Of Doms & Subs

Roll in the Hay

Instead of trying to placate me, or getting angry at my tirade, Angus watched me carefully while continuing to give me space. He maintained a precisely maintained casual stance, yet his eyes, and the wolf behind him, were anything but relaxed. I exhaled a bark of a laugh and shook my head. The bastard was using reverse psychology.

"None of my wolves are mad enough to attack a submissive. Not even Jim," he said gently. I gave a weak chuckle at the poor joke, remembering the long, low whistle Jim had given that morning when he saw my wolf. And the sharp nip I gave his heel in retaliation. "Once we're mated, no one could come between us."

Terror and hope and excitement filled me until I thought I would explode. My wolf must have shown in my eyes because he was there in a blink, crushing me to his chest. Normally I would have tried to pull away, panicked, or both. Why was I soaking up comfort like a light-starved flower turning towards the sun? His warmth, the strength of his arms around me, his scent; I was fooling myself if I thought that I could walk away. I went up on my toes slightly, just enough so that our lips were merely a thought apart.

"Please," I breathed. This much initiative was more than I'd ever managed with anyone before. Fear of rejection, of visibly wanting it too much. In being the pursued, there is a paradoxical control and a certain comfort in knowing that you are wanted enough to go through the trouble.

Any doubt shattered when his mouth covered mine with all the force that he kept reined in the rest of the time. His strong hands dug into my flesh to crush me against his body, as if he wanted to meld us together. My arms looped around his trim middle, which was not a familiar experience since most men were too big, too tall for me to hug properly. As if in rebellion to my assertive upper half, my knees decided to go limp noodle.

Angus grabbed my ass and lifted. Instinctively, I wrapped my legs around his waist. Trembling with equal parts need and fear, I anchored one hand in his soft, sandy hair and the other at the back of his neck. His lean body was taut, though not from the effort of carrying me down the hallway. I followed the swirls of his ear with my tongue. Air hissed between his teeth.

"Stop that or I'll drop you and take you right here," he warned in that gorgeous voice that pulled so many delicious responses from me.

"I don't care." The icy fear was melting under the heat growing between us. I drew his velvety lobe between my teeth.

"We're not alone," he reminded me, strong thighs shifting under me as he climbed the stairs.

"Oh." He laughed throatily when I pulled away with a furious blush. "I should warn you, I'm loud."

"We'll just have to invest in some gags then," he whispered darkly into my hair. The feel of his breath stirring the strands against my neck sent shivers through my body. Jim stepped out of a room behind us and came to a dead stop when he saw me wrapped around the Alpha. His jaw slowly rose from his chest into a grin that was entirely inappropriate outside of a locker room. I glared and flipped him off. He bit back a laugh and disappeared downstairs with a wave as if to say "Good luck."

Angus managed to nudge a door open without pausing in the wonderful things he was doing to my neck and swung it closed behind us with a swipe of his foot. I'd always thought that romance novels were full of crap when the heroine's toes would curl in love scenes. Now I knew they were spot on because the feel of his mouth on my throat was intoxicating. He set me on my feet and I only swayed once before my knees felt like cooperating.

My fingers fell to the buttons on his shirt, a royal blue that brought out the deep brown of his eyes, but he batted them away. He curled his fingers under the hem of my forest green sweater to brush against the tender flesh of my abdomen. Even that small caress was enough to quicken my breathing. Following his guidance, I allowed him to undress me.

In my experience, it was always a race to see who could get naked first in order to get to the main event. Angus gently rebuffed my few attempts to touch him. Everywhere his hands brushed there flashed up sparks that grew into embers, feeding the main inferno at my core. Each item of clothing he removed with almost reverence, as if the act was all that would happen between us. Absolute silence reigned in the sanctuary he created, broken only by the whispered prayer of his movements, the chanting of our hearts, hymns of our breath.

Upon each part of my body that he revealed, he bestowed a kiss. The attention and ritual should have been awkward, or at least made me embarrassingly self-conscious. As he tried to do all along, his strong self-assurance let me release my fears, that he saw me as precious. I had no doubt that he was well aware of what I would bring to his pack, but the cold calculations were absent in the fire between us. The dark depths of his eyes said that he saw me, not a tool he could use for his machinations.

My hands tangled in Ellie's chestnut tresses, loosely holding her a willing prisoner against my lips. I would say kiss, but the intimacy was far too raw, too primal for that. My tongue explored as deeply as I could with the fervency that filled me distilled into the movement. She stilled momentarily, her scent that of surprise rather than fear, and swept her tongue against mine in little flirting coaxes.

Her silvery grey eyes were heavily lidded when we finally separated. Emotions flitted across her face, baring her more than if she was completely naked. I drew my hands up from her delicately arched ankles, over the curve of her calves, the satin skin of her thighs, the swell of her hips. Before she could wonder at the meaning of my grin, I tossed her on the bed. Astonishment, a split second of outrage, then that burst of laughter.

"Now I understand," I murmured, brushing the tangled strands of hair back from her face. Those eyes full of brilliance and emotions fluttered open, then focused in confusion before she drew the shields back up. I didn't want her to withdraw again. Drawing the swollen berry of a nipple between my fingers for a quick pinch shattered her walls again with a breathy cry. I continued when she could concentrate again. "I understand why you fight your submissive instincts. They've been used against you." Another attempt to emotionally retreat. A nip above the collarbone that had her arching underneath me.

"Like you're doing now?" she panted. The quirk of her mouth told me she wasn't serious. I turned onto my side and propped myself up on an elbow, but was unable to stop touching her. Cupping her cheek in the palm of my hand, I brushed a thumb over the curve of her lips.

"If you ever feel suffocated or..." I broke off, searching for the right word.

"Steamrolled?" She flashed that mischievous smile at me and drew a finger down my chest, leaving behind a trail of fire that burned in other places she hadn't yet touched. I caught her hand before she could distract me further and brought it to my mouth to press a kiss to each fingertip.

"Or steamrolled. I want you to tell me immediately." Her features softened, eyes shining with unshed tears. "Although I prefer not in front of the pack. They'd likely try to have my hide for it. If I'm not careful, they'll like you better than they do me." The tears spilled over with her laughter.

"Well maybe I like a little rolling." The mischief was back in full force. Grinning wickedly, she wrapped a leg around my hip. With an arm around my shoulders she shifted so she was underneath me again. Arousal threaded through her scent again and I was smart enough to realize she was finished talking for now.