by DD Prince
I want that.
I want it fiercely.
***
I wake to the smell of bacon, to music, and to singing. Terrible singing from my Ivy and it makes me smile.
Like I think her silly purple bits in her hair are cute, I also think her bad singing is cute.
I’m alone in the bed and I like that it smells like her, but I find that my back is a bit stiff. Time for a new bed.
If not for the bacon smell and the sound of her singing, I’d wake up frantic.
I rise and pull my black stretchy pants on, then stop in the doorway and lean against the frame. Ivy is at the stove, singing a song off-key while she tends the bacon.
Music plays from her computer tablet where a female singer chants about being a bad guy.
I sneak up and slip my arms around her waist.
She startles. My skin stings as the sizzling bacon spits at my forearm. I pull her back a step to protect her and then spin her.
She looks up at me with shock all over her face. Her hair is pulled up into a ball on top of her head and she’s wearing one of my long-sleeved shirts. It comes to her knees. She has those pink rubber shoes on again.
“Good morning,” she greets. “You snuck up on me!”
“Good morning,” I kiss her and take her ass cheeks into both hands. She’s not wearing panties.
I suck on my mark on her and she giggles.
“Ooh. Can you do that after we eat? I don’t wanna burn breakfast.”
“You’re putting weight on your ankle, Ivy. You’re not supposed to do that.” I lift her and set her bottom on the table, which is set with two cups of honey tea and a bowl of diced fruit between the two plates.
“I’m making us BLTs. It doesn’t hurt too much today. Cat said give it a day and see how I feel.” She hops down and tries to hide a wince as she lands on her foot.
“Ivy,” I growl, “she’s coming soon so don’t walk on it until she looks at it.”
“Are you gonna finish cooking breakfast then?” she asks, putting her hand to her hip and shifting her weight to her non injured foot. She has a haughty look on her face.
“Yes,” I say, scoop her up, and set her on a chair. “Stay there.”
“You’re lucky you’ve got no shirt on or I might argue with you.”
She lifts a piece of strawberry from the bowl and pops it in her mouth. “Go for it.” She gestures, looking at me with a smug look on her face.
She likes it when I have no shirt on? Good information for me to know.
“Instruct me.”
“The bacon is done.” Her neck is stretched so she can see from her seat. “Use the fork and put it on that plate lined with paper towel. I already sliced tomatoes and got lettuce ready so all you gotta do, big guy, is make the toast. You don’t have a toaster so the oven will do.” She jerks her chin toward the bread. “I preheated the oven already.”
I burn myself twice with the bacon. I like this meat, but I don’t like the burn of how it spits at me.
I toast the bread inside the oven, checking constantly by opening and closing the door because the light inside it doesn’t work, and burn my hand removing it. She gets up to try to help me and I growl in response, startling her.
“Sit.”
“I was just gonna help you…” She looks like her feelings are hurt.
I put the pan with the toasted bread on the counter and crouch in front of her.
“I wanna make you breakfast. I don’t want you on that foot. Tell me how to make it.” I kiss her kneecap and caress her calf near the sore ankle. “Don’t be cross with me Ivy, look at my muscles.” I flex my biceps and she giggles.
“Better? I can get away with bossy when I do this?” I flex my chest and then turn and flex so she can see muscles in my back.
“Alright, studly, bring everything to the table and we can assemble the BLTs together,” she says softly.
I lean over, kiss her temple, and then I do that.
We eat the sandwiches and what she’s told me is called fruit salad and then I carry her to the bed so I can fuck her, but she informs me that she needs to shower and dress for my mother’s visit.
“But I haven’t fucked you since last night,” I protest.
“You’ll survive a few more hours,” she says, patting my chest soothingly with playfulness in her eyes.
“I don’t wanna wait a few more hours,” I complain, suckling her neck where my mark is. She shivers and thrusts her fingers into my hair. I put a knee to the bed and take her to her back, then grind my erection against her. This gets me what I want, a whimper, and her legs spreading wide.
“I won’t wait a few more hours. I want you now.”
“Ty, they’re gonna be here soon,” she says, breathily, but despite her protest, she’s now rocking against my cock.
“I’ll fuck you fast, Ivy,” I say, hauling my hardened cock out of my pants, finding her sopping wet pussy with the tip and then I shove in, fast, deep.
“It’s been too long since I’ve been inside you,” I inform as I hear her cry out.
“Mm. Way too lo-onnggg,” she sings out.
I purr and this makes her eyelashes flutter.
My fingers go to her clit while the inside of her body strokes my cock and I feel like a king, seeing her lie beneath me with her beautiful hair spread out over the pillow, her teeth embedded in her bottom lip as she lets out these sexy little sounds, responding to what I’m doing to her. Her inner walls go extra-tight around me as she comes, beautifully crying out “baby,” to me while she digs her fingernails into my shoulders.
The bite of it feels fantastic. My mouth finds hers and I groan into her as I knot. Her cries get louder.
“Oh wow. Ty, Ty, baby…” she cries loudly as my knot vibrates and that’s when I hear a car, two cars, and catch the faint scent of Cat, Riley, and Bailey. They’re on the property.
I spill into Ivy and she’s oblivious to the approach of the three of them.
By the time there’s a knock on the door, I’ve just finished emptying into her.
“Oh fuzz,” she says. “Shit. She’s here. I’m a mess. Go. Stall them.” Her face is red, and her hair is a mess. A beautiful mess.
“What? Stall them?”
“Let me get myself presentable. Talk to her for a minute so I can get a fast shower. She’s a werewolf, too, right? I don’t want her to smell the sex on me. Go!”
I laugh and pull jeans on as well as a shirt and then lift her out of bed and take her to the bathroom so I can set her on the toilet. I do this despite her protesting that she can walk and that I should hurry.
“They know we’re here; they’ll smell us. I’m sure they can wait one minute, Ivy.”
“Bring my bags in here, please.” She looks red in the face and panicked. “All of them.”
“Okay, okay.”
I answer the door to Cat, Bailey, and Riley. They’ve all come with things. Riley is standing back, off the porch. Bailey carries food and Cat has a large box filled with things.
I open the door wide. “Come in.” I jerk my chin at Riley. “Come.”
They come inside.
“Ivy’s just getting ready.”
“I smell food,” Bailey says. “We’re starving.”
“I smell more than food,” Riley says low with a smirk, pulling a box on wheels with a handle.
My lip curls instinctively.
He waves his hand. “Sorry, cuz. Just taking a shot at you. It’s just brotherly teasing.” He punches my shoulder playfully and I realize he means no harm. Our eyes meet and something sinks in, deep. In that moment, I know without question that he respects my bond with Ivy, that he’s even happy for it. That my bond with her is what he feels will bring me into their pack.
I don’t know how I know all this, but I do.
A pack doesn’t try to steal your female from you. They think of you as part of their family and by extension, her. As it should be. Not as Cornelius told it to me.
These men h
elped me when Ivy got bit by the venomous snake. If not for them… I hate to think of it.
“Ivy told me yesterday that you didn’t have a coffee machine, so I brought my old one for you. We brought coffee and lunch, too, though you two have already eaten so I guess---”
“I can eat again,” I say.
Cat squeezes my hand with a big smile on her face and I have the urge to drop a kiss on her forehead. I don’t. I just stare as she begins to unpack the things she’s brought.
I remember Ivy needs her bags.
“Burned off some calories, did you?” Riley jokes.
“Would’ve burned off more if you people weren’t on time,” I joke back on my way into the bedroom.
I feel a strange and foreign lightness in my chest as he laughs good naturedly.
I open the bathroom door just enough to set the bags inside. Ivy is in the tub with her leg hanging over.
“Thanks, baby,” she says, smiling as she lathers up her soapy hair and scrubs it.
My eyes flash with heat at her nudity. She’s beautiful.
“Call me when you need help out. Be careful,” I order.
She waves at me with a dismissive look on her face that I don’t like. I don’t want her falling and injuring herself.
I shut the door and return to the living area.
Riley is still looking amused. He’s now sitting on the sofa and looking around. “This place is a hovel, Ty.”
“It is. I want to make it better for her.”
“Don’t,” Riley says. “There’s a beautiful house for you in Arcana Falls.”
I say nothing, because it’s not something I can even think about right now.
It’s as if he reads my mind.
“I get it. You’re learning how to live with your mate. You want privacy first, to find a rhythm in your life with her before you get bogged down with the pack and pack responsibilities. The pack is going to be all about bringing the two of you into the fold and it’ll be overwhelming after your upbringing. So, you don’t have to jump immediately, but Tyson… we’re there. Don’t spend energy on this place. Use it for now as you and your mate get closer, and then when you’re ready, it’s there.”
“We have the strawberry moon party this weekend, Tyson,” Bailey says. “You and Ivy should come. Spend time with us for an evening. You can either stay at your house and at least see it, feel the energy there, or come here after.”
She is setting the coffee maker up on the counter. Cat is washing my and Ivy’s breakfast dishes.
“I agree,” Riley says.
Cat keeps washing.
I stretch to catch a look at her face, and I can’t read it. I do read emotion from her though. Or more, feel it.
“The car is all fixed,” Riley tells me. “Here.” He passes me the keys. There’s a long silver square on the keychain that says “Drama Queen” with sparkled purple stones. I flip it over and it says Ivy on it. I tuck the keys in my pocket. “Who do I pay? You?”
“Naw, no worries. It’s our pleasure.”
“Thanks,” I say.
Bailey smiles at me. “Worried she’s gonna run off again?”
Cat makes a tsk sound and gives Bailey a look.
“Oops, sorry. I have no filter. Whatever I’m thinking just comes straight out of my mouth. It’s sometimes a problem.”
“At least with a personality like that, there’s no deception to worry about,” I say.
She smiles nervously and shrugs. I see Cat’s eyes on me.
“Yeah, I told her and Grey to give you time, but they came here last night anyway,” Riley says with disapproval in his voice.
I say nothing. I’m not about to encourage these people to barge in on my life but I’m also not quite ready to discourage it either. Truthfully, I’ve got mixed feelings about all of it but more than anything, I’m intrigued by the prospect of everything they have to offer. I don’t know if it’s me, don’t know if I’m built that way after my whole life being as it has been. It might be too late.
A few moments later, Ivy is emerging from the bathroom. Her hair is damp and in a braid and she’s wearing black tight pants and a black top with a hood. She has her thumbs through hoops on the long sleeves of the top. She’s wearing pink socks and she has her face painted.
“Hi everybody,” she waves shyly.
I move quickly to her and lift her up into my arms.
“On your feet, I see,” Cat says, and dries her hands on a towel before moving away from the sink.
“Trying,” Ivy says at the same time as I mutter, “Against my wishes.”
“Is that coffee I smell?” Ivy gasps. “Ooh, coffeecoffeecoffee!” She claps her hands.
I smile at her excitement. She certainly likes coffee, it seems.
“Is coffee that good, my only?”
“It’s better!”
“I brought my old coffeemaker,” Cat replies. “And some coffee, sugar, French vanilla creamer like you said you liked, and we brought lunch.”
“God bless you!” Ivy says enthusiastically.
I sit on the couch on the opposite end of where Riley sits and keep Ivy on my lap.
Riley rises and moves to the table and sits in the chair opposite Bailey.
Ivy moves off my lap, but stays beside me.
I grab her and haul her back up where I’d put her.
“Ty,” she grumbles. “He’s all about PDA,” she tells them with a pretty pink hue to her cheeks.
“PDA?”
“Public displays of affection,” she says.
Cat sits on the edge of the sofa in the place Riley vacated and lifts Ivy’s calf, putting her foot on her lap.
“I left the dressing off because I knew you were here,” she says. “I kept it dry. Just took a quick bath and left my foot out. It was trickier this time getting out without Ty helping me. I nearly wiped out.” She laughs.
“Why didn’t you call me?” I demand.
The idea she struggled and could have been hurt bothers me deeply.
“I managed,” she says. “You were entertaining guests.”
A growl comes up from my chest.
“It’s okay, big guy. I’m fine.” She pats my thigh.
I grab her hand and give her a look that shows my disapproval, but I also like her hand there, so I squeeze it affectionately and keep it there under mine.
“This is Riley, my nephew, and that’s Bailey, a good friend and part of our pack,” Cat says.
“Hi!” Bailey greets. “I run the library and maintain the pack archives. It’s great to meet you.”
“Hi,” Ivy gives Bailey a big smile. “Hello. Thanks for your help, Riley,” she says, giving Riley a nod.
“I’m glad we were able to get you to Aunt Cat quickly,” Riley says softly.
The coffee machine beeps three times and Bailey jumps up. “How does everyone take their coffee, other than Ivy? I’ve already got those orders.”
“I’ve never had it,” I say.
“Make Ty’s black first and see if he likes it,” Riley suggests. “That’s how I take it. These girls tend to take it like it’s dessert.” He makes a face of disgust.
“I like the sound of that,” I tell him. “Make mine like dessert, Bailey Blackwood.”
Bailey smirks and pulls cups down out of the cabinet.
Riley snickers.
“You might want to wash those. I’ve only gotten half his dishes washed and nothing up on that top shelf,” Ivy calls over.
31
Ivy
The coffee is amazing, and Ty is taking it all in. He was in a great mood before they got here, being all playful and sweet with his usual can’t-keep-his-hands-off-me edge. He’s listening to everything they say, and I could swear he’s cataloguing everything about them. Paying extra-close attention. I can only imagine that this is all strange for him, but I do think it’d be really good if he built a relationship with them.
Part of me thinks this because I know that it’ll be easier on him if I’m gone
for him to have people. I don’t want to think of him simply going into the woods and a lonely wolf forever because there’s nothing else for him. When I let myself think that, it hurts. I don’t know how I’ve gotten so attached so quickly.
Maybe because he has. It’s hard not to respond to this kind of devoted 24/7 attention from someone.
I like Bailey so far. Cat is fantastic. And I’m sure there are many more of them in the pack. It’s a small village but they’ve got hundreds of people, apparently. Cat mentioned in passing yesterday at her clinic before Ty rushed us out of there that she took care of everyone as the town healer and that she had a couple hundred patients of all ages from newborns to the village’s oldest resident who is 102 years old.
Am I thinking about having them in my life long-term, too? Am I thinking about staying? It’s crazy. I don’t love the idea of being out here in no man’s land with barely any creature comforts, but I really am getting kinda lost in Tyson. He’s dreamy. Like, six foot four, probably, and with all those muscles and that sexy jaw line, those expressive eyes. There’s also those full lips that are strong, but yet pillowy-soft when he kisses me. Massive hands that know what they’re doing when they touch me. Abs for days and a body I can curl up and sleep on. And then there’s the sex. The supernatural vibrating locking-himself-inside of me sex. And the protectiveness. And the treating me like he worships me.
A girl could get used to that. Most guys that are this attractive certainly don’t act this way because they know they have the upper hand with women. No vulnerability, and usually so much ego.
Thinking like this is not real practical. I have a job, a life, a family. But then, people move away for love all the time, don’t they?
This guy thinks I’m his soulmate.
I don’t have a boyfriend and I always figured I’d want to be married and having kids before I hit thirty.
But I hadn’t met any contenders before. This kind of relationship is hard to come by.
Understatement, because of who he is, because of what he is.
Why me? What about me is so special that he’s sure we’re meant to be?
It’s crazy to be thinking this stuff over after just a couple days together. I need to just cool it and enjoy this. When these guys leave, I’ll turn my phone on, talk to my mom, check in about the boutique and go from there.
