by T. A. Grey
Jacks, Jacks.
She grabbed on to his shoulders and vaulted her legs around his hips, grinding her swelling sex against the hard cock that awaited her beneath his jeans.
Movement processed somewhere in her mind and she realized he was walking, and then hard bark was pressing into her back. She sunk her hand into his short, spiky hair and kissed him to keep from moaning. God, he tasted so good. Her tongue licked his, passed over his teeth and inner cheek, she couldn’t get enough of him. And when he groaned and squeezed her breast through her shirt, she knew he was just as gone as she was.
“I need you,” he growled, pushing her shirt up past her bra so he could see her breasts. His breaths deepened as he took in her heavy breasts, and he didn’t hesitate to pull them out of her bra cups. A part of her couldn’t help but like the way he took charge. He touched her possessively, like a man sampling goods before buying; his touch was rough and just a little bit hard as he plumped and massaged her breasts.
He didn’t need to touch her anymore. Her body was more than ready. His head bent down to take in a hard nipple and she gasped, her hands latching on to his back to hold on as pleasure shot through her.
“Jacks,” she whispered roughly. How had she never felt anything like this? She wanted to curl around him on the earthen floor and be taken by him in every way imaginable. She had to be careful. It would be so easy to lose herself in him, forget about all those reasons she needed to be in control. This was just like before but with some key difference she couldn’t wrap her foggy mind around.
Control. Had to stay in control. The unbearable pain of losing it wasn’t something she could afford to try twice.
Vera grabbed Jacks hair, pulled until he growled at her and pulled away from her breast. He reminded her of a beast snapping at her because she took away his toy.
Dropping her legs back to the ground, she used her lykaen strength to shove him hard. He still only moved back a foot, when he should have gone several, but she used the advantage she had and tripped his ankle so he went sprawling back to the earth.
She climbed up his body, her eyes ravishing his hard, muscular body. His thighs were like solid tree trunks that she wanted to kiss and worship with her fingertips and tongue. She laid down over him, rested her cheek against the hard bulge in his jeans.
“Jesus Christ, Vera. Get the fuck up here now. If you don’t want your panties ripped off, you better take them off now.” Moaning, she ignored him and continued to rub her cheek back and forth across his zipper. She licked the denim, her hips undulating in a subtle plea. “You better take my cock out and do something about it before I take over, baby.”
Vera heard the threat in his voice and smiled. She felt like a cat in heat--as if she was in her breeding cycle and craved only one thing. Only usually it didn’t matter who gave her what she needed so long as she got it. But this was different. It was only this man, this human man that she wanted.
She reached to unbutton his pants, her fingers tracing the edge of his low-slung jeans, dipping inside to feel the blazing heat of his skin.
“Fuck,” he growled, and then his hands were there, unzipping his jeans and pulling out his cock.
Vera moaned and couldn’t stop her tongue from flicking out and tasting the side of his cock. She moaned again at his heady, masculine taste. His cock was so soft but hard underneath. The head was a dark shade of red and weeping at the tip.
“Vera,” he warned, his hand fisting in her hair. Vera knew what he wanted, what she wanted to give him, but couldn’t resist teasing him even as her pussy throbbed and creamed.
Using only her tongue, she traced the sides of his cock, ignoring the tip that so desperately wanted her. Finally, after it was all wet, she used her lips and tongue to kiss the long, hard length. The hand in her hair started to shake. When she looked up, she saw his chest working hard, his lips pulled back into a pained grimace, and a dark warning in his eyes.
That was all the warning she had before his hand tightened in her hair and he thrust his cock past her lips and into her mouth. She watched as his eyes rolled back and his head fell heavily down to the ground. After he got into her mouth, he couldn’t stop. His hips pumped his cock between her plump lips, against her wet tongue, with only one thought in mind--pleasure.
Vera moaned and tightened her hands on his hard hips and knew she’d leave fingernail marks there. But then she pushed him down hard and pulled her mouth away. This was about control, her control. How did he manage to keep turning this on her?
She flicked her tongue over the tip of him then started climbing up his body. He watched her like a hurt animal. She had no idea what he was thinking, but she sensed he was on the edge. And she desperately wanted to push him over.
She leaned down over his flushed face and pressed a soft kiss to his hard mouth. When he didn’t kiss her back, she repeated the process again and again. Finally, on the third kiss, he snapped.
With a maddening shout, he grabbed her and flipped her over. It became a fight. She struggled against him, fighting him limb for limb as he turned her onto her stomach then spread her knees wide.
“No, dammit!”
“I’ve had enough of your games,” came his dark threat.
But she fought against the hands pushing her chest into the ground, her hips back and up. She would not be taken like a dog. She would not lose this fight. Snarling, she kicked her legs at him, but he tightened his grip and brought his hips flush to her ass.
She couldn’t catch her breath or think quickly enough as he grabbed her hands in one of his and held them to the ground in front of her. His other hand was pushing up her skirt to her waist. Cool air breezed over her ass and she growled, the sound filled with her beast. She tried to pull her hands away, he would not take her like this, but somehow he was stronger. Impossible!
“No!” But he ignored her shout and ripped her panties off.
“I warned you baby,” was all he said and then plunged his cock deep inside her. Vera yelled but this time for an entirely different reason.
Deep, blossoming pleasure engulfed her like a tidal wave. He stretched her muscles wide, filled her to the brink and then some. And he didn’t stay still but pounded into her with the fervor of a man gone too long without sex.
Her fingers curled into the dirt underneath his strong hand and the only sound she could form past her lips was “ooooh!”
Her hips curled back against him, her back arched until her hard nipples brushed against the dirt below. His free hand grabbed her hair and pulled and she snapped her teeth at him in warning. But then he relaxed his grip and grabbed her shoulder, pushing her down into the dirt. It was the most dominant of positions and Vera shouldn’t want it--couldn’t want it--yet her body was building quickly to a release that surely the entire world would feel.
He rocked within her tight channel that gripped his cock like a vice and groaned. He couldn’t stop. If someone pointed a gun at his head, he still didn’t know if he’d be able to stop. She felt too good, was making delicious sexy sounds that made his balls throb. He knew he was being too rough, had never been so hard on a woman before, but for some reason he couldn’t stop himself anymore than he could stop breathing. Somehow, he sensed that this was necessary. That she needed this as much as he did.
“So beautiful,” he said between clenched teeth. His fingers curled into her shoulder, holding her in place as he pounded harder into her tight gripping pussy.
Her moan started low then grew higher and higher until finally she was shouting his name in one long, drawn-out song. Jacks felt her pussy quiver and tighten over his cock as she started coming. Jesus Christ, it was unlike anything he’d ever felt. It was like her pussy was trying to milk his semen from him.
And as she screamed her release and trembled hard with pleasure beneath him, Jacks tightened his grip and bore down on her, burying his cock deep inside her. He exploded, his come filling her in long, hard spurts.
He was trembling like a fucking leaf. Carefully he pulled o
ut of her and fell next to her in the grass. Regret had him burying his face in his hand. She was so small, filled with luscious curves meant for a man’s gentle touch, not the brutal pounding he’d just given her. Damned he’d never taken a woman like that. Had never even wanted to. Yet he hadn’t been able to stop himself. Hadn’t wanted to stop. Shit, he’d royally screwed up this time. It was her fault; she was like a drug.
He heard a soft moan, a ruffling of movement, then felt the soft press of her body against his. Wearily he moved his hand away from his face to see her cuddling up against him. She laid her arm across his chest and rested her cheek against his side as her leg curled over his.
She closed her eyes with a small smile on her face and Jacks felt something hard tug in his chest. Well at least she wasn’t mad. He curled his arm around her and held her close as he stared up at the canopy of trees.
Something was happening to him. She felt...good in his arms. For the second time that day, Jacks did something he’d never done, and fell asleep with a woman in his arms.
Chapter Six
Ariss wore her golden blond hair free and flowing down her shoulders today. Though what she just said detracted Vera’s opinion of her and her beauty by a lot.
“What do you mean you own a part of Kategan land?”
Her smile was that of a cat about to drink a saucer of cream. “My master, Claude Phelans, recently found these documents locked away in a safe at the manor. Deeds, in fact, that clearly shows that one thousand, eighty four acres of your land is actually ours.”
Vera’s mouth refused to shut. “Impossible. That’s been Kategan land—our land—for over a hundred years now.”
“Well it seems that we know differently now.”
This couldn’t be happening. “No way. And your Master Claude just happened to find these deeds now? What was he cleaning out the attic? Never mind, I want to see the deeds.”
Ariss smiled and shook her head sympathetically. “Here they are.”
Vera read over them with a sickening feeling filling her stomach. The deed was much longer than it was wide. It was the color of parchment and felt rough beneath her fingertips.
She read the yellow document twice trying to look for any flaw. It all looked legit, but didn’t they have lawyers for this kind of thing? She barely kept her hand from shaking as she passed the deed to Dmetri who read it with a scowl then passed it to a big man sitting to the right of him.
His name was Brayden, and he was the lead judge in all matters, and the lead counsel to the Justicars; his was say was final in all judicial matters whether vampire or lykaen. The future of the Kategan pack was no in his hands--literally.
“We’ll have to verify this, of course,” Brayden said. He had the voice of a man who was used to leading armies into battle. “Our Justicars will be able to trace the legitimacy of the document. Let’s not make any rulings on this yet, not until we have sufficient proof back. From there we will discuss how much land the Kategan’s have right to.”
Vera heard herself reply but numbness fogged over her mind and body. She watched everything happen around her as if from outside her own body. The meeting adjourned and Jacks slipped up beside her like some white knight and rescued her back to the bedroom where the fog finally drifted away and she returned to her body.
“She’s going to take our land.”
Jacks crossed his arms in a way that meant he was all business. His eyes grew so serious that lines bracketed his eyes and mouth. He had to be only in his early thirties yet he held such character in his hard face. What had put that there? War, the military, or something else?
“How many acres do you own?”
“One thousand two hundred acres. If she steals our land will leave us with only one hundred and sixteen. It’ll ruin us.”
She buried her face in her hands and fought the wave of hot tears that wanted to escape. A million thoughts whirled in her mind. How was she going to tell her family? How was the pack going to deal with this? It was impossible, there simply wasn’t enough space.
“Is her deed real?” asked Jacks.
“I wouldn’t think so. I mean, the Kategan’s have been there since the 1800s. How can they just now come out and say this?”
Jacks contemplated that. “What happens if the deed proves true and you refuse to give up your land?”
“We go to war with the vampires.”
“Then you need to call Vane.”
She stood and started pacing. “Not yet. His mate is pregnant. They don’t need this now. Besides, he’ll freak out and with his attitude, he might just start the war. No, no. This situation needs to be finessed. God, why does this room have to be so small?”
She paced from one side to the other muttering curses under her breath. Burning liquid still hadn’t dissipated from her eyes and if she didn’t get out of here soon then she was going to explode. Why had she wanted to come here? She must be insane. Her next home was definitely going to have the word asylum in it.
Frustration driving her hard, she rounded on Jacks. “Okay, listen to me, human. I need to walk this off before I take someone’s head off and considering the proximity, it will probably be yours. No phone calls to the Kategan’s, no telling anyone about this until I have a plan, okay? If shit gets too dire then I’ll call, but until then no.”
His hand reached out to cup her cheek in a touch so achingly gentle; she fumbled over her next words. Much softer she said, “I need to walk, okay. By myself. Just give me thirty minutes and I’ll be right back, but I really can’t be around you right now.” Her voice broke and one tear escaped, then another. She looked down at her feet as she wiped away the stupid things. Could she be any lamer?
It was his stupid gentle touch. Why did he have to do that? She heard movement, and then she was wrapped in his arms. This was not the aggressive, hard touch she’d felt earlier in the woods, or the urgent hands she felt last night in bed. No, this time he simply held her. Even with her arms down at her sides in tight fists, it felt good. His warm chest heated her cold skin and in a spark of irony made her feel like things were going to be fine.
She pulled back and kept her face down, too afraid to his face. “I’ll be back soon,” she said and escaped from him.
She had no idea if he’d follow her or not, so she waited at the end of the hall for a minute. When he didn’t come, she sighed and kept going. She walked down the main staircase and headed to the library. It was always a place she’d found refuge in while she lived here. The halls of the mansion were as familiar to her as the much less luxurious ones in her own small house.
She sighed in relief to find the library empty. Not a bit had changed in it either. The lush red carpet flowed all the way to the wide wooden staircase, which spiraled once to the second floor balcony. The balcony was always her favorite, and she found herself moving towards it. Books lined the walls of the balcony in massive mahogany bookcases and above them sat tall glass windows that displayed the thunderstorm brewing outside.
Lightning cracked and struck through the sky as Vera took her old seat at the one windowsill in the corner. It was the only space without a bookshelf and the window sat low enough for her to see out of it. She used to pick up a book and come read here until Dmetri would come find her.
Her heart gave a leap but it didn’t hurt as much as before. Was this what it took to get over him? To come here and talk to him? She’d avoided the yearly treaty meetings since things had ended between them. Until Jacks, she hadn’t had sex except with her breeding cycle partner. A single, male friend of hers who was always willing to help her out during her cycle.
Curling her feet under her, her mind strayed to the handsome human. Never in a million years would she have pictured herself liking a human, and there was no kidding herself, she did like him. She liked the way he stood in a room and drew all the faces to him without saying a word. She liked the way he watched the surroundings wherever he was. He’d done it even when she first met him back Rome’s place. He made he
r feel safe, protected. And when he touched her...it was like fireworks exploding inside her.
She tried to control herself around him, especially her heart, but the damned thing had a mind of its own. She’d given herself openly, freely to Dmetri and he’d broken her heart into little unfixable pieces. The wall she’d erected around her heart was there for her own protection. Yet every minute with Jacks was beating at that wall with a sledgehammer.
The scent in the air changed. Vera cocked her head to the side, a flare of silly hope filling her. Then she caught the scent of it: cold blood. Dmetri came up the stairs with the stride of a confident man and the limber grace of a cat. Her blossoming heart withered at the sight of his pale long hair.
She was already up and walking away, when he stopped her.
“Dammit Vera, wait. I need to talk to you.” Whatever it was she didn’t want to hear it. He caught her gently by the arm and turned her. His eyes tracked over her eyes, nose, then mouth before his lips curled into a frown. “You were crying.”
Shit, she’d forgotten about that. Why did the body have to be so revealing in times of pain? “Just a little. What do you want?” She yanked her arm out of his touch.
“I wanted to tell you that the situation with Ariss smells bad.”
“That’s probably just her perfume,” she said before she could stop herself.
He burst out laughing, and Vera wished she hadn’t said anything. The only redeeming quality she had was that his laughter no longer affected her like it used to. It used to light up her day when she did that, now she felt no stirring, just indifference. It was...nice.
“No, you know that’s not what I mean. Something’s really wrong with this. There’s no way her clan or Master Claude have owned a significant part of your land all this time. I’m going to call my friend at the Justicar’s office and make sure that all the right people get their hands on the deed.”
Vera pulled back. “Wait now, I don’t want anything illegal happening with the Kategan name anywhere near it. That’s just stomping out one pile of shit for another.”