwaves reverberating through her. His fingers were harsh, digging into her hips, and she had no doubt she’d be bruised in the morning.

  Then … it changed.

  A lone wolfed howled deep inside her mind, exhilarated with happiness. It raced through the forest, large paws well-balanced on deep, moist earth, each scent a signal to the world around it. And it was free. So free. Explosive with its craving for what danced right before it. Silken walls, taut skin, slick juices sliding along its tongue.

  Mate.

  Kalinda sucked in a deep breath, as did the wolf, filling both their lungs with a heady call of the wild. And the wolf answered, reveling in want and desire and wrapped in musky notes of a perfect red wine. Shivers raced along the wolf’s spine, and with sudden clarity, she knew the wolf was Romano, the flavor her.

  Somehow, her pleasure, spiraling up from her belly and wringing cries from her throat with every bated breath, mixed with his—his love of feeling her folds, the craving of her taste, the blossoming of overwh
elming need.

  They were one and separate, together and not, racing toward climax. She’d never had anyone in her life she could think of who truly wanted her the way he did. Romano’s need of her made her toes curl and her back arch. It only served to make the electricity arcing through her body as tight as a bow string, ready to snap at any moment.

  A growl vibrated against the inside of her thighs and slid deep into her core. Romano used the flat of his tongue to trace a molten path from the base of her up to her mound and back down again.

  “I could eat you all night, Kalinda. Devour you like my last meal.”

  Yeah, her fingers slipped from the railing above her head right about then. Her back bowed. Romano pressed his face back into her mound and tossed her into the stratosphere even as he lowered her to the bed. The soft mattress and comforter cushioned her, enveloping her in feather lightness.

  Trapped between Romano and the bed, Kalinda rode the wave. She couldn’t stop her scream if she tried. Couldn’t hold back from clenching her thighs around his ears and burying her fingers in the cool thickness of his hair. She gripped the strands, yanking him harder against her, curling her lower body and riding his face.

  It was magnetic.

  It was wild.

  It was like nothing she’d ever experienced before.

  By the time she slumped back and away, she could barely catch her breath. Romano stood, casting a deep shadow across her and the bed. His silhouette cut a striking figure as he removed his holster. The heavy thud of the gun was loud against as it hit the nightstand. His motions were meticulous and slow.

  Agonizingly slow.

  She was afraid he would ruin the tempo and send her sliding down back into awareness, but as she watched him, anticipation grew. His shoulders were powerful, uncaged from the confines of his shirt, and his waist tapered into a pronounced V of muscle. She traced the indentions with her gaze as his hands worked on his belt.

  Romano was a man chiseled and built for war. Scarring marred his chest, something she’d never seen on a wolf. Kalinda reached out before she realized it, sitting up slightly to touch the puckered flesh.

  “We’ve both had our time in the Chaos Realm.”

  His words were deep, his gaze heavy with remembered pain. Later, she’d ask, but for now, she only wanted this moment between them.

  Letting her hands trail down the hard build of his stomach, she smiled saucily. “My warrior.”

  He froze, fire blazing in his gaze for a moment before he ripped his clothes from his body and pushed her back onto the bed. He was heavy, making it hard for her chest to fully expand, but his weight was welcome. Rough hands gripped her thighs and pushed them up and out until she had to plant her feet on the bed for balance. Then. the smooth head of his cock slid against her folds.

  “There is no turning back now.”

  He didn’t give her a chance to respond. He gripped her throat, a warning, a promise, pressing against her pulse and constricting her airflow enough to make her head spin. His other hand braced her hips where he wanted them before he slammed home.

  Kalinda choked out a cry, his girth stretching her to burning, his length filling her, and the crisp edge of pain was nearly too much. Gripping the wrists of the hand holding her throat, she dug her nails into his skin.

  A metallic tang rent the air, but Romano’s jackknifing hips didn’t stop. They clashed together, nothing soft or subtle about it. She’d called him a warrior, and her body became a battlefield he was intent on conquering. He kept her pinned down with his hand, but his free one roamed her curves. Each place he passed scorched her nerve endings and made her womb clench.

  He tweaked her nipples, and she groaned. He molded her breasts so he could sip at their curves, and she sighed. When he fingered her clit, she screamed. He left nowhere untouched, turning her skin into a livewire. Her magic still filled the room, gold and black touching every crevice and pressing against the walls.

  “Fuck, I need more.” Romano jerked out of her and flipped her over.

  Too tired to do anything more than follow his lead, Kalinda let him position her on her hands and knees. His heat burned her as he draped over her, his mouth hot against her shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her, forearm pressed between her breasts and fingers finding that familiar place around her neck. Using his free hand, he pulled her back onto his cock.

  They met in the center, and now his possession was deeper, more profound. Gone was the rough pounding, replaced by deep thrusts.

  His teeth slid into her neck, right where he’d marked her.

  Fuck the sun; she knew something much hotter—Romano.

  Kalinda didn’t know where she ended and he began. Whether they had two heartbeats or one. Everything twisted and turned, combined and slid into place until they were pieces of the same picture. Her mouth hung open, and soundless screams were all she could manage. It was too much and not enough. Each caress of his shaft within her played notes of possession and craving. She followed, unable to do much more, too lost in her own slip of control. She let Romano lead the charge. By the time he roared his release, she didn’t even know her own name.

  “Well, you do get messy every once in a while.”

  Whoever had interrupted Kalinda’s much-needed sleep was going to get a pointy stiletto right in the center of their forehead. Even if she felt like all she did was sleep lately, thanks to her shiny new sex magic … or was it that she was just horny? Whatever. Last night’s sleep was much different. Romano hadn’t left her alone until the sun rose, and according to her eyes’ stubborn refusal to open, she’d bet she’d been asleep for a few hours at best.

  “Come on, woman.”

  Oh, yum. Even her sleepy mind would recognize the stimulating aroma of a robust coffee with Irish butter. And only one other person—besides maybe Zoey, who wouldn’t dare wake her up like this—knew she drank her coffee like that. Kalinda opened one eye to find Silva leaning over one side of the bed, a large steaming cup of joe in her petite hand. Of course, she didn’t look like herself at all.

  “What the hell?”

  Silva arched a brow but didn’t comment. Okay, it was completely weird to see Silva in a skintight, long-sleeve black getup with sterling silver plates across her breasts and abdomen. And was that a hilt over her shoulder?

  There was not enough coffee in the world for this.

  Kalinda sat up, making sure to tuck the cover around her naked form—this was so inappropriate for a boss to employee relationship—and grasped the offered coffee. Ten minutes and one cup down, Kalinda stuck out the cup for a refill. Silva, bless her, just smiled and disappeared.

  Kalinda jumped out of bed to get dressed, but her wobbly legs and sticky thighs reminded her of how much fun she’d had last night.

  Yeah, not going to think about the mating part, or how good it felt, or how close we came, or even the emotions leaking through our weird, magic sexytime thing.

  She raced into the bathroom, slamming the door just as Silva came back into the room.

  “I’ll leave gear on the bed and coffee on the nightstand. Put your hair up in the bun you like so much and I’ll meet you in the living room. You’ve got twenty minutes.”

  Kalinda frowned at the bathroom door. “Who died and made you boss?”

  “Things change, Ales.”

  Wait, how did Silva know about that? Driven to know exactly what was going on, and wondering where Romano was anyway, she raced through her morning ritual. She came out of the bathroom—that was completely going to get a long appointment with her in the future because whoa—and found a similar black and silver outfit waiting for her.

  Once she had it on—figuring out the mage-elastic allowed her to pull it up over her body and it formed to her shape—she had to admit it was stunning as she admired it in the bathroom mirror. Her dark hair pulled into a bun made her angular cheekbones stand out, and her shape was accented. She looked alluring and deadly at the same time. That was a first.

  Kalinda gra
bbed her second cup of coffee and guzzled it down on the way to the living room. Silva was there waiting, sipping her own cup of coffee.

  She let out a low whistle. “I’m happy Romano isn’t here. He would never let you outside in that.”

  “Romano doesn’t tell me what to do.”

  Silva snorted. “Says the newly mated woman. Right.”

  “Silva, I know we’ve been working well together, but this is a bit weird. I followed the instructions, but now I need clarity. Why are you here? And how do you know about the Ales?”

  Silva put her cup down and placed her hands in her lap. “Romano called me. He had to go to a meeting with the Moretti and Lombardi Pack powers that be, and when he told me what happened with you, I knew I needed to be here.”

  Well, that answered the questions of where Romano was. Though she would have liked to get some sort of message or something. Ugh, it was already starting. That’s why she didn’t do stuff like this. Trust was hard earned, and most men wouldn’t be able to keep up with her demands. She’d always known this.

  “He left you a note on the bed, but I moved it in here when I woke you. Wasn’t sure if you were going to smack the coffee out of my hand or not.”

  Sure as shit, Silva held a white note with black scrawl in her hand.

  Headed to a meeting but made sure you have protection. If you need me, I’m now speed dial one on your phone. Sorry, Zoey.

  She couldn’t help but smile. Zoey would lose her shit, of course, but Kalinda would make sure she was number two. Silva chuckled, and Kalinda cleared her throat, embarrassed to be caught grinning like some teenager in a new relationship.

  “Okay, but that doesn’t explain it all,” Kalinda told her.

  “You know I’m Fae? There are blood pacts for Fae kin to be attached to certain families. The agreements are as old as time and can’t be broken. The minute I knew you were an Ales, it made sense why I’ve been so drawn to you.”

  “The thing you couldn’t tell me before was that you were drawn to me,” Kalinda figured. “It might have been a bit weird to tell an employer you were applying for the job because their blood called.”