She placed a hand on Marcus’s pants front, then paused. “Marcus? How long have you interfered with my love life?”
“The past doesn’t matter, Tami.” He rested his hand over hers and gave it a squeeze. His shaft twisted. “Open my pants.”
She did and reached into his boxers to pull out a tool so long and massive it sent shivers down her spine. Suddenly hit with a need to sample him, she lowered her head and kissed the cap. He tangled his fingers in her hair, and she took hold of his rod. No screaming man charged into the room.
She took as many inches into her mouth as she could as she sucked. Marcus let out a shout and threw his head back. She pulled away. Along the base was a puckered vein, so she licked it, then moaned. Marcus trembled.
“Tami. Sweet Tami, I want to be inside you so badly.”
His voice was tight, and she wondered if he was near to crying with his desire. She glanced up, but his eyes were dry. “Why don’t we? I’m ready.”
He shook his head. “Not yet. Lie down on your side.” She complied but kept hold of his hard-on. Driving him out of his mind was enjoyable. But when he turned his body opposite, and pushed her legs apart, she wondered how she’d concentrate on him. Marcus didn’t pause for a second. He scooped her by the buttocks, pulled her to his mouth, and began to feast again.
His staff, which she’d tucked back in between her lips, slipped out. She found it hard to breathe or think straight. Marcus ate almost violently. He shoved her toward his mouth. She thought she felt sharp teeth graze her tender folds. Despite that, she was coming again.
Marcus rolled on his back and dragged her on top of him. He stroked her thighs. She braced her knees on the floor and pumped his face. “Marcus! I-I can’t please you if you. Ah! I’m coming!”
That fueled his hunger. He sucked her button into his mouth. Her head crashed down on his hard thigh, his shaft kept in a weak hold. The rippling orgasms took control of her body and wouldn’t let go.
“Marcus,” she begged. “I can’t take it. I can’t come again.” He made a liar of her, but he finally released his cruel clasp. She slumped to the floor, spent. And yet he hadn’t taken her virginity yet. How could it get much better?
“Tami?”
She moaned, not opening her eyes.
“Tami, sit up, baby. I need to talk to you.” He tugged her to a sitting position and moved her onto his lap with her back to him. He was still hard as a rock, and it pressed into her back. “When we mate the first time, it must be in front of my family.”
She jerked up from his lap and stood. “Are you crazy? I’m not having an audience. And this is just sex. We’re not getting married or anything. What kind of strange rituals do you all practice?” She ranted and raved while he stood. He was completely calm as he removed every stitch of his clothing. “What are you doing, Marcus?” she screamed.
He looked too damn good. Tall, muscled, the plains of his body—all were designed to make her mouth water, her nipples harden, and cream gather between her legs. Where she had been too tired a moment before, she was hot to go at it with him now.
“Come here, Tami.” He held out his arms. She gave him a cold look up and down his body, but it fell short in that it morphed to lust. “Tami?”
She drifted toward him.
He kissed her. She melted in his arms and rested her head on his shoulder. If she could become one with him, climb inside his body, she would. This wasn’t just sex, but she was afraid to admit it—to herself and to him.
“You want me?” he asked.
She nodded into the space between his neck and shoulders.
“I must have you, Tami. Tonight.”
“Why?”
He lifted her chin to force her to face what he was going to say. “I have to travel, handle some family business. It will take a while. Months, maybe longer. After we have mated, you will go wherever I do.”
“Damn it, Marcus.” She frowned. “Why do you have to go back to that, bossing me around, acting like this isn’t the twenty-first century? Like I don’t have a choice about what I do and don’t do?”
His nails bit into her bare shoulders, and he shook her gently. “Tami! Listen to me. When we are one physically in front of my brothers, you will not want to be anywhere other than with me.”
Tempting a Wolf
Chapter Seven
The longest night of her life was Halloween night, a full moon. Marcus’s brothers and sisters or however they were related to him were running about having sex with whatever person they convinced to come to their party. Or each other for all Tameca knew. And here she was now wrapped in Marcus’s cape with Renee two feet away from her and shouting at Marcus.
The weirdest part was that she was sure more than once she’d seen Renee flash the same sharp teeth and grown-out fingernails that Marcus had had when he made love to her. Now the arrogant ass stood there half-dressed, all the while looking calm and collected as he listened to Renee rant.
Two of his men stood in the corner on watch. To Tameca’s shock, Pat was wrapped around blond god’s body like a second skin. She seemed to hang from his every word. She appeared to live just to have him kiss or stroke her. Her tiger outfit hung off one shoulder, was unzipped to her waist. The beautiful man’s hand disappeared between the gap continuously, which made Tameca squeeze her legs together as she watched.
Every now and again, he looked up, seeming to feel her eyes on them. He’d smile and wink. They loved to watch and be watched, she thought, probably why Marcus wanted her to do it in front of them. It had nothing to do with sealing the deal or whatever he hinted at.
Tameca stood and hurried across to her friend. “Pat, get off him. You might not be ready for what it means to sleep with one of them.” Like I am?
This whole thing had her mind in a spin. She felt like someone had slipped her something, because she actually accepted on some level that Marcus and the others were something more than human. The thought intrigued her.
The blond guy chuckled. “Don’t worry. If every woman I slept with were sealed to me, I’d have a long line behind me. She is not my mate.” He made sure Tameca was staring at him when he turned Pat’s head up and kissed her. She looked drunk as she allowed him free rein of her body.
“What did you do to her?” she demanded. She tried to tug Pat away. He tightened his hold.
Pat brushed at her with little strength. “Stop, Tameca. I want him. I want him to bang me all night and all day forever.” She grinned stupidly up at him. Blondie shrugged like it was his due.
“You can’t do this. Please.”
“Tameca, don’t worry.” He put up a hand to touch her cheek, then stopped and glanced at Marcus. She turned to find him watching. Blond God dropped his hand to his side but didn’t look frightened as Laramie had. She had the feeling they were closest to each other, maybe real brothers. She knew almost nothing about them, and here she was in this predicament. She should get dressed and get the hell out of there, but she couldn’t. To walk away from Marcus felt impossible to do. Was she under some sort of spell like Pat appeared to be?
Blond god interrupted her thoughts. “I will please her, yes. When your bonding is done. But don’t worry, I won’t leave her unsatisfied.”
So, he would be there, watching how Marcus pleasured her. She frowned, angry and . . . excited. A room full of sexy, beautiful people who, for whatever reason, thought she was sexy, too. Maybe they were such sex fiends that all bodies were perfect in their eyes.
“What is your name?” she asked the man staring down at Pat.
“Corbin.” He hoisted Pat tighter against him. “Marcus,” he grumbled. “Please, solve this.”
Before Marcus could respond, Renee turned to her. “Tameca, let’s go. We’re going home. Pat, you can stay if you want.”
“I’m a grown woman, Renee. I want to—”
“You don’t know what you’re getting into. You will follow him, Tameca!” she shouted, suddenly near to tears. Tameca stared. Her sister couldn
’t have been lovers with him, could she? No, please! She had dismissed it when the thought first came, but her sister was about to cry. Did she care for Marcus herself? Or maybe she knew he would travel and that Tameca would go with him.
“We won’t be gone forever, if I go.” She crossed the room to her sister and hugged her. “When are you going to let me be an adult, Renee? When I’m thirty?”
Renee wrapped her in a bear hug and kissed her. “Tameca, I’m one of them.” Her voice sent vibrations into Tameca’s cheek. Fearful of what her sister had just said, she focused on the sound of the words replaying in her mind rather than their meaning. Her sister pulled a tissue from a pocket and wiped her nose before she took Tameca’s hands.
Marcus almost bowled her over. “You will not take her from me. I’ve waited too long to find her.”
Renee rolled her eyes. “Relax. We’re going to the bathroom so I can explain to her what I should have years ago.” Her shoulders slumped when she turned back to Tameca. “I didn’t want you to choose the same path I did. I know the ache of having one of them for a mate—and the anguish of losing him. I thought that if I kept you away from Marcus, it would be fine. But he knew from the moment he first saw you. Out of respect for me, he didn’t push. I made him promise to leave you alone until I taught you, eased you into this.”
“But Renee didn’t tell you anything. She didn’t teach you a damn thing about our people, our ways,” Marcus snapped.
Tameca looked back and forth between them. “What are you talking about? You work for him. That’s it, isn’t it? Why would he show you any amount of respect other than that of employer-employee?” Tameca braced herself. “Did you two have an affair, and now he’s ready to move on to your younger sister?”
Renee looked like she was about to gag. “Spare me. No!” Her brown eyes darkened before she lowered her gaze to the floor. “I was his older brother’s mate. His name was Lucas.” She choked on the name, and tears flooded her eyes.
Tameca gathered her sister close. “He died? That’s why you won’t get close to anyone, why you go out with guys only for a good time, nothing more. Did losing him destroy you that much, Renee?”
Her sister nodded and pulled her toward the door. “I’ll tell you when we’re alone. Come on.”
“Wait.” Marcus stopped them again.
“Marcus, look, I said I’m not going to walk out with her. You and I both know I can’t get away from the family for long. They’re in my blood.” She turned to face Tameca. “Soon to be in hers, too.”
Tameca’s head began to spin. “W-What? My blood?”
Renee removed the cat ear comb from Tameca’s head and held it in trembling fingers. Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Yes. After tonight, there’s no turning back, so you must know what you’re dealing with.”
Marcus pulled Tameca into his arms. He opened the cape to slide his arms around her middle. Tameca pressed closer. He kissed her, then pushed her head to his shoulder. “Corbin can help her to see what this is about faster than just telling her. It’ll also help her to understand what and who we are, to embrace us—me.”
Tameca lifted her head. As she looked into Marcus’s eyes, she got the impression that her leaving him at this juncture would hurt him, but she didn’t know why. They had just met. She’d thought of sleeping with him only to get the V off her chest, not to be bonded. Yet, after touching him and having him kiss her, she actually craved the bond. It had to be magic or something to skew her judgment.
Tameca cast a glance at Corbin, who seemed more interested in how he could have sex with Pat while he waited for Marcus to bond. She wondered why he had to bond in the first place. There had been so many writhing bodies tonight she couldn’t have counted them all. From the blaring music still pumping from the ballroom, she was pretty sure the party was still going on. Marcus’s people were insatiable.
“Corbin!” Marcus called.
He looked up, sighed, and set Pat on her feet. Tameca caught a glimpse of his staff hanging out of his pants. Marcus turned her head to face him, and she remembered he kept saying she couldn’t have another man until after they had bonded. Did that mean she could afterward? Did that mean he’d be sleeping around, too? These were questions she had better get clear before she made any decision. If she fell in love with Marcus, that kind of lifestyle would only mean heartache. Maybe that’s why Renee seemed so wounded.
Marcus snapped his fingers for one of the two guards to come to him. Oddly, when he twirled Pat into the man’s arms and that man nibbled at her ear, she was hooked to him instead.
Tameca gaped, her mouth falling open. Marcus liked to nibble her ears. “That’s your spell?” she croaked. “A bite on the ear?”
Corbin chuckled. “No, it’s a stress reliever.”
“What?”
“We . . . bite. A delicate little flower like yourself and your friend could never endure that unless we were bonding. So, to ease the ache to bite, we nibble.” He shrugged. “Now, then.” He slapped a hand down on her head. “One mind-meld coming up.”
She shrieked, and he laughed.
“Kidding. Just kidding.”
Tempting a Wolf
Chapter Eight
In the same wooded area, before the lake, Tameca slipped her shoes off and waded into the cool water. The moon watched over her, almost as if she were its child. And if she were honest with herself, she would admit that she felt its pull but had no idea how to answer.
A footstep behind her caught her attention. She turned to find Marcus standing there. Her teeth chattered although she hadn’t been cold a minute before. He held out his hands, and she drifted toward him. When his fingertips brushed her sides, a flurry of sound filled the night, as if choreographed. Wolves howled at the moon in the distance. She shivered.
“What’s happening?” she whispered.
“A wedding.”
With eyes wide, she stared up at him. “Not ours?”
He laughed. “No, not ours. This”—he gestured to their surroundings—“isn’t real. Not anymore. This night is from many years ago. Come on. Let me show you.”
They worked their way through the woods. Marcus was no longer frenzied with getting between her legs. He was a gentleman, holding branches away from her face as they passed. Soon, the trees gave way to a clearance where wolves were arranged in a circle. Two wolves occupied the middle.
While she watched in fascination, the bigger animal transformed into a man. He held out his hand much like Marcus had done, down by the lake. The other animal she assumed was a female began to change, and Tameca bit down on her tongue as she discovered who it was. Renee!
“But I don’t understand.” She glanced up at Marcus.
He placed a finger over her lips. “Shh, just watch, baby.”
The man, with brownish black hair that was unruly and frizzy, grinned down at Renee. “Tonight, I vow to take my mate as my own and seal our union in front of you all, our family.” Only when he kissed Renee and lowered her to the ground did Tameca realize they were buck naked.
She squeaked and turned her back. “Marcus, I am not watching my sister get it on with that guy. Suffice it to say, they became mates. Get me out of here. And where did he go? Did he run off with someone else? Because I noticed you all like to sleep around.” She tried for flippant, but it fell flat.
Marcus kissed her neck, then nibbled her earlobe. She would have pulled away, but with his arms he wrapped her close to him, not letting go. “Tameca, that man is not some random lover. He is your father.”
“What?” She jerked free. “Oh, hell, no! I’m not having anything to do with people who think incest is all fine and good! Get your hands off me!” She jabbed him in the stomach and ran back the way they had come, only to crash headlong into someone else. The impact landed her on her ass.
She looked up. Renee stood fully dressed, and she stared in the direction of the couple, who were still in the throes of sex. Tameca pressed her hand to her mouth. She would never forgive an
y of them for exposing her to this horror.
Renee finally dragged her gaze from the couple and crouched down in front of Tameca. She reached out to touch her head, but Tameca smacked her hand aside. “Don’t touch me. Take me out of this dream. I just want to go home.”
“Tameca—”
“I don’t want to hear it! I’m not going to mate with Marcus. He can go straight to hell, and you can join him.” She was up and running then. She rushed through the woods as fast as she could. The odd thing about it was that she ran faster than she had in the past. Fallen logs were nothing to spring over, and darting left and right around trees posed no challenge.
She sniffed the air and picked up several wolves close by. Sniffed? What the hell? This dream was getting out of hand if she was exhibiting the wolves’ characteristics. She had never been able to run fast. According to a succession of phys ed teachers during her school years, she wasn’t built for it.
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