Page 14
fourteen
ASPEN
After breakfast (it was nearly lunch time, so it was really brunch), Enzo stopped at a drug store and spent half an hour sniffing conditioner bottles. He didn’t like any of them, so he told me to deal with my straw-like hair. And promised to order me something unscented.
Back at the cabin, I curled up on the couch to read my book, and he sat down with one of his own. He fussed with my boot every twenty minutes, making sure it was properly lifted, but he focused on the story otherwise.
When I peeked at the cover, I realized it was about spies.
My lips curved upward just the tiniest bit.
Maybe I liked being the king’s friend and knowing he liked spy books.
He told me to stay on the couch while he handled dinner, so I remained where I was while he started cooking for us.
“Have the spies dodged any sticky situations yet?” I asked him.
“They already took down a few enemy agents,” he said, with a straight face. “The British government is after them now. They’re trying to figure out why. Someone obviously betrayed them.”
I bit back a grin.
Hearing such a big, attractive man talk about a spy book was just… well, fun.
And maybe a little sexy on top of it.
“Has the fae king fucked the human yet?” he asked.
“Not technically. I’m wondering if they’re going to hold out until the end. It’s gotten really close though.”
“Annoying.”
“I like the build-up.”
“Do you?” His gaze moved slowly down my figure.
Oops.
“I can help you cook,” I said, rising to my feet when he’d looked back to the vegetables he was washing.
“No. Sit down and rest your ankle, Princess.”
“I’m still not a princess.” I limped around the couch. Most of the tenderness was gone, but the boot was a pain to lug with me. “It’s been twenty-four hours. I should be able to take this thing off.”
“Leave it on. Clay sent me a picture of your ankle, and it looked terrible.”
I stepped into the kitchen, and Enzo lifted me right up onto the countertop without batting an eye. “You and your brothers are annoyingly close.”
“So?”
“So, you need to stop teaming up on me. It’s rude.”
“Something tells me you would do the same thing with Fletcher if he was involved.”
“Of course I would. He’s my twin, and my best friend.” And I needed to talk to him about whether or not he’d found a pack, before Enzo distracted me again.
“Then you understand why my brothers and I are the way we are.”
Enzo and I were sort of becoming friends, but the possibility of forming a mate bond made things different between us. I didn’t know whether it was good different, or bad. Maybe time would tell.
“Give me the carrots. I can rest my foot and cut them at the same time.” I held out my hand for the knife he was using, and the bag of carrots behind his cutting board. The bowl of pieces he’d already chopped was next to me.
“I can do it just fine.”
“You’re being ridiculous, Enzo. Let me help.”
“If you want to be useful, you can take off your sweater so I have something nice to look at while I cook.”
I scowled at him and grabbed a chunk of carrot from the bowl, tossing it at his face. It bounced off his cheek, and I froze.
Things had gotten casual between us, but he was still the Wolf King. He could still rip me into little tiny pieces, and?—
He laughed. It was a loud, booming laugh that filled up the room and made me fight a grin.
It was a nice laugh.
A really nice laugh.
“I was joking, Princess.” He said, grinning.
“You were not .”
“I wouldn’t complain if you took your top off, but I didn’t think you’d actually do it. I can take my shirt off, if you’d prefer. Warm you up for tomorrow. Any idea what time heat will start?”
My face flushed, but I looked inwardly, trying to find my wolf.
Spending heat with someone other than Silas would be… different.
Better, hopefully.
“My wolf is already curled up, and I’m already kind of warm, so probably in the morning. Maybe around six or seven. It’ll be over a few hours after it starts, so we can get back to the pack tomorrow night if you want.”
“We’ll see how we’re feeling. No need to rush back. My brothers have things under control.”
I nodded, biting my lip and picking my phone up to text Fletcher.
Me
Did you find a pack yet?
Fletcher
Yup
Me
Finally
Where is it? How many people?
Fletcher
We’ll meet up for lunch when you’re back and I’ll tell you about it
Gotta go
Love you
Me
Alright
Love you too
He didn’t text back, but I figured he was busy trying to get things organized with his new wolves.
“Fletcher found a new pack,” I said, the words spilling out before I considered the audience.
Enzo wouldn’t care.
“Did he?” He didn’t look up from his vegetables.
Definitely didn’t care.
“Yeah. I’m going to meet him for lunch to talk about it when we’re back.”
I watched him, waiting for him to shoot that down and tell me I wasn’t allowed to go.
“Sounds good.”
He really didn’t care.
That didn’t subtract from my relief, though.
I bit my lip, watching him for a minute. “Did Fletch or Silas tell you anything about the rut, by chance?”
“No. Seems pretty simple, though.”
“It is,” I agreed. “But…”
He lifted his gaze from the vegetables. “But what?”
“You know how wild wolves have knots?”
His forehead creased. “Knots?”
“Like… the base of a wolf’s penis sort of swells?”
The crease deepened. “Believe it or not, I’ve never looked up how wild wolves have sex, Princess.”
I grimaced, pulling up a Google search for an anatomical picture and showing it to him.
“That can’t be real.”
“It is.”
“You’re not trying to tell me that’s going to happen to my cock, right?”
I let out a puff of air. “Maybe you should just find out when it happens?”
“You don’t tell an Alpha that.”
Maybe not.
“If I’m going to—do that—I need a detailed explanation. Immediately.”
I made a face. “Are you going to flip out and attack Silas again?”
“No. You’re going to explain it to me as if it’s never happened to you before.”
I lifted an eyebrow.
He poked it with my finger to lower it. “ Now , Princess.”
“Basically, you just screw me like you would any of your other ten-minute conquests?—”
His eyes narrowed.
I ignored his attempt to scare me into getting to the point. I was almost there anyway. “When you finish inside me, the base of your penis just… grows. And gets stuck. Inside me.”
“You already said that part.”
“Inside me? Yeah, there’s no avoiding that. That’s the part that actually eases my heat.”
“The knot?”
“Mmhm. That’s basically it.”
He dragged a hand through his hair. “How long does it last?”
“I don’t know. Twenty minutes? After it softens, we’ll have a few minutes before my heat goes crazy and we’re lost to it again. Like, five. Maybe less.”
“How many times does it happen?”
I shrugged. “Enough to last a few hours.”
“Fuck,” he said.
“Do you want me to call Silas and ask him to?—”
“ No . You belong to me. As far as I’m concerned, this has never happened to you before, remember?”
“Right. Well, theoretically , it should feel good,” I said. “For both of us. It’s like a constant stream of pleasure. You’ll get off more times than you can probably imagine.”
“What’s the purpose of the… knot?”
“Oh, it’s supposed to impregnate me.”
He blinked.
And blinked again.
Then cleared his throat. “Do condoms work with it?”
Relief rolled through me. He wasn’t looking to breed the next generation of pure-blooded Savages or whatever. Not yet, anyway.
“Do you seriously think a condom would fit over a knot? Or stay on during the kind of wild animal sex we’re discussing?” I asked.
“I don’t know, but it’s worth a try. I don’t want kids anytime soon, and I always wear condoms. How else are we going to prevent it?”
“I’m obviously not ready for babies either.”
“As far as I’m concerned, you’re still a virgin,” he said bluntly.
I rolled my eyes. “I have an IUD. We’re fine.”
He let out a relieved breath.
We were on the same page there.
“So there’s nothing to worry about,” he said. “Except the fact that the base of my cock is going to grow while I’m buried inside you, bareback, for hours on end.”
“Right.”
“Sounds kind of hot.”
I bit my lip to hide a grin. “It’s always?—”
“You’re a virgin, Princess. You’re a fucking virgin,” he barked out.
A laugh bubbled out of me. “Whatever you say.”
Heat had never been fun before. It was always good in the moment, but the guilt and despair seemed to wipe away any pleasure the moment it was over.
Maybe I was a little bit excited to spend it with Enzo.
Maybe it could actually be fun.
After dinner, we landed back on the couch. It had to be the most comfortable couch in the world.
Enzo had lifted my feet to his lap and set a hand on my knee when we first sat down, and it was slowly creeping higher.
I chewed my thumb as the mystery in my book unraveled and part of the plot resolved—and bit down hard when the couple finally sealed the deal.
My body was already warmer than usual because heat was brewing.
Enzo’s hand was on the middle of my thigh, his thumb stroking my inner leg slowly even though he was focused entirely on his book. That told me he was feeling it too.
I couldn’t help the way my toes curled in response to the desire building in me.
I was starting to lose control of myself already.
It was happening sooner than it should’ve. I had never spent time before heat with the guy I was going to spend it with. Maybe that was why.
I had to close my eyes and focus on my breathing.
Enzo’s sudden, sharp inhale told me he’d noticed my scent. “The main characters finally screwed?”
“Mmhm,” I managed, holding my iPad higher so he wouldn’t see my face.
He lifted it out of my hands, looking down at the screen. “It’s turned off.”
“Mmhm,” I repeated.
“Why are your eyes closed?”
I didn’t answer him right away.
“Aspen,” he warned.
“Apparently, I get horny before heat. It’s fine. I shouldn’t have read a spicy book. Ignore it.”
He set his book down. I heard it, though my eyes were still closed. “Look at me.”
I wrestled with my eyelids, but couldn’t stop them from flying open in response to the command.
“I’m your mate. Let me ease it for you.”
“You’re not technically my?—”
“Princess.”
“No,” I said emphatically, though my hands were already on the waistband of my leggings, pushing them down. “I don’t need help. I’m fine.”
“Alright.” His honey eyes darkened as he watched me lift my ass to pull the leggings down further. My thong stayed on, at least. “Does touching yourself help?”
“Sometimes.”
His lips curved upward.
He’d sniffed out the lie.
Enzo and his brothers and their damn noses were going to be the death of me.
He unbuckled my boot and eased it off my foot, grabbing the bottom hem of my leggings and peeling it over my sore ankle for me. He was way more careful than he needed to be, and that was hot.
Stupidly hot.
Everything was stupidly hot at the moment.
“Just…” I finally got the leggings off and parted my thighs a little more.
He caught my ankle before it could crash against the floor, and lowered it carefully.
“You have to stop being nice to me. It makes me want you too much.” I pressed my fingers against my clit, over my panties, but I barely felt it.
I was being crazy.
Insane.
Seriously psychotic.
But I couldn’t stop.
“Does that feel good, Princess?” he murmured.
“Shut up,” I breathed, rocking my finger lightly.
“You’d like it more if I was doing the touching.” His hand slid further up my thigh.
I wanted it higher.
“No, I wouldn’t,” I lied.
And when his fingertips brushed the crease where my ass and leg met, I grabbed his hand and pressed his fingers against my core.
“Better now?”
“So much,” I moaned, as he rubbed me lightly.
“You smell so fucking good. Look good in this little thong, too. If I had any idea this was under those leggings, I would’ve been hard all day.”
“You were hard all day.”
“Why do you think I’m wearing jeans?”
“I don’t know.” I arched my hips, and he kept teasing me over the fabric.
“Does heat get worse than this?”
“This isn’t even heat yet. It’s like… preheat.”
“Keep moaning like that, and you’ll be taking my cock through preheat too, Princess.”
“That would feel so good.”
“Damn straight. Open your legs for me.”
I followed his command, parting them more. His finger slid under my thong, and I gasped as he used my slickness to stroke my clit.
No one had ever touched me like that.
It was amazing .
“You like that?”
“Oh, yeah,” I breathed.
“You’re slick for me.”
“It’s just preheat.”
“Sure, Princess.”
“You’ve got to stop calling me that. I don’t have a crown.”
“Maybe I’ll get you one. Tattoo it on my throat, like the marking my wolf gave you.”
“Don’t even think about ruining that gorgeous throat with a crown tattoo.”
He chuckled, low. “Yes, Alpha.”
“I’m not—” I cried out, hips arching desperately. “Harder.”
He pressed harder, still doing those same slow strokes, and I finally came with a soft, desperate cry.
My hand held Enzo’s in place as the pleasure rolled from my head to my toes. My gaze was locked with his through my climax, and as I came down from the high. My toes uncurled, but I was out of breath.
“Sorry,” I whispered.
His eyes flashed. “Don’t apologize. This is what I thought heat was going to be. Taking care of you. Watching you come over and over. Having you on my mouth before we screwed.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh . I fucking love this. Take back your apology.”
“I’m… not sorry.”
“What are you not sorry for?”
If my face wasn’t already flushed, it would’ve burned.
But it was already burning.
“Making you touch me,” I said.
He lifted an eyebrow.
“Making you help me take off my clothes.”
His eyebrow lifted higher.
“Making you watch me.”
He leaned closer. “No.”
“No?”
“ No . You’re not sorry for letting me get you off.”
“Okay.”
“ Okay , she says,” he growled under his breath. “Take your thong off.”
My eyebrows shot upward. “What?”
“Is preheat over?”
“For the moment. Probably not for long, though.”
“Then take your thong off. I want to watch this.”
“This, meaning…”
“Me getting you off repeatedly. If I’m going to spend heat with my knot inside you, I get to enjoy myself now.”
My forehead creased. “It will feel amazing for you when you’re knotting me. I’m pretty sure that’s part of the reason Silas hated spen?—”
“You’re a virgin,” he barked. “And this is a different kind of pleasure. Making you feel good feels good.”
He was officially just as insane as I was.
“Okay,” I finally said. “Sure.”
I eased my thong off, and he maneuvered it around my ankle again before tossing it on top of my leggings.
“Read your book again,” he ordered.
I sighed.
His lips twitched. The bastard was excited, and trying to pretend otherwise.
I reluctantly picked it up, and refocused as his hand went back to my thigh, higher than before.
A few minutes later, my hips were wiggling a little again.
He rumbled in satisfaction.
I squeezed my legs together as heat surged over me.
Pre heat.
He waited until I’d dropped my iPad with a groan before he finally pushed my legs open, turning his entire body toward me with a wicked gaze.
He dragged a finger over my clit, and I gasped out a curse, hips arching violently.
“You love the way I touch you.”
“Yes,” I moaned.
“You’ll love the way my fingers feel inside you, too,” he said, teasing my entrance with a thick digit while he stroked my clit again slowly.
“ Please .”
“Don’t beg me, Princess. You wear the crown, remember?” He filled me with his finger, and I tilted my hips so I could take it deeper. “So tight for me. My little virgin.” He pressed a kiss to the inside of my thigh, and I smacked the side of his head, earning a feral grin.
“More,” I breathed.
“Louder.”
“More,” I ordered, and he slid a second finger inside me.
He hooked them lightly, hitting my g-spot just right, and I cursed as my second climax tore through me.
His fingers were still buried inside me when I came down from the high, his gaze hot and his grin lingering. “Take off your top and start reading again. I’ll wait here.”
My hands trembled as I pulled my sweater over my head. Then my bra. And reached for the iPad. “This is vicious. I should report you.”
“To your king? I’ll make sure he hears about it.” Enzo lowered his lips to the inside of my thigh and sucked lightly on the smooth skin. “Have I mentioned that yours are the most perfect tits I’ve ever seen?”
My legs opened wider with the compliment.
He teased my g-spot again, and I took an unsteady breath in. “Read, Princess. Use your free hand to touch your nipple.”
I did as he’d commanded, but couldn’t focus on the words. He alternated between playing with my clit and my g-spot. His lips moved slowly up the inside of my thigh, licking and sucking.
My eyes closed after a few minutes, and I finally dropped the device next to me. “Just do what you want with me already, Alpha.”
“That’s not what I am to you.” He nipped at my clit with his teeth, and I swore.
“Enzo.”
He rewarded me with his tongue on my clit—and didn’t stop until I was so wrung out and exhausted that I couldn’t take it anymore. I grabbed him by the perfect, messy waves of his hair and towed him up my body.
“Just hug me,” I mumbled. “I need to sleep.”
“Alright, Princess.” He rolled beneath me, yet again being careful with my ankle. I was pretty sure it was healed already, but I didn’t say that. I was too tired to even think it.
His cock was like iron against my hip, but I ignored it. He did too.
“I want to eat you every night for the rest of my life,” he rumbled, his lips brushing my ear. I could smell my pleasure on his mouth, and felt a weak surge of pride.
He liked the way I tasted.
He liked making me feel good.
That was insane, and unexpected. And perfect.
"We’ll see.” My voice was barely above a whisper.
“Wake me up when heat starts.”
“It’ll wake you up on its own.”
He asked what that meant, but I was already asleep.
Vaguely, I heard him sigh and pull me tighter against him.
And kiss my forehead.
I had to have imagined that last part, though.