Wolf Born (13 page)

Max thought about it. “Let’s talk about mating and what it means if you’re my mated one and I’m yours.”

“My wolf thinks we are. How will we know?” Her brows drew together, giving her a studious look. Max loved looking at her. He drank in every aspect of her face, from hair to chin line and then moved his gaze downward. Full breasts pushed against the filmy fabric of her top. Her nipples were clearly visible. His cock reacted violently, pressing against the front of his trousers with a vengeance. She moved his hand off her thigh and giggled. “You’re not answering me, and you’re practically panting over there.”

“Observant, Miss Westen. It’s one of the many things I appreciate about you. I’m having a hard time thinking.” He flicked at the bulge of his erection. “Men are like that. If one head’s working, the other one isn’t.” He sucked in a steadying breath. “We will know because once we begin to make love, we’ll shift spontaneously.”

Her eyes widened. “Really? What happens to our lovemaking then?”

Heat roared through him. It took all his willpower not to tell the nav system to pull over to the curb. “We make love as wolves. Then we shift back and make love as humans. Coupling in both our forms cements our bond.”

“Tell me more about what it means to be mated. Is it like being married?”

“Yes, but ever so much more. Our kind mates for life—and we live for a very long time. It’s a binding of souls that lasts through this life and all lives to come.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “I love how that sounds. How much farther to your house?”

Max glanced out the windshield. He hadn’t been paying attention to anything but Audrey. “Not far. Another half mile or so.”

“Is there a ceremony?”

“Yes. Johannes will perform it once we’re certain.” Max started to tell her the ritual involved Johannes standing by while they coupled as wolves but decided to wait on that detail. He didn’t want to scare her off. Once they’d had sex, they’d both be so entranced with one another, caught up in the mate bond, she wouldn’t care if the entire state of California stood by and watched while they fucked.

“You know,” she dropped her gaze, “I’ve been half in love with you since the first time I saw you on the vid feed before you took office. I voted for you because I wanted you close to me.”

A warm glow began in his belly and radiated outward. Max wanted her to love him as much as he’d ever wanted anything. “Now you tell me. Why’d you wait so long? What’s it been? Eighteen months?”

A blush spread upward from the open neck of her black blouse. She shrugged. “I was still married. I needed to get out of that entanglement. More than that, though, I respect the work you’ve done. Maybe more than almost anyone else, I know what a hard worker you are and how seriously you take your oath of office. You needed my help. I guess I thought I’d wait until your term was up—or something.”

“Turn in here.” Max pointed and worked his wrist computer to open the gates. She ferried her car through. “What if I’d been reelected?”

“I don’t know if I could have waited another four years. Where do you want me to park?”

“In front of the house is fine. Johannes will take care of putting your car away.”

“Should I leave my wrist computer?”

“He’s a wizard. He’ll figure things out. Don’t worry about your bag or briefcase, either.” Max got out of the car and went around to open her door. “Come here.” He held out his hands. “We’ve waited long enough.”

She took his hands and let him tug her gently from the car. He closed his arms around her and bent his head. “Darling,” he murmured, just before he kissed her. Max reveled in the feel of her mouth beneath his. Her lips were full and firm, and she opened her mouth under his almost instantly. When he sank his tongue into her mouth, she sucked hungrily on it. He felt her nipples, hard where they pressed against his chest. And something else, too.

He broke away from the kiss and patted the front of her blouse. “What’s this?”

She grinned rakishly. “A wad of black market cash. I was planning a getaway, remember?”

“Good, you know how to finesse these things. We use the black market for a lot of things.” Johannes pulled up behind Audrey’s car. He flashed Max a thumbs up sign. “Ready to go inside?” Max asked.

“If I were any readier, I’d bend over one of those planters.”

“Nice visual. I’ll bet you have a great ass. In fact I know you do. I’ve felt it.” He tucked her hand under his elbow and led her up the stairs. The door clicked open. Max assumed Johannes had taken care of it from his vantage point in the driveway. “After you, my dear.”

Audrey walked into the house. “Oh my God,” she breathed. “I had no idea you lived in a museum.”

*

The polished mahogany floor of the foyer opened into a great room decorated with plush hand-woven carpets, Louis the Fourteenth furniture, and overstuffed leather easy chairs. An ornate marble fireplace took up one end of the huge room. Audrey shook her head. “I can look at all this later. The only thing I really want to look at now is you.”

“That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me. Come on upstairs. Unless you’d like to bring some food or refreshments up with us.”

She shook her head. “No. I’m feeling nervous as it is. This shifter stuff is still really, really new.”

He kissed her and took her hand. “I’ll take care of you, Audrey. I’ll never let anyone hurt you or anything bad happen to you.” Max’s voice vibrated with emotion as he led her up a carpeted stairway that hugged a wainscoted wall.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” Her throat was so thick, it was hard to talk. Love coursed through her, so rich with promise it made every other emotion pale by comparison.

“I won’t. One more flight. Okay, all the way to the end of the hall.” He moved in front of her, opened the door, and scooped her into his arms.

“What? You’re carrying me across the threshold? I thought you were supposed to do that at the front door.”

“I was afraid once I got my hands on so much of you, we’d never make it all the way up here.” He set her back on her feet. His hands shook slightly as he pushed her jacket off her shoulders. He started on the buttons of her blouse.

“Wait. Let me get out of these heels.” She toed first one shoe off, then the other. “Better. I’m shaky enough.” She held out her arms. He wrapped her in his and kissed her. Unlike his earlier kisses, this one held heat and need. For the first time, she caught a glimpse of the emotional depth he kept under wraps.

She slid her hands down his back and cupped his high, firm ass, pulling him as close to her as she could. He groaned and deepened their kiss. She felt his erection sandwiched between them. It jerked against her body. Her breasts ached. Her thighs were awash in fluid. She told herself to slow down, that they had all the time they’d ever need, but her body didn’t see it that way.

She broke away from their kiss, breathless. “We can get fancy with this later. Right now, there are way too many clothes in the way.” She reached for the buttons on his shirt, barely able to make her fingers obey her they shook so badly. He shrugged out of his suit coat and then the shirt she’d managed to unbutton. Audrey sucked in a breath. She ran fingertips down his bronze skin. He had perfectly muscled arms and shoulders and a hard, flat stomach with planes of muscle disappearing into the waistband of his trousers. Fine blond hairs sprinkled around his nipples. She moved in and licked one, gratified by his sudden intake of breath.

“Fair’s fair.” He found the buttons of her blouse again and pushed it off her shoulders. It slithered to the floor. He plucked the black market cash from between her breasts. “Hey, a tip!” He tossed the money on a table.

She laughed. “Hold up there, sweetie. You need to earn it first.”

He unhooked her bra and tugged it off her shoulders; it fell to the floor atop her blouse. A look of wonder washed over his face, and he filled his hands with her breasts, growling low in the back of his throat. “Beautiful. You’re exquisite.” He bent his head and traded his hands for his mouth, kissing and suckling her just like in her fantasy. Streams of sensation made her legs weak.

Audrey wriggled and pressed her thighs together. They were slick with her fluids. “I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to stand up.” She undid his belt and started on the fastenings of his pants. “I hope you have condoms,” she panted, “because I don’t.”

He let go of the nipple he’d been tonguing. “We don’t need them.”

“Huh?” She ran her hands up his torso. His skin was amazing; silky and electric, it sent bolts of desire from her fingertips to her pussy.

“Shifters don’t get human diseases, and I control when my seed impregnates. Enough discussion. I need to get my shoes off,” he said thickly, voice raspy with need.

She glanced down. Wingtips. “Here, let me.” She kneeled before him and untied both shoes; he balanced with a hand on her shoulder while she worked them off one at a time. When she raised her head, she closed her mouth over the bulge in his pants, breathing heat and desire through the fabric.

A feral sound escaped him. Max plunged his hands into her hair, scattering pins and clips. She finished undoing his trousers, gave a tug, and they pooled on the floor. The outline of his cock through cream-colored silk shorts made her heart beat so fast, she was afraid she might pass out. He let go of her hair long enough to push his underwear out of the way.

His cock was huge and amazing. Wonderfully shaped, it curved toward her invitingly. A single drop of fluid glistened on the glans. She rubbed it around the sensitive head with a fingertip and then took him into her mouth, nibbling and sucking. Her own climax was so close, she thought she might come just from sucking on him.

“Audrey, sweetheart.” Arms pulled her upright. “I’ll come if you keep doing that, and I want to come inside your pussy—at least this first time.” His eyes gleamed with hunger. His breath came fast. He fumbled with her skirt. It slid down her hips. “Help me with your stockings.”

She pushed ineffectually at them and then walked to the bed. Perched on the edge, she shinnied out of her nylons. The only thing left was a lacy, pink thong. With a roar, Max dove across the room, landing practically on top of her. He covered her body with his and kissed her with a vengeance. The feel of his skin against hers was incredible and thrilling. Wherever he touched her came alive with desperate, aching need. She ground her body against him. Release was close, so close.

He reached between them and ripped the thong out of the way. “Sorry, sorry,” he murmured. “I can’t wait any longer. I have to be inside you.”

Audrey wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders and hung on. His cock slid into her in a long, delicious heave. That was all it took. As he hit bottom, she convulsed around him. To keep from screaming, she bit his shoulder and then kissed him.

He moved his mouth away from hers and looked down from where he balanced on his arms. “Yes, sweet girl, come for me. I wish you could see yourself. You’re glowing.”

Her orgasm barely took a bite out of her need. She moved her hips lazily. “More.”

His face was so beautiful, she couldn’t tear her eyes away. “I’ll give you all the more you want.” He withdrew. His cock glistened with her fluids. “Turn over, darling, on your hands and knees.”

Audrey flipped over and felt him sink inside her again. He closed a hand over her swollen nub and rubbed as he drove his cock into her. Another climax rose to the surface, rolling in on the waves of the last one. She was close, almost there, when he crowed. “Open your eyes, we’re shifting. We’ll finish as wolves.”

Max’s claws dug into the soft fabric of the bedclothes. He was probably ripping the shit out of them, but he didn’t care. From his vantage point behind her, he watched Audrey transform into a stunning black and gray timber wolf with a lush pelt. He felt his own transformation. Felt his penis develop a bulb on the end that swelled inside her vulva, holding them together.

He forced himself to wait until the transformation was complete. This coupling would count as the one in animal form, but not if it happened before they were fully wolves. His cock was so hard, it ached. He’d been on the edge of coming for a long time, but he’d wanted to bring her to a second climax. The transformation only took moments, but they lasted an eternity. Finally, he let himself go. His climax rocked him to the pads of his feet. He tossed back his head and howled and then buried his teeth in the junction between her neck and shoulder.

Audrey howled right along with him. Her vulva quivered. He rocked his cock deeper inside her. Her muscles clenched around him and clenched again. He kept on moving to extend her orgasm. He wanted her to come a thousand times. His mate. His woman. She would never want for anything. Ever. He would see to it.

Ecstasy didn’t come close to describing his delight. Earlier, part of him had been lost in the wonder of her body, but another part was waiting for them to shift. It was only when he stopped worrying about it—and trying to control things—that nature had taken over.

It took a while before her body stopped quivering. She wriggled her butt against him.
“We’re stuck like this for a few minutes,”
he told her.

“I thought it might be something like that,”
she murmured.
“Oh, Max. I don’t care if we’re stuck like this forever. Maybe I do. I love you so much. I want to be able to turn around and hold you and kiss you.”

“Soon, darling. My love. My mate.”
He growled, surprised at the possessive note.

“At first I kept waiting for us to shift, then I got so caught up in wanting you, I guess I sort of forgot all about it.”

“Which is why it finally happened.”
He moved inside her, testing things. It seemed he was a little smaller. Maybe he’d be able to slip out. It would be nice to get their paws on the floor. The bed was far too soft.

“Oh my God, you’re white.”
She craned her neck around to look at him.
“I saw a white paw, but all of you is white. And your pelt is gorgeous.”