Rutledge Werewolves 1: Scent of Passion (11 page)

Snuggling down next to her, the soft moss acting as a thin blanket against the hard dirt beneath them, Artemais cupped Sophie to him. Inhaling her scent, he felt himself stir once more.

Gently pulling himself out from her, he rested his head down in her soft, blonde curls. Mixed with the myriad scents in the wild woods out here, Sophie’s scent blended in perfectly with the scents of the wild.

She belongs here
, he thought,
she fits here perfectly, just as I do, just as my brothers do, just as the Pack does
.

Hugging her tightly to him, cradling her to him, he stopped that dangerous train of thought before he went too far. It would be Sophie’s choice. He would use everything he could to keep her here with him, but ultimately it needed to be her choice to stay here with him, to become his family.

You can’t hold something that refused to be kept, he knew. He needed to convince Sophie that she
wanted
to be here, to be kept by him.

When Sophie unexpectedly snuggled deeper into his embrace, nuzzling his chest and shoulder, he felt his cock harden immediately. He had always been a randy man, but something about Sophie made him worse than ever. Insatiable was not a boast.

As Sophie nuzzled him, her scent covered him, seemed to seep into his very pores and settle there for good. Slowly, Artemais started stroking her once more, with no intention but to soothe her. Gently he kneaded her arms, her back, relaxing her muscles and simply enjoying his touch upon her skin. She shivered and stretched up to kiss him.

Slowly exploring her mouth, in no hurry, he felt a little surprised when she slid her tongue into his mouth, to tease and caress his tongue.

She had never taken the initiative with him, and her small gesture had him instantly hard all over again. Artemais fought to restrain his wild urges. If his Sophie wanted to seduce him, he sure as hell wouldn’t ruin it for her—no matter how hot and wild it drove him.

Gently at first, and then with growing urgency, he tangled his tongue with hers.
Maybe just a slight push
, he thought,
just to let her know how much I want her
. When Sophie rolled him over onto his back and straddled his waist he bit back a moan, knowing she wanted to seduce him and lead the pace this time around. He hoped it wouldn’t kill him.

Sophie pulled her mouth away from his, and he looked up at her. The late afternoon sunshine speckled through the trees, casting shadows and forming a golden halo around her curls. Firming his decision to let her set the pace, Artemais clenched his fists down by his side and breathed deeply. Catching her eye, he raised an eyebrow mockingly.

“You set the pace this time love, I indulged myself last time.”

* * * * *

Sophie grinned. He’d
indulged
himself with her, had he? Well, he might make her shiver and melt with that wicked tongue of his, he might make her want to moan and writhe with his touch, but she felt confidant she could still hold her own against him.

His tenderness and obvious care for her made her feel invincible. She could leap tall buildings, dodge bullets—she felt certain she could seduce this man and make him insensate with lust and longing. Plus it would be incredible fun to do.

Grinning to herself at her wickedly wanton thoughts, she wriggled, positioned herself so her mound rested just below his balls. It was the perfect position for her to lean over him, cover the length of his torso with her own body and nibble at his nipples.

Slowly, taking her own sweet time, she wetly kissed the erect little nubs and ran her fingers through the light, springy hair that covered his chest. Whisper-soft, she raked her nails through the hair, enough to cause a sensation, but not enough to mark his skin or hurt.

Swirling her fingers, creating patterns at random, she enticed him, teased him while giving him some pleasure, just knowing it was not nearly enough. Slowly at first, and then more and more rapidly as she nibbled and teased his nipples, she listened as Artemais’ breathing began to come in pants. She wiggled her bottom slightly, pretending to get a better position, and enjoyed feeling the rock hardness of him. His cock strained, his balls were raised and heavy—just how she liked her man.

Gently meandering, she let her hands circle lower and lower. Teasingly, she skimmed his hipbone, only to rise back to his abs. When both her hands ran over his lower belly, giving only the merest caress to the head of his cock as they passed over its tip, she finally elicited the groan she sought from Artemais.

“Something wrong, Artemais?”

Not even expecting him to answer, Sophie smiled at the stoic expression on his face. When faced with such manly stubbornness, what else was a girl to do but try to wring the biggest response possible from her adorable lover?

Pulling out the big guns, Sophie slid down his body a few more inches. Wetly, she kissed down the centerline of his chest. Slowly, with nibbles here and there, still caressing and lightly scoring his chest, Sophie meandered her way down his chest, heading towards the hugely straining cock.

As she halted, the base of her chin just a hairbreadth away from the tip of his cock, Sophie felt a thrill of success as Artemais canted his hips unconsciously, begging silently for her to take him.

Cupping his balls, Sophie looked up the length of his body. Face flushed, eyes wild, Artemais watched her, fists clenched at his side. He was biting his lip, holding himself back in every way, waiting for her pleasure. Something about having this strong, large man at her mercy made her smile hugely, eyes brightening with joy.

“Sophie,” he growled, part plea, part warning.

She tried to place an innocent expression on her face, but she suspected the large grin threatening to split her mouth ruined the effect.

She turned her head back and took him into her mouth, as deeply as she could comfortably go without choking. They both groaned—at the pleasure, at the heat. Sophie sucked him deep into her mouth, swiping her tongue over his head and swallowing the tiny pearls of pre-cum.

Wrapping the rest of his length firmly within her grasp, she slowly, gently, started caressing him, pumping him. She worked as slowly as she dared. She didn’t want his ardor to cool, but she did want to drag these moments out as long as possible.

Teasing him, she laved his head, pumped his cock, then looked up to his face. Artemais’ eyes were now squeezed tightly shut, his head thrown back in pleasure. His nails dug into his palms, clenched at his side.

Sophie started playing gently with his balls, rolling the sac in her hands, lightly flicking her nail along the soft under-skin.

In a rush, Artemais reached for her and drew her head down onto his cock more deeply. “Please, Soph. Finish me.”

Sophie grinned around his cock. Their silent game of chicken had paid off. Artemais looked half-wild with his lust. His eyes burned with lust and desire, his hips thrust his cock into her mouth. Feeling an answering dampness inside her, Sophie realized that by taking control of their lovemaking, she took control of herself in their relationship.

Releasing her mouth from his cock, she tried not to giggle at the moan of disappointment that came from Artemais.

“How do you taste on me?” she whispered.

Leaning forwards to kiss him fully, Sophie positioned herself above Artemais’ straining cock. As she thrust her tongue into his mouth, sharing their combined flavor, she simultaneously thrust down onto his cock, impaling herself.

They both groaned in unison at their joining. Once again, Sophie led the pace, but this time there was no casual, teasing quality to it. She rode him hard, pushed both of them faster and faster as their breaths mingled and they gasped. As she clenched her inner muscles to grasp his cock even tighter, she felt the now-familiar tremble begin deep inside her womb.

Gasping, she felt lightheaded, heard the roaring in her ears. Meeting Artemais’ deep, penetrating strokes, she rode through the crashing waves of their pleasure, and screamed. Vaguely, she felt his hands grasping her hips, pulling her down even harder onto his cock. She felt him erupt inside her, shooting jet after jet of his hot cum deep inside her. When the internal tremors subsided, she collapsed on Artemais’ chest. She was sweating and still panting slightly as she caught her breath. Sophie felt much better with her cheek lying over Artemais’ heartbeat, hearing it pumping furiously. She felt his warm arms circle around her and bring her close, holding her protectively in the curve of his body.

Sophie closed her eyes. She was safe and well here. Physical exhaustion washed through her and she let the safe darkness of sleep take over.

Chapter Fourteen

When Sophie stirred, Artemais shifted slightly. She wasn’t heavy, but while she napped he had been deep in thought and now some of his rapidly cooling muscles complained.

He couldn’t deny the huge feeling of possession welling inside him. He felt ecstatic that she trusted him enough to fall asleep on him, and he knew he could build slowly and carefully on this trust. After all, he had five or six months for them to get to know each other, to learn about each other. They were certainly in no rush right now.

Artemais felt a tug on his heart when Sophie sleepily raised her head and smiled down at him. Moving her hand to push her sleep-tousled curls from her eyes, he felt his heart beat faster. She looked adorable. When she laughed aloud and commented, “Don’t you ever carry condoms?” he felt a slight shiver of warning.

He and his brothers had never been sick, never had any sort of human illness. Years ago his grandfather had explained that no werewolf in their pack for as far back as he could recall had ever carried a human disease. Most of the time, their immune systems were compatible with a human’s.

While they didn’t donate blood for fear of something being found in it upon close examination, ordinary pharmaceuticals such as painkillers seemed to work for a short time, their body simply burnt through the drugs much faster than a normal human.

Neither had a pack member ever caught an STD to their knowledge, and as only a true mate could be impregnated by an Alpha male, the need for condoms was only a smokescreen to not scare away the human women.

The first few times he had been with Sophie, Artemais had followed convention and worn the rubber. Yet as his certainty of Sophie being the one grew stronger, his desire to see her rounded with his child also grew, until finally he convinced himself to dispense with the condom.

Lucky for him.

Artemais felt weighted by his secrets from her. If he expected her to trust him and be honest with him, he needed to return the favor. He needed to tell her about himself and his Pack.

“Uh, there’s a few things I need to tell you,” he started, uncertain. Sophie didn’t help matters. She simply watched him, waiting and expectant. She still had that glow about her; that just-been-satisfied look, and he really didn’t want to ruin it.

“Well, now is probably a good time to start,” she prodded.

Wondering if he should have read an etiquette book, to see if there were rules on how to tell a woman one was a werewolf, he faltered a minute. When doubt and concern started appearing in Sophie’s eyes, he cursed himself.

Who needs tact?
he decided.

“I’m a werewolf,” he stated. “My brothers and I are the only remaining offspring of the Alpha male and female of the local pack. You’re carrying my baby, who will inherit the title and someday rule the pack. You’re my mate and the only woman who could possibly be mine in every way.”

Artemais stopped as Sophie howled in laughter. The vibrations of her laughter echoed through him, and he wondered briefly if he should feel offended.

As Sophie continued laughing at him, starting up again each time she caught her breath and looked at him, Artemais sighed.

Finally, Sophie rolled off his chest to sit primly on the mossy bank. Her laughter had almost subsided; she now only hiccupped and giggled when she looked at his serious face.

He waited while she wiped the tears that streamed down her face. While a part of him felt quite offended at her laughter, the rational part of his brain couldn’t really conjure up any anger.

He didn’t have many close friends, other than his brothers, and so between them and the other few pack members, he had never needed to tell anyone about his moonlit romps and monthly changings.

In the back of his mind he had expected anger, disgust, many reactions, but laughter?

After a few more minutes, Sophie caught her breath, to see his slightly grumpy, slightly bewildered look. She finally shook herself slightly and flicked her curls from her eyes, completely unaware of the gloriously naked picture she made.

“You think you’re serious, don’t you? I must admit, I thought I’d heard every male excuse for not bringing condoms, but yours certainly is the most original I’ve heard.”

From the choking noises coming from the back of her throat, Artemais would bet money she was trying hard not to dissolve into another fit of giggles. He sighed.

“I
am
serious. Do you really think I’d make something like this up, Sophie?”

Her brows crinkled in thought. “Well, it is kind of dumb. I mean, if there
really
were werewolves running around, surely we’d know?”

He sat up and leaned back.