Shae paced to the window. This was insane. She couldn’t do this. Please wake up. It had to be a dream, this sort of thing didn’t really happen. Turning, she looked back to her mother and Nona, they didn’t look so sure now either.
“Hope Marilyn gets here soon and enlightens us with her brilliant plan,” Nona said with an edge to her voice.
If Nona was having second thoughts, Shae was sure she should put a stop to it.
The door opened and Aunt Marilyn came in looking excited. She held up a bag. “I’ve got everything we need right here.” She went over to the table and set it down, then pulled out some material. She held up a black skirt. “This is for you Shae…”
“It’s not a date, Mari,” Nona said, getting up and going over to look in the bag.
Her aunt frowned. “No. I know that. I just thought…” She waved a hand up and down her body. “You know, easy access and all that.” She glared at Nona. “Can’t be wrestling jeans off then pausing to get dressed after…”
Shae huffed out a breath. “I didn’t think of that.” Which was true—she hadn’t been able to think, period. Going over quickly, she grabbed the skirt and spun on her heel to go to her room. “I’ll be right back.”
“I’ve got enough spiked wine in this bag to knock the guard out for a week, baby Shae, so don’t you be worrying,” she called down the hall.
Shae’s hands were shaking so bad as she got changed, she was glad there were no buttons or zips to contend with. “You have to do this,” she whispered, “or mate with Brock.” She paused. As pep talks went, that did it. “Okay.” She went over to the mirror and looked at what she was wearing. Black t-shirt, long black skirt. Well, at least it matched, not that it mattered. Grabbing the brush, she quickly ran it through her long chestnut hair. “Okay,” she whispered again, then took a deep breath and went back out.
Clutching the small bag her aunt had given her to her chest, she walked quickly down the hall toward the door the green-eyed prisoner was behind. Her aunt gave her home-distilled whiskey, water, a pouch of stink weed and then snuck her into the building. Shae wasn’t sure, but the way she’d done it seemed too practiced, and she had to wonder how often her aunt came here to drink and play cards with the guards.
Her mind froze when she realized she was standing at the door. She stared at the handle. She debated drinking the whiskey. What was she doing? She hadn’t really kissed a boy in her life, she’d always been too busy with learning for that. A few pecks when she was thirteen didn’t count, and she’d only done that on a dare with Billie.
Her aunt’s boisterous laugh echoed down the hall, causing Shae to jump. Now or never. Her mind was saying never as her hand opened the door. Once inside she closed it quietly and leaned back against it. Chin still down, she looked at the floor in front of her. It was darker in here than she remembered, must be power down and time to regenerate the storage. Dark was okay, meant she didn’t feel so…on display. Exhaling slowly, she moved only her eyes to him. He sat there, his green eyes locked on her. He could definitely see in this low light, and he looked angry.
Forcing her legs to move, she pushed away from the door, trying to remember how to breathe at the same time. “I brought whiskey and water, i-if you want either…” This is insane.
“Whiskey.”
His voice was low and rasping and she honestly didn’t know if his tone was a good or a bad thing. Nodding, she set down the bag and pulled both out then went over to him. His arms were still down as she’d left them, so she realized he hadn’t been a problem for the guards. Kneeling a few feet away, she uncapped the whiskey and held it out to him. Her hand was visibly shaking as he looked at it for a few seconds before he took it.
He took a big mouthful of it and then gasped after he swallowed it. “Water,” he croaked. She handed it to him. He took a few mouthfuls. “What’s that, three hundred proof?”
She had no idea what he was talking about. Never being much of a drinker, she decided now was as good as any time and took a big swallow. It burned a trail all the way to her stomach. She coughed, and he held out the water to her. Taking a sip, she lowered it and nodded. “Thanks. That stuff is awful.” She set the whiskey aside and stared at the bottle of water in her hands. “I don’t…” She glanced at him quickly, then back to the bottle. “…know what to do.”
The clank of the chains startled her as he moved his arm and placed his hand under her chin, lifting with a gentle pressure so she’d look at him. She swallowed and looked into his eyes. Her whole body was shaking, she didn’t know if it was from fear or the way his eyes were searching hers.
“You could start by coming closer.”
She nodded nervously.
“I won’t hurt you,” he whispered.
Setting the water down, she moved over until she was beside him. The hand that had been under her chin now rested against her shoulder, as his fingers played with her hair. She licked dry lips and watched him. He applied a gentle pressure to the back of her neck with his fingers, so she would lean closer.
“Shaelan?”
Eyes wide that he knew her name, she nodded again. Their faces were close enough, she could feel his breath on her cheek.
“How far do you want to take this, Shaelan?”
His voice was low and sent shivers across her skin. “I don’t know how it works.” She glanced at his mouth then back to his eyes. “This scent thing,” she clarified. His eyes didn’t leave hers and that caused her insides to shake.
“Need to get hormones heated for it to be effective.” He brushed his mouth over hers, then stopped, their lips barely touching.
“Oh. I don’t…” His mouth covered hers this time, kissing her gently.
“Kiss me back,” he demanded softly. He grasped the back of her head and waited for her to move.
Bracing a hand on his warm bare shoulder, she leaned closer and moved her mouth over his.
His hand in her hair tightened as he tipped her head to kiss her harder. When his tongue plunged into her mouth and moved against hers, her stomach felt giddy.
Moving closer, Shae ran her hand into his soft, thick hair as she tried to return his kisses. They were dizzying. He groaned in the back of his throat when she nipped his tongue, the sound sent heat through her.
“Straddle me,” he growled against her lips.
Raising up onto her knees so she could move over his legs, he grasped her waist and lifted her into his lap. Her insides began to clench when he ran his mouth roughly over her throat. All these new sensations were drowning her. He nipped her neck gently and she moaned and hugged his head to her body.
When he pulled her shirt up, she shivered with excitement from the feel of his palms on her skin. Her bra was undone, and his mouth was on her breast before she could think. As he sucked a nipple into his mouth, she hissed out a breath and rocked her hips into him.
He pulled his mouth away and licked across the puckered flesh. “I’ll mark you here so no one can see.”
She couldn’t think to find her voice, so she raised up on her knees to help him reach. As sharp teeth sunk into her breast, she felt a rush of heat between her legs. When he lifted his head away, she grabbed his hair and guided him to the other one.
He teased her nipple and nipped across the sensitive skin, driving her need higher. She felt his hands sliding under her skirt, up her legs, but all she wanted was his teeth in her flesh. He sucked hard on her nipple as his fingers ran along the wetness between her legs. She mewled softly as he stroked her, making her need more.
“Fuck,” he panted, “you’re killing me.”
He nipped her taut bud with his teeth as she felt him moving his pants out of the way. Strong hands gripped her hips as he began guiding her to take him inside her body. He growled against her throat as he controlled her movements.
She didn’t know what to do, he stretched her and it should have hurt, but she needed…more.
“Shaelan, look at me,” he whispered beside her ear.
She opened her eyes and looked into his lust filled eyes.
“Yes?” He stopped moving completely, forcing her to answer him.
“Please,” she hissed, then attacked his mouth with her lips.
Groaning, he gripped her hips with strong fingers and thrust up into her at the same time.
She felt a slight pinch, then was so filled by him she thought she was going to explode. Pulling her mouth away, she leaned down and ran her teeth along the stubbles on his jaw. “Please,” she purred.
He lifted her and slammed her onto him. She moaned and threw her head back. He gripped her hair and pulled her face back down to his.
“Ride me,” he snarled with clenched teeth.
He guided her for a moment with his hands until she found her rhythm, then he grasped both of her breasts and squeezed. Shae felt like she was going to shatter into a thousand pieces, she just kept climbing higher. He sucked one nipple, then the other, and her legs started to shake.
When he bit into the unmarked breast, she had to clamp her bottom lip between her teeth so she wouldn’t scream out in pleasure.
Grasping her hair, he pulled her mouth back down to his so she could moan into it while he took over their movement. She was barely breathing as the orgasm ripped through her, each thrust after that made her moan into his mouth softly. He stiffened and hissed against her lips, as she felt a heat burst into her.
Dropping her head onto his shoulder, she grasped and panted for air to fill her lungs again. Her whole body was pulsing and quivering.
“Water,” he gasped.
She grinned in a lazy way and held her hand in that direction but didn’t move to get it.
He leaned, taking her with him and then she heard him swallowing the water. She lifted her head, realizing she needed a drink as well.
After a few sips, she lowered it and looked at him. The silence of nothing but their labored breathing was intense as it dawned on both of them how far they had gone.
“Save some water—” He motioned to where they were still joined. “—to wash off the blood, so the guards…”
She stiffened and looked down to where they were joined.
Gently, he pulled her bra back into place and reached around to clasp it. His eyes stayed on hers as he pulled her shirt down slowly so she was covered again.
The insides of her thighs were quivering so much, she wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to get up.
“Shaelan,” he whispered in a barely audible voice.
Her eyes snapped back to his. She bit her bottom lip, not sure what to say or do.
“That wasn’t normal. It’s not usually so…” He looked at her mouth. “…powerful.”
She wanted to cry and laugh at the same time. She settled for just nodding briefly. Setting the water down, she grasped his shoulders and started to rise. The feel of him gradually pulling out of her made both of them gasp. She froze, kneeling above him, waiting for the strength in her legs to return.
Reaching up, he cupped her cheek and stretched up to kiss her mouth softly. “Calum,” he said quietly, then shrugged. “So you have a name…not a nameless stranger.”
She didn’t know why he was trying to make her feel better about what she’d just done, but it was endearing.
“You better go,” he said abruptly and patted a hand on her hip.
She nodded and slowly got off him, to stand on shaky legs. Picking up the water, she handed it to him as she grabbed the bag and sprinkled some of the herb lightly around the room.
“What is that?”
She stopped and picked up the bag. “Stink weed. Covers up scents.”
He snorted. “Name’s appropriate. It’s all I can smell all the time.”
She went over and took the water bottle he held out. “I think that’s why they use it.” Tucking the bottle into the bag, she added the whiskey and then straightened and looked at him.
He shook his head. “Go, before you get caught.”
She went to the door and opened it, peeking out into the hall. Glancing over her shoulder at him again, she quickly went out and closed it. Placing a hand on it, she stood there for a second and couldn’t understand why she wanted to go right back in.
Her aunt’s laugh startled her into action, she ran down the hall with soft steps and ducked past the office they were in. Going out the door, she closed it without a sound and ran for the gate.
She kept running until she was at the top of the hill, looking back down on the yard. Good night, Calum.
He sat there in the absolute silence, too stunned to collect his thoughts for several minutes, could have been hours, he had no clue. What had just happened? Calum shook his head, he knew what just happened, what he didn’t know was why. Hadn’t he sat here all day pissed off, deciding he was telling her to get out the moment she stepped in the room?
He rubbed a hand over his face, hearing the chains made him stop and glare at them with abhorrence. Dropping his hand, he glared at the door. Then she stepped into the room, vibrating with fear and anxiety. It had been coming off her in waves so strong it almost choked him. After that, he only planned to mark her just enough to leave his scent on her for a few days. That entire plan went awry when she moved close to him. Then his prison room turned into a bakery. What the hell was with this cinnamon thing? And since when did smelling it turn him on? He’d never felt anything but indifference for it before, sure it tasted okay in pastries or whatever, but…Seriously, you’re thinking about cinnamon?
Shuffling back against the cold wall, he leaned against it, and pulling his knees up to rest his arms on top. When he kissed her, tasted her, took her scent into his body, he forgot about his plan and decisions. He could still taste her. Banging the back of his head gently against the wall a few times, he blew out a breath. What had just happened?
He’d checked for odd smells in the food they brought him. Had they fed him those herbs Dale mentioned? Now he understood why Dale thought he had two mates. Those were some potent herbs.
It wasn’t the herbs that had made him help her though, that had been his own damn soft spot for a female in distress. He couldn’t remember ever seeing a woman look so frightened and yet so lovely. Those soft eyes…when she bit that bottom lip of hers, he may have agreed to do anything.
Damn, what are those herbs?
The marks he’d left on her weren’t temporary. He didn’t know the finer details about mating, it wasn’t largely talked about among males, but he was sure those were permanent mating bites he’d left in her soft womanly flesh. Calum hadn’t intended to mark her like that, but he had no control over it. She’d have those long after he was gone.
Shit. He hadn’t even asked her about getting him out of here. He tapped his head against the wall a few more times, trying to clear the fog she’d created from his mind. Pausing, he wondered if she’d come back. He opened his eyes and stared at the door, why would she come back? There was no reason to, now.
After she’d looked so stricken by what had happened…ashamed. That hit him harder than all of it. He’d felt so compelled to put her at ease, and he hadn’t been lying. Never, in all his experience had it felt like that.
Resting his elbows on his knees, he dropped his chin into his hand and sat. He was in one hell of a mess here, and he wasn’t even sure if being chained up was the biggest concern.