“Deal,” Liz said, laughing. “Just know that we all have to take a turn, so if you’re here long enough, you’ll have to get your hands bloody anyway.”
The moment Liz disappeared around the corner and back into the kitchen, Mikayla turned back to her men. She didn’t remember what they’d been talking about just moments before, but her current question suddenly felt like top priority. “How long until we leave for River’s Bend?”
* * * *
Hunter watched his mate from across the room. He’d eaten the meat she’d prepared, pleased to know that such delicious food had been cooked by his mate’s hands. His dinner had been heartier, tastier than usual.
He was pretty sure he was falling in love with Mikayla, and love was something that had never really crossed his mind much. Like all wolf shifters, he’d known he’d eventually meet his fated, claim her, and that would be that. The mate bond would keep them connected for as long as they both lived. But the way his heart felt when he looked at Mikayla wasn’t anything fate could control. Hunter wanted more than to care for her and keep her safe. He wanted to make her love him.
Mikayla smiled widely and the whole room lit up for him. But when her laughter carried to his ears, he felt a tightening in his balls and in his heart. He wanted to make her laugh like that, every day of their life together. To his eyes, she was already a great beauty, but when she smiled and laughed, he wanted to fall at her feet and thank the gods for giving an ordinary wolf like him something so spectacular.
Unfortunately, he would soon have to wipe that happy smile right off her face. Despite what Jack had said about not wanting an alpha, it was clear she expected them to stay with her in River’s Bend. As happy as they both were to have found her, they couldn’t drop everything and go home with their mate. There was the underground, first of all. They couldn’t leave it two men short. And there were the vampires. Hunter couldn’t live any kind of peaceful, happy life until he knew they’d been destroyed. Jack said he wasn’t sure he’d ever want to live under another alpha again, so that was another issue. Hunter hoped that when everything was said and done, he’d at least give on that score.
Either way, it would be hard on her, being separated from her mates like that, especially with their bond so new. It would be hard on them, too. If Jack felt anything like he did for her, saying good-bye would be one of the most difficult things he’d ever done. But difficult or not, he wouldn’t allow her to remain in the shelter and risk losing her altogether. He’d suffer a thousand hells before he allowed that. Eventually, they’d have to take her home, and honestly, the sooner the better.
“Right, Hunter?”
Oh, shit. He hadn’t heard a thing Gabe had said. He’d sat down to discuss strategy with Jack, Gabe, and Gavin, but his mind was a million miles away. “Sorry, man. What?” Mikayla had just gotten up and walked away, her lush ass teasing him with every step. She was headed toward her bathroom, he guessed, and every part of him screamed to follow her.
The other men laughed, and Jack just shook his head. It wasn’t like Hunter to be so distracted.
Gabe rolled his eyes. “Go. We’ll catch you up later.”
Hunter wasn’t the indecisive type. He was on his feet and sprinting down the hall after his woman before Gabe even finished his statement.
* * * *
Mikayla didn’t get much warning, just a tiny prickle on the back of her neck, and then Hunter was on her, his momentum carrying her over the threshold. She barely registered the slamming of the bathroom door. He pulled her hard against him and then proceeded to kiss her with such passion that she could hardly catch her breath anyway.
When he finally tore his mouth away, it was only to take a quick look around the room. “We’re not finished.”
He backed her against the bathroom door, not missing a beat of his tactile exploration of her body. His lips were hot on her neck, her shoulder, her collar bone. He lifted her shirt and lowered her bra, making her breasts, aching with need, spill out at him. He didn’t disappoint, growling as he kneaded them in his big hands, then bending to tease first one nipple, then the other, with his lips and tongue.
Mikayla sighed with pleasure when he left off the stiffened peaks to mouth her breasts, licking between them and all over their undersides, but when he moved back to take one of her hardened nipples between his teeth, she moaned aloud and arched toward him, grabbing his head and holding her tightly against him.
“Like that?” he asked.
“You know I do.” She liked a gentle touch, at times, but there was just something about a little manhandling that really got her fire going.
He dropped to his knees in front of her, tugging at the waistband of her leggings. “Let’s see how wet you are for me.”
Mikayla gasped as he yanked her leggings down with one hand, even as he reached between her legs with the other. His knuckles grazed her pussy and she knew… Damn, she just knew there was no way he’d be disappointed.
“You’re so wet, I don’t know whether to taste you or fuck you.”
Her pussy clenched hard at his words, letting loose more of the cream that made him so appreciative. “Both.” She wanted to feel his cock inside her pounding away. It had been well over a day since he’d fucked her pussy, but since he was offering his mouth, too… “Definitely both.”
Hunter pulled her leggings down the rest of the way and she quickly stepped out of them, not caring that they were on a floor of questionable cleanliness. This was no time to worry about the little things. She flattened her back against the door and bit down on her bottom lip to keep from crying out as he nudged her legs further apart and moved in for the kill.
He blew gently on her pussy, then gave a few exploratory licks that made her want to cry from ecstasy and simultaneously bark at him like a drill sergeant. She grabbed hold of his head, trying to tell him what she needed without words. He seemed to get the message, setting his tongue to the task of licking her from her dripping pussy hole to her clit and then back again. He followed that path repeatedly until she was bucking against him, then changed up, parting her pussy lips to fasten on her clit.
“Oh…Oh, damn.” Her words came out low and deep, and then she had no more words because he sucked hard on her clit and doubled the fun by pushing two fingers inside her cunt. He worked them in and out of her while sucking on her inflamed bud, alternating hard sucks and flutters of his tongue. She held onto his hair for dear life as he finger fucked her and licked her pussy, bringing her swiftly and steadily to the brink of her climax. “Don’t stop. Hunter, don’t stop. I’m going to come.”
To her dismay, he backed off quickly, causing her to whimper with need denied. He made up for it, though, by quickly discarding his jeans and using his body to pin her to the door. “You’re going to come, all right. But not until my dick’s deep inside you.”
“Tell me it’s not against the rules if we do it in here.” She silently cursed herself for asking, even as the words left her lips.
His hands were on her ass, squeezing and lifting her, and her legs wrapped themselves around him as his cock found its home. Mikayla held onto him tightly, gasping as she felt the tip of his cock press up against her pussy hole. She hoped he didn’t answer. She no longer wanted to know. She wasn’t even sure why she’d cared in the first place.
“Fuck the rules,” he ground out as he entered her in one sure, deep thrust.
Mikayla convulsed against him as his mouth found hers and his cock began its surging stroke. Her pussy fought to keep its grip on his cock every time he pulled away, and she groaned with joy each time he surged forward again. It didn’t take long for the intensity to build.
Hunter released her mouth and kissed his way to the mark he’d made when claiming her. “Touch your clit. Stroke it for me.”
Keeping one arm around his neck, she found her clit with two fingers, just as he began to lick her bite mark in a slow circle. Her pussy throbbed, twitched, and gave up the fight, sending her reeling into a blind
ing release.
* * * *
Hunter groaned when he heard her breath hitch and then that telltale moan she gave just before she came. But the pulsations of her pussy, the way that greedy, wet mouth tightened and pulled at him. It was almost too much to take. He ground his teeth, sweat covering his body as he fought to wait it out, hold off. She’d found her release, but he wanted to see her all the way through it. He wanted to keep pounding into her sweet pussy while the final shocks shook her body.
He barely held off until the waves had ended and she gave a soft little sigh of satisfaction. Taking his cue, he tightened his hands on her ass, holding her steady.
“Hold on tight,” he told her as he drove into her harder and harder, feeling her pussy stretch and tighten around him with every thrust, hearing her pant as he surged into her faster and faster still.
When she breathed his name against his neck, it was almost his undoing. Adjusting his grip on her ass, he worked a finger just inside her asshole, which provoked a new round of moans. He wanted to fuck her all night, everywhere, in every hole. But Hunter was just a man, well, a man wolf, and neither part of him could wait any longer. When she began to buck against him, her movements, her soft cries of pleasure pushed him over the edge, and his cock swelled beyond belief, spurting deep inside her. He continued to thrust, wanting every last sensation his mate’s body offered. Damn if she didn’t make him come harder than he ever had. And damn if she didn’t come crashing over the edge again to follow him.
Chapter 5
The next few days in the shelter passed slowly. Mikayla fell into a daily routine of playing cards with Liz, Brooke and anyone else who wanted to join in. Besides that she helped out with cooking and cleaning the shelter and spent as much time as possible outdoors with her men. It was still wintery cold, but since her time above ground was so limited, she couldn’t bring herself to complain about it. Her men had been talking of taking her back home soon, and then coming back here without her. Mikayla was dead set against that, and they debated the topic daily.
As far as exercise, she wasn’t getting enough and that threatened to drive her nuts at times. Often, though, Jack and Hunter managed to give her an extra half-hour or so outside, which helped some. It seemed she was something of a bad influence on them. They were apparently willing to break the rules, many of which they’d helped make, if doing so meant she’d be more comfortable or happier.
Her favorite time of the day often came in the middle of the night when one or both of them came to snag her from her pallet in the women’s bedroom and take her to the cozy pallet they’d set up in the kitchen. It didn’t matter how deeply asleep she was when they came for her. She always got eagerly to her feet and settled into their arms with a deep sigh. Of course, that meant she didn’t get as much sleep as the other women because they only managed to hold her for so long before the fire between them burned wildly and the mating began. But she’d be a fool to complain about that, so she didn’t.
What she did complain about, under her breath so as not to be a total selfish bitch, was the night that neither of them came for her. She woke up to the sound of activity, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and realizing that she’d slept the entire night without either of her mates.
Grumbling about it to her men over breakfast, she’d learned that Liz and Gavin had made it to the little kitchen love nest first. Mikayla guessed she had to consider herself lucky that her friend and the panther weren’t fighting over that little bit of privacy every night, and she wondered why. Liz was the only female who seemed above the law enough to sleep in the men’s room, but Jack and Hunter insisted there was no fucking going on. That being the case, it seemed Liz and Gavin didn’t mate all that much. Maybe it was because they weren’t true mates. Perhaps the pull to couple wasn’t as strong.
Of course, the moment breakfast was over and the men wandered off to do their various duties, Mikayla pulled her friend aside and asked her. It was her duty, after all, to look after her good friend whenever possible. If that meant checking on why she wasn’t being satisfied every night, so be it.
Mikayla mocked a glare at Liz. “You took our spot last night.”
Liz pulled an exaggeratedly apologetic look, then gave up and started laughing. “You have to give them a break, Mikayla. If you fuck them too much, you’ll wear them out.”
“Never. My men were built to last.” They were. At least, they’d better be. “It’s okay, though, I know you and Gavin don’t get much time to mate, so I forgive you for depriving me.”
“Oh, we have plenty of time.” Liz’s lingering smile turned into a huge grin. “We make love every day.”
“Um…really?” Maybe he cornered Liz in the bathroom like Hunter had done with her. She’d needed Hunter so badly, and he’d delivered so well, but she didn’t want to fuck there every day. As often as it was cleaned and as much as they worked to keep it smelling fresh, it was still a bathroom. Only her extreme need for her mate had allowed her to forget that for a time. “Okay, I’m dying here. Spill. Where?”
“Well, you’re getting to know Gavin, right?” Liz watched her closely, so Mikayla nodded. “Where do you think he’s most comfortable?”
It only took Mikayla a half-second. “Outside?”
Liz nodded. “Every day.”
“I wouldn’t mind that either, except it’s just so cold.”
“You always were a wuss when it came to a little winter weather.” Liz shrugged. “I don’t mind. He keeps me warm enough. Sometimes, though, it has to be quick, and I needed more last night, so I bullied him into snagging the kitchen before your men got to it.”
Mikayla laughed at Liz’s self-satisfied wink. “You bullied him?” It was hard to imagine anyone coercing that fierce panther into doing anything at all, even something he wanted to do.
“It wasn’t hard. I let him have his way with the outdoor thing most of the time, but when I tell him I need something…more, he doesn’t put up a fight.”
“Good. You seem happy.”
“I am.”
“Then I’m happy for you.”
Mikayla had been so intent on getting the scoop on the mysterious lack of lovemaking between Liz and Gavin that she’d missed something going on in the main room. There was a flurry of activity.
“What’s all this?” she asked, getting to her feet and giving Liz a hand up.
“Gavin said some of the women would go home today.”
It turned out that six of the women would get to rejoin their packs, if anything was left of them. Mira would go to, and they would see if one of the stronger packs would be willing to take her in. Brooke was among those headed home. She managed to look thrilled beyond belief yet deeply unhappy at the same time. Lucas would stay with the underground, and that was clearly not high on Brooke’s list of happy revelations. Teen love.
Mikayla walked over to where Jack stood packing a bag. She recognized it as the one they’d used with a harness on the way there. “Are you both going?”
“Yes, but don’t worry. Gabe, Gavin, and a few others will remain here and keep you safe while we’re gone. And before we leave, I’ll show you where the weapons are and how to use one, just in case.”
“Oh, you don’t need to do that. I’m coming with you.”
Jack’s hands stilled and he turned to face her, his “no” written all over his face. “You’re staying here, Mikayla.”
“Nope. Going.”
“It’s not safe. We don’t know what we might encounter on the way. You’ll stay here where it’s safe and I don’t have to worry about you.”
“I’m going, Jack. I feel protective of Brooke and she doesn’t really feel close to any of the other women. I need to go and see her safe with my own eyes. Besides, there’s risk here. It’s not like they could never find this place.”
“It’s safer here than on the road, and you’ve only known her for a few days.”
“I’ve only known you for a few days.”
He grumbled a gro
wl. “That’s different. You were born for me.”
She sure liked the sound of that, but she wasn’t going to be distracted. “How soon are we leaving?”
Jack zipped the bag and turned to face her, just staring at her for a moment before pulling her into his arms. He leaned down as if to kiss her, stopping just shy of her parted lips. “The rest of us are leaving within the hour. You, my mate, are staying here.”
Mikayla shrugged out of his arms, ignoring the thrill it gave her to hear him call her that. “I don’t like being ordered to do anything, so now I have to ask how you intend to stop me from going. I’m not staying here, going out of my mind in this box and having to worry about everyone at the same time.”
He blinked at her, and it was obvious he hadn’t expected her to put up a fight. “You’re my mate, and you will obey me in this.”
“Or?”
“Or what?”
At first, she’d merely found his decree about her staying there mildly annoying. “How do you expect to keep me here, when you’re not here to stop me from leaving? What am I, your prisoner? Will you find something to tie me to like a dog on a leash? I mean, as you said, you expect me to obey. Or maybe you’ll have one of other men restrain me?”
His growl was much louder that time. “They know better than to lay a hand on you.”
“Then a leash it is, right? Because there’s no other way you’re going to make me stay here in this coffin of a shelter, waiting to see if you come back in one piece and constantly worried about who might find us while you’re gone.”
“Mikayla…”
“No. Fucking. Way.”
“You’re being dramatic.” He blew out a breath. “You’ve been fine here for a week. It’s much more likely that we’ll see an attack on the road than back here.”
They’d attracted a bit of attention, and Brooke looked so hopeful it tugged on Mikayla’s heartstrings. She was more determined than ever to go, seeing how much the girl wanted her on the trip. “Well you’d better get the rope ready, because I’m leaving this place when you do.”
Fated for Mikayla Page 11