“Sorry,” he repeated, poised for one heartbeat at her twitching entrance, before he thrust his pelvis forward and buried himself deep within her.
The long, high howl that tore from Missy’s throat sounded more Lupine than human, and she wondered at it for a heartbeat before the feel of Graham’s shaft impaling her tender flesh drove every thought from her mind except the need to get closer to him. She braced her clenched fists against the forest floor and locked her elbows, using the leverage to force her hips higher and harder against him.
Graham grunted his appreciation and pulled back until just the tip of his length remained inside her. She bucked, trying to force him deep again, but he held her in place with his powerful hands.
“Mine,” he snarled, teasing her with a shallow thrust that moved no more than an inch or two against her sensitive opening.
Missy moaned and tried another thrust. Again he held back. If this was his idea of fast and rough, they needed to have a serious talk. Right after he got on with it and took her!
“Mine!” His growl was more forceful that time, but his thrust was not, and Missy decided he had developed a fondness for torture.
“God, Graham, please!” she gasped, shaking and shivering beneath him, her pussy clenching hard around the meager number of inches he allowed her, trying desperately to lure him deeper. But he resisted.
“Mine!” More force this time, along with one blessedly hard thrust that sent him driving deep inside her, nudging her womb before he drew back and paused again just beyond her entrance.
Her entire body clenched and shook under his merciless teasing. Her breath panted out in shivering sobs, and she had to clench her teeth hard to keep them from chattering. He reduced her to practically begging, and she would do it gladly if it meant she would feel him driving her hard and fast toward orgasm. “Graham!”
“Mine!” His hands clenched on her flesh hard enough to bruise, and he began to ease out before her muddled mind finally grasped what he wanted.
“Wait!” Half gasp, half scream, the word tumbled from her in a rush, and she just prayed she’d spoken clearly enough for him to understand. It must have been enough, because he paused, the thick, plum tip of his erection barely breaching her entrance, but he wasn’t pulling away anymore and that was important. Now she just needed to get him back inside her and she could die a happy woman. She drew a deep, shuddering breath, licked her lips, and gave him everything.
“I’m yours, Graham. Your lover, your mate. Whatever you want me to be. Yours!”
“Mine!” And he thrust forward so hard, Missy thought she’d died. He pierced her to the core, his thick shaft tunneling through her moisture until he filled every aching bit, and when he started moving, she thought she’d been reborn.
After that thrust, he kept his promise. He rode her hard and fast, moving forcefully within her, his hips thudding against her bottom with the raw, slapping sound of sex. Every forward motion drove the air out of her lungs and every withdrawal made her sob for more. It was fast, hot, and primal, and it made Missy understand what it meant to be claimed as his mate.
Every time he filled her, she felt as if a brand of ownership burned deeper into her skin, and every time he pulled away, she wanted to beg him to mark her more indelibly. He had hunted her and fought for her and now he was making her his. The logic of it resonated on an instinctual level, and she gloried in it.
Graham tightened his hands on her hips and jerked her back to meet his thrusts. She cried out, a sound of pure excitement, and he lunged into her with even greater force. She felt the tension in her belly knot harder, felt her thighs clench and her heartbeat race double time in her chest. Her climax approached like a tornado, quick and powerful, and she reached toward it, wanting nothing more than to be swept up in the force of her mate’s fierce sexuality.
She threw herself back against him, pressing every possible inch of her skin into his hard frame, but when he leaned forward and caught her shoulder between his dangerous jaws, she fell forward into the storm, her entire body clenching with the force of her pleasure. The orgasm ripped through her, and she came with a howl at the very instant that his teeth cut through her flesh, marking her forever as his one true mate.
In the haze of her pleasure, she heard his growl, felt him pull away and lap at the small wound he had made. She felt him thrust deep within her and stop, holding himself high and hard inside her, and then she felt him swelling. She felt his erection twitch and throb and grow impossibly thicker, stretching her tender flesh until she cried out and threw her head back on a wild moan. Graham echoed the sound with a roar, gave one last mighty lunge, and began coming apart within her.
The force of his final thrust knocked Missy’s legs out from under her, and she sprawled in an inelegant mess on the cold ground. Graham followed her, collapsing on top of her and blanketing her with his heat. While she felt boneless with contentment, she felt his presence still hard and thick inside her while he emptied himself against her womb. She lay still, struggling to catch her breath, content to have him in her forever, loving the feel of him finishing inside her.
But he wasn’t finished.
He tensed appreciably within her, then relaxed, the tension fading from his muscles even while his arousal stayed rock hard inside her.
Missy frowned and turned her head until she could rub her cheek against his plush fur. “Are you okay?” she murmured sleepily. “Aren’t you . . . ?”
“I’m not finished,” he growled back, though the sound lacked any sort of ferocity and sounded more like the natural gravel of his wolf form’s voice. “Not nearly finished.”
Then she felt him twitch inside her and another warm rush fill her, and her eyes opened so wide she thought they would pop out of their sockets. Her pussy twitched at the fresh stimulus, and she gasped. “What are you—ah!”
His tongue slipped out to caress her cheek, followed by a gentle nibble to her earlobe. “Lupines have a few other things in common with wolves,” he rumbled as his erection stopped throbbing to rest inside her again. “In our wereforms, the males orgasm like wolves, staying inside the female and climaxing in lots of short bursts over an extended period of time.”
Missy’s thighs clenched involuntarily, sending another shiver coursing through her. She noticed that he felt just as hard as he had before he began to climax.
“How extended a period?” she managed to gasp while she struggled to bring her rioting nerves under some semblance of control. It wasn’t working.
“Well, it varies,” he drawled, and if he’d been in human form, Missy was willing to bet she’d see one of those wicked grins curving his mouth. “But it’s usually around twenty minutes or so.”
“Twenty minutes?!” Her voice squeaked out like a rusty hinge, and her body clenched while he made a sound in her ear that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle.
“About that. Sometimes a little more.” He brushed the hair away from the side of her neck and gave a nibble. “I hope you’re comfortable. This could take a while.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
They didn’t make it back to his house until shortly after dawn. It would have been even longer if Logan hadn’t been an extremely efficient beta and left a duffel bag with a change of clothes for each of them along with Graham’s cell phone at the base of a tree a few yards from where they’d spent the night.
If Missy tried really hard, she could almost keep herself from thinking about the sounds the Lupine must have heard coming from their part of the forest. The man just knew way too much about her sex life.
Some things it didn’t pay to dwell on, so she let Graham bundle her into some clothes and call a cab, and she didn’t even protest when he carried her swiftly out of the Ramble and to the nearest park entrance. The cab was already waiting for them. Graham loaded her inside, slid in after her, and gave the cabbie his address. Then he cuddled her in his lap all the way home, where he swept her right up the stairs and into bed. When she tried to protest and mumbl
e something about talking, he shushed her and told her there would be time for that when she woke up.
She woke up just after one, sore, hungry, and determined to have that talk. Pushing up into a sitting position, she tucked the bed’s only covering—a mismatched sheet obviously added just for her benefit—under her arms and looked around. Graham was nowhere to be found. She was debating whether or not to waste her energy by working herself into a good mad when the door opened and he stepped inside carrying a breakfast tray, looking quite human and decidedly gorgeous. His eyes fixed on her, and she blushed.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.” He smiled, kicking the door shut behind him and carrying the tray to the bed. “How are you feeling?”
He set the tray over her lap and took a seat next to her, taking care not to upset her breakfast when the mattress shifted under his weight.
“Fine.” She shrugged, picking up a piece of buttered toast and trying not to blush harder.
“Good.” He reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “You did a fantastic job last night, but I wanted to make sure nothing that happened gave you any bad moments.”
Ignoring the twinge of sympathy for a man who walked so blindly into a trap of his own making, Missy set down her toast and raised an eyebrow.
“Bad moments?” She pretended to think about it. “You mean like when your cousin sent his goons chasing after me and they hurt one of my new friends trying to get to me? Or were you talking about when Curtis grabbed me and threatened to kill me for daring to be chosen as your mate? Because no. Neither of those caused me any real problems.”
He started to relax, but he must have taken a closer look at her face, because the tension flooded back into his body.
Smart man, she thought. Occasionally.
“Of course, I suppose you could have been referring to the part where I had to stand by and watch someone try to kill you because of me. Or when I saw him slice your chest open so that you bled all over yourself. Was that what you meant?”
He shook his head and opened his mouth, but Missy wasn’t quite finished.
“No, neither of those bothered me, really. But thanks for asking.”
He forced an uncomfortable smile and reached for her, but Missy pulled away to glare at him. He winced.
“Now that I think about it, though, there was one part of the night that did really upset me, and now that you mention it, I’m not sure I’ve really dealt with it yet.”
“Baby, I’m sorry,” he began, his green eyes dark with regret. “I know I hurt you. I should have been more gentle. I should have waited until I shifted back before I ever laid a hand on—”
Missy brushed off his apology with a negligent wave. “I wasn’t talking about the sex,” she said, clearly dismissive. “That was fine. No, I’m upset about something else entirely.”
Now Graham looked confused, which was just how she wanted him. “I don’t understand.”
“Oh, I’ll tell you,” she said, her tone so sweet it made him shift uneasily. “It’s just a little thing. You might not even remember it. It’s the part where I found out I’m pregnant, you twit!!!”
She shouted so loudly the silverware clanked together, and Graham winced like he’d been hit with hurricane-force winds. Missy figured Category 4 had nothing on her.
“Missy, I—”
“How could you do that to me?” she demanded, slapping her hands against his chest so hard that when she lifted them from his skin she left perfect impressions of them in flaming red detail.
“Sweetheart—”
“How could you treat me like that? I thought you were supposed to be my perfect man?” She drew back her fist and pounded it hard against his stomach. Then she did it again for good measure. “Some perfect you turned out to be! Humiliating me like that!”
“I never meant to—”
“And to have the nerve to act casual about it!” Her eyes dropped to the knife on the breakfast tray and he turned an interesting shade of gray. “I just can’t believe your nerve.”
“Baby, if you’d just let me—”
“Were you ever planning on telling me?” she demanded, rising up on her knees and planting one hand on her hip while the other clenched the sheet across her bare breasts. “Did you think I might like to know about something like that before you announced it to a bloody stranger? Huh? Did that ever occur to you, Mr. High-and-Mighty Alpha?”
“I didn’t mean—”
“Well, I don’t really care what you meant,” she shouted, far from finished. “That was a lousy thing to do! You treated me like some sort of secret weapon, like this whole thing was a plot to knock up the first bimbo who came along just so you could rub your cousin’s nose in it, and that sucks. It’s my uterus, damn it! I deserved to be the first one to know it was growing something.”
Her anger dissolved on a sniffle, and she cursed whatever hormones were already hard at work turning her into a blubbering idiot. Then she cursed whatever ones made her glad when Graham wrapped his traitorous male arms around her and snuggled her close.
“Aw, baby, I’m sorry,” he murmured, letting her bury her face in his shoulder while he drew her into his lap and rocked her like a child. “I know it was lousy, and I apologize. I should never have treated you like that, but my cousin had me trapped. Telling him about the baby was the only way I could think of to keep you safe. I was hoping that if he knew about the cub, he’d realize his plan was futile and he’d give it up.”
Missy snorted. “Yeah, and that strategy worked really well.”
“I noticed.” He hugged her close and pressed a warm kiss to the top of her head. “I almost died when he went after you, and letting him live after he touched you was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I never wanted to put you or the baby in any danger. You have to believe that.”
She did believe that, just like she believed the big moron was in love with her, but she still intended to make him say it.
“I do,” she whispered, nuzzling his throat and letting her arms snake around his chest. “I believe it. But I’m still hurt that you told him before I knew, and I don’t understand how you did know.”
“Your scent,” he explained, kneading her back with soft, affectionate circles. “Like I told you, I recognized you as my mate the minute I smelled you. When you got pregnant, your hormones started to change, and that changed your scent. Pregnant women all have a similar sort of scent. It’s hard to describe, but it’s a little bit like . . . pumpkin.”
She pulled back to frown at him. “Pumpkin?”
“Like pumpkin pie,” he clarified. “Rich. Spicy.”
She took a second to digest that. “And is that a good thing?”
He grinned. “Am I happy you’re pregnant? Sweetheart, I’m ecstatic. I can’t think of a single thing that could make me happier.”
Missy could think of a single, very important thing that would make her happy, but they were getting closer. She could sense it building in him, but it would require a few well-placed digs before she finally uncovered it. “Does that mean you didn’t deliberately get me pregnant? That you want me and the baby for ourselves instead of to satisfy some weird Lupine laws?”
Graham drew a deep breath and opened his mouth to answer. Then he snapped it shut and frowned. Missy felt her stomach knot.
“Are you saying you did just want the baby because of your damned Breeder’s Rights thing?”
“God, no!” he assured her, his arms tightening around her to keep her from escaping. “That’s not the part I hesitated over. I don’t give a shit about Breeder’s Rights. The elders can decide whatever they want, but anyone who wants to take over the alpha position of my clan will have to kill me first. I’m not giving in just because of an archaic tradition.”
Missy felt her eyes widen and her jaw drop open. “Then . . . are you—are you saying you deliberately got me pregnant?”
“You make it sound like I had it planned,” he protested, looking grumpy and uncomfortable and very
sweet. “It wasn’t like that at all. It’s not something I had in mind, but when you came into heat—”
“When I what?”
“Ovulated,” he corrected quickly. “When you ovulated, I knew what would happen if I came inside you, and I did it anyway. As soon as I pictured you having my baby, I knew I wanted that. I knew exactly what would happen, but I did it anyway. So yeah, I guess it was deliberate.”
How had this conversation spun so far out of her control? The man created more questions than he answered.
“Okay, first, how did you know I was ovulating?”
He gave her a look that said it should be obvious. “If I can smell when you’re a few hours pregnant, I can certainly smell when you’re fertile. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist, just a good nose.”
“So you really want this baby.”
He hugged her. “I’m over the moon, honey. Like I told you, you couldn’t make me any happier.”
Unable to pull free to hunt up a blunt object to knock some sense into him, Missy had to resort to point-blank bluntness. “Is it only the baby that makes you happy? Do I have anything to do with it?”
He jerked back to stare at her with an expression of abject confusion. “What? Baby, of course! I love you, just like I love the baby. How can you not know that?”
“Because you’ve never told me so, you hairy twit!”
Frustration made her yell and curved her mouth into a pout, but she could feel her tension melting away. “Remember, I’m the human here. I have no magical powers. No mind reading, no wonder nose, nothing. If you feel something for me, you need to tell me, okay?”
His lips twitched into a slow smile, and he leaned down to press a kiss on the end of her nose. “Okay,” he agreed, and snuggled her close against his chest.
They sat that way for a few more minutes until Graham brushed her hair away from her face and pressed a kiss to her temple.
“You know, for all our strength and speed and heightened senses,” he said, smoothing his hands over her back with lazy strokes, “werewolves are really different from vampires. We’re not just humans who’ve been infected with the virus and had our DNA mutated. We’re an entirely different species. Closely related, yeah, but still different from humans.”
Big Bad Wolf Page 22
