THREE

He took a step back, still on his knees before her. “Sweetness, we’ll go slow. I’ll show you that we’re meant to be together. You need never be afraid of me. I’d die before I harmed you or ever allowed harm to come to you. I won’t lie, Rain, I want very much to make love to you tonight. But if you’re not ready I’ll wait until you are.”

“Who are you? You’re too good to be true. There’s no such thing as instant whatever this is. I keep thinking I’m going to wake up and you’ll have been a dream.”

“I’m yours,” he answered simply. “Will you stay the night, Rain? Or shall I take you home now? It’s your choice. Either way I’ll be here tomorrow. All of your tomorrows.” He stood and waited for her answer.

The honey of his voice drew a shiver from her. Licking her lips nervously, she looked up into his face. She wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anything and that scared her. All her life she’d had one passion and that had been painting. She didn’t know what to do with two. Didn’t know if they’d both fit in her life. “I don’t know,” she whispered.

“Oh, love.” He pulled her into his arms tightly. She pressed her face to his chest, finding herself calmed by the beat of his heart, the warmth and smell of him. His hair swept forward and lay across her bare shoulders like silk. He stroked gentle fingers down her back. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-six. And you?”

“Forty-four.” The juxtaposition of the siren in his arms with her youth and relative inexperience fascinated him. There was a wisdom in her eyes that belied her physical age. She’d seen a lot. “Sweetness, have you ever felt so strongly toward a man before?”

“Never. I’ve dated but I’ve never really been into the men I was with. I’ve had close friendships with men—both of my roommates are men—but I haven’t ever felt on fire for any of them. I do for you.”

He shuddered at her words. He didn’t want to scare her away but he wanted to let her know how she affected him. “I’ve been with other women in the past but I’ve never wanted any of them with such a deep longing. You make me feel on levels that I hadn’t imagined before.”

Taking a deep breath, she made her decision. “I want to stay.”

It was all Laurent could do not to sweep her up and run toward his room. Loosening his hold on her, he stepped back, holding his hand out.

When she took it he smiled, sent out a prayer to do all the right things for his woman and slowly walked with her into his bedroom, shutting the door behind them. Immediately it felt like the space was a safe haven for the two of them, a world where it was just Laurent and Rain.

She stood there, looking expectant and nervous, and it squeezed his heart. Pulling gently on the hand he still held, he brought her to his body and kissed her softly, sweetly. It was a kiss that sealed his fate. He was hers and he was giving himself to her freely. After a slight hesitation on her part she encircled his neck with her arms and he felt the tension fall away from her.

They stood there kissing for several minutes as he devastated her with his mouth. Her bones turned to mush as Laurent’s hands swept over her body in gentle exploration. Down the line of her back, over the curve of her ass, pulling her snug against him. She gasped when the notch of her pussy met the hard line of his cock, thrilling at the electricity between them. He rolled his hips and the blunt head of his cock brushed over her swollen clit and light burst behind her eyelids.

It became natural then to just give herself to him, to trust that he could treat her gently and kindly, that this was meant to be.

Laurent ground himself into her for a moment, teeth on edge at the contact of hard meeting soft. Her gasp of delight when he did it spurred him on. She wanted him as badly as he wanted her. Even better, he felt the moment when she gave herself to him.

Humming his satisfaction at her abandon, he found the zipper pull on her dress and the metal sound of the dress parting filled the room and rode his spine. When he stepped back the dress fell at her feet and he simply stared, openmouthed, at the body it revealed. She stood there, golden-skinned, high full breasts freed, nipples hard and tight, in a pair of red lace boyshort panties with garters attached to nude stockings.

“Do...do you like them?” she asked shyly, blushing.

Blinking several times, he had to concentrate to remember how to speak. Reaching out, he brought her hand to his cock. “Can’t you tell?” he answered hoarsely. He was surprised when she brought the other hand over to rub the length of him before undoing his button. The sound of his zipper slowly descending brought his breath short. Before long his pants slid down his legs and he toed his shoes off, getting undressed but for his boxers and shirt.

Gently, he picked her up and moved her out of the pool of the dress at her feet, taking a moment to grab their clothes and put them on a nearby chair. She came back to him, unbuttoning his shirt, sliding it back over his shoulders. His skin tingled in the aftermath of her touch on his bare chest.

Her hands, still shy but determined, were back, stroking over his cock through the material of his shorts. “I like your boxers but they need to go,” she whispered and he nodded mutely, shucking them off.

“I’ve never seen a body as beautiful as yours.” She ran her hands over his chest and down his stomach, through the thatch of hair at his groin and at long last she took his cock into her hands. He gritted his teeth, willing himself to give her time to explore. It felt damned good, her hands all over his body. He’d thought of little else since he’d seen her the first time just days before. The reality was far better than the fantasies and her hands on his cock were far more satisfying than his own.

As stereotypical as it was, Rain found herself pretty damned impressed with the length and girth of Laurent’s cock. She had sex toys, she liked them thick, but he beat silicone hands down. Her pussy spasmed with greed as she thought of him inside her.

Her last attempt at sex hadn’t been overly satisfying. Not as horrible as it had been with Anthony—mister unzip, leave the pants on, no foreplay, three dry thrusts and come. But certainly lacking any real fire or finesse. She’d never had the inclination to simply look her fill at her partner’s body. No man made her clit throb in time with her nipples. No man made her pussy so wet she felt the heat on her thighs either. Sex with Laurent, she had a feeling, would be a far different animal. Something she was quite eager to experience.

Laurent smiled at her, eyes alight with passion. “It makes me so happy to see you react to me this way. And it isn’t me who is beautiful but you.” He brought his hands to her breasts and held their weight. “Look at these. I’ve never seen such pretty pink nipples before.” He ran his thumbs up and across their pebbled surface over and over and her hips hitched forward in response. “You’re built like a goddess—lush, curvy and soft.”

“I believe the word you’re looking for is chubby,” she said with a wry grin.

He pulled himself back, looking angry. “Never. Lush. Womanly. Your body is curvy and delightful. You make me so incredibly turned on,” he said, bending his head down to a nipple, taking it into his mouth. She gasped and arched her back, her fingers digging into the muscle of his shoulders. “I plan to show you just how turned on when I kiss every inch of you.” He took a step back. “Are you ready, Rain? Still with me?”

It touched her that he cared to ask and be sure. She nodded and he gently laid her back on the bed behind her.

“These sheets are fabulous. The room smells like you, I feel like I’m surrounded by your essence in here,” she said, running her nails lightly down his back as he settled just on top of her.

“I wouldn’t want you sleeping on anything that wasn’t as soft as you are. Now lie back and relax and let me love you slowly. Thoroughly.” He pulled her arms up and over her head. “Leave them here,” he said, kissing her lips, this time with heat and passion. His hair swept down and surrounded them both in a jet black curtain. The scent of it, the heat of him, made her dizzy.

He kissed his way over to her ear and down her neck and throat to one breast and nipple then the other. It was all she could do to look down at him, the dark hair trailing over her naked skin, his mouth, teeth and nimble fingers at work on her nipples. No one had ever paid much attention to her nipples, she hadn’t known anyone could make them feel like this. Could make her feel like this just from playing with them.

It had been nice enough but the hand not rolling and tugging her nipple moved down her belly, stroking over her fevered skin until it stopped at the waistband of her panties.

“As much as I like these, and I do, they’ve got to go so I can get to your sweet pussy,” he murmured against her nipple as he pulled her panties and stockings off, tossing them off the bed.

He sat back on his haunches, between her thighs. “Now then.” He gently petted the close-cropped hair at the top of her pussy for a few moments. She watched him, rapt. The heat of his palms on her inner thighs nearly scalded her as he pushed them wide apart. She should have felt embarrassed to be exposed to him in such a way but watching him devour her with his eyes was fascinating.

“So pretty and cocoa pink.” His gaze locked on her pussy, his fingers made a slow, slick circuit through the folds there, carefully avoiding too much contact with her sensitized clit.

“That feels so good,” she murmured. Another truth was that she’d never had an orgasm that she hadn’t given herself. She was so close just from his nearness, the kissing and his worship of her breasts, that when his thumb came up and flicked across her clitoris while another finger slowly slid inside her she climaxed, arching into his hand, trembling and seeing stars. She whispered his name hoarsely.

Laurent shook as she climaxed so beautifully it took his breath. He hadn’t expected her to come so quickly and he smiled at how responsive she was to his touch. He also needed her so powerfully it made his teeth hurt. “That was only the first one,” he said, lowering himself to lie between her thighs, head at the space where leg met body, gazing up at her. Her scent gripped him and he didn’t resist swirling a finger through those swollen, wet, pink folds and bringing it to his mouth, tasting her honey.

They both gasped. Her taste shocked through him, rocked his senses and dizzied him a moment. He had to have more.

She tried to close her legs, blushing. “No, baby, never. You are so beautiful, let me see you.” He opened her with his thumbs and ran a tongue along her wet, hot skin. Her body was a freaking symphony, lighting up his every cell.

“I’ve never, oh!”

“Never? Oh, love, let me show you then. Please. I swear to you that it’s worth it.” He lowered his head again. How could any man have resisted this sweet pussy? Slowly, thoroughly, he used teeth and tongue, lips and mouth to explore every fold, every dip and curve. She was hot, hot and juicy and he wanted more. His tongue slipped into her body and she arched her back. Moving back up, he circled her clit with the tip of his tongue. Over and over until her entire body vibrated. More, god, he wanted more. It was all Laurent could do not to surge up and shove himself inside her, she was so exquisite, so perfect.

How could she have lived without this all these years? Rain’s breath came out in short pants, wave after wave of intense pleasure rocked her, building and building. “I want oh...that feels so...oh god...please, Laurent,” she breathed out, her hesitance at being pleasured that way giving over to the need for him to make her come.

Without thinking she put her hands on his head, threading her fingers through his hair, holding him to her. When he reached up and pinched one of her nipples she jerked off the mattress with a cry. His moan of approval sent vibrations up through her clit. It was so good it just bordered on too much. Her head thrashed from side to side as she moaned, hips churning against his mouth.

Just when she began to beg, he sucked her clit into his mouth, his teeth lightly sliding over her, his tongue flicking underneath the hood softly but insistently. Orgasm slammed into her body. She bit her lip so hard she tasted the metal of her own blood as she came and came. With a long, satisfied sigh her thighs fell open and she let her hands fall to the bed as she gasped for breath.

It took several minutes for her to come back to herself, all the while Laurent lay with his head on her thigh, petting her softly. She pulled him up to lie beside her. “That was... Wow, thank you.”

He kissed her gently. “Don’t thank me. You have no idea how much pleasure that just brought me.”

She pushed him back against the mattress, laughing. “Not as much as it brought me, I’d wager. Now I’m not a virgin or anything but I’ve never done this before. I’ll probably be horrible but I’d like to taste you too. Can you help me? Tell me if I’m doing something wrong?”

He smiled then, his hair spread out around his head. “You’ll be fine. Just watch the teeth,” he said with a chuckle. He caressed her thighs and she wanted to rub herself all over him.

All she wanted at that moment was to make him feel as good as he’d made her feel. Focusing her energy and attention on him, she studied his body intently. Running her hands down the wall of his chest, she didn’t fail to notice his nipples. Although they were flat they were hard. She wondered if they were responsive like hers. Bending down, she licked one, swirling her tongue around it, and he gasped. Apparently so. She grazed one with her teeth and he groaned.

“Yes.”

Abrading her nails lightly over them, she moved on, slowly kissing her way down his chest and stomach. He smelled so good, tasted warm and masculine. Kneeling between his thighs, she reached up and undid her ponytail, letting her hair free to curl around her face and cascade down her back.

Leaning down, she ran her tongue around the edge of his navel, catching the skin between her teeth. His hands gripped the sheets and the power of making him react that way roared through her.

Moving lower still, she dragged her hair lightly over his belly and thighs and he sighed, writhing. At last, the good stuff. Grinning, she grabbed his cock gently, examining it. Soft, velvety smooth but hard too. Skin hot to the touch. She ran a fingertip down the tightened skin of his balls and he groaned, arching up into her touch. You learn something new every day.

Time to get down to real business. She moved, bending to run her cheek along the length of his cock, stopping to kiss the head. Pre-come beaded at the slit and she dragged her tongue across it, the salty taste of him sliding through her senses.

“Holy...yeah, that’s it,” he hissed as she licked along the crown.

Good gracious she hoped she didn’t injure him. It seemed like a huge act of trust to let all those teeth so near something so precious and tender.

She took him into her mouth slowly, incrementally, waiting and watching him for cues about what he did and didn’t like. She took him back as far as she could and pulled back, trying different things with her mouth and tongue. There was no way she’d get all of him in her mouth so she concentrated on what she could reach without embarrassing herself and gagging.

“Yes, yes, baby, like that. Oh.” He groaned, his hands drawing through her hair and over her shoulders.

Suddenly he pulled her up off him.

“What? Did I do it wrong?” she asked, confused and slightly embarrassed.

“No,” he said, laughing. “You did it too well. I’m going to come if you keep that up and I’d rather be inside you when that happens.” He kissed her and laid her down on her back. Her pulse thundered and nervousness made her slightly queasy, warring with her intense desire to have him inside her that very moment.

Reaching across her, he pulled a condom out of the side table drawer and she wondered just how many women he brought here to do this with.

As if he read her mind he said, “I just bought these today, for you. I’ve never had a woman in this bed before.” She felt better until he sheathed himself and settled back between her thighs. The head of his cock nudged against her and it occurred to her that he seemed awfully big and it had been a long time since anything other than her vibrator had been in there.

“We’ll go slow,” he said, pushing inside her and stopping immediately. “Oh Rain, you’re so tight.” Beads of sweat popped out along his forehead and she felt the strain in his muscles.

“It’s been nearly a year,” she said and he groaned. “I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t apologize. You feel so damned good that I have to take it slow or I’ll come before I even get all the way in. I don’t want to hurt you either,” he said and slid in a bit more.

So full it burned at the edges as he slid in a bit more. After a few more breaths, pleasure pushed everything else from the points along the nerve endings he stroked. She moaned and he moaned along with her. “This feels so good. Please, Laurent.” She had to have more of him.

“Honey, I need to go slow or...”

She couldn’t wait, she arched her pelvis the next time he moved to get inside her a bit more and he ended up sheathing himself fully in that one stroke. Tears sprang to her eyes—that was a bit painful—stretched, but damned good.

“Am I hurting you? You should have waited. I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he said, desperately trying not to move. She was so tight and hot that he was a second from exploding. Having her beneath him, naked, her cunt gripping his cock in a tight embrace, was so much more than he’d imagined.

“No, it’s passing. Please, please, I need you to move,” she begged and he obliged her. He knew she was feeling better as her face lost the lines of strain, loosening as she rolled her hips. He saw the desire in her eyes, saw her pupils enlarge and her lips part. Her moan was laced with pleasure and it shot straight to his balls. “Omigod. So good,” she whispered and he smiled and began to move, setting a rhythm. Shortly he changed his angle to drag across her sweet spot and give her friction across her clit.

She was incredible. Beautiful as her head moved from side to side. He made her feel that way. Pride and possessiveness rang through him.

“What do you need? What can I do for you?”

“I need, oh, I don’t know. I want to, oh, it feels so good.” Her voice was hoarse and he was suddenly right on the edge listening to her, knowing that no one had ever made her feel that way before. He reached down and began to stroke across her clit with his thumb and she went over right at that moment, the muscles deep inside her rippling and spasming around his cock, pushing him into climax as well. Her name broke from his mouth as she pulled her knees back, encircling his waist with her calves. Her cunt pulled his cock back inside each time he stroked out.

Her moans had gotten louder, more intense, as their climaxes united and drew out. He then understood why Kari and Andreas were so loud—making love with a Mate was simply beyond comparison to any sex he’d ever had. It was like comparing scratching an elbow to a mind-numbing orgasm.

Finally, long moments later, he pulled out, pulling her into his arms after he’d disposed of the condom. He kissed her temple gently and sighed, totally satisfied for the first time in his life. “Thank you for trusting me.”

“Thank you for making love to me. Or was it fucking? I don’t know, I mean, I’m not up on all of this relationship stuff. Like I said, it’s been a year and even then it was only three times and before that it was twice with my ex and let me tell you, he’s got nothing on you, Laurent Cole. I’ve never had an orgasm, well, not that I didn’t give myself anyway and god, did I say that out loud? Now I’m babbling, which happens when I’m nervous and mmmmfp!” Laurent put two fingers over her lips to stop her, trying not to laugh.

“It was making love. I could take you, hard and fast, up against a wall or a door but it would still be making love. Always that between us,” he growled. “It isn’t about experience, it’s about the combination of you and me.”

She nodded and he scented her blush before he could see it. “Is it weird if I say you don’t look a day over thirty? I mean, even if you did you’d still be handsome and stuff.” She clamped her lips shut.

“Can’t speak for other people, but I consider it a compliment. The men in my family age well.” It wasn’t time to tell her yet, werewolves lived well into their second century.

“Um, so...” She twisted the sheets in her hands nervously, clearly working up to say more.

“You can always talk to me.” He took her hands, kissing each one.

“Well, two things really. One, I should call my roommates and tell them I’m not coming home so they won’t worry. And two, I’d really like to do it again.”

Her guilelessness charmed him. She wasn’t clueless, or helpless in any way, but there was no denying how sexy it was to be discovering all this new territory with her. He gestured to the phone on the table. “When you’re done with that, we’ll get started on round two.”

“Are you sure?”

Snorting, he brought her hand to his already reviving cock. “What do you think?”

Quickly, she rolled to her feet. He watched her as she found her purse, grabbing her phone from it.

“I’ve got my phone here,” she told him as she swayed back into the room. Once she’d settled against the headboard, the sheet pooled at her waist, she sent him a prim smile and then called home.

Entranced and feeling rather lazy, he lay there with his eyes closed, not wanting to stare at her as she spoke to her friend.

This was true satiation. The scent of his mate all over his body, the two of them relaxed and in the same place. Wolves loved to touch and be touched, loved that warmth and comfort from pack, especially from intimates.

“Harrison, hey. Listen, I won’t be home tonight. I just wanted to call you to tell you so you wouldn’t worry.” She paused, listening. “No, he’s fine. Yes. Yes, I know. We did use a condom. The Harbor Steps, I swear to you he’s not a creep or a weirdo. Yes, good night and I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye.”

She hung up and sighed, snuggling back down and into his body.

“Who is this guy?” He frowned but kept his eyes closed.

“Who?”

“The man you just spoke to.”

“He’s my roommate. Harrison Watts. He’s like a big brother. He worries about me. You’re a stranger. He wants me to be safe.”

“Harrison Watts the photographer?”

“Yes. Do you know his work?”

“Yes, Andreas has several of his photographs in his office. He’s got an incredible eye.”

“I’ll tell him you said that. He’s been my family since I came out here.”

That he understood. Family was important. “And your other roommate, you said you lived with two men?”

She looked down at him. He sounded so cute and unsure as he tried to be nonchalant about fishing for information about her male roommates. “Elton, he’s a cellist. He’s adorable, talented and likes guys.” Even if he hadn’t been gay, he was more scattered than she could ever deal with in a romantic partner.

Was that what she and Laurent were then? Or was this just a really nice thing that would happen when he came to town? And asking made her seem like a loon, right? Although who made up that dumb rule? It was her life, wasn’t it? Why couldn’t a woman ask a simple question?

Still a little indignant from her mental debate, she blurted, “So hey, um, well I mean to say, we just met and everything so it’s sort of fast, but, are we dating or just going out?”

He opened his eyes and his gaze settled on her like a physical thing. “The distinction being?”

“Well um, is this an exclusive thing or will you see other people and sleep with them too?” Which sounded so far from cool she cringed.

“I don’t think what happened between us tonight is something casual, do you?”

“Didn’t I tell you several times that I haven’t had sex in a year? Jeez, of course it isn’t casual. Not to me anyway but like I said, I don’t date really and I don’t know what the rules are.”

“The rules are that I exist to make you happy,” he said, hugging her tightly.

She reached down and found him hard. “Look at you, working so diligently to obey the rules.”

He laughed and proceeded to show her how well he could obey.

Three more times.