Shadow's Howl

by Riley Storm

“The door is open,” she said with a curse as someone walked by. Thankfully, they didn’t stop, but the slight hitch in their step was an obvious giveaway they’d been spotted.

  Liam set her down, fixing her with a playful stare. “Don’t. Move.”

  She stood perfectly still while he raced over to close the door and then came back toward her. When he was several feet away still, she raised a hand, stopping him in his tracks.

  “Shirt. Off,” she ordered.

  It was gone almost before she’d finished speaking, and then Liam was back, his powerful upper chest squeezing her tight. She hissed in surprise as his tongue ran along the outside of her ear, sending shivers down her legs.

  “Fair is fair,” a deep throaty voice rumbled in her ear.

  She’d doffed her robe when she returned from the botched attack, and she’d never been gladder to be in nothing but a t-shirt and jeans. The shirt came up over her head, and a second later, the fingers of one hand slipped the clasp of her bra free.

  Liam growled pleasantly as she bared her breasts to him. The blue in his eyes shone brightly as he feasted his gaze upon her body, the sheer carnal desire writ on his face spurring her body to a new level of arousal.

  He was good. Really good. So expressive and vocal, she loved it.

  Throwing herself forward, she latched one hand around his neck, the other pushing between their bodies, down his flat, hard stomach, and to his crotch, where she easily found the bulge in his jeans. Her wandering hand turned his face tight.

  Jen watched with thorough interest, noting the way her body reacted to the visual of his arousal. She’d never been with someone so open before. It was…a powerful aphrodisiac, she realized, her own body preparing itself swiftly for what she hoped was to come.

  “So beautiful,” Liam mumbled a moment before burying his face in her neck once more, lips, tongue, teeth all working at her skin, raising goosebumps and increasing the flow of blood all over, driving her wild. She wanted to be touched. To feel his hands on her body.

  His growl spread across her neck and down her spine as both of his hands found her breasts at the same time. He cupped and massaged them gently, sliding his grip ever tighter around the large mounds until he could gently pinch her nipples, rolling his fingers across them just hard enough to be pleasurable.

  “Oh, my God,” she gasped, legs instantly turning unstable.

  It happened so fast even Liam was barely able to keep up. But he did, his arms both reaching around her back, supporting her.

  “I’ve heard of falling for me,” he said with a smug grin. “But that’s a whole new level.”

  She smacked his chest playfully.

  In return, he casually tossed her onto the bed.

  “Oh!’ she yelped as she flew through the air.

  Before she even bounced once, Liam was there on top of her, pinning her down, covering her body in hungry kisses.

  “Oh,” she said again, grabbing at the back of his head, pulling his face in tight as he sucked so very lightly on the tips of her breasts. “Yeah, like that.”

  Strong hands lifted her and pushed her back into the center of the bed so Liam could get his entire body on as well, and then she was buried beneath his hard heat. The warmth was literally pouring off him, and she never once shivered from being naked, only when his hand slipped between her legs, brushing gently against the peak.

  “You better be losing yours as well, mister,” she said as he pulled her pants free.

  Slipping off the edge of the bed to stand on the floor, she gestured at his remaining clothing. “Come here and show me what you want,” he ordered, though his face was anything but stern or serious.

  She’d never seen him like this. Relaxed and comfortable, letting his true personality shine through without worry or second thought. It was unusual, and in a way, she couldn’t entirely quantify, it was also seductively intimate. As if he—

  As if he finally trusts someone enough to let them see the real him.

  That someone was her, and knowing he felt like that—whether he was comfortable acknowledging it or not—turned her on more than any kiss or caress. Jennifer had wanted to have sex before. Now she wanted Liam. Just him. Only him.

  Her fingers trembled with sudden nerves as she pulled his belt off, dropping it on the floor out of the way. The button came next, with only a slight fumble, and then she was pulling his pants and boxers to the ground in one smooth move. She had to bend forward for that, and as she did, something bounced in the air next to her head.

  Turning sideways she found herself staring right at his hard cock.

  “Oh, my,” she said instinctively.

  She looked up in embarrassment almost immediately, only to find Liam struggling to contain a grin of his own.

  “That was so cheesy and straight from a movie,” she groaned, but she didn’t stop what she was doing. Her hand came up and wrapped around the base of it. “I’m sorry.”

  “You realize that’s basically the single biggest ego boost a guy can have,” he informed her. “That first reaction. It’s…something.”

  “You’re sure?” she asked, placing her other hand on the tip, ever-so-lightly running her thumb back and forth against the underside.

  Liam tightened, every muscle flexing and coming into stark definition as he groaned, a quiet but deep sound that had her licking her lips in anticipation.

  “Positive,” he managed to get out. “Abso…lutely…positive.”

  She grinned, alternating her view between watching his face as she stroked him, and his cock as it all but throbbed in her hand.

  “But you need to stop that if you want to fuck,” he said with a grimace. “It feels too good. Your touch…I…”

  She waited for more, but Liam couldn’t complete his sentence, too overwhelmed with what she was doing. After all, she wasn’t going to stop until he made her. Thick hands and long fingers closed over hers, gently pulling them away.

  Jen leaned in and promptly took the tip into her mouth, swirling her tongue around it. Liam groaned in surprise, freezing for several seconds solid before he took her by the shoulders and pushed her back.

  “My turn,” he teased, grabbing her by the knees and pulling her across the bed until she was very nearly hanging over the edge.

  Jennifer had a moment to process what was happening before she felt his kiss on the inside of her left leg. Then her right. He inched his way up her legs, alternating back and forth. The slow progression coupled with the hot wash of his breath over her skin had Jen writhing in his grip before he ever reached her clit.

  The first time his tongue slid across that sensitive little nub, her brain switched off. Seconds later, she climaxed hard against his face, hips thrusting up against him, demanding he not stop until she was done.

  But he didn’t even stop then.

  “Liam,” she gasped, unable to stop him. His tongue moved faster, and faster, the light pressure sending jab after jab of nearly unbearable pleasure into her. She couldn’t take it. It was too much. It came faster. Fingers tightened on her legs. Her hands went out wide, twisting the comforter into knots.

  She flung one hand across her mouth, biting down abruptly before a scream could fill the room and every room nearby. Her body arched abruptly off the bed and then she thrashed wildly, nearly breaking skin with her teeth as she tried to contain herself.

  Liam held tight, not letting go, bending her to his will, forcing her to submit. He was too strong. Too strong. But fuck was he good with his tongue.

  “Holy shit,” she gasped when the strength for words returned to her.

  He seemed to sense that this time she needed a break, the two quick punishments of her clit leaving it throbbing and far too sensitive for more. Which was perfectly okay with Liam she saw as he positioned himself between her legs.

  Oh fuck.

  His face tightened, mouth dropping open. Watching him, listening to him groan as he entered her just added to the moment. She hissed with mild pain but didn’t s
top him. It was too good. She hadn’t…it had been a long time. And Liam was…he was…oh fuck he was all the way inside her.

  “Liam!’ she cried out, unable to keep that one down.

  A thick hand closed over her mouth and he covered her body with his. “Shhh,” he whispered into her ear. “You must be quiet, or I’ll be forced to stop.”

  “I’ll be quiet,” she squeaked as he pushed down hard against her. “Oh, I’ll be quiet!”

  “Good.”

  He withdrew, and she whimpered.

  “I said I’ll be quiet,” she begged.

  Part of him entered, but only a small length. It wasn’t enough. She craved feeling full again, having all of him inside her.

  “More,” she insisted, lifting her hips, trying to capture another inch.

  Liam shook his head, the hint of a smile at the edges of his lips. Reaching up, she pulled him down to her, kissing him thoroughly, ignoring the hint of her own taste. She didn’t care about that right now. All she wanted was him. More of him. Whatever it took.

  He taunted her, teased her, pushing forward a little more, then pulling all the way back. Never more than a few inches in. It was near painful. She was a feral animal, nails scratching deep marks down his back, trying desperately to pull him closer, to get all of him. It was more than a want now. It was a need. A carnal lust for his cock, buried completely inside of her.

  “Please,” she moaned.

  Apparently, it was a magic word, because the second she uttered it, Liam plunged his thick, hard cock all the way inside of her until his hips slammed into her. She bit down on his neck, using his skin to muffle her scream. He held it there, letting her experience it all.

  Without warning, her walls clamped down hard around him and she spasmed. “Oh fuck,” she cried into his neck once more, repeating herself several times as white stars exploded across her vision, yet another orgasm assaulting her body, pummeling it with a pleasure she could never recreate from touching herself on her own.

  “Jen…I…” Liam grunted, his body tight.

  “Hard,” she said. “As hard as you can.”

  He was about to lose control as well. She could feel him swell, the pulse of her own climax too much for him to handle.

  Twin hammers of corded steel hit the bed on either side of her head as he propped himself up on his fists. Plate metal pecs covered his chest, his muscles so hard they couldn’t be real.

  But her attention was immediately distracted as he started to fuck her with abandon, his face twisting in sheer carnal joy. Jennifer covered her mouth, but the scream came out anyway. She was at his mercy now, and her body couldn’t handle it.

  He slammed into her hard, harder than she’d ever felt before. Her body shook, and his cock, already considerable, pushed her walls even farther apart. Then he exploded inside her, and Jen lost all sense of self and control of her body as she came again, the most violent one yet.

  Warmth flooded her insides, but that was the last thing she remembered, the pleasure so intense she could sense it only as a white wave slammed into her, and Jennifer went under. The breath was stolen from her lungs, her hearing obliterated. She was senseless, except for the feeling of Liam thrusting in and out of her.

  A low whistling reached her ears, and then sound returned in a rush, followed by her vision, and then she could breathe. Her scream filled the room, mixing with Liam’s loud groan. It went on for several seconds, and then he collapsed on top of her, both of them breathing hard, both completely, utterly spent.

  Even if she could talk, Jennifer had no words. Nothing to say. There was simply no way to put something so intense into words. At all.

  “Holy shit,” Liam uttered. “You are…incredible.”

  It didn’t sum up the experience, but Jennifer couldn’t deny it felt good to hear. Very good. Not as good as what had just happened to her, but good on a different level. An…intimate, level, not a pleasurable one.

  “We should definitely do that again sometime,” she agreed, needing several breaths to get the entire sentence out.

  “Well, I could be persuaded,” Liam said, propping himself up on his elbows, face hovering above hers.

  He leaned in and kissed her. She returned it, but as she did, something stirred between them.

  “Wait, you mean?”

  He bounced his eyebrows and a rapidly hardening cock pushed against her opening. “Is there a problem?”

  Jennifer shook her head. “No, no problem. Just…slow, this time, okay?”

  Liam chuckled and nodded, pushing inside her. “I can do slow.”

  I know, she thought, momentarily losing her thoughts as he re-entered her, reminding her of just how good he felt. It’s not that, that I’m worried about. It’s your reaction once you realize what we’ve done…

  Would he accept the new-found bond between them, or would he retreat into himself even further? Jen was worried she knew which it would be…

  But for the moment, for the moment…she was just going to enjoy what they had.

  25

  He walked the grounds of the farm early the next morning.

  Jennifer was still asleep, or at least, she had been when he’d left an hour ago. Considering dawn had only just arrived, he figured it was a safe bet she would be in bed for several hours more to come. Which was good, because he needed time to think.

  Some of the other shifters were stirring. He waved in acknowledgement to a pair of border guards heading out to start their shifts patrolling the edges of the farm. The loyalists knew where to find them now. It was unlikely they would launch an attack in their weakened state, but the rebels were being hyper-vigilant now, just in case.

  Liam watched them go. The shifter in charge of border security had just recently found his mate. He was happy for Linden, even if it had come at a price. But in the end, Linden had redeemed himself, and his actions had resulted in the most lopsided victory the rebels had and was what would enable them to take the fight to the loyalists soon enough.

  “What are you doing up?”

  “Speak of the devil,” Liam muttered.

  “What do you mean?” Linden asked.

  “I just noticed some of your men heading off, my thoughts strayed to you for a second. Then boom, you appear,” Liam said with a laugh.

  “Not for long, gotta get to work. Borders to patrol and the like.”

  Liam dipped his head, and let the other shifter get on about his business. He tracked Linden as he jogged out across the farmland before disappearing into a field of corn nearly ready for harvesting. Would they get the chance to haul that crop in before they went on the attack, he wondered idly.

  “You like to watch him go too?”

  He turned at the sound of a female voice next to him. “Chloe,” he said in polite greeting to Linden’s mate, and then to the person next to her. “Alison,” he added. “What are you doing here?”

  “What, am I not allowed to visit my mate?” Alison asked slightly impertinently.

  “Uhh.” It wasn’t his smoothest response ever.

  “What are you doing here?” Lucien’s mate challenged. “I hear you’re supposed to be working with that mage of yours so she can help you out. Is she around?”

  Liam looked back and forth between the two women suspiciously. “Why do I get the feeling this isn’t as random an encounter as I think it is?”

  “Because you’re naturally far too suspicious and untrusting?” Alison suggested, eliciting a smile from Chloe.

  “I guess.” He shrugged. “But while I’ve got you here…”

  The two women exchanged a look.

  Maybe this isn’t a good idea.

  “Well go on,” Chloe urged. “Don’t just stop now with that little teaser. What is it you want, Liam? You’re not exactly prone to small talk. Whatever this is, it must be urgent but…I can’t figure out why you’d want to talk to us?”

  He frowned. “I don’t hate you,” he protested.

  Alison laughed. “We never said you
did. But you’ve never exactly shown much interest in us besides polite chatter if we’re in the same room. Why do you suddenly now want our help? That is what you want, isn’t it?”

  Liam shifted uneasily from left to right. This was a terrible idea. When it had sprung into his head, he should have shot it down, covered it in gas and lit the thing on fire.

  “Never mind,” he said. “Have a nice day.”

  But the two of them moved to block his path, crossing their arms. “Tell us,” Chloe said. “You can’t just walk away now.”

  He could, if he wanted to, but that would be rude, and if there were two shifters besides Logan that he trusted to any degree, it would be the mates of these two, Linden and Lucien, two others in the de facto ‘rebel high command’. Liam didn’t exactly feel like pissing them off.

  “I was going to ask for your advice,” he said, resistance caving rather easily. After all, he did want their advice, to ask them about something that had been niggling away at the back of his mind before coming to the fore last night.

  “Well then just ask,” Alison said, sighing. “We’re not going to judge you.”

  Liam almost let himself protest some more, but the truth of it was, he really did want to know. Besides, the topic he was going to ask about was worth a little discomfort.

  “How did you know you were mated?” he said, forcing out each word.

  The two women stared up at him, not reacting for a moment. Liam started to panic, thinking he’d said something bad, but his mouth was going now, and it wouldn’t stop.

  “What did it feel like? How did you trust them with your heart? How could you do that?”

  “Oof,” Alison said. “Deep talk, early in the morning. Um.”

  “I’m sorry,” Liam said, waving them off. “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. That was out of line. I shouldn’t have said anything. Like you said, we don’t really talk much and I—”

  “This is about that mage, Jenny, isn’t it?” Chloe asked, speaking up for the first time in a bit.

  “Jennifer,” Liam corrected gently. “She doesn’t like Jenny.”

  A smile split the face of both women, and they exchanged another one of those infuriatingly knowing glances women did. Liam knew entire paragraphs of information could be transmitted through those, and yet it was always encoded, impossible for him to pick up the entire gist of it. It made him feel dumb.