by Lynn Red
“Hello, Damien,” Kyle said.
“Hello,” Damien said, too casually. “How was the scouting?”
“We didn’t find anything.”
“No other wolves? No wolf scent?”
“Nothing.” Kyle shifted his weight from one foot to another. Damien could smell the tension coming off of him.
“What about you, Katherine?” Damien asked, his voice rising in a lilting tease. “Did you smell any other wolves out there?”
Katherine was silent for a moment.
“Well?” Damien said. “No other handsome wolves out in the woods?”
“Stop playing games and come out with it,” Katherine said, her voice quavering. “You know what we were doing. Damien—”
“I’ll fight you for her,” Kyle said suddenly.
Damien smiled.
“Is this what you want, Katherine?” he asked.
“I don’t—I don’t want you to fight,” she whispered.
“Katherine, I love you,” Kyle said.
“You could die!” Katherine said. “Either one of you could die!”
“I’ll still fight,” Kyle said. He stepped forward in front of Katherine.
“Brave wolf,” Damien said. He pressed his lips together.
“I’m sorry, Damien,” Katherine said. “I know I’m promised to you. I’m sorry. I’ll leave the pack. I’ll stay. Whatever you want. Just don’t fight him. Please don’t.” She ran and knelt in front of Damien, pressing her face to his knees in a posture of submission. “Please, please.”
A growl came from Kyle’s throat, and Damien raised his hand.
“Don’t, boy,” he said. “Katherine is right. This will only end badly.”
“You can’t have her,” Kyle said, but his voice was uncertain.
Damien reached down and took Katherine’s hand, pulling her to her feet. She stood in front of him bravely, although he could feel her fingers trembling in his hand. He leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the forehead.
“You’re more loyal than he is,” Damien said. “But you feel the Calling too, don’t you?”
Katherine nodded, a sob escaping her throat.
“You both feel it?” The question was directed at Kyle.
“Y-yes,” Kyle said. “Ever since she became ready to mate. I didn’t want to tell you because I know—”
“It’s alright,” Damien said kindly. “I won’t fight you. You’re not ready for that yet. And the past few days have seen too much blood on my hands already.”
“Will we...will we have to leave the pack?” Katherine asked, choking back her tears.
Damien reached out and wiped the tears from her cheek gently.
“No,” he said. “You shouldn’t go.”
“I won’t leave her,” Kyle said.
“You don’t have to,” Damien said, clearing his throat. “Lucky for you, I’ve found my mate as well.”
“Who?” Katherine asked. “Not—the girl at the lake?”
Damien nodded.
“So you’ll let me stay with Katherine?” Kyle asked. All of the fight had gone out of his voice, and he stepped forward meekly.
“You have my blessing,” Damien said, waiting while Katherine threw herself into Kyle’s embrace. Then he spoke louder and more firmly. “But if you disobey me again, fur will fly. Make no mistake.”
“Yes, sir,” Kyle said.
“We have a lot to do in the coming weeks,” Damien said. “I’ve bought a place here and we’ll need to make it livable. You two won’t let your love get in the way of work, I hope.”
“No, of course not,” Katherine said, breathless with happiness. Damien could hear the smile in her voice, and he had to struggle not to grin himself. Young love was wonderful to behold.
“Then take the rest of the night off,” Damien said. “We start settling down tomorrow.”
Before they could say anything else, he turned and walked back toward the hotel parking lot. Tomorrow he would begin his life with Julia. His mate, his one true love. He couldn’t wait.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Julia
The next morning Julia spent an extra ten minutes putting on a dress and tying her hair back, trying to tame the frizz. Granny Dee caught her for breakfast with the guests, and by the time she had extricated herself from the dining room table and gone out to the field, Damien was waiting for her. She didn't see him until she was close, and when she caught the sight of his figure leaning against the tree, she started back with a gasp.
"If this shape frightens you now, I don't know what you'll do when I have to shift," Damien said with a grin, his glasses masking his eyes. Julia ran the few steps to him and threw her arms around his neck. He caught her up in a hug, swinging her around before setting her gently back on the ground. She laughed with happiness, something she hadn't done in a long, long while.
"You'd better be careful," Damien said, pulling back with a wary expression.
"Oh?" Julia said, arching her eyebrow. "Why's that?"
"A beautiful young girl out alone in the middle of the forest..." Damien said. He brought his hands up and cupped her cheeks, framing her face. Julia's lips turned up in a half-smile.
"Dangerous for me to be out here, is it?" she said.
"So far away from grandmother's house?" Damien said, in mock solemnity. "Why, who knows what kinds of creatures you might encounter in the woods?"
He let his hands drop to her waist, and Julia let out a gasp as he pulled her close into a kiss. Her hands came up to his shoulders, but she didn't want to push him away.
"You mean a creature like you?" Julia asked. "I think I can handle that."
"Really?" Damien teased. "You're not afraid of the big bad wolf?"
"Oh my," Julia said, playing along, "what large arms you have!" Her hands smoothed the fabric over his muscles. His skin was emanating heat and her body instinctively drew closer to him.
"All the better to hold you with, my dear," Damien said, pulling her against his chest. He grinned, his teeth gleaming in the light of dawn.
"What great white teeth you have!" Julia said, tilting her head back.
"The better to nibble you with, my dear," Damien said, pretending to snap at her neck. Julia held up her hands in mock surrender, looking up into his face. She reached up and took off his glasses. In the light of day his eyes did not glow nearly as much, but the power and sheer lust in their golden hue still made her shudder in delight.
"What big eyes..." Julia said, her voice fading as he lifted his sightless gaze to her. There was a depth to his eyes that she had never seen in anyone else before, and because he was blind she was unafraid to stare deeply into them.
"I only wish they could see your beautiful face," Damien said, lowering his lips to hers as he spoke. Julia inhaled sharply as he pressed his mouth down, and she felt the tip of his tongue trace its way along her lower lip, sending crackling fires along her body.
"Mmmm," she murmured. Her body was responding to the pressure in a way she hadn't ever experienced. She pulled him towards her, raking her fingers across his back.
"So you've decided not to send me away, then?" Damien said, laughing into the kiss. Julia cupped her hand around his neck and brought him back into the embrace with a ferocity she herself could not explain. It had begun as an innocent attraction, but the lingering traces of her anger and hurt had been turned into something else. Desire ignited into lust, and she felt the flames of it radiating out from the center of her body. Was it his desire or hers, or both of theirs? She could not tell.
He kissed her ferociously, his lips moving down her neck to her collarbone, then her breasts. He paused when he reached the soft curve of her cleavage, but she twined her fingers into his hair and pressed him against her, pulling down her dress to give him free access. Her eyes flickered back to the house, but no, they were protected from sight by the trees. She had no intention of stopping. Not now.
His tongue traced the outside edge of her breast, circling closer to h
er areola. She brushed his dark hair back from his face to see him better, his smooth skin against hers in the fresh light of day.
When she first saw him, she knew he was different from any of the other boys she had seen wandering through the college library. Now, as he lavished his attentions on her, she understood what it was. Where some men would be shy or overly brash, Damien was instead quietly confident. He asked permission and took it with every touch of his fingers on her skin, and she felt possessed completely when his hands cradled her curves and brought her to him.
His hands pulled up the skirt of her dress as he knelt in front of her.
"What are you doing?" Julia asked, her breath catching in her throat as she felt Damien's lips fluttering kisses onto her leg just above her knee.
"Didn't you read the end of Little Red Riding Hood?" Damien asked. He pushed the fabric up over her hips, exposing her panties. His tongue darted out, licking the edge of the silk triangle, and Julia's mouth went dry with lust. She leaned her head back against the tree Damien had been sitting under.
Damien grinned. "She gets eaten by the wolf."
Julia opened her mouth to say something, but what it was she couldn't remember. Damien's mouth pressed firmly over her panties, breathing hot against her most sensitive area, and every thought that had been in her mind disappeared into the all-consuming heat of sensation. The slow hot breaths tickled her, and as he began to lick her through the thin fabric, she could not help but moan. Twisting her head, she felt the rough bard against her cheek.
"Oh— " Julia said. "Oh my—"
"Mmm?" Damien said, nuzzling the crease of fabric with his nose.
"What a long tongue you have," she said, giggling despite herself.
"The better to taste you with," he said, and in one swift motion he had torn down her panties and lowered his mouth onto her.
Julia felt it all at once: the hot tongue sliding forward into her, the fingers pressing against her slit, the lips sucking at the center of her pleasure insistently, and the explosion that rent its way through her body sent jagged thrills out along every single nerve. She orgasmed immediately, surprising even herself as the shocks of pleasure shot through her body. Gripping his head with one hand, she convulsed forward, pulsing her hips onto his mouth and groaning in pleasure. She would have fallen over if his hands had not been holding her up at the waist.
"Oh my God," she whispered, once she had recovered partially from the orgasm. Damien was still licking her softly.
"I knew it," Damien said.
"Knew—knew what?" Julia asked, trying desperately to catch her breath. She tugged on her panties with one hand.
"You have a wild heart," Damien said, pulling her down on top of him. She gasped in delight as he pulled his arm around her waist, cinching her close and rolling their bodies both back onto the forest floor. "Seducing me with your charms..."
"Me?" Julia said, gasping for air and laughing at the same time. Pine needles stuck in Damien's hair and she plucked them out with her fingers, smiling broadly.
"Yes, you. You with your radiant mind and your amazing body. Who wouldn't want to taste you?" Damien smiled and lowered his head to kiss her inner thigh, sending tingles up her leg.
"I've—I've never..." she said. Despite the ecstasy of the last few moments, she was still completely in a state of passion, ready to do whatever Damien wanted her to do. Her leg was pressed against Damien's thigh, and if what she felt there was any indication, he was ready as well.
"Did you want to go back to grandmother's house?" Damien said, a mischievous smile on his face. Julia shook her head. "Good. Because I'm not letting you go anywhere."
Julia squealed as Damien pulled her up against his chest and bunched up the skirt of her dress, completely exposing her backside. At first he simply ran his fingers back and forth over her slit. Her underwear was completely soaked, and the friction of his fingers through the fabric was driving her crazy.
"I know you want me," he said, pulling the fabric tight as he stroked her. She moaned, rocking back against his hand. "I can feel every bit of your want."
"Please," she said. She wriggled in his grasp, hoping for more contact. Before she could speak Damien's other hand was stroking her slit. His fingers slid inside her easily under her panties, the heat of his hand driving her wild. Then he pulled back.
"No!" Julia said, the word coming out of her mouth before she could even think about it. "Don't stop." Turning her head, she could just see his eyes twinkling with pleasure.
"You're sure?" he asked.
"Please," she cried, her words a gasp in the cool morning air.
Damien caressed her ass, his palm smooth over her skin. She moaned in anticipation as his fingers traced the outside of her, and then he squeezed her, hard. She cried out, bucking against him, and he traced the outline of his hand where her skin was just beginning to flush.
His fingers slipped into her and her heart began to race, the electric thrills of sensation running along her spine. She rocked forward, gasping as Damien thrust his fingers roughly into her. She could feel his erection pressing against her side through his pants, and she leaned close to rub against him. He breathed hard but did not stop, letting her stroke him through the fabric as he continued.
Again, again he slid his fingers across her at the core of her body, penetrating her just enough to tease but not enough to satisfy. Her heart was beating in her ears and she felt completely out of control. Her body was rebelling against her head, telling her that this was all she needed. She was there, almost there, on the edge of ecstasy. The sounds of her moans echoed in the woods, and her breathing was ragged against the air. Then he stopped, and she groaned in unfinished agony.
"Beg for it."
She turned her head but he pulled her hair back by the ponytail, exposing her neck. He leaned close to her, his breath hot on her ear. She shook with desire.
"I want you to beg for it," he said.
Julia had never felt so turned on, so dominated. She clung to his arms even as he pulled her hair back farther, the thrilling pain coupling with her intense, unsatisfied lust. Whenever his movements got close to satisfying her, he would pull away slightly. She realized that he was reading her, tantalizing her until she almost had reached the edge.
"Please," she whispered.
"Are you mine?" he asked.
"Yes!" Julia cried out. "Oh, yes!"
Damien released her hair, and she felt his hand circling her ass. "How do you want me to take you?" he said
"Take me hard, please, please," Julia said. She was hoarse with desire, her want overtaking any sense she ever had. "I need you. I need you now. Inside of me. Please—"
Without warning, Damien rolled over and threw her to the ground. Julia caught herself on the pine needles, but Damien was already pulling her up roughly by her hips. He caressed her ass slowly, softly. Julia whimpered.
Julia felt an animal lust course through her. On her hands and knees, dripping wet between her thighs like a wolf in heat, she had the irrational desire to turn her head up and howl. Nobody had ever made her feel so wild, so careless.
It was the way he held her, possessing her exactly how he wanted, doing whatever he wanted to her. That was the difference. Damien had complete control over her, and she found that she didn't mind one bit. She had always been intimidated by men, but with Damien his desire was so honest that she did not feel self-conscious in the slightest bit. She could tell he wanted her so utterly and completely, not caring what she might think of his desire, and it made her want him even more.
Damien was positioned behind her, pulling her thighs apart with his big strong hands. Julia gasped as she felt his tongue licking her slit from behind, probing her. His lips sucked her skin, already slick with her sweat and juices, and she twitched, her body grinding itself backwards to meet him.
"What was that you wanted, again?" he asked, his breath held just above her wet slit. Julia gasped to inhale. She could hear Damien's zipper coming undone an
d it nearly undid her. Then his erection was pressed between her thighs, swollen and hot against her skin, and she groaned.
"Please take me," she said. "Take me. Oh please, please—"
One sharp thrust, and Julia felt herself filled with his huge member. Her body tried to clench down but he was too big, he filled her entirely. The thrust came through her, and suddenly she was there with him in a whirlwind of ecstasy. She could feel his own emotion, the hot friction of her body on his, the rising ache that built and built and swept them both up in it. She could feel, too, the connection that pulled them together. It was as real as if there had been a chain around both of their hearts. Locked together, feeling the same emotion, they became part of each other.
Mate. She finally understood the word. He was the one who fit into her. The one who completed her, body and mind.
Fingers slid through her hair, massaging her scalp, then pulled her head back. Her body was lifted from the ground, her neck exposed, and her heart was beating in her ears. Damien clutched her hip with his free hand and she clenched, released, and felt him push even farther into her.
"Oh yes, yes..." she moaned, feeling him shift himself between her thighs.
One large hand moved and gripped her throat. She felt her breath being pressed from her body as he worked his cock deeper into her. She was being held up by the throat and the feeling was so strange, so novel that her mind tumbled over itself, each new sensation thrilling her more than the last. He had her life in his hands and she trusted him, oh, she trusted him, even though he made her ache with lust. There was nothing she wanted more than to do what he wanted her to do. And she knew that he could feel every tingle, every gasp of hers as surely as if it were his, and he plucked her strings with expert passion.
Damien forced himself deeper in, his cock throbbing through its whole shaft. She could feel the heat of it slick between her thighs. He paused just as their skin pressed together, the length of him pulsing inside of her. Julia's body shivered and clenched, her head tossed back.
"My mate," Damien said. She had her head forward but even without seeing him she could tell that he was smiling. His hand loosened around her throat and she gulped.
