Chapter Twenty Three-The Beast

After the most tension-filled meal I ever had the displeasure of consuming, Logan sank into the couch beside me and pulled me onto his chest. We ate in silence, and the air in the house was chilly.

Whenever he was upset with me, he withdrew his affections, and I thought it was a punishment. I didn’t know that there was a part of him under the surface he was protecting me from.

The creatures that rule Teddy and I were all on the same page, more or less. We were many beings, but one body in this world. My spirits protected me, fought alongside me.

My Lycan men, there were two sides to them. The man bodies that they lived in most of the time were rational. But when threatened by something, the wolf in them clawed its way free into the world, and the man was only a memory. They had no control anymore until the wolf had finished its mission.

It was just the two of us, and I didn’t want this distance between us. I always had to part my attention with them so I didn’t make the other feel less, but I was just his tonight.

His soft lips moved back and forth over my forehead, and I peeked up to look at him. He was lost deep in thought as usual. I came to understand in time that it was because the pack had a mind link. Or at least he had a mind link with his pack.

As the regular folk of the territory went about their lives, Logan and his fathers kept everyone’s requests and concerns in order in their minds. I only have my own thoughts to keep straight, and it was exhausting. I can’t imagine what it’s like to care for hundreds of people all at once while trying to keep your own family happy and pursue your own desires.

My hand cupped his cheek, and I brought his face closer. “I don’t want to ruin all this. I’m happy with the way things are. Let’s just see how everything falls into place before we make a bunch of plans about the future.”

I moved my leg over his and settled on his lap while my fingers slid into his hairy cheeks. “I want you to love me because I’m me and not because of some future version that you think I can be. Just love me right now the way I am.”

“I understand.” His tired eyes moved over my face, and his fingertip caressed the cupid’s bow of my top lip. When we were alone, he could be gentle. His hands were careful as they traced my face. “Everyone’s already asking me when I’m going to have a son.”

A huff of air left his nose as he gave me a quick smile, and his finger moved down to my neck. “I haven’t even taken charge yet, and they’re wanting to know when my replacement would be coming.”

There was a twitch to the muscle at his mouth, and I thought he might just lose it right there on the couch in front of me. “No matter how much I give them of myself, it’s not enough. I follow all the rules. I make sure everyone’s safe. And now I get hassled by my parents because we haven’t…” His fingertips slid back and forth over the soft fleshy spot above my collarbone.

After he licked his lips, his fingers met mine and rubbed at them. “I’ve always just taken what I wanted because that’s how I was raised. That it was right because of who I am. But I don’t…” He swallowed hard before he looked at me. “I don’t want you if I have to take you by force, Tessa. I want you to want it. To want me.”

I had no idea what I agreed to when I said— “I do want you.”

While I pulled his shirt loose from his pants, he unclasped the buckle, and I pulled each button free until the pale blonde hair on his chest was wrapped around my fingers.

He flipped me onto my back and slithered down my body until he was between my knees. His tongue pulled and flicked at me through my panties until he yanked them free with his teeth.

His nose opened my folds, and I watched as his face moved furiously over my skin. I was soaked in his saliva, and my fingers pulled his hair until he looked at me. “Fuck me now.”

He licked my juices from his lips and tugged on my hips. “Roll over. You have to be on your knees for this.”

I thought I was a worldly person because I’d lived in so many places and met so many people, but I knew nothing about Lycan.

Because my brother married a woman, things worked differently. I had no warning at all about the way Lycan men, Alpha men, claimed their mates. About the ancient rites of their ancestors or how he was getting me into position to begin the ceremony.

I collapsed into the back of the couch as he pushed my hips into place, and I can’t say it wasn’t a pleasant surprise when he spread me and his tongue explored my body again. Between sucks and slurps and his fingers plunging into every part of me, I whimpered into the soft leather couch.

When he rubbed himself back and forth through my wet crack, I wasn’t sure where he was heading, but he sank into my depths like a pro and got to work.

For every series of slow thrusts, there was a barrage of deep blows that made me quiver and grasp the cushions for leverage.

I wanted all of him. Every sensation he could give me. “Smack my ass, baby.”

The hard crack of his hand on my skin made me clench around him, and he chuckled, then did it again.

His dirty talk turned into a throaty purr, and I peeked up into the mirror behind us on the wall. I had to see the real him.

His flashing eyes met mine, and the snarl on his changing face sent me over the edge. If it was possible, his dick swelled even bigger, and it took my breath away. “Pull my hair.”

My curly hair curled around his fingers, and he twisted it around his hand until I arched up, and my breasts bounced in the reflection.

I was too far gone, too high on the monster behind me that I didn’t even see it coming until the haunting wail of his wolf howl sang through the air around us and his long teeth flashed in the mirror.

When his hot cum splashed down my leg, he launched himself forward, and his teeth sank into my neck. I can’t say that it hurt. It doesn’t work that way.

The rush of his DNA through my bloodstream sent a pulse of hormones through my body that swept away every trace of fear and hurt.

I came harder and longer and better than I ever had with any lover. It was the best thing that ever happened to me, and the worst.

His tongue licked the wound closed, and he backed away from my body. And the whole world around me turned black.

I became aware in the darkness that I was moving, and my body flipped over. Two arms cradled me against a ticking clock and lifted me into the air.

Like a boat on the sea, I rocked in his arms as the faint cracks of the stairs came from beneath us.

The soft down blanket on my bed met my back, and the arms were gone. The squeaks of the water taps came and went, and the bed dipped below me.

While the hot washcloth moved around my body, sniffles left his nose. “I’m sorry.” The mattress shifted again, and his breath was on my face, and fingertips skipped along my skin. “I love you. We’re one now.”