Beauty and the Brute [Werescape III] (16 page)

Working to steal my breath and thoughts. For that moment. The point when nothing mattered but lying perfectly still. When the world's troubles disappeared ... Just for a moment until I

realized he wasn't going to mark me. I locked my legs around his flexing lower back.

He wasn't getting out of the bite this time.

His face began shifting the faster he pumped his engorged shaft into my soul.

I'll be damned if the firm presence hadn't grown. And changed.

The friction changed. Did more than tickled that little spot only he could reach with his cock.

Pure pleasure seemed to erupt everywhere along my inner channel.

My body squirmed.

Shook. Fell to pieces around his hard cock. Even when his face elongated into a muzzle.

Nothing mattered but Brutus. And his rigid Wolf cock lunging into my sex. Filling what had to be the emptiest void.

My legs gave up, fell loose from his lithe form.

His unyielding presence flinched inside me.

Jerked.

His Wolf threw his massive head toward the sky and roared.

Or howled.

Molten heat filled my soul.

So hot.

His flexible body kept pushing the magma inside me.

Plunging deeper as if what it experienced was all a dream. Not by the way my body hummed.

Brutus and his Wolf could lay me back and rub me into a mindless immobile heap of gasps anytime.

Wolf snapped his gaze to mine.

A glowing yellow unreadable gaze.

He bared his long white fangs. Snarled.

Bite me. Claim me. Make me yours.

Wolf sprang off my body, over my head.

A breeze hushed over my abandoned form lying on the crumpled quilt.

What? Alone. Again. Unmarked. Not even a useless scrap of rag worth saving to piece together bit by bit like the blanket. To make into something bigger. Something like a family. Friends. A

community that would accept me for value I must have. I stared at the pieces of blue sky and white cloud through the leaf-laden limbs overhead.

Even leaves fit in somewhere, hanging on limbs connected to larger branches and the trunk, a trunk that split into deeper roots. And I have none of this. Not even a Shifter who thinks I'm good enough to mark.

Running through the woods encircling the pool might not have been the wisest thing to do.

Beauty could hear my weight breaking twigs. The sound would frighten her. But my big gaping

Wolf maw had to be far more terrifying than a sound or two. Anything to distance her from

Wolf until I could shift back in to a more controllable form. Not long. Wolf tired from mating.

Yawned. Settled back into the chasm a Shifter held within himself. I stared over a low branch clustered with leaves.

At Beauty. She still rested upon the blanket. What did she think of me now? I lost my Wolf again. Almost bit her. But marking her would have been wrong. She still didn't want me to even though she seemed agreeable to the mating.

She rose to her feet.

What would she do?

She walked straight to her clothes and dressed.

Something soured in my gut.

Intuition or not, I had to see what she was up to.

She strode to Trance and began untying her backpack.

What was Beauty doing?

She skirted the stallion, who flicked her with his black tail, then she headed into the forest.

What is she doing? Leaving? No. She wouldn't be foolish enough to try to go alone.

Protect, Wolf growled.

Shut up, stupid mutt. This is all your fault. She couldn't go. Couldn't endanger herself. I had to stop her. I ran to the pool's edge, dove into the dark water, threw hand over hand swimming, and leapt onto the sun-warmed grass on the other side.

Her form was shrinking among the distant trunks.

Not for long. The pool's cooling water drove the remnants of Wolf back into his chasm. But men still ran faster than women. I was behind her minutes later.

She glanced over her shoulder, flinched, and burst into a run.

Not to greet me. The opposite Gods-be-damned direction. Like she could outrun me. I

stretched my stride, jumping in her path, meeting her resolute mask.

She planted both of her hiking boots beneath her and lowered her chin a bit like a dog preparing to attack. “Let me pass, Brutus."

"No. You'll die on your own.” Truth was the best argument.

Her sweet mouth pursed into a bitter lump. “I'm ready to give it a shot."

Was I so repulsive that she would commit suicide to continue without my aid? “You can't go alone."

"Stop making choices for me."

Someone had to. She wasn't a part of The Wild. “If I don't, you might get hurt."

"You already hurt me. So get the hell out of my way."

She knew how to hit a man below the belt. “I tried to apologize."

"When?"

Her brow furrowed.

Okay, I could piece together the answer. “Afterward.” I think I did. “Alright, maybe I tried to prove I wasn't an animal?"

Her face twisted with confusion. “An animal? How about a bastard? You're just like every other man I ever met."

Second blow below the belt. But she was talking now. I'd just wait until she confessed everything. “Me? Like Normals?"

She nodded with venomous contempt. “Yes. All you want is to get between a woman's legs."

Well, that was the way of nature. “How does that make me like Normals, Lorelei?"

She froze, emotions flashing across her beautiful face until her eyes flared. “I'll be damned if

I'm going to be any man's whore."

If anything were sacred in this world, supernatural or omniscient, maybe it would take pity on this pathetic Shifter and enlighten me with the wisdom to communicate with this woman.

"You're not my whore, Lorelei."

"So, I'm just supposed to pretend the sex doesn't happen? I know.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I'm dreaming. This is all a nightmare. The placation plan, the killing myself to reach that damned barbed-wire wall and cut myself free, the extermination of New

Pittsburgh, you saving my ass.” She sighed. “And the sex.” She smacked her lips.

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"This is a useless waste of good daylight.” She pivoted right and stepped toward a thick gnarled tree trunk.

"I'm not finished.” I grabbed her elbow.

She yanked it, futilely, glaring at me. “Let me go."

"You can't go. Gods-be-damn it. You're my mate."

Her body froze stock still.

Why was Beauty glaring at me with a seething stare?

"Your mate?” she snarled and snorted, then slid her gaze away from me.

"I won't let you go. It's my job to protect you."

She snorted again. “Yes, we've already established that you're a Guardian. And, for some strange reason, you think I'm the Normal you need to guard."

"You are. Remember the placation plan?"

She scowled. “How can I forget? I have no value to the Normals I thought were my family. And

I certainly have no value beyond being a test subject for the extraterrestrials. The only value

I have to men out here is sex and breeding. That's no different than what my family thought of me. It's quite obvious to me that if I set out alone it won't make a difference what happens to me. Some man will ultimately decide I am worthy of fucking or bearing his children. What have I forgotten, Brutus?"

The woman wouldn't even look at me dead on. I could have done many things I'd do to a man who spoke so foolishly. But she was female. I grabbed her other arm and pulled her resistant body to face me squarely.

She struggled to maintain her footing.

But lost. “You've forgotten one thing, woman."

"What?” she snarled.

"Wolf's already marked you. You're my mate."

She struggled to wrench her arms free of my handhold.

Why wouldn't she stop? Please stop. Make her stop, world.

Her body suddenly stilled. “Don't try to lie to me like I'm a foolish dolt. I know about

Shifters. I know how they mate. I'm your whore. Admit it,” she snarled.

"Lorelei, I'm about to toss your tight little ass over my shoulder and take you back to my bedroll where I'm going to ride that sweet little body of yours until you're too tired to complain or walk for a good week. Then you won't be able to bitch about me being the animal that tied you to my saddle."

Her knotted mouth, her sigh of exasperation, her kick to my shin noted she'd finished. “Who's the one standing butt naked in the woods trying to convince his whore she isn't a whore? I do believe I'm wearing my pants!"

Okay. Enough. “Explain to me how you are not my mate."

Her gaze drifted off to the glittering pool, back the way we'd come through the trees.

"Tell me, Beauty.” I tried to speak Gods-be-damned softly.

Would she answer? Why wouldn't she? This was a ridiculous conversation. I'm standing in the forest, with my bare-ass cock hanging, holding my mate by both arms, and she wouldn't grace me with making eye contact. Females. Why do men bother mating?

She cleared her throat.

Maybe she knew my thoughts? Or that I wasn't paying attention.

"You didn't mark me."

Those were the loudest softly-spoken words ever spoken.

The fucking bite. What I'd feared she'd despise. I was the idiot here. So ignorant in my assessment of her reaction. Not anymore. I pulled her reluctant body to my chest and pinned her to my ribs with both arms snaked around her slim frame.

But she still refused to look at me.

Stubborn little mate. “Well, at least you'll listen."

She snorted again.

Not a reaction I would care much for in our future. “Lorelei, the first time for a woman is painful. I wanted our first time together to be pleasant for you. Perfect, if at all possible. So I

held back Wolf. I bit your clothes instead."

She turned her nose to my chest.

Thinking. Piecing details together to form an understanding. “When a Wolf tells a woman she is his, he doesn't lie. But after I made love to you last night, you were so withdrawn. I knew

I'd frightened you. Or Wolf had. So, I vowed not to bite you unless you asked me to. So you could take another Shifter mate who could protect you from Yale if he survived.” I needed to bite her. Once bitten, she'd never get away from Wolf. Crave him. Me.

Her face tilted upward a little.

Enough where I could see the whites of her eyes between her cracked eyelids. I took her velvet cheek in one palm and raised her gaze to mine.

She studied me for two heartbeats. “But you despise Normals as much as you hate extraterrestrials,” she whispered.

So much pain and disbelief swam in those green eyes. “When you told me of Yale's plan for you, I couldn't believe they'd toss you to the dogs. Not you. You're perfect."

Her eyes rimmed with glistening tears.

Did she understand? “You were the only one worth saving in that snake pit.” I had to hurry.

Mark her while she was distracted. I reached for her backpack strap at her shoulder.

The tank top beneath could be slid aside. Quickly. The collarbone was the perfect place for the marking. The bone providing excellent protection of the thin skin pulled taut across its length. The bite wouldn't be deep.

She reached and slid the pack off her shoulders.

Yes, perfect. I took the bag, sliding an arm around the curve of her waist, leaning to press my lips against her sweet mouth.

She opened her mouth to me.

Accepted my story. And Wolf and I. Maybe she should have thought things through better?

Because my hand thrust into the hair at the base of her skull, turned her head to slant the moist cavern of her mouth, and gently slid my palm down to her tank's strap.

She just sank deeper into the kiss.

Wolf rose, shaking as if waking from a nap.

Good boy. Get your mangy carcass ready. I planted quick kisses along her cheek, down the soft skin of her neck, across the hard length of her clavicle, hooking my thumb under the strap, pulling it aside.

She moaned a little woman sound of happiness.

Just in time.

Wolf's fangs dropped.

Careful, Wolf. Just enough.

Wolf sank his teeth into her soft skin.

Her body stiffened.

But she didn't fight. She must have realized it's what she wanted.

The salty metallic tinge of blood flowed across my tongue.

Let go, Wolf.

He didn't whine or growl. He just returned to the chasm.

I kissed my way over her hard edges of curves en route back to that green gaze. Back to see if the pain still pooled in those green gems.

The bright-eyed realization she had what she wanted filled those wide eyes.

"So, Beauty, can we go back and find my pants? I'm feeling kind of vulnerable out here with my ass hanging out."

She grinned.

The only thing capable of enhancing her beauty.

She took one of my hands and turned to the pool.

Not many steps later, Beauty grabbed my ass.

Nice to see she's in a better mood. But we didn't have time to play. “What are you doing?” I

swatted her hand away.

"Just checking. I've been wondering if it's as firm as it looks.” She smiled.

Gods no. We'd spent more than an hour here already. I arched a brow and attempted to scold her with a glare.

"It is.” She winked. “Let's find that quilt."

A mate could completely unravel a man. “Woman, we have a schedule."

"Unexpected things happen.” She goosed my butt again.

And I thought Wolf was the uncooperative one. I grabbed her waist and tossed her over my shoulder. “Now behave."

She giggled.

Women.

Two hands grabbed my ass.

Well, Wolf and I chose her for a reason. Probably to keep me from being bored. And the way she trembled and moaned in my hands, it only seemed fair that she wanted me to do the same in hers.

Often.

Hours later, Lorelei leaned her cheek into her Guardian's upper back. He'd played with me hard after I fondled his meaty ass. But now I know the perfect way to get his attention. I