Twenty-Two
Jameson watched as Nina knelt on the floor before him. The blanket was on his lap, but she moved it away again.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice hoarse.
“Making you feel better.”
“I thought you were mad,” he said.
“I was. But I understand why you did what you did. Just never do it again. You want me to stay away, just ask. Maybe I’ll argue with you—”
“Oh, you’ll definitely argue with me,” he said.
“Maybe I will. But we should talk first. You don’t get to make all the decisions here, Mr. Alphahole.”
He shook his head. This woman made him crazy in all the best ways and in all the most infuriating ways. “If you call me alphahole again, you are going to be one sorry kitty cat.”
“Oh yeah? I dare you to try.” And without warning, she leaned forward and took his cock in her mouth.
He’d already been sporting a semi, because hell, a beautiful woman in front of him—his beautiful mate in front of him—was bound to do the trick anyway, but when he felt her lips encircle the head of his cock and then slide down with warm wetness, he surged forward with a groan.
She sucked down and then eased back up, and caressed his balls with one hand.
“Nina,” he whispered. “Oh, that feels so good.”
“Yeah, maybe I should stop,” Nina said, a teasing note in her voice. “I should give you some recovery time.”
Her eyes were twinkling, and he grinned but sent her the hottest, most intense look he could manage. “You wouldn’t.”
“Payback’s a bitch,” she said.
“You’re right. Next time, I can drag it out for hours.”
She raised her eyebrows in mock alarm and came back down on his cock. He reached forward, touching the crown of her head. He wouldn’t push her down on him, just a gentle touch to feel the way it was happening, to remember that this was Nina, giving him pleasure, to feel every aspect of this—the scent of her arousal, mixing with his own, the feel of her soft, wavy hair beneath his palm, the taste of sex in the air.
“Touch yourself,” he said.
She had on loose fitting pajama pants, and he watched as she put her free hand down the front of them. “Mmm,” she moaned over his cock, and the vibration had him wanting to take control so he could enjoy her mouth harder, faster.
Her other hand released his balls and came to rest on top of the hand he had on her head. She pushed his hand down, and her head went down.
“You want me to move you at my pace?” he asked.
“Mm-hmm,” she said.
So he did. He took control of her head, moving it up and down. Her mouth slid over him, and he encouraged her to take her own pleasure, to move her fingers in just the right way.
“I want you,” he said. “Oh, Nina, I want you.”
She stood up, shoved her pants down, and climbed onto him. Once there, he slowed everything down. They should enjoy this, enjoy each other. He guided her hips, rocking her up and down over him, and then she started squirming, trying to move things faster, and he let her take control. Her pelvis bumped into his, and he saw that the friction was doing good things for her. “That’s right,” he said. “Take it all. Take everything you want because I will give you everything, Nina my love.”
She came on him, her pussy milking his cock, taking everything he had to give as he pumped a few final times inside of her and froze, his body tense, his teeth clamped down on her shoulder.
She cried out with the aftershocks and finally settled into his lap.
“You’re the best nurse ever,” Jameson murmured, licking the faint bite mark on her shoulder.
“Mm-hmm,” she said. “I feel it all through me. You really did give me everything.” She looked at her shoulder in wonder. “I think that’s a mate mark, Jameson.”
He stared at the wound. He’d barely drawn blood. “I should have asked first,” he said.
“I would have said yes.”
“But I should have asked.”
“Don’t worry,” she said, and she reached forward and bit his shoulder on a spot that wasn’t already bruised from Jake’s challenge.
“There,” she said, licking the wound. “I didn’t ask, either.”
He laughed. “I don’t think that’s the way consent works, babe.”
“Nope.” She smiled. “But it worked for us, this one time.”
He nodded. “I’m grateful for the mark. Now we’re truly joined, forever.”
*
They slept again in each other’s arms, and Jameson woke to Nina sitting up. Her phone was buzzing, and she picked it up.
“Someone calling?” he asked.
“No. Texts. Lots of them. And a voicemail.”
She listened, but the voice was too quiet for him to hear. It sounded like Marlana’s voice, though. He looked over at his phone—he had a voicemail, too.
“I have to leave,” Nina said.
“What do you mean?”
“I have to leave. Exactly what I said. The clan is in trouble with me here. I’m putting you all in danger, Jameson.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The vampires. They learned where I am. Sounds like the Channing twins were talking about me at some bar. The vampires are coming here, Jameson, to get me and make a statement to the rest of the Corona Pride.”
“I won’t let them do that,” he said.
“That’s exactly why I have to leave. If I go back to the Coronas, they can protect me. This is their fight. Come on, Jameson, this makes the most sense.”
It didn’t make any sense to him at all. She belonged here, with him. Traveling would leave her vulnerable, and take her away and he wouldn’t be able to protect her. “I won’t let you go,” he said. “You said you would stay. I asked you to stay, and you said you would.”
She shook her head. “That was before this, before the vampires were a real threat. We had a treaty, but new vampires came in from Europe. Something about the Nocturne Court or, I don’t know. It doesn’t matter what the fuck they’re called. Things are getting really bad there, is what it comes down to. I can’t do this. I can’t put the Rock Creek Clan in danger. Rex, Gemma, Erena, Margot, Nolan, and even Carl who hates me almost as much as Jake does. That’s not okay with me.”
“But we’ll fight for you.”
“Don’t you understand? You won’t have to fight at all when I’m back in the Corona mountains. My pride will fight for me, and I’ll be there to help them. This isn’t your war.”
“Nina, if you would just listen to me for a minute, you’d see this is a mistake.”
He wanted to block the door. He wanted to tie her up with those damn ropes and talk her into staying. “I’ll do anything to make you stay. Please.”
“I’m sorry.”
With a wide-eyed look, she stepped out of his cabin and marched over to her own.
Jameson texted Gemma. I need some help.