Chapter 9 #2
His voice was hard and demanding, and I didn’t hesitate to listen as I ran my fingers over my center and mimicked his movements from before, sliding two fingers inside of myself.
I rocked against them as I continued to take Dakota’s length further down my throat, his pace becoming faster and a bit deeper.
I tried to swallow against it at one point, and he jolted forward with a feral growl, nearly causing me to cough, my eyes watering.
It only turned me on more, though.
“Fuck,” he growled softly. “Are you okay?”
“More than okay,” I mumbled around him as his eyes lit up with a wicked light. “You liked that, little wolf? You like it a bit hard?”
I think I did. I nodded as he moved his other hand into my hair and spoke in a soft but somehow lethal tone that caused my center to squeeze around my own fingers, wishing I had something far bigger there.
“Do you want me to be more rough with you, Effie? Do you want me to fuck this pretty mouth?”
He pulled back enough so his head popped out of my mouth, and I licked my lips, already missing the taste of him. “Yes.” I didn’t even need to think it. Apparently that was enough for him as well because he slid right back into my mouth.
I hadn’t known what he meant by ‘rougher,’ but holy crap did I love it.
His magic filled the space, dangerously dominant, and his fingers gripped and twisted my hair.
He began to stroke his cock faster, and I tried to match the pace with my fingers.
I stared up at him as he used my mouth, and the affection in his eyes mixed with how hard he was creating an intoxicating combination of sweet and dirty.
I could feel how close I was to climaxing, and the harder he went, the more I wished that he was doing this inside of me.
“Fuck. Holy fuck—” His voice came out into a low hiss. “I’m going to come, Effie.”
I moaned around him as he snarled and then slammed into me completely, causing me to gag as I felt a salty hot liquid fill my mouth and throat.
The taste of it and how erotic the experience was caused me to climax around my fingers as he continued to pulse into my mouth.
I whimpered when he finally finished, pulling back and offering me a shocked and somewhat disheveled look.
I heard him murmuring something along the lines of ‘holy fuck,’ but I was in such a hazy state of satisfaction that when he knelt down and pulled me into him, I could barely see straight.
I did notice him licking my release off my fingers, but my eyes grew so heavy I couldn’t focus on that.
All I could focus on was the one thing I still hadn’t done.
“Dakota? Can I do something?”
“Effie, you can fucking do anything you want.” He sounded out of breath.
“Can I mark you?” I whispered. “I wanted to earlier, but we got a bit…distracted.”
Dakota pulled back and examined my face with a wild look in his eyes. “Are you sure? Maybe we should wait until you’re a bit more focused—”
“I’ve wanted to for days,” I admitted. “Please?”
“Fuck, of course.” He swallowed. “I want to mark you also, more than anything… I just know that I can’t without fucking you. I have a lot of control, but not for that.”
I knew Dakota didn’t want to rush that or rush any of this. I loved that about him.
“Then let me mark you.” I ran a hand through his hair and pressed my forehead against his. When he nodded, I brushed his lips and then kissed his jaw gently before looking at his pulse. I didn’t know why, but I had the urge to bite him there. Badly.
So I did.
Almost instantly, I knew I had unleashed something powerful between the two of us.
My body jolted, and the satisfaction of creating another bond with one of my mates pressed through me.
I sagged against Dakota as everything seemed to darken around me.
He whispered something sweet in my ear, but I couldn’t remember it. It had been important, though.
I thought for sure I’d fallen asleep.
Instead, I seemed to be in a relaxed daze that surrounded me like a bubble.
When hot water showered over me, I instantly felt a soothing satisfaction coast across my skin.
Dakota was holding me, but I could feel the others nearby.
It occurred to me then just how much we needed to talk about…
and what I needed to talk about with Julian.
It was so tempting to stay just like this though, in a comfortable haze of pleasure.
“Julian is fine,” Dakota assured as he stopped the shower and wrapped me in a robe. I met his gaze and saw the truth there. “I told them everything I had access to…but a conversation is for sure needed.”
“What happened last night? Did I—”
“Transport everyone across the city? Yeah, little wolf, you did.” He looked at me with so much pride, as if I had done something amazing. Maybe it was amazing, but it was also confusing, and I was starting to wonder if I had ever understood my magic.
After I brushed my teeth and hair, Dakota left to get dressed.
I stood at the mirror, looking over my skin and the way it seemed to almost glow with a faint pink hue.
My hair, which I hand dried with the towel, looked even more vibrant than yesterday, and I found myself wondering if this was my magic or the products they’d used. Maybe both?
Instead of spending too much time thinking about it, I got dressed quickly, choosing to wear a pair of light wash jeans, lilac gym shoes, and an off-the-shoulder pink sweater with purple ribbon along the collar.
I wasn’t positive I had much of a style, but the personal shopper Caedmon hired seemed to have gotten a blend of things that went together, and the colors he picked were gorgeous.
I was wearing them for him…but I did really like them, so that was totally a positive.
“Good morning,” Julian rumbled as I stepped into the bedroom, offering him a shy smile. I wanted to go to him, but I was a bit hesitant considering… Well, everything.
“Come here.” He motioned with a curl of his finger, and I melted into his touch as he pulled me onto his lap where he sat on the side of the bed.
He looked over my expression before speaking quietly.
“I am not upset about what happened. I promise. Everything happens for a reason, and I would rather lose my memory every day than to never have met you.”
My eyes stung with tears, because holy crap that was sweet.
I nodded and leaned into him, tucking my head against his throat and brushing it with my nose.
Yesterday had been a whirlwind of emotions, many of them negative, but one thing it made me realize?
The security I had with these men. The fear they placed in others should have scared me, but instead it just made me feel protected.
I didn’t know what that said about me, but I wasn’t going to be too hard on myself, especially because there were so many other reasons I loved them.
Loved them.
I blinked in realization that those words had just popped into my head. Before I could overthink them, though, Julian urged me up. “Come on, preciosa. Breakfast time. We need to talk about everything they told us, including the pendant.”
The pendant. I wasn’t sure where my mates had placed it for safekeeping, but I had to fight the urge to go find it once again just to connect to a part of me that I so desperately wanted to remember.
“I wish I remembered more,” I whispered. “It’s so frustrating.”
“You will, I promise,” he assured. I appreciated the thought, but I also recognized that both of us were completely out of our depth here. I mean, seriously—we had no idea what we would or wouldn’t remember as time went on.
I felt on pins and needles, waiting for the next piece of life-changing information to appear in my head.
As we entered the main room of Ryder’s penthouse, I instantly smiled to find Tore and Dakota sitting in front of a feast of breakfast. I joined them, Tore dragging me down onto his lap and kissing my shoulder.
Julian said something to Caedmon and Ryder as they walked in the room, but I was distracted by Tore’s lips.
“You marked Caedmon and Dakota.” Tore’s voice was filled with something I didn’t understand.
“I did.”
He nodded, looking thoughtful. Not upset, but something for sure was on his mind. He ran a hand through my hair, twirling a piece of hair around his finger.
“What?” I asked softly.
“Just wondering if I could handle your mouth on me without losing control,” he murmured.
I blushed. “Well, we have kissed before.”
He smirked. “Not just like that, lil bit.”
My eyes widened. “Oh.”
Wait, did that mean… I looked over at Dakota, who was glaring at Tore.
“I didn’t say anything, little wolf. He just heard.”
“Everyone heard,” Ryder mused as my cheeks went bright red.
“Shut it,” Tore growled.
“You started it,” I murmured, causing Julian to break into a chuckle.
Caedmon sat down next to me and placed a large mug of coffee in front of me.
I couldn’t help the soft smile that appeared on my lips, one that matched his own, before I leaned forward and offered my mouth.
He pressed his against my own, and I pulled back, realizing I’d done it without thought.
Usually I overthought everything with my mates, especially Caedmon, but not this time.
The sweet action seemed to surprise everyone else as I realized they were all staring at us.
“What?” I asked self-consciously.
“Ignore them.” Caedmon sighed. “Idiots. All of them.”
“Don’t start,” Ryder warned as Dakota let out a growl.
“Can we talk about the pendant?” I asked, deciding to just bring it up and also hopefully avoid a tiny argument.
I could tell the guys were a bit hyped up today, their wolf sides very present, so I had a feeling it could happen pretty easily.
I wondered if that was in reaction to my own magic, which I could feel thriving underneath my skin.
“Yes, the pendant that implies so much that we have so little information on,” Ryder murmured. “I have no idea where to start.”
“Well, clearly we remember now that I was running from something,” I pointed out in thought, rubbing my forehead. Why hadn’t my parents, presumably, come for me? Hadn’t they wondered where I’d gone? “But I don’t know what. Julian and I both lost our memories—”
Memories. Just one more element I needed to address with them—I was receiving a front row seat to my mates' most intimate memories. It clearly wasn’t just an interaction with Dakota’s magic and my own, because it had also occurred with Caedmon and Julian.
I made a mental note to bring it up…after I found out about the pendant.
“Which is crazy that you two met,” Dakota said.
I offered Julian a small smile. “You did seem familiar on the train. Not like I’ve seen you before as much as I feel comfortable around you.” I wasn’t positive if that made sense, but I hoped it conveyed my instant connection with him.
Julian offered me an affectionate smile. “So not just my stellar charm?”
“That too,” I said with a giggle.
“My issue with all of this,” Ryder redirected, “is that someone gave you that pendant, but it wasn’t made here. So either someone from the divine realm gave it to you, either as a gift or a stolen good, or they were given it and then gave it to you, or… Well, the other option is impossible.”
“What’s the other option?” Caedmon asked.
“Effie is from the divine realm.”