“You’re so romantic.” She tugged on his shirt, pulling him down so she could reach his neck. “I promise I’ll be gentle, you virgin, you.”
His laugh had a bite of hysteria to it, but she didn’t give him time to think. She brushed her lips against his skin, the scent of him overwhelming. She wrapped her arms around his waist, her teeth scraping against his skin. Before he could protest, she sank her fangs into him, her joy nearly overwhelming as she released the mating enzyme.
He was hers, and soon, she would be his.
Whatever the fuck she’d just done to him, she needed to bottle it, because she’d make a fortune. Heat raced through him, his cock turning so hard he was afraid if he moved it might simply snap off from being confined by his jeans.
And not even that image did anything to dampen the desire to rip Graciela’s clothes off and fuck her until she walked funny.
He needed. He’d never needed anything the way he did Graciela. He had to make her squirm, make her want as much as he did. If he didn’t get her out of her clothes and on his cock in the next two seconds, he might just explode in a shower of lust-filled goo.
He was tugging at her shirt before her teeth left his skin, desperate to feel her golden skin against his, test the weight of her breasts against his palms.
She licked his neck, right where she’d bitten him, and he nearly dropped to his knees. He shuddered, the feel of her tongue on that mark making him crazy with want.
This was the result of the mating bite? This unwavering need to sink inside her, make her scream his name? The urge to come and come and come inside her until they didn’t know where she ended and he began?
Hell. He should have said yes immediately.
He couldn’t wait any longer. He tugged her head back by her ponytail, devouring her mouth with all the savagery of a starving man. Clothes flew off as he pushed and pulled, hauled and yanked until she was naked, barely breaking the hungry kisses long enough to remove her shirt.
She whimpered as he picked her up and carted her off to the bedroom, his hands tight on her firm, naked ass. And it was a fine ass too. Nicely rounded in all the right places. It fit his hands perfectly.
She fit his hands perfectly. Part of him was terrified by that. A small, miniscule part that he promptly stomped on with all his might.
The larger part of him wanted to know if she was a moaner or a screamer. He intended to find out.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck. She was driving him crazy, her mouth busy on that fucking bite she’d given him, making him nearly drop her as pleasure raced through him.
In record time he had her flat on her back on the bed, her legs over his forearms, her body spread for his viewing pleasure. The only problem was he couldn’t get enough of her mouth, of the way she tasted on his tongue. Pulling away to stare at his prize was just too much. He greedily sipped at her lips, drugging himself on her flavor, embedding it into his very soul.
Eventually he’d want to taste her pussy, see if she was as sweet there, but for now he simply couldn’t make himself leave her lips.
“Please.” She was tugging on his biceps, begging him, her breasts pressing against his chest as she arched into him, tempting him. His cock nudged her opening, startling him with how wet she already was. Her scent filled the air, warm woman and need captivating his senses.
But instead of plunging into her, he bent to her breasts, taking one hard nipple in his mouth for a good, long suck that had her gasping under him. God, she tasted good here too, golden and warm as honey. She whimpered, her hands scrabbling against his skin, scoring it with her nails.
She’d drawn blood, and for just a second he worried about wolf claws. When he glanced out of the corner of his eye, all he saw were the same pretty hands, the same short, clean nails with their deep pink polish.
“Steven. Please!” She arched against him, an aching cry falling from her lips, her body shuddering as he continued to suckle her.
Something settled inside him. That was what he’d needed, to feel her shudder in pleasure, to…to come for him.
He could fuck her now, take her, make her his.
But not yet. That shuddering, sweet cry had given him more satisfaction than fucking any of his former girlfriends had. He needed to hear it one more time before he finally took her.
Oh. My. God. Where had this man been all her life?
His tongue lapped at her pussy, tasting her, teasing her. It was all she could do just to hold on to the bedsheets, praying she didn’t lose her mind.
He was good, better than any man she’d ever been with. Not that that was saying much. Chela was willing to bet he’d had far more partners than she’d ever had. Handsome, rich and a magic tongue?
She needed to stop thinking about that or she’d wind up in New York, hunting down some hoes.
“Oh. Steve.” He’d hit that spot, the one very few of her partners had found on their own, the one that made her want to buck and scream. His fingers entered her, fucking her gently as he continued to lap her clit in just the right spot.
She whined, chasing the orgasm that wanted to devour her. She couldn’t wait until Steve’s fangs grew in. He’d bite her, claim her, mark her—
The orgasm took her by surprise, ripping through her with all the force of a tsunami. She shuddered, moaning, her mate’s touch gentling as her body rode the wave.
He licked his lips, shooting her a hot look before bending to her thigh. He bit, sucking up a human mark that would fade in a few days.
But his mark would be on her, and somehow she understood that, when the time came, he’d bite her there for real.
“Steve.” She was getting restless, needed to feel him inside her. That final joining, his body to hers, would cement their mating. “Fuck me. Please.”
He snarled, and for just a moment she could see the Wolf peeking out at her. She grinned. She’d known he’d be strong, that his Wolf would want out sooner rather than later.
And when his Wolf came out, it would come with a vengeance. He’d hunt her down, mark her, bind them together for eternity.
Chela could hardly wait.
Steve kissed Graciela again, plunging into her moist depths with tongue and cock. Her wet heat wrapped around his cock and he moaned. God, she was tight, and wet, and moving under him in the best possible ways.
She growled, that inhuman sound she’d made earlier, but instead of terrifying him, this time it made him want to fuck her harder. He began nibbling at the side of her neck, inordinately pleased when she moaned and moved for him. Her head tilted to the side, granting him access to whatever part of her neck he wanted.
He used his teeth, scraping along her tight skin.
She gasped, coming for him again, tightening around his cock in a rhythm as old as time. The sensation nearly drove him over the edge as well, but he wanted to make this last, so he slowed down, allowed her to catch her breath.
When she began tugging on his hair he moved faster, giving her what she wanted, what they both had to have. She began speaking in Spanish, broken words he didn’t understand. Her dark eyes were golden brown from desire, her pupils dilating as she spasmed around him one last time.
When she sank her fangs into him again he shuddered, pouring into her as he came so hard he saw stars. Everything went dark as ecstasy took over, blinding him to everything but her.
He panted, staring down at the woman who’d just flipped his world-view upside down. “Shit.”
Graciela licked her lips, tempting him into another kiss, one he took with enthusiasm even as his mind reeled.
He’d been bitten by the wolf, and he couldn’t have been happier.
Chapter Six
“I’m Pack? For real?” Shit. That was a lot easier than he’d thought it would be. “No ceremony or anything?”
Ben nodded and passed the peanuts to his lover, Dave. “Yup. I thought Graciela explained all this? Rick accepted you even before she marked you. It’s a done deal, bro.
”
He reached up and ran his fingers over the bite Graciela had left on his skin. Marked. He was marked. Who knew his life would be changed so dramatically simply because he decided to help out a friend?
Dave held up his glass in a toast. “Congratulations.” His expression turned evil. “As the Beta I get to boss you around now.” His evil laugh would have done Dr. Horrible proud.
They were sitting in the near-empty bar of the Red Wolf Lodge at about three o’clock in the morning, way past the time the bar usually closed. They’d snuck in here after the lodge settled down for the night, eager for some alone time.
It was three weeks till Christmas, and Steve had every intention of spending them here with his buddy and his partner.
Oh, and his newly discovered mate.
Mate. He chuckled into his tequila. He had a mate. A cute one, with the sweetest smile and the most iron will he’d ever met. She’d given him his space when he needed it, jollied him out of his fear and let him make the ultimate decision on whether or not to accept her bite.
Where the hell had she been all his life? Shit. He should have come to the lodge sooner.
He resisted the urge to reach up and feel the mark again. Just the soft brush of his fingers was enough to send heat straight to his cock. When Graciela touched it…
When his little Wolf touched him there, it was magic. He grinned, sipping the very smooth Patrón he’d stolen from behind the bar. Damn, they stocked the good shit.
He ached to go back to his—no, their cabin, slip between the sheets and cuddle her close, to hell with tequila and male bonding.
“Would we do that?”
He’d missed something in the conversation, but he wasn’t sure what. However, he did know that Dave couldn’t look innocent if you stuck a halo over his head and declared him the offspring of Archangel Michael, and that’s exactly what he was trying to do. Steve shook his head sadly. “Yes, you would.”
Dave pouted. “Dude. That hurts. Deep down, where it counts.”
Ben rolled his eyes at his goofy lover. “Look, I wouldn’t be telling you this at all if it weren’t for Chela.”
“Graciela?” Steve sat up straighter. If this involved Graciela, then he wanted to know everything they had to tell him. He had to pay attention and stop mooning over…well, Graciela. “What about her?”
The two men exchanged glances Steven couldn’t read, which shocked him. He was an expert at reading the expressions of others, of using them to gauge how far and hard he should push in a deal.
Ben and Dave exchanged a quick glance, and then Dave nodded. “Chela hasn’t had the best of times until recently.”
Ben nodded. “Yeah. She was abused by our previous alpha female, Gina.”
Something inside Steve growled, startling him. It wasn’t enough to throw him off what Ben had said, though. “What do you mean, abused?”
Dave ran his fingers through his hair, messing up the golden brown strands. “My sister was alpha female before Belle got here.”
“And she thought, since Belle was a Puma, she would remain alpha female despite the fact that Rick had declared Belle his Luna, his co-ruler, if you will.”
“Which meant Gina was out of a job, unless Belle proved to be too weak to rule a pack of Wolves.” Dave grimaced. “But Belle is friends with the Alpha, Curana, Beta and Beta female of the Halle Puma Pride, so she knew she’d have to come in and be the Luna in every sense of the word.”
“Which she did, in almost every way, except Gina found a way around it. Or so she thought.”
Steve held up his hand. “This is all very nice, but what does that have to do with Graciela being abused?”
“Gina thought Graciela was weak. Because of that, she…” Dave sighed. “She was alpha female. There wasn’t anything we could do to stop her.”
Ben leaned forward, cradling his drink between his hands. “Alpha females rule all the females unless an acknowledged Luna is present. That means what Gina said went, period. Unless it was proved she was being excessively abusive to the women under her command, Rick’s hands were tied.”
“So it was okay to be a little abusive? Is that what you’re telling me?” Oh, Steve did not like where this was going.
“As alpha female she was the one responsible for rewarding, and punishing, the females. So yes, in a way, it was considered okay. It was one of the reasons Rick wanted to bring Belle here. We needed a Luna, a female strong enough to stand up to Gina and force her to back down, to obey protocol, not just the letter of the law.”
“You’re losing the puny human, guys.”
“Gina beat the living hell out of Chela on a regular basis, okay?” Dave grunted when Ben elbowed him in the side. “What?”
“I thought Rick said Omegas were protected members of the Pack?” Steve was horrified. Who would beat up someone as sweet as Graciela?
And why would the strong woman he’d met, who’d forced him to face his fears with unwavering joy, allow it? Graciela was far from weak. She’d proven that more than once.
“She wasn’t Omega at the time.” Ben frowned. “Or rather, she was, but she hadn’t come into her power yet. It took the Luna to bring it out in her, and now—”
“Chela worships the ground Belle walks on.”
“Thank fuck you got Belle’s approval, Steve, or your ass would bounce as she tossed you down the mountain.”
“I’m not very bouncy, guys.”
They both looked at him with dead-serious expressions. “No, dude. That’s how hard Belle would have thrown you.”
Ben tried to fake-cough into his fist, but Steve heard the puny human loud and clear.
“So Graciela was abused and Belle saved her.” He still wasn’t sure what they were getting at, but he understood he had to take care with Graciela.
They exchanged another look. “Graciela would do anything for Belle.”
“Like roll-around-in-chocolate-pudding-naked anything?”
Ben blinked. “Um…”
Steve hid his grin. “Naked olive-oil wrestling?”
“Dude.” Dave gagged.
“How about—”
“NO!”
Both men shouted so loud his ears rang.
“Gah. Stop trying to gross out the gay men, would ya?” Dave shuddered and finished his cola. Ben had given Dave the stink-eye when the man went to grab a beer, and Dave had backed down without a sound. The vicious migraines he’d been experiencing for years were aggravated by alcohol, so Ben’s reaction made perfect sense to Steve.
Steve was having tequila shots. Hell, he wasn’t fucking Ben. He could drink whatever he wanted. And after the recent furry revelations, he’d needed a little alcoholic haze over everything.
Especially the snarly voice in his head that told him to hunt down this Gina person and rip her goddamn throat out.
With his teeth.
He took another swig of tequila, hoping to drown the voice out. Unfortunately the alcohol wasn’t having the effect he’d hoped it would.
“Steve?”
“Hmm?”
“You might want to lay off the booze, man.”
He eyed Dave blearily. Damn, that was some fine tequila. “Why’s that?”
“You’re growling.”
He picked up his glass, surprised when it was empty. See? This was why he didn’t drink. His glass always wound up empty. “Oh.” He laughed, afraid it sounded more like a giggle than anything. “Cool.”
The two men exchanged a look. “You’re happy that you’re growling?” Ben sounded surprised. “It means you’re turning.”
“Your fangs are showing too.” Dave was grinning as he put his arm on the back of Ben’s chair.
He poured another shot into his glass and raised it. “The better to protect you with, my dear.”
Chela was on cloud nine. She had her mate, she had her home, she was Omega of her Pack, and her life was damn near perfect. She was disgustingly cheery this morning, a fact Belle had pointed out with that vapid smil
e that had more than one grown man running from the room in total, abject fear.
But not Chela. Not today. No, today she was going to stay disgustingly cheerful no matter how much her Luna snarled. She’d been living with her mate for over a week, and things were blissfully happy between them. They talked, they laughed, and she’d even caught signs that his Wolf was beginning to emerge. Not much was going to get her down today.
Besides, Belle was happy for her. She could feel it, like bubbles in champagne. She’d have to check with Ben, see if Belle’s bad hip was bothering her again today.
Belle was the one who’d talked Rick into installing a heated pool and spa somewhere in the lodge. The exercises the Luna did eased her pain greatly, but even so, Ben had told her that Belle was always in some pain, that it never ended. Unfortunately, the doctor she’d been seeing, Jamie Howard, had lost his mate to a rogue shifter, nearly dying himself. Only the intervention of one of the local Bears had saved him, and rumor had it that the good doctor hadn’t thanked him for it.
Chela couldn’t imagine losing Steve, and she’d only known him for two weeks. The thought of losing him and surviving? She shuddered. It would be like trying to survive without your soul. She prayed that something happened before Dr. Howard lost himself to his emotional pain, or not even Rick would be able to stop him.
Steve was somewhere in the lodge, his scent faint but present. She grinned, hoping she’d be able to meet him for lunch. She had plans for Christmas for both of them, plans she wanted to hint around. She was hoping he liked what she had come up with, or she’d have to figure out how to live in New York.
No respectable Wolf wanted to live in New York. It was run by Coyotes.
Chela shuddered.
She scrunched up her nose at the thought of the New York Coyote Alpha and his relationship with Rick. The two had become friends, even going so far as to grant each other unlimited access to each other’s territory, but still.
Coyotes.
She followed the faint scent of her mate, the tantalizing odor becoming stronger and stronger as she approached Lowell’s restaurant. Damn it. He must be eating already. She peeked inside, hoping to join him.
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