Ariel (24 page)

Matt stopped walking and pulled her close for a scorching kiss, smiling when he released her.

Chapter 19

Ariel sighed in happiness as Matt fed her another bite of ham. Great welcome home sex. A shared shower. Good food. What could be better than this? It was hard to believe she’d had so many reservations about coming back to him. She sat contentedly in Matt’s lap, her legs draped over his as they talked.

“Don’t you have any reservations about us at all?” she asked.

“Sure. I have thousands.” Matt wiped his greasy ham fingers off on his spare shirt that Ariel was wearing, mostly just to hear her laugh. His smile was affectionate and his heart clenched in his chest as she sniffed the spot he’d made on her clothes and moaned in ecstasy at the smell.

“Mate me. I promise to feed you ham for the rest of our lives,” he vowed.

“Stop. You’re not distracting me with promises of food. Name one doubt about us you have,” Ariel ordered. It took considerable effort, but she shifted her attention away from her delicious smelling shirt and back to his face.

“Okay. I’ll name the biggest one. I know I will never have all of you. If something bad happens to Reed, you’ll have to go back to the Black Wolf pack. As your werewolf family, they will always be part of your responsibilities, as much as Brandi and Heidi. Having to share my mate with so many others wasn’t something I expected to have to do, especially not as alpha. I’ve had to do a lot of hard thinking and work on adjusting my attitude. I have accepted that even if you never lead a pack bigger than three, you will always be an alpha.”

“What do you mean you never expected to have to share your mate? That sounds archaic in this day and age, even for werewolves. Were you planning to keep some female barefoot and pregnant, making your meals, and constantly at your beck and call?”

Matt laughed, but couldn’t deny it. “Yes. Actually, I was. It is fairly common in werewolf relationships for the female to be subservient to the male.”

Ariel rolled her eyes. “Someone as intelligent as you are could not seriously believe that kind of situation could ever work for us. What about the fact I might never be able to give you a family? Doesn’t that bother you? It bothers me. It’s not that I want babies, but I’d like to have the option.”

Matt drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “Yes. I’m still working through our possible inability to make a family. So far, I have concluded that conception will be something me and your little nanos will have to work out. They seem to like me so far. They haven’t removed my marks of possession from your body. It’s like they somehow know I’m the best for you and your wolf. While you were gone, I decided a possible lack of children was a life risk I was willing to take to keep you with me. It is your company I want more than anything. Everything else in our lives will be a bonus.”

Ariel bit her lip at his understanding and thought hard about how to explain her biggest concern. It was hard for her to put into words.

“I think what worries me most is there’s so much we still don’t know about each other. I really do have all those alpha urges you told me about. Did Gareth tell you how easy it was for me to defeat Hanuk?”

“Yes. I’ve heard the story of your amazing fight many times. No one who saw it will cease talking about it, no matter how much my blood runs cold every time I remember having to leave you alone to face it,” Matt said.

“Matt—I wasn’t even scared to fight—not for a single second—not even when I thought I was going to be taking on both Hanuk and Travis. Does it not seem a contradiction to you that the same bloodthirsty, fearless alpha is now sitting on your lap and letting you feed her ham? You really don’t have to keep rescuing me from your jealous werewolf girlfriends, my evil cousins, and any future mad scientist who might want to dissect me.”

Matt chuckled at her complaints. “Maybe I don’t know what you’re capable of, but I’ve always known what you were. Do you think your alpha side should worry me more?”

Ariel shrugged. “Maybe. If you make me mad, our fights are not going to be pleasant. In fact, I’m always amazed about how much leeway I seem to automatically allow you. It baffles me to feel nearly subservient with you when I would for damn sure kick any other male’s ass for similar offenses. Can you explain why I feel this way around you and no one else?”

“Sweetheart, it’s the simplest thing in the world. But actions are so much better than words.”

Ariel saw the wolf in Matt’s eyes seconds before his hot mouth claimed hers. Throat growling his possession, Matt’s tongue demanded her arousal while his hands gripped her hips and dragged her flush against him. Her body instantly complied with his demands. Her hands ran over his chest in delight, rejoicing in his thunderous heartbeat. His fierce desire always thrilled her, no matter how many times they were together.

When he finally released her lips, she felt his sharp, dangerous teeth grazing her neck as they slid down her across her jugular. Her wolf didn’t flinch from the contact even though her human side fully understood her life was at risk. If Matt had wanted to kill her, he definitely could have, and in a flash. But she remained still, literally frozen in place, while she waited for the male she desired to do whatever he wanted to her.

“Okay—just one more question. Where the hell do my survival instincts go when I’m with you?” she demanded.

“They’re still there. They just aren’t being felt because they aren’t needed when you are safe in my arms. You belong to me,” Matt whispered roughly, his teeth aching with the urge to mark her once and for all. “Your succulent body knows I adore it. Your scientific mind knows I respect your thoughts. Even your nanos know I mean you no harm. But I’m still waiting for your human heart to catch up. How long am I going to have to wait?”

Ariel bit her lip, thinking hard about it. “I’m not sure. If I belong to you, do you belong to me back?”

“Yes. I belong to you back. And you’re the only female I’ve ever felt that way about. The feelings I have about you are so strong, they make any doubts I have fade away. What is left has turned into my absolute faith that we will adapt to each other. I cannot bear to think otherwise. I will do nearly anything to keep you in my life.”

“
Matt
…” Ariel whispered his name and leaned forward, tucking her face into his shoulder. Her teeth sharpened in her mouth. Her wolf always made her strong.

“I really like the idea that belonging works both ways. My wolf is feeling very possessive of you right now.”

Matt’s heart pounded hard at the news. “How possessive is your wolf feeling?”

“
Very possessive
,” she whispered. “I need you now. I need you badly.”

Supporting her claim, her fingernails lengthened into claws. She used them to rip Matt’s shirt to shreds in order to get to his skin.

“You can have me anytime and anywhere,” Matt declared. Wanting to save the rest of his clothes, he stood with Ariel clasped around his waist. Bracing her hips with one hand, he used the other to free himself from his sweats. When he sat down in the chair again, he lowered Ariel until his need of her pressed against her entrance.

“Take me in and make me yours,” he pleaded. “It’s what I want. I need you too.”

Ariel groaned as Matt used his hands to help her hips find the perfect position. When he pulled her tight against his nearly naked chest, she slid down on him as he thrust up to get inside her. Together they created the physical bond they both craved.

One of his hands raked her hair back as he called her name in pleasure.

Ariel leaned forward and braced her hands on his shoulders to better meet his suddenly eager thrusts. “You’re mine now,” she whispered, nipping his ear. She circled back to his mouth, nipping his lips too. “I want you to be mine, Matthew Gray Wolf.”

Needing more of him, she crushed his lips with hers and felt him quiver in response to her assertiveness as she bore down to meet his thrusts. His enthusiastic reactions told her everything important she needed to know about the man beneath her. They told her they were equals. Their relationship had that as a foundation.

She kissed and stroked and whispered his name. Eventually Matt stilled his movements, letting her take over completely as she rose and fell on him.

His half-lidded eyes stared at her breasts, enjoying the show.

“How possessive are you feeling now?” he demanded, his voice husky and full of joy.

“
Mine
.” Ariel choked out the single word, understanding what she was feeling at last.

Following a need greater than any she’d ever known before, Ariel pressed her weight down hard, clamping her muscles tight as she trapped Matt’s erection inside her. Without any reservations, she leaned forward and sank her sharp teeth into his throat. When he yelled in surprise at her attack, she listened to her wolf and bit down harder, unwilling to let him loose in any way at all.

It was a moment like the one Reed had described. Instinct ruled her. She was acting from a knowledge greater than logic. Matt’s erection throbbed within her depths while her muscles clenched around him ruthlessly. He was making half man-half animal noises and calling out her name. When her wolf growled in satisfaction over his struggles, Ariel completely understood…and agreed with her other side.

Her mind clicked off entirely when Matt stopped struggling and bent to her neck as well. His teeth sinking fully into her sent an indescribable amount of pleasure racing through every cell as the mother of all orgasms hit. She felt Matt pulsing in completion as he climaxed too, and still her body held on to him, not wanting to let go.

Time passed. She didn’t know how much…or care. She was happy, satisfied, and complete.

Eventually, her wolf teeth receded and she gasped in surprise. Instinctively her tongue came out to lick over and around the indentations she’d made, healing them as Matt had done to her.

Then the magnitude of her actions hit her as hard as the big orgasm had. She moaned softly against his now marked skin, her human side suddenly unsure about how angry Matt was going to be about her show of aggression.

His hand in her hair gripped hard as he turned her face up to his. His mouth swooping down hard and hot on hers was a visceral shock even after what they’d shared, but she felt nothing but approval and gratitude in the kiss.

When her mouth was free again, she finally opened her eyes, willing at last to face what she’d done. Matt’s gaze on hers was blazing hot. His arousal was banked, but the cinders of his lust were still burning. He was still inside her, a semi-firm reminder of what was possible. She shivered in anticipation of what he would do when the flames roared to full life again. It looked like her werewolf wedding night was going to be one where they couldn’t get enough of each other.

Ariel sucked her bottom lip as she cautiously offered an explanation. “I don’t exactly know why I did all that to you. I couldn’t seem to help myself. Did it hurt when I bit you?”

Matt’s smile was wide and wicked as he answered. “Yes. Alpha teeth are lethal. At first your bite hurt like hell, then it was incredibly blissful.”

“Blissful?”

Matt gripped her tighter. “Yes. Mating with you was far better than any story I’ve heard anyone share about what happens. I’ve never had a climax last that long before. I didn’t think you were ever going to let me find release. I’m still not sure what you did to stop it from happening, but…
damn
…I liked it.”

Ariel wanted to chuckle at his description of her control, but her tired body couldn’t manage humor. “Your bite didn’t hurt me at all. It was glorious. It stopped time and I could sense every nuance of what was happening to us. My orgasm spun out as I felt yours. But tell me the truth, Matt. Didn’t my aggression bother you?”

Matt snorted. “Are you serious? Not even a little bit. Your aggression thrills me. Your obedience humbles me because I have to work so hard to earn it. My wolf and I are thrilled beyond what I can describe in words to call someone like you our mate.”

Ariel sighed. “Okay. So the bites…they mean we’re mates now, right?”

Matt nodded. “Yes. Or at least our wolves are. I am committed to you like no other with all that I am. One day, I hope your human side accepts me just as completely as your wolf has. I know this has happened too fast for the cautious scientist in you. It is my goal to erase all her lingering reservations. Please let me. I love you, Ariel. All of you. No matter how complicated your life is.”

She lifted a hand to his face. “I love you, too, Matt. I’ll try to be the best mate I can be while I’m figuring out my crazy life.”

Matt smiled. “That’s all I can ask. Are you hungry?”

Ariel smiled as she shook her head. “Only for you. You make me insatiable.”

“Best mating present ever—except for you biting me back.”

Matt lifted her gently from his lap and held on until her legs were steady. He took her hand as they walked up the stairs.

“So what will we have to do for your pack tomorrow to make this official?” Ariel asked.

Matt grinned. “Nothing earth-shattering. But you need to wear something revealing. We both do. I want them to see my marks. I have to say your bite totally surprised me. Only one female out of every ten couples ever bites her mate back. You just became a unique werewolf statistic, Dr. Jones.”