Jordan felt a twinge of guilt as her stomach growled at the mention of food. She was more famished than usual, and the reason had to do with a certain shifter who liquefied every muscle in her body. Her cheeks heated in a flush wholly distinct from the heat of the bonfire.
After dishing up, Chase stared into his bowl, frowning. “Wish this was brew rather than stew.” He gave a humorless chuckle.
Meanwhile, Jordan had devoured over half her portion.
“So, the search party is back, and no David,” Chase said. “Raider mention anything?”
Jordan swallowed a half-chewed chunk of meat. “We don’t talk much.” There’d been more panting than speaking, except for the part where she told him not to stop. Heat rose up her neck.
Chase gave a slight nod. “Eleven more days. Hang in there a little longer. We’ll toast at the end of it.”
Only a week and a half left as Raider’s partner? Jordan’s stomach bottomed out. She finished the last of her stew slowly.
As though conjured up by the depths of her despair, he strolled into the glade with Emerson. Sometime between setting the mad wolf on the pyre and meeting with the council, Raider had put on a pair of gray sweatpants. The band strained against his waist, and his hardened muscles dipped south. Firelight cast a sheen across his bare chest as he approached the cauldron. The light illuminated the gorgeous contours of his body. He was nothing short of perfection.
“Finished with that?” Janelle’s high-pitched voice startled Jordan. Before she could answer, her bowl was wrenched from her hands. Janelle smiled at Chase. “Lacy’s finished. I think she’s waiting for you.”
Chase glanced into his bowl. “I doubt she’s in any hurry.”
For once, Jordan was the one who couldn’t wait to leave the glade and get back—to what, exactly?
Her stomach fluttered, heat washing through her body, knowing exactly what she wanted. And then, as though answering her ardent plea, he appeared in front of them, his legs slightly apart and looking so sexy that it was all Jordan could do to remain seated when her body screamed to mount him where he stood.
With his eyes on Jordan, Raider handed Janelle his empty bowl. “Ready?”
“Yes.”
Chase did a double take at the breathlessness of her response, but she wasn’t looking at her friend. Raider held her gaze as though in a trance. His lips parted slowly, sensually, forming a smile more feline than wolf.
Feeling weightless, Jordan floated to a stand and followed Raider out of the glade. The din from the gathering faded beyond the shaded trees. With every step, her awareness of the shifter walking beside her heightened as though her senses were coming to life in the night. She didn’t know what to say and, to her surprise, found she didn’t mind. There was something enthralling about the silence.
As they neared the knoll, her heart throbbed inside her chest, all excitement, nerves, and anticipation. There was no going back to the way things were. Her body needed Raider the way the sky needed the sun and moon. He filled her, radiating energy and life, and she intended to soak in as much of him as she could before their partnership ended. After that… She wasn’t thinking too far beyond her present needs. The end of a patrol cycle didn’t have to mean the end of other arrangements.
For all the composed silence between them, Jordan’s thoughts were a chaotic mess. What was Raider thinking about? He was a male. Where else would his mind be?
At the base of the knoll, the sky opened above their heads, and stars spilled in. Raider took her hand gently in his own and led her up the slope, turning her to face him at the top. Jordan’s breath quickened, setting off a chain reaction across her body. Her breasts heaved, her nipples tightened, and her pelvic muscles squeezed. The slant of the hill teetered below her feet. She leaned backwards to secure her footing then pitched forward, feeling as though she had gone too far and would fall.
Raider caught her easily and brought her lips to his. Fire ignited when they touched. The heat of the kiss was scorching and liquid all at once. Waves of heat rocked through Jordan’s body, vaporizing as the next swell surged forward.
Eyes closed and breathless, Jordan wrapped her arms around Raider’s neck. He pulled back, taking his heat with him, only to pull her tank top over her head and toss it aside before gathering her against him. With her bare breasts pressed against the hard planes of his chest, Jordan kissed Raider as though he were the best meal she’d ever tasted. His tongue entered her mouth, and he swallowed her moan.
Unable to speak, her mind took up the chant. Don’t stop. Don’t stop. Don’t stop!
As though in answer, Raider’s calloused hands slid down her back, circled her hips, and worked the button loose on her jeans.
chapter sixteen
Making love to Jordan was like molding clay. Whereas she’d been all stiffness and pride at the start of patrol, once Raider was between her legs, she turned to pliant, liquid heat at the barest touch.
Divested of their clothes, he’d pulled Jordan down to the mossy ground and fucked her in every imaginable position. He couldn’t help himself. He experienced an overwhelming rush of satisfaction to see how willingly she allowed him to reposition her. Every time he pulled out, she whimpered and thrust her hips at him, demanding more.
Raider didn’t disappoint, especially when she moaned and rolled her eyes back in her head, made all the sweeter for the fact that she’d fought her desires for so long. Even fully engorged, she was so wet that his cock slid in and out as easily as sinking into the waters at Skyler Falls. Sweet satisfaction. Divine relief.
Knees planted apart in the moss, he wrapped her legs around his neck, scooping her bottom against his pelvis and rocking against her. Once she was in the throes of pleasure, eyes closed, moaning in ecstasy, Raider pulled out.
Jordan gasped and opened her eyes, staring at him with dazed longing. Gritting his teeth, it took all Raider’s resolve not to plunge right back inside her and fuck them both into oblivion.
He turned her around, coaxing her onto her hands and knees and breathing deeply, his nostrils flaring when her hips lifted and her slender, shapely ass thrust in the air for him to mount and ride. There would be no more pulling out once he entered her from behind. No repositioning. No holding on or holding out.
He walked on his knees until he was flush with her ass, his length pressing against her. Jordan sucked in a breath, exhaling shakily when he entered her. Moonlight shone along her smooth, silken back, stretched below him. Her thick, rich hair fell over her shoulders, brushing the moss beneath her shoulder blades. She was a siren, a moon goddess, a she-wolf at his mercy.
She rocked against him, sending blood rushing through Raider’s groin—a reminder that he was just as much at her mercy even if he was on top.
He grabbed her hips and thrust into her. The thin thread of control snapped. Unleashed, he pumped into her, his mind clouding over as he became more wolf than man with every thrust.
Only one thought remained. He needed her to come first. It was a matter of pride, but he couldn’t hold on much longer, dignity be damned. He’d made her pant and moan. Wasn’t it enough?
No.
Tightening his hold on her, Raider thrust harder and faster. A groan split his lips. He felt his release coming, building like a tempest primed to drench the female tightening around his cock. He burst at the same time Jordan threw her head back and screamed her release.
Bright spots swarmed Raider’s vision as they crashed against one another like tsunamis from opposite shores. Once they did, Raider was sucked under, gasping for breath, drowning in sweet oblivion. Spent, he rolled onto his back and stared up at the stars that winked overhead.
With heavy breaths that steadily calmed, Jordan lay on her back beside him. Once she’d settled, Raider found her hand and closed his clammy fingers around hers. She squeezed his hand, filling his chest with warmth and contentment.
/> They stared into the heavens with silent reverence.
Wondrous as the sky was, nothing had ever enthralled Raider more than the bliss of their bodies connecting and caressing in ways the cosmos never could in their solitary expanse.
He allowed Jordan another minute of peace before chuckling. “Speechless, yet again.”
Her body jerked, and she tried to pull her hand out of his, but Raider held on. She didn’t struggle much before relaxing against the moss. “Congratulations, you’re a good fuck.” Jordan glanced over, but Raider saw past her smirk. He knew her intimately now—knew what she couldn’t admit. She wanted him and took pleasure in submitting to him. Raider would happily dominate and pleasure her to the edge of ecstasy. He couldn’t think of a more satisfying use of his skills.
“You’re not bad, either.” He pressed his lips together, holding back a chuckle.
Jordan shot up, her hair mussed and falling messily over her shoulders and back. “Not bad?” she repeated.
Raider took his time sitting up. He lifted his arms, stretched, and smiled at Jordan’s incredulous glare. Lowering his arms, he turned his head to her and grinned. “Okay. I think you’re a good fuck, too. Happy?”
Jordan huffed and got to her feet.
“That was more than good. That was… was. That was…” Her pupils darted upwards as though searching the stars for a bright and brilliant word to describe what they’d experienced together.
Raider stood, his teasing smile turning affectionate. “Earth-shattering?” he suggested.
Jordan whipped around—probably expecting the taunting lift of his lips—but what she saw instead stole her breath. As she stared into Raider’s eyes, her lips softened and she wavered in place, her chest heaving as he took her in his arms and kissed her lips, coaxing them apart.
“You’re incorrigible.” Jordan sighed as her eyelashes fluttered closed and she opened her mouth to him.
Feather-light fingers traced the chiseled plane of his torso, touching and exploring, emboldened as their kiss deepened. Her hands traveled south, brushing against his hips and past his thighs, lingering shyly above his knees. He brushed his thumb over the hard peak of her nipple in silent command: I touch you, and you touch me.
Jordan slid her hand between his legs and closed her fingers around his cock. Raider moaned. Jordan’s nipple hardened beneath his thumb. She caressed him, and he moaned louder, cutting it off only to nip her earlobe and whisper, “Keep touching me like that, and I’ll have you on your back again in no time.”
With her breath hitching, Jordan stroked faster, cupping his balls with her other hand. They tightened in response. His eyes rolled back. He’d have her legs spread soon enough, but first there was time to enjoy the feel of her hands on him. They had all night, and Raider didn’t plan on spending any of it sleeping.
Night blurred into morning. Jordan woke gradually, having fallen asleep on her side with Raider spooning her—one muscular arm draped over her. His chest rose and fell evenly, but he wasn’t fooling her. Anytime she wandered back to wakefulness, his fingers found their way between her thighs, opening her to make way for his cock.
Jordan’s lips were swollen and her body aching with satisfaction, utterly spent, but still he pleasured her to the brink of exhaustion.
Where did he get the energy?
She lay still, but somehow, he knew she was awake, and he entered her before she drew her next breath. Jordan whimpered helplessly as Raider’s hips thrust against her from behind, burrowing inside her slick passage. He’d opened a floodgate within her—one that allowed him inside whenever he wanted, as much as he wanted.
The sound of the gong clanging from the glade gave Jordan a start that jackhammered her heart against her rib cage and brought her fully awake.
Why the early summons?
Light slid through her lashes.
No. It wasn’t early. They were late. She’d never in all her life been late for breakfast.
Stilling for only a second, Raider pumped urgently inside her, prying loose a moan building deep within her throat. With one final heave, he bellowed and ejaculated before pulling hastily out.
“It’s late.” He sounded as surprised as she felt.
He stood and lifted her effortlessly, steady and solid as a mountain peak. Jordan felt more like a wilting flower whose stems were about to cave in. She stumbled down the knoll on legs turned to reeds, aware of every muscle in her body—some she hadn’t known existed until now—as she bent to retrieve her clothes.
Raider did the same, but without the sluggish movements and pained groan. He practically jumped into the pair of jeans he’d left beside a boulder before the incident with the rabid wolf the day before.
When Jordan bent, her nose wrinkled.
Holy heavens! The smell of sex rose from her body like heat from the cauldron. Even after she lifted her head and pulled up her jeans, the heady scent permeated the air.
Soon, she and Raider were out of breath again—this time from rushing across the trail to the glade.
The bland smell of grains and the din of chatter met their ears, bringing Jordan to a stop.
“I have to rinse off,” she said.
Raider looked her over with a satisfied grin—one he had every right to.
“I’ll head in before Jager organizes a search party,” he said, “and get us food before it’s gone.”
Jordan nodded and took off for the Sakhir River.
True to his word, Raider was waiting with two bowls of porridge when she returned to the glade, still achy, but smelling fresh after a cool rinse and change of clothes from the small stash she kept near the river. The other set was rinsed off and hanging from a tree to dry. Raider strode toward her as soon as she emerged and placed a bowl into her hands.
“Thank you,” Jordan said.
Raider nodded. “Want to sit?”
From across the glade, Chase watched them with furrowed brows. She always sat with him. He was her friend, but Raider was her—what? Lover? She could no more leave his side than a tree could get up and leave behind its roots. Besides, he’d waited for her to eat. That was true devotion.
Yet again, the ground felt uneven as Jordan walked alongside Raider as he led her to a stump near a log occupied by Emerson, Alec, and Zadie. There were no more logs available at that late hour, but the stump, although thick, could only comfortably fit one.
With a honeyed smile, Raider took a seat. “You can sit on my lap.”
“You’re kidding.” Jordan eyed his lap. It might have been tempting if half the shifters in the hollow weren’t watching them.
“I promise to keep my pants on.” Raider’s teeth flashed.
Jordan scoffed. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“More than you can possibly imagine.” He raised his eyebrows. It felt like a dare.
To remain standing was to show insecurity for how the pack would react—especially those who had placed wagers on which sister would end up with Raider. Jordan wasn’t about to tiptoe around the hollow. She’d never given a damn what others thought. But openly acknowledging this thing they had going on made her feel like a fast and easy hump. A wanton she-wolf. More promiscuous than all her sisters combined. How ironic that Jordan, the most resistant sister, had ended up spread-eagle beneath Raider.
The insufferable shifter had a knowing smile on his lips while he awaited her decision like he knew exactly which thoughts were at war in her mind.
As his eyebrows lifted higher, they seemed to sing out. Them or me?
Pride or courage?
Jordan locked eyes with Raider. Why deny who she was? Maybe, like her father and sisters, she was a libertine, but one thing she wasn’t—a coward. Shame didn’t run in her blood.
Inch by inch, she lowered herself over Raider’s leg until she sat on his muscular thigh. Once she touched do
wn, the decision was final. As she settled her weight over him, Raider secured her over his lap with a hand that pressed possessively against her leg. There was no sense pushing it away. By the end of the day, everyone would know they were fucking.
“Those two? Damn. There goes my wager.” A nearby shifter grumbled.
Sex, Jordan told herself. It’s just sex. Really good, earth-shattering sex.
Single shifters were encouraged to indulge in carnal pleasures. It was healthy. Vital. Like eating and sleeping.
Speaking of eating, she was famished, and Raider had been generous when he packed her bowl full and stuck a spoon in the center of the thick, cooked grains. She began shoveling the porridge into her mouth.
Raider gave her thigh a squeeze before taking up his own spoon to eat at a healthier pace.
This was usually the time when Hudson and Chase griped and nattered on incessantly. To Jordan’s surprise, she found she enjoyed the quiet and the simple, satisfying press of two bodies as they ate together.
She avoided looking at Chase, in no mood to be chastised for her decision. There was more to worry about from Hudson, who had trouble letting things go. Jordan didn’t need a lecture—she got enough of those from her father. Her friends would just have to get over it.
Emerson twisted around to face her, a sparkle in her eyes.
“Hey, Jord,” she said in a chipper voice. “I stopped by the den earlier to check on Sydney. She’s been distressed over David. While I was visiting, Franny raised her head and chest off the ground. Trish said it was the first time she’s lifted herself on her own,” Emerson continued as though nothing were out of the ordinary. “Had a mighty pleased little smile on her face—the cutie.”
Jordan could have hugged her sister. No one besides Emmy would understand how awkward she felt propped on Raider’s lap like a harlot from one of their mother’s well-worn romance novels. The shifters present in the glade were watching closely, waiting to witness an outburst on Emerson’s part—a catfight between sisters.
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