Maggie's Wolves, Part Two: A BBW Shifter Romance (Red Mountain Pack Book 2) (3 page)

“I want to taste you,” she said.

She’d wanted to taste him last night, but he’d never given her the chance. And really, at the time, her wolf had wanted plain, hard sex more than exploration. That was a need she hadn’t been able to deny at the time. But now…

Eli growled as she turned her head to take him into her mouth. The familiar taste of his skin made her more confident, and she sucked him deeper, tracing the flared tip with her tongue.

Case withdrew slightly. His cock was still inside her, but just barely. She squirmed trying to position him more deeply, but he gripped her hips, holding her in place with strong hands.

“Concentrate on Eli,” Case said. “You need to make up and that’s fine. I’ll entertain myself here.”

Case’s open hands slid up her body to cup her breasts. She groaned when he squeezed them together. Arching her back, she pressed herself into his calloused palms. Eli’s groan echoed hers and Case laughed. “Would you rather fuck her breasts, Eli? They’d be perfect for that. All this smooth firm flesh.” Case traced slow teasing circles around her nipples with his thumbs. “She would like that. Wouldn’t you, honey?”

She hummed, and Eli nudged deeper into her throat. “Not this time. I want to be the first to come in her mouth.”

“Her mouth. Her pussy. You’re a greedy bastard, Eli.”

“I found her first. It doesn’t mean I won’t share.”

Case released one breast and splayed his hand over her belly, rubbing lightly at the tight ache in her womb. “She decides who. She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?”

Eli made a harsh sound in the back of his throat and flexed his hips. She couldn’t take all of him, it just wasn’t going to happen. And definitely not in this position. She wrapped her hand around the thick base of his shaft and stroked him with smooth firm strokes, swallowing as much of him as she could handle, teasing him with her tongue and tightening her lips to cushion the slide of his flesh.

With every thrust, Case pressed a little deeper inside her. His hands explored her body, touching her breasts and her hips. He seemed to like her soft belly and that had always been her least favorite part. When Case gripped her legs and lifted them, forcing her to bend her knees toward her chest, she released Eli.

Case’s gaze met hers, his expression hard and wolflight burning bright in his eyes. “Trust me.”

She nodded, and he turned her so that both of her legs were pressed together, and she lay on one side, curled toward Eli. Placing his hand beneath one knee, Case pressed it higher, opening her so that he could fill her completely. Her thigh rubbed against her clit as Case began to thrust into with deep, strong strokes.

She could feel herself spiraling out of control. Her wolf was right there with her, for once their desires completely in tune. She wasn’t worried at all about shifting or about losing herself. She embraced her wolf and felt such a wild and free sense of completion that her body burned with the pure joy of it.

Eli’s hand fisted in her hair, and he came. Warm tangy spurts washed over her tongue and the back of her mouth. She swallowed twice, sucking the juice from his cock as he moved in short, jerky thrusts and eventually stilled. His body trembled as she eased him from her mouth. Smoothing the hair back from her face, he bent to place a kiss on her temple.

After Eli straightened, Case apparently decided that sharing time was over. He rolled her onto her back and parted her legs. Tugging her to the very edge of the table, he lifted her ass and thrust deep. Struggling to gain some control, she wrapped her legs around his hips, but she couldn’t do more than balance herself there as Case drove into her. Most of her weight was on her upper back and her shoulders. If Case let go of her, her ass would be on the floor.

But Case wouldn’t let go. The hands that held her were strong and solid and, for all of his fierce determination, Case was being careful not to hurt her. He increased his pace, lifting her hips and pulling her onto his cock even as he plunged forward. Again and again. Steady and relentless, he pounded into her, making her flesh quiver with the echo of each thrust.

“Eli.” Case’s voice was nothing but a harsh whisper. “I think our girl needs to come again.”

Eli stood beside the table. He looked down at her, staring for a moment at the point where her body was joined to Case’s. There was a slight flush to his pale skin as he placed his hand there.

“Sweet, greedy girl,” Eli murmured affectionately as his thick fingers slipped along her swollen flesh. When he found her clit, he smiled and didn’t do anything more than let his fingertip ride her hood while Case fucked her.

When she whimpered, Case growled. “Stop screwing around, Eli. Give her what she needs.”

One slow soft caress and her orgasm rushed over her like a wave, streaming through her body in a powerful gush of sensation. Her muscles tightened, gripping Case until she could feel every hard inch of him.

Case swore and surged into her, his fingers digging into the flesh of her hips as he held her flush to his body and slammed inside her with tight, sharp thrusts.

Watching Case come apart was an amazing thing. Suddenly, that iron hard control was gone. His eyes flashed wide and his head tossed back. His mouth parted on a deep groan. She felt his seed spill inside her in a warm flood, and she moved against him, milking him as he came, wanting every last drop. Leaning forward, Case shoved her back onto the table, driving himself even deeper.

Grabbing her hair, he tugged her head back and forced her to meet his blazing gaze. “Will you accept my mark?”

Breathless, she couldn’t do anything more than nod. Without any hesitation, he lowered his head and bit her. Hard. His teeth broke the skin on the upper curve of her left breast, and she cried out. His thrusts slowed, and his teeth sank deeper as the last shudder of his orgasm passed through his body.

It took awhile for them to catch their breath. When she shifted beneath him, Case lifted his head to lick at the broken skin on her breast. He soothed it tenderly with his tongue and then trailed a line of gentle kisses up her throat. Then, he braced himself on his arms to look down at her. The wolflight was beginning to fade from his eyes. Sweat glistened on the skin of his shoulders and chest. His expression was solemn as he touched his forehead to hers. So softly, she knew he meant it only for her ears, he said, “I’ll have your heart too.”

Chapter Three

Case hadn’t wanted to lose control with Maggie, but when her body closed around him so hot and tight, all the discipline and restraint he’d held on to for so long burned to ash in an instant. He’d come harder than he’d ever come in his life, and he’d marked her. The wound on her breast was a raw, angry red against her pale skin. It would likely scar, which he supposed was the point. An unfamiliar sense of failure turned his stomach. He hadn’t meant to mark her.

Mating had brought his wolf closer to the surface than it’d ever been and, with the change trembling just beneath his skin, his incisors had started to lengthen, aching with the need to fully claim his mate. He hadn’t expected that. He’d fucked other women before, and he’d never felt anything close to the impulse. His wolf had never before risen up inside him with such power and urgency.

Being alpha meant that you always placed the interests of the pack first. Cool and dispassionate, he always had to be the strong one. He’d wanted Maggie to know that she could always depend on him. That he’d never hurt, shame, or push her to do anything she didn’t want to do. He’d wanted her to know that, even if her whole world fell apart, he would be there to put it back together again.

She’d only told him a little about her past, but he’d seen enough to know she’d had a hard time of it. With the massive upheaval in her life, he’d decided that, even if she claimed him as a mate, he wouldn’t push for more than the bare minimum of contact required to seal the bond. Instead, he’d invited Eli to join them. He’d fucked her like a wild animal, and then he’d viciously marked her. 

Hoping she didn’t notice that his hands were shaking, Case helped Maggie sit up. Her hair fell forward to shield her face. She lifted a hand to her breast, and her fingertips traced the angry red mark that darkened her pale skin. She shivered and Case’s jaw tightened. Looking away, he saw Eli standing beside the door.

“Is there water inside?”

Eli’s eyes narrowed and he looked as if he might say something, but Case shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to discuss what had happened.

With a sigh, Eli walked toward the pot-belly stove. It hadn’t been tended in some time and the fire had burned down to bare darkly glowing embers. “The pump was frozen over this morning, but I set a pot of snow to melting.”

Eli dipped his finger into the water and then shook his hand, scattering droplets on the wood floor. “It’s warm enough.”

He took a folded towel from a shelf beside the sink and tossed it over his shoulder before picking up the metal pot and carrying it to the table.

Case touched Maggie’s cheek, let his fingers drift along her soft skin to her hair. Gently, he lifted her face. “I wish we had more time to linger,” he told her, “but we have to leave soon.”

Taking the damp towel that Eli held out to him, Case washed her face and neck. He’d just reached her breasts when her hand closed over his, stopping him. She looked him in the eye for the first time since he’d withdrawn from her body. He didn’t know her well enough to read her expression.

Clearing her throat, she said, “I need a few minutes of privacy. Give me twenty minutes and I’ll be ready.”

He thought about arguing that. He didn’t want to leave her alone, even for a few minutes, especially not now when there were so many things hanging unspoken between them. But they didn’t have time for a long conversation. The sky had been clear that morning, but he’d seen the forecast. They were going to get hit again. If they wanted to get down the mountain, they needed to leave. Maggie was his mate now. God willing, they’d have years to work everything out.

He let go of the towel but, before he left, he leaned forward to kiss her. She hadn’t expected it and her lips opened on a sharply indrawn breath. His tongue sank into the warmth of her mouth and he coaxed her to respond. He poured everything into that kiss, his uncertainty and regret, the promise of his strength, all of his hopes for the future. When a shiver passed through her body and he sensed her wolf wake beneath her skin, he pulled back.

Pressing his forehead to hers, he said, “If there’s anything you need, just say my name. I’ll be within earshot,” and then, fighting every instinct to stay, he followed Eli outside into the cold, bright day.

Chapter Four

It was strange, Maggie thought, to suddenly have people who cared about her. Aunt Tildy had cared, but in a no-nonsense, I-know-what’s-best-for-you sort of way. Case and Eli hadn’t wanted to leave her alone. She’d read their reluctance on their faces and in their body language. She’d felt it in that mind-melting kiss Case had given her before turning away. But they’d respected her wishes anyway and hadn’t even tried to argue her out of them.

She hoped Case didn’t think she was rejecting him or insulting his performance. If anything, it was the opposite. His performance had left absolutely nothing to be desired. She felt completely overwhelmed, which is why she’d needed a few minutes of privacy to pull herself together.

Washing as well as she could with a hand towel and a bucket of lukewarm water, Maggie pulled clean clothes out of her bag and quickly dressed. Then she went about setting the cabin to order. She’d have to come back up here as soon as her heat passed to lock the place up for the winter. She didn’t know where she’d be living then. Eli and Case hadn’t exactly asked her to move in. The idea of leaving her apartment and job behind didn’t bother her much, but not knowing for sure where she stood with the pack did. Having just jumped off a cliff into an unknown future, she felt like she was still falling in the dark.

What happened after you claimed a mate? She didn’t know. Shoving her misgivings aside, she focused on the things she
could
control. She gathered up the sheets and shoved them into an old laundry bag and then checked the fire in the fireplace and stove. Both fires were nearly burned out so she let them be. She used what was left of the water to clean the dishes from breakfast and pushed the scattered chairs back under the little kitchen table. She stared at the table for a moment and then looked helplessly around the cabin. It was the same as it’d always been. Her childhood home, quaint, quirky and a little bit shabby. No sign of what had happened here last night or this morning. Everything that’d changed was inside her.

She jumped at the thud of snow falling from a tree onto the roof, laughed, and then shook herself. She’d made her decision and the only way through all this was to trust in her wolf. Turning her back on the small cabin, she pulled on her coat and shoved her feet into her well-lined boots. She grabbed her bags and walked outside.

Just as promised, Case was standing outside the door. He was still in his human form, nude and pink-skinned from the cold.

All the blood drained from her face. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry! I didn’t even stop to think about the cold.”

Case took a step toward her. “The cold doesn’t bother me much. I’d have shifted if it was unbearable.”

He’d been waiting for her. An uncertain smile flickered across his face as he took her hand.

She squeezed his cold fingers. “You should have shifted.”  

He shrugged, but took her hand. “Since you can’t shift, Eli will walk with you.”

Eli rounded the corner of the house even as Case spoke his name. He was fully dressed in his winter gear and had a warm smile on his face. The man beside him was nude, which meant he must be the other shifter who’d come along with Case. Jack. Somehow, she’d forgotten all about him until now.

Jack looked younger than her mates. Eli had told her that Jake and Carson were twenty-two and twenty-three, which placed them closer to her own age. Jake was nearly as tall as Eli, but rangier, like he’d only recently stopped growing and his metabolism didn’t know it yet. He had dark brown hair and a tightly clipped beard. The dusting of hair across his chest narrowed into a line leading down to his…

She looked back at Case and blushed. He smiled. “Allow me to introduce you to Jack?”

Before she could answer, Jack looked up and right at her. He stopped walking dead in his tracks and just stared at her until she shifted her feet uncomfortably. Eli laughed and clapped Jack on the shoulder to get him moving again. When they reached the spot where she and Case waited, Eli wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in so he could kiss the top of her head.

“Ready?”

“I think so.”

Case introduced her to Jack and she took his hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Maggie.”

Jack’s voice was surprisingly deep with just a hint of a southern drawl. The sound of it shivered down her spine and she couldn’t even try to force herself to answer. His deep, drawling voice. The warmth of his hand. His body so openly displayed before her. For a second, the combination swamped her senses. She didn’t understand it. He was a stranger and she’d just had sex with two men. She shouldn’t even want to
look
at another one.

Eli frowned in concern. “Maggie? You’re sure you’re all right?”

Helplessly, she nodded.

“It’s the heat,” Case said, turning her around to face him. He studied her for a moment and whatever he saw on her face caused a wolflight to spark in the depths of his eyes. “Are your senses getting sharper?”

“It started with my sense of smell this morning.” She shook her head.
No, that wasn’t right.
She remembered how dizzying the walk up to the cabin had been. “I think it started with my vision yesterday when I was hiking up to the cabin. It was so overwhelming it made my head ache and my stomach nauseous. And touch. My clothes felt too tight then even before Eli showed up.”

It was worse now though. Her senses weren’t exactly sharper, but the way stimuli affected her body wasn’t normal. Every touch seemed more profound, like it reached deeper than just the surface of her skin. The hunger seemed to be rising more frequently too. Even now, after having just moments ago claimed another mate, she could already feel it beginning to simmer.

“We have to get you down the mountain,” Case said.

“Case—” Jack said.

But Case shook his head. “Not now, Jack.”

Like it took an enormous act of willpower for him to look away from her, Jack turned his attention to Case. “It’s not—”

“We need to get out of here before it starts to snow again and Maggie won’t be able to shift. I need you to run ahead and warm up the truck. Mine.” Case glanced at Eli. “Unless you want to drive yours back now?”

“I’m not leaving her.” Eli grinned. “We’ll have to come back for Maggie’s car anyway. I can get it then.”

Case nodded and then turned back to Jack. “Call Carson and let him know what’s going on. See if he can get a hold of Dec too. We need them both back at the lodge as quickly as possible.”

Because of her. Maggie’s stomach tightened with nerves. She understood his sense of urgency, but she didn’t like how fast everything was moving now. “Case?”

“It’ll be okay, Maggie. You’ll see. We’ll take care of you.”

After Case shifted into his wolf form, he came back to her and leaned heavily against her legs for a moment. When she touched his head, he trotted to the edge of the clearing and then paused to look back at them impatiently. Eli grabbed her bags and tossed them over his shoulder.

He grinned down at her. “How about a nice hike through knee deep snow?”

The wind blew a strand of hair across her face and he tucked it behind her ear. She didn’t really want to leave the cabin. It was her place, her territory, and she’d always felt safe here. Going to the lodge with Case and Eli was a big step.

Case’s head cocked to the side and she stepped forward, away from the cabin, her home and safety.

“That a girl,” Eli murmured, falling in beside her. She could almost feel Case’s relief as he turned and started down the mountain.

Maggie smiled at Eli as he offered her his arm. “Maybe I should invest in a dog sled.”

It didn’t take them long to reach the service road, and aside from a few dodgy moments when a large drift blocked their path forcing them to walk closer to the edge of a cliff than she’d have liked, it was largely uneventful. Case’s truck was a big, black SUV that had clearly been built to handle deep snow and icy mountain roads. Considering that it started to snow again when they were less than a mile from the cabin, Maggie was glad to see the truck already warmed up and ready to go.

Case was outside, clearing the wheels, but he straightened as they started down the last, steep incline. He looked different fully dressed in jeans and a parka, somehow even more intimidating than he had when he was completely nude. As soon as she reached the truck, he opened the door so she could climb in and then slid onto the backseat right behind her. Eli growled softly but took the front passenger seat next to Jack. As soon as the doors were closed, Jack put the truck in gear and they were off.

“Another half hour and we’d have been snowed in,” Jack said, glancing into the rear view mirror and meeting her gaze with a quick grin. “As it is, we might have to dig our way through a drift or two.”

He sounded pleased about that, like the bad roads were nothing but a big adventure.

“Jack’s a good driver,” Eli said. “He won’t take any chances.”

The words were as much a warning to Jack as a reassurance to her.

Jack met her gaze in the rearview mirror again. His blue eyes sparkled with laughter. “I’m the safest driver of the bunch, Maggie. You don’t have to worry.” To Case, he said, “I got a hold of Carson, and he’s on his way back to the lodge now. His trip was cut short due to the weather. He’s driving his party back to their hotel and should be at the lodge by morning.”

“Did you tell him what was going on?”

“No,” Jack said without an ounce of remorse. “I think it’s only fair he’s as surprised as the rest of us. The expression on your face this morning was a treat. I wish I’d been able to snap a picture.”

Maggie wondered at that. The only thing she remembered about Case’s expression when he’d met her was how carefully remote it had been. Maybe Jack, who’d known him a lot longer, had seen more.

“What about Declan?” Case asked.

Jack shook his head. “No answer. Someone might have to go track him down.”

Case sighed. “I’ll do it if it comes to that.”

Maggie took off her gloves and hat. It still seemed stuffy, so she shrugged out of her coat too. When that didn’t help, she closed her eyes. The heat was coming back. It couldn’t have been even two hours since she’d had both Eli and Case, but she wanted them both again.
Control yourself, Maggie.
She could hear Aunt Tildy’s voice in the back of her mind, and she shoved it away. She was doing the best she could.

Rubbing her palms on her jeans, she looked up at Case. “How much further to the lodge?”

Case looked sharply at her. “Are you okay?”

“I think…” God, this was embarrassing to put into words. “I think it’s the heat.”

Eli looked back. “Already?”

“I thought maybe I’d be able to control it better when I got used to it.”

Case shook his head. “I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way, honey. It gets stronger every day until it breaks like a fever. We’ll be able to manage it better when we’re home. Right now, your response might have something to do with being so close to an unmated male.”

Jack. With his laughing blue eyes and dark hair. The body that was more skin and bone than muscle. She’d hoped to at least get to know him a little bit before claiming him.

“I could help,” Jack offered. “We could change that.”

She shivered, responding unwillingly to the hard edge of desire in his voice. “You should keep your eyes on the road,” she said. “The roads…”

She trailed off as a wave of need rolled over her, making her gasp with the force of it. She suspected that Case was right. Before she’d mated with Case and Eli, she’d had the same unnaturally acute awareness of them both. Now, Jack seemed to be triggering the same response. The heat was getting stronger too, building faster, growing claws and teeth. Her symptoms had started only one day ago. If it kept getting stronger, how on earth was she going to get through this?

Case slipped his hand between her thighs, and she instinctively pressed against him, biting her lip to keep from moaning. Her jeans felt incredibly tight, the fabric itchy as wool against her sensitized skin, the seam at the crotch an excruciating torture.

Eli swore under his breath but Case leaned close to kiss her temple and her cheek. His soft lips drifted lower to her jaw and then her throat.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to worry. I’ll take care of you. Whatever you need.”

“I need to not be in this truck.”

“Shh. The truck’s fine. Ignore the truck.” His fingers pressed against her clit and she jerked. “I need you to take off your jeans. Do you want me to do it for you?”

She shook her head and, with shaking hands, she slipped her jeans down past her hips. The fabric stopped at her boots and she left them there. Boots were beyond her at the moment. She opened her eyes. The nearest window was beginning to steam up and the scenery blurred past. Eli had half-turned in his seat and looked at her with desire and concern stamped clearly on his face. Jack was silent and tense behind the wheel, but his gaze met hers briefly in the mirror before he looked away.

She grabbed Case’s wrist. “Stop. We can’t do this here.”

“Ignore them.” Case nuzzled at her neck. “Close your eyes.”