by Laina Kenney
Ives shrugged. “As long as he doesn’t get inside the house where the women in my new family are sleeping, it is nothing to me if you use him for entertainment. But keep in mind, the human police are searching for him and his cohort, so they will be present in this area. It would not do for you to be seen in the middle of a hunt.” He jerked his thumb toward Brax.
“Of course.”
“My thanks,” Ives said, and Balke grinned.
“My pleasure.”
Ives turned and melted into the shadows to make his way back to the house. He had a meeting with his mate.
Chapter 9
Ives and Maressa met up in the front hallway as she worked her way down the stairs in silence. She didn’t speak until she was right beside him.
“Bliss is okay,” she whispered. “She fell asleep on the couch studying again and she’s still dressed, but she’s down for the count. I covered her with a blanket. I have to check on Aunt Belle.”
She moved as if to pass him.
Ives snagged her arm on the way by and halted her forward momentum.
“I checked. She’s sleeping peacefully, Maressa. There is no evidence anyone entered her apartment, and there is no male scent there save Todd’s and that is days old. Leave her be.”
Maressa sighed and all but collapsed against him. His arms came around her in startled reflex and he held her tight. The hard strength of his arms around her was the best feeling in the world. She must have been more worried than she realized, because the idea that both Bliss and Aunt Belle were safe took the starch out of her. It was all she could do to stay upright.
She rested against Ives. She needed his support, emotionally as much as physically. When had he become so necessary to her?
“Come outside,” he said, but she couldn’t move. She shoved her nose at the base of his throat and inhaled. He rubbed her back in slow circles.
“Come outside.”
They walked out and Ives closed the door in silence.
He took her hand as they walked down the street away from her house.
“Wait,” she said. “Where are we going?”
“We are meeting with some of my friends to update those who will be on guard here.” She could barely see him in the darkness, but she had the impression he was studying her.
“Right,” she said. “I understand.” But she wasn’t sure if she did understand.
They stopped at the corner near his parked car and she almost jumped out of her skin when another man appeared beside her. He made a slight bow to her and his eyes glinted in the darkness. He was a man like Ives, half-wolf and half-man, and if she hadn’t seen Ives first, she would think him beautiful.
For some bizarre reason, the sight made her relax. She must be really losing it if she would rather be standing outside in the darkness with two werewolves than two human men.
The bushes rustled and another male stepped out. Ives reached out and pulled a twig out of his hair and handed it to him with a smirk.
Or maybe she was standing with three werewolves? If so, the third one looked pretty young. He was lean and his face and body hadn’t filled out yet to the muscular proportions of the other two males. The sheepish expression on his face when he tossed the twig away confirmed it.
Ives introduced both men and told her that they would stand guard for the remainder of the night.
Maressa had a thousand questions for him, for them, but the one uppermost in her mind was to wonder if he was going to leave her there or take her home with him again. It wasn’t like her to be indecisive, and she wanted to stay with her sister, but she wanted to be with him, too. In that moment, she honestly didn’t know which one she wanted and needed more.
He took her hand as he spoke to the other men, and she felt the connection down to her toes.
Yes, she wanted to be with him, fur, fangs, and all. He had said she was his one mate, and from what she could tell, he was sincere, but she wasn’t a part of his culture and she didn’t know what he meant by that.
Would he want them to marry, to stay together, or was this something that happened once for a brief time to have a baby?
She didn’t want to be a single mom, but the thought of his baby growing inside her made her womb clench on a deep thrill. A sweet tenderness welled up inside her. She would love to have his baby. She was a good big sister. She’d be able to be a good mom.
As one, all three males inhaled and turned to her.
She shrank back against Ives and his arm came around her. Could they smell what she was feeling? She wanted to hide.
“We must go,” Ives said, and she was grateful when he tugged her over to the car.
Driving back through Boston and walking up his laneway, she felt so calm the world seemed almost surreal.
“Leaving here tonight I was a basket case,” she said.
“And we are returning in under an hour with no trouble found? Yes, it does feel strange. All that adrenaline and no place to spend it.”
His tone was wry, inviting her to laugh with him.
“I’m wide awake.”
“Well, then.”
He opened the front door and ushered her inside. The first thing she saw in the flickering firelight was the abandoned dessert box. They had left in a hurry and the place looked like it.
She turned to Ives and when his arms opened she walked into them. He pulled her close and they stood just holding each other.
“I imagine you have some questions for me,” he said and she laughed a little. Man, did she have questions.
“I don’t know where to start.”
“I know where I would like to start,” he said and led her down a hallway and into a bedroom. “You can ask me anything you like, but I need to have my arms around you while you do it.”
Maressa thought she should feel strange, but she needed him too much, needed the comfort and reassurance of his strength. She didn’t offer a protest but removed her shirt when he removed his.
The flash of heat in his eyes warmed her inside and out, but it embarrassed her, too. Her body wanted to sideline the question and answer sessions for more of his delicious lovemaking, but she overruled it.
She stripped off all her clothes in record time and scooted under the duvet. The sheets were cold and she shivered so that when he climbed in, she curled into his heat immediately.
She didn’t say anything at first, just tucked her face against his strong chest and enjoyed the sensation of lying with him. But the questions rose in her soon enough and she propped herself up on one elbow to look down into his perfect face.
“Is this for life, this mating thing?”
His eyes were serious on hers.
“Yes, it is for life. You are my one mate, and we do not cheat.”
Something in her relaxed at his blunt pronouncement. No, a man like him, who valued the concept of honor, wouldn’t cheat.
“What part of your world will be the most difficult for a human to accept?”
He frowned, but she thought it was a brilliant question.
“I think it would be the hunting. I will need to change forms and hunt. And—”
He hesitated and she could feel her heartbeat quicken. Dear lord, what would make this man hesitate? How bad could it be?
“—when I give you the mating bite, it may cause you to change, also. Our Queen was fully human, gifted, but human, and she now changes forms, also. The Alpha was most surprised, as that is unprecedented, but it does happen. There is another mate as well who has been changed by the mating bite. It would seem that it depends greatly on the strength of the male, so it is a possibility for you as well.”
His eyes searched hers, but if he was looking for horror or fear he would be looking a long time. Maressa was a bit surprised at herself, but she wasn’t frightened of that possibility. It would present its own challenges, certainly, and learning a new culture would be difficult, but she was leaning in his favor already. Getting furry wasn’t a deal breaker for her, it seemed.
“I could
maybe be okay with that, if it happened. I could learn.”
Ives crushed her to him. She could feel his pulse racing and hers picked up in response.
“Are you accepting me?” he asked, the words muffled in her hair. “Are you accepting me as your mate?”
She thought about it, thought about the other choices she could make. She thought about the threat she faced from Biff, from a murderer a few states away. Nothing seemed as real to her in this moment as he did. They could make something together.
“Yes.”
His body shuddered and she held him hard. When he pulled back, his fangs were prominent and his eyes glowed a luminous blue. Against her hip, his erection grew.
“Do you have any more questions?”
She let go of the fear that had ruled her life for so long, kept her single because there was no man strong enough to face her past. Ives was strong enough. She knew it absolutely.
“Nope, I can’t think of one question right now. As for the future, we’ll figure it out.”
Maressa was shocked to see his eyes were damp.
“I will hunt for you and feed you from my hand,” he murmured and touched her lips reverently with his. His hand supported the back of her head and she relaxed into his hold.
He was such a beautiful male, with his perfect face and his generous heart. She could get used to it, she thought, the slow swoop and glide of pleasure, the dip of her stomach every time she looked into his gorgeous face. She could get used to him after a few years. Maybe. Or maybe it would always be that the glint in his eye made her heart thrill. That would be nice, too.
His hands were slow as he stroked her, arranged her limbs on the sheets. He spent a little time and laid her out like his own personal banquet, with tender caresses and scorching kisses.
He explored her soft belly with lips and careful teeth until she arched under his clever mouth and he finally angled down. If he kept this up, she would be reduced to begging.
Chapter 10
He nuzzled into soft kinky hair and slid his tongue into soft folds. He tasted heat and woman and spice and the combination went to his head like hard liquor.
His mate. It blew his mind and hardened his cock to the point of agony. The woman quivering under him was his mate, and she had accepted him. His lightest touch made her respond with a secret rain of pleasure. He sucked at the salt-spicy taste and lashed her sensitive button with his tongue until she flung her head back and shrieked.
With one sub-vocal growl, the tight leash on his fraying control snapped. He needed to warn her, to soothe her natural anxieties over something far outside of her experience, but he was almost beyond speech.
“Maressa,” he growled.
It was all he could get out. The storm of lust that echoed through him swept away his reason until all that was left was the sweet scent and soft yielding body of his mate.
He moved up her body, gripped her hair in his fists, and slid inside with a strong push. She was very wet and her heat burned his cock, burned through him like a fever in the blood.
She wrapped her long legs around his hips and pulled him in deeper than he had ever been. On a wave of love his mind went blank and he thrust hard, over and over. Her head tossed, vulnerable throat exposed, and her body met each heavy entry while her breathless cries drove him on.
He tried to slow down, to wait for her to reach his level, but the buzzing in his head drowned out every sensible thought. He tried to reign in the red haze of lust, but then she was coming, gasping his name and gripping his cock in fierce muscle contractions while her tiny fingernails pricked his back.
His good intentions evaporated in the flash fire of his need and when he sank his fangs deep, he poured himself into her in hot, wrenching spasms.
* * * *
Maressa stretched and snuggled. She had never been so relaxed in her life. Her muscles were loose and free of tension. She couldn’t think of a single thing to worry about.
She could only attribute it to the benefits of a long night of great sex with the man whose chest pillowed her head, heartbeat steady in her ear. His clean male scent, the heat of his body under hers, and his solid presence gave her a thrill, even when he was sleeping.
She pressed her nose to his chest and inhaled. He smelled so damn good! He always did.
Her throat itched and she rubbed it.
“Mmm,” he mumbled in response to the kiss she pressed over his heart. She grinned. He wasn’t quite awake.
It was the perfect time for a little sexy exploration.
She slid a curious hand over his chest and down to cup his penis. It twitched and grew under her hand. It fascinated her. She lowered her mouth to him, nuzzled the rounded head, and watched him expand. She licked experimentally and his legs slid further apart.
She licked again and enveloped the plum tip with her whole mouth, just holding him in her warmth before releasing him slowly. His hips lifted, as if seeking her heat again.
She drew him in again and let him slide deeper toward her throat. His eyelashes fluttered and opened, the blue blazing into a conflagration when he looked down at her holding his hard cock in her mouth.
“Maressa.”
She heard the amazement in the hoarse tone, and it thrilled her. Sliding her lips down over his erection again, she tried a gentle suction. She cupped and rolled his tight balls in her hand. She was foolishly gratified when he groaned and shut his eyes tight.
When his hands tried to get involved, she pushed them down to his sides and gripped his wrists in warning. She released her grip and he left them where they were. Good. She wasn’t finished yet and she didn’t want him to rush her.
She swooped down with her open mouth and took as much as she could.
Those powerful hands clenched into fists, but he didn’t try to take over. He was letting her have her way with him, and she loved it. She licked and swirled her tongue over the velvety head, catching up a drop of pearly liquid that seeped from the tiny slit.
She didn’t know a lot of French, but she thought that last whisper might be a curse. She tried the swirling move again and this time his thigh muscles clenched.
She smiled with her lips stretched tight around him. Yeah, he was definitely cursing. How long would he be able to give the control to her?
She swooped down quickly and sucked hard on the upstroke. The taste of him was making her hot.
Suddenly the world flipped and she was on her back with Ives hanging over her. She would have made some smart remark, but he was dripping with sweat and his eyes were more than a little wild.
He took her mouth in a kiss that powered her system like a nuclear reactor and when he pushed inside, she gripped him tight and held on for the ride of her life.
Chapter 11
Maressa was dreaming that she was walking down a long dark corridor. She dreamed the same dream whenever she was extra tired or anxious about something. She could never run fast enough in the dream to get Blissy out of the house before the hit man turned to see her watching him. The only difference in the dream was that this time the song “Under the Boardwalk” was playing.
In the dream, she had stopped running and was searching for the source of the music when Ives shook her awake and handed her a ringing cell phone. He yawned and scratched his chest absently.
Oh, it was Todd calling. That was his favorite song.
She glanced at the clock. 3:01 a.m.? And what day was it? She gave her head a quick shake. She and Ives had been together every moment of her time off in the past few days, and he had picked her up at the bar after her shift tonight, so they had been asleep for perhaps an hour? She couldn’t think.
The phone shrilled again. It must be something pretty important to make Todd call at this hour.
She cleared her throat and answered. The voice on the other end chilled her blood and she sat bolt upright.
Ives straightened from his position leaning on the wall.
“Come over to meet me and you can finish what you start
ed, bitch.”
“Uh, who is this?” she asked. Her voice was shaking. She knew who it was.
“If you don’t know me now you’ll know me soon enough, bitch. Inside and out. Get your ass over to the bar, or your boss won’t like it. He still looks okay so far, but he won’t look so good when I get through with him if you don’t get over here. Be here in ten minutes.”
She looked over at Ives. Even his driving couldn’t get them to the bar in that short a time.
“I’m not in the city right now,” she lied. How would he know where she was standing with her cell phone? “It’ll take me a good hour to get back there, and I’ll have to get my friend to drop me off.”
“No friends, no cops. Come alone or I cut off your boss’s face.”
Maressa swallowed against a surge of nausea. “I’ll be there in an hour.”
“Hurry up, bitch. I’ll just play with your boss until you get here.”
She heard Todd’s roar of pain in the background and her stomach lurched.
When the call disconnected, she rocked and pressed her shaking hands to her mouth. Ives stepped in and wrapped his arms around her.
“You bought Todd some time, clever girl. We have an hour.”
She gave a tight half laugh.
“We couldn’t make it in ten minutes even with you driving.”
Ives considered. “It would have been tight, but possibly. If I ignored every light and broke every traffic law on the books, maybe we could do ten. But doing that would get the attention of the police.”
“I can’t call the police. He said no cops. What will we do?”
She scratched at her throat where he had bitten her earlier. It itched subtly and she wondered if it had left a mark.
“We may have to call the police.”
She stopped. “What?”
“If we can’t reach anyone from the Cadre in good time, we may have no choice but to call the police. I cannot be allowed to get my hands on this man. If I get my hands on him I will kill him. I will end this threat, and I will not feel an ounce of remorse. It would be so easy, Maressa.”
