“Mmmmm,” she murmured inarticulately. She’d been about to say it was a waste of good Godiva chocolate but she changed her mind when his tongue swirled around her areola to taste it and her too.
“You’ve got some moves on you, I must say.”
“You’re troublesome, aren’t you?” He scraped the edge of his teeth over her nipple and she sighed, arching into him.
“Am I supposed to…oh yes right there…pretend that you haven’t been a rake, a rogue, a bounder?”
She felt his lips curve up into a smile, his mouth still on her nipple. “In any case…oh god yes…I think I quite appreciate all those years of preparation to please me.”
“Are you always this full of shit?” he asked, kissing across her chest to her other breast.
“I am,” she assured him. “It’s a comfort to you, I’m sure, to give up the fast lane and the fast women with their designer clothes, big breasts and long legs.” She reached down with a hand slick with the oil he’d put in the water and slid her palm up and down his cock idly as she spoke.
“My darling, there are no other women.” And he meant it.
She laughed, throaty and sexy, and he pulled her into his lap, astride him. “There’d better not be. Because the freckles may fool you, but I’d kill you if you strayed.” Her lips curved up on the left and created a devastating dimple.
“Oh, you dirty talker, you.” He gasped as she reached back and positioned him. Instead of thrusting up into her he picked her up, sitting her on the side of the tub, standing and stepping out.
“No, not yet. I want to see you stretched out on our bed, looking down at me as I taste you.”
Smiling to himself at the way her eyes had widened and then gone half-lidded at his statement, he dried himself quickly and turned back to help her dry off. “I’ve put us in the guest room for the night while our bedroom airs out. Is that all right?”
She grabbed the champagne and the glasses and nodded. “More than all right. Thank you, Nick.”
He pushed open the door to a smaller but still very nicely decorated bedroom. She moved past him, putting the stuff down on the bedside table, tossing her towel over a chair. His soon joined it.
“I’m sorry about that, you know,” he said, pushing her back on the mattress.
She put a finger over his lips. “Don’t. It’s all right. You didn’t know. I think there are better things to think about than that, don’t you?”
He nodded and sucked her finger into his mouth, tongue swirling around it until she gasped. He slowly pulled back and leaned in, lips close to hers. “Earlier I showed absolutely no finesse and I’m appalled at that. To think that our first time together was so fast. I think I need to show you what you can look forward to every day for the rest of your life.”
She rose up and licked over his lips. “Go on with your bad self. But it wasn’t fast. It was hot. And fevered. And oh my god I can’t help myself I have to fuck you so back against the wall now. And that, my darling, isn’t fast, that’s divine.”
“Put that way, I may be able to live with it. But let’s see what I can do about easing your condition.” His hand slid down and agile fingers found her pussy. “Oh, darling, you seem to be very wet.”
She knew there was a saucy remark in her somewhere, but damned if she could move her lips to say it. Instead her head fell back to the pillows and she widened her thighs in invitation.
Rising over her, he placed a trail of kisses over her collarbone. He took his time, leisurely moving, breathing her in, committing each inch of her skin to memory. Her pulse beat frantically beneath his lips when he kissed the hollow of her throat.
He continued on, kissing down her chest and over each perky pink nipple. He vowed to get her some pretty rings with diamonds hanging from them, maybe even pink diamonds to match those damned delicious little nipples.
A gasp broke from her as she arched into him when he took the ring between his teeth, sending shivers down his spine. Her nipples hardened and stabbed into his mouth and palm. He kissed and nibbled and licked until all she could do was writhe and make whispered entreaties.
Leaving her nipples behind, he kissed down the curve and over each rib, stopping to flick his tongue around her navel, and he settled himself between her thighs.
Spreading her smooth, bare pussy open, he looked his fill. So pretty, glistening pink. Her clit was hard and swollen and he moved closer to give it a lick. Her taste shocked him. He had to close his eyes for a moment as it careened through his body. She was perfect, tangy and salty and fresh—his. It was like she was written into his system, like a basic operating language, and everything in his life just clicked into place.
He watched as he traced the furls of her pussy with a fingertip and slid inside. Another finger and a third squeezed in and she was rolling her hips and gasping his name.
His mouth covered her, devoured her and his ears were greedy for her gasps, for the sound of her nails clutching at the sheets. Her juicy flesh swelled for him and he hooked his fingers and stroked that sweet spot over and over again until she reared up, back bowed, thighs clamped over his ears and screamed her climax.
On and on she rode it, body electric with pleasure until at last it left her boneless and she fell back against the bed and her thighs dropped, freeing him.
Her face was satisfied and serene when he looked up at her.
“That was quite nice,” she said, a smirk on her lips.
“Yeah? Well, I’ve got a few more tricks in my bag. You still with me?”
“Oh yes, dazzle me.”
He moved up her body until he was nose to nose with her. “There you are,” he murmured and she reached up to kiss him.
“Never far away. You planning on doing anything with that wonderfully thick cock? Like say, putting it into me?”
“Like this?” he asked as he thrust into her to the root in one hard movement.
Her back bowed and her legs wrapped around his waist. “That’ll do quite nicely.”
They were nearly the same height so they stayed nose to nose while he began to move into her. Their eyes remained locked and it felt like she saw into his very soul. He felt exposed and wondered if she’d like what she saw there.
Her body embraced him, pulled him back each time he pulled out, she was so tight and hot that he felt like he’d lose his mind. He wanted to crawl into her and curl up. She was long and lean with a nice ass and it felt like she was made for him, to be beneath him, to receive his body this very way.
When she tightened her vaginal muscles around his cock he grunted and his balls pulled tight against his body. She rolled her hips up to meet his thrusts.
“Baby, touch yourself. Make yourself come around my cock.”
He watched her hands as she pressed her breasts together and pulled on the rings on her nipples. He moaned as he felt the ripple of her pussy around him and saw the way she’d caught her bottom lip between her teeth.
Down one hand went, moving between them, and he felt her pull her honey up and around her clit.
“Tell me how it feels.”
“Good,” she gasped. “My clit is so hard and your cock is so hard and you’re filling me up. You make me so wet. Fuck me, Nick. Come inside me and mark me. Make me yours.”
Holy crap, the woman was so sexy it made his head hurt. His wolf was rolling through him, pressing against hers. His climax was building and suddenly it hurtled through him, the impact shocking and mind-numbing.
His head went back and a howl of her name ripped from his lips. Dimly, he felt her come beneath him, their bodies moving in and toward and away and against the other over and over until he collapsed.
“Ungh,” she mumbled and he nodded, his head on her shoulder.
* * * * *
She awoke some hours later to find herself alone in bed and sat up slowly, stretching. Grabbing a robe that she found hanging on the back of the door, she went out in search of him.
He was in his office, on the phone. She hear
d his end perfectly. Her hearing was good enough to catch part of the other end of the call and she stood there, wanting to scream.
“I don’t know. I still care about you, but now that she’s here it’s not as strong. I love her. She’s my mate.”
“…love you still…not me…”
“No, she’s not you. She’s different. I’m sorry I called you. I just wanted to share this with you. But I see that it’s hard for you and not fair to her.”
Tracy stood in the doorway, waiting.
“I need to get back to bed.”
“…skinny…eyebrow!…”
“This isn’t…” he ran a frustrated hand through his hair, “I need to go. I’ll see you tomorrow night. Or I guess tonight.”
The woman on the other end said something else and Nick sighed and hung up. He put his head down but looked up when he heard her move.
“Tracy,” he began, seeing her there.
“Sarah.” She said it simply.
“I…”
“Fuck you, Nick. God damn it. Fuck you and fuck her!”
“It’s not what you think.” He stood up and walked toward her and she scrambled backward, hand out to ward him off. He stopped, hurt. “Don’t run from me. Do you think I’d hurt you?”
“You already did, you bastard. You and that blonde bitch. God, how stupid am I? I come in here and your bed reeks of another woman’s pussy! I should have known. I saw the way she looked at you.”
“Shelley has nothing to do with this.”
Incredulous, Tracy picked up a book on the table near where she was standing and hurled it at his head. “No, you stupid asshole! That bitch Sarah, not your fuck buddy.”
“Hey!” He batted the book away. “Nothing happened between me and Sarah. I just wanted to share this with her.”
“You called someone else’s wife at,” she craned her neck to see the clock, “four in the morning, Nick! I heard her, I’m skinny? My brow ring offends her? Fuck her! Her talking to my mate when he should be in bed with me offends me!”
“She wasn’t serious. It’s hard for her.”
“Oh you are not making excuses for her to me, are you? I thought you said you had a lot of experience with women. Here’s a clue, don’t defend her to me if you want to keep your head.”
“I’m not defending her. I’m her anchor. For the last few years I’ve been sort of her husband too. Platonic. Nothing has happened between us since the tri-bond. But it’s intense. A part of me loved her, felt mated to her.” He took a step closer. “Until you. Tracy, the moment I touched you that bond, or that part of it, weakened. She’s my sister-in-law and I’m her anchor and in that way, we’ll still be close. But I love you.”
She shook her head. “You said it yourself, Nick. I’m not her. And I wouldn’t want to be. And I don’t want to be with you knowing that when you close your eyes you’re thinking of her.”
“You aren’t her. That’s not an insult! You’re different. You’re full of life and you have an edge and you’re more independent and you’re stronger in a lot of ways. And I love you. I swear to you that when I close my eyes I see you. When my eyes are open I see you. Why can’t you believe me?”
“Because you left a bed with me in it to call her.”
He took a step toward her and she moved back and he growled at her. “Don’t. Tracy, my wolf is so close to the surface right now. Please, don’t hold yourself back from me.”
“I don’t want you to touch me.”
He closed his eyes. “This isn’t the way it’s supposed to go.”
“Oh, should I stand there and look vacant like Sarah? Would that be amenable to you?”
“Can we stop this and work things out please? We’re in the same Pack, she’s your Alpha.”
“Not if I don’t join your Pack. Right now my Alpha is Cade Warden and Cascadia is looking better and better by the second.”
He froze. “What? You’re not being rational. I’m sorry I hurt you. I woke up and wanted to share this with someone. I was happy, damn you! I wanted to call someone who is my best friend to share it with her. She’s up early because she does financial analysis and gets up with the markets in New York.”
“And yet, your best friend talked smack about me and you what? Lost your tongue? If anyone spoke ill of you I’d have cut them off at the knees.”
“She’s jealous, damn it! She doesn’t mean it. She likes you and she wants me to be happy. And you make me happy. Or you do sometimes when you’re not insane. Tracy, you’re my mate.”
“Well, I don’t like her. And I don’t like you leaving me to call her. And I don’t like you not defending me. And I don’t like your fucking apartment with its white carpets and furniture that looks like I can’t sit on it and I want my dog and my family and my business! I have nothing here. No friends, no family, nothing, and you don’t seem to get that.”
“This apartment is perfect for me, Tracy. My gym is just a few blocks’ walk and the Pack offices are half a mile away. All my favorite restaurants are close by.”
She looked at him and shook her head. “You’re unbelievable. You. You. You. This apartment is perfect for you. Your gym is close. Your job is close and let’s not forget your favorite restaurants. Forgive me! Oh and let’s not forget about your best friend. Well, Nick, you can keep your apartment and your best friend and your stupid messed-up Pack. I’m going back to Seattle.”
She turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, Nick on her heels.
He caught up with her, the weight of his body bringing her down to the bed. He remained on top of her, holding her in place. “You’re right! Okay? I’ve been a selfish asshole. You are giving up everything. We’ll buy a house and your dog can come live with us. Don’t leave me, Tracy. Not when I’ve found you. I love you. I want to be with you. Not Sarah. I swear to you. It was never about that. I called to share this thing with her because she has it too and I just wanted to marvel over it.”
She felt his heart pounding against her chest, heard the sincerity in his voice. But it hurt. Hearing that call hurt and she didn’t know what to do about it.
“Please. Baby, let’s work this out. Forgive me.”
He put his forehead on hers and the tears came from her gut with a gasp.
“Oh, love, god, I’ve made you cry. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. How can I make it better? Tell me.”
“I don’t know. How can I trust you? I can’t. And her, I don’t want to be in a Pack with her. I don’t want to be in the same state with her.”
“You can trust me, Tracy. I haven’t violated your trust from the first moment I touched you. Surely you can feel me through the bond. You must know I’m telling you the truth.”
She didn’t know what to think. She did feel a bit on edge and a bit crazy over it. She wanted to hurt Sarah for saying that stuff about her and for trying to undermine her with Nick.
“Perhaps. But you went to her and you stayed silent when she spoke poorly of me. How can I let that be my Alpha? In comparison, well, there is no comparison. Cade is a hundred times better than that. Nina, who is the highest-level female, who outranks me, is not sneaky and cruel. Why would I trade that for your Pack? Why would I trade Cascadia for Pacific?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. But you don’t know her. She was just blowing off steam. She didn’t mean any of it. If I thought she did, I would have said something. If she ever would have said anything negative about you again, I’d definitely defend you. But this whole thing has been an adjustment for everyone. You aren’t anchored to anyone. I can’t explain it to you but certainly, Cade and Nina must be close.”
“Yes. And I’ve seen the way he looks at her and that’s what worries me.”
“Cade isn’t mated yet. When he finds his mate the intensity of his love and desire for Nina will fade. That’s what happened to me. Plus, Cade, Lex and Nina live together. I’ve made it a point to live across the city. I’m trying to be honest with you about all of this.”
His ey
es were earnest and his voice was sincere. She could hear the pain in it at having hurt her as well as being hurt himself.
“Please don’t leave, Tracy. Stay here with me. Love me and let me love you.”
She took a deep breath. “I do love you. That’s why it hurt so much to hear that phone call.”
“If I could redo some of my actions from the last two days, I would. We’d be in my…our bed right now and I wouldn’t have made that call. But I can’t turn back time. All I can do is ask you to hold on with me through all of this so we can continue to move forward and grow together. Because I want you so much. I need you. I love you.”
Reaching up, she sifted fingertips through his hair. “One step at a time. I’m no longer contemplating calling my grandma to ask her if those stories about magic to break a mate bond are true. I want you too. I love you. But I’m not sure about anything past that.”
“What do you mean?” Despite the serious nature of the discussion he was hard and found himself wanting her yet again. Wanting the lovemaking to heal the rift.
“I mean that if I join Pacific I have to pledge an oath to the Pack and to the Alphas and I can’t pledge anything but that I want to pull that fake blonde hair off that bitch’s head.”
“Wow.” He fought a grin. She was so pissed off and jealous. It affected him in a very primal way. She was a vicious little wolf and his wolf liked that.
She rolled her eyes but couldn’t help a little roll of her hips. “Don’t tell me this whole girlfight thing is making you hot.”
“No, it’s not about her. It’s about you being so willing to kick the ass of anyone you think is threatening your bond with me. Which you’re totally wrong about, by the way. I happen to like long, lean, lithe women with tattoos and wicked tempers.”
“Do you think flattery is going to get you out of this?”
He laughed. “You’re a hard case, Tracy. So you won’t kill me in my sleep and you’re willing to stay and be my mate?” He suspected that part of why her feelings were so intense was the lack of the tri-bond. He hoped that after it was in place she’d feel more centered and sure. The idea of him wanting Sarah over her was ludicrous. He was sure he wouldn’t have thought so a week ago, but Tracy cast a deep shadow, there was no comparison.