by Amanda LeMay
“That’s how I know, baby. Once Neeta made up her mind, she had no more connection to me. You can’t do that. I can’t do that. Not with what we have between us. If it breaks, which it won’t, but I’m just sayin’, if it breaks, I’ll do whatever it takes to fix it. I won’t let you drift away.”
“You never looked at another female? Even though you were free to do so, you didn’t look?”
“I looked, hell yeah. I’m a male, can’t help but look. And they saw me, too. But being an Alpha is a huge responsibility and bringing another female in, well, it wasn’t fair to them.”
“It wasn’t fair to you. It’s not fair to her.”
That was what he and Neeta had been discussing—his responsibilities as an Alpha.
“I’d done my thing as a Breeder, wasn’t goin’ there again. Not interested. Not needed, either. And it’s not like the old days. Now it’s more a show. Non-Breeder wolves are finally making babies on their own. Not so many that it’s dangerous, but still, it’s damn good to hear.”
“Only one offspring a year is born into Rule’s pack, if that, and we didn’t get to see them until they were already in their teens. Is that normal, as far as birth rate goes?”
“One a year? Hell, no. With that many births, it’s a wonder Rule’s pack isn’t huge. Females naturally go into heat once every four or five years, and then you’re damn lucky if her heat falls on the full moon for the pregnancy to take. If a mated pair misses that, they gotta wait another four to five years. Good thing we live so damn long. Gives mated couples lots of chances to conceive, at least once or twice during their lives. Neeta and me, were lucky to have as many offspring as we did.”
Because of my father’s incestuous practices, you and I may never have offspring, whether my heat falls on the full moon, or not.
Don’t. Go. There.
And as if Gunner knew my mind had drifted into dangerous territory, he murmured into my hair, “Hey, let’s focus on us, you and me, here in this bed.”
He took my hand and led it down his chest and over his rippled abs. I traced my fingertips through the dark trail of soft hair from his belly button to his still-hard cock. I didn’t have any trouble focusing then.
Licking my lips, I explored his taut, shiny skin, the soft velvety tip, and the ridges that ran up and down his length.
I traced an almost perfectly straight line with my finger. “This little line—is it a birthmark?”
“Not a line—a seam.”
“A seam?”
“This here?” His thumb smoothed a path up his shaft to the tip, following the line that resembled two thick veins, side by side.
My mouth watered as I watched his hand move over flesh I wanted to savor again. My first taste wasn’t nearly enough. I wanted to draw him out, make him come, and not let him drag me away before he lost control.
“This right here is the sign of a Breeder. Well, a male Breeder. Female Breeders, it’s a helluva lot harder to tell when they’re young, but males, yeah, this little thing right here is a big give-away.”
I looked up at him. A warm, sexy smile spread across his face.
“See, females can enjoy sex in their wolf form, but they can’t orgasm. There’s no big, ultimate climax-type reward for allowing a male to mount them and bite the hell out of them while he’s getting’ his rocks off. It feels good, but, yeah, for females, that’s about all there is. For Breeders, well, the state we’re in while breeding is...kinda dangerous. The only thing we have on our primitive minds is to procreate and to do that, we fuck. Hard. For hours. Somehow, evolution gave male Breeders another bonus to keep the females from running off and breeding with every male they came across.” His smile widened.
“A bonus?”
“Yep.”
I waited for him to explain, but he only smiled.
“Well?”
“I don’t think I wanna tell you. I’m gonna show you. But not right now. Now, I want your mouth on me again. And when you’re done making me come, I’m gonna spend another couple of hours showing you what that special little seam is hidin’.”
I moved to my knees and leaned over him. “Is that a promise?”
His fingers touched my cheek, then moved to tuck my hair behind my ear. “Oh yeah, baby, that’s a promise.” He growled.
I moved between his legs, sat back on my knees, smoothed my hair into a ponytail, then twisted it into a tight bun, tucking the ends inside to hold it in place.
Gunner folded both of his arms behind his head, propping it up off the pillow. “Damn, never thought a female putting her hair up would look so sexy.”
I looked down at him and smiled as gooseflesh covered my skin.
He doesn’t see them.
And if he does, it doesn’t matter.
His eyes flashed to mine. “Love watchin’ you do that. Love seein’ you naked in my bed.”
I leaned over him and kissed his mouth, his goateed chin, his neck.
“Let me give you something else to watch.”
I kissed my way down his gorgeous body, my mouth watering as I reached his cock. I licked my lips, his tip, then took him into my mouth as far as I was able—which with his size, didn’t seem like much at all—sucking hard on the way back up.
His breath came in deep, rapid groans. His heart beat hard and fast and I felt each pounding beat against my lips, tongue, and hands. The scent coming off his heated skin filled the room.
“Oh yeah.” He arched his back and groaned again. “Oh yeah, baby, oh damn, feels so fuckin’ good.”
His entire body strained. Muscles tightened. His abdomen quivered with each stroke of my hands and tongue. His breath increased to ragged pulls. I gazed up his torso to see his eyes wide open, wild, and focused only on me. I took my time, enjoying the sweet sensation of his slick flesh sliding in and out of my mouth, over my tongue, and between the palms of my hands. I licked and sucked and nipped with my teeth as he groaned and urged me on. When his body trembled, I backed off and drew him out with long licks from base to tip until he’d catch his breath. Then I’d start all over, taking him deeper each time as my mouth and throat relaxed and became accustomed to his width and length. What I couldn’t take down my throat, I circled with my hands.
“I can’t hold it anymore. Watching you, seeing what you’re doin’ to me, I can’t hold it.” He slammed his head back onto the pillow, then looked up at me. “You ready for me, baby?” he ground out from between clenched teeth.
I slid him out of my mouth, but continued to stroke his length with my hand and answered him, “Yes, I’m ready. Give it to me.” Then I sucked him as deep as I could.
“Oh yeah...”
I slid my hands down around the base of his erection and tightened my grip. His arms came out from behind his head and slammed down on the bed. His hands fisted the sheets, and pulled as his thighs pressed tightly against mine. His eyes sparkled in the dark as every muscle in his body strained and bowed.
“Oh...Simone...oh yeah...oh yeah...fucking hell...”
What shot out of his body, into my mouth, and down my throat tasted of smoky leather and tangy lemons.
Instead of letting me savor the taste of him, Gunner pulled me up next to him, flipped me onto my back, and kissed me hard, his tongue driving in and sucking mine like he couldn’t kiss me deep enough, growling the entire time as if I were prey he had snared. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him back, trying to slow him down before he ate me up. His lips finally eased up, even though by the time he backed off, my lips were swollen and bruised.
“You like doing that?” he whispered against my mouth. “Because, baby, I gotta tell ya, I love that.”
“Yes, Gun, I love doing that.” And I did.
“Good.” His lips curved into a smile against mine.
His fingers touched my cheeks and his kisses became tender and sweet, and nothing but lips. Then he stopped. I opened my eyes to see his face only an inch from mine, his eyes gazing at me, his expression soft and full of lov
e and desire.
“Simone,” Gunner whispered, “I...I—”
The sound of wolves in the distance suddenly interrupted our moment as the howls traveled fast throughout the ranch and ended up close to the house. These howls sounded different from before, though not because there was danger, but an alert, all the same.
“Somebody’s here,” Gunner murmured as he rolled me to my side. “Of course they’d show up at the crack of dawn.”
Company had arrived. No time for another lovemaking marathon. I moved to roll away but Gunner’s arm pulled me back into his chest.
“Where you goin’?”
“You’ve got company.”
“We’re not done.”
He rolled me over, laying me out flat with his body pressed against mine. His mouth took mine again, his tongue swept inside, and suddenly I didn’t care who might be arriving or how long it took for us to get out of that bed. Gunner’s lips moved from my mouth to my neck, his teeth nipping at my mark, the only bite that didn’t seem to fade away.
“Bite me. Bite me again, Gun.”
“You like that, don’t you?” Gunner’s teeth nipped at my collarbone.
“Yes. Is that weird?”
“Well, seeing that I love sinking my teeth into you, I wouldn’t say it’s weird.” His mouth moved to the top of my breast and nipped again, sending tingles throughout my body. “Like I said, anything you want, I’m all for it.”
I ran my fingers through his hair. “I want you to show me what is hidden behind that little seam.”
“Spread those long legs of yours, baby.” Gunner moved and settled between my legs. “I’m gonna show you...”
His head snapped up suddenly. Heavy footsteps traveled the hall toward his bedroom. Then Gunner rolled right off the side of the bed, taking me with him and snagging the sheet as we fell to the rug, his body beneath mine, cushioning my fall.
“Gunner!” I shrieked as I fell.
We hit with an omph. In a flash of fabric, Gunner had the sheet wrapped around my naked body just as footsteps hit the four stairs outside his bedroom door.
“Hemming! Don’t you fuckin’ open that door,” Gunner shouted as he rolled me again, covering me with his body.
The door opened anyway. The smell of fresh-cut timber and cinnamon apples hit the room and traveled across the floor to the rug.
“I’m gonna kick your ass, you son of a bitch!” Gunner yelled up over the bed while I grasped the sheet to cover my breasts.
“What are you doing on the floor?” a female voice asked.
I looked past Gunner’s shoulder. A female who looked as if she could be Neeta’s sister, same white hair, same gray eyes, stood next to an enormous male with full-on salt-and-pepper hair and more wrinkles than I had seen on any wolf before. Not that he wasn’t good-looking, because he was, but his wrinkles made him look ruggedly handsome and somewhat frightening.
“Gun.” The male had a deep, gravelly voice that vibrated the air with power. “Is this the female?”
“Yeah, Hemming, this is my female.” Gunner looked down at me, irritation at the interruption showing plainly in his stern expression. “Simone, this is my brother, Hemming, and his mate, Neeru, Neeta’s sister.”
I moved my head to the left and smiled weakly up at the Alpha pair standing at the foot of Gunner’s bed. “It’s very nice to meet you. I’d shake your hand, but I’m, well, kind of trapped.”
“I see that.” A small smile curved Hemming’s mouth. “Gun, we’re not the only ones here. A small caravan pulled up right behind us. We’re still missing a few, but they should be along shortly. I suggest you get up off the floor and tend to your duties.”
Gunner growled. The sound traveled through his body, vibrating against mine. “Get the fuck out, and I will.”
Neeru laughed and pulled at her mate’s arm. “C’mon, let’s leave them to it. Besides, I’m starving.” Neeru smiled at me and pulled Hemming out of my sight toward the bedroom door. “And Gunner, I suggest you get a lock for this door if you don’t want people barging in uninvited.”
“Installin’ a damn deadbolt,” Gunner grumbled. “Today.”
The door closed with a thud.
Gunner buried his face in my neck and whispered, “I am so sorry.”
I turned to face the wall of windows. The skyline had changed—orange and purple ribbons melted with pale blue.
My throat tightened as tears burned my eyes. My stomach contracted like a fist as panic overwhelmed me.
Gunner squeezed me tighter. “C’mon, baby, don’t.”
No matter how much I tried to hold it in, a body-wracking sob exploded from my mouth.
I can’t do this! Please! I can’t do this!
His palms surrounded my face. “Look at me.” His voice was soft. He didn’t force me, only waited for me to do it on my own.
Forcing the panic down, I turned and found his face only a few inches from mine, his green eyes shining in the light coming in from outside.
“Simone, if I could save you from havin’ to expose your brands, I would,” he said softly. “Hell, as far as I’m concerned, every inch of your beautiful body belongs to me and the last thing I wanna to do is share you with anyone. Anyone.” Gunner wiped away tears that had leaked down my cheeks, laid his lips on mine, and I sighed into him. “They already believe you. They wouldn’t be here if they thought for one second what Rule did to you is a lie.” Then he pressed his forehead against mine. “You can do this.”
“I can do this,” I whispered. Once I showed my brands to the tribunal, not one living soul, besides Gunner, would ever see my naked body again. I straightened my spine and sucked in a breath. “I’m okay. I’m okay.”
I did it again—I used that word and he knew I was trying to block out the pain. I couldn’t help it and he didn’t push.
Gunner lifted his head and shook it, his eyes sad. “I’ll be right there with you the whole time. You need me, I’ll be right there.”
“Thank you,” I whispered again and sniffled. I had no doubt at all Gunner would be there for me. I could feel it down to my soul.
Gunner sat back on his knees and reached for my hands, peeling them away from the sheet I hadn’t realized I’d been clutching to for my life.
“Fell out of the mood, huh?”
I nodded yes, though it was a lie. I wanted nothing more than to stay in Gunner’s bed, wrapped in the safety of his arms, and forget the rest or the world.
“It’s all right.” He stood and pulled me into his arms. “C’mere, baby.”
No, it wasn’t all right. I was selfish for running. Selfish for hiding. Selfish for wanting to forget all the bad and just be happy.
It could’ve been worse.
“I stood in her blood,” I whispered as the memory slammed into me. “It was cold and sticky and it oozed up between my toes like red paint.”
“Baby,” Gunner whispered into my hair. His big body molded around mine, and even though there was no erasing what I’d been through, he tried to shelter me the only way he knew how.
“I washed it away, thinking the entire time, I’m okay, it could’ve been worse. It could’ve been me. Then I ran and ran and ran.”
“Rule is gonna answer for what’s he’s done to you,” he murmured as his lips touched my forehead. “I swear to you, Simone, I’m gonna make him wish he was dead.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
GUNNER HAD PICKED OUT my clothing, keeping in mind that the least amount of undressing I needed to do would be better for the both of us. He’d gone through my closet and handed me a light, white blouse with a frilly edge that extended over my breasts so I could comfortably go without a bra, and a matching, short-sleeved jacket of the same lightweight material that flowed softly over my hips. He added a long, stretchy blue plaid patterned skirt with a low-riding waistband that hugged my hips a few inches below my belly button.
While searching through a drawer, he also found the tiny bikini panties Jessy had sneaked in during our
clothes-shopping adventure. I had tried to throw them out, certain I would never wear something so sexy, but Derry had found them, laundered them, and stuck them in the drawer, where I’d quickly shoved them to the back. After seeing the heat flash in Gunner’s eyes and the deep growl that rumbled through his chest as he slipped the small piece of satin and lace up my legs, I finally understood why Jessy went to the lengths she had to make sure I had something pretty, something special.
After I’d dressed, Gunner ran his fingers across the bare skin that peeked out between the hem of my blouse and waistband of my skirt. He leaned in close and whispered in my ear, “When we’re done with this meeting, this soft, beautiful strip of belly, that’s mine. I’m gonna taste that.”
With that promise, any stress I had flew right out of my head, replaced swiftly by a gentle shiver that ran up my sides and tingled in my breasts.
The combined Alpha power in the big barn beat against my flesh and bones like a windstorm coming at me from every direction. I took a breath, tried to calm my nerves.
With Gunner at my back, I stood facing the semicircle of eleven Alpha males. Gunner’s brother, Ralph, presided over the group. In all, there were twenty wolves in attendance, each in human form.
After introductions were given all around, I’d been the first to speak. My hands trembled the entire time. Small beads of sweat trickled down my spine. Gunner stayed close—a warm, quiet comfort—his hands on my waist, gently squeezing whenever I needed a reminder he was there for me. I told the tribunal everything, just as I’d told Gunner and Ralph.
When it came time to show my brands, I’d simply pulled the blouse low enough to flash only the top portion of my brands. When I reached for the waistband of my skirt, Ralph held up his hand to stop me and asked the tribunal if it was necessary I reveal that brand as well or, would they take his and Gunner’s word that it was, in fact, there. They agreed.
Next, Jessy told her account of what she’d observed while living in San Francisco, all the way up to my sudden, ragged appearance at her wedding reception. Even though I knew she’d had a bad experience with one of the males of my former pack, she didn’t bring it up, and the look she flashed me said this was private and not something to air in public. Since her experience didn’t have anything to do with Rule’s treatment of me directly, I didn’t mention it either, just as I chose not to drag my mother’s reaction to my sexual indiscretion and her disappointment in me into the mix.