He didn’t think this was what Cameron had in mind when he was told to watch over the pair.
“Breathe,” she ordered.
Her voice pulled a lever inside him, and his large chest heaved with the burning rush of released air he hadn’t realized he was holding. Cinnamon and maple, that was her scent. She was sweet and intoxicating.
His gaze fell to her breasts, and Marie felt a blush redden her cheeks. Her shirt was thin, and her nipples drew up into hard points. There was no way he could miss her body’s response. His eyes darkened.
His own body responded, and she rocked her hips forward to feel him. She could feel his cock, thick and long, under his jeans. As he hardened, her body answered his again with heat and wetness and a pulsing hunger that made the room swim.
“I don’t think the nearest male is what you need,” Isaac rasped. His brows drew together in concentration. He felt he was working against his best interests, but for hers.
“I don’t think you want to stop.” Marie shook her head, letting her brown waves spill over them both.
She didn’t want to stop. She wanted to feel him against her, skin to skin. The heat between her thighs was unbearable. She wanted to feel him for real.
Her mouth found his skin again. She pressed her lips to his neck, and earlobe. Her eyes slid shut as she enjoyed wrapping herself in his scent. His strong arms finally wrapped around her, and his hands gripped her ass as he stood. She wound her legs firmly around his body. The room swayed with his walk, until she blindly dipped and her back met the bedspread. She opened her eyes to find he’d taken them into her chosen room.
His body warmth disappeared, and she watched him retreat to close and lock the door. He lingered at the foot of the bed instead of rejoining her. It was obvious he desired her. The tent in his pants couldn’t lie, nor could his darkened eyes.
She knew exactly what she wanted. Her body craved his. “I’m not telling you to go.”
“You should.”
“Why?” She cocked her head.
Isaac’s jaw flexed, and his brows lowered. “I know what your pack wants of you, and I don’t care. I want you for myself.”
“I’m choosing this for myself.” She sat up, and lowered her bare feet to the ground, bracketing his legs with her own. Unzipping his jeans, she pushed the material over his hips and down his dark thighs.
His dusky skin was darkened further by swirls of black hair that thinned before his leg connected to his trunk. His cock was long and thick, and darker than the rest of his skin. Whorls of dark hair picked up at the base of his cock and rose upward under his shirt.
A low growl rumbled in his chest. Isaac reached forward and pushed his fingers into the loose waves of Marie’s hair. He tugged until she tipped her head back, and his breath stopped. His cock jutted toward her. If she stuck out her tongue, she would lick the clear bead of fluid welling at the tip. He breathed in the musky scent of her arousal just as she rolled her eyes upward to meet his. The bewitching hazel color held him in place.
“Do you want this?” Marie leaned forward and flicked her tongue out to catch the small droplet. Her eyes closed as she savored the salty flavor.
Isaac’s hips jerked, and the head of his cock brushed against Marie’s lips before relaxing to his original place. “I want that and much more from you.”
His hand flexed in her hair, and Marie opened her mouth to take him inside. She closed her lips around him, and let him fill her throat. She sucked her cheeks in and let her tongue play against his hot flesh. Her hand snaked up, and wrapped around his cock. She moved her hand and together.
“Lie back,” Isaac ordered.
Marie looked a question at him, and back off his cock. She leaned in for another lick. “Don’t you want this?”
“I want to taste you.” He settled a knee between her thighs. Warm fingertips bunched the hem of her shirt higher to reveal her milky white skin.
Marie looked down at her wide hips when her shirt was pulled over her head. Her breasts tingled under his gaze, but she didn’t meet Isaac’s eyes. He ran a hand over her hair, and down her cheek. He thumbed her lower lip, and she caught it with her tongue. Down her body, his hand swept. Down her neck with the pulse racing in his throat, between her heavy breasts, and over her soft belly.
He gently pushed her back, and dropped himself to his knees. He reached both hands up her thighs and gripped the hem of her panties. The fabric rolled down, and he caught her scent again. She was ready for him, but he wouldn’t take her. Not yet.
He nosed up her thigh and into the space between her legs. His teeth grazed her skin and sent a shiver through her. Marie forgot the world existed.
Isaac’s groan set off another shiver. He grabbed her hips and pulled her closer to him. She caught a glimpse of his chocolate eyes, all heat and hunger, before he shoved her thighs apart. His tongue found her hot pussy as he draped her legs over his shoulders and buried his head against her.
He licked through her folds and drew his teeth over the sensitive petals. His hot tongue tasted her with long, sucking kisses. She arched her back and squirmed into his touch until he growled for her to remain still, and placed a large hand over her pelvis to keep her stable.
The small show of dominance contracted her core with sparks of pleasure. She craved more of his strength, and wanted his control. A new wave of wet arousal surged through her, and she tightened her legs around him.
A rough, feral sound made her open her eyes to the world again, but her lunged up the bed and dragged her higher with him. His lips claimed her mouth, and the world was pushed back again.
Marie moaned at his possession, and Isaac didn’t tease. His tongue danced with hers in a hot, twining dance that dared her to move with him. Still eating her lips, he hitched her leg around his hip and settled between her thighs.
Marie jolted when the crown of his long cock pushed between her folds a fraction of an inch. He rested there, and she bucked her hips against him. The heavy rod gently nudging against the top of her pussy drove her insane. She wanted him to flex his hips and penetrate her folds, but he didn’t pulse forward. Instead, he let his cock rub against her swollen nub and lowered his head to sniff behind her ear.
His released breath sent another shiver through Marie’s body. She wrapped her arms around his strong back, and hitched her legs higher around his waist. She drew long nails down his skin.
“Take me,” she whispered in his ear, breathing in deeply his scent of pine and citrus and the earthy smell of arousal.
His eyes narrowed, and his features softened. Something dangerous lingered in his gaze, but that was the wolf inside them both. She could almost see the change in his body as he processed her words. He held her close, but still didn’t bind their bodies, until her teeth grazed his throat. A growl vibrated through his chest and into her own.
The heavy slabs of his muscled shoulders tensed. He rubbed the crown of his cock against her entrance with rocking hips. Then with no other warning, he moved his hands under her ass. His fingers dug into her skin as he dragged her onto his cock.
Marie felt him sheath himself inside her. It set off a domino effect of pleasure, starting with her stretched pussy, and skirting through her back and belly. His every motion sent the ripples further through her body until she felt him coaxing her every cell apart.
He clutched one of her knees to his side and bent to find her breast with his mouth. He stroked the hard peaks with his soft lips, and Marie moaned. Her hips jerked to meet his crashing into her, and she felt herself beginning to unravel. Quiet moans turns to soft cries as he tongued and nibbled her skin, all the while driving his broad shaft into her wet folds.
Each thrust carried them higher on the bed. Isaac slowed, but drove himself deeper into her. He withdrew to her entrance, and groaned at the noise of protest she made. Her demands drove him on, and he gripped her hips to ram deep. His chest heaved with the harsh breaths of holding himself in check. The muscles in his arms stood out like thi
ck ropes, but he would see her to the finish before letting himself go.
Marie wrapped herself further around Isaac. The world was spinning away from her, and she needed to hold on to something or lose herself. She felt the contractions begin deep inside her as her breath panted against Isaac’s skin. One final thrust connected with her swollen clit, and she threw her arms wide to accept the overwhelming pleasure coursing through her veins.
Isaac dropped heavily against her with a ragged groan. Marie didn’t pull away, but held on to him as he regained a semblance of his sanity. With one last shudder, he pushed his face into the dark waves of her hair. “You’re mine,” he whispered, barely audible.
Chapter Five
The days slipped by until almost a full week had passed. Marie and Isaac kept their flirtation as quiet as possible. Isaac claimed the room next to Marie’s after dinner on their first night. Alfred stayed on the opposite side of the house, so they were free to sneak across the linked bathroom into each other’s room at night.
The days were spent wandering through the woods. Marie grew familiar with the landscape, and even found herself starting to like the place. It reminded her of home. Her pack lived in close proximity to one another, but in separate structures. The small community was nestled between mountains and surrounded by woods not unlike the one that held the pack house.
Alfred continued to trip over himself anytime he was out of doors. He was a ferocious wolf, but a horrible woodsman. He refused to be left behind, though. As her chaperone and protector, he insisted on remaining close to Marie. He had no issue with her running wild in their younger year, but kept a stern eye now that she was to be mated to someone. She found the sudden protective nature grating.
Other wolves came and went to give them fresh supplies. They pulled Isaac aside for updates when Marie and Alfred were busy. Isaac told them that Cameron and Gabriel had taken a trip into the mountains to find the other packs, and verify the du Lacs’ story. Tiana, Cameron’s pregnant mate, was in charge, and driving everyone crazy with her worry. Gabriel’s new mate was the only one who could properly calm her, but she was equally worried for her mate.
Then came word that the men had returned. Marie and Alfred were running in their wolf forms while Isaac dug through the shed to look for fishing poles. They had the idea for a camping night, complete with fishing and s’mores. Even Alfred, increasingly anxious about their imprisonment, was excited about the plan, until the dark pickup crunched along the road to the pack house. Two pack members Marie hadn’t seen on restocking visits stepped out, and Isaac met them at their truck. They spoke for several minutes, then got in the truck and left.
Isaac was quiet after that visit. He only told them that Cameron would be joining them the next day. He had shared small updates with them, and expanded on some privately with Marie. He kept everything close to his chest once he learned Cameron would be coming by the pack house.
“He’ll have more details than I do,” was all he would say when Marie asked.
When Marie tried to slip into his room that night, she found the door locked. She knocked quietly, only to be told gruffly to go to sleep. The rejection stung more than she expected. Isaac was becoming more than a casual fling to pass the time. To be suddenly blocked from him took the breath from her lungs. She laid in the darkness with eyes shining with tears before falling into a fitful sleep.
She didn’t speak a word to Isaac at breakfast. She knew her eyes were puffy and lined with dark circles, but she wouldn’t speak first. She wanted to shake the words out of Isaac, especially when he looked pained eyes at her. Alfred darted questioning looks between them, but received no answers.
Her melancholy carried her through midmorning, when Cameron arrived with Gabriel in tow.
She smoothed down her skirt, and tossed her hair behind her shoulders. She drew in a deep breath, and settled her spine straight. Whatever had caused Isaac to suddenly pull away would be part of this conversation, she reasoned with herself. She needed answers.
She watched Cameron approach his pack house, and realized what a fool she had been to think he would be her mate. He was a good match, she had no doubt, and everyone seemed to have an immense amount of loyalty for him. But she wasn’t made to be a pack’s alpha. She didn’t want that responsibility resting on her shoulders. She didn’t envy Tiana needing to run the pack and take care of her swollen belly while Cameron left for a week, even if the trip was necessary.
Isaac met the two outside. Marie and Alfred watched them speak quietly together for a few more minutes before they turned to walk the short distance into the house.
“He’s made himself judge and jury in deciding our fates. I won’t let him be our executioner,” Alfred hissed.
Marie rolled her eyes at her brother. “I doubt it’ll come to that.”
They settled in the main room. Gabriel and Isaac took the sofa across from Alfred and Marie, while Cameron pulled up an overstuffed recliner. Alfred and Marie sank into a sofa. Marie tried to keep stray thoughts of Isaac from her mind. She didn’t want to imagine crawling into his lap, and being carried into her room. He was no longer interested, and she needed to put him out of her mind.
Cameron got right down to business. “What do you remember of your parents’ death?”
“It was soon after Claude joined us, so not more than a year ago. There was a rockslide on the road. They were coming back from getting supplies for one of the elders. The car was crushed.” Marie tried her best to keep emotion from her voice. It was still painful to think about, let alone discuss. Her world had changed that day. Even before she was allowed to mourn, Claude had pulled her aside to spell out her future.
“This is going to be painful to hear.” Cameron paused, searching for the correct words. “I don’t believe the rockslide was natural. Claude had a role to play.”
The barely healed wound was broken wide open. Marie shut her eyes to hold back the tears. She didn’t want to believe Cameron. “But why? We didn’t do anything to him.”
“There was talk of releasing you and Alfred to your own lives. Any children Marie had would stay with her and her mate’s pack until they were old enough to decide where to live, and it would be too late for your pack by then. You couldn’t be expected to save the pack on your own, and your parents wanted you to freely choose your life. Claude couldn’t let that happen so he got rid of his opposition. It wouldn’t surprise me if other deaths around that time were at his hands, too.”
Marie shook her head. “But why? What does he have to gain? This all seems too cruel.”
Cameron nodded in agreement. “You’re right about that. I think in his warped mind, this was his way to be welcomed back into my pack. We have a painful history, and Claude played a key role in that. I forced him and his cronies to leave. I think you were to be the offering to let him back in to continue his manipulations.”
“No.” Alfred stood. “You’re lying.”
Cameron shook his head. “I’m sorry, Alfred. It’s what is being whispered anytime Claude and his men are out of earshot.”
“You’re just trying to send us back empty handed. You don’t want to honor your word and take my sister as your mate!”
Cameron looked him in the eye, and let a little of his wolf stare through. “I’m afraid this is the truth. You don’t need to go back. Claude murdered to solidify his power, and he lied to send you here.”
Marie was quiet. Other deaths. The time following her parents’ accident - murder, she corrected herself - was a blur. Claude stepped in to handle the funeral arrangements, as small a gesture that was for the small mountain pack. Marie secluded herself, but she heard of others taken by accidents. Lisbet, their healer, fell to her death while searching for herbs. Old Man Montgomery, who died of a heart attack in his home.
“Alfie, I think he’s right.” Marie reached out and touched her brother’s arm.
Alfred curled his lip in disgust. Marie recoiled. She was surprised he didn’t have fangs showing, but tha
t might be the last straw for Cameron. She didn’t think he’d allow such a threatening display in his presence. Before things could get out of hand, Alfred threw himself out the door. He stripped clothes as he charged into the woods to run off his emotions as his wolf.
The others watched quietly. Marie’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Alfred would hear the truth when he was ready, and not a moment sooner. It felt like a punch to the gut to hear their parents could still be alive if not for Claude. Alfie needed to work through it on his own.
Cameron coughed politely. “We had a pack gathering planned for this weekend. If you’re interested, it can have a new focus of welcoming our newest members into our ranks.”
“Everyone will be here.” Gabriel grinned at Cameron. “Unless Tiana decides to have the baby early.”
Cameron rolled his eyes, but a smile was on his face. “Don’t let her hear that, or she might do it just to get back at me for leaving this week.”
He turned serious again and focused on Marie. “I know this is a lot to think about, and I don’t want to rush your decision. I hope your brother can hear the truth of my words. We would be happy to have you both in our pack, and I doubt you’d want to go back to Claude in light of this information.”
***
Marie excused herself to look for Alfred once the conversation turned to plans for the upcoming weekend gathering. Cameron and Gabriel still looked at her with caution even though they spoke of inclusion. Isaac kept his gaze away from her face. It was all too much to handle, and she wanted to be alone to consider all the new information.
She trudged off into the woods, vaguely following the strongest of Alfred-scents. She let the quiet noise of nature wash over her. The chirps of birds quieted when she neared. Alfred was not far from her, if the pockets of quiet further ahead could be trusted. The trail shifted, and she changed direction to follow.
She didn’t want to believe Cameron. She didn’t want to think a distant cousin only favored them with a visit and a mate match to scheme for himself. She desperately didn’t want to believe her parents died because they wanted her to live her own life. She was convinced of it anyway.
Cutthroat City Wolves Volume 1: BBW Werewolf Shifter Paranormal Romance Page 10