Chapter Ten

Joselyn felt like she was in a dream. Totally surreal. Maybe she’d gone to sleep and conjured up the completely illogical call from Nuria in her mind to replace her usual nightmare with a sweet dream about Alton.

But this was not a dream. He held her in his arms, his gaze never leaving hers as he moved through the house. She didn’t care where he was taking her as long as, when they arrived, clothes would be removed and naked skin would touch.

Suddenly she was falling, and he was falling with her until they bounced together on a soft surface. A bed. So much better than the cold stone wall of a cave.

His lips landed on hers, taking, giving, sucking, licking. Desperate. More than usual. She felt that same level of desperation, but hers stemmed mostly from carrying around a pack burden. Why did he happen to exude a similar vibe?

Perhaps they were both just tired, past the breaking point. The clock was ticking, and they needed to crawl out of this mess that had become their secret lives before it ate them up inside.

Suddenly, his hands were everywhere, searching her body as though she’d been shot and he was frantic to find the exit wound.

She lifted her ass off the bed so he could wiggle his palms under her sweater, and then he hauled it over her head. The second the material was out of the way, she landed again with a thump, and his mouth was consuming her.

He moaned into her as his hand trailed to her breast, molding it, squeezing almost too hard. Perfectly. Like he was crazed. He didn’t usually handle her so roughly, but she craved this. It was driving her wild. Her panties were soaked inside her jeans, and her clit was pleading for release from the confines.

She spread her hands over his lower back and then tucked them into his jeans to squeeze his butt cheeks. He clenched them and bit down on her lower lip, not enough to break the skin, but enough to make her wish he would.

Joselyn had never felt this level of urgency to complete the binding. Something external seemed to be controlling her like a drug. It seemed crucial to bind together. Now.

She broke the kiss and tipped her head to the side so she could think better, gasping for air as Alton licked a line down her neck and nuzzled the sweet spot.

“Do it,” she pleaded into his head.

“Do not tempt me, baby.”

“Do it,” she insisted again. “Just fucking do it.”

He growled into her mind and then pressed his lips firmly to the spot before continuing down her body. Mumbling against her skin, he said, “Not… Gonna… Bind… You… To… Me… Today…”

“Why?” She shoved at his shoulders to get him to lift his face. “Alton, why? I don’t want to go on like this. I don’t care what anyone thinks or says anymore. Please.” She’d never begged before, never felt this strong compulsion.

She couldn’t even ponder the implications of her request. Her job. The upcoming launch he knew nothing about. The fact that it would be horribly wrong of her to bind to him without sharing that detail. A detail she wasn’t at liberty to share with him.

She needed to wait until after the launch. After he realized what she’d kept from him for six months. After he’d had a chance to process what her pack had done to bend more of the competition to their favor.

The right thing to do was wait to bind to him. Pulling this bait and switch was more unethical than the secret itself. But dammit, she wanted him to be hers.

He met her gaze, his hands once again cupping the sides of her breasts while he rested on his elbows. “Not today, baby. Not in the heat of the moment in my brother’s house. I want it to be special. Drawn out. Sexy. I want you to be pampered for hours until you know that you belong to no one but me.”

She lifted a brow. “Do you think there’s a doubt?” At least he was providing the voice of reason at a time when she felt more pressure than ever to ignore reason and embrace selfishness.

He smiled but didn’t respond. His hands grabbed the front closure of her bra and popped it open.

Her eyes rolled back as her breasts spilled free, and he latched onto one with his mouth. The other one found itself pinched between two fingers.

She moaned until he twisted the offended bud and gave it a slight tug. The sharp sting of pain was welcome, and she screamed out, hoping that indeed no one was in the near vicinity to hear her. She couldn’t sense another shifter or human, but under the circumstances, she hardly detected anything at all. Her mind was completely consumed with ensuring Alton was inside her sooner rather than later.

When he switched his mouth to the other nipple, she grasped for his shirt. “Need your skin,” she muttered.

Not releasing the suction he had on her breast, he reached over his shoulder with one hand and tugged the shirt over his head. He whipped it past her breast so quickly she barely noticed the momentary lack of contact.

As her arousal grew, she worried she would come in her jeans, and she wanted him inside her, touching her. She grabbed his shoulders again and pushed. “Alton, stop.”

He released her nipple, lifting his confused gaze to meet hers. “What’s the matter? Did I hurt you?”

“No.” She shoved him harder, scrambling out from under him. “But I’m gonna hurt you if you don’t get naked right this second.” She pushed herself to her knees and unbuttoned her jeans with trembling fingers.

Alton smirked as he shoved off the bed and divested himself of his shoes, jeans, and underwear before she could even shrug her jeans down her body.

She yelped when he grabbed her legs and yanked her forward so fast she lost her balance and fell onto her back. Without breaking eye contact, he jerked off her shoes and tugged the denim and her panties down her legs.

“Finally,” she whispered. “Now fuck me. Please. I’m seriously not in the mood for gentle. Save gentle for some time in our forties or fifties. Right now I want to feel alive. I’m not a flower bud, Alton. I need you to fuck me hard.”

Even though she’d begun to realize months ago that she liked a bit of kink and some aspects of rougher sex, she had never had the balls to verbalize her desire. Until now.

His eyes widened slightly, and he licked his lips. As he climbed over her, hovering above her body, his knees straddling her, he furrowed his brow. For a second she feared he might not like her request. Was it possible he didn’t want the same thing as her?

“You want it rough, baby?” He lifted one eyebrow.

“Yes,” she stated before she could lose her nerve. “Don’t hold back.”

He cocked his head, a slow smile forming. “How long have you felt that way?”

She flushed. This awkward pause in the middle of their frenzied dance embarrassed her. Besides, she was wet and needy, her clit throbbing while he wanted to have a discussion about her sexual preferences. “A while.” She bit her lip.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about it.”

Seconds passed. The only sound was them breathing in sync with each other and her heartbeat in her ears, if that was even a thing. His hesitation freaked her out.

Finally, he smiled broader. “That’s so fucking hot.”

She let out a breath.

“I can do rough.”

“Please.” Any day now would also be good.

He chuckled, making her realize she hadn’t blocked the thought. After leaning forward to give her lips a quick peck, he spoke again. “One of these days, you’re going to let your walls down and let me totally in while we’re having sex. If you didn’t expend so much energy blocking me when we’re in bed, I would know these naughty thoughts of yours.”

She licked her lips. She knew what he meant. It’s like she was holding a piece of herself back when they had sex. Saving her deep, innermost thoughts. For what? It wasn’t a conscious decision. It just happened. Like humans might save sex for marriage or not want to orgasm with a partner until they felt safe. That’s kind of how she felt about opening her mind to him and letting him see inside her soul. He could have that piece of her—after they bound themselves together.

Besides, she wasn’t sure she was ready for him to fully know the sorts of thoughts she had in her mind when they were having sex. She blushed every time she contemplated her kinky side, even when she was alone in her bedroom in her parents’ home. Masturbating to the idea of him more fully dominating her.

He reached for her face with one hand and cupped her jaw, his thumb dragging across her bottom lip until he pulled it down. “I think I understand.”

She nuzzled his palm.

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.” She squirmed, reaching for him.

He hesitated again, seemingly reading her face since she wouldn’t let him into her head. Satisfied, he nodded.

And then the fireworks started.

One second she was lying beneath him staring up at his perfect handsome face, and the next second, he grabbed her waist and flipped her onto her belly. Before she oriented to the new position, he lifted her hips off the mattress. “Knees. Elbows,” he demanded.

The two sharp words made her pussy pulse and her nipples tingle.

Yes. God, yes.

She didn’t care if he heard her silent thought or not, as long as he kept the bossy act and added some more rough handling.

Should she be embarrassed by this request? Maybe. But at the moment, she didn’t give a shit.

“Spread your knees farther,” he demanded.

She creamed, wetness leaking down her thighs. Her body trembled, a tight ball in her belly growing larger. It wasn’t the words he used. He’d said the same thing in the past. It was the tone. Demanding. Nothing soft. Nothing gentle. No endearment tacked on.

Perfect.

When she apparently didn’t comply fast enough, he nudged her legs open roughly with one thigh between them. He reached around with both hands to grasp her chest, pinching the nipples firmly and then gripping her breasts tighter than he’d ever held them before.

The slight sting of her nipples and dull pain of his grip drove her arousal higher.

When he released her tender flesh and grabbed her hips, she set her forehead on the mattress, fighting for oxygen. Her breasts hung in front of her, swaying with every movement, her nipples low enough to graze across the sheet. When had he pulled the comforter off the bed?

A fire burned inside her, demanding release.

Alton thrust two fingers into her pussy without warning. He gripped her hip with his other hand as he fucked her rapidly. “Is this what you want, Jos?”

She moaned. “Yes.” The word came out as more of a hiss. This was what she wanted.

He yanked his sopping fingers from her pussy and pinched her clit hard enough to make her scream out at the unexpected.

“Yes,” she shouted.

“Oh, baby, that’s so hot. You have no idea…”

She begged to differ. She’d never been this turned on. Was she demented for craving this from him? She didn’t think so. Enough research assured her lots of women liked rough sex now and then. It wasn’t like she didn’t also like it sweet and slow and gentle. But there were times when hard and rough and demanding were necessary.

He grabbed her shoulder, holding her so she couldn’t rock forward out of the reach of his fingers as he thrust them into her again.

His cock bobbed against her butt cheek.

When she reared back to press more firmly against his length and entice him to put it inside her, he pulled his fingers from her channel and landed a firm spank on her butt cheek.

Her breath caught in her throat. Heart pounding, she tried desperately to inhale another breath.

Alton smoothed his hand over the burn where he’d spanked her and leaned forward to kiss her spine. “Too much?”

How could she answer that without sounding like a total deviant?

“Jos? Talk to me.”

“I’m so turned on right now—I could come on demand.”

She could hear the smile in his voice when he said, “Do it. Come.”

She’d been half kidding, but when he said those words in a deep, commanding voice, she came. Hard. It was the most unusual orgasm she’d ever experienced with nothing touching her clit or her pussy, but the pulsing rolled through her body anyway, shaking her to the core.

“Fuck. Jos, you…” He didn’t say another word. Instead, he set his other knee between her thighs, grabbed her hips, and thrust into her to the hilt. He screamed out, an indefinite noise that echoed in the room.

He gripped her butt cheeks with both hands, spreading them, molding them, undoubtedly leaving small bruises in the wake of each finger.

She would see those bruises in the mirror later, and her pussy would clench at the memory.

He fucked her harder, thrusting in and out so fast that the first unfinished orgasm morphed into a second, leaving her unable to breathe until it subsided enough to allow her to concentrate on his actions again.

He held her cheeks wider apart, which should have sent a warning signal to her brain. Instead, she willed him to touch her there. They’d never had anal sex before. They hadn’t even discussed it. But suddenly she knew she wanted to try it someday. For now… Yessss.

She moaned at the sensation as he stroked the sensitive skin of her forbidden hole with his thumbs. Pressure built inside her, threatening to explode. Insane after two incredible orgasms.

He released her butt with one hand and reached around to stroke her clit with his fingers while continuing to fuck her. A second later, without warning, he removed his hand from her clit and pressed a finger—wet from her arousal—into her rear.

“Oh. God. That…feels so amazing.” She was thankful she’d been able to speak at all to let him know what she felt because, after those words, her world spun out of control. It seemed like she was floating. Gravity had no effect on her.

Every conscious thought focused on the feel of his cock thrusting in and out of her pussy in conjunction with his finger inside her tighter hole. The membrane was thin. She could feel his finger against his cock through the barrier. It was unusual. It was amazing.

Another orgasm built. She needed to come again. “Rub my clit,” she pleaded into his head.

He reached around her body with his free hand and stroked the swollen nub, overwhelming her with sensations. “That’s it, baby. Come again for me. Come again, and then I’ll follow you.”

Her breath caught as her clit started to pulse again. The throbbing built in intensity as her pussy and her tight rear hole both convulsed around their intrusions, gripping, squeezing, milking him. A flood of wetness burst around his cock as the internal orgasm took over.

He followed right behind her as promised, his length deep and steady, his fingers still strumming her clit lightly and massaging the inside of her ass.

As she came down, he pulled his finger out first and then his cock.

Her arms were shaking so badly, she would have collapsed if he hadn’t grabbed her hips and eased her to her side. “Don’t move, baby.”

She couldn’t even blink. How did he think she was going to move?

He padded naked from the bedroom only to return moments later with a wet cloth in his hand. This time he shut the door before he gently rolled her onto her back, spread her limp legs, and wiped their lovemaking from her pussy.

After setting the washcloth aside, he climbed beside her and hauled her weak frame against his body. He kissed her forehead. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too,” she managed to say out loud.

He stroked his fingers through her hair soothingly for a long time. “What brought that on?” he finally asked.

“I don’t know. It was bubbling under the surface for a while.” She drew circles around one of his nipples, watching it stiffen.

“And? Did it meet your expectations?”

“And then some.” She tipped her head back to meet his gaze. “Were you okay with it?”

“Okay?” He chuckled. “Hottest sex I’ve ever had.”

“You say that as though you’ve had sex with hundreds of women and I’m just here for comparison,” she teased, tweaking his nipple to emphasize her words.

He grasped her hand away from his offended nipple and kissed her knuckles. “When would I have slept with someone else, woman? Before I met you when we were nine? Because don’t even think of insulting me by insinuating I would have cheated on you at any point. You know my heart, soul, and body belong to only you no matter how much time or distance may separate us. I’ve always belonged to only you. No way would I have touched another woman, not even while you spent years keeping me at arm’s length. Never.”

She swallowed around the emotion that threatened to upend her emotional stability. When a tear ran down her face, he kissed it away.

“You’re mine, baby. Forever.”

“Yes.”

In the ensuing silence, Joselyn’s mind wandered, making her wish she could erase the world and run off with her man to someplace where no one knew who they were. At this point, she didn’t even care if they never saw another shifter.

“You’re worrying again.” He tapped her temple. “You might block me, but you can’t keep your emotions from me.”

She sighed. What she wanted to do was tell him what was about to happen at work in eight days. She wanted to let all the words tumble out of her mouth so she could free herself of the burden of secrets. But she wouldn’t do that to her family. Her parents. Her aunts and uncles and siblings and cousins. They were counting on this launch to boost the brewery into a new playing field.

A lot was riding on the success of the new product launch. If she leaked the details to Alton, all hell would break loose.

She gave him a truthful statement, though. “Work is stressful.”

He groaned. “Tell me about it. I’m in over my head too. Why did we make the decision to come back to Silvertip again? Some days I struggle to remember.”

“Every day. Every hour lately.” She snuggled closer to him. How long could they enjoy this interlude before her parents wondered what the hell happened to her?

At least another half an hour. An hour if she came up with a plausible excuse.

She closed her eyes and inhaled his scent deeply, yearning for the day when this would be commonplace. Not the exception.