by M. L. Briers
“Really?”
“Hey, I’m game if…” he didn’t get any further as she took a swipe at him, but he caught her wrist in one large hand and yanked her towards him.
“Butthole,” she bit out.
“Nope that’s not it, but it’s in the right…”
“I should…” she bit out in annoyance as she ended up on his lap and tried to wriggle away from him. The long, deep groan that got stuck in his throat made her ears prick up, and her body snapped to attention, she gasped. “Oh – my – Goddess!”
“Where?” he teased.
“You are such a…”
“Yes, yes I am, but that’s not my fault…”
“Well, it’s not my fault!”
“You’re giving me a lap dance – which I appreciate by the way. I never had one…”
“You’re so nasty!” she hissed as she turned her nose up at him.
“Still, kind of cute in a manly, sexy way, though, right?”
“There are no words!”
“Good, time for action then,” he teased as he yanked her toward him again and brought his lips to hers.
~
~
~
“You brought witches here without my approval.” The alpha grumbled a growl as he stared down at the elder who sat meekly in a chair at the end of the kitchen table.
Zoe kept her gaze turned down towards the floor. She wasn’t one to not look people in the eye, but that was when the situation warranted it. That time wasn’t now.
“I did.” She admitted.
Kit didn’t like to see the fire go out of the elder’s belly. She was a meddlesome, challenging, fiery boot at the best of times — these weren’t the best of times.
It was true that a few hours ago when Tina was trapped at the crags, he could have willingly wrung the eldest neck. Her thoughtlessness had endangered a member of the pack, a child, and that was wrong. But now he could see just how much the elder was hurting, and although, he needed to make his displeasure known, he took no pleasure in it.
“You sent Tina chasing all over pack land to spy on us.” He growled out.
“I did.” She answered solemnly.
Kit felt the sting of the magic that hit his backside. His gaze flicked to the doorway where he knew his mate to be standing. Steph tipped her head to the side and pouted.
He was somewhat heartened to see that his mate had a heart of gold. Perhaps he’d been rough enough on the elder.
“You know I appreciate everything that you do for this pack, Zoe,” Kit said and noted the way that the elder’s shoulders pulled back just a little. “I may not always agree with your judgment, but I always listen to it. But this whole mess was badly done.”
Zoe nodded in understanding. Kit looked to his mate once more, she was nodding her head — urging him on, and he tipped his head to the side and questioned her sanity with just a gaze. Steph raised her hands in frustration.
“Except, it did find you a mate,” Steph said, pointing out the obvious.
“For which I will always be grateful,” the alpha tossed back.
The elder perked up a little more.
“Are you sure? Because you don’t sound too sure,” Steph offered back, taking some of the heat off the elder.
“Of course I’m sure.” The thing that kit was unsure about was how his mate could question that fact.
“Well, there you are berating an elder for this whole mess that was done badly – so I have to question if I’m part of this mess?” Steph offered back.
“I didn’t mean…” The alpha started, but he never got to finish.
“No?” Steph questioned him with the look of disbelief on her face.
“No!” Kit scowled back at her.
“Sure?”
“Positive.”
“Because I can leave,” Steph said. But he caught the look of mischief and playfulness that was on her face.
“Oh, can you?” Kit folded his large arms across his broad chest and rose to the challenge.
“My car is right outside,” Steph mirrored his body language and his attitude.
“You won’t get further than the door,” Kit assured her.
“Am I a prisoner, alpha?”
“Do you want to be?”
It didn’t annoy Steph that time when he did that old ploy of answering a question with a question. She opened her mouth to speak but choked off her first word at the sound of another mating howl that shook the house.
“That’s two for two.” The alpha took pleasure in reminding her.
“It is.” She swallowed down the rise of excitement mixed with panic inside her.
Both sisters had chosen to mate, to bond, and she was out of options in the excuse department.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Kit reminded her. For one long moment, her brow furrowed as she rushed to remember what it was. “Prisoner?” He offered and watched her eyes narrow on him.
“Yes.” She gave a small shrug of her shoulders and planted a big grin on her face.
Kit’s heart slapped against his ribs before taking off like a freight train. He dropped his arms to his sides and stalked across the room towards her.
A wealth of emotion raced over her face, but the one thing he didn’t see was fear.
Mine…
Damn right she is. The alpha assured his beast.
Kit wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her senseless — but he knew that if he started to kiss her, then he would never stop. The house was still teaming with his pack, and he wanted all of the privacy that he could get to love his mate right.
Steph gave a loud squeal of surprise when he tossed her over one broad shoulder, and she found herself staring at his backside. It was a nice view, and she appreciated it, but she still felt the need to make her feelings known.
“I’m not a sack of potatoes,” Steph chuckled at the same time that she zapped his taut backside.
“What was that for?” Kit growled.
He wasn’t growling because she’d zapped him.
He wasn’t growling because he was annoyed.
He was growling because he was headed towards the stairs and up to the bedroom, and the thought of what came next made him one hungry beast.
“Ever heard the saying; start as you mean to go on?” Steph chuckled.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
~
Steph felt every ridge and hard bump of his muscles as he lowered her down his body without so much as a space for even a breath of air to get between them. The hard bulge in his jeans that ended up pressed against her stomach as he backed her against the wall centered most of her brain on that area.
Kit snagged her wrists within his large hands and pressed them back against the wall on either side of her head. Her heart thumped and raced away.
“My prisoner,” he grinned, and, oh, what a grin it was. The man was sexier than sin, and from his head to his toes — he was all alpha.
“So, you want me to be unwilling to be here?” She grinned back.
“Not for one damn minute. There’s the door.”
“Let’s get this straight, alpha.” Steph tipped her head slightly to one side and offered him a piercing stare. “I have absolutely no intention of using that door before we are bonded.”
Kit growled.
Just hearing those words from her lips was enough to make his beast push forward. That was one cage door that he didn’t mind slamming shut — for now.
Mine…
Kit didn’t need to be told twice. He let go of one wrist, palmed her cheek, and brought his lips down on hers with so much passion that her head spun and her knees went weak.
Kit was testing the waters before he went full steam ahead. She could still change her mind at any point, and he was ready to rip himself away from her if he had to.
The moment that he felt her respond to him with the same amount of urgency that he felt, he began to relax a little more, but still not enough to allow his wolf to push forward or
that side of him that needed to bite to become the dominant part.
Kit felt the pull and tug on his shirt and gave way to the urgency that she had to feel skin against skin. Steph tried to help him tug off his shirt, but that only ended up in a tangle of hands — and with a long growl; the alpha gripped the shirt and ripped it clean off his body.
“I guess that’s one way to go,” Steph chuckled.
“Your turn,” Kit offered her a wolfish, hungry grin, and her heart leapt into her throat.
“No- no! These aren’t even my clothes!” She chuckled.
“Oh, trust me. The person who owns these clothes will totally understand.”
“That’s…” Her words were bit out on a rush of excitement as the alpha ripped through her shirt, exposing her breasts to his gaze, and getting a very hungry growl for her buck.
A moment later and he’d dipped his head, his lips and tongue replacing the material against her breasts. Kit feasted.
Steph held out as long as she could before she reached for the band of his jeans. The backs of her fingers brushed against the smooth skin of his stomach, and she was so close to her goal before her wrists were seized once more and her prize was stolen away.
“Greedy, alpha. You have to learn to share,” Steph said in a throaty voice that was full of passion.
“Not right now, I don’t,” Kit chuckled out against her flesh.
Steph went to answer him, but all that came out was a squeal as he swept her up in his arms and spun her towards the bed. A heartbeat met an eternity until she felt the mattress beneath her back.
Then in a mad rush of lightning speed, they were both naked.
Kit wanted everything and more, and he wanted it all at once. His body said devour — his beast said bite — but through the frenzy of it all, the lover within him, the mate, won the day.
He needed to taste her upon his tongue, all of her. He started slowly, inch by inch, getting more fevered along the way until he reached her sweet spot.
Then he devoured her like a man possessed.
Steph could do nothing more than hold on for the heady ride of her life. She couldn’t make up her mind whether to fist the sheets or his hair, so she did both.
She was half pulling him closer and half pushing him away until the moment when her world exploded around her.
Steph felt the bed move beneath her body and snapped her eyelids open to find Kit crawling up the bed on his hands and knees over her body. His dark eyes were devouring her, as every hard muscle moved under the surface of his skin.
Boy, did he look good. Good enough to eat — but she knew she was never going to get a taste.
“You — have a decision-making disorder and I think I might have a bald spot on my head.” He growled, but the hungry smile on his face made her chuckle.
His knees pushed her legs back, opening her up so that his hips could nestle between her thighs, and she wrapped her legs around him pulling him in closer.
He leaned forward with his hands on either side of her head, and she felt the hard press of his cock against the rim of the channel.
A sweet pressure devoured the inner muscles as he pushed inside. The small after-shocks of her muscles fluttering around his length made him growl with the need to feel the real thing.
Eye to eye as his cock devoured her to the hilt; making that claim much more potent for the both of them. Kit growled with satisfaction as she moaned with how good it felt to be full of him.
He pulled back to the very tip before taking her all the way down his length again. It wasn’t enough for either of them.
Her legs wrapped tighter around him and urged him on, back and forth, faster and faster until her fingernails scored down his back, and he could no longer fight against the need to let his beast have freedom.
Kit felt his fangs elongate, and they locked into place, he reached behind her and brought her up from the bed, not missing a thrust inside of her. He wrapped his arms around her and locked her body in place against his.
One hand reached up and fisted her hair from behind, and she tipped her head to one side, opening her neck and shoulder for him in an act of pure submission to his will. His beast growled long and hard within him as their mate showed pure trust for what they were.
Kit could feel her inner muscles tightening so hard around his cock as he thrust inside of her that he knew she was close to release. He practically salivated at the idea of tasting her blood upon his tongue — and when he finally thrust her over the edge, he bit down hard and fast, placing his mark in her flesh — forever.
His beast roared at the claim — reached for her soul to complete the bond between them – and then howled within him at their joining.
Kit released his fangs and tasted the last of her blood upon his tongue as he cleaned and sealed the mark into her skin. His body was fevered with his own need for release.
He spun her on the bed and thrust back within her as his large hands clamped against her hips, and he rode her to oblivion. His mate was with him every step of the way, riding his cock, pushing back hard to take him as deep as she could on every thrust.
Kit’s body was fevered with need. His muscles were straining, locking up, and burning with the desire to spill his seed within her.
He could feel her muscles tightened so damn hard around his cock that each thrust made him grunt and growl as he took her towards another orgasm.
Steph’s hearty cry was one of pure pleasure as her inner muscles clenched and released hard around his cock, suckling the seed from his balls. His head strained back on his neck, a growl rumbled in his chest and got lodged in his throat as anticipation claimed him.
He buried his cock to the hilt and howled like he’d never howled before as his seed exploded deep within her. Over and over, he buried his length in her body until he had nothing left to give.
For the first time in his life, Kit felt weak. His muscles quivered, and they barely had the strength to hold him up.
But he’d be damned if he didn’t take care of his mate.
The alpha used everything that he had left within him to collect her into his arms and gently take her down to the bed. He wrapped his body protectively around hers, and only then could he start to relax.
“Let’s do that again!” Steph announced with all of the breath and enthusiasm that she could muster as pure mischief made her grin. The groan that came from her mate made her chuckle.
“Witches…” Kit chuckled.
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
~
“You have no sense of humor,” Casey accused her mate.
“Of course I have a sense of humor — I just don’t think that what you think is funny, is actually funny.” Finley offered back. “You have a strange sense of humor.”
“I have a normal sense of humor. I can make anyone in this room laugh.”
“Right, have at them.” Finley challenged her.
“Oh boy, is he going to be sorry,” Jodie whispered into her hand, loud enough for everyone to hear her.
Casey’s lips moved without a sound coming out. She eyed her mate for a long moment, lifted her hand, and then snapped her fingers on the nod of her head.
“Oh, my…” Steph bit out as every female in the room slapped a hand across their mouth on a gasp of breath in and a splatter of chuckles out.
The men weren’t so gracious. Turner practically fell off his chair with laughter.
“Told you,” Casey’s singsong voice rang out in victory.
“I’m laughing on the inside,” Finley growled.
His wolf’s ears had grown in place of his own, and so had his tail, ripping a hole in the back of his jeans. The alpha grunted a snort of amusement and tried to bite down on the laughter that spilled from inside of him.
“It kind of suits you — it’s kind of… hmm, cute,” Turner spluttered laughter at his brother’s expense.
“I will kill you,” Finley growled.
“How did you do that?” Jodie asked with excitement
as she eyed her mate, and suddenly the amusement died on Turner’s lips.
“No, no, no,” he rushed out as he started to back away from his mate.
“Yes,” Finley nodded with agreement as his tail flicked behind him. “That sounds like a good idea.”
“No, it doesn’t!” Turner frowned.
But as Casey leaned over and whispered into Jodie’s ear, the beta was determined to get out of there before he suffered the same fate as his brother. He headed for the door.
“Prick up his ears and add a tail — make him half wolf, now, now, now!” Jodie said, and then she clicked her fingers and gave a nod of her head.
Turner’s hand made it as far as the door handle before her words echoed within his mind and he felt his ears been pulled and tugged upwards. The sound of his jeans ripping as his tail demanded freedom made him growl out loud.
Laughter echoed inside the room. Turner slowly turned his head to look at Finley, and the man nodded back with satisfaction.
“You’re right, it does look cute — on you,” Finley folded his arms across his chest and grinned from ear to ear.
On the other side of the room; Nicholas casually strolled in and did a double take as he took in the sight of the brothers.
He ground to a dead halt. His eyes were wide, his mouth was open, and then the sound of laughter exploded from within him.
The man could barely stay standing on his feet. He was doubled over with sidesplitting laughter that he just could not control.
“I’m so glad I don’t have a mate!” Nicholas said.
“Don’t speak too soon,” Steph warned him, and she was sure that she heard the bones snap in his neck as his head came around and his eyes glared at her with what looked like panic.
“If I promise to be eternally good, will you promise to be eternally benign in respect of a mate?” Nicholas offered.
“But where would be the fun in that?” Casey said.
“Where would be the fun in delivering a mate to my devious, evil, bloodthirsty, nefarious…” He struggled to find the words.
“While it’s true that you are all of those things,” Jodie said. “That wouldn’t apply to a mate, now would it?” She offered him a smug grin and watched as his eyes practically swiveled in his head, a head that looked as if it might explode at any moment as he scrambled to find the words.