Leader of the Pack (10 page)

“
I’ll take that as a yes.” Gathering more gel on his fingers, he prepared her, one digit at a time. When he had stretched her as much as he could, he took his cock in hand and pushed into the virgin orifice. When she gasped, he didn’t retreat but reached beneath her to stroke her pussy as he pushed steadily inward. Her soft meows answered his growls as he feed her more of his hard cock. He conquered her, inch by each tight, sweet inch.

His skin glistened with sweat at the control he exerted to keep from taking her with one hard thrust. Until she bucked back against him. Then his control broke and he rammed forward, burying himself to the hilt inside her sweet ass. She cried out – pleasure and pain coating her muffled sobs. His sack smacked her wetness. He rode her hard, his cock pistoning in and out of the now open canal. Her inner muscles spasmed involuntarily at his invasion. “That’s it, baby. Feel me. Feel me fuck you.”

Jared’s hands clasped her thigh to hold her in place. His claws fully extended and his incisors grew. Arching over her, his teeth clamped down on her neck. “You are mine, woman,” he growled. “Mine forever.”

Her body jerked at his words. As the first wave of pleasure rolled over her, he found the engorged bud nestled in her curls. He squeezed it hard and commanded, “Do it, baby. Do it now.” His thrusts grew harder and deeper and he knew he was out of control but couldn’t rein in the beast. He smacked the cheek of her ass and the stinging sensation sent her over the edge. He threw back his head and roared as his seed spilled from his body into his mate.

CHAPTER TEN

Emily gradually became aware of her surroundings. She felt the springy hairs of Jared’s forearm beneath her cheek and the rapid rise and fall of his chest at her back. She felt his cock pulsating with aftershocks deep inside her. She flinched as he withdrew from her body. He rose from the bed and she heard him in the bath. Moments later he returned with a warm cloth and cleaned her body.

“
Did I hurt you?” he asked, his voice laced concern. He sank back down beside her.

“
No,” she murmured as she struggled to open her eyes. Her insides still quivered from her climax.

His face wore a feral grin as he turned her head to kiss her eager mouth. He nudged her chin higher to give him access to her throat. As he licked the spot he had bitten she felt him jerk against her thigh.

“
Regrets?” He flipped her to her back. He scrapped the tips of her breasts, snapping at the hardened nipples.

“
No,” she said, gasping at the pleasure he gave her.

“
I love you Emily,” he said softly, kissing the top of her nose. “You are my mate. You are my life.”

Emily signed at the love reflected in his eyes. She was his mate. “I am yours.”

He kissed her. A long tender kiss that made her insides turn to Jell-O. Corny, she knew, but that’s how she felt. She loved this man with all that she was.

“
I need you again,” he said. He kissed her forehead, her eyelids, her cheek.

“
Mmm, that sounds like a good idea,” she agreed, arching against him. He was hard. Majorly hard.

Working his way down her body, he licked the tops of her breasts, blowing on her nipples until they stood at attention. The seduction continued as he pushed the generous mounds of her breasts together and tongued the valley they made. Letting them fall apart then bringing them together to lick again.

He found her belly button and thrust his tongue inside the tiny indentation.

Spreading her legs, his mouth found her pulsating center. His nose speared the curls aside, his tongue flickered out teasing her. Raising his head he said, “I do so like to smell you.”

“
Jared!” she shrieked.

He just laughed, his breath fanning her honeyed wetness which caused her legs to jerk. Seeing her reaction, he blew across the wet folds again. Unable to resist the temptation a moment longer, he eased his tongue between her red and swollen lips, tasting her hot, sweet nectar. Again and again he licked, seeking out each and every crevice, each and every hill and valley. He licked until she was almost raw, her sweet, sweet dew coating his tongue. She withed beneath his hands, bucking her hips, trying to drive him where she needed him most. But Jared stopped, easing his way back up her body. Her bright blue eyes were wide with need. In her frenzy, she gripped his shoulders, trying to push him back down. “Don’t stop,” she begged. “For God’s sake, please don’t stop now.”

“
Easy love,” he said, “not just yet. I want you to come while I’m buried inside your pussy.”

She reached out to encircle his cock.

A cough sounded from the shadow and she jumped like a scalded cat, yanking his cock hard.

Jared grimaced at the unexpected pain. “Easy, baby, it’s just Val.”

“
Just Val?” she screeched. She pulled her body into a tight ball, burrowing against his side to try and hide. Jared chuckled and pulled the cover around her.

“
How could you?” she snapped, her question directed at the man standing in the shadows.

The vampire stepped further into the room. His long, black cape swirled around his legs. “I thought you knew,” he stated with a dismissive lift of the shoulder Emily was beginning to hate in all males.

“
You thought I knew? How could I have known?”

“
He did.” One dark brow arched in Jared’s direction.

Emily jerked her head up, barely missing Jared’s jaw. “You knew? You knew he was there the whole time and you, you –” she sputtered to a stop. Her eyes narrowed as a thought occurred to her. “I thought you didn’t share?”

“
I don’t,” he stated coldly. The fury in eyes assuring her that no one else would ever touch her.

“
Then what the hell was that?” Pushing until she was free from his sheltering body, she gathered the sheet around her.

“
That wasn’t sharing,” he said, his eyes glowing with what Emily could only label as masculine superiority. “That was more, um, um...”

“
Staking your claim?” The other man spoke up helpfully.

“
Right, staking my claim. Voyeurism is another form of sexual expression. Don’t worry, baby, next time I’ll make sure you know you’re being watched.”

In his smugness, he didn’t see the curled up fist before it was too late.

* * * * *

After Emily stormed from the room, Jared yanked on his jeans and headed downstairs. He needed a drink. Pain throbbed like a bitch against the side of his face. Who would have thought she could have packed such a wallop?

“
Would you like some aspirin, my friend?” The amused tone of the vampire skittered along Jared’s jagged nerves.

“
Funny, blood sucker, very funny.” In the kitchen he retrieved a bottle of whiskey and poured a shot. He thought of the red wine chilling in the fridge and his plans of seduction after introducing Emily to his parents.

Of course, that was before the love of his life had gotten soused on werebeer and seduced the hell out of him. And before he’d let his baser instincts get the better of him. He rubbed his hands over his face knowing he’d fucked up royally. He’d known Val was in the room before he’d taken Emily, but something, his wolf, had kept him quiet. It had heightened the animal’s pleasure knowing another male saw him claim his female. And claim her he had.

Damn, he could still feel the clinch of her ass around his cock.

He poured himself another shot as he heard the water turn on and the clink of the glass door upstairs. If he listened very carefully, he could make out the slide of the water as it rolled from her body. Trailing its way downward, clinging to the thick auburn curls between her legs.

“
Hey, Romeo, get your head out of your pants and start focusing. We could be in serious trouble here.”

Val’s words had a sobering effect on his libido. Well, somewhat. He wanted Emily again. And he wanted her bad. He had to consciously block out the sound of her dressing. He gave the vamp his full attention. “What did you find out?”

“
I know who’s been kidnapping the women and he’ll be hard to stop.” Val removed the dark cape, folding it over a barstool. Jared smiled knowing the rich smooth silk was the man’s one small vanity. It gave his life a small oasis of amusement to perpetuate one of the legends of his kind.

“
Who?” Jared feared it was Cord gone renegade and there wasn’t a tougher bastard than him – except maybe the bastard standing before him.

“
It is Yuri. I went to the house you had searched. I found his scent, an old scent. It is not surprising your wolf did not notice. He was using that house as a base. One of many I fear. There were a few younger vamps that had camped out. But they knew nothing. Or Yuri had made sure they remembered nothing. I’m sure that’s what you and Emily heard.”

“
Damn.” Jared sighed. Hunting a vampire was never easy. They were the most elusive and cunning of the supernatural beings. Almost as sly and evasive as the wolf. But not quite. Jared relished the rush of energy that flowed through his body at the thought of the battle to come. He needed something to burn away the edge of his sexual appetite. The full moon was almost upon him. And he did not want to hurt Emily.

“
By the way, you should be more careful where you partake of your beautiful lady,” Val chided.

“
I know, I know. But when I’m with her I can’t think clearly.” Jared rubbed his hands over his face, not the least surprised the vamp knew of their romp in the woods. Their smell would have been all over the place.

“
Then you need to get rid of her.” Val choked on the last words as Jared’s hands clasped around his throat. He eased the long, muscular fingers away. Rubbing the bruises that were already fading from his skin, he noted, “You’ve got a hair trigger there, pal.”

“
Yeah, yeah, yeah, so I’ve been told.”

“
The women, they were all involved, or had been involved, with vampires,” Val continued as if Jared attempting to strangle him was an every day occurrence.

Jared’s eyes rose in surprise. Val had been busy tonight. He hadn’t found that kind of connection and he’d been working on the case for almost four days. “Involved how?”

“
Romantically, sexually. Yuri wanted to preserve the line, maintain pure blood. He saw the unions with humans or wolves or any other supernatural being as diluting the line. Making us weak and vulnerable.”

“
Damn it,” Jared slammed down his fist and a fine crack appeared in the marble countertop.

“
I apologize for my comrade. I have been too far removed from my people but I will take care of him.” Val’s lips curled in a snarl worthy of any wolf.

Jared didn’t know Val’s whole story but he knew something had happened not so long ago that had sent him into seclusion. Something that had made him separate himself from his clan. “Not alone you won’t. If you simply make the man disappear, the city will think the killer is still on the loose. We have to tie up the loose ends.”

“
Great, you’ve found the blood sucker. Now we can go get Rachel.” Emily strode into the room dressed in black once again. Her down vest hugged her curves and hid the butt of her gun. If Jared wasn’t mistaken there were wooden stakes and garlic cloves in her pockets.

He folded his arms across his chest. “There is no us, Emily. I’ll call Maria and you can stay with her until this is all over.”

“
Now, wait just one minute, Mr. Leader of the Pack. Rachel is my friend and I intend to go after the wack-o-sonofabitch, too. With or without your permission.” She jabbed a finger at his chest to emphasis her point. Instead of his usual snarling response to her stubbornness, he just stood there with no expression. A cold wind blew across her soul.

“
You will stay here.” His voice was flat and final.

“
The hell I will.” Emily turned to find her shoes, certain they were here somewhere. Last night was still cloudy but she was pretty damn sure she’d arrived at the house fully clothed.

Jared picked her up and carried her to a dining room chair. His long, muscular legs locked her in place. The position aligned his crotch with her face. Dark curls jaunted past the unsnapped band of his jeans. It took a lot of self control not to lower the zipper and take him into her mouth. If he hadn’t been acting like such a Neanderthal she would have.

“
Get off me, you big jerk.”

“
Is that garlic I smell?” Val asked. “I really do not like garlic.”

“
Shut up!” they snapped in unison.

“
O-key-do-cky.” The vampire leaned against the counter and crossed his legs. “I’ll just watch the fireworks from here.”

A low, warning growl filled the air but the vamp just grinned.