When Jesse descended on me, I wanted to howl. She’d never looked more wild, more beautiful—and I could feel her in the bond, wanting me.
But my entire body jangled with conflicting needs, my heart pounding with fear even while my skin—and pieces of me—throbbed with lust. Her kiss was deep and intense and delicious. I grabbed the belt and held on, arching back when she started moving down, kissing my jaw, my neck… and my throat. My entire body tensed and I panted as much from startling unease as love and need. But my beautiful mate didn’t stop, her honey-soft lips and tongue dancing on my most vulnerable skin as her fingers clawed into my hair and she leaned over me with such need that the bond began to glow.
~ CASIMIR ~She stroked my hair, my neck, my shoulders, my chest. And she soothed me—sending waves of love in the bond every time my tension peaked and I pulled against the belt, smiling when I eased back, and her eyes glowing when our pace picked up.The truck rocked and jiggled with our movement, which added to the sensation. And all at once, I was overwhelmed, tugging and jerking against the belt, my skin becoming raw from the rough side of the leather.There was a fleeting thought in my head that I needed to teach her how to do this safely for next time—then a screaming protest that there would be no next time.“Cazz… relax. Breathe. Be here with me…” she whispered, then she held my
~ JESSE ~Later, Cazz had pulled out a couple of the blankets, and we curled up under them, sitting again with our backs against the cab of the truck. I was leaning against his shoulder. I had been hugging his bicep, but let my hand trail down his arm intending to take his fingers. But when my palm reached the inside of his wrist, he gave a little flinch.I sat up and pulled his hand up, out of the blankets, to see red bands across his wrist. From the belt“Shit, Cazz! Why didn’t you tell me! I didn’t mean to hurt you!”He shrugged and pulled his hand back under the cover of the blankets. “It’s barely a rub-burn, Jesse. I’ll live.”“I know, but… I wasn’t me
~ JESSE ~I slept so deeply that night—in Cazz’s bed—that I was aware of nothing until he woke me, curling against my back, his arousal pressing against my back.I stretched happily, pressing myself back against him. “Good morning,” I breathed.Cazz gave an answering rumble that sounded so hot it actually made my belly clench. Then he pushed up on his elbow behind me and let his hand drag up the front of my thigh as he leaned in and began to kiss my shoulder and my neck.The tandem brushes of his lips on the sensitive skin below my ear and his fingertip running up and down my leg, then teasing between my legs, lit me on fire. I reached back to hold him agai
~ JESSE ~I hurried away from the dark damp of the tunnel near Maya’s cave, my thoughts spinning.Maya was still very focused on this power she said was growing inside me, insisting that it would manifest. Warning me to watch for it—to pay attention to how it affected me, or others around me. I didn’t doubt that she was right, but I hadn’t seen anything or felt anything, so I wasn’t sure what to do.The truth was, I didn’t want a power like Cazz’s. Maya growled whenever I expressed that, but it was true. I turned the conversation back over in my mind, but I didn’t see what else I could do.“You cannot deny what God has given you,
~ JESSE ~“I’m glad you’re back, albeit unexpectedly,” Cazz said to Rake, though with a question in his tone, and without the same warmth he’d given me. His jaw was tense and the frown lines were there in his forehead—but that was pretty much his norm. Rake didn’t seem uncomfortable, or wary.Rake nodded, his eyes intent on Cazz like he had important news to share. “Me too, but I can’t stay for long—four or five days tops. I just needed them to believe that I was too important to you to be gone too long—and besides, I need the cover of getting called away unexpectedly in case I need to escape at any point.”“So you’re here until…?”“Thursday at the latest. If we can get
~ CASIMIR ~As I walked Jesse back towards her chambers to change before we met Rake I was careful to hide the tension that was still roiling in my veins, because I knew it would worry her. I didn’t close her off in the link, only carefully walled away my own tension so she wouldn’t feel it.Since the days with Sheba, and that female’s betrayal, I had never really been the jealous type. I had never allowed myself to care enough for a female to feel threatened by her attention to another male. I was possessive as any Alpha would be where another wolf threatened to encroach on what was mine. I did not stand for the disrespect of it. But jealous? Envious? No.And yet… when I’d been certain Jesse was moving towards me from Maya’s, I hadn’t been able to resist leaving the ledgers and
~ CASIMIR ~“I believe so… but I can’t be certain,” Rake said reluctantly. “They’re being careful with me, which is why I have to let this play out as if I didn’t have permission to be there with them.”Then he turned to me. I took a bite of my meal to give myself something to focus on as I worked to shove down that heated envy.“Cazz, I’m pretty sure they believe that I’m working on getting Jesse to them—that she’s here reluctantly. They know she was taken against her will—obviously—but they seem to accept that she could be convinced to use her power against you.”“Use her power as Queen? For what?”“They&rsq
~ CASIMIR ~Jesse’s head snapped towards me, her eyes wide. “Cazz…” She licked her lips like she was nervous. “I don’t want to leave you or the Palace, but I do want to help. And Rake’s right—if they see me… I know how to play that, so they believe me. I know what drives them. They wouldn’t hurt me—not like that. They’ll want to leverage my access to you and the wolves, so they’ll be on their best behavior. They still think I’ll be driven by money the way they are.”Rake cleared his throat. “They also believe you could bring them female wolves, which they covet. Apparently, the men in your world see them as legendary. Sexually. They’re expecting me to report back with an update on what promises you’ll make and what you can bring them—and what terms you req