Unraveling Midnight

by Stephanie Beck

  The tools, the cereal, the impromptu cuddles. He’d even growled at a guy at the zoo the other day for looking at her too long. Those were moments he showed love, and this was the latest. Maybe she didn’t agree with his methods. She didn’t think she ever would, but she could understand. If someone had hurt Jessie, she’d have been the first there to kick them.

  “The longer I’m with you, the more I feel, but what if it’s not enough, Scott? Wouldn’t this whole thing be stronger if you were with another werewolf? You deserve someone who’s willing to fight and do all the things you’re willing to do. All I could do if our roles were reversed is knit you a sweater or something. They don’t balance out and I want you to have everything you deserve.”

  The admission broke her heart, yet her fears were what really held her back. She wasn’t as strong as Scott and she couldn’t do what he did, but she wanted him to have the whole world. If he could have more with a werewolf, she wanted him to have it with her whole heart.

  When she started to pull away, he held her tight. “Lucy. We don’t all love the same and we don’t show it the same. The difference in werewolves and humans in this case is nothing at all. You show your love with patience and affection and remembering my favorite color and calling shewolves sluts in the cereal aisle. Those things make me smile. And the physical fighting… I don’t need you to fight for me the same way I fight for you. I just need you love me the way only you can.”

  He eased his grip and rubbed her bare arms. She leaned into his touch, his talk of love so simple and true that she let go of her reservations. Being noble and wanting another werewolf for him was one thing when she’d thought it might be what he desired, but it wasn’t. She wanted for him whatever he needed and, more, she loved him. She loved his kids and wanted to be with him and them all the time. She’d asked him to treat her like he would if they’d been together ten years and it was her turn to do the same.

  “You don’t have to do better or be better or anything else,” Scott said, as if he heard her thoughts. “You have to get this through your head now. You might not believe it yet, but know I’m sincere. I love you the way you are right now. I love how you love me this minute. We’re only going to get closer over time, but, baby, I wouldn’t change a thing about you. Not a single thing.”

  “Not even my inability to cook bacon?”

  He chuckled and pressed a slight kiss against her lips, just brushing them. She almost wished he would deepen it and finally bring the next step in their mating to the forefront.

  “Not even your cooking abilities deter me. Burn all the bacon you want because I’m going to love that you at least thought to make sure I had something to eat.”

  He started to pull back, but she didn’t want the distance between them any longer. They weren’t rushing into the physical part of their relationship. From the moment they’d met, hurrying had been something she’d avoided. If speeding up entered his mind, he’d never shown his impatience. Now he was talking about how much he loved her after spending the last few months showing it day after day. They were in love. They were committed. They were mates.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” She lifted his hands to her lips and kissed his knuckles. If they were even bruised slightly, it didn’t show in the dim light of the bedroom.

  He rolled his eyes. “Baby, he didn’t get a single shot in. When he’s not attacking women or using his truck to maim people, the guy is a freaking pansy. I took care of him and I don’t think we’ll have any problems with him ever again.”

  “You’re so thoughtful and strong. I’m really lucky to have you love me like you do, aren’t I?” She lifted his arms and draped them over her shoulders.

  “Well now, I’d say we’re both really lucky.”

  She ran her fingers up and down his sides, loving the strong muscles she felt beneath her hands. He was so strong, so wonderful…and all hers.

  “Come to bed with me,” she said, slowly walking backward, thrilled when he let her draw him along. “I’ve heard about this awesome wolf you can turn into. I haven’t seen him up close yet, but maybe before the night is out I can persuade him to visit.”

  “Persuade him, huh? If you want to see him, I’ll be happy to show you.”

  She sat on the bed, still holding him snug and when she gave a little tug, he bent at the waist, keeping them face to face. “Maybe later you can introduce us,” she said, pulling his shirt from the waistband of his pants. “Let’s do something else for now.”

  “If this is about the mate stuff—”

  “Me making love with you has nothing at all to do with the mate stuff,” she interrupted and stroked her hand across his whisker-rough cheek. “But it does have to do with love stuff, so I hope you’ll bear with me since I haven’t done this in a while.”

  He grinned, the loving ferocity in his expression exactly the encouragement she needed to know she could be a little wild.

  “Sounds good to me.”

  She didn’t give him the chance to kiss her, no, she wanted the first step to be all hers and when he growled into her mouth, she realized he liked the show as well. It made sense. How did she want to be wanted? As his mouth slanted harder to hers, taking each inch of kiss she’d give, she knew exactly what she needed from him—to be loved with passion, abandon and strength. She wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him hard to her body and raking her fingernails across his back. She would give him everything she had.

  “So is there anything I need to keep in mind when making love to a werewolf?” she asked between biting kisses along his neck.

  The muscles tightened under her touch and she took a long lick from his collar bone to his ear. He even tasted amazing.

  “Doing what you’re doing right now is one guaranteed way to make this werewolf blow before he’s ready.” He chuckled. The sound was so tight and forced, she knew it wasn’t quite the joke he’d have liked it to be. “Like this I’m like any other guy.”

  Lucy let her hands wander past his waist and hips, brushing the incredibly big, hard place protruding from his slacks. “I think I’m going to have to call you a fibber, Scott.”

  His hips thrust toward her hand and she opened her palm, stroking him through the fabric of his pants. “Oh damn.”

  It had been a long time since she’d induced a man to make that particular groan and without further invitation, Lucy undid his button and zipper and freed him into her hands. His boxers didn’t provide any other cover and, within moments, he’d shimmied out of all the obstructions between them. He really was big. Big to the point she worried for about three seconds and then decided to go with whatever he could give her. After all the playing and flirting, what happened next could only be amazing.

  His hands slid all over her and when she tried to help by removing the T-shirt she’d put on for bed, he simply ripped it and dived mouth-first for her exposed nipple.

  “Holy smokes, that’s hot.” She arched into his touch, wanting more as he tore at her panties at the same time he assaulted her breast. His whiskers raked against the soft skin of her chest, but she’d take the burn now and later.

  “Lucy, get those panties off or I’m going to rip them too and I might feel bad because they’re pretty.”

  She giggled and wriggled out of her panties. The new position allowed her to wrap her legs around his hips, leaving absolutely no barrier between his long cock and her waiting body.

  “How’s that?” she asked, rubbing her calf up and down the back of his thigh. “Should I go on my knees or something?”

  * * * *

  She petted him with almost her entire body. Once he was inside, that ‘almost’ would go away and his life would be forever changed. Scott tried to get as close as he could without actually penetrating—she needed more time to get ready for him—but just a little more and he’d…

  “Do you want me on my hands and knees, Scott?”

  Hands and knees? The offer shook him out of his bliss and if she hadn’t been holding him
so tightly with her legs, he might have fallen over. Just the thought of her pretty bottom pointed high in the air for him, waiting, wet… Oh hell.

  He didn’t let his cock plunge in like it wanted to, but he couldn’t stop himself from dipping into Lucy’s wet heat. She moaned at the initial contact and though he had no intention of going any farther at the moment, her legs locked him in place, drawing him deeper and deeper until there was no beginning or end of him, just him surrounded by Lucy.

  “Stop!”

  The sudden exclamation startled him out of his lust-filled mind.

  “What? Am I hurting you? I’m too big—”

  “I’m not ready to have puppies, Scott,” she wailed.

  “Puppies? What the—”

  It hit him—he wasn’t wearing a condom and of course to her since they’d spoke so much about fertility and mating, it meant he was a walking breeding machine. He knew very well she wasn’t near her fertile cycle and there was no way in hell she’d actually have puppies, but she probably didn’t.

  “Puppies? No, no puppies, honey, and you’re not—”

  Instead of trying to explain, Scott stopped and reached into his nightstand. Not that he had a huge assortment of condoms waiting for him. He’d bought some after Lucy had started staying over, just in case. He was glad he’d had the foresight to make the purchase. Pulling out was the hardest thing he’d ever done, but he smelled Lucy’s immediate relief when he sheathed up with the little piece of plastic.

  “Okay, come back, right now,” she commanded.

  He didn’t love the condom, but the added lube around it made things more slippery and gave him all sorts of wicked ideas for future nocturnal activities. Lucy moaned and tried to pull him tighter with every thrust. Her nails caught on his back and butt, dragging over his flesh and threatening to take him over an edge he didn’t want to cross until Lucy was screaming his name over and over.

  “Scott, Scott. Oh, a little harder, a little—oh, oh.”

  There was one orgasm, he thought, setting a new goal to help him focus on not losing his load yet. She deserved more from him and he wanted her to think back on their first time together and get so hot she clawed him down again. He thought her yelling would ease back as the orgasm did, but she kept crying out, the muscles surrounding his cock never ceasing to contract. She grabbed him by the ears and pulled him down, devouring his mouth. Her tongue invaded his mouth like he was invading her and his control snapped. Why the hell had he thought he could hold back?

  He planted his hands on either side of her shoulders and braced himself as his hips took on a mind of their own, slamming harder with each move. She took every inch of him, meeting him with every thrust and encouraging him to do more.

  Even with his mouth on hers, she managed to scream and, even muffled, the jubilant cries were music to his ears. She jerked and moaned hard in his arms and he had to be done. He would have loved to hear one more yell and feel another climax around his cock, but he couldn’t wait any longer.

  “Oh hell,” he muttered, biting back the need to growl in case it startled her out of their intense moment. “Lucy. Hell.”

  He braced on his elbows and stayed deep inside her, but finally let his body relax as he strove to catch his breath. There was so much more he wanted to do. He hadn’t kissed her nearly enough and he was certain only one nipple had gotten moderate attention. That left multiple delicious square inches for him to lick and explore as soon as he had fifteen minutes to recover.

  * * * *

  It came from nowhere and erupted before Lucy could even attempt to stop it. The giggling. She slammed her hands over her mouth as the situationally inappropriate laughter bubbled out of her. The last thing she wanted was for Scott to think she was laughing at him and she wasn’t sure the words were lined up in her mind yet to explain it all. He shoved up on his hands again, sweat rolling down the sides of his face. He wasn’t the only one who was sweating, but Lucy preferred to think she glowed in the moonlight shining through the bedroom window.

  His cocked eyebrow did little to help her gain composure, and she giggled more. “I’m sorry,” she said through the laughter. “I just, I think I’m slightly overwhelmed.”

  He grinned. “You know, a lesser male might get a complex if his female started laughing after finishing their first sexual encounter. Luckily, I know how you work.”

  He dug his fingers into her sides.

  She giggled and squirmed. “You’re not helping!”

  “Why would I?” he asked. “Hearing you laugh is the best sound. And did you know your whole body laughs?”

  There was no forgetting about the part of him that remained buried within her, but the reminder and wiggling dislodged him. She wished him back. Immediately following a long shower and some sleep, she’d have him there.

  Scott propped up on his elbow, only half covering her with his body. The giggles slowly ebbed, but looking at him made her so happy she knew she still grinned like a fool. He ran a gentle finger down the side of her face, tucking a strand of her hair away from her eyes.

  “I love seeing you this happy. I’m going to remember this moment forever.”

  His loving words sobered her up. He was so romantic, so…everything.

  “I love you. I can’t wait to make tons of memories like tonight’s with you.” She stroked his ribs with her palms. “I want to say I wish we hadn’t waited so long because that was awesome and I know we’ll never get enough, but I’m really glad everything happened like this. I love you.”

  He leaned down and rubbed his nose to hers, the gesture as special as the man himself. “I love you too. If the giggles are done, can we lie down together and relax? I want to spend the rest of the night petting you.”

  “Petting me?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “Yep. I didn’t get to touch you all over last time. I want to now.”

  “Oh.” What a lovely idea. She’d let him pet her wherever, whenever he wanted. “Sounds good to me.”

  Chapter 16

  Lucy woke with a sleepy yawn. She smiled and yawned again. Sex was supposed to be good, but she hadn’t known what else it could be. The whole mating-for-life thing suddenly made a whole lot of sense. With a first and second time so good, she could only imagine what lovemaking would be when they actually knew what each other liked. Petting—the man was a genius.

  She looked over at Scott, still asleep and taking up more than his fair share of the bed. She didn’t mind. He’d already shown her in the past when they’d slept together that there was always room snug in his arms.

  They were going to have so much fun together. She couldn’t wait to find out what she liked with him because she knew the list was going to be long, varied and entertaining. And knowing she wouldn’t have puppies took a lot of the worry out of the wonderful act. They had three kids—plenty for the moment. When they did decide to have more, Scott had assured her she would have a perfect little baby—not a puppy.

  But she wasn’t thinking about that anymore. She was famished and the need for food drove the deeper thoughts aside. She hadn’t eaten much pizza at dinner and according to the alarm clock, breakfast was too far away to try to sleep. Her system wasn’t accustomed to the late-night acrobatics and demanded sustenance. Pudding. Suddenly ravenous, she could no longer resist the allure of the waiting chocolate pudding. She kissed Scott’s cheek. He smiled but didn’t bother to open his eyes.

  Since he wasn’t offering to join her, she wasn’t going to bring him a snack. Fighting a naughty giggle, she climbed over him. After she finished eating she was going to spend the rest of the night keeping him awake.

  The house was quiet and dark as she made her way through the hall. The space had been kept pitch black at night when she started spending more time there. Scott had taken pity on her and added a few nightlights after she stubbed her toes. The kids didn’t need the light with their freaky awesome eyesight, but her poor human eyes weren’t up for the challenge.

  She followed the
dim lights to the kitchen and went straight to the treats drawer. There were fruits and veggies in the crisper, but they weren’t going to cut it for late night decadence. Those could wait for another time. Chocolate pudding, however, could not. She jumped up and sat on the counter, her feet swinging well off the floor. When was the last time she’d been so completely happy and free?

  Her feet paused. Never. She’d never felt so wonderful. Scott gave that to her by loving her, she realized.

  She’d always thought she loved and took care of herself. She’d certainly respected herself, but now she could very clearly see there was more. So much more. Brad had loved her and she’d adored him, but this was different. It should be. Scott wasn’t Brad, would never be him and there was no use feeling guilty. She’d loved him the best she could and she was going to do the same for Scott.

  He said she didn’t have to change, but she would. She’d take a few cooking classes and maybe take a parenting class as well. She wanted to be an effective stepmother. Their own mother had been ill—Lucy had to think of her as such, otherwise the facts she knew made her want to dig up the woman and smack her. Anyone who could treat their daughter badly and try to hurt her sons… It was wrong. Lucy’s own mother had been ill as well. Drugs had done her in eventually, but Lucy’d had her grandmother. Lucy knew she would never really be the kids’ mom, just as her grandma wasn’t her mother. Still, she could do her best and they had every opportunity to do great together.

  She licked the back of her spoon, her pudding depleting rapidly. Maybe a book. She could get a few books on parenting and cooking and read them while the workmen finished the shop details. Her adventure could be one more goal to keep her focused and busy until the shop was ready. She laughed to herself, careful to stay quiet with the kids down the hall. With her luck she’d get hit with everything at once since she was actually making plans. Oh well, family was worth the stress.

  And Scott, he definitely was worth any late-night studying she might undertake. She wondered if he’d be interested in joining her in her educational journey. She could find a few other kinds of books too. Perhaps something about pleasing a big man in bed. She grinned, feeling very naughty as she licked the last of her pudding from the cup. Or maybe she’d nix the last book. Some things were better discovered through lots and lots of experience.