“I’m going to stop by later,” he said simply, not giving her the option of refusing. “There’s a couple things we need to talk about.”
That surprised her and she looked over at him abruptly.
“Like what?” She’d stopped walking but Sage kept moving forward, forcing Emery to catch back up.
“You’ll find out when I tell you,” he said as they arrived at her porch. As usual, he waited at the bottom of the stairs for her to go up. As usual, she turned and gave him a small, bewildered wave when she reached her door. His enhanced hearing picked up a muttered curse that Sage could have sworn sounded an awful lot like “cocky bastard,” making him smile.
Most nights since her arrival, Sage would turn and leave and let the thoughts of Emery Wilkins rob him of sleep. But unlike every other time, however, Sage had every intention of returning that night.
Chapter Eight
Emery
Holy crap, she was losing her mind.
Emery couldn’t concentrate on her homework and was pretty certain that at this rate, she was never going to get her Master’s degree. No, she was going to flunk out and the only logical reason she’d be able to offer anyone who questioned her was that she was too preoccupied with the gorgeous Beta of the Boulder Pack.
Her heart hadn’t stopped the racing thing it did in his presence from the moment she’d literally ran into him in that hallway. Once the danger was over, she thought her reaction would subside, but each time Sage’s eyes had met hers in the lodge, her stomach plummeted again and she was powerless to look away, no matter how heated her cheeks grew.
Her wolf chuffed in appreciation each time the Beta looked at her, the little sell out.
When he’d left her at her doorstep tonight, there’d been something more in his voice. Something extra. But what? Was she making the whole thing up in her head because she’d become infatuated with him over the past few weeks?
And why did her wolf ride her so hard whenever he was away for extended periods to see him again?
The ride back to Boulder Pack territory had been tense and emotional and Emery had nearly lost her composure when Sienna grasped Emery’s hand in hers and didn’t let go the entire way. Sienna didn’t say thank you or anything at all, really. She just held on to Emery’s hand while they drove back in silence and let tears roll down her face.
It’d been a powerful moment and for a brief moment, bitter disappointment had eaten at Emery—this is what a real pack was like. It wasn’t that Samuel wasn’t trying with the Tahoes, only that he had so much rebuilding after the damage the old Alpha had done to them all. To be around a pack like the Boulder shifters, it left her very aware of what she’d been missing for so long.
She felt a pang of guilt for thinking like that. Hank Wilkins hadn’t been much, but he’d done everything he could to keep Emery cared for. He taught her how to survive. How to take care of herself and how to stay safe. What more did she need?
With a sigh, Emery let out a long breath. A lot more, it seemed. Turns out Emery’s heart wanted a lot more than just a group of shifters who knew each other’s scents but mostly tried to just stay out of each other’s way.
Emery and her wolf wanted so much more than that.
An hour and a half later, after she’d showered and cracked open her books, she found herself dozing at the small dinette table, drool hitting her page and everything. Rubbing her eyes, she checked the clock and realized it was nearing midnight.
A small amount of disappointment gnawed at her when she realized the pack must have gotten caught up with the interrogation. Or maybe Sage had forgotten. Or changed his mind.
With a shake of her head, she stood and started putting her things away when a sharp knock at her door made her jump.
In a heartbeat, her pulse was racing and she struggled to breathe. He hadn’t forgotten. He hadn’t changed his mind. Sage was here.
“Don’t be stupid,” she chided herself as her heavy feet moved her slowly toward the front door. He was probably looking to ream her ass for involving herself at the mall earlier. Or to talk about her dad. Or her old pack. Why was Emery letting her hormones get the best of her? She was dangerously close to making a fool of herself.
Not knowing what to expect when she pulled the door open, she found Sage leaning against the porch railing. His eyes met hers and he simply stared a moment before walking through the doorway into the small living space.
She noticed he had a bundle under his arm as he passed.
“I need a shower,” he said and walked back toward her bedroom. Part of her protested at this male invading her space with his body and his scent, but the majority of her was simply fascinated and could do nothing more than watch the Beta as he walked through her space like he owned it.
“Okay,” she said with an eyebrow raising.
That was odd. Was he here to borrow her shower? Was his broken?
“Could have just told me in the first place,” Emery muttered with a tad of bitterness, and feeling silly for everything she’d worked this whole thing out to be.
She heard she shower start from the small bathroom that attached to her bedroom. Glancing in quickly, she was suddenly grateful that she’d made the bed and picked up all her dirty laundry from the floor earlier. Not that she’d been planning on having Sage in her bedroom or anything…but still.
With the steam and the hot water, Sage’s pine and spice scent was suddenly everywhere. It was around her. It felt like it was enveloping her and she felt the familiar burning down low in her belly that she always, and always unsuccessfully, tried to push away. Her wolf was having none of it, either. She was luxuriating in the smell of Sage in their personal space—as though he belonged there. As though this was where he was supposed to be this whole time.
The shower stopped suddenly and Emery was hyper aware of all the sounds coming from her bathroom. From the towel sliding across skin to the sound of fabric being pulled on and a zipper being closed, Emery’s body was so in tune with what Sage was doing it was freaking her out. She blanched at the realization that she had small beads of perspiration breaking out on her hairline and that she stood in her hallway gripping the wall like it was holding her up.
Holy shitballs, BatWolf, what the hell was happening?
When Sage finally emerged from her bedroom in a fresh pair of jeans, a black t-shirt, and bare feet, he looked like some wet-haired Greek god of sex and badness. His sandy brown hair was wet and slicked back and his hazel eyes shone bright as he looked her over, taking in her own ripped jeans and plain white t-shirt.
“What you did today was inexcusable,” was what he went with. She blinked, trying to break the spell she was under.
“I’m sorry,” she tilted her head to the side. Her heart nearly dropped when he took a step toward her, feral look in his eyes. “What do you mean?”
She’d only tried to help.
“You put yourself in danger, Emery,” he said, coming another step closer. If she hadn’t already been up against the wall, she’d have stepped back to keep some distance between them. “You made me crazy with worry. All I could think about was getting to you and disemboweling any prick who touched you.”
His voice was guttural and low and her insides quaked from the intensity.
“You were brave to do what you did and you earned the pack’s undying respect and loyalty,” he continued moving until he was one step away. “But you nearly put me in an early grave and if you ever put yourself in danger like that again, I’m going to take you over my knee and spank your ass.”
She let out a gasp at the threat and without a moment’s hesitation, Sage’s hands slid into her hair and angled her head just how he wanted it before his mouth slaked over hers, his tongue demanding entry.
Emery was powerless to stop it and could only wrap her arms around his neck as his mouth plundered hers in an act of desperate need and possession. Sage’s body caged hers against the wall and fit into her perfectly.
Sage’s kiss
was unrelenting and his hold on her was possessive and hungry. Her knees threatened to give way as the sensations flooded her, so she held on to Sage as tightly as she could while her body rebelled against her mind and gave over to the waves he was creating.
“You don’t understand what you do to me, do you?” He whispered against her mouth. “You’re all me and my wolf can think about lately. All I can concentrate on. You drive me fucking crazy.”
She did?
One hand slowly slid from her hair and moved down until it settled over one of her breasts and squeezed—just enough pressure to elicit a soft moan out of her.
“Christ,” he whispered. “So fucking responsive to me, aren’t you?”
He pressed into her harder and suddenly she was hyper aware of the bulge in his jeans putting exquisite pressure just where she needed it most. She could only moan again, this time louder.
She should be embarrassed by all this reaction, shouldn’t she?
“No one’s ever taken you before, have they?”
The question hung in the air and Emery’s heart seized. Where had that come from?
“Answer me,” he whispered, giving her lower lip a light nip with his teeth that he soothed over with another kiss. “Tell me the truth.”
She floundered. He wanted to know if she’d ever been with another man before? Would he judge her if she gave him the truth? Her inexperience wasn’t exactly something she was proud of.
Suddenly he stopped kissing her. Stopped touching her. He just stopped. She gave out a huff of frustration and tried to pull him back to her mouth, but he pushed away so there was a good six inches of space between their faces.
“Have you ever been fucked, Emery?”
The way he said the words had her chest tightening and heat building between the apex of her thighs, right where his evident arousal had been. She searched his eyes, wary of any judgement there, but she only found hunger. Hunger and a feral need that was blazing from behind his hazel eyes—as though his wolf was waiting for her answer, as well.
“No.” She finally said, giving in and exposing her truth.
Sage was back on her in half a second, but this time he hiked one of her legs around his waist and indicated he wanted her to do the same with the other. With her ankles locked behind his back, he leaned into her so their bodies were practically molded into one and plunged his tongue back into her mouth while his hands gripped her ass and he ground himself into her. It was dizzying and exhilarating and Emery was pretty sure she’d float away into the stratosphere if he didn’t have such a tight grip on her.
“That pussy’s mine,” he said against her mouth as one of his hands moved between them and he possessively cupped the sensitive juncture of her thighs. She hissed and arched toward him at the sensation. “No one else is going to take it. Just me. It’s mine.”
The determination in his voice was almost shocking. But hearing it also made Emery realize how much like home Sage felt to her and her wolf.
“Say it,” he growled, demanding her response. She struggled with the sensations he was creating in her and couldn’t form the words.
“Say it,” he repeated, kissing her harder, not dropping it.
“It’s yours.”
“You’re mine, Emery.”
He groaned again and this time lifted her off the wall and stalked toward her bedroom. The entire thing suddenly felt very real and Emery felt a wave of nervousness.
As if he could feel it, Sage squeezed her tighter to him.
“I’m not going to fuck you tonight. I’m going to wait until you’re completely sure and you’re begging me for it,” he said into the crook of her neck. “But soon. Soon I’m going to make you mine in every single way. Tonight, I’m going to taste you and I’m going to hear you screaming my name over and over again and we’ll start there.”
She was on fire by the time he finished the sentence and her claws had begun to grow, leaving marks on his back as she whimpered.
“That’s right, baby,” he whispered. “Mark me. Show everyone who I belong to.”
Shit.
By the time he dropped her onto her back on the bed, Emery was nearing mindless with need and pent-up frustration.
Sage didn’t hesitate a second, as if he knew that if they drew it out any longer, Emery’s inexperience and nervousness might get the better of her and cause her to doubt. Her clothes were off in less than a breath and Sage whipped her shirt off as well. He moved his well-muscled body up and over hers to take another long, slow kiss from her and the fireworks from the magic in his kiss and the feel of his muscled chest against her skin were unreal.
Emery didn’t have a chance to feel uncomfortable about being naked for the first time with a man. Sage pushed and plundered, making him and what he was doing to her the only thing she could think about.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” Sage said, his mouth against her skin as he lowered kisses down her neck, across her collarbone, before taking a taut nipple in his mouth and sucking hard, rolling the bud between his teeth. The action had Emery’s back bowing, pushing her breasts further toward him in a frenzy he was creating. “You were made for me. Every inch of you was made just for me.”
She tried to follow what he was saying, but his actions were so much louder than his words.
He lowered again, trailing kisses down her stomach, around her belly button—going lower and lower. As he neared the very core of her, Sage forced her leg on his shoulder with one hand and speared into the very core of her with a single finger. It was intense and she jerked at the thrill of it. Before she could wrap her mind around everything, his mouth was on her and her mind broke apart.
His tongue ravaged her, plunging in and out, lapping at her and leaving her bare and wide open. But Emery didn’t care. All she could concentrate on was the rising wave that was building in her very center. When his lips came down on her clit and began his assault there, she nearly folded in half, gripping the sheets so hard that her claws sliced through them.
“You taste like heaven, sweet Emery,” Sage growled from between her legs. “I’ll never get enough of this. Never.”
He doubled down on her clit just as he plunged a second finger into her and curved them around, looking for just the right spot. And when he found it?
Emery exploded. Colors swirled behind her eyes and just as he’d promised, she cried out Sage’s name as she gripped his hair, pulling him harder into her as he assaulted her every sense.
She was powerless against the orgasm when it hit and Emery let herself burst into a million pieces around Sage’s talented tongue and fingers.
“Now that,” he said when he finally gave her a reprieve, “was a damn fine place to start, baby.”
Chapter Nine
Sage
His wolf had known the whole time, it seems, but it’d taken Sage a little longer to realize what Emery Wilkins was to him.
His mate.
Had there been any doubt in his mind when he came back later that night, it had been completely washed away the moment her orgasm had flooded his system as she gripped his hair and pulled his face deeper into her heat.
Sage had nearly lost it right then and there with his wolf riding his ass to crawl up Emery’s luscious body and bury himself deep inside her while putting his mark on the crook of her neck for the world to see.
She was asleep under his arm beside her. He hadn’t planned on sleeping in her bed when he arrived, but after that first little taste of her, he wasn’t ever going to sleep without her if he could help it. She belonged with him and he with her, that much was true. Whether she realized it now or not was another matter.
But given just how much she clung to him and trusted him last night, Sage didn’t think Emery would need too much convincing to take his bite and to let Sage make her his forever. Eventually.
As much as his body and his wolf ached to claim her, he knew that he was dealing with new territory because Emery had never been with another. The memory of her
admission made him hard all over again.
She must have sensed something and woken up. He knew right away from the change in her breathing.
“Explain to me how you’ve kept that body all to yourself all these years?”
He felt the slight shaking of her body on him. Laughing?
“Wasn’t exactly all that hard,” she said as she lifted her face toward him. With her mussed hair (that he helped create) and that sated, satisfied smile he couldn’t help himself and pushed forward with a soft kiss on her lips. Inside, his wolf was alert and aware of the need Emery’s wolf felt, too. “I’m not exactly the most social of people on my best days. I never really let people in enough. I mean, I’ve had boyfriends and fooled around…”
The low growl from low in his chest was from both Sage and his wolf. She laughed at his jealousy.
“But nothing like what happened with you,” she admitted, with a soft kiss on his pectoral. “That was one of a kind for sure.”
That was the thing about shifters, the human side could deny things like attraction and need all they wanted, but their animals never lied.
“You’re damn right it was,” Sage growled. “And it was only the beginning, baby.”
Color flushed her cheeks and he found it impossible not to pull her up to him and kiss her deeper.
“You know what this is, don’t you?” He wasn’t sure when he was going to have the “talk” with Emery, but he figured coming to an understanding now before things got heavier would be easiest.
“This?” She asked.
“You and me,” Sage pressed. “You know what’s happening, don’t you?”
Her eyes darted right as she obviously searched for something to say. She knew, Sage could tell, but she wasn’t ready to admit it. Well, fuck that. There was plenty he would wait for, but her admission of the truth of the gravity of what was between them wasn’t.
“Look at me,” he gently pushed her face toward his and met her eyes. “Tell me what we are?”
A small smile pulled at the corner of her mouth.
“Soon-to-be friends with benefits?” She was teasing him and he loved it, but he needed something more from her.
Beta's Destiny (Rocky Mountain Shifters Book 2) Page 5