by Cara Morgan
“Did you think this mating thing would be easy?”
“I didn’t think I’d ever find one mate, let alone five.”
They stared at each other in silence for a long moment, and then Carson stood. He shrugged free of his jacket. His hands lifted to his shirt, and he started to undo the buttons one by one.
Case and Jack stopped their game. Both men turned to stare at Carson and then at her. She didn’t acknowledge either of them. She had no answer for the question on their faces. Vaguely, she was aware of Declan taking a seat at the table behind her, but as soon as it became apparent that he didn’t intend to interfere, she dismissed him from her mind.
All of her attention was fixed on Carson. With slow, unhurried movements, he unbuckled his belt and then shoved his jeans off his hips. He wasn’t wearing anything beneath. He was as lean as Jack, but built along sparer lines. Narrow hips, long elegant limbs. A straight and uncircumcised cock, fully erect and jutting from his body like it was reaching out to her.
Her mouth went dry even as moisture flooded her pussy. She shifted in her seat, suddenly uncomfortable.
The expression on his face said he expected her rejection. He was doing this just to get it over with. She knew this was it for her and Carson. If she turned him down, she wouldn’t get another chance. Part of her resented the fact that he was forcing her hand. Part of her admired how freaking brave he was. She knew he’d been trampled today, but here he was getting right back up again. Putting everything on the line in front of the people he cared most about in the world. It was an accusation, yes. But it was also a challenge.
She’d never been able to resist a challenge.
Naked, he stepped toward her, blocking her view of Case’s frown and Jack’s scowl. Jack wasn’t angry, she didn’t think that was it. He was scared.
“Maggie,” Carson said softly. He touched her chin and applied just enough pressure to tilt her face up. Her wolfy half warred with her human side. The wolf was equally impressed by Carson’s bravery as she was by the size of his cock. Her wolf was too damned easy to impress. Her human half wanted…time. She wanted romance. To be wooed and loved.
But this wasn’t about love. It had never been about love, and she needed to stop pretending the mate bonds were the result of anything but a biological drive. The heat swelled, messing with her ability to think straight.
“Jack,” she said, her tongue feeling clumsy around the name. “You want Jack.”
Carson turned his hand to cradle her jaw. He spread his fingers, laying them against the vulnerable side of her neck. His pinky rested just above the spot where her pulse thundered beneath her skin.
His dark eyes hooded. “That doesn’t stop me from wanting you. You want Jack, Eli, Case. I can want more than one person too.”
“You’ll mate with me to stay close to him.”
“I’ll mate with you because I want to mate with you. Staying close to Jack, getting to stay with the pack is a part of that. You’re a part of my pack and yet here I am standing on the outside. I can’t deny that’s some of the attraction. It’s not all of it. You feel it too.”
She did. She felt something. Heat, pheromones, the wolf, whatever the heck it was, she felt the pull of it. When Carson lowered his head to kiss her, she didn’t try to avoid it. One kiss. Maybe it would help her to make up her mind about him. When she’d come downstairs tonight, she hadn’t expected to claim him. She’d truly believed that he hated her. Maybe he did, but it didn’t feel like it.
His hand, warm and steady, slid beneath the fall of her hair. He cupped the back of her neck and pulled her closer. His mouth was tentative as it moved on hers, his lips surprisingly soft. His tongue slid between her parted lips and immediately withdrew. He pulled back enough to look her in the eyes. Whatever he saw caused him to nod slightly and come back for a deeper, more thorough kiss.
She gripped his arms, more to steady herself than to draw him closer, but he came closer. His thighs bumped her knees and then pressed between them. His broke the kiss and slid his rough cheek against hers. His hot breath spilled into her ear a moment before his teeth caught her earlobe. His hands slid lower, skimming the sides of her breasts to settle at her waist.
He was a tentative lover, feeling her out with every touch. She couldn’t doubt that he was aroused, not with the evidence right there. But he didn’t seem to be in any hurry either. He lightly licked the shell of her ear and then pulled back to look her in the face.
“Is this all right?”
It was more than all right. But he was asking how far he could go, and she hadn’t decided that yet.
“I’m not going to sleep with you and Jack both. If you only want me because you think it’ll get you in bed with Jack then the answer is no.”
He smiled at that, a startled and open smile that made him appear years younger. “That’s just as well. I’m not particularly happy with Jack right now. I don’t want that.”
“What do you want?”
What do you want?
Carson looked down at Maggie and tried to decide how to answer her. Her face was flushed and lovely. Her lips plump, her eyes already slightly glazed with lust. Wolflight danced in the depths, calling to his wolf with as strong a pull as the moon. A female shifter in heat. Impossible to resist.
Almost impossible to resist.
The rest of the pack—Case, Eli and Jack—were so pleased with their prize. Why shouldn’t they be? It was no secret that Eli had always wanted a mate. Case…who knew what was in the alpha’s heart? He kept it locked up so tight.
Jack had surprised him.
Jack had been the first one he’d met from the pack. Carson had been hiking through the mountains, lost and alone. Running from his old life. Adrift. He and Jack were the youngest members of the pack, and they’d quickly become a team. Doing jobs together. Hanging out. Even chasing after girls together. He’d been attracted to Jack from the beginning, but it had never been a pressing desire. That wasn’t why he’d been so shattered by the revelation that Jack had taken a mate. It was that they’d been partners. He’d trusted Jack more than he’d ever trusted anyone, more than he’d trusted his own family. Jack was the one who anchored him to the rest of the pack. And suddenly he was adrift again.
Lost and alone.
That wasn’t Jack’s fault any more than it was Maggie’s. It was his own problem for being too weak to stand on his own two feet.
Did he want Maggie? Hell yes.
He wanted nothing more right now than to bury his face between her luscious breasts and sink balls deep into the hot little pussy he could feel through the layer of cotton separating them. He wanted her. But that was the heat. That was their wolves sensing a compatibility their human halves might never come to terms with. He couldn’t promise his undying love. She deserved the truth, even though it meant she’d probably turn him away.
“I want to stay with the pack.”
The year after he’d left his pack had been hell. He’d almost given up on it all, gone feral, before he’d found this place. Before Jack had found him and brought him home. He didn’t want to leave.
He waited for Maggie to recoil. For her soft expression to harden and for her to tell him to go to hell. When he started to straighten, she caught his hand.
“I claim you, Carson.”
He froze, shocked. “What?”
“I don’t want you to lose your pack.”
She was claiming him even though he’d been nothing but a dick to her today.
He swallowed past the lump in his throat and reached for the words that every shifter learned when they came of age. He’d never thought he’d get the chance to say them. He’d never thought he’d want to.
“I claim you as my mate.” His voice came out as a hoarse whisper. Was he really doing this? He was doing this. “Man to woman and wolf to wolf, you are mine as I am yours. My body I give to your protection and pleasure. My life to your service. My seed to our future. We are pack.”
He felt t
he tug of the bond as it hooked in his heart. Suddenly he could feel Maggie, the essence of who she was, along with her wolf. She was scared too, worried that she was making a terrible decision. She was uncertain of her appeal, and she didn’t entirely trust the instincts of the animal living inside her. And…she was sweet and brave and—Oh, God—she was doing this for him. She’d seen the pain in him when he’d talked about leaving his old pack. There was a deep hurt in her that echoed that pain, and that was what had won her over.
Through the link, he could also sense her ties to the rest of the pack. Before, they’d been bound only by a common agreement to live together as a pack. A brotherhood. But the mating bond didn’t only bind him to Maggie, it also bound him to Case, Eli and Jack.
His pack. Forever.
Maggie reached for him, and with a growl he lifted her from the stool. The stool was sturdy enough to perch on while drinking a beer or two, but it’d never hold up to the things he wanted to do to Maggie. He turned and settled her on the edge of the pool table. Not wasting any time, still half-afraid she’d change her mind, he grabbed the waistband of her pants and pulled them down. She started to lift her shirt and he hurried her along, slipping his thumbs under the hem and pushing it up and over her head.
The slopes and curves of her body cushioned him as he pressed against her. An embrace soft as water and hot as sin. The dark hair between her legs was a stark contrast to her milk white skin. Her nipples were a blushing pink, erect, and set atop the most delectable breasts he’d ever seen in his life. He couldn’t resist scooping her breasts into his hands. She moaned as he tested their weight, shivered when he brushed his thumbs over her nipples.
He buried his face in the pillow of her breasts, licking through the deep valley between them and then sucking first one rosy nipple into his mouth and then the other. Pushing her back on the table, he continued licking downward, tracing the salty curve beneath her breast with his tongue, sipping the skin of her belly into his mouth, nipping and nibbling his way to the jut of her hip and then setting his mouth between her thighs.
Yes. The scent of her—warm, salty, female—was centered here. He licked deep, tasting all of her. He sucked at her labia and stroked the flat of his tongue over her clit. Her whole body jerked. Such a little nub of flesh to hold so much power. He barely put any pressure behind the next stroke and Maggie’s hips came clear off the table. Her fingers caught in his hair and she held him right there, demanding he do it again.
He laughed low in his throat and tugged his head away. Instead of bringing her to a quick orgasm, he pushed his tongue inside her hot cunt, lapping at the juices there.
God, she was wet. Wet with her own juices and the seed of his pack mates. That was fucking weird, tasting Eli and Case and Jack on her. It should have been gross. It shouldn’t have turned him on, but it did.
It was like when they were out hunting and took down a buck. His human half would tell him that he should find the blood spurting down his throat repugnant, but that knowledge didn’t stop him from liking it.
Maggie’s pussy was the best thing he’d ever tasted in his life. He could spend all day eating her out. Or at least he could if he didn’t have a raging hard-on to deal with. Case came over to the pool table and placed his hand over Maggie’s breast, massaging her gently.
Lifting his head, Carson met his alpha’s steady gaze and growled a warning. Maggie’d claimed him, and it was his right to take her however he pleased.
Case raised his brow and smiled before withdrawing his hand. Maggie lifted herself onto her elbows and stared down at him. Fuck, she was beautiful. Horny as hell. Fertile. And his.
His cock needed to be inside her now. Straightening, he pulled her up with him and turned her around. His front to her back, he pressed her down to the table. When she tried to push herself onto her elbows, he caught her wrists with one hand and pinned them to the table.
He should be gentle. He knew that. She’d taken a risk claiming him, and this was no way to reassure her she’d made the right decision.
But his wolf was taking charge, trembling just under the surface of his skin, and Carson didn’t have the strength to pull him back. It felt like he was about to change. His teeth lengthened. His cock felt harder and bigger than it ever had in his life. He grabbed hold of it to position the head at the entrance of Maggie’s pussy, and it was all he could do not to slam into her. Take her rough and fast, fill her, mark her. Seal the bond before she could take it all back.
She wriggled her hips, and he groaned.
At first, he thought she was trying to pull away. Even though it felt like he might actually die from it, he started to withdraw. But then she pressed back, urging him deeper. When the tip of his cock breached her fully, she froze, waiting for him to finish it. Panting, her muscles locked tight, she braced for a hard thrust. Inviting him. She wanted him to take her. She wanted it too. And she wanted it exactly the same way he did. Hard. Unrelenting. A pounding of flesh to flesh.
He could feel it. Read it in her body, feel it through the bond.
Maybe it wasn’t love bringing them together, but they both wanted the same thing now.
He drove deep. Her hips moved forward until they came up against the edge of the table and he kept moving, pushing as far as he could go. His balls nestled right up against her wet skin. The tip of his cock bumped against an inner wall. She panted and squirmed. He released her wrists. She arched her back, coming up onto her elbows. Which was fucking perfect because it made it a lot easier for him to reach underneath her and grab her fabulous tits.
He withdrew just an inch or two and slid back home, liking the way her flesh jiggled in his hands with the impact. And he was gone, pounding away, all instinct and need. The wolf rose to the surface and Carson let him take over. He’d never been able to do that with a human partner. He’d had to keep a tight leash on his wolf during every sexual encounter he’d ever had. But not this time. Maggie was a shifter in heat. She could handle all of him. She demanded all of him.
Maggie groaned, sounding just as shattered as he was by force driving them together.
His balls contracted, and his gaze flicked to Jack. He didn’t have the words to explain what he needed, but Jack didn’t require anything more than that single look. Wolflight dancing in his eyes, Jack stepped forward and settled on the ground between Maggie’s legs. Carson gripped her hips and pulled her back.
He couldn’t see what Jack did to her, but he felt Maggie’s response. Her entire body tightened and she began to tremble. There was a shiver all along her skin like she was about to shift. And God that felt amazing.
When she came, he felt it through the bond a split second before her body tightened around his cock. There was no holding out through that. Jack’s tongue touched the base of his cock and then moved lower to suck at his tight balls. Carson sank his throbbing teeth into Maggie’s shoulder and came with a heavy shuddering groan. And came and came. His body convulsed so violently it was a wonder he remained standing.
Panting, trying to drag air into his lungs, he held on to Maggie as the mate bond settled around them, tying them together forever. He licked the mark on her shoulder, soothing it with his tongue, and then gathered her in his arms, pulling her up from the table and turning her around. She snuggled close to his chest, burying her face against his shoulder.
She wanted reassurance and he gave it to her, stroking her hair and her back with trembling hands.
He was the weakest member of the pack, almost as much of a misfit as Declan. He’d never completely felt like he fit in. Not until this moment.
Nuzzling her hair, he said, “Thank you for this. You can’t know what it means to me.”
She looked up and the expression on her face convinced him otherwise.
She knew.
She knew exactly what it was like to live without a pack. What it was like not to belong. And she’d given him this gift freely and generously, even though he’d given her no reason to trust him with her future.
No one had ever risked themselves like that for his sake. He didn’t know what to say. Words weren’t enough. She had his vow—his body, his life, his seed. He wasn’t going to let her down. Not ever.
His arms tightened, drawing her closer. Her breasts pressed against his chest, and he kissed her gently.
Someone cleared their throat, and he lifted his head. Case and Jack had withdrawn, allowing them a bit of privacy while they pulled themselves together.
Eli stood in the doorway, smiling. “Dinner’s ready. Are you done here?”
Declan turned away from the bar and started walking their way, skirting the pool table, his glowing eyes fixed on Maggie. “We’re not done.”
Maggie’s Wolves
Red Mountain Pack: Part Five
Excerpt
Maggie lifted her head from Carson’s shoulder and turned to see Declan bearing down on her with a determined look on his face. The muscles in Carson’s body tightened as he braced himself to face off against the half-feral wolf.
That’s what Case had called Declan—half-feral. He was a rogue who lived on the very edge of the pack, more wolf than man, even when he was walking around in human skin. The wolflight blazed so brightly in his eyes it hurt to look at him.
Case caught Declan’s arm before he reached them. Even with Case blocking his path, Declan continued to stare at her over his alpha’s shoulder.
We’re not done.
No. No, they weren’t.
She untangled herself from Carson’s embrace and took a step in Declan’s direction. Declan was big, as big as Eli. But Eli’s size had never intimidated her. Eli was like a big teddy bear, whereas Declan was more of a grizzly.
She felt her vulnerability acutely. She was naked, still shaken from claiming a new mate. Her mating bond with Carson was still raw and fresh. She was very aware of Carson—his anger at Declan, his concern for her. The concern surprised her…and it didn’t. Carson thought she’d claimed him out of pity, but that wasn’t it. Not exactly. She did understand what it was like to come from a messed up family, and she understood what it was like to be without a pack. She wasn’t going to consign anyone to that life if she could help it. And it wasn’t such a risk for her to take. Her mates had already claimed him as one of their own. She trusted them. She was learning to trust them just as she was learning to trust her wolf.