“Where are the stars?” His voice drew her out of her memories just then and she scooted her rickety chair, which she’d dragged from the living room, closer to him. But not close enough that he could have grabbed her should he manage to break free of his restraints. She wasn’t that foolish, no matter how deep in thrall with him she was becoming.
“There are no stars, Niki,” she said. “It’s morning already.”
“I miss the moooooooon,” he howled mournfully and it made her heart ache to hear his obvious suffering.
“You’ll see the moon soon,” she promised him, hoping it wasn’t a lie she was telling him. He seemed so sick, she wondered if he would ever get well. There was nothing she could do to help him, so she prayed fervently that he would somehow heal on his own. “And the stars.”
“Julia? Julia, my heart, you have come. At last you have come. I have waited so long for you.”
“I’ve been here all night. I’ve never left.”
“Brianna came to Ivan, but you never came to me. I waited and I called into the night for you but you never came.” His voice broke, full of anguished suffering. “You never came.”
“Shhh, you’re not well, Nikolai. But I promise you that I won’t leave you like this,” she swore fervently.
“Julia!” he roared.
“I’m here Nikolai, please calm down,” she sobbed, aching to see him so tormented and fevered. She soothed a cool washcloth against his brow, jumping when he made a move to bite her.
Several moments passed and he seemed to calm once more. Then, “Julia?” he called to her softly, his voice hoarse from so many shouts and roars.
“Yes, Nikolai? I’m here. Can you hear me?”
“I am sorry that I have done this to you—put you in this frightful position. That I have worried you so.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for, love.” She sought to reassure him, though she wasn’t certain he could hear or understand her words. “Just hurry up and get well for me, okay?”
“Will you kiss me, Julia? Now, when I can feel your lips on mine and hold on to the memory of it when I am…not myself.”
She readily leaned down and pressed her mouth to his, marveling that even after a night spent in total misery he could still taste as fresh and sweet as a warm spring rain. Butterflies took wing in her stomach, as they always did when she was this close to him, whether from nervousness, desire, passion—or a combination of them all—and she deepened the kiss with a gentle sigh.
Even though he was bound, Nikolai fully participated in the embrace, first nibbling at her lips with his, then slipping his tongue sensually into her mouth with a lazy skill that curled her toes and stole away her senses. She braced her hands on the broad expanse of his chest and rested more of her weight on him, compelled by the bond between them, which was growing more and more strong as each moment passed, to be as close to him as possible no matter the consequences. A deep rumble of pleasure sounded from within him, letting her know without a doubt that he was just as affected by their closeness as she was.
Julia felt the sharp scrape of his elongated teeth and pulled back nervously to look at him. His eyes were glittering with their strange phosphorescent shimmer and she was shocked to note that the shape of his pupils had changed noticeably since their kiss began. Instead of round and black within the glittering ice of his irises they were now long, thin slivers that had an iridescent reflecting quality like those of an animal.
“What is it?” His voice was gruff with passion, or what she hoped was passion and not…something else.
“Your eyes,” she told him hesitantly. “They’re different.
His lids lowered, as if to hide those eyes from her. “How so?”
“You know how,” she said. “They’ve changed.”
“Do they frighten you?” he asked after a long moment of uneasy silence.
“A little. Should I back away now? Am I making you uncomfortable?” The last was a whisper as she felt a thrill of fear.
“No, not at all. In fact, I feel…calm. Excited,” he chuckled and shifted in such a way that Julia had no doubts about just how excited he was, “but calm.”
“What is happening to you, Nikolai?”
“I am not certain. All I know is that I have never been so out of touch with my own discipline as I have been these past few days. My feeling trapped in the confines of this city must be the reason why. I will have to leave for my home sooner than I had hoped.”
“You can’t leave now. You’re not well enough.” She left the thought unsaid that she couldn’t bear to part from him so soon. That she was growing to care for him so strongly that were he to leave she would surely pine for his return. She didn’t want to overburden him with her own sudden insecurities.
“I know you are right, but I cannot stay here. I cannot keep putting you at risk.”
“I’ve been more afraid of you hurting yourself these past several hours, than of you hurting me. I don’t think you give yourself enough credit. You haven’t hurt me yet. I don’t think you will.”
“But what if you are wrong and I do something terrible?” he asked in a hoarse whisper. “That I could not bear.”
Julia left her chair and crawled onto him in the bed, straddling his waist. She kept eye contact with him, seeing the sudden flare of his strange pupils as he intently watched her movements. “You’re incredibly sexy, lying there all tied up like some kind of sacrificial offering.”
“Julia. You are playing with fire,” he warned.
“I know and it’s sooo much fun.” She ran her hands teasingly down the planes of his chest and stomach. She couldn’t believe her own daring and knew that he was surprised by it as well. His body tightened beneath her, but she felt no nervousness, no fear that he was a wild thing—a werewolf—and might hurt her. In fact, that bit of danger only added a new spice to her desire for him. It only made her want him more. “I hope I don’t get burned,” she teased, roving her hands all over him now.
“Do not play with me, Julia. I am not myself.”
“Don’t you want me, Nikolai?” she asked breathlessly. That hidden, daring woman that had been awakened by him so many times before was now taking control of her better judgment and she had to admit that it felt wonderful.
“Of course I want you,” he rasped. “I have never wanted anything more. But—“
“Shh! No buts. Let me give you pleasure, Nikolai. Don’t worry about hurting me. You’ve been thrashing all night and you haven’t broken free of your bonds yet. If you really want me to stop I will, otherwise lie back and let me love you. Let me give you pleasure. Let me help to make you happy, to forget your troubles for a little while.”
Julia leaned down and kissed his chin, throat and collarbone. Gradually he eased beneath her and sighed as she caressed him. She stayed gentle, realizing how tired his muscles must be after his night of tossing and turning against the ties that bound him to the bed. She wanted to make his body sing with pleasure. She wanted to give him a release that he would remember for the rest of his life, no matter what happened between them. He was weak now, not himself, and at her mercy. And his vulnerability called to her on an elemental and primal level. In that moment all that mattered to her was his ultimate satisfaction and happiness. She couldn’t help him with his strange illness, but was certain that she could help him to forget about it for a short while. Perhaps that would ease his suffering more than anything else could for the moment.
Julia hoped so.
Raising her arms, slowly for the greater benefit of his viewing pleasure, she removed her shirt. Her bra, a lacy pink confection that caused his eyes to widen and blaze with their appreciation, immediately followed. Her nipples were already hard little pebbles that unerringly drew his eyes. Curving her lips in a siren’s smile she cupped her own breasts in her hands and plumped and squeezed them until his breath sounded in ragged, hungry bursts. His cock was marble hard against her sex and it was plain to see in the dark look on his face that her
efforts pleased him mightily. She licked her fingers and moistened her nipples, then rolled them, as she knew he would have done had he been able to. Nikolai moaned and moved his hips more tightly into the cradle of her thighs—the only movement that his body was really capable of.
“You have amazing breasts, Julia. And your nipples are tender and delicious.”
“Really?” she asked, then lifted her breast to her mouth and darted her tongue out to taste of them herself, pleased beyond measure when he groaned and clenched beneath her at the erotic sight. “I don’t know if I agree about that, but I’m glad that you think so.” Her voice was a husky whisper.
“I do. But the memory fades,” he said dramatically. “Let me taste them again so that I can be sure.” His eyes were devilish and wicked.
Julia leaned down, torturing him with the slow progress of her descent, and fitted her nipple against his waiting mouth. He latched onto her like a hungry babe, suckling her flesh until it tingled and swelled between his burning lips. She moaned and shifted against him so that her hair fell down over them both, a living curtain that served to shield and enclose them in their own private, golden haven.
Nikolai’s mouth released her nipple with a loud, wet pop. His face was close to hers and his eyes were so beautiful at this proximity that she trembled with emotion. “Surely you have the tastiest nipples of all the women in all the world. Let me taste the other,” he begged prettily.
Julia let him have his way, moaning as he drew her in again and loved her with his tireless mouth.
“Oh, Nikolai,” she breathed. “You feel so good.”
“So do you,” he said, then his long tongue lapped out at her, laving her nipple until it glistened and tightened even further.
“Let me get my pants off,” she whispered.
“Are you sure you trust me enough to do this?” he asked, giving her one last chance to back away from her chosen course.
“I trust you more than I’ve ever trusted anyone else, Nikolai,” she assured him.
“Then undress. Quickly. I have a great need to be inside of you. Now.”
Chapter Twelve
Even though it had only been one day since they’d last made love, it felt like a much longer time had passed to Julia. She was just as hungry for Nikolai as he was for her and an empty ache began to throb between her legs as she divested herself of her clothing. She was eager to join him on the bed again. Once again she was conscious of his eyes on her, following her every movement, so she made sure to please him by making a great show of her motions.
Her eyes strayed down to the demanding jut of his cock as it strained up towards the ceiling. Goodness, but he was truly magnificent! She couldn’t help but admire him with her eyes and heart. With the body of a god, even while bound, and a disposition to match, it was no wonder that he was a dominant male within his society. Julia realized that he would never be tamed, never be conquered, and felt her heart swell with a fierce pride at the knowledge. He was perfect.
Julia crawled back over him, feeling the wet heat between her legs flood with readiness for his body’s penetration of hers. His body was hot, but not with the fever that had raged through him during the long night. No, this was a different, purely erotic heat brought about by his fierce arousal, she knew. He shifted beneath her as much as he was able to and his cock butted against the swelling bud of her clit, making her gasp and jerk her hips in response. She spread her legs wider and rocked her slippery arousal against him, until he was panting with each velvet slide of her body.
Her hands kneaded the bulging muscles of his chest, feeling them roll and bunch as Nikolai shifted. His stomach muscles were firm and delineated, like a washboard of living tissue, disappearing into the dark hair on his pubis that peeked out at her between her legs as she rocked over him. The breathtaking, masculine sight he presented made her breath catch in her throat while looking at him.
She leaned down to kiss him and was pleasantly surprised at the wild ferociousness of his response. His tongue speared into her mouth over and over again, and his teeth scraped against hers, mashing their lips so tightly together that her mouth was soon swollen and throbbing against his.
As she slid her body over his she caressed his chest and belly with her hands, and as she pulled back from their hungry kiss to gain a breath she couldn’t help but lave his soft, full lips with her tongue, savoring his taste. Julia couldn’t get enough of him, she wanted to devour him whole so strong was her attraction to him. And knowing that he was tied beneath her, completely at her mercy, only made her want him more. She felt dominant…yet still strangely dominated because she couldn’t for the life of her resist his potent allure—not even enough to pull back and slow their pace, though she knew it was probably wisest to do so. For his sake as much as hers.
“Are you up to this, truly?” she asked against his mouth, in between long, deep kisses.
“Yes. Yes a million times,” he vowed moments later, moving beneath her as much as he was able, pressing their sexes together erotically.
“I need you so much. I don’t know what’s come over me,” she moaned.
“You are my mate, Julia. It is right that you need me this way. I need you, too, more than I know how to say in any language.”
“I’m not pretty,” she gasped in between kisses, sounding apologetic for her own flaws.
“You are so beautiful you make my heart ache,” he said into her mouth.
“I’m not worldly.”
“Your innocence only makes me want to protect you all the more,” he promised, then licked the roof of her mouth, as their kisses grew deeper and deeper still.
“You’ve probably been with tons more women who were better in bed than me.” It hurt more than she would have guessed to realize that.
“I’ve never been with any other woman. Only you.”
Julia pulled back from his mouth in surprise. “You’re lying,” she scoffed, not believing him for a second.
“Julia.” His voice was soft but utterly serious and the look in his eyes made her insides turn to liquid. “Wolves mate for life, and werewolves are much the same. I have had my duty to my pack and my homeland to keep me company while I was waiting for you. I had no need to find a bedmate, knowing that in time I would find you. You were all I ever needed, Julia fair. Julia, my mate.”
“Then you were a virgin the other night? Like me?” she asked, finding the idea much to her liking.
“No other woman but you would have fulfilled me in any way, so there was no point in trying. Until you I needed only to use my hand to find physical release. With you I find my release spiritually as well as physically and it has been worth all my years of waiting and abstaining.”
“Oh, Nikolai.” She wanted to tell him that she loved him and that she never wanted to be parted from him. But Julia had never said such things to anyone before and couldn’t find the right words to convey the depth of the emotions she was feeling. So she kissed him and put as much of her love and as much of her passion into that embrace as she could manage, hoping he would understand and know at least some of what she was feeling. Julia wanted him to feel that, in her arms and heart, he would find a mate worthy of an alpha werewolf.
But first she had to overcome her own self-doubt—no easy task by any stretch of her imagination—and prove to herself her own worth. Thankfully this was the perfect opportunity for that. Nikolai was bound and at her mercy, leaving this encounter open for her to choreograph as she pleased. This was her opportunity to push his limits and prove to them both that she could handle whatever he dished out in response. No matter what that response was.
Julia pulled back and gave him a devilish smile. Never taking her eyes from his, she crawled slowly down his body until she rested at the foot of the bed. Her hands were trembling slightly as she ran them over the strong planes of his large feet—not in fear, but in desire—as she marveled at how such masculine feet could manage to look so sinfully attractive as well. His toes curled when she ran
the backs of her hands over the soles, and he chuckled.
Her werewolf was ticklish!
Julia couldn’t resist taking advantage of that knowledge by raking her nails lightly back and forth over his sensitive skin. Soon Nikolai was gritting his fanged teeth against his deep laughter, trying valiantly not to show how affected he was by such teasing. Julia found it incredibly endearing and just when she knew her teasing had become too much for him she stroked over his feet, soothing them, and progressed upwards to his calves. They were covered in fair, golden hair, which was soft and slightly crisp to the touch, making her want to burrow her face against him. And why not, she thought? Why not give in to the temptation? She knew instinctively that nothing would be forbidden her in regards to Nikolai’s body. So she gave in to the impulse and rubbed her face against the fur of his legs, reveling in the feel of it against her skin.
His body was absolute perfection. Over and over she had marveled at his masculine appeal, but now more than ever she could see the effects his change was having on his form and realized that he was growing impossibly more and more beautiful as his transformation progressed. He was quite noticeably more massive and heavily muscled. His shoulders, which always seemed broad, were now close to spanning the mattress of her bed. Julia couldn’t help but feel a thrill, wondering just how strong he might be now, beneath her. Thankfully he didn’t seem strong enough to break through his bonds.
Yet. She shivered deliciously at the thought.
Julia moved up, scattering butterfly kisses across his knees, one after the other. Goodness, she even loved his knees! His thighs called to her next, of course, those muscled columns that were as thick as tree trunks. She tested and kneaded at the hard ridges there with her hands and mouth, impassioned by the strong feel of him. She was growing hotter and wetter as she explored him, becoming breathless with anticipation for yet more.
The perfumed scent of his sex called to her unmercifully. He smelled like the deep forest, piney, woodsy, crisp and delicious. And Julia knew, instinctively, that he smelled nothing at all like a human male would. The gently curling, golden hair that fleeced his testicles glinted in the sunlight, immediately drawing her eyes to it. His testicles were heavy but tightly drawn against his body. His cock was thick, as big around as her wrist, and long, reaching up beyond his belly button in his fiercely aroused state. Giving in to a compulsion that would have otherwise embarrassed her had she stopped to give it any thought, she leaned down and nuzzled her face into the splayed vee of his thighs. He smelled heavenly and felt better yet.
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