My Perfect Mate (9 page)

“He could be coming back, Susan. Don’t
jump to conclusions,” JP warned.

“I’m not sure about that?” Ujarak said
rubbing a hand across his eyes. “This doesn’t feel right. Aisyt
said there were three nanuk ahead of us. Where are the others? Why
does the trail end here?”

“Let’s make camp. Once we’re settled,
we can decide what to do with the dogs. I want to get Susan out of
the cold.”

“No ice castle?” Ujarak
asked.

“Not this time. Get the tent set up.
We all need to eat something.”

Susan hurried to the bags with food
and dug out the jerky. She gave each dog a piece. It wouldn’t be
enough to fill their stomachs, but it was something. She
sighed.

After the tent was up and the gear
settled inside, Susan started the propane heater and lantern. It
was nice to have light. The winter in the Arctic was one endless
night. Did the amarok suffer depression from the loss of
sunshine?

“Suzy-Q, heat something to eat. I’m
starving!” Ujarak carried in a bundle of supplies, including a
small camp stove.

“Look, bear-man, don’t start thinking
of me as your chief cook and bottle washer. I’m not even sure what
you packed besides the jerky.”

“There’s caribou stew in one of the
containers. Mom sent it along. I’ll find it while you set up the
burner.”

“Okay, bring me a pan of snow. I’ll
start water for tea.” Susan unfolded the camp stove and hooked up
the fuel. Ujarak headed outside.

“Everything okay in here?” JP asked
bringing in three sleeping bags.

“Just heating some food for
us.”

“Great. I didn’t realize how hungry I
was until we stopped.” For some reason, Susan thought he meant more
than for food. Her face warmed.

“Found it,” Ujarak said walking into
the tent. He looked from Susan to JP. “Am I interrupting
something?”

“Of course not.” Susan reached for the
food container and turned back to the stove. She could feel
Jean-Paul’s eyes on her.

It wasn’t long before the stew bubbled
on the stove and Susan served up three heaping bowls. It was
important to keep strength up in these conditions. The guys weren’t
talking, each one taking a position on opposite sides of the tent.
“Come and get it.” Susan handed out the food. She looked at the two
men and sighed. Finally, she scooted over by JP and leaned against
him while she ate. Her wolf needed the contact with her mate.
Besides, Ujarak was Aisyt’s mate now.

“What’s the difference between a
heartmate and Destined One?” Susan asked. Ujarak was probably too
proud to ask.

“Just what it says, really,” JP
replied. “Someone who is picked by Destiny or the universe to be
your mate. We normally feel a connection with the person at first
meeting.”

“Aisyt said she’d waited thousands of
years for me.” Ujarak scooted a little closer.

“The Fae are immortal. Once we reach
adulthood, we stop aging. We can be killed, of course, but we don’t
die of old age.”

“What?” Susan turned to look at JP.
Lycans lived long lives, but she would age and die.

“When we bond with our Destined One,
we are tied to their lifespan. So when Susan and I go through the
magical Destined One ceremony, I will begin to age along with her.
It will be the same with Ujarak and Aisyt.”

“Wait. Doesn’t the lycan mating bond
work the same way?” Susan shook her head. All this time she thought
by cementing the bond in place, JP was connected to her.

JP reached for her hand. “From what I
can tell, the lycan mating bond has connected us telepathically and
spiritually. I’m sure what Mathis told me about not wanting to live
without your mate is true. I am still immortal and won’t age until
we go through the Destined One ritual.”

“So Aisyt really has lived for
thousands of years? Why would she pick me for a mate?” Ujarak
tilted his head and pursed his lips.

“Destiny picked you,” JP said. “But
don’t worry. Aisyt wants you. A Destined One is a gift. Forever is
a long time to live alone. I’m sure that’s why she rescues the
amarok. They have become her family and given her a purpose to
live.”

“I wish we could do something to help
her amarok pack. The lycan’s would be happy to take them in.” Susan
bit her lip. The thought of children like Tikaani being left to die
in the cold turned her stomach. She pushed her half-eaten bowl of
food away.

“Are you going to eat that?” Ujarak
asked. Susan shook her head and handed him the bowl.

“I’m not sure they need more foster
families. What they need is acceptance.” JP set his empty bowl to
the side.

“I agree,” Ujarak said adding two more
empty bowls to the pile. “I’m not sure how to go about getting it.
There are several nanuk villages along the Arctic Circle. It isn’t
just mine that has members, like my uncle, who are prejudiced
against the amarok and lycans.”

“What can we do to change things?”
Susan asked.

“Well, for starters we need to find
out how this all began,” JP said. “What happened in the past that
caused the rift between the nanuk and lycans? They must have been
intermingling for a long time to have their children become the
amarok.”

“Does it really matter what happened
in the past?” Ujarak asked. “I doubt that my uncle even knows why
he hates the lycans. I thought it was because my father mated with
one and left Itigaituk out of the relationship.”

“What do you mean?” Susan
asked.

“Polar bears mate with more than one
bear,” Ujarak explained. “The nanuk can be polyamorous as well,
often ending in ménage relationships. My uncle thought he would be
included in my father’s relationship with my mother. Lycans are
different though, they have the mating bond connecting them to just
one person. My mother could never love my uncle in the way she
loves my father. So my uncle was left out in the cold. For once, I
know how he feels. My brother, Kumaglak and I often talked of
sharing a wife. Now he wants Anaaya. He made it clear when we were
home that I wasn’t invited to join them. I felt kind of lost. First
you bonded with JP and then my brother rejected me.”

“You have Aisyt, now,” JP said
quietly.

“Yes, and now that I’ve met her. I
realize I’d never be willing to share her with anyone. So, I’m more
like my father and mother than I realized,” Ujarak
grinned.

“You seem happy about that,” JP
said.

“I wonder if that’s part of the
problem between the nanuk and the lycans,” Susan said. “The
difference of wanting more than one mate.”

“I’m not sure,” Ujarak shook his head.
“My uncle is always going on about the lycans stealing our hunting
grounds, but lycans don’t eat seal and whale. It’s only the caribou
we share a liking for.”

“I hope we can figure something out. I
can’t get Qannik’s face out of my mind. When Aisyt said her family
tortured her, I wanted to hunt them down and rip out their
throats,” Susan growled, her wolf reacting to her anger.

“Easy, little wolf.” JP patted her
knee. “No one wants to think about a family member being so cruel.
Qannik is prejudiced as well. She hates all nanuk. That’s the
problem with racism. Qannik has good reason to hate her family and
what they did to her. She shouldn’t hate every nanuk because of her
family.”

“It’s a twisted path, isn’t it? I know
I really wanted to hate the nanuk families that sent Tikaani and
the other children away. Watching the little ones suffer broke my
heart. Thank goodness Mathis and Margot were willing to take them
in and give them a loving environment.”

“It broke my mother’s heart both times
she sent her children away,” Ujarak said. “She did it for their
protection, not because she wanted to.”

“I could tell she was upset while we
were at your house. I felt really bad for your mom.” Susan reached
over and patted Ujarak’s knee.

“This isn’t getting us anywhere,”
Jean-Paul said. “We need to find Ujarak’s uncle and get the
Gryphon’s Eye.”

Ujarak stood and started to
strip.

“What are you doing?” Susan asked. She
turned her eyes to the dirty dishes on the floor.

“I’m going to shift and see if I can
figure out why the trail ends here. I should be able to smell where
my uncle has gone. I’ll be back in a while.”

“Hey, be careful out there.” Susan
lifted her head to catch his eye. Ujarak smiled.

“Don’t worry about me, Suzy-Q. The
Arctic is my home.” Ujarak opened the flap and stepped naked into
the cold.

Jean-Paul reached for Susan and pulled
her into his lap. It would take Ujarak a while to find his uncle’s
trail and scout where he went. That would leave plenty of time to
relieve the hard on he sported from having his Destined One so
close.

“What are you doing? I need to clean
up the food and dishes.” Susan squirmed in his arms. She couldn’t
help but feel how much he wanted her.

“We have some alone time; the dishes
will wait.” JP nibbled at her ear. The scent of ripe peaches teased
his senses and his mouth watered. He kissed her neck and then
sucked her earlobe. Her little whimper made him smile. He released
her ear and moved her hair off her shoulder. He kissed down her
neck until he encountered the neckline of her sweater. “You have
way too many clothes on. Let’s take them off, shall we?”

Susan giggled. “I wonder how the nanuk
do this. Do they ever get skin to skin in the winter?” Susan pulled
off her sweater and then her long underwear shirt. Jean-Paul held
her waist, caressing her sides and up to the lace of her bra. He
leaned down to kiss her shoulder. She sighed and trembled. “Now
you.”

“What?” JP’s concentration was on the
feel of her skin under his hands and lips. He flicked out his
tongue to taste.

“Your clothes. You need to take them
off.” Susan laid her head back. He licked the place where her neck
met her shoulder. Most lycans bit their mates while mating. He
rubbed his teeth over the spot. Susan moaned. One hand grabbed his
thigh, while she looped the other arm around his head. He moved his
hands up to caress her breasts through the lace of her bra. He
kneaded the soft flesh and felt her nipples harden.

“Take off your pants and get into the
sleeping bag.”

“So, bossy.” Susan scooted off his lap
and over to the sleeping bags they rolled out earlier. She wiggled
out of her pants and thermal underwear and slipped into the bag. JP
had made sure to attach a couple of bags together so there was room
for two. He quickly divested himself of his clothes and climbed in
beside her.

“Now, I’ve got you.” JP scooted
close.

“Said the spider to the fly.” Susan
chuckled.

“Be careful,
petite amour
. I may have
to eat you.” JP unhooked the front clasp of her bra and leaned down
to suck a tight nipple into his mouth. Susan moaned and clutched
his head. He lapped at the extended flesh before pressing his teeth
down. Susan arched her back, pushing her breast deeper into his
mouth. He continued nibbling and sucking until Susan’s whole body
trembled. Then he released her.

She growled in her throat and tugged
on his hair. A sexy sound that made his shaft jerk. He moved to
kneel between her thighs and then leaned down to take the other
breast into his mouth. He nipped her. She jumped and grabbed his
shoulders. He licked at the small torment and then sucked hard.
Susan moaned. Her nails scored his skin. He loved her
responsiveness.

He let the swollen nubbin fall from
his mouth and kissed the underside of her breast, and then her
ribs, stomach, and finally the top of her mound.

The small blond curls glistened with
moisture. JP was glad for the light of the lantern. Seeing the
proof of her desire only increased the size of his shaft. He
throbbed and ached. He couldn’t last much longer, but wanted to
make this time special. Their entire mating had been rushed. He
needed to show her that she mattered.

§

“You’re so
beautiful,
une petite
louve.
”

Susan recognized the phrase
he called her. It meant
my little
wolf
. Her body was on fire. Twice she
thought she would come. Then he moved to another place to torment
her. The man played her like a well-loved instrument. If he didn’t
finish her soon, she might expire from desire. “Please,
Jean-Paul.”

“In a moment, love. I know what you
want.”

He spread her legs wider and caressed
her inner thighs. She whimpered. It wouldn’t take much to make her
come. He spread the lips hiding her sex. She gasped. Everything was
so sensitive. He leaned down and blew across her. She clenched and
cried out. He chuckled.

“Dammit, JP…”

Before she could continue, he licked
her. Her hips lifted into the caress. He licked again, before
plunging his tongue into her core. It wasn’t enough. She needed him
deeper. To fill her. She pushed up harder. He put his arm across
her hips, holding her in place. He plunged in again, before licking
at the sensitive bundle of nerves. She trembled. Her breath panted.
His fingers replaced his tongue. Pushing deep and then pressing on
her clit. Her eyes closed. Her mind clouded with desire.