Scarlett narrowed her eyes and sat in silence. He wasn’t offended. He knew just what she was doing, having done it a million times himself. In her mind’s eye she could see her wolf living as a separate being inside of her. Soon, maybe even instantly, they would start to fight for dominance.
It was never clear who won that battle. In his case, they’d come to a pleasant impasse. Sometimes Michael won, sometimes it was the wolf. At his age, he knew when to let the canine have his say. Younger shifters fought tooth and nail for control and in the case of Nero’s pack here in New Orleans they’d apparently been taught to hurt their wolves, to dominate them completely.
Westervelt was different. There were some members of Tristan’s pack who, although they walked around on two feet, were clearly more wolf than man. Lately, Michael worried his brother, Gabriel, was going through a major power change with his wolf. Normally, it wasn’t a problem but it was highly unusual to have it happen at Gabriel’s age. Michael saw less and less of the human side of his brother.
Scarlett looked up at him. “She’s kind of skittish.”
He’d seen that earlier. He placed the warm cloth on the back of her neck. “I imagine she’s been through a lot, watching you suffer, unable to help.”
“She’s embarrassed that she hid. She was afraid because she wasn’t with her pack. She was terrified to show herself here.”
“You can tell her from me we’ll be leaving shortly.” Immediately, if he got his way. “Let’s go put together a suitcase. We can go to your apartment and get your stuff.”
She stood up and crossed to her discarded shirt from earlier. Putting it on, he was treated to a nice view of her ass as she searched for her underwear. Michael decided leaving wasn’t important. Not when Scarlett walked around naked.
His groin got hard at the sight. She turned around with her eyebrow raised. “I think I just recognized a new scent.”
“Oh yeah?” He couldn’t help his grin. “What would that be?”
“Arousal.”
She moved forward with a distinct sway in her step. She bit down on her lower lip and he was surprised he didn’t come right there. Scarlett was having no trouble with eye contact at the moment.
If anything she looked like a sexy, confident vixen.
“Michael?”
His throat went dry and he had trouble speaking. Finally, he managed. “Yes?”
“I was thinking about our sex earlier.”
“Okay.” Hell, he was becoming the king of one-word answers.
“And I was thinking about how you put your mouth on me.”
Her words brought the image back to him. The way her succulent pussy had exploded in his mouth. Gods, he wanted to do it again. His cock jumped in response.
Scarlett looked down, her cheeks red when she regarded him. “You remember it too.”
“Seeing as it was only a little while ago, I’d have to be pretty dense not to remember it.”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “You are pretty old. Maybe you just forget things easily now.”
“Ouch, it hurts.” Stepping forward, he grabbed her. “You’re maligning me. I have the body of a thirty year old guy.”
“Yes.” She leaned forward and kissed him. “It’s your mind I was questioning.”
“Wounded. You have mortally wounded me.”
She bit on her lip again and he groaned. “So anyway…”
“Yes?” Whatever she was going to say he wanted her to say. The way this conversation was going he was sure he would like it.
“I was thinking I might like to put my mouth on you like you did me.”
He had no words to answer her. What should he say? ‘Please, Scarlett, do it.’ Or maybe he should beg. Although that might seem pathetic…
“Would you like that, Michael?”
Managing to nod, he was still shocked when she fell to her knees before him. Reaching out, her small hand encircled his shaft. Gods, he wasn’t sure he would make it this time. On the bed, earlier, when he’d suggested she fondle him it hadn’t been for purely selfish reasons. No, he’d wanted to instill some kind of confidence in her. To make his member seem less of a threat. It had worked.
Now, however, as her mouth touched the top of his cock, he was feeling like the luckiest guy on earth and happy to indulge in the feeling. “Wow.”
Her mouth was tight and moist as she moved up and down, taking him deep into her throat and then slightly releasing him. Back and forth, in a rhythm that was pure Scarlett. He caressed the back of her head, massaging her neck, anything to keep physical contact with her outside of what she did to him.
“That’s it, baby, just like that.”
Not that she needed any encouragement. She was amazing. He, by contrast, would be lucky if his knees didn’t buckle and he didn’t fall right on the floor.
Suddenly, it wasn’t enough. He needed to be inside of her. Feeling his balls tighten, he knew he was close.
“Stop,” he begged, and was relieved when she listened.
“Did I do it wrong?”
“No.” He pulled her up to kiss her hard on the mouth. “I need to be inside of you.”
“I bet I could make you come like this.”
He nodded. “That’s a sure bet. You could but I really, really want to feel your sweet pussy around me again.”
Leaning her back on the bed, he crawled on top of her. She was so beautiful with her long, curly dark hair displayed behind her. Promising himself that someday he would lose himself for a while in her dark strands, he reached down to another place where Scarlett’s exquisite hair dominated his attention.
Finding her sweet spot, he pressed on the bundle of nerves until she gasped, her neck arching backward on the bed.
“Like that?”
“Yes, please, more.”
“I’ll give you more.”
He’d give her anything she wanted, always. Moving to where his cock was positioned right on the edge of her pussy, he pushed slowly at first, not wanting to overwhelm her with his pressure.
Michael knew he was right on the edge of losing control. She wrapped her arms around his back, pressing her mouth against his chest.
“I want all of you.”
Already her core welcomed him home. Scarlett’s inner muscles clenched in greeting, nearly making him lose himself. But, no, he wasn’t ready yet. It wasn’t time.
He wanted more. In and out, he moved, trying to stimulate her clit at the same time. She made the most wonderful noises as her nails dug into his back.
“Michael, it’s so fast this time. It’s happening so fast.”
For him as well, which was why he couldn’t answer her. She needed to come. It was the most important thing in the world to him at that moment. Scarlett was everything. The universe only existed so he could please her.
Finally, as she shouted his name, he felt her sweet juices surround him. It was heaven. He was almost there…almost…
Michael lost himself inside her. He wasn’t sure where he went or how he got there, but it was okay if he never came back. In that moment, inside of his beloved, there was no pain to face. No one he loved would ever be hurt because he could and would always protect them. He could take care of her, live with her, make babies with her…
Scarlett sighed and he kissed the spot between her chin and her collarbone. Breathing in her scent, he looked down realizing he’d never taken off her shirt. “I think we were in a rush.”
She wiggled beneath him. “In the best possible way.”
What had they been talking about before his mate had made him lose his mind with lust?
His wolf supplied the answer. Getting the heck out of this heat and back to the winds off the Atlantic and our pack.
“It’s time for us to go home.”
She stretched. “Okay.”
Picking up her pants off the floor, she stood up and put them on. “I’m ready.”
“Shouldn’t we stop at your apartment and get your stuff?”
&nbs
p; Shaking her head smiled. “I don’t have any. The guys brought you my clothes. That’s it.”
Michael rubbed his nose. That was going to change. He was going to buy her things. Tons of things. Anything she wanted.
Things she didn’t know she wanted, he would get for her.
He would buy her things she could return because she didn’t want them anymore.
“I love you, Scarlett.”
Her smile lit up the room. “I love you too, Michael, and now, forever,” she touched her chest. “I’ll carry part of your soul in here with me.”
She was right. That was exactly what happened now.
Scarlett wasn’t done talking. “I’ll take care of it while you take care of everyone else.”
He kissed her nose. “Someday it’ll be safe for us in the world. I promise you.”
Somehow, he would make that happen.
Chapter 10
SCARLETT looked down at the floor as they walked out of the bedroom in Cole’s house. She held onto Michael’s hand tightly. It felt odd to be leaving New Orleans. For better or worse, despite the small memories she had of her first three years of life, and even those she wasn’t sure where they actually were from, she’d lived here her whole life.
Abruptly they came to a stop as she, and she assumed Michael, were all but overwhelmed by the scent of forty-five wolves.
What do you think they all want? She loved hearing his voice speak telepathically in her mind.
Maybe they’re here to say goodbye. She doubted it, but she hoped that was what it was.
Michael squeezed her hand and walked down the stairs next to her, stopping to regard the group at the bottom.
“What’s going on?”
Michael spoke to the group, not one person in particular. Scarlett supposed anyone could answer.
It was Barge who spoke. Out of the three of them—Todd, Barge and Seamus—he’d always been the quietest.
“Don’t leave, Michael.”
She couldn’t imagine what it cost emotionally for him to say that. He kept his face stoic, his emotions hidden.
“I have to. I came here for a reason.” Michael shrugged, but she could feel the tension in the way he held her hand tightly. She didn’t want to squirm as she tried to loosen his grip. After a second, he pressed less hard. “As it turns out, I didn’t find my sister, I found my mate. Still, I need to go home.”
Barge wasn’t finished. “Make this y’alls’ home.”
Scarlett wanted to shout at them to be quiet, to not ask this of Michael. She’d seen what Michael had gone through in the brief moments she’d witnessed him as Alpha.
He could lead, but the absolute truth was that he didn’t want to be. There was nothing about it that appealed to him. She wished to scream at them to be quiet, to not make him have to tell them no, to cause everyone pain. Instead, she stayed silent. This was happening.
Michael shook his head. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”
“Why not?” Todd stepped forward. “You’re making everything better. We’re better, our wolves are better.”
Michael let go of her hand and leaned against the banister of the stairs. “They will keep getting better, all of you will, if you just follow your instincts and don’t do things that feel wrong.”
Seamus stepped forward and Scarlett wondered if they’d coordinated this, practiced, in the hope he would agree.
“You could be our Alpha. You don’t have to go home and be just a member of the pack. Couldn’t you do that?”
There it was. The question Scarlett hoped they wouldn’t ask.
To her relief, Michael smiled. “I can’t.”
Seamus opened his mouth and Michael raised a hand to stop him from speaking.
“I wish I could, but one of the things you will all learn as you get older is who you are. I’m not a supreme Alpha. I tried it for thirty years. I like being a member of the pack.”
Todd scratched his head. “But you’re so Alpha, how can you like to follow anyone?”
“Being an Alpha wolf is not about leading. It’s about who you are.” Michael sat down on the step. She moved to sit next to him. “There is nothing in me that is stifled by listening to Tristan’s good judgment. He runs our pack and I make it easier for him. Besides, if you think I’m powerful you should see what some of my pack members are like. You can feel their power a mile away. It’s really amazing.”
“Michael.” Scarlett spoke up, getting his attention. This idea had brewed in her brain since they’d scented them all at the bottom of the stairs. She never would have risked stating her mind in public before, but now that she carried Michael’s soul inside of her she knew there was nothing she could do that would make him stop loving her.
His eyes found hers. She could see the stress this took on him. He never wanted to disappoint anyone. “Yes?”
“Take them with us.”
There, she had said it.
Silence filled the room.
Michael smiled but there was no mirth in it. “Truth is, I don’t even want to bring you there. It’s not safe. Westervelt is under constant attack. I could never ask anyone to live that life.”
Todd squatted so he was below Michael’s level on the floor. His intent couldn’t have been clearer: submission.
“What if we wanted to come? Would Tristan take us?”
“Tristan would take any shifter who wanted to join our wolf pack, as long as they swore loyalty.” Michael stood and moved up the steps. “But that’s a permanent thing. You don’t join Westervelt and then leave it. I can’t stress enough how dangerous it is and you’d be giving up everything to follow me. Think about that. Do you want to renounce your life here to come with me to certain danger? You might not even like me in a few days.”
Todd opened his mouth to speak and Michael stopped him again this time by speaking over him.
“Okay, here’s the deal. I needed to stop at Joe’s before I leave. Something he said yesterday is bothering me. When I get back in a few hours, anyone who wishes to come with me can. If you don’t want to, and I think you should seriously consider not coming, then consider this goodbye.”
Grabbing her hand, Michael pulled them both down the stairs and through the group of shifters.
When they were a safe distance away, he slowed his speed. Smiling with a sad look in his eyes, he sighed. “Sorry about the near-run out of there.”
“I knew they weren’t going to just let you leave.”
“Maybe we should have snuck out in the middle of the night.” He shook his head. “I could never do that.”
She squeezed his fingers. “I know you couldn’t, which is why you’re you.”
“It won’t be easy for them. They’ll have to be trained. Cullen and Gabriel are taskmasters. Then there’s the constant fear of being blown up by my father.”
“Yes, there is all that.” She cleared her throat. “But there is also having you there, having a real leader, having a chance at a real shifter life, having something to fight for instead of just fighting.”
He shook his head. “Don’t romanticize it.”
“I’m not.” She stopped walking. “Are we really going to Joe’s or did you make that up?”
“We’re really going to Joe’s.”
“Okay, then we need a car unless you want to walk all day.”
He laughed, some of the joy that had vanished reappearing in his gaze. “Good call. If it’s just you and me going back to Maine, we can fly. If it’s more than us we’ll need to drive anyway since we’ll never all get on the same plane.”
“Should we go to the car rental?”
She knew where that was. Every time Zack had destroyed one of his cars, she’d had to go rent him a new one while he picked out the next one to buy. In the meantime the rest of the pack took the bus everywhere they went, since all of their money went to Zack, Cole or Nero.
“Do you have a driver’s license?”
“I do, but I don’t have a car.”
Where was
Michael going with this? The hair on the back of her neck stood up as she realized her mate was up to something.
“Great. Let’s go to where we can get a taxi.”
Without another word, he pulled her down the street.
* * * *
Hours later, she still couldn’t believe what had happened. Michael had bought her a car. She sat in the front seat of it, gripping the steering wheel; still unable to believe he’d done that.
She hadn’t even known you could walk into a car dealership and walk out with a car the same day. Evidently you could if you paid cash and you bought one that was already on the lot. Her hands shook on the steering wheel as she pulled it into a space outside Joe’s store.
“I’m still without words.”
He grinned, the same satisfied smile he’d been giving her since he’d marched into the place and picked out a car for her. “I think it handled really nicely. You do like the color don’t you?”
She did. It was silver. Having never thought to own a car, she found she liked everything about it instantly, down to the position of the cup holders. “Are there are a lot of cars on Westervelt?”
“None, actually. We don’t have roads. We leave our cars in a lot we own on the mainland.”
Gasping, she gripped the wheel tighter until it felt as if her hands might bleed. “You want me to leave it somewhere? What if someone takes it?”
“It’s a covered, monitored lot. As far as I know, no one has ever had a problem with theft. Not too much of that going on in rural Maine. However, if you’re concerned, let me reassure you that the insurance on it will replace it if it’s stolen.”
Tears filled her eyes. “You have to understand, no one has ever bought me anything…and this is huge.”
“Hey, there.” He pulled her across the center console into his arms. “It’s okay. This is just the first of many gifts.”
“No.” She shook her head. “You don’t have to buy stuff for me. You just have to be you.”
“Buying stuff for you is me being me.”
It was the same argument they’d had at the car lot.
Her wolf panted inside of her. Don’t make him mad.
If most people had to fight their wolves for dominance, she had to argue with hers not to make her more afraid than she should be. It was a strange circumstance, considering she’d never been that brave to begin with. Now, however, she had Michael’s soul to strengthen her.
Alpha Wolf (The Westervelt Wolves Book 5) Page 10
