The Mating Rite (Big, Beautiful Werewolf) (Werewolves of Montana) (6 page)

Samantha blinked and her expression turned glacial, as if someone had erased everything familiar between them. She pulled away and rubbed her wrist as if he’d burned her.

“What are you doing here?” She turned her head, searching the lounge. “I have a date. He’ll be here soon.”

“Jimmy?” At her puzzled look, he added, “I’m your match. I answered your ad on the website.”

“That wasn’t your photo. You don’t have a receding hairline and glasses.”

Shrugging, he kept his gaze centered on her, reluctant to share the full truth.
After spending ten years mourning you, I didn’t want to risk an impersonal rejection on the Internet. I had to see you again in person and find out what the hell happened to you.

He needed to touch her, connect with her once more. Lupines craved touch. They needed it as much as they needed fresh meat once a month to shift. Darius slid his palms across the table to cover hers, but Sam yanked away. Damn it.

He chose his words with care. “Thought I’d play it safe with someone else’s photo. Jimmy, who’s in my pack and has been happily mated for five years, volunteered his.”

“So, this Jimmy, is he as much of an asshole as you are?”

Frantic lust faded into total confusion. “What?”

“A guy who leaves women hanging for oh, ten years?”

He took a deep breath. “I promised I’d return for you…”

“You didn’t. What happened? Bored? Run out of other females to fuck?”

Whoa. This was Sam, his sweet-tempered, good-natured friend who used to blush when others cussed around her? Darius tensed. “Sam, I was told you were dead.”

“That’s a first. I’ve been called lots of things by men, but no one’s used the death excuse. Must write that in my journal.”

Gritting his teeth, he leaned forward, pinning her down with his stare. “It’s the truth. Speaking of truth, why the hell are you searching for a date?”

Sam rolled her eyes. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe I got tired of buffing my nails and pining after you, grew a spine and decided to have a life.”

“Sam…”

“And find a nice guy to screw so I could lose the title of the world’s oldest virgin.”

His composure snapped. A low growl rumbled from his throat as he envisioned her in bed with another male. His wolf nudged him into taking action. “Want to lose your virginity? I’ll be happy to oblige, right here and now. This table should suffice.”

Her mouth wobbled precariously and she looked away, her fingers curling tightly around her purse straps. Half-perched on her chair, Sam looked ready to bolt. Damn it, this was going downhill fast. He had to regain ground or he’d lose her.

Be civilized. You can do this.

He tried again. “Sam, you were the only one I ever wanted. I’ve never stopped thinking of you as my forever mate, even though I’d been told you died.”

“Then why were you answering ads on a singles dating site for Skins?”

Darius gave her a level look. “It’s Werewolf Match, a site for Lupines, not Skins. And what were you doing on it?”

She sagged against the chair. “Tristan. Damn it. That sly wizard…”

“What did he do?”

“He placed the ad for me. I thought it was a dating site for humans. I wanted to meet a nice guy.” She shook her head. “Not a wolf. A wolf is the last creature I ever wanted to meet.”

Sam took a long sip from her glass. He watched her full, red mouth grow wet and his body tightened with desire. His inner wolf panted like one of those cartoon animals, long red tongue hanging out.
Oh yeah, baby, drink that water and I’ll lick the droplets off your sweet lips and then I’ll spread your legs wide and lick your other lips…

STOP IT!

Why
? His wolf asked.
Leave this to me. I’m the expert.

Darius softened his voice. “Sam, I did return for you. I risked my hide to sneak back into Maxim’s territory and find you.”

A little frown line appeared between her silky brows. “When?”

“About a year after I left. It was the night of the full moon when I knew Maxim would be running with his chosen pack members. I snuck through the woods to your cabin and knocked on the door.”

“I wasn’t living in the cabin. After he threw you out of the pack, Maxim said since I was claimed, I had to live in the lodge with the other mated couples. Did my mother answer the door?”

A thick lump clogged his throat as he remembered those awful moments when he’d eagerly asked for Sam, only to watch Ellen dissolve into sobs. “She was home. Your mother told me you died. She even took me out back and showed me your gravestone.”

The frown line deepened. “My
mother
said that? Why would she lie?”

He leaned forward, his mouth tightening. “I don’t know. Do you?”

“My mother never said anything about you returning.”

“She kept me apart from you for all these years. I want to find out why. Call her right now.”

“Late much, wolf? She’s dead. Four years ago her heart finally gave out.”

Regret tightened his chest. Never having known his own mother, he couldn’t imagine how much the loss hurt Sam. He slid his hand over to touch hers. “I’m sorry.”

This time she did not pull away. For a moment, she remained silent, her lower lip wobbling precariously. Darius stroked a thumb over her soft hand. Such delicate hands for such a strong female. She’d taken care of her little family for so long. They’d relied on Sam, who always made sacrifices so they could have a somewhat normal life.

Normal for Lupines.

A strong suspicion overcame him. “And Marcia?”

More of that woebegone look, but she withdrew her hand. The loss of contact left him feeling cold. “Marcia died a year before I lost Mom.”

“I’m sorry.” Darius steeled himself for her shock. “She fell ill with a fever and was too weak to fight off the infection.”

“How did you…”

“When I returned for you a year after I’d left, your mother said that’s how you died. Not Marcia. She showed me your gravestone, engraved only with your family name.”

Sam did not meet his gaze.

“Because your father didn’t give my sister a proper burial. I worked my fingers to the bone to pay our keep in the pack and that bastard kept every penny. I had to borrow money to pay for the gravestone and Maxim paid for the engraving. Her last name only. He was too cheap to pay for anything else.”

“My father was cheap, and worse,” he admitted, forcing his voice to remain calm. “But your mother had her faults as well. She lied about your death.”

She leaned back, looking stunned. “She knew how much you had meant to me. She must have lied because she was afraid if I left the pack your father would kick her and Marcia out. And she told me she didn’t think you could provide for all of us.”

Furious at his father and her mother for keeping them apart, Darius steadied his voice. “She never gave me a chance, Sam. I told her I’d found a new pack willing to take in all of you. And then she told me you’d died.”

Sam bit her bottom lip. “Mom told me the safest place for me was Maxim’s pack and I shouldn’t leave. I thought it was because you gave me that mating mark and no male would bother me. Now I wonder if it was something else.”

Staring at the plump lushness of her lip, he wanted to pull her out of the chair and claim her with a kiss that would prove how much he’d missed her.

“Perhaps. All I know is
I
lost my mind when I heard you’d died.”

Beneath his caressing fingers, her hands tensed. She drew them back and clenched them until her knuckles whitened.

“Uh-huh. And that’s why you’ve spent the last ten years screwing other women?” Sam’s voice broke. “I waited, Darius. No word. Nothing. I didn’t know if you were alive or dead. After Mom passed, I moved here to the Skin world. My only sister was gone. My mother was, too, and I had no one. No one! I hired a private detective to find you. And he showed me…” She drew in a quivering breath. “Photos of you in Montana, at some swank resort in a hot tub, having sex with a pretty blonde woman. Oh, and just in case it was a mistake, more photos of you with a brunette at a fancy restaurant…” Tapping a slim finger on the marble top table, she added, “The one of you with
two
naked women in the hot tub was really special. What is it about you and hot tubs?”

“Sam…”

“You really mourned me, Darius. A lot.”

Oh hell, this was all wrong. His wolf fell silent, confused and uncertain about what to do, the mating instinct quelled by the female’s wrath.

You handle this
, his wolf urged.
You’re the expert.

Yeah, thanks
.

Mouth dry, he studied her, his dreams of a joyful reunion turning to ash. Now he faced a furious mate who’d been deeply wounded. His heart twisted at the shadows in her beautiful eyes, knowing he’d placed them there. Maybe if he explained, she’d understand.

“I stayed celibate after I left Maxim’s pack, hoping to return for you. After I heard you’d died…”

“You ran into the arms of other women for comfort.”

So much for explanations. How could he make her understand sex had been nothing more than temporary relief? Sex had eased a physical need, but never left him satisfied because Sam was the only one claiming his heart.

“Those women meant nothing. Mutual pleasure, that’s it. Not like the bond we shared,” he said quietly.

“Meant nothing to you.” She shook her head. “You sound like your father. All those women he had, they meant nothing, too.”

Stricken, he stared at her, pricked by guilt. She was right. He had turned into his father, having sex with women to ease his pain. Oh, they understood his terms. No commitments. Zip. But some enjoyed it so much they wanted to use him just for physical relief.

Hell, he’d have been better off using his fist because at least then, he wouldn’t have hurt Sam by leaving behind a trail of women. As his friend Kyle had once laughingly told him, “You go through women like a NASCAR driver goes through tires.”

“Never again.” He shook his head so violently, his curls flew out. “You’re right, Sam. And I’m over that part of my life. Done. I’m reforming. I’m never sleeping around, ever again.”

“Doesn’t matter. What we had was long ago, Darius. There’s nothing between us now.”

“You bear my mark.”

“No more.” She lifted the long curtain of her blonde hair. Mouth dry, he stared. Darius felt kicked in the gut.

Gone were the intricate runes swirling on her neck after he’d sunk his fangs into her soft skin.

Cold horror pulsed through him. “Sam, what the holy hell did you do?! How—”

“I asked Tristan to remove it. He was nice enough to oblige, seeing that I’ve been placed on hold for ten years.”

Making a mental note to kick the sorcerer’s ass next time he saw him, Darius tried to control his panic.

No mark.

She was unprotected from other males’ savage lust. Including his own.

“Did Tristan tell you the consequences of removing my mark?”

“He said the only way we could bond was through a mating rite. I didn’t see a problem.”

Not a problem. Oh, sure, no problem, if the female were sexually experienced and strong enough to withstand the exhausting, intricate and somewhat savage sexual ritual. Darius gritted his teeth. Damn it, how could she have done this?

Sam had been scared when he’d bitten her. How the hell could she handle the vigorous and sometimes rough sex of a mating rite for them to bond as mates?

And sweet hellfire, she was a virgin. Even if he managed to coax her into bed first, giving her a sensual and gentle introduction to sex, Sam wouldn’t be experienced enough to handle the ritual they must endure to mate for life.

Thanks, Tristan, you asshole, for removing my mark. Now getting her to become my mate will be even harder.

“Do you know what a mating rite is?” he asked in a low voice edged with anger.

Sam shook her head. “I thought it had something to do with a Lupine’s right to mate.”

Oh yeah, something to do all right. Something that makes a Skin fetish club look like a day at Disneyland.

“It’s an ancient Lupine sex ceremony bonding together a male and a female for life. When a mating mark is removed from a female, the only way for the same two Lupines to mate is through a mating rite.” Sweat trickled down his back.

She frowned. “It sounds a little like a marriage ceremony for Skins, only with sex.”

“It’s much more sexual, and more permanent than a Skin marriage,” he said darkly. “It’s very rare for a mating mark to be removed. So in order for the female to prove she’s willing to mate for life with her intended, she must, ah, prove her willingness.” He gave her a frank look. “In bed.”

A delicate flush colored her cheeks, but Sam held his gaze. “How?”

This was not going to be easy. He couldn’t do this here and now, with Sam’s scent filling his skin senses and all his wolf senses triggered to pounce on her and rip off her clothing.

He beckoned to the waiter and then glanced at Sam. “Do you like white wine? Have a glass with me. Please?”