“Patience …” she panted, “gone … need you …” Her patience must run away with her ability to speak in complete sentences. “Now …”
He worked his way down her body and began on her jeans. Thank goodness he was listening because she was about to self-combust with need. Within moments they were both gloriously naked. She reached up and grabbed his head, pulling his face to hers. He was too far away, even with much of their bodies connected to him.
“Oh, Jolie, my sweet Jolie, I don’t think I could ever deny you.” She wanted to call bullshit since he so seemed to relish telling her to be patient, but she was not willing to risk him pulling away. She was on fire and knew he was the only one who could put out the flames … after stoking them, of course.
“We will make glorious love later. Now, we are going to fuck. I need to be inside you, to mark you as mine once again.”
Jolie had absolutely no problem with that. None whatsoever. She only wished that she could mark him too. Have all of the world know that he was hers.
He rolled off of her. Fuck.
“What?”
“Oh, Jolie, I forget how little you know and how little I have told you in all of this.” He was out of breath and the choppiness of his voice amplified his sexy. She had caused that.
“Huh?” And he caused confusion.
“You were just thinking about being sad because you can’t mark me.”
Yes, she had to get control of that and soon. Embarrassment was one thing, but it was now functioning as a cock block and that was unacceptable.
“Doesn’t change a thing.” She maneuvered to get on top. “I still want and need you … now.”
His hands on her shoulders stopped her.
“Stop, Jolie. I need to tell you something, and you being here all naked and sexy and climbing on top of me is making it nearly impossible.”
She gave up and flopped back onto the bed. Best to listen so they could get back to the smexy times.
“Long story short, you can mark me.”
“What?” The possibility had her heart soaring. “How?”
“Same way I marked you.”
“You mean I just bite you like a piece of steak?” That didn’t sound right ... it actually sounded rather violent and gross.
He rolled onto his side to look her straight in the eye. “Yes … sort of … but not at all. There will come a time when the mating call will hit you, and your body will instinctively go into bite mode.” He reached over and played with her earlobe absentmindedly as he spoke. Even her ear seemed to have a direct line to her pussy, and she was sure there was already a wet spot on the bed.
“If you were a wolf, we probably would have bitten each other at the same time, but since you have no inner wolf, it will happen after our bond solidifies.” Well, that was promising. “It could be today, tomorrow, next week. It is hard to predict. But when the time hits, you will feel like you have no choice but to bite me, and it will be amazing.”
“Got it.” She loved the sound of it and couldn’t wait. “Back to the fucking?” It sounded almost silly coming from her lips, and she broke into giggles, which abruptly ended when she found herself once again beneath him, his cock positioned at her entrance.
“Yes, my love.” He entered her with one quick motion, and she once again felt complete. “Back to the fucking.”
There was nothing sweet about their coming together. It was hard and raw and had her climbing toward climax faster than she thought possible. She met him motion for motion, needing to be one with him. Her nails raked his back, and that only seemed to drive him harder—deeper—faster. She wrapped her legs around his, needing him touching her in every way possible. As his hand worked his way down to where they were joined, her need grew exponentially. He'd barely reached her clit when she exploded.
She might not be overly knowledgeable in orgasms, but Jolie could tell right away that this one was different; that it was more. This one shook her body and instead of getting lost in the sensation, a new need emerged. Without even thinking she pulled his head toward her and sank her teeth into his neck. They glided in as if they were made for this very moment, and the second they were completely in, her body began to shake more violently and fill with a sense of complete contentment. As he came, the clarity that he truly was hers, just as she was his, hit her and with it came a joy she never thought possible.
They both rode out the moment. As infuriating as it was at the time, she was glad he had stopped them to talk about this earlier. It allowed her the freedom and comfort to fully savor this magical moment.
I love you.
She heard him. At least she hoped that is what happened.
“Did you just say you love me?”
She met his eyes. He was a sweaty mess and never looked sexier.
“I was hoping you could hear me now that you claimed me as yours.”
He was hers. Sweeter words were never spoken. He. Was. Hers.
The Bitch is Going Down
After a quick, well not actually that quick of a shower, Jesse stood in front of her wrapped in a towel as she examined her bite mark. It looked very similar to the one she was wearing even though she had no wolf heritage. He seemed proud as punch to be wearing her mark, and that filled her with even more confidence. He was hers.
They spent the rest of the day alternating between Jesse reassuring her that he would win the challenge and making love. He joked that it was the best way to prepare himself because the stronger their bond the stronger he would be. She wasn’t sure she about that, but she found herself completely unable to keep her hands off of him.
After their fourth time, and goodness knows how many orgasms later, Jolie conjectured that his inner wolf was what made their sexual marathon possible. He, however, was adamant it was her curvaceous sexiness and what girl would argue with that?
“Look at the time, Jesse.” She could no longer pretend that their future awaited, and it might not be the one they wanted. “I’ll go run a shower, and we can get dressed.”
“No.”
“No?”
“No shower. “ He sat up. “I need everyone to know that we spent our afternoon this way.”
She sat up and turned her body to look at his. “Why is that? Don’t you think it is kind of … I don’t know … gross to go out all ‘I just had sex everyone. Can’t ya smell it?’ ” Just the thought of her mother seeing her like this gave her the willies.
“Oh, they will smell it. All of them except possibly your mom and Mama.” Eww. “They will know our bond is stronger, and when they see the bite, they will see just how strong.”
“Wait, you want them to see that we have been doing the nasty all afternoon so they will think what exactly?” Jolie knew this had little to do with male pride, but couldn’t place her finger on exactly what.
“A bonded male is stronger as the bond grows. I want Richard to be terrified of me before we even get into the circle, and I want to leave no doubt to anyone that might be considering siding with them that they will be on the wrong side.”
“Wait, so I basically used my wanton ways to help you?” She loved the thought that she helped, even when at moments she felt like she was being selfish in her need.
“I told you I needed to spend the afternoon inside you.” His smirk almost reached his eyes … almost. “Super bonus points for me that you went above and beyond the call of smexy duty and decided to mark me while we were at it.”
She was not one hundred percent comfortable with going to the challenge all dressed in sex afterglow, but if it helped even a tiny bit, she was going to do it. She never in a million years thought she would find someone that appreciated all she had to offer and offered even more than she could have asked for. The last thing she was going to do was to risk losing it over some embarrassment.
They were on their way to the circle, as Jesse had called it, a half hour before dusk. She liked to get to all places early, but he assured her this was something you wanted to arrive just
on time for. Quite honestly, she wanted them to arrive not at all for it.
As they pulled into the drive for Garrick’s house, the full impact of what Jesse had said about this not being a home hit her. Garrick was going to watch his son in a fight for his life in his own back yard. No parent should ever have to face such an ordeal. Instead of parking with the other cars, Jesse drove around the house.
“We're going to park a bit out of the way.” He pulled in beside a large tree. “See that path to the right?” He pointed out her window and she nodded. “If anything goes wrong, grab your mom and go down that path in the car. It will lead you to the main road we take to home. Take her there and wait until Garrick comes for you. He will keep you safe.”
What was he saying? She could never leave him, no matter how wrong things got. He was hers, for always. Tears began to fall.
His arms wrapped around her with only the console in between them. “Shh, love, it is only a precaution. You are not going to need to do that, but knowing I set up a plan will let me focus on the challenge completely.”
She heard the honesty in his voice and decided that she needed to buck up and be strong. She could not be the distraction that lost him his title and his life.
“We need to go now.”
She knew they did and despite wanting to hold onto him even more, she let him go. She opened her car door as he opened his and got out to find him already standing there, hand extended.
“It is this way.”
He led her in silence through the woods. The shadows played off of the trees as the sun began to set, and more than once she found herself startled, wondering who was there. She was on edge. It wasn’t long before they entered a clearing. It looked like they were the last ones there. There had to be over thirty people present, and the barbaric nature of what was about to occur hit her like a ton of bricks.
They walked over to her mom, who was looking every bit as nervous as she felt.
“I need to join my father and Richard in the center. Stay here and remember what I said.”
She nodded her agreement, fearing her words would give away all of the emotion she was feeling. As if sensing it, her mother pulled her into a full hug. She could feel her mother wanting to speak, but keeping silent. Maybe she too was afraid her emotions would break loose.
They stood there, just watching and waiting. Mama stood behind the men. Her façade as the super sweet, yet gossipy mother hen was gone, and she radiated evil. How had Jolie not seen through her? She was usually so good at that. Her mom gave her a reassuring squeeze, and Jolie wondered momentarily if her mother felt the same way.
“Pack.”
Jolie’s stomach fell as Garrick began to speak. This was it.
“Tonight we are here to honor a challenge called for the rank of Beta. The challenge is to the death and will take place in wolf form and will begin promptly at dusk, which officially begins in three minutes.”
It felt as if he was reading a script. No trace of emotion could be heard in his voice or seen in his face. “The challenge is to take place completely in the circle. Anyone other than those in the challenge seen entering the circle of their own accord before the challenge is officially called will immediately forfeit their life.”
Challenges were serious business if even looking like you were going to help would cause your execution. She needed to focus on not running to him if he needed her. She squeezed her mother’s hand who squeezed hers in return.
He turned toward the two men. “You may disrobe, but no shifting may commence until I call it officially dusk.” Garrick stepped out of the circle.
All eyes were on the two men as they removed their clothing, so Jolie took the moment to scan the crowd. Most looked terrified and a few looked almost green. The only one who looked happy to be there was Mama. Even from the distance Jolie could see her glee. Mama was sure her son had this in the bag.
As Jolie’s eyes hit the two naked men, she wondered momentarily how she could possible think Richard stood a chance. Standing next to her muscular mate was an older man sporting a beer belly and what looked to be terrible scarring on his leg—most likely from an accident or surgery. Richard was not at his best, and even if he were, Jesse radiated power.
“As Alpha of this pack, I officially call it dusk.”
At his pronouncement, both men transformed into their wolves. Jessie’s transformation was faster, and he was on Richard before he was completely changed. Richard yelped, and she hoped that meant that this would be over quickly. Jolie didn’t want to see a man die, but given the choice, she would not only choose Richard’s death over Jesse’s, but she would also be willing to help.
The wolves circled each other, Richard covered in blood. He limped, and she couldn’t be sure if it was a new injury or from the previous scaring. She hoped it was new because that would mean it distracted him.
Jesse’s beautiful wolf looked almost rabid, and she was glad that this was not the first time she saw it. He lunged for Richard, clamping his jaw around the wolves back, earning a cry of agony from Richard. Just then she felt a pull.
The pull was unlike any she had ever felt before, and she found herself walking forward and toward the circle. She could hear her mother screaming her name, but it felt so far away. Hands were on her arms, but they didn’t stop her movement. She had to go in the circle.
Stop! Jesse screamed in her head.
I can’t! She screamed back to him.
There is no point in me winning if you forfeit your life.
Before her, she saw Richard lunge for Jesse. She was messing everything up. If she didn’t stop, she was going to be the cause of Jesse’s death, and that was something she could never live with, not that she would be alive if she kept walking, which she did.
She felt herself fall backwards to the ground. Her mother was sitting on her, doing whatever she could to prevent Jolie from getting up. Jolie struggled and struggled as more and more people circled her. Hands were everywhere. Holding her legs and her arms and while she struggled to be free. Joy filled her. The pack was helping her. Helping Jesse. Not that it stopped her from fighting them.
She reached out to Jesse. They have me, Jesse. The pack is saving me. Kill his sorry ass and come to me. I love you.”
Howling and growling and snapping tore through the circle, but all Jolie could focus on was breaking away from her restraints, her moment of clarity gone.
A high pitched scream filled her head as if talking directly to her brain, and her body went limp. Hands were still on her, but she no longer fought them. Tears filled her eyes. It was over, and she wanted to be relieved, but more important things were in play.
Love, it is over.
At that one sentence in her foggy brain, all was right with the world. Tears continued to fall, but they were the happiest tears of her life.
“Pack, the challenge is over. Richard is dead, and Mama’s life was forfeit upon entering the ring.”
The air filled with howls as one by one hands left her body and she was able to rise. Her mom was by her side as the crowd cleared. In the circle, she saw Richard’s dead wolf and a dead Mama. Garrick and Jesse stood shoulder to shoulder and she wanted to run to him, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.
Her mother leaned in. “It is not quite over. You will be with your mate soon.”
Jolie had no doubt that everyone there heard her, but she couldn't care less. These people proved today that she was their family.
“Jesse, you have proven your worthiness to hold the position of Beta.”
Howls again filled the air. It would take some getting used to, seeing people actually howl.
“Now you can go to him.” Her mom elbowed her playfully in the side, and Jolie sprinted toward her mate.
He enveloped her in his arms. “You scared me so much,” he began. “I saw you walking toward the ring. At first I thought you were trying to help …”
“I couldn’t stop myself. It was like I was being controlled.”
“Your mate,” Sherriff Williams began, “figured it out first. We just took her lead. We protect our own.”
Our own. She liked the sound of that. She liked it very much.
Move-in Day
It was hard to believe that the summer was over and school was about to begin again. Aside from the horrific beginning, the summer had been the very best of her life. The more time she spent with Jesse, the more time she realized how perfectly fate worked. They were made for each other in all ways, and not just in the sweaty, naked, orgasmy ones. Although, she really did enjoy those.
While she spent a lot of the summer getting familiar with the way of pack life and what it meant to be the mate of the Beta, she spent a lot of time with her mother, Garrick, and Jesse at home. Garrick and her mother might not have the bond she had with Jesse, but they obviously cared a great deal for each other and she'd never seen her mother happier. Any doubts she had that their marriage was for show were gone one night when she walked into something that could never be unseen taking place on the kitchen counter. She made sure to always bring a water bottle with her to bed after that one.
“Ready?” Jesse pulled her from her ponderings.
“I’m ready. I’m just going to miss it here.” She looked around what had become their bedroom. She actually never spent one night away from him. “We will come back anytime you want.” He bent down and kissed the top of her head. “It will always be ours. It was actually ours before you ever came here.”
She remembered how many little details in the home were like they had been designed just for her. It turned out a lot of those details were last minute additions Jesse added as they first developed their dreaming habit. My goodness, she loved him so.
And I you, my love.
“Before we go, don’t you think we should take advantage of this pretty awesome sound proofing?” She said as she dropped to her knees and fiddled with his buttons. He might look incredibly sexy in these, but she planned to make a sweatpants only rule in their new apartment because there was no way she was going to get cock blocked by buttons.
Beyond The Veil: A Paranormal & Magical Romance Boxed Set Page 72