The Virgin's Infiltrator Page 10

  “I thought you would never ask.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him. When she tripped trying to keep up, he paused only long enough to lift her into his arms and carry her. “Hell, I have no idea where to go.”

  “The empty cabin on the east side of the compound. Ripley says it’s Natalie’s as long as she wants it.” Z, leaning against a tree, nearly caused Natalie to jump out of her skin, but it seemed his presence had no effect on her mate. He nodded in acknowledgment and picked up his pace.

  She clung to him, laying her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes. He slowed, and she sensed the buildings around her. She also could feel eyes on her as he carried this strange woman through the center of the compound to their lodgings.

  “Open your eyes,” he whispered into her hair after closing the door behind him.

  She did and gasped. The large log cabin room took her breath away. The amber beams reached high into the air as if Ripley knew small, confined spaces made her nervous. He lowered her to her feet, and she tried to ignore the large four-poster bed in the corner made of the same wood as the house. The room glowed under the light of the dozens of candles burning and the blaze of the fire in the hearth. A basket of food lay open on the table near the fireplace. Her bag was placed on the hardwood floor next to the dresser. “I didn’t expect this.”

  “The Greystones know how to make their guests feel welcome. It’s why they are so good at what they do.”

  “Do all the cabins look like this?”

  “No, Ripley and Z’s is very simple and small with lots of skylights. She loves to see the stars. And 7 and I stay in a dorm-like building on the opposite side of the camp.”

  “Will you be staying there now?” she asked, biting her thumbnail.

  “This is your home now, so you tell me. Am I staying across the courtyard in a cold, lonely bed, or am I staying here where I belong, next to my mate.”

  She sidled up next to him. “Put like that, it’s an easy decision to make.”

  “I hope so because my feelings for you are anything but easy, and there is only one place I need to be.” He lowered his head to capture her lips. Her heart thumped so hard and so loud she suspected he could hear it, too. She lifted a hand to his chest to discover his heart beat as hard as hers.

  His hands worked the hem of her shirt up so he could grip her bare waist. The skin-to-skin touch sizzled, and she sucked in her breath.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “I forgot what your touch does to me.”

  “We can wait, take this slow.”

  “No, I need this, need you.”

  “If, at any time, it’s too much, you tell me, and we’ll stop.”

  She pulled back to really look at him. “But that’s not fair to you.”

  “This isn’t about me; this is about you.” His thumb brushed over her lower lip. “I didn’t understand what it’s like to care more about someone else than myself until I held you in my arms.”

  “What about 7?”

  “It’s different. 7 and I have always been one and the same. We are the ‘twins.’ But I split from him to protect you. Had it been anyone but my mate, I wouldn’t have broken the twin connection.”

  “I don’t ever want him to feel like he isn’t welcome.”

  “He wouldn’t have taken a bullet for you if 7 held any misgivings about us.”

  “I don’t want to think about violence or shootings tonight. Right now, I just need to be with my mate.” She pulled his T-shirt up and over his head, marveling at the hard muscles beneath. His stomach could have been chiseled from stone.

  His warm skin sent tingling through her fingertips. She allowed her wolf to take over, leading her and giving her strength she wouldn’t normally have. She left a trail of kisses from his shoulder up his neck to his jawline. His breath caught as she kissed the soft spot under his ear. She pulled away glancing down at his balled fists at his sides. “Why aren’t you touching me?”

  “I am trying to allow you time to explore, to feel comfortable with me before I lose control. She reached down and brought his hand to her breast. “Touch me. I don’t want this to be only about me. I want this to be about us. Our needs.”

  “Do you understand what will happen, I have to rein in my beast tonight, for your sake. I want to make this special and give you as much pleasure as possible, but if I’m not gentle, I could hurt you.”

  “I’m told it will hurt anyway.”

  “There are ways of minimizing the sting.”

  “Oh, and how would you know these things? Have you slept with a great many virgins?” She wasn’t stupid enough to think there hadn’t been other women, but she didn’t wanted to think about it.

  “No, but this pack is full of them, women, not virgins, well, they all used to be virgins. I’m making a mess of this. Let’s just leave it.”

  “You asked them how to deflower a virgin?” Shock mixed with a good dose of embarrassment washed over her.

  “Who better to ask than a woman?”

  Something in his statement made all her doubts and concerns disappear. He cared enough to learn, through what couldn’t have been easy conversations, how best to help her discover sex. He stood there rigid, delaying any gratification on his part so she could experience what she needed. “What did they say?”

  “They informed me, under the patient hand of a skilled lover, the breaking of your hymen could be done in a way to lessen the pain and still bring pleasure.” As he spoke, his hand moved lower and cupped her mound. “If I treat your virginity as a gift more precious than gold, then you’ll understand how blessed I feel at being the one to take it from you.”

  “You can’t take what is freely given.”

  His lips covered hers, and she moaned, rubbing herself against his hand, needing the pressure of his fingers through the fabric. So frantic, she didn’t notice he had unbuttoned her jeans until the warmth of his palm against her belly brought her heat soaring. And before she could think, he deepened the kiss and rubbed her clit. He could lead her anywhere, and she would have followed, so when he urged her backward until the wall was at her back, she didn’t complain. When he withdrew, she whined, but only until she realized he eased her pants down her hips over her thighs and off. Warm lips worked back up her legs, forcing them apart. He ripped the barrier of her underwear from her then grasped the half-moons of her ass, bringing her to him for a feast. His tongue circled her clit until she shuddered, and only then did his tongue enter her.

  On tiptoe, she fought for control and the ecstasy she yearned for. “Only when you figure out what I am spelling can you come.”

  “What?” Brought out of her light-headed desire to orgasm, she stared down at him.

  He nipped her inner thigh. “Figure out what I am spelling with my tongue, and I will give you everything you have ever wanted.”

  His mouth returned to her and she moaned. “I don’t know.”

  He repeated the motion. With a gasp, she managed a B. Then, “E. M. I. I don’t know…M.” He stopped and shook his head before returning to try again. “N. E. Fuck me, yes. ‘Be mine.’”

  The room spun as he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed. As he placed her on the mattress, she removed her shirt and bra. He followed, stripping off his pants. The next thing she knew, he lay between her legs, holding his weight up with his arms. “Are you sure?”

  “I have never been more sure about any single thing in my life. You’re my other half.”

  “Thank the goddess.” He rubbed the tip of his cock against the wet opening to her womb. She lifted her hips in frustration. With one hand, he forced her back down, holding her hip in place against the bed. “I know you want this, but if you aren’t careful, you will hurt yourself. We have to take this slow.”

  She looked up at him and nodded. She wanted it done. She didn’t like to be weak and worried her virginity made her fragile. In the camp, her virginity had been a commodity Lee had
threatened to sell to the highest bidder. D, on the other hand, even at the expense of his personal comfort, gave her all the time she needed.

  “I want you to take a deep breath and let it out.” He kissed her neck, giving her something new to focus on. “Breathe.”

  She did and, on the third exhale, he entered her with one stroke causing her to clench, catch her breath, and wish she hadn’t been so anxious to get rid of her virginity. She could taste the blood where her teeth broke through the skin of his shoulder as she bit down in pain. “Keep breathing.”

  He moved a little, and she clenched around him, stopping him with her legs. “Not yet.”

  He panted and nodded. Sweat beaded on his brow, and she realized he fought the need to continue. “What do I do?”

  He snapped his head up. “Relax.”

  She filled her lungs until they hurt and focused on relaxing as she exhaled. By the fourth try, she finally allowed her knees to fall open. “I’m ready.”

  “You sure?”

  She nodded and lifted up to kiss him. When he kissed her, she didn’t think about anything but him, but when he moved within her this time, the discomfort disappeared, leaving a sensation of fullness. And then the fullness brought with it pleasure. A sense of being together. Her wolf howled and she called his name, urging him on, wanting all of him, needing to feel him deep inside her where his seed would cement their bond.

  As he reached between them and rubbed her clit, he lit fireworks within her. From the pit of her stomach, the sparks lit, and shudders racked her all the way to her toes. She threw back her head. Her world erupted around her. He brushed away the hair from her face and gently grazed her forehead with his lips.

  “Hang on.” Only when she nodded and gripped his shoulders did he pick up a pace she couldn’t imagine. The headboard hit the wall behind them with such force she feared it would split the wood in two. But then his wolf called to her, and she knew what he needed. She knew every thrust, how to counter in the exact angle to bring him the most pleasure, and when to hold him tight and ride the wave. In the end, when pleasure racked his body, she held tight, enjoying the glow of knowing she brought him to the heights of ecstasy.

  When he collapsed on top of her, she clung, running her nails up his spine, listening to his breathing as he came down from his orgasm. She fought him when he went to move off her, but, even in his weakened state, she was no match for him.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, pulling her into his side.

  “I think so.”

  They lay there for a few minutes before he got up, went to the attached bathroom only to return with a washcloth, taking great care to clean himself off her. “I have a bath running, let’s go get in.”

  “If you ran a bath, why the washcloth?”

  “Because you are my responsibility.” He lifted her from the bed and carried her in to the other room. He kissed her gently as he lowered her into the soothing warmth of the water. “I’ll be right back. Do not fall asleep.”

  “Don’t leave.” Fear of the unknown enveloped her.

  “I’m only going to get you something to drink. I can’t leave you, don’t you understand?” He squatted next to the tub. “It killed me to walk away from you in the Black Hills. Do you think I can do it again? Let me make sure you understand I can’t.”

  “I can’t help this feeling you are going to leave me.”

  “We are mates. You accepted your wolf side, and she accepted me.”

  “Why am I so nervous?”

  “Because, right now, you are overwhelmed. When Ripley and Z first mated, she had to touch him all the time. She needed the connection to ground her. It took weeks before he could leave for more than a couple of hours.”

  “Now he leaves her for weeks at a time.” Panic filled her. She didn’t know if she could go days again, let alone weeks.

  “And he always returns.”

  “But he leaves.”

  He reached for her, and, in an instant, she calmed. “I can’t promise I won’t leave on some assignment for Z sometime, but it won’t be anytime soon, and it won’t be for more than a couple of days.”

  “What about your pack?”

  “I’ve accepted a temporary banishment. We mutually decided.” He stood. “You are my pack.”

  “Banishment?”

  “It was that or I had to stay and finish my time in the filing room. Had I stayed, it would have been years before either 7 or I saw the light of day.” As he leaned over to turn off the water, he offered her a smile. “We’re both happy to be here and not there.”

  “Be patient with me.”

  “You have my entire life. Be right back.” He left, whistling. She knew he did it to reassure her he was nearby. He returned, a bottle of wine in hand, and climbed into the oversized tub behind her. “Sorry I couldn’t find glasses.” He took a swig then handed it to her.”

  “Romantic.”

  “I am nothing if not classy.”

  Long past the time their skin pruned and the water cooled, they left the intimacy of their tub and moved back into bed now made up with clean sheets. “I feel silly lying in bed in the middle of the day when everyone is out and about.”

  “Please do this for me. If we leave this room before tomorrow morning, I will get razzed about my manliness for years.”

  “Oh, so my lying in bed all day with you will save your reputation?”

  “Most definitely.”

  “It’s a small request for my mate.” She kissed his nipple and reveled in the shiver it induced. “Can I ask for something in return?”

  “Anything.”

  “I want to run tonight.”

  He rolled onto his side so they lay face-to-face. “Your wolf?”

  “She is stronger now. I’m learning to trust her, and she has to be allowed out.”

  “As soon as the sun goes down, I’ll take you to a place where you’re safe and you can run and test out your limits. I’ll be there to pick you up or press you on.”

  “I know you will.”

  He leaned in and kissed her. “But, until then, we have a couple of hours to kill.”

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “If you aren’t too sore....”

  “We wolves heal quickly.”

  “Thank the goddess for that.” His mouth descended on hers, and the world receded as the two of them became one.

  One heart, one soul, one mating.

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  Healing His Soul’s Mate by Dominique Eastwick

  Prologue

  “Oh no!” Myron flicked the cards on the receptionist desk again. Pushing her purple hair behind her ear she glanced at the old grainy cuckoo clock on the far wall. “Not happening—this cannot be happening now.”

  Cyrus, having watched the gypsy, fascinated by her confusion, for the last five minutes, came to his feet, “What can’t be happening now, beautiful?”

  He placed his gloved hand on her shoulder, leaning in close to look at the cards as if this time he would see what she did in the random placement of the numbers and face cards. Still, he viewed a strange game of solitaire laid before them. But he knew whatever she saw, he needed to listen. Myron and her cards were often the voice of reason on the island.

  “Has Dana knotted something on her body again?” he asked with some levity. For the last seven weeks, their Romney receptionist had carried a pair of scissors everywhere in superstitious belief the very pregnant Dana could harm her unborn child by tying anything around her body. The gypsy cut off any knot on the other woman’s clothes. And, as most maternity clothes had some sort of tie, most of Dana’s clothes had been mutilated by Myron and her scissors.

  “Do not mock me. Knots are bad luck. We do not want the umbilical cord to have a knot in it.”

  Cyrus decided this might not be the time to reawaken the debate about some cultures bel
ieving knots in umbilical cords good luck. “I am not mocking, luv.”

  Myron’s violet eyes were full of worry before she reached into the tapestry carpetbag beside her. After a minute of rummaging, she brought out her grandmother’s aged deck. Cyrus stayed her from removing them from their fragile box. In a voice intended for only Myron to hear but brooking no argument, he asked, “Why, by the goddess, do you need Babba’s old deck? What have you seen?”

  Myron’s hand shook under his. Her voice almost trance-like, she said, “Dana,” repeating the name with each card in the spread.

  “What about Dana?” If they weren’t so used to Rekkus sneaking up on them, they might have jumped out of their skins. The were-tiger more than anyone would want to figure out why his mate’s name lay on the gypsy’s lips.

  “The cards are dark. They hum, but something is preventing them from getting the information they need.”

  “What could prevent the information from being received?” Rekkus asked. “But they are reading Dana?”

  “Give her a second, Rek.” Cyrus addressed his best friend but never turned to him, focused on keeping Myron calm.

  “Family,” she announced and repeated the two words, Dana and family, over and over as she laid the cards down faster and faster.

  “Damn it, is she in danger?” Rekkus’ voice broke with the intensity of his concern.

  “Dana family. Dana family arriving.” The cards stopped.

  “The cubs?” Rekkus asked.

  “Did you say cubs?” Cyrus turned on his friend. “As in more than one baby?”

  Myron shook her head. “No, the babies are fine, and it’s not their time.”

  “You did say cubs. Myron you knew? She knew?” Cyrus demanded of the two of them. Damn it why had no one told him Dana was having twins.

  “Of course I knew.” She flicked a card on his hand, a card he suspected might be the joker.

  Rekkus growled the inhuman growl that either brought people to attention or sent them running for cover. “Myron, what are the fucking cards saying?”