Goal: A Mate (Bachelor Auction #2) (3 page)

He held out a hand to her. “Come with me.” His tone brokered no argument.

“Yes!” The word came out high pitched and squeaky. She wasn’t even sure what she was agreeing to, but she knew she’d go anywhere he asked her to go. The sensation of his roughened palm sliding against hers sent an electric charge up her arm and bouncing around her chest before it settled as a warming buzz in her belly. He guided her around furniture until he had her settled down on the couch and handed her a shot glass.

“To a successful auction! Thanks for saving me.” He held up his cup, a heated look in his eye that made her squirm.

They toasted and downed the liquid. It felt like swallowing liquefied cinnamon candies, her favorite kind. The burn from the alcohol helped to warm and relax her. She cuddled into his side, hyperaware of every move she made. Without hesitation, she laid her head on his shoulder. He placed a kiss on her head, playing with her hair, tugging the strands and winding them around his palm until he held the tresses in his firm grip. His lips traced a path from her crown to her forehead and down the bridge of her nose to the sensitive tip.

“Brandon,” she whispered, voice rough and low.

“Kelly,” he murmured. Brandon paused, azure depths darkened to the color of sapphires. His tongue flicked out to trace the seam of her lips. She opened up for him without a single complaint, her own tongue slipping out to meeting his. With a groan, he kissed her, exploring her mouth. The taste of deep, rich whiskey washed over her taste buds, making her yearn for more. It was warm and sweet, with undertones of cinnamon and something more.

He pulled her head back, allowing him to deepen the contact. She moaned and arched her chest. One of his fingers blazed a path along her jaw and down her throat to trace along her neckline.

She wished she was naked, her flesh exposed to his touch. Needing to do more than just sit and let him take what he wanted, she lifted her arms and sunk one hand into his hair, gripping it tight to hold him where he was. With her other hand, she slowly unbuttoned his shirt until she could part the panels and touch him in a way she’d only dreamed about. His skin was feverish. With each flex of his muscles, his chest rippled. Maybe it was him being here, or her exhaustion, but she couldn’t find a single reason not to be kissing him right now. In fact, all thought had evaporated.

The roughened tip of his finger teased her, dipping into the valley of her cleavage and withdrawing, before blazing a path of fire along the bottom edge of her sweater. Each pass made her top feel tighter, her breasts seem fuller, as if the simple wool fabric couldn’t hold back her bounty. He hooked his index finger into the dip and tugged. The threaded hem scraped against her chest, sending a ripple of sensation around her torso. She whimpered and arched her back, urging him on without words to tear, take, cup, squeeze.

He didn’t do any of those things. Brandon’s hand coasted down over her breast in a light tease before slipping down her side and behind her. She felt the cloth pull away from her torso before it was lifted up. With a sigh of relief, she raised her arms over her head. He let go of her ponytail, yanked off her sweater, and dropped it to the floor.

She scooted back, allowing him to look his fill at her bare breasts. Under his scrutiny, her nipples throbbed and goose flesh rose on her arms and across her chest. She watched emotions flit across his face: desire, awe, happiness, acceptance, relief. Each of those sentiments was echoed within her. She wanted to reach out, cup his face, and kiss him. The buzz of the whiskey had faded away to nothing.

“Put your hands behind your back.” His voice was ragged and torn like a voice caught by the storm and distorted. He reached for his belt.

She didn’t ask what he intended to do. All she knew was that she wanted whatever it was he offered her.

“Do you trust me?” He stared at her.

The simple question made her pause in midaction, arms at her sides rather than behind her, chest thrust out.

She stared at him, confused by the query. “Of course.”

There was no other answer. She’d known him her whole life, loved him since she was twenty-six. Her best friend’s baby brother had not only become a man but a handsome, kind, sweet, sexy one. Whatever he wanted she’d give.

“Mate
.
”
The word whispered around her head like a droplet of water tracing the counters of a bowl. Smooth and easy. She’d ignored the declaration from her wolven half for so long, out of respect for their friendship, but there was nothing chummy about being someone’s mate. It meant he was her soul mate, her life companion, her other half, her world. She’d been too young to remember her father and mother’s interactions and love for one another, but she’d heard enough from her dad and their friends to know how much they had lived for one another. Even now, years later, he still hadn’t moved on from her death.

Even witnessing her father’s ache didn’t deter her from this moment with Brandon. He was
hers
. She slipped her arms behind her back and waited for him to make his move. Her gaze dropped to watch his long, elegant fingers deftly undo his buckle and slip the strap out of the loops. The sound of leather against cotton and the clack of metal against metal slithered down her back, causing her to push out her chest a bit more. The position hurt, but she refused to disobey him.

A part of her wanted this, for him to take control of her. With his strong hands, he could lift her out of her responsibilities and problems and give her what she needed: pleasure and distraction. He rose and moved past her to settle behind her. With gentleness, he took her hands and wrapped the length of cowhide around her wrists. Once done, he brushed her hair out of the way and kissed her, starting at the nape and moving down with flicks of his tongue and gentle scrapes of his teeth. His lengthened canines against her skin caused her sex to clench and liquid desire to dampen her panties.

Her wolf rose in answer and her own teeth elongated, ready to bite and hold down onto his shoulder when he fucked and claimed her. She pressed her thighs together and moaned. Her hips rocked and her nipples ached. Her body felt too tight, too small to hold back the pressure as it increased. He continued to torment her, moving deftly from the center of her back to her shoulders.

“Bite me, bite me, claim me, claim,”
she urged without words as she reversed her body to touch his.

“No. Still.” He bit and held the muscle at the place where her neck and shoulder met.

She whimpered but stopped everything she was doing. Her pussy throbbed, her clit pulsed, her panties were soaked, and her breasts ached for his touch.

“Please,” she whispered. Even to her, the word sounded agonized. Never had she pleaded with a lover. Her body was adrift when his hands weren’t on hers and every inch of her needed him right now.

“Please,” she tried again. “Need you. Want to feel you on top of me, inside of me, everywhere.”

He released her skin, and she shuddered. Sensations sung along her nerve endings, ramping up her passion. Brandon licked at the wounded area. Each flick set off a burst of heat in her stomach.

“Not yet,” he murmured. His deep tenor resonated inside of her. Her pussy flexed and relaxed.

“So beautiful and all
mine
.” He blazed a trail down her arm with his lips muttering the word, “mine,” as he went.

He slipped in front of her. His fingertips trailed over her hands. She tugged on her bonds and found them set firm. She knew she could use her wolf strength to break free, but she didn’t want to end things this soon. She shifted and settled. The tug on her arms wasn’t uncomfortable, but if they went too long she knew it would hurt once freed.

“Mine. Mine. Mine,” he murmured, as he dusted her collarbone with pecks and glides of his lips.

“All yours.” If she had been a cat shifter, she would’ve been purring right now. She pushed out her breasts hoping he’d take the hint. Instead, he took hold of her waist and ran his hands up and down the sides. His lips coasted down into the valley of her cleavage. Butterfly brushes left her burning and seething with passion.

She growled. “Damn it, suck my tits.” She’d never been so vocal with a lover, much less that explicit, but his actions were fraying her nerves.

As if in answer, he lifted his head until his mouth was level with her nipples. He ducked his head for a quick lick, first with one tip and then the other. He moved back and forth, changing up the rhythm and pace, sometimes slow and other times lightening fast. Sparks of heat flared hot, filling her belly with warmth before turning to liquid fire, which seeped into her pussy. Her vaginal walls fluttered and her clit throbbed. Tingles raced up and down her inner thighs. Her toes curled and relaxed. She was so damn close, all she wanted was for him to touch her.

One of his hands slipped over her hip to delve between her thighs, where he cupped her mound. His middle finger sat over the distended bundle of nerves, but there were two layers of clothing between him and it. She tried to rock her hips, but nothing happened.

“No. Stay still.” The wolf flashed in his cobalt-blue eyes, turning them to a molten bronze before they switched back again. His lips quivered as a warning growl slipped out.

She did as ordered, waiting, watching, hopeful he’d give her some relief. The urge to snap back, mate or no, gripped her. She closed her eyes, breathing in and out. Her own lycan counterpart didn’t like how easily she’d given in, but had no say in the matter. With the force of her mind, she held her animal half below the surface.

He tapped his fingers over clit, and she sucked in some air as sensation burst low in her gut. He did it again, this time taking one of her nipples between his teeth. Pleasure edged out the sliver of pain that shot through her. She bucked in his hold and her hands clenched, but she didn’t tell him to stop.

He took the thick nub into his mouth. The moist cavern heated the already fevered peak. His tongue circled and grazed it over and over. Tears blurred Kelly’s vision as it became too much to bear. Before she could tell him to stop, he released her nipple, tapped her clit, and then moved to the other hardened tip.

Her pussy wept. Her panties were already soaked, and she was even closer to coming. And he wasn’t even inside of her.

The pressure built as he repeated his actions. Moisture slid down her cheeks as it all became too much to bear. She came with her legs shaking, toes curled and sensation buzzing up and down her body from the crown of her head down to her feet and back up again. Her fingertips tingled. Pleasure shook her, washing over her in waves until it left her gasping out his name.

He withdrew from her nipple and from between her thighs, moved behind her, and undid the belt. Brandon took care of her, massaging her wrists until there was no pain. He returned to his place in front of her before he took a kiss from her lips and grinned.

“Taste of things to come, Kelly, my mate.” His voice became distorted and his features dimmed.

The room became black around the edges.

Kelly came to with a gasp. Her eyes opened. Understanding dawned her on in increments. She became aware of one of her hands clutching a breast. The other was coated with her juices.

“Fuck,” she muttered as she pushed back the covers. For the umpteenth time she’d masturbated while dreaming of Brandon. It seemed her wolf was using her subconscious to press the issue of claiming Brandon as their mate. Either that or she was losing her mind.

As the tingles and pleasure faded, she got up and headed to the bathroom for another shower. It was too late to go back to sleep and too damn early to go into the office. She just prayed it wouldn’t show. They had a lot to get done and little time to do it.

After a quick shower, she began to brew a pot of coffee. Her vision blurred and a few times her chin sank down to her chest in an attempt to catch a few Zs. She shook her head. She had to find something to focus on. She had to get some work done.

Kelly lifted the top of her laptop and pushed the power button. The screen flickered to life. She entered her password and clicked on her e-mail icon. Scrolling through her personal inbox, she found nothing of value except a message from her father to the entire pack. Maybe it was his idea for the Beltane celebration. She clicked on it and became wide awake. Being splashed with cold water would have been less of a shock.

December 20
^th

Pack,

As you all know, I will be stepping down this year. We’ve had much success under my leadership in everything from finding plentiful business opportunities to increasing our numbers. But our future belongs to the young and the strong. Though I am of a more modern view than other packs and believe women can rule, my daughter Kelly has shown no interest in taking the reins. We must have a strong leader, and whoever it is must have strong ties with the pack.

As you know, my protégé, Alberto of the Ivory Claw pack, has proposed a merger between our groups. I’m inclined to agree to it, but only if he is my daughter’s husband. Family bonds make for the strongest political unions.

However, this decision is not mine to make alone. I know there are worthy challengers within our own ranks. So here is what I have decided: between now and the Beltane celebration, the leadership of the pack is under contention. Any wolf of my own pack who wishes to become alpha must fight Alberto for my daughter’s hand. If he wins, he will have proven himself worthy of my daughter and the pack leadership. If he loses, the victorious challenger will become alpha.

I leave it to you decide the future of this pack.

Your alpha,

Martin

Chapter Three

One Month Later

Kelly tried to focus on what she was doing. Reenie prattled on across from her, giving her some report on something that she knew was important but couldn’t quite get up the energy to comprehend. Last night was another teaser of a dream. This time they were at Brandon’s cabin in the woods and he’d used some sex toys on her. She’d woken up, grabbed her vibrator, and gotten to work, but after three orgasms she still couldn’t shake the need riding her. The damn wolf was working overtime, dropping snippets of fantasies in her head at the most in inopportune time. Right before this update from Reenie, as a matter of fact. A flare of desire rolled around her gut as moisture dampened her panties once more. With a sigh, she tried to tune into Reenie’s latest rant.