Sassy Ever After: A Hot Piece Of Sass (Kindle Worlds Novella) (8 page)

Chapter Fifteen

“S
omeone get this fucking silver off of me,” Hannah shouted, tired of feeling weak. Not being able to help her mate when he needed her drove her wolf to the brink of madness.

Barbara ran to her niece’s side. Using the corner of her sweater she tried to pull the chain free, but the silver had already embedded itself into Hannah’s skin.

“Hold still. I’ll have it off of you in a second.”

Hannah tried not to wince as her aunt worked desperately to remove the chain. Who would have thought such a small chain could cause so much pain?

“Damn it. It’s stuck.”

“Just get a firm grip and yank the damn thing off.” Hannah was losing what little patience she had left.

“Easy, baby girl. On the count of three. Now take a deep breath. One. Two…”

Hannah closed her eyes and held her breath.

“Three.”

The pain she had felt earlier was nothing compared to the pain that tore through her neck when Barbara yanked on the chain. If Hannah hadn’t known better, she would have thought Barbara was trying to slice through her throat with a rusty butter knife.

“Worst decision ever,”
her wolf panted. “
As a matter of fact, I think your decision-making privileges should be revoked for the next forty-eight hours. At least.”

“Shut up.”

The last thing she wanted to do was fight with her wolf. She was exhausted and in pain, and her mate needed her help.

“Take your time and catch your breath. Tristian is with Tanner. He’ll make sure he’s okay.”

Hannah nodded, glancing over at her mate as he slowly started to regain consciousness. She breathed a little easier seeing he was on the road to recovery.

“Where’s Hannah?” Tanner’s voice was raw and scratchy, as if someone had shoved a hot poker down his throat.

“She’s over there with her aunt. They’re only a few feet away. They just got the silver off her neck,” Tristian answered before Hannah had a chance.

“Motherfucker. I’d kill those bastards again if I could. Twice as hard.”

Hannah smiled at Tanner’s comment, knowing he would do anything in his power to protect her.

Once she’d regained her strength, she made her way to Tanner, kneeling beside him.

“Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you, did they?” Tanner’s raspy voice was music to her ears.

The tears started immediately. “One of them marked me as his mate. I—I tried to stop him, but he had silver around my neck. I couldn’t move,” Hannah sobbed.

Barbara gasped in shock, and a stream of expletives flew from Tristian’s mouth.

“I know. I overheard the other assholes talking about it in the woods.” Tanner sat up, pulling Hannah close. “We’ll fix this.”

“How? My wolf said she’ll die if she doesn’t mate with the male who marked her.”

“My Alpha can break the bond and cancel out the mating mark. I’ve seen him do it.”

“Are you certain?” Barbara asked wearily. “I’ve never heard of such a power.”

“Positive,” Tanner reassured her. “We need to hit the road for Black Paw as soon as possible.”

***

Hannah said her goodbyes to her family while Tanner loaded a few suitcases stuffed with her belongings into the back of his truck. She wiped fresh tears from her face and hugged her mom one last time.

“I never thought I’d leave Blue Creek. Or you.”

“I’ll only be a phone call away. Besides, Black Paw isn’t that far. The drive is only a few hours. We can still see each other whenever we want.” Her mom hugged her tighter.

“It won’t be the same.”

“You go with your mate and get your lives sorted out. We’ll figure it out from there.” She let go of Hannah, giving her a teary smile. “I love you, and your family will always be here for you.”

“Thanks, Mom. One last thing… can you call and check on Faith for me? She seemed pretty distracted at the ceremony.”

“I’ll take care of it. You better hit the road.”

Hannah slept most of the way to Black Paw. Emotional and physical exhaustion pulled her under as soon as they crossed the county line. Tanner held her close, needing to feel the heat of her body pressed against him. He’d pulled over at a truck stop halfway through the drive to fuel up and grab a drink.

The short break also gave him time to call Rafe and explain everything that had happened at Blue Creek. Rafe gave him explicit instructions to bring Hannah directly to his house, no matter what time they got into town.

Being on the road gave Tanner time to think about all the strange things that had happened at Blue Creek. His powers seemed to be completely out of whack. He still couldn’t hear any of Hannah’s thoughts—and then there was the elephant in the room. How in the hell had he managed to teleport? He’d never heard of any wolf with that ability. No stories, no legends—nothing.

He needed to talk to Rafe about it, but he’d chickened out on the phone. It was a conversation he’d rather save for an old-fashioned one-on-one sit-down.

A few hours later, Tanner pulled into Rafe’s driveway and put his truck in park. “Hannah. We’re here.” He nudged her gently to wake her up.

Hannah stretched and rubbed her eyes. “Already? We just left Blue Creek, didn’t we?”

“You slept the whole way.” Tanner said with a soft smile.

“Oh, God. I’m so sorry. I felt like I just needed to close my eyes for a few minutes. I never meant to sleep through the whole trip. Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“You seemed like you needed the rest. Besides, you have the cutest little snore. You sounded like a baby squirrel.”

“Nice. That makes me feel so sexy.” Hannah rolled her eyes at the comparison.

“Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

Hannah’s arms shook with worry. Tanner knew she had her doubts, but he didn’t. He knew Rafe would be able to break any connection she had to the fucker who did this to her. Once that was done, he would be able to rightfully claim his mate.

And this time, he wasn’t waiting for permission.

The front door of the house opened. Rafe stepped out to meet them and offered his hand in greeting. “Tanner, it’s good to see you. I just sent Erin a text asking her to come over. I want her to check out you and your mate.”

Tanner shook Rafe’s hand. “This is Hannah. Hannah, this is Rafe.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you,” Hannah greeted Tanner’s Alpha.

“We really don’t need to disturb Erin. We’ll be fine. It’s nothing our wolves can’t handle.” Tanner didn’t want to bother Erin. The woman came running day or night for pack-related medical emergencies, but their situation was hardly an emergency.

“I’d rather be safe than sorry. It will only take her a few minutes to examine your mate. I want to make sure there’s nothing serious going on. In the meantime, why don’t you come inside and I’ll take a look at the forced mating mark.”

Tanner and Hannah followed Rafe through the house and into the den.

“Let’s do this in here so we don’t wake Mina up. She hasn’t been getting enough sleep lately.”

“Yes, I have been. Just because I’m pregnant with twins doesn’t mean I need three times the sleep.” A woman, Hannah assumed to be Mina stepped into the room with a tray of coffee and water. “I swear, the man would wrap me in bubble-wrap if he could. Would you like a drink?” She set the tray on the coffee table.

Tanner stood, giving her a quick hug only to smirk when he heard a low rumble reverberate from Rafe’s chest. “Easy, Rafe. It’s a simple greeting. Nothing more.”

Mina turned to Hannah. “You must be Hannah. I’m Mina. It’s so nice to meet you.”

“Hi.” Hannah stood to give Mina a quick hug.

“I should have warned you, Mina is a hugger. So are her mom and sisters,” Tanner joked.

“You hush. It’s better than the alpha-male crap you guys do.” Mina winked at Hannah. “These men, I tell you. Some days the testosterone around here is too much to handle.”

Rafe sat down on the coffee table facing Hannah. “Let’s see this mark of yours.”

Hannah pulled her hair to the side, showing him the nasty bite Mac had left on her neck.

Mina gasped at the sight of Hannah’s bloody, torn neck.

“Motherfucker. Why did he do that? As far as I’m concerned, there’s never a reason for something like this to happen.” Rafe was outraged at the sight. “Please tell me you killed him.”

Tanner shook his head. “No. The Wolfes’ are dealing with him.”

“It’s probably for the best. It will be easier to break the bond if he’s still alive. When the mate is dead, it’s a little trickier. Now, Hannah, I want you to clear your mind and relax. Okay?”

“Okay.” Hannah nodded.

Rafe placed his hands on the side of her head and closed his eyes. “There it is. This should be really easy. You might feel a little light-headed. Ready?”

“More than ready.”

“Here goes.” Rafe sent a surge of power into Hannah’s mind. The tendrils of power latched onto the forced mating connection, cleanly severing it. “All done.” Rafe pulled back from Hannah and patted her knee. “See, easy as pie.”

Hannah twisted her head around and drew in a deep breath. “It’s gone. I’m no longer connected to that scum.”

Tanner wasn’t sure if he should laugh or growl when Hannah launched herself at Rafe, wrapping him in the tightest hug possible.

“Thank you so much.”

“You’re very welcome.”

“Looks like I showed up just in time,” Erin said as she knocked on the door frame of the den.

“Perfect timing, as usual. Let’s give Erin a minute alone with Hannah.” Rafe motioned for Mina and Tanner to step out of the room.

“I’d rather not,” Tanner protested.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll be there in a minute,” Hannah said, calming her mate.

Tanner huffed before following Rafe and Mina out of the room.

“Hi, I’m Erin. Rafe said you were bitten by a rogue wolf?”

“Yeah. It doesn’t feel so good. I’m not sure what you’ll be able to do about it though. I thought for sure shifting would heal the wound, just like any other. But it didn’t.”

“Mating marks are never healed by shifting,” Erin explained. “Let me take a look and see what’s going on with it. It shouldn’t be hurting you.”

Hannah turned her head to the side, showing the carnage Mac had left.

“Sweet Freyja. What the fuck?”

“Exactly.”

“This is going to seem a bit odd.” Erin pulled a tiny vial from her purse. “I want you to drink this and close your eyes.”

“Okay.” Hannah took the vial and downed it before closing her eyes as she was asked.

Erin’s hand hovered just above the wound. An azure glow emanated from her fingertips. Tiny sparks danced from her hand onto Hannah’s neck, closing the ragged skin. When all was said and done, only a light pink outline remained.

“What was that? It felt all tingly.”

Erin winked. “I have a special majik of my own.”

Chapter Sixteen

T
hey barely made it in the door of his apartment before the sweet taste of honey and cinnamon flooded Hannah’s senses, and left her body trembling with desire. She may have been around the block a few times, enough to know the difference between a good kiss and a bad kiss… but never before had a kiss blown her mind or turned her on so completely. She also realized that a kiss had never tasted so good, had never left her so needy in her entire life. She wondered how she had become so addicted to her mate’s kisses in such a short amount of time.

Weak at the knees, Hannah held on for dear life as Tanner continued to make love to her mouth, his tongue darting inside and finding hers before caressing it and pulling back out. Goosebumps breaking over her skin, she moaned into his mouth, begging for more.

Her hips rocked against him, an automatic pleasure-seeking response. Gods, how she needed to feel him deep inside of her.

Tanner’s kiss didn’t slow when he ripped the tank top from her body, exposing her generous breasts. He caressed and squeezed, gently tugging on each of her hardened nipples with his fingers.

Hannah’s head fell back, her long locks sweeping over her back as he nipped at her ear and then down her neck.

His soft, warm tongue worked a path over her chest to her breasts. Her fingers tunneled deep into his thick hair, pulling him closer.

“Gods, woman, you taste like strawberries.” Tanner’s husky voice sent shivers through her body.

Hannah saw stars when his mouth slid over her breasts, sucking her nipples into his mouth one at a time. She cried out for more when he licked, sucked, and nibbled on the tiny buds.

Her fingers trembled as she tried to open the small buttons on his shirt, needing to feel the heat from his skin. With a groan of frustration, she gave up on trying to open the buttons,  and instead grabbed the material and pulled with all her might. A wave of relief washed over her when the buttons flew across the room.

She watched as a smile stretched across his face. “Patience, love. We have all the time in the world.”

“I’ve waited my whole life to feel like this. I don’t want to wait a second longer.”

Feeling like a greedy hussy, her hands were on him in an instant. Tracing over every inch of his chest and back, she felt her eyes glowing with pure hunger for her mate.

Heat flooded her core as Tanner yanked her yoga pants down from her waist and off her legs. “You smell so fucking good. I can’t wait to taste you.” Tanner’s canines lengthened, grazing her nipples, sending her into a frenzy.

She tugged on his belt, aching to run her fingers over his hard cock. Tanner jerked back for a second, offering his help. He pulled the belt off with ease before unzipping his pants and stepping out of them.

Hannah dropped to her knees and grabbed the waistband of his boxers, slowly pulling them down, freeing his straining erection. Running her tongue over her lips at the sight before her, she wasted no time in tasting him. Her fingers wrapped around the base of his cock as her mouth slid over the tip, sucking him in deep.

“Hannah! Oh gods, yes,” Tanner moaned, twisting her hair around his fingers.

The taste of her mate on her tongue spurred her on. Her hand slid up and down and she pumped his cock in and out of her mouth, squeezing his balls with the other hand.

Tanner pulled her head back, slowing her pace. “My turn.”

In one swift move, Tanner surprised Hannah by sweeping her up from her position on the floor and placing her on the sofa. Kissing a trail from between her breasts and down her stomach, he moved lower still to her inner thighs.

Soft coos and moans escaped Hannah’s mouth with each of Tanner’s tender nibbles. Brilliant white lights danced behind her eyes when his tongue landed on her clit. Tanner pulled her legs up around his shoulders, as his tongue slid in and out of her pussy.

“Such sweet honey,” Tanner teased, flicking his tongue in and out of her. “I want you to come for me.”

Hannah’s body shook as wave after wave of pleasure consumed her. She was so close, her climax hovering just out of reach.

“Oh goddess, Tanner,” Hannah shouted when he slid two fingers deep inside her. Her hips twisted and turned, thrusting, she mimicked the motion of his fingers penetrating her. Her heart skipped a beat, maybe two, when the gentle waves of pleasure turned faster and harder than she was used to. Hannah latched on to anything she could grab. The fear of floating away, lost in her own sea of pleasure, suddenly became real.

“That’s it, love. Let go,” Tanner coaxed.

“Yes, oh goddess. Yes!” Her breathing heavy, she gasped for air.

Just as her orgasm subsided, Tanner pulled back. She expected a minute or three to recover from the intensity of her climax, but Tanner wouldn’t hear of it. He grabbed her hips and pulled her to the edge of the sofa, positioning the tip of his cock right at her entrance. As he stroked it up and down from her clit to her ass, she shivered in anticipation.

Inch by slow inch he slid home, filling her to the point of bursting. Hannah sucked in a sharp breath, overwhelmed by his size. Tanner gave her a minute to adjust before slowly sliding out and back in again.

All it took was one hard thrust to send her flying to the heavens once again. Hannah thrashed beneath him, her back arching to meet each of Tanner’s thrusts. Her nails scorched his back, leaving dark red streaks crisscrossing from shoulder to shoulder.

Without warning Tanner shifted positions, pulling her on top of him. Grabbing her hips, he lifted her up and down. Hannah leaned forward, her hair creating a curtain around them. Her eyes glowed and her canines lengthened as her wolf demanded that she claim her mate.

Hannah leaned down closer to Tanner, kissing him passionately then pulling back just a bit. She ran her tongue over one of her canines before kissing him again. She felt her climax swelling again, and knew she couldn’t wait a moment longer. She broke away from the kiss and ran her tongue over the edge of his jaw to the side of his neck.

She had every intention of being gentle with her mate, but her wolf took control, striking with greed. As soon as his blood hit her tongue, her mind suddenly opened to his thoughts and feelings. Being connected to Tanner at this most intimate moment brought her to a climax that surged through her like never before. The world could have tilted on its axis and she wouldn’t have batted an eyelash, as long as the pleasure she felt continued.

As she slowly floated back to Earth, Tanner struck, his fangs sinking deep into her neck. With the mating connection complete, she came full circle. Their past and present forever intertwined, she soared once more to the stars above.

Their bodies covered in sweat, they panted for breath, Tanner continued to pound his cock deep into her pussy. Hannah could do no more than wrap her legs around his back and hold on for the ride. Words of praise and encouragement were replaced with grunts and groans. Skin slapped together in the hottest, hardest sex she’d ever experienced.

After several long minutes, Tanner’s fangs disengaged. His voice hoarse and shaky, he shouted her name before shooting his seed deep inside of her.