by R K Knightly
"I like this song," he told her as Jason Mraz sang about not giving up.
"Really?" Elle asked, her head turning to look at his face. "I would have pegged you as listening to rock anthems or alternative music."
"It's all the leather," he told her, smirking slightly.
"And the tattoos," she said agreeing.
"You like the tattoos," he challenged, and shifted his hips. "It makes me look like a badass and you love it. It turns you on."
Elle smiled and rotated where she sat to face him. When her legs were folded on either side of his hips and she was straddling him, she smiled before giving him a small kiss.
"That's true," she admitted. "I love all your badassery, especially the tattoos."
"Badassery?" he asked, lips quirking up a bit.
"Badassery," she asserted with a nod.
His hands came down on her ass and he squeezed.
"I like your badassery as well," he told her and gave another squeeze to her cheeks. "And your tits," he said as he leaned forward to suck a nipple into his mouth.
Elle's back arched, pushing her breasts into his face.
"And pussy," he said around her nipple and traced a line down her ass to dip a finger into her slippery slit. "And that beautiful, sexy heart of yours," he finished and pulled her mouth to his.
They were all lips and tongue. A hint of mint from brushing her teeth after dinner could still be scented and tasted as he stroked in and out of her mouth.
Liam's cock had been stiff since Elle had gotten undressed for him in the bathroom, and it was now wedged between their bodies, the tip leaking with his excitement. He shifted his hips more and lifted her ass into the air. He was poised beneath her and groaned into her mouth as the tip of his cock strained against her hot center. She lowered herself, the first few inches of him slipping inside her and causing that warm glow to light up his insides again.
"I never want to stop doing this with you," he told her as he lifted her again. She came down and took a little bit more of him inside her.
"Then let's not ever stop," she told him, her mouth whispering it against his lips.
He cursed in response.
"Sounds like a fucking phenomenal idea to me," he told her and thrust his hips upward, forcing her to take more of him. "If I have to get a nanny when we have pups, I'm making sure I can take you whenever the spirit damn well moves me."
"Nanny?" she asked.
"Yes," he told her and rolled his hips as he entered her again. "When I get you pregnant, I'm looking for a fucking nanny so we can never say we're too tired to have sex with each other."
"Pregnant?" Her brain seemed a little slow today. With his cock inside her, rubbing her walls the way it did, she was rendered stupid.
"Yes, and it's happening," he told her with another pump of his hips. "The sooner the better."
Elle moaned and rotated her hips in delicious counterpoint to his.
"You want that, angel?" he asked her, and watched as her tits bounced on impact. "You want my cock to fill you up with my babies?"
Her mouth opened, his words causing the knot in her stomach to tighten even further. She could only let out a strangled moan as their hips moved faster.
"What was that, love?" he asked, and thrust up to meet her again. "Can't hear you, sweetheart. I wanted to know if you are ready for my cock to fill you over and over again, make you ripe with my children." Her hands gripped his shoulders and her face looked down on his. He was completely serious, the hopeful look in his eyes saying everything for him.
She found she wanted that too. Wanted it badly.
"Yes. Yes, I do," she told him, and felt his dick jump inside her as he groaned. "I want that. Please give it to me."
They stopped talking and moved together, her hips coming down on him faster and harder, his meeting with hers until they both found release.
"Fuck, Elle!" he cried out as the last of his orgasm was spent with a jerk of his hips. He rocked against her, his pubic bone rubbing her clit and tossing her over the edge once more.
"Liam!"
His name on her lips. It was enough to render his dick solid enough to break through concrete again, but he found he wanted to take her on the bed this time.
"Angel, I want you again, but I need you in our bed," he told her. He pulled himself upright and watched as the warm water slid slowly down her body.
Yeah. Concrete. Metal. He could have chopped through pretty much anything right now with how hard he was.
He took a towel and wiped her down quickly, then set to drying himself off. As soon as they were rid of that top layer of moisture, Liam pulled her into the adjoining bedroom and pushed her gently onto the bed. He crawled in after her and placed himself once again between her legs.
His cock slid between her slick folds as his lips pressed against the skin of her mark. Elle arched her back and her chest pressed against his. His dick jumped up from where it slid.
"Shit, angel," he groaned out as he fisted his cock to center it near her entrance. "I'm not even in you yet and I'm ready to come." He slid his way inside slowly and felt the drag of her sex around him as she welcomed him in. Liam put his lips over her nipple, sucked it up until she moaned loudly for him. He retreated from her, trying to calm his libido with the agonizingly slow pace he set himself.
"Fuck, you feel so good around me, sweetheart," he choked out. "It's like your pussy was made with my cock in mind." He angled himself to hit her in just the right spot, the head of his dick brushing over her front wall and causing Elle to clench her muscles around him, her body tightening for a moment.
"Yes," she breathed out, her eyes fluttering closed as she felt him retreat from her again before pushing back inside of her.
Their motions were smooth, the movements almost symbiotic as they met together in the middle, each of them shifting their hips in time with the other. His mouth came down on hers, his tongue sinking slowly into her. He swallowed the soft, sexy sounds she gave, as if they fed him.
"Liam," she murmured against his lips. "So...close. Need more."
He bore down and angled his hips even more. He knew he was hitting her in the right spot when she clenched around him and gasped, her fingers branding themselves into the flesh on his shoulders with the bite of her nails.
"Angel," he murmured, and pressed his forehead against hers, breathing in their mixed scents. Sex, freesia, a deeper musk reminiscent of the forest. They all mingled in the air and spurred him on, his hips almost slamming into hers as he chased her pleasure. First hers, then his.
The tension forming in her stomach tightened even further, and with it, her hips. Elle’s thighs started to quiver and Liam growled. He was losing it, losing himself inside her. Luckily, she was close to coming and he powered on, adding an even larger roll of his hips as they crashed into her.
"Oh...fuck," he groaned as he felt her tighten up around him. "Angel, you need to come for me." He was done. About to fill her up. And it appeared all she needed was the push of his words.
She cried out as the pulse of her sex contracted and released around him in steady waves. He bit down on his lip and then her neck. He couldn't help it. The need to mark her again was absolute, and though he didn't draw blood, it still caused her to cry out again, the sensitivity of her mark making her hips buck wildly beneath him as they both rode out their peak.
The aftermath was all tangled climbs, heavy breathing, and soft, slow caresses.
"Do you want a boy or a girl?" Liam asked once he was laid on his back with Elle tucked into his side, her long hair a splash of dark color against his chest.
"For a firstborn?" Elle asked. "I've always wanted a boy first. Then a girl."
"Any reason?" he asked, though he liked that idea as well.
"I liked having an older brother," she told him as her fingers traced a soft pattern on his chest. "He was always there for me, protecting me. I want the same for our children."
Our children.
His chest swel
led and the heat there stirred again, causing the warmth of it to expand to his belly, his throat.
"I want the same," he said, and kissed her forehead. "I was the older brother to Arden, though she sometimes acted like the roles were reversed. When I found my first mate, she had all eyes on her. Wanted to make sure she was worthy to be Luna of the pack, worthy of me."
"Did...did Arden approve?"
"Not at first," Liam said. "She knew Cecilia was friends with Sheila and she couldn't stand Sheila. She had that bitch’s number from the start. Arden was very perceptive so – though at first she was reluctant – she soon got over it."
"Colleen said Cecilia was nice but needy," Elle said. "It sounds as if someone like Sheila would have taken advantage of a friend like that, and maybe Cecilia was...too good a friend to see all her faults."
That was pretty accurate description of his former mate. It would have taken something huge for her to have seen Sheila for who she truly was. But Liam was tired of living in a past that he couldn't change. The past he longer wanted to change. He was happy in the here and now, and said as much in his own way.
"I always hated thinking about these things, but I think...I think I'm glad about the way things turned out. I'm not happy that people have died and suffered to achieve this, don't get me wrong. I am just content with the way things have turned out. I didn't have the mate pull to you as I did with Cecelia, but somehow this – what we have now – is worlds better."
"Everything we go through shapes who we are," Elle returned. "A year ago, I was timid. Meek. The only singing I did was in my bedroom or for my family. I would have never been able to sing for anyone else. Having to go through what we went through, both you and I, it made us stronger through trial. I don't feel like an Omega anymore because I'm not. When I accepted your mark, something changed. I'm not who I once was, but I'm still me. Does that make any sense?"
Liam thought about that before speaking.
"I think it makes perfect sense, sweetheart," he told her. "You're mine as I'm yours, and that makes us something different, something more."
She was quiet for a moment.
"I like more," she told him.
"I like it too."
Chapter 24
Liam couldn't help but love up on Elle over the next 24 hours before the meeting. It was as though he was trying to soak up as much alone time as he could until he made the announcement and had to share his Luna with the rest of the pack.
At one point they were sitting on the couch with Elle in between his legs, Liam's head in her neck and watching TV. There was nothing that interested Liam on the television, but Elle seemed content enough to watch old reruns of Friends and laugh.
"Haven't you seen this show before?" Liam asked as his lips traced slowly over her skin.
"Yes, I have, but this episode is one of my favorites," she told him. "Monica's head gets stuck in that stupid turkey and Chandler admits he's in love with her. How can you not love that? It's funny and sweet."
Liam's arms curled around Elle's waist and he pulled her further into his embrace. His breathing was a bit rapid and Elle wondered if he was alright. Before she could ask, there was a knock on the front door.
Liam swore softly and muttered something, but Elle got up and went to the door. Blake and Colleen were on the other side of it, and Elle let them into the house.
They all went into the living room to see Liam, who was sitting in the same position she left him in and looking petulant.
"Hey, Liam," Blake said as he took a seat on the couch perpendicular to the one Liam was sprawled out on.
"You guys want anything to drink?" Elle asked, making as if to go toward the kitchen.
"No, thanks," Colleen said. "If we do, we know where to go to get something."
"Liam?" Elle asked, raising her eyebrows in question.
"No. Just get back over here, angel," he told her with a come-hither motion of his hand.
She went to sit down next to Liam who stopped her with a hand and pulled her onto his lap instead. That seemed to amuse Blake and cause Colleen to grin widely and snicker.
"So, what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?" Liam asked as he settled Elle comfortably on his lap again.
"Just wanted to go over business before the meeting later," Blake told him.
They talked for a bit about smaller issues, the new patrols, more training, until they got to the crux of the meeting. Liam and the new Luna.
"After Cecilia, they're going to wonder how you got a mate without having to attend The Claiming," Blake warned him. "It's unheard of that this could happen. They're going to ask questions and you need to figure out what you're going to say."
Liam looked like he didn't know how to respond to that.
"I'll just advise them that The Council okayed it," Liam said gruffly. "That should be good enough for them."
"But it won't be, Lee," Colleen warned him. "And if you don't say anything about why this happened, you're just going to fuel even more rumors."
"So far, only the patrol and warriors are aware of something wrong, and stories – incorrect ones, mind you – are being spread," Blake said.
"What are they saying?" Liam asked.
"Rumors of war on the horizon, rogues, even hunters," Blake advised with a shrug. "The usual. Trace has kept his ear to the ground with patrol, and they are wondering if this has anything to do with the word that you have gotten yourself a mate."
"Not exactly the way you'd want your Luna to be introduced," Colleen offered up. "They don't want one of their leaders to be the cause of war or the reason they have to keep a closer eye on their children."
"This isn't Elle's fault," Liam groused. "They shouldn't blame her for the increased security. That's on me."
"But they might," Blake said. "The only way to correctly handle this is to explain it to them. Everything, Liam. The good, the bad, and damned ugly."
"No!" Liam growled out. "They don't need to know why she left her old pack and why I've taken her to mate. That's none of their damned business!"
"Liam," Elle said softly. "I don't mind that they know. You said many of them remember Jeremiah and know the type of person he became. If I tell them what happened, it can only be-"
"This is your private business," he interjected. "None of their damned concern as far as I can see. You're mine. We've marked and mated, and you're their Luna. That should be enough."
"They all know you had a mate before," Elle reminded him. "They're going to wonder."
"Let them," he said gruffly. "Anyone who has a problem with things as they are can deal with me directly."
∞∞∞
Hours later, Elle was searching through her closet for something to wear. She was debating between a yellow A-line dress and a long, asymmetrical flowered one when Liam came into the room.
"Which do you think?" she asked him, holding both options up for Liam to inspect.
"To wear to the meeting?" he asked. He honestly couldn't care less. She could wear a paper sack and still be as pretty as a picture.
Elle nodded in response.
"That one," he said, pointing to the asymmetrical maxi dress. "And keep your hair down, angel. It looks gorgeous falling over your shoulders like that."
Elle smiled, her face tinting a delicate pink at his compliment. She put back the other dress and hung up the one she would wear near the front of the closet before grabbing fresh underthings.
Slipping into the shower, her heart seemed to become very aware that the meeting was only an hour away. An hour. Sixty minutes. She didn't know how many seconds, but they were too short by at least half. Her nerves got the better of her and she stood still in the hot water, trying to allow the soothing heat to calm her anxiety and work the kinks out of the muscles in her tensing back.
"Elle, angel, what's wrong?" Liam asked as he opened the door to the bathroom all the way. "I could hear your heart starting to race. Are you nervous?"
She nodded her head but couldn't speak. She k
new he couldn't see her, but the words just wouldn't come no matter how hard she tried.
Liam opened the sliding door to the shower and slipped inside naked just as Elle looked over at him. The look on his face softened as he realized just how anxious she was.
"Liam," she said when she finally found her voice. "I need to shower and get ready. We have no time to fool around in here."
"I promise to be good just this once," he said with a gentle smirk. "Just let me wash you. It'll calm you and make me feel better as well."
She nodded her head shakily and let him take care of her. Shampoo, conditioner, bath gel. He worked her whole body over until she was a pliant puddle of mush in his hands and her heart wasn't making a desperate bid to escape her chest.
They both got dressed and left the house within fifteen minutes of the meeting. It was to be held in the basement of the Packhouse, as always. The room was a semi-furnished and utilitarian space that had a raised platform at one end of the hall. Liam made his way immediately to it and took a seat behind a long table.
Elle surveyed the room. It had hundreds of folding chairs set out in neat little rows, and Blake, Trace, and Caleb were walking about the room, talking lowly with one another. Caleb, she thought, looked over at her for a brief moment and then refocused his attention back on Blake.
"Angel," Liam called. He gestured for her to come to him, and when she went, he again pulled her down on his lap and tucked his head into her neck. He breathed in deeply and Elle knew he was trying to calm himself. She wasn't the only nervous Nelly in the group it seemed.
She ran her hands through his silky locks and heard him utter a soft groan.
"Baby, I love when you do that, but you might want to stop," he told her softly. "I really would prefer to emcee this meeting without sporting wood."
Elle giggled softly and put her arms around Liam's neck as he pulled her even closer to him on his lap.
He was amazed. Amazed that he felt this strongly about someone without having the mating pull first. He had often pitied humans who could not shift or feel the draw produced by the mate bond, but no longer. It seemed that the love the humans felt could be just as deep, just as profound, and that fact made him immensely happy.