by Siobhan Muir
Julianna listened intently and asked a few questions, but she didn’t remember much of the conversation afterward. She’d been concentrating so hard on keeping her mind away from the motion of the muscles in his shoulders when he gestured or the way the light danced in his intense eyes. She loved it when she coaxed a smile or laugh from him. He had the endearing habit of rubbing the right corner of his mouth with his index finger when he thought something through.
Exhaustion set in by the time they finished dinner, and gratitude slid though Julianna when they climbed back into the car for the drive home. Jeff’s tension never eased, but he kept his touches tame, even for a first date. She almost laughed at that. It was a first date between them, but it felt more like the date preceding sex. No matter how much they both wanted it, they had to keep their hands off each other.
“Thanks for the nice time,” she said in the silence of the car, tracing one finger over the stitching in her seat.
“That was a nice time?” Jeff barked incredulously.
“Yes.” She shrugged with one shoulder. “I like being with you, even if I can’t jump you. If nothing else, it’ll make our first time together that much more pleasant.”
“Or more desperate,” he muttered.
She sighed, resigned. “Yeah, or desperate.”
“I was stupid to hire you.”
“What?” Her guts clenched. Would he fire her? “Why?”
“Because now I’m going to see you every day, and it’s going to kill me. How the hell am I going to hide that I want you?”
She grimaced. “I don’t know. I’m pretty sure the whole damn pack can smell me coming with how wet I am for you all the time.”
He took a deep breath and smiled lazily. “I sure can.”
“At least the humans are ignorant of it. I’d never live it down if my mother found out. Of course, I may not live it down when your sister realizes it.”
He grunted in rueful agreement.
“Jeff, this overwhelming lust we feel toward each other, does it mean we’re meant to be mates for life? Like True Mates?”
He glanced at her quickly before turning his eyes back to the road.
“I think so. I’ve never felt it before for anyone, even when I was young, dumb, and full of myself. I was a horny teenager like the next guy, but I was never unable to control myself. I’m having a hell of a time around you.”
Jeff’s honesty amazed Julianna, and she doubted she’d ever experienced anything like it with anyone before, particularly with Terence. It was refreshing and unnerving at the same time.
“Because I was raised by human parents, I never learned about this thing called the mating bond until Sebrina brought it up,” she stated carefully, fidgeting with her shawl. “What do you know about it?”
He gave her a surprised look before he frowned thoughtfully.
“Well, what I know about it I learned from some of the things Dad mentioned and from watching other packmembers going through it.” He paused and looked a little uncomfortable. “The males get all twitchy and aggressive, like they are gonna put you through a wall if you go anywhere near their girl. And the females get even more standoffish with every guy but their Mate than they were before, as if you suddenly stink or are wearing the wrong clothes. Both the males and females get more touchy-feely, like they just can’t stop touching each other, and they smell like mixtures of each other for a long time after they Mate.”
“That’s what Sebrina told me. But what about love?”
She grimaced apologetically when he stiffened and glanced out her window, embarrassed. “I know the L-word’s the worst thing for men to hear. But have you noticed if the pairs seem to love each other? It can’t just be lust and sex, can it?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. All the pairs I’ve seen really care deeply for each other, and there’s been no infidelity because it’s just impossible, or so I’ve been told. Dad said that touching another female after he Mated with Mom was like wearing gloves made from nettles. Mom died in a car accident fifteen years ago, and he hasn’t gone near another female since, although he says it’s easier the longer she’s gone.”
She stared at him, aghast. “You mean he can’t take pleasure from anyone else, even now?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask,” Jeff admitted with a grimace. “I hope not.”
Silence filled a few miles as they both ruminated. Julianna felt overwhelmed, not only with her attraction for Jeff, but with the repercussions of it once she’d mated with him. Every male she touched or who touched her would smell and feel wrong. If she lost Jeff for some reason, she wouldn’t want to go near another male for at least fifteen years, perhaps never. And she’d be damned if she’d let some horny alpha male use her for sex. But could she walk away from the tests? Could she allow Jeff to be chosen by another female?
Noooooo!
Her Sister howled in fury at such a thought. There was no way in hell Julianna would let him go. Even if their relationship were short, she wouldn’t give up the opportunity to have it.
“That won’t scare me off, you know,” she said after a while. “I’m still going to pass all the tests, and I’m still your Mate.”
Jeff caressed her with his eyes and his smile. “Good.”
They returned to silence for the last few miles to town, sifting through their own thoughts and soon they reached her apartment above the garage. Jeff got out and walked around the car to open Julianna’s door, but she’d already gotten out. He closed her door gently as he took her hand and led her up the stairs to her front door.
“Thank you for taking me out tonight,” she whispered, aching to ask him for more.
“You’re welcome. I enjoyed it. Well, most of it.”
“So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow night?”
She smirked at him, winked, and wiggled her hips just a little. “All day and most of the night. I start at one, don’t I?”
He paused, his eyes clouded with lust, until he thought through what she’d said.
“Oh yeah! Right! One o’clock, yes, that’s the time you start, right.”
“I’ll be there.” She stepped close and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
His arms squeezed her tightly, and he buried his nose in her neck, inhaling deeply.
“Good night, my sweet Lupine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Good night, Jeff. Thanks again.”
He reluctantly let her go, and she felt bereft, but she made herself turn and unlock her door before her body could override her mind and fling itself back into his arms. She hadn’t missed the sign of his arousal, nor the scent of his desire, but she turned her back and practically ran into her home, locking the door behind her as much for her own sake as his.
Jeff needed her to keep her distance, even if neither of them really wanted to. Julianna kicked off her shoes, trudged to her bedroom, and fell onto her back on the bed. Lust blazed a trail through her body, tightening her nipples and soaking her tiny lace panties. She groaned as she thought of the next day at the bar.
Dear God, how the hell am I going to pretend I don’t want him?
* * * *
Julianna woke with a start and opened her eyes, lying still and listening hard. What the hell was that? Something had jerked her out of sleep, but her ears picked up only her thundering heart.
The hair on the back of her neck twitched. Silver moonlight painted wide strips of light on the floor of her room, making the shadows seem deeper than usual. She took a deep breath to calm down, but it hitched as a dark shape drifted across the carpet and paused at the foot of her bed.
Dear God, what is that and how did it get in?
The creature stood on its hind legs and shifted shape from wolf to man with the sounds of straining muscles and cracking tendons. She inhaled in surprise and caught the scents of warm summer night and mountain streams. When he’d shifted completely, he leaned on his hands at the foot of the bed, his golden eyes blazing in t
he hot darkness.
Where the hell is the AC when you need it?
Julianna’s heartbeat kicked up higher, but not from fear. “Jeff? What are you doing here?”
“I came for you.” His voice rumbled deep into her breast bone and she inhaled his arousal.
“You didn’t wear clothes?” It was an inane question, but having him naked in her bedroom had short-circuited her brain.
“I didn’t need them tonight.” Jeff pushed onto the bed and crawled up over her body, trapping her beneath the covers. “Not for what I have planned.”
The moonlight caressed the hard, naked muscles, and cream flooded her pussy in a delicious rush. His cock hung stiffly below his belly, the flared head pointing straight at her, and she wanted to run her tongue over the slit weeping pre-cum. She tried to pull her arms out of the bedding, but he held her still. She whimpered and writhed in an effort to free herself.
“What’s wrong, my little Lupine?” Arousal roughened his gravelly voice. “Is there something you need?”
“Please, Jeff, let me touch you,” she whispered, wriggling more.
“Not just yet.” He leaned forward and nuzzled her neck and shoulder. “Ah, Julianna, you smell so damn good.”
The sensations of his nose and breath against her skin shot pleasure straight to her core, and her nipples hardened. She moaned and arched her back, rubbing the taut nubs against the sheets as she sought relief.
“Oh, God, Jeff. What are you doing to me?”
“What I’ve wanted to do from the moment I saw you at the funeral.” Jeff opened his lips and stroked his tongue down her throat onto her chest. He peeled back the blankets enough to expose her breasts and sat back to look at her in the dim light. “My, my, my. You sleep naked, lovely Mate. How lucky for me.”
Jeff grinned and the flash of his elongated canines set her Sister to growling with approval. The growl erupted from Julianna’s chest and she shifted her shoulders, making her breasts jiggle. His molten gaze riveted to her swaying nipples and his grin faded into intensity.
“I want you, Julianna. Here. Now.”
He dropped his head and took her lips, thrusting his tongue between them as if he had a right to be there. Her squeal of protest ended in a long moan when his taste hit her tongue. Earthy, male, and so dominant, his flavor exploded in her mouth and sent cream flooding between her nether lips.
Julianna tilted her head to take more of his wicked tongue, wriggling harder until she worked one hand free. She speared her fingers into his shoulder-length hair and held his head where she wanted it while their tongues battled for supremacy.
Jeff pulled away and stared at her, his chest rising and falling with each breath. The aquamarine eyes of his wolf pendant winked at her and she imagined it nuzzling her pendant when they came together, like True Mates.
Mates…mates, why did that thought make her nervous? Wasn’t there something about the pack she was supposed to remember? Jeff pulled more of the blankets away and licked the soft skin on the undersides of her breasts. Her thoughts splintered and scattered, but she held onto one shard of warning.
“But Jeff, what about the pack and the tests?” she whined while her Sister barked, Are you crazy? Don’t make him stop!
“To hell with the pack and the tests,” he said as he pulled the covers away from her mound. “You’re my Mate, chosen by the Goddess, not some political pageant. And I’ve waited for you long enough.” He buried his nose in the hair of her mons. “Oh, Goddess, your scent is fucking amazing.”
The sensation of his beard hairs dragging against her nether lips nearly shot her into orbit and Julianna fisted the sheets to keep from launching off the bed. When he opened his mouth and stroked his tongue over the hood of her clit, she keened an ecstatic wail as stars exploded against her eyelids. Pleasure swamped her mind and the wet heat of his mouth melted her core.
“Oh, God, Jeff. Do that again!”
He chuckled and sat back, yanking the bedclothes off entirely. She growled at him and wiggled her hips in invitation, and he cocked his head with curious intensity. She reached out with one hand and grasped his hard, jutting cock, rubbing the pad of her thumb over the head slick with pre-cum. He hissed with pleasure as she sat up and slid her other hand around his hot, tight balls.
“I love the feel of your sack in my hands,” she murmured, dropping her gaze to watch his cock twitch in her grip. “I love knowing it’s mine to touch, mine to savor.”
“Oh, it’s yours, all right,” he growled, grinding his hard flesh in her hands. “But I came for more than just your hands, my little Lupine.”
Jeff gently disengaged her from his hard cock and wove his fingers through hers, pushing her down. He pinned her hands to the bed and shoved his hips between her thighs, spreading them wider. Then he paused, staring at her with glowing golden intensity.
“Do you want me, Julianna?”
He dipped his hips and rubbed the head of his cock along her outer lips, teasing her with his tempting heat.
“Oh, God, yes, Jeff. I want you so much.” She rocked her pelvis to increase the pressure, but he pulled away just enough and she groaned in frustration.
“I can scent your sweet, dripping pussy, and my Brother is demanding I take it. Should I tell him no?”
“No, Jeff. Take my hungry pussy. Feed it your hot cock.” Julianna rolled her hips again and growled, taunting him with her needy slit.
He growled back at her, his eyes blazing, then swung his hips back and slammed his cock home, balls deep. Julianna screamed with the erotic intrusion and her arousal burned through her body. Her fingers tightened on his as he withdrew achingly slow, dragging his scorching shaft along the underside of her clit.
Jeff paused again.
“Do you want more?”
“Yes! Don’t stop. Ever.”
“Rub your clit for me, little Lupine.”
Jeff released her hand and guided it between their bodies until her fingers pressed against her little hood. She met his gaze with surprise.
“Show me how you take pleasure in your sexy body.”
Julianna strummed her clit, massaging the hard nub as he dragged his cock back past her fingers. Slick juices made his skin smooth and she reveled in the slippery texture.
“Yes, that’s it.” He pushed in a little harder. “Keep rubbing, Julianna.”
Pleasure built within her with the combination of her fingers on her clit and his hard strokes within her pussy. Shots of fire flared in her awareness, pushing her closer to orgasm then dying back.
“Oh, God, Jeff. Harder, please.”
A growling laugh erupted from him before he thrust in again, his cock shoving deep into her clenching heat. When he pulled back the next time, he didn’t stop. The slide of his cock against her clit and lips drove Julianna higher toward her release. She ripped her hand away from her clit and clamped it to his hard ass, holding on.
She writhed beneath him, meeting his thrusts with her own, until they pounded each other in a frenzy of delicious torment. Julianna moved her hand and dug her fingers into his heaving shoulders, savoring his shifting muscles and undulating motion.
She looked up into Jeff’s face and his eyes blazed golden fire at her, his teeth bared in sexual intensity. He looked so primal, so dominant, so male. Her orgasm slammed into her and she gasped.
“Yes! Yes, Jeff! Yesssssss!”
Ecstatic bliss flooded through her mind just as Jeff pounded twice more and let loose a roar of release. Hot jets of cum filled her pussy, drenching her with sweet, slick moisture as his body tightened above her. Julianna bounded away into the stars with her Mate, joy and intense pleasure trailing in her wake.
“I knew you’d be perfect, Jeff.” Julianna squeezed his fingers and grasped nothing but sheet. “What the—?”
She sat up and looked around, her heart pounding once more. Her room above her mother’s garage was empty, the silence broken only by her panting breaths. The scent of sex perfumed the space around her and
her pussy juices soaked the sheets between her legs.
“Oh my God. That was only a dream?”
Julianna dragged a hand over her clenching pussy, rubbing her cream into her lips.
Damn, it had felt so real. She giggled and lay back in her bed, trying to catch her breath. She listened to her heart hammer against her ribs as she thought about her sexy dream lover. Just the memory of him riding her hard had her pussy clenching with erotic aftershocks.
Julianna closed her eyes and tried to slow her breathing, inhaling the scent of sex. Could she detect a little of Jeff’s scent in the room? Nice try, Morris. He wasn’t really here.
Her rational mind finally clicked back into place, and relief trickled through her.
Thank God, he wasn’t really here. We would’ve been in so much trouble.
She snorted and rolled onto her side, wrapping the sheets around her. Snuggling deeper into her bed, she chuckled with wicked amusement.
But he can visit again. I don’t mind. Really.
Chapter Seven:
Testing Begins
Julianna’s first day on the job went rather well, though her mother dropped by the bar. Julianna had been surprised and nervous, not only because of the species difference, but also because of the wet dream. She’d worried everyone could scent it on her, but Jeff and his friends hadn’t seemed to notice and greeted Beth warmly. She promised to stay out of Julianna’s way and watched her with a big ‘proud-mama’ smile. Julianna blushed but focused on the job at hand.
She learned the rules and schedules quickly, and even managed to iron out some of the previous snags affecting the smooth operation of the bar. There were a total of eight waitresses, four barkeeps, and twelve bouncers. She met with all of them over the course of her first week and managed to get their schedules worked out to everyone’s mutual satisfaction. She coordinated with Zach to make sure the bouncers rotated and each one was given at least two nights off a week, though not necessarily consecutively. Jeff and Zach took turns for the morning shifts as barkeep, so Zach could have some time off as well. He returned as head bouncer in the evenings.
