Instead he kissed his way down her neck, tingles trailing in the wake of his lips. His warm breath wafted against her skin as his teeth gently scraped. She shifted restlessly beneath him, needing more specific touches. Tangling her fingers in his hair, she tried to guide his mouth to her breast, to her waiting nipples.
He wouldn’t be rushed. With a deep chuckle, he licked and slightly sucked on the swell of her breasts, intentionally avoiding the needy tips. She tried to relax and enjoy the softer sensations, but each time her arousal ebbed, he brushed his thumb over her nipple or “accidently” brushed against her with his tongue.
“You’re such a tease,” she grumbled, and raised her arms over her head, knowing she had no choice but to accept what he gave her.
A low, sexy growl vibrated his throat. She looked into his eyes as he reacted to her words, or was it her submissive position? She’d thought his need to control her last night had been part of his ravenous hunger. He’d promised to give her anything she wanted tonight, but what if she wasn’t sure what she wanted? She’d always thought that submission equaled weakness, that any woman who would allow a man to overpower her during sex didn’t think much of herself. So why had she found more pleasure while she was at Kyle’s command than during all of her other experiences combined?
With his gaze still fixed on hers, he licked one nipple and then the other. “Stay with me, sunshine. If you let your mind wander, I’ll have a hard time keeping my promise.” Golden light flickered in the depths of his eyes as he returned his mouth to her breast. Rather than closing his lips around the peak, he circled and laved. His tongue dragged across her flesh, the surface feeling oddly coarse. Was she just imagining the change in texture or was his cat pushing closer to the surface?
Rather than panic, she watched his eyes and opened her mind to his emotions. Desire burned within him, but it was tempered by his determination to protect and pleasure her.
He licked his way down to her navel, his tongue rasping over and into the small indentation. She grasped the sheet beside her head, ready to follow where he led. He nibbled and licked the soft hollow beneath each of her hipbones then licked his way down her inner thigh. Her fingers clutched the sheet as the tension between her thighs built and her clit began to twitch.
“You’re scent is making me dizzy.” He nuzzled her sex, brushing his lips against her folds. “Is there something you want from me?”
“There are lots of things I want from you.” She canted her hips, bringing her slit into better alignment with his mouth.
His tongue teased her crease, tracing the sultry line without parting her folds.
“Please.” Her inner muscles clenched and her thighs trembled as she waited for him to begin.
He slipped his hands beneath her and parted her with his thumbs, pausing to inhale before he covered her with his mouth. The first stroke of his tongue sent pleasure spiraling through her pussy and had her hanging on the verge of orgasm. But he carefully avoided her clit and kept her release just out of reach.
She wiggled and moaned, trying to bring his transient tongue in contact with her sensitive nub. One flick or a nice firm circle and she’d burst apart. He ignored her writhing and easily avoided her countermoves, so she held perfectly still and concentrated on the pleasure, squeezing her inner muscles as hard as she could each time his caress ventured near her swollen clit.
“What’s the matter?” He slowly pushed one of his fingers into her tense passage but didn’t move once it was deep inside her.
The hint of penetration was no more effective than his wandering tongue. “Please, let me come.”
He pulled his hand back then smiled, his fingertip circling her entrance. “Anything you want.”
Bending over her again, he slid his finger in and out then flicked his tongue against her clit. It took three flicks not one to set her off, but the result was still the same. She cried out and arched her back as her passage rippled around his finger.
Rather than allow the sensations to ebb, he added a second finger and built the pleasure to a second, even more shocking peak. He caught her clit between his lips and drew on the sensitive bud as he pumped into her with his fingers. She came and came again, body bowing each time the pleasure crested. She pressed her lips together, trying to muffle her screams, afraid someone would burst into the room thinking she was being murdered.
She gasped and shook as lights danced before her eyes. “No. More. I need…”
He draped her legs over his shoulders and sank to his stomach as he pulled his fingers out of her tight core. He slid down the bed and stretched out on his stomach then covered her pussy with his mouth.
After that everything became a blur of pleasure and passion. He thrust into her with his tongue, swirling and stroking her inner walls as his lips drew her essence into his mouth. She lost count of her orgasms and stopped caring if anyone heard her cries of release. Not in her wildest dreams had she imagined that her body was capable of these sensations or that any man would forgo his own pleasure for so long.
He suddenly surged up along her body. Her legs slid off his shoulders, catching in the bend of his arms. His cock thrust home, filling her in one firm stroke. Her pussy stretched around him, the pressure on her clit jolting her entire body.
He stared into her eyes as he drew back, making the connection even more intimate. She raised her hand to his face and he turned in to the touch, kissing the center of her palm. He’d done nearly the same thing in cat form while he’d been fighting for his life. The memory warmed her heart and made her want him even more.
His next stroke was slow and deliberate and she saw the strain on his face. He held back for her, battling his true nature at the expense of his own enjoyment.
“Faster. Please.” She raised her hips to meet his next downstroke and Therian light burst within his eyes. “Your promise is kept. More than kept. I need you wild.”
He released her legs and lowered his chest to her breasts, rubbing against her as his movements sped. She raised her legs against his sides, not wanting to restrict his range of motion. Firm and steady, he drilled into her ravenous body, his face hovering over hers.
She pulled his head down to hers and kissed him with all the passion surging within her. Their lips clung and their tongues tangled as their hips rolled and ground.
His breath filled her mouth and their psychic link pulsed with energy. She opened to him, taking him deeper into her mind as he steadily filled her body. Emotions flowed across the connection, a mesmerizing blending of his and hers. It was impossible to sort them out, they were so perfectly blended. Longing and tenderness, protectiveness and joy. Even the hint of possessiveness no longer upset her. She understood the emotion was part of his Therian nature, part of what made him so attractive and strong.
He tore his mouth away from hers as his strokes grew more demanding. Each forceful thrust pushed her arousal higher, keeping pace with his cresting desire. His hands clasped her hips, pulling her up as he buried his entire length in her snug heat. He threw his head back and cried out as his body shuddered and pulsed. She clung to his arms, riding out her own orgasm as he spilled deep inside her.
It was perfect, beyond anything she’d dare to dream. Her heartbeat gradually slowed and she blinked until her eyes focused. He looked just as dazed as she felt and she couldn’t help but smile.
Bracing with his forearms and his knees, he kept the majority of his weight off her as he drifted back to reality. She brushed his hair back from his damp face and smiled into his eyes. “We’re both covered in sweat. It’s a good thing we waited to shower.”
He slipped his arm beneath her neck then rolled to his side, taking her with him. “Let me catch my breath.” He laughed. “I’m not sure I could stand right now.”
The golden light was starting to recede from his eyes. She stroked her hand down his arm and searched his gaze. It felt wonderful to be held, to be sheltered from the dangers all around them, but a question had been nagging in the b
ack of her mind all afternoon, and despite the warm security of his embrace, it shoved its way back to the surface.
“Bruce Fitzroy wasn’t much of a threat, but what if he had been as badass as he thought he was?” She sighed then shivered, unable to meet his gaze. “He still had us at gunpoint.”
He stroked the back of her hair and pressed his pelvis closer, maintaining the intimate joining of their bodies. “You were never in any real danger. If Natasha had thought differently, she never would have let him near you and I was standing in the kitchen long before you knew I was there.”
She understood the concept, but she couldn’t rid her mind of Bruce’s semi-crazed expression or the gun pointed at her sister’s head. “What if you’d both been wrong? Even cowards can snap. Can either of you outrun a bullet?”
“Ava…” He paused until she looked back into his eyes. “I could smell his fear and sense his anxiety. I have a sneaking suspicion that Nate set him up.”
“Isn’t Nate his father?”
“He is, but Bruce has been unpredictable for a long time.” Kyle gently separated their bodies as the topic grew grim. “He’s created more problems for Nate than anyone else in his pack. And unlike cats, wolves don’t wait around for their alphas to step down or die off. Many, if not most, of their alphas are ‘retired’ by their sons as soon as the son realizes he’s strong enough to pull it off.”
“Nate sent his son here expecting you to kill him?”
“It’s likely.”
Anxiety crept through the afterglow. She wiggled away from him and sat up, dragging the sheet with her. So many Therian customs were truly savage. She’d almost adjust to all the changes and something like this would make her feel like an outsider all over again.
“As truly horrific as that is, it doesn’t change the basic fact that I’m in danger.”
He heaved a frustrated sigh and shoved a couple of pillows behind him so he could recline against the headboard. “There’s no way to undo the danger. You are unique and highly desirable. We can be aware of the risks and surround you with people willing and able to protect you.”
“Is this why Carissa agreed to the blood ritual so quickly? Was she trying to avert the danger?”
“I’m sure it contributed to her decision, but Carissa doesn’t strike me as the type of a person who would bow to external pressures.”
It was Ava’s turn to sigh. He was right. External pressure tended to make Carissa contrary, not compliant. “Is there any way to release my abilities other than definition?”
“No, and definition can only be done once.”
She’d suspected that’s what he would say, but she’d needed to hear it. “Then teach me how to fight or at least let me practice with a gun. Mom made us both take firearm safety classes because we always had a loaded gun in the house, but it’s been years since I fired one. There has to be some way for me to be less useless.”
“You are anything but useless.” He reached for her hand, but she kept it out of reach, not yet ready for his touch to distract her. “All right. Think about it like this. The president doesn’t go anywhere without the Secret Service. They immediately surround him if there’s a threat and they examine each situation before he’s allowed to go near it. Does that make the president useless?”
She smiled. “Some would argue that his uselessness has nothing to do with the Secret Service.”
Kyle chuckled. “Political frustrations aside, do you understand the parallel.”
Holding the sheet with one hand, she finger combed her hair with the other. “I’m not the president.”
“Your role is different, but to the Therian nation you are every bit as important as a president or prime minister. The clan leaders want you now because of your potential, and after your definition, you’ll be pursued for your power. I could pat your hand and tell you everything’s going to be fine, but you need to understand the reality of your situation.”
“I appreciate your honesty and I don’t want to be coddled. That’s been my point all along. I want to be able to protect myself.”
He leaned forward and caught her upper arms then dragged her into his lap. The sheet ended up tangled around her hips as she relaxed into the cradle of his strong arms. “Someday, not too long from now, you will be able to do all sorts of things you can’t do now, but that doesn’t mean I won’t want to protect you.” He paused for a long, lingering kiss. “Spend tomorrow with my mother and Carissa. They’re here to answer your questions and help you adjust. But tonight belongs to me, belongs to us. And I’m tired of talking.”
One of his hands covered her breast as his mouth took possession of her lips. Her troubled thoughts scattered and she raised her arms to circle his neck.
* * * * *
Nate slowly circled his son, shaking with fury and frustration. The Clubhouse was silent, every person in the place anxiously watching the drama unfold. A tiny part of him had hoped Bruce would surpass his expectations and quietly return with Ava in tow. Instead a cold-eyed tigress had dragged Bruce into the bar in restraints, forced him to his knees and informed Nate that he had twenty-four hours to punish Bruce for attempting to murder the new Omni Prime or the cats would interpret his inaction as an act of war.
His guards had been so stunned by her arrogance that none of them had thought to detain her. She’d stormed into a wolf sanctuary, snapped out her ultimatum and departed while everyone looked on in shocked fascination.
“What the fuck happened?” He dragged Bruce to his feet but left the handcuffs and shackles in place. Muffled speculation rippled through their audience. He hadn’t set up this ending, but it was perfect for what he had in mind. Bruce had failed his final exam and now he must pay, but there could be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Bruce deserved what he was about to get. The pack could not think he perceived Bruce as a threat, just a failure.
“It was a setup.” Bruce glared at him, yanking against the cuffs until blood trickled from his wrists. “Half the council was there to protect her.”
“Why does that surprise you?” Nate faced his oldest son, hands clenched as anger churned within him. “Of course Kyle would have called in backup. You were supposed to sneak her out in the middle of the night or find a way to isolate her from the others.”
Bruce looked around, his gaze blazing with anger and rebellion. “Don’t you see what he’s doing? He set me up,” he called out to the room at large. “Your alpha is afraid of his own son!”
Nate backhanded him hard enough to knock him sideways. One of the guards stepped forward and steadied Bruce until he recovered from the blow. “I entrusted you with the most important assignment I’ve ever delegated to anyone.” Nate sneered. “Don’t attempt to mask your failure with ridiculous allegations.”
“Why were we not included in this decision?” one of the elders asked from the far corner of the room. The question was met with nods and scattered mumbles.
“I learned of Ava’s location and knew our window of opportunity was tiny.” He stepped back from his trembling son and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. “There wasn’t time to gather the elders. I am alpha. I made the best decision possible under the circumstances. I sent the person I trusted most, our strongest hunter and a male whose dedication to this pack has never been questioned. I warned him that the situation required stealth and creativity. He assured me he was up to the task.”
The crowd parted as the elder moved closer, but his hostile gaze was now focused on Bruce. “I can understand how you were discovered, but why did the cat accuse you of attempted murder? Ava is no use to us dead.”
“She said he threatened the current Omni Prime,” Nate reminded. “He must have threatened Carissa.”
“I was trying to get Ava to come with me.” Bruce rolled his eyes, belligerence the only weapon available to him now. “I wouldn’t have hurt Carissa.”
Nate crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. “And the cats sensed your weakness so they charged you.”
> “I had no other choice! She was—”
“There are always other choices,” the elder snapped. “Your father is right to be angry. Your actions have forced us to do the cats’ bidding or prepare for war! Are you really so shortsighted that you risked this entire pack to further your own ambitions?”
“You’re crazy, old man! I only did what I was told.” The other guards emerged from the crowd, circling Bruce with grim determination.
Nate fought back a triumphant smile yet sorrow coiled in his belly. He’d wanted Bruce to succeed, had given him every opportunity to temper his aggression with reason. Besides, with Landon supporting the rebellion, Nate’s only hope for a worthy successor was Dhane. And Dahane was still more child than man.
“If you’d done what you were told, you’d be fucking Ava right now.” Nate moved to one side as the guards closed in, relieved that they’d taken the task out of his hands. Setting Bruce up for failure was one thing, actually ripping out his heart was another.
Bruce looked at him as the color drained from his face. “Dad! What the hell’s wrong with you? Do something!”
Someone touched his arm and Nate looked back and into Dhane’s pleading gaze. “Can’t you—”
Nate silenced his youngest son with a scathing glare. “He did this to himself. Never forget that.”
“Dad!” Bruce screamed as the guards dragged him toward the back door of the Clubhouse. Stunned yet resigned, the crowd parted for them. When Nate failed to intervene, Bruce went wild. He twisted and jerked against the guards’ restraining hands, screaming obscenities and hollow threats.
The back door slammed closed behind them and Bruce’s indignation soon turned to screams of pain. Nate crossed to the bar and accepted the shot glass waiting for him. He’d known how this would end. Still, the sorrow twisting through him caught him by surprise. Landon had betrayed him, chosen the rebels over his own family. And Bruce had proven unworthy to take his place.
If two out of his three sons were failures, what did that say about him?
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