He took a long, deep breath. “Sit.”
They each took a seat on some of the stools in the room.
Green motioned with his hand at them. “Your behavior makes sense to me now that I’ve been able to go over all the data PSI had on Inara.”
She was all ears.
“She’s carrying your line of lycan.” Green stared hard at Lukian. “Your exact line. And from all accounts, she was born with it.”
Lukian twisted and stared at Inara with wide eyes. He stood slowly, coming toward her. The closer he got, the more she considered backing away, but instead held her ground. He touched her cheek tenderly, in a loving manner, like her adoptive parents had long ago. His blue eyes moistened. “How did I not see it? You look just like her.”
“Like who?”
“My sister, Imogen.”
Roi came and stood next to Lukian. “You told me about her. You said she died during the lycan roundups over a hundred years ago.”
“She did,” Lukian said. “But her son didn’t. I placed him with another family. Far from it all. Somewhere he’d be safe.”
Roi shook his head. “Wait, you’re saying Inara is a direct descendent from your line?”
“Yes,” Green answered for Lukian. He walked closer, his shoulders slumping. “Sir, there is no listing for birth parents for Inara. Unlike the others we’ve found. From the notes I’ve been piecing together, I think her parents were killed and she was taken from them as an infant. The tests on her were done after she was born.”
Lukian continued to touch her cheek.
“She has a good deal of Fae in her that was natural to her as well,” Green added.
Lukian laughed. “I placed Imogen’s son with the Fae. Culann of the Council of Fae Elders helped me to hide him. That is how we know one another so well.” He pulled Inara into a big hug and held her so tight she half thought she’d break in two. “He took my nephew and put him somewhere even I couldn’t find him. And he’s never spoken of him again. I got the sense it was because something horrible happened to him.”
She patted his back. “Nice werewolf. Can you let go of me now?”
Roi laughed and pulled her out of Lukian’s embrace. “My turn to hug her.”
He did and she simply stood in place. As she thought about it all, she gasped. “Wait. I’m your niece, sort of?”
Lukian smiled. “Yes, but within our kind, when the male father figure is no longer present, the next males in the line automatically take on the roles of brothers or father figures.”
She looked between the two of them. “I’m guessing you’re both older than you look, but can we not father me? Jimmy did that already. He found me on the streets when I just barely a teen and he taught me how to take care of myself. How to live below the radar. And I don’t need another father figure.”
“He was good to you?” Lukian asked.
She nodded but didn’t want to discuss Jimmy anymore.
Lukian embraced her again but didn’t hold her too long. “If Eadan hurts you at all, says one cross word to you, looks at you funny, I’ll rip his fucking head off. Got it?”
She nearly laughed through her pending tears. “Got it.”
Roi offered a lopsided smile. “We have a little sister.”
“We do,” Lukian said. “Who will be an aunt very soon when our young ones come.”
“Possibly a mother herself now that she’s found her mate,” offered Green.
Roi’s expression hardened. “If Eadan even thinks of touching her sexually, I’ll tear his dick off and—”
“Enough,” Inara snapped. Much to her surprise, both the alpha males shut up. They looked like scolded children as she put one hand on her hip. “No one is hurting Eadan. Got it?”
They nodded and then Roi bit his inner cheek. “From this moment on, right? I mean, we can’t get in trouble for what happened fifteen minutes ago, can we?”
Wilson entered and she half expected him to start in on her too. He tipped his head, staring at Lukian and Roi. “Anyone wanna tell me why the colonel and Jon are untying Eadan?”
“You tied him up?” Inara demanded.
Both men in question looked at the ceiling.
Eadan came running in. He pushed power at Lukian and Roi. They toppled over. Gasping, Inara ran to their sides and bent, helping them both up. “Eadan, how could you?”
Eadan looked flabbergasted. “How could I? They tied me up!”
She gave him a stern look. “And you stoop to their level?”
Green laughed. “Eadan, you aren’t going to win this argument with her. Your soon-to-be-bride here is genetically related to Lukian and Roi. In simple terms, you have them acting like fathers or brothers to her. Either way, they’re overprotective.”
Eadan wiped a hand over his face. “I know. I just hoped the paperwork was wrong.”
“Wait, you went after her knowing she was related to us, but didn’t tell us?” Roi demanded.
“Hey, I was ordered not to tell you,” Eadan shot back.
“By who?” Roi narrowed his gaze.
Eadan flashed a wide, mocking smile. “Your father-in-law. Take it up with him.”
Inara approached him and stood before him, listening as he ranted about Roi. She waited until he went to take a breath and then stood on her tiptoes, kissing him silent. He returned the kiss tenfold, wrapping his arms around her.
“Mmm,” he mouthed against her ear. “Green, can I take her home now?”
“You can.”
Eadan placed his hand over hers and led her in the other direction. The rest of the men dispersed. As Inara and Eadan were about to exit the hall she turned, the compulsion to look back too great to resist.
Colonel Brooks was there, his back to her, standing at the far end of the hall. He put his arms out and then in the blink of an eye was gone, vanishing into thin air. She gasped.
Eadan paused. “Inara? You okay, beautiful?”
She debated saying anything. Maybe it was normal for people to disappear around here. After all, they were all sort of odd. “I’m good.”
Chapter Ten
Inara couldn’t believe the size of Eadan’s home. He’d given her the tour and she was sure she’d get lost if left to fend for herself. She had half a mind to take his Eighties record collection and lay them out to make a trail for herself. She didn’t think he’d appreciate that much. He seemed fond of it.
His bathroom was bigger than most of the hotel rooms she’d stayed in. The long, hot bath she’d taken felt glorious. Eadan had so many shampoos and conditioners to choose from she half expected a hairdresser to pop out of the walk-in closet off the bath and offer to do her hair for her.
She looked at the t-shirt and men’s boxers he’d left on the counter for her. They’d be big on her but they’d work for now. She held the towel around her, staring at her reflection. She no longer had dark circles under her eyes and already she looked as if she’d put on some much-needed weight.
The healing energy.
Just thinking of how they’d conjured the energy turned her on. Her nipples hardened and moisture pooled at the apex of her thighs. Her body tingled with desire. The buzzing of the bees started again—low but there. And she understood it was partly her doing—her magik.
Seemed silly thinking of herself that way, but it was true. She knew that. She grasped how crazy it was to feel as much as she did for Eadan, considering she’d known him less than a week. None of that mattered to her.
She realized now who he was to her, why she’d been drawing him all her life. She was his woman and he was her man. He was who she’d been waiting for, saving herself for. And she was tired of saving herself.
She wanted the man on the other side of the door, the one doing what he thought was honorable—giving her space and time to adjust.
And it was high time she took what she wanted.
She looked to the clothes he’d left for her, the wheels in her head spinning. Inara exited the bathroom wearing nothing but
her towel. Eadan was there, standing in the entranceway to his bedroom, his blue-gray gaze locked on her. “I-Inara?”
How can she be even more beautiful? She heard his voice in her head.
She took a step in his direction. The power intensified as she began to close the distance between them. It ran over her body, centering between her legs, making her breath catch. She inhaled deep, the shifter in her smelling Eadan’s arousal.
Damn, he looked even better than he had. He was cleaned up now, wearing nothing but a pair of thin pajama bottoms. His hair was free from the tie he’d worn it in. It was so long. She couldn’t wait to see it spilling over her body as he moved above her.
She was obsessed with his torso. The man could do laundry on it, she was sure of it. She wanted to lick him from head to toe.
“I left something for you to wear in there,” he said, sounding as if he were in pain. “I’ll take you and buy you everything you need in the morning.”
“All I need is you,” she returned, continuing her path to him.
He backed up and hit the doorframe. He closed his eyes.
Control yourself. She needs sleep and food and time to adjust.
“I just need you, Eadan.”
He kept his eyes shut.
Think about anything other than her naked. She deserves to be romanced.
“I deserve you.”
She’s a virgin. Take it slow. And do not tell her you love her. It will scare her away.
Inara couldn’t help but warm to him even more. “Eadan.”
He opened one eye. “Yes?”
“I love you too.”
He gulped and pressed himself against the doorframe more.
Wimp, she pushed with her mind.
He stilled and cracked one eye open to look at her.
She laughed. “Are you going to run from me?”
“I’m considering it,” he replied.
“Eadan, I want you and I think you want me too.” Pride welled. She’d found her way to the strong female she knew resided in her. She’d just needed the proper motivation. Sex with Eadan did the trick.
He tipped his head back and thumped it against the doorframe. “More than you’ll ever know.”
“Then what is stopping us?”
He met her gaze and put out his arms as if to shout “back.” “Inara, we need to talk. You need to understand what you’d be getting yourself into. This goes beyond any talks about having sex for the first time.”
She watched him, feeling very wanton. Energy skimmed over her arms on its way to him. “So tell me what I need to know.”
“If we have sex and complete the act, you’ll be my wife. No take-backs,” he spit out quickly, as if the words had been weighing heavily on him.
His words felt right, as if she’d been waiting for him to say them all along. “Okay.”
“Okay?” he asked, shaking his head. “Did you hear me?”
“Loud and clear.”
“There is more,” he said. “I was married before. You should know that.”
“Do you still love her?” she asked. Deep down, she knew the answer but needed to hear him verbalize it.
“Not that way, no. But she’s a friend. She’ll always only be a friend. She’s mated to Roi.”
Inara liked that about him. Liked that he’d be mature about his ex. “Ah, so that is part of the reason why Roi is the way he is with you, then?”
Eadan clucked his tongue. “That, and I’m mate to the woman he sees as his little sister.”
She laughed and touched his silky hair. The invisa-bees pounded at her, pushing over her skin, making her body hum with sexual desire. “Poor thing. Can’t catch a break, can you?”
He stepped to her, his hands going to her shoulders, holding her in place. The energy beat at her and she was sure it was doing the same to him. He just seemed better at self-control. “Missy wasn’t my true mate. You are.”
Magik pulsed between them, its pressure welcomed.
The news she was his true mate only made her want him more. She loosened the towel, letting it fall to the floor. Eadan closed his eyes. “Inara.”
“Make me yours, Eadan.”
He was on her in an instant. He lifted her, his mouth finding hers. As his tongue eased into her mouth, her legs naturally went around his waist. The ridged, hard outline of his cock pushed against her wet mound.
She didn’t need anyone walking her through what to do. It felt right with him. Additional power mixed with the existing, taking the experience to a whole new level. Eadan had added his to it all. Smiling against his lips, she moved, pushing her body to his, wanting more.
His hands kneaded her hips before slinking up her body, coming to a stop just under her breasts. She panted into his mouth as he cupped her breasts, his forefingers and thumbs tweaking her nipples.
*
Eadan moved across the span of the bedroom, holding his mate in his arms. Their joined power, feeding the frenzy he felt in her. Already it seemed as if her hot mouth was wrapped around his cock. It was her magik, enticing him, tempting him and demanding he give her what she wanted.
What he wanted too.
Her long legs wrapped around his waist. Their lips were locked as he hoped their bodies soon would be. She was so wild and wanting that he couldn’t resist. He didn’t want to resist.
He was almost to the bed when Inara thrust her hands down the front of his pajama bottoms, taking hold of his cock. She drew back from his lips, her eyes wide. “Eadan, it’s too big.”
He kissed her, silencing her protests. They’d work together. They were made for one another. He laid her down on the bed gently and spread her legs wide. Dark hair covered her mound and he grinned like the cat who had the mouse as he lowered himself, his head even with her pussy. Inhaling, he closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of her cunt. Damn, she smelled good.
She tensed as he stroked along her inner thigh. Eadan looked up the length of her torso. Their gazes met and she nodded.
Grinning, he licked up her slit, making her squirm on the bed. She moaned as he flicked his tongue over her clit. So responsive. So perfect. So his. He eased a finger into her hot, tight entrance. He pushed through her virgin barrier and she tightened more on his finger. He allowed her time to adjust to having something in her. In the meantime, he sucked gently on her swollen bud, drawing moans from her.
Sexual energy continued to pulsate around them. No surprise. It would also do so when they joined. He couldn’t stop the swell of emotions racing through him.
Woman, I love you.
He thrust another finger into her and she cried out, “I love you too!”
As her pussy convulsed around his fingers, Eadan slid up and over her, placing his cock against her core. He kissed her, knowing she could taste herself on his lips. The idea turned him on. As she wrapped her legs around his waist once more, Eadan pushed slowly into her. It seemed to take forever for her body to accept him. He wanted to pound into her but he held back.
He’d never hurt her.
Inara clung to him and then went eerily still. “Eadan.”
“Yes, beautiful,” he said, straining to keep from coming because of how good she felt wrapped around his cock.
“Am I your wife now?”
He kissed under each of her eyes. “You will be. Once I fill you will my seed. We’ve already exchanged magik and power. We just need to exchange body fluids now.”
She cupped his face. “Then hurry it up.”
He did as his mate commanded. He pushed into her and began to move with a slow pace, being gentle with her. Each push, each thrust heightened the magik between them. While they were already linked magikally, they were now in the process of completing the claiming. The threads he’d felt weave between them in the container now felt as if they were unbreakable. They were forged of magik.
He arched his back, his jaw going slack, the energy between them near the bursting point. Inara cried out, repeating his name as she sank her nails in
to his skin deeper and deeper.
Eadan grunted, his hips slamming into hers, his cock thrusting in and out of her. She was so tight. He knew he’d have a hard time controlling himself. The power racing back and forth between them did little to help him maintain himself. Reaching down, he stopped and rubbed her clit. Inara tossed her head back, her breasts pushing up at him.
Eadan’s power broke free from him, crashing into his mate. She responded, her eyes swirling with various colors, the walls of her pussy fluttering around his cock as she came. He pumped in and out of her and made no move to stop himself as he jetted seed deep in her womb, finishing their bonding ritual.
It was complete.
She was his wife now.
And there were no take-backs.
The room seemed to be on fire with power. It buzzed around him, making his ears ring. His cock hardened again and he looked down at his woman, his lips finding hers as he began to pump into her once more.
He kissed her neck while he continued to make love to her. Each push left her panting, her eyes wide, a sexy smile easing over her lips.
“Yes,” she whispered, kissing his neck in return.
He intended to do as he’d promised. He was going to love her for hours and hours.
Chapter Eleven
“Are you full?” Eadan asked, moving the tray of food from the side of the bed. He’d insisted she eat and eat and eat after they’d showered. She’d burst if he tried to put any more food in her. She caught his hand on his way back from the setting the tray on the table in his room. “Come back to bed.”
He looked at her hungrily. “I want to, but you have to be sore.”
“Actually, I feel better than ever.”
He moved over her and she laid back. His hair, wet from their shared shower, tickled her bare body. At the rate they were going, they’d never leave the bedroom. She was fine with that.
Eadan threaded his hands through the sides of her hair, holding her head in place as he kissed her. He tasted like grapes. She ate at his mouth as the head of his cock nudged at her entrance. She was wet for him. He pushed into her and she arched her back, taking him fully.
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