Page 14 of The Pack Next Door (The Wolfverse #4)

Gideon

I’d come outside to get the hell away from my brothers and the mess they made.

One job. They had one bloody job, and they couldn’t even do that right.

When we returned to the house this morning, we’d discussed the division of labour.

Those two idiots had their eyes glued to a phone screen, watching a woman demonstrate how to roast a chicken, Maddox scribbling down the ingredients needed.

I was the one to go to the shop and buy all the things on their list, as well as my own.

While they managed to cremate the chicken and make gravy that looked like old vomit, I’d set out all the furniture, cleaned the deck, and made it a place fit for our omega to hang out in.

Only for Maddox to announce we’d order pizza instead.

I didn’t want a dinner served in cardboard.

My wine selections weren’t made to pair with flour, cheese, and grease.

Tonight was supposed to be special, and those two.

.. The minute Maggie and Briar were home, I came out into the garden, knowing I’d have to decompress before I had to go and face my brothers again.

Only to hear a tiny little sound.

It was Briar, I just knew it, and that had me moving closer to the fence. Her curtains were made of gossamer, it felt, flickering in the breeze, and with them came another sound and another. That heady scent of roses in bloom, coupled with a note of vanilla that had my mouth watering.

My mate was getting herself off.

That she was moved to do so not long after leaving our place had me staring into the dark. Did she imagine Maddox’s, or maybe Jace’s, hands where hers were right now?

Or mine.

My mind worked overtime, conjuring a pretty picture to show me exactly what it would be like.

Her skin would be cast greyish blue by the moonlight streaming in through her window. The moon would be a silent witness to her delicious agony. The sheet would slide down, revealing those perfect pink nipples I saw this morning, then her fingers working between her legs.

What would it be like to be in that room?

To creep closer, her eyes flicking open as she felt my knee press down on the mattress.

Surprise would give way to lust as she beckoned me closer.

I’d yank the sheet away, unable to stand anything between us, and watch the way her fingers sunk deeper and deeper inside her.

Her hips would rock, pressing her clit into her palm with every pulse, her movement getting faster until…

I heard that sharp little sob of breath.

I blinked, coming back to the garden, and listened to the sound of my mate coming apart.

Only for her to start again almost instantly.

My grin was immediate.

Greedy girl. Briar would never need to lift a finger again once she accepted the mate bond. My brothers and I would meet her every need until she couldn’t take another orgasm. But right now my claws dug into the bark of the tree Maggie had described, climbing up until I settled into the hollow.

Not to see Briar. I’d never encroach on her privacy, not without some kind of invitation. Instead, I leaned back against the big branch and then slid my zipper down. My cock was eased out as I heard her moans pick up again.

What would it be like to feel those pretty little fingers around my cock rather than my own rough ones?

How would I feel if she turned to me, eyes heavily lidded, and beckoned me forward?

I’d dreamed vaguely of a shadowy faced woman doing that after going through puberty, but now I could fill in the details.

Those lips parting, her fingers clasping the sheets as I kissed my way down, pausing briefly to pay homage to her belly button before I parted those thick thighs.

Those hands would slap down on my skull, fingers raking through my hair as I licked the slick from her skin, and then went deep, seeking the source.

She’d ride my face until she came apart, and then I’d go back for more.

Her breaths were coming faster and faster, whisked my way by the breeze.

That scent of roses filled my nose as my hand worked.

My knot ached, needing to be buried inside her, but it would have to settle for my spare hand wrapping around it.

I wouldn’t come, not until she did. My hand moved in time with her pants.

It felt like I was the one to push her, me, over the edge, because as soon as I heard her cry, my cum jetted out, painting the plants below.

For just a moment, my raspy breaths cancelled out hers as I fought to catch my breath.

When I slid down from the tree, I found myself pressing my forehead into the bark as the aftershocks of pleasure wracked me.

“You look… better,” Maddox drawled when I walked into the house.

Thankfully, he and Jace were cleaning up the kitchen.

“Tomorrow.” I pointed at both of them. “We get up at sunrise. Be ready to take Maggie to the plant nursery.”

“And Briar,” Jace said, leaning against the kitchen counter.

Stuck in a car with my mate, breathing in her scent? That was a car crash waiting to happen, and yet I would make it happen. The wolf stiffened inside me, making clear I would have no choice. Whatever it took to get Briar to accept us as her mates, we needed to do it.

“And Briar, if she wishes.”

“Still left us with the dishes…” Maddox muttered as I went upstairs, but I didn’t rise to the bait.

Instead, I went and showered, scrubbing off the day’s grime, only to find my knot partially inflated.

What had happened wasn’t enough for me. What it needed, what I needed, occupied my mind and my dreams until I woke the next morning.

“Oh, look who’s here!” I was fairly sure Maggie knew exactly what we were to her daughter. That sly smile indicated as much, but she turned to Briar and then gestured to us. “The cavalry has arrived.”

My mate had to look up at me then, and even as she squinted against the sun, I saw her pupils expand.

“Well, if the guys are here, perhaps they can take you to the nursery,” Briar replied. “I don’t know a salvia from a snapdragon. If you have a ride, I could stay here and get some work?—”

My brothers sucked in a breath simultaneously, but I spoke first.

“One is an herbaceous plant that often comes with blue flowers,” I said. “They grow on long spikes.” Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Snapdragons are similar, but they have larger florets and come in a wide variety of colours.”

“Really.”

Briar’s hands went to her hips.

“Sometimes they’re even variegated.”

Her lips pursed, and the need to kiss them until they softened was damn near unbearable, but I remained in control of myself.

“Mum, I have a lot of work?—”

“Not while you’re on holiday, surely?” Maggie said, linking arms with her daughter and dragging her towards our car. “Don’t you have staff to look after things?”

“Staff that have questions that need answering,” Briar muttered. “Decisions I need to make.”

“You’ll have time to attend to them.” I leaned into the doorway, gratified when I had my mate’s attention. “Once the plants are selected, my brothers and I will take care of the garden.”

And you, I wanted to add. Swallowing that back down took more effort than I anticipated.

“Sure. Fine.” Briar shot me a fake smile. “Let’s get this show on the road, then.”