Ultimatum: Graham Pack Mates, Book 3

by Annmarie McKenna

  “Oh…Gawd.” It happened again. “What are you…?”

  “What, this?” The bastard knew exactly what he was doing to her.

  “Do it again.” Ain’t too proud to beg.

  A drop of sweat fell from his forehead to land on her cheek. “I can’t hold back anymore.”

  “Don’t,” she snapped, meeting his faster thrusts with her own. Within seconds, Derek’s body bowed. He grabbed her hands and entwined their fingers, locking their bodies together in more places than just her pussy. He slammed into her once more and held himself rigid as his seed poured into her. She felt every spurt on her womb, and somewhere in the back of her mind she knew each time he came inside her increased her chances of pregnancy.

  Heat did weird things to a shifter, but heat with a mate within reaching distance might get a touch sticky. And sweaty and raunchy and a whole other slew of dirty words. Derek had already made her come several times tonight, more than she ever had with any of her previous lovers.

  And yet, mere minutes from her last completion, Paige could unbelievably feel her body readying itself to take her mate again.

  Her body might be ready, but her brain was on meltdown. As was Derek’s, by the way he slouched over her, his breath heaving and mixing with her own.

  Eventually he rolled off her, though she tried to keep him in place. “I’m smashing you, sweetheart.”

  “Don’t care,” she mumbled with a jaw-cracking yawn.

  He left anyway, slipping from the bed. He disappeared into the bathroom, where she heard a cabinet close and the water running. When he returned he had a washcloth in one hand and a towel in the other. He sat on the edge of the bed and gingerly spread her legs. They were like noodles, so she let him do all the work and tried not to cry when he wiped her thighs and pussy clean with a tender hand.

  “Close your eyes.”

  Didn’t have to ask her twice. The lids were so heavy she couldn’t keep them open anyway. The bed dipped beside her and Derek stretched out next to her, pulling her close with an arm around her waist, and she felt the sheet covering her. She had to have fallen asleep because she’d thought they’d been on top of the comforter. Somehow he’d cleaned her up and pulled the covers down without disturbing her.

  She gave a mental shrug as he kissed her forehead and snuggled into his side like they’d been together for years.

  “Go to sleep.” His fingertips feathered her arm, lulling her back into a deep slumber. All should have been perfect in her world. But something niggled that her perfect life was about to come crashing down around her.

  Enough was enough. She’d degraded herself with that human again. Flaunted her sexuality in his face. He should have fucking killed her when he had the chance. She’d driven him into such a rage tonight. At the time, he’d wanted to fuck her and be done with her. If she was of such a mind to keep ignoring him and giving herself to the human, then maybe she didn’t deserve anything less than death.

  “No. No!” He found his inner peace and focused on it. He needed her. Needed what she could give him to form his own pack. What he needed to eventually take over the Grahams. He could still do this. He would go ahead as planned but step things up a bit. Tomorrow he’d have everything ready and she’d be his.

  Finally.

  He’d begin with her cleansing, ridding her body of him. She’d be grateful to him for removing the human’s seed from her belly and planting his own.

  He glanced at her house and the shattered remains of the vase of flowers he’d left for her. His knuckles popped with the force of his fist. She would learn not to treat his gifts in such a dastardly way.

  Or she would quickly learn she would be punished instead of rewarded.

  Chapter Eight

  Derek woke with the sun streaming into his eyes through the slit in the curtains. It took a second to acclimate himself to his surroundings. Then it all came flooding back. The rehearsal dinner, making love to Paige against a tree, Paige shifting into a wolf…

  Damn, she’d been pretty in her fur—something that should have scared the shit out of him. But somewhere in the first moment of confusion, when she’d dropped from his arms and changed before his eyes instead of relishing the after-sex moment, he’d been awed by her wolf. Not scared, because he’d known all along what she was and had seen Eli and Caelan in their wolf forms hundreds of times.

  What surprised him was how easily he accepted his woman shifting forms. It was one thing for his best friend to do it, another thing entirely to see the woman you loved grow fur and sprout a tail. Derek worked his way back through last night’s events and tried to reconcile himself to what had happened.

  One minute they’d both been struggling to breathe, the next Paige had been down on her furry haunches, then sprinting away. But no matter what she thought, four males against one female were not good odds.

  He did have to give her some credit. Tucker had taken one too many steps to piss her off, and she’d tried to take care of him. She just shouldn’t have done it alone.

  Following the gorgeous, golden-hued wolf who’d chosen him as a mate had been easy. Keeping up with her, not so much. She personified grace. Her legs had eaten up the distance, and she had leaped over objects in her way without hesitation. It sure as hell had been easier for her than him.

  His brief burst of pride in his mate popped when he thought about the situation he’d found her in when he finally caught up. And for what? To protect him? He didn’t need protecting, especially not when she was putting herself in danger. It was supposed to be the man who protected his woman, not the other way around. Last night, however, Derek had had to stand back as his woman dived into a pack of snarling, angry wolves.

  He’d never been so fucking scared in all his life. What he’d seen hadn’t been anything like squabbles Eli and Caelan had partaken in during their high school years. Hell, the rule back then had been no teeth. Last night had shown plenty of teeth. And there’d been bloodshed.

  If even one drop of the red stuff had come from Paige, Derek would have gone on a killing spree, despite the warning growl she issued when she thought he’d stepped too close to the fray.

  The warm body meshing with his moved. Paige nestled her head on his upper arm, practically burying her nose in his armpit, and Derek wondered how she was able to breathe. Her hand slipped down his abs toward his cock. The insatiable thing tented the sheet. He couldn’t count the times he’d woken her in the middle of the night to take her again, yet here it was, hard and needing her.

  Lord. Derek rubbed a hand over his face, remembering all the times they’d had unprotected sex. He should be in full panic mode. His heart should be racing. He should be running for the hills.

  But he wasn’t, and couldn’t for the life of him think of a single reason to do so. Derek tightened his hold on Paige and dragged her impossibly closer. She was his now, damn it, whether she wanted to be or not. Although it was plain to see she wanted to be.

  She stirred again and stretched. Her fingers came dangerously close to his erection, and he took hold of her hand to bring it to his lips to kiss each knuckle. She murmured something in her sleep and bent the leg she had draped across one of his thighs. Her knee nudged his balls, making him hiss.

  “Waah?” Her head came up and she squinted at him.

  “Sweetheart,” he croaked, pushing her knee back down. “Much better.”

  “Sorry.”

  “No problem.”

  In the light of day she seemed shy, looking around the room as if trying to avoid him. Their situation was a little hard to avoid since they were entwined in her bed, dried sweat, not to mention other fluids, covering their bodies from the last bout, when they’d been too damn tired to clean up afterward.

  Derek lifted her face to his with a finger under her chin. “Hey.” He kissed her nose, which she crinkled up into the cutest face. “Good morning.”
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  “Good morning.”

  “I think,” he said, scooting her up so he could rub her more-than-enticing firm butt, “we’ve done this so many times that it’s too late to be shy.”

  Her face turned a pretty shade of pink and he smiled. He shifted more onto his side so he could see her better. Her lips were warm when he kissed them gently.

  Paige visibly relaxed, sinking into him and the mattress. Her breath left her lungs with a whoosh. She opened her mouth to speak, but the phone ringing cut off whatever she was about to say.

  “What time is it?” she asked, scrambling out of the bed.

  Derek looked at his watch. “Ten fifteen.”

  She jerked to a stop and spun to face him. “Are you serious?”

  He nodded.

  “Holy shit. I haven’t slept that late in…God, since high school probably.” The phone rang again. “Damn.”

  Paige jogged around the end of the bed. Her breasts jiggled as she did, and Derek found his mouth watering. They weren’t big, they weren’t small—they were perfect handfuls. She snatched up the phone as he inched up the bed and leaned on the headboard, not bothering to cover himself. His erection stood tall and proud. Paige’s gaze caught on it just when she started to say hello.

  “He—” She swallowed. Derek grinned and clasped his hands behind his head, letting his elbows fall wide open. He crossed his ankles, prepared to wait her out.

  Her lip curled up at one corner. She knew exactly what he was up to.

  “Hello.” She crossed one arm under her breasts, plumping them for his perusal, and rested all her weight on one leg. She cocked her head, sucked in a cheek and raised an eyebrow. It was obvious she was telling him she could give as good as she got.

  Her belly button taunted him as well as the pale patch of hair between her legs, shielding the sweet haven of her pussy. She was standing next to the bed, her thighs touching the mattress. Fuck it. If she wanted to play, he’d play.

  Sliding to his belly, he stretched out across the sheets. From this vantage point, his face was at the perfect level to taste the lovely pink flesh.

  “Ryan?”

  Derek paused, his tongue millimeters from its destination, and glanced up her body. Work? he mouthed. She nodded, and he nudged the curls at her apex with his nose.

  “Well, actually, I already have a date for the reception. Derek, remember?”

  What the hell? Date? She sure as hell did have a date. For the rest of her life. Ryan would have to go bye-bye. He tilted his chin and lapped at the crease between her legs. Paige’s fingers threaded through his hair, holding him close to her pussy. She spread her knees, widening her stance and giving him better access. When he pulled back and looked up, she was biting her lip.

  “Sunday’s probably not a good day for me, Ryan, but if you guys need to get together, I’m sure you can handle things without me.”

  Derek suckled her clit, flicking at it with his tongue. Her knees gave out, making her fall forward. She had to let go of his hair to catch herself on the mattress. It also meant if he was going to put his mouth on her again, he’d have to get a flip-top head like that guy in the toothbrush commercial. Since she didn’t look like she was going to be able to stand upright anytime soon, he flopped to his back and scooted his shoulders to the edge.

  Ah, perfect. She was the exact height she needed to be to stand over his head and still be within reach. He wrapped his arms around her thighs. This way he could get to both her pussy and the tight ring of her anus. She was occupied on the phone and would probably never dream he’d do such a thing.

  “I can’t, Ryan, really.” She paused.

  Derek sucked his forefinger, wetting it to provide some lubrication, then rimmed the tight pucker.

  “Sh—” Her feet must have come six inches off the ground. “Derek,” she ground out. “I have…some, um, thing, to do with Derek.” Her knees bent further and Derek found his face full of her sweet pussy when she rubbed it against him in retaliation. He’d take it.

  Pointing his tongue, he stabbed it into her opening at the same moment as pushing his finger up to the first knuckle into her asshole.

  “Oh my Gaw—what?” she cried.

  Derek continued working both holes, fucking in and out with his tongue and finger, opening her up in the hopes one day she’d let him take her the back way.

  “Am I busy?” she croaked.

  Yes, she damn well is busy.

  “N—yes,” she snapped when Derek thrust two fingers of his other hand into her sheath. They came out slick with juices.

  “Getting ready for the wedding. I’m gonna hafta callya back.” The phone thudded across the room in whichever direction she’d launched it.

  “Holy shit. You’re a bastard.” Her hair hung down, tickling his abs.

  “But you love me anyway.” He spoke against her outer lips and spread the cream he’d just extracted over her clit. Around and around he circled the tiny nub, drawing it from its cover.

  “Y-yes.” She went to her tiptoes.

  “Flat feet or I stop.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me.” He smacked a butt cheek. “Down, woman.”

  “Derek, don’t tease me, not right now.”

  “You mean, not when you’re in heat and need me the most?”

  She looked between her legs, catching his gaze from beneath her pussy. “Yes, but I’ll always need you.” The honesty rang out loud and clear in both her voice and her eyes. “Now get back to work.”

  Derek barked out a laugh. “Yes, ma’am. Feet on floor.”

  She glanced at him again. “All right, if you really don’t want me to suck you off at the same time.”

  He patted her butt. “Up on your toes, woman.”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  Her lips wrapped around the head of his cock, and this time it was he who found himself arching up and digging his feet into the mattress. Christ almighty, the woman had a mouth on her, and yet again, he got the impression she’d either never used it this way before or, if she had, very few times.

  “Mmm.” She wiggled her hips, reminding him he was supposed to be participating.

  He spread her labia with his thumbs and licked her from anus to clit with the point of his tongue. Staying at her clit, he brought her to a peak, then backed off. He knew exactly when she was close because as soon as it got near, she would stop sucking his cock and her ass would tighten. He held off pushing her over four different times, each one punctuated by her whining hum on his erection, which didn’t do anything to help him out either. He was as far gone as she was.

  The fifth time, he felt the tingle at the base of his spine declaring he was ready to fire. His balls were drawn up tight and just…one…more…suck….would…

  His cock jerked at the back of her throat, sending his sperm shooting into her mouth, which she greedily swallowed like a pro. In the midst of this, Paige cried out, her body rigid above him, and he felt the pulse of her orgasm against his tongue as they came together.

  She collapsed to his side, careful to somehow lift her leg over his head so she didn’t end up strangling him.

  Paige unwrapped the towel from around her head and combed the strands with her fingers. They’d lazed in bed for another hour and a half after their oral session earlier, and now they were both famished. She threw the towel on the ground near the laundry room door. Derek stood with his back to her, cooking something that smelled deliciously like chicken noodle soup on the stove. Right now she would settle for peanut butter and jelly, she was so hungry.

  Her stomach chose that moment to mirror her thoughts by letting out an insanely loud growl.

  Derek turned around. “Hungry?”

  “How’d you guess?”

  He chuckled and returned his attention to the pot.

  “Chicken nood
le?” They had another two hours before she had to be at the church to start Nikki’s wedding proceedings. She sat down, mentally calculating what needed to be done and how much time was needed for each thing.

  “Yep.” He dished it into two bowls she saw sitting on the counter and brought them to the table. “And grilled cheese. I’m no chef.”

  “I really don’t care. I’m not either, and most of the time end up eating out with my coworkers.”

  “You mean like Ryan? What’s up with him asking you on a date after all that’s happened?”

  The spoon stopped inches from her mouth. “Aw, shit. I was in the middle of talking to him, wasn’t I?” She slurped the spoon clean and stabbed it in his direction. “I’m not sure. Maybe he just wants to get his mind off things, ya know? Hang with a friend? I feel bad for him. This has to be traumatic even if he has only been seeing Katie for a few weeks. And by the way, you are a horrible man.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t give me that. You knew who it was and you were doing your best to distract me.”

  He’d done a damn fine job of it too. In fact, they’d done so well in the making love department, she could already sense a pregnancy forming in her womb. There’d been some niggling feeling in the shower she hadn’t been able to get her finger on. The same one she’d had last night. Today, when she’d stepped out and stood in front of the mirror, grinning at herself like a stupid fool, she’d realized what it was.

  For a second she’d thought she might throw up. Derek had said he wouldn’t mind, but would that change when it actually came true? They’d known each other all of, what, three days, and already she carried his child?

  Just as quickly, her nervousness fled. He knew what he was getting into, knew she was in her heat and that they weren’t using any protection whatsoever. So there was absolutely no reason for him to be surprised should she drop the bomb on him right now.