by Marie Mason
Gunner broke off the kiss and groaned harshly against her mouth. “Your name. Tell me your name.”
“Autumn.”
Gunner didn’t know what was happening. He’d felt her before he’d seen her. Watching the auburn haired witch in Kade’s arms had almost driven him to commit mayhem. He didn’t miss the irony of the situation. It had been a member of Kade’s pack that had committed the atrocities that had led to Gunner’s wolf retreating. Seeing the other man’s hold on his mate had given his animal a reason to wake up and surge forward. Awaken to claim his mate.
His mate.
“Come.” He turned and pulled the pixie behind him. Or tried to. His plump little mate wasn’t cooperating. “Come.”
“Whoa, wolf boy.” Autumn jerked at the strong arm that pulled at her. Trying to stop him from moving was like trying to stop a runaway train. Autumn had very little experience dealing with men and even less dealing with male wolves. For all intents and purposes, it appeared as if he wanted to lead her out of the ballroom and up the stairs. But, there was no way this sexy wolf wanted to take her to his bed.
“No.” She tried to pry his fingers from around her wrist.
He finally stopped and turned his attention back to her. “Why?”
“Because you just want a night of pleasure.”
“And you don’t?”
She quickly shook her head.
Another half smile that made her pussy clench. He looked too certain she was lying. Feeling the warmth spreading throughout her body, her resolve weakened. Why did she have to be such a horny pixie?
He bent his head and nuzzled the side of her neck. If she didn’t know better, she would think he was trying to scent her. That’s what she’d seen other wolves do tonight and the other women had allowed it, anxious to see if any of the handsome wolves in attendance were indeed their mate.
He placed a kiss against the side of her neck and her eyes floated close.
“Come upstairs with me,” he whispered against her skin. “Let me taste you.”
She gave a full body shiver.
“Let me fuck you.”
Her fingers dug into his shoulders to keep from falling at the first long stroke of his tongue over her throat.
She didn’t answer, but did she really need to? Her panties were soaking wet. No doubt, the smell of her arousal had flooded the air around them. Her body was so primed and ready, he could have thrust inside her and she would have taken him easily.
He bent and picked her up. She kept her grip on his shoulders as he walked, fearing he would drop her. She figured it might at least prevent her from falling too fast. She laughed to herself. She’d already fallen. Fallen for the big, bad wolf.
His stride was smooth despite the heavy burden he carried. No ordinary man could have walked so quickly carrying her weight around. The man turned his head to look directly into her eyes. As with all wolves, his were a brown. Right now, his were the darkest she had ever seen. Fierce. And brooding.
“That will earn you a spanking.”
“What?” No way did he know what she’d just been thinking. Before had just been a lucky guess.
A grunt was his only response.
The look on the wolf’s face was unwavering. His eyes damned near glowed with lustful intent. He walked through the entryway and up the curving staircase. Each step was deliberate, as though he was holding onto his control by a thread. Another full body shiver went through her. Was she about to have the bad boy sex she’d always craved? Would he be demanding? Dominate.
Heavens, she hoped so.
Amber lost herself in the warmth of her mate’s embrace. She was still bemused by the events of the night so far. Fate had granted her Christmas wish and given her a mate. And not just any mate. A big, bad wolf who had already done delicious and dirty things to her in his bedroom upstairs. Cause, not only had fate given her a mate, she’d give her the alpha of the Barringer pack.
Not that that mattered. She knew Hayden loved her and that’s all that mattered. The small stringed orchestra was playing a mixture of carols and modern day Christmas songs. Hayden’s arms were strong bands of steel around her back. One big hand cupped the curve of her ass and she didn’t mind the possessive gesture one bit. In fact, she thought it was time they returned to his room for a little more mate marking.
“Well, I’ll be damned.”
Amber rousted herself enough to ask. “What?”
If possible, Hayden gathered her closer, his breath whispering against her ear. “I think Gunner has found a mate.”
“Really?” She didn’t know that much about his brothers…her face flooded with heat. Maybe she knew the brothers a little too well she thought remembering the scene in the bedroom earlier. She smiled at the memories, especially the punishment her mate had meted out to her. She did know Gunner was the middle Barringer brother and carried a dark stain on his soul. No one had to tell her that, it was evident in the aura that surrounded him.
“Yep. Looks like a pixie.”
That piped Amber’s interest and she raised her head from the comfortable place on Hayden’s shoulder. “Where?”
Hayden moved, turned her to face the wall near the entrance of the grand room. “Near the edge.” He couldn’t believe that his brother was actually dancing.
“Oh, my.”
“What?” He twirled her back around in order to see what was happening.
“He just picked her up and carried her out of the room.”
“That’s my brother.”
A large smile spread across Hayden’s handsome face and Amber found herself smiling back. “Well, I just hope she doesn’t succumb to the Barringer charm too quickly.”
Hayden continued to move them in slow, lazy circles around the room. “Now, why would you wish a stubborn mate on my brother? Isn’t one in the family enough?”
Autumn realized they had reached the top of the stairs and he was striding toward the first room on the left. She’d recognized his last name immediately. After all, someone in his family had hired her for the evening. Recognizing this as the private wing of the big mansion, she suppressed a moan of need. He really was taking her to his bedroom.
He opened the door. Stepping through it, he lowered her to the floor and slammed the door shut behind them. He leaned back against it, his gaze raking up and down her body. She returned the favor, taking in the tousled black locks, the broad shoulders barely contained by the tux jacket. It had fallen open, revealing the crisp white shirt and matching dark blue cummerbund underneath. Her gaze traveled lower. He was hard. And big. Her eyes widened and her body hummed. He was a walking catalogue of perfect male parts.
“Spell the door,” he ordered.
“What?”
“Spell the door so my brothers can’t come in.”
“Why would they come in?”
“To irritate the hell out of me. Now do it.”
“I’m a pixie, not a witch.”
“Do not lie to me. I smell witch in your blood.”
“Well, there may be a tiny bit—”
“Do it, damn it.”
“Yes, sir.”
Autumn resisted the urge to salute him. Instead, she waved her hands, mumbling a quick protection spell. If the arrogant wolf had waited a moment, she would have explained her magic was very weak and could go really wonky sometimes as her cousins could attest to. She had no idea how long it would last or if it would even prevent wolves from crossing.
But, that was the thing about bad boys—they were a little arrogant.
Which is what made them so irresistible.
Of course, the wolf presently glaring down at her didn’t want to hear any of this. He had other things on his mind. Things that had Autumn breathing hard.
His brown eyes glittered with hunger, a hint of anger, and a possessive look that curled Autumn’s toes in her brand new shoes.
She yelped in surprise when he lunged forward, capturing her hands and anchoring them behind her back. One of hi
s big hands grasped her jaw, forcing her mouth open for the rough penetration of his tongue. His kiss was pure carnal delight, designed to wet a woman’s panties and turn her womb into a throbbing knot of need. He pressed his huge erection into the hot vee of her thighs. His teeth, his tongue, his lips, forcibly seduced her. His hand held her still as he ravaged every inch of her mouth. When he broke away, they were both breathing heavily. “You taste so fucking good.”
He angled one of his legs between hers with a suddenness that caught her off guard. It destroyed her balance so that she toppled forward into his arms. He let go of her hands so he could catch her under her rump. The pressure of his hands on her buttocks sent primitive requests of submission straight to her hormones. He moved and Autumn knew she was lost. Lost to the sensations created by this man.
His eyes became devilishly wicked and she wondered briefly if he had incubi in his family tree. “Squeeze my leg, baby.”
He dipped his head, his eyes open and burning into hers as he kissed her again. She moaned against the delicious assault and returned it. Her moans turned to whimpers as he moved his leg—or was he moving her? It didn’t matter. All that mattered was the delicious friction growing against her pussy.
Gunner ground himself against the woman in his arms, blatantly rubbing his arousal against the softness of her belly. His wolf—an animal that had been silent for months—growled and snarled, trying to break through. Trying to get closer. To appease the beast, he thrust one leg between hers, grinding against her pussy, perfuming the air with her want. Her need.
He’d known the animal had found the last assignment as reprehensible as the man. The animal had withdrawn and so had he. It had caused a separation between the two, something he hadn’t felt since he’d first shifted and connected with his animal. What he hadn’t realized was that his wolf wasn’t in hiding; it was healing.
The man had refused to heal. Refused to allow the love of his family to help him heal. Now, would his mate be able to make him whole once again?
Besides the overwhelming need to jerk off her panties and thrust himself inside her, claim her, he felt the warm, pulsing energy resonating from her—straight to him and his wolf. She said she was a peace pixie. He’d never met one before. All he’d ever met were horny bitches who wanted to fornicate, fast and furious.
Oh, he wanted to fornicate with the curvy woman in his arms all right, but something else colored that want. The need to please. The need to love.
He closed his eyes, blocking out the picture of her face flushed with need, her lips parted to take his—or him. The urge to push her to her knees and demand she suck his cock overwhelmed him.
His fingers dug into her arms and he knew he’d leave a mark, but he couldn’t stop himself. He leaned back his head, striving for the control that was splintering faster than glass in a windstorm. With a low sound of need, he sank an open mouth kiss onto her lips. He flicked the tip of his tongue against her mouth, his wolf moaning in pleasure when she arched upwards as if to capture the impatience of his kiss and savor the sweet violence.
When he leaned down to kiss her again, Autumn eagerly accepted his dominance, wondering if a woman could come from just a kiss? Hunger arced between her thighs, dampening her pussy further with pleasure.
“Undress me,” he commanded as he continued to kiss her.
Autumn felt the loss when he moved his leg, but she was eager to strip him of his clothing. As she push his jacket from his shoulders, he let go of her, one arm as a time to let it fall to the floor. She tugged the dark blue bowtie free from the collar of his shirt. Next, she tried to unbutton his shirt but her fingers couldn’t work the golden studs holding it in place. Frustrated, she tried to rip the shirt open.
“Mmm, impatient are we, little mate?”
“You betcha.” With a flick of her finger, the studs fell from the shirt and dropped noiseless to the carpeted floor—but not before he snarled in pain. The magic that had popped the buttons had also sent small jolts of electricity through his body.
She drew back, embarrassed. “I’m not much good at this. Maybe you should help.”
“Only because you’re doing it too slowly. You can practice your magic on me any time, baby.” He smiled in reassurance that she had not injured him.
He shrugged out of his shirt and the cummerbund and threw them across the room. He caught her hands and placed them on his chest. “Touch me like you did before.”
Biting her lower lip, she trailed her hands along his massive chest, naturally dark, hard, and bulging with muscle. She stroked her fingers over the tempting flesh. He had the perfect amount of hair. The silky pelt hugged the patterns of solid muscle and bones. Autumn quivered as she swirled her hands over him, smiling as the chocolate brown nipples hardened beneath her touch. She flicked one with a nail before tracing the line of his collarbone. Next, she ran the palm of her hands over his shoulders and down his bare arms.
He gripped her waist, his hands hard talons of strength against her soft flesh as she explored him. He watched her with his eyes half shut, that slumberous expression that was so damn sexy on a man. It made a woman think he was waiting to pounce.
“Oh, I am, baby. I am. Touch me some more.”
She was no longer surprised that he could read her thoughts.
She continued to pet him, stroking him lightly from his shoulders to his chest, down his abdomen. His stomach was rock hard with ridges of muscles that Autumn wanted to drop to her knees in taste. With every slide of her hand she got closer to the waist of his pants until she was just barely sinking her fingers inside, teasing him with feminine foreplay.
“More.” He grunted just the one word, but she knew what he wanted. What she wanted to give him. With the next pass, she wedged her hand between their stomachs and worked it into his tux pants. The soft fabric of his underwear prevented skin-to-skin contact. She was strangely disappointed that he didn’t go commando. But she didn’t let that stop her. Closing her fingers around his length through the fabric, she gasped at the size of his cock. He jumped against the palm of her hand. She stroked him over the underwear, up and down. The shaft was oh, so, very hard. He was so hot and full it made her mouth water.
“Take it out,” he ordered.
Grabbing the button of his slacks, she worked it loose. She reached inside and pushed down the front of his underwear. His hard cock sprang free, jutting through the opening made by his zipper. She encircled him with her hand just below the purple head.
“Stroke it.”
With a movement that made them both shiver, she stroked him from the base to the tip. Her hand continued to move up and down, in a slow pumping motion. Drops of pre-cum escaped and she rubbed it around the head of his cock and down the shaft. She continued to pump him, varying the speed of her touch.
“Fuck.” He humped into her hand, his hold on her waist a biting pain as she destroyed his control.
As Autumn stroked, she stood on tiptoes until she could take the lobe of his ear between her teeth. She bit down, a hard sharp nip that sent a shiver of want down his spine. He clenched his teeth, trying to control the urge to shoot his load right then and there. Her touch was addictive and he wanted nothing more than have her soft little hand stroke him to satisfaction.
Later. Maybe later. She gave a sharp twist of her wrist that had his wolf panting with need. Definitely later.
He drew her hand away. “Now it’s my turn.”
He let go of her waist and slowly raised his hands until he could cup her breasts, drawing out the anticipation. He groaned with appreciation when the sinful weight filled his palms. His thumbs scraped over the tips, making them harden under her dress and bra. She thrust forward, arching into his touch. Her obvious delight brought a gleam of pure male fire to his eyes, turning them more gold than brown.
He unbuttoned the bodice of her dress and slowly turned the material aside as if opening a much-anticipated Christmas present. Between the edges of the fabric, his finger traced a line of sens
ation from her throat to the valley between her breasts. With hard movements he shoved the soft green fabric down to her elbows, trapping her arms.
He smiled wickedly and brushed his knuckles along the fine lacework that edged the red satin bra he’d uncovered. With a quick flick of his wrist, the front fastener opened. The weight of her breasts immediately parted the silken, freeing the white orbs. He watched as the bra opened, revealing first the brownish islands of her areoles, then her puckered nipples. Damn, this was better than any Christmas present he’d ever gotten.
Lusty appreciation deepened his look of barely controlled passion. The woman had a fucking hot body. All curves and softness. A place a lonely wolf such as himself could call home. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to get lost in the scent and heat of her. It was impossible to feel her against him and not want her. He’d known all along that he’d wanted her. He just hadn’t known how desperately.
Autumn wiggled and the cups of her bra fell completely away. He recognized her silent plea for more and didn’t make her wait. This time he held her breasts without the barrier of her bra and raked his thumbs across the taunt ends, making sure to use the tips of his wolf claws he’d been unable to contain. He was a taut bundle of need, his wolf howling to be set free. His claws had partially formed, the knot at his cock was swelling and the shift was rolling along his body.
He took the swollen nipples between his thumb and forefinger, stretching them out from her body. Again and again, he twisted and tweaked, lost in pleasure of touching his mate. Her nipples turned a purplish red, a color that told its own story of the rawness of his touch. Her face was twisted in anguish, part pleasure, and part pain. The slightly bruised flesh beckoned him and he suckled her right breast, teasing the tip with his tongue and closing his mouth over the hardened flesh, pulling it deep. An image of him taking her like this, heavy with his child, her breasts tender and swollen with milk to feed their young, washed over him. He could almost taste the milk he’d draw from her body.
Now, she tasted of crushed cherries. Sweet and ripe. And his. All his. Thoughts of Townsend touching her rose up to haunt him. The man was a bastard for daring to try and take what was his.