by Moira Rogers
«All I care about is keeping Carmen safe from it. I can deal with the rest of it when the Southeast council gets done picking over each other’s bones.»
«The most they could hope for is to marry her off to someone, make an alliance. That’s not likely.»
He’d thought the same thing before he’d realized how far her father would go. «Let’s hope.»
Luciano tilted his head. «You think the spell was a bid for power?»
«I think I can’t think like someone who’d sacrifice everything and anything for power, so I can’t discount any possibility.»
He nodded slowly. «Makes sense. Either way, it’s a mess.»
«That it is.» Alec fell silent, watching as Luciano soothed the fussy baby. Soon enough, AJ’s protests quieted, and Alec leaned back in his chair. «You’re good with him.»
«He’s my son,» the other man said simply. «Maybe I’m not supposed to think of him that way, but I do.»
For once, Alec chose his words carefully. «I’d say the only one who should have any say in how you think of him is his mother. Screw the rest of the world.»
«Michelle says that a shapeshifter son needs a shapeshifter father.»
Because some things were instinct, but some had to be taught. Even to those who came into being shapeshifters as adults, like Derek. Like Andrew. «I think Michelle’s right. AJ’ll be better off than I ever was. Or you, for that matter.»
«I don’t think we have to be exactly like our kids,» Luciano argued. «Any more than we have to be exactly like our parents.»
Not a curse he’d wish on either of them. «Michelle’s no less that kid’s mother because she’s different from him. That doesn’t mean it won’t be easier on both of them to have someone around who knows what a shapeshifter boy goes through growing up.»
«I’ll be here.» A statement of fact more than anything else. Of intent.
Yep, Luciano was a man now. A man with a son, even if he wasn’t one he’d fathered. «Good for you. I mean it.»
A rustling from the hall drew their attention, and Mahalia walked in, moving slowly, and sank heavily into the rocking chair beside Luciano. «I’m getting too old for this.» She peered over at Alec. «Everything’s done. It worked.»
Alec was on his feet and halfway to the door before he realized his presence might not be welcome yet. «Can I see her?»
She waved him away. «Go. She’ll be glad to have you nearby.»
He found Carmen in the room where they’d cast the spell, conversing quietly with Michelle. The Seer rose as soon as he came in, a tired but pleased smile curling her lips. «She’ll be just fine.»
Carmen looked pale and exhausted, with dark shadows under her eyes. «Alec.»
Michelle moved toward the door. «I’m going to check on AJ. Call me if you need anything.»
«Thanks.» When she’d gone, Carmen patted the sofa. «Michelle and Mahalia said everything went well.»
He sat and lifted both hands to her cheeks, cradling her face. «You look beat, sweetheart. You okay?»
«Yeah.» She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. «It wasn’t so bad.»
A lie, and it hurt him. «But it’s over now, right?»
She stroked his hands, almost as if in apology, as she nodded. «Done. The magic’s protecting me now. Even if I’m bitten, nothing will take.»
He’d dreaded the possibility of disappointment, but none came, only relief that she was safe. He smoothed his thumb over the soft skin of her cheek and smiled. «Good. That’s good.»
After a moment, she exhaled a single short breath. «It is, isn’t it?»
«If that’s what you want.»
«It is.» She dropped her head to his shoulder with a weak laugh. «That, and maybe a nap.»
This time, the tenderness the words evoked wasn’t instinct. Just her, and the growing awareness that he couldn’t blame magic for the quiet tug of affection.
Later, he could be scared. Now, he needed to take care of her. So he gathered her against his chest and rocked to his feet. «A nap it is. We’ve got time before dinner.»
Her arms slid around his neck, and she brushed her lips over his jaw. «Thank you.»
«You’re welcome, honey.»
Chapter Thirteen
Dinner was a boisterous affair, redolent with relief and celebration. Luciano had helped Gus cook, and every bit of available space on the table was laden with food and wine.
Carmen barely tasted any of it with the distraction of Alec’s leg pressing against hers and the hot weight of his stares. The way his hand brushed hers, gentle but firm enough for her to know it was no accident.
«Okay, that’s it.» Mahalia wagged her finger at Carmen and Alec as she reached for a nearly empty wine bottle. «You two, go.»
Alec’s sharp spike of satisfaction gave lie to the casual drawl of his words. «You kickin’ us out, Mahalia?»
She snorted. «Luke’s too polite to do it.»
Luciano began to clear plates from the table. «Leave me out of it, May.»
«We’re going,» Carmen cut in, unable to stifle her laugh. «Going right now, and we’ll see all of you in the morning. Alec?»
Alec turned his attention to Michelle, who presided over the far end of the table with AJ in her arms and a sleepy but satisfied smile on her face. Under the table, his fingers found Carmen’s as he smiled. «Thanks, Michelle. I mean it.»
The Seer’s perfect, serene expression didn’t falter, not even when Carmen felt the stinging bite of her pain. «Take care of her,» was all Michelle said. «We’ll see you tomorrow.»
The quickest path to the guesthouse was through the back door, and Carmen wrapped her sweater more tightly around her as they walked out under the stars. The night was crisp, clear.
Beautiful.
Alec didn’t speak, and neither did she. There was a silence inside her, a peace that she hadn’t realized had been disrupted until that afternoon. Now, freed from the low, constant buzz of magic, she could think again.
The house was dark, but the moonlight through the curtains showed her the way. She led Alec into the bedroom and gasped when he slammed the door behind them and spun her to face it. «Carmen.»
No fear, even when he startled her, because he would never, ever hurt her. «Alec.»
«Nothing in there but you.» His hands landed on her shoulders and skated down, stripping away her sweater. When his fingers returned, they curled around her wrists and guided her arms up until her palms pressed flat against the door. «No magic. No instincts but what you’ve always had.»
«Just me,» she agreed, turning her head. «This is what you get.»
«I’m not muddled anymore. Not fighting through the damn mating urge.» He rocked forward, until she could feel the length of his erection even through their clothing. «I’m this hard for you.»
Whatever else the spell might have done, it hadn’t been the only thing drawing them together, and she shuddered at the reassurance. «Lift up my skirt and touch me, and you’ll know how much I want you.»
He chuckled, a low, dark sound that raised goose bumps on her skin and sent a tingle of arousal racing through her. «No. No orders from you, not tonight. None of that half-assed, out-of-control mating bullshit.» One hand slid up her arm and then twisted in her hair, urging her head to the side. «Give yourself to me.»
Her heart began to pound, and the mere thought of it weakened her knees. If he hadn’t placed her hands so deliberately on the door, she would have sank back against him. «Completely?»
«Everything.» A tickle of his breath was the only warning before he closed his teeth on the side of her neck with a low growl.
She almost fell anyway. «Everything.» Tonight. Forever.
His tongue stroked over the place where he’d bit her, hot and soothing. «No shields.»
Nothing between them. «All right.» Carmen closed her eyes and bit her lip. The habit of rebuilding them took effort to ignore, effort that would divert her attention away from him.
But she could let him in.
Slowly, she pulled down one wall, brick by brick, and built it back up around Alec. «They’re not down,» she whispered, «but you’re inside.»
Satisfaction swelled through him and curled around her as he released her hair and stroked his hand down her back, her dress barely protecting her from the heat of his touch. «I like being inside.»
«In more ways than just this?» she teased.
His hand splayed wide across her ass. «In more ways than you’ve seen.»
The implication made her catch her breath, and she wondered — for one tiny sliver of a second — if she was ready to belong to him, body and soul. Then the doubt fled, replaced in a heartbeat with the knowledge that she already did.
She rubbed the back of her head against his shoulder. «Show me now. No shields, mine or yours.»
Leather whispered across metal. «Go lay on the bed. On your back. Leave the pretty little sundress on.»
When she turned, he was pulling his belt from its loops. An image rocked her — of being bound to the bed, at his mercy, while he pleasured her.
Bed. She was shaking as she crossed the room and slid onto the mattress, but she hesitated on her knees. «My shoes?»
«Off.»
She kicked them to the floor and stretched out like he’d instructed, her arms at her sides. «Like this?»
The corner of his mouth kicked up as he finally slid his belt free. «You know better.»
How would she survive? Arousal already throbbed, heavy and low, in her belly, and it intensified when she raised her arms and crossed them at the wrists.
A moment later he was there, twisting the leather around and around as he leaned down to brush her lips in a teasing kiss. «You really do know better. Nothing new here, is there?»
She strained toward him because she couldn’t help it. «Some wolves like it more than others. The dominance, and the submission. So do some humans.»
«Mine’s not a human thing.» He buckled the belt around her wrists and traced one finger down her arm. «I’m all wolf, honey. One-hundred-percent alpha bastard.»
«And mine’s not entirely a wolf thing,» she warned. «I don’t need it all the time…but sometimes I just want to let go.»
He curled his finger under the strap on her sundress. «Whenever you want.»
He meant it. Carmen rubbed her cheek against the inside of his wrist and hummed with pleasure at the warmth and protectiveness that surrounded her.
«That’s right.» The strap fell back against her shoulder, and the touches that followed were slow. Deliberate. He stroked her through the bodice of her dress, never giving her skin-on-skin contact and never lingering in one place for too long.
Her breasts tightened under his fingers, her nipples hard against the cotton of her dress. She tried to hold still but squirmed anyway, desperate to relieve the gathering ache. «Alec.»
«Carmen?» His touch vanished, and he gathered his shirt in his hands and stripped it over his head.
He knew exactly what it did to her to look at the hard lines of his body, so she didn’t bother to hide her admiring gaze. «You’re a show-off.»
«Only because you look at me like that.» The mattress dipped as he knelt at the foot of the bed, both hands falling to her ankles. «Roll over. Onto your stomach.»
He’d bound her hands together, but not to the bed. She rolled, the scent of warm leather filling her nose as she drew her arms closer to her body so she could rest on her elbows.
He started at the backs of her calves, smoothing his hands up her legs with long, languid strokes. He toyed with the edge of her dress where it fell across her thighs, then pushed it up. «I like the dress, but this has to go.»
«What has—?» The sound of ripping fabric drowned out the words as he tore off her panties. «Oh.»
«Bad habit I have.» Strong hands urged her to her knees, legs wide, with her dress pooled across her lower back. «Good thing I can afford to replace them.»
It took her two tries to speak. «I shop at this place on Magazine. They might start to wonder what the hell’s happening to my underwear.»
He slipped his hands under the sundress and around her body, up to cup her breasts. The rough fabric of his jeans ground against naked flesh as he rocked against her. «Let ’em wonder.»
The urge to tease, to return a little of the torment he was visiting on her, made her head swim. So she arched her back, insanely grateful that one movement could thrust her breasts more fully into his hands and rub her ass against his erection.
He groaned, a low, desperate noise that turned into a challenging growl as his fingers closed tight on her nipples.
«Fuck.» The curse escaped before she could stop it, and she bit her lower lip hard to hold back her pleas. His grip tightened, pushed her just to the edge of pain, and eased off as he rocked against her.
Her nipples tingled, and she panted for breath. Every sensation was intensified because she couldn’t move, couldn’t reach for him, scratch him or pull his hair.
Instead, she squirmed while he dragged his nails along her skin, down her stomach and over her hips. Both hands followed the curve of her ass, and she felt his breath a moment before he bit her.
Heat streaked through her, a fire he had to feel as acutely as she did. «You’re trying to kill me,» she whispered.
«You know better.» He soothed the bite with his tongue only to bite her once more. Lower.
He’d drive her mad, leave her dazed and trembling — and then do it all over again. With a jolt, she realized that such pleasure wasn’t destined for a distant future, but now. «Is this what belonging to you means?»
«When it’s what you need.» He licked the inside of her thigh, his beard rubbing over her skin. «Belonging to me means you get what you need, whenever I can give it. Tonight it means me proving that you set off every dominant, animal urge I’ve got, whether you’re stoned on magic or not.»
«Don’t need proof.» She had it already, with each look and breath, and it meant so much more to her because they weren’t bound together by an uncontrollable physical instinct.
They’d chosen one another.
«That’s right,» he whispered, a quiet answer to the feelings she hadn’t spoken. He stroked her with his tongue, soft at first and then firmer, circling closer and closer to her clit without touching.
She dropped her head and breathed through the teasing pleasure. Keeping still was impossible, and her hips rocked, just a little, seeking a deeper caress. A sharper sensation.
Finally, he gave it to her, a hot, rough flick of his tongue, and she moaned and shook. He pulled back, smoothed a hand over her hip and brought his palm down in a sharp slap.
The juxtaposition between pain and pleasure drove her closer to the edge, and she threw back her head, gasping his name.
His groan rumbled through the room. «Fuck, woman, you have no idea how hot it is that I can feel how much you liked that.»
«Yes, I do.» Every one of his reactions seared through her, a fire burning them both.
«We’re going to have a lot of fun learning what else you like, aren’t we?» She heard the quick snap of a zipper jerked down too fast, and two fingers slid deep inside her.
This time, she almost screamed as she clenched tight around his fingers. Together, bound by her empathy, they could push boundaries to the limit, dance the edge between just enough and too much with dizzying precision. «I like you. Want you.»
A soft groan. The tear of a condom wrapper. His fingers curled, stroking inside her until a maddening pressure built, one only he could relieve.
He pulled his fingers away and entered her with a single slow thrust that would have driven her to her knees if she hadn’t already been on them. She whimpered and tried to stay still, but she couldn’t stop the way her body arched toward his, yearning and hungry.
Instead of another thrust, she got a soft growl and the sharp slap of his broad hand across her ass.
She fro
ze, though the sensation made her want to buck even harder, and when she spoke she barely recognized her own voice. «Tell me what you want.»
His fingers dipped between her legs again. Rubbed. His other hand fell to her hip, holding her still as he brought those slick fingers up to tease her ass. «Don’t hold back. If I don’t want you to come, I won’t let you. If I don’t want you to move, I’ll stop you.»
It was control in its purest form, and she wanted to give it to him. She needed to.
Don’t hold back. Carmen moved suddenly, grinding against him with a low cry. She made it only a few inches before his fingers tightened on her hip, keeping her in place with effortless deliberation.
Yes. «I take it you don’t want me to move, then?»
Dark laughter rolled over her. «Didn’t say I didn’t want you to keep trying.» His fingertip pressed against her. Testing. «I love to watch you writhe.»
Just like she loved to hear him groan when she did something shocking. Instead of shying away from him touching her ass, Carmen eased closer. His finger probed deeper, arousing delicate nerve endings with an electric shock of sensation, and she shuddered through a moan.
His pleasure spiked along with hers, and he did groan, low and hoarse. Then he moved, rocking his hips back and driving forward.
«Alec!» Breathless, and still she had to speak. To tell him. «I need you.»
«I know.» Another thrust. Faster. Harder. His hand shifted until he was gripping both of her hips, holding her. Suddenly, he stopped, buried deep inside her.
Long seconds ticked by. Carmen whimpered as she tried to move, but he kept her still. She’d beg, plead, if only he would give her more, and she almost gave in.
Not yet. Instead, she closed her eyes and squeezed her inner muscles tight around his cock.
Icy deliberation shattered. Not for long, just a second, enough for a single, wild surge forward. His hands hit the bed on either side of her arms, and he pressed his forehead to her shoulder with a groan. «You’re hell on my self-control,» he whispered, voice trembling with need and affection and something deeper that eclipsed both.
Then he fisted his hands in the covers and began to fuck her.
