by Franca Storm
“Very sweet,” Cora said.
“Come, I’ll give you a tour.” He took her hand and led her through an open door to the left. They walked into a brand new kitchen complete with granite countertops and an island that doubled as a breakfast bar. All the appliances were a sparkling silver color. “This is where I will teach you how to cook,” Ryan announced.
“Hey!” Cora protested.
“Please, my love; I know you don’t know how.”
She smiled sheepishly. “True.”
He pulled her through the living room, and through an arch that she hadn’t noticed before. It led into a narrow corridor with two closed doors on the far side of the wall.
He opened the left one and drew her inside. “Master bedroom.”
“Wow, it looks exactly like the room we had in the White Realm.”
A gorgeous four-poster bed carved out of white stone was situated at the far end of the room covered in red silk sheets with decorative pillows on top. A canopy of silver colored drapes hung from the posts and brushed the white carpeted floor. To the left was a wall of white closets. And to her right, she looked through the open door into an ensuite bathroom.
“It is the room that we had in the White Realm. All the furniture is from there.”
She turned to him, grinning widely. “I can’t believe you did all this, baby!”
“Well…” he said as he led her along the corridor and opened the other door. “…it wasn’t all me.”
As soon as they stepped into the room, Josh and Shaye exclaimed, “Surprise!”
“You did all of this?” Cora asked as she glanced around the room. A gorgeous nursery.
Josh bounded over to her and planted a chaste kiss on the top of her head. “The three of us, Nathanial and the pack.”
“I love it!” Cora cried.
Ryan wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his chest. He rested his head on her shoulder and gazed at Orion sleeping in her arms. “I want us to live here. I know it’s over a bar and it’s small, but it will work for now while Orion’s still a pup. When he’s older we can move to my lodge outside the city. But for now, he needs to be around other wolves to learn.”
“Wow, you’ve really thought this all through, haven’t you?” Cora said. She turned in his arms to look at him.
“Do you think you can live here?” he asked.
“Yes! Absolutely! I love it! Thank you!” she looked at Shaye and Josh. “All of you; thank you!”
“We’re glad you like it,” Shaye said.
“And we’re glad you’re back,” Josh added as he wrapped his arm around Shaye. “Ry was a nightmare with you gone. Fuck, Cora; you don’t even know.”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “Exaggerating as usual.”
Josh scoffed. “Really, Ry? Am I? I mean, Cora; I would have liked to have seen you as a vampire—I’m sure you were smoking hot, but Ry didn’t seem to like it. He’s a speciest after all.”
“Hey! First off, don’t talk about my wife in a sexual context when I’m around—or ever--and secondly, I’m not a speciest. Fucking vampires just isn’t my thing.”
“I heard that you did though,” Josh teased.
Ryan and Cora exchanged an awkward glance as they both recalled that night when Ryan had had to sleep with Vampire Cora in order to bring Cora back.
“It was more complicated than that,” Ryan said in his defense.
“Sure it was,” Josh said.
“Cora, I wanted to thank you for putting my name forward for the Royal Court in the White Realm,” Shaye said.
“No need to thank me. We could use you.”
“We?” Shaye questioned.
Ryan smiled with amusement. “You’ll have to wait and see, Shaye. I know how much you hate secrets, but you have no choice,” he teased.
“But you know?” Shaye asked.
“Of course. I’m her husband.”
“Ry, stop teasing my girlfriend. I’m gonna hear about this all night now,” Josh complained.
“Hey!” Shaye said, slapping his arm.
“Speaking of tonight, do you want us to watch Orion so you two can…you know?”
Cora blushed and buried her face in Ryan’s chest. Ryan laughed and wrapped his arms around her and Orion. “No. We’re good. We’re not letting him out of our sight. He’s been back for two weeks and the three of us haven’t been apart for a single day. We plan to keep it that way.”
“What if you guys want to fuck?” Josh asked bluntly.
“We just wait until he falls asleep,” Ryan answered.
Ryan saw Josh’s disappointment. He knew how close Josh had become with his son; he’d taken care of him enough times to form a strong bond with him.
“Come by anytime, J,” Ryan offered. “You can spend time with him whenever you want. Plus, you can help with Cora’s wolf lessons.”
“Wolf lessons, huh?”
“Yep, Ryan’s teaching me everything there is to know,” Cora told him, finally looking up from Ryan’s chest.
“Finally, you asshole,” Josh said, shaking his head at Ryan for his previous refusal to teach her.
Ryan held up his free hand in surrender. “I know. I know. Apologies have been made.”
“Learning to rein in your controlling ways at long last, are you?” Shaye teased.
“It’s a work in progress.”
Josh approached Ryan and said, “So seeing as though you’re in such a good mood, I guess you won’t mind that I invited the pack over for a housewarming party.”
“What?” Ryan growled. “When?”
“Tomorrow night.”
Ryan caught Cora’s eye and saw her amusement. “Fine,” he told Josh. “I’ll stock the bar. But you’re in charge of the food.”
“The food? How am I gonna pull that off in one day? A pack of wolves eat like…well…a pack of wolves, Ry!”
“Figure it out. You invited them all on such short notice,” Ryan said. “It used to take major planning on my part to make sure I had enough shit for everyone when you guys used to hang out downstairs every night.” He grinned. “Good luck.”
“Is this because you’re King now? Too busy to deal with such unimportant stuff?” Josh teased.
“No, it’s because I’m a husband and a father now.”
Josh chuckled. “You win. I’ll take care of it.” He rolled up the sleeve of his leather jacket and glanced at his watch. “Shit, Shaye. We’d better get going. We’ve got a lot of work to do for this party.”
“We?” Shaye jested as she followed him to the door.
He grabbed her hand and told her, “I will make it up to you in whatever way you want.”
Ryan and Cora laughed as they watched them leave.
“Do you want to tell them tomorrow night?” Ryan asked.
Cora raised her eyebrows in surprise. “I thought you didn’t want to tell anyone until Oriana was dead and buried?”
“I changed my mind. And the entire pack will be here tomorrow night. It’s right to tell them first. Besides, we haven’t heard squat from Oriana in the last couple of weeks. For all we know she’s long gone and realized her revenge mission is never gonna work out.”
“I doubt that. She’s probably just recuperating. Nathanial said he injured her.”
“I don’t want to live our lives worrying about what she may or may not do, my love.”
Cora smiled and squeezed his hand gently. “Okay. Tomorrow night.”
“Meanwhile, put Orion down in the crib over there and you and I will try out the bed.”
“Hmm…what exactly do you have in mind?”
He feigned his disapproval, wagging his finger at her as he teased, “Tsk. Tsk. Not in front of Orion.”
“Ooh, am I in for some punishment now?”
His eyes darkened as he said, “Oh, darlin’, don’t tempt me.” He took Orion from her arms and walked over to the crib. He called over his shoulder, “Now get in that bedroom. I want you naked and ready for me on the bed.”
�
��Ryan--” she said shyly.
“I’m serious. Thirty seconds starting now.”
She giggled and ran out of the room. Ryan smiled to himself as he laid Orion down to sleep.
Finally, he had his life back. And he wasn’t going to fuck it up again.
He’d tried to play down his concerns about Oriana still being out there. But the truth was that it was always on his mind, nagging at him. Part of him wanted her to make a move so they could take her down and just get it over with. He’d had enough of it hanging over his head. No one threatened his family! If he saw her again he would do everything in his power to kill her.
No matter what he had to do, he would never let her take his son or wife away from him again. Without them he was merely a shadow.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Luca unbuttoned his shirt slowly as he approached the foot of the bed. He gazed at Aerona looking back at him, clutching the sheets to her chest. He knew she was naked underneath and his cock twitched with anticipation. When he’d approached her in the courtyard two weeks ago and she’d flung her arms around him suddenly, he’d wanted to take her right then. The pull to her was unbelievable. As soon as her skin had touched his he’d felt it—her hands against his neck. Now he knew what all the fuss was about regarding destined mates. There was no feeling like it.
But he’d held back with her. He wanted to do things right with her. To treat her like the princess that she was. And she was so shy, so unsure of herself and everything around her. Her father—that asshole, Kristoff—had kept her hidden for years, away from the world. He could understand his desperation to protect her from him to a certain extent. He knew he’d been an asshole for many years—not someone that any father would want their daughter around. But his understanding only went so far, because she was his mate and Kristoff had kept her from him all this time—for fucking centuries. That was the part that he refused to understand—the duration of his deception.
He wasn’t a fool. He knew the only reason that Kristoff had allowed her near him now was because of his father. Nathanial had obviously threatened him and forced his hand. For that, he was grateful. In the moment that he had realized his father’s part in bringing him and Aerona together, he’d really seen for the first time, how much his father truly did love him. He’d given him the one thing that he had craved for so long.
There had been no one more obsessed in finding their destined mate than him. It had driven his behavior towards Cora—his dangerous obsession with her. Although he had known that she wasn’t actually his true mate, the effects of the betrothal bond had come pretty close to creating that feeling; that connection. And so he’d pursued her relentlessly, despite all the obstacles in his way. Even when she’d turned him down and found her true mate—in his brother, no less. Even after the two of them had borne a child together. Nothing had been able stop him. He’d been so obsessed that he hadn’t even stopped to question it. Even after that infamous night that had nearly torn her and Ryan apart; when she’d let him take her to his bed, he’d known that what they’d both felt wasn’t love. Sure, she cared about him. He’d felt that much from her. But it was just a side effect of the betrothal bond. Although Nathanial had broken it, it had existed for far too long between them so the engineered pull between them hadn’t faded. He should have told her that was what it was, why she’d let him take her, but he hadn’t. He’d wanted to believe it was real. I should tell Ryan. He deserves to know. It will always eat at him otherwise. I know my brother better than most.
When he’d turned her and acted as her Sire for that brief period, it had been the closest he’d come to the connection he craved. Taking care of her in that way, laying with her every night; it had seemed so real.
But it hadn’t been. Deep down he’d known that. And that was why, when Ryan had come to take her away that night, he hadn’t stopped him. Seeing her in his arms had been a wakeup call. Cora was Ryan’s, not his. He hadn’t given a damn about Ryan’s threats that night. He knew Ryan wouldn’t have killed him, because of his loyalty to Nathanial. No, he’d let him take her from him. Because she wasn’t his.
But now, after all these years, he’d finally found the woman who was his without question. And despite how much he wanted to consummate their bond, as he gazed at her and saw the trepidation in her eyes, her trembling hands clutching the sheet, he hesitated.
He buttoned his shirt at the middle and perched on the edge of the bed. “Another night, beauty.”
“Luca, no…I’m fine…its fine,” she replied hastily.
He reached out and stroked her hair. “You’re not ready,” he said, gently.
“I want you.”
“I know. It’s not a question of that.”
“Then, what?”
He smiled and climbed onto the bed. He straddled her—well the duvet covering her—and said, “We only get to complete the mating ritual once and I don’t want us to do it if you’re not ready.”
“Luca, I’m always going to be nervous, because I’ve never been with a man before. But I want to do this tonight like we planned.”
He studied her. He couldn’t tell if she was just saying that to please him, or if she really meant it. He didn’t want her to feel like she had to do something she wasn’t ready for. And one of the things he’d come to know about her so far was that she was very submissive and extremely eager to please. She never led their conversations, never wanted to have her say in what they would do or where they would go. She left it entirely up to him and she was eager to do whatever he suggested. He didn’t want now to be one of those times.
“Beauty, you say that, but I know how much you want to please me in everything.”
She shook her head. “It’s not that. And I please you, because it makes me happy too.”
Huh, I didn’t think of that. “Okay, then let go of the covers,” he challenged.
“What?” she asked, nervously.
“Let go of the covers and let me see you.”
“Uh…can you…do it first?” she asked quietly, gesturing to his shirt.
He grinned. “Sure.” He unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off his shoulders. He tossed it off the bed and turned back to her. When he did, the look in her eyes caused his cock to stir. Fuck. Her gaze travelled over every inch of his chest, her eyes hooded with desire as she drank him in. He watched her bite her bottom lip with anticipation and his throat went dry. Oh my God.
“Your turn,” he rasped.
Her gaze wavered as she slowly pulled the covers down her chest. He swallowed hard at the sight of her full breasts, the creamy flesh begging to be tasted and her perfect pink nipples needing to be teased. He leaned forward and gently cupped both of them, massaging them gently. He grazed her nipples with the pad of his thumb and she let out a little gasp.
He captured her lips in a soft kiss. She relaxed into it and arched her back, pushing her breasts into his hands. He caught her bottom lip between his teeth and nipped her hard enough to draw a little blood. Her tongue darted out and met his and they lapped up her blood together. It was so damn erotic that he wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold back. He was right on the edge.
He slipped his hand beneath the covers and cupped her pussy. She was dripping wet. His fingers slid between her moist lips and he drew small circles with his index finger.
“Luca, please,” she panted.
He pulled back and ripped the covers aside. He eased her thighs apart and knelt between her legs. He spread her lips, stretching them with his fingers as he leaned forward and licked her exposed clit. She screamed wildly and he chuckled. So responsive. So perfect. He pleasured her with long, firm strokes of his tongue. He licked, sucked, nipped her into a frenzy. Her pussy was gushing with her arousal and he savored every drop of her.
He teased her entrance with the tip of his finger. Before he could get any further, she came suddenly, screaming his name and clawing at his hair. He pushed his finger all the way inside her then and pumped in and out of her as she ro
de the wild wave of her orgasm. The way her pussy gripped his finger, contracting violently around him was almost too much to take. He needed to be inside her now, feeling her wet heat gripping him just like she’d gripped his finger.
He crawled up the bed and grinned at her as she smiled at him with dazed eyes.
“Okay, beauty?” he asked.
She nodded, still awash in post-orgasmic bliss.
He pulled out a condom from the pocket of his pants and then hurriedly discarded them. Slipping the condom on quickly, he positioned himself and asked her, “Ready?”
She nodded; a mix of excitement and trepidation in her eyes.
He stroked her hair and murmured words of comfort to her as the head of his cock teased her entrance. Her eyes widened as he pushed in an inch or so. He stilled to allow her to adjust to his size. She was so tight that he could barely move until she relaxed.
“More?” he asked.
He’d never been so gentle with any woman in the entirety of his very long immortal life, not even Cora. But with Aerona he wanted to. He was happy to take it slow with her. He wanted to savor every moment of their first time together. He didn’t care if he was being sentimental; he wanted to feel everything. The woman awakened feelings and emotions in him that he’d thought he’d buried long ago. She brought out everything good in him—parts of him that he hadn’t even known were there. She made him the man—or vampire—that he was meant to be. A power than only destined mates can have over one another. Incredible.
“Please, Luca,” she pleaded.
He gave her what she wanted and slowly eased his cock into her until every inch of him was buried inside her tight pussy. Her walls were slick from her orgasm, but she was still incredibly tight. The way she gripped him was almost too much to take. He had to use every ounce of his self-control to prevent himself from losing control and taking her hard and fast. She felt so good wrapped around his cock. He pumped in and out of her in a slow, sensuous rhythm. He watched her throw her head back in pleasure. The sweetest moan he’d ever heard escaped her lips.
“Oh my God,” she gasped. “It feels amazing.”
He chuckled. “So you don’t want me to stop then?” he teased.