"Plenty of men want my sweet little cunt."
Ransom snarled, seeing red. His knees shook and spilled his cum all over her cunt. He couldn't take his eyes off of her as he ran his hand along the length of his dick until he’d marked her with every last drop.
His chest heaved as he inhaled raggedly. He rose to his knees and brought his face inches from hers as he drove his fingers into her. He pulled out his hand, swept it across her stomach, and covered his fingers in cum before thrusting them back into her. He ran his thumb over her clit in tighter and tighter circles, making her writhe.
"You're mine. Your mouth is mine. Your orgasms are mine. Your cunt is mine. Forget that, and there will be consequences." He pushed his fingers deeper, and she moaned, grinding against his hand. She bit her lip again, raking her teeth over the soft pink skin. Her hands went to her breasts as she tensed underneath him.
"Now," he said as she arched her back, "only good girls get to come." He wrenched his hand from her cunt. She cried out in desperation, and her hands flew down to her pussy. He caught her wrists and held them against the couch. "Next time, don't disobey me." He hovered there, watching her tits rise and fall until her breathing slowed, then he let go and settled next to her on the sofa.
"I'm going to take a shower," she said quietly. She dragged a finger along his leg, sending shivers down his spine.
"No. You smell like mine, covered in my cum. You don't get to shower, girl." He draped an arm over her shoulders and drew her in.
She turned toward him and wrapped an arm over his stomach. "Not a girl."
CHAPTER FIVE
BRIANNA
At some point, Ransom carried her to the bed and tucked her in. Even though it was the middle of the afternoon, she was exhausted and welcomed the opportunity to nap. He left her to go for a run, shifting into a dark grey wolf with white wisps of fur around his muzzle and slipping out a dog door she’d never noticed before.
She dipped in and out of consciousness, finally feeling relaxed and safe for the first time in days. It didn't matter that Ransom wasn't physically there to protect her. She was his. He would always protect her.
She heard the dog door swing open, and she rolled over, still naked under the covers, and watched as Ransom stalked across the floor, not bothering to shift back into a human. He jumped onto the foot of the bed and curled up next to her legs, resting his chin on her calf. She closed her eyes and fell back asleep, drained and utterly content.
No one had ever fucked her or fought her like Ransom did. She'd never had so much fun and excitement with a partner before. She wasn't sure what made her flip a switch and turn off her guilt and shame. That afternoon at The Brew with her sisters, she’d known that she was going to make Ransom come in and get her. The anticipation she felt watching her twenty minutes tick by was excruciatingly exciting.
She woke up to the smell of coffee and peeled open her eyes to discover that the room was flooded with the warm glow of an orange sunrise. She'd slept all day and night.
Ransom was dressed and already making breakfast at the stove. As he moved around the kitchen scrambling eggs and clanging pans, the muscles in his shoulders strained against his t-shirt. Her core tightened, and she pressed her thighs together. Over a damned t-shirt.
She got out of bed and padded over to Ransom. She leaned against his back and slid her arms around his stomach. She was still naked, and heat began to pool in her core. Shit, everything about him made her hot.
He turned around, picked her up, and set her bare ass on the island. Her stomach fluttered as he buried a hand in her hair and kissed her gently.
"I picked up some clothes for you. Cain's girl got them from your house."
"Eileen," she corrected him, "is not a girl." She smirked as he pulled her hair, tipping her head back and forcing her to look at him.
"It's seven thirty. Do you really want to start now?"
She raked her teeth over her bottom lip, toying with the idea.
He cut her off before she could make a decision. "Get cleaned up. We have shit to do today." She jumped off the counter, and he swatted her ass as she scurried to the bathroom. "Leave the door open," he called after her.
She washed slowly, glancing toward the bathroom door, hoping to see him appear on the coffee table like he had yesterday. He never appeared. First, he wouldn’t let her come, now he was ignoring her advances. His games just made her want him more.
She emerged from the bathroom to find Ransom sitting at the table eating his breakfast and reading a book. Determined to hide her hurt feelings, she picked out her own book and joined him at the table. It was… nice. And normal? Nothing about the last few days had been normal.
She’d barely had enough time to crack the book's spine, let alone finish her cup of coffee, when Ransom cleared his throat and stood from the table. "Get your sweater, it's time to leave."
"Where are we going?" she asked as she pulled on the hoodie.
"To see a friend of mine about your witches."
"They aren't really my witches."
Ransom shot her a glance, and she practically melted on the spot. Would his gaze always be this exciting?
"Who's your friend?"
"An old witch. She might be able to help you stop the coven without using black magic."
"I could just burn some sage and ask the goddess really nicely. That might work."
Ransom laughed. "I know your goddess. She's a fickle bitch."
She started to giggle but promptly stopped herself. That was true, but so much of her power depended on the goddess that it probably wasn’t the best idea to laugh at her expense. Though, what fucking deity would care what she thought?
They drove through the woods south of town until they came to a small cabin off of an overgrown two-track road. She looked at Ransom. "This was a joke, right?"
He looked at her. "What part of this would be funny?"
"You told me we're seeing an old witch, then you bring me to a tiny cabin in the woods. This is seriously a plot point in like three fairytales," she said as they climbed out of the car.
He ignored her comments entirely. "Don't embarrass me."
"Don't feed me to a witch."
He grabbed her arms, whipping her around and forcing her to look at him. "Don't embarrass me, or I will eat you." He let go of her and continued to the cottage.
"Doesn't seem like much of a punishment," she whispered loud enough for him to hear. The wolf looked over his shoulder and grinned.
They were greeted at the door by neatly dressed elderly woman with a towering bird's nest of stringy white hair piled on top of her head.
"Betty, this is Brianna."
"Nice to meet you, Brianna. I knew your grandmother Julianne years ago."
Of course she did. Her family was infamous. Though her grandmother had never led a coven, she was definitely powerful enough to be a high priestess. She had been more powerful than twenty witches. Brianna figured her sisters carried only a fraction of her grandmother’s abilities, but none of them really knew the extent of their powers since they never practiced much outside of lunar rituals.
The three sat down in Betty's small living room, declining the coffee and tea she offered.
"All right," Betty said, "just business then. What is going on in Wildwood?"
She and Ransom took turns piecing together the events of the last two weeks. It took less than five minutes to give Betty the cliff notes version of the chaos she and her sisters had been through, and the older woman just nodded and followed along without asking any questions until they had reached the end.
"Claudia is the high priestess of Wildwood coven?" Brianna nodded. "Okay. And she showed the dead witches’ bodies to your sister?"
"Yes."
"But you know she's responsible for the kidnappings. How? How did you find the witches?"
"The LeFay sisters cast a spell," Ransom answered. "Guided me right to a group of Wildwood witches."
"Do you know what the curse
on the men looked like?"
"Simple. Hair and teeth."
Betty stared at her hands, her tower of hair bobbing almost as if on its own. "But there were almost a dozen attackers. That would spread a witch pretty thin. That would even be hard for two witches to control. How many are there in the coven?"
Brianna shrugged. "I don't know. Twenty? Thirty? I haven’t gone to a ritual in years. I only went to a few rituals after my mom died."
"Hmm. Ransom, how many witches did you see?"
"Four."
"Even using dark magic, I don't understand how four witches could control that many people with simple curses." Betty seemed to be trying to fit together pieces of a puzzle that did not match up.
"There's more," Brianna whispered. "She can do more. She suffocated me. And I think she put a veil over me. No one in the room noticed me. Claudia wasn't even touching me. And it stopped when she looked away."
Ransom tensed next to her and growled, "You didn't tell me. Why did you keep a secret from me?"
"You're not special. I didn't even tell my sisters."
"Do not keep secrets from me. I am not your fucking…"
Betty raised her hand and cut him off. "Ransom, not now." Her voice was clear and sharp. She didn't have to yell to gain command of the room. "When did she do this?" she asked Brianna.
"Yesterday."
The woman nodded vigorously, her beehive bouncing around. "Yes, yes. Then she is your murderer. A witch does not get that powerful without a sacrifice."
"I don't understand how she could do that without a spell." Despite what TV and movies showed, magic just didn't work like that. You had to ask the goddess, and she would decide how to answer. Sure, Brianna could ask for telekinesis, and maybe she could live like Tabitha in Bewitched, but more than likely the goddess would find a way to fuck her with the Three Fold Law. Speaking of the Three Fold Law… "How is she not paying the price for all of the spells? The Three Fold says she owes six bodies!"
Betty shook her head. "Girl, the lord of darkness doesn't care about consequences. She's drawing from him, so she may never have to pay that debt. But she will acquire many more the longer she stays with him."
"Then what do we do? We're bound to the goddess so any magic we use on them will come back on us. And I doubt the police will be able…"
"We kill them," Ransom barked.
"All right. Settle down, Rambo," Brianna snapped. "We aren't killing anyone."
"Bind them," Betty answered, her eyes scanning her bookshelf. "Bind their powers, but the goddess may bind yours too."
CHAPTER SIX
RANSOM
He'd known the old witch for decades and respected the hell out of her, so when she told him to back off, he listened. For now.
Brianna had lied to him. Claudia had threatened her, almost killed her, while she was under his protection. He needed to kill that witch—no one threatened his girl. Not a girl.
He stewed while Brianna and Betty looked over a battered, old book. He vaguely heard them talking about binding spells and sacred circles, but he was so preoccupied with his own thoughts that he never bothered to pay attention to the women. He didn't realize how much time had passed until Brianna was touching him on the shoulder.
"Ransom? I think we're done."
He froze and his cock jumped involuntarily. Fuck. Was that the first time she'd said his name? He wanted her say it again.
He stood and nodded at Betty. "I owe you." He led Brianna to the door and held it open, letting her leave first.
She bounced ahead of him skipping to the SUV. Turning around when she reached the vehicle, she said, "I think we've figured it out! Do you think Betty's plan will work?"
"Get in the car."
She lowered her eyes and climbed into the car. He didn't know whether he wanted to punish her for lying or reward her for being obedient.
"I know I should have told you," she said quietly, staring out the window.
They’d been driving in silence for most of the car ride. He wasn't sure how to talk to her without making it part of their game. He needed her to know that he only wanted to keep her safe, but he worried that any harsh words would just turn into their playful, combative back-and-forth flirtations.
She looked at him mischievously. He could tell she was revving up for a scene, until he said her name. "Brianna," he started, causing her face to grow serious, almost confused. "You should have told me about Claudia because it’s not just my job to protect you, I want to protect you. I want to help you even if you can do it on your own."
"I didn't tell you yesterday because I finally forgot about my problems. Because of you, I forgot Claudia had tried to kill me, twice."
"I can't do my job if I don't know everything that happens between you and the witches. And it's more than a job at this point, it's personal." He pulled off the road and stopped the car. "Brianna, I want to protect you, to take care of you, to keep you."
The words almost fell from his mouth, but he’d never wanted a mate before. And he wanted Brianna. More than anything else. He'd had plenty of partners to play with, who was into his scenes, into the power and control games. But none had captivated him like she did.
For starters, he hadn't intended on fucking her. She was so young. But they fell right into their roles so naturally, almost accidentally. And she seemed to like it as much as he did. He loved that she challenged him. Past partners hadn't fought him, and Brianna couldn't fucking help herself. It made him want her more.
"Keep me?" she asked quietly. He could hear her heartbeat and smell her arousal. Shit. Focus on the conversation.
"Mate."
"Would it always be like these last few days?"
"Fuck, I hope so."
"But what does it mean to be mated?"
"Besides the actual mating?" Ransom said mischievously. "There's a blood oath. You are bound to me for life."
She stared at her hands and silence filled the car. Shit. Had he said the wrong thing? Perhaps she didn't want this for forever. Maybe she was just fucking around for the weekend. Motherfucker. He should have kept things to business. He could have even fucked her and moved on. But this whole conversation in the car, opening up to her, was a bad idea.
"Never mind," he said gruffly, turning over the engine.
"No, stop!" She practically tore the keys from the ignition. "It's just a lot. I love the way I feel around you. But I don't know that I should make this decision now. When I'm hiding from a high priestess who wants me dead and I don't even know why."
"Being mated isn't a decision you make, it's something you can't live without. I don't want to live without you," he growled.
"Have you considered that there are other things more pressing on my mind? Can I get through this week before I make this big decision?"
"It's not a decision, girl." He pulled back on to the road, refusing to look at her.
"Not a girl," she whispered quietly to herself.
Fuck, she was so goddamn cute. He gripped the wheel trying to figure out where they went from here. Selfishly, he wanted back into her sweet little pussy, but the burn of her rejection quickly snuffed out his fantasy.
They continued to drive in silence for a few minutes, then Brianna spoke up. "We need to go to The Winchester so I can talk to my sisters."
"Not today, I need to do some of my own research first." He said without taking his eyes off of the road. This was true, but maybe he just wanted to draw out their time together. Or maybe he wanted to punish her.
"What the fuck?" She threw her hands in the air. "I need to talk to them. Why take me to Betty if you're not going to let me do anything with her information?"
"I took you to Betty because she’s the smartest witch I know. But she doesn't know everything, and I don't move until I have all of the information."
"You fucking followed some random witch miles into the woods."
"I was a pawn in a spell. That's not a good representation of the way I work."
"Fu
ck. Take me to my sisters."
"Watch your language, girl." He eased the car into the garage and closed the door behind them.
"Un-fucking-believable." She slammed the car door and stalked into the safe house.
"Brianna, I need a day to root around and gather some info. That's not too much." Damn it. This was what he got for letting his guard down—now he had to fucking justify his actions about his own job.
"I don't see how me meeting my sisters is going to fuck up your job."
"Stop. Sit down." His voice rumbled through the room.
"No. This isn't a game. This is my life. You just asked me to be your mate and then you turn around and lock me in a fucking house. Not everything is under your control. I'm not playing right now, Ransom."
"If you go prancing around town, plotting with your sisters in the middle of a fucking bar, the witches will know you’re on to them. Did you think about that? I've done this before, trust me. You’re right, this isn't a scene. This is your life."
"Right. My life. Mine. If this is what it's going to be like if I'm your mate, why would I say yes?"
He stared at her, fuming. "Part of being a mate is knowing that I am working for your best interest. Our best interest. You need to trust me. I have done nothing to lose your trust."
"You've done nothing to earn my trust." She paced around the middle of the safe house like a caged animal. That's exactly how he felt. How could he make her understand?
"I'm going out. When I come back, I will take you to your sisters." He growled, pulling off his shirt.
"When will that be?" She glared at him. Clearly, that hadn't defused the situation.
"When I come back." He shifted, slipped out the dog door, and broke into a run.
Fuck. He'd made a complete disaster of that. He could have left her with Cain, and she would have been safe. But Cain let her leave the other day, and she'd almost been killed. He ran faster, his paws pounding against the forest floor. He'd wanted to punish her, not as foreplay, and Brianna knew that… He was going to lose her.
He needed to talk to the other wolves and get back to Brianna. He probably needed to apologize. This girl. He'd never felt the need to apologize to a partner before. Though, he’d never cared if he lost one before.
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