Checkmate

by Annmarie McKenna

  Damn it. His mate had tossed and turned and he hadn’t felt a thing. Worse, someone was in their fucking yard and he hadn’t sensed it. Calling on all his shifter senses, he drew a deep breath. Throwing back the covers, he jumped off the bed and wrestled himself into his jeans.

  He felt her now, her stress, her fear. He sensed Caelan stirring awake, and Tieran, dead to the world. No one else, though. Nikki was alone wherever she was. Unless whoever made the light come on had the ability to mask his scent. Another shifter might.

  He inched the curtain back further with hands that were close to becoming paws. Through the window he saw her, standing on the small rise to the back of the house. Her arms were wrapped around her waist, and a small breeze tugged at her hair and the tail of his T-shirt she’d thrown on. Her long, bare legs stood out in the bright light of the security beam.

  She looked fucking lonely as hell.

  Eli strode out of the bedroom, where a very sleepy Caelan met him in the hallway. “What’s up?”

  “Nikki needed some air I guess.” He nodded at Caelan’s body. “You were planning on scaring an intruder to death?”

  “Wha—?” Caelan stared at Eli like he had no clue what Eli was talking about.

  “You’re not wearing any pants, man.”

  Caelan dropped his gaze. “Hmm. I thought I felt a breeze.” He shrugged. “Never know when you might need to shift. So are you saying there isn’t someone out there?”

  “Just Nikki.”

  “Oh, good. I thought with the light…”

  “Yeah, me too.” Eli said, already moving to the back door.

  “I’m guessing she didn’t take too well to what we are?” Caelan asked.

  Eli paused. She hadn’t seemed to be too distraught. Yeah, she’d needed some space, but his mom had told him Nikki was fine. Mostly sad about her friends and the way things were happening in her life, but fine with the mating. And with Tieran and his mom around, there wasn’t anything Nikki could ask they wouldn’t answer.

  Hell, she only had to ask him. He wouldn’t hold anything back from her now that she knew everything. The problem was getting it all out the first time.

  “No. I think Mom and Tieran did a good job convincing her we were real.”

  “Tieran thought so too.”

  Eli nodded. “Go back to bed. I’ve got to go get my mate.”

  He opened the door and stepped onto the patio. Nikki had sat on the grass and was watching the landscape. Leaves rustled in the trees and somewhere in the distance a lone wolf howled. One of the Samson family, by the sound of it. He saw Nikki’s shoulders tense and it made his heart ache.

  He walked up to her, making as much noise as he could on the grass so he didn’t scare her. She didn’t turn around but he could tell she knew he was there.

  “Do you want to see my wolf?”

  Her head tilted slightly like she was thinking about it. “Yes.” Her voice was almost inaudible.

  His heart thumped. Would this be what scared her off? He didn’t give himself the chance to think about it. Instead he stripped off his jeans and shifted. His body craved this moment just like it always had from the very first time he’d done it.

  Bones and joints popped, elongating, strengthening. Fur tingled across his skin, teeth lengthened into razor-sharp points. His fingers and hands transformed into paws.

  He stood on all fours and sniffed the air. Her scent enticed him even more in this form. Now he wanted to shift back and ravish her.

  Eli padded to her and nudged her elbow with his nose. She jumped and he could hear her heart hammering away at her ribs. Her breath came in shallow pants, not much different from his own.

  Look at me, he willed her.

  When she turned her head, her eyes were shut tight. He licked them and whined when she scrunched up her face against his onslaught. She didn’t back away though and for that, he’d forever be grateful.

  “Gross.”

  As she spoke, his tongue slid across her lips and he tasted her.

  “Ugh. Enough.” She pushed him away with a playful shove, a smile lighting up her cheeks.

  He came back for more, pushing against her with his head, nuzzling her arm and belly. She laughed out loud and dug her fingers into his fur. Damn but it felt good. Both to see her laughing and the scratching she did along his underside.

  He plopped down next to her with a sigh and laid his head in her lap. She scratched at his ears.

  “This is really, very, extremely weird. You know that, don’t you?”

  Eli met her gaze.

  “God. It’s really you in there. Your eyes are the same, and this fur”—she tugged at his shoulder—“it’s the same color as your head. When you’re a human, I mean.” She continued to pet him. “I’m talking to a dog.”

  Eli growled low in his throat.

  “Whoa. Sorry. Wolf. I’m talking to a wolf. Because it’s okay to talk to a wolf, right?”

  Resting on her thigh, his nose was close to her pussy. He smelled the arousal emanating from her. She might not realize she was turned-on but he did and he wanted her. Time to end this.

  His fur was like silk in her fingers and tickled her bare thigh.

  Crazy.

  She had to be insane to be sitting here petting a wolf. She wanted to cry with the lunacy of it all. The man she loved with every fiber of her being had just turned into a wolf. His golden eyes seemed to stare straight into her soul. A lump knotted in her throat.

  Eli’s wolf body began to vibrate beneath her fingers. Nikki stretched her hand out where it lay on his shoulder. Whether she was comforting him or not, she didn’t know.

  Incredibly, his fur started shrinking. His long snout shortened, the pointy ears receded.

  Scared, Nikki pulled back. She didn’t move away, but she couldn’t touch him. His large paws transformed into fingers. She heard joints and bones pop and cringed at what must be very painful. Her heart broke. How did he do this? How often did he do this?

  Seconds later, Eli’s head replaced the wolf’s on her leg.

  “Jesus,” she whispered in awe.

  He smiled and rubbed his nose on her thigh. His hand rested on the inside of her leg just below his cheek, and long fingers stroked her skin. Nikki closed her eyes and absorbed the sensation. She loved when he touched her and lately he had his hands on her most of the time. Almost as if he thought if he stopped touching her she would disappear.

  Nikki mentally snorted. She wasn’t going anywhere and turning into a wolf wasn’t going to chase her away.

  “Are you following me?” she asked softly.

  He squeezed her thigh. “I can’t be apart from you for very long. Something in our wolf make-up prevents it.”

  She smiled. “That might get kind of awkward when I have to use the restroom somewhere.”

  He reached for her hand and kissed along her knuckles. “Yeah, well, I guess you’ll just have to pee before we leave the house.”

  Nikki laughed. “And I guess you’ll be the one cleaning up the mess.”

  “Then we won’t leave the house.”

  “I’ll get bored.”

  “I’ll think of ways to keep you occupied,” he growled. His eyes gleamed with wicked intent and her pussy pulsed in reaction. She could imagine all the ways he’d keep her busy. From what she’d experienced so far, staying in might not be such a hardship.

  “I want you now.”

  She nodded as his fingers crept beneath the hem of his T-shirt that was three sizes too big on her. It smelled like him though and she’d needed a piece of him wrapped around her. If he felt empty without her by his side, so did she. Wearing his shirt had seemed the appropriate thing to do.

  “I need to taste you, Nikki-Raine. To make love to you. To forget about everything else for a little while, except what it feels like to be deep inside you.”

  She swallowed. Her nipples hardened into tight buds and rubbed almost painfully against the cotton covering them. Her knees separated of their own accord
and she was powerless to stop them. Nor did she want to. Eli lifted himself into the vee of her thighs and got comfortable on his stomach. Her heart rate soared seeing his head nearly nestled at her apex.

  With a hand on her belly, he gently pushed her to the ground, still ever careful of her wound, and raised his shirt to uncover her mound.

  “I love how fucking good you smell,” he said, leaning into her core and inhaling. His shoulders pressed on her inner thighs, widening them even more and his hands came up under her ass to cradle her. On his elbows, Eli stared at her pussy, which contracted at the intensity she saw plastered on his face.

  “Oh God,” she breathed. She wanted him so bad. Only two measly inches separated his mouth from her labia.

  A heartbeat later, nothing stood between them. The tip of his tongue curled the length of her slit, spreading her moisture and making her throw her head back.

  He zeroed in on her swollen clit and she bit her lip to keep from screaming in rapture. Held captive by his hands, she could do nothing but endure the onslaught.

  Nikki moaned and rolled her head on the ground, fighting off the rise of an orgasm just below the surface. She wasn’t ready yet. She wanted more time to feel.

  His hands kneaded her butt cheeks, drew her closer. He alternated from slow, long, teasing licks, to short, quick stabs of his tongue. It was too much. Her body tensed and he pulled away.

  “Nooo,” she cried, and her body arched. She tried to regain contact but he eluded her efforts. “Please. Please!”

  One hand disappeared from her ass and she whimpered. The next second she sucked in a breath when two long fingers slid deep into her pussy, gliding easily on her juices.

  “I could eat you all fucking day.” His voice sounded guttural. Eli resumed lapping at her.

  Nikki pumped her hips against his mouth. With the dual assault of his fingers and lips, her orgasm spiraled out of control. It flamed to life and flicked along every nerve ending in her body. Her heels dug into the ground, her thighs squeezed around his head and shoulders, and she fisted tufts of grass in her hands.

  On and on it rolled through her, perpetuated by his incredible tongue until finally her body slouched to the ground. Still he licked at her and when he pulled his fingers from her slick folds, her nerve endings quivered with mini explosions. Breathing heavy, she lolled her head to the side. Exhausted, she could barely look at him.

  He crawled atop her body, drawing the shirt up to uncover her breasts. He kissed each one reverently, giving them equal attention. His lips covered hers.

  “My turn.” The amber color of his eyes glowed when the security light shut off.

  Not even the sudden darkness drew her gaze from his. On his knees, he cradled her legs in the crooks of his elbows and spread her wide. The head of his cock nudged at her entrance making her gasp as nerves shot to life.

  Her hole stretched to accommodate his cock, sucking him into its heat. Sweat dripped from his forehead to plop on one of her breasts. Nikki’s breath hissed from her lungs as he pressed into her.

  He’d never felt anything like it. Not with any woman before. They were made for each other, fit perfectly. Her thighs tightened when she bore down with her vaginal muscles, squeezing his cock in an exquisite hug. A climax loomed and he’d yet to move.

  Deep inside where the tip of his cock touched her just right, he held himself rigid. Sheer willpower kept him from slamming into her pussy. And then she moved again. The tiniest of spasms in her womb and Eli lost it.

  “Fuck,” he ground out, shaking his head against the riot of nerve endings firing along the length of his cock. He dropped his head nearly to her chest. With a gargantuan amount of effort, Eli withdrew completely.

  Nikki’s beautiful eyes turned to his in question and need.

  “I’m not through with you yet, sweetheart.” He rose, releasing her legs, which fell open on the grass like wet noodles. His superior eyesight allowed him to see the glistening lips of her pussy. Her scent wafted to his nose making his canines explode in his mouth.

  “Get on your hands and knees, Nikki.” The low growled command made her eyes widen. He heard her sharp intake of air, and she swallowed before submitting to him. Every cell in his body responded.

  She dragged her body into position, scooting back even, and placed her sexy-as-all-get-out calves alongside his. Her ass wiggled in front of him, grazing his cock, making it bob in excitement.

  “Does this hurt you?” he rasped. He didn’t know what he’d do if she couldn’t take him this way. Cry, go mad, something, but he wouldn’t hurt her. She responded by brushing her sweet little butt against him again.

  “Be still.” Eli swatted her ass with an open palm and caressed the red mark left behind. She yelped and her body jerked. He settled her with a hand on the small of her back. His nostrils flared. Another smack, this time to the other cheek, and she jumped again, but remained silent. A quick swipe through her gloriously displayed pussy juices said she liked being spanked.

  She mewled and pushed back on his finger, nearly impaling herself with it. He chuckled.

  “You like being spanked, sweetheart?” He already knew the answer, the proof was leaking onto her thighs.

  “Unh.” She rested her forehead on one arm, probably taking the pressure off her shoulder, but the action also brought her ass up in the most provocative way.

  With his thumbs, he spread her cheeks, rubbing circles into her flesh and inching closer to the rosebud aperture of her back hole. She squirmed and moaned. Eli bent over her and nibbled at her neck.

  “One of these days, I’m going to fuck you here,” he said, pressing the tip of his thumb just past the tight ring of muscles. Her body quivered, her back arched into his chest. He bit lightly on the tense flesh of her shoulder.

  “Please take me,” she begged.

  “You want my cock in you, sweetheart?”

  “Jesus,” she groaned. “I know you’re a fucking man. Cut the talk and fuck me.”

  His chuckle turned into a growl when she wriggled her backside against his erection. If she wanted to be fucked, he’d accommodate her.

  Her pussy was drenched from her orgasm and her excitement. Using his fist to guide him, Eli slid the head of his cock up and down her slit. She whimpered when he spanked her with his free hand. When she stretched, his tip disappeared inside her body.

  He shuddered with her. Watching part of him merge with part of her made him want to howl at the moon. Inch by inch he pressed into her tight pussy.

  Eli held still when he’d penetrated her completely. Her palms pounded the ground, her fingers opening and flexing. His wolf roared to the surface. Fucking his mate this way when he’d never had another woman like this made him lose control.

  He pulled back and thrust home, slamming into her so hard she moved across the grass. Nikki threw her head back and screamed into the night. A wolf howled in the distance, answering her call as if she were one of them. A distant part of his brain recognized the other wolf but paid no attention. Not when his mate was on her hands and knees, rearing back to meet his fierce thrusts with her own in a primal dance.

  Her small breasts swayed and he itched to touch them but held her hips captive instead. If he moved, he was afraid he’d lay them both out.

  His balls drew up as his orgasm neared. He licked his lips at the enticing array of smooth skin waiting for his teeth. A second before his cock exploded, Eli sank his teeth into the flesh at the base of her neck. She screamed as his bite spurred her release. Her pussy contracted with what felt like a thousand tiny fingers on his cock. Sweet blood flooded his tongue as he bonded them further, mixing his saliva into her system. Every time he did this he ensured her safety as his mate.

  His come flooded her womb. As he licked the mark he’d left to heal it, he cursed the fact she wasn’t in her heat. For the first time, he wanted a child. Wanted to see Nikki swell with his baby. His body rocked on hers. He wanted to ring every ounce of come from his balls, wanted her to receive ev
erything he had to give.

  Lungs heaving, Eli gently settled Nikki’s boneless body on the ground and wrapped himself around her, being careful not to withdraw from her body. They couldn’t stay here long, not with the grass against their skin. They’d be itching like crazy in no time.

  A small sigh escaped her lips. “Is this your way of treating insomnia?”

  Eli tucked a few sweaty strands of hair behind her ear and kissed her cheek. “Did it work?” He’d do anything that kept her demons at bay. If it meant fucking her senseless whenever she woke from a nightmare, he was happy to comply.

  She smiled and turned into his forearm. “I think so.”

  They laid there until Nikki shivered as the sweat dried on their bodies.

  Chapter Twelve

  He sat in his car and watched as the two little lovebirds nestled, and wrestled, in the back of the boy’s old, beat-up sedan. She hadn’t changed in the months he’d watched. Shy, demure, pretty. He could drop innocent from his original list. It was more than obvious she was not. In fact, he could take shy and demure off also. Apparently those attributes were only for public consumption. In the waiting room where he’d first seen her, she’d been all those things. But no, she was just like any other cunt.

  What he was witnessing at the moment proved it. What’s more, it showed just how pussywhipped the boy was. Which made him useless. He hadn’t planned on taking an extra, but this kid had to go. He’d have to work him into his plan. No doubt about it. The last thing men needed was a diluted specimen among the ranks.

  They were perched back in a clearing in the woods commonly used by teens for just this purpose. The same place they drove to every Monday night like clockwork. Many a good show they’d given him. He could have made a fortune taping them and posting them on the Internet, but he hadn’t wanted to chance them finding out someone was watching them. He smiled. Soon, their waste-of-oxygen lives would end.

  He’d do the boy first, fast. Get him out of the way so he could enjoy the girl alone. The boy would make his “male” list as his first, the girl his twenty-seventh. He licked his lips and rubbed at his rapidly approaching hard-on. Would the kid fight him? Would it be as gratifying to take a boy? He snorted. Probably not this lame-ass kid.