by Alisha Basso
“Oh.” He straightened behind her, loosening his grip, disappointment evident in his voice.
She chuckled to herself. Her mate could never get enough of her, not that she was complaining, of course! Turning in the circle of his arms, she slid her hands up his chest, “I’m not that tired.”
His whole demeanour perked up and he pulled her closer, kissing her tenderly before trailing his lips over her cheeks and brow then down to her ear. “I’m happy to hear that.”
“So I noticed.” She brushed her hips against him, already feeling the evidence of his arousal.
With a growl, Kane crushed her body to his, running his hands up and down her back. Elise reciprocated, pulling his shirt free and working her hands beneath the material. His skin was silky and warm against her palms, the muscles shifting smoothly. Eager to feel more of him, she moved her hand around his waist to his belt. Fumbling with the clasp, she finally freed it and undid the button. Sliding down his zipper, she worked her hand inside.
Kane’s shaft was hot and firm against her hand and she boldly stroked him, no longer the shy, young girl with whom he had first mated. His hips automatically flexed in response and he dug his fingers into her shoulders. Capturing her mouth with his, Kane kissed her deeply, plundering the sweet cavern with his tongue, mimicking the actions of his lower body. Finally, they pulled apart, flushed and breathing heavily.
“Elise, I need you.”
She nodded and gave him a hard kiss before attacking the buttons on his shirt. They disrobed quickly and Kane scooped her up, carrying her to the bed. Dropping her down onto the mattress, he settled on top of her. She loved the weight of his body pressing down on her. He was dominating her, just as an Alpha should.
Moving her splayed fingers across Kane’s broad shoulders, she tried to experience every inch of him. She slid her foot up and down the faintly hair-roughened skin of his calf while tracing the indented path of his spine with her fingers. Slowly, she skimmed her hands around his waist, before moving lower to squeeze and pull at his buttocks, urging him to move closer to her aching centre.
As she explored his body, Kane tenderly kneaded the soft flesh of her breasts, flicking her nipples with his thumbs until they stood at attention. He replaced his hands with his mouth, biting and suckling first one and then the other until Elise whimpered in pleasure.
Leaving her sensitized breasts, he moved up to her neck, kissing the spot where the mark from the blood-bonding still remained—a permanent sign of their union. His actions stimulated the scar, heightening her awareness of both her own feelings and his. Taste and touch and scent; all that Kane experienced, she did too. She ran her fingers through his thick hair, gently raking his scalp with her nails. He moaned in approval and she smiled, pleased to give as well as receive.
His breath was ragged against her ear and she shivered, already close to the edge. “Can you feel it, my love? Can you feel the pleasure you give me?”
She nodded, unable to speak. Kane raised himself on his elbows and looked down at her, brushing her hair from her face.
“I feel it, too. Every whimper, every shudder, every sensation comes back to me.” He whispered against her lips before shifting to lie beside her. The fire still burned in both of them, but now it was deeper, yet less frantic. Gently, they pleasured each other, softly touching and stroking, stimulating nerve endings then soothing.
Kane trailed his fingertips the length of her body, barely making contact with her skin, but still causing her to shiver in delight. Picking up her arm, he brushed delicate kisses down its length until he reached her hand. Then, one by one, he sucked on each finger, using his tongue to tease the sensitive skin of her palm, all the while staring deeply into her eyes.
He picked up her other arm, repeating his actions, worshipping every inch of that limb before moving down to her legs. Butterfly kisses were trailed up her calves, across her thighs, and then on to her stomach. He licked the entire surface of her belly and traced the shape of her navel with his tongue, while delicately kneading her buttocks with his hands. Gently, Kane bit at her waist and nibbled her hip bones, then soothed the skin with tender kisses.
Finally having laid claim to almost every part of her body, he pushed her knees slightly apart and moved so that he sat between her legs. She could feel tremors already building inside her, her juices flowing, preparing the way for his possession. The thought of what was to come had her hips moving restlessly, begging him to take what she offered.
Kane slid his finger over her sensitive flesh and dipped first one and then two fingers into her, causing Elise to clutch at the sheets. Rhythmically, he moved in and out of her, while his thumb brushed against her swollen nub. With each stroke, her breath hitched and she struggled to hang on. When his hot tongue began to tease her tender flesh, she knew she was lost and tumbled over the edge.
Her heart hammered in her chest as she tried to catch her breath, but Kane wasn’t about to let her rest yet. Rising to his knees, he gripped her hips. “Wrap your legs around me,” he commanded before positioning himself and thrusting into her.
Elise widened her eyes at the sensation of being filled by her mate and she growled softly as she stared up at him. Kane growled back before setting the rhythm for their dance. As they rocked against each other, the tension began to build until they were both beyond control, desperately seeking release.
“Oh Kane, that’s perfect,” she panted. “I...” Words failed her. It was perfect, but she wanted more, needed more. It built inside her, inside him. The feeling swelled...
Elise cried out as she came hard, her body clamping down around his. At the same time, Kane gave a guttural cry and emptied himself in her. For a moment, she was lost to all around her.
Reality slowly impinged on her awareness. Kane was on top of her, panting heavily, his weight pressing down on every inch of her. He began to move, bracing himself up on his forearms in preparation for withdrawing from her, but she stopped him tugging until he lay against her once more.
“No, don’t go.” Elise managed to say, stilling his attempts to leave by wrapping her arms around his sweat-soaked body.
“But I’m crushing you,” Kane protested.
“Mmm, but it feels good. Just for a moment longer.”
She could feel him relax, burying his face in her hair as she leisurely rubbed her hands up and down his sweat-slicked back. He was still inside her and she wished they could stay like this forever. She felt so possessed by him; she never wanted them to be apart again.
Reluctantly, she moved her hands to his shoulders. She was a trifle squished, and it was a little hard to breathe with him on top of her.
“I guess you really should move,” Elise whispered into his ear.
Kane obligingly withdrew and rolled onto his side, drawing her close to cuddle against his chest. “That was amazing,” he told her with a satisfied sigh.
Long, quiet moments followed. Kane gently played with her hair, wrapping strands into ringlets then letting them cascade down onto the pillow. Eventually, he whispered into the silence. “Have I told you recently how much I love your hair? The colour is like chocolate and it’s so long and silky and...” He buried his nose in it. “It smells like flowers.”
“Thanks. It’s that new shampoo from the gift set Ryne gave me.”
Kane stilled and drew back, staring at her. “Ryne?”
Elise yawned and stretched. “Uh-huh. You remember. He sent it to me as a late birthday present. It had shampoo and lotions and—”
“Oh. Right.” Kane interrupted, sounding slightly miffed. He rolled onto his back. “I still don’t think it was an appropriate gift.” Disapproval radiated from him and Elise tried to keep her face expressionless. For all that he and Ryne had been joking that last day, there was still a faint undercurrent of jealousy between the two males, which she found rather entertaining. Ryne was a great tease and she was sure he’d never do anything to jeopardize her relationship with Kane. At least she hoped so...
“It was
very kind of him and I didn’t appreciate you trying to throw it out.” She rolled onto her side as she scolded him, softening her words by trailing her fingers gently down his chest. Kane just rumbled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
After another moment of silence, he sighed. “He called today.”
“Really?” She raised herself up on her elbow, looking at him in surprise.
“Yeah. He’s headed for Canada. There’s this little town in Northern Ontario that apparently has no established pack.”
“Wow! That’s quite a distance away. We won’t be able to see him very often.” She settled back down on her pillow and stared thoughtfully at the ceiling.
“Uh-huh.” Kane rolled onto his side and set his hand on her stomach, moving his hand in slow circles. Even without looking, she knew he was smiling.
“Kane, that’s not very nice.”
“What?”
“Sounding so pleased that Ryne will be living far away. He is your brother, after all.”
“I know and I have only the warmest of brotherly feelings for him. I just think that, until he gets a mate of his own, we’ll get along a lot better if there’s some distance between us.”
Elise said nothing, but turned her head towards him, and gave him a doubtful stare.
“Elise?” He looked at her with a pleading, puppy-dog expression in his eyes.
“Yes?”
“I love you.”
Her heart melted and Elise rolled over so that she was on top of him. “I love you, too,” she said as she leaned down to kiss him. And as he caressed her back with his hands, bringing her into even closer contact with his body, she couldn’t help but smile. Who would have thought the mating she had so dreaded would have turned out this way?
Epilogue
Somewhere in Northern Ontario...
Ryne shifted the truck into park and stared at the old farm house. Its clapboard siding was grey and weather-worn, the roof looked like it had seen better days and the porch was on the verge of collapse. Using the interior light of the vehicle, he checked the paper in his hand and then peered at the house number. No mistake. This was the place. He elbowed the man beside him.
“Come on, Bryan, Daniel—wake up. We’re here.” As the two men groaned and stretched, Ryne stepped out and looked around. He inhaled deeply, appreciating the smell of pine that overlaid the cool, crisp air. A faint smile creased his face as he viewed the land around him, totally ignoring the weed infested lawn, overgrown shrubbery and cracked driveway. All he saw was the wooded land around him. Yep, this was going to be his territory.
*****
Far away, in a richly furnished room somewhere on the outskirts of Chicago, an elderly man was admiring his new acquisition. Standing in front of the fireplace he stared at the large picture of a magnificent black wolf that his man had just hung on the wall above the mantel. The corner of his mouth curled upward and he nodded in satisfaction. His years of searching had finally paid off. This was exactly what he’d been searching for.
~FIN~
Hi!
Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I hope you enjoyed it. The Mating was the first book I wrote in what has now evolved into The Law of the Lycans series. If this story intrigued you, check out the rest of the series:
About the Author
Nicky Charles is an independent writer/publisher who became an author quite by accident. She always saw herself as a ‘reader not a writer’ and can thank—or blame, depending on the day—her friend/editor and fellow author, Jan Gordon, for the career she now finds herself immersed in. When she writes, Nicky sees the story unfolding in her head like a movie and tries to include enough detail so that readers can ‘see’ the story just as she does. The sights, sounds, smells and sensations of a scene are almost as important to her as the actual plot.
Nicky lives in Canada and tries to stick to Canadian spelling and punctuation in her work, in support of her country. She is an avid supporter of animal shelters, nature conservancy, food banks and a variety of other charities. Currently she has two ‘inside’ cats and one official ‘outside’ cat though a number of strays seem to take up residence in her garden each year.
Nicky works full-time and writes in her off-hours, few though they may be! In the next few years she hopes to retire from her day job and concentrate more of her energy on her new passion of writing.
Books by Nicky Charles
Bonded
Betrayed: Days of the Rogue
The Mating
The Keeping
The Finding
Betrayed: Book 2 – The Road To Redemption
Connect with Nicky Online
Website:
http://www.NickyCharles.com
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/Nicky-Charles
Newsletter:
http://www.nickycharles.com/home
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Box Set Contents
This Blood - Alisha Basso
This Blood
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty One
Chapter Thirty Two
Chapter Thirty Three
Chapter Thirty Four
Chapter Thirty Five
Chapter Thirty Six
Chapter Thirty Seven
Chapter Thirty Eight
Epilogue
What's Next
About the Author
Books by Alisha
Connect
Afterlife - Zoe Dawson
AfterLife
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
What's Next
About the Author
Books by Zoe
Connect
Raver - Candace Carrabus
Raver
Dedication
From The Crone Prophecies
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
> Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
What's Next
About the Author
Books by Candace