by Jaci Burton
“No, Conner. I don’t want this,” she whispered, but her heart wasn’t in the protest.
The key was to take it slow, to build up to the passion he knew was locked away inside her.
If he took her now, she’d respond eventually, but she’d hate him for showing her as weak. It was time to start paying attention to her signals instead of rushing head first like a bull in heat.
No matter how painful it would to be to hold back.
He pulled the strap up over her shoulder and stepped away. “Come sit down with me and have a drink.”
Her eyes widened, then narrowed, as if she’d been surprised he’d stopped. He sat next to her, sipping his wine, memorizing the lines of her body and the way her hair fell over her breasts.
But he didn’t touch her.
And she didn’t speak, nor did she move toward him.
She did drink her wine, leaned her head against the sofa and closed her eyes.
He wondered where her mind wandered as the soft sounds of violins played on the stereo. Was she transported back to her childhood, watching her parents dance in this room, or was she wishing a more grown-up fantasy to come true?
What did Katya want? What would it take to make her happy? To trust him? To live in contentment with him?
Too bad he didn’t know the answer to any of those questions. It certainly would make this easier.
Then he realized that Katya didn’t really know him at all. And how could she trust someone she knew nothing about?
Which gave him idea. He never talked about his family with anyone. But if he and Katya were mated, she’d need to know everything about him.
And maybe, just maybe, he could make some inroads with her this way.
“Both my parents’ families came from Europe,” he said, figuring the best place to start was from the beginning. “The Devlin wolves are from Ireland. My great-great-grandfather immigrated to the United States in the hopes that the land of opportunity would afford his pack the chance to expand and grow. My mother’s family came from England in the early eighteen hundreds. Their pack was already established by the time my father’s family arrived in America. When my parents met, the merger between the Wainrights and the Devlins was thought to be good business. Good for the lupine society as a whole.”
Katya didn’t speak, but she hadn’t gotten up and left the room, either. He took a long swallow of wine and continued.
“My parents have continued the tradition of their families. I have three brothers and a sister. Jason, the oldest, is a senator in Washington, D.C. His primary goal is to ensure legislation to protect the wolves. He just recently became engaged to his mate, a full human who has agreed to become lupine.”
“They allow that?” she asked.
“Yes. Unusual, of course, but my parents aren’t going to stand in the way of love. Jason fell in love with Kelsey and chose her as his mate. It didn’t matter that she was fully human, only that she accept him as a wolf.”
She nodded, refilling his glass and hers.
“My other brother, Max, has also met his mate. He lives in New Orleans now, and the woman he is going to marry has powers of her own, though they aren’t lupine.”
“What kind of powers?”
“Power over the weather. Her family has had this gift for centuries. Max tells me the combination of power between he and Shannon is rather…explosive.”
She grinned. “Ah, so he has a woman well matched for him.”
“You could say that.” He watched her take a sip of wine. Didn’t she realize she was torturing him with the way she licked her lips after she swallowed? His dick was twitching enough already just looking at her.
“Go on,” she urged.
“My younger sister, Chantal, has just moved to San Francisco. She’s been assigned to a pack there.”
“Your family will not stay together?”
“No.”
“That’s not the pack way.”
“I know. But my parents felt it important to spread the Devlin genes around the world. They have big goals, their primary one being continuation of the lupine species worldwide.”
“And what about you? Were you…assigned somewhere?”
He smiled. “No, I hadn’t been.”
She frowned. “What’s happened between us has upset your family’s plans.”
“Not necessarily. When my parents heard what transpired between the two of us, they made an immediate decision. I was assigned the Carpathian mountain region, the birthplace of all lupines. Now that we have an idea of what’s going on here, it’s imperative that the wolves are protected and nourished. When their numbers grow, we can be assured of continuity of the original bloodlines.”
“This is important to you? To your family?”
“Very important. Without your ancestry, Katya, the bloodlines weaken. You are the catalyst. The beginning of it all.”
“So if you and I merge…”
He smiled. “Right. We create the most powerful dynasty of lupines on Earth.”
She sat back and finished her glass of wine, staring out the window at the half moon shining overhead.
Had what he said made any impact on her at all?
* * * * *
Katya felt the pull of the moon, wishing she could strip down and run wild into the night. A desperate urge to shed more than her clothing came over her.
She wanted to rid herself of the conflicting emotions swirling through her, the need to dominate warring with the need to merge with Conner and give up some of the burden she’d carried alone for so long.
The Devlins were a powerful pack. More powerful and much more dedicated than any she’d ever come across, including her own. Her parents, the Braslieu pack, every Carpathian lupine pack she’d ever known had always been content with the status quo. To simply be allowed to exist had always been good enough.
But the Devlins thought far beyond mere existence. Their goal was to flourish, to expand, to propagate their species so their numbers could never dwindle.
She was almost embarrassed that the old ancestry had failed in realizing that they could never survive unless they fought to expand.
The Carpathian wolves hid, hoping their kind wouldn’t be obliterated. They had never thought to fight against the governments, the hunters, and anyone who stood in their way.
Merely hiding and surviving wouldn’t ensure their continuation.
Conner was right. They were wrong. It was time to stand up and become more powerful, not hide in the shadows and pray they weren’t hunted to extinction.
Maybe she and Conner could work together on this. But only for the protection of the wolves. She was bound and determined to close off her emotions where Conner was concerned. She’d tried and failed with him, and would never open her heart. Though he intended to stay and help the pack, he wasn’t the least bit interested in her except as a mate to propagate their species.
Keeping her distance from him would be the wisest thing to do. She’d never let him hurt her that way again. But how could she let her personal feelings interfere with what he hoped to accomplish here? The Devlins could be their salvation.
Besides, this was her homeland. He was a foreigner here, away from his family. Even his brother wouldn’t be staying on permanently. Soon he’d be all alone, with no one to depend on. Nothing familiar, including the love of his family.
Could Katya become his family? The pack would follow their alpha, but they’d never give him their complete trust until she did.
Though she refused to sacrifice her heart for the love of the Carpathian wolves, she’d at least merge with Conner in order to help her pack. “If we do this, it has to be united.”
He nodded. “I agree.”
“And that means more than just you living here.”
He frowned. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“It means that our bonding has to become…official.”
“Official.”
“What I mean is we need to marry.”
The look on his face was priceless. Wide-eyed shock. She hadn’t expected to surprise him, but was pleased that she’d managed to.
“You want to marry me?”
“As quickly as possible. We must merge to protect the Carpathian wolves from hunters and a government who chooses indifference in place of action.”
His shock turned to a frown. “So you want to hurry this marriage along because of the wolves.”
“Of course. Why else?” She’d never give him another reason than that. She’d already given too much of herself.
“Okay. How fast do your laws allow it?”
“We can have it done within a few days.”
“Can you see to it?”
“I’ll get Elena on it in the morning.”
“Okay. Good.”
Now that it had been settled, she couldn’t take it back. She and Conner would marry. She fought back the panic, the fear of losing control, knowing that what she did was for her people.
She’d give Conner her cooperation and her body, but not her heart.
“We’ll make beautiful babies, Katya,” he whispered, picking up the end of a strand of hair and pulling it to his nose. He inhaled and closed his eyes, murmuring something about wildflowers.
Her heart sped up, her blood racing through her veins as need began to build within her. The need to be close to Conner.
But with her body, not her heart. It was important to keep that in mind. Besides, mating with Conner would, hopefully, produce babies. She’d wanted children for as long as she could remember. Lots and lots of children.
And Conner was right. They’d make beautiful children together. She could be pregnant already and not know it. Her hand instinctively strayed to her stomach, a surge of protectiveness coursing through her.
Why not take charge of the situation? She could manipulate him as easily as he had manipulated her. “Fuck me, Conner. Now.”
She stood and held out her hand, intending to take him upstairs to the bedroom. But he rose and pulled her against him, covering her mouth with his in a kiss that spoke of demand and desire.
Meeting his kiss with equal fervor, the pent-up emotions of the day spilled together in a maelstrom of frenzied passion. She craved release, and only Conner could give it to her.
His hands were everywhere at once. On her arms, her shoulders, then over her back, skimming her vertebrae, reaching for the straps of her chemise and drawing it down.
Her pants went next as he yanked the zipper down and shoved them over her hips. She stepped out of them and reached for his tie, loosening it and drawing it through his shirt, slowly pulling each inch of silk away from his neck and winding it around her hand.
His eyes shadowed, the blue-green mixing like fierce storm clouds. She reached for the buttons of his shirt, slipping each one carefully out of its hole, enjoying the quickening of his breath as she undressed him. She spread the shirt apart, splaying her hands on his chest and tangling her fingertips in the crisp hairs there. He groaned when she found his nipples and scraped them with her nails, then wound her hands down his belly, stopping at the waistband of his pants.
The hairs were soft there.
“Hurry, Katya. I’m about to lose control.”
The harsh tones of his voice didn’t compel her into stepping up her movements. Instead, she took her time undoing his belt and the clasp at his pants, deliberately letting her knuckles brush his erection as she painstakingly lowered the zipper.
She looked up at him, met his fiery gaze, and grinned, feeling seductive, empowered, in control of their passion. Tension coiled within Conner like a snake ready to strike, evident by the taut muscles of his abdomen as she rested her palm there.
She dropped to her knees and reached for the waistband of his pants, tugging them down until they puddled at his feet. He kicked off his shoes and stepped out of the pants, quickly shrugging out of his shirt to stand gloriously naked before her.
Her pussy quivered with the need to feel his heavy, thick cock inside her once again. But not yet. Not when his shaft was so close to her mouth and she was dying for a taste of him. She reached for it, stroking it from base to tip, then drawing the head to her mouth.
“Ah, Christ, baby,” he moaned, tangling his fingers in her hair as she took him deep. “Suck me.”
For once, a command she didn’t mind following. She moved forward and back, taking her time in licking his essence from the tip before engulfing him once again. He jerked and tensed when she cupped his balls, squeezing the twin sacs gently as she loved him with her mouth.
“Enough!” he growled, pulling his cock away and yanking her to her feet. “I can’t wait.”
He drew her against him, her aching nipples scraping the hairs on his chest. She waited in breathless anticipation as he leaned slowly toward her, then took her mouth in a ravaging kiss, thrusting his tongue inside, demanding her response.
A response she was all too eager to give. She met his fervor with equal need, lifting her leg over his hip to rock her tortured sex against his shaft.
“I want you. Here, like this. Hard.”
She blew out a quick breath as her heart pummeled against her ribs. He broke the kiss and turned her around, pushing her over the back of the sofa and using his knee to spread her legs apart. With relentless accuracy, his fingers roamed between her thighs, petting her moistened sex until she was on fire and whimpering.
“Fuck me Conner,” she begged. “Hurry.”
His breath rasped against her neck. “Oh, I’m gonna fuck you, baby. Hard and deep. You ready for this?”
“Yes!” she cried, eager to feel him buried inside her.
His cock nestled between her legs, the tip teasing her clit. She reached for his shaft, but he moved away, pressing his lips against her back, sliding his tongue along her backbone until she shivered.
Why wasn’t he fucking her? What kind of game was he playing now?
“Conner.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“What are you doing?” She pushed her buttocks against him, but he laughed, the deep rumble reverberating against her back.
He moved lower, his tongue trailing down the small of her back.
“Conner, what are you…oh my God!”
He’d parted her buttocks and slid his tongue along her anus.
Pleasure burst along her nerve endings, the puckered hole so sensitive she hadn’t realized she could feel pleasure there. But Conner’s hot, wet tongue probing the entrance was the most erotic experience she’d ever had.
“Ever put anything in your ass when you pleasure yourself, Katya?” he asked.
“N-No,” she whispered.
“Do you like it when I touch you there?
“God, yes.”
“Good. I’m going to fuck you in the ass tonight.”
Her belly warmed and quivered, heat settling between her legs and making her cunt spasm. The proof of her arousal seeped down her thighs, readying her pussy for his invasion. As he laved his tongue once again across her anus, she massaged her aching clit.
But then he stopped and reached for her hand, moving it away. “That’s my job,” he said.
“Then do it!” she commanded, surprised at the harsh tone of her own voice.
“Yes, ma’am.” Conner’s voice was relaxed, teasing her as if he wasn’t affected at all.
But when she half turned to see his cock raging hard, the head an angry purple, she knew he wasn’t oblivious to the agonizing pleasure.
“Oh I’m not taking your ass just yet. First, I want your pussy. I want to feel it squeeze my dick. Bend over, Katya.”
This time he didn’t take long to probe between her legs and plunge his hot cock inside her.
Wet and ready for him, she cried out when he embedded his shaft to the hilt. Her cunt squeezed him as he raked along the sensitized nerve endings in her vagina, dragging a whimpered response from her.
“So tight. So fucking perfectly made for me.” He leaned over and licked her ne
ck, sweeping her hair to the other side of her shoulder.
When he sank his teeth into the tender flesh between her neck and shoulder, his growl of possession was very clear. She climaxed, screaming as the painful pleasure of his bite mingled with the rush of sensation her orgasm had brought about.
As she rode the waves of orgasm she felt his change, her body responding in kind. Her blood boiled and she matched his howl of pleasure with one of her own.
“Stay human,” he said, his voice tight, straining as he continued to pump his cock with hard thrusts.
She fought the change along with the overwhelming climax. Her knees nearly buckled as she sailed through the tumultuous waves of pleasure. Digging her fingers into the sofa cushion, she was determined to stay upright and experience more of these earth-shattering sensations.
When the tremors subsided, Conner began to move inside her, stroking her inflamed sex slowly, deliberately, until passion rose within her again.
Conner had pushed the change aside, his claws disappearing as he reached around to cup her breasts with human hands. He plucked her nipples, rocking his cock so hard against her that his balls slapped her clit, sending sparks shooting to her core.
When he removed his shaft from her cunt, she nearly cried out at the loss of fullness. But then his fingers replaced his cock, entering her, swiping at her cream and using her fluids to coat her anus.
“You’re so wet when you come,” he said. “So slick, a perfect lubricant.”
Her cum ran from her ass down her legs as he positioned the head of his cock at the entrance to her back entrance.
“When I push in, you push back. It’ll make it easier.”
Emotion squeezed her chest, tightening it and making her soar with the need to please him.
“Push out, Katya. Now.”
She did, and he slid past the tight muscle. She winced at the stinging pain and he stilled.
“Relax, let your body adjust.”
He cupped her breasts again, lightly petting the nipples and kissing her neck and shoulders until the pain subsided. She shuddered at the incredible pleasure that replaced it.
