Forever Is Not Enough [Council Enforcers 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (10 page)

Mitch and Ryan started joking about how they’d bet Ben couldn’t wait to perform a strip search on his mate to find the tracker while Ken sat back and watched them all quietly. Ben wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he was looking forward to searching every inch of his mate’s body as well. He would definitely be the one to do it because there was no way he was letting one of the other guys lay a finger on Jacqi. Ben’s thoughts and the joking were interrupted when his mate suddenly sat forward on his lap.

“Ben is going to die in less than three months if I don’t find a way to finish the antidote to the rogue serum.”

The room was silent for about thirty seconds before everyone started shouting all at once.

Jacqueline was pleasantly surprised as she sat down at the dinner table next to Ben. The meeting had gone well once all of the shouting had ended and she was able to explain. What had shocked her was that none of the yelling had been directed at her personally. That was something she wasn’t used to. She had expected them all to hate her, but no one was even angry with her for what she had done or that their friend could possibly die.

Instead, in the three hours since the meeting had ended, not only did she have everything she needed to continue her research, but the guys had managed to turn a section of Mitch’s basement into her own personal lab. It amazed Jacqueline how fast everything was moving.

She felt herself blush as Ben winked and began putting food on her plate. That man had been by her side through everything, and if Jacqueline had to admit it, she was falling fast for him. She barely knew him, but she could literally feel the bond forming between them. She made a mental note to ask him more about mating and if that was a part of it when they were alone.

Her nerves started to kick in at the thought of them being alone together. She rubbed her lips, remembering what had happened the last time they were alone and wondered if he would touch her again.

“If you don’t stop that, everyone here will know what you’re thinking at the moment,” Ben whispered in her ear.

His hot breath against her neck made her shiver. “How do you know what I’m thinking?”

“I can smell your arousal, little mate.”

Jacqueline should have been embarrassed at Ben’s comment, but it just made her even hornier. She felt her panties dampening and clenched her thighs together. She gripped the table and held back a moan when she felt Ben’s hand slide up her leg. She was seconds away from coming, all from his one touch. She could only imagine what would happen when Ben touched her all over.

The sound of someone clearing her throat snapped her out of the sexual haze she was in. Jacqueline hadn’t realized she had moved so close to Ben that she was practically in his lap. Much to her embarrassment, amused eyes around the table stared at her. The only one whose attention was not focused on her was Nico, who was happily munching away at his meal with his legs swinging in his chair.

Tessa patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry, honey, it’s the mating pull. I went through the same thing.”

“Mating pull had nothing to do with it. She just couldn’t resist my golden glory,” Mitch grumbled.

Ben snorted beside her as a dinner roll bounced off Mitch’s head, thrown by his mate. Jacqueline giggled, glad the attention was off her. She silently agreed with Mitch. He was gorgeous with his gold hair and tanned skin. He did nothing for her though. Neither did Ken or Ryan, who were equally as beautiful in her opinion. Ben had been the only man she had ever had any interest in, and she had been attracted to him since she’d laid eyes on him. She had lain awake at night imagining what it would be like if her life was different when she’d met him. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever imagined the man would forgive her for what she had done to him and they would be sitting and laughing at dinner together.

After dinner, Jacqueline headed for the basement to get started on her antidote, but it seemed Ben had other ideas. She squealed as he threw her over his shoulder and headed toward the stairs. She latched on to his waist and prayed he didn’t drop her as he climbed.

“What are you doing, Ben? I need to get started on my work. We only have a little time left.”

“I plan on spending a little alone time with my mate. Plus, we need to find that tracker.”

“But—”

Ben swatted her behind, causing Jacqueline to clench him tighter to keep from falling as she jumped. “No buts, little mate. Your work can wait a little longer.”

Her protest was effectively ended when Ben began to caress the spot he had just hit. Jacqueline moaned and gave in to the fact that he was going to get his way. She couldn’t find it in herself to be upset. His caress felt way too good to care about anything else at the moment. Returning the favor, she let go of his waist and reached down and squeezed his tight bottom. She felt his growl rumble up his back as his pace quickened and smiled. It was good to know she affected his just as much as he affected her.

Ben carried her into the bedroom and kicked the door closed behind him. He sat her on her feet at the end of the bed, and she gasped when she looked up into the amber eyes staring back at her. His wolf was close to the surface, and she had no clue what that meant for her, but Jacqueline wasn’t afraid. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her. Reaching up with trembling fingers, she ran them across his cheeks then up to his eyelids when he closed them. She slowly rubbed until Ben finally sighed and opened his eyes again. This time his brown eyes stared back at her.

“You make me lose control, little mate. One touch and I go crazy.” Ben closed his eyes and swallowed. “I can smell your fear. Please don’t be scared.”

Jacqueline realized her hand had slid into Ben’s hair, and she was petting him, but he didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he leaned into her touch. “It’s okay. I’m not scared of you. I know you won’t hurt me. I’m just a little nervous. I’m a virgin. I’ve never done any of this before. The kissing earlier, the touching at dinner, and now whatever this is… It’s all new to me. I just don’t want to mess it up.”

Ben’s body seemed to relax at her statement as he pulled her into a hug. “You have nothing to worry about. We’ll go as slow as you need, and if you begin to feel overwhelmed, all you have to do is say stop, and I will.”

The sincerity in his eyes told her more truth than anything. She knew if she asked him to walk out of the bedroom at that moment he would, and there would be no anger. Jacqueline nodded her consent, unable to say anything past the knot in her throat. She swallowed when Ben gripped the bottom of her T-shirt and lifted it over her head. She heard his hiss when her breasts were revealed. She had no bra on, and she didn’t know if it was the cold air or his stare that had her nipples pebbling.

Jacqueline looked up just in time to see Ben’s eyes flash from brown to amber and back as he reached for her. It was her turn to gasp and hiss when his hot hands landed on her skin. Her knees buckled and she thought she was going to pass out from the sensations shooting through her body and ending between her thighs.

* * * *

Ben caught his little mate at the waist when her knees gave out and lifted her. He gently laid her back on the bed and stared down at her. Jacqi was beautiful, and it was taking all of his control to not rip her sweats off and plunge himself deep inside her. His rock-hard cock twitched at the thought and began to throb, but there was no way Ben would do it. His little mate had admitted that, not only was she a virgin, but that he was the only man to ever lay a hand on her. He had to admit it made him feel good to know he was the first and was definitely going to be the last.

He looked down at her small breasts tipped with rosy pink nipples and groaned. When he had taken off her shirt, the last thing he expected was for her to be bare underneath. He nearly came in his jeans at what he saw. Reaching out, Ben trailed his finger down the silky skin of her neck and across her collarbone. He ignored her gasps and whimpers as he circled her breast, moving closer and closer to her hard nipple with each loop. He was mesmerized at the trail of goose bumps he left in his wake. Leaning down, Ben followed the same path with his mouth. He placed tiny, open-mouthed kisses and nipped at the cords of her neck when she lifted her head to give him better access. The scent of her arousal growing and Jacqi’s moans spurred him on as he slowly made his way to her breast.

The feel of his little mate’s hands in his hair had Ben moaning as he continued his assault on her skin. When he got to her nipple, just begging for him to take it into his mouth, Ben resisted. Instead, he blew his hot breath on it and listened as his mate keened out loud and nearly shot off the bed. Ben chuckled and moved to the other side to repeat the same moves. By the time he reached her nipple on that side, Jacqi’s mutterings were incoherent, and she nearly ripped his hair out of his scalp. Deciding to put them both of them out of their misery and end their torture, Ben latched onto her nipple and sucked. He groaned and nearly came when her flavor exploded on his tongue. She tasted as sweet as she smelled, and he wanted to lick her from head to toe. Instead, Ben released her nipple with a slight
pop
and leaned over to take the other into his mouth.

He trailed his hand down her stomach, stopping to massage the tight muscles there before continuing down toward her sweats. Ben ran his fingers along her waistband a couple of times then slipped them inside. The feel of her soft curls against his fingers was enough to make him gasp as he lifted his head to stare at his mate. Not only had she not been wearing a bra, but she wasn’t wearing any panties either. The feel of her warm heat had him itching to go further, but Ben watched the emotions play out on Jacqi’s face first and waited to see if she would tell him to stop. Her eyes were barely open as she stared up at him with a look of confusion. He had a feeling that was due to the fact that he had stopped what he was doing. What Ben didn’t see was fear. That gave him the green light to continue.

Ben lifted up a little, grabbed her sweats in both hands, and slowly slid them down his little mate’s legs. She didn’t protest the move. Instead, she lifted her hips to help him. The scent of warm, spicy cinnamon filled the room, and Ben took a deep breath and growled. He loved the smell of his mate. He tossed the pants over his shoulder and looked down at his mate spread out on the bed before him. His eyes were drawn to her thighs, slick from her juices. Without thinking any further, Ben lay down on his stomach between her legs and began lapping at the liquid. He cleaned one thigh then the other before turning his attention to her pussy that was soaked with moisture. Using his fingers, he spread her lips apart and ran his tongue along the pink glistening flesh that he had exposed.

Jacqi cried out and lifted her hips off the bed, bringing them closer to his face, and Ben happily gave her what she wanted. He ran his tongue along her entrance before trailing it up to the red swollen bud begging for his touch. Holding her hips down, Ben clamped his lips around her clit and sucked. He shifted his hips against the bed, rubbing his throbbing cock through his jeans as he flicked the tip of his tongue against her sensitive bud. His mate’s whimpers spurred him on as he laid one arm across her belly to hold her still and used his other hand to gather her juices. Once he had enough, he circled her hole with one finger before slipping it in to the first knuckle. Her wet heat greeted him as her walls clenched around his finger, holding him tight.

Ben’s cock twitched and released a spurt of fluid at the thought of her tight pussy squeezing his cock the way it was doing to his finger as he slowly slid it inside her. He had a feeling he would come before he ever fully got inside her. As it was now, he couldn’t stop himself from humping the bed as he continued to lick Jacqi’s sweet pussy.

When she finally loosened up enough for him to move, Ben pulled his finger out and slowly slid it back in, only to have her muscles clamp back down on it as his mate grabbed fistfuls of his hair and screamed as she came. The thought of her coming from something as simple as one stroke of his finger was enough to set Ben off as his hips grinded against the bed one last time before he came as well. He gritted his teeth to keep from biting her thigh and marking her as he felt spurt after spurt of cum jet into his jeans, and he shuddered.

Ben felt his canine’s poking from between his lips and laid his head on his mate’s thigh to keep her from seeing as he caught his breath. He didn’t want to scare her as he fought to keep his wolf under control. He heard his wolf’s whimpers in his head at the fact that he hadn’t mated with her.
Soon, pup. She’s ours now, but we have to wait just a little longer to mark her.
Ben tried to soothe his wolf, knowing he didn’t understand why Ben wanted to wait. Jacqi was innocent, and with the craziness going on with her father, Ben knew she was still a little leery of shifters. Plus, even if she grew up around them, her knowledge about them was miniscule. There was no way he could fully mate her until he knew she understood everything that came with mating a shifter. Until then, Ben planned on seeing just how strong his self-control truly was because, even though he couldn’t fully mate with Jacqi, there was no way he was going to keep his hands off of her.

Ben lifted his head to look at his mate and held back a laugh. She was sprawled out on her back with her mouth wide open as she panted. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride at the fact that his mate was beautiful. Even the night he had first seen her and she looked as though she hadn’t bathed in days, there was something about her that had drawn him to her. Ben silently thanked fate for his mate as he rose and went into the bathroom. He realized they had never gotten around to looking for the tracker, and he grinned. It looked as though he was going to have to get his hands all over Jacqi again.