Quinn's Quest

Chapter Nine

Quinn lapped at the long, slender curve of Bethany’s neck. It had been a near thing. She’d almost sent him away.

Not going to happen.

Besides the return of his sister, he wanted Bethany more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life.

Somehow in the past few days Bethany had come to mean everything to him. He knew she was still uncertain, afraid of what she was. She hadn’t had the years to come to grips with her werewolf heritage like he had.

He’d thought a lot about her situation. Maybe he was taking advantage of her during this chaotic time in her life. Maybe he didn’t deserve a female as fine as Bethany, not with the long months of blood and betrayal he’d been forced to live. But he knew if he didn’t claim her, one of the other males would. Quinn also knew he’d kill whoever touched her. She was his.

His wolf howled within him in agreement. He was the male for her. The one who would release her inner wolf. He longed to see what she would look like in her wolf form. In his mind he could already see her, sleek with thick brown fur and utterly gorgeous.

She whimpered beneath him and he nipped at the sensitive curve of her throat. She responded immediately, tipping her hips up to meet his pelvis. His cock ached to be inside her.

He wanted to make this good for her. To make it right. He’d felt her panic and had grabbed on to the one chance he had to claim her. He’d lied and told her he’d let her go when this was over, that he wouldn’t hold her to their mating.

It was all a ploy to gain time. If he loved her long and hard enough maybe she’d come to love him and stay with him. It struck him suddenly that he wanted a life with her, a future, and maybe someday a family. He wanted his sister and brother to be a part of that.

Bethany’s nails raked down his back, lightly scoring his skin. The erotic caress made every other thought disappeared. All that remained was his need to claim his woman. This woman. Bethany Morris. His mate.

He sat back on his heels between her spread thighs and let his eyes take in every delectable inch of her. Yes, he’d seen her naked before, but this was different. This was a mating. A claiming. He was about to make her his.

She took his breath away she was so lovely with her heart-shaped face, her straight nose and firm, determined chin. Then there were her eyes. He adored her them. They were so expressive and warm and tipped with long dark lashes. And her mouth… He almost groaned aloud. He knew he’d never get enough of those full lips. If he closed his eyes he could still see them stretched around his cock. Oh yeah, he loved her mouth.

He had to touch her so he cupped her firm breasts in his hands and ran his thumbs over her distended nipples. She moaned and arched her back, pushing the mounds deeper into his hands. Her reaction to his touch was enthralling. She held nothing back, giving him everything.

Her head was thrown back, her eyes closed. She was lost in the sea of sensations swamping her. Heat rolled off her in waves. They were both sweating. Beads of perspiration formed on her forehead. She parted her lips and moaned again.

Quinn growled with satisfaction and lowered his head. He licked her breasts, dragging his tongue over the pert buds. She tangled her fingers in his head and pulled him closer.

Satisfaction settled deep inside him. This was right. This was destiny. They belonged together.

He nuzzled the valley between her breasts, inhaling her musky smell. Her skin was hot, almost uncomfortably so. She was whimpering now.

“It hurts.” Her whisper was low, almost nonexistent, but he heard it. He would always hear her.

The thought of her being in pain was abhorrent to him. With regret, he relinquished her breasts. She was so responsive he wanted to spend time playing with them. He gave them one final squeeze and began to kiss his way down her stomach.

Due to her imprisonment, she was thin. Or maybe she’d always tended to be slender. He realized he didn’t know. There was so much he didn’t know about her. So much she didn’t know about him.

Would she still want him if she knew there was so much blood on his hands?

“Quinn?”

When Bethany said his name, he realized he was crouched over her, his body still.

He glanced up to find her staring at him with concern in her pretty hazel eyes. “Don’t stop. Please.”

No way could he stop now. “I won’t,” he promised. He was an idiot. One who was slowly driving himself crazy. There was no time to think about the past. No time for regrets. The opportunity for talking had come and gone. Bethany was here now and she needed him. Nothing else mattered.

He’d tell her the truth after. If she wanted nothing to do with him after that he’d let her go. Or, at least, he prayed he had the strength to do so.

He nibbled a path down her slender ribcage, pausing when he reached her navel. The slight indent drew him and he flicked his tongue over it.

Her whimper of pleasure was music to his ears. He wanted to make her happy, to satisfy every craving, every need she had.

Her hips were slender but slightly curved, and he cupped them in his hands and lifted them, bringing her pussy toward his mouth. God, she smelled good. Sweet and spicy. Like honey and cinnamon. Delicious.

He had to taste her.

He lapped at her slick folds, shocked at how wet she already was. She cried out his name when he found her clit. The little bud was peeking outside of its protective hood. He flicked it gently and Bethany grabbed him by his head and tugged him closer.

He laughed, loving how she wasn’t afraid to show him what she wanted. Her essence filled his mouth, his nostrils. He knew then he’d never get enough of her as long as he lived.

He cradled her butt with one hand and slipped two fingers into her snug channel. They slid in with no problem, eased by her wetness. Her inner muscles constricted around her fingers and her entire body jerked.

A low, broken cry fell from her lips as she came apart in his hands. Her orgasm went on and on and he milked it for all it was worth. When she finally sighed, he released her, sat back on his heels and wiped his mouth.

She was totally relaxed. Her skin was flushed and a slight smile curved her lips. She was the most beautiful creature he’d ever laid eyes on.

As if she sensed his stare, she opened her eyes and looked at him. She licked her lips and he couldn’t stifle his groan. Now that she’d been satisfied, he was fully aware of his raging hard-on. His cock was fully erect, the bulbous head seeping liquid.

Bethany’s gaze fell to his erection and she licked her lips again. He almost came on the spot. He dug his fingers into his thighs and the pain helped to steady him.

She spread her legs slightly and opened her arms. “Come to me?”

“Are you sure?” He couldn’t believe he was even asking.

Before she could answer, a wave of lust rolled over them both. It emanated from inside Bethany but he felt it as if it had come from inside him. It was powerful, sweeping away words and thoughts. Heat surged through him and his dick throbbed painfully.

He knew there was no stopping. Her sexual longing would continue to crest time and again until she was satisfied. He wasn’t doing either of them any favors by waiting.

Quinn was panting hard, his vision gone blurry as a bead of sweat rolled into his eye. He grabbed his dick and had to grit his teeth as he guided the tip to her slick opening. It was a tight fit. The delicate tissue of her sheath was tender and swollen.

He pushed past the initial resistance and stopped, gasping for breath. “Take it easy, babe.” Bethany was thrashing about on the bed and he was forced to hold her shoulders down. The action pushed him a little deeper.

He swore under his breath and forged the rest of the way in, not stopping until he was buried to his balls. Her channel rippled around his cock, tightening, grasping.

It was heaven and hell all rolled into one.

He pulled back and then surged forward again. Bethany cried out, undulating her hips. He reached between her thighs and found her clit, stroking it with his finger.

She climaxed. It was so unexpected it sent him over the edge. He gripped her hips and held her to him, wanting to be as deep as he could get. Semen flowed from him into her pussy, bathing the swollen tissues.

The human part of him worried about unprotected sex. Not because they could catch any diseases. He knew he was safe and would bet anything she was, too, which was irrelevant since werewolves weren’t susceptible to such things. But he was worried she might get pregnant, even though the possibility was remote. It was too soon and it would tie her to him. He didn’t want her to stay with him because she felt she had to. He wanted her to stay because she wanted to.

The werewolf part of him knew this was what she needed. It was the only thing that would help ease the cravings within her.

He’d never had unprotected sex with another woman. It felt incredible. Real. Raw. He wanted to thump his fists against his chest and howl. Bethany was his woman.

But he hadn’t fully claimed her. Not yet.

He reached down and pushed aside a lock of her straight brown hair. It was soft between his fingers. Silky. Her eyes were half-closed and slumberous. She looked like a well-satisfied woman.

“How are you feeling?”

“Hmmm.”

He smiled, liking the fact she couldn’t form words yet.

From one second to the next everything changed. A blast of heat hit him so hard he almost fell backward. Bethany cried out, her brow knit with pain. “Why doesn’t it stop?”

He gritted his teeth, knowing the answer. “There’s only one way to make it stop, sweetheart.”

He eased his cock out of her pussy. It wasn’t easy. Her body didn’t want to release him and he was still hard and ready. It should have been impossible, but it wasn’t. He was more than ready to go again.

She reached for him, but he grabbed her hands and held them. “I have to get out of you so you can turn over.” Either his words or his tone got through to her because she stopped fighting him, allowing him to finally slip from her.

He didn’t waste any more time. There was obviously only one way to end this. He flipped Bethany onto her stomach and then pulled her up until she was balancing on her hands and knees.

He made a place for himself between her legs, using his knees to push them farther apart. This was it. Once he did this both of their lives would be changed forever.

He’d never thought about having a mate, a woman of his own. His focus, his entire life had been built around survival. And that had been enough for him. Until he’d met Bethany.

Her spine was long and slender. Her ass supple and heart-shaped. She was absolute perfection. He leaned forward and dropped a trail of kisses down the center of her back.

His cock slipped between her thighs and rubbed against her pussy. She moaned and stroked herself over his hard shaft. His balls drew up close to his body.

Inside him his wolf howled. His senses heightened. His vision grew sharper. Gripping the base of his shaft, he guided the tip toward her pink opening. She was so wet. So hot.

He pushed the head of his cock inside her and the inner muscles of her sheath closed around it. He swore and slammed home, thrusting the rest of his penis deep. She took him easily, as if she’d been made for him.

And maybe she had been. She fit him like a wet leather glove, soft and silky and tight.

He reached around her and cupped her breasts. Her nipples bore into his palms. Bethany moaned and pushed back. Quinn started to move.

Bethany lost herself. There was no other way to describe it. Heat enveloped her. Lust swamped her. Sexual longings controlled her. She was more animal than human.

She wanted. She needed. She had to have Quinn.

From the first touch of his hands on her breasts she was lost. He played her body like a master. His fingers probing, his tongue setting fire to her most sensitive flesh.

She’d come twice already. It had given her only momentary release. Instead of being allowed to wallow in her sexual release, the sensations flooding through her had only grown more intense, more demanding.

She was out of her mind with need.

Bethany could feel her wolf inside her, practically clawing to get out. It was both scary and exhilarating.

By the time Quinn rolled her over onto her stomach and helped her up onto her hands and knees she was more than ready for him to claim her. She needed his thick cock driving into her pussy, filling her, driving her over the edge. This time would be different.

But more than that, she needed Quinn. She wanted the emotional closeness, the connection with him that went beyond the physical sensations battering them both.

He spoke to her, his words lost in her haze of sexual desire. But the tone reached her. She felt his lips against her spine, tender and caring. Then his cock plowed into her hard and deep and everything reached a flashpoint.

His hands were firm as he held her breasts. The feel of his callused palms against her nipples brought her some relief. But it wasn’t enough and they both knew it.

Quinn withdrew until his cock was almost fully out of her. Then he slammed inward. Her inner muscles rippled and clutched. Her essence coated her channel and his shaft, a mixture of her cream and his seed where he’d already come once inside her.

The smell of sex permeated the air. Bethany could distinguish the musky scent of sex, the salt from their skin, the lavender soap she’d used in her shower earlier as well as the sandalwood soap Quinn had used.

She inhaled deeply, pulling it into her lungs.

Quinn withdrew and thrust deep again. She clutched at the comforter beneath her hands, gripping the material with all her might. Even the air flowing over her skin was hot, like a million fingers caressing her sensitive skin.

With each stroke, Quinn seemed to grow larger inside her. It got harder for him to forge into her and he changed tactics. Going from long strokes to short, fast ones.

He tugged at her distended nipples, drawing a groan of pleasure from her. For a woman who’d never been interested in sex, she’d certainly tapped into that part of herself.

One of Quinn’s hands dropped from her breast and went to the notch of her thighs. He found her clit and stroked it. Once. Twice. That’s all it took. Her orgasm struck with the force of a hurricane, sweeping away everything in its path.

Only Quinn’s hands on her held her up. He continued to thrust. Faster and faster even as she came undone. His cock swelled and locked inside her. He made a sound halfway between a yell and a howl as hot liquid spurted into her depths, soothing the sexual longings, settling the storm.

His mouth was hot against her nape and he nipped, using his sharp teeth to pin her down. It was a sign of dominance. She shook him once, trying to dislodge him. He growled and nipped harder, grinding his hips against her butt, reminding her without words that he was dominating her, taking her.

For a modern woman it was wrong. She was independent, a woman who stood on her own two feet.

For a female werewolf who’d just been claimed by her mate, it felt incredibly right. It was the joining of two lives. Even though the act was physical, Bethany could feel the emotional and mental chains forging between them.

Quinn was locked inside her for what seemed like forever. Finally, he stopped moving against her and released his hold on her neck. He eased her down onto the mattress with his cock still buried inside her and turned them onto their sides so she wasn’t smashed between his big body and the bed.

Neither of them spoke for several minutes. What had just occurred between them was too profound. It had been more than Bethany had expected. What this meant for their future she didn’t know.

Her breathing finally settled and she shivered as the light sheen of sweat covering her body began to evaporate. Quinn wrapped his arms more firmly around her, as though offering her his body heat.

His lips were warm and firm against her nape. His tongue laved the spot where he’d nipped her. She imagined she’d have a small bruise to show for his amorous attention.

He’d marked her as his. Not only with his cock but also with his teeth.

When he finally moved away, she wasn’t sure she was ready to face him. But she wasn’t a coward. She rolled onto her back so she could see him.

As always, he looked too damn good for her peace of mind. His big body glistened with sweat and his chest hair was damp. His cock was still semi-erect. While she watched, it twitched and started to lengthen. She shook her head with disbelief. The man was a machine.

“Bethany?”

Back to business. She took a deep breath and slowly released it. “Yes?”

“I want to show you my wolf.” That certainly wasn’t what she’d been expecting. She hadn’t seen any of the pack in wolf form. Hadn’t seen anyone transform totally into a wolf. Her only experience had been with Chrissten and Brian. Strange how she hadn’t asked and no one had pushed her.

But now the time had come. If she was going to embrace every aspect of her heritage, and she really didn’t have any choice, this was as good a beginning as any. Quinn was her mate. What that entailed exactly was anyone’s guess. She supposed they’d figure it out as they went along.

“Okay.”

Quinn rolled off the bed, his expression unreadable, except she was starting to get used to reading his subtle reactions. He retreated behind this inscrutable mask whenever he was uncertain.

Bethany sat up in bed and wrapped her arms around her legs. She didn’t try to cover herself. After what they’d just done it seemed stupid to be bashful. Plus, he was making himself vulnerable to her. It seemed only fair she do the same in return.

He stood next to the bed and waited. She gave him a nod and the transformation began almost immediately. Bones cracked and reformed. His hands morphed into paws tipped with sharp claws as he fell forward onto all fours. His skull changed shape, getting flatter on top and more rectangular than round. His jaw lengthened and fur began to cover his body.

It took only seconds and the man she’d just had the most amazing sex with was gone. In his place was a magnificent wolf. His fur was brown mixed with blond patches that matched his hair color. Thick muscles shifted and rolled as he paced silently around the room. His posture was alert, his ears erect. His mouth was open and he was panting, exposing two rows of very sharp teeth.

But it was his eyes that drew her. They were Quinn’s eyes. Pale blue and filled with a longing for something she didn’t immediately recognize. Then she knew. She understood that he wanted the same thing she did—acceptance.

“Come here.” She patted the mattress next to her. He made one leap and was beside her. “Whoa, that was quick.” He was graceful and agile and so very powerful.

She reached out her hand and then pulled it back. “Is it okay to touch you?”

“Yes.”

She jerked away when she heard the word in her head, rubbing her temple. “Did you just speak to me?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, nobody mentioned anything about hearing voices.” Bethany’s heart pounded. This was crazy.

“Mated pairs can share their thoughts when they choose. You have to be open to it. I didn’t know if it would work between us because we are half-breeds.”

That made sense to her. “I think I’d rather stick to talking out loud, at least until I get used to everything else.” As though a door between them had been closed, she felt Quinn shut her out.

She bit her bottom lip but refused to feel guilty about it. She didn’t admit to herself how much she missed the close connection either. If Quinn was determined to walk away from her once he found his sister then it would be better for her if she kept some of her protective shields in place.

Bethany reached out and stroked his flank in an offering of apology. She didn’t want him to think she didn’t accept his wolf, because she did.

“You’re gorgeous like this. So strong. So powerful.” He shifted so his head was beneath her hand. She scratched behind his ears and leaned closer, nuzzling her face against his.

She felt it then. A strange itching beneath her flesh. A prickling. A yearning.

Her wolf was trying to get out. Maybe it was her proximity to Quinn in his wolf form bringing her wolf so close to the surface. Whatever the reason, there wouldn’t be a better time to try to shift.

From what she’d been told, it happened naturally and didn’t hurt. Although from what she’d seen it seemed impossible that it wouldn’t be painful to some degree. After all, her entire body was being torn apart and put back together again but with fur, thicker and more compact bones and sharp teeth.

Better to try now when it was only her and Quinn to witness the event. She didn’t want to try it on her own in case something went wrong. She had pictures in her head of her being stuck halfway, like something out of a horror movie. She shivered with fear. She didn’t want that. Nor did she want her first time to be in front of a group of people.

Sensing her discomfort, Quinn licked her face. His tongue was rough, but his intent was clear. He wanted to comfort her.

She threw her arms around him and held on for a brief moment. “I can do this,” she told herself, speaking the words aloud for courage.

Quinn tilted his head at her and she could almost hear his question. She reminded herself she would have been able to hear him if she hadn’t shut him out.

Frowning, she rolled off the bed. She sensed Quinn starting to change and held up her hands. “No. Don’t change. I want to try this. Do you think I can?”

The enormous wolf lowered his head, nodding once.

Bethany refused to pay any attention to the doubts that plagued her. Her heart was racing like a locomotive. Her legs were trembling. But she was determined to try this.

“Here goes nothing.”