Page 19 of A Wolf's Bargain
“Have you ever been with a man?” he asked.
Cora started, accidentally knocking a cup off of the table she’d leaned against. “I—of course not!” She narrowed her eyes and asked, “And you? Have you been with a woman?”
Bollocks. His first instinct was to lie. A new wife likely wouldn’t want to hear that her groom had known pleasure before her. Still, it wasn’t his habit to avoid the truth. So he nodded and said, “Aye, I’ve enjoyed a woman’s company a time or two.”
Cora looked away, and Cillian noticed the way her fist clenched at her side. “Of course. And is it your intent to continue ‘enjoying company’ now that we’ve wed?”
A bold question, though he shouldn’t have been surprised. It was commonplace for a nobleman to have a woman or two in nearby villages even after he’d married, but that was the way of human men. Apparently, their wives just accepted it as a part of life. A luchthonn woman would tear her mate’s skin from his body if he attempted such disrespect, and from what he’d seen of his new wife, she had more than a little wolf in her despite being human.
“Of course not. Now that we’re bonded, you will be the only one I take to my bed.”
If she was surprised by his answer, she didn’t show it. She simply nodded and gestured toward the bed roll. “Well, we’d best get on with it, then.”
Cillian couldn’t help the laugh that rumbled from his chest. “Come now, wife. Surely it won’t be so bad as all that. Am I so terrible to look on that you’d face your wedding night like the bloody gallows?”
He approached her slowly, eyes trained on her for any sign of plans to flee. He half hoped she would. It wouldn’t be a true hunt, but the idea of chasing this beautiful creature down in his wolf skin caused his cock to harden further. She didn’t run,however. She faced him with all the bravery and defiant fear he’d come to expect from her.
Cillian brushed the back of one hand down her cheek, stopping to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her hair. “It doesn’t have to be terrible, lass. In fact, I’d wager my skin that it might be quite enjoyable.”
Cora forgot her nerves long enough to snort and roll her eyes. “All men think so highly of themselves in bed, don’t they? I know my duties, husband,” she said, emphasizing his name as though it was bitter in her mouth. “No need to blow sunshine up my skirts in that regard.”
Cillian grinned and pressed against her, forcing her up against the table. “Oh, I’ll be seeing to those skirts soon enough.” He leaned in, murmuring, “Other men might be content to bed an unwilling woman, but I’d just as soon have my mate panting beneath me, begging for my mouth or my cock.”
Cora’s cheeks darkened even further, the delicious pink color spreading down her neck. She shot fiery arrows with her eyes, but her voice shook when she spoke. “I don’t beg.”
No, she’d probably never begged for anything in her life. She was too proud, his stubborn wife. “Ah well, we all must have goals in life, mustn’t we?”
Despite her having the welcoming nature of a feral cat, Cillian couldn’t resist leaning in further and running his nose up her neck. His cheek brushed hers, and he didn’t miss the way she gasped softly at the touch. “I’m going to kiss you now, wife. Are you ready?”
Another man wouldn’t have bothered to warn her. Hell, part of him would have liked to see how she reacted if he’d surprised her. She’d be all claws and teeth about it, he just knew it, and the part of him closest to his wolf was more than excited by the idea. But a larger part of him—the strategist, the commander—wanted to know how she’d react as an informed opponent. Would she fight him? Surrender?
She did neither. She stared him down as though daring him to follow through. As though she could handle whatever he gave her and still come out her imperious, stubborn self.
He’d just see about that.
Their first kiss felt more like the opening moves of a battle than romance. Strike, parry, counter-strike—every slide of her lips against his was an act of war. His blood raced beneath his skin, and the wolf howled his approval. Heat spread down his limbs as he licked at her lips, breaching her first line of defense.
Her taste—gods, her taste was indescribable. He groaned into her mouth, tangling their tongues as he buried his fingers in her hair. Thank all the old gods that he’d insisted she wear her hair down that night. Instead of fighting with her braids, he twisted his fingers into the soft strands and held her close. The unexpected image of wrapping the curly, silky locks around his cock as she stroked him caused his cock to jerk in his trousers. Suddenly, his clothes all felt too tight.
“Lass,” he murmured between kisses, “want to feel you. Touch you.”
Cora pulled away, her eyes decidedly less fiery than they had been only minutes before, her lips plump from his kisses. Her flushed cheeks and panting breaths tempted him like a starved man before a feast. Cillian dove at her neck, licking and sucking at her sensitive skin until she writhed against him. His cock throbbed with every sound that escaped her lips. He knew she was trying to stop them, could feel the way she clutched at his arms and bit her plump, kiss-swollen lip. It made the moans and gasps he tore from her mouth all the sweeter. She wanted him despite the walls she’d tried to erect between them, and he’d be damned if he wouldn’t pull the truth from her.
She ought to have known better. A wolf with the scent of his prey would never stop. Never give up. Cora was his prey. If he could not hunt her in the night air as he’d like, he would chase her pleasure until he had nothing but her taste in his mouth and the sounds of her pleasured screams in his ears.
“Too hot,” she said, her voice a breathless gasp. “Why is it so hot?”
Cillian nipped at the base of her throat; his hands tugged at the laces of her dress. “Means you’ve got too much on. Let me see you, love.”
With the laces loosened, her dress pooled at the front, giving him a mouthwatering view of her barely covered breasts. Before she could try to cover herself, Cillian abandoned her throat to nuzzle his face against the tops. He tugged at the dress, baring her pale, luscious skin to the cool night air. Their height difference made it difficult to explore her properly while they both stood, so Cillian hauled her up on the table and knelt between her legs.
“What—? What do you think you’re—oh!”
Cillian smirked against her breast. He pulled her soft, rosy nipple into his mouth and teased it with his tongue and teeth while she moaned above him. He drug his beard across her breasts, drawing in deep lungfuls of her sweet scent as he went. It was enough to drive a man mad, the way she smelled. He’d never had such a powerful reaction to a woman’s scent before. It bothered him—or it would if he wasn’t so fucking distracted.
Even as he feasted on her breasts, covering them in reddened patches where his beard scraped and marks from his teeth, he allowed his hands to roam further down. Cora shuddered when he swept his hands over her hips and pushed the dress to the floor. She stood before him in nothing but her skin, fingers twitching as though she wanted to cover herself. She even made to shield her pussy from his view with a hand, but he pushedit away and pulled her lips down to his. His bite was sharp on her lip, but he soothed it with his tongue. “Don’t hide from me,Muirnin,” he growled between kisses. “You made this bargain... offered yourself to me.”
Cora squealed when he pinched a nipple between his fingers and protested, “I didn’t offer this! I gave you a marriage, not—not this!”