Claiming His Need (19 page)

“I was born in Spain late in the sixteenth century.” His voice was barely above a whisper, soothing and calm with a hint more of an accent than I’d ever heard from him. “I have one brother, as you know. His real name is Bastian, but he is known as the Beast of the Feral Breed. We found our destiny with the Breed. It’s a responsibility we both take seriously.

“I’m not a young wolf, Kaija, nor am I in any way innocent. I have fought and killed, though never indiscriminately. I don’t believe in living with guilt for exacting the justice deserved.” His eyes held mine as he lowered his voice, his accent growing thick, making the words have a rhythm to them. A sensual cadence pulling me under their spell.

“I have not always done the right thing, but I’ve always had the right intentions. I am the Gatekeeper for the Feral Breed, but I wield that power with care and not callousness. My hands are dirty, my world is sometimes dark and violent, but my conscience is clear.” He took a deep, shaky breath. “And I know I can be a good mate for you.”
 

I held his gaze as he stopped moving, his hands resting on my shoulders. There was so much heat in his eyes, so much desire. This man was passion incarnate, and yet he had an aura of nervousness around him. As if he believed I would refuse our mating even though I had joined him in the Rites cabin. As if he expected me to reject him.

With a shaking breath and an intense expression on his face, he said, “My name is Lorenzo Martinez de Caballero, and I have been waiting for you for a long time.”
 

My heart broke for my mate. Handsome, strong, and ridiculously sexy, but he seemed lonely. Four hundred years was a long time to go without a mate. Most wolves were mated well before their centennial birthday. I couldn’t even image him waiting for me, year after year, wondering if he’d somehow missed the opportunity to find his love.

“You found me, mate. It took time, but you found me. And I will never let you go.”

Gates pulled me into his arms, shoulders shaking and chest heaving. I held him and stroked his bare skin to comfort and ensure him of my presence. There was no doubt left to be had, no question of our bonding. We were meant to be together, and it was time to join ourselves to each other. We had waited long enough for this moment. We had been patient. But there were no more rules to follow, no more pack to worry about. The rest of the night and the next few days were all about us and what we wanted to do. And right then, I wanted to wipe that last shadow of doubt right off his pretty face. It was time to complete our bonding…time to exchange our mating bites.

I reached behind Gates and turned off the taps. Stepping onto the tiled floor, I pulled his hand and dragged him behind me. He followed me into the bedchamber, both of us wet but neither caring enough to stop for a towel. Knowing he would give me the respect to make the decisions on our coupling, I crawled onto the bed as soon as I reached it. No pausing. No sign of second thoughts or weakness. I wanted Gates to give himself to me, and I would give myself to him in return.

“Kaija.” He stood and stared as I lay back on the bed and gave him a smile.

“Lorenzo.”
 

He shivered as I spoke his name, lengthening the middle syllable and ending on a whisper. But he didn’t move. He simply stood at the side of the bed and watched me for several long seconds.
 

Until he fell.

My mate—my beautiful, sweet, kindhearted mate—lay naked and waiting for me on a bed so large, I doubted I could reach from one side to the other. She looked small and delicate, like a sexy, sinful doll waiting to be played with.

And I definitely wanted to play with her.

I didn’t try to be sexy or suave. After everything I’d told her, I figured hiding any part of my nature was a wasted effort. She knew the good and the bad, the history and my hope for the future…and she accepted all of it. So I did exactly what I wanted to do.

I fell on the bed next to her and yanked her into my arms as I rolled.

“Gates.”

Her giggle warmed my soul and made me smile. I stopped in the middle of the bed, holding most of my weight off her body with my arms as I fit my hips between her thighs.

“Princess.”

Her growl had my already hard cock practically weeping. Her legs fell farther apart, opening to me in a way that was blatantly sexual. I rolled my hips against hers as I stared into her eyes, giving and taking in turn, working us into a rhythm that would lead us to what we both craved.

Her hands gripped my shoulders as I slid my cock against her opening, never pushing in, simply giving her the pressure she needed to tease her into arousal. With every pass, the heat of her flesh increased, the skin becoming slippery as she grew wetter and more swollen.

“Gates.” Her whisper came out as a plea, as a request for something more than I was giving her. I responded by dropping my head to her chest and taking one of her peach-hued nipples between my teeth. I bit softly at first, increasing the pressure until she arched into me with a hiss, never stopping the rolling of my hips.

On the next bite, she gripped my hair and pulled my head back, her eyes intense and so very bright.

“What do you want, Princess?”

Without pause, with no fear or uncertainty, she answered, “Claim me, mate.”

I growled and pulled my hips back before sliding one hand down her body to grasp my cock.
 

“Are you sure you’re ready?”

She nodded and angled her hips, needy. With a deep, tongue-tangling kiss and a single hard thrust, I seated myself fully inside her. I had to go still to keep from coming immediately. Hot and wet and soft and holy-mother-of-fucking-all-things-holy tight. I needed a moment, just a second to hold back the tingling in my balls. I needed to calm the fuck down so I wouldn’t come before I could give her what she needed.

“Fuck, Gates. Please.”

Such a dirty word falling from those lips had me spinning in a haze of lust. I nodded and pulled my hips back then pushed forward once more, sliding in that slick cavern which had instantly become my favorite place to be. In and out, pulling and pushing, we worked together to stay connected. Our breaths turned to pants, our rumbles of pleasure to snarls and full growls as we each progressed toward the mating climax.

“Oh fuck.” I hissed as her nails scraped down my back, knowing she’d drawn blood. Soon, I would bite her and pull the essence of her shifter into my body. Just the thought of the mating bites had my cock growing harder, my hips moving faster, and my mouth dropping words like fire.

“So hot. So soft. Fuck, baby. You feel so good wrapped around me. I want to stay buried inside you for a week, sweet girl. See all the ways I can make you come. Fuck, yeah…squeeze me again. Yes.”

She growled and pulled me closer, her lips moving to my neck. I felt her fangs against my skin, felt the way her pussy fluttered and throbbed around my cock. She was ready.
 

I focused on my wolf spirit, allowing the instincts of mating and breeding to lengthen my canines. Kaija was a step ahead of me, licking and sucking where my neck met my shoulder to prepare a spot for the claiming mark. The thought of that scar, of her teeth marks permanently on display on my body, was enough to send me hurtling toward the edge of the cliff.

“Now, pretty girl. I’m going to come.”

She sank her teeth into my neck and came, her pussy squeezing my cock like a vise. I threw my head back and roared as I followed her, my entire body seizing up with the force of my orgasm. And then I swung down and bit her shoulder, sinking my teeth into her flesh and pulling in her life’s essence. What felt like another orgasm washed over me, causing my body to tense and freeze as the pleasure rippled along my spine. The thread between us, the mating bond we’d both felt since that day in the cave, grew hot and solid. I felt her pleasure as my own, a pulsing, heady thing between us. I felt the way she cared for me, the way she desired me. I felt everything.
 

Seconds or minutes passed as we lay together, connected in every way possible. Her teeth in my flesh and mine in hers had destroyed whatever sense of time I should have had. The feeling of being truly joined with her, mated to her, claimed by her, made small things like time unimportant in my world. All I needed, all I wanted, was what I had wrapped around my body.
 

As the claiming frenzy wore off and the mating thread went back to being a feeling rather than a physical entity, I released her shoulder from my jaws. I rolled to my side, pulling her with me. She kissed down my throat as I settled her next to me. I’d never felt so weary, so completely relaxed and calm. Wanting her safe and to feel her against me, I settled her against my chest and then nearly wrapped my body around hers.

“What are you doing?” She giggled but held me tight as I covered us with the quilt.

“Settling you into our den.”

“Our den, huh? We’re moving into the cabin?”

I tossed the quilt over our heads. “No, a blanket fort. I need a nap with my mate before I claim you again.”

She snuggled into my hold with a chuckle. “I thought mates could only claim each other once?”

“Once?” I pressed my already hardening cock against her thigh and growled. “Once will never be enough, Princess.”

The morning of our final day in the cabin dawned overcast and gloomy, typical of a fall day in the Upper Peninsula. Snow would come soon. The thought made the gloom seem appropriate, for there was still the uncertainty of my future with Gates looming over me. Did I request we stay with my pack? Or did I give up everything I loved and hop on the back of Gates’ bike to head off to parts unknown? Could I even leave my family behind, my packmates and friends? Could he ever find peace in the structure of a traditional pack instead of the freedom of his Feral Breed club?

As my mind spun off into the land of a thousand questions, Gates curled around me and pulled me close. As if he sensed my unrest. I settled against his chest, my head resting on his bicep as he fell deeper into sleep. This was it…our last day. Before nightfall, we would rejoin the pack, and I would announce to my family and pack what plans we’d made. If any.
 

I sighed as I watched my mate sleep, his face peaceful and his naked body warm against mine. Whatever we decided upon, he was mine. And I felt so lucky to have found him.
 

Wanting a break from my own thoughts—and knowing this was our last chance at privacy until we settled wherever we chose—I placed one hand on his hip and carefully pushed him over. He rolled to his back, one arm thrown over his head, the sheet we’d been tangled up in all night wrapped around the tops of his thighs.
 

His dick sat somewhat soft against his stomach. He’d been hard almost constantly since we’d arrived at the cabin, and I’d done my best to satisfy his needs. As he’d done his best to satisfy mine. We’d had sex in every position, every possible place within the cabin…and even once outdoors. My mate was a considerate lover and never left me wanting more.
 

And I wanted to be the same for him.

A craving for him washed over me, making me whimper. Who cared if we were on pack land or in a Breed den in Detroit—as long as we were together, we would find a way to be happy. And that was something to be celebrated.

I slid my body down the length of his, doing my best to keep from waking him. I’d been yanked from sleep in the middle of the night at one point by his mouth clamping over my clit and sucking. The sudden pleasure-pain of the moment led me to the fastest and strongest orgasm I’d ever experienced.
 

It was time to return the favor.

I settled against his side and leaned over to nuzzle the length of his dick. Gates didn’t react, but his dick did. It lengthened and swelled as I continued to run my nose along him. When it was mostly hard, Gates groaned and slid his hand over his hipbone. Knowing my time for a sneak attack was quickly coming to a close, I leaned my upper body over his hips, grabbed his dick with one hand, and dropped my open mouth over the tip. I tightened my lips around his girth and quickly slid him all the way inside, sucking as I lifted back off.

Gates came awake with a jerk and a growl. He grabbed my head and thrust his hips up, forcing himself deeper. It was such a primal response, so much more raw than anything he’d done up to that point. While our coupling hadn’t been gentle, he’d never just given in and done what he wanted to me without focusing on my pleasure first. But this time, it was all about him. And he took full advantage of that fact.

“Fuck, yes.”

I returned his growl and let him fuck my mouth, drawing him as deep as I could before hollowing out my cheeks as he pulled out.
 

“Oh gods. Oh gods. Kaija…Princess…what…?”

I growled louder and bobbed my head faster, adding a hand to the base of his dick to keep him steady. He writhed and panted, cursing and growling as I worked him hard. When his legs spread and he groaned with what I knew was an impending orgasm, I grasped his balls in my hand and rolled them, giving him small tugs every few strokes.

“Baby…baby…I’m going…fuck, Kaija. So hot. Oh. Just a little…yes. Yes.”

Gates nearly bowed off the bed, a roar rumbling out of him as he came. When he was done, when he fell back on the mattress after I’d suckled him until he’d once again gone soft, he shivered and pulled me up the length of him.

“What the hell was that?”

I smiled as he pushed a lock of hair out of my face. “Your wake-up call.”

He chuckled and ran his hands up and down my back. Over my bottom. Around my hips.

“Can I get woken up like that more often?”

“Only if you’re good.”

He grinned and pulled me up to the head of the bed. He manipulated my body—the two of us laughing as we twisted and tumbled on the mattress—until I was on my knees, leaning forward to grip the headboard. And then he slid underneath me, peering up at me from where his head rested between my legs.