The Alpha's Mail Order Mate: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (4 page)

"Very well, and I suppose I simply added a bit more grist for the gossip.”

“My Lord, I will never presume to spread such news," Tess scoffed. “That is for the two of you reveal as you will.”

“Well, get ready, ladies, because it is about to be made clear,” Night smirked as he reached out and pulled Chastity down onto his lap.

“Night!” she gasped as the men who had been waiting for class laughed. “How seriously do you think this lot is likely to take the teacher if she’s sitting on your lap?"

Night cast the men a stern look as he said, "They had better take it just as seriously as they take me."

"Don’t you have some lordly thing or other you ought to be doing?" she complained as she tried not to laugh.

“This is a lordly thing,” he chuckled. “I’m staking my claim. What could be lordlier than that? It’s not every day a lord chooses his lady.”

"There is some truth is that, I suppose," she conceded. “Still, I think I might be better able to teach standing on my own two feet."

“Your wish is my command,” he agreed, letting her up.

“Thank you, my Lord," she said with relief.

*

Chastity still had a bit of pink in her cheeks as she began speaking to the men who had just witnessed the exchange between their lord and the newest girl in town. She imagined that since she wasn’t going anywhere, they would become used to her over time, but that didn’t make her feel better about the teasing light they had in their eyes now. At least none of them seemed to be interested in challenging Night over it. She didn’t think she would be well pleased if they did.

Once again, she demonstrated the poultices and techniques for speeding up healing time for a werewolf injury. This time, there were seven men, including Night, and Tess. Having sat through the other classes, Tess proved to be invaluable during this one, once she realized just how frazzled Chastity had become when Night had teased her.

“Yes, the most important thing, as I’ve heard Miss Chastity tell the others, is to keep your wound covered up,” she commented at one point. “We won’t die from infection, but that doesn’t mean that bacteria doesn’t slow down the healing process to some extent.”

“That’s right, Tess,” said Chastity with a smile. “And of course, that becomes even more important when you are trying to regrow a limb. Thankfully, the process would be much quicker for me as a wolf-born, but I’m certain it would still hurt a bit along the way. I’d just as soon not find out, personally.”

“Well, let us hope there’s never an occasion for losing limbs out in the middle of a huge forest,” Night commented dryly. “The only limbs I want to see anyone lose out here are some of the lower branches when we start building the tree houses.”

“Yes, I quite agree,” Chastity said. “Now, one of the things we’ll probably see a lot more of once Julian sends more wolves our way is going to be childbirth. Of course, it’s not something you men should need to concern yourselves with as yet, so for the most part I think we’ve covered everything we needed to at this point.”

“Julian is sending other wolves?” inquired Amos Little, with a shrewd gaze.

“Oh, I don’t know if he is, but it was a possibility,” Night replied. “I think we could definitely use some new blood around here. I don’t know if you noticed, but there’s a decided lack of females.”

“You seem to have found one, my Lord,” he replied.

“So I have,” said Night with a smile. “And I intend to enjoy that fact very much.”

Chastity blushed when Night reached out and gave her hand a little squeeze.

“Well, anyway, I suppose you all may go now,” she said. “Since Night has told me the hunters should arrive soon.”

Even as the class broke up, the hunters arrived. Chastity willingly joined Tess in dividing up the meat. The only thing she disliked about this was the fact that she had blood all over her hands, but did not know where she was meant to go to wash up. Tess solved the dilemma by ladling some water into a bucket and motioning for her to use it. Chastity did so, with a grateful nod.

She wasn’t sure if Night expected her to eat with him tonight, since he’d so easily allowed her to join the women the previous evening. When he made no gesture at her following Tess over to sit with her children and two other women, she assumed he was not going to press the issue. However, before everyone was allowed to begin, Night stood up and looked over at her.

“Chastity? I believe your place should be at my side.”

Chastity willingly brought her food and joined him at the head of the table. All eyes were upon her now, and she was aware of exactly what Night had chosen to do. By claiming her so openly, he made it clear to the entire pack that she was now his. If she had thought her cheeks were flaming before, they could in no way compare to how hotly they were flaming now.

She couldn’t help but be struck by how similar the activity around her was, to what it must have been in a medieval great hall, except of course for the sad lack of women, children and servants that probably would have been present. The men were all recounting tales of their days and the exploits they’d gotten up to, while the lord himself took thrilling little liberties with his lady beneath the cover of the table.

For Night was most definitely doing that. He began by sliding a possessive hand along the side of her thigh, up and down, tantalizing her while they each tore at their serving of raw meat. Being the lord, Night had been given the best cuts, and he had dutifully fed her the best from among them. Boris gave the two of them each a flagon of wine and told them to drink it all. The only indicator that it was different from any of the other wine was it had been doctor who delivered it.

“It won’t taste bad?” asked Night uncertainly.

“It shouldn’t,” he replied, and then he was gone.

Chastity was already sipping at her drink, hoping to calm her nerves with the alcohol. Night smirked as he watched her take a couple of gulps.

“What’s so funny?” she wanted to know.

“Boris said that stuff could have possible aphrodisiac qualities,” he replied. “I just wondered if you already knew about that before you drank it so fast.”

Chastity’s eyes went wide, and her cheeks got hotter than ever. “No, I didn’t know.”

“Well, considering my intentions for the evening and your virginal state, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt if the stuff took it up a notch,” he teased her. “It’s amazing how much less nervous one can become when they are thoroughly aroused.”

“Night!” Chastity gasped. “How long does it take to kick in? I hope I don’t turn into a raving sex fiend in front of all these men.”

“I don’t know about you, but I think mine is in full force already,” he whispered into her ear. “Unless, of course, my current state is completely due to being so enjoyably close to you.”

“Well, either you’re having the same effect on me, or this stuff is already kicking in,” Chastity whispered in his ear before she kissed it.

“Mm, this may complicate our escape,” Night chuckled. “Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to decide to celebrate our union with music and dance?”

“You didn’t?” Chastity gasped. “Where are you going to get the music?”

“Some of them can sing a little,” he grimaced. “But only just a little.”

“Damn,” Chastity grumbled. “Damn, damn, damn.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Chastity and Night had tried very hard to remain and socialize with the pack, but dinner was barely over before each of them realized how impossible that was going to be. For one thing, it was much more difficult for a man to hide his aroused state than it was a woman, so there was no way Night could decently remain once he began to feel the full effects. For another, Chastity was feeling so hot and wet by then that she was surprised she hadn’t melted into a puddle on the floor.

It wasn’t difficult to escape, since it was so very obvious where they wanted to be, and they had simply linked arms and bid everyone good night. They walked away to the sounds of ribald laughter and a few suggestions that left Chastity’s ears burning.

However, Night was not at all right about arousal reducing the amount of nerves she had as he opened the door. She had little time to think on it, though, because as soon as she was inside Night slammed that door shut on the world beyond it and deftly pulled her straight into his arms. He kissed her, long and deep, savoring her tongue with his.

Their breaths came in short little gasps as Night lifted Chastity up into his arms and bodily carried her right into his bedroom. There, they stopped only long enough to shed their clothes. Chastity didn’t even think of covering herself for the sake of modesty, or any other maidenly device for that matter. She was a straightforward girl, and as far as she could tell, sex was a pretty straightforward thing. There would be no need to hide when he would shortly be exploring every part of her anyway.

Night slid his arms around Chastity’s waist and gently tossed her onto his bed. She gasped when she landed, and the sound of her voice was so sultry she almost didn’t recognize it as her own. He was on top of her in just a few moments, grinning.

“What’s with the smile?” asked Chastity suspiciously. She couldn’t help but laugh when he waggled his eyebrows at her.

“Only that I must be the luckiest werewolf in existence,” he commented as his eyes roved over her body and the grin broadened. “You are absolutely beautiful.”

“I bet you say that to all the genetic experiments you’ve been asked to propagate with,” she smirked, making Night laugh as well.

“Oh yeah, baby, all the time,” he said, trying to sound serious. “You’re about the tenth one I’ve been in bed with at last count. Very tiring work, making sure your race doesn’t die off.”

“Night, you’re such a liar,” she told him then. “I’ll bet you haven’t even had sex in years.”

“And you would be right,” he said, kissing her again. “Let’s see if I can remember how.”

Chastity giggled. “I am
not
a bicycle.”

“Well, I don’t know, you’ve got two nice, big, round things right here,” he chuckled as he played with her breasts. “Hey, these aren’t wheels. What are these?”

“Would you be a bit more serious, please?” Chastity said, trying not to laugh. “First time, remember? Do you want me to end up laughing every time I think of sex or something?”

“Hey, that’d work,” he said. “Then I wouldn’t have to guess what you were thinking about.”

“I am going to get out of this bed if you don’t start ravishing me,” Chastity told him.

“You think I’m going to let you out?” he teased, pinning her down. But at the same time, he also leaned down and kissed her again, and there was no mistaking the change in his mood by the time they came up for air.

“Mm, now that’s more like it,” Chastity told him breathlessly.

Rather than comment, Night kissed her again instead. This time, each of his hands found a nipple, and he twirled them at a tempo similar to the one he was using with his tongue. Chastity groaned into his mouth and began to writhe under him, and Night took this as a signal to progress. He thrust his hard, eager cock against her thigh, then moved up to settle himself between her legs, still kissing her the whole time.

Chastity gasped when she felt him against her. “Oh, that’s nice,” she whispered as he rubbed against her. “It feels that good before you ever even put it in? Damn, I didn’t know what I’ve been missing.”

“I think you’re going to find out fairly soon, sweetheart,” he told her. “This thing is throbbing something fierce now that it knows it’s coming out of retirement.”

“Literally,” Chastity smirked. She was still gloating over her joke when he pushed inside her, and she sucked in a breath, surprised.

“Does it hurt?” he asked her.

“Not exactly,” she said as she cocked her head to one side, an analytical look on her face. “Try moving a bit, Night.”

When Night thrust into her once, she gasped again.

“Maybe just a little,” she conceded.

“Put your legs around my hips and hold on with them,” Night suggested. Chastity tried it, and then he pushed into her again, slipping further inside her. Chastity moaned again, and this time it was obviously not from pain. She dug her nails into Night’s back and thrust up against him, moaning again.

Night slid a finger down between them to play with her clit, and Chastity practically exploded right away. “Wow!” she breathed, pressing her face into Night’s neck as he kept moving and rubbing. “Oh, wow!”

“That good, huh?” he grinned as he turned his face to hers to claim her lips again briefly.

“Don’t get a swelled head over it,” she grumbled.

“Um, too late,” he chuckled, making her laugh as well. Then, without further ado, he set to the task of thrusting into her with much greater gusto, and Chastity responded by tightening her legs and holding on for dear life. Again and again, Night pounded into her, and she grew slick with her juices. She could feel them run down her thighs just under her butt.

Night seemed to like her wetness very much, she noticed. He started to make little noises at the back of his throat. They almost sounded like whimpers, but with a hint of a moan as well. The moaning overtook the whimpering noises as they continued to move.

“Yes, like that!” Chastity told him when he hit a spot that felt so good she thought she would die. “Do that. Keep doing that!”

Then next thing she knew, Chastity came, hard. It was the first time somebody other than herself had caused it, and she was amazed how much better it felt. Silently, she vowed never to do this solo again.

Night stiffened and cried out as he joined her in bliss. Then he pulled the blanket up around them and curled up against her back, nuzzling his nose into her hair. “Remind me to thank Julian profusely the next time I see him,” he teased her.

“Get in line,” she replied. Exhausted from their efforts, the two of them drifted off to sleep.

*

When Chastity woke the next morning, she wasn’t quite sure how to act around her new lover. It wasn’t exactly something that was taught in etiquette class, and she’d never really had a mother to talk to about that sort of thing. All she’d ever really had was Julian. She sighed softly, wondering if her old pack leader would be pleased that she had so easily fallen in with his plans.

But of course there had been the very real fact that James Nightsky was a handsome werewolf and the leader of his own pack. Such an alliance could easily have tempted her all on its own, had she not also found the man’s company extremely enjoyable.

Night opened his eyes at her stirring sounds and smiled at her, making her blush profusely. He grinned and tugged her into his arms, then rolled over on top of her. “If it would help, we could always just do it again and make you even redder than you are right now.”

“Stop teasing me, Night,” she protested.

“Who said anything about teasing?” he asked in a husky voice that sent a little thrill down her spine. “If the business at hand is to make a baby, it is usually advised to do a thorough job.”

Chastity giggled now, trying to look away from his penetrating gaze. Night caught her face and turned it back to his. He plied her with kisses until she willingly started kissing him back, and then slid his tongue into her mouth. Chastity sighed again, but this time from pleasure.

He pressed his still-naked, rather hardened member against her womanhood, making Chastity moan softly into his mouth. Clearly not impressed by the intensity of her response, he continued to move against her until her soft sighs became uncontrolled sobs, and then he slammed inside her all in one swift motion.

Chastity was in a frenzy of need at this point, and she groaned as she wrapped her legs around him and dragged him deeper into her desire. “Oh, yes, Night, that’s so—like that, like that!”

Night increased the tempo, and Chastity practically squealed. His thrusts assaulted her senses with heady delight, and she wanted to return the favor, so she started to thrust upward, meeting him movement for movement. She was very pleased with the results.

All too soon, the pair of them came, spiraling together into a blissful haze. Even though neither one wanted to come up out of it, in time they both became aware that they would have to begin their day.

“Do you think they’d notice if we just stayed here?” Night asked with a sigh.

“Most likely,” Chastity replied.

“I suppose clothes are in order, then,” Night grumbled. “Come on, my unchaste Chastity.”

She giggled at this pronouncement. She couldn’t possibly argue the point, after what they’d just been doing, could she? “You are so terrible. But I’m sure you know that.”

“I do,” he chuckled as he pulled on a shirt. He stopped what he was doing long enough to give Chastity a couple of kisses before he pulled the rest of his clothes on as well.

When Night finally let go of her, Chastity was able to get dressed as well. She made short work of it, and soon the two of them stepped outside to rejoin the pack. It was obvious some of the men had been fantasizing about just how the two had spent their evening by the lascivious looks they cast in their general direction. Thankfully, nobody decided to make any comments, so Chastity was soon at her ease.

Boris stepped over to join them. “Rick has been talking my ear off non-stop about building tree houses,” he complained. “He’s hoping you’ll send him and some of the men off on a wood-hunting run. By the way, the water wheel is already spinning, and he’s rigged some sort of collector. It’s only a matter of time before he’s thought up a way to amplify the effect.”

“Do you think there’s enough juice yet to give it a try?”

“There may be, but until he’s done fashioning a way to plug into it, we’re pretty much just waiting,” he said. “I guess he’s going to try to use one of the plugs you connected to the car battery and try to wire it into the collector instead. Maybe you should talk to him about the rest. He went on for hours and I kind of dozed off on him.”

Night chuckled. “Understandable,” he replied with a nod.

“So, did you two get any sleep last night?” he smirked, winking at Chastity.

“Of course we did,” she answered circumspectly.

“Hardly,” Night smirked, making her blush again.

“Night!” she grumbled, but she couldn’t help but smirk as well. The truth was, she’d slept better wrapped in his arms than she could ever remember sleeping without them.

“Come on, Chastity, let’s go find Rick,” he suggested innocently. “I’m sure he doesn’t care how much sleep we managed to get. He’ll talk our ears off just the same.”

“That’s true,” she had to agree.

Boris came along with them to the water wheel, where they found Rick knee-deep in some mud,  trying to connect some wires to the outlet in question. When he saw who had stepped in, his eyes lit with interest, and he quickly abandoned his task.

“I hear you’ve been a busy beaver,” said Night with a grin, as the man got to his feet.

“Yes, sir,” he agreed, his manner more efficient than deferential. “I believe if my calculations are correct, you’ll be able to plug in a few cell phones by the end of the day.”

“Even if you take a jaunt over to another abandoned town to gather some wood?” Night clarified.

“Actually, sir, I wondered if any of the old towns might have appliances or outlets, or maybe even just light fixtures and such,” he said.

“They might,” Night conceded. “But I’m sure the newer towns are also more likely to have people remaining. You and the men would have to be mighty careful if you decided to raid those.”

“I understand, sir,” he agreed. “Still, we could really use the parts if they’re available. I hear  you and Chastity are hoping to start a family. We wouldn’t want the little tyke to get cold, would we?”

“Rick!” Chastity gasped. “We haven’t even made the baby, let alone waited for it to grow and get born. I’m pretty certain we’ll have all this up and running within nine months.”

“Six,” Boris corrected her.

“What?” she asked, shaking her head in confusion.

“If you get pregnant, I’m supposed to begin you on some supplements that will cause your gestation time to decrease. And before you launch into a tirade, just remember what a blessing that will be once you’ve already birthed instead of having to haul around your big belly for most of the year.”

“Oh, not you, too,” Chastity grumbled. “My belly doesn’t get huge until I’m almost done. I’m quite sure it can’t be all that bad.”

“I’ll remember that in a few months,” Boris chuckled.