Rafe's Mate
Page 17
He moved his mouth down and over the slope of her breast to her nipple. She pushed her chest up, willing him to suck it deep, but all he did was tease the hardened tip with his tongue.
God! She wasn’t sure how much more of his particular brand of torture she could take. He had been at it all night—his mouth and hands worshiping every inch of her until she was one prayer away from begging on her knees for him to take her.
And what was with the damned teasing at her neck?
He had gone to the same spot again and again, each time readying her for his bite before moving on to some new erogenous zone on her body.
By the way, who knew she had so many?
“When,” she said, licking her lips, her panting breaths no more than a whisper, “when are you going to mark me?”
He stilled with his mouth hovering over her distended nipple. He took in a deep breath before looking up at her through his dark lashes—his blue stare intense. She had asked this same question time and again, but he never answered—just as he would never tell her his name—only giving her a smile and a shake of his head before fucking her senseless. It was obviously his way of changing the subject.
This time looked to be no different. A groan escaped her lips when he moved up and covered her body and filled her the way only he could. So she let him get away with avoiding her question—again—and closed her eyes as she moved her body in time with his. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close while he ate at her mouth, and then whimpered when the glide of his kiss went from her parted mouth to her ear, where he finally growled an answer.
“When you’ve Awakened.”
When you’ve awakened.
Rachel Todd had woken from her dream that morning with those three words bouncing around in her head. She had even typed them into the notes she kept on her dreams and had found herself glancing at the open file sitting in the corner of her screen throughout the day. Each time, she’d stop, open it up, and stare, hoping some kind of aha moment would strike her, before finally muttering, “I got nothing,” and closing it out.
And why was she worrying about them anyhow? They were just words in a dream. Right?
“Holy fuck.” Angel’s whispered words brought Rachel out of her thoughts. A grin spread over her face at her best friend’s flushed features and how she fanned herself with the seven pages she had just read.
“So, what do you think?” Rachel finally asked. She heaved out an impatient sigh—one Angel ignored—as her friend put the pages down and reached for her fork. Rachel frowned and raised her brows when the other woman speared the last bite of cake on her plate. She valued Angel’s opinion and wanted to hear all her thoughts. Not watch her eat. And especially not in that orgasmic way she had when it came to anything chocolate.
Angel held up her fork in a wait a minute gesture and closed her eyes while she moaned as she chewed and then swallowed. Rachel gave her a really look—which, of course her friend didn’t see—when she took the extra time to lick the tines clean. Oh well, Angel had never been the wasteful kind. But damn, the woman gave a whole new meaning to the term food porn.
Rachel took another sip of wine and hid her grin behind the rim of her glass when she realized her friend was taking a bit too much enjoyment out of that last taste.
Hmm… I think it’s a possibility Angel’s gone without for too long.
But that wasn’t a conversation Rachel was willing to instigate, especially since it would lead to Angel expounding on Rachel’s lack of a dating—aka sex—life since her husband’s death almost ten years before. It was a popular topic of conversation. Well, at least as far as Angel was concerned it was.
For Rachel? Not so much.
“I think,” Angel said, licking her lips as her dark brown eyes focused on her, “what I’ve always thought. You should get your happy ass on that computer and write the book I know you have in you.” She pointed her fork at her. “I know you do well with your children’s stories, but, damn, the women of the world need this.” She put her fork down on the low coffee table and picked up the pages she had been reading. “This part right here…” She flipped to the middle as her gaze went over the words before fanning herself again. “I mean, damn.”
Girls’ Night In always ended the same way, with them relaxing in one of their dens after dinner with a slice of chocolate cake and a glass of wine, along with a dose of Angel moaning over what she’d dubbed Rachel’s horny stories. By the time they had finished their second—or fourth glass—Angel might or might not be fanning herself. It all depended on the story’s heat level.
The section Rachel had given her was a full on scorcher.
Angel had been after Rachel about writing and publishing something more than her children’s books for the last few years—another one of her favorite topics of conversation. If she had to hazard a guess, she would say this was probably about, oh, the hundredth or so time of Angel insisting Rachel bite the bullet and move into the adult world of publishing.
Her friend had a serious hard on—or maybe she should say lady boner—over the stories Rachel had written from her dreams. Rachel had to admit, she had a case of the hots over them herself. She took another sip of wine to cover the heat creeping into her cheeks as her thoughts lingered on the delicious things her wolf shifter had done to her the previous night.
And then she grinned as Angel took a long gulp of her own wine. She truly was a good friend. She not only encouraged Rachel to make more out of her writing, but did her own part to help—especially with the sex scenes. She’d keep just those pages and study them to ensure their accuracy. At least that was the story her friend was sticking to. Rachel wasn’t sure she was ready to know exactly what Angel really did with them once she was alone.
She probably…
Nope.
She put her glass down. She wasn’t going there. She loved her friend dearly, but there were some things you just didn’t need to dwell on too long. It could be scarring.
“I don’t know. I mean, you’re right. I am pretty well established with my children’s books.” Rachel took up her fork and picked at her slice of cake. “It’s just a big leap,” she said, looking up. “Children’s books to erotic, paranormal romance? Yeah, the two just don’t quite go together.” This was her dilemma. Should she stay with where she was comfortable or go out on a limb and take the opportunity staring her in the face? Then, of course, was her other concern. “And what would my boys say?”
“Rachel.” Angel sat down her glass and shook her head, along with giving her a slight eye roll. “Your boys are three grown-ass men.” Her friend was right, but still—
“Besides, you have a pen name for the children’s books. So, I doubt very seriously anyone would think Mother Toddles if they ever read any of this you’ve written.” She shook the pages she still held in one hand at her. “Especially this part.” She thumbed through the sheets to the middle page and pulled it out. “Alana watched his head descend, anticipating his first lick over her pussy.” She continued, her voice low and breathy. “She trembled—waiting—her body tensing when he ran his tongue through her damp folds. ‘Oh, god—’”
“Stop!”
“What?” Angel looked up, her eyes wide with confusion—her smooth mocha complexion sporting a rosier hue.
“It’s just…” Rachel scrunched up her face. “I don’t know…” The heat inching up her neck intensified when her friend threw back her head and laughed.
“Oh, oh, oh…” Angel clutched her side as she tried to catch her breath.
“Okay, okay, get it out.” Rachel bit her lip to hold in her own laughter, but couldn’t keep the grin off her face. “It was just weird having you read that to me. Especially using your sex voice.”
“Oh, my God, that was just too rich.” Angel shook her head with the last of her chuckles as her shoulder-length, black, curly hair bounced around her head. “And how do you know that’s my sex voice?” Still grinning, she grabbed her wine and relaxed back in
her seat. “For all you know, that could be my cross-examination voice.”
“No, Assistant District Attorney Porter, I’ve heard your cross-examination voice. It’s not sexy. In fact, it’s kinda scary.”
“True,” Angel agreed with a satisfied-looking smile. “Why do you think I have such a high conviction rate? I scare the shit out of ‘em.” She took a sip of her wine and gave Rachel a wink over the rim of her glass.
Rachel picked up her glass and took a fortifying breath. It was now or never. She tipped it back and drained the contents.
“If I tell you something, do you promise not to get too excited?” She set her glass down.
“What?” Angel leaned forward, her eyes sparkling in, yes, what was clearly excitement.
“What you’re reading is an excerpt from my first full-length manuscript.” Rachel smiled at Angel’s gasp. “I finished about five months ago and sent it out to around twenty publishers.”
“You did?” Angel grinned as she slowly set her glass down.
Rachel nodded. “Four of the responses were really good ones, but now I have decide which contract offer to accept.”
Rachel waited for a reaction—any reaction—but none came.
It seemed Angel—the woman who had something to say about everything, the woman who could wring a confession out of the wiliest of criminals, the woman known as “The Shark” in the courtroom—had been left speechless. Sure, her mouth was moving, but nothing was coming out.
Rachel leaned forward and waved a hand in front of her.
“Did I break you?”
“Holy shit!” Angel leapt up from the couch, startling Rachel to jump in her seat as her friend ran around the coffee table to where Rachel sat. She shoved Rachel over in her club chair and squeezed in beside her before wrapping her up in a hug. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Angel pulled away and frowned. “Wait a minute. You don’t do secrets worth a damn, so how in the hell were you able to keep this from me?”
“Believe me, it wasn’t easy.” She gave her friend an embarrassed grin, her cheeks heating. “I still can’t figure out how you got me to spill the beans on that vibrator I bought.”
“It’s a gift. Plus, you had that whole, yes, I’ve had a screaming orgasm look about you.”
Damn, the woman had to be psychic.
“And I’ll say it again, it was about damned time.” Angel wiggled beside her. “Girl, our hips aren’t made to both fit in this chair.” She stood and pulled Rachel up with her and dragged her over to the couch, and then pulled her down to sit beside her. “Okay, now. Spill.”
“Well, after all your badgering—”
“That’s called encouraging.”
“Okay.” Rachel laughed and shook her head. “After all your encouraging, I thought, aw, hell, why not.”
“Hold up.” Angel lifted one hand. “And you only got four offers?”
“Well, four offers I would consider.”
“What about the rest?”
Rachel snorted. “I’ll let you read the rejections. Most of them basically said, thank you for your interest, but we’re not interested.”
“Bastards.”
Rachel nodded her agreement and poured herself another glass of wine. “But these four I feel really good about.” She lifted her glass and took a sip. If she was going to do this, she needed to do it right. “Would you be willing to look over the offers—give me some of your best legal advice?”
Angel took Rachel’s glass and set it down to pull her in for another hug. “Oh, just try and stop me.”
* * *
Read more about Rachel, and how this Destined Mate meets the wolf of her dreams by preordering your copy of His Destined Mate today for only $2.99 before the price increases to $4.99 on the day of release. You won’t be sorry you did!
The author and I hope you’ve enjoyed this addition to the Suspenseful Seduction World. Please consider leaving a review on your favorite book sites. Thank you!
* * *
Love, Samantha
To keep up to date on everything going on in the Suspenseful Seduction World, please join the reader group on Facebook and sign up for the SSW newsletter:
* * *
SSW Reader Group
SSW Newsletter
Acknowledgments
First of all, to Samantha A. Cole, many thanks for taking a chance in allowing me to debut my paranormal romance series, The Southeastern Alliance of Shifters, in your Suspenseful Seduction World, and letting some of your characters in on the big, bad secret world of shifters. I truly appreciate you giving me this opportunity.
* * *
And what would I do without my awesome PA, L.J. Redding. You, woman, are worth your weight in gold and I don’t know what I’d do without you.
* * *
I’d also like to thank Rhonda B., Lucy T., Nickiann H., Carolyn N., and Terra O., for all your feedback and insights into the worlds of Trident Security and the Doms of the Covenant in helping me to make my depiction of Samantha’s characters and The Covenant in Rafe’s Mate realistic.
Other Books by Rianne Thaxton
His Destined Mate, Available for Preorder, Releasing October 14, 2020
* * *
Writing as Sandra Daniels
Contemporary Romance
* * *
Callahan’s Haven
About the Author
Rianne Thaxton lives in North Alabama. She has owned her own business for over twenty years and loves being a wife and the mother of three sons and two fur babies.
She has been an avid reader of paranormal romance for longer than she can remember. So when she began writing, it was just natural she would follow her obsession with all things shifters and write stories like the ones she loves to read.
Rianne hopes to keep writing and bringing her world of lions, and tigers, and bears—along with some dragons, wolves, and more—to life, and she hopes you will join her on this journey.
Rianne would love to hear from you, so drop her a line at rianne@riannethaxton.com.
She can also be found hanging out with her alter ego, Sandra Daniels, in their shared reader group:
www.facebook.com/groups/SassySouthernSirens/
She would love to have you join in on the fun!
You can also connect to Rianne through her website at:
www.riannethaxton.com
Subscribe to her newsletter where you can read about Temperance—a fallen guardian angel—with each month bringing a new installment of six of her seven trials by fire to gain back her wings, culminating in her final trial and HEA releasing in 2021.
www.subscribepage.com/aboutriannethaxton
Books By Samantha A. Cole
The Trident Security Series
Leather & Lace: Book 1
His Angel: Book 2
Waiting For Him: Book 3
Not Negotiable: A Novella Book 3.5
Topping The Alpha: Book 4
Watching From the Shadows: Book 5
Whiskey Tribute: A Novella Book 5.5
Tickle His Fancy: Book 6
No Way in Hell: A Steel Corp/Trident Security Crossover: Books 1 & 2
Absolving His Sins: Book 7
Option Number Three: A Novella Book 7.5
Salvaging His Soul: Book 8
Trident Security Field Manual
Torn In Half: Book 8.5
* * *
The Deimos Series
Handling Haven: Special Forces: Operation Alpha:
Deimos Book 1
Cheating the Devil: Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Deimos Book 2
* * *
The Trident Security Omega Team Series
Mountain of Evil: TS Omega Team Prequel
A Dead Man’s Pulse: TS Omega Team Book 1
Forty Days & One Knight: Book 2
* * *
The Doms of The Covenant Series
Double Down & Dirty Book 1
Entertaining Distraction: Book 2
Knot a Chance:
Book 3
* * *
The Malone Brothers Series
Take the Money and Run: Book 1
The Devil's Spare Change: Book 2
* * *
The Blackhawk Security Series
Tuff Enough: Book 1
* * *
Hazard Falls Series
Don’t Fight It: Book 1
Don’t Shoot the Messenger: Book 2
* * *
Stand Alone Novels
The Road to Solace
Scattered Moments in Time: A Collection of Short Stories & More
* * *
The Bid on Love Series (With 7 other authors!)
Going , Going, Gone: Book 2
* * *
The Collective: Season Two (with 7 other authors!)
Angst: Book 7
* * *
Special Projects
First Chapters: Foreplay Volume One
First Chapters: Foreplay Volume Two
First Chapters: Foreplay Volume Three
Word Search For Warriors: Authors For a Cause
Word Search For Warriors: Volume II
Trident Security Coloring Book
Shaded with Love Volume 5: Coloring Book for a Cause
Cooking with Love: Shaded with Love Volume 6