“So have I.”
“What should we—”
I laid a finger over his lips. Knowing he felt the same way was enough for now. We were short on time, and I’d promised him we’d do more than talk. “We’ll talk about this later. I’m not going anywhere, okay?”
“Okay, but I—”
“Go back to the tree we were standing behind earlier. Take off your jacket, then put your hands on the trunk, stick your ass out, and don’t move.” He looked so good tonight. He was wearing my favorite of his suits, a navy pin-striped one that fit like a glove.
Fucking him outside like this was insane, but it was better than me shifting and dragging him off with my teeth in his neck, which was what my wolf wanted to do. But if we got caught…
No. We wouldn’t. I’d make sure of it somehow. I’d faced much worse odds than this. Neither of us could stand to be apart any longer. Storm was my mate and he needed this, needed me to—
Mark him. Claim him.
Not yet, but maybe soon.
I followed him back into the woods. He moved more silently than a human would, but unlike me, who’d learned to move without making a sound, the crunch of leaves still echoed around him. We needed to stay quiet if we were going to keep from being caught. That meant I’d have to gag Storm. There was no way he could be quiet through what I had planned for him. I wanted to hear all his cries and whimpers, but I’d have to do without them tonight.
Storm positioned himself like I’d demanded, and I reached around and yanked at his tie. He sucked in his breath, but he didn’t speak. “That’s right. You’ll have to stay still and quiet if you want what I have for you, but I’m going to help you with the quiet part.” I freed his tie and ordered him to open his mouth.
“Oh fuck. Are you—?”
I cut off his words by stuffing the fabric in. “No one gets to hear you cry out but me.” I leaned close and nuzzled his neck before biting his ear. The gag muffled his yelp, but I felt him jump. “If you need to stop me, take the gag out.”
He nodded, but the look in his eyes told me he wasn’t going to want to stop, no matter how rough I got.
“Do you have any lube?”
He shook his head.
“Then you’ll have to make do with spit.” He kept the gag in and made no protest, so I unfastened his pants, yanked them down, and knelt behind him. He groaned loud enough to be heard through the gag, and I smacked his ass. “If you can’t obey, I’ll stop.”
He arched his back more deeply, sticking his ass out toward me. My cock grew even harder than it already was. I wouldn’t really stop, no matter what he did. I couldn’t. The scent of him was driving me mad.
I knelt behind him, gripped his ass cheeks, and pulled them apart so I could give his hole a lick. He tensed, but the sound he made was muffled by the gag. I teased his hole with my tongue until he was working his hips, making me have to dig my fingers into his skin to hold him still. I pushed my tongue inside him, and if it hadn’t been for the silk in his mouth, his cry would have woken the whole forest. When he dropped one of his hands from the tree and reached for his cock, I slapped his ass hard enough to make him jump.
“Keep your hands on the tree unless I tell you otherwise.” He looked over his shoulder at me, and the desperation in his eyes sent a thrill through me.
“I’m in control. You take what I give unless you think you can’t.”
He narrowed his eyes at me and turned back to face the tree.
I breathed deeply, needing to draw his scent deep into me. Then I went back to tormenting him with pleasure, working him open and pushing my tongue in as far as I could. By the time I pulled back, he was bucking against my hold, and his balls were high and tight. He was already so close to coming. If I’d given him just a little more, he wouldn’t have been able to hold back.
I rose to my feet and skimmed my lips along his shoulder, up his neck, and over the outer edge of his ear. “You taste so good. I’m going to fuck you now. It’s going to hurt going in, but you can take it.”
He turned slightly, begging me not to stop with his eyes.
I ran a hand up and down his spine. “I won’t stop. Not this time. I’m about to go out of my mind with need for you.” He groaned and pushed back, rubbing his ass against me so my cock fit right in the crease. I squeezed his hips to hold him in place. “Stay still. I’m in charge here. And don’t even think about coming until I tell you to.”
He whimpered, and I smacked his ass right on top of the handprint I’d already put there. He dropped his head back, and I imagined the sounds he’d make if we were free to fully let go.
I spit on my hand and got my cock as wet as I could before I positioned myself at his entrance. “Open up and take me.”
I pressed forward, working into him slowly.
He was struggling to breathe. It had to hurt, but he wasn’t making a move to stop me. I was desperate to be all the way in, so I kept going, filling him, stretching him. Even without lube, he yielded to me until I was buried in him balls-deep.
“You love this, don’t you? Obeying me even when it hurts.”
He nodded and whimpered.
“You can take anything, can’t you?”
He pushed back, trying to get even more. I pulled out and drove in again, much harder this time. He sucked in his breath and struggled against my hold.
“Shh. It’s okay, baby. Just breathe. I’ve got you.”
When he’d calmed. I started working him again, slowly at first and then faster.
He drove his hips back, clearly ready for more.
“You shouldn’t have come out here to tease me. You shouldn’t risk yourself like this, and you sure as hell should never have told another man you’d go out with him. You need to be punished.”
He whined in agreement.
“I can’t punish you like I want to now. But”—I punctuated the word with a rough thrust that made Storm whine around his gag—“when I get a chance to have you in private”—I pulled out and drove in again—“I’m going to give you the punishment you deserve.”
He protested, and I just laughed as I began to fuck him harder and faster. I wanted to drag this out, but I couldn’t. It was madness to be taking him a few yards from the guesthouse when Emerson—or worse, King—could discover us any time.
“I’m going to come inside you and put my scent all over you so everyone will know you belong to me.” Storm’s breathing was rapid and erratic, telling me he was close. “You want to come, don’t you?”
He gave me a pleading look.
“All right. You’ve earned it.” I dropped my hand to his cock and stroked him. In seconds, his body tensed, and he began to coat my hand with his spunk. I pulled out enough to prevent my knot from locking us together, and I nearly bit through my lip holding in a shout as I emptied myself inside him.
He squirmed, trying to take more of me, clearly wanting my knot. “We can’t be stuck together out here, baby.” He made a sound that would have been a sob if not for the gag. “I know you want it. You like to be stretched. Sometime, I’ll give you my cock and a dildo inside you at the same time. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
He nodded, and I wrapped him in my arms, turning him to face me as I pulled the gag from his mouth.
“That was incredible.” His voice was rough and scratchy. “You know exactly what I need.”
My wolf preened, more content than he’d been in months. “I do.”
“Are we really mates?” His voice was soft, and he sounded so blissed out. We needed to talk about how we felt when we weren’t coming down from the high of orgasm, but he deserved at least a short answer now.
“I think so.”
“So you won’t leave? You can’t?”
“I will never leave you, but we have to be careful.”
“I know how to sneak around my brothers.”
I wasn’t sure he was as good at that as he thought. “Promise me you won’t say anything to them before we talk more.”
/>
“I won’t. I know we need to keep it a secret.”
“For a little while, but if we’re fated to be together, we need to tell them that. They might be angry at first, but they can’t send me away if I’m your mate.”
“They might try.”
I hated the fear I saw in his eyes. “I’ll take care of it.”
“I want you to claim me, make me fully yours.”
Yes, my wolf cried. I wanted that badly, but… “Not yet. Not until we can be together.”
“But if we’re already bonded, then King can’t deny—”
“Shit. King and Emerson are coming back.”
Storm stilled, seeming to listen.
“Get out of here, go around behind the house. Anyone who sees you now would know you’ve just been fucked.”
He grinned. “It was so good.”
I kissed him gently, then smacked his ass. “Go. Now.”
I made it back to the front porch just before King and Emerson emerged from the path through the woods.
11
Storm
The night of my date with Trent arrived. I was dreading it. The man made my skin crawl, but I needed information, and I had to admit to enjoying how jealous Jax was. I could feel the annoyance rolling off him as we stepped out of the car. He’d been seething for the entire ride to the restaurant because he couldn’t openly try to convince me not to go through with this date with Denny in the car. It was obvious, at least to me, that Denny knew something was up, but I didn’t think he was going to say anything to my brothers. He’d helped me break the rules before, and I imagined he’d do it again.
Jax growled as we walked toward the door of Luciano’s. “If he makes one move on you—”
“We’ll be in the middle of a five-star restaurant. What do you think will happen?”
“I have no idea, but I’m ready for it.” He laid a hand on my shoulder. “I know you hoped to make me jealous with this, and I’m adding it to the growing list of things I intend to punish you for when I get you alone again.”
I smirked at him. “I’m counting on it.”
Jax opened the door, and I entered. I had to remember not to glance back at him. People weren’t supposed to notice their bodyguards, and if I looked at him, I might not be able to look away again. But I didn’t need to see him. I could feel his warm presence at my back, and I knew he wasn’t going to let me out of his sight.
I’d suggested this particular restaurant because it was one of my favorites, and I’d wanted to at least enjoy the food while having to feign interest in an asshole like Trent. Now that I was here, my stomach was all knotted up. No matter how fun it was to tease Jax, I didn’t want to be here. I didn’t want to sit across from another man, especially one as repugnant as Trent, and pretend to be interested in him. I was going to have to force myself to eat, and I probably wouldn’t enjoy a bite.
“Mr. Howler, it’s lovely to see you.” Angelica, the hostess, greeted me. I made myself smile. “Thank you. It’s been too long since I’ve had the pleasure of dining here.”
“It has. Your companion for the evening has already arrived. We went ahead and seated him. I hope that is all right.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t want to keep him standing around waiting.” I’d rather rip him to shreds with my claws, but she didn’t need to know that.
“Shall I take you to your table?”
“Yes, thank you.”
I could feel Jax behind me. His heat seemed to caress me, even though we weren’t actually touching. I no longer questioned the idea that we were mates. There was a bond growing between us. I’d thought I’d need Jax’s mate bite to feel this kind of connection, but I could sense emotions from him in a way I hadn’t been able to before the night by the guesthouse.
My wolf responded to Jax’s anger and unease. Mate. Listen to our mate.
I couldn’t though. It was too late to back out, even if I’d realized this was a stupid plan. I needed information, and my family needed the bears as allies.
Angelica led me to a corner table near the back of the restaurant. It was in a quiet spot where Trent and I could easily talk. If I’d been dining with Jax, I would’ve welcomed the atmosphere. As it was, I wished we’d been placed next to a noisy crowd. Jax positioned himself against the wall opposite our table as Trent openly looked me up and down. I had to resist the urge to shudder. When he rose and held out his hand, I heard a low growl from Jax.
This was a huge mistake. I prayed Jax could hold on to his control.
Trent held my hand much longer than necessary, and I had to practically yank it out of his grip. I could feel Jax’s fury through our mate bond. I worried he would rip out Trent’s throat if the man touched me again.
“Good evening,” Trent said, giving me a knowing smile as we seated ourselves. “I’m glad you finally agreed to this. I knew you’d eventually give in.”
Bringing this bastard down was going to feel so good. I gave him a smile anyone with sense would see was fake. “I had to wait for a chance to sneak away without my brothers noticing. They’re very overprotective.”
“So your brothers don’t know you’re here?” His lascivious smile made me nauseous.
If he thought that meant he could force himself on me, he was so wrong. “There’s no need for them to know all my business.”
“Good, because I have plans for us after dinner.”
My wolf snarled inside, and I wanted to gag at the thought of his plans, but I smiled instead and twirled one of my curls around a finger. “That sounds… interesting.”
Our server appeared. Trent ordered a gin and tonic, and I asked for sparkling water with lime and the calamari appetizer. I wasn’t actually hungry, but having food on the table would give me something to focus on other than Trent.
“Don’t you want a cocktail?” Trent asked.
“No, thank you.” I rarely drank more than a glass or two of wine with a meal, and I wasn’t about to risk being intoxicated around Trent. Jax would keep me safe no matter what, but I was sure Trent hoped I would spill some family secrets.
“Are you sure? There’s no need for you to drive tonight.”
Did he think I’d get in a car with him? “Of course not. I have my driver waiting outside, but I like to keep my head clear when I’m getting to know someone.”
“I think we already know each other well enough.”
From what I’d been able to tell during our limited contact, he thought I was an empty-headed pretty boy who depended on his brothers to do his thinking for him. I suddenly needed to see Jax, not just feel his anger. I dropped my napkin and bent to retrieve it. Jax raised his brows when I made eye contact with him, and I knew if I gave any signal that I was in distress, he’d be there in a second with a clawed hand wrapped around Trent’s throat. Seeing him made me feel better. I shook my head, indicating I was fine, and Jax’s face settled back into his impassive bodyguard expression.
Our server brought our drinks and calamari, and we placed our orders for entrees. After a few sips of his drink, Trent said, “We can get to know each other better, if that’s what you’d like.” Condescending bastard. “Tell me more about the things you do to help out your brothers with their businesses.”
I fought the urge to snap at him. He wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that he thought of me as nothing more than a pretty accessory for the Howler family, but I had to remind myself not to let my anger cause me to reveal too much. “I handle all the communications with vendors for Tooth and Claw, Scandal”—a second club we owned that wasn’t kink-focused and welcomed humans—“and the two restaurants we own. I also handle the scheduling and the hiring of front- and back-end managers.”
“Sounds like they’re keeping you busy.” He was clearly humoring me.
“And what about you? How do you assist your family? I’m sure your duties at our escort service can’t take up all your time.”
He scowled but then covered it quickly. Damn right I’ve noticed you aren�
��t earning your keep.
“I take care of scheduling guests and private parties for our casinos.”
He continued on, bragging about celebrities he’d brought in and how successful his family was. They were well off, but nowhere near as rich or powerful as we were. At least I had the calamari to distract me. I just wished the company was better so I could truly enjoy it. I was absolutely coming back here soon with Jax as my date, as well as my bodyguard.
Trent’s phone rang while he was in the middle of a story about how he’d saved the day at one of his aunt’s private parties. He glanced at the screen and then back at me. “It’s my brother. I have to take it.”
I gave him the sweet smile he no doubt expected. “No problem. I know how pressing family business can be.”
Except I’d seen the name on his screen. It wasn’t his brother. It was Rutherford, a former client of our escort service, one we’d banned for not respecting our escorts’ limits.
The business had been far from savory when my father was still alive, but since King had taken over, he’d made sure all our escorts were over eighteen and that they were working for us because they wanted to. We vetted our clients, and we’d instituted a zero-tolerance policy on any abusive behavior.
Trent was the only person who’d argued with the changes. He would have been happy to provide the underage escorts some clients asked for and to encourage—aka blackmail—men and women to work for us. We all wanted him gone, but we needed to keep him on to appease his aunt, so we simply refused to listen to his vile suggestions.
I couldn’t catch much of the former client’s side of the conversation, but Trent mentioned a party and plans being all set, and he told the man not to worry. “It’s going to be exactly what you were looking for… Yes… Payment in full… Right.” He ended the call after that. Whatever this was about, I had a feeling it was going to lead me to solving the issues with the bookkeeping and staffing at Shifting Sophistication. And if Trent had harmed anyone who worked for us, I’d let Jax loose on him, no matter what it meant for us politically.
“So how is your brother?” I asked.
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