by M. L. Briers
It was the right thing to do and he wouldn’t disrespect his mate by doing anything differently.
“I think I got carried away, forgive me?” He brought her right back to the situation at hand with those gentle words spoken quietly against her ear.
Callum would willingly face her wrath now – whatever it was that she wanted to throw at him, verbally or physically, he was more than ready to accept it.
“I…” Morgan bit down on her initial reaction of shock and awe.
Never had her body been swept up like that.
Never had she almost lost her mind to the insanity of the moment.
Never had she wanted someone with so much intensity that she would kill to get it back – live that moment, over and over, the first rush of attraction – the damned rollercoaster of pleasure and delight.
In her embarrassment she wanted to accuse him. To point the finger of her shame firmly in his direction. And yet she stopped – considered.
It wasn’t a him thing - it was a them thing. She hadn’t been dragged to that moment against her will, she’d wanted it as much as he did.
The only difference between them was that he had stopped himself and she was more than willing to go on.
“There’s nothing to forgive.” She said, not able to meet his eyes just yet.
Callum wasn’t easily shocked, but she’d certainly shocked the hell out of him. He’d expected the cold hard finger of rebuke pointed in his direction, and yet…
“I think we both got carried away.” She added after taking a long, shaky breath.
No wrath.
No death glare.
No pain as her magic surged through his body like he’d just licked a power outlet…
“I could… continue…” He offered tentatively and her eyes snapped to his, wider than he’d ever seen a person’s eyes before.
“No!” She rushed out.
Now that she was getting her footing back onto solid ground she realised that it was all about the mating pull, all about fate’s little kick up the damn backside that had swept them both up in that glorious moment… But now, in the cold light of reality, she wanted to step back and hurried hammer the bricks and mortar back into that wall around her heart, her body, and her soul.
“O-k … t-h-e-n,” he said slowly.
Callum started to release her wrists, started to push his weight upwards, but then he remember one thing…
She was a witch.
“You’re going to wait until my defences are down and then attack me with some ninja magic that rips my balls off and deposits them in my mouth, r-i-g-h-t?”
Morgan wanted to toss her head back on her neck and roar with the laughter that his words caused to bubble up within her. Maybe before he’d kissed her like that, before her world had been upended, she just might have, but right then it was the last thing upon her mind.
She allowed that humour to pull the corners of her lips upwards and she knew that fire must have been dancing within her eyes. She tried for innocent meets mischievous and hoped that she got there… but when his head snapped back on his neck and his eyes narrowed on her, she had to question what the hell kind of a look she was giving him.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he offered before she had a chance to say anything.
Morgan couldn’t help the rumble of laughter that rolled through her chest, and his head titled to one side as he regarded her with suspicion.
“That cackle tells me it’s going to be the most painful experience of my life so far,” Callum growled and groaned at the same time.
~
CHAPTER SIX
~
“I’m not…” Morgan chuckled.
“Yeah, I believe you,” Callum tossed back as he slowly raised his body upwards, mentally kissing his backside goodbye.
“I swear,” she giggled at the sight of Mr-Big-Bad-Wolf looking so damn sheepish.
“Even if you wrote those words in blood,” he shook his head in disbelief.
“Trust me,” she cackled as the amusement washed over her in waves.
“Famous last words for the condemned man,” he muttered, climbing off of her and resting on his knees. “Greeks bearing gifts.”
Morgan pulled herself up to one elbow and turned her whole body towards him. Still chuckling, if only from the look upon his face, she shook her head in denial.
“I’m not going to attack you...” she snorted in amusement. “This time, but that’s not to say I won’t fry your backside if the mood takes me.” She shrugged just one shoulder and watched his eyes narrow to dark slits.
Callum’s eyebrows pinched as closely together as they could get over his nose, forming a ridge and causing her to have the unexpected desire to reach up and sooth it away with the tips of her fingers.
She started to lift her hand to do just that and he flinched… she cackled a laugh again…
“You really are a big baby, aren’t you?” she snorted more laughter.
Callum’s shoulders dropped down as he stretched his neck up and his back straightened at the indignation her words caused both man and beast. He didn’t know if she was trying to rile him up or if it just came naturally too her.
“I’m… cautious.” He grumbled.
“The big, bad wolf scared of the little witch?” Morgan babied him and watched him roll his head upon his neck, and he followed that up by rolling his shoulders to relieve some of that tension within him.
“You know you could push one of those Saints that folk revere to commit murder and mayhem,” he growled.
“So I’ve been told,” she shot back with a grin and a wiggle of her eyebrows.
“By who?” he growled, jealously striking at the very heart of him.
“My mother for one,” she informed him.
Although, she had a long list that included past boyfriends and lovers, but she could see that the green eyed monster was in danger of being let loose inside of him, so she smoothed it over and saved it for another time.
“Smart woman,” Callum growled out begrudgingly.
“I don’t know about you, but I could use another drink.” Morgan informed him, starting to push up, when he shot to his feet and one large hand was all that she could see in front of her as he offered it to her.
Morgan eyed that hand with suspicion. Callum waited.
“It’s just a hand,” He said.
“And you’re just a dick, but things happen.” She snorted another chuckle and he sucked in a long, steadying breath. He was determined that she wasn’t going to get another rise out of him just yet.
“Take the damn hand and let me be a gentleman,” Callum frowned. He hadn’t exactly acted like one so far, and that was to his shame.
Morgan wanted to toss back another barb in his direction, and she almost did, but the seriousness of the look on his face told her that he meant those words.
A gentleman…
Honour…
Lycan honour…
Mate honour…
He’s wounded his own sense of pride…
Damn, I could have some fun with that one, and yet –
Morgan reached up and felt that rather heady buzz roll over her skin as her palm slipped against his. Then he closed those long, thick fingers around her hand and encased it within his. She didn’t have to do any work to get to her feet, with a gentle, easy pull, he had her upright in no time at all.
“Thank you,” she muttered, a frown crossing her forehead before she chased it away.
“Welcome,” he offered back and released her hand from his.
Morgan turned towards the counter and felt him step to her side, felt the hot breath next to her ear as he leaned in. “I did prove you were a liar though.” He chuckled and she groaned.
“Now, why’d you go and do something silly like gloating?” She clicked her fingers and zapped his backside, not too hard, not too long, but just like Goldilocks – it was just right.
Callum growled at his own stupidity as his body felt the
sting. His muscles tensed hard, but then relaxed a moment later as she released him from her magic. She’d zapped him, but not so long or hard that his body had noticed too much.
He grinned. He just couldn’t help himself.
~
~
~
Mari almost spat her beer all over Tyler’s lap as he sat in the comfy armchair across from her and recounted the events of the evening at the bar. It wasn’t so much the fact that there had been a fistfight, bear on wolf, that she’d missed, that had miffed her, alright. It was when he got to the part about Callum finding his mate…
She choked, spluttered, and felt the beer tingling up the back of her nose as she tried to swallow it down. Tyler frowned hard, up on his feet; he was patting her on the back… Thud, thud, thud… she gulped down the beer…
“Geez, Tyler, I like my spine attached, thanks,” she growled out.
Tyler pulled his hand back and fisted it as he covered it with his other hand. Angry and ashamed that he’d been so rough with a female. He winced and she noted it…
“It’s ok. You were being…”
“Rough,” he scowled. His dark eyebrows practically drew together above his nose as he turned on his heels and stomped back to the chair. Dropping his backside down in it and hearing the frame protesting as it creek and groaned under his weight.
“I’m fine,” she tried to ease his worries.
The man was built like a barn. His six foot five frame was packed out with more muscles than any wolf shifter could have hoped to garner, and he was clumsy, but Mari liked him – not as a mate – she wished – bears made great mates, but she hated it when he got all depressed because he didn’t realise his own strength.
“I hope my mate, if she ever shows up, is a bear shifter…” he slowly shook his head from side to side. “I think I’d break a human.” A growl rumbled deep within his chest.
“Nah, dent her a little, maybe,” Mari teased on a bright smile, but Tyler didn’t much feel like smiling back.
“I’m too rough. I couldn’t blame fate for not giving me a mate.” He looked anywhere but at Mari.
“As long as she’s not a damned witch,” Mari bit out. That was what had caused her choking fit and subsequently had led to Tyler getting a case of the bear blues.
Damn witches. She growled inwardly. They were the cause of all the trouble around here.
“Maverick’s happy,” Tyler said almost absently. “Rowan too.” He added thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t mind a witch mate as long as I could make her happy and didn’t squish her.”
“Damn, you must really want a mate badly if you’d accept a witch,” Mari growled again. Her wolf was about as happy to have another witch in the pack as she was.
“I don’t have a problem with witches like you do,” Tyler scowled at her. It was common knowledge inside the pack of the fight that she had picked with Maverick’s mate, and the not so friendly warning that she had issued to Rowan’s.
“Wait til they get a proper foothold in the pack, and then the trouble will start, and now there’s another one.” Mari’s growl was getting deeper and longer the more that she thought about it. Someone needed to put a stop to all these damned witches before they overran the she-wolves.
“Callum’s lucky to have found his mate,” Tyler was adamant, wishing for some of that luck to rub off on him.
“You’re better off without a mate than to have a damned witch.” Mari muttered.
“You know there’s male witches-”
“Warlocks, wizards…” she shrugged a shoulder.
“And plain old witches,” he corrected her. “What would you do if you got one of those as a mate?”
“Kill him.” She growled out. Her beast rallied at the thought of getting a witch on the end of its claws, sinking its fangs into some witch flesh…
“Sure, you would.” He snorted his contempt for her answer. Every shifter wanted to find their mate, he couldn’t see how Mari was any different, but the look in her eye said that she just might be.
~
~
~
“Bedtime,” Callum teased, and the look on his mate’s face was priceless to the point where he kind of wished that he had a camera to record the moment. Her eyes widened, her cheeks flushed a nice rosy pink, and her lips parted as her jaw slacked… yep, priceless.
“I’m not tired,” she lied. She was practically dead on her feet, and yet the thought of the big bed that she was sure to find behind that closed bedroom door made the pit of her stomach hollow and achy as much as the excitement that flashed through her.
“Then we could get to know each other a little better,” he flashed one hell of a sexy smile and she almost ground her tongue between her teeth at the thought.
“That’s…” her voice was shrill and she saw him wince a little at the sound as it bounced around inside of his delicate ears. She stopped, cleared her throat, and started again in a deeper, more natural, tone. “That’s not a good idea.”
They’d had a late supper of things that he’d found in his refrigerator and cupboards. Tomorrow he’d shop for meals that were more substantial rather than a mishmash of things that he’d thrown together on a plate.
He had a mate now to worry about and take care of, he needed to step up and do things properly rather than just mooching off of members of his pack and eating out. He needed to start as he meant to go on, providing for her, and taking care of her needs.
“Bed then,” Callum tossed back.
“Isn’t that…” she stopped and took a long breath, “the same thing?”
Callum took a moment to catch up with what she was implying. Then a slow smile lifted first one corner and then the other corner of his lips, amusement flooding through him.
“It could well be,” he slowly nodded his head. Teasing, tormenting her.
“So, one meal and we’re good to go?” Morgan folded her arms across her chest and pushed back in her chair as she regarded him with cynicism.
“I’m good to go,” Callum tossed up his hands and gave her another panty dropping smile.
“And I should tag along for the ride?” Her eyebrows were trying to reach her hairline.
“If that’s the way that you want to look at it,” Callum shrugged those broad shoulders of his and her eyebrows came down like fast moving shutters that fell over most of her pretty blue, accusing, eyes.
“I don’t-”
“Good then we’re on the same page,” Callum pushed up to his feet and she snapped her head back on her neck to glare up at him from under those eyebrows.
“I – don’t – want to sleep with you,” Yet… no, don’t say yet, that implies that you want to sleep with him soon… well, der!
“I guess you can lay awake, but it seems like a waste of time to me,” he shrugged his shoulders and watched her twist her head on her neck a little as her eyes narrowed some more.
“Huh?”
He could see the blank page behind those eyes as she stared up at him. He couldn’t help the chuckle that rolled through his chest.
“Going to bed, to sleep…?” he offered teasingly. Then he slapped his palm against his forehead and mocked her. “Ohhhh, you thought I meant…” he fisted his hands at his sides and rocked his hips back and forth and her eyes snapped downwards to his gyrating pelvis.
She swallowed hard…
“I…” she squeaked again and clamped her lips shut as her cheeks forewent the nice rosy colour and flashed a deep red. “No!” she lied, snatching her eyes back to his, slightly mortified.
“Sure you didn’t,” he teased.
“Can you not!” She lifted a hand and pointed at his hips as her top lip curled.
“What?” He thrust his pelvis back and forth with a vengeance. “This?” he asked innocently.
“That,” she snorted her contempt for him.
“Why? Is it turning you on?” he teased her again and she rolled her eyes up to the ceiling and muttered a few curses under her breath. “It
is, right?” he chuckled.
“No!” she lied again, snapping her eyes back to his and practically grinding her teeth together in annoyance.
“We can do this…” He gyrated some more, back, forth, sideways, and she groaned as she looked anywhere but at him. “If you like.” He chuckled outwardly but inwardly he was rolling around on the floor laughing his ass off.
She was kind of cute when she was mortified and angry all in one go.
“I don’t like,” she snorted her contempt for those damn hips of his.
“Sure you do,” he teased. “You can hardly take your eyes off me.” He chuckled again.
Morgan snapped her body up to her feet, fists clenched at her sides, eyes glaring at him as she came face to chest with Mr Elastic Hips. Then she bit down on another curse as her heart hammered at her ribs and her breath hitched.
“You wanna dance?” she snorted, lifting her hand and snapping her fingers as her magic stung his backside good and proper.
“Hey!” Callum yelped, feeling the not-so-subtle burn.
“Dance,” she snapped her fingers again, another sting in his tail, and he jumped again. “Come on, you’re not trying,” she teased with a mean sparkle in her eyes, before she snapped her fingers again and he yelped and jumped once more. “Swing those hips.”
“It’s not funny,” Callum warned her and she had to chuckle.
“Kind of looks funny from where I’m standing.”
Callum moved fast, snatching her up against him, and a heartbeat later her back was to the wall. She caught her breath at just how suddenly things had changed between them.
“Not laughing now?” Callum growled out playfully. Both of his hands had a nice rounded cheek of her backside inside of them, and he slowly lifted her against his body and fitted his hips in between her inner thighs quite nicely.
Now when he rocked his hips the hard press of his cock was against her sex. Her hands slapped down onto the broadness of her shoulders and her head went back against the wall as her eyes became hooded and she gasped once more – this time with pleasure.
“Wanna see just how well I can swing my hips now?” Callum asked as he leant in and brushed his cheek against hers, and he savoured the way her inner thighs tightened around his hips, her fingers dug into his flesh, and the sound of the low curse that hissed on her lips…