“Not gonna happen anytime soon, partner, and since this weekend is for my brother and his mate, I’m only going to ask you one more time to leave.”
“Then what?” Tucker huffed, “You’ll have me thrown out of the pack?”
“I’ll call a challenge,” Caelan barked back.
There was a shift in the mood of the church from fractious to dead quiet in the space of a breath. Paige lifted her head and stood on her toes to see over Derek’s shoulder.
It wasn’t unheard of for an underling, which Tucker was, to challenge a pack member of higher rank in order to move up. Challenges didn’t happen often and hadn’t since Caelan and Eli’s father had taken over the pack many, many years ago, but for the Prime to challenge an underling? There had to be something to necessitate such a throw-down.
And from the looks of things, Tucker was very close to crossing the line into being one of those necessities.
Tucker’s wolf would never win in a fight against Caelan’s. He’d have to be a complete moron to think he could. Everyone in the room knew it, including Tucker, according to the way his face had drained of all color.
“Pack law states both parties must agree to a mating for it to take effect. If Paige isn’t willing or doesn’t feel you are her mate, then you may not take her as one. If the day comes she changes her mind, so be it, but for right now, she’s off limits.”
“This isn’t over,” Tucker spat.
“I didn’t for one second think it was.”
Tucker practically tripped backing away from Caelan, and stomped to the doors, slamming one open so hard it banged on the wall outside. A chorus of murmurs and sympathetic looks bombarded Paige. She wanted to shrivel up and die of embarrassment. Instead she tucked her head back onto Derek’s warm chest and let out a breath.
“Shh.” Derek rocked her side to side until the commotion died down. There was nothing at all sexual about the way he held her, but it somehow felt more perfect than anything she’d ever experienced. The night was going to be interminably long.
At least she was past the point of having to explain to Derek why her body craved his, and could they please do something about it right now?
Derek had no idea how long he’d been shaking his leg up and down on the ball of his foot. Long enough the thing had gone numb. He was surprised he hadn’t gone as far as chewing off his fingernails. He felt like he’d had an entire pot of coffee to drink with a few dozen espresso shots thrown in.
Anticipation could be a bitch.
They’d gotten through the rehearsal for the ceremony, then dinner, and were now in the process of eating dessert. Derek had no recollection of what he’d eaten. Some kind of meat, a potato dish, and there’d been a green vegetable on the plate too. There might have been a salad before all that, but if there had been, he either hadn’t eaten it or he hadn’t tasted it.
The only thing on his mind was the woman sitting very quietly—almost shyly—next to him. Why she’d be shy now, he had no clue. Maybe she was still in shock over the Tucker incident. Embarrassed?
Her hand landed on his leg. Shit.
“If I were sitting on this, I’d have already come like ten times,” she whispered.
Derek dropped his heel to the ground and his fork from his fingers, wincing when the metal clanked on the ceramic plate beneath before sliding to the floor and clattering around on the tile. He heard a delicate snort mixed in with the swish of fabric when everyone within hearing distance turned his way. That would be the entire rehearsal dinner crowd.
Perfect. Paige laughed, making his cock grow inside his jeans and beg to be released.
“Is it time to go yet?” He hardly recognized the throaty growl coming from his throat
Paige turned and looked at him with those big blue eyes, clearly meant to drown a man, and he watched her throat muscles work when she swallowed a bite of the chocolate something or other.
She blinked. “Seems like a good time to me. Yes. Now. Now would be perfect.”
“Hallelujah.” He grabbed her hand, noticing not for the first time how small and delicate it was, and pulled her to her feet when he stood.
“I think they can get along fine without us, don’t you?” He dragged her away from the table, not caring who saw them.
“Absolutely.”
He suddenly wished he had the ability to smell the way she could, because while she probably smelled every ounce of sexual hunger on him, he only smelled a subtle draft of her essence wafting from her. More than enough to make him crazy, but he wanted more. As in his-face-in-her-pussy-while-he-devoured-her more.
A round of “byes” and chuckles followed the swift departure. Derek tightened his hand on hers. “Don’t listen to them, sweetheart.”
“I should be mortified since they know what we’re about to do, but honestly, I don’t give a shit.”
He stopped and faced her, catching her when she bumped into him. “What are we about to do?” He wanted her to say the words. He’d never dreamed his future would turn out this way, but now he couldn’t imagine it any way else. He put his palms on her cheeks and turned her face up to his.
“We are about to fuck,” she said succinctly.
His cock jerked and he swore to all that was holy he felt the precome bubble up and out. “This is crazy.” Crazy or not, he wanted it with every fiber of his being. He didn’t know why, he didn’t care, but he definitely wanted her to be on the same page.
“Not for me,” she said softly, making his heart skip a beat. “I’ve waited a long time to find you; I’m not about to let you go or let anyone get in my way of having you.”
Her honesty floored him. Sure, he’d been with plenty of women. Hell, he loved women and had dated all kinds. Slept with plenty of them too, and they all had their own litany of promises when they knew they were going to bed with him, but Paige…Paige’s words rang true. He felt it in his soul.
“Can we go now?” She flicked her hands to the door, gesturing him to get going.
He laughed, smiling at her hurried state. “Not yet.”
“What are you waiting for?” she rasped.
“This.” Derek lowered his mouth to hers, sealing their lips together. He licked along her lips, begging for her to open to him, to let him into the warm recesses of her mouth. He needed this before they went any further.
She moaned and parted her lips, slipping her tongue out to tangle with his. He tasted her sweetness. Chocolate from whatever the dessert had been, and coffee. He tunneled his fingers into her hair and held her steady while he drank from her. Her tongue was velvet soft, forward, but not aggressive. She took as well as she got. For long moments they nibbled and feasted on each other’s mouths. He loved this about her, the way she kissed, as if it were the best thing in the whole world.
He angled her head for better access, she shifted forward, stood on her toes so she could reach him better. Paige fit him perfectly. His cock stood at attention, prodding her belly. With a simple sway of her hips, she rubbed against it.
“Get a room,” Nikki advised from somewhere to their left. “Or better yet, a tree.”
Derek finally lifted his head. Paige’s eyes were glazed over, unfocused. He felt the same way. He’d kill his sister later for interrupting. And what the hell was she talking about a tree for?
“My place or yours?”
“I won’t make it to either,” Paige croaked, her cheeks flushing a pretty shade of pink.
“Me neither.” They were both breathing hard. “Where’s the nearest place we can go?”
Her eyebrows lifted in a mischievous way. “I know a good place.” She took the lead, tugging him to follow in her stead, and directed them out of the church. The early fall night was still warm, and he sucked in a breath to compensate for the lack of oxygen he’d received during their kiss. She kept pulling him, guiding him through the parking lot an
d past the cars.
“Mine is over there,” he told her, pointing to the opposite side of the lot.
“We don’t need a car.” She seemed to speed up, and he had no trouble matching her pace. If she had someplace in mind, so be it. He was all for whatever she dished out.
Was she really doing this? Paige’s breath came in pants as she practically dragged her mate to the edge of the woods surrounding the church. It enveloped most of their buildings on the huge property owned by the pack. He must think her the sluttiest woman alive.
Her body hummed in anticipation of fucking him. She been serious when she said she wouldn’t make it home. They’d end up having to stop along the way and do it in the cramped confines of the car. Uh-uh. The nearest clearing would suffice. Hell, she’d opt for a tree if he wanted to, she needed him that bad. She’d make Tieran’s vision come true.
A few more feet. Her pussy felt slick with juices already. Normally it took some doing on her partner’s part to ready her for penetration. If being a mate meant she was ready at any time to take him, Paige was more than willing. She’d had sex before, sure. With a few different partners even, but she’d never been overwhelmed by the need to have a man inside her.
In fact, in the past she’d been indifferent to the act of making love. She really couldn’t have cared one way or another if she’d never had sex again, the times had been so unimpressive.
She stomped through the taller grasses, which were outside the mowers’ reach, and passed the first line of trees, then deeper into the woods where they wouldn’t be seen. Her fingers itched to start flinging her clothes off, but then she’d have to let go of Derek’s hand, and she was half afraid if she did, when she turned around, he’d be gone.
“There’s nothing out here, sweetheart.”
God, she loved how he’d already given her an endearment. She looked back over her shoulder. “Does there need to be?” The words felt like a taunt and made her sound even more like a whore. A nymphomaniac who’d fuck any man, anywhere. She was really racking up the points, wasn’t she?
He raised an eyebrow. “Nope.”
Finally they hit the clearing she remembered finding while on a pack run one time. The night belonged to her and Derek. No scents beyond the earth and some faraway bitterness drifting in the breeze. They were all alone. No stalkers, no animals, no one. She stopped in the middle, breathing hard from her frantic rush to get here.
When she spun to face him, she noticed he wasn’t breathing hard at all. Well, damn. Maybe she was a slut. An overzealous one in serious need to get some.
He lifted his hand toward her, a half smile curving one corner of his mouth, and ran his knuckle down her cheek. She didn’t even try not to turn into the touch.
“So beautiful,” he purred.
More juice leaked from the lips of her pussy. Her panties must be drenched by now. He had no idea what he was doing to her.
“So you’ve said.”
“You are. Someday you’ll believe me.”
She reached for his shirt, hesitant to touch him in light of the way she’d manhandled him to get him here in the middle of nowhere.
“Go ahead.” He carried her hands to his chest and cradled them before reaching for the hem of her shirt. “I plan on doing my own touching.”
“I don’t normally do this,” she appealed to him, hoping to hell he believed her.
“Take your clothes off when you make love?”
She loved that he considered what they were about to partake in as “making love”.
“No.” She smiled. He made her feel comfortable at a time that should have been awkward. “I mean, I don’t normally drag a man off I’ve just met into the woods, or anywhere else for that matter, and have sex.”
“Not anymore, at least. And I’m not in the habit of being dragged off by a woman to make love,” he enunciated. He slid his fingers between hers and flipped her hands down, pinning them near her hips and effectively trapping her body to his. His cock prodded her stomach and she whimpered. “Besides, maybe we haven’t known each other that long, but I think you and I are beyond having sex, aren’t we?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“And I prefer to make love to my woman in the buff, where I can taste every inch of her body, as God intended it to be tasted. I want to see all of you, lick and nibble all of you, watch your pleasure flush your skin the same beautiful pink your cheeks are now.”
She gulped. “Okay.” Her nipples hardened into tight points, which rubbed heatedly on her bra. She arched into him, needing more of the contact, craving it.
He kissed her again, kissed her until nothing existed in the world but their bodies plastered together from mouths to knees, and still there was too much space separating them.
Her wolf growled, her teeth elongated. She nipped at his lower lip, glorying in the moan he fed into her mouth, loving the fact she still had some control when it came to their play.
His hands left hers, tunneled under her shirt and wandered up until they reached her breasts. With an impatient sound, Derek tugged up the cotton fabric, then tugged down the cups of her bra, exposing her. The warm breeze wafted across her belly, sending goose bumps parading over her skin, and then he was there, pinching her nipples between his fingers and thumbs.
Paige sucked in a breath and released his mouth. Her head fell backward as he twisted and pulled at the tight buds, offering her no mercy.
She didn’t want any.
“Please,” she begged.
He chuckled. “Your wish is my command.” His hands swept upward, taking her shirt off. The fabric floated to the ground behind her.
Instinct had her crossing her arms to cover her breasts, which were being pushed up by the cups of her bra.
“Uh-uh,” he grunted, stepping back and lifting her chin with a finger underneath. “Let me see you, sweetheart. Hiding from me is rather pointless, right?”
She looked him square in the eye. “Maybe I’m hiding them from all the other creatures of the night.”
He scanned the woods around them, his eyes narrowing for a few seconds before his gaze came back to hers. “Let them see you. They’ll be jealous that you’re mine and they can’t have you.”
“How come you’re so accepting of all this?”
He looked taken aback. “Being your mate? I don’t know. I guess because of everything I know. Remember? I’m not your typical human. Things don’t shock me. If you say I’m your mate, then I am. Plus, it helps that I feel insane when you’re not close, which I can only attribute to being your mate.”
His smile disarmed her, melting her insecurities.
“Being your mate sure as hell makes it easier for me to protect you too.” His fingers still itched to go for Tucker’s throat. Eli had held him back earlier in the church when he’d wanted to jump the ass.
“Actually,” he admitted, and watched her eyes widen in anxiety, “when Caelan first assigned me the job, I didn’t know it was for the woman I’d slept with the night before. So imagine my reaction when he said your name. Pure anger. Already you’d gotten under my skin and I wanted to tear apart any man who’d try to hurt you. It never occurred to me I might be your mate. You felt right, though, and I knew something was up when I started thinking about little Dereklets running around and not caring.”
“Dereklets?” Her cheeks puffed out and he could see she was trying not to smile.
“Yeah. Little guys with dark hair.”
“What if they’re little girls with blonde hair?”
“Then I’ll have to beat off suitors with a stick. Clean my gun frequently. Lock them in their rooms…”
“Nice.”
“The point is, it’s convenient I’m your mate on top of all this. I’ll be so close, you’ll be sick of me before the week is up.”
She reared back. “The week is up tomorrow and I�
�ll never get sick of you.”
“You don’t know all of my bad habits yet.”
“They’ll mesh well with mine.”
“Maybe.”
“I think Caelan knew from the get-go you were my mate and that’s why he picked you to help me.”
“Probably, but he didn’t say anything to me in our meeting.”
“No, he was waiting for me to say something to him.” She trailed her lips down his sternum.
“I think he was using it to his advantage. He wanted me to watch you without you knowing I was watching you. He thought things might be easier if I was involved with you, that you would balk at having a bodyguard. I think I tried to tell him I might get a little distracted so he should maybe have a backup planned.”
She made this tiny moaning sound and nuzzled her nose into the base of his throat. “I have no idea what you just said, but it sounds good,” she mumbled.
“Huh?”
She moved down to his breastbone and over to one of his pecs, seeking the hardened nipple beneath his shirt with her lips.
“You, being distracted. Let’s make that happen.” Her hands dove between his untucked shirt and skin. He sucked in a breath with the contact and let her fingers do the walking.
Then they were gone, and she attacked the buttons of his fly as if opening a long-awaited present, struggling because it was tight against his erection. A button went flying—pretty impressive considering they were working with denim, which normally seemed indestructible.
“Oops,” she laughed and shucked them down his hips, boxers and all.
If he wasn’t mistaken, she wasn’t real upset about the button disaster. His cock sprang free to bob in the night air from between his shirttails, the tip glistening with the precome he had imagined earlier. Paige bent at the waist and took him in her mouth.
“Holy hell, sweetheart.” Shit. He hadn’t been prepared for her to suck him into the warm, wet confines of her sweet mouth quite that quickly. She swallowed as much of him as she could, which was a hell of a lot more than he ever thought she’d be able to take. Whatever she was doing was fine with him because stars were already dancing in his eyes. He’d never been one for choking a woman by shoving his dick down her throat anyway. He’d let her set the pace, let her decide how much she could handle.
Ultimatum: Graham Pack Mates, Book 3 Page 15
