On the hunt, p.21
On the Hunt, page 21
His eyes narrowed. “How the fuck do you know so much about this?”
“Magic,” she said, winking. When Todd didn’t laugh, she sighed and groaned and her head flopped back against the cushions. “Look, man. I was her. I just didn’t have anyone who actually gave a shit about me and would have listened to what I needed. All the adults around me just decided on some shit and I suffered the consequences. I ran the moment I could. And—believe me—I never, ever, ever looked back.”
She gave him a hard stare and the truth smacked him in the face. She was right. Mercy would get fed up with being bossed around and sheltered, and she would run for the hills. What if she got scooped up by a shitty pack or labeled a lone wolf and chased off? What if she found herself in need of help but wouldn’t reach out to the pack? His throat closed around the surge of regret and a deepening feeling that he’d failed her after all. Even after trying to do his best, he’d failed her.
Jinx drained her drink and gestured for him to sit down.
Her voice softened as she swung around to put her feet in his lap. “You guys protected her when she was little and she needed someone to stand between her and the scary things in the world. I’m sure she is more grateful than you could possibly imagine to have had that. But she’s not a kid anymore, and if you really want to help her you’ll teach her how to stand on her own and support her when she makes mistakes.”
Todd concentrated on rubbing her feet and ankles, learning each curve and arch, and listened to the little murmurs she made. “It’s different with shifters. In the pack, she takes orders. And I ordered her to stay away from him. There have to be consequences.”
Jinx eyed him over the rim of her drink. “Dude. You can’t expect the girl to walk willingly into a cage for the rest of her life. A celibate cage, no less. At least buy her a vibrator or something.”
Todd cringed. “Jesus Christ, don’t even...”
“I’ll take her shopping,” Jinx said, grinning. Mischief sparked in her eyes. “I know a great place with all kinds of unique options that...”
He groaned, even though he liked the idea of Jinx spending time in a naughty store, and took away her drink. “Don’t you dare corrupt her.”
“Oh, honey.” Jinx laughed and nudged his thigh with her heel. “She’s already got something in her bedside table, I’d put money on it. But you go ahead and believe whatever you want. I would have thought you’d prefer a battery-operated boyfriend instead of the real deal?”
“Well...” Todd frowned at the ceiling as he finished the drink, then shook himself with a wince. What the fuck was wrong with him? “No. Not even going to... No. Never anything... Nothing’s going near her. Ever.”
Jinx sat up so she could kiss the tip of his nose. “Bless your heart. You argue like you need it to breathe.”
He didn’t agree with that at all. But with her mouth so close to his, he didn’t want to waste time informing her of how wrong she was. That could wait. Todd slid his hand around the back of her neck, watching the multicolored hair spill across his wrist. “Before I tell you how wrong you are about that, you’re going to show me what you keep in your bedside table.”
The witch’s eyebrow rose and a slow smile crept across her face. “I don’t think you’re ready for that, hon. You need to get your training wheels before you hop on a racing bike.”
“Did you just call yourself a bike?”
“It’s a metaphor,” she said. “Are you arguing with me again?”
“Never.” Todd kissed her softly as his grip on her neck tightened. He dragged her legs over his lap until he could surround all of her and her perfect ass met his thigh. “Although I’m pretty sure the bike thing is an analogy. Didn’t those nuns teach you anything?”
Jinx rolled her eyes but linked her arm around his neck. “I learned a lot more in my extracurriculars, but if you keep being a know-it-all you won’t get to see any of it. Capiche? Or do you want to correct my Italian, too?”
“I think you got it right,” he said. He found himself caught in her gaze until he almost couldn’t breathe. What was he going to do? When had his life gotten so far out of control? And when the fuck did he stop caring it was out of control as long as Jinx was in front of him?
“I love a vote of confidence,” she murmured, and moved to straddle his thighs. She worked her hands into his hair.
Todd tilted his head back to enjoy the pressure of her fingers and squeezed her ass. Everything else could wait until morning. He had his mate in front of him and nothing was going to keep them from fucking for hours. He growled and peeled her shirt off so he could finally get his hands on her breasts and the rings that made her back arch when he tugged just... hard... enough...
He grinned as Jinx’s eyes closed and she gripped his head harder. Todd leaned forward to use his teeth, too. He held her waist tightly and growled in her ear. “And what are you going to show me, witch?”
She stretched and turned in his arms, letting her ass push against him, and sauntered into the bedroom. He followed, admiring the view, and braced himself for whatever weird shit she pulled out. He got the feeling she liked things on the edge and he couldn’t wait to figure out exactly how to turn her on.
CHAPTER 37
JINX
The lust built up before dinner and then through the meal returned in a rush, despite almost being killed by interrupting Mercy’s tryst, and my legs wobbled as he ripped off my shirt and acquainted himself with my nipple piercings. His eyes glinted as he shooed me toward the bedroom, and I went along, already thinking of what to do first. He wanted to see something, I’d show him something.
I dropped my pants and kicked them aside, pretending not to notice when he growled and squeezed my ass. Todd moved closer after shedding his clothes, unashamed to be completely naked, and kissed my shoulder as I dug through the box of tricks I kept in the bedside table.
“Show me what you’ve got,” he said. His palm slid down my stomach and into my panties, his fingertips teasing and exploring.
My hips moved to meet him and I let my head fall back against his shoulder, eyes closing. Maybe we didn’t need to do anything exciting. Sure, vanilla sex was pretty routine, but there was also something comforting about missionary or another eye-to-eye position. Part of me wanted to feel his weight on me, experience his arms tightening around me and his hard thighs connecting with mine as he thrust.
But no. That way was a relationship and a forever kind of thing, and we couldn’t go there yet. We’d fucked in the shower, we would fuck in the bedroom, and maybe on the couch later. I pulled myself away and brought out my favorite vibrator, a combo rabbit with a hefty shaft and a delightful power vibration in almost every spot.
Todd’s eyebrow arched, then a slow smile spread across his face. He stroked himself and retreated to sit in the chair at the end of the bed, leaning back. He gestured at the bed. “Let me see it, babe. What do you like?”
I slid onto the sheets, glad I’d spent extra on the higher thread count, and spread my legs wide so I could see him between my knees. The hunger in his eyes made my stomach clench. I propped a pillow up behind my head so I wouldn’t strain my neck watching him; seeing his expression was the best part.
I teased the various piercings I had, tapping them with the vibrator to get a little extra buzz, and it didn’t take long until I breathed deeper and faster, anticipation building. Todd’s fist moved over his cock in time with how I pressed the vibrator into me with long, deep strokes, and he growled as I kicked up the vibration a few settings. My back arched and I groaned, heels digging into the mattress as my head fell back.
Knowing he watched me touch myself, knowing he was getting off by watching me just made it so much hotter. He growled and occasionally gave an order; it all slid through me like lightning. I squeezed my breast and toyed with the nipple ring, tugging for that sharp little edge of discomfort that added the icing on top of the cake as ecstasy grew. “You like to watch, hm?”
“Spread your knees,” Todd said, deep and dark and powerful. “Let me see you. All of you.”
I groaned and did it, changing the angle so little jolts of need had me moving faster, harder.
“Slow down.”
I shook my head. I was so close. So damn close, if I could just get a little more…
His hand closed around mine on the vibrator and then he loomed over me, breathing against my neck as he stretched out and trapped my arms. I cursed as my orgasm hovered just out of reach, but before I could even take a breath, Todd took over.
“Let’s see what this puppy can do,” he murmured and started to play with the buttons on my toy. As the vibration ratcheted up until it sounded like a buzzsaw, I sucked in a breath and gripped the sheets for all I was worth. Shit was about to get intense.
CHAPTER 38
TODD
He wrung every moan and cry out of her he could, and learned a hell of a lot more about vibrators and dildos than he thought was possible. When the first one hit the spot but he wanted to drag her a little higher, he retrieved a bullet-shaped thing to tease her ass, too. She just about jumped into the ceiling with that, and shrieked so loudly his ears rang.
But she came so hard she lay limp on the bed for a good long while. He stretched, pleased with himself, when he finally backed off. He’d run the batteries down quite a bit, too, and added those to his mental shopping list. Jinx was a sweaty mess, spread out like a starfish, with her eyes half-closed and her breasts heaving as she breathed. Every now and then, the muscles in her thighs and stomach twitched, as if in preparation for what he planned to do next.
He moved over her, touching as much of her as he could, and leaned to take her earlobe in his teeth. “And now I’m going to fuck you.”
A faint smile touched her face but she didn’t open her eyes. Her hand slid around his cock in a smooth stroke that almost finished him right there, but Jinx murmured, “Bedside table. Middle drawer. Pick one.”
A growl escaped before he remembered to stay mostly human. He didn’t want to stop touching her, particularly since she didn’t seem inclined to release his cock, so he stretched to reach the drawer and fish around in it. It took a second to recognize what she kept in there, and he grinned as he picked what felt like the thickest butt plug in the drawer.
She cracked an eye open as he slid the smooth silicone through her folds, and Jinx took a breath. “Maybe not…”
“Oh yes,” he said. He eased the plug into her and out again, teasing her with the way he planned to fuck her, to get it good and ready. “Get those legs in the air.”
Jinx moaned and arched her hips, trying to guide the toy deeper in her channel, but Todd retreated and set the tip against her asshole. He leaned down to kiss her, murmuring against her lips, “Take a deep breath, baby.”
She shrieked and cursed when he drove it home, her legs thrashing, and her nails left long rents in his back and sides. Jinx moved her hips to accommodate the new intrusion, panting, and her head tilted back against the pillows. “Shit. Next time you get the backdoor surprise. I’m going to peg the shit out of you.”
He laughed and worked his fingers in her hair to hold her head against the pillow. “Promises, promises. You ready to scream for me?”
The air sparked with static and she dug her heels into the mattress, contorting and wiggling, as Todd dragged his cock against her clit again. Jinx somehow twisted them and then flipped until Todd sprawled on his back and she straddled him. He grinned and dug his fingers into her hips as she sat up on his thighs, breathing hard.
Her eyes glowed with intensity as she lifted herself and held his cock steady, then sank slowly down his length. She stopped immediately, breathing hard and whimpering, and waited to take more. Todd clenched his jaw to keep from grabbing her and hauling her down, but he felt how tight her body clenched with the pressure of the hefty toy in her ass.
Jinx worked a little more in, rocking back and forth, and winced, trying to retreat. Todd couldn’t take the torment; another second without being buried in her and he’d lose all control. He watched her face as he reached out and pinched her clit.
The witch clenched and collapsed at the same time, sinking down on his length as she cried out and shook as another orgasm tore through her. Todd groaned and dragged her down against his chest, muffling her gasps and groans against his shoulder, as her body tried to break his dick off completely. He couldn’t wait for her to quiet and instead rolled to pin her down again, retreating and thrusting against the heavenly vice of her pussy.
Jinx writhed against his hold, and Todd lost all control. The wolf took over until he was a beast rutting against his mate, desperate for connection and completion. This wasn’t just sex. It wasn’t fucking. It was more. So much more. He needed her in his arms, no matter the price, and he would do anything to keep her there. Anything.
He’d take the rest of the night, and the entire contents of her trick box, to convince her.
CHAPTER 39
JINX
We half-dozed. I almost expected him to get up and leave, since that was usually how the night ended, and most of me feared that he’d stay. Him staying meant something else was going on, something bigger than just convenient fuck buddies. That moment when our eyes met and we connected—our bodies, our souls, whatever—felt more like magic than anything I’d known in my entire life.
And it scared the shit out of me.
Because I’d seen what his life looked like: responsibility on top of obligation, meetings on top of working lunches. Khakis and polo shirts and sandals with white socks on the weekends.
I didn’t think I could drag him out of there, unstick him from his pack, but from the way he’d been talking, it sounded like he’d at least consider it. I tensed, wanting to roll to my feet and hide in the bathroom. When the fuck had I gone to actually thinking about being with him? Staying with him? Trying some kind of relationship with Mr. Straight and Narrow?
We had fun as opposites. It was kinky and weird and fun, and that was it. It wasn’t long-term. It wasn’t a foundation of anything.
Or was it?
That spark of connection, that whiff of magic when we touched, had never happened to me before. It felt unique, linked to Todd and nothing else. The sex hit all the right buttons, and he’d rolled with the punches even with toys, so he obviously wasn’t as uptight as I accused him of being. Plus the handcuffs. And I could push him into that wolf-mind place where the beast almost took over, and he had the strength to really challenge me, to handle me the way I wanted. To take my control away and keep me guessing.
And I hadn’t panicked. Him being in control, him dominating me and restraining me, hadn’t raised even a flicker of interest in zapping his ass with a hex in order to free myself. I’d felt... safe. Even handcuffed to the bed, even hovering on the edge of an orgasm at his mercy... I didn’t question that he meant safety and care. He was a rock, a safe harbor.
A knot in my throat made it more difficult to breathe, and I threw my arm across my eyes just in case I got a little misty. It was absurd, to feel like crying. I’d never been weepy after sex, even when it was really disappointing.
I didn’t want a pack. I didn’t want to be chained to that building with all the rowdy, ridiculous guys. I didn’t want to suddenly be responsible for Mercy and her boyfriend or Deirdre and her baby or Silas, stuck in his wolf form. Or the dozens of other people their circle of friends included. I only needed my duffel bag and my tattoo kit, and I was fine. Worrying about other people, their feelings and needs and wants... That wasn’t me.
Except I was running out of places to run, and being a lone witch was getting a little old. Just a little. Not that I could admit that to him.
Todd kissed my shoulder and rubbed his bristly jaw against the tattoo of Athena’s owl that curled around my arm. “You good?”
“Yeah.” I stretched and rolled to my back, resurrecting my “everything’s okay” face.
His head tilted as he studied me, and something glinted in Todd’s eyes. He knew. He read me too well. Which on its own should have sent me screaming in the other direction. That was the most dangerous thing: he could see underneath my mask. He would know the truth about me. And what if he didn’t like it? What if he didn’t like the real me?
Todd ran his fingers through my hair, still examining my face like he expected to find a secret in my pores. I patted his chest and tried not to smile. “How are your little nipples?”
He huffed in annoyance and glanced down at his reddened pecs. “Next time you want to use alligator clamps, could you give me a little warning?”
“It’s not as much fun if you know it’s coming.” I smiled and tweaked one just to make my point. “And since you didn’t let me blindfold you, I had to get... creative.”
“Why is the thought of you being creative terrifying?” Todd laughed and lowered himself on top of me so his weight pinned me, and he kissed his way along my throat and up to my jaw. “I saw what was in that box of tricks, and I hate to think of you leaving all that behind. Why didn’t you bring that to the witch’s house?”
I shrugged, dragging my nails along his sides and back. I still didn’t mind being trapped by him. It felt way too comfortable, like we’d spent a lot of time in bed together. Not fucking but sleeping and talking and cuddling. It felt way too fucking domestic. I drew my knees up so his hips settled close in to mine. “Figured it would be harder to explain if someone decided to help me unpack. Plus it’s heavy to drag around, so I usually start a new collection whenever I get somewhere new.”
