Wolf at Law by Heather Long (14 page)

Slow. Sweet. Intense. His eyes had gone the beautiful golden sheen. The gold told her it was the wolf looking at her, the wolf who was a man or the man who was the wolf. To have one, she had to accept the other.

Such an impossible contradiction to the life she’d had. “You make me feel beautiful,” she told him.  

“Good.” Dropping another kiss to her shoulder, he then dipped his head to her breasts. The warmth of his breath eddied around her nipple a moment before his lips closed over it. She arched her back, desire striking like lightning with every pull of his mouth.

His growl vibrated through her, and she clenched her thighs as his hot hands explored every inch of her. No part of her was left untouched. When he eased her thighs apart and gazed at her sex, it was the most arousing moment she’d ever experienced. With a kiss to her inner thigh, he said, “There are three things you need to know. Three things we didn’t discuss before, because I wasn’t sure when you’d be ready.”

The change in him left her groaning. Her inner muscles clenched at the promise of his touch. She could feel his breath with every word, a torment and a tease.

“Now?” She strangled on the word. “You want to talk about it
now
?”

“Yes,” he growled. “Because you have to know. You
have
to be safe.”

Trying to gather in her scattered thoughts and wild emotions, she pushed herself up on her elbows. “Then tell me, because if you don’t keep touching me soon, I may lose it.”

His grin transformed his handsome face with utter joy. “I can smell you, you know. I know exactly how aroused you are.”

“Okay, I’m very happy for you.” She grabbed a pillow and whacked him with it. “I can tell you how aroused I am. I didn’t need a break in the action for the play-by-play.”

His sudden burst of laughter rocketed through her. She’d heard him chuckle, seen his smile, and even heard the deep baritone of a light laugh with Alexis. But this—a deep, from the belly, pure sound of happiness—attacked her from an  unexpected angle.

“Fierce,” he said. “Fierce, and dominant. The others saw it when I didn’t, but it’s there. You’ll be fine.”

“Wolf to human translation please?” She lifted her leg to run a bare foot along his back. At least he’d stripped off his shirt at some point.

“It means I want to mate you, Tiffany Anderson. I want you to be my wife, because you are my mate. Mating requires a bite, and I will want to bite you all the time, but I can only bite you once, now and then. Too many together and I’ll turn you and I won’t do that before you’re ready.”

Shock and wonder slammed through her, adding a biting edge to her delayed pleasure. “Turn me?”

“Yes.” He kissed the inside of one thigh, then the other. So close, she felt like she quivered on the precipice and he held her ecstasy hostage. “I can make you a wolf, like me. The turn is a deliberate series of bites, which can be hard at first, uncomfortable, but you have the strength and the dominance to come out the other side powerful.”

Okay.
That was a lot to think about. Then he spread his fingers across her abdomen and licked her once from her entrance to her clit. Her mind shutdown, then came back on again when the caress ended.

“There are two ways for a woman to turn. The first is the bite, the second is an unplanned pregnancy.”

She swallowed.

“I will wear a condom, and we must ever be vigilant about that until you’re ready.”

“You don’t want children?”

His gaze burned hers, lit from behind with a ferocious kind of joy. “I want children. I want your children. We have your daughter. Someday, maybe we will be blessed with more. But an unplanned pregnancy with my child while you are still human could kill you.”

I will always put you first.
He didn’t have to tell her again, and her heart ached with the rawness of his love.

“Will you, Tiffany Anderson, take my bite and be my mate? Will you be mine?” Before she could answer he locked his mouth around her clit and pleasure erupted through her. The pressure, unrelenting, pushed her over. When she surfaced once more, he leaned over her, his hips fitting against hers and the hot length of his cock settled right at her entrance.

“You so do not fight fair.” She clasped his shoulders, her breath still coming in hot little pants that she couldn’t control.

“No.” He claimed her mouth in a campaign to storm her defenses. Everything in the kiss demanded as much as it gave, and she surrendered to him, wanting him with ever cell in her body. A man who’d put aside his pleasure for her comfort, who’d put her daughter first, who’d put her wishes first—a powerful man who put
her
first.

Between drugging kisses, he caressed her sides and caught one nipple lightly between his thumb and index finger. The touch ignited a fresh wave of desire. She’d never wanted anyone as she did him. Nor had she ever felt this attuned to another.

His muscles rippled under her hands as she stroked down his back.  “Be mine, Tiffany.” His words were a request and a plea, all rolled into one. Fortunately, she had no problem acquiescing to this demand.

“Yes,” she said, sliding her fingers into his hair and dragging him down for another kiss. “A thousand times yes.”

A vicious wave of need twisted through her. She felt him, easing inside of her. The hard, hot length of him pressed inward with unrelenting force. He felt huge and perfect all at once. She bit down on his shoulder trying to stifle her cries. How could she be so close to the edge again? Yet she felt the tension inside of her winding tighter and tighter until she could barely breathe, then he was buried to the hilt.

“Mine,” he said. Drawing back, he drove into her again with the same slow, relentless force. The friction was unbearably sweet and she turned her face to the pillow, trying to hold back her scream. Then he slammed into her, over and over and she forgot how to think.

The world narrowed to his body joining hers. Every stroke threw her higher. His mouth closed over her shoulder and she felt teeth.  He fisted her hair and bit down. The pain was infinitesimal when compared to the delight. The burn in her chest expanded to set every nerve on fire. She came with such force all the air slammed out of her.

His roar filled her ears. The world teetered. His spine went rigid, and he thrust deep. The force of his orgasm drove her under, as though she were experiencing it with him. She clasped onto him, holding tight lest the storm carry her completely away.

Gradually, the world floated back. She reveled in the weight of him pinning her to the bed. He lapped his tongue against the sting on her shoulder, every rasp another spark against the cascade still shimmering through her. For the first time in her life, she felt peace.

True peace.

After an eternity spent drifting in the perfect moment, he lifted his head and gazed down at her. The wolf’s golden eyes gradually faded until she could only see the faintest glimpse of them. “My mate.” He smiled.

Her heart soared. “Always.”

“I thought Toman was going to kill you.” Andrew Clayborne walked out onto his deck as he spoke and handed Ryan a beer. The Claybornes had extended the first hand of friendship to welcome Tiffany and Alexis to the pack. It would take time for the others, but Andrew and his wife were good friends of Ryan’s.

 In the yard, Alexis raced in circles around Andrew’s son. The older boy wore a tolerant smile as she kept up a steady stream of chatter. Introducing his girls to Willow Bend filled Ryan with a sense of satisfaction he’d never before experienced.  They’d stayed in Chicago for another six months, in part to let the legal dust settle so they could be married. Also to let Alexis get used to them as a family while he finalized the adoption arrangements. The time had been precious, but he’d used it to prepare his mate as best he could for life with the pack thanks to frequent visits from Zane and his students. He’d made a handful of quiet trips home, unbeknownst to anyone save a few—the Montgomerys primarily. When he couldn’t come to Willow Bend, Will brought Margo to him. For the time being the teen had a grip on her wolf. She’d left a week prior for her boarding school, and everyone could breathe easier. Beyond Toman’s reach, the alpha potential within Margo could flourish unfettered.

Tiffany stood with Melissa, Andrew’s mate, as they surveyed Melissa’s garden. As it turned out, Ryan’s mate did have a passion, one she’d never been able to indulge. Gardening. She loved it. Ryan had purchased numerous books for her on the subject. He’d also introduced her to Thomas Halifax, mate to their pack healer and a fine gardener in his own right. He’d readily agreed to answer any of her questions.

“We worked it out,” Ryan said, by way of comment on the situation with their Alpha. He’d requested permission to marry Tiffany without revealing she was his mate. Had Toman wanted to make an issue of the fact he wasn’t turning her and had already revealed pack secrets, well…Ryan would have claimed his mate and moved to a different pack.

Toman hadn’t been pleased. He’d made his displeasure known when Ryan arrived back in Willow Bend. But when Ryan offered him the Wisconsin open land acreage on the edge of their territory, he’d quickly forgotten his displeasure. It had been a gamble, but well worth the effort.

“Alexis,” Tiffany called. “What are you doing?”

“Climbing a tree, Momma! Watch!” The little scamp had made it to the first branch, Mason ascending right behind her, his sturdy young frame poised to leap if the little one took one wrong step.

Pride swelled in his heart, then he caught Tiffany’s eye. She didn’t want Alexis in that tree. He put down the beer and leapt the railing to stroll down to the grove.

“Alexis,” he called. “You need to come down and listen to your mother.”

She grumbled, but Mason caught her hand and said, “Come on. I’ll help.”

His mate’s love filled him and he could feel her smile even though he watched his daughter navigate her way down the tree with absolute care.

His daughter.
 

His friends.
 

His mate.
 

This was what his life was about now, his family and his pack.

It was a good life.

Coming next in the Wolves of Willow Bend
 

Rogue Wolf
 

Salvatore Esposito’s arrival in Willow Bend starts more than a few tongues wagging. The Italian Alpha’s presence is unheralded in pack history, even more so because he shows no signs of challenging their current Alpha. The unrest plays on the pack, though, since Salvatore is definitely on the hunt for something…or is it some
one
?
 

Hunting missing wolves from one pack, Margo Montgomery’s return to pack lands threatens the fragile peace. An Enforcer, she monitors Lone Wolves, but her presence heralds a new danger—a Lone Wolf gone rogue. Worse, it seems the rogue has also taken Salvatore’s sister as his mate.
 

Margo braces herself for battle and tackles the hunt, a hunt made even more difficult when the handsome Salvatore insists on joining her. Now, she must track a rogue and protect the Italian Alpha while resisting his devastating appeal.
 

Catching the rogue may prove to be the least of her problems.
 

About the Author
 

National bestselling author, Heather Long, likes long walks in the park, science fiction, superheroes, Marines, and men who aren’t douche bags. Her books are filled with heroes and heroines tangled in romance as hot as Texas summertime. From paranormal historical westerns to contemporary military romance, Heather might switch genres, but one thing is true in all of her stories—her characters drive the books. When she’s not wrangling her menagerie of animals, she devotes her time to family and friends she considers family. She believes if you like your heroes so real you could lick the grit off their chest, and your heroines so likable, you’re sure you’ve been friends with women just like them, you’ll enjoy her worlds as much as she does.
 

www.heatherlong.net
 

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Always a Marine Series
 

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The Two and the Proud

A Marine and a Gentleman

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What Part of Marine Don’t You Understand?

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Marine Ever After

Marine in the Wind

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Her Marine Bodyguard

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Earth Witches Aren’t Easy

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Marshal of Hel Dorado

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Wanted: Fevered or Alive

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Some Like It Scandalous

Some Like It Deadly

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Into the Spotlight

Taking the Stage

Waiting in the Wings

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