Dire Desires

She liked that, especially because he used the hand that had the cuff around it. “I could get used to having you bound.”

He stared at her. “So could I.”

The rumble of his voice was enough to make her blood boil. She leaned forward and he continued stroking himself while he took her nipple into his mouth and sucked hard, enough to make her cry out in pleasure. She felt more wild than ever—completely free, uninhibited.

Jinx would be hers and she his, forever. She’d wanted this from nearly the moment she’d seen him. And she’d never felt anything more right in her entire life. “I love you, Jinx.”

He smiled up at her, his eyes heavy lidded. “I love you, Gillian. I’m ready to mate with you. To face whatever comes next together.”

With that he let go of his cock and she put both his arms over his head, cuffing them together, a concession to tradition. The rest of the bindings would be symbolic, but no less meaningful.

And then, as had happened before, a hand went to his throat and Jinx bared it for her to get a better grip.

“This is . . . during mating, this happens,” she whispered. Vice had told her about the chains, but not their placement. Still, she suddenly knew exactly where one of them was meant to go.

He nodded. “I’d wear a collar. And I like this one very much.”

She’d been making this unconscious gesture from the first time they’d been together. She kept her hand there as she used the other to stroke his already hard cock before bringing herself down on it, inch by inch.

“Don’t worry about hurting me, Gilly. You wouldn’t. I know that,” he managed and she was a little worried, because of her strength and her newness at being a wolf. She didn’t always have the control she would’ve liked. But Jinx trusted her.

She pushed herself all the way down so he was completely buried inside of her. Her womb ached with need but she remained still for a long moment, wanting to never forget this feeling, this moment in time.

Jinx was slightly more impatient. He groaned, arched his back so his hips jutted up, filling her. She held to him tighter, instructed him not to move.

He smiled, did as he was told. She loved this power, the way he trusted her not to hurt him. She knew she had to have an uncontrolled shift for this to work . . . and he would remain still so as not to spook Sister Wolf.

Don’t worry, Sister told her.

And she didn’t, rocked against him as pleasure seared her body. She moved faster and faster, closed her eyes, unaware of anything but her harsh breaths and Jinx’s groans. She leaned forward and held his arms down, even though he hadn’t moved them at all.

“Harder—take me harder,” Jinx growled, and that alone made her come as though he’d commanded it.

When she opened her eyes, she was Sister Wolf, standing next to him, raking his shoulder with her claws. Jinx growled, his eyes lupine but he remained still as she marked him, stalked him, jumped on him and huffed.

Finally, she shifted back, in a daze. Jinx’s arms were around her, his blood on her chest as he hugged her, turned her and fucked her on all fours while she cried out. Her moans rose, the air around them sticky and sweet. When she climaxed, wet and hot against him, he went over the edge as well, calling out her name.

It was done. They were mated. And there was no separating them now.

Chapter 33

Liam came upon the skirmish that Cyd called about, with a group of outlaw Weres who weren’t getting with the new program. Cyd had gone to lay down the law, but it was turning into a fight.

Liam needed to be on-scene. He drove the big, bulletproof truck through the darkened streets, his blood thrumming with the need to fight. Everything for him was amped up these days, almost as if he was a newly shifted wolf. The adrenaline churned in his gut and his hands ached from fisting them along the steering wheel.

He’d gotten used to fighting, to defending his honor, and he liked it. He didn’t know if his father’s first days as king had been like this, but Linus had taken the kingship away by challenging their old, corrupt packmaster. Liam had heard stories of that fight hundreds of times.

Your father would be proud of you, Vice assured him hundreds of times over the past months. He’d never expected the ferocious Dire to deal with his neediness, but he’d learned a lot about that wolf. Never wanted to be his enemy or meet him in a dark alley, but with Vice on his side to teach him, Liam knew he could lead this pack long before he was supposed to be ready to do so.

And now, Vice was taking care of the baby.

He shoved those thoughts out of his mind as he came across the small battle. Cyd was fighting three Weres and apparently he’d already killed several more.

He wasn’t the only one fighting, though. Violet was there. This time, with a red bra underneath the white shirt, army green cammie and high black boots she was kicking ass with, and his reaction was visceral. His body tightened, his dick on auto-drive and he could take her now, make her his and he had no fucking idea why or how.

His wolf liked the idea so much that he found himself walking toward her, to help her. When she tore the outlaw Were’s throat out and stepped back, he realized she didn’t need help at all.

She still bore bruises from their fight and it didn’t seem to bother her. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Fighting. I’ll prove my worth to you if it kills me,” she told him. He hadn’t seen her since she’d watched over him that night, but apparently, she’d been working with Cyd.

You gave your approval. “Today, it might kill you.”

“Better to die on your feet, right, king?” she asked, but there wasn’t a trace of sarcasm in her tone. She jumped then and he went for her, but she was over his head in seconds.

When he turned, he saw she’d taken out an outlaw Were with her hands on its neck before wheeling around to defend Liam again.

No way was he letting a female fucking save him.

But you just did.

* * *

It couldn’t be put off any longer. Vice escorted Cain inside to see Rifter and Liam, filling the role that would normally be Jinx’s.

Vice also carried the baby strapped to his chest in some kind of papoose thing, but Cain didn’t say a word. Because Vice actually seemed calmer. Happier.

Just then, Jinx walked through the living room. “Sorry I’m late—I didn’t miss it, did I?”

Cain looked at Vice, who shrugged. “Figured you need all the support you can get.”

“Silent support, in my case,” Jinx said. “Safer for all of us.”

Cain nodded and took a few steps farther to where Rifter and Liam waited in the kitchen for him. Cain had asked both wolves for this face-to-face meeting and now, he almost chickened out. Vice pushed him forward gently and Cain was grateful for that, more so when he saw the look of concern on both Liam’s and Rifter’s faces.

“Thank you both for seeing me,” Cain started. “I have something of great importance to share with you both.”

“Report,” Liam said and Cain nodded in deference to both kings.

“Angus Black is . . . back.”

“Back in black,” Vice sang. “Come on, you’re telling me you could resist that?”

Rifter ignored him, Liam bit back a grin at his mentor and Cain’s heart beat so loudly he knew the entire room could hear it.

“Wolf, sit,” Rifter ordered and Cain did so as the dizziness swept him.