by Maddy Barone
Rose shook her head.
Cayla snorted. “Did I tell you about that guy I had last night? He must have saved for a year to afford an appointment with me. Some skinny farmer from Missouri. He wrote a letter to reserve his spot, saying he wanted the works. So I planned to show him the best time he’d ever had in his life. And what does he do? Tells me to undress and get in bed. Then he takes all of three minutes to huff and puff and groan over me. Five minutes, from the time he opens the door until he shoots off. Then he gets up, gets dressed, says thank you ma’am, and leaves. He could have got that at Gabe’s for a quarter of the price.”
“Yeah, but now he can say he’s been with a Limit Girl,” said Tasha.
They all laughed again. Rose listened with horrified fascination as the ladies told story after story about their clients. She was listening so hard she found herself knitting when she should have purled and had to rip out several rows of Sky’s sock. She wondered if she would remember these stories every time she saw these socks.
By ten o’clock, Rose had ripped almost as much as she had knitted. She put her knitting away. “Good night,” she said to everyone.
“I’m going out to check on Odell,” Ms. Mary announced. “Come with me, Rose?”
They walked through the dining room and the kitchen in silence. Ms. Mary leaned on Rose’s arm with one hand and carried the lantern in the other. As they left the mudroom for the yard, Ms. Mary spoke quietly. “I hope the girls didn’t bother you, talking about Sky that way.”
“Oh, no.” Rose hoped she didn’t sound as uncomfortable as she felt.
The older woman patted her arm. “Good. They don’t mean any harm. Oh, look. There’s that nice boy, Snow. How is Miss Odell, Mr. Snow?”
Snow leapt off the step of the women’s dorm. “She’s in a lot of pain.” He sounded tortured. “I want to make it stop, but I can’t.”
Ms. Mary passed the lantern to Rose so she could give the strapping wolf warrior a hug. “I know it must be hard for you. Healing takes time, and it’s not pain-free. Miss Nelson is with her?”
“Yeah.”
Silent as a breeze in grass, Stone appeared beside them. He thumped a fist into Snow’s shoulder. “Sara is a good nurse. She’s helping your mate right now.”
“It looks as if everything here is going as well as can be expected.” Ms. Mary took Rose’s arm again. “Good night, gentlemen.”
Up in her bedroom, Rose set her knitting on the floor beside the dresser. What a long day. Rose sagged into the wooden chair. Too much had happened today for her to be able to keep track of it. Starting with this morning, when Sky had driven her nearly crazy with kisses, right here in this bed. Of course, she had ruined that trying to make his testicles into flatbread. If it had happened to someone else she would have thought it was funny. But the expression of agony on Sky’s face…A slightly hysterical giggle escaped. Okay, maybe it was a little funny. Remembering Odell’s injuries banished the amusement.
Weariness dragged at her as she stood up to be sure the window was firmly shut. She didn’t want Mitzi to come in and attack Sky again. How did that cat keep getting in here? She pulled off her blouse and tossed it on the bed before leaning to pull her sleeping shirt from under the pillow.
At the sound of the door opening, Rose snatched her discarded blouse off the bed and held it protectively over her chest. “Sky! What are you doing here? I thought you were going to be out late.”
He stood in the door, crisp white shirt unbuttoned to hang open, suit coat slung carelessly over his shoulder, the glare of electric light gleaming on the hard ripple of his abs. His stare was almost tangible. Rose shivered under the weight of it. “I’m back,” he said. “I couldn’t concentrate on my cards because all I could think about was kissing you.”
A flush of pleasure warmed her. Not sexual pleasure—well, maybe a little of it was sexual—but happiness that the kisses had affected him as much as they had her. “Well, step out for a minute so I can put on my nightgown and robe.”
The door closed with a quiet snick. “You won’t need them tonight.” Sky moved to her with the easy saunter of a predator who’d found his prey, the same glide she’d seen so often in his cousins, and then his hands fisted in her hair and his mouth fastened over hers with hot greed.
For a moment she was back in the dark hallway at the den, a frightened and overwhelmed sixteen year old girl being manhandled by a bossy boy only a year older. That feeling dropped away at once. She wasn’t sixteen anymore. She knew who she was, and she knew what she wanted. Maybe she should have let Tasha give her some pointers. She returned Sky’s kiss with all the passion locked inside her. With her hands exploring the feel of his arms and shoulders, only the press of his chest against hers kept her blouse from falling and leaving her exposed. He was hard muscle covered by smooth satiny skin under the cotton of his shirt, and his mouth pushed all other thoughts out of her head. His hand, large and warm, smoothed down her bare back, and then up to smooth over the side of her breast.
Her bare breast.
She managed to force an inch of space between them, panting. “Wait. What are you doing?”
“Princess, if you have to ask that, I must be doing something wrong.”
He clamped his hands over her rear end and hauled her so close she could feel the ridge of his arousal dig into her belly. She couldn’t stop herself from rubbing against him, needing to ease the hot ache in her body. She was a virgin, but she knew what her body wanted. Even a few days ago, she might have hesitated, but at this moment she knew what she craved. It wasn’t just her body. All of her needed Sky.
“Tonight,” he said in a harsh whisper against her neck. “I’ve waited a long time for you, Rose. Tonight, in the bed right behind you, you’re going to accept my mate claim.”
“I am?” Her voice lifted in a cracked squeak that turned to a breathy moan when his mouth closed over her breast. She had never felt anything like it. All her curiosity about sex, her private carnal longings, rushed to the place between her thighs. Using her fingertips on either side of his jaw, she raised his face to meet his eyes. “Yeah, Sky, I am. I accept your mate claim.”
Joy blazed on his face. His lips trembled when they spread in a smile. Just before he pressed his cheek to hers she caught a gleam of tears brighten his eyes.
“Oh, God, I’ve waited…I was afraid…” he murmured, his voice thick and hoarse, as if he had something in his throat. “I was afraid you’d repudiate me.”
His hair was soft on her lips. “I tried. Taye wouldn’t let me. Neither would you.”
He lifted his head to smile down at her. “Thank God for Taye.”
“I was pretty frustrated at the time.” She smiled a little, remembering how she’d begged to be allowed to court Jasper. Right now she could barely remember what Jasper looked like. “We don’t need to talk about that right now, do we? Isn’t there something else we could be doing?”
“Yes.” He laughed unsteadily, raising a finger to trace her lips. “I’ll be gentle.”
When he reached to turn out the light she caught his arm. “Leave the light on.”
“Okay.”
He took a short step back and looked his fill at her naked torso. Her nipples pebbled under the heat of his gaze. A shiver went through her when he touched a single fingertip to her collarbone and dragged it down her chest to trace circles on one breast, each circle smaller, until his finger rested on her nipple. When he flicked his nail back and forth over the tight point, liquid heat burned between her legs. He knew it, too. She could see his feral smile as he inhaled.
She reached to nudge his shirt aside so she could look at the tattoo on his pec. It made her smile to see it. When she laid her hand over the wolf, his heart pounded under her fingers. She could feel it and it excited her to know her touch could do that to him.
With a few impatient movements he shed his shirt. When she reached for the button on her pants he stopped her. “No, let me.”
No one had undress
ed her since she was two. “No, let me undress you first.”
He stepped back with a smile, holding his arms out to the side. “Here I am.”
The last person she had undressed had been Little Feather, and his clothing had consisted of a diaper. That probably didn’t count. She wasn’t familiar with belts or men’s dress trousers, but she managed to keep herself from fumbling. The belt came open with a merry jingle. Rose drew in a slow breath, looking at the outline of his…What should she call it? Penis? Cock? Erection? It was obvious beneath the loose fabric of his pants and she couldn’t tear her gaze from it.
He saw her looking. “I want you,” he whispered. “I always want you, but right now it’s almost painful. I want to tear your clothes off. I want you and me, naked, on the bed. But don’t worry. I’ll take this slow.”
“Not too slow?” she said, trying for confident teasing. It came out in a squeak.
“Only as slow as you want,” he promised. “Unbutton my pants. Then you can really see what you’re looking at.”
Rose swallowed, feeling very much like a timid virgin. “Um, yeah.”
She refused to be timid, and she wouldn’t be a virgin for much longer. Swallowing again, she slid the button out of its hole and eased the zipper down. Holy cow. She stared. She had seen penises before. It was impossible to avoid doing that with the men at the den changing forms in plain view, but she’d never seen one erect. She peeled his pants down farther to see all of him. She didn’t know if he was longer or thicker than other men, but he certainly looked thick and long to her. The head of his penis was darker than the shaft, and only a sprinkling of dark hair covered his testicles. She found his penis oddly beautiful.
“No underwear,” she murmured, stroking a hand down his hard flat stomach to the tender skin just above his penis.
He shuddered. “No.” He toed his shoes off and struggled out of his pants to stand before her completely naked. “Touch me, Rose,” he ordered. “Bend down and touch me.”
The commanding tone almost made her step back. She stood very straight and raised her eyebrows. “Yes, Master,” she said sweetly.
A silent laugh shook him. Rose was fascinated by the way it made his erection bob. “Dear, sweet mate, please touch me,” he corrected himself.
He was warm in her hand, the skin of his shaft silky smooth. She could feel his pulse throbbing against her fingers. She wasn’t done with him yet, but crouching was uncomfortable. She stood up and smoothed her hands over his shoulders, down his arms, and together under his scrotum. She weighed it in her hand, gently pressing to feel his testicles. He groaned.
She froze. “Sorry! Did I hurt you?”
“No. This morning you hurt me.” His smile was lazy even though his breath was fast. “This? You can hurt me like this all you want.” He carefully removed her hand. “But that reminds me. I’m going to make sure that damn cat isn’t in here. I am not going to be attacked for making love to my mate tonight.”
She watched him move, all sleek muscle under brown skin, which he checked under the bed and behind the dresser. He was hers, from those broad shoulders to that narrow waist, to his tight, round butt, and long legs. And that fascinating bit standing up between his legs? That was hers, too.
“You’ve never done this with anyone else.”
He turned, apparently satisfied they were feline-free, and came back to her. “No, never.” He looked like he was suppressing a smile. “I’ve been saving myself for our wedding night.”
Another time his unexpected sense of humor might have made her laugh, but she was serious now. “So have I. Kiss me, Sky.”
Heat built as his tongue played with hers. She lost herself in the burn, feeling only him and the desire of her body. The burn increased a hundred times when he moved his mouth to her collarbone and down to her breast. She tore at the waistband of her pants.
“No,” he said firmly. “I’ll do that.”
“Well, hurry up!”
She noticed his fingers weren’t quite steady, but he got her pants open. She shoved them down and stepped out of them, standing in front of him wearing only her sensible white cotton panties. Why hadn’t she bought something silky and seductive when Tasha took her shopping? Sky didn’t seem to care, though. He stared at her with lust plain on his face. It wasn’t just lust. He looked happy, too. Delighted. Awed? It was flattering. Compared to the women here, she was too skinny to be sexy, and although her face was pretty, it wasn’t beautiful. She hesitated, and then hooked her thumbs into the sides of the plain white panties and drew them down over her narrow hips.
“Can I touch you?” he asked in a hoarse voice.
“Yeah.”
The feel of his hands sliding down her back to cup her butt made her shiver. She could become addicted to his kisses on her breasts, the sensation of his mouth sucking her nipple in, but she wanted him to touch her lower. She opened her thighs to give him a hint. He took it, releasing her nipple to watch his brown fingers trail over her belly to the blond hair at the tops of her legs.
No one had ever touched her there. Rose wasn’t sure what to expect. Sky’s fingers were so light she barely felt them as he skimmed over her. All she felt was her own need seeping like warmed syrup between her legs. When he dipped his finger lower to trace the seam between her thighs she shivered with anticipation.
“Wider,” he murmured. “Open your legs a little wider. Like this.”
He put one hand behind her knee and lifted it to curl around his thigh. She had to grab his shoulders to keep her balance. When he slid his finger inside her she had to cling hard to keep from collapsing.
“I have to sit down,” she breathed. “Can’t stand up anymore.”
With a laugh full of male satisfaction, he picked her up and placed her on the bed. “Close your eyes,” he ordered. “Just feel what I’m doing to you.”
She obeyed. The bed sank slightly as he settled himself beside her. His hand grasped her ankles and positioned her legs so her heels were twelve inches from her butt, her knees up and spread. Such a vulnerable position, but she felt completely safe with Sky. He wouldn’t take advantage…Well, she wanted him to take advantage, didn’t she?
She opened her eyes to watch him. He was completely focused on her most private place, where his fingers were petting and stroking. He seemed enthralled with making little circles around some portion of her anatomy at the top of her slit. According to a book old Mr. Gray, the librarian in Kearney, had let her examine privately in his office that must be her clitoris. At sixteen she hadn’t been completely ignorant about sex. Her mom kept her sheltered compared to her classmates, but she knew a woman’s clitoris was supposed to be a source of sexual pleasure. So far, it felt sort of mildly interesting, and maybe a little embarrassing, but nothing spectacular. Just then, Sky’s finger pressing over a particular spot tore a gasp from her.
“Good?” Sky asked urgently, “or bad?”
“Good! Keep doing that.”
He embellished, sliding a finger inside her and moving it in time with his other hand. It felt good. Why Rose was surprised by that she didn’t know, but this was wonderful. The pleasure she’d heard about but never experienced was building inside her body, just a little bit more with every stroke of his hands. She found herself shoving her hips up in time with his finger thrusts. It took her a minute or so to figure out how to move to enhance the growing tension, but when she did, she felt mindless in her pursuit of it. She knew what this was. An orgasm hovered just out of her reach. She wanted it.
“Faster, Sky,” she panted. “Please! More!”
Was that her voice moaning and gasping? Who knew she could sound like that? It was almost embarrassing to be so needy. She tried to clamp her lips together to control herself, but the orgasm hit her and she forgot everything except the hot pleasure crashing over her writhing body.
It took her a few minutes to come back to herself. She was lying in boneless relaxation on the twisted sheets with Sky beside her, propped on his elbow w
atching her with a soft smile on his lips.
“Are you all right, Princess?”
“Wonderful. Did I scream?”
The tenderness on his face turned slightly smug. “Loud enough for even human ears to hear you.”
“Oh, no.”
She covered her face with her hands. He tugged them down to kiss each palm in turn. “I’m kidding. Maybe Stone or Paint heard, but they don’t matter. We’re mated. We’re supposed to scream out loud when we make love.” A grin flitted over his lips. “When Taye first brought the Lupa to the den, us younger wolves sat outside in the hall to listen. We were all riveted.”
Rose gave a gurgle of choked laughter. “And then Stone got tired of it. Jelly, we called him back then. Remember? He would stomp around moaning about not being able to get any sleep because the mated couples kept him awake all night.”
His smile grew fierce. “Let’s keep him awake. My turn.”
She lifted her knees and opened her legs wide. “Your turn,” she agreed.
He rose over her, positioning himself between her legs. He kissed her belly, each breast, the hollow of her throat, and then, softly, her lips. “I’ll be gentle,” he promised.
She smiled, reaching between them to take his penis in her hand. The top was even darker now, and glistening with moisture. “You’re wet.”
“So are you. That’s good. It will make this easier.” He put his hand over hers, moving his erection to the entrance to her body. A shudder went through him. “Ready?”
“Yeah,” she whispered.
With her hands grasping the sheets, her body automatically braced itself for pain. He slid in an inch. She forced her muscles to relax.
“Okay?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
He pushed in a little bit more, and then a little bit more again. She waited for the pain. It didn’t come. There was a pinching, burning sensation, but that eased in only a few seconds. He felt big inside her, stretching her, but that wasn’t pain.
“It’s good,” she told him. “Keep going.”
With a groan he pushed in until she could feel their bodies flush against each other. He dropped his forehead onto the bed, breathing hard. “I’m going to move now. Okay?”