by Delta James
“You had to threaten me. Here I was thinking maybe you weren’t so bad.”
“Not a threat, mate. A promise. You are the one who refuses to yield, to accept my mark and ask me to knot and tie you. Instead you threaten to leave me and/or to shorten my life.” He took her face in his hands and kissed her. “But you will come around, mate, and we will be deliriously happy.”
“You’re already delirious. How about if I offer to extend the deadline on not trying to leave and actually trying to behave until after dinner tomorrow?”
He kissed her again. “That would make me very happy. Is that what you’re doing?”
She nodded. “I know I haven’t been very accepting of all of this and I do know it’s an honor to be mated to you…”
He pulled her close and rubbed her back to comfort her. “I know, beloved. I know how hard it’s been, but ‘twill get better. I think we’d best head upstairs so you can change for dinner.”
Skylar looked around. “Dinner isn’t for hours.”
“Perhaps, but I’d like to take advantage of my mate’s largess and lure her back into our bed.”
Darby laughed at him. “You’ve had worse ideas, mate.”
Jean-Michel looked over her head at Skylar. He tried not to overreact to Darby calling him mate for the first time.
Chapter Eight
Darby preceded Jean-Michel up the stairs but held his hand. When they got to the top of the stairs, she waited until he too was on the landing and then offered her mouth to his. Never one to pass on an invitation, he captured her mouth and leisurely explored it as he held her close.
“Take me,” she whispered.
Jean-Michel smiled. Darby liked how his smile changed his whole face. In repose or anger, it was strong and angular. His eyes were a dark, seemingly bottomless pool of deep brown. But when aroused or highly amused, they took on an almost golden glow. His face became softer, still very masculine, but more open and inviting.
“With pleasure, mate.” He opened the door to their room and ushered her in before him. As he closed the door he wrapped his arm around her middle and pulled her back into his chest. When he felt no resistance at all, he smiled and began kissing her neck and down the top of her shoulders.
Darby leaned back into him and brought the hand not wrapped around her middle up to fondle her breast. She made a low growl of frustration when he removed it. That caused him to swat her hard. But before she could react to that, he ran his hand up under her sweater and pushed her bra up over her breast so he could have his hands on her flesh and take her hardening nipple in his fingers. Darby relaxed back against him and sighed contentedly.
Jean-Michel chuckled low and nuzzled her neck. He splayed out the hand with which he’d been holding her and slid it down her body, opening the fly of her jeans and running his hand between her legs. He rubbed her clit with the ball of his thumb, causing her to squirm against him. She tried to pull away but he held her close both with the hand between her legs and the one that was fondling her breast.
“Do not think to pull away from me, mate. You are mine.”
“Yes, Jean-Michel.”
She snuggled back against him and he enjoyed her lack of argument. His mate could be most agreeable when she tried. “What do you want, mate?” He held his breath to see what her answer might be.
“You. I want you.”
He released her and turned her to face him. “That, beloved, you already have. Shall I take you to bed and spend the afternoon between your legs?”
“Yes, please,” she said, smiling seductively.
He pulled her sweater over her head and unhooked her bra. Her breasts fell free and he dipped his head to take one in his mouth, sucking hard. He slid his hands down her back and over her buttocks, being careful not to apply too much pressure but sliding her jeans down. It occurred to him that she had not put on any panties before they went downstairs. The realization made him have to focus a bit more on suppressing the knot that threatened to form.
“Naughty mate.”
“What, for not wearing panties? They were very uncomfortable on those welts you gave me. Besides, no one could tell.”
“A reasonable reason not to have them on, but you should have told me.”
She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, rubbing her tits against his chest. “And does my mate like the idea of me without panties on?”
“Very much. But from now on, you ask permission to do so. I would find it very distracting to know you were without panties and there for the taking.”
She giggled again. She reached between them and began to unbutton his shirt. He allowed her to pull it off of him. She took hold of his belt and he stilled her hand. “You ask first,” he said.
“Yes, Jean-Michel. Please, mate, might I unbuckle your belt so I can open your fly and get your cock out?”
He laughed. She unbuckled the belt and opened his fly. His cock immediately rose up and out so that she was confronted with it. “It seems I wasn’t the only one going commando,” she said.
“No, but my reason was so if I had a chance to fuck you, I had less to get in the way.” He shucked off his jeans and swept her up in his arms, carrying her to their bed. “And now that we’re both naked, there is nothing to keep me from ravaging you for the rest of the afternoon.”
“You do realize I still have a sore ass from the spankings you gave me as well as you repeatedly fucking me, don’t you?”
“Are you complaining?”
“About the latter, no. I could have skipped the spanking part, especially with that nasty belt.”
“I will only use my belt if it is warranted. Trying to run from me and doing so in a manner that could have caused you great harm warrants it. I would tell you that you could avoid being spanked if you behaved, but we both know you aren’t capable of that. So, I’ll just tell you that I’ll never spank you harder than I love you afterward. Can you agree to that?”
She nodded. “And I suppose if I tried to tell you that I didn’t get aroused from you spanking me that would constitute a lie and I’d get spanked again for that.”
“And have your mouth washed out with soap.” He laid her on the bed and lay down next to her. “God, you’re beautiful.” He ran his nose down the length of her body from her lips on her face to the lips between her legs, breathing deeply. “You smell of the ocean and crepe jasmine. Do you know that all of the Gautier mates who came before you smell of crepe jasmine? It is unique to our pack and part of how we know you are one of us.”
She reached between them and wrapped her hand around his cock. It was hard and warm to her touch. She squeezed him gently and stroked him lightly. She heard a grumbling noise from deep within his throat. Not really a growl but not quite a purr. “Does my mate like it when I hold him in my hand?”
He grinned at her. His cock was now throbbing and it took every ounce of self-control not to allow the knot to form, roll her to her back, and force it past her opening. “Your mate is not in the mood nor can he stand much of your playing.” He pushed her over onto her back and pinned her beneath him as he began to kiss her.
His hand moved from rolling her nipple between his thumb and forefinger down to do the same thing with her clit and then moved back up to her nipple. She moaned and writhed under his attention. He began to kiss his way down her body. He suckled both of her nipples, going back and forth between the two.
“Jean-Michel, please?”
He chuckled in a highly sensual and possessive way. He had her body responding to his ministrations in just the way he wanted. She tried in vain to stay underneath him. It was obvious to him that she would far rather he parted his thighs with his own and mounted her. However, he meant to savor her wild honey. He wanted her so primed and ready that she came as he drove his cock home into her.
He nuzzled her as he worked his way down her body, alternating licking and tasting her with kisses. When he moved down to get between her legs she parted them easily and he was greeted with an
abundance of her to taste. He swirled his tongue around her clit and she bowed her body, driving her pussy up and into his face as she came.
He chuckled again at her response and then set about arousing and getting her to the point of climax so that when he mounted her, he would sink into her as she contracted around him in orgasm. He nibbled her lower lips and licked the outer rim of her opening. She squirmed and writhed as he lapped up her honey. He plunged his tongue into her to lap more deeply.
“God, Jean-Michel.”
He reared his head and upper body and watched her. “Does my beloved wish to be mounted and finished by her mate?”
“Yes, please?”
He moved up her body until he was poised over her, his cock hard and throbbing. “Open your eyes, Darby. I want you to look at me when I mount you.”
She opened her eyes and fell into his. She could feel the last remnants of her will to resist him and his call fade away. “I see you,” she whispered. She wound her arms around him, pulling him to her.
“Do you, beloved?”
“Yes. I yield to my mate and alpha. Claim me.”
He lowered himself as he moved up.
She could not hold his gaze and closed her eyes.
“No, beloved. See me.”
She did and climaxed as his cock breached her opening and he drove home. He moved in her strongly and wrapped her in his arms. He stroked her hard and she responded. As she began to climb toward her own peak again, he felt his canines elongate.
Her eyes never left his as he opened his mouth and lowered his head. His mouth covered the mark of her former mate.
“Now, please,” she whispered.
He sank his teeth into her and heard her gasp of pain. He knew later he would tend to her to ease the pain he needed to cause her. But he would not stop before he had removed the repulsive evidence of the man who had claimed her before and abused her.
He shook her as gently as he could, feeling the old mark give way and the spot meant for him and him alone accept his marking. He drove into her as he marked her. Her pussy convulsed in response to his plunging cock. He used his strong thighs and buttocks to drive deeply into her core. He felt her orgasm beneath him as he thrust repeatedly into her pussy and began to release his cum into her. Having finally marked her as his, he began to kiss the deep wound and nuzzled her, whispering to her in words she didn’t comprehend but in a language she understood.
He raised his head and looked into her beautiful blue eyes. He saw no recrimination or fear, only his love for her being reflected back at him. He started to speak and she put her hand over his mouth to stay his tongue.
“Is it gone?” She didn’t remove her hand.
He nodded.
“And your mark will be the only thing that shows?”
Again, he nodded, never losing eye contact with her.
“I’m yours? No one can take me away from you?”
He removed her hand. “You have always been mine, beloved. Nothing but death will part us. And death to anyone who tries or causes you harm,” he vowed.
He slowly pulled out of her and rolled to his side, bringing her with him. She snuggled next to him of her own accord. They slept briefly but she was awakened when she heard the door to the closet in their room close. “What are you doing?”
“Shh. I want to get a cloth to clean your mark. I want to ensure I didn’t bite you too deep.”
She beckoned him back with her hand. “Come back to bed. I’m fine.”
He returned to her, kissed her deeply, and then walked into the bath. He came back out with a warm cloth and pressed it against the wound to stop the bleeding and gently cleaned around it. Her wolf nature allowed it to start healing, but it would leave a bold scar representing his claiming her.
She reached up, pushed his long hair out of his face, and tucked it behind his ear. He smiled, caught her hand, and kissed her fingertips. He too brushed her hair out of her eyes. He leaned down and touched his lips very lightly to the mark.
He left her briefly to put the cloth away and walked toward the bed. She pulled back the covers, revealing her naked body. He slid in next to her and she nestled against him. They wrapped their arms around each other and fell back asleep.
Sometime later she whispered, “Jean-Michel? Are you awake?”
He opened his eyes and smiled at her. “What would you have me say, mate? No?”
She giggled. “No, but do you mind me waking you?”
“No, sweetheart. If you have need of me, you must always wake me. What do you require?”
She sat up, looking down at him, her breasts at eye level with her nipples fully aroused. “I want you to see me.”
“I always see you… even with my eyes closed.” He reached up and lazily traced the outline of her areola before rubbing his thumb across her nipple, causing her to moan.
“I wanted you to see me behaving.”
He laughed at her. “Afraid it won’t happen very often so I should be sure to make note when it does?”
“Yes. Because all I want to do is throw my leg over you and lower myself onto that gorgeous cock of yours, but you told me that I only got to ride you as a special treat. I think marking me should be considered a special occasion and I should get a treat.”
“Do you? And here I thought giving you my mark was special enough.” He saw doubt enter her eyes. “I’m teasing you, Darby. You gifted me by agreeing to be marked by me.”
Darby grinned and pinned him down beneath her and then moved to throw her leg over him. She wasn’t quite sure how he had done it, but she suddenly found herself on her back with her mate between her legs driving his hard cock up into her waiting sheath. She felt her body move up to join with his and she gloried in his strong embrace and vigorous lovemaking. As she had come to expect, her whole body came alight with need for him. She had never known she had the capacity for multiple orgasms. With Jean-Michel she found that he demanded her body respond to him repeatedly. He enjoyed the feeling her orgasms provided him and wanted to ensure that he pleasured her to the point of exhaustion before he allowed himself the ultimate pleasure of his release. She came twice before he took hold of her hips, no longer allowing her to move as he drove into her repeatedly before he spilled himself in her. He collapsed on her.
“Jean-Michel?”
“You must give me a little time to recover, my greedy mate.”
She giggled. “Really? Kind of feels like you’re doing that already. But I was going to point out to you that if we’re going to make dinner, we probably need to get showered and dressed.”
“Yes, dinner is to be formal tonight.’
She frowned. “I have nothing to wear that’s suitable for a formal occasion.”
“You have not checked the closet. You could outshine all of the women here in a pair of sweatpants and one of my shirts, but I thought you might like something more befitting your position as mistress of the New Orleans pack. There are two dresses in the closet for you. Choose whichever you like.”
He got up and helped her up. They took a shower together and came back into the room. Darby opened the closet and gasped. There before her were two of the most beautiful cocktail dresses she’d ever seen. They were both of a brilliant cobalt blue. One was a high-necked halter with a low open back. The other had an asymmetrical neckline that formed an opening over the spot where he had removed her former alpha’s mark and replaced it with his own. One would hide his mark and the other show it off.
“Jean-Michel, they’re beautiful, but too much.”
“Too much what?” he said, grinning at her.
“Too expensive. I don’t need anything like this.”
He laughed and kissed her. “My darling Darby. You are mate to the alpha of New Orleans, one of the oldest and wealthiest packs on Earth. We have holdings and income from all over the world. If you want a closet full of designer dresses, shoes, and handbags, they are yours.”
She looked at him in astonishment. “You mean… we’re
rich?” she whispered.
He laughed again. “Filthy.” He was almost finished putting his clothes on. “Now go put one of the dresses on and let’s go join JD, Megan, and the rest of those gathered here.”
“Which would you like to see me in?”
“I like seeing you naked…”
“Oh, really?” she teased.
“But only for me. Bianca couldn’t decide between them so I told her to get both. You choose.”
Darby had to fight back tears as she realized that while both dresses were beautiful, one would cover the area that showed her mark and the other would ensure that all eyes were riveted to the spot. She knew without a doubt which she wanted to wear.
She walked out of the bathroom and saw his face light up. “You are, my mate, truly stunning. But if you prefer the other, do not feel you have to wear this one to soothe my ego.”
She laughed. “I’m not, but I love the fact that you gave me the choice. I hated his mark. Every time I touched it, I recoiled not only from the mark itself but from the memory and what it represented. This,” she said, touching it lightly, “I choose to show to the world and declare that I am the one true and lawful mate to the alpha of New Orleans.”
He kissed her deeply and, looking into her eyes, said, “That you are, my beloved. And I am your one and true lawful mate, and grateful and humbled to be so.”
Chapter Nine
JD and Megan entered the room arm in arm. Megan looked happy and relaxed with her mate. The juncture of her throat and collarbone showed faint traces of the mark JD had made when he’d claimed her. It was only the mark of an alpha that took time to heal and left a scar that never faded.
Jean-Michel and Darby followed them. Darby’s body language indicated her mate had been successful in luring her back to their bed. Darby’s dress was cobalt blue and emphasized her eyes. She seemed to be scanning the room. When her eyes alighted on Skylar she smiled broadly and then turned to Jean-Michel.
