Nothing—nothing—had ever felt so amazing in his life.
They moved in perfect sync. Her back bowed every time he plunged in. The slap of their skin and the scent of sex filled the room, musky and earthy, driving his lust to new heights. A low hiss erupted from her, the swan coming to the fore. He could see the bird within flashing in her gaze, the flicker between her normal irises and those of the animal. He growled in appreciation of her struggle—his wolf fought to take over, to make this wild encounter even more so.
Needing the taste of her on this tongue, he opened his mouth over her shoulder. He groaned as her flavor flooded his taste buds. The wolf wanted to howl, and some instinct screamed to life within him, wrenching control away from the human as the wolf took over. He sank his fangs into her flesh, a sense of carnal possession and connection roaring through his body. She screamed and he felt her come around his cock, her inner muscles pulsing in rhythmic spasms. It only made him dig his fangs deeper. Yes. Wolf and man merged into one mind, one consciousness, one understanding. This woman belonged to him, every side of his nature claiming her. He threw back his head and snarled, and it took everything in him not to shift then and there.
Whipping her head to the side, she bit his wrist, just above where he had her hands pinned to the wall. Her teeth sank in, and he felt the claiming rip through him.
Mated.
He exploded into orgasm, pounding into her body, possessing and possessed. Come jetted from him, filling her as her sheath milked his dick. The orgasm went on forever, draining every ounce of energy out of him.
They sank to the floor in a boneless heap, not even bothering to try to make it to the bed. Blood rushed in his ears, and he could hear nothing over the pounding of his heart. He turned his head to look at her, saw her breasts heaving as she fought for breath. Her eyes were closed, but a little smile curled up the corners of her mouth.
God, she was beautiful.
And she was his mate.
A feeling of utter contentment suffused Tori. It was the foreignness of the sensation that woke her. Eyes still closed, she frowned. Birds chirped cheerily outside her window, and light filtered through her eyelids. It was morning, but the usual jangling of instincts and nagging headache were absent for the first time in days. She wasn’t twitching with the need for nicotine or caffeine. Everything inside her was quiet, peaceful…serene.
A long, slow breath escaped her. She grinned and stretched against the mattress. Awesome. She felt awesome. The tips of her fingers encountered warm, resilient flesh.
Memories flooded in, the night before exploding through her mind. Her eyes flared wide, she bolted upright and her hand went to the back of her shoulder. A shudder passed through her, a lightning flash of sensation shooting straight to her pussy. Heart pounding, she sucked in a deep, calming lungful of air. His scent hit her, along with a hint of the sex they’d had. Repeatedly. All night long.
Oh, Jesus Christ. What had she done? Everything had felt natural and perfect the night before, but they’d marked each other. As mates. She was mated to the next wolf clan Alpha. Holy fucking shit. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around her legs. It was all she could do not to rock herself in a fetal position. There were no excuses she could give. She hadn’t had enough booze to pardon this level of stupidity. She’d known what she was doing when she bit him—she just couldn’t resist after he’d marked her.
Pinching her eyes closed, she shook her head. Panic threatened to blast through her control, and she tightened her arms around her legs, her nails digging into her skin.
He made a noise, shifting to resettle on the sheets. Turning her head, she looked at him. The intensity that usually seemed to radiate off Bastian had disappeared. Hair tumbling over his forehead, he was almost boyishly innocent in his sleep. A tiny smile curved his lips.
Something loosened deep inside her, something she didn’t want to acknowledge at all. So she nudged him in the ribs, far less gently than she probably should have. There was no reason she should have to deal with this mess on her own—it was his problem too. “Hey. Wake up.”
He grunted, a line forming between his brows. Silver eyes locked on her. “Good morning.”
“Well, it’s morning anyway.” She squeezed her legs together, wishing she’d grabbed some clothes before she’d woken him. Normally, she didn’t care about her state of dress, but somehow she felt more stripped naked than she’d ever been in her life. This man she’d only met yesterday was her mate. It was like a drunken Vegas wedding gone way the hell wrong.
Because she was now mated to the wolf Beta. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Or maybe not, since fucking was what had gotten her into this in the first place. That, and her need to be distracted from the cigarettes. Which made her body suddenly remember that mating euphoria didn’t cancel out addiction. A sudden headache bloomed at her temples.
Groaning, she scrubbed a palm down her face. “I really need a cigarette. No, I need to fucking chain smoke an entire carton.”
“Wow, yeah.” His voice was still rough with sleep, the huskiness far too sexy for her peace of mind. “That’s exactly what a man wants to hear the morning after he’s mated.”
She snorted. “You know what I mean, Lykaios. What have we done? This…this…”
Reality hit her in a sudden rush, and this time there was no forcing down the panic. It felt like all the oxygen was sucked out of the room at once, and she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t speak. The room spun before her eyes in sickening circles, but then hard arms came around her, and she was cradled against a broad chest.
“Breathe, sweetheart. Just breathe. It’s going to be okay.”
The deep rumble of his voice was comforting on a level that scared her. She tried to push out of his embrace, but he tightened his grip and rocked her gently.
“It’s all right, sweetheart,” he crooned, stroking a hand down her hair. “Everything’s going to be all right.”
“How?” The hot sting of tears hit her eyes, and she clenched her fists to try to hang on to her composure. “How could it possibly be all right?”
His fingers buried in her curls. “I don’t really know yet, but we’ll figure it out.”
While that was probably supposed to soothe her, make her feel like they were in this together, that thought alone was enough to freak her out. Her muscles tightened, and her mouth went dry, her heart rabbiting in her chest. Dread tangled and tripped over horror within her. She would swear her life flashed before her eyes. One night, one choice, and all her freedom just got wrenched away. Being the mate of a man like him meant never-ending expectations and politicking, meant her tinkering with cars and displaying funky artwork were out the window.
What had she done? That was the question that kept pounding in her head. What had she done? What the hell had she done?
Mating was something a shifter could never escape. There was no undoing it—there was nothing as civilized as a human divorce for her kind. It was too late to flee, because there was no way to out-fly herself. She felt like a cage snapped around her, locking her in, clipping her wings and keeping her grounded.
Forever.
Chapter Five
Bastian went back to his bungalow, showered and dressed for another day of meetings with the Leonidases. Tori and Bastian arrived at the office separately, didn’t so much as look at each other and studiously ignored the pointed glances from the others. Tori was dragged into the meeting to take notes and, of course, the only chair available was the one next to him. No escaping the awareness that sparked between them.
He wasn’t sure if the others could still smell her on him—he’d never been able to sense that a person was mated—but with him wearing long sleeves and her wearing a jacket over her blouse, he was certain they hadn’t seen the new mate marks. But he could sense the intense curiosity of everyone in the room, so the secret was out. Or maybe it was just obvious Tori and he had slept together.
He didn’t know, but he did
know he hadn’t slept much with the marathon sexfest, so he was short-tempered and irritable and covering it with the kind of excruciating politeness that made his sister and cousin wince. They knew him too well, which somehow added to his annoyance.
Even though he was ignoring Tori, it also pissed him off that Tori ignored him. It made no sense, and he wanted to kick his own ass for the stupidity. Clenching his jaw, he glanced across the table at Jason, the leopard leader.
No more skirting the subject, Bastian threw down the question no one had wanted to ask. “Well, if we all suspect our fathers, the question now becomes what are we going to do about it? What are our next steps?”
Jason tapped a thumb against the wooden tabletop. He looked at Celeste for a moment, then exchanged glances with each of his brothers. The silence stretched to a breaking point. He leaned back in his chair. “We need proof. There’s no way to confront men with that much power and influence in our world without irrefutable evidence.”
“They’re too careful for that,” Zander commented. “If it were that easy to get evidence, we’d have it by now.”
“Maybe not,” Nico and Bastian said at the same time. Bastian gestured to let the other man speak.
Nico nodded. “We’ve been digging for information, but have any of us gone to our contacts and said, ‘these are the men we suspect. Look into them, specifically?’ I know I haven’t. I just wasn’t sure enough.”
“Exactly,” Bastian agreed. “We have a preponderance of circumstantial evidence, hunches and gut instincts, but nothing conclusive. However, we haven’t gone digging into our fathers’ activities, not really. And how many of our informants would have the balls to go after a clan leader—retired or otherwise—without at least some subtle encouragement from us?”
“Mine wouldn’t.” Adrian shrugged. “Likely they suspect what we suspect, but have probably turned the same blind eye that we have. They didn’t want to see it.”
Zander snorted and scrubbed a hand over his hair. “Hell, I don’t really want to see it. The old man has finally lost his ever-loving mind. Thinking you know best until you betray your own race? Shit.”
“That hits the nail on the head,” Tori said, speaking up for the first time. She hadn’t written down a thing, despite her being ostensibly brought in for note taking. “We could all be screwed on this one.” She glanced at her two bosses. “Okay, I have a few people I can ask discreetly, which is probably why you guys wanted me here today.”
Jason nodded unapologetically. “As you said, all our asses are on the line right now. You always know everything almost before it happens.” He cocked an eyebrow. “It’s been an annoying habit for years, but it means you have contacts none of the rest of us do. Use them.”
“Aye-aye, captain.” She gave him a little salute, but stress lines formed around her mouth and eyes.
She seemed as tired and wrung-out as Bastian felt. It was the first time that day he’d really let himself look at her since they’d arrived this morning. Hours ago. She’d been obviously upset when she realized they’d marked each other, but he’d missed the fact that her anxiety level hadn’t lowered at all. In fact, she appeared even more strung out than she had when she’d woken him. Not a good sign, especially with a woman as unpredictable as Tori.
The Leonidases and he made plans for getting in touch again after they’d had a chance to dig into their fathers’ affairs and then broke for lunch. Nico and Bastian would be heading back home after the meal, and it hit Bastian that he’d have to leave Tori behind. Something close to panic gripped his gut. No. He couldn’t leave without her. Everything inside him rebelled at the very thought. They were mated, thus they belonged together. She’d just have to get used to it. And she was unlikely to do so from thousands of miles away.
He tossed his sandwich on the table and rose to go search for his mate. She’d disappeared with an excuse that she needed to use the restroom, but that was fifteen minutes ago. Drawing in a breath, he followed the sweet smell of her until he reached a room filled with filing cabinets. She was bent over an open drawer, and he had to admire the way her skirt pulled tight across her backside.
He’d been watching for only a few moments when her muscles tensed and her head made a little jerky half-turn. The movement was very bird-like, and very much the action of prey who’d sensed they were being hunted.
“Yes, Bastian?” She didn’t even look at him, but he liked that she automatically knew it was him. He had no idea how sensitive a swan’s nose or ears were, if her senses told her it was him or if it was something else. Did she also have that awareness that told him whenever she was near?
“Come with me to Tennessee.” It was not quite an order, but the tone wasn’t one that invited discussion on the matter. It was a tone he’d learned from his father.
Still, in the rational part of his mind, the human part that wasn’t reacting to animal instinct, he had to ask himself what the fuck he was doing. This was the worst possible time to try to establish a relationship, to get mated. But sometimes the wolf’s instinct ruled, and the animal within had declared the time here and now and the woman to be a shifter not of his species. An infuriatingly independent, stubborn, smart, beautiful woman. A swan.
This was insane. Clearly, he’d lost his damn mind.
And yet, what came out of his mouth just continued the madness. “I have to go home, and I want you to come with me, Tori.”
She finished tucking a file into the drawer, bumped it closed with her hip, and turned around. She folded her arms. “I live here. I work here.”
“And?” He kept his pose casual, his voice reasonable. “They don’t give you vacation? I’m just talking about a visit to see if we can sort out this mating business.”
Her eyes narrowed, as if she didn’t quite trust what he was saying. Smart woman. He definitely wasn’t as reasonable as he sounded, but he’d say whatever he had to say to get her home with him. The wolf in him would not leave her. He’d rather not tie her up and toss her on the plane, but it might come to that.
Her lips pursed. “Uh-huh. And when I want to leave at the end of the visit and you don’t want me to?”
It was all he could do to hold in a growl. He didn’t quite manage to maintain a laidback attitude, but at least he didn’t throw her over his shoulder he-man style. But, damn, he wanted to. “We’re mated. It’s a done deal.”
Oozing nonchalance, she shrugged. “Mate in haste, repent at leisure.”
His brow lowered, and a muscle began ticking in his jaw. “So, you don’t accept our mating?”
Anger flashed in her gaze, along with something almost…scared. “I don’t accept that it means you own me and tell me where to go and when. I still make the decisions about my life.”
Tori…scared? He tried to see beyond the aggressive tone. The fastest way to defeat an opponent was to put himself in their shoes, then use their weaknesses against them. Not that he wanted to take advantage of his mate’s weaknesses, but from her point of view, he could see how terrifying this situation could be. In the end, because of his position in the wolf clan, his life was less flexible. He had to live on pack land; his career wasn’t exactly optional. He was born to the job. Which meant it was her life that would be uprooted and changed completely if they were going to live together as mated couples should. She had every right to be upset, worried, scared.
Even knowing all that, the wolf clawed inside him, demanding its mate accept what they were to each other. “Last time I checked, slavery was illegal in this country. I never claimed to own anyone, least of all you. I haven’t taken your choices away. You decided to mark me too, Haida.” He leaned against the doorjamb. “It wasn’t all me, it was you too. Plus, my instincts demanded it. And I’m guessing yours did as well.”
A reluctant grin tugged at her lips. “Yeah, like I’d confess to anything like that.”
He winked. “It would certainly play into my nefarious plot if you did.”
“Very nefarious.” She tossed he
r hair over her shoulder. “Fine, you want me to come to Tennessee? Then I want your word—as the wolf Beta and as a man—that if I come to visit you and then I want to leave, you will let me go.”
Damn, she’d maneuvered that well. She had him over a barrel and she knew it. He had to admire that, even while he was annoyed by it. He already knew he’d give her what she wanted, because as much as he might fantasize about tying her to his bed and keeping her there forever, that wasn’t realistic. She had to be willing. Still, he stared her down for a full thirty seconds before she jammed her fists down on her hips and hissed at him swan-style.
“Your word, Bastian, or you can hop your canine ass on that plane and leave. Without me. I’m sure it’ll be a fun trip with Nico for company.”
He bit back a grin, enjoying ruffling her feathers as much she had no doubt enjoyed harassing him the day before. “You have my word.”
Her pert chin firmed. “Your word that…”
Really? She felt it was necessary to have him spell it out? That was insulting. He ran his tongue down a long fang. “You have my word that if you come to visit me and then you want to leave, I will let you go.”
“And you won’t encourage or allow anyone else in your clan to stop me?”
And that was where his temper snapped. “I’m not a fucking kidnapper, Tori! I don’t have to hold a woman hostage to keep her around. If I say I’ll let you go, then I will. Give me some credit.”
She winced, glancing away. “You’re right. That was over the line. I’m sorry.”
He jabbed a finger at her, noting it was tipped with a deadly talon. “I didn’t force any of this on you, so don’t act like I did.”
Illicit Passions Page 5