Marked Read online

  ***

  She was simply stunning as she reached forward and grasped the base of his cock with both hands. He could feel her pulse beating in her fingers, feel his own blood rushing through his veins. He didn’t have to tell her what he wanted; she was already there. That was the beauty of the little witch’s magic…it was quite in tune with his desires.

  All the more reason why she was perfect as his mate.

  Her wide, emerald eyes cast up at him, she leaned forward and drew the head of his dick between her lips. Russell’s eyes rolled back in their sockets and his right hand came around to cradle her head, drawing her forward. She gave a slight gag as he touched the back of her throat, and then the pressure increased around him. Everything ceased to exist except her, and the glorious drag of her lips and tongue around his shaft. One hand stayed around him, moving in tandem with her mouth while the other moved to cradle his balls. Tightening his hand in her hair, Russell pulled her forward, pumping his hips in time with her movements. He fucked her mouth, hard and fast, barely registering the acrid tingle of magic in the air as her throat relaxed to accommodate him.

  She was good…so good…

  He flew back from the table with a roar. To lose himself to her touch would be heaven, but he wasn’t done with her yet. There was still much of the night left, and to come so soon would only show weakness to his eagerly watching pack. Some of the women had even taken Tabitha’s lead and sought out their own partners.

  “My children,” he called, his voice harsh and thick with want, even to his own ears, “see how willing she is to please!” Lusting cheers interspersed with heady moans filled the space between the gasps of pleasure. Stepping behind her, Russell turned Tabitha by her heaving shoulders to face the crowd. “She has been marked.”

  The writhing masses fell absolutely still. Silence cleared the air, and he could hear her sharp intake of breath as she waited for his next statement. A hundred pairs of curious eyes cast up to her shoulder, and the perfect formation of his human teeth in her skin. Small gasps of surprise filtered up from the floor.

  “She is mine,” he continued, his heart accelerating, though whether from the admission or the impending change he didn’t know. The beast still lurked beneath his skin, but when he looked at her it demanded not the change, but her body. This woman was his mate. He knew it just as certainly as he knew his own name.

  Placing one hand in the center of her back, he lowered her to her hands and pulled at her hips so that she stood on her knees, her breasts swinging freely for everyone to see.

  ***

  Tabitha’s world turned inside out. He thrust forward, burying his cock balls-deep inside her, claiming her as his own in the eyes of his pack. His hips pressed against her ass, the full length of him deep inside her, pulsing with barely contained power. Her back arched against the sensation and his hands smoothed down her spine to cup the globes of her ass. As before, without pretense he began to fuck her.

  With each brutal thrust of his hips against her she moaned, her breasts swinging heavily back and forth, threatening to steal her balance. Using his motions, she gripped the edge of the table and angled her hips down to push back against him, taking him deeper, faster. Her breathing turned to a series of shallow pants and she screwed her eyes shut against her audience.

  With each push, each slide of his cock inside her, pressure collected in her womb, coiling tighter and tighter until she could stand no more. Just the feel of him moving inside her, filling her so perfectly, tender even in his feral brutality, tipped her over the edge. With a high, keening wail she succumbed to the pleasure, her body fisting around him, sucking him deeper with each throb of her orgasm. Behind her his pace increased, pushing her weak and aching body closer and closer to the lip of the table.

  She was going to fall. But his arm was there, around her waist, and he dragged her back, battering her body yet keeping her fluid until he seated his hips flush against her and came with a howl. The sound echoed around them a dozen times at least, but the noise was a distant thing as he gathered her weak form into his arms and lifted her from the table.

  “You are mine,” he whispered in her ear, sounding as spent as she felt.

  “Yes,” she agreed, voice weak, and snuggled down against his sweaty, feverish chest.

  ***

  The fire simmering in his veins subsided as he held her. Without the formality of a good-bye, his guests gathered their belongings and filed out of the ballroom. Russell left them to their own devices, not caring if they stayed or left. He was drained, left tired and empty, yet strangely energized with the sexy little witch tucked into his arms. Her slender fingers pressed against his chest over his heart, and a thin, satisfied smile played at the corners of her lips.

  He hadn’t expected to find a mate tonight, but she’d been so tempting, so ready and eager for his attention. And to dull the rage of a blue moon…he’d known the moment he touched her that she could tame him.

  Only, she was still as wild as he. As passionate and hungry. And—goddess help him—he wanted her again already. Even as he carried her up the stairs toward his bedroom he could feel the tingle slithering along his spine, feel himself harden in anticipation of being buried inside her tight, wet heat again. He would have her at least once more before he slept.

  And with any luck, every time he wanted her for the rest of their lives.

  Chapter Four: Captive

  “Tabby! Oh, thank God!” Cera gasped into the phone. No hello, no how are you. Only relief. “What the hell happened? Do I need to come get you?”

  Tabitha laughed. “I’m fine, I promise. I just wanted to let you off the panic-hook.”

  Her friend paused before breathing a deep sigh into the receiver. Cera swore loudly. Tabitha tried hard not to laugh and failed. “Bitch!” Cera shrieked, “You could have called before three o’clock in the afternoon!”

  “Sorry.” She giggled. “I’ve been a little busy.” And she had. She knew Cera knew.

  “Humping like bunnies, I’m sure,” Cera snorted. Tabitha grinned. Not exactly. More like wild canines. On every surface in the house. They had gone downstairs for a midnight snack, and he’d taken her from behind, her fingers digging into the granite countertops to keep from being thrown to the floor. Russell had scarcely let her sleep, much less stop to call. Only when she refused to let him touch her until he fed her had she been given the opportunity.

  “Something like that.”

  “I’ll bet. So what happened?”

  “We sort of…mated.”

  “Thanks, Captain Obvious.”

  “No, Cera…werewolf…” She paused to let the thought process. “…mated.”

  Cera was quiet on the other end for a long moment. “Oh...” On the stairs something rattled…Russell was almost back. “But what the hell does that mean? Are you one now too?”

  “I don’t think so. Russell says the probability of that is extremely low.”

  “But he bit you.” Cera’s tone was a bit accusatory, but Tabitha did not mind. Her friend was only doing what she did best—being concerned.

  “While he was human.”

  “So?”

  “Less chance of infection. Plus, he says my magic will stop it.” Tabitha shrugged, even though Cera could not see it. “I don’t understand it, but I trust him. I don’t think he would lie to me about something that important.”

  Cera was quiet for a moment.

  “So are you going to marry him?”

  “I don’t know,” Tabitha admitted. “I haven’t thought that far ahead yet. But the sex is phenomenal. And he’s bringing me breakfast.”

  “In bed?”

  “He won’t let me out.” Tabitha giggled. Cera groaned, but she knew her friend wasn’t serious about her impatience. Not now that she knew everyone was still alive.

  “Must be nice.” She even sounded a little jealous.

  “I don’t know if it’ll work, but I can definitely tell you I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts.�
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  Tabitha disconnected the call just as the door swept open and Russell stalked in carrying a tray loaded down with food. Her eyes widened as she looked at the spread.

  “That’s more food than I could eat in a week,” she gasped, and received one of his dashing, stomach-fluttering smiles for the effort.

  “It’s not all for you,” he replied. “And enjoy it while it lasts…because it may be a week before I let you out of this bed.” Placing the tray on the nightstand, he leaned over, capturing her mouth in a thorough, heavy kiss, and leaned into her, pressing her back into the mattress with his weight.

  “Wait…wait a minute,” she gasped under his weight and pushed at his shoulders. The effort was futile due to his considerable size, but he paused and leaned back, looking down into her eyes.

  “Is there a problem?”

  “I told you that you weren’t allowed to touch me again until after you’d fed me.” He chuckled, and the sound did wicked, sinful things to her insides. He raised one eyebrow, and before he could comment, Tabitha smacked his arm. “Eating you does not count, Sir Pervy.” He rolled his eyes in a dramatic fashion, but her stomach grumbled loudly between them. “Let me eat, or no more nookie for you.”

  He pointed at the tray sitting at the foot of the bed, and Tabitha immediately reached for it. “The food is right there. Feel free to eat all you want, while I eat what I want.” She stopped mid-movement, jerking the covers back up around her body and locking her irritated gaze with Russell’s aroused one.

  “You are going to eat food, or eat nothing,” she snorted, swatting at his hand as it snaked under the covers and latched onto her ankle. “Give me five minutes to eat something, and then you can have whatever you want. But not until then,” she said, snatching her ankle out of his hand. “Don’t touch me, Russell.”

  “Or what?”

  “Or I swear I will use every spell in my arsenal to hurt you,” she snapped, but he continued his quest, sliding his palm up her leg, over her knee. “I mean it,” she growled, sliding to the opposite side of the bed. “Behave or go away.”

  Tabitha reached out and snatched a bagel from the tray before diving back under the covers. Yes, she wanted him again. Badly. But without some sort of fuel in her system, she would surely give out before he finished the next round. Tearing a piece of the tough bread away, she popped it into her mouth and watched Russell warily as he skimmed his fingers over the food choices he had brought up.

  From the silver carafe, he poured two cups of coffee and handed her one, then picked up several slices of apple and chewed them thoughtfully. “I do hope you realize,” he said, startling her, “that you are in significant trouble, witch.” The look on his face would have been frightening if it weren’t for the erection bobbing against his belly.

  “Oh really,” she retorted, surprised she had the gumption to do it, “and I suppose you intend to punish me?” The smirk left his face and his eyes darkened. Bingo. Oh, boy.

  “Should I desire to turn you over my lap and paddle that beautiful ass of yours, I will do it.” And she knew he would. Another wicked thrill tripped through her blood. She had never been one for kinky sex games, but the mere thought of his big hand connecting with her ass made her want to squirm where she sat. The thought of deliberately disobeying him just to test his limits crossed her mind, but Tabitha’s sense of self-preservation won out over that crazy notion.

  She tore off another chunk of the bagel and shoved it into her mouth. She would much rather put it to the side and chew on Russell, but she was not about to tell him that. Tabitha would stand her ground and eat breakfast, just to prove that she still had a shred of control.

  Yeah, right.

  He could bend her to his will if he so chose, with or without her magic turning on her. That knowledge cured her of her hunger, at least temporarily. She drained the cup of coffee to wash down the bread sticking in her throat, then set both the half-eaten food and the empty cup on the tray.

  “You might want to move that,” she said. Russell pinned her with his gaze.

  “I thought you were hungry.” He picked up the tray and with one hand, guided it to the nightstand.

  “I was.”

  “You certainly did not eat much.”

  “I want something different.”

  “There were plenty of choices on the tray, Tabitha. You could have chosen anything.” He was such a bastard…he knew what she wanted—she could see it in his eyes. Frustrating, irritating man…

  “I will eat what I want, when I want,” she said, her voice a little more than a growl as she pushed him back by the shoulders. A sly smile curled her lips as she reached out, drawing her thumbnail down the length of his erection. The action drew a strangled hiss from him. Despite that one small outburst, he still smiled at her, even going so far as to cross his arms behind his head.

  “Be my guest,” he said, snickering.

  Bastard, she thought. She would show him. Her fingers closed around the base of his cock and squeezed, turning his chuckle into a groan. His cock jerked against her palm, as if fighting the restraint. Drawing her magic in, Tabitha focused on her fingers, and when she pulled them away, his eyes widened in surprise as phantom fingers still held the pressure.

  How easily he had turned over control… How willing he was to let her have her way… Dizzy with the power she held over him, Tabitha climbed up his body and traced her tongue along his bottom lip before sliding her body back down along his and taking the full length of him into her mouth, tasting the salty musk of his semen coupled with the fleeting, bitter flavor of her own juices still lingering on his skin. She treated him like her own personal lollipop, nibbling, licking, and sucking along his skin until he could no longer contain the primal sounds rumbling in his chest. As she worked him, she used her magic to slide over him and constrain his balls as well. He grunted, and one hand fisted in her hair, drawing her down over him over and over.

  Not to be deterred from her desires, Tabitha pushed his hand away and let go of his cock with an audible pop. Glancing up his body from where she lay between his legs, she watched his eyes go wide then darken with some unnamable emotion. She could never remember seeing something so handsome in her life, even as she slithered back up his body and whispered her lips across his.

  ***

  Russell knew to expect something wild from the little witch, but he had no idea she would use his distraction to her advantage the way she had. He captured her mouth in a kiss, and as she pulled away he found himself unable to move, his hands held in place by her magic as she slipped and slid all over him.

  “Witch,” he hissed, and she only smiled in response. “You will pay for this.”

  “Later,” she breathed, nipping at the ridges of his chest, then drawing her tongue up the side of his throat. If this was how she wanted to play, he would gladly give her control and let her go for as long as she wanted. Of all the women in his life, never had he found one this open, this wanton.

  Russell closed his eyes and allowed himself to just feel, to take in the sensations of her body writhing against his. For a moment he lost track of her when their contact was broken, but then she had him in hand and was sliding her tight little body down onto him, taking him all the way to the root.

  The phantom fingers at the base of his dick vanished, replaced by her wet heat, and the rhythmic, controlled rolling of the muscles in the walls of her sex. God, this woman knew how to fuck. If he opened his eyes, he knew he would see her holding her bottom lip between her teeth as she dragged her body up and forced it back down around him again.

  Her hands landed against his chest, balancing her body as she began a slow, rolling rhythm over him, retracting, then squeezing him on the descent. Faster and faster she moved, until her body was little more than a quivering, undulating breath over him. Deep in his belly, his own pleasure grew until he felt like the top of his head would blow off.

  With a snarl, he called on his Alpha instincts and broke the magical bonds aroun
d his wrists and took hold of her, opening his eyes to find her staring back through two dusky, emerald orbs. Catching her by the back of the neck with one hand, Russell towed her down and fastened his mouth over hers while using his other hand to continue the movements, putting her exactly where he wanted her.

  When his fingers slipped between her folds and scraped over her swollen clit, she cried out, sucking in a ragged breath just in time for her entire body to tense, seizing around him again and again. He wanted to hold on, to feel every scrap of her pleasure before giving in when she slammed her body back down against him, taking him completely inside.

  Without warning, his whole world unwound. Clutching her by the hips, Russell bucked beneath her once, his head thrown back against the pillows, and howled as he came. Colored lights burst behind his eyes as his orgasm threatened to take him under.

  Tabitha collapsed on top of him, gasping for breath and trembling with tiny aftershocks, her body occasionally locking down on his and drawing another series of shudders from him as well.

  The world around them seemed to fall away for several long minutes while he lay there, the little witch sprawled on top of him, his cock still buried inside her. He would never tire of this woman, not if they both lived another thousand years. Already he wanted her again, and the small, panting breath against his chest told him she had noticed.

  She did such strange things to him—she turned him inside out, tore him apart and put him back together again, all without ever knowing it. She was his anchor and his escape, and as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her to his chest, he silently thanked whatever deity was listening for bringing her into his path.