First Beast (10 page)

Hell. His fingers were so damn talented. She fought the urge to close her eyes as his hands stroked up over her ribcage, flirting dangerously close to her breasts.

“Relax.” Caleb's breath whispered close to her ear, sending shivers down her neck and throat. “Anyone would think you didn't want this.”

“I don't,” she said with as much conviction as a woman currently being seduced by an expert could manage. “I'm here under sufferance.”

He whipped her around so fast, her head spun for a moment. “Then leave.” Seeing as his hands were tight around her upper arms, she wasn't sure if he meant it. “If you really don't want to be here, I suggest you go now.”

What? She had a choice? “Isn't it a bit late for that? You forced me into that farce of a marriage ceremony.”

“I can have it annulled.”

Did he mean it? Or was he simply baiting her? And what if she took him up on his offer? She wanted to ask if he would still go ahead with his threats to Joshua's mother, but remembered that her husband had asked her not to reveal that she knew of the deal made between the two men. Hadn't part of the deal been that nobody else knew of the agreement reached between Caleb and Joshua?

Which meant there was no way out for her. “You're a beast and a brute.”

His smile was feral. “As to the first accusation? I cannot deny it. As to the second? It is something I have never yet been accused of.” His hands slid down her arms again and his eyes softened. “Why do you fight me?”

“Because this situation is not of my choosing. You can't think for one moment that I actually want this.”

“Your words tell me that, but your body doesn't lie.” He drew her close, pressing his erection against her. “Why don't you simply accept the inevitable?”

“That you're going to force yourself on me?”

He laughed, then sobered, the gleam in his eye intensifying. “That we're going to fuck, and you're going to love it.”

She hated,
hated
, that her pussy contracted at his crude words. Hated even more that she knew he was right. She wanted him. Really wanted him. But what sort of wife did that make her? Whichever angle she looked at it, she was betraying Joshua. If he'd been here with her, she might not have felt this powerful need for Caleb. Might not have experienced this intense desire for the man.

She angled her chin into the air. “Where is my husband?”

His eyebrows rose. “Standing right in front of you. With an erection that is hard to miss.”

Deliberately, she kept her face impassive and her voice steady. “I mean my real husband. Joshua.”

“I am your real husband. Your true mate.” His nostrils flared. “Soon you'll acknowledge that and accept that you're mine, and mine alone.”

“I'll never accept that. And I'll never acknowledge you as anything other than a brute of a man who thinks his word is law and takes what he wants whether or not it is his to take.”

He yanked her against him. In retrospect, perhaps she was foolish to bait a man as strong and powerful as Caleb, but she was damned if she was going down, quite literally in this instance, without having her say.

“I've given you the opportunity to leave.” He lowered his mouth to hers, his arms so tight around her that she didn't think she could leave even if she wanted to. “You declined my offer.”

How in heaven's name could she hate him and want him at the same time? “You gave me the opportunity, but not the choice.”

“Semantics. It is for you to interpret my words as you choose.”

Seeing as he hadn't released her, she made a show of placing her hands on his forearms as if to extract herself from his hold. But surely he knew, as she did, that there was no conviction behind the gesture.

His mouth brushed hot and insistent against hers. “Admit that you want me.”

“I don't. And before you start telling me that my body gives a different message, you should know that wanting to have sex with you is different from wanting you in my life, and most definitely from wanting you as a husband.”

“Sex is a good place from which to start changing your mind.”

His head descended and at the first brush of his mouth to hers, Talia realized she barely had strength left with which to resist him. His mouth was smooth and hot as it angled over her own, and despite her efforts to keep hers tightly closed and not give in to him, her lips parted beneath his resolute pressure and shattered her resolve. He took full advantage, thrusting his tongue into her mouth and tightening his hold on her.

She managed to slide her arms up those heavily muscled forearms to his equally strong and powerful shoulders and slipped her fingers into his hair.

He cupped her backside, tilting her hips until his erection pressed against her pussy. It pulsed against the hard length of him, her chest tightening, her heartbeat pounding hard against her ribs.

The erotic slide of his tongue against hers mimicked what she wanted him to do between her legs. This was inevitable, she realized hazily. She couldn't fight it even if she wanted to. She had in effect entered into a marriage with him voluntarily, albeit with a metaphorical gun to her head. But if she was brutally honest, did the thought of being with Caleb in a carnal sense abhor her?

No
, came the response from deep inside. She really did want this. Want him. Had she been so against it, she would have put up more of a fight, found a way to reject him, to avoid becoming his wife. Yet here she was in his arms and, regardless of how vehemently she objected, wanting to be there.

Strengthened by her own need, her own intense desire, she met the force of his tongue with hers. Met the press of his erection with her own surge of need, jerking her hips to signal her liberation from any former resistance to him.

“I want you.” His mouth grated against hers. “Say you want me.”

“All I want is sex with you.” She needed to clarify that to herself as much as to him. “Sex. Nothing else.”

He slipped the wrap from her shoulders, the sound he made almost a growl. “We'll see.”

He pushed the wrap farther down her arms until it slipped to the floor. With one hand around her neck, he eased her head to the side, brushing her hair away with his free hand. Then did the same to the opposite side.

His eyebrows drew together in a scowl. “You are unmarked.”

It took a moment before Talia realized what he meant. “So?”

Grabbing a handful of her hair, he pulled it away to peruse the back of her neck. “This can't be.”

Feeling as if she were a prize heifer being examined for flaws, Talia jerked out of his hold. She flicked her hair back around her shoulders and held his astonished gaze. “Dear God. What is it with you males? Do you really think that disfiguring a woman provides evidence of your manhood or something?”

“You are mated.” His jaw tightened on the words. “It is unfathomable that—”

“I forbid my
mate
to bite me?” Talia cocked a hip, feeling vaguely ridiculous standing there in front of him in nothing but skimpy lace. “Damn sure I did. It's barbaric.”

“It's our way.” He planted his feet hip-width apart and crossed his arms. “Something you will agree to do if you wish to be accepted by our pack.”

“Oh? And I suppose you think you're just the man to do it?”

“Your so-called husband has failed in his duty.” He unfolded his arms and walked to her. “It is left for your true husband, your true mate, to remedy that.”

Talia stepped back. “Don't you dare touch me. There's no way I'll let you bite me, you brute.”

“You seem to enjoy labeling me as a brute.” He boxed her in against the table, his arms bracketing her hips. “Perhaps I should begin living up to your expectations.”

Chapter Eight

Caleb crowded her, and Talia arched away. “Some leader you are. I keep hearing these stories of honor and integrity. I wonder what people would say if they knew their esteemed leader was the type of man who threatens women.”

“As I wonder what my people would say if they knew that their leader's new wife was a woman who went back on her word.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mere hours ago you agreed to respect and support me. Or have you so easily forgotten the vows you made at my side?”

“I haven't forgotten. Just as I haven't forgotten that you agreed to protect and take care of me.”

“Which is exactly what I intend to do.” He leaned closer, his chest brushing her breasts and making her nipples pebble beneath the flimsy lace. “And very soon I will prove just how well I will take care of you.”

The intention of his words shot straight to her core, making her wonder why she continued the charade of having him believe she didn't want him. There was no reason to feel guilty because of Joshua. If anything, her agreement to belong to his brother would help her husband. What drove guilt into her heart was how much she actually wanted Caleb.

He slid down the straps of the red silk bra, the cups dropping away to reveal her breasts to his gaze. His green eyes darkened to molten gold, before his mouth descended and clamped over her nipple. She arched back farther, closing her eyes as his hot tongue laved first one hard bud, and then the other.

He lifted her onto the table, and stretched her legs apart to step between them. His erection pushed against her heat and she barely resisted grinding against him to get more friction where she needed it most.

With adept fingers, he unclasped her bra and threw it to the floor. Her breasts throbbed for his attention and she needed the feel of his flesh against her. She unhooked the buttons of his shirt and tugged it free of his waistband. His taut abdominals contracted sharply, making her pulse accelerate. The light covering of dark chest hair enhanced the contour of all that lean, solid muscle, and she yanked off his shirt to get a better look.

He grinned, trailing the tips of his fingers lightly down her arm. “Someone's in a hurry.”

“You started it.” She leaned back on the table, all but thrusting her eager breasts at him. “Damn well finish it.”

He hooked his fingers around the edges of her panties. “There's no rush.” With infuriating ease, he slid the panties from around her hips and slowly down her legs until they reached her ankles. He tugged on the material, effectively tilting her legs up until she fell back against the table.

Feeling incredibly exposed, she lay with her legs in the air, knowing he looked at her bare ass and pussy. With one skillful twist, he managed to secure the panties tight around her ankles so they acted as restraints.

He moved in, his hands sliding beneath her backside to lift her higher. She jumped as his mouth touched the back of one thigh, then the other. When she tried to lower her legs, he reached for her ankles and twisted the panties tighter, keeping his hand there so she couldn't move.

The slide of his finger between her legs and through her wet pussy lips made her squeal. He rubbed slowly, the friction intensified by the way her legs were clamped together. She turned her head to the side, squeezing her eyes shut as delicious tension began to build.

“Look at me.”

Lost in sensation, she didn't question his command. His hooded eyes gleamed gold and something moved through her. She wasn't coherent enough to grab for its meaning, especially when she was already on the edges of orgasm. Caleb's gaze clashed with hers, and he ceased moving.

She wanted to ask him why he'd stopped, but before she could open her mouth, he stepped away to shuck off his shoes and pants.

Gloriously naked, he moved back to her. She noticed the scars across his chest, the long deep gash that ran from beneath his ribcage to his right hip. His wounds had faded slightly since she'd seen him that day in the shower, undoubtedly due to his body's heightened ability to heal. Battling back the need to reach out and trace her finger along the wide scar, she brought her gaze back to his.

With one hand, he caught her ankles again. The panties tied around her ankles had loosened a little, but his grip was strong. He wrapped his free hand around his cock, and slowly pressed forward between her thighs. The resistance created by her bound legs felt incredible, and her sharp intake of breath seemed to please him. He was every bit as big as Joshua, at least lengthwise, but Caleb seemed wider of girth.

He continued to slide his erection back and forth between her legs, his journey aided by the wetness saturating her pussy. The angle was exactly right. She jumped, then groaned when he slipped one finger into her slit. Then another. He set up a slow and steady pumping action, his fingers and cock sliding rhythmically against her heat. The friction was amazing, and soon her stomach muscles tensed and her vagina walls pulsed hard against his fingers.

She closed her eyes and came on a strangled cry, color exploding beneath her eyelids as a kaleidoscope of sensation soared through her. All too soon, she barreled down from the dizzy heights, breathless and disorientated.

Squirming, she tried to lever away from him, from those tenacious fingers that simply wouldn't quit. Between her trembling thighs, his cock was huge, and she glimpsed the bead of semen on its tip. She jerked her head to the side, kicking at the restraint around her ankles in an attempt to get free. Seconds later, he untied the panties and threw them to the floor. She bent her knees and rolled away, intent on getting off the table.

He caught her ankles and spun her onto her back again. “We're not finished.”

Before she could respond, he separated her legs and stretched them out into a wide V-shape. She couldn't remember ever feeling quite so exposed to a man and tried to bring her legs together. He only tightened his grip on her ankles.

He stared down at her bare pussy, a low growl escaping his throat. “Even here, you are unmarked.”

“I've already told you, I won't be marked. I don't agree with it.”

The gold in his eyes intensified. “You really do refuse to accept our ways, our practices?”

“If they're uncivilized and antiquated? Yes.”

It was a strange conversation to have while lying naked, her pussy exposed to an equally naked man who was currently sporting an enormous hard-on. But almost everything lately had been pretty strange.

Caleb's eyes narrowed, his nostrils flared. “We'll see.”

He lowered his head and seconds later his mouth crashed down against her heat, and the sheer power of it made her arch up from the table.

“Oh…my…you…” Sensation ripped through her, engulfing her, and she couldn't utter another word. His tongue probed around her pussy lips, barely managing to avoid her clit. She shifted, arched some more, desperate to make him touch her at the point where she most craved attention.

He slid his hands beneath her ass, lifting her hips to increase the pressure of his mouth, but still he wouldn't accommodate her. Her breasts ached, her nipples hard and throbbing. She threw her arms over her head, arching her back even more and pushing herself against his mouth.

He stood abruptly, his eyes so hooded she could barely see their color, and with adept skill hoisted her into his arms. She clung, grinding herself against him to continue the stimulation he had so expertly begun.

“Quit squirming.” He tossed her onto the bed, then covered her with his big body. His cock brushed her thigh and she reached down, but he knocked her hand away. “Later.”

Using his knees, he nudged her legs apart. Like Joshua, he didn't reach for a condom. Talia had expected as much. Thank heavens she was using birth control. Not that she would ever tell anyone. She suspected that Caleb would be even more against it than Joshua. It had to remain her little secret.

Her muscles jerked at the touch of his cock against her heated flesh. He pushed in slowly, something for which she was grateful, seeing as he felt so large. Each time he pushed forward he waited, letting her adjust to him.

Talia squeezed her eyes shut. He felt so good.

With one final shove he was fully seated inside her. Slowly, so slowly that she wanted to scream, he began thrusting. She was absurdly wet and he moved easily, the exquisite tension bringing her quickly to the precipice of another orgasm.

Sliding one hand beneath her, Caleb tilted her hip. The movement opened her more fully, shifting the angle of his penetration and pushing him deeper still.

He teased a finger between them, slipping it into her pussy and stimulating her clit.

His hips rocked in a primal rhythm and, with the final thread of her control shattered, Talia came, her orgasm pulsing through her in unrelenting spasms. Moments later, Caleb arched up and threw back his head, shouting his release even as his seed continued to pump into her.

Talia shook off the weird sensation that shivered through her body. She didn't want to think any further, any deeper, beyond the fact she had simply enjoyed sex with a man who had coerced her into becoming his wife. A man she seemed incapable of resisting, and who had made her feel things she had never before experienced, not even with Joshua.

It wasn't only the physical, she realized as Caleb withdrew and fell onto his back beside her. It was something else. But she didn't want to think about it right then. Didn't want to think about anything at all.

Least of all the man who drew her into his side and touched his mouth to hers.

Morning light crept through a gap in the heavy drapes and slanted across the duvet. Talia tried to move away from Caleb's embrace, the new day bringing into sharp focus the fact that she had spent the night with another man. Regardless that the man was now her husband, her
second
husband—and damn it, how surreal did that sound?—the guilt was never far from the surface. While she hadn't technically been unfaithful, it certainly felt like that. The whole situation seemed bizarre.

She refused to consider her needy response to Caleb's touch. Refused to dwell on how they had barely slept. How she had lost count of the times he had made her come. Of the things they had done together.

Distressing warmth flooded across her cheeks. Bloody hell. The things they had done.

She had to get some reality back into the equation. “You didn't answer my question last night.”

Propped on one elbow, his body half covering hers, Caleb slid a hand across her belly, his fingers dancing dangerously close to her pussy. “What question was that?”

She could barely remember herself, seeing as Caleb's hands were so adept at making her forget. But she had to know. Had to focus on what was important to her. Keep her head on straight. Okay, she had enjoyed—and yes, she
had
enjoyed—a night of amazing sex with a master of the art, but beneath that she needed to remind herself that Caleb was a conniving, manipulative bully.

“Where did Joshua go after being thrown out of the proceedings last night?”

He gave an easy shrug, but his jaw tightened. “Drinking his cares away, I imagine.”

“You don't know?”

Another shrug. “I saw him in the bar before I left to wait for you here. He wasn't exactly thrilled he hadn't been invited to join us, so I imagine he propped up the bar for most of the night drowning his sorrows.”

“I thought he was supposed to be with us. That this was how it would work. You…Joshua…sharing me.”

“Not for our wedding night.”

“Is that usual if two men share a wife? The wedding night is just…one man?”

His hand slipped between her legs, caressing her so slowly it sent shivers of anticipation along her skin. “Wouldn't know. It's not exactly commonplace.”

Struggling up, she stared down at him. “You mean this isn't a normal occurrence?”

“Not for a couple hundred years, as far as I know.”

Talia's head pounded. A couple hundred years? She'd gone through with this and it wasn't standard practice? “Why didn't you tell me this? Didn't you think I had a right to know?”

He dropped onto his back and pillowed his head on his folded arms. He looked incredibly sexy lying there, his muscular chest expanding with each breath he took, the dark stubble across his jaw adding to his raw, masculine appeal.

“I would have thought the fact there are no other threesome marriages in the pack might have alerted you to our situation being different from the norm.”

“How was I supposed to know that?” She sat up fully, not bothering to pull the sheet around her naked body. Since Caleb had seen, tasted, pretty much devoured every single part of her, it hardly seemed necessary. “Bloody hell. What is everyone in the pack going to think?”

“Most people are too busy managing their own lives to worry about our arrangement. We'll maybe even set a new trend. Before you know it, ménage marriages will be standard. Anyway, I didn't figure you as someone who cared much what people think.”

She fluffed her hair over her shoulder and looked down at him. “What does that mean?”

“You married Joshua against pack opinion. It doesn't appear to concern you what others think.”

“Of course I care.” So they were back to his questioning her loyalty. Which, she supposed, was inevitable, otherwise they wouldn't be having this conversation, in this situation. But she would be damned if he would make her sound like a person who didn't care about others. “What's so wrong with loving someone and wanting to marry them regardless of other people's opinion? I love Joshua, and I wasn't going to let stupid prejudices keep us apart. He might be different, and not exactly what I expected, but…”

He gave a harsh laugh. “A shapeshifter is certainly different from what most women would expect.” He pulled her down and leaned over her, his expression indicating that he'd exhausted the time for talking and now expected them to entertain themselves by other means.