by M L Briers
“And by home I assume you mean…”
“My cabin.” He looked adamant at that and she felt his fingers tightened against her flesh.
Possessive damn wolf. Now that he has me he isn’t planning on letting go. Oh lucky me…She felt like growling herself at that thought.
“That can’t be negotiated…” She offered him a small ray of sunshine as a smile. He grunted again and the smile dropped. “Fine. But I need my stuff.” She bit out. He still had a hold of her. “And you need to let me go so I can walk…” He frowned hard. “Or we’re you planning to carry me…” His eyes brightened at the thought and she snapped her head back on her neck. “Hell no! Bad wolf.” She snapped out and his growl was back.
He seemed more than a little reluctant to let her go. She noted the way he was practically having to pry his hands from her body and she wondered if they’d need a damn wrench to get him off of her. Then he seemed to manage to take the smallest step back from her in the history of the world.
“Good boy. Heel.” She couldn’t help it, but thought to herself that perhaps she should have tried when his dark eyes locked on hers and he raised just one dark eyebrow, and of course there was the customary growl.
“I think we need to talk about your lack of respect and propriety.” He offered at last and she scoffed.
“No sense of humour, check.” She placed her hands on her curvy hips and assumed the ‘I’m gonna bust your chops if you even go there’ stance. He frowned harder.
“Witches.” He growled and reached out to wrap his hand around her lower arm, yanking her hand from her hip and taking her with him as he stalked off.
Wendy was waiting with three mugs of coffee and a knowing smile as they strolled through the back door. Eloise yanked her arm from his grip and surprisingly he let go. She squared up to the witch in front of her.
“You knew.” It was an accusation and Wendy took a moment to consider it.
“Not exactly.” She offered back. Eloise sighed.
“You had an idea.” She tried it from a different angle.
“What makes you say that?” Wendy offered her another sidestep and she dug her heels in. She’d get answers from this woman if it killed her.
“Sometimes there is a haven where we least expect it, really?” Eloise demanded and saw the smile that grew on the older woman’s face. It glowed within her eyes.
“And is he your haven?” Wendy asked as her eyes flicked towards Alex and back again. Eloise took a step away from Alex and shot him a look.
“In a sense, I guess he would be…” Eloise buzzed with annoyance at having to admit such a thing, especially in front of him. The fact that having a mate meant that she was protected from the world meant as much. The man would literally die to protect her… But it wasn’t the kind of sanctuary that she’d expected to find.
“I’m glad it worked out for you.” Wendy offered and Eloise balked at her answer.
“Worked out?” Was the woman totally insane? She had to wonder.
“Yes.” Wendy offered. The woman was so placid, so serene that Eloise felt the need to shake some sense into her, liven her up, and drag an unreasoned response from her. Anything but what she was getting.
“I have…” She turned towards Alex and motioned towards him with both hands. “A mate.” She offered on a groan and then a growl from the wolf.
“And that’s a bad thing?” Wendy asked and Eloise considered head-butting the nearest wall until she was numb and didn’t care anymore.
“Oh spirits preserve us…” She rolled her eyes and her body away from the witch and towards her mate. Then she groaned again and turned towards the kitchen table and dropped like a lump onto the chair. “This is not my idea of sanctuary.” Her elbows thudded against the table top and she dropped her face into her hands.
“Open your heart and your mind and you’ll find the answers that you seek.” Wendy offered and she couldn’t help but groan again. It was probably lucky that she’d found a mate, because she had the distinct feeling that a week with Wendy and she would have been ready for the nuthouse.
She felt the heat of Alex’s hand on her shoulder and didn’t have the will inside her to try to fight off the warmth that spread through her body or the tingle that raced over her skin. He knelt down on one knee beside her and leant in. She could feel his breath against her neck and that caused a happy feeling deep inside her womb that she couldn’t deny either.
“If you’re searching for sanctuary, Eloise, I promise you’ll find it in my arms.” She caught her breath at his words. Her eyes closed and she held onto the feeling of belonging that swept through her. It was the strangest damn feeling that she’d ever experienced in her life. Peace. “Come home with me, let me show you.”
She knew exactly what he wanted to show her. How he wanted to show her. A part of her was all for it, but there was another part of her that was filled with trepidation.
The man was a sex God. She couldn’t deny that and even as she turned her head and opened her eyes to look at him, her body responded to that fact. His dark eyes locked with hers and she saw the depth of his need for her, the desire that reared up within him. She’d never thought a man could look at her like that. She might have been comfortable in her oversized body, but she didn’t believe a man would ever find her attractive. It warmed her even more.
“Sex.” She offered and saw his eyes lit up at the thought.
“Not sex, love, making love. Discovering ourselves in each other’s arms, exploring…” Alex’s words sounded good. Too good. It made her libido flare like the start of a damn forest fire and an itch crawl beneath her skin, and boy did she feel the need to scratch.
“You’re good with words…” She pushed back in her chair and saw the amusement fill his eyes.
“I’m good with everything.” He assured her with a smug grin that exposed two rows of perfect white teeth.
“Hmm, so there is a sense of humour in there somewhere.” She offered back to him on another pout.
“I haven’t had much to amuse me tonight.” His thick eyebrows met and dance over his nose as he frowned at her. She rolled her eyes towards the witch and sighed.
“You could have warned me.” She accused and Wendy just gave her that knowing smile. Damn, but she hated that.
“Are you hungry?” Alex enquired as he went around his cabin snatching up items of discarded dirty clothes and generally shoving things under cushions. Eloise raised her eyebrows at his idea of tidying up and tried not to stare at him as he went.
“No.” She remembered to answer his question as a bowl disappeared under a cushion and she made a mental note not to sit there.
“Thirsty?” Alex shot her a look and saw that she snapped her eyes in the opposite direction.
“Nope.” She rolled her eyes towards the ceiling and when she felt his heat in front of her she didn’t have far to roll them back down again to meet the darkness of his eyes and the hungry look on his face. Her heart slapped her a good one.
“Do you want to mate?” She held her breath as her head slowly twisted on her neck as she stared back at him. Then he grinned and she sighed it out. “Sense of humour enough for the little scaredy witch?” He teased and saw just one of her eyebrows rise up onto her forehead and he took a long step back.
“I’m laughing on the inside.” She informed him. Hell, I have to give him credit; he’s trying, bless his little furry footed socks. Now where did I put my sense of humour again?
“Perhaps I can show you the bedroom?” He offered, holding out a hand and a lace bra. Eloise felt a rush of the green devil inside her as she gasped in disbelief. Her mate snatched it behind his back and grimaced.
“Are you fecking kidding me?” She growled out. What? Why should I care who he’s been sleeping with? Some damn skinny bean pole bitch, no doubt judging from the lack of titties… Not exactly an over-shoulder-boulder-holder, bitch has pebbles where her boulders should be… Wow, jealous much? Judgy? If he likes that kind of thing
then I’m too much woman for him… that’s for damn sure!
CHAPTER FIVE
Eloise felt the emotional rollercoaster ride inside her start to subside and she welcomed it. She knew what had caused it. Mating hormones. The damn mating pull was in full swings and she was aboard for the ride… She sighed inside. It’s not bad enough I have normal hormones, female hormones, period hormones… now I’ve got me some damn ‘he’s my wolf’ hormones… She sighed again.
“This isn’t what it looks like…” Alex lied.
“Your sisters?” She asked calmly or as calm as she could get considering, and Alex growled once more.
“Ok, it’s exactly what it looks like.” Alex admitted hanging his head with the shame that he felt. “I’m a wolf, not a monk.” He offered and she grunted.
“Well you’d better change the sheets on the bed…” She started irrationally and he turned on his heels and made a fast exit. Wait, that implied I intended to mate with him… hmm, that’s not what I had in mind… kill him… She brightened at the thought… and his little miss-no-boobs harlot, maybe… She couldn’t help but wonder why that thought warmed her so.
She heard the man growling and grunting at the same time as cupboard doors clapped and fabric was rustled, and she couldn’t help but smile. Maybe I should demand a new mattress, a new bed, maybe even a new bedroom. Her eyes fell to the sofa and she groaned at the mental image of him taking her draped over it. Bet he had sex there with Miss-boobless-bimbo. She snorted her contempt. At this rate we’ll need a whole new cabin… Wait… She groaned again.
Her body and mind were already cashing cheques in the mating department that she hadn’t even written yet. Now that she knew he was her mate everything just seemed to sneak up on her. Her eyes flicked to the open door of the bedroom and his jean clad tight backside sticking up in the air as he worked, and she found her imagination running riot again.
Naked tosh, I have the damn urge, no… neeeed, to see that man’s naked arse. God what’s wrong with me? Isn’t it him that’s supposed to get all hungry like the wolf and I’m supposed to be like, oh no I couldn’t possibly…? Heaven help me but I’m itchy and he’s the one with the claws to scratch me in just the right places… She gave a small whimper and his head shot around, dark eyes took her in and she spun away.
Her cheeks coloured with heat and blood and she wrapped her arms around her body and gave herself a consoling hug. Make it go away… Death or mate… My two bloody choices in life. I kill the wolf and it goes away… But how can I kill my mate? Or mate him… that kind of sounds like… Nooo!
Grounded. I need to ground myself… Grinding sounds like a better option, my hips grinding against his… Oh crap. Why can’t little Miss-drop-her-knickers be here so I can zap someone, something, over and over…? I wouldn’t mind having something of his over and… She whimpered again.
I’m going insane. It’s just that simple. Time spent with Wendy the Witch has driven me bonkers… I want to see him naked in all of his muscled glory, heaven help me, I want to feast my eyes on his…
“Everything ok?” Those deep throaty words sent her into a tail spin. She jumped in place from fright and then felt as guilty as hell about what she’d been thinking about.
“No, yes- no…” She narrowed her eyes and tried giving herself a mental slap right in the centre of her forehead. His growl rolled through her body and she could have whimpered again if she hadn’t of bitten down on it.
“I can scent your…” He started and her eyes went wide.
“Well don’t.” She bit down on those words. All business like as she refused to look at him. “I said no sniffing.”
“I didn’t need to sniff, it’s strong…” He assured her as his hands came down on her hips and he pulled her backwards against the hardness of his length. She closed her eyes to the rollercoaster ride that swept through her body.
“I should go freshen up.” She went to take a step away from him but his arms locked around her body. His hand palmed the squishy bit just below her breasts, and she tried to look down but all she saw were her breast in the way, heaving… I have heaving breasts… What is this Gone with the wind? Oh Lord but his fingers are on the move… creeping up… Now they are really heaving…Big heaving breasts of…
“I like that scent…” Alex growled as his thumb brushed up the swell of one breast.
“You would…” It was an accusation and it was the best she had considering her mind was focused on her breast, the good one, the one that was buzzing with the touch of his thumb… If my nipples get any tighter I could uncork a bottle of damn wine with them… She wanted to chuckle at the thought, but his thumb brushed over the nipple at that point and all bets were off where her brain was concerned.
“Oh…” It wasn’t the kind of oooohhh response that came from pure bliss, although she felt that, it was more the kind of oh that came from the unexpected and not knowing quite what to do about it. His growl vibrated against her back and out the other side, her nipples tingled as if he’d run a damn dildo over them. Crap…
“I want you, Eloise.” There was desperation in his voice as if he was holding everything back somewhere inside him, and he was… He could have taken her down to the floor and ripped her clothes off, buried his cock to the hilt and tossed his head back as he thrust in and yanked out of her… but that would be rude, she was human.
“That’s cos you’re a horny dog…” She bit out, but when he cupped her breast and closed his thumb and finger around her nipple and tweaked it; her words died on her tongue. His breath was at her ear, caressing her cheek.
“I can scent the want in you, the desire. Tell me you want me the way I want you.” He growled in a way that made her toes curl and her hands tighten into fists.
“You are exactly what I’ve been running away from my whole life…” She felt his hands slip away from her body and then they were gripping her upper arms and turning her in place. She snapped her lids closed. His touch was killing her self control, what she didn’t need to do was to look up into those dark soulful eyes.
“Look at me, love…” He beckoned her. She gave a small shake of her head, set in her resolve not to.
Nope, not happening. Can’t do it… Look up into puppy dog eyes? You must be having a laugh… She heard him growl in frustration.
“Do you think that I could ever hurt you, Eloise?” If she was being stubborn he would talk to her damn eyelids, but he’d have his say. He couldn’t scent fear on her, it was the last thing he expected to find when she was connected to him by the mating pull… He saw her wince, a flash of it and then it was gone.
“Look at me, sweetheart and tell me that I’m the monster that you fear.” She wanted to roll her eyes in her head but that would be pointless as he couldn’t see her doing it.
“What about earlier…?” She needed a foothold in this conversation. She knew that men like to babble to themselves when they thought they were right… He growled gently and then sighed.
“I shouldn’t have… I should have been able to control my beast better, but…” Her eyes snapped opened.
“But!” She demanded as her head snapped forward on her neck. “If that bloodsucking creature hadn’t of…”
“I know.” He growled. His eyebrows drew downwards and he she could see the anger that rose within him. She wasn’t certain who it was aimed at, her, the vampire or himself. “I know very well what could… Don’t you think I know that, Eloise.” He growled louder. “But if we were mated…” This time she did roll her eyes and she tried to roll her body away from him but he only turned her back again.
“Sex, sex, sex…” She tossed up a hand in disbelief. “Is there anything else you want to throw in there as to why we should mate here and now?”
She watched as a multitude of emotions swept over his face as his eyes roamed around in his head. He was considering and dismissing thoughts that she was certain she didn’t want to know half of them. She might just zap him a good one, maybe disable his manhoo
d for a month or three…
“You are my mate, my life from this moment on. I’ll protect you from bloodsucking creatures and anything else that life throws at us. I’ll endeavour to make you happy. To keep you safe and loved. If you decide to bless me with pups of our own I promise to cherish them…”
Eloise caught her breath in her throat. He looked like he was reading from a list that he’d created in his mind, the only difference was there was a low gentle growl that kept rolling through his chest and a look of pure conviction on his face.
“Crap…” She breathed out.
CHAPTER SIX
“That’s not the response that I was hoping for.” He admitted with a shake of his head. Eloise’s guilt at that moment kicked her backside into action and her brain into gear.
“No, not crap…” She rushed out. “You mean every word of that, don’t you?” She soften towards him. Alex’s eyebrows wiggle over his eyes.
“Yes.” It was said so simply that she choked out a laugh of disbelief.
“Alex, you don’t know me…” She couldn’t fathom him out.
“I know what I need to. Fate made us for each other, and I’ve never heard of fate screwing up.” Alex informed her with conviction. She put her hand over her mouth and tried to hold in the laughter that bubbled inside her. Her eyes sparkled and her chuckle got stuck in her throat, but he snatched her hand away, hoping to see those dimples in her cheeks and wasn’t disappointed.
“You’re a soppy romantic…” She chuckled again. He frowned, growled, and then tossed up just one shoulder.
“But only for you.” He wanted her to know that. He wanted her to know that she really was his life from that moment on. “Wolves are faithful to a fault. I’ll never leave your side…” She went to answer him and he saw the mischief dance within her eyes. “Don’t say like a dog.” He growled and she dropped her eyes and chuckled again. Her shoulders bobbed up and down with silent mirth.
