The Author's Challenge

by Raven McAllan

  “So, you’re a virgin at making love, I’m a virgin at BDSM, and you love me?”

  She nodded. “That’s about it.”

  “Right.” Rob ran his fingers through his hair, making it stand on end. He looked more like a mad author than ever. “And you need to direct the traffic, so to speak?”

  “Yep.”

  Still, he didn’t mention the L-word. Jenissa had no intention of begging him to let her know if she had a chance with him.

  “And if I say no sex, just a scene, what would you say?”

  All of a sudden, she knew. “I’d say no thanks, because now I know what I’ve been searching for and why no sub has ever lasted long. I want to have a sub with se–sex, not without.” She stumbled over the word. It reduced everything to something she didn’t want. Sex without love would be like gin without tonic, or bacon without eggs.

  “No, scratch that. I don’t want sex, I want to make love. Sex, I’m sure, is fine, but making love, I reckon, would be totally different.” Rob didn’t say anything and she bit her lip. Had she totally fucked up? Without ever fucking? The irony of her thoughts would, on any other occasion, make her giggle. Now she was too churned up inside to be able to even raise a smile.

  Her tummy rumbled and she automatically put her hand over it and prayed it wouldn’t growl. It only did that when she was anxious or upset. She might be the former, somewhat, but not the latter, not yet anyway. Rob looked at her closely.

  “Are you hungry?”

  Only for you. “Not for food.”

  He stood up and wandered round the room. Jenissa fought not to look into his mind. Even though her ability was nowhere near as developed as her twin’s, and by all accounts wouldn’t release its full potential until she became a woman in all the sexual contexts, she had more skills there than anyone realized. It was so bloody hard to keep her mind away from his. He was reaching out to her. She understood that indefinable tug, but dammit, she needed to hear what he thought and felt, not find out in an underhand way, even if it was him who enabled her to.

  “I’m starving.” He rubbed his tummy. “Desperately hungry.”

  Rob stopped his pacing and stopped in front of her. “I need feeding.” With one graceful movement, he knelt on the floor, bowed his head and put his hands behind his back. “I’m not quite sure how this should be done, but it’s my first time, you know. Will you let me love you and feed me with everything we need to let our love grow? Nurture us? Let me be your lover and your sub?” He bent his head and nuzzled her pussy over her skirts. “Make love, not have sex, and let me take care of you in every other way?”

  He paused and she saw his body shake. “Ma’am.”

  * * * *

  Would she agree? Did she understand? Fuck, I never said I love her. Will it sound forced now? Damn, I wish she could read my mind.

  “I can, and please say it.”

  “Eh?” He looked up at that and saw the uncertainty in her eyes. Why?

  She shrugged. “I can read your mind. But until you told me you want to love me and be my sub, I fought against it. I must have let my guard down, because that last little bit flew into me like an arrow into a…a whatever-you-call-it.”

  “Target? Apple? Heart?” He laughed as she stuck her tongue out, even though his head was reeling. She could read minds? Oh, shit. He cast his mind back over his at times somewhat lascivious thoughts.

  “Clever clogs.”

  “One of the downsides of being with an author.”

  “One of the upsides is that if I’m stuck for a word, I’ll just ask you.” She giggled. “Or read your mind.”

  He wiggled his eyebrows. It had always annoyed Jenissa and Ari that he could do it and they couldn’t. He guessed it still would.

  It did. “Rotter, and yes, I did read that. You did it on purpose to rile me. But, I need to say, I promise not to intentionally read your mind unless it is essential. I haven’t and it would go against all I’ve been taught about using my gifts wisely. Wanting to know how you feel about me doesn’t fall into that category. I still need to hear that out loud.”

  He knelt up and kissed her, just a brief touching of lips before he drew back. “I love you Ma’am. Please may I show you?”

  “I wish you would.”

  That was exactly what he needed to hear. He tapped her nose. “So If I pop your making-love cherry then will you pop my BDSM one? When you’ve got your strength back, of course. I better warn you, it may take you a while. If…” He bit his lip. “Um, Ma’am?”

  “Yes? Oh shit, we really need to decide on what I call you. I’m usually so on-the-ball with stuff like that. You’ve thrown me.” She grinned to show, he assumed, the fact didn’t faze her.

  “I really don’t want to be called boy. Mine? Your heart? As in, you’d say, My Heart. If I am, of course?” God, he so wanted her to say yes. His heart thudded in his chest as he waited for her reply. She ran her fingers over her mouth and nibbled the end of one finger, before she licked it and then swiped her lips with her tongue. If only it was his finger and his lips on the receiving end. It was so fucking sexy, he wondered how he didn’t unzip his jeans, rip off her panties and fuck her with no finesse whatsoever. Even though he was sporting a boner he’d be hard pressed to get his jeans and boxers over without causing himself a painful injury, it was a difficult and bloody compelling idea to ignore, except…

  I’m a man, not an animal.

  Jenissa paled and swayed.

  “What? What’s wrong?” he asked urgently. “You’re scaring me. Tell me now, please.”

  She shook her head and wiped one hand over her cloudy eyes. When she looked back at him, they were clear with no hint of the mist he’d seen a few seconds before.

  What the fuck?

  She shook her head at him and put her finger over his mouth instead of hers. He gave into temptation and sucked on the soft skin. She groaned, and lifted her hand away. Mindful of her edict earlier that she was in charge, he resisted the urge to move it back. Instead, he waited for her next move, with his heart pounding and his pulse jumping like a demented flea on speed.

  “My heart.”

  All his worries dropped away. By hell, he loved her. Two words and they meant the world. “So, Ma’am, may I introduce you to art of lovemaking? Worship you and hopefully show you how to enjoy your body, my way?”

  Chapter Seven

  Oh yes, please…She spoke the words to herself like a mantra. At long last, it seemed all her wishes might just about come true. No, not all, she amended. Some. His thoughts about not being an animal had thrown her. How on earth would she ever be able to tell him that actually, at times, she was?

  Think about that later. She was uncomfortably aware that later might never come. Jenissa blocked off her depressing thoughts and concentrated on Rob, and the here-and-now.

  “Show me. I’d be honored if you did. This is one time where I’m happy to sub.”

  He smiled. “But you told me what to do. “Show me,” you said, so in my eyes, that makes you, my Mistress. My Ma’am. So, Ma’am, may I direct you?”

  The serious tone, the look of hope on his face, and the way his fingers shook, made her go all gooey inside, as well as her clit clenching in a way she’d frankly thought was book speak and not likely in real life. Did that mean she’d get all that extra wetness she read about again? The wet thongs and gushing juices? She hoped so. Up until today, then any wetness had been mild and a mere dampness on her thighs. Her thought made her wriggle. Yeah, the sopping thong was a reality, so gushing and squirting next? Oh, I bloody hope so, even if it does mean buying extra knickers. And after all, what self-respecting red-blooded woman would miss out on a chance like that? Erotic underwear.com, here I come.

  Rob coughed discreetly, and she turned her face to look directly at his.

  “Direct away, my heart.”

  Rob stroked her cheek.

  “Let’s reconvene in the bedroom.” He lifted her and carried her out of the playroom. “Make the most of
this, Ma’am. I don’t do the Rhett Butler bit often.”

  He nudged the door open with his elbow and then kicked it shut behind him. “I guess it’s left at the top of the stairs. Do you think me going the wrong way earlier was accidental or on purpose? Whichever, it was providential.”

  Rob’s footsteps were loud on the parquet. Each thud echoed the beat of her heart. Jenissa reveled in the noise. Every step was one closer to the rest of her life.

  “Oh, yeah. Grab the handle, please, and open this door.”

  She leaned over and did as he asked. A thought struck her.

  “I er, well…um…”

  He stopped by the bed and dropped her onto the mattress. She bounced, flung her arms out, let her legs flip up a little and sniggered. Unfortunately, that thought loomed even larger, along with another more pressing one.

  “You er, well, um?” Rob looked down at her and then anchored her hands toward the sides of the bed. “Have changed your mind? Left a pan on the stove? Don’t want sex if there’s an ‘R’ in the month? That’s okay, there isn’t.”

  She shook her head, and bit her lip.

  “What then? No condoms? There are other ways. But fear not, Reliable Rob comes to the rescue. I have a couple. Sadly, no more, so we may need to be creative. However, I do subscribe to the motto ‘be prepared, always wear clean underwear in case you’re knocked down, and floss at every opportunity.’ Every eventuality covered.”

  “Not quite, and we don’t need condoms. I’m clean and protected.” How could she tell him there was no way she could conceive until her ancestors or whoever it was accepted him as her perfect mate? That wasn’t likely to happen so soon. “I need the loo.” She wasn’t sure how to broach the other, much trickier subject. That she’d been warned if—when—she climaxed, if she didn’t bite him, she may well start to shift. Somehow she didn’t think Rob was ready for that. Come to think of it, nor am I.

  “Off you go, then. Can you use the main bathroom, not the en-suite, please? I have things I need to do. And do not look.”

  “I wasn’t going to.” However, Jenissa knew she colored. She had been tempted. “Right, I’ll be back in a sec, I need to…well, you know, and shower.” She scrambled off the bed and headed for the door into the hall.

  “No need to shower, we’ll get wet together.” His voice echoed after her and she stumbled. There were so many ways she could interpret ‘get wet.’

  What were you supposed to do to ready yourself for first-time sex?

  Jenissa went to the loo, washed her pussy and ass, cleaned her teeth and swithered over underwear. Of course all her clean clothes were in the bedroom. So, bare-ass naked, or the same knickers? There was no contest. Bare-ass naked it was.

  She was no stranger to nudity. Hell, nine times out of ten, given the change, she’d strip off. After all, it made shifting so much easier. She was glad she wasn’t the member of the Kinfoyle pack who was responsible for refilling the stashes of clothes they had all over the pack’s land. It was a never-ending job, a lot like painting the Forth Rail Bridge. The minute you refilled the last waterproof bin, you started all over again. She’d done her stint a few years ago and prayed she never had to do it again. Luckily, Jacob was impartial, and everyone, male or female, who used the land, took their turn.

  This, however, was different. She was going to meet her lover. My lover. She rolled the worlds around in her mind and savored them. They sounded so right, especially if she added Rob to the phrase. Rob, my lover. And maybe one day it could be “Rob, my mate.” Don’t get ahead of yourself, Jenissa Wolfe. Baby steps. The oft-repeated phrases of her mother to her when she was young reverberated in her mind. She could do with more of her mum’s platitudes at that moment. She admitted it, she was scared.

  Move, or he’ll think you’ve changed your mind. As if on cue, there was a knock on the bathroom door.

  “Jen? Ma’am, are you ready?”

  She opened the door. Rob stood outside, shirtless, barefooted and sex on legs.

  It was true. Your juices could gush. Shame there were no knickers to soak. It was a strangely erotic feeling, that wet cheese grater effect when damp lace chafed your sensitive skin, but maybe next time?

  “Yes, my heart.”

  Great.” He gave her a thumbs-up and put his hands under her arms to swing her around in a circle. At the last minute, she put her arms over his shoulders and her legs around his waist so as not to bounce off the walls.

  “Rob, you idiot.” He moved his hands to clutch her ass and grind her to him. “We nearly went down the stairs.”

  “Nah, and anyway, we’d bounce. We’re high on anticipation and buoyed up by love.” He jumped in the air and landed with a thump. “Ooops. Okay?”

  He so did have a way with words. “Oh, yes.” She clung on as he traced their earlier steps into the bedroom, now only lit by one softly shaded lamp. This time, he didn’t drop her onto the bed, nor stop walking. He skirted the furniture and made his way to the far side of the room, where one entered the en-suite.

  The first thing she noticed was the scent. Roses, lavender and flowers from the forest. Then the subtle ambience. The room was shadowy, and candles of all shapes and sizes covered every surface. Their flickering light created enticing shadows and pools of light that beckoned and enticed her.

  Steam rose from the large corner bath. She admitted it might seem sybaritic, but more than once, an exhausted Jenissa had slumped into it without shifting from wolf to woman. It was her secret enjoyment, a bath big enough to do so without flooding the room or scratching the porcelain.

  Now, though, a completely different thought filled her.

  Big enough for two.

  Rob set her down gently onto the soles of her feet. Her skirt, long, thin and floaty, caught on his watch and as she slid lower, the material lifted away from her body’. Slowly, she bared her ankles, her calves, her knees, her thighs and…

  “Oh, now then, what have we here? A bare-in-every-which-way pussy. And all for me.” Rob dropped to his knees and tucked her skirt into its waistband. She shivered.

  “Cold? I’ll warm you up.”

  “Excited, but feel free.”

  He snorted. “That I intend to. Feel. But for now…”

  He bent his head and licked her clit. Jenissa squeaked like a demented mouse—how mortifying—and grabbed onto his head for balance. He blew on her clit and let his tongue twist into her pussy channel. Book event number two hit her. She gushed onto his tongue. He lifted his head an inch and moaned in appreciation.

  “All for me. So bloody hot. I want more. I want to see you so wet, so hot and turned-on you’re squirming. Moaning and writhing. All for us. I’m going to show you what we are, Ma’am, what we can be, how we can be, and hope you demand I do it again and again.” He slid the tip of his finger into her, gently pulled it out and licked it. “So, so, good. But first, a bath.”

  He stood up and began to pull the strappy top she wore over her head.

  “Can’t we have a bath second?” Her voice was muffled by the cloth that temporarily covered it. “I’m in need here.”

  Rob laughed softly and stripped the top off completely. “Anything my Ma’am wants. Step out of your skirt.” She did, with more haste than finesse, and stood expectantly in front of him.

  “And?”

  “And, go lie on the bed.”

  Jenissa didn’t think she’d ever moved so fast in her life, not since she’d bet Jacob she could shift faster than him when they were teenagers. That had given her a sprained ankle, and she had no intention of something so restricting happening again. She took a flying leap toward the bed, landed on all fours, and giggled as she rolled over, thankful wolf shifters were known for their agility. To demand your sub—her sub, her Rob—to take charge, was strangely liberating.

  Rob wasn’t far behind her. He’d shucked his jeans, and his honed and tanned body shone sexily in the lamplight. Jenissa’s mouth was dry as he lowered himself onto the bed next to her and began to trac
e circles around her nipples.

  “That tickles.”

  “Hmm, I know. Does this?” He cupped her tits and pushed them together before he pulled both nipples into him mouth and sucked, just hard enough to give her body an erotic tingle.

  “That excites,” she said frankly. “Carry on.”

  “Good. How about this?” he let her boobs slide apart while he played with her clit, this time using his fingers to nip, rub, and tease. The tingles she’d experienced were like a tiny ripple on a stream compared to this tidal wave of sensations. He used his thumb to press on her clit, whilst he put one, then two fingers into her.

  “Okay? Do your color-coding stuff if it isn’t.” He bent his head, bit one nipple and tugged on the tip.

  “Color…oh, safe words. No need, argh… oh hell, oh my, ohhh.” Fireworks exploded in her head, colored lights flashed before her eyes, every muscle in her body tensed, and she flew into her first, non-self-given hard and fast climax.

  “That’s it, my love. Fly for me. Let go.”

  In the recess of her mind, she remembered something. Even as every inch of her demanded to shift, shift and take him with her, Jenissa knew it wasn’t the time. With a determination she didn’t know she had, she let her climax ride and grow as she twisted, with his thumb still on her clit and his fingers inside her.

  “Come inside me, please. I need you there. I want to come with you inside me for this first time.” She was begging, but it was oh-so-important. Luckily, he understood her panted words. Somewhere nearby was a rustle of foil, which hardly registered, and then he moved between her legs and draped her ankles over his shoulders. Jenissa scarcely breathed as his cock probed her channel and moved inside her inch by inch.

  “I want more.” She lifted her hips. “You won’t hurt me, I promise. Give it all to me, love, please now.”

  “My way.” He gasped the words as he probed further.

  Then she understood. “I ride.” Well, she could hardly explain to him that she frequently shifted from human to wolf and back again, and that had put paid to her maidenhead pretty damn quick. “Nothing to break.”