If wolves could sneer, Hank achieved it.
Then, surprising me, he turned tail and ran.
I took off after him. That coward! He’d always been gutless, riling up the younger wolves to threaten and abuse me and do his dirty work for him. I’d had enough. I flew through the air, landing on top of his back, sending us both somersaulting. We separated as we hit the ground. He smashed into the trunk of a massive tree, shaking it to its roots.
Rourke had followed and paced to my right, agitated.
As Hank stood and shook himself off, I yipped and barked, telling him exactly what I thought of him. I can’t believe he ran! No wolf with any self-respect runs from a fight. My wolf agreed and the sounds of our yips echoed around the forest. Can he just give up? He’d chosen to lie down and die instead of coming after me. He was a proud wolf, and finding out his son was a traitor to Pack must have crushed something in him greater than his need to kill me. My father had always trusted him, even though I’d felt he never deserved it. There must’ve been more to their bond as Alpha and wolf than I knew. If I don’t kill him now, my father will have to. His son was a traitor to Pack and there’s no way he didn’t know. He faces a sentence of death either way.
I paced back and forth, trying to figure out how to handle this. I was learning I wasn’t a cold-blooded killer. Hank deserved to die, in more ways than I could adequately count, but if he wasn’t going to fight me, it would be hard for me to finish him off.
Hank seemed to sense my change of heart, as did Rourke, who snarled his objections loudly. Hank’s eyes flared as he opened his mouth in what could only be another grin. He yipped at me once and it held one word: pussy.
I snarled and splayed my paws on the ground, lowering my head, barking, and urging him to fight.
Instead of lunging, Hank turned parallel to me and lifted his back leg. The pungent smell of his urine hit the air.
He did not just do that. It was a clear challenge. And it was enough for me. I took the bait without regret. This is all you, I told my wolf as I handed the task over to her with relief. She, unlike me, had no qualms about killing him. We dove for his neck in a blur, taking hold and biting deeply. Hank fought back, snarling and lashing out with his hind legs. I was happy he decided to fight; it made it easier. He wiggled at just the right angle and my wolf lost her grip. He had me in the next breath, his jaws embedded deeply in my back.
Rourke sprang forward, bellowing.
My wolf twisted our body and we slipped out of Hank’s grasp. I snapped my teeth at Rourke before he could intervene, a snarl ripping from my throat. He slid to a stop midstride and yowled at me angrily, but I ignored him.
Hank was fighting. And he was mine.
I moved to face him and we circled each other. Hank’s neck was torn, and because he hadn’t eaten in days, he wasn’t regenerating quickly. He sprang without warning and his teeth caught my leg, hard.
It’s time to be done. My wolf barked her agreement.
She leapt, tearing free of his grasp, our body twisting, claws slashing down deeply into his body. He howled in pain as we landed on him, crushing him to the ground with our weight. She brought our jaws down on his neck and didn’t let up. He struggled beneath us, spitting and growling. No need to drag this out.
In one motion, she twisted his neck and gave it one final, powerful snap.
There was one loud crack and Hank went still beneath us.
She dropped her hold on him and control switched back to me. I took a few steps backward.
Relief flooded through me to see the deed done, but it was far from the satisfaction I knew a normal wolf should feel. Instead I just felt tired. This was a man who hated me. He deserved to die. I shouldn’t feel sorry for him.
But I did.
Rourke brushed up against my body, comforting me.
He sat close to me as we watched Hank shift. His final death would make him human for the last time.
In his human form he was gaunt and dirty. I hoped he’d finally found some peace. Even if Hank hadn’t known exactly what his son had been doing, he had willingly ignored it and in the process became an accomplice.
Rourke nudged me once it was over and I turned to follow him.
He led me back into the circle, checking over his shoulder to make sure I stayed with him every step of the way.
Once we were inside, we lay down side by side and shifted back.
The moonlight highlighted our naked forms as he reached for me.
8
His lips sought mine as my arms wrapped around his neck. He gently rolled me on my side in the grass, our bodies pressed closely together. He felt wonderful.
He pulled back and stroked my hair and face as his irises blazed a beautiful green. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I murmured. “Much better now. It had to be done and I don’t regret doing it. Hank would’ve died at the hands of my father and he knew it. But I don’t think killing will ever be my thing.”
He brought our faces closer, his stubble stroking my cheek in a delicious way. “I could’ve helped, you know. When I’m around, you don’t have to kill. I am happy to do that for you.” He kissed me.
Finally.
I raked my fingers through his hair, twisting it in my hands. It was soft and thick. He pulled back slightly, studying me, making sure I was really okay before we started something that couldn’t be undone.
“I’m good, really,” I said, answering his gaze. “It was our first status fight and my wolf is happy with the outcome.” I leaned up and bit his bottom lip before he could reply.
He responded in kind by plunging his tongue deeply into my mouth while his lips locked around mine, and I took it, pulling greedily, finally fully tasting him.
I moaned, the pleasure of it overwhelming and maddening at the same time.
Power swirled around the circle as our kisses became fast and frenzied.
This was the perfect place for us to bond. Energy pushed and prodded against our skin, urging us along. The grass felt like velvet beneath my back and the cool air brushed deliciously against my naked skin.
I knew we were safe and protected, even if it was just for the moment.
Rourke broke the kiss and hovered over me anxiously, his eyes filled with the same longing as mine. “I haven’t cared about another living soul in longer than I can remember. I want this to be exactly right.”
“It will be.” I smiled.
Rourke arched one perfect eyebrow down at me and grinned. “It better be, or my manhood will be in serious question.”
“I don’t think your manhood will ever be in question.” I laughed, feeling his hard, and very adequate, length against me. “You’ve got that department all shored up.”
“When we finish this bonding, it will mark us both.” His chest pressed tightly to mine, and as he spoke the vibrations sent delicious currents dancing through my body. “Once it’s over we will be connected. Forever.”
“That sounds like heaven to me.” I ran a hand behind his neck and pulled him down, murmuring into his lips, “And just so you know, I think we should do this bonding thing over and over again, just to make sure it sticks.” I wiggled beneath him to show him my body was more than ready.
His breath hitched, and he grabbed on to my hips, rocking them forward in his grasp as he tilted his head up to the sky and roared. His fierce call echoed through the trees, and I was certain every animal in the forest turned tail and ran.
Mine.
He took my mouth again with a savage snarl. His kiss held so much intent, my libido skyrocketed, flushing my body with liquid heat. His intensity made me insane with need, and I plunged my tongue against his, lapping and tasting and biting. He broke the kiss with a moan and ran his hot tongue over my jaw, down my neck, nipping and nibbling as he went.
My back arched and I groaned.
He took one of my hard peaks into his mouth, sucking hard.
I yelled as my hands shot to his hair again, grabbing thick hand
fuls, pressing him down against me as far as he could go. He snarled with pleasure and took more of me in his mouth, his fingers seeking the other tip, rubbing and pulling deliciously.
“Oh.” My spine bowed backward until it felt like it would break in half. But I didn’t let go. I wanted him closer—needed to feel him everywhere.
He obliged by pressing us together as he devoured me, his mouth greedy, his hands just as skilled.
Sensations I’d never felt swept over me, threatening to overload me. Nothing in my life had prepared me for something like this. As we moved together, our energy mingled, combining and weaving itself into one. The intensity mounted, climbing quickly.
Mine.
His hand slid down my stomach, lingering for a moment before he teased open the inside of my thigh. Once there, a single fingertip feathered its way in, circling slowly. I thrashed, barely stifling a scream. At my reaction, Rourke slid his hand back up my thigh.
“No … please, you can’t stop,” I moaned. “Rourke, I know you want to take it slow, but maybe that can be round two … or three?” My eyes sought his, my pupils struggling to focus. “There’s no way I can do this slowly. I need you, and my body isn’t going to play nice.” I panted, shifting my legs toward his hand. “If you don’t want me to be early to the party, we need to move now.”
Without hesitation, Rourke reared up, grabbing on to my waist and rolling us both in one motion. He swung me into a sitting position on top of his rock-hard abs as his back hit the grass. His eyes locked onto mine the entire time.
I couldn’t break my gaze from his even as his hardness pressed against my backside. Anticipation raced along every nerve ending in my body and I panted. “I’m sorry.” My breath hitched. “I’d love to take this slow, but I’m a newborn and it’s too—”
“Shhh.” His palms ran over me, caressing my stomach, my breasts, and finally my lips. His thumbs traced over my jawline; his fingertips spread along the back of my neck. “I wasn’t going to be able to wait either. If you had touched me in any way, I would’ve exploded. I just wanted to make sure you were happy.”
“I’m so incredibly happy.” To prove it, I took his thumb in my mouth, surprising us both. I sucked, pulling hard, and we both growled in pleasure. I turned my head to taste the other one before he slid them both down and ran the wet tips back and forth across my aching nipples. My head fell backward and I moaned, arching my head up, lost.
“Gods, you feel so good,” he murmured. He ran his hands up and down my sides, each of his fingertips sending tingles of energy pinging into my skin.
His touch was threatening to overload me on every level.
My eyes were fully dilated. Rourke was talking to me, but I couldn’t decipher his words. Instead of trying to understand, I rocked my hips, rubbing myself over the tip of his hardness.
He gave a strangled yell as our heat met.
I bent forward and angled my hips up, readjusting myself, bracing my knees along the length of his body. I splayed my palms across his hard chest and broke contact with his skin for the first time. His hands shot to my waist. “Yes, Jessica, just like that.” He guided me upward, the rumblings of his voice making me shudder.
In the moment before we connected, I lowered a hand between us and caressed his length softly all the way to the base.
“Jessica! My gods, do it now!”
“Glad to see I’m not the only harlot around here.” I arched up and guided him into me, stroking my hand down his length as my body took him fully.
The moment his tip broke through my barrier, everything changed.
Energy and power swirled around us, engulfing us in a fog of magic. Every touch we exchanged was electrified, every connection point heightened. I seated myself on him, rocking forward, absorbing the moment, my head tilted up toward the sky, my hair streaming down my back.
“Jessica,” Rourke whispered. “Look at me. Please.” He moved beneath me and I cried out.
I brought my head down slowly, arching over him, my hair falling onto his chest. I ran my hands across his shoulders, my fingers stopping to cup the back of his neck, the cool grass contrasting my searing heat.
He growled, eyes pinned on mine. At once he shifted his weight and eased himself up into a sitting position. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he moved, my arms winding tightly around his neck, and in one swift motion we were connected completely, every one of our body parts aligned.
He leaned up, his mouth covering mine, his tongue thrusting deep.
I moaned into his lips as we started to move together. His hands slid around my thighs, his muscles deftly angling me up and down in a rhythm that made me cry out. My hands sought his shoulders tightly, my nails sinking into his flesh, every inch of me on fire.
Intensity mounted with each stroke, making me frenzied. I rocked my hips harder against him with each thrust. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t climaxed yet, but the passion and energy kept building, needing to reach its absolute peak before the final crescendo.
“We come together,” he said through gritted teeth.
“I’m so close,” I panted. “But it feels so good … I don’t want it to stop.”
Rourke’s grip tightened; his chest strained against my stomach as the strokes came harder and harder. My hands fisted into his hair. It was almost there. I lowered my gaze to meet his, my eyes blazing violet. His emerald stare consumed me, his features crushing me with their need. I leaned down, connecting our lips right as I reached my release. I latched on to his mouth as I came, my body contracting hard.
“Jessica,” he shouted, right behind me.
As the shudders came, one after another, a blast of energy raced through our bodies, connecting us, binding us together.
My eyes shot open as the last of the currents of pleasure claimed me, my arms encircling Rourke’s neck, my cheek to his. “Did you see that?” I murmured. “Was it my imagination or did we both just light up like Christmas trees?”
“You definitely had an inner glow going on for a beat or two,” he said. “That was intense.”
“Crazy good.” I traced the tip of my nose along his stubble. He smelled rich and potent. I wanted to bathe in his scent.
He chuckled. “Good doesn’t come close. That was the best sex I’ve ever had in my entire life, and believe me—”
I rapped a knuckle down on the top of his head, which he responded to with a laugh as he rolled me carefully onto my back.
To my surprise, he was still hard enough to stay inside, and as he braced his hands on the ground next to my shoulders, he drew himself in and out languorously, his face full of mischief. My fingers curled around his forearms as delicious aftershocks rippled through me. “Oh,” I said. “You are extremely … talented.” My toes curled as my body pulsed for a third time.
He leaned down to nip at my neck. “Did you doubt it?”
Cocky bastard. No, I didn’t doubt it. This is the best sex I’ve ever had.
That’s good to know, because this is how I’m doing it each and every time. Nice and thorough.
“Ohmygod,” I sputtered out loud. “You heard my thoughts!”
He chuckled. “Yes, I did…” But just so you know, I’m the last cocky bastard who ever gets to do this to you. He rocked into me hard to prove his point, putting the perfect pressure right where it belonged, and my body spasmed again.
I grabbed handfuls of earth to steady myself. He felt so damn good.
When my body finally quieted, Rourke lay down on top of me, covering me with his warmth, grinning like a cat. I obliged by locking my thighs around his ass. “We needed that,” I said. “I finally feel settled. Well, other than all the tingling and zinging, I’m totally and completely content.”
“We are a bonded pair now. I can feel your essence inside me, and you can do things for me no one else can, including calm my beast, as I can quiet yours. It’s a good thing, too, because you’re going to need it.”
I tried to swat at him, but he batted my arm away
, chuckling.
“Speaking of your beast—you are magnificent.” My voice was full of awe and respect, and I wanted him to hear it. “I know your species is extinct. I’ve only seen pictures of Big Cats in books, but nothing exact. What are you? Some kind of saber-toothed tiger?”
“There’s actually no ‘tiger’ in saber-toothed tiger. We’re just big cats, but yes, I’m from a similar gene pool. I’m what humans classify as a Barbour’s Cat. Those big saber-toothed cats were my ancestors. A small pack of Barbour’s evolved and remained alive until roughly a thousand years ago.”
“Barbour’s are certainly fierce,” I said. “You radiate strength.”
“We were always the fiercest,” he said, a little sadness tingeing his voice.
“How long have you been alone, away from your Pride?”
“A long time.”
I lifted my head and gave him a long kiss. “Well, you’re not alone anymore.”
His eyes flared as he rolled off of me, disconnecting us and making me feel an instant loss. Before I could protest, he bent down and scooped me up, cradling me closely in his strong arms.
“I could get used to this.” I laughed as I wrapped my hands around his neck.
He walked us out of the circle of pines, and as we passed through their protective branches, the foggy night air opened around us. I shivered and glanced over his shoulder as he made his way toward the cabin. The air inside the circle seemed to shimmer.
Rourke carried me to the door of the cabin. Our cabin. It was unlocked, and I reached down and turned the knob so we could enter together. He carried me over the threshold and I smiled like a fiend. It was bar none the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for me.
“My first priority is to feed you,” he said as he slid my body slowly along his and set me on the counter. “Which I’m going to thoroughly enjoy watching.”
We’d both been politely ignoring my stomach grumbles for a while.
I had learned to master my hunger, which meant I ignored it. There was no possible way I could ever feed myself enough to feel fully satiated, so I continued to parcel it away so it didn’t drive me insane.
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