by Unknown
“I want you now.”
The vibration of his deep rumbling voice filled every crevice in her body with liquid heat, making her pussy tremble. Just a tiny dose of his potent male power could do this: make a woman weak at the knees. All Liam had to do was ask and women fell at his feet.
Casi was sorely tempted to give in to that overwhelming heat and rub herself against his hard length until bliss broke her apart. All she had to do was let go of her stubbornness, her last few shreds of independence and she’d never have to want for anything again. But no. She would not. Bodily needs aside, she wasn’t the obedient type. Bad habits and willpower were what made her who she was today. She gathered her last shreds of control and ordered her straining body to resist him. “What you want is my heritage, Liam. Not me.”
He seemed undeterred by her protest. With his fingers twined in her hair, he brought his mouth to her ear. “Remember in the woods? When I fucked your pussy? You were so wet for me then. Are you wet for me now, Casi?”
His warm breath melted her bones. She let out a mewl of need. Every cell in her body responded to Liam’s siren call. To his dirty talk. To his promise of unbridled satisfaction. With Liam the pleasure would be never ending, all night, until she could take no more. No sane woman would refuse him. Tamping down on her body’s raging hormones, her legs and arms shook with the effort of denying him. She snapped her chin up, defiantly. “No. I’m wet for Snake.”
From his sigh, and his fist pounding the wall, she guessed he’d gone from arousal to anger, although with shifters it was hard to tell. One often led to or could encompass the other.
Liam took a few paces away from her and studied her, looking down from his superior height. “You need to see reason.”
“No, you need to leave.” When he didn’t budge, she pointed to the door and added, “Now.” A foolish thing to do – make demands of an alpha – but her mood was already deteriorating toward bitchland. A few more seconds and she’d make an even worse mistake if he didn’t get the heck out.
He straightened his spine. “This isn’t over, Casi. The child is mine.”
“The child isn’t even here yet.” She flicked her hand toward the door again. “I suggest you wait to make whatever power play you think you have to make until it’s born.” When it’s proven it’s not your child.
His gaze narrowed. “Until next time, then.” Turning, he stalked out the cabin’s door. This time, he slammed it shut.
Well, well, way to piss off the alpha.
Relief seeped out her pores, but the altercation had sapped her strength. She slumped, grabbing onto the table to hold her upright. Dizzy, she closed her eyes and the baby kicked, reminding her to rest. Slowly she made her way to the bed and lay down on her side. Resting in the fetal position with a pillow between her knees, she took deep breaths and berated her body for its automatic reaction to Liam.
Liam was the man who’d gotten her into this mess and she put her faith in only one person to get her out: Snake. Who happened to be gone.
With a sob, she buried her head in the pillow. He’ll be back soon. He has to be… Hold on baby, hold on with me just a little longer.
When Casi woke to Snake’s touch the cabin was completely dark. How long had she slept? All day? Well, it didn’t matter really. What mattered was Snake had returned.
“Shh, baby.” He crawled onto the bed beside her, his fingers never leaving her face. “It’s all right. It’s okay now. Don’t cry.”
But she did. The comfort of having him near unwound the stress of the day and it erupted from her in one long wail. Then the tears fell. The hormones were hell on her composure, but she knew Snake wouldn’t leave her side if she asked him not to. He had to have felt how much she’d been hurting during his absence through their mate bond. From him, she’d sensed concern and worry. “I’m-I’m so-sorry. I ca-n’t hel-p it.”
“Poor thing. My little darling. Come here.” He pulled her into his arms and laid his face against her neck. While he was there, he sniffed, and must have smelled Liam. He took another deep inhale, and, apparently satisfied she hadn’t been marked by his alpha, let out a soft growl of relief. Kissing the arc where her neck and shoulder met, he held her steady as the weeping subsided.
Casi knew what must have been going through his mind when he scented Liam on her. But, typical of Snake, he hadn’t commented. She supposed she ought to be the one to the one to broach the subject, seeing as how Snake was so tight-lipped. As soon as her sniffles abated, she rubbed the tears off her face and met his gaze. “Snake, Liam came here today.”
He said nothing, merely waited for her to continue.
“Liam said he thought the baby was his, and if it was, he wanted to mate me.”
Uncertainty flitted through her lover’s eyes, a bit of pain flashing through the coppery brown. In those depths, more than strength lurked. She hated to see anything but happiness in them. “What did you tell him?”
“Um…” she ducked her head guiltily, knowing her actions had made more trouble for the beta. “I kicked him out. Told him the baby was ours.”
When Snake laughed, the tips of his fangs shone. “Good girl. That’s my tough baby mama.” He kissed her on the forehead, then the nose, then her mouth. Their lip lock passionate and moist. Anyone would have thought they’d been apart for months, not a few hours. But theirs wasn’t a typical love. Wolves didn’t do things half way, as Casi had found out.
She clung to him and murmured a moan of protest when he pulled away. Standing at the end of the bed, he quickly shucked his clothes. If there was a man in the surrounding eight counties who hated wearing clothes as much as Snake, she’d eat her shorts for breakfast. Once he stood naked, she admired the view.
She wasn’t kidding when she’d told Liam that Snake made her hot. Somewhere between wiry and ripped, Snake’s body wasted not even an inch of space on frivolity. His pecs weren’t super-rounded but they weren’t flat either, and they rested above the hard planes of his abs as though ready for business. His stomach rippled as he moved, the long lean line of his torso leading her gaze down… To where his prick jutted up proudly as if trying to reach the ceiling. She licked her lips as her pussy clenched with need. “God, bring that thing here.”
“Not yet.” He grinned slyly. “Let me undress you.” One, two, claws snapped out of his fingers. He dragged them down her body, ripping the clothes from her frame but leaving her skin unhurt.
The move fueled her excitement, making her wetter. She rolled onto her back, legs spread. “Hurry.”
He snorted. “Yes, my love.” Leaning forward, he cut her bra straps and then the center, exposing her breasts to his heated gaze. His nostrils flared at the sight but his attention moved lower. Kneeling on the bed, he settled between her thighs. He had to lift her up in order to reach the areas he wanted more easily, but holding her never seemed difficult for him. With both hands under her ass he placed her in exactly the right position and stabbed her clit with his tongue.
Though pregnancy had its major downsides – the emotional roller coaster, the fatigue, being big as a house – it also harbored some pretty awesome bonuses. Being ready to come at a moment’s notice was one of them.
The tension from the day coiled into her core, winding tighter and tighter until her clit engorged and throbbed. By now, Snake had her arousal down to a science – his tongue played over and around her hot button, teasing it before focusing his attention on it once more. The pressure of his lips caused a sweet ache, urging her closer to his mouth. At the same time, his drive-by hits on her pleasure center left her swinging between pleasure and pain in an escalating fever. “Oh God, Snake, please. Yes. Please.”
When he pressed two of his fingers inside her, she came. Her warm channel clenched around his digits eagerly, wanting more as she clawed the sheets and hoarsely screamed his name.
Snake played her expertly, drawing shudder after shudder from her tired limbs until she lay there exhausted but replete. But he was far from done w
ith her. Licking his lips, he rose up from the foot of the bed and crawled toward her. She thought he’d hover over her and enter her from there, but he did not. Instead, he flopped onto his back beside her. The hunger in his wolf eyes took her breath away but his smile was relaxed and coy. He patted his hip. “Come on up here. Ride me, cowgirl.”
She didn’t need to be asked twice, but where would she find the energy? Luckily, Snake had plenty to spare. He grasped her gently by the hips and lifted her on top of him. Once sitting on the hard ridge of his cock, she found the oomph to keep going and reach her goal. At her nod, he lifted her up and she brought his head to her entrance. When he eased her all the down in one long stroke, she moaned.
Snake filled her to overflowing, pressing his way inside her and staking all surrounding territory as his domain. Casi willingly surrendered to his manly intrusion. Lost in her own passion, she rocked back and forth on him with her head tilted back and her eyes closed.
“Jesus, you’re so beautiful.” Snake’s hands caressed her sides, her belly, her breasts, never stopping, never hampering or impeding her movements.
As she grew used to his size, her desire for more had her rocking faster. He did this to her – made her wanton with excitement. Clutching his forearms, she braced herself and swiveled her hips farther, prolonging the slide until she traveled the entire length of him on each drive. One delicious sensation piled on top of another. She drew close to the edge again.
Below her, Snake’s breathing had increased, and his hips arched over and over, thrusting his cock like a battering ram as she slid upon it, increasing the friction to unbearable limits. Just as she thought it couldn’t get any more intense, he squeezed her hips and stilled her, taking control. “Look at me, Casi. Open your eyes and look at me.”
Their gazes snapped together like magnets and steel. The power in the room amped up and though there weren’t any lights on, she swore the area around them glowed.
“I love you, Casi. I love you and you’re mine. This baby is mine and this is us. Us. No one is going to tear us apart.”
She grabbed harder to his arms and held fast. Biting her lip, she nodded, acknowledging his words were true. It didn’t matter what Liam wanted or whose baby it turned out to be, the three of them were a team. One unit. Unbreakable. Forever. She opened her heart and let her love flow through their link. Yes. Yes, Snake.
As her love hit him, the muscles in his body went taut. He gripped her hips and thrust in and out of her, pistoning from underneath. His face serious and determined, he fucked her hard and fast, which he hadn’t done for months.
Relieved at last that Snake was losing control, she clenched around him to urge him on, pulling a groan from his parted lips.
He opened his mouth, crying out louder and louder with each panting breath. His chest and arms swelled from the effort of holding back his orgasm one second longer. But finally he lost the battle. One last pump of his hips and his strong body bowed. His roar pulled her over the precipice with him, his virility stunning to behold. He pumped himself inside of her until he’d given her everything, his heart, his trembling body, his soul.
Casi took it all, savoring his essence, no longer alone. She poured back to him her need, her desire, her certainty that Snake was her choice. Her one and only. I love you, Snake. I love you.
He gently rolled them so that she lay on her side once more. Outside it must have been dawn, for there was light coming through the windows, enough to see his face. Tired, she closed her eyes and let him hold her in his embrace. Secure and loved, she didn’t think to ask what the council meeting had entailed and Snake didn’t interrupt her much-needed sleep to tell her. But an undercurrent of worry ran through his emotional field, creeping into her dreams. When she woke, he was gone.
“Grrrr.” Casi literally growled at the sunlight, pounding the bed with her fists. “Where the hell did he go now?”
A soft familiar knock sounded on the cabin’s door. Casi’s frustration immediately dissipated, replaced by a long slow steady burn that brought a smile to her lips. Cue the make-out music. Lower the lights. Get out the incense. Dahlia’s here.
Before she knocked again, Casi encouraged her entry. “Come in.”
The cat woman glided inside, her long dark hair flowing loosely down to her waist. She was scantily clad today, in a halter bra and a sarong skirt. The caramel skin of her legs peeked through the fabric. Above, her baby bump was on prominent display. “Good morning, darling.” She sat next to Casi on the bed and purred. “Glad to see you got your sleep.”
Casi laughed. “Sort of. When Snake got home there wasn’t much sleeping going on…” Her cheeks heated, but there was no need to pretend it hadn’t happened when damn near every wolf and bear in the vicinity had heard the ecstatic cries of their coupling.
Dahlia nodded, her wolf pack living skills understanding already light-years ahead of Casi’s. “I was worried you’d be stressed out by the news.”
“What news?”
“You mean Snake didn’t tell you about the meeting?” Dahlia bit her lip. It wasn’t often she appeared unsure of herself, and the simple gesture put Casi’s warning lights on high alert.
She sat up in bed, rather ungracefully given her big belly. “No. What’s going on?”
“We’re leaving. Today. Liam’s moving us to higher ground.”
Today? Holy hell. No wonder Snake wasn’t there when she’d woken. He was off playing second commander and orchestrating a complicated mission. “How come?”
Dahlia sighed and arranged her long slender legs under her. “The council has received word that another pack is preparing to mount an attack against us.”
“Why?” As soon as the word left her lips, she groaned inwardly. Of course it had to be related to her or the baby – the O’Connor bloodline – because really, what was her point in life besides causing more headaches for Snake? She sucked in a deep breath and sighed it out, already assailed with guilt though it was hardly her fault who her mother had slept with.
Dahlia chose her words carefully. “There are those who… would seek the top rung of power, and claiming the last living O’Connor for themselves would secure their pack’s supremacy.”
She had to laugh. “Supremacy. Ha. Yeah. Just look at my supremacy.” She waved a hand toward her big protruding belly. “Looking pretty ready to dominate the world, huh?”
A smile returned to Dahlia’s face. “Let’s get you dressed first, then we’ll see about you global preeminence.”
Casi scooted to the edge of the bed and sat next to Dahlia, letting her legs dangle. “You know, I really hate this whole messed up bloodline thing. I mean, come on, my mom got laid over twenty years ago and this guy vanished when I was a little kid. Why does my child have to suffer for their mistakes?”
“I know, I know. I wish…” Dahlia shook her head. “It’s the shifter way. They revere the founder’s bloodline until it is no more.” Her face paled a little, and Casi’s stomach knotted. A scream started in her lungs, but refused to push through her dry mouth. The end of the bloodline meant only one thing. Her death. So that’s the risk they were facing. Either they’d control her, or they’d kill her, and possibly the baby too, just to clear the decks and even the playing field.
“Oh, my God.” She put her head in her hands and shivered.
Dahlia placed an arm across her shoulders. “Don’t worry, Snake’s not going to let anything happen to you – or the baby. Nor is Liam and he has the entire bear pack to back him up. Believe me, nobody is going to get to this baby but us.”
Swallowing, she lifted her head. “Okay. Fine. But when we get there, remind me why I’m not living in another country sipping coffee in a sidewalk cafe instead of hunkered down in some tiny remote cabin surrounded by bears watching my mind go stir crazy?”
“Deal.” Dahlia took her hand and pulled.
Casi came off the bed and paused, one hand automatically going to her belly. “Wait. I feel funny.”
“What is
it?”
“I think… It’s …” One strong cramp hit her and she cried out, then liquid trickled down her legs. “Oh, damn. I think my water broke.” Gasping, she looked up at Dahlia, searching for support.
Dahlia produced a phone she’d had hidden somewhere on her body and dialed. “Liam? It’s time. We need to get Casi to the hospital right now.” Ample swearing could be heard on the other end, and Snake’s concerned voice, too. “Okay. We will meet you here.” She snapped the phone shut and turned to Casi. “Do you have a bag already packed? What about a robe?”
Casi pointed to the robe on the end of the bed and her bag, sitting on the chair next to the dining table. Dahlia wrapped her in the robe, grabbed the bag and started them toward the door.
When Casi put her hand on the doorknob, her body flushed hot. A thousand prickles tingled over her skin, precursors of something bigger, but she didn’t know what. It felt almost as if … almost … Oh, God. Was she going to shift? But I can’t do that. The baby. Demanding her body remain in human form, she stubbornly opened the door.
Behind her, Dahlia let out a sharp cry. Casi’s senses picked up her distress, the cramp that ran through her mate was the same as hers a moment ago. Then, she scented the additional liquid. Dahlia had just entered labor, too. But how, or why? Stunned, Casi focused her attention on the figure in front of the door. A large man silhouetted against the bright sunlight, his face nearly in shadow. But from what she could see of it, he looked familiar. As if she’d known him long ago… Suddenly the details snapped into place. She could hardly find breath to say the words that burned through her throat on the way out.
“Hello, dad.”
To be continued….
Author Bio and Contact:
Eva Lefoy writes and reads all kinds of romance, and is a die-hard Trekkie. She’s also terribly addicted to chocolate, tea, and hiking. One of these days, she’ll figure out the meaning of life, quit her job, and go travel the galaxy. Until then, she’s writing down all her dirty thoughts for the sake of future explorers.