by Honor James
“Very true,” he said, softly pulling her in closer to him. “But for the moment I’m more interested in you taking your pants off one leg at a time and quickly. I need you naked, Chrissy, so I can fuck you every which way possible.”
“Oh I love how you think.” Pulling back from him, she winked. “So naked it is then.” Slipping her shirt from her shoulder, she teased him happily and then tugged it all the way off so that she was only in her bra and pants. “So you said something about pants?”
“Yes, off,” he ordered, already fully stripped and standing there waiting on her, as was the usual. Damn woman always wore too many clothes and took way too long to get out of them. “I think you should wear single-piece dresses and no underwear ever. It would definitely speed up this process a lot, you know.”
“Where would the fun be in that?” she asked with a smirk as she peeled out of her clothes. “I love watching you get all beside yourself when I take my time pulling off my clothes,” she teased as she lifted the edges of her panties and slowly pushed them off of her body.
As soon as her panties were down, Tryg moved in fast and, grabbing her up, threw them onto the bed. Rolling over with her, he trapped her under him facedown. “Now I have you at my mercy,” he purred out softly with a grin.
“God, I love when you purr,” she confessed as she tried to push her hair out of her face, her ass lifting and pressing back against him. “Love listening to you purr, especially when you are fucking me.” If that wasn’t a hint, she didn’t know what was.
Moving her hair out of the way, he nuzzled at her shoulder. “Was that a hint, darling?” he teased her softly. “Because if it was, I think you need to be a little more specific with your demands. Very specific and very detailed so that I know we’re on the exact same page with everything.”
“Yes, darling, it was a hint,” she said with need, desperation coloring her words. “I want to hear you purring as you fuck me, Tryggr. I need to feel the rumble in your chest as you are pumping your wonderfully long and thick cock in and out of my pussy, which is wet and ready for you.”
“Not overly descriptive, but it will work for the time being.” He grinned at her. Lifting her hips up, he thrust into her hard and fast and purred as she clenched around him. “Gods, I love being buried inside of you.”
“Good, because I love it, too.” Chrissy purred herself when he was fully inside of her body. “So good.” She pressed back against him, needing him to move and give them both pleasure. “Move, honey, hard, but please move.”
Nipping at her shoulder, he began to move, but slowly. Brushing his lips over her shoulder, he rubbed his nose to her skin. “So sweet,” he murmured, moving a little harder.
Her body clenched a little when he brushed his lips to her shoulder. Anticipation lived and breathed inside of her and made her ache with need for more. “Please.” She pushed back harder against him, needed more, had to have more of him.
“What do you need?” he asked, stroking a hand over her to find her clitoris. Stroking the swollen nub he moved harder and faster inside of her. “Talk to me, darling,” he said with a grin. Nibbling on her skin lightly, he nipped harder and then stroked his tongue to her skin.
“I need more.” She growled right back at him. “I need to feel you rumble, growl, and purr while fucking me. I need you to let go and give us both what we are so desperate for. I want more of your Cat, Tryg, give him to me. No fur but more of him.”
Lapping lightly at her spine, he smiled faintly and let her have more of him. Allowing the Cat to come closer to the surface, Tryg gave her what she wanted, letting the beast rule how he took her, the sounds of the Cat and their combined pleasure rising in those growls and rumbling purrs. But he was careful to keep a rein on how much rose up. He didn’t want to hurt her.
Arching her back, she pressed tighter against him, rubbing against him as best she could as she did so. She was gasping for air, panting, and so close to that pivotal moment that when it came she screamed. Her whole body shook from the force of her orgasm, her vision wavered, and for one blissful moment she swore she was part of his very soul.
Collapsed over her, it was long minutes of their breath rasping in the otherwise quiet air. “Wow,” he croaked out even as he started to grin at her. “We should do that again,” he rumbled softly to her with a squeeze to her middle where he held her.
Chrissy just nodded because words wouldn’t form in her mind or throat right then. Eyes closed and gasping, it was several minutes before she was finally able to speak. “I agree. That was amazing.” It had been stunning. The lights still danced before her eyes from the sheer implosion she had experienced.
Nuzzling at her neck, he breathed her in slowly. “Still a little fried, are we?” he teased with a grin. He seriously loved when he could make her brain stop working. It meant he was doing something right. Closing his eyes, Tryg shifted them a little and tugged a blanket over them. He didn’t plan on moving again for a time. He needed a nap before he had to face Bethany and dinner.
“Yep, still fried, and tired. I think you killed me,” she teased as she pulled his arms around her waist and held them close to her. “But it’s good since you brought me back to life again,” she added with a yawn. “Sleep sounds so very nice right now.”
“It does at that.” He chuckled softly, squeezing her close again. Nipping at her neck, he breathed her in. “Sleep for an hour and then we can head down for dinner.” Hopefully by then he’d know what to say to his sister.
Patting his hand, Chrissy whispered, “Tell her you love her but to butt out of your business. Tell her that the decision is one that you will make when you’re ready to make it. If she can’t understand that”—she shrugged—“well then use your big brother and Alpha King of the packs voice and tell her again. See if she will listen to that.”
“Alpha is a Wolf thing,” he told her softly with a grin but gave a small nod. “Thank you for the advice, my little mate,” he murmured, hugging her close to him. Relaxing, he began to lightly stroke his fingers up and down her arm slowly.
“You are welcome.” Another yawn. “And you know what I mean. I have no idea what it’s called for Felines, so I used the only word I could think of.” She pulled his hand so that it was nestled between her breasts, her fingers linked with his, and sighed happily. “Love you, babe, but I need a nap.”
“Then sleep, babe. I’ll wake you when it’s time for dinner,” he told her quietly. Pressing a kiss to her cheek, Tryggr gave her another squeeze. “Love you, babe. Sleep well.”
Chapter Eleven
Wrinkling his nose before going into the kitchen, Tryg smoothed out his features and entered the room. Clearing his throat, he waited for his sister to turn around. “I’m sorry, Bets. I didn’t mean to yell at you,” he said softly. “It’s a sore topic, and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. It’s not your fault I can’t deal with it.”
Bethany shrugged and looked up at him. Leaning against the counter, she sighed. “Tryggr, our father fought for that title. Not because of Mom or you, but because he wanted to give his grandchildren that title. Yes, you were raised to take over from him, but he had said more than once that he wanted our line to continue, that the crown had only changed paths once, and that was when his father took it from a terrible, terrible man. I know you recall the stories, Tryggr.” She shrugged, however, and added, “But your bond-mate is right. In all things this has to be your choice. Just think about it, Tryg? The crown isn’t tainted, but I’m afraid our uncle might be.” “What?” he asked in surprise. “Uncle Evan isn’t tainted,” he said shaking his head at her. “Why would you even say something like that, Bets?” Moving deeper into the room, he stopped close to her. “Talk to me, Bets. What are you not telling me?”
“Just something that I’ve been thinking of for the last hundred or so years,” she whispered. “Tryggr, doesn’t it strike you as odd the way that Momma would shy from Uncle Evan?” she asked quietly. “The fear that came into her eyes th
e last days? I remember it. Believe me, I remember it.” She hated that memory, but it was there all the same. “And how he was so ready to accept and take over your duties for you? He didn’t even hesitate but simply took them without even a moment’s pause.” She shrugged. “And there is the fact that whoever did this to our parents, was a part in their deaths, knew the guards. Knew our home, even the private family-only section.” She pushed from the counter and moved to pull out plates. “Just something I’ve been thinking of for a long time.”
“And you never mentioned it before now?” he asked her, pressing his hands to the counter as his gaze tracked her, the heat in them burning along her spine. “There were others, you know,” he told her softly. “There were others I considered as having been a part of their deaths. Any of the guards could have been bought. The servants, the staff, even some of their so-called friends could have been a part of it. Too many knew about that section of the house, where our rooms were, too many guests seemingly lost on their way to the powder rooms. Too many turned around after a few too many drinks.”
She shook her head. “The guards adored Mother and would have died for her.” Likely had died for her. “And they all had some serious hero worship for Dad. You remember how it was with them, Tryg, don’t you?” The guards had all doted upon Bethany and her mother and had more respect and affection for her father and Tryggr than was even fathomable.
“I remember bits and pieces of it, but a lot of it…” He shook his head. “I don’t know. There’s a lot from that night and before that’s a blank. I think part of it may have been because of that Mage and what he did to me.” Rubbing unconsciously at his thigh, he frowned. “The gaps are what worry me. I can’t make a call on anything without all the memories, and I just don’t have them.”
“And I can’t seem to forget that night,” Bethany confessed. “There was definitely far more than the Mage that was a part of the attack, Tryggr. Someone that the Mage had been afraid of.” She moved from him and shook her head. “But what do I know? I’m just the traumatized child from that night. At least that’s what someone had wanted me to believe.” And she had believed until she had switched doctors on a whim.
“Tell me, Bets,” he said softly as he watched her. “I can only remember chunks of that night, finding them, seeing you, the Mage, the spears, and tearing everything away to get to you.” He remembered shredding those that had held his sister, had hurt her, but beyond that he only knew that he’d gone to the guards to send for help from what they’d told him. It wasn’t actually his memory but one that had been provided to him.
“The Mage was talking to someone. Having a full-on argument with this other person. You were attached to the floor with his bolts, but there was a shadow there. That’s the person who orchestrated the attack on our family, Tryggr. It’s someone who knew the secret passages, and we both know that very, very few people knew them, let alone how to navigate them, and even fewer knew how to bypass the security in them.” The guards didn’t even know how to do that, only family. “But that’s all I’m saying, Tryggr. Whatever choice you make, whatever solution you find, it has to be your own and not one manufactured for you or given to you by another.”
“Damn it, Bethany, I’m not asking you for a solution. I’m asking you for answers. I need to know what happened that night,” he said softly. “In total, I remember maybe an hour, hour and a half of that entire night. My memories from before then are only slightly better, but not by much. I can’t make an educated decision when no one is telling me everything.” He was hanging on to his temper by a thread again. Talking about the past did that to him, had his Cat rubbing right under his skin in a flash, especially when people kept yanking him around.
“Family. Tryggr, only those in our family knew how to undo the safeties that our father and his brother built into them. Uncle Evan, Mom, Dad, you, and I knew how to undo them. Any other would have died,” she whispered. “That’s what I had blocked but recall now,” she confessed. “But it wasn’t until after I changed from the care of the physician that Uncle Evan set me with. I’m just saying, look a little deeper. Ask questions and I think you will figure out why it is that I’m so against our uncle taking our father’s throne.”
“And yet he wants to step down,” he said. She’d said it herself earlier. “He doesn’t want the Throne,” he said. Dropping his head so it hung down, Tryg let out a breath and pushed off the counter to pace slowly around the kitchen. “I don’t know what I’ll do, Bets, but I promise you I will dig deeper into it all,” he said softly as he stared out the window.
“You have the best senses of anyone that I’ve ever known, Tryggr. If there is deception there, I know you will find it,” she whispered and pulled back. “I hear your bond-mate coming. Is she all right? She slept longer than I figured she would have slept.” In fact the woman sounded like she was more than half-asleep as she came down the stairs.
Grinning, Tryg nodded and turned to brush his sister’s hair back behind her ear. “She was a little worn out,” he told her with a semi-not-so-believable innocent look pasted on his face. “That and the traveling, too, I think. The flight had her knackered.” Smiling for his mate as she came stumbling in, he chuckled softly under his breath. “I’d offer her something to drink, Bets. She’ll head to where our fridge is and end up damn confused right quick.”
“I heard that,” Chrissy muttered and turned toward her mate’s voice. “Why did you let me sleep even longer than you did, honey? I should have gotten up when I felt you moving, but the bed was so nice and warm, and I was so tired,” she grumbled as she wrapped her arms around his middle. “Hi, Bets, how are you?”
Wrapping his arms around her, Tryg pressed a kiss to her hair. “Because you curled your lip in a snarl when I touched the blankets. I figured I’d keep my fingers instead and leave you sleeping,” he told her honestly.
“I’m doing well,” Bethany said, bringing a glass of juice over to her brother’s mate. “Here, drink some of this. It should wake you up a bit. Dinner will be on the table in ten minutes,” she said with a grin and soft chuckle.
“Thank you.” Chrissy took the drink and smiled at her sister-in-law. “I’m sure that it will taste as good as it smells.” And for that she was thankful. “I personally can’t wait.” Leaning against Tryggr, she yawned again. “I really and truly do think that I hate flying.” It had to be the reason she was so tired. “Maybe we should rent a car and take a nice long drive back instead of flying?”
“Other than the ocean getting in the way, I’d be all for it,” he said drily, shaking his head at her words and rolling his eyes since she couldn’t see him. “We have to fly back, darling. Besides, I don’t think it was the flight causing you all this discombobulation.” No, he was pretty sure her scent had changed, but it was subtle, so it was hard even for his sensitive nose to pick up.
“Well crap,” she grumbled. She had forgotten about the ocean. “Maybe it’s just because of time change. I’m not used to flying overseas, so I think that’s what it is,” she told him and nodded, sipping the juice as she did so. Another yawn and she sighed. “All right, tonight for sure we will have to have a good night’s sleep, okay?”
“Well if you’d quit jumping my poor defenseless bones,” he said and laughed when she smacked his ass. Pressing a kiss to her hair lightly, he rubbed his nose to it. “We’ll eat dinner take a walk and then, if Bets doesn’t mind, we’ll call it an early night.”
“I think that would be truly wonderful,” Chrissy admitted with a smile. “An early night, and no, I’m not going to jump your bones. Honestly all that I want is to be able to curl up in bed with you, honey.” Sleep, that was what sounded great to her.
Snorting, Tryg hugged her to him. “You say that, but we both know that it will only last if you pass out long before I crawl into bed with you.”
“And on that note,” Bethany said, shaking her head, “food is up, people. No more of that talk. Time to eat, and then you two can go and get some s
leep. Because honestly, you two are starting to make no sense at all.”
Chrissy grinned. “Welcome to my world.” She had adapted to how she and Tryggr acted around each other though. She actually liked that she didn’t make much sense most days. “But as long as I have my Tryggr and he has his everything else, then life is good.”
Shaking her head, Bethany pointed at the table. “Well at the moment, sit both your asses down and eat. Because I don’t think I can survive much more of listening to you two going all weird at one another.” She laughed.
Chrissy grinned and winked at Tryggr. “I think your sister hates listening to us, darling,” she teased. “It’s a good thing that at least she can’t hear us when we are in our bedroom.” She heard the tray Bethany was holding clatter and snickered. “See, told ya.”
“Quit teasing her,” Tryg said with a chuckle, urging Chrissy to the table. Pulling out a chair for her, he settled in next to her and looked to his sister. “Need a hand?” he offered and got the look that said “sit there and shut up,” one his mother used to use on them when they’d been brats.
“I like teasing her. It’s fun,” Chrissy admitted. “I’ve never had a sister before. I really and truly like being able to have someone that I can tease, someone that I can give a hard time to,” she murmured with a smirk.
“You do that to me,” he said, shaking his head at her. “No need to put my sister through the same harassment, love. But hey, I’m sure Bets will smack you if you get out of line. She does it to me all the time.”
“Exactly, that’s what family does,” she said with a grin. “And I, for one, am happy about it. I’m more than perfectly fine with it.” She winked. “Maybe while we are here I can talk Bethany into going shopping with me,” she teased, knowing that Bethany was listening.