* * * *
Like clockwork, Avery woke early in the morning and eased herself out of her grumbly wolf’s arms. She’d failed at the great escape before, but she thought she was finally perfecting her technique. Freezing when his breathing changed, she watched for signs of waking then padded to the door to let Roscoe out. Avery grabbed her caffeine fix while waiting for Roscoe to finish, and then she padded down the hall to brush her teeth and put some words down.
By the time she felt the need for a break, she realized she hadn’t heard Chase stirring yet. They’d fallen into a routine over the last few days, a routine that felt, well, kind of perfect. He typically got up a couple of hours after she did and went for a run or sometimes took Roscoe for a walk. They’d have a late breakfast/early lunch when he came back, then go for a swim, sometimes back to bed. The mornings were for her work, but the rest of the day they spent together, getting to know each other.
She decided to go check on him and found him awake but still in bed. Of course that was her cue to climb back in with him.
The air conditioning had chilled the room, but things were warm and snuggly under the covers. He pulled her against him and her body jumped to all-systems-go with no hesitation.
“My time here is almost up,” he said, stroking her hair back away from her face.
Really, it had been up a while ago. They’d had to move his things into her place to make way for the next guest. This was the first time he’d talked about leaving White Oak Run, though, and it sent her mind into a panic. He couldn’t leave.
“You can stay here…with me.”
“I have a place, a home, and Liam is getting impatient for me to return. I have to go soon, but I want you to come with me.”
Oh, this was heavy, way too heavy for what was still an early morning. The thought of having the man she was falling in love with leave her wasn’t so hot on an empty stomach.
“I can sense your anxiety,” he told her, maneuvering into position to nuzzle her neck. “This is just a visit, so you can see where I live and meet my family. We’ll work out moving you and Roscoe later.”
“I never said I was moving.”
“I know you didn’t. I did.”
“This is home to me. It’s peaceful here, and I like it.”
“It’s a home you only live in part of the year.”
“The good part.”
“You have no family here, no friends.”
“Not true. Gus and Lila are my friends, and I have friends where I live in the winter.” She always took a short-term rental in the city near some of her old college crew.
“You can always visit them. You’ll have peace in Deep Valley and plenty of connections, real connections. When we have pups—”
“Pups? No one ever said anything about pups.”
“I just did.” He placed a kiss at her temple. “You don’t want children?”
Avery thought about that. She didn’t have anything against children, but he kept putting her on the express train into seriously uncharted territory. “What if I don’t? Would you still want me?”
“Of course, you’re my mate.” He said that so simply, as if that was the answer to everything.
“All right, then I can give you a firm ‘maybe’ on that one, but you have to slow down. Give a girl a little time to adjust.”
He grinned. “We’ll leave in an hour.”
“That’s not what I meant by time.”
“Like I said, it’s just a visit.”
Right. Just a visit. She’d hold him to that. “I do want to meet your family, but I’m not just picking up and moving because you say so.” She might be falling in love with him, but she wasn’t just going to give in to whatever he decreed.
His response was a grumbled growl, which she ignored.
Avery wrapped her arms around his neck. “One for the road?”
* * * *
Chase’s mate was insatiable, not that he was complaining. She did worry him, though. He was no small man, and with them fucking as much as they had been, he worried he’d hurt her. Sometimes he tried to put her off, even when his cock was so hard it hurt, but she never let him get away with that. He knew he should refuse her, but the way she pressed her curvy body against him had his cock planning something else altogether.
“We should wait a while,” he told her, even as she shifted positions to grind herself against him. She’d be calmer, he knew, once he’d claimed her. Mating with her without the claiming had sent her body into overdrive. His, too. Their bodies would always seek each other, but once he’d claimed her properly, they would be able to last for longer periods without needing to mate. Then, too, her body would be less fragile. The healing ability she’d gain as a wolf would come in particularly handy during her heat periods.
Once a month, the constant need to be under him would return and last for the few days she would be most fertile, unless she was on the special pills some of the shifter women used to prevent pregnancy. Chase hadn’t told her any of this yet. He didn’t want her thinking he only wanted to claim her to calm his dick down.
In truth, he could fuck her all day without any worries. It was her that suffered the brunt of all that friction. Her mouth and lips were greedy, though, doing their best to move him into action. She didn’t know the struggle required for him to hold back from plowing right into her. He stroked a hand up between her thighs to her probably tender flesh. “It’s too soon. I’m going to hurt you.”
She ground her pussy against his hand. “I need you, Chase.”
“Tell me you’re not sore.” He worked his fingers up and down her slit, trying not to think too much about the cream coating her pussy lips or the scent of her need for him. His wolf wanted to plunder her at every turn.
“I don’t care. I can handle a little pain as long as I get the pleasure along with it.”
He looked at her flushed face, wondering what she would do if he said no. He’d seen the vibrator in her nightstand. Would she use it if he refused her? There was no way for him to know if that would hurt her more or less than his cock. No, he’d just get her off first and then let her suck him to release. Maybe they could make it through at least part of a day without full-on fucking.
He began the slow trek down her body, neglecting nothing. If it was on his way to her pussy, he licked, nibbled, or sucked it. He was learning what she liked already. When he nibbled at her collarbone, she squirmed under him, and when he licked between her breasts, she got goose bumps. She liked full-on mouthing of her nipples the best, moaning loudly each time he bit, licked or sucked there, and when he squeezed her breasts while he mouthed them, she went wild. She was ticklish on her belly, too, and he enjoyed himself there, liking the way she jumped and giggled as he nibbled at her sides and belly. When he began to stroke his lips lower, though, she grew serious, her breath quickening and her hands tightening in his hair.
He took his time, teasing her to the point of whimpers, licking and sucking everywhere but her pussy. Spreading her lips, he blew hot air on her clit, then buried his nose there to take in her scent. Only when she was full-on begging did he give her what she wanted, lowering his mouth to lick at the little bud, hardened as it was with desire.
“Chase,” she breathed as he moved on from lapping at her clit to sucking it, alternating between hard and soft tugs with his mouth.
He loved that she wasn’t shy. As he loved her pussy, she arched up off the bed, grinding against his face, and when she fell back against the sheets, she gripped his head tightly to her.
“Don’t stop,” she begged. “Don’t ever, ever stop.”
She didn’t have to worry. He had no intention of stopping. Spreading her swollen lips wide with one hand, he licked from her clit to her sopping wet entrance, listening to her gasp and groan above him. He stiffened his tongue and dipped it inside her, which earned him a breathy, “Yes. Oh, damn…yes,” for his efforts.
Chase continued until he knew she was close, as evidenced by the movement of
her hips and the way her breath caught in her throat. That’s when he inserted two fingers, slowly, gently at first, searching for the sensitive nerves of her G-spot. He knew he’d found them when she stiffened and groaned, digging her nails into his scalp. He went ahead and drove her home, fingers stroking deep inside her, tongue and teeth on her clit. Avery bucked against his touch, over and over again, chanting his name until finally she broke, her climax leaving her shaking and fighting to catch her breath.
He’d thought the scent of her arousal drove him crazy but that was nothing compared to the scent of her climax. Chase was up and over her before he knew it. He needed to be inside her and he couldn’t wait. There was no way he’d be able to wait. Avery reached for him as he positioned himself, seeming to know how badly he needed her. His wolf snarled at him to hurry up and bury himself in her pussy, but at the last second, he regained some semblance of control and surged up over her, blindly seeking her heavy breasts instead.
He didn’t know what he’d ever done to get so lucky, but when fate chose Avery for him, she did him well. His mate reached up and squeezed her breasts together, forming a valley for him to plunge into. He gripped her shoulders, staring down at her as he fucked her breasts, groaning in surprise and pure pleasure as she put out her tongue to lick the head of his cock. Each time he surged forward, she flicked her gorgeous pink tongue over his impossibly swollen mushroom head. He didn’t last long before his balls drew up tight and his canines descended in need. He came, hard, snarling and snapping, painting her breasts with his cum.
Sliding back down her body, Chase took her mouth, rolling to his side to cradle her against him. He found it hard to believe he’d fought so hard against the assignment that had brought him his mate. He supposed, in a way, he had Liam to thank for the fact that he not only had a mate but was happier than he could ever remember being. No way he’d ever tell Liam that, though.
Chapter 9
Avery decided to leave Roscoe with Lila for the trip. Fortunately, Lila was more than happy to take the dog for a few days. Roscoe did well enough on short trips, but long car rides were torture for the hound, and she’d just as soon save them for necessary travel. Then there were the wolves. Roscoe had taken to Chase with no problem, but she had no idea how he would do around a bunch of shifters.
Actually, even after so much time dreaming about them and trying to pin down her memories, she was worried about how she would handle it all. It was one thing to write fiction while telling yourself you weren’t crazy to think some of it was true. It was entirely another to have reality smacking you in the face.
Despite her misgivings, she climbed into Chase’s pickup truck, giddy with excitement, way over-packed, and looking forward to the road trip. He’d told her not to get her hopes up when it came to learning anything about her past. He didn’t think anyone in his pack knew her. Avery promised not to let her expectations exceed reality, but as they got closer to Deep Valley, she realized that wasn’t a promise she could keep. She couldn’t help but have hope.
Avery tried to distract herself by making Chase tell her stories of his childhood. They made her feel like she knew his family a little before she even got there.
“I was the youngest of the boys, so my brothers messed with me a lot. You know, the typical roughhousing and practical jokes. Once, they wrestled me down and leashed me. I still don’t know where they got the damned thing. I couldn’t get it off, and I didn’t want to shift because…well…girls.”
“You had a problem shifting in front of girls? Glad you got over that.” She didn’t think she’d ever tire of watching him shift. Chase had a bright future in modeling for her.
“No, I had a problem shifting in front of girls only to end up naked in front of them, with a fucking leash around my neck.” He shook his head at the memory, though he wore a ghost of a smile. “I was the runt, so they got away with shit like that. Led me around like a dog for almost an hour because I wouldn’t shift. Finally, my little sister saw them and snitched to my dad.”
“You were the runt? How is that even possible?” The man was huge, no two ways about it. He towered over her and was taller and bulkier than most men she’d ever met.
He laughed. “You haven’t met my brothers yet. They can’t pull that shit anymore, though. I’m still one of the shortest, but not so easy to tackle these days.”
“I bet. I’m sorry you went through that.” His brothers sounded like bullies. Avery had always been sad that she’d missed out on siblings, but his sounded absolutely awful.
“I’m not. It made me tough, and it was all in good fun. You know, boys will be boys and all that. Besides, I got them back.”
“What did you do?”
“I didn’t bulk up until much later, so I had to go for other things like switching toothpaste with shaving cream and putting worms in shoes. Liam is terrified of worms, but don’t tell anyone that. The alpha isn’t allowed to be afraid of anything, much less worms.”
“What did he do?”
“He chased me for miles, but that was another thing. I was small, but I was fast. He couldn’t catch me. I missed dinner that night, though. I was too afraid to go back.”
“Aw.” She patted his thigh. “That’s so sad.” She could just picture him, small, hungry and all alone.
He shrugged. “I caught a rabbit and made my own meal.”
“Um…gross.”
“What? Humans eat rabbit.”
“Not this human. Bunnies are cute.”
“Cute food.”
“Ugh. Just ugh.” She shook her head, not really shocked but grossed out at the same time. Of course he would eat things she didn’t, but Avery didn’t allow hunting of any sort on her land. She had a hard time of thinking of the animals that lived out there as food.
“You eat meat,” he reminded her. “I’ve seen you dig into a steak. It was scary.”
“Yeah, but some meat is food. I just can’t go eating Bambi’s mother.”
“Who is Bambi?”
“A character in a book. A deer.”
“Oh. Well…you’ll get used to it.
“Don’t count on it. Chicken, beef, pork, and fish. Anything else is off the menu.” She thought about that. “Except maybe duck, once in a while.” She did like duck.
“So a duck is okay to eat but Bambi is off-limits? Makes no sense.”
He was probably right, but she wasn’t about to say so. “Let’s just agree to disagree. Tell me more about your family.”
“Your turn, and your little tricks won’t work this time.”
Up until that point, she’d managed to avoid talking a whole lot about her upbringing. She’d focused on her dreams and snatches of memories, her writing, and learning about him. When he’d asked before, she’d changed the subject, but she knew she couldn’t get away with that forever. When subject changes hadn’t worked, she’d kissed him instead. “Hey, I thought you liked my tricks.”
He raised his brows. “Driving here…You’ll just have to suck it up and talk.”
“It’s boring.”
“Not to me.”
“It’s sad.”
“I can handle it. I want to know what you were like as a kid. If it’s difficult, I understand, but we need to know each other in every way.”
She sighed. “It’s just that it sucked hairy ass crack. I was this weird little girl who believed people could turn into wolves. I insisted I had a little brother and that wolves had eaten my parents. It wasn’t a fantasy to me, so I wouldn’t shut up about it. My aunt and uncle took me in and told me my parents had been killed in a fire. They said I’d never even had a brother. I hated them at first because they wouldn’t believe me.” She shrugged. “They were good people. I know that now. And they tried to be patient with me, but eventually their patience wore thin. They never said so, but they grew to hate me. I eventually stopped hating them, but by then it was too late. They were sick of me.”
“I’m sorry.” Chase reached over and squeezed her hand. “S
tart at the beginning, from your first memory of being with them.”
He stroked her hand with his thumb, simultaneously making her heart swell and her body buzz. She absently wondered how long it would be before they could make love again.
“Talk,” he said.
So she did.
* * * *
Chase was pleased with how she opened up to him on the road. She’d focused previous talks about her past on shifter memories or used some rather interesting ways to change the subject. He knew it was hard for her to talk about it, and he couldn’t imagine growing up feeling so unloved. He pushed her because he wanted to know all of her. She was his Avery, and he needed to know her inside and out.
He listened as she talked, haltingly at first, but then picking up momentum and becoming animated in her descriptions. She’d needed to get it all out, he could tell. Must be good genes at work because she’d become an amazing woman despite the loneliness she described. It angered him that any child should grow up that way, but it made it all the worse that his mate had endured it. He decided he would make sure the rest of her life was full of light and happiness, and he’d crush anything that got in the way of that.
Avery was in for it when it came to his family. They were a loud and boisterous bunch, and shifters were pretty up-close-and-personal, anyway. It would do her good, though. He’d meant it when he said she needed connections. His home would provide that for her, real, deep, lasting connections. As for his family accepting her, Chase wasn’t worried. They would love her almost as much as he would. She already had his heart.
Chapter 10
“We’re here,” Chase said.
The announcement surprised her. The trip had passed much faster than she’d expected. He’d made her open up the floodgates, and she’d talked his ear off the whole way.
“It looks like White Oak Run, sort of.” Looking out the window, she saw nothing but tall, dense trees, wildflowers, and open fields, though the road was wider and better-paved than those on her property.
Avery and Her Wolf [Shifters Revealed 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 9
