Authors: Maddy Barone
God, was that his tongue?—dipped inside her and swiped up to the top and finished with his teeth clamped gently over her clit.
“Shh!” he chided her. “Don"t wake the Grandmother.”
He went back to licking and nipping between her legs, but he let go of her knees to slide his hands under her hips to hold her at just the right angle. Glory put one hand over her mouth and clenched the other into the quilt she lay on. She was perfectly willing to let him do whatever he wanted with that tongue. Sure, she would try to keep her screams to herself, but it was hard, especially when he took his hands away from her butt and used them to hold her open for his tongue. How deep could his tongue go? Not as deep as the finger he slid inside her. With one finger moving in her and his teeth working her clit, he drove her towards orgasm like a fallen leaf pushed along by the wind. When she came she gave a choked cry that even stuffing the edge of her hand into her mouth couldn"t stifle.
He kept going until she panted, “Enough, Shadow, stop. Give me a minute to … come down, okay? Oh, God, that
rocked
!”
While she panted and tried to recover her breath he kissed his way lazily up her body, pausing to lick and nibble her breasts. That sent another tremor through her. His lips were hot against the coolness of her skin. His hair trailed over sensitive skin, making her shiver with pleasure.
“Sunshine,” he said, concerned. “You"re cold. Your skin is cold.”
She gave a crack of laughter. “Only some parts of me.”
He raised her with one arm and whipped the covers back and over her. “I"ll warm you up.”
“Big guy, you already did that. Come under the blanket with me. I"ll be warmer that way.” He did, lying face-to-face with her, on his side with one arm over her waist. His heat seeped into her. She played with a long lock of his hair, dragging it over her breast and belly, enjoying the sensation. “Hey, big guy. You know what? It"s your turn now. Lie down.”
She could swear he purred as he obeyed. The quickest way to find his cock in the dark was to run her hand down his belly. He made an almost feminine squeaking sound.
“Your hands are cold!”
“Sorry.”
Giving a blow job without the use of her hands was tricky, but she tried. On her knees beside him, she tucked her hands between her thighs to warm them while she attempted to catch his cock in the dark with her mouth alone. Her lack of success made her laugh and him grind his teeth.
“Sunshine, give me your hands. I"ll warm them.”
“Wait! I have an idea.” Opening her thighs a bit she slipped her hands between them.
She was wet. Very wet. But it was a hot wetness. “Okay, prepare yourself.”
Her hands found him in the dark, and she coated his shaft with the wetness her fingers had found between her own thighs. Then she climbed between his legs and settled herself over him so his cock was between her breasts. She dragged the blankets back up over them to create a warm cocoon. Then she pressed her breasts together so they became a hot vise around his cock. The slickness she had spread over his hard flesh made it wonderfully possible to slide his cock between her breasts. Her first tentative movements became more sure, and each time her lips were close to the head of his cock, she lingered to take him in her mouth and suck on him.
“Sunshine!” he shouted in delight.
“Shh!” she teased. “Don"t wake up the Grandmother.”
“Don"t stop,” he begged.
She didn"t. Teasing him like this was fun. But after a few minutes of enjoying his jerky moans she wanted more. She needed this thick rod inside her. She stopped and removed her hands from the sides of her breasts. Slowly she moved up so that her knees were on either side of his hips.
“Shadow, I"m wet. I"m really wet.”
“Let me see.”
His hand went between her legs, testing her. By his tone he was perfectly serious. She moved her hips invitingly, taking his penis in her hand to position him right at her entrance.
“See?” she whispered. “I"m wet. All ready for you. Are you ready for me?”
He half sat up, “Sunshine, what are you—”
She pushed him inside her and forced him deeper by angling her hips and widening her knees. “Damn, you feel good. Help me, Shadow. I want all of you inside me.”
He jerked his hips up and her hips down. Not enough. He lunged up in bed, twisted, and put her under him. The covers were lost and his hair was spread over her body, and every time he plunged into her all that long hair brushed over her breasts and belly like another caress. She was getting to really love his hair. His first stroke was luscious. His second stroke reignited the coals of her earlier orgasm. His third stroke pushed her so close to the edge that she sobbed, and the fourth stroke tipped her over the edge into an orgasm that was like the Fourth of July and Christmas all in one. The fireworks shuddering through her body made her scream. It was the best gift she could imagine. Except maybe his lips murmuring her name like a prayer as he jolted into an orgasm within her. Or maybe the way he gathered her close and tucked the blankets around them with such tenderness that even her sarcastic heart was touched. They lay in the dark with her back pressed to his front, his arm over her waist, and his shoulder making a pillow for her head. It was warm and comfortable, and she didn"t know what she"d do without him this winter.
“Sunshine?” he whispered in the dark.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for accepting me. I can"t imagine having any mate besides you. My wolf chose well.”
She couldn"t think of a single snappy answer. No sarcasm seemed to fit. “I think so too,”
she said with painful honesty. At least it pained her. “I mean … I"m lucky your wolf chose me. Now, don"t get sappy, for God"s sake.”
His chuckle stirred the hair at the top of her head. It was amused and relieved. “Okay, no sappiness.” His hand stroked over her belly. “Sunshine?”
“What?”
“If you find that you are pregnant, promise you"ll send one of Taye"s Pack to tell me right away.”
There was no suppressing the shiver that went through her. She just wasn"t sure if it was fear or joy at the thought of a baby. Maybe both. “You better believe I"ll send someone,” she growled. “I"m sure as hell not going through that alone. You had the fun of making it; you"ll pull your load at the other end.”
“I promise I will pull all the load. As much of it as I can, mine and yours. I"ll build you the best house I can. I"ll find men who can make it so you can have a hot bath. I think three bedrooms. One for us, one for the Grandmother, and one for our children.”
Glory listened to his plans with a drowsy ear. She was warm and comfortable for the first time in days, and she was ready for sleep.
“Glory.”
She woke from her half doze with a jerk. “What?” she demanded.
“I"m leaving in the morning.”
Her stomach tightened. “So soon?”
“The Clan needs me and the others back to protect the women. Sunshine, I love you. I need to hear you say it too. Do you love me? Will you miss me?”
Was this what a mouse felt like when the trap snapped shut? “Sure,” she said casually.
Glory wiggled her bottom into his groin. “And I"ll really miss this,” she teased.
They made love again, sweetly and without teasing, and she slept surrounded by his warmth, with a smile on her face.
Did she love him? Once he had thought that just her acceptance of their mating would be enough. Now he knew acceptance alone would never satisfy him. He wanted her heart. Her love. For fear of waking her, he kissed her good-bye with only his eyes. Then, with tears drying on his cheeks, he left her.
Glory woke grumpy. She was cold and alone. There was a note on the pillow beside her with a short message. “I"ll see you in a few months. I love you.” Couldn"t he have waited to at least say good-bye before taking off? She had planned to talk to him this morning. She had woken up sometime in the night to feel him holding her against him in his sleep. It was crazy, but remembering his tenderness and the protective way he took care of her made her feel …
warm. No, more than that. Safe. Important.
Loved.
She wasn"t sure she had ever felt that way before. Her parents loved her. Had loved her.
She knew they had. But her mom had always picked at her size, her hair, her clothes, and a ton of other things. She"d never looked how her mom thought her daughter should look. It had made her mom insane when she dyed her hair and pierced her nose. Her dad had married her mom, but the real love of his life was his job. But before he had started climbing the corporate ladder they had been a happy little family. They had gone on picnics together on Sunday afternoons. They"d played board games, for crying out loud. She"d thought it would always be like that. But by the time she was in high school Glory had gone days without ever seeing her dad. When she did see him he"d ragged on her for her piercings and black fingernail polish. Her mother had been so busy doing charity work for children that she"d had no time for her own child. Yeah, her parents had loved her, as much as their busy lives allowed, but not enough to accept her the way she was.
Shadow loved her. That she was six feet tall didn"t bother him a bit. And her weight was cool with him. He really did like her body. He had proved that twice last night. No, three times. Then he had said he loved her and asked if she loved him. And instead of telling him the truth, she had brushed it off and teased him into giving her more sex.
She should have told him she loved him. But how could she have? She hadn"t figured it out until just now. And now he was gone, and she couldn"t call him or text him or even send him a letter to tell him how she felt.
She knew the water would be cold, but after their lovemaking she felt like she had to have a shower. She swore at the cold as she scrubbed herself as fast as she could and rushed to dry herself and pull her clothes on. What she needed now was a fireplace.
The rec room windows were letting in daylight. Glory ignored that and went to the fire to spread her hands. Jill was there already, sitting in a chair beside the fireplace.
“Good morning,” said Jill blandly. “Have a nice night?”
Several men were also there, watching her with bright interest.
“Sure. It was nice.” She lowered her voice to a sugary whisper. “Hope we weren"t too loud?”
“Nope. It brought back fond memories.” Jill smiled when Glory folded her arms and glared. “Of course, my roommate didn"t appreciate it much.” When Glory blushed, Jill cackled. “Just kidding. She was wiped out. Slept right through it.”
“Geez, Jill, don"t joke about that!” She centered her glare on the men. “What"re you looking at?”
The one who looked like a younger twin of Sky but with light brown eyes blinked
sweetly at her. “You, cousin. Is that your real hair?”
“You bet.”
“But it"s pink!”
“So?”
The kid was quiet for a minute. “Have you eaten breakfast yet? Better hurry before it"s put away.”
Jill nodded. “Good idea, Glory. Hurry if you want to come to town with me. I"m going with Marissa and her escort. We need to see about some more clothes for you and the other women.”
Glory hated shopping. But she did want to see the town, so she followed that boy into the kitchen. “What"s your name, kid?”
“Jelly.”
“Really? You got a brother named Peanut Butter?”
He looked at her with reproach as he plopped a wad of oatmeal into a bowl.
“Coffee?” she asked hopefully.
His brow wrinkled. “What"s coffee?”
Her stomach felt like the congealed oatmeal had been plopped into it instead of the bowl.
No coffee? “Never mind.”
When Taye was told that Glory was joining them he nodded. When Carla announced her intention of going he turned on a dime and became a growling dog intent on protecting his mate.
“No,” he said fiercely.
If it would have been her, Glory would have yelled. Carla just sighed and asked why not.
“We will already have four women to guard.” Taye was calmer, quieter now, but still insistent. “We"ll be spread thin as it is. It"s not overkill, sweetheart, just extra care for the mates of our cousins.”
Glory felt guilty. “I don"t have to go.”
“No, cousin, your mate left goods for us to trade for clothes for you and the
Grandmother. We"ll get them for you now.”
Glory"s guilt faded away at the excitement of going to a town. She was not a fan of walking, but she sucked it up. After all, Jill couldn"t walk fast, so Glory was able to keep up even if she was out of shape. It was only three miles, but it took them almost two hours to walk, since they went at Jill"s pace. Taye and about twenty of his Pack came with them, half of them in wolf form, all of them alert and ready for trouble. Each woman had been assigned two men and a wolf to guard her specifically. Glory was surprised that the wolves in human shape were wearing shirts and shoes as well as pants. The men and wolves moved like an army patrol, carefully spaced to be able to protect the women. All of them moving together looked like a cross between a flock of geese and a military unit. Glory privately dubbed their group The Flock.
The town was a severe disappointment to Glory. It looked like the offspring of an Old West ghost town and something from a post-apocalyptic movie. It made her stomach lurch to see the fast food signs bleached almost colorless from weather and age, and she had a sudden acute craving for a burger. She could almost taste the special sauce oozing over the greasy burger. There were no businesses that she could tell, no stores or offices. The further they went the cleaner and better kept the street was, but still no businesses. She didn"t see another woman anywhere on the streets, but several men stared at her, Marissa, and Renee like the women were water in the desert and the men were dying of thirst. Creepy. But the way they stared at Jill was even weirder. She clearly heard them say that Jill was the grandmother of the Lakota, in awed, reverent tones.