by R. E. Butler
Several hours later, her stomach was growling angrily, but she was happy with the results of their efforts. Logan put the tools away and joined her.
“It looks great, sweetheart,” he said.
“Thank you for your help.”
The sun was setting. They’d spent the entire day outside working. Washing her hands in the kitchen sink, she dried them off on a towel and said, “Do you have to go to work?”
“I normally work Tuesday through Saturday from seven p.m. until three a.m. The bar doesn’t get really busy until Thursday night, and then the weekends tend to get fairly crowded. I told Peter, who runs the bar, that I wasn’t going to be in this week.”
“Why would you do that?”
He made an exasperated sound. “Because I’m not leaving you alone while that asshole Maximus and that whack-job Jasper are running around. I have no idea if they know you’re alive or not, and I’m not taking any chances. Besides, I never take time off, and Friday is the full moon, so I wouldn’t have worked anyway.”
“If you’re sure.”
He nodded at her reassuringly, turned to the refrigerator, and pulled out a paper sack of fried chicken that he had picked up from the market. She set the table for them and they ate together. When the dishes were done, they sat on the couch in the family room and watched a movie. She’d seen movies before, but had always chosen romances. Logan’s tastes went in the opposite direction, to what he called ‘action flicks.’ She hadn’t seen much violence in her life up until she’d been kidnapped, and fairies fought with magic and swords, not guns and bombs.
Logan nudged her shoulder. “Sweetheart?”
She turned to him from where she’d been absorbed in the thrill-a-minute car chase of the movie he’d picked for them to watch.
He chuckled. “You should blink every now and then, baby.”
Her eyes burned a little when she forced herself to blink and she shook her head with a laugh. “Do people drive like that in real life?”
“I’m sure some do, but if you went tearing around on the street like those maniacs, you’d wind up in jail, if you didn’t die first.”
The movie ended and Logan turned off the television. She followed him into the bedroom, her heart pounding in anticipation. All through the movie she’d been very aware of him sitting next to her. The heat of his thigh where it pressed against hers. The warm, comforting weight of his arm around her shoulder. Although she’d been interested in the movie, her mind kept drifting to when he’d pinned her to the couch.
The scrape of a drawer brought her from her sexy thoughts. Logan placed a white undershirt on top of the dresser and then disappeared into the bathroom. She sat on the bed, anticipation making her stomach flutter. The door opened and he walked out wearing only jeans. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the thin line of dark hair that trailed down past his waistband.
He walked to her, his movements graceful in spite of the bulk of his body, and put the undershirt on her lap. “Goodnight, sweetheart.”
His lips brushed her forehead and she realized that he was planning to leave her to sleep on the bed alone. Reaching for his hand, she said, “Wait! Where are you going?”
He flipped his hand and twined their fingers together. “Couch.”
She couldn’t help but laugh, imaging him on the couch. Although it was a big couch, it wasn’t big enough for him to sleep comfortably. “Don’t be silly. I won’t get any rest if I know you’re out there uncomfortable.” She stood and gestured to the bed. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
“You won’t take no for an answer, will you?”
She turned and looked at him. He looked as if he wasn’t sure what to do about someone that cared whether he was comfortable or not. “No.”
He nodded slightly and a tiny smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Shutting the bathroom door, she stripped to her panties and slipped the large shirt over her head. It was big enough to pass for a dress, soft, and smelled faintly like him. After cleaning up, she opened the bathroom door and clicked off the light. The room was dark except for a bit of moonlight that filtered through the blinds, making the room appear blue. Logan was on the right side of the bed under the covers. She walked around to her side and lifted the covers, climbing in.
When her head settled on the pillow and she was staring at the ceiling, she thought that perhaps Logan was planning not to touch her at all. He’d wanted to take things slow, and she liked the idea, but she knew that he was fighting biology as well. When a wolf found his mate, it was instinctual for him to want to claim her in every way as soon as possible. Her cousin had confirmed that, saying that her mate hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her from the moment they met. Even though her mate was a were-fox, the instincts were still the same.
Logan was treating her with respect, purposely taking things slow so they could get to know each other first. Every fiber of her being wanted to pull him on top of her and spread her legs wide, but she wanted to show him that she could respect him just as much as he respected her. Although she felt like she, too, was fighting against instincts.
It wasn’t the first time since she’d woken up that she’d been driven by thoughts that were foreign to her. Thoughts like marking him.
She let out a surprised squeak when he suddenly hauled her against his side, one arm around her back. Tipping her face up, he bent and kissed her briefly and settled back on his pillow. She settled one arm across his chest, her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes, smiling. He hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her, even if he did have good intentions. Some touching, even innocent touching while they slept, was better than nothing, and his arms around her settled something that had been feeling antsy moments earlier. She could sleep now, held in his strong arms.
Chapter 6
Logan found it harder and harder to keep a respectful distance from Jenna. She’d only been with him for three days, but each hour that passed made it progressively more difficult to ignore his instincts. His hands ached to touch her soft skin. His teeth hurt from the desire to mark her with his fangs. And his cock — well, he was pretty sure he could fuck a hole in a brick wall with the way it had gone hard as granite and refused to go away. Walking around with a perpetual hard-on like a teenager grated on him, but he’d promised himself, and Jenna, that they would take things slow. Somehow, he didn’t think the vixen was all that interested in keeping the promise any longer.
It was heaven to wake up with her in his arms, to share the first rays of the morning sun with someone that he knew he was already half in love with. He’d never known what love felt like, not this kind of love. Sure, he knew what family love was like, at least from his grandmother, but he hadn’t ever loved a woman before. Not the kind of all-consuming love that his friends and packmates enjoyed. From the moment he’d looked into her terrified eyes when she’d awakened in his arms in the Jeep, he’d been drawn to her.
They’d spent the last couple of mornings at the nursery, picking out plants for the garden. He didn’t have any confidence in his ability to keep them alive, but he did trust Jenna when she promised that there wasn’t anything wrong with the soil and the plants would grow. They worked together in the garden. Gardening. Such a mundane activity, but it made him happy. Not because of the fruits and vegetables that would grow, but because of the time spent getting to know his mate.
She was funny. Silly. Sweet. She loved her family and her friends, and was proud of her upbringing. The fae-world wasn’t all that different from the world he’d grown up in, with people separated by class, but in Jenna’s case, the classes were separated by magical abilities. When they’d been at the nursery on Tuesday, he was fumbling in his pocket for the keys to unlock the back gate of his truck and Jenna simply laid her hand on it for just a second and then opened it. It was so fast that if he hadn’t known it was locked, he wouldn’t have known she’d done anything. As far as he was concerned, her fae-power was cool as hell.
They’d stopped at a department st
ore on the way home so she could get more clothes. He wasn’t taking her to her realm for two weeks, and Reika had only sent over two changes of clothes. And he was very aware that none of the garments included had been a bra. It hadn’t helped the state of his cock to see her breasts bouncing around under her shirt completely uninhibited. And maybe he didn’t mind it himself, but he didn’t like anyone else ogling her.
But who wouldn’t ogle her? She was gorgeous. Fair skin, long, dark brown hair with little hints of silver, and those metallic-colored eyes that brightened when she was happy and darkened when she was turned on. Her nose was small but perfect, her lips full and naturally pink, and she had a habit of tucking a lock of hair behind her ear and biting her lip when she was concentrating. Petite and lushly formed, she had curves in all the right places, and the natural scent of her was slowly driving him insane. He didn’t think it was possible for someone as beautiful as her to become his mate, but he wasn’t looking a gift horse in the mouth. The spell she’d cast had brought them together, and there wasn’t anything in this realm, or any other, that would separate them.
Wednesday afternoon, Jenna bent over and turned off the hose, and Logan barely stifled a groan as he took in the perfect shape of her ass. He’d done a lot of difficult things in his life, but nothing was proving more difficult than keeping his hands off his mate.
His phone buzzed, momentarily distracting him from the view.
Bo’s voice met his ears. “How are things going with your girl?”
“Great. How are the patrols?”
After he had brought Jenna home from the hospital, Jason had organized patrols to keep watch around town, keeping an eye out for strangers. When Bo’s mate, Reika, had first come into town, Logan had headed up the patrols. But where Reika had only had three were-lynxes after her, Jenna had a crazy fairy and a dangerous wolf pack potentially after her. He had no idea if the wolf pack knew if she was alive or not, but with the fairy gone from the Fae Realm, he was going to err on the side of caution.
“So far no one has seen anything out of the ordinary. Is Jenna recovering well?”
He watched her stand and stretch, the shirt she wore lifting high with the motion and revealing the ivory skin of her belly. Desire hit him like a hammer between the eyes.
“She’s doing fine, Bo. I need to go, I’ll talk to you later.”
Bo spoke more, but Logan didn’t hear what he said, ending the call and sliding the phone into his back pocket. He stalked to Jenna as his wolf howled in his mind. His shadow fell over her and she looked up at him.
She turned to face him. She closed her eyes, opening her mouth and taking in a deep breath. Her hands touched his chest and slid up to his shoulders and down his arms, where she captured both of his hands in hers.
She lifted one of his hands to her cheek, rubbing against his palm where the star-shaped mark from their blood bonding reminded him of what they now shared.
“Why are we waiting?” she said in a soft voice. Her lips pressed against his palm, over the mark, and his body throbbed. “You’re my mate. It’s in our nature to bond in every way.”
Her words brought him up short and he frowned. Had she just said it was in “their” nature? That sounded suspiciously like something one wolf might say to another. He opened his mouth to ask her if she was feeling okay, when her teeth closed over the side of his wrist and bit down.
He groaned as her teeth sank into his flesh and all thought fled from his mind. He fisted her hair, pulling her away from his flesh, and she made a growling, pleading sound before he silenced her protests with his lips. She went up on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling on him until he lifted her. Her feet locked at his lower back and she ground the apex of her thighs against his hard cock.
He pulled from her mouth so he could walk into the house without running them into a wall, and she latched her lips and clever tongue on his ear, almost making him fall over.
Her tongue traced the curve of his ear and she nipped his ear lobe. “You taste good, Logan,” she purred, her fingernails scraping against his skull, her body riding his as he carried her.
“Fuck, Jenna,” he groaned, desperate to drop to his knees and tear their clothes off so he could sink inside her.
He lengthened his strides, moving through the house on sheer instinct because her hands and mouth were making his brain turn to mush. His legs hit the bed and he lowered her gently. As he lifted up from her, her teeth dragged down his neck.
He straightened and jerked his shirt over his head, tossing it aside. Jenna’s hands trembled as she reached for her top, and he picked up her hands and kissed them. “Let me, love.”
His fingers slipped under the shirt, feeling the heat of her skin as he pushed the fabric up. She stretched her arms over her head and he pulled the shirt free of her body, throwing it aside. Her large breasts were covered in white lace. Slowly he drew his hands down her arms and the sides of her body, cupping her breasts as he leaned down to kiss her.
He could feel her nipples pebble under his palms through the thin material, and he pulled down on the cups until her breasts were freed. Her tongue slid against his in a dizzying dance. He left her plump lips, nipping and kissing across her jaw to her ear.
Her nails dug into his shoulders. He lifted his head to look into her eyes, finding them dark gray and luminous. He could hear her heart pounding and could scent her arousal.
He’d never wanted anyone more than he wanted Jenna. His wolf was clawing in his mind to mate with her and make her his forever. She lifted her head and kissed him, mashing their lips together and thrusting her tongue into his mouth with a throaty moan. He slipped his hands around her back and found the clasp of her bra, fumbling with it for a few moments until it opened. He wanted to shout triumphantly.
Her hands moved down his chest to the waistband of his jeans, undoing them quickly. She pushed on his chest gently and he pulled away from the drugging kiss to look at her. Her face was flushed and her eyes were bright. He undid the button and zipper of her jeans, spreading the material apart and bending down to kiss the bare flesh of her body.
He realized she wasn’t wearing panties. Glancing up at her, he saw her wicked smile and felt incredibly lucky to have such a gorgeous, willing woman as his mate. He maneuvered the tight pants down her legs, tossing her shoes aside before he stripped her completely. He straightened, tugging on the center of the bra and pulling it away from her body.
Her lush body lay before him, and he was struck dumb at the sight. Her cheeks were flushed, her breasts heaving as she panted, and the scent of her arousal was enough to drive him to his knees.
Following his instincts, he dropped to his knees and pushed her legs apart, making room for his wide shoulders. Her sex was bare, her silky, smooth skin glistening with arousal. He lifted her knees to his shoulders and wrapped his hands around her thighs, dipping his head to inhale the sweet scent of her desire. She smelled like rain and flowers, sweet and wet.
He stroked his tongue up one side of her pussy and she moaned, her hands slapping on the bed and her legs tightening. Stroking the other side of her plump pussy, he wiggled his tongue between her lips and tasted her sweet wetness. Tilting his head, he circled her entrance and lashed at her clit. She moaned his name, and it inflamed him, fanning the fires of passion that coiled inside him. He wanted her to come so he could watch her fall apart.
Moving one hand, he found her clit with his finger and licked at her pussy, rubbing the hard bud. Her legs began to tremble, her feet pressing into his back. Spreading her open with the fingers of one hand, he stroked his tongue up her pussy to her clit and licked fast circles around it. He looked up her body, watching her shoulders rock back and forth on the bed as her head kicked back, her hands clenched in the covers. Sucking her clit into his mouth, he lashed the tip with his tongue.
“Logan, Logan,” she panted.
Her voice spurred him on, and he lapped at her, deviling her clit until her back bowed and her mouth
opened on a cry of pleasure. Her legs tightened around his head and her hips moved against his mouth as he released his hold on her clit and stroked her lightly, gently with his tongue.
His hands trembled as he stood and pushed his jeans down his legs, Jenna’s legs falling to the bed. Her eyes opened and she watched him strip, a small smile curving her lips.
“You’re so beautiful.” She scooted back on the bed as he climbed up between her legs.
He shook his head. “Not me, love. You’re beautiful.”
He moved over her and her legs caught his hips as her hands went to his shoulders. She lifted her head from the pillow and kissed him. “You are, Logan. Your eyes are like chocolate. Your body is carved like a statue.” One hand slipped down his body and grasped his cock, eliciting a groan from his throat. “And this, I bet, rivals just about any cock within a hundred miles.”
He opened his mouth to tell her that she was amazing, but she slid her warm hand up and down his cock, spreading the drop of pre-come around on the head with her thumb, and he couldn’t form any words. Only an inarticulate grunt came from his throat, followed by a groan, when she lifted her thumb to her lips and flicked her tongue across it, tasting him.
She hummed in her throat. “You taste good.”
He dipped his head and kissed her, settling into the cradle of her hips. “You taste good, too, baby,” he said, nudging her pussy with his cock.
Her legs drew him forward and they both groaned as his cock sank into her depths. He was big and she was tight, and he didn’t want to hurt her, but she urged him on, lifting her hips until he was buried deep.
She held his gaze, the back of her hand tenderly grazing his cheek, and all the emotions that were rioting around in his mind were visible in her beautiful eyes. It was too soon to say the words, wasn’t it? To say just how deeply he felt towards her. Even though he could howl them to the moon and they would be the most truthful words he’d ever spoken.