Mate Set (10 page)

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Laurann Dohner

want me on a long-term basis
. The problem was, she was too strongly attracted to him and

the idea of him settling down to have babies with some literal bitch made jealousy rear

its ugly head inside her.

Grady was a great guy and he was fantastic in bed. Mika rolled her hips again,

wiggling until she felt the head of his cock pressed right where she wanted him. “Pull

out and put on a condom in a few minutes…but right now I want to feel just you. It

feels different.”

“You don’t have to tell me the difference between a condom and skin, babe.”

“Just let me feel you.”

“It’s a bad idea.”

“Just a few minutes and then put on the condom.” She paused. “They irritate me

and make me a little sore. I’m usually in long-term relationships with men I have sex

with so I’m not used to using them since I’m on the Pill.”

He nodded. “I’m dying to know how it would feel with nothing between us.”

He pushed into her and Mika knew heaven as his cock slid home. Her lips parted to

release a moan of sheer rapture. Her nails raked his shoulders and she tightened her

legs around his hips so her heels dug into his ass. The sensation of Grady’s cock, with

nothing between them, was the most wonderful thing she had ever experienced. He

was fuller, the sensation was different without latex, and as her vaginal walls gripped

him, Grady groaned softly. She met his intense gaze. He looked hungry and wild, if

eyes really were the windows into someone’s soul.

“We’re fucked,” he rasped.

She squeezed her muscles around his cock again. Grady’s eyes widened and then

he pulled back. She thought he was leaving her body, withdrawing from her totally,

and she had to halt the urge to cling to him to keep him there but she released her death

grip around his hips with her legs so he could move away from her. Grady almost

withdrew completely but then he drove his hips into hers, plunging his cock into her

deep and hard, pushing her body into the bed.

Mika cried out in pleasure and her legs wrapped tightly around him again. Their

gazes remained locked, Grady keeping eye contact with her as he drove in and out of

her again and again. Mika couldn’t look away from the pleasure that was easy to read

on his handsome features. She bucked her hips and she met him with an upward thrust.

Skin to skin felt unbearably good, too good, and her body tensed, muscles tightening as

a climax built inside her.

Her nails bit into his shoulders. Grady’s eyes narrowed, the shape changing just a

little, and when his lips parted, sharp, extended teeth were revealed. She screamed out

Grady’s name as she came hard, ecstasy tearing through her entire body and watched

as his eyes closed when his own release hit him. His mouth opened wider, his teeth

grew longer, and she threw up her hand over his mouth, right as he lowered his face

into her neck.

“No,” she moaned, still riding her pleasure.

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Mate Set

She could feel the sharp points of his teeth against her palm but then his lips closed

over them. His face was buried in the crook of her neck, her hand trapped over his

mouth as he panted. She shivered in the aftermath. The sex had been amazing. The only

downside was that she’d seen him lose control and if she hadn’t been watching him he

would have bitten her. He turned his face away from her neck and away from her hand.

She wrapped her arms tighter around him, holding him, and loved the way his heavy

body pinned hers to the bed.

“Sorry,” he whispered. He lifted his head and stared down at her, their noses nearly

touching.

“Never apologize for making me come that hard. That was mind-blowing. You’re

amazing.”

He tensed on her and then relaxed. “If you hadn’t gripped my mouth I would have

bitten you. You feel too damn good and make me lose my head.”

She chuckled. “We’ll have to buy you a muzzle, honey.”

She saw amusement spark his dark eyes. “I think they make them. I know this sex

shop that carries all kinds of kinky shit.”

“Really?” She laughed. “I think tomorrow we should go there to buy one for you

because I don’t want to use condoms with you.”

His smile died. “You’re serious?”

She nodded. “Do you really want to use them when we don’t have to? Tell me that

wasn’t damn good, that you don’t want to do it again and I’ll call you a liar.”

The amusement left him. “It was too damn good. I could get addicted to you.”

She ran her tongue over her lips. “You don’t want me for a mate, remember? You

want a wolf.”

“Your life isn’t here anyway. Where do you live?”

“I have an apartment in Orange County, California.”

“What do you do for a living?”

“I work for the phone company as an information operator.”

“Whose house is this? I didn’t know Omar owned it.”

“He doesn’t. It was my parents’ house when they still lived here. When I was two

we moved to Southern California but we’d always come here for a few weeks here and

there so they kept it. When they died it was left to me. My mom was a wolf and my

father was human but they were mated. They were childhood sweethearts.”

“It’s rare that a were-woman mates with a human guy. Most families wouldn’t

allow it. They’d demand he risk his life to change so he’d be strong enough to protect

his mate.”

Mika didn’t see any bias in his eyes. He just looked curious. “My mother never

wanted to risk his life to attempt to change him. Mom and Uncle Omar’s parents were

killed when they were in their teens and Uncle Omar grew up with my father too, so he

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Laurann Dohner

didn’t protest when she followed her heart to marry the man she loved. Uncle Omar

was just happy that my mom was happy.”

“Why did they leave here then?”

“The pack didn’t agree with their union and Mom was worried about Dad’s safety.

My dad had family in Orange County so it was logical to go there.”

“How did they die?”

She glanced away as pain lanced her heart for a moment but then looked back at

him. “When I was ten years old they went on a skiing trip and had rented a small cabin.

They left me with Dad’s aunt. There was an avalanche, it happened in the middle of the

night and they probably never knew what happened unless the sound woke them

before the snow hit the cabin. They were found in bed together when the rescue teams

dug them out. The cabin was totally destroyed.”

“So Omar raised you?” He frowned. “I’ve never met you and you’d think I would

know if a girl was in his house for all those years. I’ve been around long enough to have

seen or scented you when you were younger.”

“No. My father’s aunt kept me. My life was there and Uncle Omar thought it would

be safer for me to be with other humans. Every year I come for two weeks. It was

always that way before my parents died and that was the agreement he made with my

aunt. When I hit adulthood I kept coming every year. I have met some of the pack, of

course, but for the most part, he keeps me away from them. I always stay here so it’s not

like I live with him. The one time I stayed there since I turned eighteen was a nightmare

I never want to repeat.” She laughed. “He and Minnie are very sexually active and loud

so I barely got any sleep.”

He chuckled. “We’re very sexual creatures.”

She smiled. “Lucky me, for the next two weeks.”

He grinned. “Have you ever thought about moving here?”

She nodded. “The only time I considered it was when my ex and I broke up and I

found myself suddenly homeless. Uncle Omar kind of made it known it was a bad idea.

He’s visited me in California often and always scouts out my neighborhood before I

move into a place. I guess wolves don’t want to live in heavily populated areas. He said

it was werewolf-free so I was safer living there.”

Grady frowned. “You were married?”

She shook her head. “We lived together. He wanted to go do the quickie Vegas

marriage thing but I said no way because I wanted to live with him for a year first to

make sure we’d work out. It was a damn good thing I put my foot down because it’s a

hell of a lot easier to pack up shit and move out than it would have been hiring an

attorney to get a divorce.”

Grady withdrew from her body and rolled over, unpinning her, and totally not

touching her anymore. He stretched out on his side next to her and propped his head

on his hand so he could stare at her.

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Mate Set

“Why did you break up?”

She winced. “Well, I got off work early one day and I walked into our apartment to

find him with someone else. He was literally nailing her in our bed. I was shocked. I

trusted him completely and never saw that coming. There were no signs.” She

shrugged. “I was hurt and really angry. Then he had the nerve to tell me it wasn’t what

it looked like.” She snorted. “He was inside her. How can you misconstrue that? Not

only did he betray me and hurt me but he insulted me by trying to treat me like a

complete moron.”

Grady’s eyes twinkled and she could see he fought a smile. “What did he tell you it

really was? I’m dying to hear this.”

She turned onto her side facing him. The pain had mostly faded from her ex’s

betrayal but the anger remained. “She was his boss. He said he was trying to get a

promotion so he would make more money so we could afford a house.”

“What an asshole.”

She nodded. “I told him he was lucky she didn’t fire his ass for incompetence.” A

smile played at her lips. “When that sank in and he understood what I meant, he got

pretty mad.”

Grady laughed. He had a great laugh. “Not too good in bed, huh?”

She shrugged. “He was okay but it was nothing compared to this.” She glanced

down at his body. “Not even close. He made me laugh and I thought I was in love with

him. I was more pissed off than hurt when he cheated on me. We got along well and it

was comfortable living with him. We had the same interests.”

“You settled for him.”

She didn’t look away from Grady. “I guess I did. I probably should be happy he did

cheat on me. I told him if he ever did it that I’d never take him back and I wasn’t

kidding.”

“Did he try to get you back?”

She nodded. “He still tries. He calls my cell phone every few days and he’s sent

flowers to my work half a dozen times but he’s wasting his time. I delete his messages

without listening to them and every time he sends me flowers I give them away at

work.”

Grady reached out and rubbed her hip with his large hand. “He was stupid. If I

were a human guy, I’d do everything to keep hold of you.”

“But you’re not one. Not fully.”

“No. I’m not. Ready to get some sleep? It’s been a long day.”

She nodded. Grady released her and rolled away. He stood and walked around the

bed. Mika turned onto her back and tracked him as he reached down and picked up his

discarded underpants and jeans. He walked toward the door of her bedroom and then

paused but didn’t turn around.

“Good night, Mika.”

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Laurann Dohner

“You aren’t sleeping with me?” She was astonished at his actions. She saw his

muscles stiffen as he shook his head slowly.

“No. You’re leaving soon so it’s best if we keep some distance between us. Sweet

dreams.” He reached out and flipped off her light. He left the door open and walked

away.

Mika frowned and rolled onto her stomach. She could see Grady picking up his

discarded shirt and his footwear. He had a really nice ass that she got a great view of as

he bent to retrieve his things from the floor. She lifted her head and let it fall, banging

her head over and over against her soft comforter.
Shit
,
I’m in trouble.
She was really

hurt and disappointed that he wasn’t going to sleep with her.
Bad signs,
she told herself.

She bit back a curse when anger was her next emotion. She was good enough to

fuck but not to sleep with? Is that what he thought? He’d get close during sex but he

didn’t want to hold her in his arms all night. She climbed out of bed and walked to her

door. She slammed it closed, not caring how he took that little action of hers, her anger

growing. She flipped on her bedroom light and stormed to the shower. She smelled of

sex and Grady. If he wouldn’t sleep with her, she sure as hell wasn’t going to inhale

reminders of them together when she was alone.

She turned on the shower and stepped into the stall. She stood there letting water

pour down her body for a long time. She finally moved when she got her anger under

control, though it wasn’t anger as much as hurt, she realized. She liked Grady way too

much and she always tried to be completely honest about her feelings. She confronted

them. She was falling for a guy who didn’t want anything lasting with her. She wasn’t a

wolf and he was set on never hooking up with a human mate. It really hurt and when

something did that, she tended to turn that emotion into raw anger, something she

could deal with more easily than tears.

She took her time and even shaved her legs. She washed her hair and let her

conditioner set for a good five minutes, anything to stall until she got a grip on herself.