The Mating Rite (Big, Beautiful Werewolf) (Werewolves of Montana) (29 page)

As he angled his mouth over hers, her sex pulsed hard. She felt his erection grow as he pressed his tongue against her mouth, coaxing her to open for him. Darius teased her tongue with skillful thrusts. This savage wolf captured her in his muscled embrace and attacked every raging nerve in her trembling body.

He continued massaging her breasts as his kisses grew more authoritative and demanding. Then he stroked the right side of her neck, tracing her jaw, nearing the place where he’d marked her with his fangs.

He sucked her tongue into his mouth, then lightly bit her lower lip. Sam curled her arms around his neck as he cupped her ass and squeezed. Her breasts tingled as she rubbed their softness against his hard chest. Darius groaned as she writhed against him. Deep inside, her wolf growled, wanting more.

She could have remained here forever with him making love to her mouth. Desire birthed from feminine need nudged aside all fear. She struggled to remember to breathe as her Lupine senses awakened. She felt overwhelmed by the delicious scent of him, the slightly salty taste of his mouth mingling with mint, the feel of his callused palm heating her nape as he cradled it, the sound of her own low moans.

He nuzzled the column of her throat, dropping tiny kisses there and then stroked his tongue over her skin. It felt so good that she shivered, caressing his silky hair, toying his thick, dark curls. Gods, she loved his hair.

Darius pulled away and stared at her, coaxing a flush to her already heated body. Sensual promise lingered in the depths of his eyes, but there was concern as well. Sam knew he would not hurt her. If she gave the word, he’d leave her alone.

Sprouts.

It might kill him, she decided, eying his thick erection, but he would do it.

His hand dropped between her legs and found her wet. As he stroked, kissing her softly, she wriggled in frustration. More.

“You like this, sweetheart?” he murmured.

Sam stroked a line down his muscled backside and squeezed his ass. “Not as much as I want you inside me. Now.”

“In time.” Very gently, he took her earlobe between his teeth and bit. Darius trailed his mouth over the curve of one breast and then closed tightly over her nipple. His tongue rasped over the peak, flicking and swirling. Then his teeth lightly clasped down as he suckled.

The sweet pressure blossomed and clawed as she wrapped a leg around his lean hip, wanting him closer.

Passion glinted his eyes as he raised his head and regarded her. When his naked body covered her, old fears returned. She squeezed her eyes shut, fearing to see his wolf emerge.

Darius laced his lean fingers through hers. “Open your eyes. I need you to see me, Sam. Only me, your Darius.”

She did, gazing into his face. This position was so intimate, so close, she felt vulnerable. His eyes held the darkness of a male ready to take her body, but his mouth, oh his wet, firm mouth, trembled. And then she knew how much this moment meant to him, how much she meant to him.

Connection and bonding.
They had shared so much in the past. Sam inhaled his musky, masculine scent and parted her legs wide in full acceptance. The need for him overrode her feelings of fear and vulnerability to this strong male taking not only her body, but her heart as well.

He pushed hard, and slid past her wet, swollen folds deep into her core. Sam sucked in a breath. Darius was big, and the pressure bordered on pain. He lowered his forehead to hers. “Are you all right?” he asked softly.

She nodded.

“If you’re not…”

“Do it.”

Sam wriggled her hips and he pulled out, then pushed back slowly inside. Each movement brought exquisite friction against her tight, swollen core. Sam finally released the breath she’d been holding.

“It’s not the same.” She marveled at the feelings, at the tenderness in his gaze twining with fierce passion.

“This is making love.”

She wrapped her legs around his lean hips, urging him closer. He smiled down at her, lacing his fingers through hers. Slick with sweat, his hard body slid across hers.

Sam needed more, wanted more.

“Harder,” she pleaded. “Faster.”

But he kept a slow, gentle rhythm as her tiny interior muscles stretched to accommodate his thick cock. With an impatient sound, she arched upwards, urging him on. His movements took on a new urgency. He increased the pace, surging into her with raging need. Climax lingered out of reach. Darius seemed to understand and adjusted his position, his shaft sliding against her clit, creating excruciating friction. Screaming his name, she shattered, digging her nails into his thick back muscles. Darius threw his head back and groaned, shooting his seed deep inside her. He collapsed atop her, but then rolled to the side, taking her with him.

Entwined like snakes, they lay together, their mingled breaths echoing in the room. Sweat slicked their bodies. Sam opened one eye to see Darius regarding her with a combination of male satisfaction and pride. Filled with joy and mischief, she tugged at his chest hairs.

“Darn. I forgot to say it. Sprouts.”

Eyes widening, he muttered a curse. “Seriously?”

“Sprouts. Love sprouts, sprouts, what a wonderful food.” She sat up, picked up a pillow and playfully swatted him. “You should eat more greens, wolf.”

Giggling, she rolled away, and then squealed as he tickled her ribs. Darius pressed a single kiss to her belly and licked her navel.

“Sprouts,” she told him.

A sullen pout pulled his beautiful mouth downward, but he stopped.

Sam laughed and kissed his mouth. He watched as she slid out from the sheets. “I’m taking a shower.”

Darius wanted to howl with triumph, but settled for watching Sam. He loved the way her hips swayed as she walked toward the bathroom. Made him hot and hard all over again, as if he hadn’t had sex in months. Sam paused at the doorway and cast a coy glance over one shoulder. “Join me?”

Oh yeah.
“You get started. I’ll be there in a minute.”

He glanced ruefully at his groin. “Stay,” he admonished. “Don’t blow this chance.”

But his dick did not listen, only bobbed eagerly.

“Sprouts,” Darius told his erection.

He watched it dwindle slightly. “Damn, it works.”

Not enough though. He took another swallow of the potion and headed for the bathroom.

The bathroom had a large glass window overlooking the river. The shower was an enclosure of black marble, with twin sprays and a waist-high wall. A shower built for two.

Or three. Before Sam came back into his life, he’d have showered with two or three women, and the shower would turn into sex. Now he only wanted Sam.

Sam stood inside, the spray raining upon her, plastering her long blonde hair to her back. She looked like a Fae caught in the rain, but she was no Fae, his Sam. She possessed a steely core that had survived the loss of her family and had made her way into the world alone. For a moment he stood watching her, wondering if he would have been as strong. Had he not found Aiden and a new purpose with the Mitchell pack, would he have surrendered to the lone wolf’s call and turned feral for good?

It was a thought that often haunted him late at night. Darius did not wish to entertain it now. He wanted Sam. Only Sam.

Water beaded on her full breasts, a droplet catching on one coral nipple like a wet diamond. He studied the sweep of her shapely legs, the dark blonde hair covering her genitals, the roundness of her hips. Desire pulsed in his blood, turning it hot and thick. Darius stepped into the shower behind her.

He wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace, needing the contact. The spray wet his curls, and ran into his eyes. Darius felt the softness of her breasts beneath his forearms, the tempting crevice of her bottom cradling his erection. But sex could wait. He craved the touch now, simply needing to hold her in his arms.

Sam leaned back, raising a hand and caressing his wet cheek. The movement lifted her breasts. He slid a palm up and cupped one, gently flicking his thumb over the tight nipple. Then he lowered his head and kissed her neck and the rounded curve of her shoulder. Darius nuzzled her jaw and then ran his tongue along the sweep of her throat. Her delectable scent of musky arousal and freesia shot straight to his already throbbing groin.

She undulated her hips, grinding against him with an impatient sound. Darius understood and positioned her over the wall, spreading her legs wide for him to take her. He stroked a palm over the inside of her soft thigh, smiling as she wriggled against him. Then he leaned close, licked the curve of her neck again, and grasped her hips.

“Hold on,” he murmured.

Darius pushed the slick head of his penis against her wet center. Writhing, she undulated her hips again, the movement driving him into a frenzy.
Careful. Easy now.

Her soft, excited cries echoed in the bathroom, mingling with the water padding down upon their wet, naked flesh. He drove deep, shuddering at the ecstatic feel of her tight core stretching to accommodate his size. She was snug against his shaft, squeezing him like a wet fist. Darius withdrew slowly, looking down to watch their bodies join. He felt her vaginal walls pulse as he pressed into her again.

“More, more,” she breathed, gripping the wall. “Harder. Please, Darius!”

Smiling tenderly, he bent down and whispered into her ear. “As my lovely Sam commands.”

He thrust harder and faster, his cock hammering into her, his heavy sac slapping against her damp thatch.

They climaxed together, shattering, as he shouted her name.

Darius collapsed atop her and then slowly withdrew. After turning off the water, he helped her out of the shower. He toweled her off and when she shivered, fetched her his robe. Only when she was dry and warm did he take a towel and dry himself, enjoying the way her eyes darkened as she watched him.

Sam’s eyes gleamed with mischief. “I’m hungry.”

“For food, and not for sprouts, I hope.” He made an exaggerated sound and clutched his chest. “I can’t do a repeat performance. Not for at least another five minutes.”

Laughing, they headed downstairs into the kitchen. Darius hunted through the fridge and found a carton of strawberries. Peeling it open, he plucked one out.

“Open wide,” he said, running the fruit over her parted lips.

Sam opened her mouth, and he slid the berry inside. She bit hard. Juice exploded in her mouth. She chewed and swallowed and then Darius dropped the carton and kissed her, his tongue licking the inside of her mouth.

Never had she dreamed it could be this wonderful, this exhilarating. Making love with Darius was everything she’d ever dreamed about.

When they came up for air, he slid a hand around her nape. “Gods, I could never get enough of you. You’re as sweet as berries, spicy as cinnamon…”

“Sickening as bad poetry,” a voice spoke from the darkened living room.

Sam gasped and shrank against Darius, who whirled and put her behind him. “Who’s there?”

A lamp clicked on. Fear skidded down her spine and she clutched the lapels of Darius’ robe. “Tristan.”

Dressed in black, this time wearing a long black velvet cloak, the wizard paced the living room, his dark gaze snapping. “What a lovely scenario. Lupine meets his mate, whispers sweet nothing into her ears.” He stopped and whirled, his cloak flowing around him like water. “Do you think that is what mating is, Samantha? Do you?!”

Darius growled, but she pushed past him, facing the wizard. “It’s making love.”

“Love?” Tristan laughed. “It has nothing to do with love. It’s instinct, wild animal instinct. A mating rite has no strawberries and flowers and gauche poetry. It’s brutal and savage and intensely sexual. You truly think you can survive this primitive, raw Lupine ritual? Can you endure the sexuality of a mating rite?”

Gone was the earlier pleasure and thrill of making love, the warmth from Darius’ tender caresses. Suddenly she felt icy inside.

“Maybe.”

“Are you ready to bond with Darius for life and never leave the pack? Are you certain you wish to undertake this ritual?” Tristan went to Darius and seized his jaw in an iron grip. He squeezed hard, forcing Darius to open his mouth. “Allow me to demonstrate what you are submitting to, Samantha.”

Fangs descended in Darius’ mouth. Droplets of amber fluid glistened on the tips. “This is
madragon
, the aphrodisiac all male Lupines release when they bite their mates. It is sexual cocaine for Lupine females. A mature female cannot resist it and it awakens her drive to mate. Males never release a full dose under normal circumstances. It is far too dangerous.”

Dread arrowed through her. The wizard’s words reminded her of Darius’ feral savagery when he’d taken her virginity.

Tristan released Darius, who scowled at the wizard and rubbed his jaw. “They only release a full dose during a mating rite. If the female isn’t strong enough, she could get hurt. A mating rite results in savage, primitive sex, the wolf nature fully arising in the male. It is a Lupine ritual intended to keep the pack strong, the couple bonded for life. You may never leave Darius and return to the city. You may never choose another lifestyle. If you and Darius are parted for any great length of time, you will feel yourself torn apart by grief. And if one of you dies…” He looked at Darius. “Like your mother did.”