“I’ve only asked you and Nash,” I say.
And Cherie. And Lauralynn. And Gabriela. And my circle. And all of Val’s friends.
“Good. Trust no one other than me and Nash, especially no other wolves.” His eyes flick to the window briefly. “Promise me.”
“Okay.”
Ben kisses me, soft and sweet at the onset, it becomes more demanding as we go along, his erection pushing at my behind. With a hum of pleasure, Ben shifts so I’m laying on the sofa beneath him. A hand under my cami, he fondles a breast. “I get why Nash is obsessed with your tits.”
Ben pushes my top up and licks gently. When he wraps his mouth around the peak and pulls softly, I whimper. Oh, that feels nice. I arch into his mouth. He groans and suckles in earnest.
We hear a throat clear. Nash leans on the wall to the hall.
“Hey,” I say softly with a smile — an attempt to defuse any possible anger at me and especially at Ben for answering my questions. Nash’s returning smile tells me he didn’t hear our earlier conversation.
“Ben, she’s sore.”
“I know that. Nothing wrong with a little tit worship.”
“C’mon. Back to bed, baby. I wanna worship your tits, too,” Nash smirks.
chapter thirty-two
WARM SOFTNESS LAYS to the side of me. Mmmm. My cock reacts. I put an arm around the softness, pull it closer and inhale. It’s Shavone — sweet, sweet Shav. I open my eyes. She’s really here. It isn’t a dream.
It’s only me and her in bed. Shifting to my side, I brush a lock of her hair away so I can stare at my sleeping beauty.
Long blonde tinted eyelashes rest on pink cheeks, rosy lips look like a bow on a luscious gift. I rub my nose on her petal-soft earlobe. Only one part of her body is softer. Rock hard, I want to be inside that heaven, again.
Sex is different with a woman you love. Everything is magnified — her pleasure and yours. I never believed that bullshit until last night. Making love to her was the happiest moment of my life.
Marking her would’ve made it a thousand times better, my beast growls.
I lightly kiss her throat, nuzzle the place I’d love to bite. Dillon was with her for over three years and didn’t mark her. I’m sure that wasn’t his call, but hers. Can I wait years like he did? Like I have a choice?
The toilet flushes in the attached bathroom. My bladder insists I get up, too. I look at the time. I have to be at the precinct in an hour.
Ben comes out of the bath. I roll to my back, give my cock a chance to calm down. Shav stirs with a light whimper. My cousin tucks the blanket around her. She snuggles down into it with a sweet sigh.
“Stay in bed, baby.” I press one more quick kiss behind her ear before I get up to take a leak. When I come back, Ben’s staring down at her with a goofy grin on his face.
“Shut up,” he mouths, backs to the door. “Let’s make her breakfast.”
We’re in the apartment kitchen all of five seconds when Shavone screams — a blood curdling noise that stops my heart. Ben and I are halfway down the hall when another one rips through the apartment.
My wolf makes a quick scan of her bedroom. Nothing. The only thing I scent is her fear — incredible fear. She thrashes in her sleep, mumbling out the words of some spell.
“Hurry, hurry keepers of stone,” she says over and over.
“A nightmare,” Ben says, relieved.
“Shav.” I touch her arm. Screaming, again, she throws a right hook at my face. I catch it before she connects. Whatever this dream is about, it’s bad and she’s in deep.
I shake her gently. “Wake up, baby.”
She opens her eyes big as saucers. Sitting straight up in bed, she sucks in a giant breath, radiating fear.
“It was just a bad dream. I got you.” I hug her and rub her back.
Shavone holds on to me tight. Over her shoulder, Ben and I lock eyes. This could just be a bad dream or something more serious.
“You’re okay, Shav.” I pull away to look at her. Her eyes aren’t quite as big, but she’s hyperventilating.
“I killed him,” she pants.
“Who did you kill?” I rub her arms.
“A really bad guy.” She gets out between shallow breaths.
“Kitten, breathe or you’re going to pass out.” Ben sits on the other side of the bed, puts his hand over her mouth forcing her to breathe through her nose.
She nods and closes her eyes. Big tears push out and roll down her flushed face. After a few seconds, she calms enough so that Ben can move his hand.
“Now, tell us about the bad guy.”
“He was going to kill us,” she mumbles.
“Well, then, it was obviously self-defense,” Ben jokes, tucks her hair behind her ear. “The fucker deserved whatever you did to him.”
Shav giggles a little through her tears. She holds Ben’s hand, lays it in her lap.
“Sounds like a horrible dream.” I stroke her head, love that she rests it on my shoulder.
“It’s part of a recurring one.” She shrugs like it’s nothing.
“Since when?” As a kid, I overheard Dad and Mademoiselle Gentil talking about Shavone’s nightmares. Mademoiselle Gentil tried spell after spell to get rid of them. None of her witchcrafts worked.
“Since as early as I can remember,” Shav says.
“Tell us.” Ben kisses her hand.
In her dream, she says, hunters chase her along a creek. One tries to grab her and she falls into the water.
“A generic creek?” Ben asks, he looks at me for a second.
She takes a breath. “Mountains on both sides. I assume it’s in Colorado. I don’t recognize it as anywhere specific. After I fall in, a wolf pulls me out of the frigid water. He licks my face and lays on top of me.”
“To warm you.” I’d do the same.
She nods. “And it worked. One of the hunters chasing me came at us with a knife. He wants to kill me. The wolf snarls at him, but the man doesn’t stop. He stabs the wolf.”
She narrows her eyes like she can’t believe it. “And the wolf stays, covering me like a shield. The wolf wails when he’s stabbed, but he doesn’t leave me. His blood” — she squeezes her eyes shut, pushing out more tears — “oh, his blood is everywhere.”
“It’s just a dream.” Ben hugs her.
“Baby, you didn’t kill anyone. The hunter did,” I say.
“I did.” Her gray eyes open to look into mine. “I killed the hunter.”
Damn it. If she killed a hunter, they won’t rest until they get revenge.
“How?” Ben rubs her back, his glance at me tells me he understands the ramifications of that kill.
“I called on the elements.” Shav gets a far away look in her eyes. “A boulder rose from the creek and bludgeoned him.” She sinks back on the pillow, an arm thrown over her face. “It felt so real.”
“Dreams are crazy like that.” Ben looks at me.
I nod.
“C’mon, kitten.” Ben takes her hand. “Let’s get some breakfast in you.”
“What I really want is coffee.”
I grimace. “I forgot to get you a new pot yesterday.”
“Don’t apologize. You got everything else.” She gets on her knees, puts her soft arms around my neck and kisses my cheek. “Thank you.” She tries to make it a quick hug, but she feels and smells so good. I wrap my arms around her, press her hot little body to me and nuzzle.
Damn. So good. My gums burn, fangs wanting to drop and mark her. I let her go.
She turns to Ben and hugs him, too. “You, too, Ben.”
My cousin’s eyes flame, his wolf enjoying her touch and scent as much as mine just did.
She throws off the covers and gets up.
“You guys go. Let me brush my teeth and shower, and I’ll be down.” She sashays into the bathroom with two pair of wolven eyes watching her swaying ass.
“Shower.” Ben mumbles.
The thought of a wet, soapy, naked Shavone has my
cock rock hard in seconds.
I sigh. “She’s sore.”
He frowns. “Right.”
From the fridge, Ben gets bacon, eggs, milk and a bowl of fruit. He hands me the fruit. I wash and prep it for Shav. He fires up the stove, dumping the bacon in a pan and gets busy cracking eggs into a bowl.
In the pantry, I find the granola and get her yogurt from the fridge on my way back.
Neither of us talk. I watch the bacon sizzle, thinking about what’s ahead for Shavone. Hell. That’s what. The least I can do is protect her from other shit — like Val.
Ben dishes up bacon and eggs for us. We sit at the breakfast counter to eat.
“I think her dream is at least partially true. It would explain the old puncture wounds in her left bicep.” Ben pops a strip of bacon in his mouth.
I swallow a bite of egg. “You noticed those, huh?”
“Yeah.”
He’s my beta. He should know everything. I put my fork down. “There’s not a doubt in my mind that her dream is true.”
Halfway to Ben’s mouth, his fork stops. “What?”
“When Shav showed up in Colorado Springs, she was by herself.”
Ben cocks his head in disbelief. “What the fuck was a six year old witch, let alone a Soft, doing unprotected like that?”
“No idea. The witches who were supposed to be escorting her to Mademoiselle Gentil disappeared without a trace. Dad got an SOS from a Native to meet him in Old Colorado City. I went with the squad — my first perimeter guard assignment. I kid you not, Ben, I scented Shavone miles away.”
“I believe you. She’s potent.” He scoops up a big bite of eggs.
She is. I knew that there was something special about her at first scent.
“When we met up with her, she was covered in blood. Part of it human, part of it wolf.”
She radiated staggering power, incredible sadness and bone-chilling fear. Talk about PTSD. She had the dazed look of someone who had seen way too much — and she was just a little girl. All I wanted to do was chase away the terror in her eyes.
Ben drops his fork onto his plate, wipes his face with both hands. “The Alliance reports warn that the shroud is lifting. This dream” — I cut him off.
“Is proof of that. Not only will the Soft sisters remember one another, they’ll become trackable by the hunters.”
“That’s why you wanted her in Cherry Hills.”
I nod looking around the place. “Safest place in Colorado.”
Hearing the door to Shav’s apartment open and close, we clam up.
Getting up, Ben dumps our plates in the sink. He smiles at Shavone. “Good morning, sunshine.”
“Coffee.” Barefoot, she hurries to the machine. She’s got on leggings and an old Elitch Gardens tank top, her hair in a ponytail. She makes casual incredibly sexy.
“You’re one of those people,” Ben snickers.
“Uh, huh.” She fiddles with the fancy coffeemaker.
“Told you. Little Shav loves coffee almost as much as she loves music.”
“And you.” She beams back at me.
A giant grin spreads across my face. Mark her, my wolf growls.
“Do you want some?” She smiles at me.
“Yes, baby. You’ll have to show me how to work that thing. I didn’t take the time to figure it out.”
“You bought this?”
“Nash stocked the whole house.” Ben rinses the bacon pan.
“Oh.” She thinks about that. Frowns and tilts her head at me. Several times, she starts to say something and stops. “We’ll have to talk about all of this.”
She means the house. I shrug. “Not this morning. I don’t want to fight.”
“Me, either,” she says.
When the machine is done, she walks the mug over to me. Mmmmm. Gorgeous. With a peck on my lips, she hands me the cup.
“Ben?” She walks back to the coffeemaker.
“Absolutely.” Ben pours on the southern drawl. He moves behind her, caresses her ass and kisses her throat. “Can I get one of those?”
She turns her head, letting him kiss and fondle her until the coffee finishes dribbling out.
“Yum.” He smirks, taking a sip of coffee and going back to the dishes.
Getting down a third cup, Shavone fixes her coffee last. That she does for others first has always worried me. A selfish witch is a better protected witch. That is not Shav.
“Sit.” I motion her to the breakfast counter.
She winces as she gets on the stool.
“You okay?” I ask.
“Yeah.”
Liar.
“How sore are you?”
“It’s fine.” Smiling, her cheeks turn pink. “It’s a nice kind of sore. Like after a tough workout.”
“Is it now?” As I set the fruit in front of her, I kiss her from shoulder to ear.
Ben puts a clean spoon in her yogurt.
“Gourmet coffee and two hot guys serving me breakfast. A girl could get use to this.”
“Eat,” I whisper behind her ear, fingers caressing the soft skin of her belly. My beast is so fucking happy that touching is allowed. She’s sore, I remind myself. When she lifts a strawberry to her lips for a bite, I force myself to back away.
I get my shit where I left it piled on a side counter. I put the truck keys in my pocket and clip the badge onto my belt.
“You’re leaving?” She puts a spoon full of yogurt in her mouth.
“I’ve got an early meeting. Some of us do have work to do,” I joke.
“Mmmm.” She swallows. “Speaking of jobs, I start my new one today.”
“Where?” I check the safety on my gun and put it in my shoulder holster.
“A place downtown. My hours are four to midnight, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.”
Like hell. That isn’t going to fucking happen. I shake my head. “No.”
“What do you mean no?” She frowns.
“Call them and tell them you quit.”
“Excuse me?” Her voice raises with her eyebrows. “I haven’t even started yet.”
And you’re not going to!
“I said no. I don’t want you out that late.”
She laughs. “I don’t care what you want. I’m a big girl and I make work decisions for myself.”
I lean down, her chin in my hand to make her look at me, wishing she’d just do as she’s told. “You are not going to work nights.”
“My fall classes are mornings and early afternoons, Nash. Nights work best for me this semester.”
“You don’t have to work at all.” I glance at Ben. “We’ll cover your living expenses.”
My cousin nods. “Just be a student, Shavone.”
“No,” she says.
“Yes, goddamn it,” I yell.
“Nash,” Ben warns.
“It’s okay, Ben.” She smiles at him and then at me.
So help me, it’s her sweetest look — the one she uses to get her way. She slinks her arms around my neck and lightly kisses me on the lips. Witchy woman using her femininity to break me down. Fuck if it doesn’t work every goddamn time. Now that I let her touch me, it’ll only get worse.
“Letting you and Ben pay my bills makes me a prostitute” — she’s cut off.
“The fuck it does!” Ben snarls.
“Okay. Prostitute is perhaps a bit of an exaggeration. Kept woman, I guess. You know what I mean, especially now since we’ve” — she bats her lashes — “started a relationship. I won’t be that girl. Mom wanted me to be self-sufficient.”
The woman has no shame, bringing her mom into this. Shav kisses me, again, nipping at my bottom lip.
“I know what you’re doing,” I murmur. My cock and my wolf don’t care that she’s manipulating us.
“I’m kissing and touching you. It’s nice to be able to do that.” Her fingertips trace the edge of my ear, engorging my cock even more.
“Is it now?” I wrap her ponytail around my hand tilting her head back a
nd really kiss her. Deep. Hard. Touching every corner of her silky mouth. Goddamn, the taste of her makes me drunk. We’re both gasping for air by the time I force myself to stop.
“I have a good mind” — I nip her earlobe — “to lay you out on this counter and have your delicious pussy for breakfast.”
Her jaw drops.
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” Ben smirks and tilts her head way back, almost upside down, to take her mouth. I push her shirt up and unhook her bra. Look at these beauties. I squeeze and massage her tits, licking a nipple. She mewls sweetly for me.
“Yeah, baby, this is what happens when you tease wolves who want to fuck you twenty-four-seven.” I lick the other tender nipple. When she arches it into my mouth, I suck on it — hard.
She moans in Ben’s mouth, wiggles her hips.
“Feeling it there, kitten?” Ben slips a hand down the front of her pants. I know when he’s touched gold — Shav wriggles harder and gasps. It’s her exploding scent, though, that does us in.
His beast growls. He lifts her to the island and strips her pants and panties together in one quick move. Spreading her legs, his mouth is on her before she can even take a breath.
I focus on her sensitive nipples, enjoying the way she pulls my hair and arches into my mouth. She loves having her tits sucked as much as I love sucking them.
Together, Ben and I make her come in minutes. Then, we switch places.
Damn. My tongue in her cunt, I can’t believe how fucking good her essence tastes.
“Oh.” She squirms and whimpers.
“Feel it, kitten.” Ben sucks hard on a tit.
I take my time with her clit and her silky core — revving her back up slowly, exploring and enjoying her soft cunt. But all it takes is a stroke across the front of her vagina to make her come a second time, gushing honeyed nectar in mouth. My beast growls and slurps it in. I love how responsive her body is, how juicy. I lick her pussy clean and step back. My fangs ache even more than they did last night.
Ben and I leave her sprawled on the counter, panting and gasping. I unzip, take out my rigid cock. She’s sore, but I can’t go to work this hard.
Standing on the other side of the island, my cousin has the same problem.
Shav tilts her head side to side, grins up at us. “Would you like me to do that?”
Soft Shatter (Wolven Moon Book 1) Page 25