CHAPTER EIGHT
Margo couldn’t take it anymore. She needed to kiss him. She would never be sure afterward who moved first, but they met in the middle, their lips joining and holding in a kiss that seemed to go on forever.
Finally! Finally, she had him back in her arms, where he belonged.
She wasn’t sure if that thought came from her human side or her wolf, but it didn’t really matter. Both sides of her soul sang at the return of his lips to hers. The feel of his strong arms around her trembling body.
The fact that she was trembling—actually trembling—with need for Gabe was something she’d think about later. Right now, all she could focus on was the feel of him in her arms and the way he seemed to know what she wanted even before she did.
She squeaked a little when he lifted her in his arms. Both of his very capable hands were under her butt, and she eagerly wrapped her legs around his hips as he began walking.
Gabe was a tall guy. Built almost as big as a shifter. But she hadn’t realized how strong he was. Her wolf approved with a little growl as their kiss intensified even more. She didn’t know where, exactly, he was taking her, but she didn’t really care. Her mind was caught up in the whirlwind of rising passion, and the only thing that made sense in the middle of the storm was Gabe. Solid Gabe. Her anchor in passion and the reason for it.
When she felt herself being dropped, ever so slightly, she had a moment of alarm, but Gabe had her. He moved so smoothly from standing to reclining with the soft bed behind her back, she almost didn’t notice except for the slight sensation of falling. But that, too, only added to the out-of-control feeling he inspired in her willing body.
His muscular body came over her, blanketing her in his warmth and his masculine scent that drove her wild—had been driving her wild for weeks now. Ever since the moment they first met, she’d found his scent almost irresistible. Why had she tried so hard to stay away from him? It didn’t make any sense now. Not with his tongue in her mouth and his body pressing her into the mattress.
Maybe it would make sense later, but she didn’t give a rat’s ass about later. No. Right now, all that mattered was being here, with Gabe.
And getting naked.
Yeah, that was pretty damned important right now, too. She was through with the fabric that kept them apart. She wanted skin-on-skin action, and she wanted it now.
Clumsy fingers pushed at his clothing, but he seemed to understand. He broke the kiss to rise up over her and shuck his shirt. She watched him strip, intrigued by what might be revealed. She hadn’t ever seen him naked. He wasn’t a shifter, so he’d had no need to strip off in public. She hadn’t been able to sneak a peek at what he might be hiding under his clothes.
Being so used to muscular shifters, she was willing to cut the human mage some slack if he didn’t have the build of Michelangelo’s David, but she needn’t have bothered even thinking such thoughts. Gabe was as hard-bodied as any shifter. Maybe more so. She’d have to ask him about that later because she had been around him and his family for a few weeks now and she hadn’t ever seen Gabe working out. People didn’t keep in the kind of shape he was in without some sort of physical routine, but Gabe didn’t seem to put any effort at all into his tempting build.
“Stay right there,” he whispered, getting off her so he could unbuckle his belt and shuck his pants. Yes! Her inner hussy cheered the move.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she all but growled. Both halves of her soul were totally enthralled.
Gabe smiled as he bent to take off his boots. In his repertoire of smiles, this was a new one. A very sexy one that promised things she was all too eager to experience. She found herself smiling back, which was a first. Sex never really made her smile before. It had always been more about need and urgency. Serious matters. Not fun. But Gabe made it fun in a very alluring way, and that was different enough to be totally engaging. And totally out of her experienced.
She had a feeling a lot of what they were about to do together would be completely new…and completely mind blowing. She couldn’t wait.
While Gabe dealt with his boots, she kicked off her shoes and let them fall over the side of the bed. She was about to start on the rest of her clothing when Gabe saw what she was doing and touched one of her hands. She looked up to meet his gaze, surprised.
“Hey,” he said gently. “That’s my job. I want to unwrap you like a Christmas present.”
The words were nonsensical, but the fiery intent in his eyes stopped her. Suddenly, she wanted him to undress her the way his tone implied. She lay back on the bed, compliant.
Damn. Her? Compliant? She realized in that moment that she would only do so for Gabe. No other man had ever made her want to relax her Alpha tendencies so much. Only Gabe had inspired such trust and confidence in his ability to drive her wild. She watched him, willing to wait, to see what he had in mind.
The slow pace only made her want him more. She licked her lips as he finally lowered his pants, leaving him dressed in incongruous boxers that were red with little green wrapped boxes printed on them.
One of her eyebrows rose as she smiled. “And I suppose you’re my Christmas present?”
Gabe looked down and seemed to realize what he was wearing. His cheeks flushed. “These were a gift from one of my sisters,” he told her somewhat sheepishly.
“I’ll have to thank her,” Margo said, enjoying teasing him. Joking around in bed was new to her, but she was quickly coming to enjoy it. Margo reached out with one hand and snagged a finger in the elastic band of the boxers, tugging Gabe closer. “Come here and give me my present,” she dared him.
Just like that, the flames in his eyes leapt back to life. Gabe slid onto the bed at her side. She was really glad the hotel furnished their rooms with king-sized beds. They’d need the room.
True to his word, Gabe unwrapped her slowly, delivering lingering caresses on each inch of skin he exposed. Margo was shivering with need by the time he’d uncovered her breasts. He stayed there for a bit, touching, licking, teasing her body, getting to know her responses. She growled a few times, purely for the pleasure of it, and he didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it, if the hardness under those cute boxers were anything to go by.
At length, he moved lower, dealing with her pants in quick, decisive moves that were different from the time he’d taken up top. Could it be that she was getting to him as much as he was getting to her? She certainly hoped so. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could wait to have him inside her.
Her pants and panties came down in one long slide of fabric over sensitized skin. Gabe had her at a peak of pleasure, holding her there, not letting her progress to the next level while not letting her interest fade the tiniest bit. He was something entirely outside her prior experience. She’d foolishly thought she’d known all there was to know about sex. Boy, had she been wrong.
Gabe was teaching her that there could be joy and laughter along with the intensity. He was proving to her that humans could be every bit as good—and even a whole lot better—than shifters at…um…physical pursuits. She couldn’t wait to find out more.
Then, Gabe spread her legs and settled between them. His fingers traced her skin, pausing here and there then delving within. She gasped at the unexpected but very welcome invasion. She watched him looking at her intimately and felt a sizzle of electricity flow from his body to hers. Or was that magic? She wasn’t quite sure, but it certainly felt good. Make that great.
“Do you want me, little wolf?” he asked, pushing into her a little deeper. His gaze rose to meet hers.
Was she even capable of speaking? She wasn’t sure. Gabe had taken her off guard with his sophisticated lovemaking, and she was experiencing sensations she’d never quite achieved before.
“I…” Yeah, no. She wasn’t really able to speak with his fingers doing decadent things inside her.
“Is that a yes?” he insisted on asking. Why was he talking? Why wasn’t he fucking her the way she wanted?
Normally, she would’ve grabbed him and made him do what she wanted, but she’d relinquished all control, apparently. Amazingly. That wasn’t something she’d ever done before. She’d have to think about that later. Much later. Right now, all she wanted was him. Making love to her. Owning her completely.
Such a strange thought for a tough shifter female to think, but there it was. She wanted to belong to Gabe in a way she’d never wanted to be with any other male.
Acknowledging the thought, she felt something break loose inside her. Her inner magic rose up to meet his. Instead of the conflagration she half-expected, there was a meeting, a gentle accepting, and a strengthening she never would have imagined.
“Do you feel that?” Gabe asked, a note of wonder in his voice. He moved his hands away and came over her, holding himself up on his elbows as he peered into her eyes. She could see the magic swirling in the depths of his blue gaze.
“Magic,” she breathed, still not quite able to form complete sentences.
“It’s magic, all right,” he agreed readily. “You’re magic, Margo. A magic I never expected.”
The look on his face spoke to her heart, but she was afraid—yes, she would admit it in the privacy of her own mind—afraid of what it might mean. She wasn’t quite ready to acknowledge this thing between them. She wasn’t ready to think too deeply about the future. Right now was what mattered most.
“Do it,” she begged, her voice a raspy growl as need rose and claimed her. “Please.”
“Your wish…” Gabe aligned their bodies and slid into her with her enthusiastic encouragement, “…is my command,” he finished, out of breath as they were joined together completely for the very first time, magic swirling around them along with a level of passion she’d never even imagined.
Then, he began to move. Oh, dear Goddess! How this man could move.
Gabe took her on a journey of pleasure unlike anything in her prior experience. He started strong, altered his pace in the middle, wrung every last drop of passion from her overexcited body then ramped it up another notch. Somewhere in the middle of it all, she lost track of the world, of her place in the universe. All she knew was Gabe and his lovemaking. He was the center of her existence, and she was happy for it to be that way. He was what was important. He was all that mattered. Him…and them, together. Two bodies, one soul, flying to the stars together.
When pleasure hit, she might have blacked out for a moment, it was so intense. She cried out his name, clinging to his muscular shoulders, aware as never before of the capacity of her body for pleasure. Gabe had taught her something incredible, something new and exciting, something she wanted again…and again…and again.
Gabe almost couldn’t breathe after the most intense orgasm of his life. If this was what making love with your mate was all about, he thought he finally understood why mating was forever. He also understood the lengths to which some would go to protect their mates. It was all rising up in him now, filling his heart and giving him a determination to keep Margo with him at all costs. Now that he’d had this kind of joining, he never wanted to let it go. He never wanted to let her go.
Margo. His mate. The one woman in all the world that could complete him. He wondered if she realized the forces that were driving him. He wondered if she understood that the fey part of him had just as powerful a drive as her shifter soul to find that perfect partner, that one true mate.
He thought she probably didn’t understand, but that was okay. He’d show her. By word and deed, he’d make her understand that they were meant to be together. Forever.
Gabe wanted to say something profound but couldn’t come up with the words. He tucked her into his side and pulled the covers over them both, and by the time he figured out what to say, he realized she’d fallen asleep in his arms.
Wow. That had to mean something, right? That she trusted him enough to sleep while he held her probably was an instinctual thing for her. He’d take it. He hoped it meant her wolf was coming to accept and trust him.
He knew he probably had a long way to go to get her to agree to be his mate, but he was up to the task. He’d dedicate himself to it, in fact. From now on, there was no Gabe without Margo. He wanted very much to convince her that there should be no Margo without Gabe, as well.
Gabe remembered to flick his fingers at the windows and doors before allowing himself to sleep. He shot a little bit more of his magic into the wards he’d already placed, settling them for the night. Nobody would come near without him knowing about it. He would keep his mate safe, whether she realized it or not.
*
The long, leisurely lovemaking Gabe had planned for the next morning disappeared in a flash the moment the phone next to his bed rang. The piercing tone shattered the silence, and he made a blind grab to silence the infernal device.
“Hello?” His voice was rough with sleep, but he didn’t care. What kind of jerk called a person before dawn?
“Sorry to wake you, but I wanted to give you enough time to get ready. Ezra’s gotten in touch, and I’ve arranged a rendezvous for you with him,” Trevor said with no real air of apology. Gabe might forgive him if the lead on Bolivar panned out. Maybe. “And John wants you to meet him for breakfast. He’s bringing his mate. She more or less demanded to meet you.”
Why did Trevor sound amused? And why would the Alpha’s mate demand to meet them? Gabe scowled, knowing Margo was watching him and could probably hear Trevor’s words over the phone’s earpiece. Shifter hearing wasn’t all that necessary given the quiet of the room and the sheer volume of the phone. Stupid thing had been set to wake the dead.
“What time?” Gabe all but growled. He was not happy at having his morning seduction plans rearranged. “And where?”
“Conference room at City Hall. As soon as you’re decent. Ezra’s on a trail, and we want to get you on your way as soon as possible so you can meet with him without taking too much time out of his hunt,” Trevor replied.
Well, as long as we don’t inconvenience Ezra, Gabe thought to himself with all the sarcasm he couldn’t show to their hosts. He rubbed a hand over his tired eyes.
“Okay. We’ll be there in about…twenty minutes?” His gaze sought Margo’s in the pre-dawn dimness of the hotel room. She nodded and got out of bed. Damn.
“See you then.” Trevor hung up as Gabe’s mouth went dry watching Margo slip from his room into hers through the open connecting door.
She was naked and lovely and damn… He had to get his mind off her luscious body or he’d be attending the mayor’s meeting with a raging boner. It was time to hit the shower. A cold shower.
Twenty minutes later, Trevor greeted them as they walked into City Hall. Margo’s lovely hair was still damp, but she looked amazing. Then again, she always looked amazing to Gabe.
Trevor led them back to a conference room that had several doors leading from it and a wide bank of windows that faced the cove. The dawn had come while Gabe was in the shower, so the pearly light was filtering in through the windows. A feast of sorts had been laid out on a sideboard, and Gabe recognized the food as having come from the bakery across the street.
“Help yourselves to some breakfast,” Trevor said, heading right to the buffet. He filled a plate, and they followed suit.
Gabe was just ripping into a corn muffin when an inner door opened and John walked through with a woman who had to be his mate. Gabe froze. He recognized the flavor of power. The woman was a mage. Unless he was much mistaken, she was the very mage who had cast such powerful wards around the town.
Gabe dropped his muffin to the plate, stood and bowed. He knew the shifters would stare, but he also knew proper protocol when encountering a magical power like this woman’s.
“Uh…” John began, somewhat surprised, Gabe could tell, by his actions. It didn’t matter. The woman was the mage, and she would understand the respect he was showing, and the fact that he’d recognized the traces of her power all over town. “This is my mate, Urse.”
“I’m pleased to meet you, Gabriel. Margo. I’ve heard about Llewellyns, but I’ve never met any,” she addressed her words to Gabe after nodding respectfully to Margo. “I didn’t want to miss the chance while you were here in town.”
“It’s an honor, ma’am,” Gabe said. “Your wards are perfection itself.”
Urse blushed a little, and Gabe could see why the big Alpha bear was so taken with her. The woman was a mage of incredible strength, yet she seemed, at first glance, to be a very grounded, very humble soul. Gabe liked her right away.
“I’m impressed by the fact that you recognized them as mine,” Urse said candidly.
She was definitely sizing him up, but then again, he was doing the same to her. Shifters might think that all mages were the same, but magical folk had their own way of establishing the pecking order among themselves. It was just a bit more subtle, perhaps, than the way the shifters did it.
“You put a great deal of yourself into the wards,” Gabe explained. “It’s easy to recognize the mark of their maker if you know how to see it. And here, I thought this town was for bear shifters, only. Yet, there must be another mage because the water carries the stamp of magic, as well. A potion master?”
“And what do you know about potion masters?” Urse countered, her eyes narrowing.
Gabe understood her caution but not the tiny bit of anger and fear. “My father is one,” he explained simply. “Though it’s not my primary talent, I can recognize the work. Whoever did it is on par with my father, at the very least, and in all likelihood, exceeds him. It is neat work and strong stuff.”
“I’ll tell my sister you thought so,” Urse replied, the anger and fear disappearing just like that, replaced with sibling pride. That explained a lot. Sisters. Both mages. And both in town, apparently. No wonder Grizzly Cove was so well protected.
“To be blessed with two such powerful practitioners in one family is a wonder, indeed,” Gabe said.
“You of all people should understand,” Urse replied with humor in her voice. “You’re a Llewellyn, after all. Your family is well known in magical circles.”
Gabe bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement of her words. It was only the truth. Llewellyns had been using and teaching magic for many, many generations.
“Might I inquire what tradition you follow?” It wasn’t exactly polite, but since she seemed to know all about him, he thought she’d understand his curiosity.
“We are strega,” she answered simply.
“That explains everything,” he replied. That one word carried a weight of tradition reaching back to Italy, where the hereditary line of female witches originated.
She likely had an illustrious family name that would say as much about her heritage as his own, but he wouldn’t pry. If she felt comfortable enough with him to tell him her family name, she would do so. Otherwise, he’d have to settle for just knowing that she was a strega and leave it at that.
John pulled out a chair for his mate, and she sat. Gabe retook his own seat, as well. Urse turned to John.
“It’s all good,” she told her mate, patting his forearm with her hand. “I was wondering if he’d notice the wards.” Urse turned to look at Gabe again. “Llewellyns live up to their reputation.”
“I’d appreciate it if Urse and her sister’s presence here wasn’t common knowledge,” John said, his voice a little growly with the bear’s influence. Gabe suspected the Alpha didn’t like any hint of threat to his mate, and Gabe fully understood his feelings.
“Nobody will hear it from me,” Gabe promised.
“Or me,” Margo added.
“And I’ll be happy to bind us to those oaths, if you wish,” Gabe offered, looking at Urse directly. That he would offer to bind himself magically was a big concession, and she would realize it, even if the shifters didn’t.
“No, I’ll take your word for it,” Urse said graciously. “And I won’t prevent you from telling your sister, Barbara. From all accounts, she’s a woman I’d like to meet.” Urse’s grin made Gabe wonder what, exactly, the Alpha bear had said about his sister. But he knew Barb could look after herself. She was a powerful mage with claws of her own, and the bears would learn that if they ever gave her a hard time.
“I’m sure she’d be intrigued to meet you too,” he replied.
From that point on, the meeting was commandeered by Trevor, who had a series of instructions for Gabe and Margo regarding how and where they would meet up with his operative, Ezra. John and Urse got up to get some breakfast and brought it back to the table while Trevor was outlining the plan, which involved a stop in Idaho to pick up two Harley Davidsons then a trek down to Nevada.
“Why such a circuitous route?” Margo asked Trevor once the somewhat complex travel plan had been laid out.
“Well, you could try to fly in, but there aren’t even any good dirt airstrips near where he plans to meet you, and you’ll need the bikes if you want to ride with him,” Trevor advised them. “If you’d been combat troops, I’d have advised a drop, but as things stand, this is probably the best way to get you all together.”
“A drop?” Margo asked, though Gabe suspected he already knew what the bear shifter had in mind.
“Ever done any recreational parachuting?” Trevor asked Margo with a wolfish grin, which was something for a bear shifter to accomplish, but he pulled it off.
Margo backed off from the table a bit. “No. To be honest, I’ve never understood why anyone would want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.”
Her tone was challenging, but Gabe knew from their flight out how much Margo disliked airplanes. She’d fly if she had to, but he couldn’t imagine her going up in a plane just for fun. And jumping out? Well, she might have the guts for it, but he didn’t think she was a thrill-seeker on her days off from chasing down mysteries.
The bear shifters laughed at her quip, not in the least fazed by her words.
“I agree with you,” Urse told Margo, sharing a moment of female solidarity. “And you don’t even want to know what these guys do with helicopters.”