Chapter 32
Chapter
Thirty-Two
Hot water cascaded over Nico as he washed the memory of the day away.
All things being said, it could have gone worse.
Elise was waiting for him in his bedroom, no longer a prisoner but a somewhat welcome guest, even if there was a check-out date on that invitation.
Cole hadn't kicked him out of the pack, even though the dressing down he had received would have made a lesser wolf run away with his tail between his legs.
Right now, there was a possibility for a future between them.
The wolf in Nico wanted to permanently move Elise into his quarters right this second, claim her as his mate and keep her forever.
It wasn't possible at the moment, and the man in him needed to remind the wolf that they had been dating for less than a day.
And maybe he needed to get himself under a little bit of control.
But what a day it had been.
Now Elise was the first acknowledged witch on pack grounds.
The pack knew they were together, and already they'd received a few scowls, but they'd get past that.
He knew she was disappointed from her coven sisters' reaction, but if his pack was anything to go by, eventually they'd be able to find a way through this.
He was determined, and he was confident she felt the same.
The door to the bathroom cracked open, and Elise stepped inside—a naked Elise.
Her blonde hair hung down past her shoulders, ending just before those supple breasts that he could spend several hours, if not days, getting lost in.
But he let his gaze travel farther down, farther past the curve of her hip and the juncture of her thighs, all the way down to her bare toes that were curling against the bath mat.
His cock stirred immediately, blood rushing south as his eyes raked over her.
"The shower's occupied." Nico's voice came out rough.
Elise grinned and stepped closer, opening the glass door and letting herself inside. "I think there's room for two."
Heat that had nothing to do with the water flooded through him as she moved into the small space, bringing her scent with her.
"Did you miss me already?"
"It's such a big bed." She reached out to trace one finger down the center of his back, following the path of water over his spine. "I was getting lonely."
Elise wrapped her arms around him and pressed herself close, both of them standing under the waterfall showerhead and letting the warm water rush over them.
The softness of her breasts flattened against his shoulder blades, her nipples already tight points that he could feel, and her thighs bracketed his hips as she molded herself to him.
Nico had almost been finished, but he was glad to extend this shower if Elise wanted to join him. She placed gentle kisses along his shoulders, the press of her lips melding with the feel of water flowing down his back. Each kiss was a brand on his skin, her mouth hot and soft.
But then she pulled away. "Is this my shampoo?" She picked up a bottle with purple flowers on it that was sitting on the ledge.
Nico cheeks blazed, and he felt like he had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"Have you been using my shampoo?" She held the bottle up with her eyebrows raised.
"Your hair doesn't smell like it. And I know what kind of shower gel you use.
" She glared at the green container still sitting on the ledge.
"Believe me, we'll be talking about that.
My boyfriend doesn't use five-in-one shower gel. "
Why did this feel so embarrassing? He was a grown-ass man. He could have whatever kind of soap he wanted in his shower. But there was the truth of the matter.
She didn't know that he had spent more than an hour in the shampoo aisle at Target, smelling each one and trying to pick out the specific nuances that Elise carried in her scent.
None of them had been perfect, but the one he'd chosen, a scent called Lilac Dream, was close enough, and he was a little proud of himself to know that he had chosen correctly.
"Maybe I just wanted you to have the right shampoo the next time I had you here," he said.
"Nico." Elise shook the bottle at him, water droplets flying from her hand. "You never expected me to come back here. Maybe you're the one who missed me."
He growled and grabbed the shampoo from her hand, tipping some of it into his own palm and lathering it up before he reached for her hair and started to work it through, giving her the best scalp massage he could manage in the process.
Elise tilted her head back and let out a small, satisfied sound as his fingers massaged her.
The angle exposed the long line of her throat, and he had to resist the urge to lean forward and bite the tender skin where her pulse beat.
"Okay," she groaned, "you can buy as much of my shampoo as you want if you keep doing this."
His cock had already been paying attention to her presence, but now those tiny gasps and moans were making him stand completely at attention.
He forced himself to be thorough, rinsing the shampoo out of her hair and then grabbing the bottle of conditioner that matched and repeating the process.
The scent of lilacs wrapped around them both.
But under it all was her scent, the scent of his mate, even if it quickly dissipated in the water.
She leaned into his touch like she was starving for it.
Elise glanced down and then grinned up at him. Her eyes were dark with desire, pupils blown wide. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips.
"I've always kind of wanted to do this," she said before backing up and sitting on the shower bench, still close enough to run her hands down his hips and pull him forward, fingers brushing his ass before one hand came around to grip his cock and give him a confident stroke.
He was more than happy to be her subject.
The touch of her fingers around his shaft made him hiss through his teeth, his hips jerking forward involuntarily.
Elise leaned forward and licked the head of his cock, and Nico groaned, leaning forward and placing one hand against the wall of the shower behind her.
Her tongue was impossibly hot, the flat of it dragging over his sensitive crown, and his knees nearly buckled.
This was going to be torture. Beautiful, sexy, exquisite torture.
Her hand stayed on his cock, and she licked again, and again, and again, not quite enough pressure or suction for anything except her own erotic exploration.
She was learning him, tasting him, her tongue tracing the ridge beneath the head and then swirling around the tip, and it was maddening in the best possible way.
His second hand had joined the first against the wall. It was taking all of his self-control not to bury his hands in her hair and guide her to do exactly what he wanted. His wolf was close under his skin, desperate to take, to possess.
She grinned up at him, and he could see the glint in her eyes.
She knew exactly what she was doing to him.
Water splashed on her face, her lashes dark and wet, and the sight of her with that wicked smile was almost enough to undo him right there.
She opened her mouth and took the head of his cock in, this time sucking and using that tongue of hers until he groaned.
Oh, God, he wasn't going to last. It might have been embarrassing if it wasn't her, and if he couldn't read the satisfaction in her expression and body language.
She stroked and sucked and brought him to the edge.
His fingers curled into fists as he searched for anything that might hold off his orgasm for more than thirty seconds.
Her hand worked in tandem with her mouth, twisting on the upstroke.
The pressure was building at the base of his spine, his thighs trembling with the effort to hold still.
Elise pulled her head back and looked up at him with a grin. "I want to taste you," she said. The words alone nearly pushed him over the edge, and when she took him back into her mouth, deeper this time, he knew he was done for.
She got back to work, and it took almost no time, his hips thrusting against her as she moaned around his cock.
The vibration of her moan traveled through his shaft, and he felt the exact moment he lost control, his orgasm slamming into him like a freight train.
He let go, his eyes widening for a moment as pleasure overtook him, and Elise swallowed him down.
She took everything he gave her, her throat working, her eyes locked on his face, and the intimacy of it made his chest tighten.
He was shaking a little with the intensity of it as she stood up and hesitated for a second.
But this time, he did run his hands through her hair and pull her close, capturing her mouth in a passionate kiss that left her pressed up against the wall and panting for more when they separated.
He could taste himself on her tongue, and the knowledge that she'd wanted that, had asked for it, made him growl low.
The shower water turned cold after a while, and they both got out, toweling off and sharing grins. His skin was still hypersensitive, every brush of the towel a reminder of where her hands and mouth had been.
But Nico wasn't done with her, not yet.
He had his mate in his room with him, and there were no lies between them this time.
No kidnapping, no subterfuge, no certainty that they would never see one another again.
And his body was already ready again, his cock filling as he watched her towel off, the fabric dragging across her breasts and down her stomach.
There was a chair by the balcony window, and Nico sat in it and let his towel flap open.
His erection stood proud between his thighs, and he didn't bother to hide it.
It was now his turn to crook a finger at his mate, and Elise dropped her towel and stalked toward him, more like a she-wolf.
Her hips swayed, eyes locked on his, and he could see the flush spreading down her chest, could smell the arousal rising from her skin.
"I need you," he said.
She sank onto his lap, one leg on either side of his, and kissed him like there was no tomorrow, even though now they were both certain there was.
Her knees pressed into the cushion on either side of his hips, her weight settling onto him, and the heat of her core pressed against his cock.
It was different, better, to have the promise of a future, and know that everything might be okay—to know that this was not the last kiss but the first of many, the first of the rest of their lives.
He could savor it for what it was and not try and load it with everything it could be. Her tongue slid against his, slow and thorough. He memorized the taste of her, the way she fit against him, the small sounds she made when he sucked on her bottom lip.
Werewolf stamina had its advantages.
He found her wet and ready, and she moaned as his fingers teased her entrance, followed quickly by his cock. She was soaked, her arousal coating his fingers when he slid them through her folds, and when he positioned himself at her entrance, she was already trembling.
But she was the one leading them now. She sank down onto him and moved her hips slowly, never breaking the kiss as they were joined together in that most intimate way.
The tight heat of her body enveloped him inch by inch, her inner walls gripping him as she took him deeper.
The sensation was so intense he had to break the kiss to gasp for air.
Her breasts pressed against his chest with each rise and fall, her nipples hard points dragging across his skin, and her breath came in short pants against his neck.
They chased their release until she came with a gasp in his arms. Her orgasm rippled through her, her inner walls clenching around his cock.
The sensation pulled his own climax from him, his hips jerking up as he spilled inside her, marking her in the most primal way possible.
They stayed locked together, bodies trembling, foreheads pressed close as they caught their breath, everything else fell away—his pack, her coven, the uncertain future—leaving only the two of them and the certainty that this was exactly where they were meant to be.