“Just so we’re clear…in bed, I’m always the dominant.” His voice rumbled out, deep and sexy.
“I gathered that,” she said, between panting breaths. “I like it.”
He moved down, his lips pressing against hers, nibbling at her lower lip, and she let out a whimper of pleasure. Then his mouth moved on hers, and her lips parted, accepting him. His kiss was hungry and demanding, his tongue probing, exploring.
The weight of his body felt delicious. Everywhere his skin touched hers, she could feel her nerves sizzling. The thickness of his erection pressed between her legs and she moaned and parted her thighs.
He began kissing her neck, nipping at it hard enough to make her gasp with delight, then running his tongue over the tingling skin in long, slow laps.
He moved down to her breasts, kissing them and cupping them in his hands, and then sucked her swollen, sensitive nipple into his mouth and teased it with his teeth.
“Ohhhhh,” she wailed. “Yesss….like that…” He scraped his teeth across it and she gasped her pleasure. He moved to her other breast, tongue swirling in circles around the pink circle of her aureole, and then closed his mouth around her nipple and sucked hard.
Hot waves of pleasure snaked through her, and she tangled her fingers in his silky curls, caressing him. She could feel the warm rays of the sun beating down on them, and the trilling of birds was like a symphony.
When he moved down lower to kiss her rounded belly, she flinched and tried to move away. He grabbed her hands and pinned them by her side.
“Stop,” he growled. “I love your curves. They’re what make you a woman. Let me show you.” His tongue swirled in circles on her stomach and dipped into her navel, and her breathing quickened, coming in short, sharp pants.
He slid down further, spreading her fleshy thighs apart with his hands, and kissing and nipping at the curves of her flesh.
Then he was between her legs, caressing the dewy wet petals of her pussy, spreading them open. “Ohhhh,” she wailed. “My God. Like that. Just like that.”
She would have done anything for him. The hot waves of pleasure felt like rivers of lava now, burning her with unbearable ecstasy. When he sucked the swollen rosebud of her clitoris into his mouth and scraped his teeth over it, she screamed aloud, in pleasure so intense she thought she’d die.
Loch was merciless, his hands spreading her lips wide apart and his mouth sucking hard, teasing, nipping, until she could bear it no longer.
She felt as if the earth fell away from her and she writhed beneath him, shuddering violently with the force of her orgasm. She lost all sense of time and place, vaguely feeling him sliding up on top of her and kissing her neck as he positioned himself on top of her.
“Inside me,” she moaned. “I want you inside me.”
“Like this, baby?”
Loch moved his hips, and the head of his cock nudged between the wet pink petals of her pussy.
She wailed, moving to accept him, and he forced his way into her tight tunnel, sliding in several inches.
“Harder,” she gasped.
“Shameless hussy.” He thrust again, deep inside her, and she grabbed his butt cheeks with both hands, fingers sinking into those perfect, muscular globes.
“Oh my God, you’re so tight. Yes,” he groaned, and began moving his hips, pistoning into her rhythmically. He’d pull back, almost sliding out of her, and she’d moan with anticipated loss, and pull him back in.
His hips moved faster and faster, and his breath was harsh and quick, searing her ear as he groaned in pleasure.
She felt that heat inside her again, curling inside her pelvis, bunching up so tightly that it was as painful as it was pleasurable, and then she could hold back no longer, and she wrapped her legs around him and pinned him in place, plunged deep inside her.
The ball of heat shattered and sent shards of ecstasy shooting through her body. She let out a long, low moan and felt the sheath of her muscles clenching convulsively, clamping hard on his cock, and with a groan of pleasure he exploded deep inside her, his body shuddering as he joined her in climax.
Afterwards, when his breathing had slowed and his body had stilled, he cupped her face in his hand and turned her head so she was staring up into his eyes. His beautiful brown eyes, which were glowing amber with passion.
“Say you’re mine,” he commanded.
“I’m yours,” she whispered, heart beating a thousand miles a minute.
He nipped at her lower lip.
“Say I’m the only one for you.” He growled it into her mouth, and she let out a little moan of pleasure.
“You’re the only one for me.”
“And you for me.” He gathered her into his arms, crushing her up against him.
“I feel…That burning inside me, that madness that took over me, it’s…better. It’s lessening. As long as I have you with me, I’m all right,” he rasped.
“I’m with you,” she promised.
She felt him relaxing, and gradually his breathing slowed until it matched hers, and they were breathing in rhythm.
“We should get back,” she sighed, glancing at the sun sinking below the horizon. “The professor…everyone will be waiting and wondering. I wish we could stay out here forever.”
“We have forever,” he whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her. “We’ll have all the time in the world.”
He reluctantly let go, sliding off her.
The two of them shifted again and dashed back through the woods, the cooling night air delicious in their fur. When they reached Loch’s parked patrol car, they quickly shifted back and changed into their clothing.
As they pulled to a stop in front of the boarding house, Loch suddenly turned to Ginger. “Come spend the night with me,” he pleaded.
She hesitated, biting her lower lip. “I want to, more than anything. But this thing with the shifter council…that’s no joke. I think we should keep this on the down low for a little while. Let people get used to me.”
He let out a low growl of frustration.
“All right…for now,” he said reluctantly. “But I don’t know how much longer I can wait to publicly claim you. I’m on fire when you’re not with me. My wolf claws at me from the inside.”
“I know,” she groaned, and reached for his hand. He pulled it away, clenching it into a fist. “If you touch me and I know I can’t have you…” His voice were harsh and his eyes dark and gleaming.
She nodded, and swallowed hard. “Soon. A few more days. Let’s give it a few more days. Maybe Portia will calm down and get over it.” Somehow, she doubted it, but she didn’t think it was a good idea for her and the sheriff to rub their relationship in Portia’s face right after Portia had basically been booted out of the sheriff’s office.
She climbed out of the car and headed back to the house.
Marigold and the students were all in the sitting room, and they looked up anxiously when Ginger walked in. Ginger shook her head. “I’m sorry, guys. There’s no news.”
The students faces fell, and they went back to muttering among themselves.
“You missed dinner, but we can reheat something for you in the kitchen,” Marigold said. “And by the way, you’re going to tell me absolutely everything.”
“You first. What about you and loverboy?” Ginger said, following.
Marigold shrugged, looking unhappy. “We went out. He was very nice to me. He’s funny. He kissed me good night and he’s a great kisser.”
“So?” Ginger grabbed a plate from the refrigerator and carried it over to the microwave.
“So, I already told you what I saw as our future.”
“But-“
“No buts,” Marigold grumbled. “My mother’s been divorced six times. She’s getting ready to marry number seven. I’m an expert in how relationships end. That’s why I try to avoid them.”
“So you’re not going to see him again?”
“Well, after he kissed me I found myself agreeing
to let him cook me dinner at his place tomorrow night. I guess after dinner, I’ll tell him it’s over.”
Ginger shook her head, sighing. “You’re being ridiculous, but I can’t live your life for you.”
Under much prodding from Marigold, she gave her a g-rated description of her afternoon with the sheriff, including the fact that the niece of the local Council member had it in for her.
“What a bitch,” Marigold shook her head.
“You don’t know the half of it. I don’t know, I’m still…I’m so confused about everything. He says I’m his fated mate. He’s so completely different from me, this town is so different than everything I’ve grown up with, but it feels so right.”
“If it came right down to it, you could teach here just as well as you could teach in New York. I’d come visit you here.”
“Do you think that the whole fated mate concept is really a thing?”
“It’s a thing,” Marigold nodded solemnly. “A thing that I’ll probably never have. If he says that he’s your fated mate, then you are. The sheriff may be many things, but he’s not a liar. I can tell. Why fight it?”
Ginger fell asleep that night with a deliciously satisfied ache between her thighs, and was woken up early the next morning by a pounding on her door.
With a groan, she made her way across the room and yanked the door open.
The archeology students were standing in the hall.
“Is it true that you can communicate with the dead?” Brenda demanded.
“The professor.” Ginger smacked her forehead with her hand. Of course. She should have tried to communicate with him as soon as it was established that he was missing. She’d been so distracted by Loch that it hadn’t even occurred to her.
“Have you heard from him? From the other side?” Tallulah’s voice came out in a high pitched wail.
“No, it doesn’t work like that. I have to be at the scene of their death, or in their home, or somewhere that they spent a lot of time. Sometimes it works if I just touch something of theirs, a physical object that they’ve touched. Somewhere their psychic energy would be lingering, so it opens up a pathway for me to communicate with them. And over the years, I’ve built up my mental defenses to the point where I actually screen out the other side most of the time; I need to be concentrating, and focused, to communicate with the dead.”
“Well, let’s go then!” Brenda said impatiently, arms folded, tapping one foot in a nervous staccato.
“Let me call the sheriff first and get his okay.”
“No, now!” Brenda tried to push her way into Ginger’s room.
“I said I need to call the sheriff,” Ginger said firmly, shutting the door in their face and locking it. Brenda immediately began knocking on the door loudly, yelling “Hey! Hey!” over and over.
“Shut up! Let her call him!” Tallulah yelled.
Sighing, Ginger dialed Loch’s number. He answered immediately. “Good morning, beautiful. Did you sleep well?”
The warm, rich sound of his voice made her tingle pleasurably.
“Good morning to you too. I slept very well. Listen, there’s something I should have thought of. If I go into the professor’s room, I can try to communicate with him. Maybe I can get an idea of how he died.”
“My God, I should have thought of that.”
“We were both a little distracted.”
“Wait for me. I’ll be there in about 20 minutes.”
She shivered in anticipation, and prayed she wouldn’t act like a complete dork when he pulled up. She was in the middle of a possible murder investigation, and she still felt hot and tingly all over at the sound of his voice. She must be a complete pervert.
Quickly, she dressed and left the room. The students followed her down the stairs, with Brenda haranguing her the whole way.
“You have to go up there right now! It can’t wait! We have a right to know!” Brenda wailed as Ginger sat in the dining room and sipped coffee that Marigold had bought for her. Brenda and Tallulah were standing behind her, breathing down her neck. Winifred and the other students were at the table, picking at their breakfast, distracted, along with the other boarding house lodgers.
“Actually, no, you don’t,” Ginger said irritably. “You’re not a family member.”
“We were very close,” Brenda sniffed, blinking back angry tears.
“Sure you were. Your vagina was, anyway,” Tallulah muttered.
“Jealous bitch!” Suddenly the two of them were jostling, bumping into Ginger, making her slosh coffee on the floor.
“Cut it out!” Ginger snapped.
“All right, settle down, ladies.” Loch was standing in the doorway with Jax. Ginger’s heart did a funny little happy dance in her chest, despite the grimness of the situation, and she flashed him a smile.
As Ginger, Loch, and Jax started to head up the stairs, the girls tried to follow. They grumbled when Loch shook his head, and clustered together at the bottom of the stairs, muttering.
Loch walked in the room with her while Jax stood outside.
In the professor’s room, Ginger sat down on his bed and closed her eyes, consciously relaxing, slowing her breathing.
When she opened her eyes, she was startled to realize that she felt…nothing.
She glanced up at Loch, startled. “He’s not dead,” she said.
Chapter Eleven
“Are you sure?”
“I would sense it if he was. He might not communicate with me, but I’d at least sense his presence on the other side. He is not there. He’s still alive.”
Loch looked at her in consternation. “Then the panthers must be holding him prisoner somewhere on their property. That’s the only explanation for his disappearance. I’ve got to talk to Montgomery today.”
Ginger nodded. “If he says you can’t come on their property, then what?”
“I’ve always found Montgomery to be a reasonable man, as long as he’s approached respectfully. I’m pretty sure that if I talk to him later today, he’ll let me on the property. If they deliberately harm the professor, or if the professor disappears on their land forever, it’s bad publicity for all of them. People won’t want to visit their stores or their casino. It will be devastating economically.”
As they drove to the sheriff’s station, her cell phone rang. Wedding march ring tone. She grimaced.
“Answer it, Miss Ginger.” When she made a face, he said sternly, “Answer it. I’m the Alpha. Unless you want to be punished later.”
“Of course I want to be punished later,” she grinned, and hit talk.
“How are things progressing with the sheriff?” her mother said. No hello; she cut straight to the chase.
“Just fine, mother. No war is imminent.”
“I’m debating whether you’d look better in white or cream. What do you think? Maybe even pink. You’ve always looked lovely in pink. Also, I’d been thinking about a wedding cake made of cupcakes, but that may be passe’.”
“Mother! I just got here! Quit drinking the crazy juice!”
“Also, do you think the wedding would take place in New York or Florida?”
“Love you, mother. I’m at work, so I can’t talk. Bye.” She hung up quickly. “Crazy. She’s crazy.”
“What, because she thinks you should marry me?” he said with mock hurt.
“Come on! I just got to town, we agreed we’d take it slow…”
“Hmmm,” he grumbled. But he didn’t say anything else as they headed to the station.
As they pulled into the sheriff’s parking space, Loch groaned aloud.
Reporters from all over the state were blocking the entrance to the station. Ginger dodged past them and dashed inside as the sheriff held an impromptu press conference, reassuring them that everything possible was being done to find the missing professor.
When Loch went inside, Lola greeted him apologetically. “You’ve got a few million messages,” she said, handing him a stack of pink “While you were out…�
� notes. The professor’s disappearance, and the Panther Nation’s refusal to cooperate, was getting massive amounts of attention.
Loch had to place a dozen calls to people inside the Panther Nation before he finally heard back from an assistant to Montgomery. Montgomery agreed to meet with the sheriff that afternoon, at the entrance to the Panther Nation’s property.
Around mid-morning, Ginger asked Loch if he could have his grandmother make them some sandwiches, with a few extra for Cletus.
“We’ll go over there for lunch. It’ll win me some major points with her,” the sheriff said.
His grandmother was waiting on the front porch for them when they pulled up, with a plate piled high with sandwiches. She set the sandwiches on a table on the porch.
“She just gets prettier every time I see her,” Willie said Loch as they sat down to eat, and then she went inside to get them some lemonade.
“I swear she’s measuring my hips with her eyes,” Ginger whispered to Loch. He grinned.
“Your mother and my grandmother. We should get them together for coffee some time.”
“Good lord, no. My mother would show up with a wedding dress, a priest and a shotgun. And your grandmother would probably have a giant butterfly net, a bible, and some flower girls. What is their rush?”
“Well, you’re not getting any younger.” He winked as he said it. She still kicked him in the ankle.
“Careful there, darlin’,” he said. “Respect the Alpha. You haven’t seen how hard I can spank when I’m truly motivated.”
The thought sent delicious shivers rolling through her body. His hand on her bare naked buttocks…
Willie walked out with a pitcher and two glasses.
“That’s very thoughtful of you to feed that Arbuckle boy. Poor thing,” Wille said with a sigh, as they drank their lemonade. “I hear his mother ran off a couple weeks ago. Just up and left the whole family.”
“Oh?” the sheriff raised an eyebrow.
“No!” Ginger said quickly. “You can’t have his brothers and sisters taken away from him! He’s got a job now.”
The Alpha Claims A Mate Page 9