by M. Limoges
Stephen shifted over her, pinning her in place. “We need to talk.”
“Stephen, can it wai—”
He seized her mouth with a roughness that stole the air from their lungs. Caught in the snare of carnal passion, neither would cede control of the kiss. With a move he never would’ve predicted, she flipped their positions. She ended their kiss with a sharp nip to his lower lip. Planting her hands on his chest, she rose over him, straddling his hips.
Stephen paused and absorbed the beautiful view above him. Her long, brown hair fell around her shoulders in a soft cascade. A sexy smile formed on her lips while her warm hazel eyes held a hint of mischief. Her breasts hung heavy, the nipples hardened into two dusky pink points he couldn’t wait to wrap his mouth around.
Holding onto the small of her back, he shifted upright and used his other arm for leverage, moving up the bed until his spine rested against the headboard. Hands on her hips, he pulled her closer until her hot center rested over the length of his cock. He gritted his teeth and shoved aside the urge to bury himself inside her.
First, he had to know. “Why didn’t you trust me enough to tell me sooner, Kate?”
Chapter Nine
He wanted to talk now? While she was poised over his erection? Kate almost laughed. She wiggled against him then gasped when the ridge of his cock slid along her clit, inciting a pulse of pleasure through her entire body.
Stephen held onto her hips, restraining her movement. “Please, Kate. Talk to me.”
The soft plea and genuine concern in his gaze was all it took. She couldn’t run any longer.
“Okay….” She sighed and distractedly caressed the soft trail of blond hair on his belly. “No one knows except you. Not even Jace or our parents. Well, I’m sure Gee knows, but only because he guessed.”
Stephen tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, the intimate gesture increasing the drum of her heart.
“When I figured out I couldn’t shift, I was terrified how the pack would respond. I’d seen how they treated a pack member who couldn’t shift when I was younger. So, I’m scared to death of what they might do when they find out. It’s safer for me to hide it from everyone.” She frowned. “That includes my family. And you. I didn’t want any of you to see me as a failure any more than I already saw myself.”
He grabbed her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. “You’re not a failure. Never think that again. Got it?”
When she nodded, he laid his hand on her thigh and ran the tips of his fingers along her skin. “I understand why you’re frightened, Kate, but the pack isn’t under Magnum’s tyranny any longer. Drew made sure of that. You don’t have anything to fear. If you would’ve just trusted me enough to tell me, I could’ve helped you through everything. You have to know your family or I would never treat you differently. You know that, right?”
“Yes. Maybe. I don’t know.” She bit her lip. “I’m sorry. I guess I should’ve told you sooner.”
“Hell yes, you should’ve. There’s nothing you can say to me that will make me turn away from you.”
“But this morning….”
“This morning you ran away before you gave me a chance to explain. I could’ve spared you years of worry if you’d have just trusted me sooner.” He framed her face in his hands and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “This is the reason you’ve never accepted my claim, isn’t it?”
“I can’t be the mate you want or deserve, Stephen.”
“Kate, if there’s one thing you can always count on, it’s the fact I’m damn lucky to have you as my mate. We may piss each other off from time to time, but I’ll never stop wanting you. What you and I have is forever. Whether you can shift or not doesn’t matter one damn bit.” He grabbed her hand, settling it over the steady thump of his heart. “I’ll always love you with everything I have in me, Sunshine. There’s no changing what I feel for you. My heart is yours. It always will be.”
Tears slipped from her eyes. Her heart swelled. How could she have ever doubted him? This beautiful man had stuck by her side for years, irritating her, making her laugh, pushing her limits, but always remained constant and sure, his love never wavering.
She cupped his strong jaw, his soft stubble tickling her palms. “Oh, Stephen, I love you so much. I have for years. I thought I wouldn’t be the right mate for you, but I don’t want to live without you any longer. I can’t.”
“Then you won’t. Trust me with your heart as I’ve trusted you with mine.” He leaned his forehead against hers while his luminous blue gaze seared her to her soul. “Mate with me, Sunshine. Claim me as your own.”
The words invoked a flare of possessive need in her. He was hers, damn it. Nothing would change that, and no one could take him from her. He was her rightful mate. No matter how much she’d fought the inevitable, their fate was destined, and she was tired of running from it.
She trailed her hands up his chest and over his broad shoulders to twine around his neck. Tugging his face toward hers, she slid her tongue along the seam of his mouth. When he parted his lips, she kissed him, pouring every bit of the longing and desire she’d held at bay for him over the years into the action.
Kate couldn’t stop the flood of emotion any more than she could prevent her hips from shifting against his lap. With a slight reposition, his thick erection slipped between the outer lips of her sex. Releasing his mouth, she tossed her head back and rocked against him, the sensual friction making her more aroused and wetter with each intimate slide.
Stephen cupped her breasts in the palms of his hands with a gentle squeeze. Lowering his head, he twirled his tongue around one nipple then drew it into his mouth, sucking and nipping at her sensitive flesh.
Each pull of his mouth made her ache to have him fill her. She grabbed his short hair and hauled his face to hers. His tongue plunged into her mouth while his hands gripped her ass, moving her against his erection in an unrelenting rhythm. When she broke their kiss to suck in air, he licked across the line of her jaw to her ear.
“Put me inside you. I need to feel you wrapped around my cock.”
Emboldened by his words, she reached between them and closed her hand around his steely erection, feeling her own dampness on his hot flesh. He gripped her waist to help steady her as she rose enough to press the swollen head into her entrance. Once the tip slipped inside, he jerked her down onto his lap, burying his entire length inside her and drawing a cry from the both of them.
Some primal part of her demanded more. She wanted to drive him as wild as he’d driven her that morning. At that moment, she understood the desire to mark, to claim possession. She needed to have her mark of ownership on him.
Kate leaned forward and placed open-mouthed kisses along his neck. Lifting her hips, she allowed his length to almost slide completely out of her then she sank down on his thick cock again. Pleasure spiraled through her, tension building in her core.
Stephen groaned in her hair. “That’s it, love. Ride me.”
The light dusting of his chest hair scraped against her breasts while she moved up and down his length. His fingers dug into her ass as he lifted his hips, thrusting upward. She laved at the muscled flesh where his neck and shoulder met.
“Mark me, Kate.”
The rough rasp of his voice shattered her control. Grinding against him, she latched onto his shoulder and bit. Worried she’d hurt him, she stopped before her teeth broke the skin.
“Oh, fuck, yes. Harder. Do it, Sunshine. Bite me. Own me.”
He slipped his hand between them to stroke her swollen clit, and any reservation she had fled. She bit harder, puncturing his skin. The salty tinge of his blood seeped into her mouth, and she plunged over the edge toward bliss.
She let go of his neck and threw her head back, shouting his name as her climax hurtled through her. Pleasure sprinted to every inch of her body. Her toes curled against his legs. Beneath her, Stephen bucked his hips, powering into her, then held with one hard thrust. He buried his face between her bre
asts and groaned as his hot seed spilled inside her.
While they trembled against each other, Kate wrapped her arms around his neck and stroked her fingers through his damp hair. Nothing had ever felt more right than holding the love of her life in her arms.
She lowered her mouth to his ear. “You’re mine.”
He raised his head and offered her a wicked grin. “Took you long enough, woman.”
Chapter Ten
Kate awoke to a sharp pain in her abdomen. She rolled away from the shelter of Stephen’s arms, careful not to wake him. Her head swam, and her stomach lurched. Slapping a hand over her mouth, she ran to the bathroom.
She kneeled in front of the toilet and leaned over the bowl. Within minutes, the nausea subsided, and she struggled to her feet. Her entire body burned from the inside out. Turning on the water, she wet a washcloth and held it to her flushed face.
Oh, God, what was wrong with her?
Another stab of pain twisted in her gut. She dropped to her hands and knees on the tile floor, and a shout flew from her throat. With the ache in her abdomen, she barely registered Stephen entering the bathroom.
He stooped beside her and raked away the hair covering her face. “Just breathe, Sunshine. It’ll be over soon.”
The words surprised Kate. She was on the floor, dying, and he wanted her to breathe. Despite the discomfort in her lower body, she threw him a disgusted glare.
A broad grin spread across his lips, and she wanted to punch it off his face.
“How can you—” Another jab of pain snatched the words from her.
“Sunshine, listen to me. Don’t fight it. Just let it happen.”
What the devil was he talking about? Jesus Christ, had her body been lit on fire? She panted through her mouth, trying to control the roll in her stomach. A startling fizzle of energy bolted up her spine, making every hair on her body stand on end.
Then she heard it. A loud snap.
She focused on her fingers gripping the cool tile. Equal parts horror and fascination, she could only stare as they contorted, the snaps and crunches echoing in the small bathroom.
“Stephen.” She flinched at the husky, inhuman sound of her voice.
“It’s alright, Kate. I promise. I’m here with you.” His hand continued to smooth over the hair on her head in a soothing manner.
The cracking and popping intensified in Kate’s head. She closed her eyes and tried to drown out the noise before it drove her insane. Her bones felt as though they might shake apart. Tremors spasmed through her arms and legs, and she fell onto her stomach.
“Careful, Sunshine. I don’t need you busting open your pretty head.” Stephen sat beside her on the floor and caressed her back.
Why was he just sitting there? She wanted to scream at him to get help, but she couldn’t push the words past her throat.
Panic flooded her, and she tried to scramble upright with no success. Her heart hammered in her chest. She sucked in gulps of air, trying to accommodate her greedy lungs. Tears pushed from behind her closed eyes. Inside her head, an odd, guttural voice told her to calm herself. That’s when Kate realized she was going to die.
Potent energy crashed into her, jolting every molecule in her body with an electrical current that singed each nerve ending she possessed. She opened her mouth to scream, and a long, piercing howl filled her ears.
Then everything stopped.
Cautious, Kate cracked open her eyes, unsure of what she might find. She gasped and raised her head to take in the pinpoint clarity around her. Everything was the same, but then it wasn’t. She glanced over her shoulder to her mate.
His wide eyes held a mix of surprise and awe. She tried to speak to him, but all that came out was a high-pitched yip. He threw his head back and laughed, the action drawing her attention to the well-defined contours of his perfect neck. How had she never noticed something that sexy about him before?
Kate sat upright but scrambled for purchase when her hands slid out from under her. She landed on her stomach once again. What the hell? Glancing down at her hands, she gaped when a pair of furry legs attached to a set of paws came into view.
Stephen roared with laughter. “Oh, my God, Kate. That look is priceless.”
A growl vibrated through the air and her body. She would’ve fallen over if she wasn’t already flat on her belly when it dawned on her that noise came from her. From somewhere deep inside her. She’d felt it.
Holy shit! She’d shifted.
Shocked, she twisted around, taking in the soft, brown hair covering the Wolf’s body she inhabited.
“Here, let me help you up, Sunshine.” Stephen gripped her around the chest and assisted her as she rose to her feet. Uh, paws.
Upright, she tested her weight, lifting each leg. When she was sure of her balance, she inched her way out of the bathroom, anxious to get to the mirror in her bedroom.
Stephen guessed what she was after and opened the closet door, exposing the length of the mirror attached to her door.
With each step, her nails clicked on the hardwood floor until she paused in front of her own reflection. She stared at the beautiful brown wolf with a mix of disbelief and wonder. The set of white markings around her eyes and head set her apart from other wolves she’d seen in their pack. Baring her teeth, she moved closer to examine the sharp points.
Elation bubbled inside Kate. She’d done it. She wasn’t a failure, or defective. Damn it, she was a Wolf just like the rest of her pack.
Stephen knelt beside her, his intense blue gaze meeting hers in the reflection. “You’re gorgeous. And you’re mine.”
Pleased with his praise, Kate rubbed her head against his bare chest.
He stroked her ears. “Change back, Sunshine.”
She frowned, unsure how to accomplish the feat. Thankfully, he must’ve read her mind.
“Just think it. Imagine yourself human. It’s that simple. You control the Wolf.”
She closed her eyes and pictured herself in human form. For long moments, nothing happened, but then she felt it—the tingling at the base of her spine, the flush of heat, the rush of power sifting through her body, the startling series of snaps and groans.
Kate opened her eyes and glanced in the mirror, hesitant at what she might find. The brown wolf was no longer there. Instead, Kate sat in her place, wrapped in Stephen’s arms.
“I turned into a Wolf.” So what if she stated the obvious? By God, she’d shifted.
She laid her head against his shoulder and reveled in the feel of her mate wrapped around her.
Stephen chuckled against her temple. “Yes, you did. A stunning Wolf at that.”
Kate glanced up at him. “You weren’t surprised. You knew this would happen?”
“I had a suspicion.” He placed a tender kiss on her lips. “One of my aunts couldn’t shift until she completed the bond with her mate. Something about the mate bond brings the dormant Wolf gene inside to the surface.” Stephen nipped her bottom lip with a stinging bite. “And that was precisely what I wanted to explain to you this morning. Hell, I could’ve told you this years ago if you would’ve just opened up and trusted me like mates should.”
“Oh.” Of course, he just had to be right. She rolled her eyes. “Okay. Okay. I get it. No more secrets.”
“Damn right.” He lifted her off the floor, settled her on his lap, and cuddled her in his warm embrace. “I love you, Sunshine. Always will.”
Kate slid her fingertips along his jaw. She was a fool to have ever doubted fate, and an even bigger one to have doubted Stephen. She could’ve lost this strong, gorgeous man because of her own stubbornness and insecurities, but he’d stood resolutely at her side. For years, she’d loved him from afar, but not any longer. He was hers, and she had no plans to ever let him go.
She pulled his mouth to hers, her lips hovering against his. “I love you, too, Stephen.”
He drew his head back, one corner of his mouth quirked upward. “Does this mean you’ll go for a run at f
our in the morning with me now?”
~A Letter From the Author~
Thanks to all you lovely readers for reading Taming His Mate. I had a lot of fun writing about the two stubborn main characters, Stephen and Kate. But hey, sometimes you can’t fight love, right?
Feel free to drop me an email at [email protected] if you would like to contact me. I love chitchatting about books and would love to hear from you guys.
Visit M. Limoges at:
http://chitsuen.blogspot.com
Want more Black Hills Wolves?
Watch for…
Seducing the Schoolmarm by Mahalia Levey