Claimed by the Wolf Read online

“You had a need. I had a responsibility.”

  She gave him a disbelieving stare. “You had a hard-on.”

  Kenric's eyes narrowed and a series of little changes in his body language said stop.

  She ignored the warning. “Look, however you want to explain it, it happened. Now I'm going to be sleeping with you and four of your friends.”

  “We are representatives of a sex goddess, Kenric pointed out. “It doesn't make for a lot of taboos.”

  “And polyamory isn't unusual for witches.”

  “So there’s no problem.”

  She was up to her neck in problems. “Fine.” Sybil went back to focusing on her breathing.

  “Get up.”

  “I am not running another step.”

  “Get up.”

  Sybil heaved a sigh and lumbered upright. “Don’t look at me like that,” she muttered. “I work in an office. There’s not a lot of physical training involved.” And she’d overdone it, showing off for him like an idiot.

  “Walk.”

  “Sadist.”

  “Walk,” Kenric repeated in a level voice, “Otherwise your muscle’s will tighten up and you'll hurt twice as much tomorrow. Walk it out now. You're going to need to be in top form to drive back what's after you.”

  “Good point.” She took a tentative first step and kept going even though her feet throbbed from the unaccustomed pounding she'd put them through.

  “Back that way.”

  “Right.” Sybil turned around and began to walk, trying not to limp.

  Kenric fell into step beside her. “You're limping.”

  She grilled her teeth. Like she needed a reminder that her physical condition wasn't a match for his. “I know.”

  They walked together in silence. Finally he said, “I want you”

  She almost tripped over her own feet at the abrupt declaration. Kenric steadied her.

  She let him, feeling slightly stunned. The small contact carried a sexual charge she felt all the way to her toes.

  He didn't speak again until they reached the cavern's entrance. He stopped and gestured for her to go first. “Inside.”

  Sybil went back into the cavern that provided its own soft light. He followed, then touched her waist to direct her.

  “There's a heated mineral pool past the second cave,” Kenric said.

  “There's a reason to keep walking.”

  The last few yards passed in silence. She saw the steam rising from the pool before she saw the water, and stopped to take off her shoes and socks. Kenric went ahead of her and sank up to his shoulders.

  She undid her pants and stripped them off, underwear included. Hanging onto them seemed pointless when he'd already seen what was underneath. Her shirt and bra went next. Then she followed Kenric into the pool. Blissful heat encased her. Buoyant water supported her. She let out a groan of pleasure, surrendering to the experience.

  “Here.”

  Kenric reached for her, and Sybil obligingly swam toward him. He pulled her sideways into his lap and propped her head his chest.

  Thanks.” She relaxed into his hold, trusting him to keep her from drowning if she passed out. His hands moved over her arm and back, a soothing touch.

  When he cupped her chin and raised it, the sight of his head bending to hers seemed the most natural thing in the world She watched through half-closed eyes as he moved closer, then closed them completely as his mouth covered hers.

  Warm, firm lips coaxed hers to soften and cling, then part. She felt the tip of his tongue probe at the small opening she'd made, tasting, tempting. She opened wider, giving in to temptation, offering him more. The kiss deepened, becoming an exploration of tongues as well as lips, a slow exchange that heated by degrees until she moved against him in restless need for more.

  Hands reached out, gripped, stroked, discovering line and form and texture. His unerringly searched out points that made her shiver with sensation. Hers glided along muscle, the freedom to touch a pleasure and a reward in itself.

  Languor spread through her body, made her relax further, molding herself to him.

  His touch grew harder, fingertips digging into muscle and then releasing, a sensual massage that drove her to turn in his lap until she straddled his thighs in an effort to get closer.

  Her breasts felt tight and aching, nipples swollen and pouting for attention. She arched her back to press them harder against the wall of his chest. His hands moved down her spine, then lower until he cupped her hips, fingers splayed along the soft flesh of her ass. He drew her more fully into his embrace, until her mound met his groin and her belly molded against the tumescent heat of his cock. She wanted that pressure lower, and moved her hips in silent request. His bands tightened, holding her still.

  The kiss went on and on, the slide of his tongue against hers, the hungry demand of his lips a seduction in itself. When he raised his head to leave a gap between them, her lips felt bereft and cold.

  “Would you have let me talcs you at the oasis?”

  The question broke through the sensual haze. “Mmm? Yes.”

  “Even though you knew I wasn't a man.”

  Sybil struggled to focus, heavy lids raising with an effort. “You may not be human, but you're a man.”

  “And you may not be werewolf, but you're female.”

  The statement seemed to hold some cryptic meaning for him, but deciphering it would take too much concentration, Sybil let it go and leaned up the tiny bit required to close the gap between them, to kiss him again and then again. The fact that he spent some time in animal form seemed irrelevant. What mattered was this, the rush of blood that beat inside her with increasing urgency, the sweet ache of need between, her thighs.

  Rising up to kiss him made her body ride higher against his She felt her sex make contact with his turgid length, his shaft pressing her clitoris. It felt unimaginably good.

  She glided up and down, stroking herself over him as her tongue mated with his.

  Kenric ended the kiss and tightened his grip on her, stilling her motion while holding her close. She breathed out a soft sigh and turned her cheek to rest against him, floating in a sensual dream as the heated water and heated male combined to soothe away the stresses of the day.

  “Did anybody get hurt?” Sybil naked the question in a small voice. She'd been too faraway to tell.

  “No.”

  She exhaled relief. “What were those things?”

  “Demons.”

  “Were they after me?”

  “They seek the book. The gate's opened, and the spell that did it left a clear signature.”

  “Is it safe here?”

  “As safe as anywhere. One of us will remain on guard at all times, and call in the others as needed until the gate is closed.”

  Sybil nodded. After a few minutes, she whispered, “I'm sorry.”

  “Sorry?”

  “Sorry I found the damn thing, Sorry I picked it up. Sorry I wanted so badly to claim my heritage as a witch that I let it get the better of my common sense. I should have put it back as soon as I saw what it was.”

  “Really? Did you know it was demonic power seeking an outlet?”

  “Well, no. I thought it was just an ordinary book of shadows.”

  Kenric stroked an idle hand down her spine as he spoke. “Even if you had tried to put it back, it wouldn't have let you. You didn't find it by chance. It revealed itself to you.”

  She grimaced, “What, I fit its victim profile?”

  “Something like that.”

  So she'd been doomed from the moment she'd given in to impulse and pulled off to browse the estate sale, “I should have kept driving.”

  “Since you can't go back in time and change a past mistake, you'll have to live with it.”

  The withdrawal in Kenric's tone washed through her like cold water, he set her aside and gestured toward the edge of the pool, “You've soaked long enough. Come.”

  The moment was definitely over. Sybil nodded and climbed out,
then stood dripping in the cool air. “Now what?”

  “Follow.”

  She blew out a breath, dislodging the curl over her eye, and made her way after Kenric, staying close behind him. When she stepped on something soft, she started and looked down. “Is that moss?”

  “Keep walking.”

  Hey were in a corridor, she saw, and the walls were definitely covered with more than minerals and phosphorescence now. Green vines. Flowers. The corridor widened and led into in enormous open . . . meadow?

  Sybil looked around in wonder and saw twin moons high overhead, trees in the distance, grass and more flower, under her feet.

  “Daoine sidhe,” she murmured. There were stories about the fairy mounds, the worlds underground with strange suns and moons, where time was measured differently. “Did Ronan make this?”

  “Yes. Long ago. Xanadu is his creation and our home.”

  “Wow.” The word was inadequate, but nothing else came to mind. Moonlight washed the meadow in a silvery glow, making dew sparkle on petals and leaves as if they were outlined in diamonds.

  The residual heat from the water and exertion kept her from getting chilled, but Sybil knew it wouldn't last. So she didn't protest when Kenric went on instead of lingering. The path from the meadow led to a stone den with engraved figures she didn’t recognize around the opening. Then they were inside, and Sybil found herself toeing a pile of furs.

  “Decadent.”

  “Practical.” Kenric shrugged and sank down, then held out a hand to her. Sybil took it and joined him. The fur felt cool to the touch, soft and silky, a deep plush that gave beneath her and soothed her bare skin.

  She glanced around at the enclosed space. Cosy, if you liked the stone age look.

  Stone and fur, with a magical meadow to another world just outside.

  “You run like wounded prey,” Kenric informed her.

  “Ah, the pillow talk begins.” She flopped onto her back and squirmed into a comfortable position. “You on the other hand, run like a predator. Oh, wait, that's because you are.”

  “I know how to run as a man, too.”

  “I'll get better.” She rolled onto her stomach and closed her eyes in sheer bliss as softness touched her everywhere.

  “You don't know the most elemental magic,” he went on, apparently determined to list all her faults.

  “Yes, and you know why, so I don't I think you should blame me for it.” Sybil levered herself up to scowl at Kenric. “I was trying to learn. I wanted to reach my potential. That's how I ended up here.”

  “Do you really want to reach your potential?” Disconcerting golden eyes stared into hers.

  “Yes.”

  “Then we should begin.”

  Sybil licked dry lips. “I’m ready.”

  “Not yet, but you will be.” His voice sounded like a dark promise. He moved closer and put a hand between her shoulder blades to press her down. She let him, relaxing back into the softness that cradled her. His hand moved lower, stroked over the curves of her butt, then nudged her thighs apart until his fingertips brushed her sex.

  He teased the soft curls between her legs, caressed her labia, subtly increasing pressure until she felt her flesh softening and giving way. One fingertip probed deeper and she let out a soft breath at the intimate exploration.

  He pushed forward, slowly working his way in, withdrew, stroked inside her again. Sybil felt her inner muscles tightening around his digit in an involuntary response.

  “Like that, do you, witch?” Kenric slid his finger out of her sheath, added a second, and tested her reaction as he probed her slick tissues. She made a soft moan of an answer and arched her back, trying to take him deeper. The extra width when she wasn't quite ready was almost but not quite too much, and it made her want more.

  The third finger pressed inside her stroked, teased, withdrew, and slid further, seeking her clit. When it made contact, the stimulation made her pelvis rock.

  “Closer,” Kenric murmured, He toyed with her, first stroking the delicate bundle of nerves, then slowly working his third finger all the way inside her tight sex again.

  She'd been close at the pool, and he'd stopped her, but Sybil didn't complain.

  Instead, she moved her thighs wider apart, raised her buttocks, and gave herself over to the sensation of being intimately touched and pleasured by a man's hand without any other part of their bodies meeting.

  He stroked inside her, withdrew to caress and stroke her clit, pressing his palm over her sex, then drawing a fingertip along her open folds before abruptly plunging two fingers deep.

  The rhythm varied, shifting before she could follow it, leaving her to tremble in anticipation. It felt so good. It wasn't enough. That gliding caress over her swollen clit sent sensation jolting through her. The penetration of his fingers built a frustrated need for more. He never touched her deeply enough, long enough. Then he withdrew completely, robbing her of all touch.

  “On your knees.”

  She rose up onto hands and knees without thinking, and then he was behind her, between her open legs, and she felt the head of cock against her slick folds. He was going to take her. Now. Like this. Anticipation made her breath catch. Magic gathered and pulsed in the air.

  He felt larger than she'd expected, hard and hot and male. His hands gripped her hips and then he was pushing into her as she gave way to the intimate pressure, softened tissues parting and opening to accept him. He pushed forward steadily until he was buried in her to the hilt, making her stretch to take all of him She felt almost unbearably full. The unaccustomed depth and width of his penetration had her squirming while he held still as she attempted to accommodate all of him.

  “Maybe you should pull out and try again,” Sybil suggested, panting a little. “I think we need a different position.”

  “Too late.” He swelled inside her and she gasped at the sensation. He was even deeper inside, her and he hadn't moved.

  “What do you mean, too late?” She turned to look at him over her shoulder. His jaw was set, his face hard, eyes glittering in the dim light.

  “I mean too late. I can't withdraw until I've spent myself inside you.”

  She sucked in a breath “What?”

  “It's a sex trait of wolves, a knot forms during intercourse to lock a pair together and doesn't release until after ejaculation.”

  That was Mother Nature for you, thought Sybil. Ruthlessly practical when it came to ensuring continuation of the species. “Nice time to mention it.”

  “It shouldn't have happened with a human,” Kenric ground out. “ You’re not a wolf. I would have mention it if I'd though it would come up.”

  So why had it? There was an unanswerable question. Instead of trying, Sybil experimented with Shifting her position until she found a more comfortable angle by lowering her arms and torso. That left her tightened nipples brushing the fur beneath her. The extra stimulation became a constant caress as Kenric began to move inside her, making her body rock forward, then back with his thrusts.

  She focused on opening herself to him, surrendering to the tight fit of his flesh in hers and the gathering power that flowed back and forth between them, building with each movement. He pressed so deep it made her breath catch, the friction of his shaft moving inside her sheath growing more pleasurable as additional lubrication eased his entry.

  He moved again, and it abruptly became a lot more pleasurable. Then ecstatic.

  “Kenric,” she moaned. “Yes. Oh, please, yes.”

  As if her words were the signal he'd been waiting for, he began to pump his hips into her, driving his cock as far as he could, as far as she could take it, while she strained to take more.

  Six

  Sybil’s world narrowed to the bed of furs beneath her, the male body behind hers, locked with hers, the thick shaft that rode endlessly into her. The first time she came, she writhed and bucked and panted while he continued to thrust in a steady rhythm The second time, it took longer to build and lasted
longer, a seemingly endless wave of pleasure and magic so intense she wasn’t sure she could endure it, She ground herself ground herself against his groin, moaning and spasming.

  When it finally ended, it started all over again. Kenric's pace increased, demanding more of her, taking her harder, deeper, until she felt the peak forming. She closed her eyes and braced for the intensity of it. The hard male cock inside her throbbed and jerked, a precursor of his own release, and Sybil realized this one they'd share. Tiny ripples of ecstasy made her inner muscles grip his shaft and cling. A low growl came from behind her, sending a shiver of danger down her spine that heightened her awareness of him.

  Not safe, she thought, arching her back to offer more of herself to him. This was not safe. She didn't care. She wanted this. She wanted him. She forgot everything but the two of them, the demands of his cock and her acquiescence, following the pace he set, a willing participant as he led her past the point of no return. She felt him pulse inside her, felt an answering pulse in her womb, and then the rhythm became a driving frenzy as he began to spill hot liquid into her core.

  He fucked her almost furiously, inciting an equally wild response as the violence of their mutual release surged through them and power grounded itself in her flesh. The shock of the burning sensation on her breast made her cry out. Heat scored her skin while the last of her orgasm wrung her. Kenric continued to slam into her as if he wanted to drive his seed further in. Her muscles went slack and she crumpled under him, spent. He came to rest deep inside her.

  “Witch?”

  “It worked,” Sybil mumbled. “I felt it burn into me. Like a brand.”

  He turned them both on their sides so they lay spooned, flesh still locked together.

  His hand explored her breast with a gentle touch. She let out a huff of breath at the electric discharge when his fingertip grazed the two points of a partial star. Like the mark reacted to the one who’d given it.

  “Branded you” Kenric murmured.

  She felt his cock twitch inside her and wondered if the satisfaction in his tone was her imagination. She felt branded by him, and not just where it showed, She’d had sex before. She'd never felt so utterly possessed in the act. Claimed.