by Grey, T. A.
"That's enough, Al," interrupted Vane. He really didn't want the visual. He took a deep breath that did nothing to calm his raging nerves at all. "No, it's been complicated. Do you remember King Brunes? Yeah, well, it's his daughter."
"What the fuck do you think you're doing? You're fucking the King's daughter. His only daughter! The man will have you drawn, quartered, and eaten in a delicious stew with a silver spoon. He's a member of the Pride, Vane, the Pride. Nobody touches that princess unless he says so."
"Relax, Alfonse. I have not taken her body. She refuses to let me inside her. I've been helping to ease her pain. That's all." And I've asked her to mate with me, but she keeps refusing.
The relieved sigh on the other end of the line irked Vane. "Thank god. That's a lot of baggage we don't need. I highly recommend you get your ass back here now. Leave while she's still intact with her precious virginity."
"No. I want her, and I'm going to have her. I have already claimed her."
"Dammit Vane, you haven't taken her body so you can still come back. How many days are left in her cycle? If she's lucky she won't still have your scent all over her by time her Daddy comes and gets her."
"No, Alfonse. She is my mate. I can feel it."
The long uttered curse would have been funny in a different situation. "Well, then do what you have to. Though Christine is surely gonna be pissed."
"She'll deal. Call me if anything else happens. Sarina's cycle will be over soon. We only have two days left. I'll be coming home then, with her."
"So I take it I'm moving out? Fine, but I'm taking the spare two bedroom down the road."
"Fine, leach." He hung up and slid the phone into his pocket.
Vane didn't like leaving Sarina in the cabin. It made his gut tighten. Too many things could happen. But still, he had to make his rounds around the forest edge. If he could find this place by her scent alone, then others could too.
Chapter 12
Vane patrolled the forest line around the cabin using his lykaen senses. He allowed the caged beast inside him to crack the door open just enough to make his sense of smell acute, his eyes sharper, and his hearing clearer.
Vane stepped swiftly and silently across fallen limbs, damp grass, and mushy leaves. As he crossed around to the back of the cabin, he caught wind of something. It was distinctly feminine, and lykaen judging from the earthy, bestial smell, and definitely not Sarina. He hunkered down low to the earth in a flash. The wind was in his favor blowing north and blocking his scent from reaching the intruder. But that might not last long and he needed to act.
Keeping his beast near the surface, he charged through the forest to the scent. His steps were fast and never made a sound. He spotted her as his legs ate up the distance between them. A redheaded woman wearing camouflage cargos with a matching jacket and black boots, lying with her belly to the ground.
Vane flew at her and landed astride her back. His knees pinned hers together and his hands caught her legs as she reached for something in her belt.
"Oh, no you don't." He pulled her wrists back none too gently, wrapping them in his fist like handcuffs. "Who are you and what are you doing here," he ordered.
The woman gasped and tried to pull her arms back. "I was sent here by King Brunes. He wanted me to check on Sarina to make sure she’s fine."
Vane growled and bent down low to the woman's ear. "If he wanted to make sure she was fine, then maybe he shouldn't have sent her to deal with her breeding cycle alone."
The woman nodded a little quickly. "I know, but he makes the rules not me. I just work for him."
Vane loosened his grip on her but didn't let go. "Well she's fine."
The woman laughed a deep, throaty laugh. "I saw that, and heard it too as a matter of fact. However, that doesn't changes the fact that I have to report this to him. That you are here. Who are you?"
Vane ground his teeth together. This was not how he wanted this to go down. This damn spy just ruined everything he had planned. Fuck. He briefly considered tying her up and leaving her in a closet, but he could never pull that off with Sarina. There’s no way he could hide her scent.
"I'm Vane Kategan, Alpha of the Kategan Pack. I have claimed Sarina as mine. She is my mate."
The woman hissed in a breath and scrunched her face to the side to look at him with wide eyes. "You took her during her cycle! The King will be furious; he'll kill you and her. What have you done, Kategan?" The woman was so genuinely outraged that he was momentarily taken aback.
"I have not taken her virginity. She has not permitted it…yet." The female's sigh of relief made him want to punch a tree down.
"But I will, and I haven't stopped trying. She’s going to be my mate, and I'm prepared to fight for what is mine." The woman licked her lips as her eyes got a faraway look. But then she smiled sadly.
"You would be a good mate to her then. Not everyone is so lucky. If you believe she is to be your mate then I wish you the best. But I must still tell the King or I will be the dead one."
Vane let the woman up. She rubbed her reddened wrists. "You tell him what you need to tell him, but she will accept my claim. And as far as I'm concerned, she is mine." With that, he turned and strode back to the cabin. He didn't care if she stayed and watched them or not. But one thing was for sure, he didn't have much time left with her.
She must be his tonight. He must claim her before then or else risk the chance of losing her to her father. He slammed his fist into a tree. The sharp pain in his hand did nothing to ease the red haze of anger.
Chapter 13
Vane found Sarina curled up on the couch, her arms folded tightly around her middle. The vanilla scent of her arousal permeated the cabin like incense. His cock lengthened and hardened at the delicious scent. His hands curled into big fists at the sight of her in pain. If he could do anything to save her from it, he would. And hell, that's exactly what he wanted to do, but she wouldn't let him. Damned woman.
He wouldn't tell her about the spy. She'd only shut down, demand he leave. If she ordered him to go, he was afraid he might actually listen to her. Not because he wanted to go, but because he wanted to please her and protect her.
He had to claim her body, fully and completely. Spend himself inside her wet heat. Just the idea of it had his skin tightening in anticipation. He needed to put his claim on her; mark her in a way that could never go away. Maybe then, she'd see that he was her mate.
Vane crouched down beside her, brushing the hair out of her face. "How bad is it?"
She smiled tremulously up at him. "Not bad, to be honest. Just some mild cramping now. Buuut, if you don't help me soon then I might just be forced to go find some of the toys I brought along."
"Oh, no you don't. You won't need those with me around, baby. Ever." He practically growled the words.
Her smile turned into a naughty grin, and then she captured his lips in a wet kiss. A moment later his hands pushed her back into the pliant cushions and his lips never left hers. Teeth pressed into the softness of her lip in a teasing bite before he dove back into her mouth. They tasted each other with slow, drugging kisses. When he raised his dark head to look down at her, she was panting.
"You're going to do something for me." Vane pushed her knees apart and slid his body in between.
"Oh am I?" Her breathless voice gave away her cool response.
He pressed his face into the curve of her neck and nodded. She heard him breathe deep and exhale a shuddering breath.
"Stand up." Sarina's stomach clenched at the tone of his voice, at the order he just gave her.
Biting her lip, she pushed past him and stood before him. Suddenly she felt awkward as he moved to sit where she had been. He was so intimidating, so sexy. An Alpha lykaen sitting on her couch with his knees splayed wide and his erection pressing hard against his jeans. Not every female got so lucky.
Yet, he didn't say anything. She stood, and he stared. His eyes traced over her tight shirt, down the length of her pale arms, acros
s her hips, and down her thighs. Somehow his assessment managed to make her feel naked, and he didn't even move or say a word.
Unable to stand the quiet anymore, she wrapped her arms across her stomach and asked, "Well, what do you want?" Irritation filled her voice.
His eyes slid lazily back up her body, flaring hotly at the apex of her thighs before continuing up.
"Turn around," he ordered. Sarina turned stiffly, her back ramrod straight. A minute passed. Not being able to see his face or what he was doing was torture.
"Vane what—
"No talking unless I say you can. Now lean forward." His order didn't sound much like the man she'd been sharing her body with for the last few days. He sounded like an Alpha, a man in charge, a man of authority, and it made her tingle all over.
Her heart beat like a bass drum in the quiet room. She leaned forward and stuck her ass back at him. She could feel the heat of his gaze sweeping over her backside and legs like a lover's touch. Her nipples hardened into little pleasure points. She ached to touch them and ease the pressure.
"Stand up, now. Good, go turn off the light." The tingles in her belly danced and jumped with nervous energy. She flipped the switch, encasing the room in dark. Evening set and left a soft, orange glow in from the window.
When she turned back to him, a wave of apprehension stole over her. He hadn't moved from his seat, but now shadows fell over him disguising his presence so that only the outline of a black of mass showed where he was.
“Run your hands over your body." Dark, husky words.
The light from the window illuminated her body in its soft, dim glow. Goosebumps spread over her skin. She took at step towards him, but his voice stopped her.
"Do it from there." He commanded. She obeyed. Her trembling hands cupped the wide curve of her breasts and squeezed.
"No. I said run your hands over your body, not to grab or squeeze or pinch." An edge to his voice tightened something inside her and made her breaths come a little faster.
She did as he commanded and delicately traced her hands over her stomach, hips, thighs, breasts, and neck. When he didn't tell her to stop, she continued. After a minute, the clothes in her way didn't matter. The need to have more didn't matter. Rubbing herself in front of him made her feel sexy...powerful, even though he was the one in charge.
"Now take off your shirt." His shadow moved a little in the darkness.
Sarina grabbed the bottom of her shirt and yanked it up.
"No, lift it slowly."
Licking her dry lips, she did as he commanded and lifted the material slowly over her sensitive skin. Her arousal hung thick in the air, but so did his. Whereas hers was lush vanilla, his was spicy chocolate. The material caught over her hard nipples making her gasp at the sensation, then the shirt was floating to the ground.
Her bare breasts were presented to him like an ancient offering. A flicker of insecurity darkened her mood. She covered her breasts with her arm while trying to find his eyes in the darkness. Her breasts were large, but not perfect. They drooped some with their heavy weight, and her nipples, still hard against her arm, were wide and big.
He had feasted on her breasts before with hot, open-mouthed kisses, with hands and fingers and lips. But standing alone in the light, the nasty blackness of doubt creeping in on her, she wanted nothing more than to pull her t-shirt back on and slink away.
"Sarina, put your arm down. Let me see your breasts." She shook her head no. "Sarina, do it. Let me see them." The last was said with such husky anticipation, such dark arousal that need flooded through her core and she dropped her arm. She heard his sharp intake of breath, and just like that her doubts were shoved out the door. "Beautiful, just beautiful."
His words made her feel perfect and lovely. Her heart melted. God, she loved him.
"Now run your hands over your beautiful breasts. Touch them, squeeze them, and pinch your nipples." His words dipped low and hoarse.
Feeling wild and sexy, she obeyed his orders like a naughty slave taking orders from her master. She cupped the large curves of her breasts and squeezed the receptive flesh. Her nipples hardened against her palms as she massaged them. She plumped, pushed, circled, and pulled.
Soon her breaths were rough, and when she bit her lip to stifle the sound, she heard it. His own loud breathing. That sound alone gave her a sexual power she'd only felt in her dreams. She leaned forward so the swell of her breasts and the valley between were visible to him. The scent of his arousal filled the room.
"Stop. I said stop! Good. Now take off your jeans." She did in quick, jerky movements, need guiding her now. They landed with a thump next to him. Her panties were the only thing keeping her from being completely naked. God, if she burned any hotter she'd spontaneously combust.
Vane groaned as if in pain. "Run your hands across your body. Yes, yes, just like that." His words were slow, punctuated as she obeyed.
She traced her hands over her creamy skin. Again and again, she passed over her rounded hips and stomach, the curves of her breasts and neck, the length of her legs. With each sweep, she heard his breaths thicken and saw him fidget in the shadows.
"Come closer. Yeah, right there. Now stop. Put your leg up on the table."
Sarina was close enough now to see the shadowed features of his lips and jaw. She lifted her leg onto the coffee table. Her pink, lace thong was wet with arousal and her open leg spread her scent even more. He leaned forward and inhaled, his shadowed eyes closing in ecstasy.
"Perfect. So fucking perfect. Now rub your thighs for me. No, no, your inner thighs. Yeah." She traced her hands along the soft skin, trailing down to her knee before swooping up to the tenderest part of her inner thigh. So close to her hot sex that she couldn't stop the moan that bubbled out of her as she squeezed the soft skin.
Oh, god. She wanted to be touched so badly. She wanted him to stroke her pussy with his long fingers until she was shivering in his arms.
"Perfect." He leaned back. "Come a little closer and take off your panties. I want to see your pink pussy."
Sarina couldn't stop the moan that came out. Sliding her panties down her legs, she kicked them aside as her eagerness for his touch and words increased.
"Put your hands behind your head."
"Why?"
"No talking. Do it now, Sarina." His harsh words made her clitoris throb even as she did what he wanted. She felt like she was under arrest with her arms behind her head, but she kept them there.
He leaned forward and snagged her by the hips. She groaned at the hot feel of his hands on her. He pulled her closer to his body, his heat.
"Look straight ahead, don't look down or I'll make you very sorry, Sarina." Her pussy quivered and she locked her eyes across the room.
And then she felt it. The hot teasing breath across her belly as it went down and kept on going. Then a thick arm curled around her waist as his hand grabbed her by the thigh and lifted her leg off the floor, opening her. The position was awkward, but he easily supported her with his arm.
And then his mouth was at the sensitive skin of her inner thigh, his tongue licking a hot path up.
"Vane," she gasped, her hips thrusting forward. He ignored her and pressed soft bites on her thigh going down to her knee where he licked behind it. She gasped again as more heat flooded her pussy.
Her nipples begged to be touched, but she dared not ask him for it. She wondered just what he'd do to make her sorry. But as his tongue trailed a wet path up her thigh, all thoughts but of need and desire fled her.
When he licked the smooth crease between her leg and sex, she whimpered. His head pulled back, and then she felt the cool stream of air on her wet folds. The airy touch made her squirm. Please, she begged silently.
Then she felt it. The hot, velvety press of his tongue against her.
"Oooh!"
Her orgasm was so close to the surface. Just a few more licks and she’d be floating high. Her pussy was coated in her feminine juices, her clit swollen and begg
ing to be touched, and her sheath aching to be filled.
But he didn't pass his tongue across her again. He dropped her foot back to the floor, grabbed her by the hips, and took a nipple into his mouth. He tongued the hard point, flicking it quicker and quicker then soothing it with a hard suctioning that brought most of her breast into his mouth.
She panted his name. He moved to the untouched nipple, making her hips rock as much as they could in his tight grip.
"You've been very good, Sarina. I'll reward you for obeying your Alpha." A wave of cream escaped her pussy in excitement.
He sat back and positioned her just how he wanted—with her pussy in front of his face. His big hands moved to the rounded curve of her ass and held on to her just as his tongue swept through her open folds.
He didn't waste any more time.
He found her clitoris easily, and teased her sex with quick flicks of his tongue until she fought to catch her breath above him. She pushed against his mouth. He pulled her lips into his mouth and sucked on them. Then he ate at her, licking up her cream and spreading it around. Then he focused that talented tongue where she needed it.
She shouted as he found her clit and worked it like a man who enjoyed what he was doing. She squirmed against his touch, trying to get closer. Her skin grew tighter and tighter, the heat within her hotter until finally, blissfully, she erupted against his tongue in an intense explosion of heat and pleasure. She screamed, and her pussy pulsed fast and hard.
Chapter 14
Vane pulled back, his hands tightening on her hips. Sarina struggled to open her eyes after that powerful, short release. Her legs trembled, and her heart hammered in her ears. But her body was still more than ready. Instead of easing the breeding cycle's need, it only served to tip the scales further.
