by Lori King
His kiss was a scorching brand of possession that her body welcomed. The moment she let herself open to him her entire body seemed to be floating, ache free again. Like the headache from moments ago had been just a figment of her imagination. All she could focus on was getting him closer to her, skin to skin, body to body, deep and complete.
When his mouth moved across her jaw to her throat, she panted, and cried out, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I feel so….oh my God…”
He’d bit down on the tendon connecting her shoulder to her neck, and her legs buckled underneath her. With a graceful move he lifted her against the wall giving her the leverage to wrap her legs around his waist. In the back of her mind she knew that this was an absolutely ridiculous thing to do. She was mad at him. He’d changed her entire world for one moment of passion, and yet here she was, willing to let him do anything he wanted to her body, as long as he never stopped touching it.
“Luke, please! We need to—”
A low rumbly growl came from him, and she heard a softer version slip from her own lips. The sound got his attention and he jerked his eyes up to meet hers. Gone were the warm pools of hazel, and in their place were glowing orbs of molten gold. Desire hit her, and this time the growling sound she made was louder, and it was definitely more needy.
Sliding his hands under her ass, Luke pulled her away from the wall, and twisted until he was able to set her on the edge of the sofa table that held a half dozen framed photos of Sonny. Without releasing her, he reached over, and gently plucked the frames up, dropping them onto the soft sofa behind her so that the table was bare.
Tavi watched without even trying to stop him or slow him. As much as she knew she should be telling him no, she couldn’t. She needed him. Her body was on fire, and there was only one way to douse the flames.
His hands were back on her hips, tugging at her clothes, stripping her naked as she began taking what she needed from him. The soft T-shirt he wore slid up his frame catching on his armpits until he slowed down long enough to pull it off. The zipper of his jeans nearly opened itself to let his massive cock free, and when she finally got it in her hot little hands, she heard herself sigh with pleasure at his groan.
“Do you like me touching you?” she murmured.
Luke’s head dropped back on his shoulders, and his fingers dug into her breasts as he massaged the small mounds, twisting her nipples gently. “I like it way too much. If you keep stroking me I’m going to come all over your stomach instead of deep inside of you, baby.”
A spark of fantasy started in her brain, but she pushed it away. “Another time. I need you too much right now. Please, Luke. Don’t go slow. Take me.”
“With pleasure.” He ran the bulbous head of his cock down her dripping slit, and she moaned with pleasure, leaning back with her elbows perched on the wide back of the sofa to give him more room. After several sweeps up and down the outside of her pussy lips, he pushed his cock between them, right against her clit. She shuddered at the intense wave of lust that hit her, and tossed her head backward.
When his cock breached her, they both growled loudly, each pressing closer to the other, as though they could physically become one instead of two. He took her at her word and fucked her fast, and hard, pressing his cock so deeply inside of her that she could have sworn she could taste him. Wave after wave of pleasure shot through her, as he gripped her hips and plowed into her passage. They reached the edge of orgasm together, and her vision grew hazy as fireworks exploded in her brain and her cunt clamped down on his cock.
The metallic taste of blood in her mouth was her only conscious realization that she’d bit him, and it wasn’t until he bit down on her that she released his shoulder. It took several more moments for him to release her, and pull back, but when she got a good look at his bloodstained lips, and soft concerned eyes, she couldn’t be angry.
“I bit you again,” he said hesitantly.
She nodded. “I bit you, too.”
“You know I loved it, the question is how did you feel about it?” He smiled sweetly at her, and kissed the tip of her nose. She giggled.
“A little like a vampire considering I can still taste your blood and I like it.”
Luke’s cock twitched inside her. “That’s the sexiest thing you’ve said to me.”
“Hmm. Before you go starting something again, we’d better get cleaned up and put the living room back together. It certainly wouldn’t do to have Sonny walk in on this.”
He laughed. “Certainly. What time does she get home?”
“Usually around three,” she answered as he released her legs and pulled away from her. The moment he wasn’t touching her, the headache she’d been fighting before was back in full force, and she gasped.
“What’s wrong? Shit, this was a bad idea considering everything your body has been through—” He’d been reaching for her as he was speaking, and he stopped so abruptly that she jerked her eyes up to his.
“What? What is it?”
Luke licked his lips a little nervously. “Your cut is gone.”
“My what?” she asked.
“The cut that you got this morning. It’s healed,” he repeated.
She snorted out a laugh. “That’s impossible.”
“Werewolves heal very quickly. The bruise is gone too.” He stroked his hand over the newly healed skin where her injury had been.
“So, my new talent is that I’m like immortal?”
“Not exactly. I promise we’ll go to the den soon, and you can ask the girls all the questions you want, but for now let’s get you cleaned up.” He released her and stepped backward, sending a flare of pain through her head again.
Frowning at him, she reached out again. “Hey, give me your hand for a minute, I want to test something.” The moment their skin came into contact the pain released, and desire smoldered in her belly again. It was like he was a drug that she was going through withdrawal for. “That’s so strange.”
“Now you’re the one speaking riddles,” he said playfully.
“When I’m touching you, my headache is gone, but the moment you let go…”
He nodded. “It’s the mating lust. The headache is that biological need we talked about. Your body needs mine, especially while you transition.”
“So, the only way to keep from being incapacitated by pain is to touch you?” she asked. This werewolf thing was quickly becoming a downer.
“Pretty much, but it won’t last more than another twelve hours, by then you should be far enough into the change that we won’t need skin-to-skin contact. You’ll still want my body though.” He tilted his chin arrogantly and for just a moment she was torn between laughing and punching him in that granite-hard jaw of his.
“Priceless. This is going to ruin my chances of finding a job, you realize that right?” she snapped.
“About that, see I kind of have a brilliant idea, but I need to talk to my Alpha before I spring it on you,” he said, as he led her down the hallway to her room. She was surprised to find the bed carefully made up and the mess cleared away from the bathroom. Luke must have put it all back together while she talked to Tina. The door still hung crookedly from the jamb, but that would have to be fixed later.
“I’m not sure brilliant is a word I would use to describe you so far,” she said cattily.
Jerking her arm, he threw her off balance and she toppled onto the bed on her back. His large frame covered hers an instant later, and she instinctively opened her thighs for him.
“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll woo you with my sexual prowess before I blow you away with my brilliance,” he teased.
Glancing at the bedside clock, she decided that they had plenty of time before Sonny’s school let out, and she took the bull by the horns. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she rocked her hips up to cup his thickening erection against her cunt.
“You’d better get to wooing then, wolf-boy, because I’m doubting you’re a man of your word right now.”
“I just realized something,” he said ominously.
“Here we go again,” she murmured, ducking her head against his throat. “What now?”
“The other night when we had sex, your orgasm was quiet, but today you blew the roof off.” Luke seemed genuinely perplexed. “You weren’t faking it the other night were you?”
Laughter bubbled up in her throat and she let it fly free, letting all of the emotional turmoil from the last several days that filled her lungs escape. It was a deep-hearted belly laugh that had her shaking and tears rolling down her cheeks. Luke was grinning at her, but she could still see the question in his eyes when she finally got control of her mirth.
“No, Luke. I wasn’t faking it. I guess that’s something else that’s changed about me suddenly. I’ve always had to be quiet when I was coming. When Jason—Tavi’s father—and I were together I had a roommate, and he was the first person I ever slept with. I’ve only been with two other people in the last ten years, and I guess I’ve never been comfortable with expressing myself with noise,” she explained, unsure if her words made much sense.
Luke seemed satisfied with her answer and he nodded. “Okay, well just promise me one thing.” She met his eyes, and he bent to steal a kiss before continuing. “Don’t ever hold back again, baby. Hearing you moan makes me stiff as a board.”
With that he thrust his cock into her already slick passage, drawing out a sharp cry of pleasure from her. There was no way she could have stayed quiet, even if she’d wanted to. Luke seemed to have drawn out an unknown part of her that was wanton and decadent, and she was thoroughly enjoying herself.
Chapter 16
“So let me get this straight. Luke Gray is suddenly mated to a human, and not just any human, but a woman with a ten year old? What the hell happened to that man?” Caroline stared at Tina in absolute shock over the dinner table as she held her son against her shoulder patting his back.
“I wish I could explain, but I saw them with my own eyes. He mated her, and she smells wolf, so there’s no doubt,” Tina said, reaching across her husband’s plate for another piece of fried chicken.
Liam smacked her hand. “Hey, get your own!”
She batted her eyelashes at him, and grinned. “But yours is so much tastier than mine…”
Rolling his eyes, he shook his head. “Go on then. Good grief. I’m not sure I would have married you if I’d know how much you could eat. Where do you put it all?”
“Bite me hotshot. You knew what you signed up for, and I work all of those calories off through physical exertion.” She gave him a hot look that shut him up and everyone at the table laughed.
“Well I for one am glad to see Luke finding someone stable. From what you’ve said, I think Tavi sounds like a smart woman, who just needs time to digest the information. Once she’s accepted everything, she’ll fit in just fine,” Devin said from the head of the table.
“Sure, Tavi will fit in, but how is the pack going to handle it when they realize he mated a human after all the shit he’s said in the last year?” Damon asked. The twins sat on opposite sides of their wife, like two Native American bodyguards. Devin with light green eyes, and a dimple in his left cheek was born minutes earlier than Damon, and was the rightful Alpha. Damon had emerald green eyes and bore a dimple in his right cheek, and stood as Alpha with his brother. Even though his birth placement would have reduced his status to Beta, they’d never been treated that way. The two men were yin and yang, and yet somehow their wife Caroline completed them.
Tina had been forced to believe in werewolves when one invaded her home and held her and Caroline hostage, shortly after Devin and Damon Gray came into their lives. It was the Gray pack wolves who rescued them, and that was the moment Liam pushed his way into Tina’s world. Sure, they’d danced around each other for a bit, but once she’d realized she was in love with him, there was no turning back. She was proud of her newfound status as a werewolf, and even prouder of the glinting platinum ring adorning her left hand.
After all of the hubbub surrounding Caroline and Shandi’s back to back weddings, Tina had opted for a lower key version, and she and Liam had gone to a Justice of the Peace. It hadn’t mattered that there was no celebration, because in her mind they’d been married from the moment they met.
“…admit that he was wrong. If he doesn’t, they’ll massacre him for being a hypocrite,” Liam said.
Tina gasped. “Surely they wouldn’t kill him!”
Rolling his ice blue eyes at her, Liam shook his head. “No, Sweet Tina, it was just a figure of speech. He’s said some pretty shitty things though. Like calling you girls half-breeds.”
“That little monkey fucker!” she shouted. “I’m going to feed him his balls!”
Caroline let out a loud growl as Caleb began crying against her shoulder. “Hey, quiet, and watch your mouth. No cursing around the babies.”
“Sorry,” Tina whispered. “But seriously, where does he get off thinking he’s better than we are just because he was born with fur?”
“Werewolves are not born with fur,” Liam said gruffly.
“Luke’s mother and father weren’t true mates. In fact, Faith and Dawson never even got married. When Faith stumbled into her true mate, Dawson accepted it and moved out of the picture.”
Tina frowned at Damon’s explanation. “So, lots of kids have survived divorces.”
Devin sighed. “Faith’s husband and true mate, Nathan, was human.”
There was silence while the fact settled in, and then Caroline shook her head. “It still doesn’t make sense. Wouldn’t he want his mom to be happy?”
“At the expense of his whole family?” Liam asked. “He was just a teenager at the time, and he took it hard. I guess he laid the blame for breaking up his parents completely on Nathan’s human status instead of on biology.”
“How sad for him, and for Tavi. I would think that would make their mating…explosive,” Caroline said, passing the infant she’d been holding to Devin, as she rose. “Be right back.”
She disappeared out the kitchen door, returning a moment later with the other infant, Noelle. “Sorry, the little princess was calling.”
Damon held his hands out. “Considering we all have werewolf hearing, I’m not sure how you manage to hear these babies so often before we do. Come here, princess.” Caroline settled Noelle into her father’s arms with a laugh.
“Call it mom ears. Didn’t your mother ever tell you that moms have eyes in the back of their head and ears in the walls?” she asked. All three men shared uncomfortable looks and Tina rolled her eyes.
“So anyways, Luke is going to bring Tavi out to the den soon for some girl time. Kinda like what we did for Shandi,” Tina told them.
Caroline nodded. “Good idea. We can help her understand what’s happening in her body better than he can. Do you know when they’re coming?”
“Nope, I suppose when he can convince her it’s safe. She was pretty freaked out about everything.”
Liam leaned over and kissed his wife’s temple. “I seem to recall you being pretty freaked out when it happened to you.”
She snorted. “I wasn’t freaked out about anything. I was pissed.”
Everyone laughed, and she patted Liam’s hand. “Don’t worry, I’m over it now hotshot. So Caro, do you think we could make plans to go shopping soon? You said you wanted to get some new clothes and I’ve packed on a few pounds over the holidays I need to shop off.”
“You’re perfect,” Liam said, making her smile immediately.
Caroline looked uncomfortable. “I’m not sure. The twins are still so small. I hate to leave them…”
Devin and Damon exchanged frowns before Devin spoke. “They would be perfectly fine with us.”
&
nbsp; “I know, but I worry about something happening.” Wringing her hands, Caroline stared at her husbands and babies like she was truly terrified she’d never see them again.
“If it would make you feel better we could ask Mom to come over and help out?” Damon offered, stroking Noelle’s dark hair gently.
After a few moments, Caroline finally nodded. “Okay, if Sienna could come over while I was gone I think I could do it, but only for a couple of hours, okay T?”
Tina met Liam’s eyes before she answered, “Got it. We can always make two trips if we need to. Now, what’s for dessert?”
Chapter 17
Luke woke the next morning with an armful of warm woman, and a crick in his back and neck. Tavi had insisted on keeping their relationship G-rated while Sonny was in the house which meant cuddling on the couch while watching T.V. until they both fell asleep. It satisfied Tavi’s need for touch, but it certainly didn’t ease the aching erection currently trying to bust through the zipper of his jeans.
After a moment of concentration, he was able to reduce the swelling enough to change positions, and ease Tavi off of his chest onto the pillows, so that he could hit the bathroom. In his haste to get back to the coziness of the couch he nearly knocked Este over as she stepped out of her bedroom.
“Good morning, Luke. Did you sleep all right on the sofa?” Este asked with a twinkle in her eye.
He nodded good-naturedly. “As well as can be expected. I’m sorry if I woke you.”
“No, not at all. I’m an early riser. I like to have a few moments of quiet before Sonny wakes to drink my coffee and read the paper. Occasionally I take an early morning walk when the weather is good as well.” As she spoke she led the way into the kitchen where she retrieved two mugs for the already brewed coffee. Luke hesitated for a moment, wistfully remembering the cocoon of warm woman waiting on the sofa, before he determined that he needed Este on his side if he was going to make this thing work with Tavi. Settling into a chair at the table, he sipped the strong brew.