As if he read her thoughts, he tangled a hand through her hair, holding tight enough to sting a bit, but not hurt. Shivers ran through her, tapping into a place a little bit dark. And that was okay because with him, the darkness was safe.
She knew it was when they were so connected, when she let go this way, that her magic would seep through her pores, filling the air. It had never happened with anyone else. The warmth of it washed over her, swirling around them both.
Dimly, she heard his intake of breath, felt the change in the grip in her hair. His control slipped, delighting her. He was close.
The hands in her hair began to guide her more as he thrust, at first haltingly, and then, he gave up the reins and let himself go. He’d never hurt her, not as a man, not as a cat, they both knew it and so he let go, rolling his hips, his breathing coming faster.
“So good. This is, fuck, fuck, fuck.” He pressed deep as she breathed through her nose and reveled in the sensuality of that moment, of the raw heat of the way he filled her, filled her senses in every way.
He let go and went to his knees in front of her, embracing, skin to skin, his hands sliding into her hair again. His mouth found hers and locked on. Sure, aggressive, his tongue swept over her lips, and she let him in, opened her mouth and he groaned, the rumble sliding down her throat.
A quick yank of her hair and her head tipped back, exposing her throat. She went still, limp, submitting, and the sound he made was more cat than man, a growling grumble that echoed through her bones straight to her clit.
His tongue swept down her neck. She nearly came when he stopped where neck met body. He was going to bite her, mark her again. A whimper, not of fear, but of need, slipped through her lips and he braced one arm around her waist, holding her there.
Electric pleasure, brilliant shards of it, burst through her as he bit down. An orgasm, cell deep, rolled from pussy to her scalp as she cried out, holding him to her, her nails digging into his biceps.
The grumble he gave as he released her from the bite was nearly a purr, utterly satisfied predator.
She was still panting from the bite when he laid her back on the entryway floor and loomed over her, parting her thighs with his body. He licked over each nipple until she panted, not even bothering to stop the entreaties for him to continue downward.
“Please, if you don’t put your mouth on my pussy I’m going to die.”
He chuckled against her nipple for a moment but after a hard nip of sharp, white teeth, he obliged, kissing and licking downward. Thank God he didn’t tease, instead he gave her a long lick, swirling his tongue around her clit before sucking it into his mouth. His hands held her thighs open as he set about eating her pussy until she shook from head to toe.
Her muscles, just moments before, had been fluid, relaxed after the bite, but now they tightened, reaching for peak, readying for climax and when it hit, the breath whooshed from her, her spine arching, leaving the floor beneath her back. On and on it went until she went limp.
He laughed, kissing her belly. “You taste so good. Come on, lazy witch, let’s cuddle on the couch for a bit.” He picked her up easily and she snuggled into his body, the heat from his skin comforting. The grumbling purr returned as they settled in, her still in his lap, his arms around her body, cradling.
She’d been alone for a very long time and he’d come, just when she was sure she’d be that way forever. He took one look and there wasn’t any way he wouldn’t have her. The rush of that, of the attentions of a man like Galen, had made her giddy, even as they’d started a flirtation of sorts.
He hadn’t touched her for months. Instead, he called her, wrote her letters and cards as he traveled with his favorite brother, Armando. They’d left two weeks after she met him, on a trip to Spain to visit family. He’d sent her postcards with colorful stamps, the precise handwriting bringing a thrill to her every time she opened her mailbox.
By the time he came back, something had taken root, something so deep neither of them had ever questioned it. The first time they made love, hell, the first time they fucked, it had left them both with scratches, bruises and her a bite on her inner thigh. They’d lain in his big bed panting for breath as the sun rose. She’d never left and he made sure she knew he never wanted her to.
“You’re thinking.” He said it with his lips against her temple, she felt the curve of his smile on her skin.
“I was thinking about the postcards you sent me from Seville, of the pink and orange stamps bearing the faces of long-dead kings.” She still had them. Every single letter and card he’d ever sent her lived in her top drawer.
“It was hard for me to leave once I’d met you. I knew what you were to me that first night we met. But when I returned and you stood there waiting on the other side of the customs area, I knew you felt it too.”
“You think I’d have just let some hot Spaniard slash Jamaican get away? I hadn’t even kissed you yet, hadn’t seen you naked, though I sure as hell thought about it every five minutes. I had to snap you up before some ho got to you first.”
He laughed, holding her tighter.
“Thank God for that. You protected my virtue, babe.”
“It needed protecting apparently. That is, if the looks I’ve been getting for years are any indication of how friendly you were with the ladies before I came along. Men too.” Some women would have been put off by that, by the fact that Galen had been with both men and women before he met her. She just found it hot.
He never gave her any reason to feel like he wasn’t satisfied with her so why should she be threatened? Shifters had a totally different attitude about sexuality; many of them considered themselves bisexual and they loved where they found that connection. She’d met many of his former lovers but they all knew the difference between what they’d had with Galen and what she had with him. As long as none of them ever messed with that, whoever he was naked with before she came along had nothing to do with her.
“I sampled a few flowers until I found the right one,” he teased.
They snuggled for a while longer, until the sun disappeared and long shadows painted the walls.
With a sigh she got up and stretched. “Want some tea?” She padded toward the kitchen to light the burner under the kettle.
“Yes please.”
She touched the mark on her neck, pressing just a bit, enjoying the soreness.
“Got carried away,” he said, putting his shirt over her shoulders. His expression was one of utter satisfaction and she had to laugh.
“I’m not complaining.” She paused, watching him move around the room, totally comfortable in his nakedness. “You want to talk? About the Jack situation?”
“What is he to you, Renee?”
“I don’t know,” she answered truthfully as she scooped loose tea into the cache within the ceramic pot before pouring the boiling water in. “I think he’s not someone to me, but to us. There’s this pull between us. More than attraction. I see gorgeous men every day, Boston’s full of them. No, it’s something else. But when you came in, when the three of us touched? Something happened and I don’t know what it was. I just know that I’ve been on edge, waiting for something and I think he’s it. What, I just can’t say.”
She put two mugs out and turned back to him. “But I need to say again that I’m not going anywhere. You and I are solid. I’m with you forever, no escaping for you, mister.”
He leaned against the counter and she couldn’t help but notice his cock showing some signs of life as she bent to grab the sugar. “Why would I want to escape this? A sexy witch who makes me tea and fills out my shirts in a way I’m certain to remember when I’m in court and I have to hold my briefcase in front of my lap? Sounds pretty fucking perfect to me.”
She put sugar in his tea, one heaping spoonful because he was a sugar-whore. “Cookie? I made gingersnaps
.”
“Mmmm, makes me want to fuck you right here and now.”
“Clearly I underestimated how much you like ginger.” She winked and put some cookies on a plate and poured his tea.
“Back to the Jack thing. I agree we need to hear him out, to see what he’s got to say. I’m intrigued enough to follow this up some. If we don’t like whatever he proposes, we kick his ass out.” He shrugged. “No harm done in either case.”
She hoped so.
Jack walked up the block. Without really looking at the address, he knew the way. Her scent hung on the air, calling to him. He only lived about five blocks over from their street, had passed this way hundreds of times while jogging or heading to the library.
His experience with her, and with Galen earlier that day, had shaken him deeply. He’d left and walked aimlessly for an hour before ending up at home, looking at the phone, looking at his computer, walking through the space he’d never thought felt empty before and today it did.
He raged about that as he’d paced. He didn’t want this, whatever it was. Had never imagined he’d have to share his mate. And it was clear that was the choice with her. It wouldn’t be some situation where the cat came around to see her from time to time. This male was intertwined with her. Whatever else he may feel, he could see the connection between Renee and Galen from the moment Galen had walked into the shop.
Cats didn’t have the same sort of mate bond as wolves, yes, but he’d seen the mark on Renee’s neck, knew that wasn’t casual, knew she had imprinted on the cocky jaguar as he so clearly had with her. Jack also understood, though he hadn’t known her long, his mate was not a woman who made shallow allegiances.
He hated that connection. And yet, it made him crave her even more. Loyalty was an important quality as far as Jack was concerned. To have a woman like that at his side, a woman who placed value on people and her relationships with them, was powerfully alluring.
He wanted to talk to Grace about it, but there was enough complicated emotional stuff between them and he didn’t need what she would offer. She was his friend and, yes, she wanted what was best for him, but there was jealousy when he’d spoken of Renee earlier that day, enough to put his guard up. Jack needed to talk to someone who would know what he felt, what he was up against.
So he’d picked up the phone and called Gabe Murphy, an old friend who now had a tri-mate bond with another man and woman. Instead of being an anchor bond to a mated couple, Gabe had ended up mated with both Tracy Warden and the male she’d already bonded with, Nick Lawrence. If anyone could give him advice, it would be Gabe.
He listened to Jack explain the situation so far.
“I can only answer for me, Jack. I didn’t go into the negotiations where I met Nick and Tracy thinking I’d end up in a permanent ménage. But the magic is the magic, right? There’s nothing to say when you’re up against that.” He paused for a long moment. Knowing Gabe was a man of few words, Jack waited until he found the right ones and finally continued.
“What is it you want? You know she’s your mate. You know she’s imprinted with a cat, which means she’s married to him. You can find another woman, you know that too. You haven’t claimed her so there’s nothing more than attraction holding you to her right now.”
Jack shook his head and groaned, knowing he couldn’t be heard doing that. “No. It’s more than that. More than attraction. It’s like...it’s more like all the potential is there, welling up between us. All the what-can-be draws me to her like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I don’t want that with anyone else. I’m... I can’t explain it, but I know I’d never have this with anyone but her.”
Gabe laughed. “The first time I saw Tracy I couldn’t quite understand why I’d be looking twice. She was so beyond not my type. But once I touched her, once I touched Nick, it just changed. I know what you’re saying, Jack, because I’ve felt it. I know it. Yes, you can, and you would have a happy life with another female next year or in five years when you found her. But she’s not Renee and Renee is what you want and who you’re meant to be with. And if you’re meant for her, it means you’re meant for Galen too. It’s not like you haven’t been with men and from how you’re talking, they both sound pretty easy to look at.” Even though Jack couldn’t see Gabe, he knew his friend shrugged.
“It’s not a date. Yeah he’s hot and yes, I’m attracted to him too. It’s a lot to take on, a man and a woman? Another shifter with their own rules. It’s going to be hard to work out.”
Gabe snorted. “Don’t lecture me on what it is or isn’t, asshole. I live it. It won’t be easy all the time. But Tracy and Nick are worth it to me. Our children are worth it. Fate brought you this gift in these two people. Of course, as you well know, fate’s a tricky thing. But if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”
“You know, I’m about done with all this complicated life lesson shit. You know? I’ve done my time.” Jack pushed out of the chair he’d dropped into just moments before to begin the walk to the front windows and back, over and over.
“I’ve never known you to be a quitter, Jack. Or a whiner. Life’s handed you some challenges, yeah? So what? You think that makes you special? You got out. No matter how you got there, no matter what you endured, you live in an expensive condo with a view of the river. You have people who love you, people who care and now you’ve found your mate. So it’s not easy and that sucks and all. But you have this thing we are bred to crave. She’s right there within your reach. So grab, or don’t, but don’t you fucking why me over it.” Of all the people walking the earth, only three would have ever spoken to him that way and walked away without some damage. Gabe was one.
He was right too.
So Jack found himself standing there, hand resting on the ironwork decorating the top of the short brick wall framing the front of the brownstone. He heard laughter, scented garlic and the sharp bite of greens.
Their door gleamed, beckoning his hand as he rapped, using the old-fashioned knocker fastened to the shiny red wood.
He heard the laughter as she approached, knew her footfalls as she descended an inner staircase. And then she was before him, her smile tentative but genuine and he knew, trouble or not, that he’d cleave himself to this woman until he drew his last breath.
“I’m glad you found us without any trouble. Come in.” She stood back and waved him in, the bracelets on her wrist catching the yellow glow from the streetlamp just feet away.
The front hall was invitingly warm. Hardwood floors with richly colored rugs led into the heart of the house. “It was a duplex. Galen and I bought it and rented out the other half for a year. And then we thought it would be nice to expand, use the whole space so we started a remodel that following spring.”
She held her hand out for his coat, which he gave to her keeping. A slice of her belly flashed as she stretched to hang it. When she turned, her mouth had crept up on one side into a saucy smile.
“It’s beautiful. You two must have worked pretty hard to get it this nice.”
“We learned an awful lot about sanding and stains and how to lay tile. I figure if the law ever turns into a bust, I can lay floors.” Galen strolled out. Renee looked to him and there it was, the warmth of their connection as it flowed between them.
He stood on the edge, just outside the glow they made.
Renee reached out, touching his hand with a fingertip. The jolt he felt wasn’t static electricity. It was connection of the metaphysical and magical kind. “Would you like to come through for a drink? I’ve just made a batch of margaritas. Galen made some snacks you shouldn’t miss. He’s a really great cook.”
Galen put an arm around Renee, kissing her quickly before turning his attention to Jack again. “Come on in, let’s talk.”
If the hall and the rooms he skirted past had been lovely, the kitchen was a monument to people who loved to cook. He k
new he must have looked like a total hick, but he couldn’t seem to stop the openmouthed wonder propelling him through the large room. The center island had a large indoor grill and double sinks. Another range, with a huge oven and a built-in microwave, dominated another wall. The fridge, a gleaming Sub-Zero, made him weak in the knees.
“This is, Christ, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a kitchen this fabulous. Not in person anyway. This is magazine-spread stuff.” Jack turned in a circle, stopping when Renee pressed a chilled margarita glass into his hand.
“Galen loves to cook these big fancy meals. I love to eat them. It’s a good thing.”
Galen waved a hand at the nearby table. “Sit down, Jack. If you’re hungry, please do have something.”
Well this was awkward.
But hot damn did he look good there sitting at their kitchen table. Gah, why! Why did he look good and why was she noticing this way?
She busied herself, filling a plate with the delicious little appetizers Galen made like they were toast instead of mini gourmet miracles. Maybe if she kept her mouth full of food, she could avoid saying something bad.
Great googly moogly this was good. She grabbed another few little turnover dealies and tried not to shove them all in her mouth at once.
Galen watched, amused and proud she liked what he’d prepared so much.
“Okay, okay, so I never claimed to have any self-control when it comes to anything deep fried or in pastry.”
He laughed. “One of the many reasons I love you. When you like things, you really like them.” Cheeky.
She put some bits and pieces on a plate and put it in front of Jack. She’d already done that for Galen.
Jack nodded his thanks. “I don’t even know where to start. My resume? I’m healthy, Enforcer in the National Pack. In my Pack, two wolves share the second in command position—Enforcer and Mediator. I don’t know if you know about how Packs work. Single. Forty. Boston born and bred. I feel like I’m babbling, I guess I am. I don’t normally babble. I’ve been told I’m scary and smooth and all that jazz.” Jack stopped speaking to take a bite.