Page 42 of In the Mouth of the Wolf (Of Wolves and Kings #1)

42

MARLOWE

E lias was sent to the grocery store to make up for us eating everything Nolan had bought while under wolf influence, so it was just Cam, Nolan, and me who headed into the basement to watch the Packers game.

Despite no one in my family ever being that big of a pro-football fan, I knew better than to try to get between a cheesehead and his team, and dutifully sat down between my two alphas as they glued their eyes to the screen and discussed plays and statistics.

I meanwhile finally found the courage to text Esther back.

Me: My life has pretty much done a 180 since Thanksgiving. My dad died, and I’m in Wisconsin indefinitely while I deal with his half of a company he owned. Oh, and get this - turns out Mike’s been cheating on me with a lot of women. So… not engaged anymore!

I’d barely heard the sent notification when she was FaceTimeing me. I got up off the couch and slinked to a corner of the room to answer.

“Hey Es—”

“I’m sorry, what? You need to go over everything in detail because that whole message just gave me the text equivalent of whiplash. Start at the beginning. Your dad died? I didn’t know you had a dad. Well, I mean, in your life, that is.”

“Yeah, super long story,” I sighed. I went over in detail everything I could, finally ending on Mike’s betrayal and my decision to stay here while I worked out what to do with my newfound wealth. “I’ll be back in SF sometime soon. I still need to get all my stuff from Mike’s condo. I’ll let you know when I’m in town, we really need to get drinks.”

Cam and Nolan’s loud yells at the TV drew Esther’s attention. “Wait, where are you? And who was that?”

I took a deep breath, nervous to start combining my new and old lives. I walked back to the couch and turned the camera around. “The guy on the left is Cam. He’s my dad’s business partner, and he’s letting me stay with him while I’m getting on my feet. And the guy on the right is Nolan, Cam’s friend.”

A commercial break started and Cam grinned, reaching over and snatching the phone from me. “Hey, who’s this?” he asked, Nolan scooting over to get into frame.

“Hi, Marlowe’s friend!” Nolan called.

“Um, hey,” she replied. “I’m Esther. Nice to meet you.”

“Esther!” Nolan said. “You’re the one from grad school, right?”

She laughed nervously, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “Yeah, that’s me.”

“Grad school, huh? Esther, tell me…” Cam shot me a shit-eating grin and then looked back at the phone. “Has she always had a thing for professors, or is that just a recent—”

“Oh my god!” I yelled, grabbing my phone back. “What is this, high school?” I huffed and went upstairs. “Sorry about that.”

Esther gave me a knowing look. “Girl…”

I closed the door to the stairs and sat on the couch in the living room. “What?”

“Are you kidding me? What is going on in Wisconsin? ‘Cause damn.”

I blushed. “Yeah, I kinda had the same thought.”

“And they both totally like you. I can tell! That’s a real Sophie’s choice right there.”

If she only knew.

“I just found out the guy I’ve been with for three years and was going to marry has been fucking other women the whole time. I’m not really thinking about that.”

I hated lying to her, but it was better this way for now.

“Right, sorry. I can’t believe that. I always got the impression he worshiped the ground you walked on. In, like, a creepy way.”

He really had been the perfect boyfriend and fiancé, and with how often we were together, I didn’t even know how he had the time to be sleeping with so many women.

“I think he was just a master manipulator, love bombing me constantly to keep me distracted.”

Esther frowned. “I wish you weren’t so far away right now. I want to give you a hug.”

“Me, too. It’s been too long! Tell me about your new job. You started a few weeks ago, right?”

Her face lit up. “Yes! My new boss is amazing. What a difference it makes not working for a total narcissist…”

We talked for another thirty minutes, until she finally had to go. “I’m meeting Gabriel for dinner soon, but keep me posted on how everything’s going! And if you need a proxy to handle untangling your stuff with Mike here, let me know. I’d love an excuse to yell at him. Possibly hit him.”

I laughed. “I would pay so much money to watch you kick his ass.”

“How much we talking about here? Because word on the street is you’re flush with cash…”

I paused, looking up in thought. “How about dinner at the House of Prime Rib?”

She pursed her lips and then nodded. “Acceptable. Okay, see you later! Let me know which guy you choose!”

Esther hung up before my face could give it all away.

“Why didn’t you tell her it’s me?”

“Christ on a cracker!” I yelled, jumping a foot in the air. “Dammit, Nolan, how the hell did you sneak up on me? I need to put bells on you guys…”

He stood behind me and shrugged. “It’s a gift. So, why didn’t you tell her you’re choosing me?”

“I’m not sure I’ve officially signed off on that plan yet,” I huffed. “Sneaking up behind me is going to dock you a few points.”

“Points?” he asked. “Oh, so this is a competition now?” His eyes lit up and he leaned on his arms against the back of the couch, bringing his face closer to mine. “I’m very good at winning.”

A wave of bourbon and vanilla washed over me and my nipples hardened. “Aren’t you watching the game?” I asked, my pulse quickening.

His pupils dilated and he ran his nose along the outer shell of my ear. “I have something far more beautiful I’d rather be doing.”

Nolan let out a low growl and then nipped at my ear lobe. I became wet with slick, my need for him gnawing away at my core. “Nolan,” I whimpered, leaning back into the couch.

His lips gently caressed my neck while his hands came over my shoulders and grabbed my breasts, kneading them over my t-shirt. I watched our reflection in the window, spreading my legs as I grabbed his upper arms. His eyes raised slightly, and he smiled, noticing how I was looking at us.

“Look at how sexy you are, sugar. Do you have any idea how hard it is keeping my hands off you?”

One of them traveled down further, slipping under my sweatpants and underwear. “Fuck, you’re so wet. Is that all for me?”

I moaned as his middle finger rubbed my clit, circling and pressing while staring at my face in our reflection.

“All for you,” I replied, rolling my hips to meet his slow, deliberate movements. His finger then pushed inside me, his palm rubbing hard and bringing me to climax. The first one when I was this turned on always came quickly, and my nails dug into his hardened biceps as it built, panting heavily until he gave me my release.

“That’s it,” Nolan purred. “You’re so pretty when you come for me. Can you show me again?”

I nodded wordlessly, my voice stuck in my throat. My whole body felt like jelly and I couldn’t move, so I gave into the ecstasy and surrendered myself to his arms. He picked me up and took me upstairs, ignoring Cam’s frustrated screams coming from the basement.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? How did you miss him? He was right there!”

We went into my nest and Nolan gently laid me down on my bed, turning the lights down low and connecting his phone to my Bluetooth speaker. The slow, sensual beats of an R&B song floated across the room, and Nolan took off his clothes, taking his time and keeping his eyes on me. I drank him in, admiring the shadows that formed beneath every muscle on his sculpted chest, following the trail of dark hair that led straight down where the V of his abdomen pointed. His large cock was straight and hard, the knot already inflated. He moved towards me next, removing my clothes with the same, languid pace, setting the mood – not for rushed, desperate fucking, but deliberate, passionate sex.

Once we were both nude, he lowered himself on top of me, kissing me from my forehead down, appreciating every inch of skin he came across with reverence. I relished how special he made me feel, how prized.

As he got closer to my pussy I became even wetter with anticipation, but he skipped over it, heading down further to my thighs, my knees, and my calves. When he got to my feet, he sat up, bringing one up to massage it. His strong hands applied the perfect amount of pressure, and my eyes rolled back in my head from pure bliss.

“That feels amazing,” I moaned.

When he finished with the first foot, he left it resting on his shoulder before he moved to the next one, expertly wrenching out my stress and tension until I felt like a happy puddle of goo. After he brought my other foot over his shoulder, he made his way back up, kissing the inside of my legs until he reached my pussy again.

Now his tongue began to work in greater earnest. It pierced me, lapping me up and tasting me as though he were starving. “You’re so sweet, sugar. When I die, I want to be right here between your legs.”

“Don’t die yet,” I laughed. “I’m so close.”

He chuckled in return and focused his mouth on my clit, his fingers now working inside me. My orgasm built again, and I ran my hands through his thick brown hair. “Nolan,” I sighed. What else could I say? My body told him exactly how good he could make me feel.

I climaxed again, my back arching as I panted and whimpered, pure bliss running through my veins. Once I came back down, I felt limp, and Nolan made his way back up towards my face, kissing along the path again. His lips met mine, and I tasted my slick on his tongue.

“Are you ready for me?” he whispered, rubbing his erection against my stomach.

I reached down and stroked him, swiping the drop of pre-cum from his head with my thumb, bringing it back up to my mouth and licking it off. “Always,” I answered, my voice breathy.

The look in his eyes was electric, and I spread my legs wider as he settled into me.

His cock nudged at my entrance, and he pushed slowly, pausing every few seconds to allow my body to adjust to him. He continued forward until he’d entered me, full to his knotted hilt.

Nolan grunted, grabbing my hands and raising them above my head. He intertwined our fingers and pulled out, just as slowly as when he’d entered. Then his hips began to move in expert motions, rolling and thrusting to the beat of the music, hitting every spot inside me deliciously.

This wasn’t even sex. It felt like we had transcended into something more, something divine and sacred, our bodies working for a purpose greater than just an orgasm.

“Marlowe,” he whispered, my name an invocation on his lips, never faltering as each thrust of his cock slid into me with perfect precision.

His knot rubbed against my clit, and while I wasn’t ready for this to end, we both felt our releases building, the rapture reaching its zenith.

The words spilled out of me before I even knew I was saying them. “Nolan, I love you.”

His head snapped up and his eyes met mine, and I faltered for a second, thinking I’d made a mistake. But his thrusting became frenzied, and as I came he pushed his knot inside me, locking us together while his orgasm filled me. “Marlowe,” he moaned. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

A tear escaped down my cheek, and I released his hands so I could wrap my arms around his back and bring him down on top of me, feeling our orgasms through each other. He kissed along my jaw and then down my neck. With a sudden growl, he bared his teeth, and then sunk them into my shoulder.

I inhaled deeply with the initial pain, but it was replaced by pleasure and I came around his cock again, triggering another release.

My connection to him was immediate, and I felt all his emotions – his love, his devotion, his happiness… everything. I mirrored them back, wanting him to know how absolutely wonderful he was.

Nolan licked at the bite and then kissed me again. “I don’t care if it wasn’t my turn. I didn’t want to live another second without you being completely mine, in every way possible. I love you so much.”

I released a shuddering breath. “I love you, too.”