by May Dawson
Maddie
“Wow, you weren’t kidding about the basement.” Tyson hesitated at the top of the stairs.
“You can obviously break out if you feel you must,” she said, gazing at the narrow glass windows with sudden doubt, as if she was worried we’re going to wreck her place.
She stood at the base of the wooden stairs, looking around the cinder block basement. There wasn’t much down here, just metal shelves full of canned goods like even witches worry about the apocalypse. We’d found a prepper, apparently.
Actually, after what she’d said about the rips, I was really worried about the apocalypse. There was something else to keep me up at night. Usually, when I couldn’t sleep, I just stayed up regretting every time I’ve tried to make a joke that fell flat. Sometimes it felt like no one else—except my guys—ever laughed.
Maybe we’re all doomed to fall in love with whoever laughs along with our peculiar sense of humor.
“Just how feral do you think we’re going to go?” I demanded, suddenly worried.
She shrugged. “I have no idea what it will do to wolf shifters. You all already have pretty low inhibitions, don’t you?”
She helped us wrestle a spare mattress down, then dropped two pillows and sleeping bags on top of it. “There are plenty of snacks down here. If you feel fine in an hour, knock on the door and let me know. I’ll let you out. Maybe it won’t do anything to you.”
“And if we are… uninhibited?”
“I’m going to ask what you plan to do first.” She turned and headed up the stairs. “If it involves a jewelry heist or murder, you’re still grounded.”
“Damn it,” Tyson muttered. “That’s pretty much my dream Saturday.”
“The academy must really crimp your style,” I said.
“Oh, it definitely does.”
The door at the top of the stairs closed.
Tyson looked at me curiously. “Do you feel…odd?”
“No. Do you?”
That was a lie. The ache of lust was stronger for me than before, and I pretty much always wanted Tyson. The man was sexy as hell.
“Nope.” He shook his head for extra emphasis.
“That was a very uninhibited kind of no,” I said.
“Oh, Maddie…”
“I’m just saying.”
“If I were feeling uninhibited,” he said, “I’d tell you that I still have a lot of feelings about you kissing me.”
“Oh? What kind of feelings?”
He started to say something, then stopped. “Wait. Is this the magic? Because I think I’d actually rather be eaten by hostile vegetation than talk about my feelings…”
“Just go with it,” I said. “I bet the magic will be over faster if we just dive into it instead of fighting it.”
“You really think so?”
“No, I want to hear what you were going to say. I’m just making shit up. I don’t know anything about Fae magic either.”
He shook his head slowly, a faint smile touching his lips. “You didn’t need magic to act a bit, ah, uninhibited the other night…”
“We were drinking.”
“Oh? Is that all?”
“That’s not all, Tyson. I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time.”
He gazed at me curiously. “How long?
“I thought you didn’t want to talk about feelings.”
“I don’t want to talk about my feelings. If you want to tell me you’ve had a crush on me since day one, I’m open to any flattery you have to offer. It’s been a weird day. It would make me feel better.”
“So now you want pity flattery?”
He crinkled his nose at me. It was adorable. Somehow Tyson managed to be badass and adorable all at once.
“Do you remember when we met?” There was a strange lightness in my stomach, as if I was falling. But I couldn’t stop myself.
His lips quirked up at one side. “Of course I do.”
“You told me that you hoped I’d come to the academy.” I tilted my head to one side. “Why? Why was that, Tyson Atlas?”
“You seemed like you’d make things a lot more interesting.”
“Yeah? I guess I have.” I gestured around the dimly-lit basement where we found ourselves. “But… better? Or worse?”
I said the words lightly. But my breath caught waiting for his answer.
“I don’t know,” he said slowly. My heart dropped, but then he went on, confessing almost as if he was embarrassed, “The world’s a better place with you around, Maddie. Doesn’t matter where we are. The pits, locked in a creepy basement, the Fae world. Everything’s a little brighter with you there.”
His words lit a warm glow in my chest, but he’d started off with an I don’t know.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I don’t know if this can work,” he said. “Any of this. You’re with Penn, he’s supposed to be my alpha…”
No one cared about that in my sister’s pack. The alphas and the other shifters shared Piper equally. They all loved each other.
“You and Penn are already like brothers,” I said, because I could tell they loved each other.
His lips twisted. “If Penn and I were like brothers, I’d be the alpha. I’m the oldest.”
“Does that matter to you?”
“Being alpha? No.” He sat down heavily on the side of the mattress and heaved a sigh. “Having Penn be the alpha? Yeah, it matters to me. I thought I’d escape into the Council’s Own if I could. I need to get out of that pack.”
“Are things bad there?” I sat next to him, my voice coming out sharp. I’d seen how bad things were in Lex’s pack.
“Not like…some,” he said. “I just feel strangled there. Everyone thinks they know who I am, what I’m capable of…”
I knew that feeling. My sister and her mates adored me, but they thought they knew me. But how was that possible? I didn’t even feel like I knew myself yet. When I was with them, I felt like I was pushed into a mold that didn’t fit, no matter how sweet and loving they were. “They don’t really know you.”
“Not like you do.” The words came out soft. He tilted my chin up, until our gazes met. His bright eyes were intent, a small smile written across his lips.
His lips brushed mine. Then he hesitated, his thumb sliding across my jaw.
But when Ty kissed me, even so softly, the dam between us burst.
I caught the back of his head with my hand, feeling his soft hair between my fingers as I tugged his face down to me. Our lips met over and over in quick, frenzied kisses.
He pulled away, gasping as if I’d stolen the air from his lungs. “Is this the Fae magic…”
“Does it matter?” I asked. “We both want this, don’t we… we both have for a while now.”
Then his lips were on mine again, his fingers threaded through my hair. He pulled my head back roughly with his hand in my hair, before his lips clashed against mine.
Sometimes I’d thought before that Tyson wanted me, and sometimes I’d thought he was trying to keep a distance between us. The way he touched me now left no doubt.
I didn’t even realize the two of us were pushing each other across the room as we kissed until Tyson’s shoulders hit the shelving unit full of canned goods. When it swayed dangerously, Ty twisted to catch it with one hand.
As a couple of cans tumbled down from the top shelf, Ty grabbed me tight against his body. He arched over me protectively, then winced as the cans rained down on his shoulders. They thudded to the floor at our feet.
“My hero,” I teased him, capturing his lips with mine again. “Saving me from green beans and canned pineapple.”
As he kissed me, his hands slid up the bare skin under my t-shirt. “Hey, that hurt, you ungrateful wench.”
“Oh, do you need me to kiss it and make it better?” I caught his shoulders with my hands and tugged him down to me, and to my surprise he knelt at my feet. His lips caressed the skin across my stomach as I bent down, kissing the top of h
is head, his shoulders. “Let me see if your mortal enemy, the canned goods, left a mark.”
He glanced up at me, humor sparking in his eyes, but he shed his leather jacket, then he pulled his t-shirt over his head in one deft motion.
I ran my hands over the shape of his shoulders, appreciating the muscle that rippled under my fingertips.
His lips across my abs sent me on fire. His fingers ran across the waistband on my jeans, unbuttoning them before he slid them down my hips.
“Getting right to it, are you?” I ran my fingers through his hair.
The smile on his lips was my only warning before he caught my calves in his big hands and pulled my legs out from underneath me.
I hit the ground with my shoulders, stretching my arms out to catch my weight and distribute it, just like when we fought. It didn’t hurt, but the jolt still stole the breath from my lungs.
Then he ran his fingers under the waistband of my panties, all but tearing them away, and my hips jerked up toward him.
“You jerk,” I muttered, but he moved to hover above me, one big arm on either side of my head, kissing my lips until the names I meant to call him faded.
“You’re not breakable,” he murmured, that teasing smile arching his lips. His fingertips trailed down my side, to my stomach, then down lower. My thighs fell open for him as his touch ran through my sudden slickness, beginning to tease me.
Then his head ducked between my thighs.
When he said I wasn’t breakable, he didn’t just mean I could take a fall. His confidence in me, as we faced down a situation that I couldn’t see my way out of, lit warmth in my chest.
He pressed a kiss to my inner thigh, so close that the hard line of his jaw brushed my core, and the warm glow wasn’t just in my chest anymore.
As his tongue teased me, desire jolted through me, and my thighs pressed against his ears as I moaned.
He grinned, as if he realized he was in danger of having his head popped by a horny woman with muscular thighs, before his arms wrapped around my thighs. The sight of his big biceps locked around my legs and his head, bowed between my thighs made me smile in affection. God, I liked that boy.
Then his tongue darted out, tracing every bit of me, and I gasped raggedly. I caught the faint hint of his wicked grin again before it disappeared as his mouth worked against my clit. My hips jerked, but I was helpless in his firm grip as he teased me, toying with his tongue until I was flushed and hot.
My clenched toes dug into the cold cement floor as my hips heaved up, seeking more of him and seeking to get away at the same time. My tension rose to a new high, gasping and hot, but I couldn’t escape his relentless, pleasuring tongue. As he thrust the tip of his tongue against my g-spot over and over, my core seemed to turn to molten pleasure.
When he rose, I was breathing raggedly. He tugged on the collar of my shirt. “Are you attached to this?”
“I thought you were going to rip my underwear right off, you barbarian,” I said, hurriedly yanking my shirt off before he could be tempted to destroy it.
“You like it,” he accused, then his lips met mine. His lips were warm from my body, and they carried the smoky taste of myself.
His hand dipped between my thighs. My core was still sensitive, and my thighs clenched together.
“Oh no,” I muttered, rolling up and to my feet. I walked away from him, flashing a mischievous smile over my shoulder. “You broke me, Ty. I need time to recover.”
“Do you?” As he pressed behind me, his hands cupped my hips, and he leaned down, pressing kisses to my naked shoulders. He undid my bra with deft fingers, and the cups fell loose down my breasts.
His hands cupped my breasts, toying with my nipples, and I bit my lip at the sensation that washed through me. My clit was still swollen and hot, but the first stirring of a new round of desire pooled low in my belly.
I reached back, cupping him through his jeans, feeling his size and heft through the rough material. The two of us stumbled through the room as we tried to tease each other, and then suddenly I was up against the rough wall beneath the narrow windows.
I braced my hands across the cinder blocks as his hands stroked across my breasts and my sides. “God, Maddie,” he murmured into my hair. “I’ve wanted you so long.”
Then why didn’t you tell me? Claim me?
I wanted to ask, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment. Instead I caught one of his hands in mine, steering him down across my thighs to my mound.
He slid against me, his cock brushing between my thighs, and I ground my ass against him, wanting more.
His tip stroked over my heat, but then he growled as he adjusted himself without being able to enter. “Why are you so damn short, Northsea?”
“Why are you so oversized?” I demanded. My breath was coming short with desire, and his fingers were working devilishly against my clit.
“So I can keep up with you,” he said, an edge of laughter in his voice. “So much trouble in such a delicate little package.”
He grabbed my hips, pulling my ass back toward him until I slammed into his cock. His grip on my body was commanding as he positioned me the way he wanted me. The tip of his cock teased between my thighs, and I pushed my ass back into him, demanding more.
Then he rocked inside me, and my fingers dug into the rough wall. He was big, filling me up completely, and I gasped as he stretched me.
He stilled, his fingers still pressed against my clit. “Am I hurting you?”
I glanced at him over my shoulder. “Do I seem like I give a fuck right now, Ty?”
His gaze smoldered, and he rocked into me over and over, until I couldn’t hold back a cry that was part pain and mostly elation.
I came there against the wall, calling his name and clawing it at the cinder block as he shattered inside me. Then he spun me to kiss me. His lips were tender, the perfect contrast to the deep ache he’d left between my thighs.
His arms went to either side of my head, and he caged me against the wall, his lips caressing mine.
“I’m glad we did that,” I murmured. “I don’t know what I’d do if I never got the chance to have you.”
He froze, and I mentally cursed myself. Goddamn it. I didn’t want any of the guys to know the thought that Rafe had planted in my mind. I knew how they’d react.
“And why would you never have the chance?” he demanded.
“Well, if you and Penn couldn’t share…” I seized on the first safe topic.
He cocked an eyebrow at that, then pulled back.
Shit.
Not a safe topic at all. Just better than telling him I might have to leave my men, for their own good.
“Did Penn tell you it was okay?” he asked, a mocking note in his voice.
I was still trying to choose my words when disbelief bloomed across his face. “Oh, holy shit. He did. My alpha gave you permission.”
He turned away, the muscles rippling across his back as he swiped his hand through his hair.
“I didn’t need permission,” I said, my voice coming out hot. “I’ve wanted you. You’re the one who has pushed me away.”
“Whatever,” he muttered, spinning around. “I don’t care about you and him, or you and Jensen, or…anyone else. I don’t care about anything but us, if this is real…”
“It is real,” I said, my voice coming out husky. “Of course it is. I need you, Ty. I love you.”
He stared at me as if he was trying to decide if he believed me or not.
Then suddenly he closed the distance between us. His arm slid around my waist, and he spun, falling to the mattress, drawing me with him. I landed on top of his hard chest.
“Tell me that again,” he muttered, then his lips were on mine, and I kissed him back hard, fiercely. He broke away, his eyes smoldering, to whisper, “I love you too, Maddie.”
I kissed him as if we could leave the past and the future alone for tonight.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Silas
&nbs
p; When we walked in the front door of the open house, the scent of sugar and vanilla hung in the air, and I frowned. “Why does it smell like a bakery?”
“Chocolate chip cookies,” Jensen said. “It’s a trick to make the place seem more homey. You don’t get out much, do you?”
“Not enough,” I agreed. “The academy hasn’t helped with that.”
I wandered around the two-story foyer, my shoes clicking over the hardwood floor, as I opened doors to find a coat closet and a half bathroom. Jensen followed me good humoredly, closing the doors when I was done.
Sometimes it was annoying to pretend to be a bit of a fool. Mostly, though, it amused me.
Besides, my play-acting gave me an excuse to voice my many questions about people in this world.
A realtor emerged from the back of the house, smiling, but his smile ebbed when he saw us, then died altogether. “Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for a house,” Chase said.
The man gave us a long, unpleasant look. “Fine. Come back to the kitchen and sign in.”
Chase looked uncertain, but followed the man back. The realtor was terse with Chase as Chase signed his clipboard in a big, sunny kitchen, and I could see Chase lose a little of his confidence.
If Chase was going to puke anywhere, this would really have been the moment.
I glanced at Jensen curiously, knowing Jensen rarely missed much, just as he crossed his arms over his chest. Jensen clearly had assessed the situation already, but all Jensen said was, “You think our girl would like this kitchen?”
“Does it matter?” Chase asked. “Is she going to be the one cooking in it?”
“Pretty sure it’s going to be Silas who does all the cooking,” Jensen said.
I grinned at that. I’d worked in the kitchen growing up, but our diet at the orphanage had been heavy on oatmeal, brown-bread-and-beans, and vegetable soup. The guys would not appreciate my cuisine.
The three of us wandered through the house, pretending at first for the agent that we were three men buying a house to live in with our girlfriend. But after a while, the fantasy took over. There was a big deck and a hot tub in the backyard where we could all hang out; there was a massive master bedroom where we could put more than one king bed together to all sleep close to her and a walk-in closet that would probably be hers alone.