A Wolf's Fate (A BBW Shapeshifter Romance): The Holiday Ball (6 page)

Autumn came awake slowly, unsure what day it was or why she had even awakened. The first thing she recognized was the warmth beneath her cheek and the steady beat of a heart under her ear.

Gunner.

She smiled and traced the brown outline of his areola. Moving slowly, she recognized the heated aches and pains throughout her body for what they were—passion marks from her mate.

Her mate.

Or was he? She quickly withdrew her hand and stopped touching him. She bit her lip, all her self-doubts flying in to overwhelm her. Had he really claimed her? She felt the first faint mark he’d left on her breast start to throb. Her fingers found the raised skin where her neck and throat joined and she remembered the delicious feel of his fangs as they sank deep in her flesh at the same moment his cock had spurted into her, flooding her womb with the heat of his seed.

If that hadn’t been a mate’s claiming she didn’t now what was.

But, had her wolf been in his right mind? There had been a hell of a lot of pixie dust flying in the air last night. Plus, she wasn’t a full-blooded witch. A witch was usually a wolf’s destined mate. Granted, she had some witch in her lineage, but not enough to have attracted the attention of a wolf.

Gunner moved, disturbing the blanket draped over his hips. Another twist or turn and it would slide completely from his body, exposing all of his masculine charms.

Just as she was easing from the bed, he moaned and opened his eyes. And when their gazes connected, he blinked and smiled. The scar at the corner of his mouth would always prevent a full smile, but the slight imperfection made him all that more endearing.

“Hi, pretty pixie.” He pulled himself to an upright position, causing the blanket to slip away. She tried not to look, but no red-blooded woman—or pixie—could have resisted. His swollen cock caught the blanket, playing an erotic tug of war as he continued to pull himself into a sitting position against the headboard. It inched downward revealing his navel and the shadow of hair just below. As she watched, the flesh of his cock thickened. The rich fabric held in place for a few seconds, then his dick sprang free, jutting in the air, inches form her face.

“Hi,” Autumn murmured, unsure of what to do. This was her first ever morning after. Her other sexual experiences had never included spending the night, wrapped naked in her lover’s arms.

He looked down at her, those beautiful brown eyes that had so mesmerized her last night, quickly filled with shadows as he watched her. “Autumn, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said, much too softly.

His chest heaved and he dragged his hand through his hair, the long locks falling back down, settling atop his shoulders. She held her breath as she watched. He was so beautiful. So dangerously handsome. So dangerous.

“Autumn, talk to me, baby. I can tell you’re worried about something. Is it us? Is it what happened last night?” Suddenly his eyes darkened. “I didn’t hurt you did I?”

“No, no. I’m fine.” She was quick to reassure him about that. She grabbed the blanket and tucked it beneath her arms, covering herself.

Gunner moved, shifting toward her, stirring the mattress. “Then what’s wrong?” He reached out and traced the curve of her shoulder left bare by her blanket barrier. He thought it was cute she was trying to cover herself. Not that it would do her much good when he decided to take her again. “Then what?”

“It’s just, we. It happened so quickly. I’m not sure what happened.”

Gunner’s eyebrow rose. “Not sure what happened?” If he wasn’t so worried that she was getting ready to try and run, he was pretty sure his ego should have been reeling from the blow she’d just given him. “Baby, if you don’t know what happened, then I must not have done it right.”

Autumn was taken aback by the corny, light-hearted teasing that was coming from her dark wolf. He’d been hiding in the shadows last night, his aura a mass of blacks and grays. Today…well today, she realized, golds and browns surrounded him. And if she wasn’t mistaken, just a little pink.

Was she responsible for that?

“Yes, you were.”

Before she could comment, he had the silken sheet stripped away and her naked body beneath his. He thrust his legs between hers, spreading her open. He settled on top of her, his aching dick pulsating against her clit.

“Now, what about last night don’t you understand?”

Autumn’s hands were pressed firmly against his chest, trying to keep some distance between them. He allowed her that much, supporting his weight on his elbows. With the fingertips of his right hand, he brushed her hair away from her face.

“You can’t possibly know that I’m your mate. Not that quickly.”

“Why not?” Gunner realized he had acquired a stubborn mate. And he couldn’t be happier. He didn’t want a woman who would simply lie down and let him walk all over her. He ran his hand down her side, brushing his knuckles along the curve of her breast, the small indentation of her waist, before clasping her hip.

“Because.”

He exhaled a rough breath. “My wolf knew you the moment he scented you.”

“And that’s all there is to it?” She blinked up at him, her green eyes wide and guileless.

“No. Yes.” Gunner lowered his head until their foreheads touched. “I wanted you, Autumn. Never doubt that. Ever. You gave me back my wolf. You made be whole again. Better than whole, because you gave me you. My other, better half.”

Gunner closed his eyes and tilted back his head, wanting to snap at himself. He didn’t have the words to explain everything. He didn’t even really know how to say what he knew she needed to hear. But he’d try. He’d spend the rest of his life trying. He opened his eyes and stared straight into hers. “I love you.”

“Oh.” Her mouth parted and all he could think of was how he wanted to kiss her, lick and touch and taste her.

He nuzzled aside her hair, finding the spot where he’d marked her last night. “I love you, Autumn. I take you as my mate. My bride. My heart.”

He licked the still slightly raised edges of his bite, savoring the shiver that ran through her and the scent of her arousal flooding the air around them. He pressed closer until his mouth was touching her ear. “I will keep you and care for you. I will give you your every need, your every want, your every desire. I will love you until my soul parts from yours and then I will love you into eternity and beyond.”

Tears flooded her eyes and began to fall. He stroked them away. He cupped her face kissing her lips tenderly. “Sssh,” he urged. Damn it, he hadn’t meant to make her cry. He traced the curve of her eyebrows, her cheekbone, and her jawline with his mouth. “I love you, pretty pixie,” he whispered hoarsely.

Gunner drew back and watched her with those golden brown eyes. Watching. Waiting. Waiting so patiently, Autumn thought, her silent wolf. She clasped the side of his jaw and he turned his head, placing a kiss in the center of her palm. It was the gentlest of expressions but one that sent a sharp arrow of pain to her heart.

What would she have done if he had never found her?

“Wasn’t ever going to happen.”

Autumn mimicked his earlier touch. Her mouth traced his eyebrow, rubbing over the raised skin that split it near the end. He closed his eyes as she brushed her tongue over his lip, tracing the scar.

“Don’t,” he ordered harshly, whipping his head away.

“Oh, Gunner.” She ignored his order and ran the tips of her fingers along the swathe of silvery tissue. “You see failure while the world sees only a grave sacrifice.”

“Poor wolvie.” She brushed her lips against his scar again. The gesture was so disarming that a small whine emanating from his wolf. Wanting more, no doubt, thought Gunner. He realized he was leaning forward, asking for her touch. He bent his head and kissed her. Their lips met in the briefest of whispers, the softest touch. The sweetness of a promise. It was a slow, emotional filled kiss, but more erotic than anything they had shared during the night. She opened her mouth and touched the tip of her tongue to his. Then, suddenly, neither of them could think of anything else.

He tugged her to edge of the mattress, urging her to sit up. He’d removed her hose and heels sometime during the night and now she was completely bare to his gaze and his touch. He gripped the back of her neck beneath her hair. The long strands fell down her back. She shivered as they danced along her bare skin. Then he pressed himself between her thighs. He growled half in playfulness and half in passion as he presented his need to her. It was, he thought, so damn intoxicating, standing before her, aroused to the point of pain, anticipating her touch.

“Suck me, Autumn. Make me come in your mouth.”

His dirty words were all Autumn needed to hear to make her pussy cream. She placed her hands on his hips, her thumbs caressing the muscled Apollo’s belt at his waist. She leaned forward and placed an openmouthed kiss right above the patch of dark hair surrounding his cock. Ignoring the needy flesh. She licked upward, following the natural masculine flow of his body. She pulled him closer until his dick was pressed against the warmth between her breasts. That brought a growl and sharp thrust against her upper body from her mate. Once she had explored him with her tongue, tracing and laving his lower stomach, she pushed him back again. His cock sprung free, butting against her chin. She bent her head, catching just the very tip in her mouth and sucking gently before letting it drop from her mouth.

He growled again and buried both of his hands in her hair, trying to force her to take him in her mouth.

“Patience, my wolf. Patience.” She repeated the words he’d spoken last night, smiling up at him. Gunner felt a shiver of such overwhelming need race through him his knees lost their strength and he thought he was going to make a fool of himself and go down right in front of her. He’d already taken her—more than once—and yet the hunger just kept growing. He toyed with the silky strands of her hair, twining them around his fingers, watching them shimmer in his hands.

“I want to taste you,” she whispered. “You’re so soft and smooth on the surface, but so damn hard when you come inside me.” The sensual caress of her fingers and the pictures she conjured with her words made his back bow and his hands tremble.

“Aaah, yes. Touch me there.” His ass clenched as her thumb rubbed the underside of his cock and along the flange. Then she leaned forward and Gunner was lost. Lost in the sensation of his mate’s lips on his body. He arched forward, unable to prevent the sharp thrust into her mouth. She didn’t protest and he did it again. Her mouth was warm and wet.

Her hands climbed up his body and she tweaked his nipples, letting him know who was boss. He lost it and shoved his cock into her mouth, bumping the back of her throat with each thrust. She took him. She took him deep and then deeper still as she relaxed her throat. She swallowed when he pressed as far inside her as he could go. The sensation so intense, he rose to his tiptoes, trying to go deeper. All the time she watched him with those big green eyes, taking everything without complaint.

Gunner felt that heady sensation at the base of his spine, signaling he was about to release. “I’m gonna come, baby,” he warned, pressing her face closer. “Swallow me, baby. Swallow me down.” Her hands gripped the cheeks of his ass and pulled him closer. Her throat opened and he shot down her throat.

After his body quit jerking, he reluctantly pulled out of sweet warm mouth and positioned her over the edge of the bed, face down. His bed was so high up off the floor that she almost stood on tiptoes. The position put a strain on her body, making it impossible for her to move away. His cock was wet from her mouth and he knew her pussy would be moist. Sucking him off had aroused his mate. He could smell it. He wanted to taste it. He stroked her slit feeling the thick cream coating her lips. He brought his fingers to his mouth and licked it away. “So responsive, pretty pixie. So damn responsive.” He pushed two fingers into her wet passage, slowly fucking her, making sure to touch the over sensitized bundle of nerves inside her hot pussy. She arched off the bed and he laid a restraining hand on her low back right above the beautiful slope of her hips. Her hips were wide, twin dimples at the base of her spine. Beautiful.

“Wider,” he ordered and knocked her feet apart and kept them spread with his legs.

“Gunner, please,” she moaned. “Please do something.” Her hips undulated in silent invitation.

He continued rubbing her opening, stroking and penetrating. Her whimpers spurred him on. His mate wanted him as much as he wanted her. When he felt the spot inside her again that made her scream, she growled. His little mate actually growled at him. His pixie was getting impatient. “I am doing something, sweetheart. I’m looking at you all pink and shiny. For me. But you didn’t ask for what you wanted. What do you want Autumn?”

Autumn’s hands clutched the soft comforter by her head. “Take me, Gunner. Please take me,” she whispered back.

Instead, of his hard length pressing inside her, she felt the sharp slap of his fingers on the wet opening of her pussy. “Gunner!”

Again and again he rained blows down over the sensitive flesh, spreading her legs even wider so his slaps would be sharper. “Tell me, baby. Tell me what you want.”

“Fuck me, Gunner. Fuck me hard,” she screamed.

He continued to hold her legs open and spank her pussy. Then he was thrusting his fingers into her sopping channel. He dug his fingers into her, rolling them to coat them all the way past his knuckles before pulling them out. He switched his attention to the tight bud of her anus, rubbing the moisture around the brown star before gently sliding a finger inside her.