Charlie
The scent of coffee in the morning strangely doesn’t turn my stomach. Maybe it was all that ‘stress-relief’ last night. I mean, all that extra oxytocin released with the multiple orgasms probably helps everything, right?
It’s hard to remember now why I was so resistant to Lance. One minute he was this cocky playboy I let into my pants, and the next minute, he’s telling me he’s a wolf—a wolf!—and that I’m his mate. That he’s going to dedicate his life to making me happy.
It’s all too crazy, but those flapping wings of anxiety are mostly gone from my belly. I don’t know if I can really believe he’s the reformed player, but I can admit he’s making a concerted effort to prove that to me.
I can’t really ask for any more than that at the moment.
I climb out of bed. I’m naked, but the house seems very warm for November. I find Lance has built a fire in the kiva fireplace in my living room. He’s standing in my kitchen in his boxer briefs, cooking on the griddle.
“Hey, beautiful.” He sends a panty-dropping smile over his shoulder. Seriously. The man should not be so lethally good-looking. “I know you’ve been queasy, but I’ve been researching, and it sounds like not letting your belly get empty is the key to avoiding morning sickness. Counter-intuitive, but the internet swears by it.” Another lust-inducing grin.
“What are you cooking?”
“Your choice. I have pancakes; a spinach, tomato, and cheese omelet; or I could do French toast.”
“Omelet,” I say, my mouth watering. A hint of queasiness washes over me. I’ll test his research and see if the food makes it worse or better. It’s true I skipped breakfast yesterday when I didn’t feel hungry. Maybe that’s why I puked. “This is sweet of you,” I say, taking the plate he hands me.
“Get used to it. I literally won’t be able to rest if I don’t think you’re taken care of.”
I stare at him. “This is so… weird.”
“Also, if you don’t put some clothes on, you’re gonna get fucked again. Hard.” He flicks his brows at me and lowers his gaze to his briefs, where his cock has tented the soft cotton.
I hesitate, calculating whether I want to eat or have Lance’s hands on me again.
“Eat,” he insists. “I want you well-nourished before I ravish you.” He gives me one of those winks.
I run my fingers over his torso. He was right—the bullet wounds have faded significantly. The guy does heal fast.
He groans at my touch. “Eat,” he murmurs. “Please.”
I sit down and take a bite of the omelet. “Mmm. Delicious.” The food does seem like what my body needs.
I watch Lance go back to my kitchen, making cooking look like the most masculine task ever invented. I feel myself wanting to resist him still. Because it’s hard to believe this is really what he says it is. That he’s in it for life with me. Dedicated to making me happy.
And yet… when I think about Sadie with Deke, it’s the same. Deke doesn’t take his eyes off Sadie if she’s in his presence. Ever.
“Is Sadie Deke’s mate?” I ask, my mouth still full of omelet.
“Yes. Thank fuck. Deke was close to going feral before he found her.”
I pause in scooping up my next forkful. “What do you mean?”
Lance brings a plate piled high with food—I mean, heaped—and sits down beside me to eat. “Dominant wolves can run into trouble if they don’t find their mate in time. Their wolf goes mad and takes over. It’s probably where humans derived the distorted legends about werewolves from.” Lance shoves a giant forkful of eggs into his mouth.
I eye his plate. “Are you going to eat all of that?”
He flashes that Hollywood-worthy grin. “Yep. We eat a lot.”
“No wonder you feel like you have to worry about providing for your female. Biologically, I mean.”
His eyes are soft on me. “Yeah. Totally.”
“Don’t worry, I don’t eat that much.”
His laugh is rich and warm, and it sends shivers of pleasure down to my toes. “Angel, I wouldn’t worry if you ate like a horse.”
“Or a wolf.”
He winks. “Right.”
“So once you find your mate, you’re obsessed with taking care of her, and if you don’t, you go mad? Sounds like a win-win for the female species.” I reach over and take a forkful of his enormous stack of pancakes.
“Eh. We are a species that’s going extinct. Maybe that’s why Fate matched Deke and me with humans. Diversify the genes a bit.”
I shake my head. “I’m really not sure I believe in the Fate-matched thing.”
Lance shrugs his muscled shoulders. “Fate. Biology. Call it what you will. The instinct is real. Even if I was stupid enough not to recognize it the first time I saw you. In my defense, you were immersed in water, so I didn’t get the full notes of your scent.”
I smile, the memory of our first meeting even sweeter now that I know him better. I’d liked him then, in spite of my better sense. Now that I’m getting to know more about him, I like him even more.
“What you don’t know is that I leapt off the rock above you in wolf form.” He flashes a pirate grin. “I didn’t know you were in there, and had to shift mid-air.”
I clap my hand over my mouth, laughing. “Oh no, that’s hilarious. Well, you surprised the heck out of me, too.”
“A pleasant surprise, I hope.” His eyes grow soft.
“Very pleasant,” I murmur. “One of my best birthdays ever, I have to say.” My hand slips to my belly. Despite the fact that this pregnancy was unplanned, it doesn’t diminish what a gift it is. I’ve always wanted children. Always planned to have a family.
I glance at the clock and pop the last bite of omelet in my mouth. “I’d better get going. I can’t be late to work.”
“Of course not. I don’t mean to delay you.”
I stand and lean in to kiss his temple. He lets out a distinctly animal-like growl, his hands coming to my bare waist. I suppose my breasts swinging near his face are a bit of a temptation. “Want to help me shower?” My voice turns husky.
Lance shoots out of his chair, picking me up by the waist and swinging me into a honeymoon carry. “I promise I’ll get you to work on time,” he swears as he swiftly walks me to the bathroom.
I laugh, warmth sliding through me.
A voice in the back of my head tells me not to get used to this. Not to get attached. Things might not work out.
They probably can’t last.
But I’ve had enough emotional upheaval for one week, finding out I am pregnant and then finding out I’m having a wolf for a baby. I think I deserve to ignore the overprotective voice for the moment.
I can figure out how to re-plan the plan tomorrow.
Lance
Rafe gives me the side-eye when I come into the living room smelling like Charlie’s shower gel. I probably smell like Charlie, too, even though I took care of her needs under the spray of water.
Rafe is at the computer desk in the corner.
“How’s it going with the human?”
If I hadn’t just had the release of sex with Charlie, I’d probably tackle him. I stop still and pin him with a look. He’s four years older, and has been in charge of me since the day our parents gave their lives to save ours. I don’t push back often, but when it comes to my mate, my wolf won’t back down. “Don’t ever call her the human again,” I say with enough menace to make Rafe flick his brows. “Her name is Charlie. You will call her Charlie. I’m going to invite her over to meet all of you, and I expect you to be the fucking welcome-wagon.”
“So you’ve marked her?”
I growl. It’s like my wolf thinks Rafe’s moving in on her before I can, which, of course, is asinine. “Not yet.” I haven’t even told her about the marking thing. She had enough to digest with the ‘your baby isn’t human’ thing.
“Right.” Rafe rubs his face. “Exactly how do you see this all playing out, Lance? You think you’re mate material? With the life we lead? How will you even get this girl to take you seriously?”
A hot flush of shame pushes through me. I turn away so he won’t see that he’s getting to me. Rafe is poking me where it hurts, because no one takes me seriously. I’ve made sure of that by taking the part of the playboy. The goof-off. The womanizing asshole who never takes anything too seriously.
I suppose it was to counterbalance Rafe, who takes everything way too fucking seriously. Including my own mating.
“She’s a woman, not a girl.” I’m getting testier by the minute. “And I’m going to figure that out.”
“You’re sure she’s your mate?”
“She’s my mate, and she’s pregnant with my pup.”
Rafe’s jaw goes slack for a moment, then he surges to his feet, his work at the computer forgotten. “What?”
I square off against him, my shoulders set. “You heard me.”
“What happened to your protection?”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. He still thinks I’m fifteen and need him to counsel me about always wearing a goddamn rubber. “It came off. Because she’s my fucking mate, and my wolf wanted to mark her. Do you want all the details?” I ask sarcastically. “The position we were in? The number of times I made her come? Because you are seriously way too up in my business right now.”
“You starting a family is everyone’s business, Lance,” Rafe snaps, striding over to me. His eyes flash amber, showing his wolf. “We are soldiers for hire on the most dangerous operations in the world, and you think it’s a good time to knock up a hu—” He wisely stops before I punch him in the nose. “—your female?”
I rub a hand over my closely-cropped hair. “I already told you, it was an accident. There was no thinking about starting a family. My wolf wanted to claim her. It was all I could do not to sink my teeth in her neck and lose her forever.”
That thought brings a little more control back. I have a human female. I will require so much more control than ever to make sure I never hurt or harm her. When I mark her, I will have to be sure I’m in total awareness and control, because fucking up could mean I hit an artery and she bleeds out.
Rafe sobers, too, his eyes returning to their human color. “Lance, this is a problem,” he says quietly.
“Why?”
“How are you going to keep them safe?” It’s only the haunted quality to Rafe’s eyes that keeps me from taking offense.
Because we were orphaned by the most alpha of parents, who died to keep us from getting picked up by shifter slavers. Because Rafe has feared losing me the way we lost them since the moment he took charge of me at the tender age of fifteen. Because Rafe carries the weight and responsibility of keeping everyone in our small pack safe, and that will be infinitely harder if there are pups involved.
I force myself to swallow under the tight band around my throat. “I will keep them safe,” I tell him. “It’s not on you.”
“Of course it’s on me,” he explodes. “It may be only a matter of days before Sarcero cuts through the bullshit story the CIA built, and uncovers our identities. He’s gonna want revenge, which ordinarily, I wouldn’t worry too much about, but I just saw you take thirty rounds and nearly not make it out, and you’re a fucking shifter. How the hell are we going to keep Charlie safe from a man like that? How are we going to keep that unborn pup safe?”
Fear strikes me at the base of my spine. Real fear. The kind I felt when we were running for our lives through those woods, our father’s command still ringing in our ears.
Charlie and my pup are in danger right now. Just by my existence. If anyone ever linked them to me, they’d be used as leverage. Or maybe just butchered for revenge. And we probably have more enemies out there than Sarcero. There might be hundreds of people who want us dead after the things we’ve done for our government.
“Dammit.” Rafe paces away from me. “I got us out of active duty to give us some breathing room, but it may have been my worst decision yet.”
I stare at my brother in surprise. Fuck, I didn’t know he second-guessed his decisions so much. He hides his doubt and vulnerability under his gruff, take-charge sergeant persona, but I can see it crumbling.
I also see how much we’re in this thing together. He and I, same as it’s always been. “Is a pup really the worst thing to happen to our family?” I ask softly. I haven’t said the word family to him since we lost ours. I’ve never called us that. He and I haven’t been family; we’ve been survivors. Fighters. Super-warriors for our government. We were pack, but not family. But it’s clear he feels as responsible for my pup as I do, because he always carries the weight of responsibility for me.
When Rafe’s gaze swivels to me, I see it holds a world of pain. For a long moment, he doesn’t answer, then he turns away. “No. Maybe not.” His voice sounds a little more gruff than usual.
The image, suddenly, of Rafe as an uncle, not the gruff, hardened alpha he’s become, fills my mind. “Maybe this pup is exactly the thing we’ve been missing,” I suggest.
“I don’t know, Lance.” Rafe sounds exhausted. He walks out of the room, leaving his worry over my unborn child to fester in me.
Charlie
Lance picks me up in a Humvee after work. He wants me to come out to see the pack’s compound and meet them all properly. It feels crazy and too soon, but well, this baby was crazy and too soon, so I guess the timing’s right.
He showed up on my route again today in the usual place, but this time he trotted beside me like a giant guard dog. It took me a few minutes to shake the instinctive fear of such a large and ferocious-looking animal, but I very quickly found his presence to be a huge comfort. It also helped me believe everything I learned last night.
Lance really is a wolf. I’m having a wolf baby.
I should call my parents, but I’m not even remotely ready. It’s way too new and weird. I don’t even know how I feel about Lance. About our situation.
No, that’s not true. I don’t know what I think.
I do know how I feel.
I feel like I’m tumbling down a mountain, limbs flailing, with no plan, no parachute, but I have this guy beside me. This guy whose pirate smile makes me feel warm and gooey inside. This guy who makes me feel like maybe we could wing it, and still be all right. He’s relaxed enough for both of us.
Except then my mind starts tumbling again. Lance may be relaxed, but that doesn’t mean he should be. He’s in an extremely dangerous profession. One that will keep him away from us for weeks at a time. Yes, he’s essentially bullet-proof, but what if he’s captured? Becomes a prisoner of war?
Lance glances over at me. “What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?”
I shake my head. “Just so much to digest.”
“You looked worried.”
For a player, he’s awfully in tune with me. “Have you had a girlfriend before?” I blurt before I realize I’m not sure I want to hear the answer.
He gives me a sidelong glance, a slight smirk playing around his lips. “Never.”
His answer doesn’t surprise me, but my relief does. “Never ever? You’re just a love ‘em and leave ‘em type?”
“Am I in trouble here?”
He’s so damn sexy when he calls me on every single thing. I shake my head. “No. I was just wondering how you’re so good at reading me.”
The smirk returns. “You’re my mate. It’s my job, angel.” Then his brows go down. “So you are worried.”
I shrug. “I didn’t want to marry into the military.”
Confusion flits over his handsome face. “I’m out, angel.”
“Are you, though? Really? It seems to me like you’re still in the most dangerous aspect of the job.”
“And you don’t have to worry about me,” he says with total confidence.
“What about the long trips?”
Lance’s expression grows solemn. “I will never be away if you need me. I promise you that.”
I chew on the inside of my cheek.
He reaches over and takes my hand. “Hey,” he says softly. “Don’t write me off before we’ve even had a go, okay? Give me a chance to show you I can be what you need me to be.”
“And what is that?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
I laugh in spite of myself. It’s really impossible to keep Lance shut out. He’s too persistent. Too perfect.
“Is there anything else I should know?”
Lance is silent a moment too long.
“What is it?” My pulse has already quickened.
Lance rubs the back of his neck. “Ah, yeah. There is something. I didn’t want to freak you out last night.”
“Already freaked,” I say, putting my hands in the air.
He winces. “Okay, here it is. When a wolf mates his female, he marks her. With his teeth.”
“Excuse me?”
Lance trails his index finger on a line from my neck to my shoulder. “Usually here. On a shifter, it’s nothing. It would heal right up. On a human…”
“We’re not doing that,” I say immediately.
Lance goes quiet.
After a moment, I can’t take the silence. “Lance?”
“If I don’t mark you, my wolf could get frantic.” He winces some more. “It’s a biological urge, you know. To make sure no other male tries to move in on you.”
I let out a pfft. “That’s ridiculous.”
“I know,” he groans. “But it’s real. Every minute I’m with you without claiming you, my wolf grows more restless. There’s a possibility I could lose control, which would be bad.” He looks across the cab at me. “Really bad.”
I shift in my seat. “Okay, you’re freaking me out.”
“Yeah. That’s why I didn’t tell you last night. I figured the whole I’m a wolf thing was enough for one big reveal.”
Once more, he wrenches a smile from me. “Okay, wait a minute. So how does biting me tell other males I’m yours, anyway? Like, they recognize your teeth marks or something?”
Lance chuckles. “My scent. The bite would embed my scent in you.”
I shiver. “I don’t like it.”
“Yeah.” He looks so miserable, I reach out to touch his leg.
“Just give me a little more time to assimilate all this, okay?”
“Of course.” He sounds relieved.
I want to crawl in his lap and kiss his neck. Never in twenty million years would I have believed a guy like Lance would be hanging on my every word, my every look. Needing something from me—no, needing everything from me.
It’s a strange, exotic power that I still can’t believe I have, and that I innately know is somehow precious and sacred.
I don’t understand the bond Lance feels with me, but I do believe it’s real. I believe in him.
Lance parks in front of what looks like a million-dollar ski lodge. Nestled behind a river and up against the pine trees, it’s the only building for miles around, which is probably why the pack picked it.
“This is idyllic. Do you own the place?” I ask.
“Yep.” Wow. Okay, they must have quite a bit of money. I guess private sector security pays much better than straight military work.
“Do you guys ski?”
Lance nods. “Sure.” He opens his door and gets out, then walks around to take my hand as I climb out of my side.
“Cross country or downhill?”
A shrug. “Both.” He says it like it’s nothing. There’s probably no sport these guys don’t excel at. They are superhuman, after all. But it tells me they didn’t buy the place for its proximity to the ski mountain. Or rather, they did— but not to ski. Probably to run and hunt.
“Oh my God, do you hunt?”
Lance stops and looks at me warily. “Like, with guns? No.”
A semi-hysterical laugh bubbles out of my throat. “With your teeth?”
A wicked smile stretches his sensual lips. He shrugs. “It’s in our nature.” He wraps an arm behind my neck and tips my face up to his, lowering his lips. “Does it bother you?” The words aren’t special, but his voice is a velvety caress that licks me right between the legs.
“I-I guess not.”
He brushes his lips over mine, then nips at my lower lip. “Come in.” He leads me up the wooden stairs.
I hesitate at the door. “Are they going to like me?”
“Rafe is pissed at me for doing this all wrong, but he would kill or die for you.”
I stare at him with wide eyes. “Your brother?”
He nods. “Our alpha. So that means they all would. I promise.” He pushes the door open, and ushers me in.
Lance
I told the pack I was bringing Charlie over tonight, and it looks like they went to the effort of looking presentable. Rafe smells freshly showered. Channing has the grill going out on the deck outside the kitchen, flipping burgers.
Sadie’s here with Deke, which instantly puts Charlie at ease. The two women hug and start to chatter away as Sadie unwraps a giant salad she brought. It’s a gourmet one—the kind with spinach and pears and candied pecans. She pulls out a container of gorgonzola cheese and shakes it over the top while she asks Charlie a dozen questions about how she’s feeling.
Deke nudges me with his elbow. “I don’t know if I’m officially supposed to know yet, but congratulations,” he says in a low voice.
A simultaneous ripple of pleasure and ferocious protectiveness runs through me. I almost can’t speak for a moment. “Yeah, thanks.”
Channing steps inside, holding a plate heaped with two dozen burgers. “Congratulations for what?” he demands, looking from me to Charlie. He lifts his nose in the air and sniffs, then looks puzzled. “You didn’t clai—”
“Would you shut up?” I snap. For fuck’s sake. I only just told Charlie about the claiming bite two minutes ago. What if I hadn’t even mentioned it yet?
“Testy.” Channing shakes his head, then cocks his brows at Charlie. “He’s been like that ever since you two—”
“Please don’t finish that thought,” I interrupt, pinching the bridge of my nose.
Charlie seems amused, though. “Oh really? He’s been Mr. Charming with me.”
“Oh, he’s always Mr. Charming,” Rafe interjects, popping the lid off a Wolf Ridge IPA and offering it to our guest. “That’s what he does best.”
I snatch the beer out of his hand. “She doesn’t want beer. I mean—” I turn apologetically to Charlie and backpedal— “A half a beer wouldn’t hurt.” She may like me bossy in bed, but I somehow doubt she’s the kind of woman who takes kindly to being told what to do. “It’s up to you, of course.”
Charlie waves it off. “Nope. It’s bad enough I was on the pill for a couple weeks before I realized I was pregnant.”
“Pregnant!” Channing explodes, finally catching up. “For Fate’s sake, why am I always the last to hear the news? And you haven’t marked her y—”
“Shut up, Channing.” This time Deke joins me to make it a chorus. I guess the guy has some sympathy for me, being the only mated wolf here.
“I’ll make us mocktails,” Sadie chirps, moving to the refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of seltzer water and lemonade.
Rafe’s lips tighten, like he’s still stressed by the increased responsibilities he thinks he needs to take on with this pup.
“Yeah, I don’t know about this whole marking thing. Sadie’s going to have to give me the scoop. Later. Privately.” Charlie shoots a warning glance Channing’s way. I love that my female is no shrinking violet.
Still, I’m starting to think bringing her here tonight was too soon. The pack is way too much for someone who didn’t know shifters existed two days ago.
“I’m sorry.” I touch her lower back, standing behind her. “The pack tends to think one wolf’s business is every wolf’s.”
“Well, it sort of is,” Rafe reminds me. “Your actions affect all of us.”
Fuck.
Charlie’s eyes narrow at Rafe. “That sounded a little judgmental.”
Rafe’s beer stops halfway to his lips and for a brief moment, I think there’s going to be a fight. Because there’s no way I wouldn’t defend my female if Rafe didn’t answer nicely, even if he is our alpha.
But Rafe’s not a dick. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I didn’t mean it to be. I know the pregnancy was an accident, and I’m thrilled for you both. For all of us.” He lifts his beer, but the tightness around his eyes and mouth bely the gesture and the words.
Sadie lifts her glass of—something beautiful and girly—a fizzy lemonade with strawberry and mint garnish—and clinks it to Charlie’s identical one. “I’m so freaking excited.”
Deke wraps his arms around his sweet kindergarten teacher from behind, and kisses the top of her head. “She is. She’s been talking non-stop about being a godmother. I hope you’re planning on asking her.”
Charlie’s hand goes to her abdomen and she gives a weak laugh. “I haven’t thought that far ahead, but of course Sadie would be my number one pick.” She darts a glance my way. “Is that okay?” She shrugs with a comically exaggerated helpless look on her face.
“We don’t do godparents, so it’s all you on that call. The way wolves work, the entire pack will consider themselves godparents. That’s all Rafe meant earlier.” I shoot my brother a look to let him know that he’s toast if he offends my female again.
“I just wish Lance had taken this all a little more seriously, that’s all,” Rafe mutters. “A mate and pups is a huge responsibility.”
Charlie frowns. “Are you saying Lance isn’t serious, or up to the responsibility?”
I barely suppress the growl in my throat—only for Charlie’s sake. I don’t want her to think it’s directed at her. But Fates, I would like to sink my teeth into Rafe’s hide right now.
“I didn’t say that,” Rafe backtracks. “Lance performs well with any task. I have no doubt he’ll make a great father and mate. I just didn’t see this coming.”
“None of us did,” I growl, then scrub a hand across my face.
Charlie turns her frown on me and my stomach drops, but then she steps into my side, resting one hand on my chest and wrapping an arm behind my back. “Seriously. If you want to be part of this pregnancy, I need you all to be one hundred percent positive. Otherwise, we’re doing this with my posse.”
We’re doing this.
It’s only the fact that she said ‘we’ and seemed to claim me before she spoke that keeps me from tearing down the walls.
“You heard her.” I put enough growl in my voice to warn all my pack brothers.
All three of them hold up their hands in surrender. No smart wolf would get between a wolf and his female.
“Charlie, we are at your disposal.” Channing bows like an idiot. “We promise to be one hundred percent positive, all the way.”
“Yep,” Deke concurs.
“Apologies,” Rafe says. “We were supposed to make you feel more comfortable with the pack tonight, and I think I fucked that up.”
A huge layer of tension in my shoulders eases, especially when Charlie says, “It’s fine. Just setting boundaries.”
“She’s very good at boundaries,” Sadie says. “Now, let’s eat, the burgers are getting cold.”
“Yes, I’d better.” Charlie looks up at me like she remembers my advice not to get hungry, and it does something wonky to my chest. I rush to pull out a chair for her, and grab a plate from the stack in the middle of the giant natural-edge maple table—my only contribution to our place, and the one piece of furniture I truly love.
Charlie runs her fingers over the gleaming surface, appreciatively. “This is beautiful,” she murmurs.
It means everything to me that she appreciates it. I immediately want to dismantle it and bring it to her house for her to enjoy. Or will she move in here? Fuck, there’s so much to figure out before the pup comes.
“Thanks. I bought it from a woodworker I befriended in Arroyo Seco. He does incredible work.”
“He really does. I love it.”
I heap her plate with food first, offering everything there is like she’s in danger of starving to death any second. Only when she tucks into her food can I think about filling my own plate.
Lance
After dinner, I ask Charlie to stay, and bring her to my bedroom on the upper floor. I have a loft with an A-frame room. The west wall is floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out into the snowy forest. The sun set hours ago, but the moon has risen to bathe the forest in her pale light.
“Lance, this is incredible,” Charlie breathes. “The view!”
“Yeah, I love it,” I admit. The floors are polished oak and my furniture is simple, clean-lined wood. A large geometric-patterned rug in turquoise and brick covers the floor.
“What do you do in the morning, though? Doesn’t the sun wake you up?”
I grin. “Yeah. I don’t mind. I’m an early riser. I’ll keep your head covered with a sheet in the morning.”
Charlie smiles and rests both her hands on my chest. “What’s the deal with your brother? Is he upset about the pregnancy?”
I cover her hands with mine. “No,” I say, but the interaction doesn’t sit well in my mind, either. I don’t want Charlie to think any of it is about her, or the pup. I don’t want her to dislike Rafe or feel unwelcome in our pack. I also don’t like letting things get heavy. But it seems necessary.
“I should tell you something,” I say.
She studies my face. “What is it?”
“Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever told this story before. I think Channing and Deke know most of it, but it’s not because I’ve talked.”
Charlie’s brows draw together in concern. “What is it?”
I turn to look out the giant window into the dark outline of trees, lit by moonlight. “Rafe and I were orphaned when I was eleven. Our parents were—” I stop, my stomach lurching at the memories crowding in. “Our parents died, and Rafe sort of took on the role of father to me. He was just fifteen.”
“Lance.” Charlie’s voice is soft, pulling me back from the darkness. “I’m so sorry.”
I turn to look her full in the face, drinking in her visage. Her loveliness, her glow, her scent all soothe me. I shake my head. “It was a long time ago. But Rafe still thinks he’s responsible for everything when it comes to me. When we were young, I would try and try to prove to him I could stand on my own two feet, that I could fight my own battles and handle myself without him looking out for me, but it never took. Eventually, I gave up and became the one with zero fucks. I mean, we can’t both be tightly wound all the time. I figured one of us had better go out and live.”
Charlie’s eyes go round.
Fuck. I shouldn’t have told her that part. She will think that I’m not responsible. Not worthy of being a good father to our child. I pretty much just told her I’m the pack playboy. Which has been true.
“So Rafe’s Mr. Serious, and you’re Mr. Laid back?” Her voice is soft with understanding. I don’t hear any judgement in it.
I shrug. “Yeah, I guess so. So he’s busy out there thinking he needs to worry about our pup now, like I’m not a grown wolf capable of protecting my own young.” I wave a hand in the direction of Rafe’s bedroom.
“Yeah, I didn’t like his implication,” Charlie says.
“Fuck, I’m so sorry he offended you. I will make damn sure he makes it up to you.”
Charlie shakes her head. “I wasn’t offended. I mean, I was just offended for you. I felt like he was selling you short.”
For a moment, I can’t hear anything over the thundering in my heart. Since the day our parents died, Rafe has sown the belief that I can’t take care of my own shit. No one has ever disputed that supposed fact.
“I don’t think it’s true that you give zero fucks. I think you’ve just perfected the art of being laid back. Something I’m hoping will rub off on me a little more.” She flashes me a sheepish smile.
“Yeah?” I take both her hands in mine, facing her like we’re standing at the altar.
“Definitely. You already know I tend to be a worrier. You might be the balance I need.”
I can’t wait another second. I drop her hands so I can catch her behind the head and draw her mouth to mine. I claim her with a hungry kiss. “Angel, I’m happy to be your stress relief. Any time, anywhere.”
Her eyes crinkle as she smiles up at me. “Bring it,” she murmurs, and it’s on.
I hook my forearm under her ass and carry her to my bed, kissing the hell out of her mouth as I go. “You’re about to get yourself fucked long and hard,” I warn her.
Her laugh is husky. “Just so long as you don’t bite.” She holds a finger up between us. I pretend to snap my teeth at it and she shrieks a little, her laugh turning to a giggle.
I flip her over to her belly and deliver a slap to her sexy ass.
“Ooh.” She looks over her shoulder. “Yes, please.”
I chuckle, kicking off my boots and stripping out of my shirt. “I know you like to plan, angel, so here’s how it’s going to go.” I deliver another slap before I roll her back over to get her jeans open. “I’m going to use my tongue to get you off at the same time as I spank that ass red.” I tug her jeans and panties down at the same time as she toes off her shoes. “Then I’m going to stuff you full of this wolf-cock until you’re screaming for release.” I help her out of her shirt and bra. “And then I’m going to wrap you up in my arms and make sure nothing disturbs your sweet slumber, not even the morning sun.” As soon as I have her naked, I flip her back over to her belly, and lift her hips until she’s on her knees. “Got it?”
“Sounds like a good plan to me.”
“Spread those knees wider.”
She gives a sexy moan as she lets her knees slide open on the bed, lifting and spreading her ass toward me. I grip her cheeks to lift and separate them, opening her up for my tongue. I let the first slap on her bare skin fall at the same moment that my tongue slides between her folds.
She cries out, her legs jerking a little before she arches to give me more.
“That’s right, my little planner. Let me lick what’s mine.”
There’s a little uhn of protest, like she wants to dispute the fact that she’s mine now, so I give her ass three spanks to prove it. Her breath shudders in, shaky and desperate. I lap at her juices, which are flowing freely now, pressing my tongue between her folds, penetrating her with it. Every few seconds, I slap her ass, keeping her on edge and gasping.
I find her clit—it’s tough from this angle, but I’m dedicated—and roll my tongue around it, then deliver another spank, this time on her other cheek. I suck her labia into my mouth, nip it. I pull back and spank her pussy a few times, then pepper her ass with short, swift spanks.
“Lance,” she whimpers, sounding needy.
“That’s right, angel. I want you saying my name while I treat you right.” I press the pad of my thumb over her anus as I return my mouth to her core.
“Oh my God, Lance.”
Another slap.
“Please,” she whimpers. “It’s so good. Oh my God, please.”
“You need to come, angel?”
“Yes!”
“Come on my tongue, Charlie, and then I’ll give you my cock.” I massage her anus and penetrate her with my tongue.
She reaches back with her fingers to rub her clit more firmly. I slap her ass once. Twice. On the third time, she comes, her sweet pussy clenching and shivering around my tongue as she pushes her hips back to get more of it.
“That’s it, angel.” I sink two fingers into her channel to give her something more substantial to clench around.
“Oh… oh! Lance.”
“Yep. Only Lance,” I tell her, gently tackling her to her side and pushing her onto her back.
Charlie
Lance hovers over me, staring down with glowing eyes—the palest blue.
“Your wolf is showing,” I whisper.
He blinks, touching the tip of his tongue to one of his canine teeth, which appears longer than usual. “I won’t mark you,” he promises.
I wasn’t even thinking about what he’d told me on the way over here. That his wolf wants to bite me to embed his scent forever in me. But the way he’s talking, I’m getting the possessive vibe all over the place.
And I have to say… I don’t hate it.
I mean, it’s the last thing I’d have expected from a player like Lance. The whole reason I rejected him was because I figured he was a fly-by-night kind of guy. But now everything’s changed. He says he’s in it for life. He’s calling my pussy his.
It hits the buttons for me. Buttons I didn’t even know I had. I wanted safe, stable, and secure in a man.
I’m still not sure he’s that, but he certainly is all in with me. I can’t really demand more than that. He can’t change who or what he is, what he does for a living, but he’s willing to give me one hundred percent.
And he’s five hundred times more exciting than my fantasy accountant.
And the sex.
Dear Lord.
He rubs the head of his cock over my entrance, making me arch and moan for more, even though I just came.
“Yes,” I encourage.
“Say my name again.” His voice is low and growly. He’s withholding his cock, teasing me now.
“Lance,” I answer immediately.
“Only Lance,” he corrects.
“Only Lance,” I agree.
His smile is feral. He shoves in with a practiced snap of his hips, and the sensation of being filled by him makes my eyes roll back in my head.
“Oh…” I moan in pleasure as he eases back, then punches in again.
“Uh-huh. You want it deep?”
“Yes,” I agree. Not that I’d complain if he gave it any other way. I mean, the guy pretty much has a magic dick. Everything he does with it makes me scream.
I watch him in the moonlit room, his six-pack abs flexing as he undulates his hips, his pecs standing out in stark relief.
He braces my shoulder with one hand, tracing his thumb lightly across my throat—a gentle movement that’s totally in contrast to his deep, firm thrusts. There’s a meditative quality to his movements, almost like tantra—not that I know that much about it. But this is how I imagine tantric sex would be.
Maybe he’s concentrating to keep himself from marking me. The thought should sober me, but it doesn’t. It’s hard to be afraid of anything when I’m with Lance. I meant what I told him before sex—he does balance me out. He eases my anxiety. Makes me feel like anything is possible. Like my world isn’t quite so small as I try to make it. That I can let go of control, and he’ll make sure nothing terrible happens.
I surrender to the delicious sweetness of him moving inside me and roll my hips to match his thrusts, receiving him.
He cups my breast, brushing his thumb over my tightened nipple, pinching and squeezing it.
The relaxation of my first orgasm floats away, replaced by the winding coil of need. I start to whimper and moan. I grip Lance’s arms, my nails sinking into his skin.
He lets loose that wicked smile again. “You want more, Charlie?”
“Yes,” I beg.
He picks up his pace, shortening his thrusts to make them quick and hard. The sound of flesh slapping flesh fills the room.
“Lance…”
“Uh-huh. Say my name, Charlie. Who makes you scream?”
“You do. Oh God, please, Lance.”
His eyes glow in the darkness and he stares down at me steadily, keeping up the fast pace, but not losing control himself. He seems to be waiting for me. It’s all for me.
“Are you going to—” I pant.
His smile widens. “It’s a given with you, angel. I’m just trying to hold back.”
“Don’t,” I murmur.
“Fuck.” Lance seems to lose control, then, slamming in with rough, jerky strokes until he thrusts deep, and stays.
I come the moment he does, my pussy milking his cum. Even though we’ve already conceived a child, I imagine this to be the moment we make the baby, picturing the perfection of our coupling—how my body receives his essence, welcomes it. Pulls it deeper inside me to fertilize my egg.
It’s a beautiful act, creation.
What we made together is beautiful, whether we intended it at the time or not.
True to his word, Lance lowers himself onto me, wraps me in his arms, and rolls us to the side so I’m cradled against him.
The words I love you swim into my head. It’s too soon to say them, but they’re there, nonetheless. What I feel in this moment for Lance is definitely love.
I kiss his throat, his chest. He makes an almost wounded sound, and strokes my hair.
I pull back. “Are you okay? Was it hard not to mark me?”
His smile is slightly pained. “It’s hard.” His cock stirs against my belly, and he winks. “I’m always hard for you, though.”
“Ha ha.” I touch his face. “But really—does it hurt?”
He shakes his head. “No, angel. I’m just afraid I’ll hurt you. I don’t want to lose control and mark you without your consent. It’s more of a frenzy, not a pain.”
I nod and snuggle closer to him. As weird as all this is, I’m loving being a part of it. Learning about his kind. His pack. His wounds.
“How about you?” He brushes some hair back from my face. “You relaxed? Need anything?”
“I’m good. Definitely relaxed. You help me with that. I feel like I can let go of control a little bit when I’m with you. And have fun.”
“Mmm. My little planner. We do have fun.” He kisses my head. “Where did that need to plan and prepare come from?”
It’s funny, my friends have ribbed and teased me about it for years, but no one’s really asked why I’m a control freak. It’s just been accepted that this is who I am.
I draw in a breath. “My parents both enlisted in the Air Force after 9/11. My childhood wasn’t just moving around a lot, having my mom or dad gone for months and months. Sometimes both of them were deployed, and we stayed with my gran. Plus, I was always scared Mom or Dad wouldn’t come home—because that happened to other kids I knew on base. I dreamed of my mom and dad coming home and telling us they were going to get new jobs. I just wanted them to be safe. And I wanted to live in a small town with a strong community. That’s why I chose Taos. I could see myself marrying, raising kids here.”
“And the man you envisioned?”
Is it just me, or does Lance’s voice sound a little strangled? I swallow. “Well, honestly? I was picturing someone very stable. A dentist or an accountant.” Lance wrinkles his nose at that, and I laugh. “I know, sounds boring. But mostly I was thinking someone who was grounded, who would love being a dad. Someone who would coach Little League and be a cub scout leader and all that stupid stuff.”
It’s funny how that all seems irrelevant now.
“I will coach the hell out of Little League,” Lance says in the most solemnly-swearing voice.
I laugh, warmth swimming in my chest. “I bet you will.”
And somehow, the thought of witnessing Lance learning to coach Little League sounds far more exciting than the picture I had in my head. The one with the boring accountant who already thought he knew everything there was to know about Little League.
I nuzzle his chest and sigh, contentment settling over me like a blanket. I can’t remember when I’ve ever felt this at peace, but I do now. In Lance’s arms, I feel safe and protected. Like everything—even an unexpected pregnancy and being mated to a werewolf—will be not only easy, but also fun.