by DJ Bryce
Shonda groaned.
“Ugh, I’m the worst.”
I chuckled and reached across the table for her hand.
“It’s fine, I swear,” I said, then moved my hand quickly when a jolt of awareness shot through me.
Shonda’s gaze laded on her hand as if she could still feel mine sitting there, then she brought her big brown eyes up to me.
“Gray?” she said, her voice rough.
She cleared her throat.
“Yeah?” I asked, my own tone gruff from our contact.
Shonda gulped, then looked me straight in the eye and asked, “What if we were friends with benefits while I’m here?”
All the blood rushed to my cock at her words, and I lost the ability to speak.
She hurried on.
“I know you’re looking for a human mate, and you’ve been clear that things between us will never go beyond friendship, if that’s even what we are… but, for me, it’s always been you, and if I have to leave here with the knowledge that we have no future together, I’d like to at least enjoy our time together and make memories that I can keep with me. I’m guessing since you’ve been alone since you left the pack, that means you’ve also been abstinent that entire time, unless, you have someone who comes to you…”
I shook my head.
There’d been no one.
Shonda tilted her head and continued, “So, it would be a mutually beneficial arrangement. We aren’t strangers, we like each other, and I’m pretty sure we have chemistry.” She looked down at her hand again, then back at me. “I’d really like to be with you, sexually.”
I blinked.
She blinked.
Then I unrolled my tongue and found my voice.
Her proposition would most likely end in disaster, I could see the minefields already, but, I also knew I’d never wanted to say yes to anything so badly in my life.
So, I did.
Shonda
Holy shit, he said yes.
I dropped my fork on the table with a clang.
“Great,” I managed, my voice shaking.
Was this really going to happen? Was I going to have a two-week love affair with Grayson?
Hell yes, I was!
Grayson’s gaze was positively smoldering, and I felt every sensitive part of my body tingle in response.
I felt a blush, and he grinned wickedly.
Good lord, should I tell him I’m a virgin?
He was looking at me like I was his next meal, and he was starving. I worried if I told him, he’d lose that look and handle me with care. I didn’t want to be handled with care, I wanted to be taken with all the passion he could muster.
These memories were going to have to last the rest of my life, so I wanted them to be good. Unforgettable. And, if I was lucky, dirty.
We finished our dinner, the air thick with tension, and I knew I needed something to calm my nerves, or I’d freak the fuck out and not be able to go through with it.
“Do you have wine? Or whiskey?” I asked hopefully.
“Whiskey,” Gray replied. “I can put wine on the next grocery list. What kind do you like?”
“Moscato,” I said, “But whiskey works for now.”
Gray pushed back from the table and I put down my fork. I couldn’t eat another bite; my nerves had taken up residence and left room for nothing else. While he went to get the whiskey, I cleared the table, taking everything into the kitchen in a couple of trips.
I put the leftovers in plastic containers and was rinsing the dishes to go in the dishwasher when Gray walked in with two highball glasses.
“You didn’t have to do that. I would’ve helped.”
“I’m happy to do it,” I told him, and I was. In fact, I was happier to be here, in Grayson’s house doing dishes, than I’d been in the last ten years.
That didn’t say much about my life.
“Here,” Gray said, thrusting a glass of amber liquid at me.
“Thanks.”
“Shall we take our drinks to the living room?” he asked and I nodded.
Gray took a seat on the sofa, and I sat a couple feet away from him. Close enough for my intentions to be clear, without sitting on top of him, even though what I really wanted to do in that moment was crawl into his lap.
Unfortunately, I lacked the courage, which was where the whiskey came in.
I took a nice, healthy swig, enjoying the burn as it slid down my throat. The nice thing about whiskey, at least for me, is that it went to my head almost instantly. I felt that sweet fuzzy sensation in my brain and took a deep breath.
I scooted closer.
I could feel Gray’s eyes on me, but I couldn’t look at him.
I took another drink.
With whiskey running through my veins, I set my glass down, then finally turned toward Gray.
He was angled toward me, watching me, his glass resting on his thigh.
I leaned in until my breast was brushing his arm, and his mouth was a breath away from mine. I closed my eyes and was about to eliminate that space, when Gray did it for me.
His lips met mine, and it was over. All fear fled. The only thing that mattered was Grayson’s mouth.
I opened for him and his tongue swept inside.
Whiskey and passion coursing through my veins had me pushing up to throw my leg over Gray and straddle him, never breaking contact as he made love to my mouth like a man obsessed.
His hands moved over my shoulders, down my arms, and settled on my waist, where he urged me closer. I rocked against him, gasping at the first brush of his stiff cock against my core. It felt delicious, decadent, and better than anything I’d ever known.
I’m not sure how long we made out, time seemed to stand still and fly by all at once. He learned every inch of my mouth while I tortured us by running my hands over his chest and continuing to rub against him.
“Wanna move to my room?” Gray asked when he broke our kiss, panting the words out as his hands drifted to my ass.
“Mmmm hmmm,” I managed, my vision hazy.
I shook my head to clear the lust, then stood up and reached my hand out to take his.
I pulled to help him up, even though he not only didn’t need my help, but there was no way I’d be able to move his massive body if he did.
Grayson stood, then led me back to his room.
It was big, complete with a master bath and a sitting room, but my focus was on the bed.
It was huge. The biggest bed I’d ever seen.
There were large wooden posts on each corner, a dark navy blue comforter, and six pillows. It looked totally comfortable and big enough for me to get in and do somersaults from one end to the other.
Of course, somersaults were not what I was about to do. I was about to have sex for the first time in my life with the man I’d always dreamed of being with.
It was a dream come true.
But, as I turned and looked at him… Tall, broad shouldered, with muscles for days, all I could think about was getting his clothes off and seeing him naked.
Finally.
So, I put my hands on my hips and ordered, “Strip.”
Grayson
I took my clothes off in record speed.
As a shifter, we often got naked in front of others before shifting, so I had no qualms about standing in front of anyone without a stitch on.
Especially Shonda.
The way her eyes devoured every inch of me, as if committing my form to memory even as she fought against the urge to do the same with her hands, which were fisted at her sides. My cock grew painfully larger under her perusal, and I knew I was in danger of embarrassing myself and blowing before we even got started.
It had been a long time, and the thought of sliding into her hot wet heat, rather than finding completion in my fist, was enough to make my knees weaken.
When I didn’t think I could take another second of being so far away from her, Shonda took a tentative step toward me. Knowing she was shy, I wanted to help ease her tens
ion and assure her that I wanted this. I wanted her. I closed the gap.
Her soft hands landed on my chest and my eyes drifted closed as she explored my flesh. When her thumbs grazed my nipples, I growled low in my throat. She gave an answering gasp and moved lower, over my abs, hips, and finally, she closed her fists over my cock and began to stroke.
“Fuck, Shonda,” I muttered, my hips bucking reflexively.
“You’re so soft, yet so hard,” Shonda murmured, her voice full of wonder.
“Faster,” I urged, lost in the sensation. It felt so good, it was almost more than I could take.
When I knew I could take no more if I wanted to be inside her tonight, I moved back, out of her grasp, and mimicked her order.
“Strip.”
Shonda took off her clothes slowly, her movements a little shaky, but her eyes on me were sure.
When she was before me in only her bra and panties, I told her to get on the bed, eager to finish unwrapping her myself.
It had been a long time since I’d undressed a woman, and I found I missed it, and was excited to continue the foreplay that had begun at dinner.
Shonda laid back on my bed, her dark locks spayed across my pillow, and I took a moment to look my fill. I wanted to remember her, just like this, here, on my bed. Her beautiful caramel skin covered by scraps of white lace, her eyes heavy with desire as she looked up at me.
She made a pretty picture. A fantasy.
First, I leaned over her and reached behind to undo the clasp of her bra, then eased the straps slowly down her shoulders, torturing us both, before pulling it all the way off and tossing it aside.
I gazed greedily at the swell of her full breasts and the dusky nipples beckoned to me. I lowered my head and brushed my lips over first one peak, then the other, before taking her in my mouth and sucking.
Shonda arched under me and moaned.
I worshipped each of her breasts, before kissing my way down her stomach and over her hips. Moving between her legs, I pushed them open and settled, dropping kisses on the lace as I fought the urge to rip the material from her body and dive in.
“Gray,” Shonda moaned, writhing beneath me.
I kissed her center, my eyes on hers, and asked, “What do you need?”
“Take them off,” she said shakily, her hand coming to rest on my head.
I could tell she wanted to shove me down, to force me to give her what she wanted, but she was still unsure if she should.
“You want my mouth on your pussy?”
She flushed, bit her lower lip, and nodded.
I quickly got rid of her panties, then settled back between her legs and threw them over my shoulders.
Shonda fisted my hair, but still didn’t guide me.
I looked up at her pleading expression, winked, then devoured her.
I ate like a starving man. Like I was on death row and this was my last meal. I used my lips, tongue, and fingers until she was begging for mercy, all uncertainty gone as she shoved my head further into her pussy.
When neither of us could handle any more, I focused on her clit with my tongue, flicking it ruthlessly until she came apart against my mouth and pulsed around my fingers.
While she was still in the throws, I came to my knees, pulled up her hips and centered her in front of me, then I drove inside.
Shonda’s eyes widened as I breached her barrier, and I stopped, shocked and fully seated within her as I realized that she’d been a virgin.
“Shonda,” I said softly, feeling her tight sheath adjust to my girth and practically blacking out at how amazing she felt. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
A tear escaped her eye and she reached for my, her palm caressing my cheek as she looked in my eyes and said softly, “It was always yours to take.”
My heart clenched and my eyes closed briefly at the realization of the gift she’d given me. This woman from my past, who’d always believed in me, who’d saved herself for me. What was I supposed to do now?
How could I deny her? Deny what I felt in that moment.
Now that I was inside her, feeling something I’d never felt before, I was hit upside the head with the truth.
Shonda was my mate. My fate.
I could feel my wolf’s connection to hers, even as I felt the rightness of her body wrapped around mine.
“Thank you,” I whispered finally, then began to move.
It was like finding the other half of myself, the piece I hadn’t even realized I’d been missing.
And, when we were both reaching the peak, falling apart in each other’s arms, nature took over and I gathered her to me, my teeth coming to her shoulder as I bit down hard, intensifying our release and claiming her as my own.
Shonda
“Grayson,” I screamed.
Yeah, that’s right, I totally screamed.
When he claimed me, giving me his bite, it felt like a series of bolts fell into place, locking us together and cementing our fate.
It was the most amazing pleasure I’d ever experienced. Tears filled my eyes and our future exploded before my eyes. My wolf howled in response and I knew she’d want to meet Grayson’s wolf soon, so they could complete our mating and begin their own relationship.
He collapsed on top of me, then moved to the side so as not to crush me, and I panted as I struggled to catch my breath.
“I feel like I just ran a marathon,” I gasped, turning my head toward him with a smile.
“I feel fucking fantastic,” Gray said with a grin, not an ounce of regret on his face.
And I knew in that moment, that everything had changed.
“I…” I began, then trailed off, words escaping me.
Grayson turned onto his side, facing me, his eyes warm and happy.
“I know,” he whispered.
He brought his hand up to brush the hair off my face, then left it there, holding me gently… reverently.
“Grayson,” I began, nervous and wanting him to understand where I was coming from. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you I was a virgin, I was afraid if you knew, you would put a stop to our friends with benefits situation.”
“It’s okay. I mean, it came as a shock, but I’m honored that you saved something so precious for me.”
God, this man…
“I don’t want you to think that I was trying to trap you, or get you to do something you’d already said you didn’t want to do…”
“Shhhh, Shonda, listen. I know what I said, and believe me, I meant it at the time. But, I’m a man and a wolf who believes in fate, true mates, and knowing what’s right. I may have convinced myself that I’d be content with a human woman and a makeshift mating, but the second I entered your body, all possibility of living a life of mere contentment flew out the window… now that I know who you are to me, who we are to each other, there’s no way that I, or my wolf, would be able to ever be with anyone else.”
His words warmed my heart and I couldn’t contain the happiness that filled me.
“But, you said you couldn’t be with another shifter,” I began, not wanting to try and deny his claim, but wanting to understand his position.
Gray nodded.
“I did, and I’ll explain why tomorrow. Tonight, let’s celebrate this revelation, worship each other, and continue on this road of discovery. Tomorrow is soon enough to discuss the demons of my past.”
That sounded ominous, but I smiled, knowing what he said was true and we could talk about it later. Plus, worshiping each other sounded really good to me.
I placed my hand on Gray’s shoulder and gave him a little shove onto his back, before climbing on top of him.
“Mmmmm,” I murmured at I took my seat. “Yes, you’re not the only one with a claim to make.”
His eyes twinkled and his lips turned up.
God, he was sexy.
Being a shifter myself, I knew all about the claiming bite, and felt my wolf restless to make her own claim.
This time, I was in charge.
>
I leaned over Gray, moving my hands around the back of his head to lift and cradle it, then teased his lips with my puckered nipple.
“Open,” I ordered, feeling a rush of adrenaline at this surge of power.
My pussy became wet, and I rocked against his already hard cock as he sucked it into his mouth.
“Bite it,” I said. “Gently.”
Gray complied, first on one breast, then the other.
When he was done, I sat up tall and, as I stroked his cock in my hand, positioned it at my entrance and lowered myself on top of him. Slowly, wincing a bit at the soreness I felt.
Seeing my discomfort, Gray’s thumb hit my clit and began to move, causing my head to fall back and my pussy to become wetter, which lubricated our joining and allowed me to seat myself fully on him.
Once there, I began to move, rocking back and forth, loving the power, the control. I moved my hands to his chest, finding purchase as I began to move faster.
Gray’s eyes darkened and his lids got heavy. His hands on my hips began to urge me farther, and he bucked beneath me. The bed began to shake and hit the wall with the force of our movements, and before long I felt a glorious yearning.
I closed my eyes, unable to do anything but feel, and rode him hard until stars burst behind my eyelids. I opened my eyes only to fall forward and place my claiming bite on his chest. Grayson roared beneath me at the feel of my teeth on his chest, and another orgasm flew through me, catching me off guard.
As I was still in flight, Gray took over, flipping me until I was on my back, and he was driving inside of me like a man possessed.
I held on as best I could, loving this wild, primal side of Gray.
He came with a shout, thrusting repeatedly as he pulsed inside of me.
As we both came down, I felt well and truly fucked, and was grinning like a madwoman.
Grayson
I woke up feeling calm. Like things were right in the world. And, for the first time in a long time, I felt hope and excitement about the future, rather than fear and loneliness.
I left Shonda sleeping in my bed, grinning wildly at the picture she made there, then padded down to the kitchen, intent on making her breakfast in bed. Thirty minutes later, I had a makeshift serving tray… okay it was a platter… with eggs, toast, bacon, pancakes, coffee, and a pink flower I’d picked from outside.
