Kalkin

by Tl Reeve

  The scent of her arousal grew thicker as she sucked in a breath. Her eyes were round with excitement. She tucked her bottom lip between her teeth as she pulled the shirt from her head before working open her shorts. “What happened?”

  “You and I are going to talk,” he growled, curling his lip as he kicked off his boots. “For every right answer, you’re going to take an inch of my cock.” He deliberately didn’t tell her where or how.

  “Oh really?” She stood. The cut-offs she wore slipped from her thighs, then pooled around her feet. “Do I get to ask you any questions?”

  He shook his head. “Not this time. Maybe after.” He stalked her. Like prey to a famished predator, he watched his little mate, enjoying the way she trembled under his scrutinizing gaze. The small scrap of material covering her pussy destroyed the last threads of his control. He grabbed the hem. “I said naked.” With a quick tug, the fabric ripped apart, then joined the other garments already lying about.

  She gasped, “Kal.”

  He rested his palm against her neck. The rapid beat of her pulse pounded against his fingers. Her eyes dilated. He put aside the aching need throbbing through his groin, causing his cock to jerk and a drop of precum to roll down the length, and focused on her. “Ready to play?”

  Keeley licked her lips. “Y-yes.”

  He growled. “You afraid of me, sweet cheeks?”

  She lifted her chin. “No.”

  “You should be.” He wrapped his hand around her throat, not enough to hurt, just enough to show her who was in charge. “There are things you haven’t told me. Things about yourself you left out.”

  Her pulse quickened. “N-no.”

  “No?” He gripped her hip with his free hand. “You sure?”

  Her gaze darted to the door, then back to him. “Yes.”

  He slid his palm to her ass, before giving it a quick smack. The crack of flesh striking flesh echoed in the room. “I beg to differ.” He squeezed the heated globe, distributing the warmth before slapping it again.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  He spun her around, so his chest pressed to her back and his dick to the cleft of her ass. “I think you do.” He nipped at the mark he’d left at the juncture of her neck and collarbone, claiming her as his. “I think you’re afraid to trust me with all of your secrets.”

  She stiffened. “Why do you believe that?”

  He bent her over, bracing her hands on the bed. “Don’t move.” He then took a knee. The perfect curve of her pussy, all wet and swollen, greeted him along with the sweetest hint of her arousal. He groaned, palming her ass before pressing the twin globes together, then opening her up. The translucent ribbons of her juices coated her slit. A small dribble ran down the inside of her thigh, and he lapped it up.

  Tart and sugary, he licked her again, wanting more of the confectionary delight. He buried his face between her thighs, nipping and sucking on her labia while avoiding the one thing he knew would set her off. She grunted above him, rocking her pussy over his mouth. Can’t have her getting off so quickly. He smacked her ass, this time harder than the last. Keeley cried out and ground down on his face. The action only served to turn him on even more than he already was.

  Between his legs, his dick jerked and bobbed, while ribbons of precum leaked there. Fuck, he needed to get this under control, but he had no way of stopping it either. He suspected he never would either. Grabbing at the tattered remains of his control, he pushed back. His heart slammed against his ribs as adrenaline and the gut churning yearning to mate beat through his body.

  He leaned over her and pressed kisses to her spine as he continued to tease her with his fingers. She gripped them. Her snug channel, warm and wet, milked him for all she was worth, needing the one thing he wouldn’t give just yet.

  “I love it when you’re greedy,” he murmured against the shell of her ear. “But I’m not ready for this to end.”

  He retreated from her, then licked the digits clean. He hummed in approval. The heady taste went straight to his head, leaving him dizzy. He had to concentrate, though. She had the answers he craved. Ones that would help Caden and Danielle.

  “First question,” he whispered while opening up the bedside table. “What kind of work do you do?” After taking the lube out, he opened it and proceeded to squeeze some on the tip of his erection. He worked the gel into his length, understanding he’d have to go slow.

  Keeley glanced over her shoulder. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m asking the questions. Answer mine. What kind of work do you do, or did you do before moving here?”

  She held his gaze for a moment, then faced forward. “Security. Mostly. I have a degree in Computer Science and Cyber Technologies. I also minored in English.” She huffed out a sigh. “Why does it matter?”

  Without saying a word, he slicked up her rear, then positioned himself there. “Don’t fight me.”

  He pushed forward. Her eyes widened as she yelped. She clenched around him and he groaned. After adding more of the lube, he retreated, then pushed again. The star of her ass rippled around his tip, allowing him access. He grunted, staving off the need to shove himself deep inside of her.

  “Kal,” she whimpered, writhing below him.

  “I’ve got you.” He worked her clit, making her burn a little brighter for him. “You’re fucking perfect, sweet cheeks. Only a few more questions.”

  “Why is my job important?”

  He couldn’t come out and accuse her of being a hacker when she obviously had been trained to do just that in cyber security. “Have you ever cleaned anything up for you or your sister, online?” He tip-toed a line with her.

  Her head dropped forward. “She told him.” Not a question, but a statement.

  “Yes,” he answered, advancing forward a bit more. She clenched and unclenched, sending tingles of pleasure down his spine. Fuck, he could admit this had been a stupid idea. He didn’t think he could last. She felt way too fucking good.

  “Yes. I have and do it every time we move.” She reached back for him, placing her hand on his thigh. Her nails dug into the sensitive flesh there and he groaned. Kalkin shifted his hips and filled her in one thrust.

  Keeley screamed. She trembled in his arms as she pulsed around him. Damn it. It would be so easy to say screw it and just give into the building pressure in his balls. He needed her something fierce, but he had one more question, and Kalkin realized it might piss her off, but he also had his brother to worry about, which was really fucking stupid to think about while fucking his mate.

  “Did you erase Danielle’s marriage or did she terminate a pregnancy because of Simon?” Before she could answer, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her flush to him. “Please, sweet cheeks. I have so much to explain, I understand this, but my twin and your sister will destroy each other if I don’t have truths.” He flexed his hips, rolling them slightly.

  “I would never,” she sobbed softly. “She’d never.”

  The scent of her tears hit him square in the chest. Fuck. “Damn it, baby. I’m an asshole.” He pressed kisses to her neck and mark. His thrusts were short and measured, made to give them both pleasure while also prolonging their releases. “I fucking love you.” Yeah, enough to question her loyalties. “So much. I can’t explain it. You can ask me anything.”

  “Why?” she whimpered. Her hands went to his arms.

  “Caden found your dungeon, and he thought the worst,” he whispered. He felt like shit. He knew the answer and his fucking brother made him doubt her. “Dani told him you’re a hacker.” He pulled from her. He felt the loss of her soft body immediately. He hated it.

  “Of course she did,” Keeley sighed, sitting on the bed. “She hates secrets.”

  Kalkin snorted. “Imagine that.”

  She laughed. “I wipe everything we do. But she’s never been married or been pregnant. Why would Caden think such?”

  He had to tell her. If they were going to move past all
of this, he had to explain what happened to them. It would also mean Caden would have to open up to Danielle. “Mackenzie, our older brother, thought he found a mate. He fell for Marjorie. Hard. They mated, and she got pregnant. A few days after she had Royce, she disappeared. So did our brother. A few weeks later, a package arrived. It was a piece of flesh, with a tattoo my brother had gotten for her.”

  “Oh God,” she cried. She launched herself into his arms. “I’m so sorry.” The wetness of her tears spilled down his neck. “Simon is so…”

  “Crazy?”

  She gave a watery chuckle. “More than that.” She sniffled and sat back. “He came into our lives at the worst possible time. He was, in the beginning, the bit of fresh air we needed. I thought…I believed I could trust him.”

  He heard the hesitancy in her voice. “I’m right here,” he whispered.

  “I should have known,” she whispered.

  Tension radiated from her. Whatever happened, it changed his mate. Profoundly. “Why would you ever doubt yourself?”

  She made a sad noise. “Three days before I met Simon, I…” A strangled sound filled her throat. “The guy, my boyfriend…I didn’t…I said no. But he wouldn’t stop. He kept…grabbing and he…

  He snatched her up, holding her to his body. God, she didn’t have to tell him anymore. He could figure it out by her reluctance. By the way she seemed to choose her words or lack thereof. “Did they catch him?”

  “I thought I killed him,” she wept. “He tried to rape me, and it just happened. I-I threw him then I ran. I called Danielle, and she picked me up.”

  “What happened next?”

  “Nothing. Like I said, Simon showed up. I was so scared. So…afraid. I buried it. Danielle watched the papers and the news, but nothing was ever said. For the first time, Danielle and I could be us. He said his cousin had abilities and there were communities of us all over and shifters. We weren’t weird or strange and didn’t have to hide.” She hiccupped. “We were happy.”

  Kalkin wiped away her tears. The terror and self-recrimination filled her eyes. The story didn’t end well. He’d been at the end of their journey, and now he expected her to trust him and his brothers. Fuck. He’d kill Simon. “Baby, I’m so fucking sorry.” He pressed his lips to hers. “You don’t have to say anything else.”

  She shook her head. Her bottom lip trembled. “No. It’s time.” She inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. “We had no clue Simon worked for the Psychic Bounty Hunters. We didn’t even know the government had a division specifically for us. One day, we had a cook-out with some of Simon’s friends and I saw…him. Danielle and I froze. He walked into the house, and I lost it. I destroyed everything. Danielle and I barely got out of the house with clothes on our backs and the important stuff. We drove west and didn’t stop.”

  How many months had they been on their own? How many years did they seek out some semblance of peace? How strong were they both for continuing to try to live innocuous lives without giving a hint to who they were or what had happened to them? How could he have just attacked his mate the first night without knowing the truth? Fuck. He wanted to rail against everything and everyone. He wanted to stomp into Simon’s hotel room and kill the man. However, he couldn’t. So far he hadn’t done anything stupid.

  “Then you ended up here,” he murmured.

  “It was the smallest dot on the map,” she admitted. “We thought we could get lost in the middle of the desert.”

  “Instead, you found me.” He tipped her chin up. “A scraggly wolf, with a fucked-up family.” He kissed her again.

  “I did,” she agreed, giving him a small smile. Then she frowned again. “He can’t take Danielle. She’s got the biggest bounty on her head. The government wants her. If there were more empaths with healing abilities, think of how valuable they’d be to the military.”

  A low growl built in his chest. “No fucking way. No one is going anywhere. I won’t let it happen. We won’t let that shit happen.” The vicious possessiveness he’d struggled to push down since he met Keeley pushed forward again. He placed her on the bed, then headed for his bathroom.

  When he returned, he gathered her up in his arms and lay with her in their bed. He stared down at his mate. Such a strong, determined female. The perfect woman for him. She’d been through so much. He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, before kissing her. “I love you, mate.” He kissed her again, the embers of his arousal growling within him. “I’m going to prove it every day, too. That’s my vow to you.”

  She stared up at him, her hands on his shoulders. The glitter of arousal still sparkled in her eyes. “I love you, too.” She smiled and fuck-it-all if his heart didn’t burst with so much pride.

  He rolled them. Her soft laughter was music to his ears. He'd spend the rest of his life erasing all of the horrible memories. Simon would be dealt with. He’d help Danielle with Caden or else find her a wolf of stature to give her the life she deserved. Shit, he’d never felt so alive or so filled with anticipation of what could be. It surged through his veins as he settled between her thighs. The warmth of her sex teased him but when he glanced down at her, he knew he wouldn’t do anything after everything she’d told him if she didn’t want him to.

  “Please,” she whispered. “Make it all go away. Make me forget.”

  “Always, mate.” He positioned himself at her entrance. With a shift of his hips, he entered her with one stroke. He groaned, pressing his forehead to hers. She rippled around him, accommodating him. It was as if a million kisses were pressed to his length at the same time, while the warm, wetness coated him. It was life and death. Exquisite.

  Kalkin held completely still. “Look at me, mate.” Her gaze flicked to his. “Good girl. Stay with me.”

  He made love to his mate. The need to solidify what they were together tore through him. He had to make this all about her and them. His thrusts were controlled, allowing them maximum pleasure without throwing them over the edge. Her whispered sighs, and the way she scraped her nails across his shoulders, added to the sensations filling him. This was perfect. Intense. This was love and light and everything good in the world.

  This would be the memory they made together to push away the ugly. The black out of the life before now. This had been Keeley’s way of starting over and he swore to himself he would spend every day replacing the negative with a happiness only mates could give each other. Kalkin kissed her. He threaded his fingers through her hair, holding her to him. He didn’t want an inch of their flesh not touching.

  Keeley hooked her leg over his hip and he slipped deeper into her, groaning against her mouth. Then he felt it. It took his breath away. Keeley’s pussy clenched, holding him in a vice. His pace faltered. Her eyes widened. “Kal?”

  “I can’t stop it.” He fit his hand between them, circling her clit, adding pressure. “Come with me, sweet cheeks. Give it to me.” The knot continued to swell, causing him to shorten his strokes. He couldn’t explain it. He’d always been told it would happen during the full moon, and no other time, however here they were, rushing toward their releases…

  “Yes,” she whimpered. “Oh God…so good.” She writhed below him, pulling slightly on the knot forming, locking them together.

  Kalkin buried his face in her neck and nuzzled her mark. He groaned her name before biting down. The air rushed from his lungs on the first rush of his release. Keeley clung to him as she milked his cock, taking every drop of his seed. The small sounds she made only added to the erotism of the moment. He gave another lick to her mark, then lifted his face to stare down at her. A small smile tugged at her lips.

  “Only on the full moon, huh?” she teased.

  “I don’t understand,” he said. “We were always taught the moon dictated how this worked.” He rolled them so that his little mate was tucked into the curve of his body while the knot held them together.

  “Guess things change,” she mumbled.

  He frowned. “Yeah, guess so.” He kissed t
he crown of her head.

  “Are you upset it happened?”

  He grunted. “Fuck no. Being tied to you is the best part of loving you.”

  She gave a content sigh. “Good, because I love it and you, too.” She pressed her lips to his chest.

  He played with her hair. “There’s something I should tell you.”

  She sat up a bit to stare at him, tugging on the knot. They groaned. “What?”

  “Well, you are the Alpha’s mate. You should start meeting your pack. Also, after the festivities, we have sixteen new members as well. They will be your responsibility to help out. I think you’re the right mate for the job.”

  She blinked. “Really?”

  He gave her a lopsided grin. “Yep. You are the mate to the Alpha. You are this pack’s Alpha female. We’ll have a party as soon as we deal with Simon, and a ceremony, too. It’ll be a welcoming to the pack and a celebration of our mating. You and Danielle can plan it.”

  “You’re serious.” She laughed.

  “I told you. This is your pack now. This is your ho—”

  She kissed him. “Yes. To everything. Yes!”

  He rolled them, the knot finally receding. “Hot fucking damn.” He retreated then filled her. “Now, let’s see if we can make that happen again.” He winked, kissing her once more.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Keeley opened the door to Mrs. Martin’s shop, and a wave of cool air danced over her heated skin. It felt good, really good, considering how stinking hot it was today. Go to the desert, they say. It’s a different kind of heat, they say. Well, guess what, they lied. Hot was hot and it didn’t matter if humidity was mixed in or not.

  Even though the older female shifter would know she had arrived thanks to the bell above the door, she still called out, “Morning, Mrs. Martin.”

  The elderly lady popped up from behind the desk where the cash register rested and flashed her a welcoming smile. The tense feeling she had about her new duties started to wane. Mrs. Martin would help her, guide her through this transition from being a gifted human to Alpha female of the pack.