Page 12 of Mismatched Mates (Special Bear Protectors)

GRANT

N ot much rational thought remained, but I had enough sense to get her back inside, away from anyone who might see. This wasn’t for the cameras, and I didn’t want her to think it was.

Besides, I had plenty in mind that should never be published for the world to see.

I wasn’t even entirely sure where this had come from. It was like seeing her in that dress, all subtle curves and long, lean lines, had awoken something in me. A need that only she could sate.

And by the way she looked at me, the way she smelled—goddamn, my wolf knew from the way she smelled—she felt the same way, too.

Maybe both of us needed this. A release.

Either way, I wasn’t about to waste time as long as she was here with me.

I found a small, unused room and opened the door, shutting it behind us. Her back bowed as I held her against me, and for several long, delicious seconds, we kissed in the dark. Her dress exposed subtle stretches of bare skin, and I explored them all, first with my fingers and then with my teeth. Our breathing filled the room, and as my vision sharpened in the darkness, I saw it was used for storage, chairs piled on tables and water coolers stacked in a corner.

Shit. Everything was happening too fast, and it was never supposed to be like this with Jane, but I’d been hard all night, touching her and wanting her and watching the way her eyes darkened every time she looked at me, and unless she made it very clear she didn’t want this too, I didn’t know how I was going to stop myself from taking her up against the wall.

She deserved better. I was a mess, and there was a reason I never allowed myself to get involved with someone who I might want more from. But this felt like it was out of my control.

“You’re so beautiful,” I whispered against the skin of her neck. She arched her back, offering herself to me, and I slid a hand up her thigh. “I haven’t been able to take my eyes off you all night.”

“It’s the dress.”

“It’s the woman inside the dress.” I found the slit and pushed my fingers under, finding bare skin. My wolf howled, trying to convince me to shift, but this was definitely better done in our human form. “You’ve been driving me wild all night.”

“I’ve been imagining you touching me,” she confessed.

“God.” I found the edge of her panties and pushed them aside. She hooked a leg up over my hip. For someone who, I could only guess was out of practice, she didn’t exactly seem shy. “You’re soaked.”

She closed her eyes and rested her head back against the door. “Less talking. More touching.,” she reprimanded with a moan.

“Your wish is my command.” I drew her bottom lip into my mouth as I slid a finger through her folds, right to her entrance. As she whimpered, she reached for me, unbuttoning my pants.

My staff sprung to attention.

“You have to be quiet,” I murmured against her mouth. She took my aching cock in her hand, and my words came back to haunt me as I bit back my own groan. Yeah—she wasn’t the only one who was going to have to concentrate on being quiet. She moved restlessly against me.

“That’s right.” I slid a finger inside her, hot and wet and tight, and she gasped, biting down on her lip hard, holding back the strangled noise.

Her hand tightened around me, and I thrust into it. The truth was, I’d been horny all evening for so long that she was going to make me come embarrassingly fast. Though, by the way she rolled her hips, grinding herself on my hand, she wouldn’t be too far behind me.

The scent of her arousal filled the air, and it was all I could do not to ruin her pretty dress.

Her free hand moved to my shoulder, holding herself upright as she trembled, and her mouth moved clumsily against mine as I pumped my fingers into her, finding the perfect spot, the one that made her eyes roll. I wanted her like putty in my hands. Right on the edge, so I could command when she fell. Right on the very brink of control.

Having uptight Jane Thomas unraveling in my grasp, surrendering herself to me, was the ultimate privilege, and I wanted to make sure it was good for her.

But damn it was hard to concentrate as she stroked her thumb across the head of my cock, smearing the moisture that gathered there.

“Grant,” she whispered, voice catching.

“Are you close?”

“I’m close. I’m close. I think I’m?—”

“Not yet.” I slowed, relishing the feel of her fluttering around me. Every instinct told me to push my cock inside her and claim her, but this wasn’t the right time or the right place. Hell, I’d never been with the right woman, but nothing had ever felt as right as the way she felt against me then. “Wait until I say you can.”

She glared and squirmed against me, but obeyed, not letting herself tip over the edge. Her hand trembled around my cock, slowing, but it didn’t matter, because my balls were tightening, and I wanted her like nothing I’d ever experienced before.

“Good girl,” I said, and she clenched around my fingers. “I want you to come for me, sweetheart. Come for me. Now.”

Her breath caught and she shuddered, fingers digging into my shoulder as she held herself up. I kept fucking her with my fingers, riding her orgasm as she smothered her moans into the back of her hand, until eventually she sagged against me.

“Well done.” I stroked her face. She reached for my cock again, but I stopped her. “On your knees.”

For a second, it looked as though she didn’t compute. I saw the moment comprehension dawned, eyes widening and gleaming with an unholy light that told me she liked the commands. It was like she’d been crafted for me. Perfect. Matching me in every way.

Eyes still on mine, she lowered herself to her knees, dragging her hands down my thighs until I was the perfect height to slide my cock between those luscious lips. One hand cupping my balls and the other following her mouth, she only had to work me for a few seconds before I teetered on the edge. “Just like that,” I told her, voice rough.

She smiled around me, and that was the thing that set me off. Both hands in her hair, holding her still, I emptied myself down her throat, and she took it all without complaint.

I sagged against the wall, panting, feeling like she’d just turned me inside out. Nothing had ever, ever felt like this before.

In the dim light, Jane looked just as shocked, like the insane, drugging pleasure had wiped her out, too. I pulled her closer and kissed her again. “Shall we go home?” I asked. “I can call Winslow round and make our excuses.”

“Oh, yes please.” She laughed a little against my cheek, but the sound was wry. “I don’t feel like facing your family right now.”

By family, she meant father, and I understood that. This was far more than either of us had bargained for tonight, and although I didn’t regret it, not even a little bit, I had to admit it complicated the situation.

At least no one would suspect it was fake when they smelled her on me.

“Go wait outside,” I said, adjusting her dress and hair so she looked presentable. “I’ll join you in a moment.”

There was a hesitancy I wasn’t expecting in her eyes, but she merely nodded and stepped back. I forced myself not to glance back at her when I left the room.

I found Konrad and told him to make our excuses, and by the time I got back outside, Winslow was there and Jane was already in the car, heels on the floor and her feet curled up under her like a cat.

“And there you have it,” I said as the car pulled away. “My family at its best.”

“They seem nice.” Her voice came out measured, hesitant even.

“You can say it. My father’s an ass.”

She glanced at me, eyes luminous in the dark. “He didn’t seem like an ass, just… strict.”

“That’s what he wants you to think. A good guy in that strict, old-fashioned kind of way.”

“I do have a question, though.” Her fingers snuck toward mine, and I brought them to my mouth. “Konrad is your younger brother, right?”

I tensed. Subconsciously,, I’d always known this was coming, but I still didn’t have a way of explaining it in a way that sounded remotely neutral. Probably because even after all these years, I didn’t quite understand it myself. “Yeah,” I said, not trusting myself to say more.

“So how come you’re not the future alpha? I thought the title always passed to the eldest son in wolf packs?”

“You’re not wrong—usually.”

“So why is it different with you?” she pressed.

I sighed, her fingers still in mine, and I played with them absently as I how much to reveal. “We don’t have the same mother.”

“Oh.”

“She died when I was a baby and my father got custody. Then he met his mate and they set up Sentinel together and had the rest of the kids. Three brothers and a sister.”

“Mara,” she mused. “The sister that you were talking about before?”

“Yeah. She epitomizes the saying, ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’.”

“I always wanted a sister.”

“Yeah?” I glanced at her, but her face was shadowed and I couldn’t make much out from her expression. “Mara's not one to back down, from anything really. The bigger the challenge, the better.”

“Believe me, I have two sons. I’m used to having someone fight back at the most basic of instructions.”

“Yeah, but could they take your head off with a single kick?”

“You’d be surprised.”

I chuckled, leaning back against the seat. “They sound fun. How old are they?”

“Nine.”

“Huh.” Sucking my teeth, I thought about what Konrad and I had been like as kids. “That must be tough.”

“I make it work. Jason is…” Her fingers squeezed mine, betraying her outward nonchalance. “In some ways, it’s better that he’s not involved with the kids at all now, because it’s made the transition easier. They’re still at home all the time, I know where they are and what they’re doing and how they’re eating, and I never have to miss them. I also have my family around, and they’re amazing. My mom takes over whenever I have to work, picks them up from soccer practice, all that stuff.”

“Wait,” I said, twisting to face her, anger boiling in my gut. “Did you say your ex doesn’t have anything to do with the kids at all?”

“Not really. He left for someone younger and prettier—the grass was greener, I guess—and left the family he’d made behind.”

“Bullshit.”

“What?”

“The grass is greener where you water it, and whoever this girl is, she might be younger but she sure as hell isn’t prettier.” I wasn’t exactly sure when I’d come to this realization, but Jane was hands down the most gorgeous woman I’d ever met. “And you know what? As a kid, I would’ve killed for a mom like you.”

She swallowed so hard I heard it through the darkness. “Don’t.”

“I’m serious, Jane. He was lucky to have you.” And at the thought of him having her the way I’d had her, the anger turned into something darker, and a growl slipped through my lips.

What the hell?

She was silent for a few long beats, and I thought I’d gone too far, maybe messed up the dynamic by calling her the kind of mom I’d wanted. But then she leaned across to put her head on my shoulder.

“You know,” she said quietly, “I think your Father’s making a mistake by not making you alpha.”

“He wouldn’t agree with you.”

“Then maybe he never got to see the person I’m seeing right now.” She shrugged and her mouth ghosted across my neck. “I’m not a wolf and I’m not in your pack. I’m just calling it how I see it.”

Her words hit me harder than I expected, and for a moment, I felt like a kid again, that same boy craving approval, waiting for someone—anyone—to really see me.

I didn’t deserve her. But right then, right there, I wanted to learn how to.

I stroked her hair. So soft. “Thanks for being my date tonight,” I murmured.

I felt the way her lips curved, still pressed against my neck. “You know, I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy it, but it was my pleasure.”