My fingers started with the top button, and I flicked it open. Then the next one. And the next. Jaxson’s stare followed the descent of my fingers, intense and focused. His breathing increased.
“I was thinking we should have dessert now,” I said.
“I made a chocolate mousse with freshly sliced strawberries,” he murmured.
“Sounds wonderful,” I said. “Will it keep?”
I shrugged out of the dress, letting it fall to the floor in a woosh of material. I bit my lip, wondering how long I was going to stand there naked as the day I was born. Trepidation filled me for an instant. Had I misjudged? Was all this just flirting between us?
I didn’t have to wonder for long. Jaxson crossed the floor on his long legs in two strides and pinned me to the wall. His mouth crushed mine, and I moaned at the intensity of our kiss.
“You sure about this?” he asked gruffly.
“No, but let’s do it, anyway.”
“If I take you, I won’t want to give you back.”
“We’ll see about that,” I moaned as his tongue found my ear.
Heat pooled between my legs, and I moaned when he nipped my earlobe between his teeth. A growl tore from his throat as he lifted me in his arms and jogged up the stairs to my bedroom. The man moved with a ferocious speed that had me wet and willing, as if I wasn’t already that.
Jaxson dropped me on the bed, and I was fully aware I jiggled. But the werewolf didn’t seem to mind. In fact, if anything, his growl got louder.
“You are so beautiful, Evie darlin’,” he growled, kissing me like his life depended on it.
Mine sure fucking did. I knew I was pretty, even if curvier than the average witch, but I preened under his praise. Stretching and licking at his lips. He pushed away, and I moaned at the loss. Sitting up when I saw he was undressing.
“You see anything you like?” he asked, flashing me a wicked grin as he disrobed.
I, however, was beyond speech. When I say the man had muscles on his muscles, I mean it, with sexy dark brown swirls of hair on his massive chest.
“Ohmygawd! You have the V!” I said excitedly.
“What?” Jaxson’s head snapped up, his jeans open and down on his hips.
“That right there! The sex lines,” I said, grinning madly.
I sat up, fingers reaching for the masculine musculature of his body. There was nothing sexier to me than a man rocking a solid eight pack that tapered off into a sexy V, leading straight to his manhood.
Shallow of me? Maybe. But if guys liked big knockers, I could like a V cut. In fact, I was a total slut for his, and I dipped my head and pressed my lips and tongue to that sexy part of him.
“Fuck baby, you keep kissing me there and this is going to end a whole lot quicker,” he growled.
There were things in life I couldn’t control. The fact I was born, lived, and would probably die in Castor’s Corner. That I was mayor of the tiny Jersey shore town full of supes. That my best friends were witches and my admin assistant had better taste in clothes than I did. And that newcomers were not welcome.
But here and now, I could control this. My body was on fire for the smexy wolf with the silver eyes and I wanted him. Badly.
“Show me more,” I demanded, suddenly ravenous for him.
Jaxson growled, the wolf seemed to like it when I got bossy. I could do that. No problem. He took my mouth with his, kissing me till I was panting and shaking with need.
“Cheater,” I said, grinning despite myself.
He’d pulled off his pants while he was kissing me senseless. Robbing me of the opportunity to watch him undress. Oh well. Maybe he’d do it again later. If I asked nicely. Jaxson grinned and laid down on top of me. His hard body was the perfect foil to my soft one. Everything about him tempted me.
The rumbling in his chest was a major turn on, as was the feel of his massive frame pressing down on me. He was so hot. Like literally. Was he running a fever? I had to wonder.
“No fever, darlin’. I’m just hot for you,” he said, nipping my lip.
Wowza.
I appreciated a good kisser. And Jaxson was that. His lips were tender and generous, his tongue teasing me to madness. He tasted so good. The lemon basil flavors of him intensified in our passion and I was desperate for more. Starving for him, truth be told. He seemed to know everywhere I wanted his touch, each nook and cranny that craved his attentions, and he gave them. Boy, did he give them.
Jaxson’s lust was as insatiable as my own. I recognized the hunger in my wolf’s eyes as if it were my own.
Hold on. Back up. Eeek!
Did I say my wolf?
The idea that he was mine was as thrilling as it was impossible. Jaxson’s tongue flicked over my nipples, he squeezed and kneaded the mounds of my breasts, teasing me until I was desperate for more. More of everything. More of his mouth, his body, the feel of his callused hands on my skin. That crazy good lemon basil scent that I wanted to wear like perfume.
I wanted him to be mine. But I couldn’t. I shouldn’t. Wanting things did not mean getting them. I should know that. And it was foolish to trick myself. Especially in the heat of the moment. I was not like other witches. Free to take a mate and devote myself to him and our future kids. My job was too demanding.
Wasn’t that why Dick had left? And Mike before him? Jaxson’s fingers spread my thighs, exploring the soft flesh waiting between them, deftly and accurately finding that special, secret place that made me cross-eyed with need. No man had ever touched me with such focus, such supreme tenderness. Fuck. It felt so good.
No, sadly, Jaxson was not mine, but I wanted him to be. My wolf. I admitted, if only to myself.
“Yours, darlin’, only yours,” he growled, rearing up and pressing into me with one hard thrust.
My plush body welcomed his hardness, and I moaned out loud with joy at our coming together. Jaxson’s own responding groan was throaty and deep, ending in a chuckle that I almost punched him for until I saw it was a reflection of his own true happiness.
“You feel so good,” he said, kissing my mouth with such ardor it left me aching for more.
“Evie, my Evie,” he said, repeating my name as he began to move in earnest.
Holy fuck. The man had moves. Swivel, swirl, plunge, withdraw. His too handsome face widened in a sexy grin and then he moved faster, harder, deeper, hitting every spot so good he made my legs shake.
“Ohh,” I moaned, unable to speak or think clearly.
I was like one big nerve ending, wanting more of what he was making me feel. Our breathing grew rough, uneven, but our bodies didn’t seem to care. We moved like an orchestra elbow deep in a symphony. Born of passion, mutual need, and something else I was not ready to put a name to.
I scratched at his shoulders as the tightness in my core grew. The flat of my feet found the mattress as I met his every thrust with a flex of my own. Searching, racing, careening towards the edge of that beautiful crest of pleasure, until finally it peeked.
I wasn’t sure which was louder. My scream or his roar. Both filled the air, and I tried not to worry about the aqua colored sparks of magic that flew from my fingertips, zapping my lover on his delectable bottom.
“Ouch,” he mumbled, crushing me beneath his weight, since neither of us was ready for him to move.
The room glowed with the aftermath of our coming together, or maybe it was my magic or some Shifter powers that bathed us in soft, warm light. Whatever it was, I welcomed it.
Finally, an eon, or maybe minutes later, he rolled to the side, pulling me with him. I was still trying to catch my breath, certain I was ruined for all other men.
“There won’t be other men, darlin’, otherwise as mayor, you will have one hell of a killin’ spree to clean up after,” he grunted, breathing only slightly easier than myself.
“What are you saying?” I asked when I could finally speak.
“I was right the first time. Evelyn Castor, you are my mate.”
Well, fuck me sideways.
“Whatever you want, darlin’,” he growled.
And then he did…. until my toes curled and I’d left scratch marks all over his back. But I didn’t let him give me the claiming bite. Not yet.
Afterward, he went to the kitchen and got a huge bowl of chocolate mousse and strawberries and fed me in bed. When he left in the early hours of the morning, I damn near begged him to stay. Stopping myself was one of the hardest things I had ever done. But I managed it.
Barely.
It dawned on me then that my destiny was not exactly my own. I never asked to be mayor. Never asked to be the protector of this town. Was it bad of me, selfish, to want to hold on to the first bit of real happiness I’d had in a long time?
Shit.
I needed to talk to Donny and Bella. Maybe Stanley too. I could ask the Goddess, but we weren’t on a first name basis. I wasn’t the president or anything. Just Evie Castor of Castor’s Corner. Maybe with a bit more sleep, I could find the answers I was looking for.
Good plan.