Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Emery
I had a million questions I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer to.
I felt different, but seeing how I’d had the strangest week of my life, that was understandable.
I looked at Phoenix as he took a swallow of water, watching his throat work.
I could see the play of huge muscles in his arm and the tattoos visible.
My throat went dry, and I shifted restlessly, not knowing exactly what I wanted but knowing there was something.
My slight movement caught his attention, and Phoenix lowered the half-empty bottle to the counter, let it go, and stood. He didn’t once take his eyes off me. I took a step back away from all his intensity. “I need a shower.”
Phoenix’s smile was wicked. “So do I.” My eyes dropped to his shorts as if summoned, and I tried to swallow.
He was hard. Not that I thought he’d softened, but I could feel the effect he was having on my own thickening cock.
Should I stop this? Was I getting myself in deeper?
He still had a lot of explaining to do, but then I blinked, and out of nowhere, he was standing in front of me.
He lowered his head, and I raised mine, and then our lips met as if I was starving and he was my last meal.
I didn’t even realize he’d lifted me up until I wound my arms around his neck, my legs wrapping around his waist, needing friction.
He growled low in his throat, but I wasn’t scared.
It was the hottest noise in the world, and I felt something inside me almost preen, knowing I was responsible.
Without pausing for breath, Phoenix walked until I felt the counter hit my ass.
With one hand cupping the back of my head so tenderly goosebumps prickled my arms, he lowered me back, his deft fingers pushing inconsequential things like clothes out of the way so he could use his mouth on other parts of my body.
He pressed kisses to my throat, pulled my t-shirt off, and licked around each nipple before nipping the skin.
I cried out when the pain shot straight to my cock and wound my fingers in his hair, dragging my nails over his scalp in delicious retaliation.
Phoenix moved lower, and I panted as if I’d run a marathon.
My shorts were no barrier, and his growl as he saw I was commando made my insides clench and my cock throb.
I wanted—needed—that mouth on me, and I whined as I tried to wriggle my hips.
I heard a soft chuckle and had a second to consider a protest when his hot mouth closed over my cock and seemed to nearly swallow it.
I jerked, half-rising, shocked at the almost explosive pleasure that seemed to detonate in every cell.
“No,” I quietly wailed, knowing that wasn’t what I meant to say at all.
He lifted up, letting me go with a pop, and met my gaze. “No?”
“No,” I shook my head. “I mean, yes. Yes to everything. I only said no because I’m an idiot, and I panicked. Don’t stop,” I urged.
Phoenix’s smile was blinding, and it seemed to reach into all the cold, empty corners of my soul and warm them. He bent again, and I closed my eyes, falling into the same pit of pleasure I could happily move into permanently.
Maybe I wouldn’t need a new apartment after all?
I’d had flashes of the sex we’d had during my heat, but it had mostly passed in an exhausted blur.
This was a million times better. I went into this with my eyes wide open…
well, closed, they were closed at the moment, but that lessened nothing.
I could just reach to drag my nails through his hair and felt his hand closing over mine.
I hesitated, trying to process in my lust-fogged mind.
Was I hurting him? He broke off and pressed my hand down against his scalp.
“You hang on real tight,” he murmured, then bent and swallowed me down. His hand cupped my balls, sending me higher.
I moaned. I might have begged a little. My skin heated, and my hands dug into his hair, frightened I would fly away.
I felt a pulse start somewhere in my groin, and my balls tightened.
I didn’t get a chance for a warning because his nail scraped over my slick hole, his finger slid in and curled, and I was done.
Everything seemed to tighten at once, and pleasure burst through me, sending pounding waves through my cock, burning under my skin.
Hot molten bliss set fire to my blood until the tide receded, leaving me spent and shaking.
I felt Phoenix swallow once more, then lift up, his arms sliding under me and lifting me up and pressing me to his chest. “Now, we get showered.”
I might have answered him, but he didn’t put me down until we were both under a hot spray, and it brought me back to reality a little. I raised my head and watched the water soak his clothes. “Why are you dressed?” Because what sort of idiot went into the shower fully clothed?
He chuckled. “Can you stand?”
Ohh. I blushed furiously, realizing he was holding me up, which, duh, explained why he didn’t have any spare hands to undress himself.
I nodded, and he carefully lowered me, checking I could take my weight before his hands went to his shirt.
“Let me,” I ordered and batted his hands away, ignoring the happy smile and concentrating on ridding him of his wet clothes. Not easy when he was so damn tall.
When he stepped out of his shorts, I couldn’t help another groan. My cock clearly hadn’t gotten the message I was done, and it tried valiantly to rise. The only waving I wanted it to do was with a white flag, and I giggled at the visual.
Phoenix bent and lifted me up again. I automatically wrapped my legs around his waist, and he pressed his rock-hard cock into my taint.
“I could get a complex if you’re going to laugh when I get naked.
” He didn’t wait for an answer, though, and slammed his mouth on mine.
I’d thought I was done, but my body clearly had other ideas.
I felt him push his monster near my hole and broke off the kiss.
“Lube or that thing’s not getting anywhere near me.”
Phoenix held me easily in one arm and reached under me, then brought his fingers back, glistening even as the water ran over them.
I stared as he sucked it clean, then dropped his hand, only to grab me around the back of my neck and pull me in for another kiss.
I moaned and felt him teasing my entrance again, tensing up because, well, because I wasn’t convinced.
“I won’t hurt you,” he said and pushed.
I jerked in shock. A slight burn, and fuck, he was huge, but no pain, and he seemed to slide farther. I gasped at the fullness and clutched him tight. Every nerve ending I had was doing its own version of the tango. “What… what’s that?”
“Well,” Phoenix murmured. “I’m hurt. First, you laugh when I get naked, and now you don’t seem to know it’s my cock.”
“No.” I ended the word on a groan as he slid further. “I mean, how—”
“You make your own slick, Em. It’s natural, part of your body.”
I had a moment to process DIY Slick and envision a career change when he lifted me up a little, then nearly let go.
I might have yelled, sworn, nearly passed the hell out, and then he did it again and again, until I was a gibbering mindless wreck.
After one last time, he froze for the longest three seconds in the known universe, and he shouted, crushing me to his chest as he pumped inside.
The pressure, the smell, the feel of his release, and, yes, his dominance, triggered mine.
I didn’t know how he stayed standing and holding me because I was pretty sure I lost time.
I didn’t register anything else until I was laid in his arms in bed, wrapped in towels, and cuddled. It took me a while to format any sort of language after that.
“I want nothing more than to stay here all day, but the pack is impatient to meet you.”
I opened my eyes. I supposed I couldn’t stay in here forever, tempting as it was, and I had agreed to stay and find out more about his family and way of life.
I wasn’t sure where that left us, but I’d never backed away from a challenge, and if I could face down twenty-six five-year-olds hopped up on sugar after Halloween, I was pretty sure I could manage a wolf pack.
In fact, of the two, the five-year-olds were probably scarier.
“What does it involve?” Curiosity was getting the better of me.
“They just want to meet you. They’re thrilled for us.”
“They know I haven’t agreed to anything, right?” I asked a little suspiciously.
“Wolves are different,” Phoenix said after a moment where I was pretty sure he was choosing his words carefully. “But they know you only just found out about us.”
Which wasn’t an answer, but Phoenix had already gotten out of bed and was reaching for a shirt.
I huffed and disappeared into the room I’d slept in yesterday, then rolled my eyes, because I’d spent an hour in there, if that, and pulled my remaining clean shirt from my bag.
It was still warm, but we were in the middle of a forest, and bugs?
So I went with my jeans. The only thing getting its teeth into me was in the other room.
When we let ourselves out of the front door, I came to a complete stop. Three hundred and seven wolves, Phoenix had said, and yep, it looked like all three hundred and seven were standing in the big circle in front of the house.
And every single one of them was staring at me.
“Emery.” I turned and saw Phoenix’s dad striding forward.
I smiled in relief, took a step to meet him, and felt Phoenix’s hand tighten in mine for a moment before he let go.
I didn’t miss the same look toward Phoenix I’d seen before from Draven, before he gave me a quick hug.
Draven was accompanied by a younger-looking woman, and I wondered if this was Phoenix’s mom, except she didn’t look old enough.
“Emery, this is Esther,” Draven introduced us.
My eyebrows shot up in surprise, and she laughed.
It wasn’t a silly giggle like I managed to still do, much to my eternal shame, but a full-throated belly laugh.
I liked her already. I also noticed she made no attempt to check in with Phoenix before she hugged me tight, which got her double brownie points.
I clutched my stomach as it growled, thinking of chocolatey goodness, and considering I’d eaten a huge breakfast only a couple of hours ago, was doubly embarrassing.
I apologized quickly, but she patted my cheek gently and said my wolf needed extra calories and never to be ashamed of enjoying good food.
She gestured to a table decked out with a huge spread, and I perked up. Looked like it was going to be a party.
After I’d met the fifteenth pack member, the other names just went in one ear and out of the other, until Phoenix called a halt and said we would eat, and then I would get to know everyone gradually over the next few days.
People turned to the tables, but then an older man and a younger woman stepped up to us. “Alpha.” He bowed. I felt Phoenix stiffen and knew whoever this was made Phoenix uncomfortable.
“Elder Karl,” Phoenix greeted him and glanced at the woman. “Raven.”
“Alpha, I think I speak for us all when I say how delighted the pack is that you found your omega, and it is my honor and privilege to put forward Raven as your brood-mate.”
His what?
Phoenix frowned and looked at his dad, then Esther. I was glad I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know what this guy was talking about.
“Not now, Karl,” Esther said.
“But, Seer, you of all people, who forecast our destruction, know that we need pups desperately. You also know a brood-mate is the logical choice.”
Some of the younger pack members looked as confused as Phoenix, but a lot of the older ones shot each other worried looks.
“What’s a brood-mate?” I asked clearly, having an awful feeling I knew.
Esther shot an apologetic look at me before she explained. “In years gone by, if an alpha was unable to have pups with their blood mate, then the alpha took another she-wolf to ensure the alpha line.”
“He what?” Phoenix said.
“We’re fighting for the future of our race, Alpha.” I glanced up as another older man spoke. “Karl is impatient perhaps, but his point is a valid one.”
“And we heard you sent him into heat,” Karl said. “If you did it once, there’s a chance it can be replicated.”
I glanced down, face burning, remembering what Phoenix had told me, that there had been no children born for twenty years.
And the fact was whatever Phoenix thought was happening between us, whatever I might have secretly hoped, I was a guy.
And that pretty much put me out of the running to be a baby-momma.
It had been nice while it lasted, though. Because one thing was for sure, I didn’t share. Not now. Not ever. I met Phoenix’s gaze. “I need a ride into Minton. I’d like to go now, please.”