by Ellis Leigh
Wanting more of his touch and his heat and just him, she pushed on his shoulders until he sat up a little. As soon as she had space, she reached down and tugged her flannel shirt up and over her head. She had to move her hips to yank it out from under her, seeing as how it was so long, it nearly touched her knees, but Luc gave her the space to do so. Even helping her along the way so she didn’t end up tangled in the soft fabric. When she was finished—bare from the waist up—she lay back against the mattress, reaching for Luc once more.
“Cassiel,” Luc whispered, staring down at her in what she could only describe as reverence. Running a single finger along her breastbone and making her shiver. “You are so beautiful.”
He palmed her, his fingers barely brushing the bottoms of her breasts, his hand flat against her upper stomach. Heat. So much heat. The rough skin of his palm only enticed her more, making her want both sides of him—the soft and the harsh. The gentleman and the wild man. She wanted all of him.
Reaching between them, she slid her hand down his abs, biting her lip at every dip and furrow. The man was muscular, that was for sure. Strong and hard. And long. Her fingertips hit the head of his cock long before she’d expected to, only a thin layer of cotton keeping her skin and his apart. He grunted, looking down, watching what she was doing. Something about that—about his need to see—ramped up her desire. Made her want to give him a show, to tease him until he broke.
Keeping her eyes on him as he kept his on her hand, she slipped lower still, past the head. Down, down, down until she got to the middle of him, until she had room to grip him fully. Until she could wrap her fingers around his hard cock and press her palm to the thick vein running along the underside.
“Fuck, Cassiel.” Luc jerked, practically thrusting into her hand. Releasing a groany sort of rumble as he rocked softly against her. “You’re going to make me come if you keep that up.”
She squeezed harder. “So?”
Suddenly, Luc grabbed her, pulling her over and rolling until he was underneath her. Until she sat straddling his hips, her hand still palming him.
“So maybe I want to see you come first.”
Cassiel gave him one final squeeze before bringing her hands to his shoulders and leaning over to press her lips to his. “Make me.”
Never let it be said that Luc couldn’t live up to a challenge. With a single tug, he ripped her leggings from her body, releasing another one of those rumbly groans that sounded so much like a growl. Something about that sound spoke to her libido, warming her skin and making her pussy wetter. There was no denying that she liked the rougher side of this man, the animalistic, needy side. No denying it and no need to try. His need heightened hers, making her want to be just as rough and wild. Just as free.
Cassiel sat up straight and rolled her hips, though the feel of his heated flesh against hers brought her up short. “How did you get your underwear off?”
Luc shrugged, grabbing hold of her hips and smiling up at her. His skin pale and his eyes almost silver in the moonlight streaming through the window. “Magic.”
Magic, indeed. Laughing, she began her slow rock again. Letting the length of him rub along her most sensitive parts. Loving the way the head hitting her clit made her entire body tingle. Oh yes, she’d be coming, all right. And soon. There was no denying that.
“Luc,” she said as she fell forward, still rocking, her body keyed up and so focused on coming that nothing else mattered. “I want to come. I need to.”
“I know, sweet angel. I know.” He rocked his hips into hers, undulating his entire body and lifting her on every rise. So much strength. Everything about the man spoke of his power, and she wanted to feel it. Wanted to experience it. Wanted every inch of him to touch every inch of her.
“It’s not enough.” She shook her head, practically panting with her need to come, frustrated with her inability to.
Luc didn’t speak—didn’t need to. He grabbed her hips and flipped her again, laying her down in the soft furs she’d put out for his sleeping pallet. Diving down her body and spreading her knees before attacking her pussy with his mouth. And oh god, was it good. So hot and wet and rough just like him. Amazing. He tongued her opening and flicked her clit, bringing his hand into the mix to spread her lips. To slide one thick finger inside her as he continued to lap at her flesh. As he pushed her right along the cliff that would lead to her ultimate pleasure. Her little death at his hands. And mouth.
It didn’t take long—maybe a minute, maybe a little more—until she broke, coming hard and wild. Her entire body bowing under the pleasure of it all, garbled sounds that should have been words spilling from her lips as she let loose a throaty groan so very similar to his. He’d made an animal out of her, and she loved it.
“More,” she finally said, clutching at his shoulders and trying to pull him up from his place between her thighs. Reaching into the little table beside the bed for the condoms she’d kept there since she’d moved in but never used. “I want more.”
Luc took the foil packet without question, ripping it open and sheathing himself before he lifted onto his arms and rocked forward, covering her in his heat. Nudging her entrance. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, yes, yes.” She dug her fingers into his muscles, ready to cry from the pleasure, ready to collapse from the desire for another orgasm. “Please, I need you inside me. Please.”
“Oh, angel girl. You never have to beg. I’ll take care of you.” He slid his way inside, staring down at her. Completely focused on her. She couldn’t look away either. Couldn’t break the intimate moment of their eyes locking together as he slipped inside her. As he stretched and filled her. As they both growled through the connection.
“So thick,” she said, writhing a little beneath him as the pleasure began to border on pain in a good way. “How are you so thick?”
Luc chuckled. “It’s not me, it’s you. You’re so fucking tight.”
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and tugged him closer, knocking him off-balance and grunting as the new position put pressure right on her clit. “A matched pair, that’s what we are.”
Luc groaned and thrust harder, driving himself deeper. “We are. It’s exactly what we are.”
There was no more time for words, no more room for dirty talk or conversation. There was only them, connected and in motion, both speeding toward their own releases but doing it as a unit. And that race was good—so fucking good. Every inch of Cassiel tingled, every piece of skin burning brightly under the heat of Luc.
Her second orgasm came as a surprise, breaking over her before she was ready to fully accept it. Luc didn’t stop, though. He kept thrusting, kept working her over. Moving her legs for a new angle and going harder than before.
“Another,” he said as he sat back and rubbed his thumb over her clit. “Fuck, I love the look of your pleasure. Give me another.”
And so it went—she would come, grabbing for his flesh and sometimes yelling his name, and he’d move, throwing her body into another shape. Forcing them into another position and going back to fucking her hard and fast. He had more stamina than any man she’d ever even heard of, more strength than any she’d seen. And he had all of that power and endurance focused one hundred percent on her.
It was glorious.
And exhausting.
“Luc, please.” She writhed beneath him, her hip muscles sore and her pussy starting to ache. “I want you to come.”
“Are you surrendering, angel?” He leaned down to give her a deep, wet kiss before pulling away with a growl. “I’ve wanted to come for so long now. Are you sure? Have I satisfied you enough?”
Oh hell, those words made her tingle. “Yes. I’m sure. Come for me.”
Luc groaned and grabbed her leg, bringing her foot to his shoulder and kissing along her ankle. “One more, then I’ll come. Give me just one more.”
She didn’t think she could. Didn’t know if her body had any more to give, but she nodded anyway. Grabbed hold of hi
s arms and moved her body with hers to try to climb that hill one more time. She rocked and hissed and chanted his name as he groaned louder and louder and fiercer. It was when that rumble turned to some sort of snarl that she finally broke again, something deep inside her waking up to the sound and howling in response. The two of them came together, both making noises that didn’t sound human, both shaking and holding on to the other. Cassiel had never felt anything like that last orgasm—had never allowed herself to be so free and wild with someone else. But she had let loose with Luc, and that freedom—that full-out release—had felt amazing.
Afterward—after a quick cleanup and a move to her little bed where they practically had to lie on top of each other for them to fit—Cassiel stayed awake and stared down at the man who’d somehow stolen her heart already. Where had he come from? How had he gotten her to trust him so quickly? She didn’t know, but what she did know was that her heart had been stolen—taken by the man asleep on her chest.
She ran her hands through his shaggy hair, smiling. Unable not to enjoy the quietness of a sleeping Luc in her arms. This was it—her soul mate. The man she was meant to be with. She knew it—could feel a connection to him unlike any other she’d ever known. The very thought terrified her, but she knew then and there that there would be no stopping it. Luc was going to change her life, drag her soul back to the holy wild and release something inside her that she hadn’t known was there. He was going to upset her orderly little world.
And she couldn’t wait for him to start.
13
The dogs seemed very excited to see Luc up and about in the morning, or else he was simply projecting his good mood onto them.
“You’re such a good girl.” Luc rubbed Moxie’s ears the way she liked as the dog rested her front paws against his stomach. The poor thing was so little compared to the others and yet the one most filled with love for the people around her. “Was she the runt of the litter?”
Cassiel moved closer, her body brushing his. Seemingly unable not to touch. “No, but the pups in her litter were all sort of small. Don’t doubt her, though—she’s fast and strong and will run for days on end. I’d take ten of her over most of my other dogs.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” Her face grew serious, and she scrunched up her nose. “I mean, I’d still keep my other dogs.”
Luc laughed. “Of course you would.” He gave Moxie one more good rub then guided her down, moving through the outdoor pen with Cassiel at his side. “What else needs to be done?”
She looked over the little homestead, still bumping into him, making him the happiest man on the planet knowing she wanted to be close. “I need to chop up some of the dried fish for their breakfast.”
He linked his fingers with hers, tugging her closer. “Show me how I can help.”
Cassiel led him to her drying racks, where rows upon rows of dried Arctic char and salmon hung above their heads. She reached for a ladder leaning against a support post, but Luc pulled her to a stop.
“I can get them for you. Just show me which ones.”
They worked together for a while—him pulling down the selected fish and bringing them to Cassiel and her chopping them into manageable chunks with a wicked looking cleaver. The morning was cold but not uncomfortably so, and Luc enjoyed working out in the fresh air. He even liked getting slobbered on by the dogs. He especially liked watching his mate live her everyday life.
His mate. By the fates, how had that happened?
“So tell me,” Cassiel started, knife still in hand and fish pinned down on the table. “What happened last night that ended with you running to my place half dressed?”
He was still half dressed—still needing to get back to his homestead so he could pull himself back into his costume of a wilderness man. Of a human. So he could lie to her a little better.
He hated this part.
“I was tracking something in the woods when I realized I had somehow become the one being tracked.”
“You see what it was?”
“Nope. Just heard the rustling. I tried to make a lot of noise to scare it, but that didn’t work, so I started moving away. Then I started running.” Luc thought about what had really happened—the pack, his Dires, the noise he couldn’t escape from. The pressure that had nearly broken him and how he’d thrown all that emotion out into the world, riling the others up. How he’d run to try to escape the input. Run straight to Cassiel’s front door. “I’m not sure why I ended up here, but I’m glad I did.”
“I’m glad you did too.” She stretched up onto the balls of her feet, obviously angling for a kiss. Luc would never be one to deny her. He crouched lower, taking her mouth. Tasting her and pulling her soft body against his. He wanted them both naked again, wanted to pin her underneath him and have his way with her or let her climb on him and ride until she broke. He wanted. He couldn’t get enough of her, couldn’t stop the burning of desire in his gut for her.
But eventually, she ended the kiss and pulled away. Giving him a smile. One that captivated him, made him lose all sense of time and place. Had they been the only two people in the world, he wouldn’t have been surprised or disappointed.
Cassiel had work to do, though. “Come on, mountain man. Let’s finish feeding the dogs.”
He snuck in for one last kiss before patting her ass. “Lead the way, mountain woman.”
But as Cassiel doled out fish and some sort of soupy water to her sled dogs, Luc began to wonder about her. To want to know her better. To need information.
“Where did you grow up?”
Cassiel turned and raised an eyebrow. “In Alaska.”
Defensive. Huh. “I want to know you better, Cassiel. Where in Alaska?”
She sighed and moved on, her face growing darker. Her expression flattening. “All over. I was a foster kid, and I got bounced around. A lot.”
A wolf shifter in foster care. Wolves tended to live in packs. If a young pack pup had somehow ended up without parents, the rest of the pack would normally step up to raise the child. Her being alone and in the state system was extraordinarily unusual.
“What happened to your parents?”
“No clue. I was placed in the system before my second birthday and stayed there—no one ever came to claim me, and no family was ever found.”
Abandoned so young. It hurt Luc’s heart to even think about. “That had to be hard.”
She shrugged, as if trying to play off what growing up without a place or a pack had done to her, but Luc knew. He knew a lot more than she did because he understood both human and wolf group dynamics. Cassiel had been starved of her pack at both ends of her intertwined spirits.
“There were good houses, and there were bad ones.” She pushed a large dog to the side when he got a little too excited for his breakfast before dropping the fish into his bowl. “But most of them were in the woods, so at least I had that.”
“Is that why you’re afraid of wolves? Because of being in the woods so much?”
Cassiel laughed and shook her head. “No. The wolves in the woods never bothered me. It was the one in the house that made me fear them.”
In the house… “What do you mean?”
“I know it seems crazy—and trust me, my foster family made sure to let me know how crazy it made me sound—but one of my earliest memories is of being alone in my room in the middle of the night and watching a huge gray wolf walk in the door.”
Luc’s blood ran cold, his brain picking up speed. “The animal just walked in. As if it lived in the house.”
“Yup—exactly. Like it was totally normal for a wild animal to be inside.”
“What did it do?”
She frowned, turning her head to catch his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I mean after it walked in…what did it do? Did it sniff you and lick you or—”
“I actually don’t remember that.” She pursed her lips, looking off into the distance as if trying to recall. “My only memory is the
animal walking into the room—taking up the whole darn doorway, to be honest—and then turning to leave.”
Which would have meant the wolf in her room had to have been a shifter. Perhaps the local pack had caught her scent and come to investigate, or maybe it had been someone from the pack she’d been born into, checking on her. Whatever the reason, that wolf appearing in her room started to line up the pieces of Cassiel’s past in Luc’s head.
“That had to be terrifying for you.”
Cassiel shrugged again—a defense mechanism, for sure—as she led Luc back to where she stored all her supplies for feeding the dogs. “It was, and I grew up not wanting anything to do with the animals because of it.”
“But you like dogs.”
“No, I love dogs. Especially mine.”
At a loud yip, Cassiel hurried off toward the pen, helping the dog who’d gotten a little tangled in the chains she used when she fed them. Luc, meanwhile, hung back, thinking about his mate. Worrying about her inner wolf. He could call the beast forward and force a shift on her—he was an Alpha after all—but Cassiel would likely be terrified of the change. She would probably fight it, and that could lead to some horrifically slow shifts, causing far too much pain. Not what he wanted her to experience.
Besides, taking away Cassiel’s choices wasn’t anything he intended to do. He would need to tease out her wolf, allow the beast the chance to grow a little stronger. Give Cassiel the opportunity to realize she was more than human over time. Luc still dreaded the conversation he knew would have to happen—the one where he explained what they were and how her greatest fear lived inside her. And that another of the creatures wanted her by his side forever.
“So,” Cassiel said as she sauntered back over to him, looking so damn happy and joyful. “How long can you stay?”
Luc tugged her against him, nuzzling into her neck. Growling softly enough so her wolf could hear him. And she definitely heard him—Cassiel’s entire body went hot, her scent deepening. This was his mate, his fated match, and he was going to do anything it took to make her aware and comfortable of the world she would end up being a part of. But slowly and carefully. No way could he rush this.