by Susan Bliler
“Can you help me? Or not?”
Clenching his jaw, he disappeared through a door on the side of the room. A light flicked on in there, and Cersi figured it was a bathroom. She heard him rummaging around, and while she waited, she walked to his bed, bent and unlaced her boots before kicking them off and then reclined back on his mattress. The comforter was warm against her back. She was surprised he was able to keep his home so cozy considering it was damn near blizzarding outside.
Ankles crossed and good arm tucked behind her head, Cersi watched as Tyson came back into the room, hands full of supplies, and slammed to a halt. His eyes roved over her until he asked gruffly, “What are you doing?”
“Waiting.” She answered simply. You’re not running from me, Tyson.
He came to the bed, and she scooted over so that he had enough room to sit beside her.
“You should’ve asked Vesa to do this.”
Cersi smirked. “But you already know how. Besides,” she blinked up at him. “I like your touch. It’s gentle.”
He swallowed hard again, but this time his eyes went hard. “I gave you your one warning. If you push me here…”
Lifting a hand, she smoothed it down his cheek before dropping it to her stomach. Her red-tipped finger circled her belly button once then twice before lowering to the snap on her jeans that she easily popped open.
“Do you wanna push into me, Monster?”
She knew the instant Tyson lost control. Without even a blink, his pupils dilated fully obliterating the green completely. All blacked out eyes and flexing muscles, a snarl ticked up his lip the instant before he had Cersi up off the bed. One arm shelving her ass, her chest pressed to his, he collared her throat with a hand and kissed her roughly.
He didn’t know she liked it rough.
Kissing him back with just as much intensity, Cersi could feel how hard he already was. She loved this! She loved having the effect on him, but just as suddenly as the kissing started, it ended. Tyson lowered her to the ground and pulled away so damn fast that she stumbled forward. With his back to her, he paced away, his breathing heavy in the room as he commanded, “You need to go.”
Go?
His legs locked and he lifted his head and even though he was facing away from her, she could see the muscles in his neck tense as he gritted out, “Now. You need to leave now!”
Oh, she got it. He was about to lose control, and he was trying to chase her off so it wouldn't happen.
Oh, it’s happening.
Cersi stripped out of the rest of her clothes. All while she disrobed, she watched Tyson’s rigid back. He wouldn’t look at her, but that’d change.
Naked, she walked to the end of the bed, turned so she was facing away from him and then she bent over, resting her chest on the bed. It was tall enough that the mattress hit her just at the bend in her hips.
“Tyson. Come here.”
She enjoyed using his own words against him, but not as much as she enjoyed the sharp intake of breath she heard when he finally turned around. She counted two seconds before there was the sound of a zipper being ripped and then his warm body curved over hers. Fuck, this was heady. Having control over him like this was the most exhilarating and almost masochistic thing she’d ever experienced. She was torturing him and in return torturing herself, and it was torture. She was aching for him in places where she’d never ached for a man before, not like this.
Just as she thought it, the head of his cock probed her wet slit, but Tyson stopped just short of entering her. Contrary to what he thought of himself, the man had an iron will.
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that his eyes were focused on her most intimate parts. She knew what he was looking at. She was glistening, ready for him. But, the look on his face was full of uncertainty. He looked like he wanted to ask permission, but was afraid she’d say no.
“Do it,” she hissed and flared her hips.
That was all it took. Lip ticking up in a snarl, Tyson didn’t take his eyes off her pussy as he slid the thick length of himself into her. He was a lot of man to take and even as wet as she was, Cersi felt a little overfilled, but then Tyson started moving. His movements weren’t the kind lovers made. No, this wasn’t lovemaking. This was outright fucking!
Pulling back, he slammed into her to the hilt, his hips pressing up tight against her ass. Then, it turned into a frenzy. Hips pummeling, Tyson pulled almost all the way out and then slammed into her over and over and over. The movements rocked her body on the bed causing her breasts to bounce, but then Tyson’s hands were there, cupping and moulding. Cersi felt her body tighten when he pinched her nipples. She was close. Legs shaking under the assault, Tyson rammed into her two more times and then her channel seized around him. Crying out, she arched her back as everything tightened. The pleasure was too much, and she cried out again as a second orgasm hit as he continued to work himself inside of her. Finally, Tyson slammed into her one last time and froze. A long growl blasted up his throat as he emptied himself deep inside of her. Hips bucking he rode out their combined orgasms before Cersi glanced over her shoulder at him. His closed eyes slowly opened and he looked at Cersi more tenderly than she thought him capable of. Lifting a hand from her hip, he trailed it gently up her back and then stroked it down her cheek. His eyes held hers a moment before they lowered to her lips and then slowly tracked down her body to where they were still connected. His seed was seeping out of her, coating her inner thighs. She felt dirty, but it was the best damn dirty ever.
Chapter 17
Tyson stared at where he was still buried inside of Cersi as some unknown emotion unfurled right in the center of his chest. It was warm and tingly and so damn foreign it took him a minute to place it. As soon as he did, shock set in. No! What have I done? What in the fuck have I done?
Too late. The incisors in his mouth punched through his gums and flooded his mouth with blood as Monster raged inside of him. Bite her! Mark her! Keep her!
Pulling out of her, Tyson stumbled backward as his hands clawed and he felt fur rippling up his arms and legs before it just as quickly receded.
“T-Tyson?” On the bed, Cersi rolled over and looked up at him in shock.
“Get…out!” Monster was polluting his voice now causing his voice to not sound like his own. For a moment, he wondered if Cersi even understood his words, but when all the color drained from her face and she shoved up off the bed, he knew that she had.
She ripped her clothes up off the floor and didn’t even bother staying in the room to dress. No, she clutched her clothes and shoes to her chest and rushed out of the room.
Thank fuck!
He didn’t want her there to see him drop to his knees before falling forward onto his hands as he panted and fought to keep Monster from ripping out of him. He wanted her. He wanted to sink his teeth into her, he wanted to bury his dick inside of her.
The front door slammed, and Tyson threw his head back and roared. Every ounce of him strained to keep Monster contained. He couldn’t care right now that Cersi was probably feeling used and discarded. There was no way in hell he could chase her down, not like this. If he went after her, Monster would rip free and then she’d bleed. There’d be no keeping Monster from claiming her as theirs, and even as much as Tyson wanted that to happen, it couldn’t happen the way Monster would make it happen.
Another roar ripped from him before he fell to his side, every muscle straining and cramped as he fought to keep Monster inside. It hurt. It hurt so goddamn bad. It felt like his belly was full of acid and his muscles were on fire. Tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes. All he could do was grunt against the pain. It wasn’t just physical either. At that moment Monster hated him. Hated him! It felt like there was a fissure cracking right down the middle of his soul, but he’d take it. He’d do anything to spare Cersi the agony of what Monster wanted to do. The animal wouldn’t stop at just biting and claiming Cersi. He wanted to turn her. He wanted to make her his in all ways, but it was forbidden
, and not just by Haddix. No the Council and the Elders created the law, and the law said that no shifter of any kind could change any human…ever, not even mates. Cersi would never be a wolf, but he knew that if Monster took his skin, the fucker wouldn’t care about the law, wouldn’t care that Cersi wouldn’t want it. No, Monster would change her and deal with the consequences later. So Tyson stayed in his cabin on the floor, dying inside and knowing that somewhere Cersi was feeling discarded…again.
***
Cersi managed to bite back the stinging tears that threatened until she was rushing down Tyson’s front porch stairs. Get out. Get out. The words kept playing on a reel over and over in her head, and every single time she thought them they were followed by a self-deprecating, You fucking idiot!
What had she done? What had she been thinking? That she’d seduce Tyson and then what? This! This is what. Men like him didn’t chase women like her. She knew this and yet here she was, racing through the deep snow, jacket forgotten back at Tyson’s while the breath puffed out of her like a freight train. She was gonna cry, she knew she was going to, so she slowed her steps. She didn’t want to go racing into the house and have someone find her sobbing so turned near a giant tree by the main house and circled around it. Pressing her shoulders into the frozen bark, she slid down and covered her mouth with her fists that were tucked up in the sleeves of her sweater.
Get out.
Tears were tracking down her face as her shoulders shook. She barely even felt the pain of her gunshot wound because compared to the pain in her heart, it was nothing.
Get out.
How she could have been so dumb? You threw yourself at him. You literally begged him to fuck you, and he did, yet here you sit feeling sorry for yourself because he gave what you asked for?
The whole time they’d been intimate, she’d been over the moon. Hell, she’d been on cloud fucking nine feeling sexy and in control and giddy with the power she had over Tyson and his beast. But the instant they were finished, the cloud disappeared and this weighty sensation settled heavily on her chest. This was gravity. She was plunging back to earth with no way to stop herself and no hope of breaking her fall. This was where she shattered.
Fuck it hurt. It hurt so damn bad to be so damn dumb. She wondered if she deserved the pain. Probably. God, she hated the person she was. She hated how she didn’t want certain things in life but kept ending up with them. She was always vowing to be stronger and wiser and every time…every. Damn. Time. She wound up hurt. Why didn’t she learn? Why in the hell didn’t she ever learn?
Curling her knees into her chest, she cried until she ran out of tears and had nothing left inside of her but ache. Cheeks cold, nose frozen, and limbs shaking, she shoved to her feet, straightened her clothing, and bit her trembling lip before heading for the main house.
Tonight, she’d take an extra dose of the pain meds Tyson had given her because she knew it’d be the only way she’d get any sleep. She was going need her sleep because tomorrow she was leaving BlackLodge.
Tyson BloodMoon could go fuck himself!
Chapter 18
Tyson had a hip pressed into the counter in the kitchen of the main house. He’d been neglecting his chores for an hour and a half now because he wanted to explain to her why he’d asked her to leave, and he wanted to do it as soon as she was awake. But, she hadn’t come down yet, and while part of him wanted to go up and check on her, he didn’t want to corner her either. She needed a place here at BlackLodge where she felt safe. He opted to make that place the guest room…for now.
The scent of maple syrup, sausage, and coffee filled the kitchen, and he had to admit that it was nice having females at the compound. Lately, Vesa and Afften went out of their way to make breakfast every morning. It was nice not to have to just slam several cups of coffee before work. Today though, he didn’t eat. His stomach was all twisted up from how he’d reacted to what had happened between himself and Cersi. He just needed to talk to her.
“She’s mean as a snake,” Noah crowed.
Monster didn’t like the way he was talking about Cersi. Neither did Tyson, but it was Vesa who spoke.
“Don’t be fooled by her tough exterior,” Vesa remarked. “She may seem as tough as iron on the outside, but on the inside, she’s soft. She’s fragile.”
“Yeah,” Noah scoffed and muttered under his breath, “Fragile like a fucking hand grenade.”
Tyson chuffed a laugh. He wasn’t fooled by Cersi, and he certainly wasn’t intimidated by hand grenades, probably because he was known to be quite volatile too.
“Don’t say that about my sister,” Vesa barked, her face suddenly flushing red. “She’s been through hell. Absolute! Fucking! Hell! And you’re not gonna sit here and judge her because she had to develop a thick hide from all she’s endured! She might come off like a pitbull, but she has the soul of a fucking poet! A poet, Noah!”
Noah’s hands flew up as he slowly backed away, “Easy, Phena. Sorry. I was just messing around. I…I like Cersi. Honest.”
Tyson’s cheek twitched at Noah’s statement. Inside, his wolf who’d simply been watching the byplay jerked his head in Tyson’s direction expecting him to do something. Why? Simple. Because they liked Cersi too. She was beauty and light and every time she was near him it felt like she carried a bright torch into the black cave of his soul. She saw right through him, and she was the only person who did. That felt big. She felt like she might be for him, and no one was ever for him. Monsters didn’t deserve light or beauty or mates. But, it didn’t stop Tyson from wishing and wish he did. That woman glowed so damn brightly that she was like his very own birthday candle, and for the first time in his life, he wished like a motherfucker.
Footsteps on the stairs alerted them to someone coming down. Instantly, Tyson picked up Cersi’s scent, and while Vesa and Noah rushed to look busy, he simply crossed his arms and turned toward the doorway.
Cersi entered looking too damn beautiful for words. Swallowing hard against the punch of lust that slammed into his balls, Tyson struggled to look indifferent as his eyes locked on hers. She was wearing tight faded jeans with holes ripped all over exposing flashes of smooth mocha skin. A baggy sweater hung off one creamy shoulder and was tented in front by her ample breasts. Today, her lips were again painted in that violent red that had his wolf’s attention going straight to her mouth. He liked her mouth. He liked her clothes. He liked everything about her. But he really liked her hair. Today it was twisted into those raven’s-wing black corkscrews that bounced as she pulled to a stop. Her eyes slowly left his and tracked to Vesa and Noah before sliding back to Tyson.
“You all were talking about me, weren’t you?”
“No!” Noah boomed too loudly while Vesa’s “No!” came out too high-pitched and brittle.
Eyes still locked on each other, Tyson shrugged. “Yeah.” He had to stifle the grin that threatened to wreck his face when Cersi’s lips thinned into a grim line, her eyes narrowing on him.
“Do tell.”
God, he loved her like this, all fierce sass and challenge.
Vesa laid down a towel she’d been holding and quickly moved across the room toward Cersi. “It wasn’t…we weren’t… We weren’t badmouthing you, Cers. You know I’d never do that. The guys just…”
Cersi looked from Tyson to Vesa then back, but she jerked her gaze from his and focused on pouring herself a cup of coffee, asking, “The guys just what?”
Tyson didn’t like the way Cersi hardened her eyes at the last second before she looked away. It felt cold, distant, and yeah he deserved it, but he didn’t like it. Not. One. Bit.
“Noah’s afraid of you,” Vesa answered plainly.
Cersi glanced at Tyson, and he shot her a wink. A wink she frowned at before turning to Noah. “He should be.”
Haddix strolled into the kitchen and asked, “Who should be what?” But his eyes were locked on Vesa, and a smile broke his face as he ignored everyone and everything and crossed to his mate. As if the
y were completely alone in the room, Haddix pulled Vesa into his arms and kissed her deeply.
Tyson watched a moment before sliding his gaze to Cersi. She wasn’t looking at him though. He followed Cersi’s eyes to where they were locked on Haddix and Vesa engaged in their kiss. Watching his Alpha with his mate, Tyson felt that familiar pang of longing. He wanted that too. Looking back at Cersi, he couldn’t help but wonder if that’s exactly what she was thinking. Was she hoping for the adoration and love that Haddix and Vesa lavished on each other? Did she wish that was her and Tyson the way he was?
Unable to stop himself, he quietly crossed the kitchen and leaned over, blocking Cersi’s view. Her eyes jerked to his like she hadn’t even realized he’d moved.
Cheeks flaming, she ducked her head, and he knew she was embarrassed at having been caught staring.
“Jealous?” he asked quietly.
“No.”
The word rang true, and when he scented the air, he was disappointed at the absence of the tell-tale acrid scent of a lie.
“I don’t want a love like that.” She jerked her chin toward Haddix and Vesa. “I doubt I’d be able to tolerate it.”
“You pretending to be un-loveable, Badass?”
When she huffed a humorless laugh, he had to admit, his curiosity was piqued.
“No, Tyson, I’m not pretending to be un-loveable. I’m not looking for pity or attention either. I openly admit that I want love.”
Her words shocked him because he felt the same. He just hadn’t been able to admit as much to anyone aside from his wolf.
“I deserve love.” Her eyes narrowed on Haddix and Vesa. “But not that kind. I want my own kind.”
“And what kind is that?”
Turning, she pinned him with a hard look. “The dangerous kind. I don’t want Cinderella and Prince Charming.” Her tongue darted out to swipe at her lips. His eyes lowered to watch the movement. “I want Romeo and Juliet. I want the kind of love that would die for me, with me. I don’t want soft and romantic. I want rough and dirty. I want a lover that breaks hearts and bed springs.”