A kind, stable male would have been one thing. The man responsible for distributing the dragon drugs to women and children throughout the reason constituted something else entirely. He was a threat. If he came after Homer’s mate and child there would be war.
And at that evening’s pack meeting he was going to have to let Robbie know exactly what could be coming for them all down the line. If his Alpha wanted them to leave, he’d take his family and go. Although, he doubted his Alpha would even consider the thought. Robbie Owens never turned from a righteous fight and Homer had learned at his side to teach danger a lesson, not to mess with them.
“I’m very conflicted.” She hiccupped and the sound shattered his heart. His mate carried pain she should never have known. “I already love the life inside of me, and at the same time I wish I had never known him. The one thing I had never done was spread my legs to survive. The deal I made with Dresden was because he wanted my virginity. After that, he got more and more hostile. I thought he might kill me one night with a whip. Such a waste. If I’d known how much I was going to hate sex I’d have found another way.”
Her words stopped his internal rage. What?
He breathed her in to calm his beast so he could make sense of the whole thing. She’d been a virgin. For a female to reach her age without having lots of meaningless encounters before mating was very unusual. But then again everything was different. Where would she have found the closeness of a pack to have those early liaisons with?
His mate’s only sexual experience was with a very dangerous abuser.
“I know you’re just getting to know me. I know it’s too soon. All of that being said, can you trust me. To give you pleasure? I’ll keep my pants on the whole time. I can’t leave you here tonight to go to work knowing you think you don’t like sex.”
It was time to erase the past from her mind. They weren’t having the most traditional beginning, but damn it he was going to make their mating work.
****
Camille’s body had been languid ever since Homer pulled her into his arms. And now he wanted to what?
“I’m afraid I don’t understand.” But her knees quivered and her wolf pushed against her. She couldn’t shift and the animal half of her had mostly settled into waiting until she gave birth. Only, whatever Homer meant had woken up the animal.
“I know you don’t.” He took her hand. “Come inside with me. I want to show you pleasure.”
Pleasure? Camille wanted to laugh at the word. Derek had no trouble finding his while he left her bleeding and miserable. The only good thing to come from the whole experience was the baby growing in her stomach.
“I don’t think I can manage you. Not with the baby in my stomach.”
Homer was her mate—of that fact being true she held no doubt—only the idea of physical intimacy made her shudder. If she wanted to stay with his pack, and have her baby claimed not only by Homer but by the entire group, then she knew she’d eventually have to give in and let Homer do as he wanted. Only not yet, surely.
“They’ll be nothing for you to manage.” He took her hand, linking their fingers, and she didn’t object. If he wanted to push this, she was going to have to give in. Homer was hands down kinder than Derek ever had been. Maybe he would take better care to not hurt her during the act itself.
She followed him through the living room to his bedroom. Camille had never let herself venture inside. He’d not asked her to join him inside before, and everyone was entitled to privacy. She looked around the room. He had few possessions other than a bed and a desk. His closet, half open, showed an assortment of pants and shirts hung neatly. His shoes were lined side-by-side on the floor, not thrown everywhere. A hook, unused, had been attached to the back of the door.
“You don’t have much in here.”
He patted the bed before he sat down on the brown comforter, an indication he wanted her to join him. “I was dead, remember?
“Ah yes. And the dead don’t decorate.”
He shrugged. “Why bother? It’s always been only me. If you want to, you can redo the whole house.”
She sat next to him, his words nearly making her knees give out. Redecorate? Her heart rate kicked up a notch. As his mate she’d have the right. A home? Space she could think of as her own? Camille had never given into the idea she could even hope for as much.
He ran his hand down the side of her face, sending shivers of pleasure up and down her spine. She certainly didn’t mind him touching her, just the opposite really.
“Kiss me.” His words were spoken close to her mouth. She closed her eyes and met his lips with her own. The same power she’d felt when he kissed her on the porch filled her. They were connected, she wouldn’t try to deny how he made her feel heat she hadn’t known possible.
His kiss started out gentle and quickly changed. Homer took possession of her mouth, urging her lips to open so he could touch his tongue to hers. She gasped at the invasion and then melted into it. Never before had she been kissed with such intimacy.
By the time he pulled back, she had lost track of time. Had they been kissing for hours? His eyes were heated, his wolf dancing in them as he stood from the bed.
“Scoot down.” He spoke, his voice sounding lower than she’d ever heard it. “Your knees on the edge. Please.”
Even as she did what he asked, she didn’t understand. “Homer?”
“Trust me. Or if you can’t yet, and I understand why you’d be nervous, start to.” He dropped to his knees in front of her.
Camille forgot to breathe. Why would a powerful werewolf place himself in a submissive position in front of a female? His scent hadn’t changed, he wasn’t angry, so whatever he intended for her it wasn’t punishment of any kind.
“Relax.” He tugged at her skirt until he’d pulled it down to where it sank to her ankles. “I’ll stop. You say the word and I won’t touch you. You’re in charge here, sweet woman.”
She’d never been so in her life. “I think it might help if you told me what you’re doing.”
He grinned, a slight twisting of his mouth. “I’m going to put my mouth on you and when I’m done you’re going to come on my tongue.”
“I don’t know what you mean.” She had a baby in her stomach. Certainly, she shouldn’t be so damned confused when it came to this subject. So why couldn’t she get her head around what he was saying?
“If things had been as they should have, and you had grown up in your pack, you would have discovered most likely what other females do. You really like sex and it’s the male’s job to see to it you are pleasured. You never got the chance to have an easy introduction to the ways between males and females. It is my gift to show it to you.”
Her body buzzed. “With your mouth?”
“Exactly.” He slipped one finger under the edge of her panties and slipped them down until they fell to the floor with her skirt. He pushed at her knees and she opened her legs for him, obeying his silent command. She must be out of her mind to agree to try what he said. Yet, his words left her breathless and what did she really have to lose? He’d told her he would stop.
So far he’d given her no reason to not believe him a male of his word.
She leaned on her elbows so she could watch him. He was a beautiful man, deceptively sweet looking. She’d seen him shift faster than anyone she’d ever witnessed before and his fighting skills looked flawless. Yet, as he inserted one finger inside of her she saw nothing but kindness radiating from his blue eyes as they gazed at her.
Her core throbbed. No one had touched her before except Derek and that had been with his horrid erection. Homer stroked her gently, one finger pressing deep into her pussy before pulling out to put pressure right outside of her entrance.
She gasped, her eyes closing. “What?”
“This is a very sensitive spot on a woman. Never touched it before? Yourself?”
Camille forced her eyes open. “Living on the street didn’t give a lot of time for privacy. And the
n with Derek I was under strict instructions not to.” She’d never really understood why but a beating wasn’t worth the exploration.
“I’ll never tell you what to do with your body, sweetness. If you want to stroke yourself, you are in charge of when and how. If you want me to do, I’ll never say no.”
Homer pressed hard, this time moving his finger in a circle, gradually getting faster with each pass. “I thought you said your mouth.”
Not that she was complaining. The strangest sensations were starting inside of her. If she’d thought he created heat with his kiss, the experience was nothing to what he did with his finger. “We’ll get to my mouth. I promise. I’m dying to taste you. This first. There are so many ways I can show you pleasure.”
Camille couldn’t sit still. She lay back on the bed, gripping the sheet with her fingers as though it might anchor her to the world. Something was happening, something she hadn’t expected, she couldn’t put her finger on what she needed. A release of some kind. Oh, gods, what...
She exploded, her body arching on the bed until it felt as though she had no control over what her muscles did. Her insides wept and she cried out, unable to stop herself. The pleasure surging through her warred with utter terror about what had happened. Was how she responded okay? Was Homer going to be upset she had keened the way she did?
Camille opened her eyes. He stared down at her, his cheek pressed to her knee. “You’re beautiful. You know that, right?”
“I...” She couldn’t form words. Homer didn’t seem mad at all. If anything, the sweetness to his scent increased. “You like that I responded the way I did?”
“Immensely.” He winked at her. “Not done.”
He wasn’t? Homer bent his head. The same spot he stroked earlier, he touched with tongue.
“Oh.” She bit down on her lip. “I...”
“You’re sensitive now.” His voice rumbled through her. “I love it.” As though to prove his point, he licked her in the same rhythm he’d used before. “You taste like heaven. I could lap up your sweet juices all day every day. I’m going to addict you. Fuck, Camille. More. Give me more.”
His course words fueled her even more. She wanted what he’d done earlier to happen again and with the slide of his tongue over her sensitive spot, it wasn’t going to take very much attention to get her there.
She shivered, desperate for release again and not sure how to get where she wanted to be. The buildup inside of her was like an eternity of torment. As though knowing what she needed without being told, Homer increased the pressure of his tongue.
Camille closed her eyes letting the sensations move through her. Something was happening and it was more than just his giving her pleasure. No, her body felt alive, tuned in, needy in a way it had never been before, and she might drown in the headiness of it all.
Except Homer was there. He rescued her, took her home, cared for her. He was her mate. Her wolf rubbed against her skin. His attention was what she had needed when she hadn’t even known it was possible.
Camille saw colors pass beneath her lids before her body gave in to release for the second time. She panted, clawed at the bed, twisted while her insides poured her very essence onto his tongue. She really had no idea how long it went on but finally when she could think she let her eyes open.
Homer stared down at her, a smile crossing his gentle face before he leaned down to stroke her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. “You’re absolutely gorgeous. I could watch you come all day, every day. I will if you’ll let me.”
Her gaze traveled downward, caught by the obvious bulge in his pants. She knew what the sight meant. After what he had done for her, she’d never say no even though she knew it would wreck the beautiful haze he left her in.
Homer shook his head. “Don’t worry about that. I can see where you’re looking. Not happening today. You sleep. I can scent your exhaustion. Few more days with the medicine. You should be able to rest.”
“That has to be hurting you.” She’d heard quite a lot about the male need to take care of his erection. To deny it must be the equivalent of hell.
Homer shrugged. “The longer I prolong my own release, the better it’ll be. I’m going to be late.”
He bent over and kissed her but not on her lips. His mouth caressed her cheek, his warm breath brushing against her ear as he spoke. “We’re going to make you come. Over and over again. Sweet dreams, my mate.”
Chapter Three
Homer sat patiently on Robbie’s porch, and waited for the other wolf’s decision. He owed Robbie his life and he’d do what he wanted as long as doing so didn’t in any way compromise Camille’s safety. For the first time in his life, he had a stipulation to his loyalty towards Robbie. In his gut, he didn’t believe his Alpha would ever make him have to choose. But the fact was, in his soul, he’d always pick Camille. She was his heart.
“So the baby’s father is the biggest dragon drug pusher in the known world.” Robbie shook his head. “Nothing is ever easy, is it?”
“No.” Although loving Camille was and he knew, even before he saw the baby loving, it would be equally as smooth. He just needed her to believe in him and the rest would work out.
Robbie looked at him sideways. “Once we find them, all else ceases to matter. This job? Me being Alpha? I wouldn’t do it if Tatyana didn’t want me to. The beautiful weight of having a mate has settled on you. I can see it. You were so young when I met you, still somehow so together when most wolves had bent under the strain of the war. Now? I see a male who knows his years, knows his value, knows what really matters in life.”
“Thank you, my Alpha.”
“You used to call me Robbie. Every once in awhile you slip up and do it. When exactly did that change? At what point did I become your Alpha to you?” Robbie stretched his legs out in front of him.
“Actually, I remember the exact moment. We’d been in a fight, a bad one. In the northern sector. We’d broken through into some caves up there, gained some information the generals needed about how dragons talk to one another. It was time to get the hell out of there. We’d made it to safe ground when we realized Finn was missing.”
Homer would never forget the moment. The utter dread which had filled his soul. Finn was as good as dead. Alone in the caves. The mission was too important to risk not getting the leadership the information they needed.
Robbie had turned to his brother Auggie. “Take the intel to command.”
The brothers were so alike and yet Homer would always be able to tell them apart. Auggie held himself differently, battled the world. Robbie accepted things and found a way to fix what he didn’t like. “You’re not going in there, Robbie. Not back. Not alone.”
“Take the gathered data to command and do it because I told you to.”
Without another word, Robbie shifted and charged into the caves. Auggie had sworn up a storm, teaching Homer some words he’d never heard before. Then done as Robbie instructed running toward the waiting wolves who needed their information to make decisions in the war. Homer and the others had waited. They’d been given no instructions by either Robbie or Auggie, both of whom ran their unit.
A certainty of action filled him, and he charged toward the caves where Robbie had gone. Unsurprisingly, the others were fast on his tail. They needed Robbie and their leader had gone back for Finn. He’d not sacrificed the mission. Auggie would get the job done. Robbie had put his own ass on the line to save one of theirs and damned if they weren’t all going to help him.
Homer’s Alpha was already on his way out when they got to him, dragging an unconscious Finn with the strength of his teeth from the caves, three dragons on his heels.
They’d all gladly killed those dragons.
And Homer had known he would follow Robbie anywhere. He wasn’t just their leader, he was their Alpha.
“That was a good day.” Robbie nodded. “No one died. Well, no wolves anyway. We took down those green bastards pretty well.”
Homer sm
iled. So few memories from that time could be called good. “It was.”
“And then not long after, you didn’t hesitate to put yourself in harm’s way by going undercover into the dragon prison and saving my brother. You walked him home after, and kept him alive until he could get to his mate and child.”
Homer didn’t take praise well and the presumed compliment about his actions made him want to squirm. “I did as you told me to. You’re my Alpha. Anyone would do the same.”
“No, they wouldn’t.” Robbie let out a deep breath. “Somewhere in that brilliant brain of yours that is also loaded with loyalty, you are wondering what I’m going to do now. You think I’ll make the right decision but part of you—and I can scent it—is prepared to take your mate and leave, if that’s what you have to do to protect her.” Robbie stared out into the night. “I get it because I would have done the same damn thing. You accepted Tatyana, never told anyone she was born a human, and have helped me keep her and all the other females safe ever since. Fuck, Homer. You’re my brother from war. My pack mate. Your woman is ours, too. Whatever you want from me, from this pack, from any of us, it’s yours. What would you like me to do to keep your mate safe?”
The door to Robbie’s house opened, then closed. Dougal joined them, sitting on the other side Homer. Somewhere in the house, Devon was helping his mate put their daughter to sleep. The only Owens missing was Auggie, who was on a self-appointed mission to destroy the remainder of the dragon eggs in order to prevent any future attacks.
No one knew if he lived or not.
Robbie had placed Homer on the same footing as his brothers? For a male who had never had a family he could count on, his Alpha’s words banged inside of him like the food he loved but wasn’t certain he should be consuming. What would he do if it ever went away? Only losing Camille would be worse.
“You going to answer our Alpha, Homer? Or sit there with your mouth hanging open?” Dougal drew in a deep breath. “Yes, I was listening from inside. I’m obnoxious like that. And yeah, you kept me alive so you can count me in on any plans you make, too. Devon’s probably listening from upstairs. He’s in, too.”