Mountain Moonlight (17 page)

And maybe, just maybe, he could make some inroads with her this way.

“Both my parents’ families came from Europe,” he said, figuring the best place tostart was from the beginning. “The Devlin  wolves are from Ireland. My great-great-grandfather immigrated to the United States  in the hopes that the  land of opportunity would afford his pack the chance to expand  and grow. My mother’s family came from  England in the early eighteen hundreds. Their pack was already established by the timemy father’s family arrived in America. When  my parents met, the merger between the

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Wainrights and the Devlins was thought to  be good business.  Good for the lupinesociety as a whole.”

Katya didn’t speak, but she hadn’t gotten  up and left the room, either. He took a long swallow of wine and continued.

“My parents have continued the tradition of their families. I have three brothers and a sister. Jason, the oldest, is a senator in Washington, D.C. His primary goal is to ensure legislation to protect the wolves. He  just recently became  engaged to his mate, afull human who has agreed to become lupine.”

“They allow that?” she asked.

“Yes. Unusual, of course, but my parents aren’t going to stand in  the way of love. Jason fell in love with Kelsey and chose her  as his mate. It didn’t matter that she was fully human, only that she accept him as a wolf.”

She nodded, refilling his glass and hers.

“My other brother, Max, has also met his mate. He lives in New Orleans now, and the woman he is going to marry has powers  of her own, though they aren’t lupine.”

“What kind of powers?”

“Power over the weather. Her family has had this gift for centuries. Max tells me  the combination of power between he  and Shannon is rather…explosive.”

She grinned. “Ah, so he has a woman well matched for him.”

“You could say that.” He watched her take  a sip of wine. Didn’t she realize she was  torturing him with the way she licked her lips after she swallowed? His dick was  twitching enough already just looking at her.

“Go on,” she urged.

“My younger sister, Chantal, has just  moved to San Francisco. She’s been assigned  to a pack there.”

“Your family will not stay together?”

“No.”

“That’s not the pack way.”

“I know. But my parents felt it important to spread the Devlin genes around the world. They have big goals, their primary one being continuation  of the lupine species worldwide.”

“And what about you? Were you…assigned somewhere?”

He smiled. “No, I hadn’t been.”

She frowned. “What’s happened between  us has upset your family’s plans.”

“Not necessarily. When my parents heard  what transpired between the two of us,  they made an immediate decision. I was assigned the Carpathian mountain region, the birthplace of all lupines. Now that we have an idea of what’s going on here, it’s imperative that the wolves are protected and nourished. When their numbers grow, we  can be assured of continuity of the original bloodlines.”

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“This is important to you? To your family?”

“Very important. Without your ancestry, Katya, the bloodlines weaken. You are the  catalyst. The beginning of it all.”

“So if you and I merge…”

He smiled. “Right. We create the most powerful dynasty of lupines on Earth.”

She sat back and finished her glass of wine, staring out the window at the half moon shining overhead.

Had what he said made any impact on her at all?

* * * * *

Katya felt the pull of the moon, wishing she could strip down and run wild into the

night. A desperate urge to shed more than her clothing came over her.

She wanted to rid herself of the conflicting  emotions swirling through her, the need to dominate warring with the need to merge with Conner and give up some of theburden she’d carried alone for so long.

The Devlins were a  powerful pack. More powerful and much more dedicated than any she’d ever come across, including her  own. Her parents, the Braslieu pack, every  Carpathian lupine pack  she’d ever known had  always been content with the status quo. To simply be allowed to exist had always been good enough.

But the Devlins thought far beyond mere existence. Their goal was to flourish, to expand, to propagate their species so  their numbers could never dwindle.

She was almost embarrassed that the old ancestry had failed in realizing that theycould never survive unless they fought to expand.

The Carpathian wolves  hid, hoping their  kind wouldn’t be obliterated. They hadnever thought to fight against the governments, the hunters, and anyone who stood in their way.

Merely hiding and surviving wouldn’t ensure their continuation.

Conner was right. They were wrong. It was time to stand up and become more powerful, not hide in the shadows and pray  they weren’t hunted to extinction.

Maybe she and Conner could work together on this. But only for the protection of the wolves. She was bound and determined to  close off her  emotions where Conner was

concerned. She’d tried and failed with him, and would never open her heart. Though he intended to stay and help the pack, he wasn’t  the least bit interested in her except as a mate to propagate their species.

Keeping her distance from him would be the  wisest thing to  do. She’d never let him  hurt her that way again. But how could she let her personal feelings  interfere with what  he hoped to accomplish here? The Devlins could be their salvation.

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Besides, this was her homeland. He was  a foreigner here, away from his family.  Even his brother wouldn’t be staying on permanently. Soon he’d be all alone, with no one to depend on. Nothing familiar,  including the love  of his family.

Could Katya become  his family? The pack  would follow their alpha, but they’d never give him their complete trust until she did.

Though she refused to  sacrifice her heart  for the love of the Carpathian wolves, she’d at least merge with Conner in order to  help her pack. “If we do this, it has to be united.”

He nodded. “I agree.”

“And that means more than just you living here.”

He frowned. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“It means that our bonding has to become…official.”

“Official.”

“What I mean is we need to marry.”

The look on his face was priceless. Wide-eyed shock. She hadn’t expected to  surprise him, but was pleased that she’d managed to.

“You want to marry me?”

“As quickly as possible. We must merge  to protect the Carpathian wolves from  hunters and a government who chooses indifference in  place of action.”

His shock turned to a frown. “So you want  to hurry this marriage along because of  the wolves.”

“Of course. Why else?” She’d never give  him another reason  than that. She’d

already given too much of herself.

“Okay. How fast do your laws allow it?”

“We can have it done within a few days.”

“Can you see to it?”

“I’ll get Elena on it in the morning.”

“Okay. Good.”

Now that it had been settled, she couldn’t  take it back. She and Conner would  marry. She fought back the panic,  the fear of  losing control, knowing that what she did  was for her people.

She’d give Conner her  cooperation  and her body, but not her heart.

“We’ll make  beautiful babies, Katya,” he whispered, picking up the end of a strand  of hair and  pulling it to his nose. He inhaled  and closed his eyes, murmuring something  about wildflowers.

Her heart sped up, her blood racing through her veins as need began to build

within her. The need to be close to Conner.

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But with her body, not her heart. It was important to keep that  in mind.  Besides, mating with  Conner would, hopefully, produce babies. She’d wanted children for as long as she  could remember. Lots  and lots of children.

And Conner was right. They’d make beautiful children together. She could be pregnant  already and  not know  it. Her  hand  instinctively strayed to her stomach, a surge of protectiveness coursing through her.

Why not take charge of  the situation? She could manipulate him as  easily as he hadmanipulated her. “Fuck me, Conner. Now.”

She stood and held out her hand, intending to take him upstairs to the bedroom.  But he rose and pulled  her against him, covering her mouth with his in a  kiss  that spokeof demand and desire.

Meeting his kiss with equal fervor, the pent-up emotions of the day spilled togetherin a maelstrom of frenzied passion. She craved  release, and only Conner could give it toher.

His hands were everywhere at once. On her arms, her shoulders, then over her back, skimming her vertebrae, reaching for  the straps of her chemise and drawing it down.

Her pants  went next  as he yanked the zipper down and shoved them over her hips. She stepped out of them and reached for his tie, loosening it and  drawing it through hisshirt, slowly pulling each inch of silk away  from his neck and winding it around herhand.

His eyes shadowed, the blue-green mixing  like fierce storm clouds. She reached forthe buttons of his shirt, slipping each one carefully out of its hole, enjoying the quickening  of his breath as she undressed him. She spread the shirt apart, splaying her hands on  his chest and tangling her fingertips  in the crisp hairs there. He groaned whenshe found his nipples and scraped  them with  her nails, then  wound her hands down hisbelly, stopping at the waistband of his pants.

The hairs were soft there.

“Hurry, Katya. I’m about to lose control.”

The harsh tones of his voice didn’t compel  her into stepping up  her movements.  Instead, she took her time undoing his belt  and the clasp at his pants, deliberately  letting her knuckles brush his erection  as she painstakingly lowered the zipper.

She looked up at him, met his fiery  gaze, and grinned, feeling seductive,  empowered, in control of their passion. Tension coiled within Conner like a snake ready  to strike, evident by the taut muscles of  his abdomen as she rested her palm there.

She dropped to her knees and reached for the waistband of his pants, tugging them  down until they puddled at  his  feet. He kicked off his  shoes and stepped out of the  pants, quickly shrugging out of his shirt  to stand gloriously naked before her.

Her pussy  quivered with the need to feel  his heavy, thick cock inside her once  again. But not yet. Not when his shaft was so close to her mouth and she was dying for

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a taste of him. She reached for it, stroking it  from base to tip,  then drawing the head to

her mouth.

“Ah, Christ, baby,” he moaned, tangling his fingers in her hair  as she took him  deep. “Suck me.”

For once, a command she didn’t mind  following. She moved forward and back,  taking her time in licking his essence from  the tip before engulfing him once again. He jerked and tensed when she cupped his balls, squeezing the twin sacs gently as she  loved him with her mouth.

“Enough!” he growled, pulling his cock away  and yanking her to her feet. “I  can’t

wait.”

He drew her against him, her aching nipples scraping the hairs on his chest. She waited in breathless anticipation as he leaned slowly toward her, then took her mouth in a ravaging kiss, thrusting his tongue inside, demanding her response.

A response she was all too eager to give. She met his fervor with equal need, lifting her leg over his hip to  rock her  tortured sex against his shaft.

“I want you. Here, like this. Hard.”

She blew out a quick breath as her heart pummeled against her ribs. He broke the kiss and turned her around, pushing her over the back of the sofa and using his knee tospread her legs apart. With relentless accuracy, his fingers roamed between her thighs, petting her moistened sex until she was on fire and whimpering.

“Fuck me Conner,” she begged. “Hurry.”

His breath rasped against her neck. “Oh,  I’m gonna fuck you, baby. Hard and deep.  You ready for this?”

“Yes!” she cried, eager to feel him buried inside her.

His cock nestled between her legs, the tip teasing her clit. She reached for his shaft, but he moved away, pressing his lips  against her  back, sliding his  tongue along herbackbone until she shivered.

Why wasn’t he fucking her? What kind of game was he playing now?

“Conner.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“What are you doing?” She pushed her buttocks against him, but he laughed, the deep rumble reverberating against her back.

He moved lower, his tongue trailing down the small of her back.

“Conner, what are you…oh my God!”

He’d parted her buttocks and slid his tongue along her anus.