Hot, Hard & Howling

by Mari Freeman

  Barri wrinkled her forehead in concern. “The man who did this is dead, yes?”

  Nell nodded.

  “Well. We have our work cut out for us. It will take me a little time to gather the necessary materials. Wait here.” Barri and her aunt left, leaving Nell alone in the lovely courtyard with a very unfamiliar Trent Nicholas.

  He looked over at her with a slight tilt to his head. “You think she can bring my wolf back?” His eyes had turned serious.

  “He can’t be gone, Trent. You just can’t call him right now.” Nell felt sorry for him. He’d been disoriented much of the way back to the city. When he was lucid, he kept going on about how he’d lost his other half and how Crey had killed his wolf. The cab driver offered to take them to a mental hospital.

  “He’s gone. It’s probably for the best. I can’t kill you now. You have more power than I do. I can love you and still keep you safe.” He looked back to the sky. “Mi-ma said things would happen as they should.”

  So long Nell had waited to hear Trent accept his love for her, but the circumstances tainted the emotion. Spelled was as bad as drugged, maybe worse. The sappy adorations were nothing like what her Trent Nicholas would say. His ramblings were as shallow as the water in the fountain gurgling behind them.

  He held out his hand. She took it, loving the feel of his fingers wrapped around hers. Would he still want to hold her hand once Barri broke the spell? Would he accept their relationship, want it, the way he had for the last few hours?

  Probably not.

  For a second, Nell considered letting the spell hold. Keeping him in this sappy state. Of course, that meant Trent following her around like a lovesick puppy. Not to mention the bouts of disorientation and the excruciating pain if he tried to shift.

  A soft snoring sound brought her attention back to him. Trent was slouched down in the chair, face to the morning sun. He looked very peaceful. It wasn’t until now that she realized he always looked tense around her.

  A lone Black Witch moth landed on his chest. Nell felt comforted, and wondered how they were a comfort to her when they were wrapped up with such an evil talisman.

  Mi-ma was right. Things will turn out the way they were supposed to. If he rejected her after the spell was broken, she would accept it. She simply couldn’t continue the self-inflicted torture.

  * * * * *

  Trent woke up when he heard voices he didn’t immediately recognize. Intense burning in his ears wasn’t eased by holding his hands over them. He doubled over.

  “What is it?” Nell was rubbing his back. He concentrated on the gentle touch of her fingers.

  He took a long, deep breath. “I instinctually used my wolf senses.”

  “Damn.” Nell kept up the rhythm of circles over his tired shoulder blades.

  The Voodoo Queen approached him. “Let’s see, Werewolf, if we can lift the bad mojo that evil thing put on you. We need to go into the parlor.”

  “Can you really do this?” he asked.

  She gave him a “follow me” gesture with her head. “Auntie, lock the gates. We’ll be unavailable for a while.”

  Heavy drapes blocked all natural light from the parlor. The furniture was old fashioned, maybe antique, but well kept. It was the kind of stuff with thin wooden legs and floral prints that always made Trent feel like it would break under his weight.

  Several small groupings of candles provided all the light. A strange mixture of sage and frying oil tickled his nose, but he didn’t dare try to determine the other unusual scents that his nose wanted to pick up. He breathed through his mouth.

  Barri and her aunt moved a small coffee table out of the room and rolled the carpet off the floor. The old woman brought in three brooms and laid them on the floor at each entrance to the room, mumbling a chant Trent couldn’t understand. Nell sat on the bottom step of the stairs

  Barri tilted her head toward the stairs. “You need to be outside the brooms, Miss Nell.”

  “You’s gonna break the protection,” Auntie said, making shooing motions with her hands. “Outside. Or up a few more stairs. And stay there ’til you is told different.”

  Trent stood in the middle of the floor. “Nell…” He stumbled to the couch, no longer worried about its ability to hold his weight.

  Auntie came to him and urged him forward until he sat on the floor. His vision was going fuzzy. The room started to tilt. The two women began rushing around him. Nell was standing on the stairs but she hadn’t crossed the boundary of the broom to come to him.

  He felt liquid being poured over his head. He smelled roses, frankincense and some other floral oil. It dribbled down his forehead and over his nose and chin. He tried to wipe it away but the older woman held his hands. Fighting the urge to lash out, Trent tried to remember they were helping. Everything was fuzzy. Nell was gone. His heart started to break.

  “No,” he cried. “Nell!”

  She wasn’t gone. If he focused, he could make out her form on the stairs. But he felt it…felt what his body would feel if she were gone. It hurt as bad as when he’d tried to shift. Trent clenched his fists as hard as he could, felt his knuckles cracking. Tried to turn his fear and hurt into anger.

  The women were chanting. Noise, thumping and screeching, was coming from all around him but he couldn’t pinpoint the source. Fuzzier. More pain. He pounded his fists into the floor. His feet were numb. Copper. The taste of copper filled his mouth. A ringing started in his ears.

  More pain.

  More noise. Loud. Angry. Noise.

  The room started to spin. Rather, Trent felt as if he were spinning. He was being pulled. Dragged away from this reality. He fought it, but knew he needed to let go. How?

  More pain.

  “Give in,” a disembodied voice chanted in his brain. “Let it come.”

  Trent tried to relax but the searing in his joints made it impossible. The smell of burning hair panicked him. Have to shift. Must save Nell.

  Trent tightened every muscle in his body. He strained to be as compact as he could. To ball up. Pain. More pain…

  When he could take no more of the agony, he let out a soul-deep howl…and then Trent Nicholas let go. He willed every molecule in his body to relax.

  And it came. The shift was awkward and slow, but it came.

  The power of the spell had been cleansed. It was broken. Trent was free. He shook, stretching his muscles and feeling his wolf body. He was tired, but free of pain.

  He stood shakily, trotted over and nudged Barri’s hand. She was wet with sweat from her efforts.

  “You’ll need to stay like that for a little while.” She put her hand on his head. “Let your purer essence push any remains of the hex out of your system. And you’ll need lots of water and rest.”

  Nell approached and brushed her hand over his head. It was the first time he could remember her touching him as a wolf. She twisted her fingers into the fur around his ears. Trent wanted to shift back right then.

  “I have a hotel room at the other end of the Quarter. I’ll make our flight arrangements for first thing in the morning. Is that long enough?”

  Auntie approached with the little scissors. “Hour or two should do it. He pushed that bugaboo out with some vigor, he did.” She grabbed Trent’s tail. “You mind?”

  Trent didn’t know what she was asking. Nell apparently did. “He won’t miss a few tail feathers.”

  Trent whined as she cut a big chunk of hair from his tail.

  “Hush. You got plenty more.” She cackled and headed out of the room.

  Nell put her hand on Barri’s shoulder. “Thank you.” Trent yipped than barked his appreciation, knowing it wasn’t enough. “I’ll send you some supplies from the mountains as the seasons bring them.” Nell’s voice was filled with sincerity.

  He watched, feeling there was a deeper bond the two women were creating than even they knew. Barri had the same look on her face that the French woman had when talking to Nell on the video call.

  Maybe the
sexual relationships he kept assuming Nell had with all these people were all in his head.

  Had he really let his jealously get to that point? He suspected he had created his own suffering. By believing so strongly he had no control over his Alpha nature, he’d manufactured things to be jealous over. Had she had crazy orgies and such during her travels, as he’d imagined? Now he suspected not. He suspected his imagination was fueled by his fears.

  Trent couldn’t wait to ask Nell about it. To find out what her adventures were really like. And if she told him things that made him jealous, that would be okay too. He’d deal with it. He’d find a way.

  How could he have been such a fool for so long? How would he ever make it up to her?

  “I would be much obliged to receive such gifts, Miss Nell Ambercroft.” Barri put her hand over Nell’s. “You and your name are welcome in our home anytime.”

  Nell looked down at him. Her eyes were red, her hair was a mess and her clothes had seen better days. Damn, she was sexy.

  She had rescued him. Imagine that. Maybe that was what he’d needed all along.

  * * * * *

  Trent watched as Nell unpacked the items she’d purchased for them on the way to the hotel. He hadn’t been happy when she’d tied him up like a common poodle outside a clothes store on Canal Street, but he knew they both needed a set of clothes for the journey home. She’d also gotten some water and protein bars.

  They’d napped for a while after getting back to the room. “I’m going to shower.” She looked at her watch. “Almost four hours. You’re probably okay now.”

  He was. When he heard the shower running, Trent called forth his shift. It was smooth and painless. He stayed still in his squatted position for several moments to make sure none of the spell remained in his human form. Nothing unusual. The only pain he felt was associated with being tired and beat up.

  He walked into the bathroom and pulled the shower curtain back. Nell didn’t flinch. He let his gaze roam up and down her curvy body. He needed to tell her all kinds of things, but he really didn’t feel much like talking at the moment.

  She smiled at him. “Coming in?” She backed up, giving him room under the flow of water.

  Trent accepted the invitation, stepping under the water. It was cooler than he’d expected, giving him gooseflesh. It felt great after the last two days of being out in the heat. He faced her as the water cascaded over his shoulders and down his chest.

  Water turned her blonde hair darker and the curls hung thick and heavy, making interesting designs as they lay against her skin. Before he had a chance to reach for her, Nell put the flat of her hand against his chest. She looked frightened, unsure.

  “Nell?”

  She shook her head and bit her lip. “I don’t know if I can do this anymore, Trent.” She didn’t look up from his chest. “This torture we put each other through.”

  “Nell.” Trent gripped her wrist as lightly as he could, holding the connection between them. “No more torture. No more back and forth. I may have been out of my mind with that spell, but there was one thing I held on to.” She looked up, met his gaze. “I love you. I can’t know the future. I have no doubt you’ll push me to madness at times, but I need you. I need us.”

  “What about the genetics, your concerns?”

  “That’s history. I can’t forget it. I can be aware of it, make sure I don’t make the mistakes of my fathers. I know that now. You trust me. I need to as well.”

  She stepped up onto the tips of her toes and pressed her lips to his. Trent thought he was going to explode with relief. He was free to love her. Free to take her as a mate.

  He put his hands on her shoulders and let them slide down her back, her slick skin smooth and warm under this touch. He squeezed her ass cheeks, pulling her closer, lifting her up to deepen the kiss.

  She pulled away and grabbed the soap and made a big, sloppy handful of lather, slathering it over his chest and stomach. She washed his shoulders, his arms and his hands. Her slick fingers made a trail down his abdomen and over his swelling cock. He braced himself on the tiles as her little hands squeezed him, pulling and rubbing his cock and balls until he thought he was going to burst.

  She pressed her body against his, sliding from one side to the other, and transferring soap from his belly to hers, from his cock to her mound. He tingled all over from the energy in her skin. It called to him.

  He couldn’t take much more and the hotel tub was cramped. He needed room. “Rinse.”

  “Lather. Repeat?” Nell winked.

  “How about rinse. Go to bed. Spread?”

  He patted her dry as she stepped out of the water. There were several bruises on her body. His little Halfling had fought like a tiger for him. He couldn’t be more proud of her. He kissed each of the discolored places as he dried her.

  Nell walked away and Trent dropped the towel and followed, watching the sway of her ass as she approached the bed. She spun to face him and gave him a sly smile. She fell back onto the still-made bed, her legs hanging over the edge, feet barely touching the floor. She spread her legs wide, as he had suggested in the shower.

  The sight of her splayed like that just about took his breath. She looked beautiful. He knelt on the floor and ran his hands over her inner thighs, from her knees to her pussy. She moaned as his fingers traced the shape of her lips. He pulled them open, further exposing her treasures.

  He bent forward and dragged his tongue across the soft skin of her thigh. The taste of her made the primal part of his wolf howl in his mind. They were mated, and all this was his. Knowing he would no longer have to hold back made him harden even more.

  Trent rose up and swirled his tongue around her navel, teasing her belly with kisses, trailing lower.

  Nell squirmed. “Trent.”

  Her words sounded breathless and wanting. He eased back down and then swirled his tongue around her clit, down into her opening and back up. Her scent, the sweetness of her and her longing were driving him to a pleasant insanity. He fought the urge to stop and plunge into her right that moment. He wanted to fuck her now and, at the same time, he wanted to tease her for hours.

  He closed his mouth on her clit, sucking and licking. Nell groaned and lifted her upper body off the bed, resting on her elbows, watching him. The intimacy of eye contact while he lavished her pussy was incredible.

  “Oh. Goddess,” Nell gasped, her eyelids heavy with passion. She reached out to him, trying to grip his shoulders, to pull him to her. “Now.”

  “Not yet.” Trent ignored her pleas.

  “Trent, please.” Nell’s body quivered.

  “Lay back. Let go.” He wanted to feel her come. Wanted to make everything right for her.

  Nell flopped back on the bed, her legs spread even farther. As he licked over her swollen clit she pushed her hips up, forcing the pressure to increase.

  He traced her opening with his index finger. Nell was at the brink. He knew it. Trent moistened his middle finger as well and slid both into her hot pussy.

  She bucked then rose back up, making eye contact again as he pumped his fingers inside her, teasing her clit with his tongue. Nell’s belly tightened and he felt the flutter of her walls; they contracted around his fingers as she came. He stopped licking, nestled his head against her thigh and enjoyed the feel of her orgasm.

  * * * * *

  Nell fell back on the bed and two moths took flight from the headboard. “Damn.”

  Trent chuckled from between her legs. “Good one?” He teased her thighs with his fingertips. “I guess there’s not really a bad one.”

  Nell nodded even if he couldn’t see it from his angle. “Come up here with me,” she said.

  Trent climbed up her body, kissing at his leisure along the way. He scooted her back so they were both fully on the bed, if in the wrong direction for sleeping. He was between her legs, his body over hers, his erection pressing against her opening.

  She reached up and traced the scar on his cheek. His ice-blu
e eyes were darting all over. He looked from her face to her breast to her hair and back to her eyes. He leaned in and kissed her nose, her cheek and then her eyebrows.

  “Are you sure the spell’s gone?” she asked.

  He kissed her lightly on the lips. “Yes.” His lips brushed hers again. “No need to worry.” A third time, kissing her with the lightest of touches. “I know you won’t trust this right away.” He kissed her chin again. “But I promise. No more pulling away.”

  He leaned down and drew a nipple into his mouth, sucking just hard enough to make her squirm. Nell arched into the feeling. His body was hot. His weight was comforting, reassuring. Nell felt as if he was truly with her for the first time. She spread her legs wider in invitation.

  He moved to the other nipple. She shifted her hips again and the head of his cock pushed the smallest bit inside her. He groaned. The vibration tingled on her nipple.

  “Nelly.” He pushed farther into her, his face nuzzling her neck, his arms around her—then all movement stopped.

  Nell panicked. “What is it?”

  He looked back up to her. “Nothing. I wanted to feel you, to be wrapped around you and inside you.” He kissed her chin once more. “Savoring.”

  Nell realized she was waiting for the other shoe to drop, for him to decide he wasn’t capable of being her mate again. She slipped her hands around his waist and hugged him back. Holding him close, clinging.

  “I’m sorry, Nelly. I love you. I have loved you for years. I want this.” He kissed her again. This time he plunged his tongue in her mouth and explored. He began to thrust, and not soft and steady. He drove into her. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her as close as possible. He pulled his lips from hers and buried his face in her neck.

  The feel of him sliding in and out, taking her, felt like the wolf, like passion. She tried to meet each thrust, to give back. His skin was on fire. His hair teased her cheek. She gripped his back, dug her nails into his skin. She was going to come again.

  His teeth closed on her shoulder. The sting made her clinch, both her nails and her pussy, as he thrust in again.

  He groaned and bucked.

  Nell climaxed. She grabbed his ass and pulled him closer. Trying to hold him still.