She closed the distance between them and placed her hand on the center of his back. “We have to do something, Shadeau. We can’t let Arik hurt them like that.”
He remained still. She moved her hand up his back then across to his shoulder. The hard muscles beneath her palm stiffened as he sucked in a breath. His scent hung heavy in the air. She swallowed hard, feeling her body responding to his nearness. Her mate. She’d waited what seemed like forever to find him. Why did things have to be so difficult?
Shadeau turned slowly toward her as her fingers trailed up his neck. When her palm touched his cheek he turned his face into her touch. His soft, warm lips kissed her inner wrist. Her nerve endings came alive, eager for more of his touch.
Neither of them spoke as a sensual haze enveloped them. Her breasts felt heavy, and her sex tingled, aching for stimulus. She moved in closer. Slowly his hands went to her hips. Jasmine’s gaze landed on his mouth. She wanted to know what it would be like to kiss him.
He was hers. Yes, they were pitted against each other in this war that had broken out, but it didn’t change what they were to each other. Meeting her mate was supposed to be magical. Instead it had been steeped in death and sorrow. But for one moment, she wanted it to be different. She knew it was selfish, but for this space in time, she wanted it to be about him and her.
Her gaze moved to his. “Shadeau?” she whispered.
His hand came up to cup the side of her face. “You’re so beautiful.”
Jasmine leaned into his hard body. “Kiss me.”
His lips touched hers in a featherlight caress. She parted her lips on a sigh and he swooped in. The kiss quickly turned hot, his tongue stroking hers with expert finesse. She moaned into his mouth as his hand moved from her cheek to the nape of her neck, hand fisting in her hair.
She clawed at his powerful shoulders as his other hand gripped her ass, pulling their lower bodies flush against each other. Her lower lips grew wet in anticipation. His cock, thick and large, prodded her lower belly.
For this moment she wanted to enjoy him. Her destined mate. There problems could very well drive them apart, but for now they were here, together. And his kiss felt better than anything she’d ever experienced. His touch was even more awesome.
Her arms circled his neck and she pressed her aching breasts against his chest. A low growl rumbled, the vibration of it teasing her nipples. He pulled on her hair, lips tearing from hers as he bent her back. His teeth descended to her neck, nipping at her flesh.
“Yes,” she breathed.
His hand came away from her bottom and landed on her breast, kneading the soft mound gently. She whimpered, bowing her back into his touch. Sensation coursed from her nipple down her abdomen and pulsated in her pussy. He touched her the way she wanted to be touched. Tweaked her nipple with just the right amount of force to have her sinking her claws in him.
“So sexy,” he growled.
She swiveled her hips against him, her needy cunt wanting attention. He released a sexy laugh then ran the tip of his tongue up her neck.
“Slow down, sweetness. I plan on enjoying every inch of your body.”
“Ahhh. Could you enjoy it a litter faster. I ache.”
He nipped her lower lip. “I can smell your sweet honey. I plan to lick it from you until you scream in pleasure.”
She moaned, leaning forward to capture his mouth in another kiss. And damn he could kiss. The flicks of his tongue were like a demand. No way would she be allowed to not participate. And boy did she want to participate. Willingly, she let him plunder her mouth as his fingers worked magic on her breast. He squeezed her ass and she ground her pelvis against him.
He turned them, her back coming up against the wooden siding. She jumped, wrapping her legs around him, bringing his big cock up against the seam of her pussy. She pulled her lips from his. “Yes. That’s what I want.”
He pushed against her, the pressure sending sensation to dance through her clit. His teeth nipped at the front of her shirt. It was the only hint she needed. She reached down for the hem and pulled the shirt over her head. Before she could toss it, his lips sealed over her nipple, sucking the delicate bud into his mouth. He pulled back and lavished some attention on the other breast.
His cock moved against her and she could feel the tension inside her building. She’d never come before from being dry humped, but damn if it didn’t look to be going there. Digging her heels into his beefy ass, she rocked against him. He released her nipple with a snarl and nipped at the tip.
“Demanding female.”
It was her turn to laugh as she nipped at his full lower lip. “I like getting my way.”
He pressed hard into her, smashing her hips between him and the wood. “I’m going to like reining you in.”
A quiver of desire shot through her with that thought. She wouldn’t make it easy for him, but the thought of submitting to him did wicked things to her insides. Before she could speak, howls broke through the still night air.
She tensed as did Shadeau. She listened to them, recognizing the pitch. “Luken.”
Her gaze went to Shadeau’s. He frowned.
“They’re looking for me.” The need to answer her alpha burned, making it a struggle not to pitch her head back and answer his call.
“No.”
She blinked, shocked at his one-word response. “No?”
He released her bottom, letting her thighs slide down the outside of his. Her feet touched the dirt and it took a second to get her shaky legs to cooperate.
“I’m not letting you go.”
“You’re not letting me?” Fuck it. His dominance might be a turn-on during sexual acts, but it really sucked at regular times. “And what’s to stop me from answering his call? You going to go all caveman on me again and knock me out? Maybe you have a few more of your tranq darts you can shoot my ass with? You so love using them on unsuspecting women.”
He lashed out and punched the wood behind her. She jumped.
“Don’t ever say that again,” he snarled. “I hate the fact I was a part of that. I don’t want you to look at me and think about that. Give me a chance to make your opinion different.”
She knew he wouldn’t hurt her, at least physically. Emotionally was a whole other can of worms. He had the capacity to cripple her in that way. She sighed. “I need to answer him.”
Shadeau stepped back away from her. “Then you’ll be choosing them over me. If they come here for you, they will kill me. And I won’t fight them. I would never want to hurt you.”
“That’s not fair!” She couldn’t believe he was playing this card.
He shrugged. “You know I’m telling the truth. I hurt members of your pack today. Seriously wounded some of them, and took you. If you think for one minute acceptance is something I will get from your pack, then you’re wrong.”
“Damn it!” She reached out, planting both palms against his chest, pushing him back, then bent down and snatched her discarded shirt from the ground. He was right. It would take some serious talking to Luken to get him not to kill Shadeau for his crimes.
It was so much easier to fight with him when he was being the caveman. She jerked her shirt on and pulled the length of her hair through the neck hole. Anger replaced the desire she’d felt only minutes before. She stomped over to the blanket and sat down, avoiding him completely.
“Jasmine, please don’t be angry with me.”
She shot him a glare then focused on her can of food she’d left sitting there. She didn’t even taste the concoction as it glided over her tongue. Hell, she wasn’t even hungry, but she didn’t want to speak to him right now.
He sat down beside her. “Give me time. I’ll prove to you I’m worthy of your loyalty.”
She slammed the empty can down. “How can you ask this of me? You want me to give up everything. My pack. And yes, the bond makes me want to cling to you, but I don’t even know you.”
“So get to know me. We were doing pretty good before your alpha started howling.”
“Pfft. That’s called sex. Not getting to know each other.”
“No. That’s not called sex, sweetness. If we’d had sex, my balls wouldn’t be aching so damn bad right now.”
Her head whipped in his direction. “Really? So sorry you have blue balls. Please note the sarcasm.” She rolled her eyes and looked forward. As if she needed a lesson in what constituted as sex. Hell, her own privates were aching from denial.
Part of her wanted to march from the barn and tip her head back, howl her grief and frustration and answer her alpha. She wanted to go home. But she couldn’t leave Shadeau. Not like this. Damn it! Why couldn’t she have her cake and eat it too?
Tears made her vision swim. It was unfair. Fate had dealt her a crap hand and it was so un-fucking-fair. She didn’t fight him when he picked her up and sat her in his lap.
She didn’t want to cry. With a back swipe of her hand she brushed the few tears away. She was stronger than this.
“We’ll find a way to make it work, Jasmine.”
“It would be one thing if it were only us. But it’s not. I have to tell Luken about Arik’s plan.” She turned to meet his gaze. “I need to go to him. I can explain—”
“No.”
She ground her teeth in frustration. “You’re being a stubborn fool.” Not waiting for a reply she slid off his lap and curled on her side facing away from him. She was done arguing.
There were others to consider in this and she couldn’t stand by and let them suffer. She’d have to watch for an opportunity to escape. She didn’t want to call out to Luken and get Shadeau killed. He was her mate, and she would die before she let harm come to him. But she had to try to convince Luken her mate wasn’t all bad.
So she’d have to run for it. Getting away from Shadeau would be tough, but she could do it. He curled up behind her, his arm sliding around her abdomen and pulling her to him. The move was possessive and it made her ache a little inside. She wanted the chance to explore what was between them—to claim him as her own.
The bond was an odd thing. She didn’t even know him, yet she couldn’t imagine life without him. Yes, she could still think and make decisions on her own, but the decision to leave him hurt. She tried to console herself with the fact she was doing what she needed to do to give them a chance. But it was like putting a Band-Aid on a gash that needed stitches. Not much help.
She snuggled further into the welcome heat of his body. “Tell me something about you?”
“What do you want to know?”
Jasmine shrugged. “Like, what do you do in your free time?”
“I like to fix things. Keeps my mind busy.”
“What kind of things?”
“Cars, radios, mechanical things like that. What do you like to do?”
“Read.”
He propped himself up on his elbow and stared down at her. “I never pegged you as a bookworm.”
She turned her head slightly so she could gaze in his eyes. “Guilty. I love getting lost in a good story.”
Shadeau traced the pads of his fingers across her cheekbone. “I could get lost in you.”
A roll of desire danced above her pelvic bone. What if this was their only time together? She had no way of knowing what he’d do once she snuck away. How would she find him? Her pulse rate accelerated.
He frowned. “What’s wrong?”
She shoved her panic aside, smiling. “Nothing. Just a lot happening in one day.”
“I’m sorry things had to happen this way, but I’m so happy I found you.”
She smiled at his handsome face. “I’m glad I found you too.”
He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. “Sleep.”
All the events of the day rushed in and took their toll. Suddenly sleep sounded like the best thing. She laid her head on his outstretched arm and snuggled tightly against him. Her eyelids fluttered closed as the dream world claimed her.
“Take only the essentials, and hurry,” Konrad instructed his pack mates. The rising sun had brought disaster with it. Arik had done major damage to their living peaceful coexistence among humans. Already Tyson’s den had been attacked. It left them no choice but to flee into the woods and combine their strengths.
It would be hard having four alphas together in one camp, but it was for the best of their pack mates. Konrad would do what he had to do, even if it meant putting up with the posturing of other alphas.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Tyra said before placing a kiss on Konrad’s bare shoulder.
He cupped his mate’s cheek, giving an affectionate caress. “Our foe is fucking crazy. Of course right now all the human-against-wolf violence is happening in our area. But it won’t be long before the whole world starts wondering what or who they are living beside.”
“I really want to beat this Arik guy’s ass.”
Konrad looked over his shoulder with a smile. “Really? And the rest of us don’t?”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course you do. But I’m pissed that when I finally get rid of my issues about being a wolf and find you, now this guy comes in and is threatening all of it. I just want to punch him in the throat.”
He turned and took her into his arms. “Honey, you need to calm down. All this stress isn’t good for the babies.”
As if they could hear him, the twins gave a kick to his abdomen. He loved them so much already. He looked down at the swell of their mother’s belly then back at her face. And he loved her even more.
“I heard kissing can reduce anxiety levels.”
She smiled. “You don’t have to lie to me to get me to kiss you.”
He laughed. “I’m serious.”
Tyra leaned in. “Then get to it, hot stuff.”
He claimed her lips.
* * * * *
Jasmine awoke to a burst of desire that had her pussy growing wet. She moaned as she stretched. Her ass rubbed against a thick erection and her eyelids snapped open. Memories flooded her. Her mate curled a possessive hand around her bare breast.
She sucked in a shocked breath as she closed her eyes. Shadeau had moved his hand up her shirt sometime in the night. Now he teased both of her nipples with pinches and rubs. But it was more than that. Her body felt as if it were on fire, burning with want.
He buried his nose in the crook of her neck and inhaled. “Your scent is changing. You’ll be in heat soon.”
Damn if he wasn’t right. But there had to be something with finding her mate, because this rev-up was far stronger than it had ever been before. It was a difference of being super horny and
fucking
horny.
“More. Please.”
With a growl he turned her over and brought his body over hers. “You smell so fucking good.”
She pulled at his sweatshirt and he helped her rid his body of it. She needed to feel his skin. Her palms touched his pecs then slid up over his shoulders, claws digging into his flesh.
He leaned in and took possession of her mouth, ravishing it. Every flick and glide of his tongue ramped up her desire. Her pussy throbbed with want. When he released her lips she gasped in a gulp of air. He tore at her clothes. She helped, wanting nothing between them.
“You have the best breasts I’ve ever seen.” Shadeau leaned in and captured one tight-budded nipple in his mouth.
“Yes!” She clutched at his head, holding him to her breast. She brought her feet up to his hips and pushed his pants down his legs. The sweats slid down and then she felt the glorious heat and heaviness of his cock against the seam of her pussy.
She wanted the engorged flesh inside her, stretching her, filling her until she screamed. She lifted her hips and moaned when the pressure against her clit increased. He pulled back, releasing her nipple with a snarl.
“Not yet, lover. I want to taste your cream.”
She whimpered as he trailed kisses down her abdomen. Then hot breath fanned her cunt. A bead of moisture rolled out. He spread her lower lips and caught it on his tongue, then licked slowly across her entrance up to her clit.
“Oh!”
He laughed and then flicked his tongue against her swollen bud. She tossed her head from side to side, releasing sounds of pleasure. Lips, teeth and tongue began a sinful game against her sensitive sex. She lifted her hips, grinding her cunt against his mouth as she called out praises for the wicked work he did.
Shadeau sucked her clit into his mouth and she screamed with ecstasy. His fingers joined in the game, fucking into her pussy with delicious strokes.
“Yes! Shadeau!” Her body spasmed as her cunt pulsed. Waves of pleasure filled her pussy and lower belly as she came hard. Back bowed, she screamed, gripping her own breasts and squeezing her nipples.
He wrung every last drop of her orgasm from her. His lips touched the inside of her thigh as she stared into his eyes, relaxing against the ground. He rose up on his knees and Jasmine couldn’t help but lick her lips as she stared at his large cock.
“Ah, you’re looking at my dick like you want to taste it.”
Her gaze moved upward. “And what if I do?”
He closed his eyes and moaned. “Later. Right now I want to be inside that pretty pussy of yours.”
He gripped her thighs and pulled her closer. Remaining on his own knees he spread his legs, letting the backs of her thighs rest over the tops of his. She felt the head of his smooth hard cock probing her entrance. He rubbed it against her clit and she moaned.
“Hang on, sweetness. I plan to make you come again real soon.”
Her pussy throbbed in silent anticipation of his promise. She gasped as he thrust forward. The walls of her entrance stretched, allowing him to push a little deeper.
“So fucking tight,” he growled between clenched teeth.
She moaned, spreading her legs more and scooting closer to him. He inched in some more and her breaths grew rapid. Her ass was off the ground now. He grabbed her hips and pulled her down, his erection sinking in to the hilt. She cried in pleasure, her pussy delightfully full.
“Finally,” he sighed.
A shiver of passion danced along her nerve endings. Yes, finally her mate was inside her.
He moved in her slowly, each stroke timed and delivered with an expertise that had her desire rising higher and higher. His fingers caressed her hips and ass, then her thighs as his gaze roamed over her body, taking in every line and detail.
She watched him as he made love to her with his body and his eyes. Her teeth sank into her lower lip and she moaned as he pressed in deep, grinding his pelvis against hers. Wetness rolled down her ass as her pussy creamed for him.
Shadeau slid his hand between her hip and his inner thigh. It caressed her ass cheek and slid lower. His finger found the moisture that had rolled down to her anus. He touched her there. Slow circles of his digit that matched the slow rhythm of his cock rocking inside of her.
A breath burst from her lips as he pushed that digit inside her ass.
“Easy, sweetness. I’d never hurt you.”
No one had ever entered her ass before. She relaxed as his other hand rose and he licked his finger, then lowered it, placing it over her clit. She moaned, giving control of her body and pleasure to him.
Sensation filled her lower body. As he worked her clit and pussy, the finger in her ass began to move. Pleasure-filled noises escaped her lips. Her eyelids slid closed and she was unable to concentrate on anything but the wonderful feelings he was causing.
Sensual lust rode her hard. Each movement brought her closer to coming around his cock. The stimulation was overwhelming. Her body seemed to ride the edge of orgasm for a longer period of time than ever before. Her pussy tingled like mad. Unintelligible words came out of her mouth as she thrashed on the ground.
Then glorious pulses racked her cunt and her inner walls fisted his cock. She screamed, “Shadeau!”
“Yes, sweetness. You look so pretty coming for me.”
Nothing could stop the yells of pleasure. She clawed at his legs, each wave of ecstasy driving her mad. She wanted him to stop—she didn’t ever want him to stop. Her body sang for him.
He growled, withdrawing his finger and cock from her body. She whimpered at the loss. Her limbs felt as if they weighed a thousand pounds. She couldn’t fight him when he flipped her over and pulled her hips up. She didn’t want to.
Cool air kissed her ass a second before he slid his dick into her pussy. His movements were frantic. He pounded his hips against her bottom. A satisfying smack of skin against skin filled the air.
He fucked her hard and deep, and she took it, loving each stroke. Jasmine clawed at the ground, moaning and screaming. Her pussy creamed again. One climax rode into another until her throat was raw from giving them voice.
He stiffened behind her with a roar and warm jets of cum bathed the inside of her cunt. Shadeau pitched forward. His sweat-slickened chest came against her back as his hand planted on the ground near her head.
“So good,” he panted. “So beautiful.”
He rolled them, not losing the connection of their bodies. Jasmine laid her head on his outstretched arm as she tried to rein in her own frantic breaths. This was how it was supposed to be. Her body languid and sated. His cock pulsed inside her and her inner muscles tightened around him in response.
She wanted to stay in this moment. If it were only that easy. His lips brushed against her neck and she snuggled in tighter against him. Soon she’d make her move, but for now, she craved a little more time with him. She hoped he’d understand when she left. It wouldn’t be for good.
There were things that would make the transition difficult, but deep down Jasmine believed her pack would stand beside her. They couldn’t blame her for wanting to be with her mate. It would be hard, but Shadeau had a chance at being accepted. She had to hold out for that chance.