by Milly Taiden
A beautiful dusky rose stained her skin, the blush covering her from her breasts to her cheeks. “You’re beautiful, Isabel. Truly. Every curve. From here—” Zander let his fingers trace her bare breasts. “—to your waist and full hips.” His hands pushed her dress lower until the silk puddled over her thighs to the ground. “And especially what’s in between.”
He cupped her pussy and she sucked in a breath. “Zander, what about your security team?”
Shaking his head, his mouth hovered over hers again. “No one is allowed back here. It’s just us and the moon. The way two shifters should be.”
Nipping the bottom seam of her lip, his own mouth slid into a crooked grin. “You didn’t answer my question, Isabel.”
“Wha—what question?” she replied, her breath hitching in her throat as he curled his fingers into the wet cleft between her legs.
“Have you ever fucked another shifter?”
She shook her head, letting it drop back against the tree with a small cry. He circled her clit with his thumb and her pussy clenched against his hand.
“Cum, Izzy. Let your climax flow through you, but when I drive my cock deep, you’ll know why I asked.” With his knee, he pushed her legs farther apart and then stepped back again, releasing her pussy.
Her head snapped up in protest and she reached for him, but he shook his head. “Shifter men like to watch their prey before they pounce and eat,” he said with a smirk. Unbuttoning his tux, he shrugged the jacket from his shoulders and tossed it to the ground under the tree. He slipped his shirt from his chest, watching as Isabel licked her lips. He chuckled and quickly shed the rest of his clothes.
“Touch yourself, Iz. Let me see you play with your pretty pink pussy. Make my mouth water with the scent of you. Tease your clit. Imagine my hands still on your body. Your dreams were X-rated. Let me see you touch yourself like you had to then.”
Isabel dropped her chin, her eyes dark and dilated with need as her hands traced her breasts and waist, sliding over her hips to the trimmed patch of dark fuzz between her legs. She kicked her dress on top of his clothes and stood naked except for her high heels.
Leaning back against the tree, she stepped each foot to the side and spread her legs, arching her hips forward as she slipped her hands to her pussy.
“That’s it, love. Work yourself.” Zander fisted his cock, keeping his eyes locked on Isabel’s face as she watched him work his shaft. “Mmmm, baby. I smell your juice. Let me see your slit. Spread your folds for me.”
With a sexy grin, Izzy did as he asked and he growled low and feral. He closed the distance between them in a single step and sunk to his knees, his mouth on her pussy in seconds.
She moaned as his tongue circled her clit, and she sucked a hiss through her teeth when he grazed the edge of his canines across her hard nub. His tongue delved between her lips as his fingers worked her slit, his hand filling her full and deep.
Isabel cried out and as she came again, she ground her pussy further into his mouth and hand. He waited until the climax crashed, letting her ride the last wave before he straightened.
His eyes burned and he knew they were yellow and on the edge of feral. Licking his fingers, he moaned at the taste of her. “You’re even sweeter than I dreamed.”
Emboldened, Isabel grinned. She rested her hands on his chest before letting them slide over his hard torso to his thick member. Wrapping her hand around his shaft, she squeezed, spreading the pearl of cum over the velvet mass of his head.
“My turn,” she said, and slipped to her knees.
He fisted her hair long hair, moving it to the side to watch as he pressed his swollen head to her lips. Isabel flicked the pink tip of her tongue around the ridged edge of his cock and then dragged it over his corded underside, cupping his balls.
“All of me, Isabel. Every hard inch,” he growled.
She opened her mouth and sucked him deeply. Zander groaned at the feel, the sight of his cock in her mouth nearly sending him over the edge. He tightened his grip on her hair and thrust his dick deeper. Isabel relaxed her throat and took him, working his shaft with the flat of her tongue with each thrust.
Zander clenched his teeth and pulled his cock from her lips. He sunk to the grass in front of her and cupped her face, his mouth hungry and demanding again. With a growl, he flipped her onto all fours and grabbed her hips, pulling them back and high. He drove in his cock with a single thrust, stretching her wide. Her slick slit throbbed with the size of him.
Isabel threw her head back, her hair cascading over her shoulder. “Oh, my God! Zander!” she hissed. “You weren’t kidding.”
Grinning, he wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted her against him. He bucked, plunging deeply, his dick swelling with each thrust. Isabel’s body tensed, her legs shaking as her walls shuddered and convulsed around his full length.
A wash of predatory need took him and he sucked in a slow, steadying breath, the word MINE rebounding off his brain. Nothing and nobody had ever made him feel like this and if destiny played its part the way he thought, no one else ever would.
Isabel was his. Now and always.
He let go and with a final thrust, emptied himself deeply inside her, his feral growl echoing in the night. Zander held Isabel’s back tightly against his chest as the last spasms left her body. Panting and spent, the two maneuvered to the soft grass, his swollen cock still within her body.
“I can still feel you,” she said, looking over her shoulder at him.
He moved her hair aside and kissed her damp shoulder. “I know. A male wolf swells to twice his normal size when he takes his mate.”
Isabel opened her mouth to reply, but he shook his head. “I know we barely know each other, Iz, but you are my mate. In my world—” he paused. “That is, in my real world, not the insincere fiasco happening at my house tonight, it’s how we shifters know.”
“Zander—”
“I know the whole idea of scenting a mate is alien to you. It’s a shame your mom didn’t live long enough to show you the beauty of a dual-nature. The majesty of shifting from human to animal. I can show you that.”
“Zander—” she tried again.
“Let me finish.” He kissed her shoulder again. “Dreaming about you wasn’t about infatuation or conquest. If I wanted a conquest, I could have my pick of the bimbos and wannabes clamoring for my attention at the house.” His eyes found hers. “I don’t want them. I want you. You only need to look deeply inside yourself to find the truth. Your shifter blood will tell you I’m right.”
She wet her lips. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. I’ve never shifted, Zander. Ever.” Her eyes held his. “No tingle, no pull from the moon. I may have shifter blood, but I might as well be human. The only thing I inherited from my mother was my heightened senses, and even then, my tendency to second guess myself gets in the way.”
His body relaxed enough for him to slide from her slick cleft. He turned her in his arms so they were face-to-face. “I suspected as much. The moon could easily have sent the two of us over the edge and into animal form the moment we tasted each other.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “I felt its pull, but I knew you didn’t. That doesn’t mean you never will. With half-bloods, it sometimes takes a powerful jolt to spark a shift. Fear or anger.”
She chuckled. “You’d think mind-blowing sex would do the trick.”
Zander laughed out loud. “You’d think, right?” He angled his head, his lips sliding into a mischievous grin. “So, I blew your mind, huh?”
Izzy gave his shoulder a playful shove. “You know you did, so stop fishing. You curled my toes, wolf boy.”
“Good. Mission accomplished…well, almost.”
She eyed him. “Almost? What did we miss?”
He shook his head. “My claiming you as my mate.”
Confused, her lips parted. “But didn’t you just tell me I’m your mate?”
He nodded. “Yes, but the process is a little more involved than th
at. First, you need to accept my claim and second, you have to accept my mark. It’s ancient, and the rite is a throwback to our animal natures, but it is what it is.”
Izzy sat up, facing him. “Mark me? You mean bite me? Like cats do when they mate?”
He laughed. “Cats and dogs, sweetheart. There’s a reason the saying says, fighting like. Wolves are more genteel about it. We finesse our marks at just the right time.”
She smirked. “You mean you sink your teeth as your mate climaxes so she won’t feel the pain.”
He leaned on his elbow and pressed a kiss to her breast, his tongue flicking her nipple. “Exactly. Finessing the line between pleasure and pain.” He waggled his eyebrows and sat up. “You have time to think about that and everything else. Right now, I just want to enjoy being together.”
He glanced toward the house. “C’mon. Get dressed. I’m going to grab us a bottle of champagne. After all, I promised you a moonlit walk on the beach, right?”
She smirked. “Sounds good.”
Zander helped her to her feet and then scooped up her dress, handing it to her. He shoved his legs into his pants and then slipped his shirt over his shoulders, buttoning both quickly.
“What about this?” she asked, bending for his bowtie.
He shook his head. “Keep it for me. If things go where I hope, it’s only less for me to take off later.”
She grinned as he sprinted through the trees and up the hill to the house. She was Zander Petrov’s mate. Isabel hugged her middle. He could mark her every which way and twice on Sunday. That boy was as much hers as she was his.
15
“Well, well. It looks like you had a fairy godmother after all. Or maybe you bought that dress off the rack in some cheesy shop and just said you made it.” Alison stepped from the shadows, stumbling over the hem of her dress. “You couldn’t even get my hem right. You suck, Isabel.”
She giggled, snorting through her nose. “Then again, I watched you. You may suck, but you don’t do it well.” She made a face. “Poor Alex. He would have been better off sticking his dick in that tree than fucking you.”
“You’re tripping over your dress because you’re drunk, Alison. How did you get back here anyway? Zander gave strict instructions to his security team.”
Ally snorted again. “When are you going to learn men think with their dicks? All I had to do was stick out my tongue and say ah.”
“Alison! Where are you?” Candice hissed from the shadows. She stumbled through the grass, righting herself on the cherry tree.
“Hello, Candi. Funny running into you here,” Isabel replied, knowing her eyes were like steel.
Candice looked from one girl to the other. “What are you both thinking? Get back to the house, immediately! Isabel, where have you been all night?”
Alison hiccupped. “I found her having a quickie under the tree.”
“Isabel! Are you trying to ruin Ally’s chances on purpose? If security finds us, we’ll all be out on our asses instead of impressing Alexandr Petrov.”
Izzy snorted. “Alison stands as much chance of impressing Zander as that tree. Like you, he wants substance and quality, and Alison has neither. She’s all show and no stay because you let her believe she was all that, when we both know she’s got no real talent other than manipulation.”
“You bitch! I shredded your dress, but I should have shredded you.” Alison lunged, but tripped over her own feet, but not before she fisted a handful of blue silk, tearing a strap from Isabel’s dress.
Izzy shoved Alison, and the girl rocked back, stumbling against Candice. Isabel’s dress hung from one shoulder, a single bare breast exposed. She glanced down and the same kind of anger sluiced through her like it did in Candi’s guestroom.
A strange tightness gripped Izzy’s throat and something that sounded like a growl formed at the back of her gullet. Heat sizzled and prickled across her skin, like electric stings. She threw her head back as the same pain gripped her insides, only this time, when she fell forward, she landed on all fours. A scream ripped from her mouth and she lifted one arm, watching as muscles writhed and undulated beneath her skin.
“Zander!” she cried, but she knew in her gut what was happening.
She did what he said and looked deep within, and throwing her face to the moon, she heard her wolf. It growled inside her, begging for release. She let go and her body reshaped, as front and hind legs replaced arms and legs, fur skittering across her skin.
In seconds, a sleek black wolf transformed before their eyes, and Alison clamored behind Candice as Izzy lowered her head, teeth bared as she advanced.
Eyes wide, Candice pushed Alison behind her completely and held out one hand as the two of them backed up. “Isabel, please. Calm down. You know Alison is unstable. Please, honey. You’ve been with me for years. I’m sorry I’ve been so hard on you.”
“How could you know she was a shifter and not tell me? She could have killed me,” Ally hissed, crouching.
“Shut up, Alison. If I knew, do you think I would have let you bait her all these years? Everyone’s right. Isabel’s got more talent than you ever will. I only pushed you out of guilt for giving you up for adoption.”
Zander rushed from the shadows. “Who are you?” His voice was a rough growl. “What are you doing here?”
“It’s Isabel!” Alison shrieked. “She’s gone crazy! Get her away from us.”
He laughed. “Isabel?”
The wolf’s large head swiveled toward him. She lowered her head and whined, covering her nose with her paw.
Zander’s eyes went wide and he took a step toward Isabel, but then stopped, his angry gaze aimed at Candice. “I don’t know who you are, but you have five seconds to explain. Isabel would never have shifted unless she felt threatened.”
Isabel whined again, but before Zander could say another word, she bolted toward the beach.
“Izzy! Wait!” He rushed after her, but it was too late. She vaulted over his security guards and ran down the beach. He stood on the edge of the property watching her disappear into the shadows. Stepping down to the edge of the beach, he squatted next to a print in the wet sand. It was a perfect rendering of Isabel’s paw.
Something at the center of the imprinted pad caught his eye, and a memory shimmered at the edge of his mind. Reaching into his pocket, he took out his phone and snapped at picture of the print.
“I always knew she was a freak,” Ally scoffed
“Alison!” Candice hissed at her to shut up before shifting her attention to Zander. “Isabel is exotic, Alex. I know. I understand the lure, but trust me, she’s not an actress. She’s a very talented artist with no interest in the movies other than costume design. I’ve known her for years. Her father and I were involved before he died. My daughter Alison is perfect for your next project.”
He turned from the beach, his mouth a thin line. “Her?” He flicked his gaze toward Alison. “You should have listened to Isabel before you let your pet bitch attack. The puzzle pieces all fit. Isabel told me you were difficult, but now I see she was being generous. She’s too good for either of you and worth twice as much.”
Zander stepped forward and leaned in, giving Alison a quick sniff. “Just out of curiosity, who told you this was the baby you gave up for adoption?”
Confused, Candice sputtered. “Alison did. She found me five years ago. She had all the right paperwork.”
He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “She’s no more your daughter than I am. Any shifter worth their salt could have told you that with one sniff.”
Candice’s mouth fell open, but then mashed to a thin line, her eyes tracking toward the beach. “Why didn’t Isabel ever say anything?”
Zander followed her line of sight. “She probably didn’t want to hurt you, though something tells me you had no problem taking advantage of her loyalty every chance you got.”
High tide sent a wave crashing to the edge of the property, and it washed away what was left of Isabel’s pa
w print as it receded. He looked at the image on his phone and then stuck his cell in his pocket. At least this time, he’d have no problem finding her.
His eyes found Candice again. “If you want any kind of a career in this town, you’ll tell me where I can find Isabel.” He waited, watching as she slid her eyes to Alison sniffling in the shadows.
Candice squared her shoulders. “I’m done with that one, just so you know.” She gestured toward Ally.
“You should have been done with her a long time ago and put your effort into the one person who really needed you.” He waited. “The address, now—”
16
Zander checked the address Candice gave him and inhaled. Izzy was here for sure. According to the wretched woman, the place belonged to Isabel’s friend, Tessa. Based on the warm familiar scents surrounding the house, this was someone Isabel loved and visited often.
Taking a quick breath, he knocked on the door.
“Just a minute. I’m coming,” a voice called from the opposite side. A moment later, a pixie-like woman with purple hair opened the door. “Yes, may I help you?”
“I certainly hope so. I’m Zander Petrov, and I’m looking for—”
A grin spread across the woman’s elven features and she held up one hand. “Isabel. You’re looking for Isabel Lassiter, right?”
He matched her grin with one of his own. “Yes, thank you.”
She moved aside and waved him in. “I’m Tessa Martin. Izzy’s friend. I’m really glad you’re here, Zander. Iz showed up last night. In all the years I’ve known her, I never saw her that shaken up. She was naked and afraid, and I don’t mean the television series. Between you and me, she told me some of what happened, and between us, she was pretty freaked out, so I hope you brought more than just your shifter charm with you.”
Zander nodded. He liked Izzy’s friend already. “Last night was a lot for any shifter to handle, let alone one completely unprepared for the experience.”