Mating Seduction-epub (16 page)

Shaking her head, Lexie sighed. “You saved Jackson’s life. I think that’s a ticket to entry. I’ll help you.”

Cora’s gaze grew solemn. “And what about you, Lexie? What will you do?”

She glanced at the ceiling. “I’ve made a decision. But I don’t know if my alpha will agree…”

A week after he’d been shot, a fully-healed Jackson sat in Aiden’s office, listening in dumbstruck disbelief to his leader’s proposal.

Lexie agreed to mate with him. He should be shouting for joy.

Not growling at his alpha as if he wanted to tear him to pieces. Wood shredded like paper as he raked his fingers over the chair’s armrests.

“Jackson, put the claws away. You’re ruining my furniture.” Aiden’s tone was mild, but warning flashed in his dark eyes.

“Hell, Aiden, how can you do this to me?” With considerable effort, he sheathed his claws. “Do you know what this will do to my wolf?”

“If you love her, you’ll control your wolf because this is the only way.” Regret shadowed Aiden’s expression. “Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want because it’s best for everyone concerned.”

“What’s best for Lexie is for you to stay the hell away from her.” Jackson fisted his hands and took a deep breath.

“The ritual is the only way Nikita will accept losing Lexie. The ancient texts call for it. I don’t like it, either. Damnit, I’m trying to find a compromise.”

Jackson thought of options. He could take Lexie and run. Leave their packs. He’d find work somewhere. But Lupines needed family, needed pack.

All he had was this pack as family, and the ranch as a home. Ever since getting kicked out of his pack as a hormonal Lupine in his teens, he’d longed to settle down.

He couldn’t return to a nomadic lifestyle, wandering from town to town, looking for love, hoping someone, anyone, would ease the constant loneliness.  He’d join a pack, but never stayed long.

Because no one wanted a Lupine who couldn’t control his wolf, who might turn on his own pack leader…

No one except Aiden, who had been willing to give him a chance.

And he couldn’t force Lexie to live that kind of unsettled life. It wasn’t fair to her.

“I’ll go with Lex. Join her pack.” He hated the idea, but couldn’t see another way.

“You join Nikita’s pack and you’ll disappear like the other males.” Aiden picked up a pencil and it snapped in his tight grip. “There are rumors.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

“No. I don’t want to lose you. You’re one of the most loyal Lupines on my team.” The pack leader seemed to struggle with his emotions. “A friend, as well. That day you saved my life, I knew I could count on you. It’s why I never gave up on you.”

Jackson regarded him with a steady look. “I’d do it all over again. But what you’re asking, for me to allow you to fuck Lexie while Nikita and I watch, all to fulfill some ancient Lupine law that allows you to claim females from another pack. You know what will happen, Aiden. I’ll lose control and my wolf will go for your throat.”

Aiden leaned forward. “I haven’t given you much reason to control your wolf around here, Jackson. I kept trying, and hoping, that sending you out on the range to tend to cattle would help. But it only reinforced your isolation. Worst mistake I made, acting like your former alpha did.”

Tension knotted his stomach. “You were only fair. You didn’t force me out like he did after my folks died and I went mad with grief.”

“And I’m willing to do anything to help you stay.”

Lexie calmed his wolf. Lexie soothed the beast inside him. He’d die without her. She was balm to his wounded soul.

But to stand by and watch his pack leader, his friend, fuck his mate…

“So maybe I’ll just screw Nikita to get even,” Jackson blurted out, watching Aiden’s face darken.

“You.” Aiden took a deep breath. “Don’t touch her. I’m claiming her for myself.”

“Yeah, well I could just screw her in the ass and that would leave her a virgin…” Jackson stopped, an idea forming. “Where are these ancient laws written down? Got a copy handy?”

The big, leather-bound book sat in a drawer in Aiden’s credenza. The alpha retrieved the volume, set it on his wide desk. He turned to a page and pointed out the law, written in elegant script. Jackson scanned the text. “The conditions here state you take a willing female sexually before her alpha, but it doesn’t say anything about anyone else joining in.”

“The conditions are vague,” Aiden agreed. “A loophole we can use.”

They looked at each other.

“It can be done,” Aiden said slowly…

“If I’m physically linked to Lexie while you take her,” Jackson finished.

A loophole he desperately needed. Jackson only hoped Lexie would agree. It was a risky venture.

He must control his wolf during the act. Because if he didn’t, they were all screwed.

Lexie sat before the entire Mitchell pack, her toes curling inside her boots.

Jackson had explained every nuance of the forthcoming ritual. Although it unnerved her, she agreed.

If he joined Nikita’s pack, something might happen to him. Something mysterious kept happening to other males in her pack and she did not want to lose him.

A day after Jackson’s meeting with Aiden, the alpha called an assembly of the entire pack in the auditorium reserved for formal meetings and banquets.

With Jackson by her side at the head table, she felt ready to handle almost anything.

Almost.

Cora had mated with Peter and returned to the Bar B to handle the legalities of inheriting the ranch. Aiden had given the male formal permission to leave the Mitchell pack, with an open invitation to return whenever Peter and Cora wanted.

Now the Mitchell pack alpha turned to her, his expression solemn. “The ancient texts clearly state removing a female from her pack without her alpha’s permission is terms for all-out war between the two rival packs. But there is one alternative to keeping the peace. Jackson told you what will transpire.”

She nodded, her throat tight. “Is it going to be… public?”

His wide mouth twisted. “No, that’s reserved only for the two mating alphas of rival packs. There will only be myself, Jackson, you and Nikita present.”

Limbs heavy with relief, she sagged against the chair’s back.

“This is a lot to place on you, Lexie. But it’s the only way to save your alpha from inciting a war between our two packs.” His gaze went soft with sympathy. “I’ve tried to aid Nikita and she’s too proud. Too insular.”

So much of a burden and responsibility. Lexie looked at Jackson. “I love Nikita. She’s the older sister I never had. My loyalty lies with her, but she needs help.”

Jackson gathered her hands into his. “Do you trust me, Lex?”

“Yes. I’m willing to do this, to stay with you, and help Nikita.” Concern twisted her insides. “But you, what this will mean for you…”

Lupine males did not share their females easily. Jackson was a powerful Lupine who could crush cars with his fists.

“I can control my wolf, as long as you’re connected to me.” Jackson bent his forehead to hers. “Let’s do it.”

Aiden stood, and the rest of the pack heaved a collective sigh.  Lexie held up a hand. “First, before I formally join your pack, I must show you something,” she told Aiden.

Her gaze swept over the silent, but curious crowd. “All of you. You need to see exactly what I am. If you all can gather close, so you can see…”

His mouth a tight slash, Jackson nodded.

Lexie left the table and sat on the floor as the pack formed a circle around her. Jackson sat by her side, squeezing her hand, feeding her confidence. She tugged off her Western boots and then her left sock.

The malformed left foot had improved, but though her toes had more human definition, the claws still grew instead of normal Skin nails. Jackson nuzzled her neck and murmured softly. “You’re beautiful, sweetheart. In any form.”

She expected snickers or sneers. Instead, some looked curious. Others glanced at her foot and shrugged.

The oddest reaction came from Kyle, the pack’s fiercest hunter and Arianna’s mate. He knelt, like a supplicant, and gently took her foot into hand. “Does it hurt?”

When she shook her head, he looked up, his eyes luminous with moisture, as if he were ready to cry. The scar on his face flared white. Lexie understood.

He knew what it was like to be different.

“Wow, looks tough to take care of,” another male murmured.

Lexie glanced up. “I dunno. Pedicures are a bitch, but sometimes I paint the claws a pretty shade a pink. You should try it.”

Laughter broke out.

Jackson helped her upright and slid a supporting arm around her as she stood, one foot clad in a worn Western boot, the other bare.

Aiden’s deep, clear voice rang out. “You have seen this female, Jackson’s future mate, who requests formal acceptance into our family. What say you? Do you accept Lexie as part of our people, as your sister to love and protect and defend as you would all others?”

A chorus of “hell yeahs” followed.

Secure in Jackson’s embrace, she rested against him. She’d found acceptance and friendship among these people. But would Nikita capitulate and release her, and more importantly, surrender to Aiden’s terms?

Aiden kissed her on the cheek, a quick, friendly peck. He nodded at Jackson. “Let’s do it. I’m calling a meeting for tomorrow night. Midnight.”

They returned to the cabin. Jackson closed the door behind them and leaned against it. “Tonight, Lex. Now. I need to claim you.”

Upstairs in the master bedroom, they stripped off their clothing. Lexie climbed onto the bed and lay on her stomach. The bed dipped beneath his heavy weight as Jackson joined her.

She glanced over her shoulder, saw his fangs lengthen. Snarling with savage sexual need, he straddled her back. The hard length of his erection pressed against her soft bottom. Jackson took a deep breath, as if wrestling for control. He gently turned her head and brushed aside her long hair.

“This will hurt, darling, but only for a minute.”

Tensing with sexual anticipation, she waited.

Murmuring something low, he nuzzled her neck. She felt the brush of a sharp fang, the lick of his hot tongue.

He bit, piercing her skin.

Potent liquid heat spiraled through her blood, igniting a firestorm between her legs. Moaning, she twisted.

Jackson tenderly licked the bite. “Now, you’re officially mine. I’ve put my mating mark on you.”

They made love, soft and slow, without a condom this time. For long minutes after, they rested in each other’s arms.

Finally, he turned to her. “Are you ready to prepare for tomorrow’s ceremony?”

Tension knotted her insides. She nodded.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll be with you the whole time. I’ll take good care of you. Let’s do this.”

She slid from beneath the sheets and lay on her stomach. Jackson growled softly. His fingers caressed her silky bottom.

“What a beautiful, sweet ass you have. Stay here and keep your eyes closed.”

She heard him fumble with bottles on the dresser. Her nostrils flared, picking up the scent of his own arousal.

Lexie closed her eyes tightly and waited.

The mattress shifted as he sat on the bed. She heard him unscrew a cap. A delicious scent of pine and forest teased her nostrils. Sounds of his palms sliding against each other hinted of what he planned.

Delicious tension filled her. She rubbed her mound against the sheets, squirming.

He slapped her bottom, lightly. Lexie cried out in pleasure. “Stay still,” he ordered.

Two big hands, covered in warm oil, slid up the small of her back. Her nipples ached as he began massaging the oil into her skin. Loosening the muscles, kneading her skin in light, circular strokes. Jackson teased her, sliding a finger along the crevice of her bottom as she gripped the sheets and moaned.

He paid extra attention to her bottom. Soothing, masculine murmurs relaxed her as he spread her cheeks open and massaged her. Jackson oiled his fingers and probed the tiny rosebud of her backside.

Stiffening, she felt him ease a finger inside her.

“What a sweet ass you have. Soft and plump, tight and firm. This will ease you, make you ready for what is to come, sweetheart,” he said softly.

Glancing over her shoulder, she watched him smear lubricant over his rigid cock, then he reached into the nightstand and withdrew an extremely thick, long dildo. Jackson coated the instrument with glistening gel.

“Get on your hands and knees, and arch your ass toward the ceiling.”

Tensing, she obeyed, pillowing her head on her folded arms. Jackson kissed her bottom, positioned the instrument at the entrance of her soaked vagina. He eased it in, stretching her. Lexie arched and bit back a moan of pleasure. Another thrust, deeper now. Arousal bit, sharp as fangs.

“Stay with me,” he crooned. “That’s it, take it all.”

She squeezed down with each insistent thrust of the dildo. Jackson picked up the rhythm, thrusting it in, deeper and deeper. She felt stretched full, vulnerable. Just as she thought she couldn’t take any more, his hand slipped between her legs.

Jackson flicked a finger across her clit as he thrust the dildo in to the root. She arched, muffling a scream, fisting her hands in the sheets.

But his hand stopped. Frustrated, she wailed. “Jackson, let me come!”

“Not until I say so,” he told her sternly. “Remain there, in that position. Stay still until I order you to move.”

Biting her lip, she remained motionless. Tormented by the fullness between her legs, she hung her head, her long hair curtaining her face.

Jackson bent over her, spreading her cheeks wide. 

“You can do this,” he said thickly. “Get ready, darling.”

He mounted her, pushing his penis into her bottom.

Startled at the fullness, Lexie gasped, wriggling around him, the delicious pressure of the dildo in her vagina now doubling. Pleasure built to the bursting point as his cock sank further into her ass. She felt filled, stretched, penetrated fully.

Jackson began thrusting, his hands gripping her hips.