She knew the feeling. Knowing she couldn’t have him inside her, she had to content herself with running her hands over his chest, his shoulders, his arms, up his thighs and back. The feel of his skin beneath her hands drove her insane. It wasn’t just alluring, it was intoxicating and addictive. The more she touched him, smelled him, saw and kissed him, the more she wanted.
He brought his lips to hers. It wasn’t a kiss, it was a possession, a devastation of her senses. His mouth ate at hers, devoured her, tasted, teased and tortured. His tongue seduced hers with a wet, sinuous slide. He demanded all of her, took all she had to give and more. His teeth nipped at her bottom lip.
His kisses were heady, thick and sweet. She cried her disappointment when he moved from her still tingling lips to the column of her neck and down to her breasts. Bringing his mouth to first one nipple then the other, he looked up into her face. “You taste sweet. You smell like vanilla,” he murmured as she gasped when he bit down.
The same mouth that had drawn her into the maelstrom of his spell with his kisses turned that skill to her breasts. Licking and sucking, gentle scraping of teeth, laving, sweet kisses and sharp ones—the man clearly knew his way around a woman’s body. As he was hers now, Kari felt a certain amount of gratitude instead of jealousy of those women he’d learned on. Having a virtuoso in bed was not something she could complain about.
Writhing beneath his sensual assault, she arched into a gasp when one of his hands skimmed over her mound, the tips of his fingers lightly playing over her labia. Spreading her, he dipped into the folds of her pussy and she sighed in satisfaction. She was so wet it wouldn’t take him two minutes to make her come.
She felt him smile against the skin of her breast when he found her in that state. He moved back with one last flick of his tongue over her nipple. “You can’t know what it does to me to find your pussy drenched and swollen, so ready for me every time I touch you.”
He entered her with a calloused finger and slowly teased her. He moved back to continue to pay homage to her breasts while he traced big circles around her clit, never quite touching it. The one finger he’d slid deep into her pussy teased but didn’t quite satisfy.
She practically wept with need. “Please, please, please.”
He moved down her body and spread her thighs to his gaze, his wide shoulders holding her open the way he wanted. “Please? I love a queen with manners.” He sent her a cocky grin. “Please what? Tell me what you want.”
She blushed. Aside from the occasional “Oh god, harder,” she wasn’t much of a dirty talker, although she did usually make a lot of noise. But he made her feel so deliciously sexy and naughty. “Please make me come.”
“With my mouth on your cunt? Shall I lick you until you scream so loud the entire house knows what I’m doing?”
A dark thrill slid down her spine. “Yes,” she whispered and jerked as his mouth met her pussy and he kissed her, deeply and wantonly, with the same level of devastation he’d shown her lips. “Oh god, yes,” she gasped.
One hand went up to grasp her breast, fingers rolling the nipple. The other hand continued a leisurely pace inside her, a second finger joined the first. His mouth—oh his mouth—found her every sweet spot. He licked through every furl, every fold and dip, he played his tongue over her clit, bringing her up and then backing off until she’d descended a bit, only to start again. He’d pushed her so far she didn’t care that she arched, pressing her pussy into his face. Didn’t care that the noises she made were so loud people in the house couldn’t help but hear them.
He left her helpless to do little more than pant and beg. “Don’t stop, please.” If he did stop, she couldn’t be held responsible for her actions.
She felt her climax building from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. The taste, metallic on her tongue, dripped down her throat. Oh god, it was going to be a big one. The kind that made you scream and bite your lip until you tasted blood.
This time he didn’t stop until orgasm burst through her cells, endorphins flooding her, wrenching her body, back arching off the bed, wantonly pressing herself into his face as she cried out his name.
On and on it went, wave after wave as he would not back off. Each time she felt her orgasm begin to wane, he pressed forward again, flicking his tongue against the underside of her clit, tickling a slick finger over the sensitive flesh of her rear passage, sucking her clit in between gentle teeth. Three more times she came until she finally had to heave up the mattress to escape his mouth.
“It’s too much,” she slurred out, drunk with him.
Taking pity on her, he let her evade him and settled in behind her in bed, wrapping his arms around her and holding her against his body.
“So yeah. That was pretty spectacular, Your Majesty. I may just stick around for the orgasms,” she murmured sleepily. “And I don’t even need a blanket with you around.”
He chuckled into her ear. “Whatever it takes to keep you around, little wolf. I love you too.”
Chapter Five
The morning sun on her face, Kari awoke slowly and stretched. Until her movement was impeded. She was enveloped in something. Oh! Andreas’s arms surrounded her, held her to his very naked, very warm chest. She smiled to herself. The arms of her man. Snuggling back against him, she changed her mind, wanting to see his face. She squirmed, turning over in his arms until she faced him.
He looked peaceful, almost angelic as he slept. His golden hair fell around his face and back. Lips slightly parted, chest slowly rising and falling. He smelled so good. Warm and sleepy and sexy. She kissed around the line of his jaw and laved the dimple of his chin. His arms tightened around her as he started to wake.
“Mmm. This was worth twenty years of looking,” he said into her ear, tonguing the edge and dipping inside until she gasped. “But you should be careful, little wolf. I love a good, hard morning fuck. And look, you’re right here, naked.”
“And oh-so-willing. Stop warning me already and get on with the fucking. But I thought every sperm was sacred?”
A sharp knock and the door starting to open startled them both. Andreas, however, made no move to cover his nakedness.
“Andreas! Are you still sleeping... Oh!” A tall blonde woman barged into the room. Halting near the bed, her eyes widened at seeing Kari there. She smiled. “You must be Kari! I’m Jade, Andreas’s mother. My, you’re more beautiful than they said you were.”
Oh. My. God. She was lying naked up against this woman’s son. Kari felt the heat of a head-to-toe blush.
Jade smiled at her broadly. “Oh, honey, don’t be embarrassed. It won’t be the last time I see you naked. You know wolves and naked, they go hand in hand.” She laughed, bracelets jangling on her wrists.
Kari sat up because Andreas had. She pulled the sheet up when he got out of bed to give his mother a kiss after pulling his boxers on. He turned back toward Kari, his arm around his mother. “Mother, this is Kari. Kari, mon amour, this is my mother, Jade.”
Jade bowed her head and got to her knees. Kari got up then, kneeling on the bed, still clutching the sheet to her chest. “No way, no how. You’re Andreas’s mother! You don’t kneel to me.”
Jade rubbed her forehead along Kari’s thigh. “My life for yours.” She stood up and pulled Kari into an embrace. “Of course I kneel to you. Just as Tomas’s mother kneeled to me and you’ll kneel to your son’s reine someday. It’s the cycle of things. Keep that look on his face and I’ll forever be in your debt.” She started bustling around the room, picking up clothes and folding them, including Kari’s underwear.
“I’m going to shower if that’s okay,” Kari said to Andreas. He leaned down and kissed her forehead.
“Of course. We’ll go downstairs. Come join us when you’re ready.”
“Will everyone have to wait to eat breakfast? I’d prefer not to hurry if I don’t have to.”
He laughed. “It’s nearly eleven, love. I’m guessing that everyone has eaten breakfast by now, so don
’t rush on their account.”
She blushed again and went through the connecting door toward her bathroom. She didn’t emerge until she’d taken a very long, very hot shower.
When she opened the door to the hallway, Phillip was waiting, stretched out in the large chair, feet up on the ottoman, reading a novel. He looked her up and down and smiled. “Green is good on you. Although I hear Jade got to see you naked, which, I’m guessing, looks even better than green. ‘Course, I heard lots of other things last night too.” He grinned wickedly.
A deep blush ran through her as she remembered how loud she had been as Andreas went down on her. “Oh good lord, are you always so full of it?” she teased. And then frowned. “Why are you here? Don’t you know I won’t escape?”
“No, darlin’, it’s not about that. As long as there’s a Gathering and you haven’t sealed the bond and mated with Andreas, I’ll protect you. If I’m not here, Sean or Laurent or Ryan will be. If anything happens, you can go to anyone. Anyone except Johanna or Alex.”
“I know why to avoid Johanna, but why Alex? I only met him last night, but he seemed sincere enough.”
“Alex’s family ruled the Flatlands Clan for a hundred years. It was torn apart under his brother’s reign three years ago and he came here. I think he meant to challenge Andreas but he wasn’t that foolish in the end after all. Still, I don’t like the way he lingered around you when he greeted you. Too familiar.”
“Face in the crotch too long?” she asked and he laughed, nodding.
“It’s good to have you here, Kari.”
She took his arm and let him escort her downstairs, where a large gray-haired man shoved him out of the way.
“Get off, Phillip. This sweet little wolf is mine now,” he growled playfully.
“You’re Tomas, I presume?” she asked, laughing at his antics.
“Yes, but don’t believe all you hear. I may be seventy years old but I’m still hot stuff. Just ask my wife.” He waggled his eyebrows at her, grinning. Tomas was at least six feet tall, and on closer examination, his hair was silver. Not gray but the silver of moonlight. He had a beard and the same broad build that his sons had. The combination of Jade’s beautiful blond good looks and this man’s powerful masculinity had produced some extremely handsome children.
“Seventy! No way. I don’t believe it. You don’t look a day over forty!”
“Oh you chose well, Andreas. This one is a keeper,” he said. Andreas tried to come and take Kari’s hand but Tomas slapped it away. “No, you’ll get her back later on. Now, my sweet queen, are you hungry? Let’s go into the dining room. Anna, who you’ve charmed already I hear, has saved you a sandwich and some fruit. Then we shall go on a walk.” He guided her into the dining room and shoved Sean out of his seat to sit across from her.
Anna came out and when she saw Kari she ran back into the kitchen and brought back a tray filled with food. “Here, little queen, a chicken salad sandwich. One of my specialties. I saved you a piece of cake too. Wash it down with a big glass of milk.” Flitting around Kari, she blushed as Kari thanked her.
“Hey? What about me?” Andreas said.
“Oh don’t pout. There are sandwiches right behind you on the sideboard. I do have some fresh apple cider for you, I’ll be right back.”
Laurent came in and plopped down, munching on an apple, laughing. “Seems as if someone’s been pushed out of the winner’s circle.”
Andreas scowled. Kari tried not to smile as she ate the best-tasting chicken salad sandwich ever made. “You can have half my cake,” she said, grinning at him.
“Feh, cake!”
With a grin, she tossed the last bite into her mouth and gulped down half the glass of milk. She sighed. “It’s good to be queen.” She held out a marzipan apple to Sean, who grabbed it and popped it into his mouth with a grin.
They all burst out laughing, relaxed to see her accept them all so readily.
After wiping her eyes with a napkin, Jade winked at Andreas. “Oh my boy. You’ve found a woman who can keep you in line at last.”
This said right as Johanna came into the room. The temperature dropped twenty degrees as Jade turned and gave Johanna her back. Even Kari could tell it was a snub.
Not that it seemed to stop her. “We missed you on the run last night, Andreas. Don’t worry, you won’t have to babysit your human any more after tonight.” She moved to sit next to Tomas, but Sean stood and growled at her, as did Laurent. Phillip stood behind Kari’s chair, touching her back with his legs.
Kari was tired of this woman. She was normally a patient person who let little get to her but she was done with Johanna’s sour grapes. “What are you doing?” Johanna turned and looked at Kari, holding her gaze. “You’ll lower your gaze now. You show me respect. Your seat is down there.” Kari pointed to the other end of the table.
“Who do you think you are?” Johanna asked her and Sean and Laurent moved to grab her but Kari held out her hand to stay them.
Kari gathered herself up to her full height, still at least three or four inches shorter than Johanna. “I’m your queen. That’s who I am. Now, swallow those sour grapes. He’s mine. He was never yours to begin with. If you have a problem with that, don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out. No one, no one, talks to me the way you just did. If you can understand that, you can stay. If not, get out.”
Andreas stood behind her, a low growl trickling from his lips. Kari felt the coiled-up violence emanating from him. In fact, everyone in the room growled. Kari felt her skin ripple and she looked down and saw her fingers lengthening into claws.
Jade saw it too, eyes widening.
Kari’s head dropped back as a howl ripped up through her throat and out of her mouth in a hot rush. Johanna dropped to her knees and put her forehead on the floor, abasing herself. She backed out of the room, Laurent following, glowering at her.
The tension dropped and just as the claws had come, they left. Kari sat down, inwardly shaken by what had happened to her body. Phillip dropped to his knees and rubbed his face against her thighs and calves. She took a deep breath and stroked his head and shoulders, drawing comfort even as she gave it.
“Kari,” Andreas whispered and she looked to him.
“Are you angry with me? It wasn’t my place to tell her to go. I’m sorry but that woman had to be put in her place.”
He came forward and Phillip moved out of the way as Andreas dropped to his knees before her and put his head in her lap, cradling her waist in his arms. “La reine de loup.” His voice the merest hoarse whisper, he rubbed his face along her breasts, over the hollow of her throat, and ran the top of his head along her jaw. She reached out and caressed his face, bringing his mouth to her own, kissing him by running her lips along his, rubbing them, sliding them back and forth, the friction delicious.
Looking up at the other faces in the room, Kari was touched and surprised to see their expressions held admiration and affection. Jade stood behind Tomas, her arms around his neck, and they beamed at her. One by one, the wolves, her wolves, came to her to bare their necks to her caresses.
* * *
Later, they went for a walk, Kari on one side of her father-in-law, Perri on the other. They strolled along the shore of the lake and he told them stories of his sons’ youth. He showed them where Devon had ridden his bike off the roof and had crashed into the apple tree, cracking his skull open, where Sean had set up his own mad scientist–like lab and had electrocuted himself.
In his office, he brought out ribbons and letters of achievement for all three boys. He showed off Andreas’s trophies for track and field. He’d even kept all of the boys’ report cards, all the way through college—and medical school for Sean. There were scrapbooks and newspaper clippings, the announcements of the births of each son from the local paper. He was a proud father and it seemed utterly foreign but Kari listened happily to the stories he was telling. She didn’t have that growing up, but she was glad Andreas did and she knew her children
would too.
On the way back up to the lodge, Tomas took Kari aside. “What you did today, my dear... I don’t think you understand how extraordinary that was. The first time anyone who is bitten changes, it has to be done at full moon. The power of the moon is the force that brings the wolf and guides the change. You transformed today without that pull. You, by your own power of will, caused your wolf to rise.
“You need to watch yourself tonight. After you fully transform, the change will be like a drug. You’ll be distracted, naturally, but you’ll need to keep an eye on Johanna. I don’t trust her. If she challenges you, don’t waste your time with blooding. Kill her. Now I know that sounds harsh, but you’re not human anymore. You’re more than that. Our ways have served us for a very long time. She’ll kill you if she can and this Pack—my Pack, your Pack—won’t survive if you die. You’re going to bring my grandsons into this world. Males who’ll lead this Pack into the next generations. They’ll be strong and intelligent, unbeatable. Don’t let her steal this because you hang on to human sensibilities in a wolf world.” He kissed her forehead and they caught up to Perri.
Chapter Six
Anticipation built throughout the rest of the day. Admittedly, Kari was nervous about what was to come and Andreas picked up on that, trying to soothe her as he could with touches and caresses and the occasional softly spoken word.
After they’d eaten, Andreas led her upstairs to their bathroom. A soft gasp of surprise left her lips when she saw that the giant claw-footed tub was filled and steam rose into the air above it. Lit candles perched on every available surface.
“Let me help prepare you for your Ascension, my queen.” The way he said it, with reverence and love, left her speechless as he undressed her slowly. Each time he removed a piece of her clothing, he caressed and kissed the skin exposed before moving to the next item. That such a strong man served her so gently touched her and bent her heart to his. If there’d been any doubt in her left about how she felt about Andreas Phinney, it was gone in that moment.