Black Gold (6 page)

One pulsing beat after another, the music drove into his ears, his blood racing head to toe in powerful surges. And when she widened her stance and scooped upward with her palms, catching hold of her lace-covered breasts, Shaun wasn’t sure what could possibly calm the storm raging inside him.

Imagining that he was touching her would be a good start,
him
pinching her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. She hummed in time with the music just before the sound disappeared behind a scene of white noise, his hearing obliterated by the blood pounding out of his brain en route south to his groin. The lacy wisp of her bra floated to the floor, and he followed the frilly thing with his gaze, distracted for a second by the desire to pick it up and see if the lingerie was warm from her skin.

There had to be a reason for his entire body to be shaking with need. He glanced behind him into his room, his abandoned clothes untidy heaps barely visible in the darkness.

Was he still asleep? Shaun wiggled himself upright and pinched his thigh, snapping his mouth shut on the
ouch
he wanted to exclaim.

Nope. Awake.

A hallucination. That’s what this was. Damn fine one too, made even more incredible the moment she revealed those breasts. Perfectly formed, dark nipples already tightened to peaks. Shaun stared slack-jawed, frozen in admiration for the sheer angelic beauty before him. Or maybe this was heaven—that was the answer. Evan’s moonshine had given him a heart attack, and he was now entering the Pearly Gates. The cheap wooden doors weren’t expected—but then people everywhere were dealing with cutbacks, right?

And who the heck cared what the gates were made of when the streets beyond were lined with visions like this one.

He stepped forward and took a deep breath. Angelic perfume flooded his brain and erased all thoughts except needing to see if his other senses were going to be treated to an incredible feast tonight.

Then the angel opened her eyes, and he stared into dark glistening obsidian pools. Right before she vanished.

Black Gold

Gem snapped her mouth shut, trapping the scream that threatened to burst free. It wasn’t turning to discover a man in her room—a
naked
man—that stunned her the most. The complete flip-flop her belly turned as her wolf sat up and howled in delight wasn’t enough to shock her into letting a girlish cry escape.

It was staring into the man’s eyes as all his humanity drained away. Watching as he transformed into the biggest, most enormous and bushiest black wolf she’d ever seen in her life, the beast immediately crashing to the floor between the wall and the bed.

She snatched up her shirt and held the fabric in front of her. Then the stupidity of attempting to cover herself when she had a much bigger issue at hand hit—there was a strange wolf at her feet and her own itching to come out and say hello. Being mostly naked was nothing compared to that.

Gem took one step, then another, slow and cautious until she reached the end of the bed. She nudged one furry paw with her toe. “Hello? Are you okay?”

No response.

She peeked into the space behind the now open door, figuring out the rooms were pretty much identical. He’d opened his side, and she must have left hers unlocked. With that mystery solved, she turned back to deal with the more difficult one of the furry beast sprawled on her floor.

Deep inside she felt it again—a nearly violent urge to change and let her wolf crawl all over his. The scent in the air had returned to intoxicating levels, even higher than she’d experienced earlier in the office with Evan.

Oh my
. Oh no.
Through the haze of lust coating her mind like a thick coastal fog, the only possible solution pulsed out a lighthouse-warning signal.

Her mate? For real this time?

A low rumble bounced off the wall, urgent growls and moans increasing as the wolf scrambled to his feet. Gem retreated instinctively before making a stand.

She was not going to freak out. One hand shot forward, palm upright.

“Freeze right there, mister.”

The wolf ignored her, pacing closer until he stood on top of her feet. Then he rubbed against her legs, bumping hard enough to force her to sit on the bed. The mattress swayed under her hips as he jumped up and joined her, the bulk of his wolf body dipping the surface.

He sniffed her cheek and sighed happily, the warmth of his breath hitting her squarely on the neck.

Gem twisted to bring up one leg and face him better.

“You don’t take direction very well, do you?”

A wolfish grin, with a full flash of teeth greeted her just before he stuck out his tongue and licked her from jaw to hairline.

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33

Vivian Arend

She giggled and grabbed him. All thoughts of how utterly enormous his wolf was compared to the other wolves she knew disappeared as she wrestled with him on the mattress. Instantly comfortable with this stranger in her room, she targeted all the prime wolf ticklish spots, laughing as he squirmed under her.

Then he rolled and shifted at the same time, and instead of the weight of a furry wolf pinning her to the bed, the full length of a very smooth-skinned, muscular and naked man held her captive. His black hair hung in unruly tangles around his head, beautiful dark brown eyes with simply enormous pupils filling their cores hovered inches over hers.

A squarish jaw. The smile she’d seen moments earlier on his wolf—the expression was still there, although his teeth were now human-shaped and even. His nose had a slight bump in the middle, broken at some point she suspected.

“Hello, love.”

His voice tickled inside her ears, drowning out the background music and sending an icy sensation down the length of her spine. She instinctively arched and hit the brick wall of his body. He held her immobile. His hips nestled tight to her groin, her breasts crushed to his chest.

The interest on his face flashed hotter.

Gem panted with need. She’d been turned on before, but now the scent in the air was an impossible-to-ignore aphrodisiac. “Hello. Are you…? I mean…are we…?”

He lowered his head and kissed the hollow of her neck. The icicles spread from her spine, threading in an intricate pattern over her skin. How could she be on fire and so cold at the same time?

“Are we what? Are we going to fuck?”

The dirty word was accompanied by a light nip to her throat, and Gem cried out. She thrust her hips forward, the rising heat between her legs meeting his erection. His very large erection.

Oh my goodness, they made everything about these northern wolves larger than in the south.

She tangled her fingers in his hair, reluctantly pulling his lips from where he’d been laying a trail of soft bites and lazy kisses.

“Stop. We need to stop for a moment. I don’t even know your name.” He licked her bottom lip and moaned in approval. “Shaun Stevens. What’s yours, princess?” Shaun. Nice name. Gem found herself having difficulty speaking as he’d resumed kissing her jaw and the tender spot right under her ear. “Gemmita Ellen…Louise May…oh my, that feels wonderful…Jacobs.” He paused. Snorted lightly. “That’s a bit of a mouthful, love. You have a shorter handle?”

“Gem. My friends call me—
oh
!”

A sharp pain struck, smearing into a wave of pleasure. The dangling earlobe where he’d nipped her throbbed in time with the ache between her legs.

“Pretty. Gem. Almost as pretty as you.”

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Black Gold

She smiled. Sweet-talking on top of the incredible rush of hormones dancing in her cells? This was going to be one extraordinary evening. A couple wiggles later, she was able to prop herself up on her elbows and stare at him. “Shaun?”

He twirled a fingertip around her right nipple as he rested on his other elbow, gaze fixed on hers. “Ah-huh?”

“Are we going to talk some more?”

Shaun leaned closer, his hand cupping the side of her breast, supporting her nipple skyward. He licked the tip. Once. Again.

“Later.”

He closed his mouth around her and sucked. Electric impulses sparkled through her system, nerves going off standby and into highly sensitized and ready-to-explode mode.

Maybe talking was overrated. She relaxed back onto the pillow, her wolf rumbling its content as she smoothed a hand over Shaun’s broad shoulders. His muscles shifted under her fingers as he played with her breasts, driving her with deliberate slowness to the brink of undeniable need.

All her earlier confusion faded. Making love with Shaun was right. Being with him was not only right, their meeting was the first thing in her life that had the potential to be perfect. Her mate, coming to claim her. She would claim him. Together, they’d be able to do anything.

All the stories of how much happiness there was found in having a partner were going to be true for her, starting this moment. Predestined mates might not be the human way, but her wolf inside basked in the attention, the total correctness of the situation.

Shaun licked her ribs. “I’ve dreamed about you.”

She shivered.

“I never imagined you’d show up today. And now I can’t stop touching you. Wanting you. Needing to bury myself in you.” He dropped his forehead to her belly and she squirmed.

“Keep going,” she begged.

Shaun looked her in the eye. “You’d have to kill me to make me stop.” That made them even. She’d kill him if he stopped.

His wolf wasn’t far away—the beast was still visible in Shaun’s eyes, in the way he went rigid at moments, as if fighting for control. Gem let a touch of her power escape to soothe him.

For one second the mystical connection worked. He relaxed, eased back into her arms. Then it was as if a totally impenetrable wall rose between them. Shaun’s wolf vanished in that moment, and all that was left was the man who stared at her with extreme hunger in his eyes.

“It’s not the wolves’ turn, love. We’ll let them out to play later. Right now, it’s just you and me.” He lowered himself between her legs and touched her intimately with his lips. A soft caress to the inside of her leg. Another at the top of her curls.

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35

Vivian Arend

When he slipped a finger along her slit, she realized something important.

“Shaun, you haven’t kissed me yet. My lips, I mean—
oh
…” One thick finger slid into her core as she spoke, and her question ended on a breathless sigh.

“Soon. Trust me.” Shaun stroked in deep, the heel of his palm rubbing the apex of her sex, his finger stretching her. “You’re very tight. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t.” Gem spoke with utter conviction. He was her mate. There was nothing a mate wanted more than to make their partner happy. Even as she wondered how they would be able to juggle their lives, and locations, her momentary concerns faded.

He was touching her. How could she concentrate on anything but enjoying this moment?

The steady thrust of his hand into her core notched the tingling up to overdrive as he made additional contact—his mouth. He tongued the aching nub at the apex of her mound, lapping and licking in unending sweeps until she couldn’t take it anymore. An orgasm ripped through her, shaking her, squeezing around the two fingers he’d carefully worked into her.

Gem pulled her knees farther to the side in expectation of him rising over her. He didn’t shift position, but he kept moving all right—that talented tongue of his. She gasped for air as he stroked gentler now, forcing her to accept his touch until stars floated before her eyes. Moisture pooled around his fingers, her body loosening and wanting more.

“That’s it, love. You’re beautiful. Really and truly. The way you taste—hmm.” Shaun lapped again, sucking on her clit, and a long, slow pulse broke through. Gem quivered on the bed, wondering if she’d be able to walk when they were done. He hadn’t stopped, but he hadn’t given her what she needed yet.

She reached down and grabbed his hair, tugging harder as urgent desire rose. “Please. Take me, now.

I need you inside.”

His laughter rang out, a low rumble of amusement. “I need you too. But my wolf said to go slow.”
Really stupid, bad idea
. She tightened her grip and hauled him up to her level. She might be smaller than him, but she was still a wolf, and that made her strong enough to force even his bulk to change position.

“You said to leave our wolves out of this. If I want slow, I’ll tell you.” There was a pause—only a second—as they stared into each other’s eyes. Then the world exploded as they both moved.

He hadn’t kissed her before. Now he consumed her, feasting at her mouth as if he was starving. She returned as good as he gave, nipping and licking, her tongue tangling with his. The exhilarating flavour of her mate burst onto her taste buds, adding to the richness of her pleasure.

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Black Gold

They rolled together, the heat of his body pressed against her, the rigid length of his shaft nudging her thigh. Gem snuck down a hand and wrapped her fingers around him. Wide and solid and warm in all the right ways. She stroked in time with the thrusts of their tongues together, and he groaned into her mouth.

“Gem. Oh yeah, like that. Harder. Fuck—”

A shiver at the naughty word made her tighten her grip, and he threw back his head with a loud shout.

She froze, fearful she’d hurt him, until reassured by his continuing enthusiastic thrusts forward.

Shaun broke free, brought her on top, clasping her so hard her muscles protested. She couldn’t complain, not when he rearranged her and began a rocking motion, grinding against her ready sex.

“Now, please, please, please…” Gem tilted her hips, attempting to line them up properly. He refused to let go, maintaining the steady torment, driving her back up to the pinnacle. Each brush of his erection priming her body.

She pressed on his chest as she lifted her torso to vertical, catching his gaze. Her movement caused the tip of his shaft to slip through her folds. They hung together motionless—the place between worlds.