Shy (Once Bitten, Twice Shy, #2)

by Marie, Noelle

  “Maybe I’m not teasing,” she said, hardly recognizing her own voice, thick with lust as it was.

  She was beyond pleased when the man inhaled noisily at her words, and she reached up to place a soft kiss on the hard edge of his jaw. “Katherine…” he warned, his voice so gravelly that it sounded like he’d been gargling rocks.

  “Please,” Katherine begged. “I want to touch you. Don’t you want to touch me?”

  Bastian groaned in what she hoped was desire at her attempt at seduction, but he still didn’t move to do as she’d invited. “I can’t,” he choked out, giving her a very pointed look.

  And Katherine knew exactly why.

  “I want you to.” She gave him a pointed look of her own.

  Katherine had the pleasure of seeing true surprise cross Bastian’s face for a moment, but the man still didn’t touch her. In fact, after he recovered from the slight shock her words had caused, a concerned frown marred his features.

  “You don’t mean that.”

  Katherine bristled at the implication that she didn’t know her own mind. “Yes, I do. I… I want you to claim me.”

  There. She’d said it out loud.

  But instead of ravishing her, Bastian had the nerve to tenderly brush some wayward bangs from her forehead. “You’re just saying that. I know that Rogue,” his eyes flashed as he forced the name out of his mouth, “frightened you today and that you’re feeling vulnerable. But I’m not going to take advantage of that – of you – by doing something you don’t really want me to do.”

  Katherine wasn’t sure whether she wanted to kiss the man because what he’d said was so incredibly sweet… or slap him because what he’d said was so incredibly wrong.

  “Let me get this straight. You think I just want you to claim me because I’m afraid that someone like Rogue,” she spat out the name with the same amount of venom as Bastian, “will corner me again? You think I just want to be yours for the protection that it’ll afford me?”

  Bastian tiredly ran a hand through his hair. “Katherine, what do you expect me to think? You’ve never even told me that you love me.”

  The worst part was that the man didn’t even sound angry with her about it. He sounded infuriatingly understanding. Like it was perfectly reasonable for her to deny her love for him.

  But how could anyone who got to know him not love Bastian?

  “You’re right.”

  Bastian was visibly startled by Katherine’s abrupt confession, but only a moment later, he sighed in resignation. His easy acceptance made her furious. Especially when he shifted his weight like he was about to get off of the bed – get off of her.

  “I wasn’t finished,” she snapped, causing the man to freeze. “You’re right that I feel safe with you. You’re right that you can protect me in ways that, as much as I hate to admit it, I can only dream of. But you’re also wrong about something. Awfully, outrageously, infinitesimally wrong.” It was now or never. Katherine was half expecting her throat to collapse in onto itself before she could get the words out, but it didn’t, and miraculously, she didn’t stumble over a single one of them. “Because I love you. I love you Bastian Prince, and I’m so sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner.”

  Katherine’s heart was pounding in her ears. But it wasn’t because of the usual panic that threatened to envelop her when she tried to say the “l-word” around Bastian. It was because she was so unbelievably proud of herself. She’d finally gathered the courage to announce her feelings, and the resulting rush of endorphins made her positively giddy.

  And she wasn’t the only one pleased to at last hear the words. Bastian attacked her mouth with his in reckless abandonment. Then he peppered kisses to her forehead, cheeks, and even chin as he held her face between his hands.

  “Say it again,” he demanded, eyes a bright, hypnotic blue as he stared into her green orbs.

  Katherine licked her lips, not at all frightened of her own feelings anymore. “I love you.”

  The breathless declaration had Bastian groaning and bowing his head, dipping his chin to his chest. “God help me, I love you too,” he murmured before lifting his head and once again looking straight into her eyes. “Are you sure about this?”

  The question sent a yearning so strong through Katherine that she had to take a deep breath to gather herself. She slowly exhaled. “I’m surer about this – about you – than I have ever been about anything in my entire life.”

  Bastian placed a doting kiss on the tip of her nose. “That was exactly what I wanted to hear.” But the fond glint in his eyes transformed into something more dangerous – more carnal – than mere affection as his gaze lowered to the flimsy, oversized robe that served to hide her body from his view. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he eyed the knot that held the robe together. “Can I see you?”

  Katherine’s breath hitched at the blunt question, but her voice didn’t waver once as she answered. “Yes.”

  Bastian tugged on the knot with uncharacteristically clumsy fingers, and a moment later, the robe fell open, revealing her naked body. Katherine had been in a similar position before – she’d been topless when Bastian had made love to her breasts with his tongue and teeth at her parents’ house in Middletown – but she’d had on panties at the time. Now she was completely bare down there.

  As far as Katherine knew, Bastian had never seen the most intimate part of her body – the center of the wanton ache between her legs. At least, not when he’d been in any position to be aroused by the sight.

  She successfully fought off the urge to clench her thighs together and cross her arms over her chest as his eyes roamed reverently over her form, but no amount of nerve could stop the anxious quivering of her belly.

  And least not until Bastian laid one of his large, warm hands against the trembling skin, rubbing her nervous stomach soothingly. “You’re beautiful,” he assured softly, using his other hand to gently angle her chin so he could press a kiss to her lips.

  And for once, Katherine believed it – she was beautiful, at least to him, and that was all that mattered.

  The tension fled her body, and she relaxed against the mattress as Bastian slowly deepened the kiss. She wound her hands into his wild hair and allowed him to dominate her mouth with his lips, teeth, and tongue. She desperately gasped in oxygen when he abruptly abandoned the task in favor of nipping playfully at her jaw before skipping over her injured neck entirely and…

  Katherine moaned when his hot mouth covered one of her nipples, devouring it whole.

  Fingers began tugging playfully at her other pink peak and the sensitive flesh pebbled under Bastian’s touch. Katherine suspected she would have been embarrassed by the crude noises coming out of her mouth if she wasn’t so consumed by the heady desire swiftly overtaking her ability to think at all.

  As one of Bastian’s hands continued to worship Katherine’s nipple, the other ran comfortingly up and down her side, from just under her armpit all the way down to the beginning of her thigh. Katherine tensed when the hand veered off course, some sense – and anxiety – returning to her when his fingers tucked themselves between her legs, rubbing her inner thighs as he gently nudged them apart.

  The urge to clamp them together was fierce, but not once did Katherine truly consider pushing away Bastian’s hand. She wanted this… she want him more than she’d ever wanted anything in her life… and she wasn’t going to let a little shyness stop her.

  All the same, Bastian must have detected her hesitation because his mouth released her nipple with a wet pop and his eyes met hers. She could easily read the question in them. Are you okay?

  Katherine took a deep breath before allowing her knees to separate and her legs to fall open in answer. Yes.

  A wild blush blossomed across her cheeks when Bastian pressed a chaste kiss to her belly button before he was suddenly right there, pressing his face into the junction of her inner thigh and the focus of all the lovely feelings rushing through her. He inhaled deeply through his nos
e. “God, you smell so good.”

  Katherine’s blush somehow deepened.

  She forgot all about being embarrassed, however, when Bastian pulled himself to his knees and his fingers carefully began exploring her slick, heated skin. A throb so intense it was nearly painful pulsated through her when he gently circled the little bundle of nerves about her opening with his thumb.

  Katherine whimpered at the sensation, wantonly pushing herself against the man’s hand.

  “Fuck.”

  It was Bastian groaning out the curse word as he watched, completely entranced, as she responded to his touch.

  She inhaled shakily when a finger was suddenly pressed up against her entrance. Bastian pushed only the tip forward, watching her reaction carefully as his first knuckle was engulfed by her tight heat. Katherine forced her body to remain relaxed as the second knuckle disappeared into her and then the entirety of his finger.

  “Okay?” he asked breathlessly, his eyes shining with an intensity she’d never seen before.

  The sensation was bizarre, but not uncomfortable, and Katherine’s affirming nod was honest. “Yeah.”

  Sensing that she was telling the truth, Bastian carefully began nudging a second finger in. Unlike one, however, two fingers were painful and Katherine stiffened beneath him.

  Bastian immediately halted all movement, his form trembling with restraint. “Should… should I stop?”

  “No!” Even Katherine was shocked by her visceral reaction to the question. “Keep going,” she urged him more calmly.

  Bastian obliged and soon two fingers were inside of her, sending sharp sparks of pain down her spine as the man moved them inside of her, trying to prepare her for what was to come.

  Desperate to distract both herself and Bastian from the obvious discomfort she was in, and not thinking her actions through at all, Katherine shoved her hand into the man’s sleep pants and wrapped her hand around him – well, as much of him as she could, anyway – Bastian’s girth was such that her fingers didn’t quite meet.

  Ignoring his shocked inhale and the stream of curse words that catapulted out of his mouth – and her own surprise at the fact that the tip of his erection was already dripping – Katherine stroked him once, twice-

  Bastian grasped her wrist in an iron tight grip before she could do it a third time. Despite the pulse that Katherine could see beating rapidly in the bulging veins of his neck, when he laid her hand down on the mattress, it was with careful, gentle fingers.

  Then, in one swift motion, Bastian had his pants pulled down around his knees, ankles, and was throwing them haphazardly onto the floor.

  Katherine watched with fascinated eyes as the man’s suddenly freed erection bobbed attractively before returning to its proud, standing position, nestled against Bastian’s taut stomach.

  Katherine had seen Bastian naked before, of course, but she’d never seen him so… well, so hard.

  She was so small and he was decidedly not.

  “It’s not going to fit.”

  Katherine’s eyes widened when she realized she’d voiced her thoughts aloud, a blush so hot exploding across her cheeks that she was half convinced her face had spontaneously burst into flames.

  Bastian had the nerve to smile at her. “Trust me, it will.” But his amusement was short-lived, his smile fading into a serious, straight line. “You have to promise me something,” he said, gauging her reaction. “If you change your mind, it hurts too much, or for whatever you just want me to stop, you have to tell me, okay?”

  Katherine licked her suddenly dry lips, nodding jerkily. “Okay.”

  He must have judged her affirmation to be sincere because in the next moment, Bastian was kissing her again – his lips and tongue teasing her mouth and stoking the quiet fire simmering low in her belly until it once again grew into a raging inferno of pure want.

  One of Bastian’s hands stroked her thigh reassuringly as the other lined up his erection where his fingers had been not more than a few minutes before. Katherine felt the very tip of him against her and then slowly, agonizing, he pushed himself in.

  She’d known it was going to hurt. It was common sense. He was so big and she just wasn’t. What she hadn’t anticipated, however, was how overwhelming full she’d feel – how complete.

  As Katherine’s body slowly adjusted to the feeling of Bastian inside of her, she began to relax. Bastian, on the other hand, was trembling. He was vibrating so violently, in fact, that soon Katherine began shaking as a result.

  “Bastian?”

  No sooner had she said his name than he forced a surprised squeal out of her by grabbing her hips and rolling them over so that she was on top of him. His trembling, however, didn’t ease in the slightest.

  “You’re so tight,” he grit out between clenched teeth. “I’m afraid I’ll hurt you.”

  She supposed she should have been concerned over the fact that Bastian clearly didn’t trust himself not to be so rough that he’d somehow break her – but she wasn’t. Instead of filling her with worry, the confession shot a thrill of excitement rushing through her.

  “Tell me what to do.”

  Bastian groaned. “Anything,” he assured. “Whatever feels good for you.”

  Katherine bit her lip. “What about you? I want you to feel good too.”

  Bastian’s answering grin was positively sardonic. “Trust me, you don’t have to worry about that.”

  Katherine’s response was a fierce blush, but his words had given her the confidence to at least try moving, and so she experimentally rocked her hips against him.

  The result was an unexpected shock of pleasure shooting down her spine and Bastian cussing under his breath, his grip on her hips somehow – impossibly – tightening.

  Encouraged by his reaction, Katherine pressed her hands against the man’s chest and carefully lifted herself up just enough so that only the very tip of him remained inside of her, before taking a deep breath and abruptly slamming herself back down.

  A surprise gasp left her lips at the same time a desperate half-growl, half-roar left Bastian’s. Impaling herself on the man had hurt, that much was true. It’d burned even – but it was a good burn. And before Katherine could second guess herself, she slammed herself down on him again. This time, though, Bastian couldn’t help himself and met her half-way, thrusting up into her at the same time she was coming down.

  “Bastian,” Katherine keened as an intense flash of pure pleasure swept over her, making her legs suddenly as wobbly as Jell-O.

  He moaned in response. “I’ve got you, sweet girl,” he assured, the hands on her waist helping Katherine keep upright. Once she’d gotten some semblance of control over herself, she once again lifted herself up off of him, only so she could crash down onto him for a third time and a fourth, recreating the wonderful sensation that had taken hold of her over and over again. Working together, they set a swift pace.

  “You’re doing great,” Bastian groaned. He croaked other compliments into her ear too, but only a few – “beautiful”, “incredible”, “perfect” – filtered through her subconscious. She was too incoherent to register anything else he may have said, all of her attention focused on the lovely, tortuous pressure building up inside of her.

  And then suddenly his thumb was right there again, pressing hard against the sensitive bud above where he stretched and filled her. And just like that, she was gone. An obscene cry burst from her lips as she fell apart on the inside, an intense flash of heat shooting straight through her core, forcing her muscles to clench involuntarily around him. Katherine wasn’t ashamed to admit that she saw stars.

  She was so lost to the novel sensation that she was hardly even cognizant of the fact that Bastian had abruptly flipped them around so that it was she who was once again being pushed into the mattress. He sunk her teeth into her neck – the pain didn’t even register – and thrusted into her once, twice before his entire body spasmed, and Bastian, too, was taken over the edge of pleasure.

&
nbsp; It didn’t occur to Katherine that she’d actually blacked out until she recognized Bastian’s concerned voice in her ear what only seemed like a moment later. “Katherine?”

  When had she closed her eyes?

  “Katherine, are you okay?”

  The man sounded panicked, but he was still inside of her so she knew she must have only been out for mere minutes – if that.

  She fought the sudden, inappropriate urge to laugh. Had the man been scared he’d sexed her into oblivion?

  Instead of releasing the giggle – which could have easily been misconstrued – Katherine opened her eyes, peering directly into Bastian’s blue, blue gaze and smiling. “I’m better than okay,” she assured.

  She was unbelievably sore, and there was a sharp, stinging pain originating from where he’d bitten her, but she’d never felt better in her life.

  Because they’d done it – they’d claimed each other as mates. He’d marked her as his. And she knew unquestionably that he was hers. It’d been that way since the very moment that they’d met and it would always be that way.

  And now, finally, everyone would know it.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Before claiming his mate, it is customary for the dominant wolf of a pairing to present his intended with a gift. If the submissive wolf accepts the gift – usually a family heirloom of sorts – it indicates an acceptance, too, of the dominant’s plan to claim her as his mate. In addition to serving as a promise of his intentions, the gift often has an additional purpose of warding off other prospective mates of the submissive partner until the actual claiming occurs.

  To claim his mate, a dominant wolf must bite his intended at the juncture between her neck and right shoulder hard enough to draw blood and leave a mark. This most commonly occurs in conjunction with sexual intercourse. While it is the responsibility of the dominant wolf to create the mark, it is the responsibility of the submissive wolf to wear it.