by Cara Wylde
“Welcome to Clan Sylfur, my bride. Let’s drink to us.”
Amelia smiled as their glasses made a soft clink. “To us.” What else could she do? She was sure there were women who found Blake attractive, but she wasn’t one of them and there was nothing she could do about it. She liked big, burly men with wide shoulders, bulky chests, and rock hard abs. She liked rough, calloused hands that would squeeze and rub her curves just right, and Blake had none of that. His hands were rather small and smooth, the hands of someone who had spent years and years reading, researching, and writing. Seth, on the other hand… Seth had it all. She took a sip of wine and moaned as the rich liquid made its way down her throat. “Mmm… delicious.” She’d need alcohol to make it through the night. A lot of alcohol.
Blake grabbed his fork and knife, a sign that it was okay to start eating. “So, tell me: what do you think of Ekviknuna? Do you like it here? How is your room? Have you met any of the clan members?”
Amelia chewed on her piece of roasted potato, swallowed, then answered carefully. Small talk. She could do small talk. “Oh, I love it! I thought it would be difficult for me to get used to the new time zone, but it was quite easy. I’ve met your father, but I guess you already know that.”
“He told me all about it.”
He smiled again and Amelia decided she liked his smile. It was nice and friendly. Maybe they could at least be friends. “I also met your uncles. Aaron and Elena, of course, and many people at the docks. They’ve all been great!”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“Yes, I already feel like home here.” She didn’t. “The room is nice and cozy…” She hesitated. “I didn’t expect to have a room of my own, so…”
Blake took another sip of wine and cleared his throat. “Yes, about that… I thought it would be better for us to have separate rooms until, you know, we get used to each other.”
Amelia didn’t mind but although she felt nothing for him, she still wondered why he hadn’t made any efforts to… well, know her better until now.
“I should have been the one to welcome you and show you around town, but I was busy. I hope you understand. I don’t want you to feel offended, but…”
“Not at all,” she whispered.
“… preparing to become the main Inari of Clan Sylfur is everything to me and my father. I know Seth told you a bit about the situation. I asked him to.”
“He didn’t tell me much…” The conversation was getting interesting. Also, she was starting to make an idea about what kind of man Blake was, and she couldn’t complain about her discoveries. He was wise, focused, and determined. She liked that.
“Yes, there is so much more you need to know.” He looked straight into her eyes, as if he was trying to read into her soul.
Amelia shuddered when Blake leaned forward and covered her hand with his. His fingers were long, bony, and as cold as ice. He squeezed her hand gently.
“Seth couldn’t have made a better choice. I knew I could trust him to find me the best fox-bride the boarding schools had to offer. Amelia, we have so many things to talk about and so much to do. All I ask of you is to be patient a while longer. I’m sorry it took me so long to find some time to see you. Please believe me when I tell you that you are important to me and this wait was necessary.”
“Why was it necessary?” Her brown eyes bore into his, begging for some answers she knew she wouldn’t get. Not today.
“I had to be sure.”
“Sure about what?”
“That you are the one.”
“You mean your mate? You had to be sure that I’m your mate?” Could this be any more confusing?
Blake let go of her hand and smiled. “Let’s eat. Salmon isn’t as good if it’s cold.”
She cocked a thin, perfectly arched eyebrow, but didn’t press on. He’d give her all the answers in his own time. Fox-shifters were so fussy and difficult. It was a good thing that being raised to become a shifter-bride had worked out for her and she had never felt any desire to rebel against the very much condemnable system. She was better off here, in the heart of Alaska, married to this strange, yet friendly and easy-going guy, than somewhere in London, trying to make it after having spent most of her life in a filthy orphanage. If Miss Delacroix hadn’t bought her from the orphanage and brought her to Alma Venus, she wouldn’t have known so many foreign languages now, she wouldn’t have read the classics, or even been able to use a fork and a knife properly, like a true lady. What would she have done to earn her bread? Worked in a fast food restaurant? Washed dishes? No. The peace treaty between humans and shape-shifters sucked on many levels, especially when it came to the clause about shifter-brides, but it had worked for her. So, she ate her dinner and talked about nothing in particular with her husband. It was quite clear he wouldn’t want her to spend the night with him, and that helped her relax.
***
“So… how was it?”
Seth’s voice startled Amelia. Her hand flew to her chest and she exhaled softly. The corridor was sunken in darkness, and she had been too lost in her own thoughts to notice Seth leaning against the door frame.
“It was great. What are you doing here?”
He didn’t move, and Amelia crossed her arms under her breasts. He was blocking her way.
“You were in there for so long. I didn’t expect you to have more than a quick dinner with him.”
“We talked about many things after dinner and went through the text he’s studying. What’s up with you?” Seth was acting weird and she didn’t know what to make of it. Why did he care about how much time she spent with Blake? It was ridiculous.
The Beta didn’t speak for a long minute. He was looking past Amelia’s shoulder, his gaze fixed on an indefinite spot on the wall. She switched her weight on her left foot, feeling a bit uncomfortable in her high heels. She still couldn’t look at his face, and because he was so much taller than her, her eyes had a nice view of his strong chest.
“You were in the woods yesterday,” he said softly.
Amelia’s heart started beating faster.
“You sneaked behind the shed. Did you think I wouldn’t hear you…”
“I don’t know what you’re…” But the words died on her lips. She felt as if he had just hit her in the stomach.
“… sense you… smell you?” His eyes finally searched hers, but she wouldn’t hold his gaze. He gently grabbed her chin and tilted her head back, forcing her to meet his eyes. “Look at me, Amelia.”
“What do you want from me? I’m sorry, okay? It was stupid, so stupid of me… I don’t know why I did it. Please don’t tell Blake, please…”
“I know why you did it.”
He was so close now she could feel his warm breath on her lips. Butterflies were dancing in her stomach and her knees were threatening to give in, melt under her and let her body fall into his arms. Would he catch her?
“You did it for the same reason you’re not fighting me now.” He leaned in further and his nose touched the wide curls covering her ear. “Your scent… You’re wet, so wet… I can smell your juices and it’s driving me insane.” He growled low in his throat, letting her know he was barely containing the fox inside him. “I could smell you yesterday. So ripe and intoxicating, so ready for me…”
Amelia struggled to find her voice. She couldn’t pull away, but she could at least tell him how wrong this was. “What are you doing?” She felt his lips press a tentative kiss right under her ear and she almost let out a moan. But if she could control the sounds she made, she had no control over the way her body responded to his touches. Her pussy clenched and her nipples turned into hard pebbles under the lace of her bra. “Seth, you can’t… Blake…”
“Don’t worry about Blake.” He became bolder. His hand sneaked to the back of her head while his other arm circled her waist and pulled her close to his body. “I tried to stay away from you. I tried.”
Now she couldn’t look away from his purple eyes and luscious lips.
She lost all resolve when she felt his erection against her belly. She couldn’t believe this man was so hard for her.
“I was handling it well enough, but then you decided to sneak up on me and torture my senses with the scent of your arousal.”
“Seth…” She parted her lips and he immediately took advantage of her small gesture. His tongue sought entrance the moment their lips met, and Amelia happily let it explore her mouth. Her hands flew to his messy blond hair and her fingers pulled at the strands when he rubbed his hard cock against her body. His left hand went to squeeze her butt, and Amelia decided the angle gave her the perfect opportunity to hook her leg over his hip. She was so soaked that her hot juices had ruined the thin lace of her panties and were now making their way down her inner thigh. Seth probably smelled her abundant wetness. A deep growl rumbled in his chest as his tongue swirled around hers. He caught the tip of her tongue between his lips and sucked it lightly, letting her know what he’d do to her clit when he’d get down there.
Amelia was completely helpless in his arms, but she wouldn’t have had it any other way. She rubbed her leg up and down his thigh and tousled his hair. Her brain had turned to mush, and she couldn’t even fathom the idea of pulling away even though she knew what they were doing was wrong. What she truly wanted right now was to push Seth into her room, throw him on her bed, climb on top of him and ride his cock until they both reached sweet, mind-blowing release.
“I want you,” she whispered against his lips when they broke the kiss.
“Amelia…” He licked her lips.
“I wanted you to fuck me the second I stepped into the office at Alma Venus.”
“And I wanted to fuck you the second I laid eyes on you.”
She attacked his lips again, and they kissed for a long minute until Seth finally pulled away and tried to unhook her leg from around his hip. “We need to stop.”
“Yes, yes… I know…” She pressed another forceful kiss to his mouth and he responded eagerly, then pulled away again. It was so hard to let go, but she knew she had to. Her foot connected with the wooden floor and she disentangled her fingers from his blond locks. She took a step back, and when his arms let go of her body she felt cold and empty.
“I… I have to go,” he said.
“Yes…”
He threw her one last glance, and Amelia was taken aback by the lust she saw in his eyes. She squeezed her hands into fists, her sharp nails digging painfully into her palms. He stepped away from the door then almost ran down the stairs. She stared after him for a long while before she found the strength to enter her room.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Unfaithful Bride
She knew it was a bad idea to go fishing with Seth in his boat. She had wanted to refuse him, but then Aaron and Elena insisted she needed to go out more and this was the perfect opportunity, so she ended up lying to herself that she had had no choice. She had taken a book with her, but couldn’t read a single paragraph. Her eyes were glued to the handsome Beta who was expertly preparing his hooks while telling her about fishing, which was his second favorite hobby, and how he learned everything he knew from his Alpha, Roman.
“He’s like a father to me.”
“What about your parents?”
Seth threw her a quick glance and a hesitant smile. “Long story.”
“Well, I’ve got all the time in the world and I’m not going anywhere.” She spread her arms to emphasize they were in the middle of the river.
“I don’t really like to talk about it. It’s not a pleasant story. Let’s just say that they left when I was very young and never came back.”
Amelia’s heart clenched at his words. They hit too close to home. “How young?”
“Hmm… If I had the life span of a human, I would have been considered a teenager.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
Lost in their own thoughts, neither said anything for a while. Amelia wondered if this was a good time to tell him about her own parents and the dark years she had spent in those godforsaken orphanages. But, what good would it do? No, she couldn’t make this about herself. She had no idea what had happened to his parents, and it would have been selfish of her to suggest her own story was at least as tragic as his. However, she felt the need to share it with him, which was new to her and even a bit frightening. She had never felt comfortable talking about it. The only time she had opened her heart was when Avelyn, her Alma Venus colleague, was bought by an Alpha werewolf and wanted to run away. Even then, she hadn’t done it because she needed some kind of consolation or reassurance from Avelyn, Claudia, or Delyse, but rather to make a point. It was different now, so much different. She wanted Seth to listen to her, then hug her tightly and tell her she was safe now. Those horrible people would never come after her. She ran her fingers through her wavy hair and shook her head. She had to stop thinking about this.
“So… what’s your other favorite hobby?”
“You’ll laugh at me.”
“No, I won’t!”
Two long minutes of silence. “Woodcarving…”
That was how they spent the morning… fishing, talking about woodcarving and books. Seth promised her he would take her to Bethel soon, the closest city to Ekviknuna. Amelia’s heart warmed and her face started burning when she realized how much she wanted that. How much she wanted this, in fact. What they were doing now. Flashes of what had happened two nights before flooded her mind, and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. It had been her first kiss, and she couldn’t believe she had been so bold and demanding. Since Seth had come to pick her up in the morning, she had constantly been asking herself what they were doing. Were they trying to be friends? He hadn’t said anything about the kiss, and he hadn’t mentioned Blake either. “Don’t worry about Blake”, he had said. When Roman stepped down, Seth would become Blake’s Beta. That was not how a Yako was supposed to treat his Inari. The situation boggled Amelia’s mind.
Yes, it had been a bad idea to go fishing with Seth. In his boat. But not as bad as accepting to have lunch with him at his cabin. She couldn’t help it, though. She couldn’t fight what she felt for him, couldn’t suppress her desire to talk to him, earn his smiles, innocently touch his shoulder or arm to get his attention. “Oh God, I’m in love,” she kept repeating to herself. It was new, it was surreal. It was wrong. Still, it felt so good, so sinfully satisfying. “It was a kiss, nothing more. It won’t happen again.” She was silently lecturing herself while eating the delicious fish Seth had caught that morning then cooked when they got to the cabin. “He’s perfect,” she thought. “A guy who cooks! His bride will be one lucky woman.” A pang of pain went right through her heart, but the sooner she understood that this was how things were, the better. They could be friends. They could spend time together, have lunch from time to time, maybe visit each other. They were both adults and they knew what was at stake here. “Yes, this can work. As long as I get to stare at his handsome face and listen to his smooth voice from time to time, I’ll be fine. I can do this.”
She was wrong, of course. While she was busy convincing herself that what had happened between them would never happen again, Seth was busy studying her pretty eyes, admiring her firm breasts, and replaying the kiss in his mind. Over and over and over… the addictive taste of her skin, the demanding stroke of her tongue against his. He had given himself a day to decide how to handle the situation, and the day had passed leaving him just as frustrated and turned on as he was the night he had left her standing in the middle of the dark corridor, in front of her room. He had to have her. The beast inside him craved her body, longed for the warmth of her untouched pussy… There was no way he could fight that. He knew he wasn’t thinking straight, but how could he when Amelia’s overwhelming scent drove him crazy with lust? He’d deal with Blake later. He had to quench his hunger first, the hunger to possess his mate in every way he knew.
“Seth, no… This isn’t right…” Amelia managed to whisper between kisses. The moment she th
anked for the meal and stood up, he had her in his strong arms. He was guiding her towards the bed, but her body wouldn’t fight him no matter how many times her brain screamed at her “Stop! Just push him away and leave.”
“Amelia, I want you…”
“We can’t…”
Seth grabbed her thighs and lifted her up. She hooked her legs around his hips, and he buried his face between her breasts.
“You smell so good… My love…”
What was he saying? “Seth…” She put her palms of his shoulders and pushed lightly. It was more of a gesture than a serious push.
He looked up into her eyes. “I love you.”
That was it. How was she supposed to resist that? They stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment, then Amelia dived down to capture his lips into a deep kiss. “I love you too,” she whispered before her tongue sought his.
They had no patience for sweet, romantic lovemaking. Seth let her fall on the bed, and Amelia immediately lifted herself up and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. He fell atop of her and his hands started ravaging her body, squeezing her breasts, rubbing her sides, and groping her round hips. Their clothes were in the way, but not for long as they pulled and yanked, tearing up the offending material and making buttons fly and hit the floor with soft clinks. Amelia got rid of his shirt and held him at arm’s length for a minute, simply to admire his well-sculpted chest. Her fingers trembled as they massaged the soft skin, ran though the thin, blond chest hair, and pinched at his already erect nipples. Looking wasn’t enough. She attacked his neck and chest with her lips, tongue, and teeth, while Seth worked on her bra and tight jeans. She stopped to take a breath and allow him to remove the rest of her clothes, but her fingers made sure to work on the buttons of his leather pants. She couldn’t wait to feel his naked body against hers.
