by Ellis Leigh
“Wanted to get to know him,” Madeleine chimed in.
“Maybe.” Not really, but it sounded good.
“So, you know him now?”
How to explain to Madeleine—the possible virgin—that I didn’t, but I was ready anyway. “Sort of.”
“I call bullshit. What does he do?” Ginger asked, sounding like a lawyer instead of a baker all of a sudden. “Why is he in town? Where does he live?”
“I…” Oh god, they’d never let me live this down. “I’m not sure.”
“So you’ve gotten to know him enough to have sex with him, but you don’t actually know anything about him.” Madeline’s sarcasm might as well have been a whip cracking across the line.
“I never said it made sense.”
“You’re so transparent,” Ginger said with a laugh. “You’re afraid to get attached when you know he could find his fated mate at any moment.”
Yup. Transparent. “You can’t deny that it’s a possibility.”
“It’s an excuse. You want the dick, get the dick. Lust makes sense. Sex makes sense. All that love stuff and soul mates and forever…that’s the shit that doesn’t make sense. Sex is easy.”
“Says who?” Madeleine asked.
“Says me. And I bet Coco agrees, don’t you, sis?”
I hated when they put me in the middle. I hated it more that Ginger might well have been right—lust and sex were easy. The hard part came when my heart got involved. Which meant I could have sex with Magnus, I just couldn’t fall for him.
I had a feeling that was easier said than done.
“Look, girls. I know you’re trying to help—”
Thankfully, I was saved by the bell. Quite literally.
“Oops, that’s probably Magnus at the door. Gotta go.” I hung up and wiped the last of the foam from my leg, hoping against hope that I’d sliced off every last hair. If not, well…there was nothing I could do about it now. I grabbed my phone and my purse and headed for the stairs, looking forward to another night talking across a candlelit table. To jokes and banter and Magnus’ brand of wittiness to fill a few hours. But when I opened the door…
Woman down.
“You look amazing.” Magnus gave me a smile, looking like some sort of movie star in his dark blue suit coat and pants with a crisp white shirt underneath. No tie, top two buttons open—casual enough for Kinship Cove but still dressy. Sexy as fuck, too.
“You don’t look half bad yourself.” I stretched for a kiss, shivering as his hand came down to grab my hip and pull me in close. As his growl vibrated against my skin. I couldn’t help myself—I placed my hands against his chest and just…touched. Felt. Closed my eyes and absorbed the warmth of him. It was almost crazy how much I’d missed him this afternoon, and the reconnection felt good. So, so good.
I wanted more.
Magnus seemed to want the same. He held me tight, a soft rumble making his chest vibrate against me, before tapping my hip and stepping away. I swear, the man even had to take a deep breath. “Are you ready to go?”
No. “Yeah.”
I locked the door behind me, wishing I had the guts to simply pull him inside my house and take him to bed. Wishing I could feel his rough hands on my skin. The weight of him on top of me. That sweet sting as he slid—
“You okay there, beautiful?” Magnus had a concerned sort of smile on his face as he dropped into the driver’s seat of his car. He’d apparently already helped me into my own—my thoughts had been running too far off course for me to even notice. I took a deep breath, instantly regretting it because he smelled so good and he was so close and—
“Coco?”
Oh, right. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
“You sure? We can cancel—”
“No.” I nearly jumped out of my skin at the thought of not completing our third date. “I’m good. I swear. Just…distracted by you.”
His smile spread slowly, his eyes twinkling. “You’re the distracting one. Too damn beautiful for me to resist.” He started the car, dropping his hand to my thigh as he pulled away from the curb. Making me shiver as his thumb slipped up under the hem of my skirt. The man was going to kill me, and we hadn’t even made it to the end of my block yet.
I licked my lips, trying hard to speak past the desert my mouth had become as I asked, “What do you do for a living?”
He didn’t seem prepared for that question. “I’m a project management consultant. Why?”
Because my sisters had gotten into my head. “Just curious, really. Where are we going, by the way?”
His grip on my thigh tightened, sending a spark straight up my spine. Making me need to bite back a moan as he said, “I made a reservation for us at that steakhouse out on the highway. They have a great wine list.”
His fingers found their way between my thighs, his entire hand gripping me. Holding me in place. Teasing me. I was done with the teasing. “Magnus?”
His eyes darted my way before returning to the road. “Yeah?”
“It’s our third date.”
“Okay.”
“I have a third-date rule when it comes to men.”
He sat silent and still, almost tense. “What sort of rule?”
Time to be a big girl and tell him what I wanted. “A rule about sex.”
Was that a twitch in his jaw? “Really?”
“Yes. And while I’m sure you made a reservation for us at a lovely restaurant—” I grabbed his hand, tugging it higher along my thigh. Slipping it well under the edge of my frilly skirt until we met the thin lace of my panties. “—I’m also sure your hotel has excellent room service.”
The tires squealed as he made a U-turn. “Hotel, it is.”
5
Coco
Magnus was perfectly controlled on the way to the hotel. He kept the conversation light, kept his hand on my thigh, and even helped me out of the car. He was an absolute gentleman as we walked across the parking lot and into the lobby…but then we made it into the elevator. As soon as the doors slid closed behind us, the wolf came out.
He pushed me against the wall with a growl, caging me in with his big body. “Are you sure about this, Coco?”
Was I? My body was, for sure. My heart had already buckled itself into a seat and sat ready to fall. The only wild card was my mind—would I be able to keep my guard up? To keep from sliding down the treacherous slope of the L-word? Did I have it in me to control my emotions so my heart didn’t end up splattered all over the concrete? I doubted—I doubted hard—but I didn’t care anymore. “Yes. I’m sure.”
His growl changed to more of a low rumble, almost a purr, and his hands grew more daring as the floors rolled past. Up my thigh and under my skirt, pulling the fabric up, up, up. Slipping underneath the red lace hidden from him to tease where I was already so hot and wet. Where I wanted him so badly.
“Magnus,” I gasped, arching into his touch. Needing so much more. So much.
“Once I have you, I’m never going to let you go.”
If only that were true. The elevator came to a stop, and I grabbed his arms. Pulling myself away from him. “You’ll have to catch me first.”
He reared back, looking shocked. The elevator doors opened. I laughed and raced through them, having no idea which way to go but running for the fun of it. Wanting him to chase me a little. Needing to break the tension with something lighthearted. What I should have remembered was the old adage about never running away from a dog. Magnus charged after me like a man possessed, catching up fast, grabbing me by the arm, and yanking my back against his chest before picking me right up off the ground.
“My girl is being naughty. As if I wouldn’t have caught you, beautiful.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck, still laughing. “I wanted you to.”
“Good. Because the idea of letting you slip away from me is abhorrent to my wolf and me.”
Magnus carried me into his room, barely even slowing down to unlock the door. I couldn’t blame him. The growl rumbling continuously agai
nst my shoulder had me harried and flushed, focused completely on getting naked. Getting him naked. Getting him inside of me. I wanted that more than anything, more than I’d ever wanted another man. And I wasn’t willing to wait.
I pushed out of his arms, dropping to the ground and spinning to face him. Staring down the hungry wolf at the door as I retreated. As I egged him on. “I want you.”
He cracked his neck, looking like a man on the edge. “Coco, you’d better stop. My wolf—”
“I want your wolf too.”
His growl grew louder, his eyes brightening. Staring hard…at me. “Don’t ask for what you can’t handle.”
He had no idea. I tugged my dress over my head, dropping it to the floor while still staring into his animalistic eyes. Giving him the most challenging eyebrow raise I could come up with. “I’m pretty sure I can handle you just fine, Magnus.”
He stalked closer, his lips tipping up into a wicked smile that had my panties soaked in seconds. “I’m sure you can as well. After all, you’re my—”
I didn’t let him finish his sentence. Instead, I launched myself at him. He grabbed me in midair and yanked me against his chest, meeting my mouth with his in a fiery kiss that had me grinding all over him. Had me whimpering as he held me tightly.
“By the fates,” he gasped as he broke the kiss to lay me down on his bed. “I don’t know what I did to deserve a woman like you, but I’ll keep doing it. Every single day, I’ll strive to be worthy of you, Coco. You’re everything to me.”
Not everything…not his mate.
I pushed that thought aside and stretched out, loving the way his eyes heated as they took in the lingerie I’d been hiding under my dress. The secrets I’d kept concealed under the flirty little sundress. Third dates meant sex, and that meant going all in with just enough red lace and straps to hopefully keep him coming for more. For as long as I could keep him.
“Show me how much you want me,” I whispered, tugging him closer. Needing to feel his weight on me. His presence.
Magnus crawled over me, still dressed, sliding between my spread thighs like he belonged there. Was made to be there. “Be sure, beautiful. I won’t be able to let go of you once I have you.”
“I never want you to let go.” Because it would hurt so much if he did. When, not if. When.
Which was so not what I needed to be thinking about.
Magnus kissed me deeply, stealing my breath with the way his lips moved against mine, the way he stole my control with his tongue. I helped him take his clothes off, both of us laughing and twisting until there was nothing funny anymore. Until he lay naked on top of me, his hips spreading my legs, his cock hard and heavy against me. Ready. So very ready.
“You’re mine, Coco,” Magnus said as he thrust inside me. Not slow, not gentle—direct. One push, all the way in. And I loved it. Loved the way he stretched me, the way he filled me so full. The way he owned me with his thrusts.
If only…
Magnus pulled completely out of me, disappearing down my body.
“What the…oh god.” His tongue. Sweet heavens above, the man’s tongue might as well have been a weapon with the way he used it against my clit. Lashing, licking, flicking…teasing me higher and higher. Feasting on me as he pushed my legs up and out, opening me for him. Pinning me like a butterfly. His fingers soon joined the mix, his growl vibrating through me as he pressed in deep. As he curled those digits and hit a spot that had me gasping for air.
As he made me come with just his mouth and hand.
“Good girl,” he said, climbing back over me and reaching to grab a condom out of his wallet. “Fuck, I want to come inside you so badly, but I know where that will lead.”
To a commitment he couldn’t make with me. “I’m on the pill.”
He groaned long and deep, running his hand up and down the length of himself as he sat back on his knees. “Don’t tempt me, woman. I’d say fuck it and ride you bare, but I can’t. Not yet.”
I didn’t know why not, but it didn’t matter. All that did—the only thing I cared about—was the way his hand danced along his cock. The way I had him trapped within my legs. He gave me a snarling growl and then he was back, hovering over me as he kissed me deeply. Thrusting into my pussy with a grunt and a growl that made me want to die. And the sounds between us… My god, had I ever been so wet? Had I ever been so turned on and ready? So needful for more?
I didn’t think so.
Magnus groaned, moving faster. Snapping his hips into mine as he lost that hefty control. “Fucking heat. By the fates, beautiful—you’re going to burn me up.”
But I felt as if I were the one on fire—inside and out. Everything about this man set my soul on fire, had my heart blazing as he moved closer. As we came together. And his body—good lord, the man was made of muscle, all lithe and trim with a scattering of dark gray hair across his chest and arms leading down to the base of his cock as it disappeared inside of me. I couldn’t stop touching, feeling, looking, tasting. Every inch. Every dip and curve. I wanted to learn them all. To memorize them. To never let them go.
“Mine, mine, mine,” he chanted, and I lost myself. To the heat, to the stretch, to the feel of him against me. The words I dreamed of hearing for real. I lost my mind as my body convulsed underneath him, pleasure breaking over me like never before.
“Yours, Magnus. All yours.”
And I was. The walls I’d convinced myself to build had crumbled at some point, and I was a mass of feeling, emotional want. I was totally and completely his. Even though I knew he’d break my heart soon enough. I was his in a way I’d never experienced. In a way I knew would linger long after he was gone. I was his. Period.
And I was doomed.
6
Magnus
Coco had an ass meant for touching, stroking, smacking, biting, and rutting against. I’d done all of that last night. I woke up hard and so very needful, so I locked her into my arms and pressed my aching cock against that phenomenal ass. Rocked against the softness on my journey for some sort of release as she slowly woke up. I wanted to roll her over and slide deep inside her again, wanted to cover myself in her scent and her in mine before we started our days, but my mate was human. I needed to take it easy on her. Needed to be soft and gentle sometimes. I’d fucked her hard last night. She needed a break.
Her hand landed on my hip, tugging me closer as she circled her hips into mine. “I have a better place for that.”
Okay, so…she didn’t need a break, after all.
Before I could respond, Coco rolled and pushed me over. I ended up flat on my back, staring up at the ceiling…until she settled herself over my hips. Then my eyes locked on her naked body over me. The way her wild hair hung over her shoulders, half covering those strawberry-tipped breasts. How her thighs spread over my hips, straddling me. How her body moved as she began rubbing all the delicious heat of her pussy over my cock.
Mine. But I couldn’t say that. Not yet. I’d almost told her a few times last night. Almost let the cat—or wolf—out of the bag. I had to hold back. The thought of losing her, of scaring her until she pulled away, gutted me inside. I could resist the mating pull a little longer. Even if it half killed me to do so.
I grabbed her waist and tugged her up, dragging that delicious pussy all over my cock. “Well, good morning, beautiful.”
Her smile stunned me, made me lose all sense of time and space. Where was I? What was I supposed to be doing other than making her look at me like that every second of every day? Why wasn’t I inside her yet?
“I need to take a shower before heading into the bakery.” She reached over and grabbed a piece of white fabric from somewhere on the mattress before pulling it over her head. My shirt. The woman wore my clothes and was completely covered in my scent. My wolf was happy. Well, as happy as he could be while lying flat on his back with someone over him. Alpha issues translated to mates, apparently. Still, I’d let Coco do anything to me so long as she looked that happy.
I grabbed her thighs, the growl in my chest unavoidable. “I think we should take one together. Save water.”
She bit her lip and fell forward, her arms on my shoulders as she rolled those wicked hips over mine. As she moved just enough for my cock to shift down, to slide against the opening to her heaven. For the tip to slip inside her luscious heat. I couldn’t resist the need to thrust. Just a little one because she was playing some sort of game that I definitely wanted to see the end of. But I wanted inside her as well. I wanted it all.
“Magnus,” she gasped, as if she hadn’t been expecting me to take advantage of her position. The girl would learn—I wasn’t noble enough to behave. I took what I wanted most of the time, and at that moment, I wanted her body and mine to join. So I teased her with subtle strokes, with tiny movements of my hips. Just enough to stretch her opening with the end of my cock. Not enough to seat myself.
Coco had other ideas. As I rocked forward, she pushed back, taking all of me inside in one move. I nearly came right there. Nearly released a snarl that would have been heard all across town as I sank my teeth deep into her flesh to solidify our bond. My mate wanted me enough to seize control, needed my cock to satisfy her and wasn’t afraid to just take it. And I would satisfy her—many times over if I got my way—as soon as I got over the shock of her heat enveloping me and the soft, suction-like pull of her pussy as she moved her body back and forth on mine.
So fucking perfect.
“Use me, beautiful. I want to watch you get yourself off.” I slipped a hand between us to rub circles over her clit—something that drove her absolutely wild, as I’d learned last night. Once I had her moaning, keening and rocking and fucking herself on my hand and cock, I could only stare. Could only sit back and absorb every facial expression my mate displayed. I wanted to savor each one, to memorize every move and twitch that brought her closer to her pleasure. To her breaking point. I wanted to learn her signs and tells so I could keep her sated and happy in my bed. Our bed.