He put her at the foot of the bed and ran his hands over the soft skin of her upper arms. Brushing her dark hair from her collarbone, he leaned in, kissing her along its ridge from her shoulder to her neck. He ran the tip of his tongue along the hollow of her throat and over her chin to trace her bottom lip.
“Do you think this is something you could get used to?” he asked, nipping her lip.
She smiled, letting her lips curl up over his. “Maybe.”
Trailing his fingers over her shoulders and neck, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her deeply again.
Tanya sighed, and leaned against the edge of the footboard, her palms flat against the hard surface of his chest. Running her hands over the planes of his stomach, she felt his muscles quiver at her touch. Her fingers unbuttoned his shirt, pushing it from his shoulders.
His skin was tawny and his muscles taut as she explored. She pulled away from his mouth and moved her lips down his throat to taste the warm skin of his chest, letting her hand slip around and cup his bottom through his jeans.
Her sex ached for his touch, and from the bulge at the front of his jeans, Jared’s body strained for release, as well. He growled when she ran her hands over the swollen knot.
“What comes after a claiming?” she asked, letting the tip of her tongue tease his lips.
“A mating.”
She chuckled against his mouth. “Isn’t that what we’ve been doing?”
“No. A mating isn’t sex, although sex is involved. It’s much more. It’s a bonding of souls. A marking of body and spirit.”
“A marking. How?”
“I claim you as mine, verbally.”
“Check.” She grinned, kissing him again
“The alpha approves, usually.”
“Check, check.”
“Then I mark you as mine for all to see.”
She pulled back from him. “Mark. You’re talking metaphorically, right?”
“No. A real marking. Like wolves in a pack.” His eyes searched her face.
“You bite me.” It was a statement as much as a question.
He nodded. “It’s painless and sexy and unbelievably pleasurable, from what I’ve been told. You don’t have to concern yourself with that, Tanya. You’re not ready, and I would never press. It’s enough you’re here with me. My life has been turned around since that night in the woods. I claimed you that night to save your life, but now, I can’t imagine my life without you. When you’re ready, I want you for my mate. I want the entire clan and every pack in the world to know you’re mine and I’m yours.”
“You’re not talking biting me in the face, right?”
He laughed. “Of course not.
“Do I get to bite you back?”
He moved to brush her hair from her face again, but he froze. “If you wanted, sure.”
She dropped her arms from his neck and sat on the footboard again. Looking up at Jared, she watched hesitation bloom in his blue eyes.
“Tanya, what are you asking?”
“I guess I’m asking if you love me as much as I love you. I want you, Jared. Not just in my bed, but in my life. Forever. As in for better or worse. I want to be your mate, but you’ve got to know I give as good as I get. Love for love, thrust for thrust, and bite for bite.”
Jared spun her around and locked her hands on the footboard. “Don’t move,” he whispered roughly. Sliding one arm around her waist, he pulled her back with a jerk, grinding his hips into her bottom.
Using his foot, he slid her feet apart, slipping his hand between her legs. With his thumb he traced the edge of her sex through her leggings, circling it, alternating pressure until she gasped, pushing back against his palm for more.
Slowly he drew his hand along the seam of her ass and then grabbed her hips, spreading his palms flat against her upper thighs. Moving them slowly up to her stomach, he fisted the thin fabric of her blouse. One tug, and it tore in two.
He pinched one nipple through her lace bra, and she sucked a breath through her teeth. Sweeping the curtain of her hair back from her shoulder, he kissed the back of her ear. “I owed you that. Shirt for shirt.”
Bent over the footboard, her breasts were full and heaving as his hands played along the edge of her lace. With one deft move, he unclipped the front clasp.
Jared cupped each breast, his hips moving in small grinding motions behind her. His fingers pinched and rolled her nipples, gently at first, but when she arched fully, he teased, rougher and more urgent.
Grabbing her wrists, he pulled her to standing, spinning her around to face him. He slid her torn blouse and bra from her shoulders and kissed her again.
“You’re my mate, Tanya. My wolf knew it that night in the forest. Mark or no mark, you know it, too. Your scent is saturated with how much you want me. I love how much you want me. How you drip with need when I touch you.”
She gasped at his raw words, and he took her mouth. He sucked her tongue between his lips, letting his own wrestle breath for breath and tease for tease.
His hard bar jerked inside his jeans, and her drenched sex made his wolf claw for release. He leaned her back on the bed, running a hand over her bare breasts to the top of her leggings.
With sure hands he peeled the Lycra over her hips and legs, taking the matching lace panties with them before dropping them to the floor.
“Nice panties,” he murmured with a low rumble. “You’ll have to model them once I’m done with you.”
He shrugged out of his own shirt, adding it to the pile on the hardwood.
Tanya scooted to her knees and reached to unbutton his jeans. Kneeling up on the bed, she pushed them over his hips. Her hands wrapped around his organ and she stroked the silken skin.
Reaching down, she cupped his sac, drawing her fingers across the thin taut skin between there and his ass. Jared growled, pushing his pants to the floor.
He stepped out of his jeans, and Tanya scooted back toward the pillows. She watched him crawl forward, and keeping her eyes on him, she stopped him with a finger on his chest.
“Lay down.” It was an order, not a request.
Leaning over him, she devoured his mouth, licking his lips and sucking his tongue into her mouth. She drew back and worked her way over his throat, trailing her tongue over his chest and belly. Her hair slid silken and teasing over his jutting shaft.
He sucked a breath through clenched teeth as her teeth grazed his swollen head. She took his full length into her mouth, swallowing his engorged head to his balls.
Growling he fisted her hair to one side to watch. She worked him, sucking and licking in tandem with quick hand movements until he bucked against her mouth so hard she thought he would burst.
“Careful, babe, or you’ll swallow more than you bargained for.”
Jared’s breathing was ragged, but he pulled himself from between her lips and rolled with her on the bed’s wide expanse.
Pushing her knees wide, his fingers stoked her slick cleft. “Are you ready, love?”
Emotion overwhelmed. This was the point of no return. She’d said it before, professional accolades were easy. Love was hard. Right here, right now, she had the chance for both. With a man that had more than proven she came first. She’d gambled and lost before, but this was nothing like anything else. Jared was real. Jared was fantasy. Jared was everything and more.
“You want me forever, Jared? Then take me. Make me your mate.”
He flipped Tanya onto her belly and pulled her hips up and back. His blood raced with need, and the scent of her wet sex sent his wolf clawing at his insides. Ready to strike its mark.
With one thrust, he drove his full length, hard and deep. She gasped at the thick feel of him as he swelled inside, stretching her walls. Arching, she threw her head back. Her body gripped his sex, squeezing until her juice ran down her thighs. “Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf!” she cried out. “Jared! Now!” Pumping her hips, she ground into each thrust.
“Say it, love. Say the w
ord!”
“Yes!” The word was a strangled cry.
He plunged his rigid flesh over and over, riding her hard, his head swelling ready to burst. She cried out as she came, her body exploding in pleasure.
Jared threw his head back, and a snarl tore from his throat. It was savage, possessive and utterly sexy.
Canines pierced his gums, top and bottom, as hot jets pulsed from his member. He bit the back of her shoulder, his teeth penetrating her flesh.
Spasms took them both, shaking them to their core. Wave after wave of pleasure carried them higher, and higher. Tanya’s body trembled. He held her tight to his chest until the two fell forward onto the bed, spent and exhausted.
“You’re mine, Tanya, and I’m yours, love. Forever.” Sweat sheened and sated, he leaned in to lick her wounds, sealing them for life.
Jared lay with his arm still around her waist. He hugged her, rubbing his cheek across the soft skin of her back when he felt her shoulder quiver beneath him.
“What?” he asked, not sure if she was laughing or crying.
Tanya turned with a huge grin on her face as she peered at him over her shoulder.
“You want to let me in on the joke?” he bristled a bit.
Tanya bit the inside of her cheek. “I’m sorry, Jared, it’s not you, really. That was amazing. I was just thinking, isn’t it a little strange that we always end up doggie-style?” She giggled again at the expression.
Smirking, he rolled off her and leaned up on his elbow. “Ha, ha…wolf…dog…very funny, smartass.”
Smiling, Tanya rolled onto her back and pushed a pillow under her head. Trailing her fingers down his chest, she played with the downy hair around his belly button.
“It doesn’t matter to me, I love it, especially when you growl.”
“Oh, really,” he said with a low rumble from the back of his throat. Jared pushed the hair from her neck and nipped her throat.
“I feel as if I’m dreaming,” she said, running her fingers through his hair. “And I don’t want to wake up.”
“It’s no dream.” He inhaled, nuzzling her again, rubbing his nose and cheek against her skin. “You smell so wonderful. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you.”
“I certainly hope not, considering the puncture marks stinging on my shoulder. Still, I’m going to need you to have my back. Especially when we go to New Orleans.”
He picked up his head.
“I’m considering Alain’s offer to train me. The idea of you fighting, maybe getting hurt, while I do nothing because I’m too cowardly to accept who I am, is not how I want this marriage to start. Oh, and there will be a marriage. A real one. Church. Rings. The whole enchilada.”
He sat up. “Whatever you want, you got it.”
“Good.” She grinned, but then glanced down for a moment.
“You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”
She shook her head. “There are too many variables to this…to me, Jared.” She chewed on her lip. “I know you don’t want me to talk to my mother about this, but I think I’m going to have to.”
“I don’t want you joining this fight thinking it’s the only way we can be together. I’m happy with the way things are, regardless,” he said, and then hesitating, added, “Besides, I’m not sure I want you involved. I don’t think I could live with the guilt if something happened to you.” Hugging her tighter, he brushed her hair with his fingers. “It’s my job to protect you, not charge into battle with you.”
“Don’t start with that macho ‘me Tarzan you Jane’ crap now…and I’m not laughing at you.” Her shoulders shook as she chuckled against his chest. “I’m laughing because your reason is the same reason I’m agreeing to this. I want to protect you, too.” She kissed his arm and then bit down, hard.
“Ow! What the hell was that for?”
She grinned, kissing the spot. “Bite for bite, remember? I may not have canines, but you get the idea.”
“You may not have canines, yet. It’s still up for grabs what’ll take or not now that you’re truly my mate.”
She sat up. “So I could be a shifter witch?” Her shoulders slumped. “Jesus, what next? Flying?”
“Not unless you have a broomstick handy.”
She shoved his shoulder playfully. “Ha, ha. You’re lucky you’re cute and I love you.”
“What if you’re pregnant?”
Balking, she snorted. “Unless that nose of yours knows something I don’t, I think we’re fine. Anyway, you’re forgetting I’m not a shifter, regardless of your little nibble. The chances of my getting pregnant are slim to none, so why are you worrying?”
“I guess with all your nervous energy you missed the part where Alain told you his mother was a Blood Witch.”
“Alain said his mother kept a diary in case her traits were—” she trailed off. “Inherited. I guess I assumed she was his stepmother.”
Jared chuckled into her hair. “It’s not so cut and dried. When different supernaturals hook up, you never know what their children will inherit. For example, if we had children they could be shifters, or they could be witches, or they could possess traits from both or none at all. Either way, they’ll carry the traits in their genes.”
“I had no idea. Is it the same for everyone in the community? Vampires, too?” she asked, a little awed.
“Yep. It’s the same for all of us.”
She shivered. “While I have no problem imagining what most supernatural children could be, I am having trouble visualizing a vampire baby. Just thinking about what would be in its baby bottle makes my skin crawl!”
“What is it with you and vampires? Jeez. I should introduce you to a few just to rid you of your Hollywood prejudice. But seriously, it doesn’t work like that. Vampire babies aren’t vampires until they reach physical maturity. Then they get their fangs. That’s also when their allergy to sunlight usually kicks in, but that varies in severity, too. Until then they’re normal babies. You know, vampires aren’t undead like Hollywood makes them out to be. They’re just another species.”
“Ugh, my head is spinning, again. Think there’s any chance this dream of mine is just a hot nightmare?”
Jared’s face sobered. “Is that what you want? That this is just a bad dream?”
Touching his cheek, Tanya ran her fingers toward his mouth and then gently traced the edge of his lips. “I didn’t mean you, Jared. Just the rest of it. If someone predicted this, I would have called for a strait jacket. But it is real, and so are you. There’s no place else I rather be, regardless of the danger. Whatever we have to face, I want it to be together.”
Pulling her back onto her knees, his arms circled her waist. The smell of their combined musk surrounded them, and he breathed in their heady scent. “Partners?”
“Partners, lovers, mates, and most importantly, friends.” She hugged him back, closing her eyes as tears pricked the corners of her eyes. “Hey, do wolf shifters have wedding traditions or rituals? Without the biter bits.”
“Yes.” With a contented sigh, Jared pulled her down onto the pillows next to him, snuggling deep into the down feathers.
“It’s an ancient pledge. All we’ve got is oral tradition, but it does the trick when it’s right.”
Tracing the curve of his jaw, Tanya smirked wickedly. “Good. We can add that to the mix. Or will your uncle crash the ceremony yelling about blasphemy? And shifters can’t get divorced or unclaimed?”
“No. They can, but it’s messy and painful.”
Hmmm. Tanya mumbled, chewing on her lip again. “Let’s do it. Right now. We’ve got the biter bits over and done, so why not? Who’ll know?”
“I’ll know. It needs witnesses, just like a human civil ceremony.”
She nuzzled his neck. “C’mon. I promise I won’t bite you again.”
Jared puffed out a breath, but a grin teased his lips. “Okay, but we’ll have to do this again, at least for my mother’s sake.”
“Deal.”
&nb
sp; The two kneeled up facing each other, and Jared took Tanya’s hands in his and held tight.
“Repeat the words after me. They’re ancient, and tricky, but do your best. It’s ancient Irish, I think. I’ll translate after.”
Cnámh agus fuil, croi agus anam, tugaim mo shaol duit le coinneál agus le nascadh. Beannaigh bandia for, bandia ceart an t-aontas seo I do radharc
Tanya repeated the words, trying not to giggle at every stumble.
“I’m glad you find this amusing,” Jared smirked, pecking the tip of her nose before sitting back on the pillow.
“It is if you look at it from my point of view. For all I know, I might have been speaking Klingon.” She snuggled into his chest and toyed with his fingers. “Translate for me. That way when we do it for your mom, I won’t laugh. Well, maybe.”
He chuckled. “She’d never forgive you.”
“Well?”
“Bone and blood, heart and soul, I give my life to thee to hold. Spirit bond, Goddess light, bless this union in your sight.”
Tanya stopped playing with his hand and swiveled to look at him. Their fingers laced, but she was quiet. “I wish I asked what the words meant beforehand. I’m sorry, Jared. I shouldn’t have laughed. They’re beautiful.” She repeated the words back in English.
A strange sensation tingled beneath her skin, spreading across her whole body. It was as though a switch flipped inside her the moment the words left her mouth.
Jared pulled back. His eyes wide.
“What?” she asked. “Have I suddenly turned green? I certainly hope not. I don’t think I could live down the whole Wicked Witch of the West thing.”
“Tanya, you’re glowing.” His voice was an awed whisper.
“Jared, stop kidding around.”
“I’m serious, Tanya, look in the mirror.”
Tanya turned toward the dresser mirror and stared at her reflection. Her body was in fact shimmering. A beautiful, pure white light. Reaching out, she watched as glowing trails spread every time she moved her hands. She laughed, clapping her hands once, sending blue sparks cascading over the bed.
“Like Fourth of July sparklers.”
The Wolf's Secret Witch: Howl's Romance (The Sentinel Brotherhood Book 1) Page 14