Mating Rights (9 page)

He hiked her dress up,
allowing the cool air to caress her skin as he ground his hard cock against her
wet, achy mound.
Mali moaned, unable to protest,
unwilling to fight.
She grabbed his shoulders,
needing something to hang on to.
He thrust
against her once. She felt a shudder wrack through his big hard body.

“Take me, Jaxon. Take
this ache away,” she said as she tangled her fingers through his long, silky
hair.

“I can’t.”

She grabbed his jaw,
looking into his eyes. Close to the breaking point—just like her. “You can. I
need you.”

His eyes were so
intense she felt seared by the heat in them. A pulse threaded through her
center, beating dull and hard in her clitoris. The smallest push could send him
over the edge. They both knew it. She just needed this one thing from him. No
more, no less.

Mali bit his lip,
coaxing him. His skin tasted…good. She craved more.

He just stood there,
not doing anything, as if fighting a war inside himself. “I don’t need a mate,
Jaxon. You don’t want one. It doesn’t mean we can’t do this.”

His voice barely a
whisper, he said, “No.”

“Yes.”

She released his
bristled chin and pushed her hand down his chest until she found the tie
holding his breeches closed. The heat between them was so hot she thought he’d
burn her fingertips.

Tension erupted in his
belly. The muscles jerked as she pulled on the lacing and unknotted the leather
tie with one hand.
“Stop,” he said.

They both knew he
didn’t want that.

“Stop fighting me. I’m
going to take what I need from you, Jaxon,” she whispered as she pulled his
cock free. The moment her hand locked around the satiny sheath he gave a great
shuddering groan that she felt rumble her insides to pudding.

Jaxon buried his face
against her temple, breathing in the scent of her skin. “Take me inside, Mali.”

His capitulation
exhilarated her. Shocking thrills raced beneath her skin, lighting her on fire.
Blood pulsed in his cock, throbbing with desire.
He
hitched her legs higher, dropping her ass into his hands. She felt cool night
air touch her skin. The wet folds of her womanhood parted as the shockingly
thick head pushed against her narrow entrance. Almost mindless, barely in
control, he dug his fingers into her ass cheeks and rutted through the tender
petals. The ache intensified, centering on their point of contact. Her breath
caught in her throat. Her heart pounded in her chest as blood roared through
her body in anticipation.

“Now,” she sobbed. She
struggled to maneuver herself into a better position. Her fingers dug into him.
She bit her lip, trying to contain the need to cry out. “Please…”

“You’ll regret this,”
he whispered one final time.

The silken glide
ceased. He pushed. A thick, bulbous head pushed into her core. The mouth of her
pussy opened to receive him, but not enough. She couldn’t produce enough cream
to ease his passage, and he couldn’t stop himself to give her surcease.
She wouldn’t take him stopping now, even if she
could.
Locking her calves around his hips, she
pulled him in, aiding in his impalement of her body. The ache had to go away
somehow. Now.

Mali cried out as he
thrust to the hilt and destroyed the barrier that marked her virginity. He
smothered her cry with his mouth. She tasted the desperation and regret in his
kiss. He sucked her tongue into his mouth—hard. He bit her until she swore she
tasted blood.
Beyond the fleeting pain, that
desperate ache, which had only magnified, disappeared as if it had never been.

Jaxon held still,
stretching her, trapping her to the feel of his body filling every available
inch.
He tore his mouth from hers and kissed the
corners of her jaw. And then he moved.

“Sweet gods above,
you’re killing me,” she said, biting back a moan as he withdrew almost to the
point of freedom and then came plunging back inside.

“Rub your nubbin for
me,” he said.

His shaft was so long
he could free enough space between them to allow her hand to slip down. She reached
the swollen nub, gasping as he crushed her hand against it and ground into her.
A forbidden thrill rushed her head, making her dizzy. She’d only dared touch
herself a few times before, when the heat had gotten so bad she couldn’t leave
the bed. She’d felt guilty for it, but at the same time it had felt so good.
Now, with the added fullness and stimulation of him,
her feather-light strokes increased the tension winding her insides like a
coil.

Jaxon bit her neck,
sucking a spot beneath her ear before he suddenly broke free and caught her
earlobe with his teeth. She felt herself edging toward bliss. Only with him,
everything felt too intense. She couldn’t stand it; couldn’t seem to drag
enough air into her lungs.
She clenched her
thighs tight, ripping her hand free to hang onto his shoulders as she fell into
the mindless abyss of pleasure. Tingles erupted along her nerve endings. The
soles of her feet, the backs of her legs, her belly—ecstasy permeated every
muscle and pore until she cried out.
Jaxon locked
his mouth over hers, driving her into heaven. She was still cresting the waves
when he suddenly pulled free of her quaking pussy and dropped her feet to the
earth. He jerked against her, and she felt the warm wetness on the front of her
dress.
She shuddered, leaning against the wall,
not trusting herself to move. She was certain her legs would give out.

He breathed heavily,
his head close to hers as he held her steady. “Stupid.”

Mali swallowed, trying
not to feel hurt. “Me?”

“No. Me. I done lost my
damned mind.” He straightened and looked her over. “You can’t go back looking
like this.”

He pulled his cloak off
and draped it around her shoulders. She clutched the edges together.

“Go. Now. Don’t stop
for anyone or anything. Clean up and hide yer dress.”

Mali nodded, scurrying
away without a look back.

“Mali! Is that blood on
your dress, Mali?” Kimber pointed at Mali the moment she was inside their room
with the door closed. “Are you okay?”

She froze and glanced
wildly around to see if anyone else was inside. Thankfully, no one else was
there to witness her disgrace.

Mali didn’t say
anything.

Kimber rushed forward
and took Mali’s hand. “Let’s get this off before the others come back,” Kimber
said.

Mali felt sick seeing
her virgin blood on the dress. Kimber handed her a damp rag to clean herself
with while she went to get a sleeping gown. Mali hissed as the cold cloth
touched her still swollen labia. She’d wanted to be hurt—needed it. He’d given
her just what she wanted. So why did she feel like something was missing?

Kimber returned and
handed Mali a nightgown and tucked her into bed before going to her own bed.
“I’m used to taking care of others,” Kimber said.

Sinking into the
mattress, Mali sighed. She looked across the short distance to Kimber. “Thank
you. For everything.”

Kimber smiled, pushing
her braids back behind her ear. “That’s what friends do. Hide the evidence.”

Mali grinned.

“I hope you had fun,”
she said quietly.

Mali sighed, clenching her
thighs together under the blanket. She’d be lucky if she could walk tomorrow.
She thanked the gods that horrible insane heat was gone for good. “Probably too
much.”

“I thought so. Did
Jaxon claim mating rights?”

Mali’s startled gaze
flew back to Kimber. “Why do you think it was Jaxon?”

The candle flickered on
the table between them, caught by a breeze sucked through the room as patrons
opened and closed doors outside in the hall. They were both quiet for a moment,
waiting to see if their other roommates had returned.

When the door remained
shut, Kimber said, “I recognize his cloak.”

Mali snorted. “I’m not
very good at subterfuge.”

“No, you’re not.”

“And no, he didn’t
claim mating rights. I just—it was just this once. I don’t plan on finding a
mate. Or repeating mistakes.”

Kimber yawned. “Hmmm.
We’ll see. You’ve gotten a taste of the other side now. No going back.”

Kimber’s words sent a
strange quiver through her. She hoped she was wrong. Mali couldn’t allow
herself to be mated. She was damaged goods. No matter how much she wanted to
forget her circumstances, she could not.

***

The unmistakable sound
of cracking timber echoed through the valley. Music abruptly turned sour as
abandoned instruments crashed. Howls of laughter and joy converged into fearful
screams.

Fog swirled through
town like smoke, obscuring her surroundings in a thick veil.

Mali’s feet seemed
mired in mud. She struggled to walk through the jostle of fleeing people. She
couldn’t move through the chaos, could only stand still as a shadow blotted out
the light behind her.

She turned to see a
hulking shape lumbering above, taller and wider than any creature she’d ever
seen. Jaws stretched impossibly wide, revealing a gaping mouth that could
swallow her head whole. The ursine huffed, loud and ominous, reeking of musk.
She screamed, raising her hands to shield her face from the clawed paws
descending to strike.

Mali jerked awake just
as the enormous paw struck her.

She gasped. Her chest
ached.

The dream wouldn’t let
go. Even knowing it was only a nightmare, that she was safe in her bed and
protected by a high fence and the wolf clan, the familiar dread and fear
permeated her to the bone. Her heart refused to calm without deep, meditative
breathing. She lay still as her heart palpated awkwardly in her throat before
slowly returning to normal.

Glancing across to
Kimber and the others, she was glad to see she hadn’t awakened anyone with her
gasping and thrashing. Why the dream? Had the stress of being around the clan
finally gotten to her? The potential discovery of her inability to conform to
the wolf?

Her last dream had come
true.

Accustomed to waking at
the crack of dawn, Mali was up and out of the inn before any of her roommates
had stirred.
She had to return Jaxon’s cloak
before she was spotted. Not that she believed anyone was keeping track of her.
She was sure she hadn’t aroused the attention of any attendee—if they even
realized she existed. Keeping her distance from the festivities until the
festival was over seemed her best bet.

Finding Jaxon’s shanty
was not difficult. A row of thatch roofed houses faced each other. They were
small, perhaps only large enough for a single room, and certainly not large
enough to house a family.
The innkeeper told her
his house was the last on the road and directly across from the northern
watchtower.

Stepping onto the
sheltered porch, she cringed when a loose board creaked underfoot. The urge to
drop his cloak and run hit her. She tamped it down. With the cloak clutched
tight against her chest, she could smell his scent. It did strange things to
her insides, twisting and binding her nerves. If she didn’t know better she’d
think her heat had not been assuaged by the night before.

That possibility was as
ridiculous as feeling aroused at smelling him on his clothes.

Mali took a deep breath
and knocked on the door.

A chair scraped the
floor inside.

Her heart jumped. Her
breathing quickened.

The door jerked open,
revealing Jaxon’s glowering face.
He looked like
a thundercloud ready to erupt. “Don’t you sleep?” he asked.

“I slept just fine.”

Standing in the door,
he crossed his arms over his chest. He was naked from the waist up. Scars
crisscrossed over his chest and arms underneath a matting of thick brown hair. Good
lord, but the man had some large muscles. His pectorals and biceps bunched
enticingly. A trail of hair disappeared underneath his waistband.

“What do you want?” he
said gruffly.

Mali blinked. She held
up his cloak. “I—I wanted to return this to you.”

He snatched it from her
hands and threw it on the floor. “Thanks. Go away now.”

Jaxon moved to shut the
door. She put her hands on it. “Wait.”

He stopped before
shutting her fingers in the frame, opening it wide again. He sighed. “What
now?”

Mali dragged the toe of
her slipper on the floorboard in a circle, looking down at her feet. “I wanted
to talk.”

Jaxon sighed again.
Actually, it sounded more like a huff or grunt. “So talk.”

“Can I come inside?
It’s cold out here.”

“That’s not a good
idea.”

She looked up at him.
His long hair was unkempt, hanging over his forehead like he hadn’t had a
chance to brush it. Combined with his naked chest exuding masculinity, she was
having a hard time remembering why she wanted to see him. “Did I wake you up?”