Filed to story: The Wolf Prince’s Fated Love
I blinked in surprise at the swift change of topic, and she laughed, the sound genuine despite the heavy conversation we’d just been having. “I know it’s nearly impossible to get drunk, but my father has a special herbal blend he adds to the wine. Increases the potency at least tenfold.”
I swallowed hard, then quickly checked to make sure Leigh wasn’t drinking it-she could get herself drunk without a legendary shaman’s assistance, thank you very much. To my surprise, though, her lovely crystal goblet held water and nothing else.
Maybe she didn’t want to encourage a round two with Gael.
Wise.
I, however, had a semiferal, fully confusing fated mate who was waiting in my room, still howling. I could hear him from here, though I tried my hardest to ignore the plaintive notes.
I held out my goblet for the herb wine.
Some…
many hours later
I stumbled into my room, ignoring the first rays of sun already peeking around the blackout blinds, and arrowing straight toward the double bed pushed against the wall. The blankets looked handmade, and I was determined not to vomit on them. That wine wouldn’t make a great addition to the decor if it came back up.
Why did it want so badly to come back up?
Oh, yeah. We’d drunk a lot. Two whole pitchers between us. All specially blended. It was delicious. I burped and winced. It was less delicious this time around. Blech.
I fell face-first onto the bed, kicking off my second-favorite sneakers and falling straight into deep, blissful sleep.
NINETEEN
Dirge
Iwaited up for Shay. How could I not? She might not ever choose to love me; she might choose to hate me. But I knew to the depths of my soul that she was the only one for me. And no matter if she chose to end this fledging relationship between us, I would always protect her. From afar if need be. Her silent, distant shadow, keeping the dangers away.
It would be half a life, but if it saved hers, I’d consider it well spent.
So when my very inebriated mate stumbled into the room and didn’t even bother to shut the door behind her, I stayed still until the snoring began, and then quietly nosed it shut. I couldn’t lock it in wolf form, but I could lie in front of it until she woke and took care of it herself.
I couldn’t say when I dozed off; the nights were long when you spent them telling the Moon Goddess your woes.
And when I slipped into the dream, it was smooth as an early morning stream, unbroken by ripples. I only noticed because for the first time in a long time, I was a man. Panic nearly sent me right back out of the dream, until I turned around and saw my sleeping wolf guarding the door so his mate could rest. His mate who was still lying conked out on the bed.
Except… she was also standing by the window, humming a tuneless song as she opened the blinds a crack to let in the golden morning glow.
It highlighted every angle and plane of her face, gilding her beauty and making me catch my breath. It was Shay, and not.
We were dreaming, both of us, and had somehow come to this shared awareness.
She froze, the tune dying on her parted lips as she stared at me, drinking me in.
“Who are you, and why are you in my room?” she asked, sounding more surprised than angry.
Dream logic. It had to be. It was a weird dream, being outside my body, but… with the power of this pack, who knew what was influencing us? Did it matter?
“You don’t know?” I asked, cocking my head to the side and willing my eyes to light up with the wolf. Although, would that work with him sleeping? Who knew?
“I-” She stared at me, considering. “I dreamed you up, didn’t I? You’re who he would be if he could be a man again,” she said with sadness, the smile slipping from her stunning face. I had to put it back there. It was like the sun falling from the sky at noon, so utterly wrong, I couldn’t stand it.
I wanted her to always be smiling so I could bask in the rays of her warmth.
“Hey, don’t look so glum. If this is a dream, and we’re here together, we may as well enjoy it, right?”
She snorted, one perfectly shaped eyebrow rising up her forehead. “What exactly are you suggesting?”
I took one step closer, then another. She didn’t back away, didn’t run. Her pupils blew wide with arousal as it clicked what I was suggesting. She was blissfully unafraid in this dreamscape, and I took full advantage. I closed in on her personal space, taking in a deep lungful of her scent. Even in my dreams, it was potent. More so as a man, where I could identify the subtle scent of freesia, the sharp tang of tender-sweet pomegranate highlighting the flowers so tantalizingly as her arousal bloomed around us. It was completely and utterly
Shay, and I wanted to drink in every drop straight from the source.
I lowered my nose to the base of her neck, letting it trace the tender skin there. Although I knew this was a dream, she felt solid in my hands, her warmth branding my bare chest and my thighs through the thin pants I wore. When I inhaled, she shivered, her hands coming up to land on my shoulders. For a moment I thought she’d push me away, demand that I keep my space. But she clung to me, her breasts pressing against my chest, nothing but a wisp of thin fabric between us.
My blood heated at the small encouragement, and then my lips were on her neck. The first taste of her branded my soul. If she’d had me before, she owned me now. Every inch of my being was in her delicate palms. She could crush me without a thought.
But she wouldn’t.
Her surprised gasp when my lips made contact drove me to explore. I kissed up the column of her neck, leaving a trail of wet kisses across her jaw, until I was teasing the corner of her full, wide mouth. She had lips a man dreamed of seeing wrapped around his cock, but right this minute, all I could think of was tasting them. Devouring them.
I nipped her lightly, and her lips parted for me. Only an idiot would waste an invitation like that. Threading my fingers into her sleep-mussed curls, I tilted her head to the side and melded our lips together in a kiss.
But kiss was too small a word to contain what passed between us. There was fire and light, victory and exultation, surrender and ecstasy in such a small space of time, I might have missed it. But time slowed, and the whole earth narrowed to just the two of us, then and there. I pressed her back against the cool window, letting my hands roam down her sides as she melted beneath the onslaught.
I didn’t consciously strip her out of her pajamas, but once my fingertips brushed her bare stomach with that intent, her simple tank top disappeared.
Damn, I love dreams.
She moaned as I spanned my hands across her narrow waist, then trailed the touch around to her back. Shay was strong, but small compared to my considerable bulk. I could easily tuck her beneath my chin if I wanted to. But I had something better in mind at the moment.
Reaching down, I hitched my hands beneath her ass and lifted her, spreading her thighs so I could step between them. She hissed between her teeth when her bare back made contact with the cold glass, but I was happy to warm her up.