InsatiableNeed (6 page)

“I am
not
yours.”

“I claimed you.”

“Not
my
problem.”

Zeth’s eyebrows flickered with interest, but he didn’t look
at her. “You accepted.”

“You
forced
me.”

He sniggered. “Whatever you need to tell yourself.”

“It’ll go away.” The head of his cock brushed against her
clit, and she trembled hard. Her body reacted in all the wrong ways. If this
happened, she wanted body-on-body contact. She wanted him
with
her and
not using her only for what lay between her legs. He didn’t touch her, and she
needed him to touch her. She needed to feel him against her. “It’ll go—”

Zeth tsk-tsked and shook his head, slipping his cock inside
her again and tugging on her until her legs were wrapped around his waist.
“Doesn’t go away,” he replied, his voice distant. “Not after you accept.”

“You
made
me—”

“Even if that were possible, it’s a fucking moot point.
You’re stuck with me.” Finally he blinked and trailed his gaze up her body
until it clashed with hers. Only Zeth didn’t look out through his own eyes. Not
the Zeth that had been with her all night. This seemed a different Zeth. A Zeth
who guarded himself. “You’re
mine
.”

Raegan shook her head and wiggled, earning little more than
a sharp thrust and an enthusiastic gasp. “No!” she protested. “No!”

“Raegan—”

“You can’t—”

She choked out a sob and reached for him, feeling idle and
stupid. She needed him to be with her. This emotional-distancing crap would
only kill them both. Her body didn’t feel conditioned for sex without feelings;
hatred and anger seemed preferable over nothing. She needed Zeth to feel
something
.
She needed him to touch her. She needed
him
.

Oh God.

It took only seconds for Zeth’s facade to melt. “Oh,
Raegan.”

“Please?”

The next thing she knew, he’d slid his hands under her
shoulders and lifted her into his embrace. Raegan linked her arms around his
neck and swallowed him in a kiss.

Zeth whimpered, his hands dropping to her ass, squeezing her
encouragingly as she began to bounce on his cock with renewed enthusiasm.
“Raegan,” he whispered, nipping at her lips. “God…”

“Keep touching me.” She wiggled against him. “Zeth…keep
touching me.”

He smiled kindly, wrapping his arms around her to hold her
to his chest, and her heart melted.

“I’ll never stop.”

Raegan cupped his cheeks and kissed him, banishing her
thoughts.

She wouldn’t go anywhere, and she felt so tired of fighting.
The rest didn’t matter, not right now.

Not so long as Zeth held her.

Chapter Six

Mated.

Zeth lay still for a few minutes, his cheek pillowed at
Raegan’s breast, his lungs sucking in air with deep, hearty breaths. Mated. To
Raegan Pritchett. He was certain stranger things had happened, but for the life
of him, he couldn’t come up with one fucking example. It wasn’t as though the
prospect of making the blonde spitfire his had ever crossed his mind—at least
not with any serious ambition. Not with any sort of delusion that she would
ever consent to a claim of ownership.

Now, tucked in the embrace of a woman he’d always wanted but
never thought to have—a woman who didn’t necessarily hate him, but certainly
didn’t love him—Zeth found himself contemplating things he’d never seriously
considered. The considerations and methodologies that went into wolven mating
rituals had been a large part of his upbringing, stressing the importance of
ensuring the woman to whom he tied himself was someone he loved.

Because wolves mated for life. No ifs, ands or buts.

Raegan Pritchett was his. Christ, the thought should have
terrified him, or infuriated him, or done anything but charge him with a
strange rush of excitement. Whether or not he loved her was in the air—after
she discovered what he was, he’d never thought he’d get close enough to try.
Then again, he’d never anticipated a demon spell that preyed on its targets’
guiltiest fantasies. A demon spell that would make them fuck like rabbits.

Zeth groaned. Despite having fallen over the edge more times
tonight than he had since that first week he discovered masturbation, he felt
his body stirring, felt a familiar rush singe his veins and coax his cock to
life.

Perhaps it was a better idea to keep thoughts regarding the
future postponed right now. Raegan hadn’t said anything since coming apart in
his arms, since reaching for him, demanding closeness without anything but a
pleading sob. Obviously she knew what had transpired, about claims and what
they meant, but he didn’t want to break the calm between them. For the moment,
the world was still.

He had her pussy around his cock, her arms around his neck,
and her shallow breaths tickling his ear. He didn’t need to worry with what
happened tomorrow until tomorrow.

Until then, he had the opportunity to make love to her and
attempt to put all the nastiness behind them. He had the opportunity to appease
his guilt by making amends.

Only a fool would reject the tacit offer of a second chance.

“Raegan?”

“Mmm?”

He grinned, thrusting his hips forward just enough to earn a
squeak. “You awake?”

She tensed briefly, then sighed and tightened her hold on
him. “Even if I wasn’t, my engine is still a go-go. I’m going to be walking sideways
for a week.”

“You sore, baby?”

Raegan nodded when he pulled back. The look in her eyes, for
the first time since being triggered by the thing the goddamned priest had
summoned, was wholly, unabashedly her. As though Raegan as he knew her had
returned after running a last-minute errand. The woman he saw reflected
everything he knew about her—her strength, cushioned by her fears. Her wits and
resilience, even when faced with incredible odds. The lengths she’d go to for
her job, surviving only on the wisp of a promise it would one day lead her to
justice. Raegan hadn’t joined Higgins’ staff at
All The Above
because
she enjoyed writing fluff pieces for conspiracy theorists. It was the only
somewhat respectable profession she could seek that allowed her to
realistically tail leads that would perhaps guide her to the answers she’d
sought since her friend’s death. That combination—the willingness to put
herself in unsavory situations for the sake of gaining knowledge and her fear
of wherever said knowledge might take her—made her one hell of a force to be
reckoned with.

Zeth respected the hell out of her. Had he ever told her
that?

“I need you again,” he murmured.

“I know.” Raegan smiled. “It’s okay. I think I’m good for
another round.”

It was as close to an admission of want as he’d get, and
strange as he found her sudden lack of resistance, Zeth would be a fool to look
a gift horse in the mouth. Especially when he knew what that mouth could do.
Perhaps the mating had softened her, but he didn’t think so…and he wasn’t sure
he’d like her as much without her edge.

More likely, she’d come to the same realization he had.

“Lay back,” he said, his cock slipping out of her. He
grinned when she mewled in complaint, and nipped at her lips before dropping a
kiss across her shoulder. “You’re gonna love this.”

“Promises, promises.”

“Fuck, but you’re pretty.” Zeth licked one of her nipples.
“That is, when you’re not yapping.”

Raegan scowled. “Hey!”

“Could be mated to someone much worse, I suppose.”

“Damn right you could,” she grumbled, which turned into a
moan when he cupped her pussy. “N-not that it matters.”

“No?”

“Once this is over…”

He sighed, mentally finishing the sentence for her. It
seemed they weren’t going to let the topic rest, after all. Of course not,
because Raegan’s mind never switched off, and she couldn’t help but keep
placing at the emotional distance game, no matter what transpired. “Once this
is over, I’m one dead mutt. Are we back to this song and dance already?”

“Uh-huh.”

“You know that if you kill me it doesn’t undo the claim,
right? Once mated to a wolf, there’s no going back.”

“Liar.” Raegan scrunched her face up. “There has to be some
spell that undoes it. This is the twenty-first century. You’d think that some
warlock or sorcerer or whatever would’ve come up with an antidote to ‘dumb
wolvies who claim before they think’ by now.”

Zeth chuckled, dropping kisses along her stomach as his
mouth migrated southward. “I suppose it’s possible,” he lied. “Like you said,
twenty-first century and all.”

“See?”

“Then again,” he continued, “fucking with a wolf’s mate is
serious business, especially to those who’ve already mated and had a few
litters by now. Any attempt to sever the bond between us and my relatives won’t
be too happy. Face it, Rae. You’re stuck with me.” He pinched her clit and
smirked when she and arched off the mattress. “Forever.”

“I’d sooner dive off a cliff,” Raegan ground out, though
without the venom he suspected she was going for.

“Yeah, but you’re one tough cookie. That’s the sort of thing
you could probably survive.”

“There isn’t anything about you that I don’t hate.”

Zeth shook his head. “I don’t think that’s true.”

“Try me.”

“With pleasure.” He nudged her clit with his thumb and
suppressed a laugh when she trembled and thrust into his touch.

Raegan opened one eye and peered at him. “Don’t take my
actions here as anything but sex fever. This does not disprove my hating you.”

Zeth just chuckled again, settling between her legs. “Maybe
you do.”

“I do.”

“And yet, you find yourself mysteriously attracted to me.”
He ran a finger between her pussy lips and grinned madly when she whimpered in
approval. “Don’t you?”

Raegan blinked stupidly. “Huh?”

“Mysteriously attracted to me.”

“In your dreams.”

“Too many to count.”

“What?”

He didn’t answer. Instead he spread her pussy lips wide and
favored her skin with a long sultry lick. “You have such a pretty little cunt.”
Zeth purred as Raegan about bounced off the bed. “My girl…”

“As long you keep that up, I’ll be your anything.”

His eyebrows perked. “Oh really?”

She was silent a beat, then swore as though just realizing
what she’d said. “No. That was the spell talking.”

“
This
is a first for you, isn’t it?” He slid two
fingers inside her, his eyes flashing dangerously. “No one’s ever tasted you
here.”

Raegan shivered. “I’ve had sex before, Zeth.”

He growled and shoved his fingers deeper within her. “Yeah,
but I know how to a read a woman. Your lovers were too fucking polished to ever
try anything this…spicy.” He solidified his point with a long lap of her clit
before sucking her completely into his mouth. “Mmm. No. This part of you. This
is mine.”

“Uhh…”

“Tell me.” His fingers found a steady rhythm thrusting in
and out of her sopping hole. He dropped a kiss across her inner thigh and
nibbled at her skin. “Tell me this is mine.”

“Fine. Sure. It’s yours. Just put your mouth where I want
it.”

“And where do you want it, Rae?”

“Fuck you.”

He laughed outright. “Gladly. Just tell me where.”

It felt really hard to focus on telling him to go to hell
when she only wanted to grab his head and rub herself against his mouth.

“Tell me where, Raegan, or tell me what I want to hear.” He
winked and drew her clit into his mouth again. “Tell me this pussy belongs to
me.”

Raegan’s eyes fluttered shut as a strangled mewl tore
through her throat. If she started talking, she wouldn’t stop. She’d tell Zeth
enough to make her a laughingstock. How good he felt. How he awakened emotions
within her that had long since died and how much that scared her. She’d lived
so long on her own, the idea of needing anything, anyone, terrified her. And
yet, under his hands, her skin hummed with something other than trepidation.

Holy fuck, how in the world had this happened within a span
of…how long had they been here, anyway? How had she gone so quickly from
resisting to melting at his touch? How had she found the strength—the stupid,
drunken bravery—to cast out everything that had been important to her just
minutes before?

Allowing someone in was bad business. She knew it. She stood
by it. She would never believe anything else.

Except Zeth did a damn good job trying to convince her
otherwise.

He was more than a business associate. More than a source,
more than an annoyance she had to tolerate for the sake of getting a good piece
of paranormal gossip. And Raegan knew that street went both ways.

He might pretend to not care one way or another, but for the
way he lit up when he saw her, she knew better. He’d thrown his entire
existence into question—he’d tied himself to her forever, and he was perched
between her thighs, sucking on her pussy and demanding that she promise that
all of her belonged to him.

All of her.

The spell.
It had to be the spell. Only, no, the
point of O’Brien’s plot was to make sure his victims’ bodies were controlled
while their minds remained free, that way flawed human logic would piece
together the deeds as something they’d talked themselves into. So what was it
that made Zeth need to hear she was his? The claim? No, everything she’d read
indicated claims didn’t do anything but play on emotions that already existed.

Would Zeth even want to reverse the claim if they could?
What would it mean if he didn’t?

And what would she do then?

“I’ve lost you.” Zeth pouted, removing his fingers from her
soaked flesh and resting his cheek against her thigh. “I’m down here trying to
give you the stars, and you’re somewhere else.”

Raegan’s body cried out immediately at the absence of his
mouth, thrusting against him. “No. No! More. Need you. Need…”

“Need me?” he echoed, sliding a finger inside her. “You weren’t
even paying attention.”

“I was thinking.”

“See? That’s my point exactly. You shouldn’t be
able
to think while I’m eating your pussy.”

His words made her skin blaze. “I was thinking about you, if
that makes any difference.”

“Yeah, but it definitely went beyond ‘Zeth good. Want more
Zeth now.’ You looked far too pensive.”

He shouldn’t be saying words like
pensive
when
nestled so attentively between her thighs. It turned her on, and that in itself
felt somewhat worrisome.

“Zeth good,” she replied, stretching a leg over his
shoulder. “Want more Zeth now.”

“Now you’re just being ornery.”

Okay, first pensive, now ornery? Raegan whimpered and
trembled hard, her hands sliding down her body to frame her pussy. “Please.”
She arched beneath him. “I’m all… I need you. Please.”

“You need me?” Zeth smirked and ran his finger up and down
her damp slit, missing her clit by fractions of millimeters, and driving her
out of her mind. “Where do you need me, baby?”

Could he say that in any way and not sound like a
Playgirl
wet dream?

“Zeth, please.”

“You gonna pay attention this time?”

“I was before!”

He tilted his head and tsked. And damn if the disgruntled
schoolmaster thing didn’t turn her on even more. “You were thinking before.”

“About you, you moron!”

“Ah, ah.
Manners
.After all, you’re asking me
to eat you out. Wouldn’t kill you to be a little nicer about it.”

How could he say it like that? How could he make with the
casual while his hand massaged her well into her next life, fingers dipping
shallowly inside her every few strokes? How could he be so calm when she only
wanted to scream?

Raegan whimpered helplessly. “What do you want from me?”

“Your undivided attention, for starters.” He smirked at her
and leaned forward, then tapped her clit quickly with his tongue, wrangling a
sharp jerk from her deliciously tense body. “And you gotta tell me.”

“My attention is yours!” She fisted locks of his dark hair
and attempted to drag his mouth back to her center. “Zeth!”

“Ah, ah, ah.”

“Zeth!”

“You
sure
you’re gonna pay attention?”

Raegan all but gnashed her teeth together, her hips swaying
toward him in offering. “I was. I was thinking about you.” Which she would most
assuredly never, ever do again. Not after they left this room, anyway. But
until the spell ended, she felt completely at his mercy. “I was thinking
h-how…”