by Lola Taylor
He groaned. “Yes, just like that.”
She gripped him with both hands, pumping him in slow, tantalizing movements. He felt himself growing longer for her, needing to be inside her wet, hot depths, needing to claim her.
Slowly, she lowered herself to her knees so her face was in front of his crotch.
“What are you doing?” he asked raggedly.
A coy smile was his answer. “Seeing what I could potentially be getting myself into.”
Potentially. He could work with “potentially.”
She ran a finger along him, making him quiver with desire. “You’re so big,” she whispered, leaning forward and kissing the swollen head tenderly.
He braced himself against the wall as her tongue danced along the tip, then licked him as her mouth swallowed him whole.
“Danica,” he gritted out as she sucked him. He bucked his hips, grabbing her head and holding it steady, taking over the rhythm. The faster he pumped, the harder she sucked, squeezing her mouth around him as he moved in and out, in and out.
She grabbed his hips, digging her nails in.
He groaned, bucking harder. Sweet release was close; he could feel it building up, bubbling to the surface. Just a few more pumps….
Frantic knocking came from the door. Nik’s voice yelled from the other side. “Sire! A word with you!”
“Not. Now,” Gage growled. He was losing his mind. Never had he felt such intensity during any sexual act.
More banging, louder this time. It didn’t stop, becoming more insistent.
Danica pulled back, and Gage swore profusely. The mood ruined, he stormed toward the door. “This had better be damn good, or I swear, Nik-”
Nik opened the door before he reached it. “It’s Onyx - he’s been spotted on the property.”
Gage wasted no time. Danica was already covered again in her robe, to his immense disappointment, when he turned around. “What’s going on?” she said, mouth swollen and wet with his juices.
“Nothing to worry about,” he said soothingly, not wanting to frighten her anymore than he already had earlier with the wolf stunt. Never would he do something so stupid again. “We have to go.”
He went to the bathroom and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around his waist. His erection hadn’t gone away, the towel making it more obvious, but that was the least of his concerns.
“Why?” Danica said as he ushered her out the door and down the hall, Nik leading the way. “What’s happened?”
“Nothing.” Yet.
Her face turned stormy. “Tell me what’s going on right now! Obviously, I can handle it. I saw you turn into a wolf earlier, and you haven’t had to commit me to an insane asylum.”
Nik stifled a snicker.
Gage glared at him. “I’m taking you to my quarters, where you will remain under my watch. The rest of the premises is to be under lockdown. I want him found and brought to me, Nik.”
“On it.”
He parted ways with them at the next landing, disappearing around a corner.
Danica glanced around anxiously. “Is that man back?”
Gage felt a strong, protective urge surge through him, and he hugged her tight. “I won’t let anything - or anyone - hurt you. I swear it on my life.”
Chapter 7
Holy. Shit.
Werewolves. Mating. Stalkers.
Her horoscope had not forecast this. More so, what the hell was wrong with her? She’d gone from freaking out over seeing him literally turn into the biggest wolf she’d ever seen, to taking one glimpse of his dick and wanting to mount him right there. It was like PMS on crack.
Gage held her close the rest of the way to his room. It felt right being held by him - a sense of rightness that was growing by the minute - but she couldn’t help looking all around her, expecting Onyx to leap from the shadows like a bogeyman.
Two guards stood outside a large, ornate golden door. They looked like they just stepped out of Howl, wearing torn jeans, sleeveless shirts that showed off their muscular arms, and a leer to make most people think twice about crossing their paths. They bowed as Gage approached, opening the doors for him.
The room was huge, with a California King-sized bed on one wall with another gigantic, walk-in fireplace opposite it. A large fur rug lay before the fire, and a window seat sat beneath a window that took up a good portion of one wall, providing a spectacular view of the distant lake and the star-spackled sky.
“Wow,” she said. “You wolves spare no expense on interior decorating, do you?”
He chuckled slightly. She felt some of the tension drain out of him as he wrapped his arms around her. She instinctively leaned into him, liking the way he held her. She imagined falling asleep in his arms every night, staring out at the sky, feeling safe in the warmth of his embrace.
And how safe had you felt in Seth’s arms, hmmm?
Shaking her head, she stepped away and he reluctantly let go. He didn’t move to stop her as she walked around, exploring. Her face heated. “Earlier… in my room… that…”
“Was amazing?” he said with a sly smile. “You scandalize me, my lady. What will this do to my sterling reputation?”
Now, her face was on fire. “I just don’t want you to think I’m some nympho looking for a quick fix.”
His face turned serious. “I would never think that of you. Your reaction is entirely normal, actually.”
She looked again at her hand, at the dark blue ink that seemed to catch the moonlight. “The Change, you mean.”
“And the fever.”
“What’s the fever?”
He cleared his throat, staring at the rug. “When a wolf reaches his or her prime, they go through the mating season - their Blood Moon. That’s when the mating fever takes hold.”
“Oh.” Awkward. “When does it go away?”
His eyes met hers, burning as brightly as the fire. “When we mate.”
“As in… have sex?”
He nodded.
Had the rational side of her brain been working, the idea of having sex with a total stranger would definitely not have been down her alley. If anything, now, it made her wetter. Who knew soft-spoken, “good girl” Danica could be such a total slut?
“What happens if we don’t have sex?” she asked.
His eyes grew troubled, and a shadow seemed to fall over his face. “We both remain unmated forever.” It looked like he wanted to tell her something more, but he remained silent.
“That sounds lonely,” she said, shoulders falling.
“Yes.”
Silence.
She shook her head, going to sit on the bed. Patting the bedspread beside her, she said, “Tell me about the Change.”
He blinked, then sat down beside her. “The first one is out of your control. I’m also sorry to say it will be the most painful.”
“Great. Like a second period.”
He laughed. “I’ve never heard of it put that way before, but I suppose you could compare the two. You’re in wolf form for the entire night, Changing back at dawn. From then on, you can control it, shifting at will.”
“So the whole thing about shifting during a full moon…?”
“Nonsense. Humans mixed up our Blood Moon with the ‘Curse of the Werewolf’ that’s so popular in modern culture. It’s completely ridiculous.”
“I see.”
“You’re taking all of this surprisingly well,” he said warily.
She laughed. “Aside from my initial freak-out? Yeah, I suppose.” She shrugged. “When I was little, I wanted to be a superhero. Somebody special, who was strong enough to make a difference in the circumstances around me.”
He waited patiently for her to continue.
“My folks were always fighting while I was growing up. We didn’t have much. When my dad nearly broke my mom’s jaw one night, she grabbed me and ran away with me to here.”
“Where’s your father?”
“In jail. He’s in and out so much, I think they just
keep a cell prepared for him.”
“And your mom?”
Her throat nearly closed up. “Dead.”
Gage took her hand and squeezed. For once, the gesture actually was comforting. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
Blinking away tears, she said, “It was a long time ago, a car accident. I lived with my aunt, whom we were staying with, until she left me one day too for her boyfriend. They eloped.” She smiled. “I’m happy for her. I hear they had a kid.”
“But she still left you.”
“I was eighteen.”
“That doesn’t make it okay.”
She looked at him. “No, I guess it doesn’t. But it still happened.”
“You’ve been alone for a while, haven’t you?”
“Yeah,” she said flippantly, picking at a pearl sewn into the comforter design.
Gage stared into the fire. “My dad couldn’t hold down a job to save his life. He moved me and my brothers all over the place, and you could forget about him settling down with a woman. When we got old enough to work, we all pitched in and helped. But it wasn’t enough. My father owed a lot of bad people money - one of them the were who Marked him as punishment. He Marked us the same day.”
She listened intently, frozen by the sadness in his eyes.
“More than anything, I think the Mark was what tore our family apart. Dad couldn’t handle it. He killed himself after the first Change, and eventually, my brothers drifted off to different walks of life - all except Nik. I was a lot scrawnier than my brothers for a long time, since it took me a while to hit my growing spurt. Nik looked after me, protecting me at school and at home. He took a lot of shit from Dad.”
Danica could see the regret written on his face, making his handsome face seem much older as he spoke about his past.
“Nik and I set out on our own, moving from pack to pack until we found one that more or less fit. It wasn’t easy. Packs are supposed to be like your family, but there was a lot of in-fighting and warring with other packs when we first joined the Moonstruck Pack.”
Danica was silent for a moment, digesting this. Gage had to be incredibly tough to endure something like that. “You’re the Alpha, aren’t you?”
“Why would you say that?”
“Well, the guards and the fact everyone keeps calling you ‘sire’ or ‘your highness’ kind of gave it away.”
He gave her a small smile. “Does that bother you?”
She blinked. “No! I think it’s great. You’ve fought your way to the top. You’ve earned it.”
That troubled look returned. “If I could spare you from the Underworld, I would.”
“Underworld?”
“The supernatural world most humans don’t know about.”
Pause. “You mean, there are other creatures? Like vampires?”
“And succubi, incubi, demons, angels, witches, warlocks, faeries.”
Her face lit up. For the first time in a while, she felt like a kid again. “That’s awesome!”
His brows raised.
“I, er, read a lot of fantasy books to ‘escape’ while growing up.” And still do, but she didn’t want to look any more like a dork than she already did. “Anyplace was better than home, you know?”
He smiled, seeming amused. “I see.”
Her mind spun with questions. Who knew there was a whole other world out there, one she’d only dreamed of?
Maybe life was more magical than she thought. Maybe there was more to look forward to than working for “the man,” always owing on taxes, and never being able to pay rent on time. She started to open her mouth, another question on her tongue, when a yawn escaped instead. “Jeez,” she said, blushing, “sorry. I didn’t realize I was so worn out.”
Gage shifted his weight. “You should rest. You’ve had a tiring day. I’ll sleep on the rug.”
She wanted to talk to him more, but she couldn’t argue that sleep sounded fantastic. She caught his hand as he started to stand. “Stay with me?”
It was nearly inaudible, but he sucked in a tiny breath. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. With that man still on the loose, she wanted to be as close to Gage as possible.
She wanted to feel safe, plus she was too tired to fight the urge to be near him. She couldn’t begin to understand it. Nothing about the whole situation made sense. Hell, up until he’d literally shifted in front of her, she’d been ready to tie the bed sheets together and scale the side of the building in hopes of escaping. But there was one thing she’d noticed ever since he’d Marked her - she craved his touch, to be as close to him as possible.
Starting with right now.
To her disappointment, he pulled on some pants before they pulled back the covers. She climbed in then waited for him. And waited. “What are you doing?”
“I was going to sleep on top of the covers.”
She suppressed a giggle. “After what we did earlier, you’re going to be shy now?”
That look of arousal spread through his eyes. Without a word, he crawled under the sheets with her and wrapped his arms around her as she laid her head on his chest. They lay there, staring at the fire. It was so cozy, nothing at all like her rundown apartment.
Home sweet mansion.
“What do you think is going to happen?”
“I don’t know,” he said after a while. He held her tighter, reminding her of his earlier promise, that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
She intended for that promise to work both ways.
She snuggled closer to him, spreading her fingers over the taut muscles in his chest. Exhaustion began overtaking her, turning the world blurry and her thoughts to mush.
“If this is what forever would look like with you, I can’t say I’d mind.”
She was asleep before she could hear his response, a smile on her face. For the first time in a while, she was content. Maybe she would have tried to savor it a little bit longer if she’d known it would all come crashing down the next day.
Chapter 8
Gage didn’t sleep the entirety of the night for fear he’d doze off and wake to find this had all been a dream. As the early morning sunlight spilled through the window and onto the blonde of his mate’s hair, he marveled at how angelic she looked. Her face was peaceful, that same tiny smile spread across her cherry lips she’d had when she’d fallen asleep in his arms last night. She’d accepted him when he told her about his past, about the future she would face. And his brave she-wolf had taken it all with surprising grace and strength. She was more than he ever could have hoped for. His sweet, perfect Danica.
A stray curl of blonde hair lay across her cheek. Gently, he stroked it back, his heart swelling as she whimpered and snuggled closer to him.
A soft knock at the door diverted his attention.
What is it? he said telepathically, not bothering to hide his irritability. Since Danica had come barreling into his life, he never wanted to be disturbed while in her presence. He never wanted to take another second with her for granted.
Sorry, man, Nik’s voice said in his mind. But we’ve got a lead on the witch.
Where?
She runs a private practice. Lives out in the boondocks about an hour from here.
Be right out. Have the car ready in ten. Fetch Erik. He’s coming with us.
Gage heard Nik hurry away. He hated rousing Danica, but he wasn’t about to leave her here. No, he was never going to let her out of his sight again.
He nuzzled her neck. She sighed and stretched out beside his mostly naked form. Slowly, her eyes opened and she smiled. With the light caught in her hair, she looked like sunshine. Hell, if every morning was going to be like this, he never wanted to get out of bed again.
“Morning,” she said sleepily.
“Morning,” he said gently. “I’m sorry to wake you, but we have a lead on the witch who helped Onyx.”
She sat straight up. “Well, what are we waiting for?”
He grinned, his admiration fo
r her growing. Good lord, he was falling hard and fast for this one. He just hoped they didn’t crash before they’d been able to bond forever.
Gage had already prepared his room with a change of clothes for her. It seemed natural, with her being his future queen. They both got out of bed and dressed in a hurry before meeting Nik and Erik downstairs. Nik was wearing typical battle attire - sweatpants and a hoodie that had a picture of a bottle of moonshine and a caption that read “I got Moonstruck in Moonstruck.” Not the cleverest title, but he seemed to like wearing it, calling it his “lucky sweatshirts.”
Erik was dressed a little more practically. The older wolf had on camo, the dog tags from his army days dangling around his neck. Gage and Danica greeted them. “Thanks for coming,” Gage told Erik.
He chuckled, shaking his head. “After serving that prick Malachite for so long, I’m never going to get used to hearing my Alpha actually thanking me for doing something he could have easily commanded me to do.”
Danica looked at him curiously.
“Alphas can force their cohorts to do their bidding,” Gage explained. “Some abuse that power, turning their packmates into slaves.”
“That’s terrible.”
“It was,” Gage replied, then led her down the steps.
The car was waiting out front, the heater going full blast. Nik and Erik took the front seats while Gage and Danica crawled into the back.
He stared out the window, brooding. The more he thought about it, the more taking Danica along seemed like a bad idea. But the thought of leaving her here, unprotected….
She wouldn’t be unprotected, though, would she? his conscience said slyly. She would just be where he couldn’t see her, which would drive him bonkers. He had no intention of hovering over her, but considering the situation, he failed to see how he could do anything but. He couldn’t afford to be reckless about this, not when it meant losing the thing he valued most on this earth.
“You’re worrying.”
Gage looked up to find Danica watching him curiously. “I’m fine. Just thinking,” he lied.
