Leaning down, he kissed her instead, knowing such love play was for a more experienced student than his mate. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers feathering through his hair. If he lived another ten-thousand years, he would never get enough of her. Never.
Gently, he laid her back across the bed. Her long hair fanned about her head like silver silk. Her deep chocolate eyes gazed up at him, filled with desire. How would he ever stop himself from taking her roughly? He may not feel his age, but his body knew it—knew it was well past time he mated and it hungered. For her.
His beast almost took control. It snarled at him to take her and be done with it, but he’d promised not to hurt her. He would do his best to control his raging hormones this first time. Then, after she’d had sufficient time to heal, only then would he lose himself in her wet velvet embrace. As long as he held breath in his body, he would keep his word—even if it killed him.
Lowering his head, he laved her breasts. She mewled beneath him, her body arching to meet the ministrations of his mouth and tongue as he suckled her. His hand shook as he brushed it down the length of her body. His fingers trembled with need as they parted the plump lips between her thighs.
Again, she arched into his caresses as his fingers circled the small bundle of nerves. She moaned her pleasure as he pressed his mouth back to her breast and lightly scraped his teeth over the pebble-hard peak. He rubbed her sensitive skin with the light stubble that covered his face.
She raised her hands, her fingers lacing through his hair, pulling him tighter against her as his fingers rubbed over her clit.
Rhyne wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep himself from her. The urge to change was overpowering. Yet, he knew if they changed, the coupling would harm her. In her innocence, he could damage her for life. He must stay in control! He took a deep breath, hoping to gather more restraint. Big mistake. The action only served to fill his senses to overflowing with her spicy scent and the smell of her arousal. His wolf took exception to being held back and he almost raised his head and howled his frustrations.
Deciding to help her along on her search for her first orgasm, Rhyne moved down her body. Positioning himself between her spread thighs, he put her legs over his shoulders and lowered his head to her sex. Taking a deep breath, he reveled in his mate’s scent for a moment before swiping his tongue along her wet slit. The pink flesh quivered in response and he grinned with satisfaction as her head thrashed on the pillow.
She jumped beneath him when he tongued her clit, her hands finding his head, alternately pulling him closer and pushing him away. With ruthlessness he never knew he possessed, he latched onto her hard nub and sucked.
“Please!” she begged.
“What do you want?” His voice was low, guttural. The wolf almost in control. If he didn’t take her soon, the wolf would and she would probably never forgive him.
“I—I don’t know. This is all so new to me. How can I…how can I be a werewolf and not know it?” Her hands fisted in the sheets as she fought her own wolf. “I’ve been a monster all my life and didn’t know it.”
Tears streamed down her face and he moved to comfort her, the wolf leashed for the moment. “You’re not a werewolf. You’re a wolf shifter. There are many breeds. We all come from the same place and, through the centuries, many of us have forgotten our shifter side, or our human side. You’re no monster.” He gently smoothed the hair from her face. “Let me show you.”
* * * *
Tara nervously licked her lips and nodded. She couldn’t let him put his head down there again. It was just too embarrassing. “Make love to me…” Her eyes widened with shock and she covered her face with her hands. “God, I don’t even know your name and I’m telling you to have sex with me.” She tried to slip out from under him, but he held her down.
“Rhyne. My name is Rhyne Calama. I’m your mate.” Warm breath brushed her cheek, fanning her desire. “You don’t want to stop me.” He settled deeper between her thighs, the head of his penis brushing against her heated core.
He was right. She didn’t want to stop him. But what did that say about her? That she was willing to have sex with the man who’d brought her here against her will was appalling. Still, it didn’t stop her from drawing his head down to brush her lips against his. She wanted this—she needed this—and it scared her to her very core.
He pressed his shaft into her slowly.
“It’s not going to fit,” she panted, wiggling beneath him.
He chuckled. “It will fit. There is no need to worry about that.”
He flexed his hips, and suddenly, she didn’t care about anything anymore. The press of his cock against her nether flesh was all that mattered. She needed this—needed him. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t the type to have a one-night stand. Something told her that this was more. He was more.
She gasped when his cock pressed against her hymen. Goodness, why hadn’t she just gone out and had that thing broken long ago? If she had, it wouldn’t detract from her pleasure now. But noooo she’d had to insist on remaining a virgin until she married. Fat lot of good that did. She wasn’t married to this man, though he insisted she was his mate.
Leaning down, he suckled her nipple and thrust forward.
Tara gasped as the expected pain shot through her. Thankfully, it didn’t last long. Soon, she arched up into him, seeking his deep, measured thrusts. She feathered her fingers through his hair. “Yesss.”
He continued to gently stroke into her.
“More,” she gasped when he hit a particularly sensitive spot. “Please, Rhyne. I need something more.”
He pulled from her and knelt by her side. “Roll over, baby. I need to take you on your hands and knees. My wolf needs it.”
And it did. She could almost feel the urgency of his other half as he sat back on his heels and stared into her eyes. His irises turned a dark, midnight blue that was almost black and his pupils began to take on the glow of a predator. She did as he asked and rolled onto her hands and knees.
They both groaned as he pushed deep within her again.
She grunted when the tip of his cock nudged her cervix. “Ohmigod, that feels good.” She licked her lips. Pushing back against him, she tried to make him lose the damnable control that kept her from reaching her climax. It was there. She knew it was there, she just couldn’t seem to reach it.
He continued to drive into her with deliberate lingering thrusts.
“Please, Rhyne.” She arched her back, pushed her hips back and he growled.
“This is the claiming, Tara.” He plunged into her hard enough to make her whimper. “Do you accept me—accept my wolf—as your mate?”
“Good grief, you can’t ask that now!” She wriggled her ass backwards. “I can’t stress how unhealthy it is for you keep bringing me to an almost orgasm, then leaving me high and dry like that.”
He held her still in an unbreakable grip. “You will answer me, Tara.” His voice became distorted as he held himself still, his cock deeply impaled in her quivering vagina. “Do you accept me as your mate?”
“Yes, dammit! Now fuck me.” Tara wriggled again and squealed when he pulled his cock from her and drove back in several times in quick succession. Her climax hit her hard. Her entire body tightened as she screamed.
Rhyne reached around, buried his fingers in her pussy and circled her clit.
His hair, soft as silk, brushed her spine adding to the overwhelming sensations assaulting her. He pounded harder, deeper, as she begged for another release.
* * * *
Rhyne settled deeper into her molten folds. When the wet velvet walls of her pussy clasped his cock, he felt the familiar tingling in his thighs and balls—an indication of his impending orgasm. He leaned forward and sank his incisors into her shoulder. His wolf needed to leave its mark on her.
She screamed another orgasm as he bucked within her, ramming himself deep. Reaching out, he grasped her hips in an unyielding grip and dragged her to him. Th
eir bodies slapped together with an audible force. The musky scent of her woman’s cream nearly drove him wild. He wanted nothing more than to bury his face between her legs and lick her to heaven and back. Yet, he knew he must claim her in the most elemental of ways first. She would only be safe after she bore his scent and he valued her safety above all else—even his own release—especially his own release.
When his scalp and very skin began to itch, he knew he was on the knife’s edge of his own climax. When he came into her, it would change her for all time. His conscience niggled. A part of him wanted to tell her—warn her, but the beast would not allow it—causing him to hold fast to her shoulder. He drove into her heated softness until she came again. When her walls clamped down onto his cock, he threw his head back and finally growled his own release.
Rhyne relished in the sound of her voice as she called out to him. He loved the strange accent, the breathy way she moaned his name. The way she pressed back against him, grinding her rear into his groin as he emptied his seed into her womb, made him come harder than he ever had.
With luck, they had just made his heir and his position as the new alpha would be secure. He’d never wanted the position, but now that it was his, it felt good—right—and he would not give up the mantle to anyone other than his heir without a fight. It was already too late for anything less.
He collapsed on top of her, careful to keep his weight on his elbows. He didn’t want to crush her. She was his mate now and her health must be above all else. This was the woman who would carry his cubs. Rhyne watched as she fell into an exhausted slumber. He took the time to pull her into the safety of his arms and pull the blankets over their cooling flesh, before he too succumbed to the darkness.
* * * *
Tara woke to utter quiet. Only the soft breathing of the man who held her marred the silence. Quickly, she pulled away, terrified at what she’d done. She was insane, she had to be. No one could turn into a wolf and her lover most definitely was not a werewolf. She needed professional help and she needed it bad.
Her mind played over her memories, reminding her of the commitment she’d made. She dismissed it. She’d been under duress. Things like that didn’t count when under coercion. Even she knew that. She ran a trembling hand through her hair and sighed. What would become of her now? She certainly couldn’t go home and live a normal life. Not now.
She looked over at the man who called her mate and inhaled deeply. Damn, he smells good. She leaned down and inhaled again, looking up just in time to see his eyes pop open. “What makes you smell so good?” she asked, rubbing her face on his chest.
“I’m your mate.”
His voice came out on an almost growl and she looked up at him, her worries forgotten. What was it about him that made her want to just eat him up? Was he telling the truth? It didn’t matter that she’d already seen him in a half-transformed state. She didn’t want to believe what she’d seen—what she’d just done—with a complete stranger!
“There is no need to fear me, little one.” He reached up and brushed the hair back from her face. “I will never harm you. Nor will I allow anyone to harm you. You are my mate. As such, you shall be protected above all others.”
Tara shuddered. “Protected from what?”
He shifted, pulling her more closely into his arms. “From those who would seek to take my place, take my heir’s place. I wasn’t born into the role of alpha, but now that I have the power, I find myself reluctant to give it up.”
“Could you give it up? I mean, if you wanted to, of course.”
He nodded slowly, then grinned. “But why would I want to? I have you.” He reached down and placed his palm over her flat stomach. “I have my heir. I have everything I could desire.”
“Do you have happiness?”
He gave her a sideways glance. “What does happiness have to do with anything? Are any of us ever truly happy?” He shook his head. “I think not.”
“I want to be happy. Do you think I want to sit around watching the grass grow, with nothing better to do than follow someone else’s children around or listen to others speak of what a wonderful life they had before?” She shook her head. “I think you spent too long underground. I can’t live with someone who doesn’t believe in love and happiness. I refuse to live with such a man. If you’re like that, you can just forget any kind of relationship with me, mister.”
He sighed, took her hand and nibbled her fingers. “I’d like to think we could be happy together. I want that for us. For our children.”
Tara looked up at him and smiled, finally knowing she could spend the rest of her life with this man. The chemistry between them would allow for nothing less. “That’s all either of us can ask.”
* * * *
The next morning arrived far too quickly for Tara who’d barely managed more than a couple hours sleep the entire night. No sooner had she closed her eyes, snuggled deep in her mate’s arms and drifted into exhausted slumber than she’d find herself on her back, or stomach, or knees, taking his cock as he fucked her into another orgasm. Gah!! She didn’t know how much more of his loving she could take. And if he didn’t stop shaking her shoulder in an attempt to rouse her, she just might murder him.
“Rhyne… I need to sleep. Leave me alone for a while.”
Feminine giggles reached her ears, startling Tara into complete wakefulness. Rolling over, Tara blinked as she tried to focus bleary eyes. After a few moments, she could see clearly, and wished by all that was holy that she couldn’t.
Women of every shape and size, old and young surrounded her bed. There had to be at least two dozen of them, all wearing gowns reminiscent of Ancient Greece and smiling at her as though they knew every dirty, raunchy thing she and Rhyne did the night before.
She could feel the blush spread across her cheeks, see the flush of embarrassment spread across her chest and arms. Scooting up in the bed, she pulled the silken coverlet around her. “What’s going on here? Where is Rhyne?”
One of the older women moved forward, bowed at the waist, then gracefully sat on the floor just near the head of the bed. Looking up at her with guileless eyes, she began to speak, her voice as harmonious as harp song. “Don’t worry yourself, my queen. Your mate has gone to prepare for today’s ceremony and to arrange a surprise for your upcoming nuptials.”
“Surprise? Nuptials?”
One by one, the rest of the women found places on the floor, surrounding her raised bed as they looked on with something akin to amusement.
“Did our new King not tell you about your King & Queen Coronations?” one of the younger women asked.
Looking at her, Tara didn’t think she could have been more than sixteen, but knowing the long lives the Atlanteans lived, she could be off by thousands of years. After a few moments of silence, she realized they were still awaiting her answer. “Uh... We never got around to discussing that last night.”
The women chortled, obviously figuring out that all they’d managed to do last night was screw the night away. Squirming under their watchful eyes, Tara became all too aware of the soreness between her legs and the deep ache in muscles she didn’t know existed before last night.
“Then you must not be aware that not only will you each be crowned today, but that you’ll appoint your betas and Council leaders as well.”
Shaking her head, Tara bit down on her lower lip, terrified about the decisions her role in the society would demand. How would she know who was fit to do what job, when everything about her life, her status was so new? Not only that, but she somehow had to make these women believe she knew just what she was doing, that she was a leader they could look up to. With mornings like these, she wished there was a do over button so she could erase whatever poor choices she might make and redo them. But, such wasn’t possible.
Well, her grandmother was fond of saying, “Start as you mean to go on…” So, that’s just what she’d do. “Well, I guess someone better show me to the bathing chamber so I can prepare for
today’s festivities.”
* * * *
“What do you think of the plan, Highness?”
“What did you say?” Rhyne looked up at the smaller man, confused. “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you I was busy—”
“Thinking of your new mate, no doubt. As I would be doing if I were so lucky.” The other man grinned.
Rhyne looked down at the data pad the man obviously set in front of him when he’d been daydreaming about Tara. He suppressed a shiver at the remembered sensation of her pussy when it clamped down around him, and tried to concentrate on the plans. The writing was the same, but it could have been in another language for all he understood. He could barely keep his attention on the thing. “I’m sure it’s fine, Crana.” He pushed the pad away, unable to make sense of any of it.
“But it should be perfect, my king. After all, how many coronations do you think you will have? But one, sir.”
Rhyne sighed, then picked up the data pad again. “The plans for the ceremony look fine.” Glancing through the schedule of events, he stopped, looked at Crana and quirked his brows in question. “What’s this about selecting the Council and Beta’s today? It wasn’t done that way ten thousand years ago.” He almost cringed at that. It was hard to believe he was ten thousand years old. His people had longevity, but no one ever lived that long.
“Well, it’s tradition now, my king. Every Alpha for the last six hundred years has selected their advisors the day of their appointment as King of Atlantis, the Alpha Leader.”
Shaking his head, he tossed the pad back on his desk. “Then the tradition will end here. My mate and I will observe those already seated on the council and will choose the Council members in one month’s time.”
“And what about your Beta’s?” Crana asked, his face filled with anxiety.
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