Ultimatum: Graham Pack Mates, Book 3

by Annmarie McKenna

  “Boys.” Nikki intercepted them before Paige got there. “I see your faces. No work. If you go running off tonight, you won’t know what to do tomorrow.”

  Derek reached around his sister and, with a sly smile on his face, grasped Paige’s hand and pulled her to him. She sank into his side, grateful for the contact at last, and fought the desire to wrap his hand around her breast.

  Derek grunted, almost as if he knew what she thought, and laughed softly before kissing her earlobe. “I missed you.”

  “Mmm…me too.” She twisted and kissed him properly. The two hours they’d been separated had seemed to take forever. Bad, bad, bad sign. No one, including her parents, had told her how much she would crave her mate’s nearness.

  Paige shook her head to dispel the notion. She’d never get through this evening if all she wanted to do was rid the bride’s brother of his clothes and do a little mattress dancing. No, a lot. A lot of mattress dancing. An all-night-long sort of tango.

  Oh, she was in a catastrophic way.

  “I noticed I was on time.” Derek’s chest rumbled along her spine. “It was you who was late, dear sister. And my job is standing right here.” His thumb traced a circle on the inside of Paige’s wrist. In a second she’d be howling. Panting with need. Did he have any idea what he was doing to her?

  “Yeah well, I told you six so you’d be here at six fifteen when the shindig was actually starting,” Nikki retorted.

  Paige snorted. “Right.” Then she turned. “Am I just a job?”

  One of his eyebrows rose and he smiled, showing a beautiful row of white teeth. Teeth capable of nibbling along her skin, over her breasts to pay homage to their peaks, down her abdomen, only to stop at her navel before meandering between her legs to feast on her clit. All while she writhed on the bed and fisted the sheets into oblivion.

  “I could show everyone here how much I love my job.”

  Lordy, Lordy, yes, please. She bit her tongue. “That won’t be necessary.”

  “Don’t worry, Paige. I don’t even have to be a shifter to know exactly what my sister and best friend were doing to make them late.” He still held her hand.

  “Whatever. Let’s start.” Nikki turned away and hustled to a man in a suit, who had to be the preacher.

  Paige rested her head on Derek’s shoulder. Her blood ran hot and her wolf itched beneath her skin with the strongest heat she’d ever felt. Having her way with him began to look better and better. In fact, was it a sin to make love in a pew?

  “As nice as this cuddling is, nothing here will hurt you, sweetheart.”

  Her mind whirled and she did a double take of his face, doing her best not to drool lest he see the impact he was having on her system. “What?”

  “I can feel your heart pounding a mile a minute.”

  She laughed out loud. “I think you mistake my lust for anxiety.”

  “Aah, so you do want me to show everyone—”

  “No, I do not.” Where was the PA system? The fire alarm? She’d get rid of these people somehow. “I’m fine,” she assured him, hoping he didn’t notice the faint tremor in her voice. Because she couldn’t resist. Paige wrapped her fingers around his forearms and barely refrained from tilting her head to sniff him at the crook of his neck.

  His thumbs slipped under her chin and lifted her face toward his. “You sure about that?” The thumb moved to brush along her left cheekbone and she watched a tic surface in his jaw.

  His eyes closed and he swallowed. She could swear he was counting in his head.

  “Why can’t I stand to be apart from you?” he murmured.

  Derek’s lips softly touched hers, asking for entrance. Paige turned in his arms and licked at the seam of his mouth. Their tongues melded and danced. She tasted all of him and tried to get closer.

  Far too many clothes separated them.

  “Good grief, you guys are worse than us.” Nikki’s accusation interrupted them.

  Paige couldn’t help but growl low in response. Nikki took no offense, but snorted, obviously unaffected by the issued warning. “Now break apart, you two, and get up to the front of the church.” Nikki breezed by them after her jab.

  Derek barked out a laugh. She might as well have screamed for them to get a room at the top of her lungs.

  “Well. Shall we?” Derek placed his palm at the small of her back, sending a riot of tingles up her spine, and she almost felt her panties being dampened by her arousal. He smelled so good. She wanted to lick him up. She would lick him up. And down, and around and back up again until she was sure she’d wrung every last drop of come from his cock.

  Since sucking a man’s cock was something she’d never really wanted to do before, she had to wonder about her hunger to do it now. Had to have something to do with his being her mate. Somehow it created a willingness to do all sorts of things she’d never dreamed of doing previously.

  Now would be nice.

  Right now.

  As in, could they get the fuck out of this place and…well, for lack of a better word, fuck? Anywhere. She wasn’t picky at this point in time.

  “Yes. We shall,” she agreed. Soon. He didn’t need to know her “shall” was meant for something entirely different than his.

  No way would he win this battle. Her skin was warm where his fingertips touched it just beneath the hem her shirt. He wanted to slide his hand under the fabric and work his way up and around toward her breasts. Breasts that filled his palms perfectly.

  They stopped just short of the minister, and Paige tucked her hands into the back pockets of her sexy black jeans. The move dislodged his hand from where he’d nestled it right above her scrumptious backside. She freed her hands and swiveled to look back at him.

  Her expression startled him. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” she said, grabbing his hands and putting them on her shoulders. “I want you to keep touching me.”

  “Greedy little thing.”

  “Yes.”

  Derek gave a gentle squeeze, working the tight muscles he felt there, and she relaxed even more, sagging like a deflating balloon and leaning back into him.

  Still, her body shook with a shiver. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed the entire length of her body against his. Too late he realized the action wasn’t a grand idea. Her sweet derriere cradled his erection. She wiggled to get even closer, and Derek ground his teeth. Sweat popped on his forehead.

  When he could finally focus, it was the altar that came into view.

  Not even the threat of hell prevented the image of Paige bent over it while he took her from behind.

  Christ. He had to stop. They were in a church, for God’s sake. In front of his parents.

  “Stop wiggling, sweetheart,” he whispered in her ear, moving a lock of hair away with his chin to give him better access.

  Paige hummed—in pleasure, the minx—and rotated her hips ever so slightly.

  “Thank you for gathering here tonight for Nicole and Eli,” the preacher droned, but damned if Derek heard a word he said after.

  “You keep this up and we’re gonna miss the rehearsal dinner.” He licked at the fleshy lobe and sucked it between his teeth.

  “Uh-huh.”

  He groaned. Not the answer he wanted to hear. She shifted again, increasing the friction on his cock. In a minute the damn thing was gonna throb its way out of the confines of his jeans. He rested his forehead on the back of her head and pleaded with her to stop.

  “I don’t think I can,” she croaked loud enough for only him to know what she said.

  “Then I’ll have to stop touching you, or that altar up there is going to get an up-close and personal view of ‘Thou shalt do whatever is possible to covet thy little sister’s bridesmaid’.”

  “Okay.” She sounded a tad dazed. Was she agreeing to him moving away or the getting
it on on the altar part?

  “You’re not helping.”

  “Nope.”

  “Honey, much as I’d love to drop those pants of your to your knees, bend you over the back of a pew and start hammering away in what I know to be an extremely tight pussy—” he dropped another tiny kiss on her ear, “—we can’t right now.”

  “Damn it.”

  He laughed quietly. “My sentiments exactly.”

  Paige straightened, not fully breaking their contact but at least making it look like they weren’t attached front to back.

  “So the ladies will stand on this side, and the men on this.” The preacher indicated where each of them should go, and Derek felt Paige’s reluctance in leaving him.

  Lord, please let this be a short night. He stole a peek at the image of Christ on the cross and wondered when the lightning bolt would strike. Having such lewd thoughts in the house of God was surely forbidden.

  Derek let himself be hauled to his side of the sanctuary and stood beside Caelan, who shifted his weight and said quietly over his shoulder, “Get any closer to her and we’ll all be getting an eyeful.”

  “You never told me it would be like this,” Derek muttered.

  “Didn’t think I’d need to. How was I supposed to know you’d end up a shifter’s mate? Once you’ve tasted her, though, there’s no turning back.”

  “But I’m human.”

  Caelan shrugged. “Doesn’t seem to matter. Something about the exchange of fluids. It won’t go away. Might get easier to cope with, but it won’t go away.”

  “Great.”

  “It’s a rush.” Caelan watched across the aisle at the women apparently sharing something funny based on how they were laughing. “Then again, maybe she’s putting on a show for her stalker. Something that says, ‘Look, I’m not available’.”

  Derek’s head snapped up. “She damn well better not be,” he growled, surprising himself with his sudden possessiveness. She got enough attention as it was—she didn’t need to be attracting it.

  Caelan grinned. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were really one of us. That’s exactly the kind of reaction I would expect from a male shifter.”

  “Hmm, kinda like yours, huh?” Eli had told Derek about Caelan’s initial reaction to his mate, Tieran. Immediate and all consuming. Derek couldn’t stop himself from seeking Paige out, just to make sure.

  She laughed at something Nikki said, her head dropping back as she did, exposing the long column of her throat. Derek licked his lips. He’d have his mouth on that sweet, silky skin soon.

  Caelan grunted. “I’m not ashamed of how I handled meeting my mate. She was mine, I took her.”

  “So then you know Paige probably can’t keep her hands off me.

  “Could be. Or, like I said, maybe she’s taking matters into her own hands and trying to make this asshole see she’s not as available as he seems to think she is.” He hissed in a breath. “Whatever the case, I think we’re about to find out.”

  “What the hell is he doing here?”

  “Who?” Nikki stuck her chin on Paige’s shoulder. “Ah, crap. I’m sorry, Paige. I didn’t figure he’d have the balls to show up after what you did to him on your porch. The entire pack was invited, of course, but we asked him not to make an appearance in light of recent events.”

  “No problem.” She doubted anything would happen in front of all these people. From the corner of her eye, Paige watched Caelan and Derek trek across the sanctuary on their way to intercept Tucker. The disgusting pig sought her out with his gaze and smirked.

  “That man is not right,” Nikki grated.

  “He wants something that’s not his,” Paige murmured. She wished she had the heart-shaped charm so she could throw it at his face.

  “You’d think getting knocked ass over heels, he’d have learned his lesson.”

  “Apparently not.”

  Tieran joined them. “Jeez, could the man be any more dense?” She rested her hand on Paige’s forearm and immediately sucked in a breath and stumbled back.

  Both Paige and Nikki reached out to steady her. Caelan must have heard his mate’s distress because he detoured without missing a step. Her eyes had glazed over and she swayed into Caelan’s waiting arms. He had her head tucked under his chin a second later.

  Derek looked back—to make sure Tieran was all right, Paige guessed—then continued to the rear of the church, where Tucker had planted himself on the back pew. Eli brushed by them next, his hand trailing down Nikki’s arm from shoulder to fingertips as he passed.

  “Whoa.” Tieran shook her head, her gaze coming to rest first on Paige and then on the retreating backs of the men.

  Lord. Paige could only guess what Tieran had seen in this latest vision. She’d seen the woman do this same thing a couple other times and knew the visions came out of the blue, regardless of time or place. Paige’s heart pounded when Tieran grinned as she regained her equilibrium and pulled from Caelan’s embrace.

  “That was, um…wowza.” Tieran leaned close to Paige and said softly, “Whenever you get out of that position, would you, you know, let me in on how it all turns out?”

  The woman was demented. “What are you talking about?”

  “I think you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about a little later on.” Tieran winked.

  Not good.

  “What the hell is going on, Tieran?” Caelan demanded, grabbing her hand and tugging her back into the confines of his arms.

  Paige sighed. Derek had given her that same attention. She wanted it again. Protection. And love and absolute acceptance. Derek would give her that and more.

  “Making love, Cael, is what’s goin’ on,” Tieran said dreamily. Paige smelled Tieran’s need to make the love she spoke about. Its strength almost overwhelmed her own scent.

  “Who the fuck is making love in your head?” His voice rumbled from deep in his chest, and Paige would bet anything his fangs were out.

  “Hmm. Step off, High Commander, it was Paige.” Tieran hugged her mate back.

  “Oh. Damn. That’s no fun. I don’t want to know about my cousin’s sex life.”

  “Hello. Standing here. Doesn’t seem okay to discuss my having sex as if I weren’t.”

  “Ooh, I wanna know about it.” Nikki paused and made a face. “Um…on second thought, maybe not so much. It’s one thing to gossip about the man you slept with, but not when it’s my brother. Thanks, I’ll pass.”

  Paige threw her hands up in the air and then slapped them down on her thighs. This just kept getting better and better. “As if I’d friggin’ tell any of you anyway.”

  Tieran nibbled her lip and said, “Seriously, I wanna know how that position works out for you.”

  “Huh?” Nikki faced Paige.

  “I’ve got to get over there and help with Tucker,” Caelan said, using the excuse to get lost. He stopped next to Paige and laid his hand on her shoulder. “Whatever the position is, try not to hurt yourself.”

  “Ugh. I’ll be sure to be careful,” she said sarcastically, then, turning to Tieran, “Which position is it, exactly?”

  Cheeks red, Caelan stepped away and she heard him say, “What the fuck are you doing here, Tucker?”

  “There’s a tree involved,” Tieran said gleefully.

  “Ooh, nice. Outdoorsy sex. Love it,” Nikki crowed.

  Tieran thumped her upper arm. “You love it anywhere.”

  “Too true.”

  “A tree?” She had to be kidding. Having sex against a tree sounded dreadful. “Painful.”

  “Not if you—”

  Paige lifted a palm to stop her. “I don’t even want to know.”

  Nikki and Tieran both started pursing their lips and looking in other directions.

  A flood of warmth smothered Paige’s back and she suddenly found her
back pressed against a hard chest. She eased her head against his sternum and devoured Derek’s scent. Her pussy tingled and her nipples hardened on his forearms, which he’d wrapped around her. Everything abruptly felt right with the world.

  “Not nice to talk about someone behind their back.” His tongue traced her ear again and she wished his tongue were caressing a different part of her anatomy.

  “I don’t think you want to know what we were discussing.” Or maybe he did. Probably he did. Except the whole concept would give him ideas and he’d start thinking more and more about it and his head wouldn’t be on the rehearsal. Better if she told him later.

  When they weren’t surrounded by trees. Tieran’s visions could be altered, right? Did she want to, though? She’d never had sex against a tree. It was good to have new experiences. Everyone should try something new.

  “Get your hands off my woman!” The shout came from behind them.

  The room erupted in chaos. The men stepped in front of their mates, a few pushed toward the dickhead, and Derek sheltered Paige even more, making her feel safer than she’d felt in days.

  She closed her eyes and tried to block out the spew of insults being aimed at her.

  “She’s fucking mine, Caelan. I’m telling you, Paige is my mate.”

  Paige jerked out of Derek’s arms and spun around, anger pouring off her in waves. Damn but the man had a thick head. She took a step in his direction, intent on letting him know, again, that she was not, nor would she ever be his.

  Derek halted the motion. She found her nose pressed against his chest. All right, this might be taking protectiveness a bit too far. She could still fight her own battles.

  “Until she says otherwise,” she heard from Caelan, “you’re not. Stay away from her. No more flowers, no more gifts and keep the hell away from her house and work.”

  “I’m not going to hurt her, Prime,” he snarled, “but she needs to come to terms with us.”