Matt. Images of him clawing at her the night before sent a rush of instant heat through her. No male had ever taken her so well or so hard, and she’d been basking in the afterglow all day. Staying away from him had been an effort, but necessary. It would be too easy to get spoiled by the likes of him, and that would only make things worse when she had to leave. Besides, he was an Alpha. He was used to women throwing themselves at him all the time, human and she-wolf alike. The last thing Jessie wanted to be was another drooling groupie.
She took her time looking through the racks, letting the light, silky fabrics run through her fingers. She finally decided on one, a white one with blurred streaks of blues and greens. The price was a little high, but it was worth it. It fit her curves perfectly, and she loved the way the uneven, jagged hemline swirled around her knees.
Maybe, if she was lucky, Matt would see her in it and they could have one more night together. She wasn’t going to get her hopes up, though. He’d probably already moved onto his next conquest, and forgotten all about her.
Which was for the best.
Chapter 6 – Carpe Diem
Four days and nights of freedom remained before she had to say goodbye to her dreams once and for all. It wasn’t nearly enough time.
Jessie had walked around most of the night, trying to soak up every bit of it she could. There would be time to sleep later. For now, she wanted to squeeze as much as she could out of every possible minute.
With that in mind, she hit the twenty-four hour mini-market and headed back to her room, intending to make some breakfast and then check out some of the rental places. There were so many things to try and so little time: parasailing, jet skiing ...
“Good morning.”
Jessie had been so caught up in her mental bucket list that the rough, husky voice startled her. Wishing she had her wolf’s vision, she narrowed her eyes until she saw Matt, sitting in the chair on the small balcony outside of her room.
The sound of his voice sent her heart into immediate palpitations, her core clenched, and a wave of instant, crushing need crashed over her. Freaking Alphas.
“Good morning,” she said, surprised at how even her voice sounded.
“Just getting in?” he asked casually, but there was no mistaking the glimmer in his glowing golden amber eyes. He lifted his head slightly, and she knew exactly what he was doing -—sniffing for another male’s scent on her. The thought shouldn’t have thrilled her as much as it did, though she refused to read too much into it.
“Yes. What about you?” she asked, pausing in front of her door. “Early riser?”
He grinned, a purely wolfish smile of perfect, sharp, white teeth. “For you? Absolutely.”
Jessie’s gaze flicked to his lap. Oh, my.
She licked her lips, willing her hormones to settle down enough to not fall to her knees and bury her face in his crotch out here in the open. “I was just about to make myself some breakfast. Want some?”
His eyes raked down her body, then back up again, making her shiver. “Definitely. I’m ... starving.”
Well, that made two of them.
She unlocked the door. He followed her inside. The sound of the slide bolt was loud in the quiet of the room. “I got eggs, bacon, and -—”
Jessie didn’t get to finish what she was saying. Her bags were ripped from her hands and she was suddenly tossed onto the bed, a hot, hungry Alpha wolf in human form peering down at her.
“Off,” he said, pawing impatiently at her clothes. He put his hands at the hem of her shirt, lifting it up above her breasts. He flicked the clasp of her bra with a finger, then peeled open the cups. A second later she was reveling in the feel of his hot mouth, wicked tongue, and sharp teeth.
While his mouth was occupied, his hands were busy pushing down her shorts. One hand lifted her bottom off the bed as he tugged down with the other. A rush of cool air washed over her wet, heated sex, followed immediately by the probing of one rough, thick finger.
“You’re killing me, you know that?” Matt shot backward, abandoning her breasts as he dove face first between her thighs. “So juicy. So sweet. Best breakfast ever.”
Jessie could do nothing but gasp for air and arch, tangling her fingers into his thick, wavy hair as he feasted greedily. When she came close to her climax, she wrapped her legs around his neck and thrust herself against his face, making him chuckle. “That’s my girl,” he murmured against her folds. “Let go, baby. Fall, and I’ll catch you.”
She could do nothing but obey.
Just as she was at the apex, she felt him sliding into her, hot and hard and exactly what she needed. He rode her through that first one, bringing on a second right on its heels. She screamed into his neck even as her nails scored deep lines down his back and into his ass. He growled his approval, rewarding her by slamming himself into her, once, twice, three times before pulling out and spilling all over her belly.
“See what you do to me, baby?” he purred against her neck. “Jesus, you drive me crazy.”
Even if she could have answered him, she didn’t know what she would have said. So instead, she just held him until her heart rate and breathing returned to normal.
* * *
What the hell had he just done? Matt thought, his mind whirling. He’d just had sex without using a condom. He’d been so crazed with lust, the need to be inside her so strong, he’d forgotten. He’d been unprepared for the sheer force of his reaction to her. It had been pure animal instinct. He had seen her, smelled her, and he’d had to have her. Thank God he’d had the presence of mind to pull out before he shot his load deep inside her. The last thing he needed was to impregnate a human woman when his pack was so desperate for him to find a mate...
Everything just ... stopped. Time seemed to stand still as the thought of Jessie as his mate took hold and eclipsed everything else. The images came, one after the other: Jessie. In Mythic. In his house. In his bed. Round with his pups. It was all so clear, so incredibly right. Yeah, she was human, but as an Alpha, he could turn her. She’d already proven she was strong enough to handle the transition.
“Matt?” she asked against his chest when he suddenly gasped for breath. “Are you all right?”
“What?” he asked. He tilted his head, saw her looking up at him with concern in her big blue-green eyes. Beautiful eyes that rendered him mute. With that gold and sable hair and those eyes, she would make a stunning she-wolf.
“Are you all right?” she asked again, propping herself up on his chest. She looked far too comfortable there. Far too smug.
“Yeah,” he grunted. He envisioned her running beside him in the woods. He’d take her to his private spot, overlooking the pack lands. Then he’d take her there, letting her howls fill then entire valley...
She studied his face for several moments. Those expressive eyes called bullshit, but she didn’t challenge him vocally. “Want some breakfast?” she asked instead.
Matt snapped his mind back to the present. Was he actually considering this? Taking a human female as a mate? “Yeah. Sounds good.”
Jessie pushed herself away from him and off the bed. He narrowed his eyes. How could she recover so quickly? In a bold move, she bent over, showcasing that beautiful ass, picked up his shirt, and pulled it over her head.
He grunted again. She turned her mischievous gaze on him, daring him to say something. “Well, you ripped mine,” she told him.
So he had. That was several articles of clothing he’d ruined. Totally worth it though. He should probably replace them. But at the end of the week, not now. Keeping her naked (or in his shirt) for the rest of his stay sounded like a better plan.
Besides, if she was wearing his shirt, then he wouldn’t be, and females usually loved looking at his bare chest. Proving his point, he caught Jessie staring at his pecs, licking her lips. Amused, he flexed a little, making his muscles ripple. Jessie shook her head as if coming out of a trance, then mumbled something and glided toward the kitchenette.
&nb
sp; Soon the aromas of bacon and eggs filled the small space and his stomach grumbled hungrily. He hoped she was making enough. “Fried or scrambled?” she asked over her shoulder.
“Either. You want some help?”
She looked stunned that he’d asked. “Yeah, sure. Can you make coffee?”
He snorted. “I think I can manage.”
“Okay then.” She waved a spatula toward the big bag of freshly ground, roasted beans she’d picked up on the boardwalk. “However much the directions say to use, double it. I like my coffee strong.”
Of course she did, he thought. Was there anything about this woman that wasn’t perfect?
One pot of really strong coffee, a dozen eggs, a pound of bacon, and half a loaf of bread later, Matt sat back and rubbed his stomach approvingly. The woman could cook. And, except for the carton of orange juice, not a fruit or vegetable in sight.
“Have any plans for today?” she asked as she gathered his plate and took it to the sink.
Matt looked at her, then looked back at the bed hopefully. She laughed. “Besides that?”
He gave her a wolfish grin. “Not particularly, no. Do you?”
“Yes, actually,” she said, pulling out a couple of brochures and placing them on the table in front of him.
“Jet skis?” he asked, pawing through them. “Parasailing? Speed boats? Daredevil, are you?”
Pouring dishwashing liquid into the sink, she shrugged unapologetically. “Adrenaline junkie, more like. I like speed. I like power.”
Which probably explained why she was with him. “Want some company?” Not that he was really giving her a choice. Until he figured this out, he was going to be wherever she was. He wasn’t letting her out of his sight again. Maybe never.
In fact, even the fifteen or so feet that currently separated them felt like too far of a distance. He rose from the table, then joined her at the sink, grabbing a towel to dry. She had that stunned look on her face again, like she couldn’t believe he was actually helping. It was adorable.
Her hesitation in answering him, however, was not. Didn’t she want to spend the day with him?
“Sure,” she said finally. “Why not?”
She was the perfect woman, he concluded later that night as she snored softly into his neck. He couldn’t remember when he had enjoyed a day quite so much. After the great sex and carnivore-centric breakfast, they’d taken a shower together (and had more great sex). Then they’d gone parasailing, and she’d whooped in delight when the tether rope stretched to its full capacity and they were high in the sky.
That was followed by an hour on the bay, jet skiing. The woman had some serious skills, and hadn’t been lying when she said she liked speed and power. He’d actually had to put forth an effort to keep up with her, which sparked his own adrenaline rush. Then they’d rented out a speedboat and spent the rest of the afternoon water skiing, and damn, but the woman had some impressive leg muscles.
Glowing with radiance after a day in the sun, he’d finally used her rumbling belly against her to convince her to return to the room. Not that he wasn’t having a blast, but watching Jessie in a bikini all day and warning off all other males had his testosterone levels running into the red zone.
They’d barely made it in the door before he was taking her hard and fast against it, and thank Christ, she’d been right there with him, egging him on, challenging him to step it up. Any more primal and he would have gone full wolf on her.
Then dinner. They’d ordered takeout (she liked pizza, beer, and subs!) and watched some movie on the complimentary HBO. He couldn’t even say what it was, because two minutes into it she’d been between his legs, sucking him off, having decided she wanted him for dessert...
Yeah. Fucking. Awesome. Day.
He stroked her hair and sighed. He’d made up his mind. He wanted her, therefore he would have her. It had the added bonus of getting the pack off his back, too. Of course, the idea of taking a mate was a bit daunting, and he barely knew anything about her, like where she lived, what she did, if she had family.
His wolf didn’t care anything about those things. They’d have plenty of time to catch up on all that stuff, discover each other’s secrets. Weres had a long lifespan; mated Weres, even longer, because the bonding involved some kind of chemical change that enhanced both partners.
The thought of binding with another at that level should have bothered him more than it did. The fact that it didn’t was one more reason he knew it was the right thing to do.
It was hard not to bite her right then and there. Even as he thought about it, the serum rushed up to fill his fangs. A couple of bites, strategically placed at the major pulse points -—neck, wrists, inner thighs, and ankles -—and the transformation would begin. Since he was an Alpha, and a powerful one at that, it wouldn’t take too long. A couple of days, tops. If he did it right now, she could be through it by the time he checked out on Saturday.
He would remain by her side the entire time, of course. For the full bond to take effect, he would have to give her more than his serum. There would be a necessary exchange of blood as well, and of course he would need to brand her internally, a warning to all other males that she was an Alpha’s mate.
She looked so peaceful, though. And he really should talk to her about it first, explain things so she wouldn’t be scared. The turning was a violent process, but he had no doubt she’d handle it well. He should stock up on food, too, because once they started, they wouldn’t be leaving the room anytime soon.
He yawned, ending with a smile on his face as he closed his eyes. He’d tell her first thing tomorrow morning.
Chapter 7 – The Best Laid Plans
“You don’t know anything about me.” Shell-shocked, Jessie stared at Matt. “And you want me to marry you?”
He shrugged. She knew that mating entailed much more than the human concept of marriage, but he didn’t know that she knew. He probably thought he’d start there and ease his way up to the whole I-am-a-werewolf and maybe-I-will-make-you-one-too discussions.
“I know enough.”
Typical Alpha. He wanted, therefore he thought he should have. She rounded on him, arms crossed. “Yeah? What do you know?”
“I like you.”
She gaped at him. “You like me? Don’t you mean you like to have sex with me?”
“That, too.”
“Sex is not a solid foundation for marriage.”
“It’s a good start,” he countered reasonably. “How many marriages break up because one spouse cheats on the other? If the sex is epically good, then neither partner has a reason to stray.”
“You’re insane.”
He stared at her, looking so puzzled that she almost felt sorry for him. Clearly he’d expected her to be thrilled with the news that he wanted to “marry” her. Of course he did. He was an Alpha, and a damn fine one at that. He probably had scores of female she-wolves chomping at the bit for a chance at whatever bloodline created that.
Which begged the question, why was he sniffing around her? As far as he knew, she was one hundred percent human. Good for some fun but definitely not mate material.
And another thing, she thought as her mind continued to whirl at dizzying speed -—Alphas didn’t marry. They mated. There was a huge difference. Marriages could be dissolved if they didn’t work out, but mating was the epitome of “till death do you part”. Of course, if one partner was a human, the death part came a lot quicker than if it was a full-blooded Were union.
Not that it mattered, because it wasn’t going to happen.
“I like you, Matt. And these last couple of days have been fun, but I can’t ma-, uh, marry you.”
“Why not?”
“It’s ... complicated.”
Matt gave her a sympathetic smile and tried to encompass her in his arms, but she dodged him. “It’s not complicated. It’s very simple. You and I, we belong together, Jessie. Why wait?”
She was shaking her head. How the hell had it come
to this? Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire! All she’d wanted was one last week of freedom. One last chance to let loose and have some fun.
These last couple of days really had been great. Matt was wonderful. Had the situation been different, she could have seen herself falling for him in a heartbeat. But it wasn’t. And she couldn’t.
Because her family’s lives depended on it.
“One week,” Lucas had said. “You have one week to get it all out of your system. Then you will return and tell your family you have changed your mind and accepted my proposal.”
“And if I don’t?” she’d asked.
The grin he had given her still sent shivers down her spine. All gleaming, sharp, white teeth. “Then I will beat your father and brothers to within an inch of their lives. I will bind them and force them to watch my men take your mother and your sisters. Repeatedly. And you, my dear, will be seated beside me with a front row seat. And then I will take you anyway.”
“I hate you.”
He’d actually laughed at that. “Yes, I know. I don’t care.”
“Why me?”
“Because,” he’d said, running a sharp claw down her cheek. “I want you. I like your spirit and your strength. You are capable of sustaining my ... rigorous needs. And you will give me good, strong young.”
“There are many who could do that. Some even willingly.”
He’d shaken his head, even as his grip tightened. “The very fact that you continue to defy me, even though you know it is futile, lights a fire in my blood. I need a mate with that kind of spirit, Jessica. Any other female would have given up by now. But you,” he smiled wickedly, “you will fight me until death.”
Jessie began to shake as her last encounter with Lucas resounded in her mind. Matt saw her and pulled her into his arms. “Jessie. It’s okay. I know it’s sudden.”
Unable to completely resist, she allowed herself to melt against him. To soak up his strength. For one brief, crazy moment, she thought about telling him the truth. All of it. That she was a Were, too. That she was being blackmailed into a marriage she didn’t want, because she had been stupid enough to allow a human to record a video of her shifting when she’d been sixteen. Lucas had seen, too. He’d taken care of the human, promising not to tell her father if she’d get him an audience with her pack Alpha, because he was tired of being a rogue and was looking for a place to call home.
Wolf Out of Water: Mythic Series, Book 4 Page 6