He knew she was right, but he couldn’t tell her everything. Not yet. He wanted her to know him before she knew of his past. Once she knew what he’d done to protect his Pack, she might never trust him again.
That was something he didn’t know if he could survive.
“I will tell you everything. Soon.” He met her gaze and pleaded with his eyes.
“I’ll wait a bit longer, Gideon. Only because I want to know everything from you, not from anyone else.”
He let out a breath. “Thank you. As for you speaking with the submissives and maternals, I think that’s a great idea.”
She smiled then, and he wanted her to do that forever. Her whole face lit up, and she looked…happy. He didn’t know if he could ever make her truly happy since she’d mated with him knowing that things wouldn’t be easy, but he could at least try.
“Really?”
“Really. I could use some help in that area, honestly.”
“You’re really dominant, Gideon.”
He lifted his hips and grinned. “I know that, little wolf.”
She rolled her eyes, even as her breath hitched. “I wasn’t talking about that. I meant that some wolves might need to talk to someone not so dominant if they have issues. That’s what your mate is for. Well, your mate and your Beta and your family. We might not be a democracy, but you have others around you for a reason.” She cupped his face and kissed him. He froze, not wanting to break the moment. When she pulled away, she smiled again. “Let me help you.”
“Okay,” he whispered, and she relaxed into him. She could have had no idea how hard it was to even say that one word. He didn’t ask for help. He took it from his family if he needed it, but he’d rather do it all on his own. There was less of a chance for others to be hurt. The fact that he was about to give Brie responsibilities that should be his, scared him, but he knew if she didn’t do what she could, things would end up worse. The Pack needed to see her in a role of power, and Brie herself needed something to do so she wouldn’t feel useless.
There was no way he’d ever think of her as useless, but getting Brie to see beyond the barriers of others’ opinions was another matter altogether.
She wiggled on his lap, and he let out a growl. “About that game…”
He leaned forward and bit down on her lip. “I asked a question. Does that mean I get to kiss you, or you kiss me?”
She licked the spot he’d bitten and shuddered out a breath. “I think we should finish the game later.”
“Oh?” he asked, his hands roaming up and down her back. “What should we do in the meantime? Because I want to taste you, little wolf. Every inch of you.”
“Okay, fine. We can play the game, but I want to taste you too.”
He groaned and lifted his hips one more time. “Little wolf?”
“You never let me go down on you,” she said, her voice low. “You always say ‘next time’, but that never happens.” She looked up at him, confusion in her gaze. “Do you not want me to?”
He cursed then gripped her hips harder. “Fuck, Brie. I want your mouth on my cock so much I almost blow just thinking about it. I just wanted to go easy on you while you’re getting to know me.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not a weakling, Gideon. Just show me what you like, and I will do everything in my power to make sure you come. Hard.”
His balls tightened, and he counted to ten so he didn’t come in his jeans like a teenage pup. Goddess his mate made him crazy in the best ways possible.
“What’s your favorite color?” he blurted out, and she smiled.
“I thought it was my turn to ask the question,” she teased as she slid off his lap.
“Just answer,” he ground out, hoping he could last long enough. Though since he was a wolf, he’d rebound quickly and make it good for her. Still, it was the principle of the matter.
“Blue,” she whispered. “I love blue.”
She looked into his eyes, and he knew she meant the color of his eyes. Ironic because, “Mine is green.”
She smiled then, and he knew she understood. She knelt between his legs and put her hands on his thighs. “Are you going to help me?” she asked, her tone innocent.
He might have believed that if she hadn’t had the look of a siren in her eyes.
He nodded then undid his jeans. He loved to watch her face when he took his cock out. Her eyes always widened at the sight, and he prayed to the goddess that never changed.
She helped him take off his pants when he lifted his hips. When she settled herself between his legs, he licked his lips. This was his mate, his future, yet it scared the hell out of him.
He would think only of the here and now, and he’d be okay.
He sat up again and stripped off his shirt so he was completely naked. “There’s something about you being fully clothed while I’m naked that makes me hard,” he teased.
She grinned and raked her nails down his thighs. He hissed out a breath. “You said something similar to me when I was the one naked,” she said, her voice husky.
“True. I like you naked.” He grinned. “Stand up and strip for me, little wolf. I want to see those pretty tits and the wet cunt before you go down on me.”
Her eyes widened at his words, but she did as she was told. Goddess, he loved when she moved like that, all sweet and sexy at the same time. She was really the perfect wolf for him.
When she was naked, she kicked her clothes away and went back to kneeling between his legs.
“Can I start now?” she asked, her breath hot on his cock.
He nodded then gripped the base. “Start at the tip and lick around the crown.” He slid his finger over the top and licked his lips again. “You see this slit? If you tease it with your tongue, it feels really fucking good. Okay?”
“Okay,” she whispered, her eyes on his cock.
When she tentatively lapped at the head of his dick, his hips bucked, and she swallowed the head instinctively. He pulled back and cursed, patting her cheek with his free hand. “Sorry, baby, I didn’t mean to go so fast. You just surprised me.”
She grinned, seeming to like the power she held over him. If she only knew…
“Now, when you’re ready, you can swallow the head like you did. You can either run your hands up and down my length or roll my balls. I like both. You get me?”
“Uh huh,” she said then went back to licking him.
Fire swept up his spine, and he ground his teeth. She wasn’t the most skilled, but she took her time, tasting every inch of him. She pressed small kisses down the sides of his cock, then along his balls and his inner thighs. She licked up his length then swallowed the head again, this time using both hands to squeeze his dick.
He wrapped his hand in her hair, holding her in place for a moment before letting her go. She wasn’t ready to deep throat him, but that would come another time. Right then, he loved her explorations and the way she studied him as she went down on him.
He sat up slowly, giving her time to move with him so he wouldn’t choke her. “Keep licking, little wolf. I fucking love it.”
She hummed against him, and he groaned.
With his free hand, he reached down and palmed her breast. She gasped and moved into his touch.
“Good girl.” Her nipple pebbled against his palm, hard and ready for his mouth. Soon.
Her head bobbed up and down, her speed increasing, so he pinched her nipple, loving the way her throat contracted around his dick.
“Keep going, little wolf. I’m going to come down that pretty throat. You ready for me?”
She nodded even as she sucked him, and he grinned before shouting her name. His balls contracted, and he came down her throat, his dick pulsing with each burst. Before she could pull away, he tugged on her hair then lifted her to his lap.
He slid into her with one thrust and took her lips at the same time. He swallowed her gasp, but he could feel her surprise. He’d scented her arousal as she’d gone down on him, and he knew she w
as wet for him. He slid in so easily, he knew she was drenched.
Good.
He tangled his fingers in her hair and forced his gaze to hers. “Lift up on your knees, Brie.”
Her eyes widened, but she did as she was told. He lifted his hips quickly, pumping in and out of her. Her mouth widened, and he gave her a feral grin.
“I’m fucking you because you’re mine, little wolf. Just as I’m yours. I’m going to fill you up, and then you’re going to come around my cock because…You. Are. Mine.”
He slammed into her with each word, loving the way she moaned.
“Gideon, I’m so close.”
“Give me your tits. One at a time, little wolf. I want to suck on those nipples.”
She nodded then lifted her breasts, pressing them into his face. He kept up his pace, fucking her even as he sucked her nipples into his mouth. She tasted so goddamn good.
He pulled back then kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her hips meeting him thrust for thrust.
“You feel so good, little wolf. Can you come for me? Can you come for your Alpha?”
“For you? Always.”
She ground her hips against him and screamed his name, her body shaking. Her cunt gripped him like a vise, and he couldn’t last any longer. He came again, this time filling her up until he didn’t have anything left in him. He felt her pulsating around him a second time and knew she’d come again. He fucking loved how responsive she was.
When he could speak again, he let out a laugh. “So that was your favorite color, what should I ask next, your favorite food? Favorite movie?”
She chuckled roughly then squeezed her inner muscles.
His eyes crossed, and he cursed.
“I don’t think we’ll survive that many more questions,” she answered back, breathless.
He slapped her ass, and she gasped. “You want to find out?”
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
Four questions in, they found themselves spent and boneless in the bedroom. Brie lay on his chest, passed out while he couldn’t sleep. His mate had become close to his heart, and he wasn’t sure what he was going to do.
He’d told himself if he fell in love with her she’d be vulnerable, but she might already be in danger as it was. Time would tell, and he prayed he hadn’t made a mistake.
More was at stake than the woman in his arms, yet right then, she was the only person he could think about.
And that was beyond dangerous.
Chapter Twelve
Brie wasn’t the best baker in the world—in her opinion, that title went to her mother. However, since she was nervous about the upcoming meeting and still not allowed to venture out in the den without a guard, she decided that baking cookies would be just the thing. Hopefully, after today, she would feel a little more secure in her own skin when it came to her new Pack, but she didn’t put much into that.
Actually, it wasn’t her as much as the males in her life. Gideon and his brothers were not good with letting others have control. That meant that unless someone was watching her to keep her safe, they wouldn’t be able to focus on the task at hand. That burden was on them, but since she was trying to find her place, she let them act overprotective.
For now.
That would change.
Soon.
The problem with mating someone so much more dominant than she—other than the Pack issues—was that Gideon could run right over her without meaning to. He was just so…strong that he wouldn’t be able to help it if he did something out of protection that ended up hurting her wolf. It was in his nature to care for her in ways that sometimes put boundaries up where she needed to roam. Maybe she was wrong to let him have the control at first, but she hadn’t seen another choice. He wasn’t the usual dominant wolf, bringing with him a huge gap between them in terms of strength. He was also the Alpha, and she had to take into account his Pack needs as well. That, after all, was why they’d mated in the first place.
The Pack had needed a mate for the Alpha, and she’d stepped up.
Now, though, she needed to actually step up and be the mate. Their bond was there—she could feel it—but that was only one part of it. The Pack would eventually be able to feel the bond as well, not like she could feel Gideon, but in a different way. They would be able to feel an extra layer of protection and foundation because they now had two wolves on the top tier. She had felt it with Kade and Melanie, and one day, she hoped her new Pack would be able to feel it with her and Gideon.
In order to do that, though, they needed to accept her as their Alpha female.
Gideon, she thought, was just now beginning to see the need for her to be her own person within the Pack. He’d been so caught up making sure no one hurt her when he brought her in that he hadn’t thought about the emotional toll. Today he would take her to the maternals’ part of the den where she’d be able to talk to them privately. She couldn’t wait to get to know the women who helped raised the Pack’s future. She especially couldn’t wait to see the pups. It had been far too long since she’d had an adorable baby wolf in her arms.
She blushed, thinking about what her and Gideon’s pups would look like. Would they be dark and strong like their father or submissive and pale like their mother?
Okay, Brie, one step at a time.
She pushed those thoughts to the side and folded the chocolate chips into her batter. She’d already made a few batches of peanut butter cookies, and now she was making oatmeal chocolate chip. She didn’t know Gideon’s favorite—that hadn’t been one of the questions they’d played with a few nights before—but she hoped he’d like one of these. She was making enough to bring with her to the maternals and also keep some around the house for the Brentwoods. The brothers seemed to eat her out of house and home.
She called them brothers, rather than brothers and cousins, considering Mitchell and Max were so ingrained into the family they weren’t treated any differently than the others. She liked the closeness they had and the inside jokes she hoped one day to be fully part of. It reminded her of her uncles and cousins.
Tears pricked at the backs of her eyes, and she blinked them away. Though she video conferenced with her family daily, it was still hard not to be able to be with them physically every day. She especially missed Finn since she’d lived with him for over a decade. Her cousin was her best friend, and she hoped that one day soon he’d be able to come for a visit. She wasn’t sure that it would be easy, though, because he was the Heir. It didn’t matter that the Talons and Redwoods were friends. Sometimes wolves needed to keep that space so their aggression didn’t get out of hand. They weren’t human after all.
“What’s wrong?” Gideon asked.
She jumped a foot and dropped the bowl. Gideon managed to catch it before it hit the floor, his quick reflexes oddly making her hot. Everything about this man apparently turned her on. He set the bowl on the counter then put a bouquet of wild flowers next to it before cupping her face.
His thumbs brushed under her eyes, wiping up the tears she hadn’t meant to let fall.
“Why are you crying, little wolf? What happened? Who do I need to hurt?”
She closed her eyes and let out a watery laugh. There was so much wrong with what he’d just said, yet the woman in her relished it. He was just so damn protective.
“Nothing is wrong,” she said when she opened her eyes. His bright blue gaze studied her without blinking, and she put her hands on his chest. “I’m fine. Just a little homesick.”
Something flashed in his eyes, and he gave her a tight nod. “I know this has been hard for you. I’m sorry that you’re missing your home.”
She cursed herself then wrapped her arms around his waist. “I didn’t mean I missed my home, I meant my family. Familysick just doesn’t have the same ring to it as homesick. Plus, I don’t even think that’s a word. Gideon, my mate, I am home.”
He let out a breath, and her wolf relaxed. He didn’t let go of his tension often, and never
around others, but the fact that he seemed to do it around her meant the world. One day soon, she hoped he’d be able to fully let his guard down in her presence. Then again, one day soon, she hoped to do the same.
“I don’t know when we can plan a visit with your family, little wolf. Not with the Pack in jeopardy such as it is.”
She leaned forward, though his hands were still on her face, and nipped at his chin. He growled, softly, but didn’t kiss her.
“I know, Gideon. It’s okay, really. Things happened fast, and we’re in a different situation than most. Technology lets me speak to them regularly, so that’s not a worry. I know I’ll see them again soon.” She smiled and leaned into his touch. “You know, I’m in a new family now. Right?” She held her breath, knowing she was being an idiot waiting for him to say something.
New matings were not for the weak. Mating an Alpha was even more unnerving.
He tilted his head then leaned down and brushed his lips against her own. “True. You have a new family now. Once we take care of Leo and those who spoke out against you at the circle, we might be able to actually feel like one fully.”
She pulled away, even as she smiled. If she stayed in his arms, she’d never finish her cookies, and she wanted to bring something with her to the meeting. “Even with all of that going on, I’m slowly starting to feel like I’m part of you all. Walker, Brynn, and Ryder are very open and welcoming.”
Gideon nodded then picked up the wildflowers. Her heart leapt, and she smiled at him. “I said I would court you, Brie Brentwood.” Her heart beat faster, and she blushed. She reached out and brought the blooms to her nose.
“I love wildflowers. How did you know?”
He shrugged, his gaze lowering. She held back a gasp at the action. He never lowered his gaze to another. That this man would do so…she honestly didn’t know what to think.
“You seem like you’d enjoy these more than a hothouse flower.”
“You’re right,” she said, taking another sniff. She could pick up the spicy scent of her mate blended around the flowers, telling her he’d picked these by hand.
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