by Lori King
Her success at work had brought her a peace in her life, and she looked forward to the challenges of her job. As a nurse in the emergency room, her shifts were chaotic at best, and the adrenaline of a fast-paced environment drove her. How would she shut all of that off if they asked her to live here with them at the den? As much as she loved meeting his family, and enjoyed the luxurious cabin, she just wasn’t willing to sit around waiting for them to tell her what to do every day. If they wanted her, then they would have to accept her as she was. End of story.
Devin stood in the doorway of the bathroom, watching her soak in the tub and listening as her mind wandered. He wanted to reassure her, but he wasn’t sure of anything himself. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and make promises that they would be together forever, and she could maintain her old life, too. He knew that he would do anything in his power to ensure her happiness, but first he had to ensure her safety. She didn’t seem to take the danger facing them very seriously, but he didn’t know if he wanted her to. He couldn’t stand to see her scared, and smell her fear. Were they doing the right thing? Maybe they should have let her walk away yesterday? Immediately his wolf leapt to the surface in full battle mode. He knew that there was no possibility of walking away from his mate. He was in it for the long haul, and he would just have to help her believe in forever. He loved her spunk and vigor, and enjoyed matching wits with her.
“Need any help?” he asked her quietly so that he didn’t startle her.
She didn’t even flinch at his voice. He wondered if she somehow sensed his presence there, but he didn’t question her.
“Actually the water is getting cold now, so I need to get out. Can you hand me a towel?” She slowly stood up and watched his reaction to her as the water sluiced off of her naked body into the tub. He swallowed hard, and held the towel out so that she could wrap into it. Goose bumps popped up on her flesh as he kissed her neck and shoulder, and then took to rubbing her dry with the towel. When she was completely dry, he picked her up and carried her to the bed without a word. He tucked her under the covers with a kiss on the nose, and smiled at her.
“Sugar, you go on to sleep. As much as I want to crawl in there with you, you need some serious rest, and I need a shower. I’ll be back in a few minutes. I love you.” He whispered the last few words to her as her eyes drifted shut, and she fell into a deep, restful sleep. She never even noticed when he returned to join her in the bed a little while later and pulled her sleeping form tight against his body. He cradled her close, burying his nose into her hair, and slept.
Chapter 11
When Caroline woke the next morning, she could see the sun was barely up, and she could feel Devin’s steady breathing against her ear. She was spooned against his hard length, and buried under the heavy quilt. The fire was off, and she could hear birds chirping just outside the bay window. As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she unconsciously pressed her ass back against Devin’s groin, and his cock hardened behind her. She heard his groan as he pressed forward, meeting her already sopping-wet pussy. He pressed into her, and they both paused to just enjoy the sensation of their connection. He thrust softly for a few moments, and then pulled from her, ignoring her grumble of dismay. He flipped her onto her back, and covered her small body with his own until he was bracing himself over her, resting on his forearms on either side of her head. The position pressed her breasts tightly to his chest, and made her feel protected and delicate. She twisted back and forth, pressing against him as the pressure to orgasm built within her. He thrust back into her slowly, and she moaned, sucking in a deep breath of air as her eyes drifted back closed.
“Open your eyes, sugar. Look at me, and know it’s me.” Their gazes collided, and Caroline almost came just seeing the passion making his eyes glow. His gaze warmed her soul and made her body tremble harder. Goose bumps rose on her skin and she could feel her heart racing.
As he began to move, he shifted to one arm and with the other caressed her body from her knee to the top of her head, touching her skin, kneading her muscles, and tweaking her nipples. He made love to her slowly, and he put every ounce of feeling he had in his heart into his body. This was nothing like the wild, passionate sex of the last few days. Instead Caroline found herself slowly climbing a mountain of passion, and at the peak she felt herself jump off into oblivion.
“Not yet, sugar. Don’t come yet.” His words took a moment to sink into her brain as he slowed his thrusts to almost a standstill, letting her pull back from her impending climax.
“Please, Devin. Please, I need to come.” She begged him.
“I want to come inside of you at the same time as your climax rolls through your sweet pussy. Let the anticipation build.” He continued his steady movements, but added a delightful little hip roll when he plunged deep inside of her. Each time he rocked his cock into her soft valley, the tight pressure in her belly grew. She writhed on the bed underneath him, reaching out to grab whatever happened to be close. This resulted in her hands gripping his enormous biceps until her fingernails drew blood.
“Yes, please, Devin. Now!” She dug her heels into the bed and arched her whole body like a tightly plucked violin string.
He let his weight press down onto her body, holding her in place while he pushed his cock deep into her womb. When she shattered with her climax, she couldn’t stop herself from biting down on his shoulder to anchor herself as she spun out of control. Her orgasm was stronger than she had ever felt, and she sensed a change in her all the way down to her toes. It was like an invisible string was tied between the two of them that neither could undo.
She lay there silently for several minutes still physically connected to him before she spoke.
“I’m so sorry I bit you, are you okay?” Her worried eyes caught his smile as her fingertips touched the bite wound gently. He laughed softly.
“I’m perfect, Caroline. It’s natural for wolves to bite their mates during sex. I loved it when you bit me, and I hope you will do so when we make love in the future. That’s how a wolf claims its mate and marks them for the whole world to see. It completes the bond between us.” He kissed her on her temple as he shifted off of her, but he didn’t let her go. She was surprised when tears started falling from her eyes.
“Thank you, Devin. I’ve never felt like that. I mean sex has never been…it’s just, well…that was beautiful.” She heard the emotion in her own voice, and the love in his eyes told her that he did, too. He wiped the tears away and kissed her softly in reassurance.
“You are beautiful, Caroline, and you shouldn’t be thanking me. You gave me the best gift I’ve ever received from anyone. Your love and your mating claim.” The moment was so perfect that it almost hurt, and they both lay there silently relishing their spent passion, just enjoying each other’s embrace.
“Are you ready to meet the rest of your family yet?” he asked her quietly, hating to ruin the moment.
“Right after I shower…crap…Devin, I don’t have any of my clothes! What am I going to wear?” She sat up quickly and turned to look at his smiling face. “What? Do you want to introduce me to your family naked? Is that a wolf thing? I wondered about that when your dad introduced himself naked. I’m not exactly comfortable with all of this nudity yet, sorry.”
“Hell no, you aren’t meeting anyone naked. All of your new clothes were still in the truck from our shopping trip yesterday. I brought them in last night before I came up here. They are in the closet, now go take your shower, and get dressed. Mama probably has breakfast ready by now, and if I don’t get you down there I’m afraid she will come looking for you. She is anxious to have some girl talk.”
Laughing, he rolled out of bed, pulling her along with him, and gave her ass a quick swat as she headed for the bathroom. Within twenty minutes, they were both dressed and ready to go downstairs. He watched her take a big breath, steeling her emotions before she took his hand and squeezed it gently.
“Lead the way, wolf,” she said with a flirt
y grin, and she followed along, keeping her fingers tightly entwined with his. As they entered the large kitchen, Caroline was surprised to see just Sienna and Jim sitting at the dining room table. She had expected a large crowd of people, and was pleased that she could start with just these two.
“Morning,” Jim called, noticing them standing in the doorway. He beckoned them over to the table. “Come on over and help yourselves. You know Mama, Dev, she cooked up a storm in honor of your new mate.”
Sienna stood and greeted them halfway to the table. Devin kissed his mom on the cheek, and she hugged Caroline before pulling her over to a seat next to hers.
“Yes, I enjoy cooking for my pups. Did you sleep well, Caroline?” Sienna had turned back to the table, and was handing Caroline a platter filled with fried ham, bacon, and sausage. There was also a bowl filled with fruit salad, a platter of pancakes, toast, hash browns, and a large dish of scrambled eggs. Caroline laughed to herself as she could see where the twins had learned to eat.
“I did, thank you. This all looks delicious, and your home is beautiful, Sienna. I can’t wait to see more of the den.” She filled her plate and settled in comfortably to eat.
“Please dear, call me Mom. I hope you will start to think of Jim and I as family quickly. We already love you as a daughter.” Sienna’s smile was warm and friendly, and she reached over to pat Caroline’s had as she spoke.
“After breakfast I want to call a meeting and have everyone come to the circle so that I can introduce her. I just spoke with Damon, and he should be here any second,” Devin said. Surprise filled her, and she stared at Devin, silently wondering why Damon wouldn’t have talked to them both through their link.
Because I wanted to surprise you, beautiful, and Dev just went and screwed up the surprise.
Devin rolled his eyes as Damon’s words floated into both his and Caroline’s heads. Then the front door banged open, and Caroline smelled Damon’s scent before she could see him. She felt something inside her reaching for him, and she jumped to her feet, moving toward the doorway before she could stop herself. She fell into Damon’s arms just inside the great room, and he kissed her deeply. His hands locked around her waist, and he lifted her just off of her feet. It just felt right when she looped her own arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist to deepen the kiss. His tongue swept hers, and his hands moved to cup her ass as he braced her back against the closest wall.
A sudden clearing of a throat interrupted their hot reunion, and they both turned their heads to see Sienna, Jim, and Devin in the kitchen doorway. Sienna’s eyes shimmered with tears, and Jim looked like his chest was going to pop it was so swollen up with pride.
“Guess you missed me, huh, beautiful?” Damon asked her, playfully setting her back down on her feet. Caroline blushed hotly, and met his smile with a grin of her own.
“Nope,” she said, and everyone but Damon cracked up with laughter. His eyes flashed, and he reached for her.
“Hmmm…well then let’s start over and see if you react like before,” he said menacingly, but she could see the laughter in his eyes, and knew he had missed her just as much. She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward his waiting parents, laughing the whole way.
“Better take a minute to say hello to your parents first. We can reconvene at a later time.” She gave him a flirty smile and blew him a quick kiss to tell him that she wanted him as badly as he wanted her, and he followed her willingly.
Damon greeted both of his parents with hugs and kisses on the cheek, and then sat down next to her at the kitchen table. He scooted his chair as close to her as possible and kept his thigh pressed against hers. She had missed him so deeply while he was separated from her for the last sixteen hours that it had physically begun to hurt. But it looked like he wasn’t letting her go far from his side now.
They chatted while they all ate breakfast. Damon and the guys had found nothing new to report at the house, and Barton seemed to have covered his trail enough to hide for now. Caroline saw Devin and Damon exchange a look, and she narrowed her eyes at them. They both smiled innocently, but she could tell that there was more to the story than they wanted to share with her. She hoped they would soon realize that she wanted to be included in everything, even the things that they wanted to protect her from.
“Oh yeah, and Tina called for you, beautiful. She said that mine was the only phone number she could track down to get ahold of you. I guess she called the firehouse and got Liam on the phone. Did on a number on him, sounds like she is quite a little spitfire,” Damon said through a mouthful of food, and swallowing, he laughed, “You should have seen the look on Liam’s face when he gave me the message!”
“Oh my god I didn’t even think about leaving a different phone number with anyone to get ahold of me. My cell phone was in my purse where I left it the night of the fire. I will have to go to the cell phone store so that they can help me get a new phone. I better go call her and reassure her that you guys didn’t kill me, at least not yet anyways.” She laughed and took Damon’s cell phone from him, pausing for the kiss he brushed across her lips before she headed for the great room.
As she passed by, Devin grabbed her arm, and tugged her face to his for a quick kiss as well. Her breath caught in her throat when she felt his tongue lick across her lips. Pulling back quickly, she laughed at him. His eyes sparked with desire, and held a promise for later. She swatted his hands away, and left the room still laughing. She could hear Devin asking Damon about Liam’s conversation with Tina as she drifted out of hearing distance. She made a mental note to get the scoop from Damon later on. She settled onto an oversize ottoman in the middle of the room, and called Tina.
“Caroline! Lord, girl, where have you been? I’ve been so worried about you. You left the hospital with those two guys, and for all I knew they were serial killers! I mean they would have a great disguise, as hot as they are. No one would suspect them. Then I couldn’t reach you, and Carter said he didn’t know what happened to you, either. He said some guy came by the hospital asking about you, too. Is everything okay?” Tina’s voice was excited and impatient, and Caroline found herself rolling her eyes as she took a deep breath.
“Tina, slow down. I’m fine. I’m great in fact! I’m in love with them, Tina. Devin and Damon are the best things to ever happen to me.” She could hear the love in her own voice.
“What? How can you be in love after a couple of days? Caroline, did you hit your head during that fire? Now, don’t get me wrong, those two were delicious looking, and I have no doubt they would be a hell of a ride, but in love?” Tina sounded doubtful.
“Trust me, Tina, there is so much more to them than I even realized. I’ve spent every minute with them for the last few days. I’m at their d…home right now meeting their parents, actually.” She almost slipped and called it a den. She wondered what Tina would say to the idea of her good friend falling for a couple of werewolves, and turning into one herself.
“Wow! I’m stunned, Caroline. I’ve known you for years, and you have never even had an overnight date with a man in that time. You don’t jump into anything. So if you are keeping them around for a while…when do I get to meet their hot fireman friends? The one I talked to the other day had a sexy, deep voice. Almost made me ask him out just because of his voice! You’ve already laid claim to two of the best ones, but surely there is just one more for me?” Tina seemed truly shocked at her best friend’s actions, but she laughed along with Caroline as they went on to chat about work. Caroline explained what all had occurred in the last few days, excluding everything wolf related. Caroline was pleased that Tina didn’t argue harder for her to step back and think about everything. She was afraid that too many questions would force her to make decisions, and she wasn’t ready to make them yet.
They finished their call with a promise that Caroline would talk to the guys and set up a time to get together with her. Now that Caroline had found her happiness, she wanted to see Tina find hers, and she would d
o anything to help her with it. She thought about her conversation, and realized that she hadn’t asked Tina who was at the hospital looking for her, but she shrugged it off, thinking that it was probably just a former patient.
Heading back into the kitchen, she froze just inside the doorway when she realized that the mood had changed completely. Liam, Cash, and Owen all stood around the room with serious looks on their faces. And now instead of the laughing, laid-back family she had left a few minutes ago, a serious and emotional group sat in their place.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, her voice breaking just slightly.
“Caroline…” Damon said, but he couldn’t go on. He clearly didn’t know how to tell her whatever he needed to tell her. He looked at his brother, his eyes pleading with Devin to explain.
“Barton Diego issued a challenge for tomorrow night,” Devin said quietly. He stared directly into her brown eyes, just waiting for her reaction. His muscles were tense, and his jaw was clenched.
“What? No! Not yet! Why so fast? I just found you…” Everyone was shocked at the intensity of her reaction. She was yelling at him! Devin was stunned because she always seemed so calm and together, but now her emotions danced in her eyes, plain for all to see.
Devin watched her as she struggled with her own reaction. Her eyes had turned to liquid chocolate and were filled with fear, and her body trembled. His gut twisted because he knew she was scared, and he couldn’t reassure her. She was just going to have to understand. He was a wolf, and an Alpha wolf at that. He had to protect his pack, and he had to prove his worthiness to lead them. He would face Barton, no matter what the result.
“It’s not a choice, Caroline. I will face Barton tomorrow night, and I will kill him. And then we will plan our wedding.” He said it with more control than he even knew he was capable of. The fear and sadness in her eyes, and the silent tears falling down her cheeks were almost his undoing.
