When a Pack Dies (17 page)

“Yes,” Fina answered, gentling her voice. Like always when he came back from leading a trek, Nath smelled of wood smoke, pine, fresh air and hot, hungry werewolf.

Only it wasn’t food he was hungry for.

An unsubtle glance told Fina that that thick, seductive ridge rising against the fastening of Nath’s sturdy hiking shorts wasn’t an errant hot dog that had fallen off its stick.

His gaze dropped to his crotch then came back up to her. His grin grew naughtier. “I want you. Although I guess you figured that out.”

“Hmm,” she hummed non-committaly. The corner of her mouth lifted as she stood and walked over to him. Stopping just before their bodies touched, Fina looked up into Nath’s shimmering eyes. The dimples on either side of that very bitable mouth of his deepened, shadowed by a day’s growth of particularly sexy, dark brown beard. “In case you hadn’t heard, I’m top bitch around here these days. You still up for that?”

Without hesitation, Nath snaked his arm around Fina’s waist and pulled her against his thickening rod. “Yeah. I am,” he replied with quiet honesty and rolled his hips gently, rubbing himself against her soft, warm belly. “Cutler hasn’t ripped my throat out so he’s got no problem sharing. He might not
like
it...” Dipping his head, Nathaniel passed his nose over Fina’s neck then dragged his teeth over the delicate muscle capping her shoulder. “...but that’s only because he’s an Alpha. They’re not used to sharing. And you, my beautiful,
beautiful
Fina,” Nath added with a sensual growl, “are far too much woman not to share.” He kissed her. Capturing Fina’s mouth beneath his, Nath sighed and a fine shiver made his big body tremble against hers.

Nathaniel’s mouth was warm and delicious. A hint of spice and the scent of wood smoke made Fina’s wolf leap forward and growl with sexual enticement. It drove her tongue in deeper, making her, for the first time with Nath, the aggressor.

Nath’s answering snarl told Fina that neither he nor his wolf minded. He tightened his hold on her, gripped her bound hair and anchored her mouth to his. Nath’s kiss was gentle without being tentative. He explored her like he was asking and sighed with pleasure when she allowed his every caress. His tongue swept over hers, stroked the roof of her mouth, tested the sharpness of her teeth.

“You taste so damned good,” Nath breathed when he finally broke the kiss to rest his forehead against hers and pant. “Not a minute went by this week without me thinking of you. Wanting you.” He kissed her again, kissed her deep and seductively and it was a long time before he pulled back. “I need a shower.” Nath’s dimples re-appeared when he grinned down at her. “Come on,” he added with a sinful smile. “Wash my back for me.” Taking hold of her hand, Nath led Fina down the hall.

Halfway there, Nath let go and pulled his dark green golf shirt off over his head. Reaching out with her fingertips, Fina touched the sun-darkened skin on his broad back. It was surprisingly soft, especially since the thick muscles beneath were so hard. Glancing over his shoulder, Nath gave her a wicked, self-satisfied grin. His blue eyes glowed with mischief and he started undoing the button fly of his shorts.

Fina gasped when they and the briefs beneath dropped to the floor. Nath stepped out of them nimbly and his ass flexed so sharply that Fina ran her fingers over her chin, checking for drool. His backside was firm, round and impossibly pert...if a guy’s ass could be called pert. It twitched seductively with the slow, sensual roll of his walk. Without asking, he turned into Fina’s room then paused in the doorway to her ensuite to tug off his thick socks. She crowded him, pressed her breasts into his back and fondled his ass.

Chuckling, the sound low and sensual, Nath took hold of Fina’s hands, dragged them forward and anchored them around his cock. His head drifted backward and he sighed. Bracing his hands against either side of the doorframe and spreading his legs, Nath commanded the space. When she lifted her gaze to peek around him, Fina gasped. The big mirror over her double sinks reflected him perfectly. Her hands looked pale and small wrapped around his thick, purplish cock. She moved one over the head and squeezed carefully. The other drifted down to cup his shockingly smooth balls.

“Fuck. Yeah,” Nath hissed and rolled his hips into her grip. Then his pelvis rolled back and his ass ground into her belly. He made her use her strength to stand against him then rolled forward again, using the momentum to pleasure himself in her hands. His skin smelled like fresh, clean sweat, mountain air and tasted warm and salty when Fina dragged her tongue up his spine. His cock felt hard and twitched in time with the beating of his heart. Peeking around him again, she became mesmerized as his lean, angled body rocked with delight.

His eyes opened slowly, a blaze of blue set in his sun-darkened, sculpted face. He met her gaze in the mirror. “Take your clothes off, Fina. Slowly. I want to watch.” He stepped away from her, sat down on the padded bench next to the shower stall, wrapped a big hand around his cock and stroked himself. Leaning back against the wall and stretching his long legs out comfortably, Nathaniel licked his lips and watched her.

She was fascinated by the slow, firm cadence of his strokes. By the way he’d grasp the head, pause, tighten his grip and bare his teeth. Gnawing on her lower lip, Fina lifted her t-shirt up and over her head, letting it drop to the floor beside her. Nath hissed and gripped himself tighter.

“Squeeze your breasts, Fina. Make your nipples even harder.”

She looked down at herself and saw them standing out, pressing against the thin satin of her bra, saluting and saying “hi.” Nath’s unchecked and unfeigned sensuality overrode any shyness Fina might have felt and she palmed her breasts. Squeezing gently at first, she made them plump and swell over the lace-topped cups of her bra. Nath’s naughty grin widened.

“Yeah, sweetheart. Harder. Play with them for me. You’re so damned sexy.”

Fina squeezed harder, hard enough that she moaned and dropped her head back as an ache of pleasure arrowed down her abdomen. Holding his balls and tugging them away from his body, Nath smiled his approval. Still stroking himself, he stared at her with those intent eyes and licked his lips.

His eyes narrowed when she ran her fingers down her body and touched the top button of her linen shorts.

“Yeah,” he repeated with a jerky nod. “Strip for me, sweetheart. Show me that sweet pussy I’ve been fantasizing about for weeks.” He moaned when he tightened his fist around his shaft and tugged faster. Then he stopped. “I’m going to claim you, Fina,” Nathaniel said in a deep, rumbling voice. He lifted his gaze to her face as his hand fell away from his rod. The grin and the lascivious twinkle in his eyes faded, replaced by a furrow between his brows. “I will be your mate right alongside Cutler. You’ll bear his cubs
and
mine.” The furrow deepened as his eyes darkened. “I won’t be a fallback fuck for you, a little variety or kink when you feel like it. When I mark you, you’ll be mine just as much as you are his. You’ll accept us equally, treat us equally in bed.” Nath’s mouth was now perfectly flat. “Are you clear on what I expect if you become my mate?”

“Yes.” Fina’s voice was quiet but there was no hesitation in her reply.

“Are you willing to accept me under those conditions? To love me as much as you love him?”

Fina blinked. He asked for too much when he asked for love. So did Cutler. Resisting the urge to shake her head, Fina kept her gaze locked on Nathaniel’s. They asked for forever...for a strong, whole, loving mate. She didn’t have that in her anymore but she did need their protection. She needed a pack. Ryan did too. Knowing full well her first act as Nath’s mate was a lie, Fina nodded, hating herself but doing it anyway. “Yes.”

Nodding, Nath exhaled slowly. The furrow between his brows softened along with the darkness in his eyes. Fina realized that Cutler had asked the same things of her, only Cutler didn’t ask. He made his demands clear then took. She loved the difference between the two brothers. The stray from Tennessee had found the best of both worlds in them. Instead of making her feel more guilty, it took away some of the sting...like maybe, somehow and someday, her acceptance of them might not be a lie.

Grinning cockily, Nath ran his sun-darkened hand over his abdomen, palmed his balls then slid his fingers over his erection. “You’re still wearing too many clothes.” Letting his gaze drift over her suggestively, he moistened his lips and waited.

Feeling her eyes crinkle with excitement, Fina unsnapped the top button on her shorts and eased the zipper down. She didn’t feel self-conscious or even a little bit foolish. The werewolf lounging in front of her was so obviously aroused by each little movement, every subtle twitch of her fingers that his eyes blazed as he watched. When the tip of his tongue darted out and swept his lower lip, Fina thought about it moving over her body. As her shorts slid down her thighs, she cupped her satin-panty covered mound and slowly slid her fingers between her legs.

Nath growled his approval. “The bra next. Take it off.”

Tugging her lower lip between her teeth, Fina affected a coquettish look and if his deep, quiet laugh was any indicator, Nath approved. His gaze was riveted on her as she reached behind herself, unsnapped her bra then covered her breasts with her forearm. When the pale satin and lace dropped to the floor, his eyes flashed.

“Bring them here. Please. I need to taste you.”

Without hesitation but with teasing slowness, Fina crossed the smooth, tiled floor. He took hold of her wrists and pulled her arms away from her body.

“Beautiful,” Nath whispered. Fina’s nipples hardened. Bending his head to her slowly, almost reverently, he smoothed his whisker-rough cheeks over the inner curve of one breast then the other. He kissed her sternum...a gentle drawn-out pursing of his lips and inhaled. With a deep rumble of contentment, he drew his cheek over the curve of her breasts again. Rough, darkened fingers cupped her, pressed her breasts into his face, cushioning the sharp cut of his cheekbones with her softness and he smiled.

Fina felt the lifting of Nath’s mouth, saw the crinkles on either side of his eyes when he looked up at her. His eyes drifted shut as he kissed her. With a gasp, Fina felt the tip of his tongue move over her. She felt absorbed. Consumed. Nath explored her breasts with almost every sense—taste, feel, sight and scent. The sound of his breathing grew louder in the tiled bathroom. Rough thumbs grazed her nipples only to return to pinch, caress and squeeze.

Her hips rocked in time with the rising cadence of his heartbeat.

Threading her fingers into his hair freshened the scent of wood smoke and pine around them. “Nath,” Fina whispered hoarsely and held him to her.

“Fina,” he answered, kissed her nipple gently while his thumb strummed the other. He leaned his head back against the wall and flashed her a wicked grin. “Turn around.”

Again chewing on her lower lip, she obeyed slowly.

Nath’s warm, rough hands felt good on her skin. He caressed her back, her shoulders, the front of her thighs. Soft lips surrounded by a prickling of whiskers moved over the elastic of her boy-cut panties, the exposed bottoms of each ass cheek.

“Hands on knees, Fina. Bend forward.”

The roughness in Nath’s voice made Fina shiver and for the first time, she was hesitant to obey.

“More, sweetheart.” His voice was still rough but it was also encouraging now. She heard warmth instead of censure and leaned forward. “Back parallel to the floor. Damn you’re beautiful. I’d crawl on my knees over broken glass to kiss this perfect ass.”

She gasped and trembled when Nath’s lips moved over her butt. Thick fingers moved with surprising delicacy over her satin-covered nether lips before tugging her panties aside. A warm, moist exhalation of air was Fina’s only warning before his tongue sank into her. Moving slow and sinking deep, it curled inside her, gathering up her wetness and taste before sliding out. Fina groaned when she heard him smack his lips with pleasure, swallow then return. Holding onto her hips, still pulling her panties to the side, Nath slid his tongue into her again and again. Not fucking or probing her, simply drawing out her taste and drinking it with relish.

By the time he slid her panties down and off, Fina was shaking so badly she could barely keep her balance as she stepped out of them.

Nath bit her ass hard enough to sting, stood up fast, gripped her shoulders and hauled her over to the shower stall.

“That’ll hold me for now, sweetheart,” he said with a wink as he reached inside to turn on the water. “After you wash my back I’ll finish what I started.”

Blinking dumbly at his broad, tanned back, Fina watched Nath test the temperature, adjust it then retrieve clean towels from the cupboard. Holding the shower door open with his shoulder, he took hold of her hands and led her inside.

The shower was roomy and accommodated them easily. Fina figured it would hold her, Nath
and
Cutler and held back a giggle as she considered the possibilities. A grin quirked up one side of Nath’s mouth as he handed her the bar of soap then turned and faced the wall, arms at a comfortable angle over his head, palms pressed against the tiles. His legs were set about shoulder width apart and he let his head fall forward.

Fina needed no other invitation. Nath’s body was hers. He was hers. This powerful Beta surrendered himself to her without fanfare, direction or stipulation. The position of his body was for her convenience and conveyed his want but he issued no order.

With a sigh of anticipation, Fina worked up a lather. Her soap had a light scent and the spread of Nath’s lats, the lifting of his shoulders caught her eye as he inhaled.

“It smells like you,” he murmured then dropped his head back down. The water spilling over his shoulder raised then rinsed away a thin line of dirt in the crease where shoulder and neck met. Fina set the bar down and started there.

Growling quietly and continuously, he made a sound that was almost catlike. Knowing he’d be insulted by the comparison, Fina simply grinned and massaged the lather into Nath’s neck. His skin was smooth and slippery...warm, soft and the body beneath was hard and thickly muscled. She stepped forward, pressed her breasts into his back because it felt better to be close and explored the planes and expanse of Nath’s body. The deep curve at the front of his shoulders. The powerful indent of his armpits. The smooth, full rise of his chest. The deep, powerful and long muscles guarding his spine.