Blood Challenge (13 page)

Davinia laughed. “I don’t need clairvoyance for that. You will find Rica in the woodshop behind your home. Viggo is with him, as are several others. That’s where they spend their days.” Her eyes sparkled with a teasing glint. “Do you miss him, Ellie?”

She shrugged, evading a definitive answer.

“Are you happy with the outcome of the Mating Moon Ceremony?”

“I suppose. Any mate would have done, but Rica is nice.”

Davinia laughed again. “You are more transparent than you would like to think.” She turned serious. “I think you will not be leaving when the snow thaws.”

Ellie’s heart rate accelerated. “Do your powers tell you that?”

She shook her head. “No. Love will keep you here.”

“I’m not in love with Rica.”

Davinia chuckled. “You will be.”

She made a non-committal sound, even though the lump in her throat felt as if it were choking her. Ellie wanted to loudly protest she would leave, but even she felt a hint of doubt. She knew Rica wouldn’t willingly let her go, and part of her didn’t want him to.

She firmed her mouth, trying to assure herself she was having a reaction to the physical attraction she felt for Rica, and nothing more. It had been an overwhelming past few days. It was no wonder she was having trouble focusing on her goals.

She reminded herself she had worked hard for the chair position. She imagined how satisfying it would be to head the department when no woman had held the post before. She had earned the job. There would be no doubt of her appointment when she published her scientifically verifiable study of the werewolves of Corsova. The prospect should have excited her, but instead, it left her feeling hollow inside.

Chapter 9

On her way home, Davinia took time to show Ellie where the shop was. She walked down the path and hovered outside the building that was larger than Rica’s home. She raised her hand, poised to knock, but uncertain of her reception. What if the woodworking was some kind of men-only industry? Were the Necheans primitive enough to have superstitions about women and tools?

Before she could decide whether to knock or leave, the door opened, revealing a burly man with a long beard. He stopped in mid-step, obviously surprised. He recovered and inclined his head. “Good evening, Lupina.”

“Hello.”

“I’m Helgon.” He nodded into the shop. “We were just finishing for the day.” He stepped out of the building and held open the door for her. “The Alpha is at the back of the shop.”

She gave him a smile and a quick, “Thanks,” as she stepped into the woodshop. The smell of fresh cut wood, sawdust, and chemicals hit her as soon as she entered. When the door closed behind Helgon, the odors intensified. She blinked and coughed, instantly gaining the attention of the five men gathered in the shop. She had eyes only for Rica.

The three she didn’t know introduced themselves before returning to their work. They weren’t as friendly as the women who had stopped by to welcome her, and Ellie was under no illusion that all members of the Pack had accepted her as Rica’s mate. She stood in the corner, watching as the men finished their tasks for the day and took their leave. When it was only Viggo and Rica left, she moved away from the corner to examine the works-in-progress.

Several doors lined the wall of one side of the shop. They were in various stages of completion. Even those the men had just started on showed the promise of beauty and exquisite detail. Moving on, she examined several small and medium-sized coffee tables in different stages of assembly. There seemed to be a little bit of every kind of furniture, and she looked at all of it while Rica and Viggo finished.

“Ellie?”

She looked up when Viggo called her name. “Yes?”

“Good night.”

She nodded, and he left.
And then there were two
, she found herself thinking. She felt nervous for some reason when she met Rica’s eyes. He stood by a large table saw, with his hip propped against a workbench. His eyes were dark, and his cock strained against his jeans, leaving no doubt he wanted her.

Her gaze moved to the table saw. “I thought you didn’t have electricity.”

His eyebrows rose in a high arch. Rica stood up and started walking toward her. “We have a small generator for the shop.”

“Then why don’t you put in power for the rest of the village?” She took a step back, although she wasn’t afraid of him. Maybe she was just afraid of the intense desire she saw in his eyes. Did it mirror her own? She swallowed as he neared. “The women would have an easier time of things.”

He stopped walking and reached out, bringing her close. “Do you really want to discuss electricity, Ellie, or do you want me to fuck you?”

She met his eyes again, and all hesitation fled. “I’d like you to fuck me, Rica.” She arched her neck as he lowered his head. Their lips met, and she parted hers. Rica’s tongue slipped inside to caress hers. His hands cupped her back, rotating in soothing circles. She pressed her body against his, reveling in the way her soft alpaca sweater molded to her curves under his hands and against his chest.

His hands left her back to travel to her breasts, but his mouth remained on hers. He sucked her lower lip into his mouth and bit gently, eliciting a moan of mixed pleasure and pain from her. Ellie gripped his shoulders, digging her nails into his skin through the flannel shirt, urging him closer. When he drew her tongue between his teeth and nipped, she tore her mouth from his. She attempted to take in a deep breath, but Rica’s mouth captured hers again.

She felt lightheaded, but didn’t think it was because she couldn’t draw in a deep breath. His kisses and touch were definitely responsible. She shifted her lower body, searching for relief from the burning in her pussy. Her swollen clit pressed against her silk panties, which created almost unbearable friction.

Rica’s mouth ventured away from her lips to trace the line of her jaw, back to her ear. He drew the lobe into his mouth and flicked his tongue around the diamond stud. She dug her fingernails deeper into him, anchoring her suddenly weak knees. When his tongue teased the opening of her ear canal, she stiffened. A gentle breath made her moan. How could her ear be so erogenous?

His warm breath segued to words. “I want to pound my cock into your tight cunt. I want to fuck you from behind, Ellie.”

She tried to remember how to form words. Part of her protested the picture he painted with his words, but she responded on a deeper level. Her pussy grew slick. “You want to dominate me.” She had meant her voice to emerge full of feminine outrage. Instead, it came out as a smoky whisper, with more than a trace of excitement. She didn’t shy away from the realization that she wanted him to dominate her.

“Yes.” His breath whispered across her cheek as he raised his head. In contrast to his words, his lips were gentle when they kissed a path from her cheekbone to her eyebrow. Rica stiffened and jerked away from her, growling low in his throat.

Ellie’s passion-heavy eyes opened fully. “What’s wrong?”

“Silver.” He gestured to the stud in her brow. “It’s poison to me.”

She removed the silver spike with shaking hands, finding her concentration shot by Rica’s proximity and the image of him thrusting into her from behind. It was so evocative of wolves in their natural state, and it surprised her how the idea excited her. How would she tolerate the thrill accompanying the actual position?

She didn’t stop with the jewelry she slipped into her pocket. Rica’s eyes were on her as she pulled the soft sweater over her head and draped it over a sawhorse. Her fingers still trembled when she struggled with the fastening of the bra. He solved the problem by stepping forward and ripping the straps. He tore open the lace and removed the ruined scrap from her. Ellie’s shoulders stung where the elastic had bitten into her skin. His lips found the sensitive spot on her left shoulder, soothing it with his tongue, before doing the same to the right.

Rica was gentler with her jeans. He didn’t seem to have any trouble using his hands to open the zip and snap. He definitely didn’t have any trouble seeking out her pussy and stroking it through the silk. When he tried to move his fingers after a brief caress, Ellie put her hand over his. “I want more.”

He grinned. “Later.” His hand slipped from hers to join his other at the waistband of her jeans. He rolled them down smoothly, leaving her panties behind. He didn’t ask her to remove her boots or try to take them off for her. He just left the jeans around her feet, deliberately interfering with her ability to open her legs. He put his hands on her hips.

Ellie tried to pull away so she could remove her jeans and boots. Rica’s grip tightened. He didn’t hurt her, but he was showing his strength exceeded hers. She gave a half-hearted glower before she relaxed. As soon as she stopped struggling, he moved one of his hands to cup her pussy. He squeezed the lips together and rubbed them against each other simultaneously. She instinctively bucked her hips.

“Mine.” This was no grateful pronouncement. No, he was arrogant as hell when he said it. “Mine,” he growled again, possessively.

Ellie moved her arm awkwardly to touch the front of his jeans, where his cock strained against the denim. “Mine.” She mimicked his tone and knew there was the sparkle of challenge in her eyes.

“Prove it.” He released her and took a step back. “Take my cock in your mouth.”

She gave him a cool look, grateful he couldn’t see the way her heart pounded or the way her mouth watered. She nodded. “Strip.”

He lifted a brow at her tone, but his fingers moved with unerring quickness down the buttons of his shirt. It joined her sweater on the sawhorse. Her eyes stayed glued to his hands as he unsnapped his jeans. The rasp of his zipper was music to her ears, and she licked her lips when his cock sprang free. He wasn’t wearing briefs.

He left his cock hanging from his opened jeans while he kicked off his boots. Then he teased her by slipping the jeans down an inch at a time, slowly revealing the firm flesh of his thighs underneath.

She had the urge to step forward and tear off his jeans with the same urgency he had displayed when removing her bra. She contented herself by untying the strings of her panties and removing them. After she draped them over the sawhorse, she started rubbing her pussy. She enjoyed the way his eyes widened and his nostrils flared. She parted her thighs as much as her restrained feet would allow and slipped two fingers inside herself. As Rica’s speed at removing the jeans increased, she thrust her fingers in and out of her pussy leisurely.

“If you don’t stop that, I’ll fuck you this minute.” His eyes glittered with suppressed desire, and his hands were rougher than he probably intended when he grasped her upper arms to drag her forward. Ellie’s hand slipped from her pussy as he gently pushed her to her knees. She steadied herself by placing a hand on the back of his thigh. She stared up at him, seeing the blaze of passion darken his eyes further when she cupped his balls in her free hand.

His balls had a scant amount of hair, considering the fur that covered the rest of his body. Even on her knees, his cock was higher than her mouth, and she straightened until she could trace his sac with the tip of her tongue. She lifted his balls, trailing her tongue backward, darting into the area behind. He groaned when she teased his perineum.

He had been working all day, but he still smelled good. His scent was a mixture of wood, sweat, and his unique aroma. His skin tasted salty from his exertions, but it wasn’t unpleasant. She licked his balls thoroughly before moving her tongue to the base of his thick cock and licking a trail up the underside to the head.

“Don’t tease me.” Rica sounded gruff, but there was a trace of desperation in his tone.

Ellie smiled before wrapping her mouth around the head of his cock. He was large enough to be satisfying, but not so large that she couldn’t close her lips around him. She didn’t waste time teasing the head. She lowered her mouth and relaxed her throat, taking in as much of him as she could. When she reached her limit, his hand came to rest against the back of her head to anchor her there.

To her surprise, Rica began thrusting into her mouth, rather than having her work his length. All she had to do was maintain suction and catch the steady stream of his arousal as it leaked from the tip of his head. He never tried to force his cock past the boundary she had established. She clutched his legs and varied the strength of her sucking from light to heavy, depending on the way his body jerked in response.

A cry escaped Rica, and she thought he had come, but his fluid didn’t fill her mouth. Instead, he stepped back and bent down to pull her to her feet. Once she was steady, he tangled his hands in her hair and tilted her head back. His mouth claimed hers, branding her as his. He didn’t shy away from his essence on her tongue. His lips and tongue devoured her, while his cock pressed into her stomach.

She broke the kiss first, gasping. A trail of fire burned from her pussy to her breasts, centering in her nipples. “I need you, Rica. I can’t wait.”

“Are you aching for my cock?” While asking the question, Rica spun her around. He crouched down to press his cock against her bare buttocks. The head nestled inside her cleft.

She nodded frantically. “Now, please fuck me now.”

He paused only to strip off her boots and jeans before pressing her forward, bending her over the sawhorse. It pushed low into her stomach, but she didn’t protest. The minor pain didn’t compare to the deep ache in her pussy that only his cock could assuage. She clenched her hands around each side of the sawhorse. Rica parted her legs wide and stepped between them. He hunched low enough to fit the head of his cock against the opening of her pussy, holding her open with one hand.