by Haley Weir
Casey practically drooled all over herself as she—not so subtly—groped Giddeon beneath the table. She squeezed along the thick shaft and circled her finger at the tip. If there wasn't the threat of servants walking in at any minute, Casey would have crawled under the table to taste him. He bucked his hips to grind against her palm. "Can't we just—”
Her hand was moved away and Giddeon scrubbed his hands over his face. "I wish it were that simple. But I won't settle for anything less than forever, Casey. I'm sorry. Now that I know what it feels like to have a mate, I want all of it…but not at the expense of taking away your choices."
"This is a lot of pressure, Giddeon."
"I don't mean for it to be."
"What if we fool around a little?" she whispered.
Giddeon let out a groan. "You're killing me."
"And I'm asking seriously. I'm not ready to jump into this blindly, but I want you." Casey hoped he understood. "And not just physically, either. I want to be with you. It's just...forever seems like an impossible thing to hope for after what happened in my previous relationship."
"After dessert, I want you to change into something comfortable and meet me in the King's Suite." Giddeon focused on his meal and changed the pace of their conversation. Casey found herself relaxing despite her lavish surroundings.
“Do you ever get tired of the staring?” she asked. “I noticed it on our date.”
“I think I tire of the assumptions more than the stares. People think my face is supposed to determine the path I take in life. I might be considered good looking to others, but I’m worth much more than a pretty face.”
“I’m going to have to deal with being the ugly one in this relationship. All the hot chicks are going to think you settled.” Casey leaned forward and whispered, “I’ll be sure to let them know that you’re the lucky one.” It felt good to flirt with confidence after years of second guessing herself.
When their plates were empty, the maids pushed in a cart of fine chocolates and candy-coated fruits. Giddeon pulled her into his lap and pressed a chocolate to her lips. Casey opened her mouth and captured the decadent candy, moaning as she licked the sweetness from his fingers. His eyes flashed, and she saw a beast barely contained behind a wall of civility. She jumped from his lap and staggered back. “How...? Oh my god!”
“What? What is it?” Giddeon climbed to his feet and stalked towards her with concern evident in his expression.
“I saw it! The bear! I saw it!”
“That’s impossible. I didn’t use my powers just then.”
“In your eyes,” she explained. “They were different for a moment and I saw the bear...or your bear. I feel like I’m going insane.”
“I tried to tell you.”
“Really? Not helpful when I’m having a nervous breakdown!”
Giddeon’s brothers Caleb and Balor stormed into the dining room. Balor looked between the two of them. “Someone was shouting about a bear? I mean, we’re sort of in a castle full of them, so you’ll have to be more specific.”
Casey shook her head in disbelief. "So...when you were touching me under the table…that was…what?"
"It was magic, Casey. I have abilities. They aren't much, but I have been training all my life." Giddeon placed his hands on her hips. "It's residual magic from when we descended from gods."
Casey felt an electric pulse flutter over her skin. She ran her hand along his arm and cupped his jaw. "It's amazing. I never thought something like this could be real. I know you told me, but seeing it…"
"You aren't afraid?"
"Shocked, but not afraid." Casey touched every inch of his torso, mapping out the contours of his body as she experienced the vibrations and crackling of his magic. "So, this was what you meant about helping the ordinary and extraordinary find love."
"Alice tells me that I'm not as subtle as I think I am."
A throat cleared, and Casey turned her head towards the doorway. In all of the excitement, she had forgotten Balor and Caleb were in the room. Balor gestured to them with his finger. "I don't want to sit here listening to you talk about my brother feeling you up."
Casey buried her face in Giddeon's chest and willed her blush to calm. The deep rumble of his laughter was a comforting sound that broke through the raging sea of confusion in her mind.
Chapter Nine
Giddeon stood before the fire in his bedchamber and tugged the tie from around his neck. He unbuttoned the top three buttons of his shirt, recalling the warm puff of Casey's breath against his neck. Anticipation swirled in his gut as he waited for his mate.
The door opened and his heart jumped into his throat. Giddeon's eyes tracked her moves like a predator. Casey moved towards him with a shy smile. "You're still in your suit."
"I thought it would be more enjoyable for you if I did it in front of you," he replied. "Get comfortable. I'll join you in a moment."
Casey crawled onto the bed and reclined against the pillows. The garment she wore was thin. The fabric hugged the softened edges of her figure. Giddeon reminded himself not to lose control. His hands worked slowly as he removed his cufflinks and set them upon the wardrobe. Each button that he flicked open revealed a long expansion of skin. Giddeon saw the desire spark in her eyes. This was what it was about…seduction. There was no pleasure in rushing, only hollow gratification.
So he took his time as he bared his torso to her gaze. The blush upon her cheeks was as charming as the curious lift of her brows. Giddeon reached for the buckle of his belt and unlatched the clasp before pulling it from around his waist. Her eyes fell to the deep v-shaped cut of his lower abdomen. He walked to the edge of the bed and hooked his thumbs in the belt loops. Casey moved as if her body had a mind of its own, drawn to him by an invisible tether.
Giddeon pushed his slacks down the length of his legs and smiled when his mate’s eyes widened at the sight of his engorged flesh. “I don’t often wear undergarments.”
Casey licked her lips and tore her gaze away. “I think I would be surprised if they fit.”
He slid beneath the covers, filling the bed with his natural heat as he laughed through his nose. “You flatter me. And I like this.” Giddeon touched the delicate cloth of her nightdress. It fell just above her knees and cupped her breasts beautifully. He wasn’t sure if she was aware of just how close she had moved to his body. Casey was less than an inch away from his face. Her eyes silently begged for his kiss, but he made her wait.
Instead, his lips brushed her shoulder and clavicle, moving towards the hardened nub of her clothed nipple. Casey gasped. Her hand gripped the back of his neck as if she didn’t know whether to push him away or pull him closer. Giddeon nipped and teased her tender flesh. Her legs widened instinctively. He rolled onto her, slotting himself between her splayed thighs. Just the warmth of her embrace was enough to cause him to shudder.
"Giddeon," she gasped. He leaned forward to make up for their height difference and kissed along her jaw. "Please."
His hands caressed her thighs lovingly. Soft, supple flesh filled the palms of his hands nicely. "You are perfection." Finally, he captured her mouth in a heated kiss. Giddeon kept things slow and sensual, teasing her to the brink of madness. Impatient hands caressed his back.
"I need you," she begged shamelessly. Her hips rocked, grinding her core against his erection. Giddeon growled. He swallowed down his own desperate need and kissed his way down her body. Magic flowed through his hands and into Casey. It moved like tendrils of pure sensation, wrapping around her wrists and pinning them above her head. “Giddeon?”
“Patience, my love.” He stilled, praying that his slip of the tongue had gone unnoticed. Giddeon knew Casey wasn’t ready to hear words of affirmation from him so soon. He distracted her with a quick swipe of his tongue into her navel. Her body trembled. Giddeon adored how responsive she was to his touch. He sucked a bruise against her hip and pressed a kiss to her mound. Casey attempted to close her thighs, but his magic opened her up for his ey
es to feast on.
And feast he did.
Giddeon breathed hotly onto the wet patch of her panties and kissed along the creases of her thighs. He slipped the dainty piece of lace down her legs and tossed it aside. Shaved, silken lips parted beautifully. A delicious shade of pink peeked out of her folds. Giddeon moved lower and hooked her legs over his shoulders, coming eye to eye with his prize. He gazed up at his mate, leaving nothing out of his expression. She squirmed as he licked his lips and held her stare.
“I want to hear you scream as I taste you,” he demanded. “And I won’t stop until you have nothing left to give me, Casey.”
A tiny bead of moisture dripped along her folds and Giddeon traced its path with his tongue. His hips shifted, grinding against the bed as her flavor exploded on his tongue. He wanted more of her sweetness. The beast demanded more. Giddeon obeyed his carnal urges and stiffened his tongue, sliding it along her folds until he reached the top. His fingers pulled apart her plump lips, exposing her blushing clit that twitched beneath the intensity of his gaze.
Giddeon’s eyes flickered back up to Casey’s face. “Keep those beautiful eyes on me.”
His gaze never strayed from hers as he sucked her sensitive bud and nipped her with his teeth. Casey’s back arched off of the bed, but his magic slammed her back down. It held her captive as he slurped every drop of her juices into his mouth with firm rolls of his tongue against her clit. Thighs quivered beside his ears. There was no more teasing. Now that Giddeon had tasted the honey of her glory, he intended to stay right where he was for as long as she let him.
~*~
Casey’s nails clawed at the pillows above her head. Giddeon’s magic limited her range of motion, but she was able to rock her hips a bit against his tongue. Those beautiful eyes gazed up at her with an intensity that should have frightened Casey, but she found it exciting. She bit her lip and held on for dear life. Before she had married Ty, dating had been uneventful at best. A few casual romps that always ended in disappointment and several dates that had resulted in nothing. Ty seemed perfect in comparison.
But he had never once done this. The one time she had asked him for oral, he claimed that it was unclean and Casey hadn’t brought it up again. Giddeon wasn’t like that. In fact, there was no one like Giddeon. He buried his tongue between her thighs and ate her with wild abandon. It was too much for her nerves, and yet her body obeyed him in ways she didn’t understand. “Oh god....” she moaned loudly, overcome by lust and affection.
Casey’s orgasm hit her unexpectedly. She tried to pull away, but Giddeon held her down and drank in the flood of wetness with a feral growl. He sucked two fingers into his mouth and pressed them against her entrance. Tight muscles stretched around his intrusion, fluttering with satisfaction as he massaged along her walls. The heat and tension that had built from her orgasm never faded. Giddeon kept her locked within the delicious agony of her release.
He sealed his lips over her clit and sucked as his fingers curled to press against her g-spot. Casey threw her head back and screamed. Wave after wave of tingles spread through her body. Her muscles clenched and milked his fingers. Giddeon’s face glistened with the slick essence of her pleasure. “Breathe,” he ordered. “Don’t pass out just yet. I’m far from done with you.” The pressure inside built to yet another crescendo.
A powerful release of tension left her slack against the pillows. Casey babbled incoherently as his fingers slid from her clenching channel. He sucked the juices from his fingers and continued to press teasing kisses along her flesh until her breathing evened. Giddeon crawled up her body and fisted his erection. He pressed the flared head against her opening, forcing her muscles to take him as they pulsed to the beat of her heart.
That large, sculpted body draped over her.
Giddeon nipped at the curve of her ear as his fingers found her clit. He circled his hips. Each motion caused the head of his member to brush against her g-spot. “Just this…” he whispered hotly. “This is all I will give you.” Giddeon teased her with only the first few inches. The magic left her body and Casey wrapped around him. “I want you to imagine how it will feel when I fill you completely. I want you to think of every inch sliding along your nerves until you can’t breathe without feeling me inside of you for days.”
“You’re evil.”
His deep chuckle against her ear caused tingles to race down her arms. Giddeon kept her right on the brink with the steady rhythm of his hips. “You own me, Casey. I can never have another for as long as I live. Does it please you to know that no other woman will ever feel my cock inside of her? That she will never feel my unyielding love?”
Casey nodded. “Yes. God, yes.”
“Good. I want you to be selfish. I want you as possessive of me as I am of you. When I claim you completely, I want to know that no man will ever have you like this. Weeping as you come apart on my fingers and tongue over and over.” Giddeon’s fingers circled her clit at a mind-boggling speed. Casey’s hips lifted from the bed and he moved with her, keeping the tip of his member nestled against her g-spot as another orgasm stole her ability to breathe.
She went deaf for several seconds. Dark spots danced along the edges of her vision, and she fought to stay awake. Casey felt him pull out. Disappointment hit her like a ton of bricks when the wet splash of his release hit her thigh. Mentally, she knew it had been for the best, but her heart ached at the loss of what could have been.
Giddeon rolled onto his back and pulled her against his chest. “You've gone quiet. Was it not to your liking?"
"It was wonderful...amazing, actually."
"Then tell me what's on your mind," he replied.
"I think I'm scared."
"Of me?"
"Not exactly," Casey sighed. "I think I'm afraid of what will happen if I give myself to you. Getting married to Ty, I knew what to expect. There's practically a handbook for typical American life. But with you...forever means something different."
"It doesn't have to."
"Yes, it does." She sat up and looked into his eyes. "I just got promoted. I love my job and the life that I've built is back in Washington. I can't just give that up. If I choose to be with you—if I choose the ‘forever’ that you’re offering—I’ll be losing so much that I’ve worked hard for. You’re a king and an Alpha to a bunch of bear shifters, but you also own your own company. Asking you to come with me isn’t an option, either."
Giddeon sat up completely. Casey felt that wall of distance build up between them again. “I have to admit that I’m hurt, Casey. Not for the reasons you’ve given, but because when you think of being with me, all you see are the losses. I understand why you are reluctant to give up your life. I just hoped that you would see some good in us being together.”
“I’m sorry, Giddeon, but I’m not like you. I don’t believe in fairytale happy endings.”
He stood up from the bed and walked into the bathroom. A moment later, Casey heard the bathtub being filled with water. When he emerged, Giddeon wore a pair of lounge pants and a t-shirt that hugged his chest. “You can use my bathing chamber to wash up if you like. I have work to do.” He slammed the door as he walked out of the room.
She knew her words had hurt him and, perhaps, part of her had done so on purpose.
After one divorce, forever was a hard pill to swallow. Casey wasn’t ready to give up her life. She had been so close to losing everything before she came to Alaska. Giddeon was gorgeous and honest. He had the loyalty of his people and a successful company on top of his impressive titles. There was so much to love about him...but Casey looked around Castle Black and saw a world where she didn’t belong.
Suddenly, staying for the weekend seemed like a bad idea.
She bathed quickly and changed into something comfortable before calling a taxi. A maid knocked on the door when the car pulled up, and Casey left without a word to anyone. Mixed emotions continued to batter around her insides.
Chapter Ten
Destiny, Al
aska
Olivia and Rina looked up as she walked through the door. Casey flopped onto the sofa beside them and removed her jacket. Diana entered the room with a drink in her hand and a slice of chocolate cake in the other. “What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be in the ginormous castle with your millionaire.” Diana wiggled her way between Casey and Olivia. She offered Casey her drink and Casey took it without hesitation. Fruity liquor slid down the back of her throat, but Casey hardly tasted it.
“I pretty much slept with him and then told him I didn’t see a future with us.”
“Are you insane?” Olivia shouted.
“Look, I can’t tell you guys the whole story. Giddeon just isn’t who we thought he was, and let’s leave it at that. It just wouldn’t have worked out. My life is in Washington and moving to Alaska would be a huge step.”
Casey downed the rest of her drink and set the glass on the table.
“Do you want to contact the agency and find a new match?”
She shook her head. “I think I just want to cut this vacation short and get as far away from Destiny, Alaska, and Giddeon Black as I can get.”
“What did you say to him when you left?”
“I didn’t say anything,” Casey admitted. “When he stormed out, I just called a cab.”
Rina’s eyes widened. “That’s pretty fucking harsh, Casey.”
“What was I supposed to do? Sit around his castle until he decided to talk to me? And even then, what was left to say? He wasn’t interested in dating for a while and seeing where things went. Dating Giddeon Black ends in marriage.”
“So you ran because you were scared?” Olivia asked.
“I left because his life is too complicated right now and I’m not giving up my life to live in a castle that’s plopped in the middle of nowhere in Alaska.”
Even Diana seemed put off by her reasoning. “I live in Detroit, Rina lives in LA, and Olivia goes in whatever the direction the wind takes her. The only thing you have in Washington is your job. And if your job is your life, then maybe you need to reorganize your priorities.”
