Sassy Ever After: Wise Sass Mates (Kindle Worlds Novella) (6 page)

B
ianca flowed
into his arms again the second her feet hit the floor. She didn’t care about how she would feel tomorrow or next year. Something about this moment and this man, it was right, it was anointed.

His big hands were molding her to him.

That woodsy scent she’d thought hung on him before was suddenly stronger and more complicated, as if it had gained a new dimension.

Were her senses improving? Or was it just the emotion of the situation putting a superlative on everything - the most romantic kiss, the strongest chest, the warmest hands, the woodsiest scent?

When his tongue stroked hers with that same singular concentration he’d kissed her with the night before, she let go of her thoughts and soaked in the moment with him.

This was Ian Anderson, the man she’d yearned for ever since she could remember, the man she’d frantically coupled with on the forest floor, the man who turned into that magnificent silver wolf, and who always seemed to find her when there was real trouble, and try to protect her.

She slid her hands up his chest, fingers fiddling with the buttons. She needed to feel the heat of his skin against her.

He moved her hands away, still kissing her.

She slid her arms up around his neck and arched her back, pressing her breasts against his muscled chest. God, it felt good.

He groaned into her mouth and she felt his hands go around her ass and squeeze her to him.

His cock was already so hard she could practically feel every vein through their clothes.

She rubbed herself against him and he lifted her effortlessly up again.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and let him carry her into the living room, where he lowered her to a soft wool rug.

Then he was at her neck, nuzzling and lapping at the place where he had bitten her before. Her skin tingled and she went soft under his touch, half expecting him to bite her again.

Instead, he leaned back and lifted her shirt over her head.

The cool air of the room invigorated her. She waited for him to remove her bra and treat her breasts to the attention he’d given them last time.

Instead, he slid a finger under the edge of one cup, slipping it down under her breast so that the bra pushed her nipple up toward him. He did the same with the other cup, leaving Bianca feeling more naughty than if he had merely removed the garment.

She arched up to him waiting for his kiss, but he was ignoring her stiff nipples to drag down the zipper of her jeans and then tug them to her ankles where he patiently removed shoes and jeans.

Bianca lay obediently on the rug, feeling a bit passive but mostly wanting to see what he would do next, if she allowed him free reign.

He did not leave her in suspense.

The next thing she knew, he was nuzzling from her ankles all the way up, past the ticklish spot on the inside of her knees, to her panties.

She held in a gasp as he nosed the thin fabric. She could feel his hot breath on her sex, and she felt herself swell and grow wetter for him.

He extended his tongue and licked a long, lazy swipe across the lace that separated them.

“Oh,” she sighed.

“Mm,” he hummed back to her, and then slowly licked her again.

“Ah,” she whimpered.

“Mm,” he praised her, licking again.

Bianca prayed for the strength not to thrust herself into his face, but her will power was fading quickly.

She felt him slide a long finger beneath the lace and felt the twin sensations of panic and relief. Would he help her? Or would he only tease her further?

He pressed his finger against her opening, pushing slowly all the way to his second knuckle.

Bianca could feel her body locking down on him, her hips quivered, yearning for friction.

He eased his finger out again, then sucked it into his mouth, moaning with satisfaction.

Jesus god, that was hot.

Before she could recover he was sinking his finger into her again, then ever so slowly pulling it out to taste her again.

Bianca could feel her clitoris swelling and stiffening against the lace of her panties.

He buried his finger in her and lovingly sucked it clean a third time, ignoring her clit completely as she whimpered and trembled under his touch.

When he made as if to do it again, she pressed her thighs together.

“No, no more, please,” she begged.

“What’s wrong, my love?” he asked innocently. But she could tell by the twinkle in his golden eyes that he knew exactly what he was doing.

She sat up.

“It’s just that I want to play, too,” she said sweetly.

A look of naked lust crossed his face before he could hide it.

“No, darling, you don’t have to do that,” he said.

But when she pushed him backward he complied immediately.

Bianca looked down at him, beside herself with the possibilities. He was like a buffet laid out before her, and she didn’t know where to begin.

He smiled up at her, as if to encourage her.

She leaned down to kiss that wonderful smile, and ran her fingers through his hair while she was at it, twisting and tugging until he gave her the ferocious kiss he’d been withholding from her.

When she’d had her fill, she worked her way down his jaw, to nuzzle his neck. Then she peeled his shirt up, allowing him to sit up and help her pull it over his head, and then she kissed her way down the wide planes of his chest, nuzzling the ridges of those endless abs on her way to his belt buckle.

She slid the leather slowly through the loops and again allowed him to help her remove the last of his clothing.

When he was lying before her again, she took a moment to enjoy him.

From his big puppyish feet, to his muscled legs, impressively massive organ, chiseled abs, wide chest and the burning golden eyes in the face that had taught her heart to beat, he was perfect.

Before he could stop her, she lay between his legs on her belly, her face at his hips and drew a circle around the head of his iron hard penis with her tongue.

He hissed in a breath.

She smiled and did it again, glorying in his reaction.

Then she traced the vein on the outside of his cock, up, up, to the plushy head again, and she swirled it under her tongue.

“Oh, Bianca,” he sighed.

She wet her lips, grabbed him in her hand, and dragged the tip of him across her lips, snaking her tongue out to caress him lightly.

His hips quivered and she could feel his ass tighten with the repressed need to thrust into her mouth.

He managed to hold still though.

So she began to stroke him very lightly with her palm as she sucked just the tip of him into her mouth to lap and suckle.

“Oh, god, Bianca,” he whispered.

Slowly, she took more of him in, easing her hand lower and her mouth deeper.

“Oh, fuck,” he cursed.

She tasted a drop of salt against her tongue and lost her resolve to torment him.

Throwing caution to the wind, she sucked him in as deeply as she could, until she felt him crash against the back of her throat. Then she slid him in and out, sucking and lashing at him with her tongue, snaking one hand down to cradle and caress his balls as she did.

Her own response was nearly as intense as his. She felt herself swelling and getting so wet.

Then his cock was rigid in her mouth, and his hands were in her hair, pulling her off him bodily.

“Enough,” he whispered, “I need you.”

The words sent feverish shivers down her spine.

He rolled her onto her back and slid her panties off, lowering his face to lick her again.

“Ohhh,” she moaned brokenly, shamelessly jogging her hips up to meet his tongue.

But he stopped and flipped her over, pulling her hips up so that she was in the same position as last night.

Before she had time to prepare herself, she felt the tip of him against her opening, the feeling so exquisite she thought she would faint when he found his way all the way in.

She felt his hands grasp her hips, and then he was thrusting himself inside her.

“Oh, god, you feel so good, you feel so good,” he murmured.

Bianca felt the pleasure in her whole body, as if he were inside every cell of her.

Slowly, he began to move.

She felt her body clamp down on him, as if she were trying to milk him.

He moaned and reached around her to rapidly work her throbbing nodule.

“Oh, oh, oh,” she cried out helplessly, transfixed by his enormous cock and unable to relieve the sensation by moving her hips.

Ian gave her long, firm strokes.

By the third one she exploded with a pleasure so intense she saw stars.

She felt him brush her back with his lips.

“Good girl, beautiful angel,” he whispered to her, inhaling as she convulsed in helpless ecstasy on his steel hard cock.

As soon as she was coming down, she felt him swell larger still, and then pulse and jet inside her.

He bit down again on her neck, but lightly this time.

When their tremors had finally ceased, he pulled her down on her side with him, and wrapped his arms around her.

“Bianca Silver, you’re perfect,” he whispered into her hair as she drifted off to sleep. “I will always protect you. You will never leave me again.”

B
ianca settled comfortably
into the upholstered chair back in the Files room. She looked out over the pond, trying not to think about the fact that Ian was there, right across the room from her.

Last night had been so incredible. They hadn’t made it upstairs before he’d made love to her on the living room floor. They’d done it again on the way up the stairs, once in bed and again in the shower afterward as they tried to clean up.

Finally she had gone to sleep in his arms, utterly spent and too tired to talk.

Morning came way too fast. He’d insisted on accompanying her here - he’d even stopped for coffee and bagels for the girls.

When they arrived, Addison pulled her aside.

“Did you read up on scenting ceremonies yet?” she whispered.

Bianca shook her head.

“Here,” Addison said.

A text popped up on Bianca’s phone and she followed the link it sent to Wikipedia.

A
scenting ceremony
is used by certain packs in the northeastern United States as a way for wolves to choose a mate. Held annually, the ceremony begins with wolves in their animal form. They sniff one another for compatibility. If compatible as wolves, they shift to sniff for compatibility in their human forms. If the couple is in agreement, they will move into the woods to consummate their mating. A mating consummated in this way between a shifter and a human can result in the human gaining the power to shift. See also: mating mark.

B
ianca’s head
had begun to spin and she’d excused herself to go to the ladies room.

Once she was locked inside, she stared at herself in the mirror. Her green eyes were the same as usual, weren’t they? That wasn’t a hint of gold, it was the lighting in the bathroom.

But she could still hear the hum of the lights in the files room from here. And the steady beat of Ian Anderson’s heart.

Had he really chosen her to become his wolf bride? Why hadn’t he talked to her about it first?

The questions swirled, but they were unanswerable without Ian.

Instead, Bianca searched her heart for her own feelings. After all, it was done, they had mated. It explained why they couldn’t keep their hands off each other, why he was hell bent on protecting her.

Was she happy about it? That was the most important question, when she really thought about it.

She was pleased to realize that she was.

No matter how they had gotten this far, Bianca was relieved that the strong feelings she had for Ian were returned.

And whatever his reasons for not talking with her about it first, he had
chosen
her. He wanted to spend his life with her. He wanted her to be his mate.

Mate.

The mere word made her almost feverish with lust.

And if that title came with superpowers she was all in. She was nervous, but who wouldn’t want to be able to shift into a wolf? She only hoped it didn’t hurt.

He was a good man, she knew that much. She just needed to be patient and trust him.

She could do that, couldn’t she?

“Bianca, are you okay in there?” Ian asked from just outside the door, a trace of concern in his voice. He didn’t startle her - she had sensed him coming somehow.

“I’m fine,” she’d said, opening the door and threading her fingers through his, “I’m just fine.”

The smile on his face filled her heart with sunshine, and she began calculating the hours in her head, trying to figure out how long until they could respectably call it a day and go back to his magical cottage for some alone time.

The morning crawled by.

When the other girls left to get lunch, Bianca decided to stay behind.

Ian came to sit next to her on the big chair.

She knew they needed to talk about the mating. And though it wasn’t exactly something she wanted to bring up in this setting, she figured the sooner they talked the better.

“What’s on your mind, love?” he asked, as if he were reading her thoughts.

“Why didn’t you talk to me about mating before, you know, before we did it?” she asked.

He cleared his throat and looked embarrassed.

“Well, Bianca, when you’re in the moment, it’s hard to explain, but instincts take over. It’s not common to talk during those times.”

“No, not then, I mean before. Before the ceremony,” she said.

He took her hand in his.

“Bianca, you were so young when I met you,” he admitted. “I wanted you terribly, but I knew I couldn’t come near you.”

“I know, it was hard for me too,” she whispered.

He squeezed her hand.

“I’m sorry, my love. But you were too young - you weren’t ready yet. At any rate, I wanted you to have a life, a regular life, before you decided to become a shifter. It’s not always an easy path. I wanted you to choose.”

But that didn’t make sense. She had no idea what she was getting into with the scenting ceremony. It wasn’t like he had forced himself on her, she’d been more than willing, but he hadn’t really been clear about the ramifications.

“Thank you for that,” she said, starting to lose her patience. “But it still doesn’t explain why you didn’t talk with me about all this before you invited me to the ceremony.”

Addison slipped back in the door, with Mei right behind her. They must have just grabbed salads from the cafe across the street. So much for privacy.

“What do you mean, I invited you?” he practically growled. “You just showed up, out of nowhere. We were damned lucky I spotted you before anyone else did.”

“Y-you didn’t send me this?” Bianca asked. She pulled out the invitation from her bag.

“No, Bianca,” he replied immediately. “I never would have asked you to come straight to the ceremony.”

Bianca could feel her heart break a little. He hadn’t invited her.

“You’re the only woman I’ve ever wanted as my mate,” he said, sensing her vulnerability at his admission. “You know that, don’t you?”

“If you didn’t send it to me, who did?” she demanded.

“What does it say?” he asked gently. “May I see it?”

She handed it over.

He studied it for an instant, bringing it to his nose and inhaling deeply, before a grim look marred his handsome features.

“What?” she asked.

“I recognize this,” he said darkly.

“Okay, great, who sent it?” she asked.

“Zachary Greenfield,” he replied.

“No,” Bianca breathed.

“How could you possibly know that just from smelling it?” Mei asked.

“It’s not just that,” Ian replied. “He was in my fourth period study hall. I’d know that handwriting anywhere - he spent most of study hall writing sentences for bad behavior.”

“So why would he want me to come to a scenting ceremony?” Bianca asked.

Everyone turned to stare at her.

She could feel her skin turn beet red.

“You know what I mean, he didn’t like me, he called me fat, he teased me,” she pointed out.

“Do you really know
nothing
about boys, Bianca, like
at all
?” Mei asked.

“He’s not attracted to me,” Bianca said, giving up on Mei and turning to Addison.

“He seemed pretty anxious to make up with you when he stopped by yesterday,” Addison admitted.

“He stopped by here yesterday?” Ian demanded.

Bianca nodded miserably.

“I would have agreed with you Bianca. The things he said to you in school were beyond boyish awkwardness. He was cruel,” Ian said, his eyes burning. “But I can’t argue with the facts. He invited you to a scenting ceremony, he came here to apologize to you.”

Could Ian be jealous?

She thought again of that first night in the woods. The other set of eyes Ian had spotted. Could that have been Zach? Had Ian really just gotten there before Zach could?

Bianca shuddered at the thought and pushed it aside.

“Okay, pretend for a minute that you’re right,” she said. “Why did he do this stuff? Why not contact me before now? Why wait until I’m already in town again to try to win me over?”

But no one could answer.

No one said much of anything for a while.

Eventually, they found their way back to the work at hand. Bianca was glad to have the distraction.

They’d been engrossed in their files again for about half an hour when Addison squealed.

“What?” Mei asked, leaping up from her pile of files to see.

Bianca and Ian looked up from the files they were sorting.

“It’s not going to sound like a big deal to you,” Addison began, sounding apologetic. “But this document makes it sound like there is a journal somewhere with secret records of shifters.”

“Isn’t that what we’re already looking at?” Bianca asked in confusion.

“It’s not that simple,” Ian told her, “the files here are ordinary town records and family records of shifters. What Addison is referring to would reference the shadow shifters. Shifters who were mated in, but who never shared their shifter status even within the community.”

“Why wouldn’t they share their status in the community?” Bianca asked.

“A lot of reasons, maybe they were unhappy to have been turned and they fled the lifestyle,” Ian offered.

“Maybe they were public figures,” Addison suggested.

There was silence for a moment.

“Oh,” Bianca said, suddenly realizing that if there were records about Jackson or his family in Blue Creek, they might just be in the journal.

“So does it say who has the journal?” Mei asked.

“It not only says who has it but it references where it’s hidden,” Addison said, speaking way too fast in her excitement. “The only thing is that the page is marked with a paperclip. So someone saw this before we did. More than likely they already searched for the journal and if they found it, it’s already here.”

“Wouldn’t that have been, like, the first thing they told us about when we registered the subject of our research?” Mei asked.

“Yeah,” Addison admitted, crestfallen. “I guess it would have.”

“Where was it?” Bianca asked.

“Hidden under the thirteenth tread in the back stairs at the League of Women Voters,” Addison replied. “Do you know where that is?”

“Sure, but it’s not the League of Women Voters anymore,” Bianca said. “They meet at the library now. It was converted back into a house. I’m not sure who lives there.”

“It’s the Peterson’s,” Ian chimed in. “Good people, but they spend half the year in Florida now that the kids are grown.”

“Which half of the year?” Mei asked hopefully.

“This half,” Ian said, shaking his head. “They never make it to the Pumpkin Festival, so I know they’re gone by now.”

“Well anyway, the page was marked, so someone’s already been there to check, I’m sure,” Addison said. “Would have been a cool find, though.”

“For sure,” agreed Mei.

They all went back to their work as the afternoon sun began to set over the pond.

But Bianca noticed Addison getting up to pace more often, and fingering her dark braids as if in thought. Once she got a bee in her bonnet about something, she wasn’t one to let it go without a fight.