Ava stood absolutely still, and he could smell the fear still rolling off her in thick waves. He considered her for a moment, trying to decide what to do. As a wolf facing down Them, he knew exactly what he was and what to do, letting his wild nature and feral instincts take over. As a wolf trying to tell the woman he loved not to be afraid of him, he was at a loss. Hmm. Maybe she was a dog person. She was definitely sweet and gentle enough to be a dog lover. It was utterly degrading to his wolfish dignity to act like a dog, but he needed her to trust him because there was no way he was leaving her side tonight, not after what had just happened, but he didn’t want her panicking all night because there was a wolf in the house.
With a shrug of his shaggy shoulders, he deliberately stretched out in a play bow then sat back down with his back legs splayed awkwardly like a puppy. He let his tongue loll out of his mouth and tried to grin.
He was rewarded with a slight twitch of a smile at the corners of her mouth, but still, she kept her distance. Dang it! Now, he was really going to have to play dog. He got up and walked over to her, sitting down right at her feet. He lifted his paw in the gesture of the “shake hands” trick. He felt that somewhere, some old, noble werewolf was turning in his grave. He tried again, gratified, if a little embarrassed that she finally got it and “shook” his paw.
“You…are a wolf,” she whispered, clearly confused but sounding less afraid.
He had to fight to keep from rolling his eyes at her grasp of the obvious. He had to be patient with her. She didn’t know, didn’t understand. He just prayed that Big Al and his brothers never found out what he had done to get Ava’s trust.
Gently, he licked her hand then bumped her fingers until his head was under the palm of her hand. Her soft little laugh thrilled his heart, and he nuzzled up against her hand as she cautiously began to stroke his head. Yes, she was definitely a dog person.
Hot damn! She was giving him an ear rub now! All his muscles relaxed as warm, buttered honey seemed to flow through his veins at her touch to his sensitive ears. Crap, now his hind leg was thumping like a fucking rabbit. So much for dignity. If she kept this up, he’d be showing her his belly, and then he’d really never live it down.
Carefully grabbing the hem of her sweater in his teeth, he tugged her over to the couch in front of the fire. He nudged her until she sat down on the couch, then he jumped up beside her. He was too large to sit in her lap, the whole werewolf thing making him larger, stronger, and heavier than nonmagical wolves. Still, he would milk this for all it was worth, and besides, the fire felt damn good.
He pawed at her arm until she began to pet him again, crooning low in his throat with pleasure. He nearly melted when she suddenly threw her arms around him and buried her face in his fur, sobbing. He nuzzled her hair with his snout and pawed at her arms in a clumsy, doglike attempt at a hug. His Ava needed him. The poor baby was overwrought from everything she had gone through over the past few days. The need to stay close to her and protect her nearly overwhelmed him and made him shift back, but he focused on keeping his wolf form. One massive revelation at a time, he thought, snuggling himself into her arms. Still, she liked him this way, even if she didn’t really know it was him. She wasn’t afraid. That was good. Just one step at a time.
Everything was going to be okay.
Chapter 15
Everything was not okay.
The last thing Ava remembered was climbing into bed and snuggling under the covers, with the wolf jumping up and circling three times before plopping himself down as close as possible to her. She had fallen asleep, too exhausted to think or even dream, only barely aware of the smell of damp dog next to her.
Now, she had opened her eyes to bright sunlight streaming in through the windows only to find a very naked and very sound asleep Sean Molineaux in her bed. He had wrapped himself around her, effectively pinning her under the covers. Between his body heat and the quilt and the residual warmth from the fire, Ava was getting uncomfortably hot. It was what had awakened her in the first place.
How the hell had Sean gotten into her bed? Where was her wolf? What had happened last night? She closed her eyes and tried to take a deep breath to calm herself down, but her lungs were too tight. Opening her eyes, she looked at Sean. Damn, he was handsome and had the sexiest body she had ever seen—except for Robert and Declan. Crap, all three of the brothers were to die for, even if they were all different. Robert was a mass of muscle, solid and broad like a brick wall. Declan was whipcord lean and lanky, with long limbs and straight lines. Sean had a working man’s muscles. Every inch of him was tight, and his arms, even at rest, bulged with muscles. There was a shadow of dark stubble across his chin, and he seemed to be smiling ever so slightly in his sleep.
Ava tried for another deep breath, this time to get her sudden, crazy lust under control. Sean must have felt her movement, because he tightened his arm around her. The movement drew her eyes to his arm, and she noticed the large tattoo on his shoulder. It was striking and beautiful, done in grays and whites.
Three gray wolves with burning golden eyes walked on either side and in front of a willowy woman dressed in a simple white gown. The woman had long brownish gray hair that looked as if it was blowing in a gentle breeze. Ava couldn’t help but gasp as she saw the tender pink skin and fresh black ink that arched above the older tattoo.
It was her name, done in archaic English script.
Sean had gotten her name tattooed on him, over this older picture that clearly meant something to him. Her heart lurched in trepidation of what this could possibly mean, but she also felt an irrational thrill at the thought that he felt the same connection to her that she did to him and his brothers.
The sands of her self slipped away as a wave of longing to be with all three of them washed over her. She wanted to be with them in bed, to make love with them, but also, to just spend time with them. She wanted to learn about them, walk with them, talk with them, go sailing, have picnics, and go out to dinner with them. She wanted to cuddle up with them and watch movies, or sit in companionable silence as she read her books.
The brutal yearning was too much to bear, too much to face down. Her heart constricted, and she felt as if it would break when her mind reminded her that these days of bliss were numbered. With a half-swallowed sob, she nuzzled against Sean’s naked chest, no longer caring how he got there, just grateful that he was there.
“Hey, baby,” he murmured, waking up. “What’s the matter? What’s wrong?”
“I get my kitchen exploded by a poltergeist, my door knocked in by a wolf that thinks he’s a dog, and I wake up to a naked man in my bed, and you want to know what’s the matter?”
“Baby, that’s not what’s bothering you,” Sean said, caressing her hair. “Look at me.”
Ava blinked hard to make sure there weren’t any tears in her eyes, then looked up into Sean’s beautiful golden eyes.
Golden eyes like a wolf.
What the fuck?
No, it couldn’t be. Shit like that didn’t happen. She was imagining things. She was going crazy with everything that had happened. This town and this cottage were just so seriously fucked up, and it was finally getting to her.
Sean Molineaux was not a wolf.
Was he?
No. Abso-fucking-lutely impossible.
She tried to look away, unable to bear those beautiful golden eyes and the crazy thoughts they inspired in her. Only, Sean wouldn’t let her. Gently, he touched her chin and nudged her face back to look at him.
“Baby.” He sighed. “I really want to make love to you right now. I mean badly. But, I guess I gotta wait because from the look on your face, you need some answers.”
“I’ve been needing answers for a while now,” she muttered, unable to tear her eyes away from him as he stood up, every inch of his magnificent body revealed. Her mouth went dry and tingles of pleasure and arousal danced in her nipples and sex. She sat up and was about to try and pull him back into bed because suddenly, making
love to him was more important than answers.
“Try not to scream or faint, okay?” he asked. “Just remember, I won’t hurt you. Yes, this is real, and no, you’re not going crazy.”
He closed his eyes, and his body shuddered as ripples of muscles twitched under his skin. The transformation was too fluid, too fast for Ava to catch entirely. All she could be certain of was that Sean Molineaux had just turned into a wolf.
She was vaguely aware that her jaw was hanging open, but her mind had pretty much shut down because trying to accept the truth of what she had just seen had short-circuited her brain.
Against a mantra of what-the-fuck-what-the-fuck-what-the-fuck, memories played out of hearing hundreds of wolves howling, seeing the golden eyes and ice-blue eyes of all the men in town. Could it be? How was it possible? Her mind jumped to Aristide Molineaux and Ezra Barrows, then to the demons, then to Father Edlow, shying away from making the connections as if the links were white hot and burned her.
“I…I don’t understand,” she finally managed to stammer.
Sean-the-wolf jumped up on the bed and sat down. He leaned forward and softly nuzzled her cheek, tickling her with his coarse fur. She closed her eyes against the enormous impossibility of what she had to accept, and suddenly, she felt a shifting of weight on the bed, and it was stubble that rasped against her cheek now.
“Ava,” he murmured, “don’t be afraid.”
“I’m not afraid,” she replied, keeping her eyes closed. “I’m too floored to be afraid.”
She heard him chuckle and felt his lips brush against hers. Her heart thrilled like a small bird fluttering against the bars of its cage. This was real. This was here and now. She wanted—no, she needed—Sean’s hard, human body against hers.
Blindly, she wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling his warm skin under her fingers. He pulled her into his lap, and she felt his rock-hard arousal through her sweatpants against her thigh. It occurred to her that the wolf had watched her extremely attentively the night before as she had stripped out of her clothes and changed into her sweatpants and tank top for sleep. Damn it if Sean hadn’t gotten a free show last night! Wait, had she just accepted the fact he was a werewolf and made a joke about it? Of course not. She had just hallucinated because she probably wasn’t fully awake yet. Sean wasn’t a werewolf. Everything was okay. Right?
Thankfully, Sean kissed her, his tongue slipping into her mouth and touching the tip of her tongue, driving away all thoughts. Zings of electricity flew between their bodies, charging her desire with every touch of skin against skin. He greedily drank up her kisses, and she surrendered them willingly, needing the simplicity of just making love to anchor her to reality again.
“Damn, baby,” Sean groaned reverently against her mouth. Her lips felt swollen and numb from his loving assault. His hands were moving everywhere over her body, his rough touches setting fire to her nerve endings.
Ava turned in his lap, trying to writhe against his chest, to feel his smooth hard torso against hers. She felt the wetness begin to seep from her sex, and her muscles clenched against the emptiness that should have been filled by his cock. Her nub flickered to life with hungry little throbs of anticipation of what was to come.
“I need to see you, baby,” he said, moving his kisses down her throat, making her incredibly aroused and vulnerable. “Let’s get naked!”
“You’re naked already.” She gasped, running her hands down his arms, careful to avoid the new tattoo, though.
“Okay, so let’s get you naked.” He chuckled.
“Sean?”
“Yes, baby?”
“Shut up and make love to me.”
He laughed joyfully, a sound that added a layer of tenderness and happiness to Ava’s desire, filling her heart with…with love…just as her body was filled with desire. No, she couldn’t love them. This was just sex. She felt affection…oh, damn, she felt a whole lot more than just affection at the way he was teething her nipples through her tank top.
He suckled her until he soaked her tank top, plastering the fabric to her nipple and moved to do the same to the other one. With his fingers, he flicked and stroked the cold, wet fabric, forcing the rough texture to brush against her aching nipple.
She started to buck her hips in a fruitless attempt to find relief. Deftly, he stripped the tank top from her, leaving her naked from the waist up. He grasped her rib cage gently but firmly as he sucked and bit and teased her nipples.
“Oh my God,” she gasped, shaking from the pounding waves of arousal that went straight from her breasts to her pussy. “I’m going to come!”
“No, you’re not,” he replied, continuing to lick and flick her nipples. “Not from this, but I’m gonna make you wild, and you can’t stop me, baby.”
“Seriously, Sean, please, I need you to touch me down there, do something!”
His chuckle vibrated against the tender globe of her breast, and he teethed her nipple then moved to suckle the other one. He kept teasing her nipples for what seemed an eternity, slowing down his teasing just as she thought she would die and finally climax. Still, he kept pushing her arousal until she was shaking in his arms and almost crazy from frustration.
Then, with a wicked grin and laugh, he flipped her over on her back and stripped off her sweatpants. She sighed with relief at the thought he was finally going to take her, to bring her to the climax she so badly needed now.
Boy, was she wrong! He lowered his mouth to her breasts again, teasing her with biting kisses before kissing his way down her stomach.
“Baby, I love your soft little belly,” he crooned, kissing and nuzzling it. “It’s so damn sexy. Every bit of you is so damn sexy. You get me so hot every time I see you, I just want to take you right there on the spot.”
A strangled “Sean!” was all Ava could manage to squeak out as she tried to move to satisfy herself. Everything about him was torturing her with desire. His hands, his lips, his tongue, his body were all conspiring to drive her insane.
“You want me inside you, baby?” He laughed, slipping his finger into her pussy and crooking it to hit her inner spot, making her jump with a sensation of almost-ecstasy.
“Yes!”
He took her breath away with the speed with which he flipped her over onto her hands and knees and thrust into her from behind. His long, hard cock filled her completely to the tip of her womb, and she heard his satisfied groan.
“Oh damn, baby,” he hissed. “You’re so tight. So damn hot.”
He pumped into her twice, the force of his thrusts making her breasts shake as they hung free in the air. If only he would touch her clit, give her the release she was craving!
“Sean, I need you to touch me,” she moaned, pounding the mattress with her fist as he reached forward with his free hand and skimmed over her breasts and belly, just barely brushing her clit.
“Damn it!” she yelped when he slapped her smartly on the ass. It didn’t hurt. It was more like a sting, and the thought of being spanked suddenly went from a painful idea to a darkly inviting fantasy.
“You have the sweetest little ass,” he said, rubbing the place where he had spanked her, spreading the heat. “You ever had anything there?”
“In my…my bottom?” she said, freezing up at the thought.
“I think you’d like it,” he said softly, bending over and kissing her back as he slowly swung back and forth in and out of her.
She couldn’t reply because a rush of pleasure choked off her words as he used his fingers to explore her folds and spread the honey over her throbbing clit. The sensation of being so close to coming and so full with his cock was like drowning in chocolate.
Suddenly, she felt his finger at her the tight ring of muscle of the most private, most forbidden entrance.
“Just relax, baby.” He was cooing. “This will feel really good, I promise. I’m not going to hurt you. Just let your muscles loosen up, baby.”
Ava was entranced by the unexpected sensations th
at filled her as Sean slowly worked his finger inside her. It wasn’t painful like she had expected. Instead, she felt a fullness that was unlike anything she had ever experienced before.
“How does it feel?” he asked quietly, the strain of holding back clear in his voice as he patiently stroked both his finger and his cock in and out of her.
“Full,” she rasped out. “Forbidden. Naughty.”
“Just imagine my cock in there, baby, with my brothers in your pussy and your mouth, loving you with everything we got.”
The image of being filled by all three of them burned in her brain in a way that made her feel more sensual and desirable than she ever had before.
“Oh God,” she cried out as his thrusts became harder and more demanding. Finally, he reached around her and began to tease her clit with long, sure strokes that lingered for just a moment on the nub itself before starting another stroke. She spiraled up to the sky with pleasure, exploding in light and color as she finally came. She felt Sean shake and heard his guttural growl as he climaxed with her.
They collapsed onto the bed, lying there together as her entire body continued to vibrate with aftershocks. She was barely aware of Sean getting up off the bed, and she started when she felt a warm washcloth against her bottom.
“You don’t have to do that,” she mumbled. “Get back in bed.”
“I want to do it,” he replied. “It makes me happy to take care of you.”
“I can take care of myself,” she replied. “This is embarrassing.”
“Baby, I just had my finger up your ass, and this is what you find embarrassing?”
Ava couldn’t help laughing. It was so easy to laugh around Sean. He was so warm and lighthearted. He snuggled into bed beside her, and she glanced at the alarm clock, happy to find it was only 7:30 a.m., plenty of time for another hour of sleep before having to deal with a reality that had just become entirely too unreal.
Blackthorne, Fiona - Moonstruck [Blue Moon 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 11
