by Eliza Gayle
Except his control felt different than anyone she'd ever met before. He made her feel safe in a way that didn't make sense to her. No. This wasn't how she was supposed to feel. This is sex, she reminded herself. Hot, dirty, sweaty sex.
She reached between them and cupped Dean's erection. His sharp intake of breath made her happy. She popped the button open on his jeans and slowly dropped his zipper. To her pleasant surprise he went commando and she was greeted by hot, silky flesh under her fingertips. She slid her hand inside his jeans and gripped him fully with a tight fist.
This time he hissed at her. "Dammit, Niki."
That was the only warning she got before he picked her up, turned and laid her out on one of the old wooden tables.
"You have a way of pushing every one of my buttons until all I can think about is getting inside you."
Yes.
Her head fell back as he pushed her T-shirt above her breasts and bent over her to suck one into his mouth. The invisible chord between her nipple and her pussy pulled tight and she arched up seeking even more of his touch. He answered her need with a series of licks and bites that drove her wild. Then his hand yanked at her shorts until they were off and forgotten.
She grabbed at his shoulders and tried to pull him down with her and failed. "Not yet, baby. We'll get there soon but not until I've had a taste." He backed off from her breasts, nibbling his way down her torso until he reached her navel. There he licked up and over the belly stud she wore for several excruciating minutes until her limbs began to tremble. Then his hand was between her thighs where he slipped one finger inside her and stroked.
Oh Goddess.
Her sex clenched in response to the delicious sensations and he added a second alongside the first. She had nothing to hold onto to steady herself as he worked her over thoroughly. The whimpers fell one right after the other as she rocked her head back and forth. The magnitude of her need whipped around her as an all-consuming burn threatened to obliterate her.
When Dean finally lowered his head and swiped his tongue through her slick folds, Niki lost it. Her head exploded. She tried to scream, but no sound came out. Her muscles had locked tight with her orgasm and for a moment she forgot about everything they had to face. How could she think of anything other than the man devouring her for his pleasure, when it resulted in this kind of explosive bliss? Between his fingers and his tongue another frenzy was building and she wanted him closer—much fucking closer—when it broke.
"Dean, please." She grabbed at his hair and tried to stop him before... Oh shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. This was impossible. "Gonna make me come again," she cried.
He growled, the sensation creating an incredible barrage of vibrations where she most needed them, leaving her feeling half-dazed with need. He knew exactly what he was doing to her, something he proved quite well when he pulled the most sensitized piece of flesh on her body into his mouth and rolled it around between his teeth.
Sanity and clear thoughts were forgotten as the wall holding her back burst free. With her screams ringing in the air, Dean stood and pushed his way between her thighs until she felt him hard and hot beginning to push inside of her.
She grabbed at his arms and held on tight. How had she forgotten the part about how big he was?
"It's okay, baby, relax. I got this." He leaned forward and kissed her hard, stroking his tongue against hers. The excitement of being in his arms again took her by surprise as she poured everything into his kiss and he slipped the rest of the way inside her. After what felt like a momentary pause, he pulled back to the tip and slid home in a much faster stroke. She sucked in a breath and broke free from his mouth.
"So good, Dean. Oh my Goddess. I forgot how good."
"Shame on you, girl. I guess I'll have to keep reminding you so you don't forget again." His thrusts grew more frantic until she clawed at his torso trying to make him go faster. And he did. Slamming inside her and no longer holding back, she forgot where she was, who she was, and why she was.
"I'm never going to forget how fucking good your pussy feels wrapped around my dick. Ever, baby." He pumped several hard strokes before he continued. "This thing we've got going between us? You better get used to it because it's going to happen. Mark my words."
That was it. Harsh words and a harsher promise were all it took and she went flying off the giant cliff she'd stood in front of trying to wait. "Dean," she cried. "Dean..."
Muscle control lost, she started to fall back to the table when he caught her shoulder. "No, hold onto me, baby. Hold me tight and watch me come."
Her pussy clenched around his cock and they both moaned in the agony and pleasure of it. The slippery slick sounds of cream drenching him suddenly seemed impossibly loud. She met his gaze and the look of heat and need stole her breath. Had anyone ever looked at her like that before?
"That's right, Niki. It's you. You do this to me. You make me crazy protective because I can't stand the thought of anything ever happening to you again. I couldn't take it. I will kill every last person who ever hurts you. This I vow." He was pumping inside her even faster and his words came out stilted, but she heard every one as he unleashed his beast's emotions and came.
And the pretty little walls she kept securely erected around her emotions began to crack.
8
"Kitty, I thought we agreed you were going to stay out of other people's business. Particularly Dean and Niki's." He'd caught her red-handed googling a map for Counce, Tennessee. He was going to have to talk to Bhric and his crew about how much information the man shared with his mate. Too much, and this is what they got. A curious cat far worse than a dog with a bone.
"Are you going to stand there and tell me you aren't a little curious? You should be alarmed another wolf pack came so close to your territory and kidnapped a pregnant female. What if it was me?"
A dark red haze filled Rafe's vision at the suggestion someone might hurt his mate. Despite his civilized approach to pack life and their ongoing issues, he still held a deep blood thirst for anyone who dared to cause harm to someone he cared about. Some things about his animalistic nature couldn't be changed.
"Wait. What? Are you telling me you're going to have a cub?"
She turned away from the computer and gave him a half smile. "No, Rafe. I'm not pregnant. But at the rate you're trying, who knows? It could happen any day."
Rafe stalked closer to his woman. "Damn right. Which is exactly why you should leave Dark Moon business to the Dark Moon crew and tell me more about what we can do to make baby cubs."
"You've just got sex on the brain. Now come over here and look at these maps. This area where she was taken isn't all that big and, from what they said about where she was held, it might not be that hard to find. Maybe Simon would help. He's a doctor and if they were trying to do some kind of testing on her baby, he'd be able to figure it out. Hell, he'd probably be raring to go. Any new information about shifter fertility could be extremely useful in his medical research."
He took a deep even breath and waited for the patience eluding him to kick in. "You're not going to let this go are you?"
She looked at him and shook her head.
"Fine." He held out his hand. "Let me get a look at this map you've found. You know it's damned embarrassing we need to rely on technology to know our own woods. We used to be able to go by our senses alone."
She smirked at him. "And I'll bet 'back in the day'--" She used little air quotes with her fingers to emphasis her sarcasm. "The wolf mortality rate was a lot higher than it is now. It's high time you all got on board one hundred percent with Simon and looked into what technology can do for the pack."
"Hon, I know you're feeling stressed about all this, but have you looked around at your new pack? You're lecturing me about technology while sitting in our living room, using our state of the art computer system, with two cell phones sitting on the charger next to you. Not to mention all the big flat-screen televisions we watch and the video camera security system I ha
ve setup all over the core pack properties we monitor from here."
Kitty sat back in her chair, her laugh bubbling up. Goddess he loved that sound. He needed to coax that from her more often. She worked tirelessly helping others lately and he worried she had a complex about making sure she fit in or atoned for her past.
"Well, duh. Huh?" She rubbed her temples and scrunched her nose.
Definitely his mate was taking on too much too fast. He moved behind her chair and began massaging her shoulders. He could feel the knots wound pretty tight. She needed to be taken care of. His thoughts drifted to a more pleasant full-body massage he wanted to give her. With lots of oil involved. And her totally naked.
"Oh damn, Rafe. That feels good."
Hell, yeah, it felt good. Any time he got the opportunity to lay his hands on her sweet skin was heavenly. Now she'd gone and made his dick hard.
"What's going on back there? You're growling."
He swiveled her chair around, putting her face to face with his cock now straining against his jeans.
She laughed at that sweet sound again. "You, mate, have a one track mind. All roads lead to sex, don't they?"
"Only when I'm around you. You did this, not me."
"Uh-huh. I've never seen a man more capable of resisting his baser urges than you, Rafe. Right now you're just trying to distract me from this kidnapping thing."
"Is it working?" He cupped her chin and stroked his fingers down her neck. Her eyes closed on contact and her mouth parted slightly in an obvious sign of pleasure. He loved seeing her like that. She did everything at one hundred and fifty percent. Whatever challenge someone threw her way, she figured out a way to rise to it. Whether it was pack politics, the dissent with her former clan, or dealing with females who attack with poisonous claws. He'd never met such a resilient woman.
"Maybe," she said.
"Saucy wench." He leaned down and kissed the side of her neck. She smelled so good he did it again, letting the kisses evolve into a series of bites he knew would get to her.
Yes, she was strong, but that didn't mean he wanted her getting involved in more danger if she didn't have to. As the alpha female of the pack, her role was meant to support their pack and their way of life. And right now all eyes were on them to see if their unusual pairing of a wolf and a cougar could produce new offspring. Not all pack members were as curious and understanding as their former Alpha had been when he'd given his blessing to Rafe and Kitty. It was almost a guarantee that if she didn't get pregnant, challenges would come for his leadership position.
As for Kitty, he doubted she realized yet how much control she truly had, despite the sometimes erroneous legends that males held all the power in a shifter society. When a strong alpha female emerged in a pack, it wasn't uncommon for her to take the top dominant role. Kitty's sigh of pleasure pulled him from his wandering thoughts. Her fingers were still sitting on the keyboard, but they'd stopped moving. He had her hooked now all he had to do was reel her in. If he distracted her long enough, maybe Bhric and his crew would take care of their business without his mate interjecting.
A knock sounded at the door, pulling both Rafe and Kitty away from the direction they were headed. "Dammit, Simon."
Kitty laughed. "Serves you right for trying to distract me from my plan."
"Your plan? No, don't tell me yet. I'm not sure I want to know." He strode to the door and opened it to his best friend and second in command.
"This better be good."
"I interrupted again?" Simon chuckled as he stepped into their cabin. "The natives are getting restless. Word's gotten out about one of them white felines being pregnant and a lot of people are congregating in the town square demanding to know more."
"What?" Kitty jumped from her chair and joined them in the living room.
"Dammit to hell. I thought we'd have more time to figure this all out before any news broke. Who the hell opened their fat mouth?"
Simon shrugged. "Haven't gotten that far. But word currently spreading through the pack is she's either an abomination or the savior to our breeding problems."
"Oh for cripe's sake," Kitty said. "She's a hybrid just like any other. And not the first to get pregnant. I'm going down there to straighten this out." She grabbed her jacket and put it on as he and Simon watched. As he'd thought, she might not realize how much control she possessed, but it came to her naturally. Fucking turned him on too.
"Jesus, Rafe. Can't you keep it under control for even a minute?" Simon had scented his arousal and reacted.
"It's not like you do. How many women has it been this week?"
"None of your damn business."
"Then stay the hell out of mine." He clipped his friend on the shoulder. "Stay the hell out of mine," he said again.
9
Dean rolled over in the bed and placed his palm on Niki's belly. He was torn between going for round three or getting his ass in gear to start protecting his mate and child.
"Have you felt him move yet?"
She opened her eyes and turned to meet his gaze. "Not so sure it's a him, and no. No movement yet."
"Either way is good for me. Girl or boy I mean."
"Mmmhmm," she said, purring. The sunlight pouring in through the window highlighted her nearly translucent skin to an almost ethereal appearance. With her white blonde hair fanned across the pillow behind her head, she resembled a goddess more than a stone cold killer. It was difficult to reconcile that. He couldn't wait to see her belly rounded with his child. His instincts told him that, thanks to her own unconventional birth and upbringing, she'd take to motherhood with a vengeance. She certainly had the skills to keep any cub safe.
The last time he'd thought he was going to be a father, he'd been more nervous than anything else. The closer the birth got the more on edge he became, as if his animal sensed something wrong that he didn't know. Of course it all made sense once he found out he was truly not the dad-to-be. The crushing truth had shaken him to his core and his recovery had taken a very long bout of solitude that made the situation between him and Bhric worse when he refused to talk to him.
Dean shook free from his bitter memories and once again focused on Niki. Her breasts were already larger from the child, but the rest of her remained perfectly curved. Not that he didn't look forward to the changes, because he did. He'd discovered long ago that he wasn't the kind of guy who liked woman in one size only. Skinny was just fine, but so were more generous curves. Especially hers. Only hers actually. Since the night they'd met, she had become it for him and he loved the idea of watching her change and grow to birth his son.
She didn't want to talk about mating and for now he'd let it rest. Although not for long. Whether she took his commitment serious or not didn't matter. In his mind they were already mated and that meant for life. Humans said for better or worse, 'til death do us part, which really meant until they changed their minds. Shifters said forever, and forever meant forever. No take-backs allowed.
With her eyes closed so she had no clue what thoughts ran through his mind, including all one hundred and one things he wanted to do with her body.
Yeah, round three was looking better and better. But daylight was burning and he had a job to do. If he waited much longer, Bhric and his crew would leave without him.
"You need to rest. It's been a helluva couple of days," He rolled from the bed and started to dress.
"Where are you going?"
He shoved his feet into his boots and sat on the edge of the bed to lace them up. "You know we have to take care of them. The longer we wait the harder it gets. They could disappear."
Niki pushed up on her elbows. "And just like that you're planning to leave me behind?"
"No, actually I'm not. As much as I want you far away from those worthless wolves, I'm not leaving you here alone. There isn't a person in this house I trust."
"You're going to have to tell me what's going on between you and Bhric. It's hard enough to believe you're brothers, but the animosity
you have is downright scary."
He didn't want to do this. He let the silence stretch between them for a long time before he felt the truth was inevitable. When he got the sense she'd wait him out no matter how long it took, he gave in. "Bhric and I, it's complicated. As the younger brother I grew up worshipping him. In fact, after our parents died he wanted to come here and make a home with other hybrids and I followed him."
"And now you hate him? What did he do?"
He sighed. "I don't hate him. At least I don't think I do..." Did he? He combed his hands through his hair and stared at a spot on the wall across the room. As much as she deserved to know more, he wasn't ready to open that wound.
"It was a woman," Niki said.
Dean stood and walked to the window. Bhric had given her his old room. The biggest in the house with a large window that overlooked a pond in the backyard. Despite the neglect, he knew spring would alter the landscape and beckon to both their animal sides. He'd had such high hopes when they found this old place. They were going to restore it together. Maybe turn it into an apartment house so they could help other shifters with no family. Then his brother got involved in hybrid politics and started building a group of supporters that morphed into something entirely different. Their original plans faded until Dean forced him to at least open the bar downstairs so they'd have some legitimate income coming in.
Then he'd met Brenda...
"Something like that," he said.
When she touched his back, he jerked in surprise that she'd moved from the bed without a sound. "How do you do that?" he asked.
"What?"
"You shouldn't be able to make a move without even a displacement of air to alert me."
She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her front to his back. "Years and years of training."
