The words, his voice – so guttural – sent shivers down her spine. She sat up on the edge of the bed, reached out and gripped his hips, pushing the loosened denim down his long legs. Unable to resist, she stroked her hand over his erection which was still contained within a pair of black boxer briefs. Conner threw back his head and groaned. She slid her fingertips under the elastic and moved her hands downward in a caress that took his underwear with it. His erection sprung free, jutting and proud, begging to be kissed and Elizabeth couldn’t resist. Leaning forward, she gripped his length, took the head into her mouth, and circled it with her tongue. Conner let out a shout of appreciation, his hands moving to her hair, not to control, but to stroke and massage. She slid her mouth over him, taking as much as she could, while Conner fingers moved in a feather light glide down her neck and chest to roll a nipple between his fingers.
Elizabeth gasped in pleasure and Conner moved back slightly, away from her mouth. “I need to be inside you. I need to feel you, Elizabeth.”
Feeling bold, Elizabeth scooted more fully onto the bed and leaned back, her weight supported on her elbows, her breasts thrust forward in invitation. Conner didn’t need any further encouragement. He came down on top of her, his mouth taking hers in a voracious kiss as he stroked the head of his erection between her slick folds.
Elizabeth was lifting her hips, pushing closer, wanting him inside of her so badly when a moment of clarity intruded. She was about to remind him that he needed a condom when, without a word, he pushed up to kneel between her spread thighs, grabbed a foil wrapped square from his nightstand and tore into it with his teeth. As soon as his erection was sheathed, she pulled him back to her, lifting her hips in welcome.
His first thrust filled her so completely she gasped, both in surprise and in pleasure. It had been so long – too long. But had she ever wanted it this badly? Had it ever been this intense? No, it was him. It was Conner. He did this to her. As Conner continued to thrust, the pleasure built to screaming point. Her fingers gripped his backside and then moved upward to score over his back, while she moaned, and panted, arching beneath him. She was so close, so close, and then he slid a hand between them, his thumb stroking over the center of her desire, once, twice – with an indecipherable cry, she shattered.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Conner lay beside Elizabeth on the bed, propped up on one elbow as she lay flat with her eyes closed. Her full lips were pulled up at the corners in a contented little smile as he stroked her damp hair away from her face. After that first mind-blowing experience, Elizabeth had suggested a shower but he’d shaken his head. “That was too fast,” He’d said, “too intense. We need to try it again – slowly this time.” He’d added suggestively and then proceeded to show her exactly what he meant. He had been rather impressed with the cries he’d wrung from her.
When they finally did make it to his shower, the intimacy of washing each other, smoothing soap over each other’s wet bodies, well, things had quickly gotten heated and round three had been against the slippery tile. He had wanted to pat himself on the back for being able to maintain his balance. He was pretty sure he had pulled a muscle in his ass, but it had been worth it.
He was surprised at how content he was feeling with Elizabeth beside him in his bed. He never brought women here for sex; this place was his den, his sanctuary, his refuge. He’d always gone elsewhere when he hooked up, allowing him to leave when he was ready – usually, as soon as he was finished. He’d never been much for cuddling after. How many times had he been called an asshole for that? Too many.
With Elizabeth, it was different. He wasn’t feeling that tension under his skin to shoo her away and put distance between them, or for himself to get up and leave. Was this the difference a mate made? His wolf was feeling extremely content and satisfied right now, as was the man – both his halves at peace.
He imagined how he would have felt if Elizabeth had wanted to leave immediately after. It definitely would have stung. Was that how all those women had felt? God he was an asshole. No more though.
He frowned. Now he had to figure out how to convince her to stay. He ran his fingertips over the shell of her ear and her smile grew, a little mm of pleasure escaping her throat. “Did you know I have a guest bedroom?” He asked.
Elizabeth opened brown eyes twinkling with mischief and her smile stretched into a grin. “You want to go try out that bed too?”
Conner let out a little chuckle, pleased with the suggestion, but that hadn’t been where he was going with that question. He cleared his throat, suddenly nervous. “Actually, I was thinking J.T could take the guest bedroom as his own and the two of you could move in.” There, he had said it.
Her grin fell and Conner’s stomach twisted. “There’s plenty of room for both of you. I have a laundry room too, the rest of the place you’ve seen.” He shrugged as if it was no big deal despite how he was actually feeling. “It would save you having to find another place – save you money too.”
He held his breath as she slowly sat up and looked around. He had a nice place, right? Plus, saving money was always a good incentive. Say yes, say yes, say yes…
“I don’t know, Conner. That seems like a really big step.”
Conner’s chest started to hurt and he blew out the breath. The expulsion sounded a bit defeated, but he had to admit he wasn’t above using sympathy to get his way.
Elizabeth put a hand on his upper arm and stroked – a placating gesture. “It’s a really nice offer, Conner. Please don’t think I don’t appreciate it. But do you really want to be tripping over all of our clutter?” She asked with a small laugh that he knew was meant to diffuse the tension and soothe any hurt feelings.
He looked at her, his eyes moving over a face that he wanted to wake up to every morning, and nodded sharply. “For you and J.T? Absolutely.”
She looked around again, taking in the white walls with black and white framed prints, the black curtains and black bedspread over white sheets, the black dresser and matching nightstands. Yes, his life up until now had been black and white while Elizabeth and J.T were bright splashes of vivid color, but right now, he needed that color. He needed it desperately.
She turned her attention back to his face and offered a tight smile, “I’ll think about it, okay?”
Conner nodded. What else could he do? He couldn’t exactly force her to move in with him. He sighed. Things were probably so much easier back in the day when a lycanthrope could just grab his mate and take off with her.
“You have a thing for wolves, don’t you?”
Conner looked at her sharply, one brow raised in question until he noticed she was examining his multitude of tattoos, many of which were in fact wolves. He couldn’t exactly point to each one and say this is my father, this one is Jacob, etcetera, etcetera, so he settled for saying: “I love them. They fascinate me.”
She spent several moments examining his arms chest and back, her fingertips gliding over several of them, making him want to shiver. “I think this one is my favorite.” She said caressing his left bicep, and he couldn’t have been more pleased. Couldn’t that be considered a sign? Among his multitude of ink she had picked his wolf to admire above all others.
“Which one is the newest?” She asked and Conner lifted his right arm to show her the tattoo on his ribcage. It was of his sister Tara in wolf form. Elizabeth ran her fingers softly over that one as well and cocked her head slightly. “You can tell this one is a female wolf.” She noted, and he was pleased by her keen observation. “Something in the bone structure, maybe, it’s more delicate.” She added.
Conner nodded and pointed to the one of his mother on his back, with her nearly full black coat with just a few touches of gold. “That one is female as well.”
Elizabeth stroked a hand over it. “This one looks fiercer,” she noted, “while the other one looks, I don’t know, sympathetic or sweet maybe?”
Conner grinned. His mate had no idea just how accurately she had jus
t described his two female family members.
Elizabeth’s fingers slid over his chest, and down his belly to toy with the narrow strip of hair just below his navel, her eyes on her fingers for a moment before they slid up to his with a look so sexy he immediately went hard. “I’m not tired yet.” She murmured and Conner groaned in appreciation. Lifting her over to sit astride him, he slid his hands up to her breasts and growled, “Let me see if I can fix that for you.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Elizabeth had retrieved Jeremy from his camping trip that morning. His hair was sticking up all over his head and he had dirt smudges on his nose, cheek, and chin, while his hands and fingernails looked like he’d been digging for buried treasure. It had only been an overnight trip, but he smelled like he hadn’t showered in a week, the pungent odor of sweat, dirty socks, and bug spray. But he was grinning from ear to ear while he regaled her with tales of his experience. But one of the first things he’d asked was, “Where’s Conner?”
Just thinking about how she had been woken that morning had her closing her eyes while a delicious thrill ran down her spine. She’d come awake slowly, Conner’s impressive erection pressed tight to her backside as his fingertips had skated so gently over her hard nipples – just the barest touch, but it had her nerve endings sizzling.
He’d pushed into her eager body slowly as he whispered “Good morning” in her ear. His mouth had then kissed down her neck before his teeth had clamped gently down on her shoulder. That had been so sexy. Yes, definitely a good morning. Of course, her mind, once she was able to think again, had taunted her: You could wake up every morning just like this.
She hadn’t told Jeremy that Conner had offered for them to move in. The very fact that asking about Conner’s whereabouts was his top priority told her plainly that he would be all for it. He would probably immediately pack his bag and say “Let’s go!”
While her son’s enthusiasm made the decision a bit easier, Elizabeth didn’t know if she was ready for such a commitment. Conner hadn’t been able to come back to the camp with them, which was a plus since it would at least give her some time to think with a somewhat clear head. He had to be at The Stag to check in a delivery, but he had said he would come by later. This way, she could formulate a mental pros and cons list without the distraction of all that was Conner Pierce.
She would take another look at real estate options on-line, make her list, and then make a decision that wasn’t clouded by sexy bearded redheads and their magical, lust inspiring hands – though that was definitely an amenity that she certainly wouldn’t find anywhere else.
She heard the shower come on and Jeremy singing. Her son was singing! How great was that?
Sitting down at the table with a grin, Elizabeth put on her glasses and logged in to her laptop. The rental listings had been sad indeed the last time she had looked. Only one place had even come close to offering what she wanted, but the square footage had been less than impressive. Now, however, there were none – zero, zip, nada. Oh, there were houses she could buy, but buying was a long-term investment, and pretty much made things permanent. She wasn’t ready to make a permanent decision, there were too many variables to consider. And permanent meant she would want perfect – or as close to perfect as she could get.
If Walter, who was a big believer that the universe often gave people a helping hand, had been here, he would tell her it was a sign that she should just move in with Conner. It would solve her dilemma and please both Conner and Jeremy. And if she was honest with herself, she would admit that it would also please her. She bit her lip and tapped a pen against the table. No. She was not going to rush into anything. She would wait. She would put her name, and a wish list, in with a realtor, and wait until something became available. Worst case scenario, they could stay right here at the camp until she was sure she wasn’t making a mistake.
She heard the shower shut off just as the phone rang. She was slightly disappointed to hear her brother’s voice on the other end and she realized she had been unconsciously hoping it was Conner. Jeremy was obviously thinking the same thing as he stuck his wet head through the doorway with an eager look, “Is that Conner?”
She shook her head as Edward asked, “Who is Conner?” But then he didn’t bother to wait for an answer as he asked, “Where were you guys yesterday? You always come to my Fourth of July barbecue.”
“They had a town wide barbecue here in Malsum Pass so Jeremy and I went. It was fun.”
Edward snickered, “Getting chummy with the werewolves, are you?”
Elizabeth laughed. “Yup, one of them bit me and made me a werewolf too.” She added a howl for effect and heard Edward chuckle before he asked, “Doesn’t that pretty much make you a bitch?”
“Har di har har” She said and Edward laughed harder.
Once his laughter wound down he cleared his throat. “I got your message about the new work project. Explain.”
Elizabeth did, once again getting excited about all of the possibilities and her role in them. Then she told him about the lack of rentals in the area. “I may have to stay at the camp longer than intended.” She avoided mentioning Conner’s offer in case Jeremy was within hearing range.
“Well, Mom and Dad certainly won’t mind travelling to see you. Especially Dad. It’ll give him an excuse to take more time off and go fishing. Have you told your in-laws?”
Elizabeth grimaced thinking of the Larkins. They hadn’t even wanted Jeremy out of town for the summer. Telling them she was moving would not go over well. “The trip from Boston is not that long. They can either come to us to visit or he can go to them on weekends occasionally. It shouldn’t be that big of a deal.”
“Ha!” Edward barked out and Elizabeth winced. Yes, Jeremy was all they had left of Thomas, but she would not feel bad about this. Jeremy was happy here, happier than she had ever seen him, and this was a great opportunity for her – win, win. The Larkins would just have to deal.
“I seem to recall you telling me that they threw a fit when you wanted to move into your own place and take Jeremy with you. Moving to another state is a lot more distance than a few miles.” Edward said, dryly.
“And yet they’re eager to ship my son off to military school to continue their proud tradition.” Elizabeth whisper hissed.
“Hey, now, don’t bite my head off. I’m on your side. I think this is great for the both of you. I just want to make sure you’re prepared. Especially for that dragon lady you call a mother-in-law.”
A knock on the door had Elizabeth jumping in surprise. She quickly bid her brother goodbye and pulled it open with a smile, once again expecting it to be Conner. Her smile quickly fell as she saw who was on the other side of the door. Speaking of dragon ladies…
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Mrs. Pierce, what a surprise,” Elizabeth said, pasting a smile on her face that she knew probably looked forced. “What can I do for you?”
Conner’s mother was dressed in a smart beige linen pantsuit with a silky black shell beneath the jacket. She looked professional, while Elizabeth was wearing cut off denim shorts with strings hanging down her legs, a tank top, and her feet were bare. The older woman took it all in with a sweep of her cold eyes before she sniffed, her lip curling with distaste. “You reek of my son.”
Elizabeth stiffened at the obvious insult. She had showered that morning and used Conner’s shampoo and soap, which his mother might recognize, but reek? Obviously, the woman was trying to be a bitch. Even now she was taking in the camp with a sneer of disgust on her face. Lovely. This was so not what she wanted to be doing right now. Conscious of Jeremy in the house Elizabeth said, “Let me put some shoes on and we’ll talk outside.”
Slipping on a pair of flip-flops, Elizabeth cracked open Jeremy’s door to see him lying on his bed with ear buds in, his mouth open as he slept. Hopefully, he would continue to sleep through whatever this, with Conner’s mom, was. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the woman hadn’t come to exc
hange recipes and welcome her to the family.
As soon as she stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind her, Sherry Pierce announced. “I brought my checkbook. Name your price.”
“I beg your pardon?” Elizabeth asked, affronted.
Sherry Pierce looked at her like she was a simpleton and then sighed. She gestured toward the camp and then toward Elizabeth’s person. “Obviously you need the money, you being a single mother and all. I’m willing to make that happen. All you need to do is tell Conner goodbye. It’s simple really.” She gave Elizabeth a condescending smile, “Though I will expect you to be convincing, and of course, leave the area.”
Elizabeth was beyond offended as she straightened her spine. She made damn good money and took excellent care of her son, and this woman had the audacity to come here and insult her? Hell. No. “Look lady, I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but-“
“I am a Pierce by marriage, a Denis by blood, and more than your tiny mind could ever hope to comprehend.” Sherry Pierce snarled, pushing into Elizabeth’s personal space. “Conner is my son. And no son of mine will align himself with someone so…” Once again, those cold eyes moved over Elizabeth from head to toe, “flawed.”
Flawed? Elizabeth reeled with the force of Sherry’s words. She felt like she had been struck. She had never been so insulted in all of her life. Her blood began to boil, her skin prickled with anger, her fingers clenching into fists at her sides, and she narrowed her eyes on the other woman. Purposely pushing herself into the older woman’s space this time, their chests were nearly touching as Elizabeth hissed, “I don’t care what blood flows in your veins, lady. I may not be perfect, but I love your son and he loves me. You will not make this decision for either one of us so get the hell off my property.”
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