And then she grabbed a sheet, yanked it off the bed and covered herself.
Please, don’t. I love your body. I love looking at all your wonderful curves and thinking about making love to you in every way imaginable.
“Stop talking into my head. It’s disconcerting.”
At least she recognized the validity of the fact. Finally.
He blinked his big lids at her and lowered his head to his paws. Would she perceive his stance of submission and obedience, albeit temporary, and relax her posture?
Not so much.
She backed against the wall and then slunk to the floor, covering her entire exposed self with the sheet.
They were in a standoff. Not wanting to make matters worse, James opted to stay where he was, two feet from her toes, until he could hear her heart rate lower and smell her fear ebbing.
Minutes ticked by, the only audible sounds their heavy breathing and the clock ticking behind him.
“That’s going to happen to me?”
Yes. Soon. Would you like me to shift back and be with you in human form or stay in wolf form when you do?
“I don’t know.” Hannah brought her hand to her mouth and bit her nail.
James waited.
“Will it hurt?”
Not much. Could he soothe her with his mind?
“Did you cause this to happen? Because you had sex with me?”
Well, yes and no. I suppose you could say I caused it from the standpoint that we are mated now and it’s just what happens when shapeshifters mate. Can’t be avoided. At her gasp, he hurried to continue. But before you go all accusatory on me, you are a shapeshifter also, Hannah, because your mother and father are. If you had mated with another, God forbid, besides the fact I would have killed the bastard, you still would have shifted under his tutelage instead of mine.
She looked uncertain.
It’s the nature of our breed. You were born this way. Males begin to shift at puberty. Females don’t shift until they’re claimed.
“Oh.”
Hannah… You are mine.
“I see.” She nibbled on her nail again, and he wanted to grab the hand to stop her from drawing blood. He stayed where he was.
More time passed. It hurt to let her take the reins, but he remained “silent” while she absorbed the abundance of information.
Her arms fell to her sides finally, allowing the sheet to drift beneath her breasts. “I’m so hot.” Her head fell back against the wall and she moaned.
James inched his way closer to her, head down, hind legs pushing him forward. When he got close enough, he risked laying his head against her ankle.
Hannah glanced his way and…smiled, wanly but still.
Don’t fight it. Let it happen. Let go, babe.
She moaned in response and shook her head. “Can’t.”
Look at me. Let me help you.
One look at her eyes and James knew it was time. Hannah lay down on the floor beside him and curled her body inward. Sweat covered her brow and he ached to wipe the beads away, ease her discomfort. The first time was always the worst. Confusing. Stressful, even for those who’d seen the change hundreds of times throughout their childhoods.
Hannah had seen precisely one shift. It was obvious from her naiveté that she’d never even seen her parents shift as a young child.
Guilt riddled him as he watched her fight the inevitable.
I’m right here, babe. Look into my eyes and let it go.
Moments later she did as she’d been told and twisted her head toward him.
Bones cracked and she sucked in a breath. Held it.
Breathe. James nuzzled her leg, inched forward to lick her hand, praying she’d find the action soothing rather than distasteful.
Before his eyes, his beautiful mate shifted, an action as old as time. Bones popped and elongated, transforming into the most wonderful blonde wolf he’d ever seen. He nosed her face and when she didn’t flinch, he licked her snout, savoring this first time in their lupine form together.
You’re so lovely. I wish you could see yourself.
Uh-huh. Right.
She snorted, as well as possible in wolf form. As she peered around the room, she began to panic.
Is this real? Will I be able to turn back?
Of course. In a little while.
I feel strange.
It’ll grow on you. You’ll see. Are you tired? You must be exhausted.
Very.
Lie down next to me. I’ll keep you warm while you nap.
Without argument, Hannah spun in a circle and then settled on the floor, her head over her crossed front paws. If he could have smiled visibly, he would have.
* * * * *
Hannah awoke with a start and bolted upright. Glancing down, she confirmed she was in bed and indeed completely intact and human, albeit naked. It had been a dream. A weird nightmare actually.
“You okay?” The voice jerked her head to the side.
Sure enough, the nightmare wasn’t completely untrue. James lay beside her, reaching for her to run his hand along her spine, a tight questioning smile on his face.
Heat spread across her skin, crawling up her neck and face, undoubtedly leaving it splotchy.
Which parts had been true and which were a bad dream? She hoped the early parts of her memory had been real, because her recollection involved some unbelievable sex.
“Honey,” he began, tugging her down toward him, warming her skin where it chilled in the cool air of the hotel room. Was the air-conditioning on? “It’s all true. We definitely engaged in the best sex of all time, over and over, in fact. And then—”
Hannah twisted away. “Can’t we just leave it at that and I’ll try to pretend the rest of my imaginings didn’t happen, starting with you reading my mind.”
“Okay, but you’ll have to face the truth sooner or later, love.”
Kisses rained down her spine and as much as she wished she could pull away, run far, far away, his mouth felt so good. Incredible. She couldn’t help but relax into his grip as he enveloped her in his arms from behind and nuzzled the back of her neck.
“James, don’t…” Even to her ears the words sounded flat.
Hands skimmed up her stomach and surrounded her breasts, grazing occasionally over her nipples pebbling beneath the caress against her wishes.
She should run from the room. Intellectually, she was freaked out, but she couldn’t seem to control her body’s own ideas, the intense need she had for…sex.
“You’re so responsive, always ready for me.” One hand wandered lower, leaving the other to alter between her needy breasts rising and falling against him.
When he reached between her legs, he found her already wet. With one leg, he pulled her open to him, allowing better access to her center.
Needy, Hannah attempted to turn toward him, but James held her steady, pulling her tighter against his chest. “Let me love you.” His breath fanned out against her neck and he kissed a line to her ear. Gentle licks around the lobe drove her to distraction.
“This is crazy. How many times did we have sex last night? Three? Four? Do we count the times you entered me or the orgasms as well?”
Chuckles filled her sensitive ear. “We can count any way you’d like, but it won’t stop me from taking you again now. You’ve been asleep for about eight hours while I lay here watching you, needing to fill your pussy again with my straining cock. Every little purr you made in your sleep drove me wild with wanting you again.”
She gasped. “You stayed awake? All night?”
“I don’t sleep much. Just a few hours a day really. You probably won’t need to sleep as much either, as soon as your first heat subsides.”
“When will that be, do you think? And why do you keep using the word ‘heat’?”
James distracted her by slipping a finger into her warmth and pulling it back out again to spread her wetness in a circle around her clit. She pressed against his hand, arching into it, hoping
for better contact.
Instead he drew back. Removing his hand entirely, he whispered in her ear, “Hold still. Don’t rush me. I want to make love to you this time, instead of fucking you silly.”
“Really funny, wise guy.” Hannah grabbed his hand and pressed it back into the opening between her legs.
“Ah, ah, ah. Do I have to tie your hands to the headboard to get a little compliance around here?”
Hannah shivered, unsure if she was scared or excited by the proposition.
“Hmmm, interesting. You like that idea.” Trails of kisses worked their way toward her lips and she had to twist her head to make contact with his mouth from behind.
“Of course not.” Even she knew she’d spoken too quickly, too firmly.
“You can’t lie to me about your body, sweetheart. I can smell your arousal and it went up two notches when I spoke of restraining you. As it did again just now.” His lips landed on hers, but she could feel the smile behind the kiss.
The bastard was proud of himself.
Of course I am. Who wouldn’t be turned-on to find out his woman likes a little bondage? That’s sexy as hell, baby. His words sank into her mind, but he never stopped exploring her mouth with his, his tongue beginning to work wonders against her own.
Fuck you, and get out of my head. There was no oomph behind the silent proclamation and she knew it.
Soon. You’ll learn to block me over time, as I will you. But for now, you’d better watch your thoughts because I’m privy to all of them. And I’ll pay especially close attention to the kinky ones. You can count on it.
James grabbed her wrists with his and pulled them over her head to grasp them with just one of his own hands. “Where were we?” he muttered against the sensitive inner skin of her arm just below her armpit, sending a chill down her torso, raising goose bumps even on her exposed chest.
“I love it when you shiver beneath me. It’s sexy as hell to know I did that to you.” He rubbed his hand along the raised skin of her breast, easing the bumps until she slumped deeper against him.
The slow perusal turned on a dime when he pinched one nipple tight between two fingers and then immediately dipped those fingers into her pussy. With her eyes closed in sensual overload, she’d not seen that coming and flinched against his chest on a moan.
“Will you be good? If I swirl my fingers here…” he paused to emphasize his words with actions, “and then drag your arousal here?” Those same damn fingers jumped up to surround her clit with her own wetness, circling the nub once again without touching it.
“Does your clit come out of its hood on its own? Or do I have to pull it back to see the pulsing little member?”
Hannah gasped.
Without warning, James flipped toward her front, flattening her to the mattress on her back. “Grab the headboard right here,” he placed her fingers over the rungs behind her, “and don’t move them until I say so or I stop. Got it?”
Hannah bit her bottom lip and nodded.
James climbed down her body and settled between her thighs. “Open your legs for me, baby.”
When she wasn’t fast enough, or maybe they weren’t far enough apart, he added, “Wider.”
Hannah bent her knees and let them flop all the way apart. Why was she letting him do this to her? And why did it feel so good, make her so horny?
James pressed two fingers inside her again and drew them out, over and over, fucking her gently, but not nearly enough to make her come. Yesterday she might have come against his leg with her pants on, but today she wanted more.
When she started lifting her torso and gyrating against his fingers, James pressed her hips with his other hand to hold her down.
“Let me make you feel good, Hannah. My way. Slow and sexy.”
She moaned. “I think I like fast and furious better.”
James laughed. “We can do both. But this time we’re going with slow.” His knees pressed forward against her thighs, forcing her open even wider.
“Oh God. James.”
The fingers gently stroking in and out of her finally withdrew to trace warm lines of wetness around her pussy, areas that cooled in the air and made her even more aware of herself.
When he finally arrived to trace circles around her clit, she was so aroused, she thought she might come after all, embarrassingly early in the game.
“Hold on. Don’t come until I say.”
Did he think those words helped?
He chuckled softly, but never lifted his gaze from the spot between her legs, his finger slowly, agonizingly circling her clit.
Hannah’s heart beat so hard and fast, she thought it would pump right out of her chest.
“Ah, there it is.” James might have glanced at her face, but she wasn’t sure. Her eyes were mere slits. “I knew I could make you so horny, I could coax that sweet nub out without touching it. So sexy… It pulses in time with your heart.”
When he leaned down and blew against her exposed clit, Hannah nearly lost it.
“James, fuck you. Touch me.” She writhed beneath his steady forearm now being used to hold her down at the waist.
“Can you be more specific, honey?” he teased. “Here?” He reached back and gently pinched her butt.
“No, dammit. Pinch my…my clit, you ass. Push your fingers into my pussy and rub my juices over my clit until I come…please.” She strained to add that last word, not opposed to begging at this point.
“Yes, ma’am.” James pushed what must have been four fingers into her core as far as he could and pressed his thumb tightly against her nub. She shattered, her orgasm shaking her entire body and rocking the bed until it banged against the wall.
When she finally came down, she realized he’d been right, the sensitive nerve endings of her clit had been exposed of their own accord, otherwise his thumb wouldn’t have made such precise contact so easily.
James leaned over and kissed Hannah on the mouth, a sensual kiss one would use to start a morning of mind-blowing sex, not finish one.
“I know we’ve only known each other about eighteen hours now, but…I love you, Hannah. You’re my life. I swear on all that is mine, I’ll never let you down. I’ll spend the rest of my days making sure you’re the happiest woman on earth.”
As soon as we get past your father.
Comfortably settled between her legs, James shook that last thought out of his head and pressed into her. This time he intended to take it a little slower, watch her face for every tiny reaction while he slid in and out of her tight warmth.
James slid his palms up her inner arms where they still lay resting above her head, no longer white-knuckling the headboard, but limp alongside it. When he reached her hands, he entwined his fingers with hers, stretched her tight and made love to her body until it seemed to hum.
Hannah wrapped her legs firmly around his middle and rocked with him, helping herself to just the right angle that would ensure he pressed into her clit with each snug contact against her.
When they were both spent, he carried her sated body into the shower and sensually washed her. She stared up into his eyes, disbelief written on her face, her mind wandering with thoughts she couldn’t keep from him of how she’d gotten so lucky.
James smiled, heart beating quickly in the knowledge he was the lucky one.
He filled his palm with shampoo, turned Hannah so she faced the wall and proceeded to massage the suds into her scalp.
“God, that feels good. No one’s ever…”
He grinned again and reached around to run his soapy palms over the smooth silky skin of her breasts. When he plucked at her nipples, she braced herself against the wall with her hands and spread her legs ever so slightly.
James watched her reaction to his ministrations from behind, smug in his ability to make her body thrum as though he was playing a violin.
His soapy hands wandered down her body, paying special attention to the firm globes of her ass, and then reaching around her to slick over the folds
of her sex. She was wet, and not just from the water. The scent of her arousal filled the bathroom, overpowering even the soap and floral shampoo.
Could he make her come again so soon? She’d already had two orgasms since waking. How many could a woman produce in the first days after being claimed?
At least one more. James pressed his body against hers, leaving scant inches between her and the wall. With his feet, he pushed her legs farther apart and then used both hands to spread the folds of her sex.
Hannah’s knees threatened to buckle, quaking against him. “I can’t… Not again.”
“Yes, you can. And you will. I’ve got you.” She wasn’t going to fall. There wasn’t enough space and he’d easily grab her before she slipped.
In this position, James spread his palms to splay her wider, grasped her clit between his thumbs and pushed several fingers into her still-unbelievably-tight sheath.
Hannah let her forehead press into the wall and moaned around the orgasm that almost immediately shook her body.
God, he loved this woman. He knew she was slightly embarrassed at her body’s repeated ability to be played as if it was a finely tuned instrument. But James felt only pride at his role in the tuning.
Resuming his cleansing, James hastily finished washing his mate, her skin glowing beneath his hands. Quickly he soaped himself, rinsed them both and lifted her from the tub to set her on the bathroom rug.
As soon as he grabbed two fluffy towels from the rack, he hastily patted her shaking body down and wrapped her in a cocoon of warmth. “Are you cold, babe?” She kept shivering.
“I don’t think so.” Tangled masses of hair hung down her back and curled around her face.
“You need to sit.” He angled her out of the room and over toward a chair, where he pressed her into the seat and began to comb through her glorious curls.
“I can do that.”
“Of course you can, but you don’t have to ’cause I’m doing it this time.” He let the silky length slip repeatedly between his fingers as he worked.
Awakening Abduction Page 7
