Chapter 8 More Like Second Date Material
Chapter eight
More Like Second Date Material
Alittle of her cheeriness fades and she glances away. “Yeah, like I said, the alpha has a harem. And he likes to…I mean, it’s just pure luck I haven’t got pregnant already. I don’t want to have his kid.”
“That’s so fucked up.” I don’t believe this shit actually happens in the twenty-first century. But I guess I shouldn’t be so shocked.
Shifter packs can get kinda cultish sometimes, because we live so isolated. That’s part of why I rejected mine.
I’d rather live alone.
“A lot of my harem-sisters were into it. I was the weird one for wanting to leave.”
“Damn. They were seriously okay with it?”
She nods weakly. “I think so. Or maybe they were just brainwashed. That’s what took me so long to run. I had no one to plan an escape with. I second-guessed myself for years.”
Years. That word stings.
White-hot anger rages through me. Just how long did she put up with this abuse?
She keeps going, oblivious to my anger on her behalf.
“But I saved what little money I could squirrel away until we had an outing to town, and from there I caught a bus, then another, and I did some research online looking for packs with lone alphas, and after several weeks on the run, I finally tracked you down and I hitchhiked out here. Told the driver I was visiting a friend. And then I got walking. But it was getting dark and I got lost looking for your cabin, a cabin I wasn’t even sure existed, and then I fell down that embankment and thought I was done for.
As I lay there freezing, I thought at least if I died, I’d be free. And you know the rest.”
I swear under my breath. I feel like I should make some tea or something. Get her a blanket.
But I’m stuck here straddling her naked, my knot locking us together, so all I can do is hug her, letting the heat of her body melt into mine.
I don’t know how long it’ll be.
I’ve never done this. Casual sex isn’t really a thing among shifters. Or, hell if I know, maybe it is. But it doesn’t seem like a very smart idea, given the risks.
Everything I am is instinct. That’s the only reason I knew what to do.
Or it did. Now that my damn shifter hormones are all spent out and my wolf is satiated, it’s starting to occur to me exactly how awkward knotting is.
Fortunately she—Savannah, God, I barely even learned her name—doesn’t seem to mind. She relaxes into my mattress, and I lift my arms around her legs so she can put her feet down instead of having them stuck behind my head. That couldn’t have been comfortable.
But damn, it sure the hell was hot.
“So, how old are you?” I blurt, regretting it instantly. You know, seeing as it’s generally considered impolite to ask a woman’s age and all.
But we are…shit, we’re basically married.
My bite is still red on her neck, the indentations of my canines pooled with blood. A feral thrill pulses through me at the sight.
Mine.
“Thirty-three,” she says like it’s no big deal.
I blink. “Really?”
“Yes,” she laughs. “Why? Do I look so much older?”
“No. Actually, I guess I didn’t give it any thought, if I’m honest. I was too consumed in making sure you didn’t die, and then, apparently, claiming you as my mate. And also filling you with hot cum. That, too.”
She laughs again, a warm sound that echoes through me. I know it’s just the mate bond, but I feel at ease around her already.
I think this is what it’s like to fall in love.
She stretches her hands over her head, a look of pure bliss on her face as she asks,“What about you, mate?”
I growl in spite of myself, and she smiles a satisfied sort of smile, like she was hoping using that word would affect me exactly how it did.
I thought I was the one in control, but she’s got me wrapped around her finger. And I don’t even mind.
“Thirty,” I respond. “But didn’t you know that already, cradle-robber? And, for that matter, did you really not know my name?”
“Hey, I’m hardly a cradle-robber. We’re practically the same age. And no. I could barely find anything out about you. Heck, I wasn’t even totally sure a shifter actually lived out here. I’m just lucky you not only exist, but…” her gaze rakes down my bare chest. “You’re totally hot. And ripped.”
“You risked your life, and you weren’t even sure? What if you found me totally repulsive and awful?”
She shrugs. “Wasn’t even sure you really existed, to be honest.”
“Damn. Well, I’m glad I exist, then.”
She laughs again, and I wrap my arms around her back to lift her against my chest. Her body feels so warm and soft against mine, the heat of her soaked pussy a vice around my throbbing knot. Every little movement, every sound she makes sets fire to my soul.
That must be the mate bond at work.
“I feel like I should offer you something to eat. Maybe make some tea. But I was just heading back from the store when I got wind of your scent. I left my backpack full of food and supplies out there in the woods and I need to go get it.”
“I don’t think now is the best time,” she says with a smile, glancing down at our joining.
“You don’t want me to parade you naked through the woods riding on my cock with my knot buried in your hot little pussy?”
“Maybe that’s more like second date material.”
I laugh, kissing her. When I pull back, I let my gaze sink into hers. “You know, I don’t feel like we just met.”
A gentle blush warms across her face. “I don’t feel like we just met, either.”
“That’s good, because apparently you could get pregnant from this. And I’m starting to come down from my rut and realize how insane that is.”
“What part of it is insane?”
My wolf’s feelings mix with mine, a warm desire growing that I’ve never wanted before—or, a desire I’ve never let myself want before. A desire not to be alone. A desire to have a family. A mate. Someone to protect. And maybe even children.
“The part where I want to get you pregnant.”
Her eyes widen. “God. Now you’re making me horny again, Mr. Alpha Mate.”
“Ha, so you do have a breeding kink!”
“Hey! Only for the right guy.”
“Should I remind you we just met?”
She just shrugs.
“And I’m no alpha. I rejected my pack. I’m a sigma—a lone wolf.”
“Not anymore.” Her fingertips trail across my jaw. “We’re mated. You don’t need a pack. You’ve got me, and I don’t like to share. You’re mine now. My alpha mate.”
“You’re a real cougar, you know that?”
“Cougar?! I’m barely three years older than you!”
“Like I said.”
“Ha.” She frowns, but I can tell she’s just playing. Rocking back and forth on my knot, she watches my face as she moves, and I wonder if she can see in my eyes how damn good that feels. “So tell me, lone wolf. How many women have you rutted into the mattress before me?”
“None.”
Her eyebrows shoot up, and she stops moving. “You’re lying.”
“I’m dead serious.”
“Damn. Maybe I really am a cradle-robber. How did you go so many years a virgin?”
“Remember the part where I live in the woods by myself because I don’t like other people?”
“Touché.” She laughs again, rocking harder on my knot. “Well, that works out for me.”
“You’d better be careful, mate, or you’ll make me hard again.”
“How are you going to rut me into the mattress when you can’t even pull out with your knot locking me in place?”
I growl. “We’ve barely met and you’re already a tease.”
“Life’s more fun this way.”
“Then I look forward to getting to know you more, mate.” I like the way that word tastes as I kiss her, sliding my hand into her hair.
I still want more, but my body is spent and my knot makes it impossible to move, so I lay her gently down on the bed beside me, stroking her hair as we lie there together in the quiet, the gentle crackle of the fire in the woodstove a soft soundtrack behind us.
I don’t even remember falling asleep.
When I wake, she’s still naked in front of me, and my knot has finally gone down enough that I can pull out.
Damn.
I never knew it could be like this.
I smile to myself as I dress, pulling my shirt and pants back on.
And then I see her pants—or, what’s left of them. There’s nothing but a ragged scrap of fabric.
Ah, shit. I’m going to have to loan her some of mine until I can get to town and buy her a replacement. Ha! That’ll be a fun one to explain to the guys at the store.
My head spins as I process everything that’s happened.
She escaped her abusive pack, she left with only her little purse, she’s basically entrusting her entire life to me. A strange urge wrenches through me at that realization—the urge to protect, to care for her. To provide.
“Mate,” I whisper, tasting the word again in the stillness of the quiet room.
She must be exhausted, because she just keeps sleeping soundly.
I set out a pair of clean clothes for her on the bedside table, scribbling a note that I’ll be back soon in case she wakes. I don’t want her to think I’ve abandoned her.
The clothes will be a little big, but the pants have a drawstring. They’ll have to do. At least they’re clean.
If I hurry, maybe I can get out and retrieve my backpack before she even realizes I’m gone.
I step out into the cold, locking the door quietly, but I can’t do the big bar from the outside. Not like anyone else comes out here, anyway. Still. For some reason my wolf whines in my head, suddenly alert again.
Nothing looks wrong, so maybe it’s the lingering scent of danger from when she fell earlier. That’s got to be it.
I don’t know.
All I know is I’ll be fast. With any luck, I’ll be back before she knows I’m gone.