Primal Bonds

  It makes you want to fuck or die, Liam had once said.

  Or die if I don’t fuck, Sean thought. A better way of putting it.

  Even so, he knew that his frenzy wasn’t just for sex, wasn’t just the biological drive that ensured that more cubs were born. Sean’s frenzy was for Andrea.

  For her clear gray eyes, for her sweet curves, for the way she said his name. For the way her clothes clung to her body, for her sense of humor, for her buying him underwear with smiley faces on them. It was the way she smelled, the way she liked coffee, and the way she winked at the Shifter groupies in the bar and left them speechless.

  It was her Fae scent and her fine skin, her breath, her warmth, and the fact that she walked upon the earth.

  Andrea’s eyes darkened as she slid cool hands up his arms. “You’re burning up.”

  “With fever. I want you, damn your beautiful eyes.”

  Andrea burrowed her hands under his T-shirt. “Maybe taking this off will help.”

  Sean liked how her appreciative smile touched her lips as he nearly ripped the shirt from his body. She returned to running her hands over her skin, tracing the muscles of his chest, her lashes flickering as she examined his torso.

  Sean smiled a hot smile. “I showed you mine. You show me yours.”

  His control slipped as Andrea stepped back and pulled her shirt off over her head. Her bra was silver lace today, a sweet and petite slash of fabric that cupped her full breasts. Sean itched to take his teeth to the little bow in the center.

  Sean folded his arms, pretending not to shake. “All of if, love.”

  Andrea’s smile widened. She reached behind her back and unhooked the bra and let it fall softly to the kitchen floor.

  No more holding it in. Sean went to her and slid his arms around her waist. He gently pushed her backward until she arched against the counter, and then he licked her throat and down between her breasts. He turned his head and caught her nipple between his teeth, filling his mouth with her round breast, suckling, tasting. Andrea let out a sigh of satisfaction and drew her hand up his back.

  Lovely, lovely breasts. Sean could feast on them all day. He was hard, straining against his pants, his mouth happy to lick and nip and suckle. She was so soft, yet so firm, flesh like satin.

  Andy-love, you taste so damn good.

  Sean felt fingers at his belt, his jeans loosening. “I showed you mine,” Andrea said as she worked the button open, the zipper down.

  Sean let go of her long enough to toe off his boots and shove his pants down. He waited for her laughter that he’d worn the “Fine” briefs, but Andrea’s eyes darkened as she looked him over, then she slid her arms around him, fingers under the waistband.

  He kissed her lips, taking her in slow, long strokes. Her mouth was hot, willing, tasting of whatever beer she’d drunk while out with Glory. Damn lucky beer to slide down her throat. Sean bit her lip and then traced the path the liquid would have taken until he swirled his tongue across her navel.

  He tugged at the waistband of her jeans. “Your turn.”

  Andrea, bless her, gave him a show. She slowly undulated her hips as she stepped back from him, sliding her shoes from her feet. She unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans, the hips rocking, teasing him, enticing him.

  Andrea turned around while she eased the jeans down, so that Sean saw her lovely dark hair falling down her bare back, her sweet ass coming into view covered with a bikini panty of gray satin. She stepped out of the jeans and glanced back over her shoulder.

  Sean closed the distance between them in two strides, wrapped his arms around her from behind, slid his hands into her panties, and easily found the warm, wet core of her. She gasped as he touched her heat.

  He’d seen her naked before—they’d both shed clothes when they’d shifted. But this was different; this was slow, and this was hot. Shifting was about the animal, and the animal didn’t care anything about clothes or nakedness. It only wanted the feel of fur and fangs, wanted to give in to the instinct of the hunt. Screwing in animal form was basic, hard, and swift, and had nothing to do with nudity and sensuality.

  What Sean did now was about loving, about savoring the goodness of her.

  Sean licked Andrea’s shoulder as he slid his fingers into her, Andrea warm and wet and open. Andrea, a woman who’d never felt a man inside her, stifled a groan.

  He knew he needed to go slowly with her. The beast in him wanted to rip the panties from her, spread her legs, and lift her so that he’d fit against her from behind. His cock was pounding at him, telling him to do it and be done.

  But Sean never could. He wanted to feel Andrea surrounding him, wanted to watch her eyelids grow heavy as he loved her. He wanted her to give him that seductive smile as he licked the curve of her lips, see the shine of her eyes as she felt him inside her.

  Andrea leaned back against him, eyes closed, as she enjoyed what Sean did. He could open her like this, with his fingers, get her used to being touched, entered. It would take time, and his body wanted him to hurry.

  Too bad. I’m savoring this.

  Andrea wriggled her hips, much as she had the night she and Sean had patched up Ronan in the bar’s office. Then as now, she gave him a sly look and repeated, “Is that where you keep your sword, or are you just happy to see me?”

  Sean nipped her ear. “Andy-love, don’t play with fire.”

  “Why not? It’s fun.” The word ended on a gasp and a groan as Sean slid a second finger inside her.

  The panties were cute but too much in the way. Sean eased his fingers out, trying not to groan when he heard her disappointed whimper, and snagged his hands through the elastic. He slid the panties down and off, then decided to stay there, on his knees, on eye level with Andrea’s sweet little ass.

  Not for long, because Andrea turned to face him. She was beautiful. Her waist nipped in above curved hips, and her tummy rose and fell as she took a nervous breath. Sean blew softly on the black ringlets awaiting him between her thighs, the curls already damp with her wanting.

  “Spread your legs a little for me,” Sean whispered. “That’s my girl.”

  Andrea gripped the counter while Sean nuzzled her, her feet sliding apart. Sean leaned into her and let himself feast.

  She tasted so damn good. Andrea, my mate. Salty and smooth, sweet and tart, a mixture of tastes that was all her own. And she belonged to Sean. No male had touched her or tasted her, only Sean. The knowledge spoke to primal forces deep inside him, the feral Shifter that wanted no other to touch the one he claimed. Long ago, the Fae had bred so much animal into Shifters, and the beast in Sean wanted Andrea.

  He licked her, slowly at first, then speeding his attack as she swayed her hips, little cries leaving her mouth. She furrowed her hands into his hair, hands strong, her body wanting to thrust against him.

  Sean was dying for her, but it would be easier on her if he first brought her to climax, opened her, relaxed her. He could do that for her. And it wasn’t like he didn’t enjoy licking her, tasting her, nipping at the sweet berry that waited for his tongue.

  He felt her body start to open and respond, a basic, hard reaction that erased all thoughts. It began with her drawing a surprised breath, her legs stiffening, her hands clenching at her sides. Then another gasp, followed by a wordless cry. And then Andrea was writhing against Sean, calling his name, hands in his hair, thrusting against his mouth and begging him to do all he wanted.

  Sean obliged, drinking her sweet cream. He teased her, tasting her, his mouth pressed hard to her to suckle her. He caressed her thighs, cradled her tight buttocks, loving the smooth feel of her skin.

  Finally Sean tilted his head back, satisfied, and looked up at her. She gazed down at him, face soft with release, red lips parted.

  “Sean,” she whispered brokenly.

  Sean got slowly to his feet, letting his hands run up her body as he rose. He finished by cupping her face in his hands, then leaning down and kissing her mouth.

  The kis
s was deep, and she opened for him, even though his lips were still wet with her. Sean ran his hands down her back, lifted her to him, kept on kissing her. He was rock hard for her, but he still wore the briefs, and rubbing against her was not relieving the pressure.

  Sean broke the kiss, traced her cheek with his thumb. “I want to finish this.”

  Andrea nodded, as though it weren’t even a question.

  She felt her feet leave the ground as Sean lifted her into his arms. He was strong, never faltering as he went up the stairs.

  Damn, this was dangerous. Knowing Sean could make her feel like that took away Andrea’s power. She’d wanted him before, to explore his body, to discover him, to touch and tease. Now Sean had turned the tables, letting her know he could mold her like clay any time he wanted to. All he had to do was touch Andrea, and she’d do anything he asked.

  She couldn’t lose herself like this. But she found no words to deny him as he carried her into her bedroom and laid her on the bed.

  Sean didn’t wait to close the curtains or shut the door or make small talk. He stripped off his briefs and let them fall, red letters flashing on black fabric.

  He didn’t hide his wanting either. As Sean climbed onto the bed, Andrea couldn’t stop herself from closing her hand around his thick, hard cock.

  Sean stopped, his eyes flicking to white blue. “I don’t think you want to do that, lass.”

  In answer, Andrea squeezed. Sean always brought out the playfulness in her, the teasing that Lupines loved.

  She licked her lips as Sean groaned. “Why shouldn’t I, Seanie? You had so much fun with me.”

  “That was different. I was readying you to take me.”

  “I see.” Andrea formed a teasing pout. “It had nothing to do with making me feel ...” She squeezed again. “Like that?”

  Sean took a sharp breath. “Well, maybe it had something to do with that.”

  “Besides, aren’t I readying you?”

  “No, you’re torturing the hell out of me.”

  “Poor little alpha,” Andrea said softly. “Can’t handle one of your pride?”

  Sean scraped her hair back with a strong hand. “You’re not in my pride. Yet. And I don’t want to handle you. I want to mate with you.”

  She pretended to look startled. “Golly, there’s a difference?”

  “Dad tries to handle Glory. See how well that works?”

  Andrea ran her foot up the back of Sean’s leg. “Maybe wolf-girls don’t like to be leashed.”

  Sean’s answering growl shuddered excitement through her. His eyes were white, pupils flicking to slits, the Feline in him aroused.

  She smiled up at him, ran her finger down his nose. “Tomcat. What are you going to do with your little bad wolf?”

  His growl strengthened. Sean was losing control, and instead of that terrifying her, Andrea wanted to laugh. Who said Sean could steal all her power?

  She let her fingers drift across his cheek, which was flushed and hot. “I’m ready.”

  Sean’s hand was hard as he stroked it around her breast. “Be sure, love. I’m big.”

  “Bragger.”

  “’Tis true. And you’re not fully Shifter.”

  Shifters were larger—in all ways—than human males. Kim had told Andrea that salient fact, along with measurements. Eleven inches was common. Female Shifters, according to Glory, were built to accommodate, but Andrea was part Fae, her build more slender than that of most Shifter women. But Kim had learned to accommodate Liam—even without the obvious evidence of her pregnancy, the noise those two made next door proved it.

  “I’m willing to give it a shot.” Andrea lifted her foot, toes teasing the back of Sean’s thigh up to his buttocks.

  The movement opened her to Sean, and his tip slid straight in. Andrea stopped laughing, her breath speeding at the feel of him inside her. Only a few inches inside her, but she already wanted more.

  She rubbed her foot on his thigh, encouraging him. His size was surprising but also exciting. What would it feel like when he was all the way in?

  “Sean. Please.”

  His eyes were his wildcat’s, no trace of the human left. But he softened his touch, gently kissing her lips as he slid his way into her wet and open passage.

  Andrea’s head went back on the pillow, her thoughts scattering. Sean was hard and hot, heavy on her, and yet, he touched her with such tenderness that her eyes filled with tears.

  “Andrea, love.” Sean closed his eyes on a groan as he slid in. He opened them again, the dark blue returning as he looked at her. “I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as you.”

  Andrea tried to answer, but only a groan came out of her mouth. She lifted herself against him, using her legs to pull him in and in.

  It didn’t hurt. Not exactly. Kim had told her that the first time for human females could be painful and about the hymen, a barrier that had to be broken. As far as Andrea knew, Shifter women had no such barrier. Shifters had been bred to mate, and anything that kept them from that had been left out of their physiology.

  But Sean stretched her, entering a place that had never been touched. Andrea’s heart soared. Sean had rescued her, making sure that her first time was with a male like him—a hard-bodied, protective, beautiful male who cared about her. Who cared about her.

  “Sean.” She loved saying his name, and this was a heartfelt cry of joy.

  He was all the way in. Andrea opened her eyes, stared right back into his.

  “Andy-love,” Sean rasped. “I don’t know if I can do this slowly. I don’t want to be hurting you.”

  “I’m pretty strong, Sean Morrissey,” she whispered.

  “You are, but so am I. Stronger.”

  More excitement. “Let’s see what happens.” To emphasize her point, Andrea leaned forward and bit his neck.

  Sean growled. His eyes flicked from blue to Shifter, back to dark blue again. “You asked for it, love.”

  She had. And she loved it. Sean slid almost all the way out of her and then firmly back in, Andrea’s body opening for the stroke. He stayed all the way in for a few seconds, stretching her wonderfully, then he drew back and did it again. And again.

  Andrea lost coherence. She held on to him with both hands, one leg wrapped firmly around his thigh, and gave in to ecstasy as she met his thrusts with her own.

  They didn’t hold back. Sean stroked into her again and again, and Andrea cried his name and begged with her body for him to give her more.

  The bed scraped against the floor, but it didn’t matter. There was no one downstairs to hear, no one in the world but herself and Sean. He was big, he was hard, and she loved every inch of him.

  Sean gave up trying to go slowly. After a while, they were riding each other, bodies arching and moving together in a rhythm so perfect that Andrea knew her entire life had been hurtling her toward this wonderful moment.

  When she started to climax, she looked straight at Sean. What she saw looking back at her were Sean’s dark blue eyes, intense under black brows, pupils widening as he rode her.

  Andrea couldn’t look away. His dominant gaze held her, pinned her, and yet, it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. He was looking straight into her heart. Something inside Andrea started to sing, like a violin string that had been out of tune suddenly tightened and made right.

  The vibration warmed her heart, warmed her entire body. She tingled with it, and it poured out of her mouth in her cries of excitement, threatened to flow from her eyes as tears.

  Sean shouted her name. He held her gaze as he started to climax, and Andrea couldn’t look away. Sean was buried deep inside her, his thrusts generating little shocks as they locked together.

  Shifters mated for life. He was part of Andrea now, as he scalded her inside, his body loving hers. At last Sean squeezed his eyes shut, breaking the gaze, and threw back his head with a fierce, lionlike snarl.

  Mine, the Shifter in him was saying, and the Shifter in Andrea answered.

/>   Mine. My mate. My love.

  The mate bond. It twined around her heart, tightening as Sean opened his eyes and looked down at her again, his face softening in his pleasure.

  The mate bond would fetter her far tighter than Sean’s mate-claim or the claim Jared had tried to put on her. It was a bond of Andrea’s own making, and she knew she’d never escape it.

  Instead of anger or fear, Andrea’s heart spread warmth through her. She wrapped her arms around Sean and pulled him down to her, burying herself in his heat, feeling joy.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The sword was calling to her.

  Andrea lay still in the moonlight, listening, wondering whether she were dreaming. Sean’s arm was heavy around her, pinning her in his sleep.

  The words weren’t English. They were liquid sounds, flowing like music. Andrea had never learned the language of Faerie, or the Celtic or Gaelic that Shifters from Ireland and Scotland knew. She wasn’t even certain that what she heard was a language at all.

  The sword was downstairs still, yet she had no doubt that the whispers that snaked into her mind came from it. The sound was tinged with silver, though practical Andrea knew sound had no color. This one seemed to.

  Andrea carefully slid out from under Sean’s arm, shivering as her skin met the cold air. Sean frowned in his sleep as she left the bed, but he didn’t wake.

  Andrea moved softly down the stairs, knowing the house was empty. The rooms were dark, no lights to betray her to anyone walking by outside.

  The sword was in the living room, lying across a table like a sentinel, an oblong cross in its plain sheath. The runes on the sheath and hilt glowed faintly in the moonlight.

  The whispers increased as Andrea approached, the sounds more rapid. Andrea folded her arms across her chest, certain she didn’t want to touch it.

  Bring it to me, the Fae man had said. He’d stood out there under the trees, tall and beautiful in his shimmering armor, his eyes dark gray, almost black. Bring me the Sword of the Guardian. It is the most important thing you will ever do.