Ada's Protective Mate Page 13

  On that, she agreed. With a sigh, she patted a few stray hairs back into her messy bun. “When do we leave?”

  “As soon as you’ve cleaned up and changed.” He was suddenly beside her. She hadn’t even sensed his movement until a warm hand brushed her cheek. “You’re thinking of your parents.”

  Startled, Ada glanced up and took a moment to study him. What she saw surprised her. There was none of the mirth she expected, but instead compassion without pity. The attraction that had been burning inside her, which began as a warm tickle, had grown hot and consuming.

  Her prejudice, or was it nothing more than anger that had turned into something ugly and negative, had taken her over for too long. The differences she had seen as objectionable, even unattractive, had blinded her to the good differences and the true value of other creatures. Not everyone was like those few in the riot who turned nasty. Had creatures not come to aid her in finding Remi, and demanded nothing in return? And Nate called his friends in to assist. There was also Penny who came as soon as she heard, she told Ada this and of her worry for their mutual friend while they sat waiting for the meeting to begin. Then during the meeting, she wasn’t dismissed, her concerns and questions answered. Yes, there was an attraction between herself and the werewolf, but that was an entirely different matter to the Remi search.

  “You lost them.” The warm hand stroked her messy hair. “I don’t want to think of losing mine, the pain that I’d go through at such a loss. I’m sorry your parents were taken from you.” His hand petted, fingers gliding through loose strands of thick, dark silky hair. “Not all creatures are bad, or turn bad with little to no provocation. We’re not all like that. You aren’t, and you’re a creature. Try to remember that for me, OK? And that the majority of us creatures aren’t too bad overall -”

  “Difficult.” She sighed and leaned against him, front to front, cheek against his collarbone. She needed this, though would never admit it. “Full of aggression, arrogance, tempers, sensitivities, and schemes…but no, possibly not too bad overall.”

  She lifted a hand and rested it against his wide, hard muscled chest, and immediately felt the rhythm of his heart speed up a few beats. Drawn to his heat and with the ever increasing, pulsing need burning through her, Ada glided long, chipped, pearl-painted nails across the expanse of his dark green shirt. He shivered, lush lips turning up into a smile and he rumbling softly.

  “Aw, honey, hearing that makes me think there’s hope we’ll manage to thaw the ice in your veins yet.”

  “You’re such a sweet talker, wolf.” She smiled.

  Chuckling, he lowered his head to hers and sniffed. Well use to being referred to as an ice princess, frosty and the rest, she took no offense at the comment. She enjoyed his teasing. Nor did she protest when he slipped the band and pins from her hair, dropping them with disregard to the ground and smoothing out the long fall.

  “Glorious.” With one hand threaded through her thick hair at the base of her neck, he firmed his grip, not painfully, and tilted her head up to look at him. “You’re glorious, brownie Ada, all of you.”

  The hard press of his groin against her stomach had Ada gripping him tighter, fingers curling into his dark green shirt. Her other hand snagged the waistband of his faded blue jeans and kept him exactly where he was, pressing that throbbing heat against her. Nate growled on a groan, eyes darkening to a thick, dense field of green. This time she wasn’t worried about cooling him down or controlling his lustful heat, rather, she stirred him, ever so slowly moving and rubbing herself against him and letting her fingers stroke and explore.

  Of course, the effect this had on a werewolf, one who so obviously desired her, was instantaneous and potent. Amazing.

  Lush lips crashed down on hers, crushing, domineering, enticing, and ravishing. Together, they smoldered. In the back of her dazed mind, she thought steam must be billowing off them and that they might combust. But then she was lost to the all-consuming passion as his deep, low vibrating growl shot through her and shook the room.

  His tongue speared into her welcoming mouth and lapped at hers like a drunkard desperately trying to get anything from an empty bottle, except she wasn’t empty and returned his desperate need with her own. She dragged him closer and drowned in the waves of heat that came off him. They were drunk on each other, only for each other. She’d never experienced anything like it and momentarily felt a frisson of concern over why that may be. But then his mouth left hers and teeth scraped her throat just above the top of her turtleneck sweater, wiping out any thoughts and concerns but getting more of him.

  When he lifted her, she thought she was merely passion floating, then the softness of the bed was beneath her, and his body covered her, hands starting to roam. He well deserved the rave reviews posted on CreatureBook. For hours she’d simmered and surged with needs that pushed all other thoughts than having him, here and now, from her mind.

  They were rushed and frantic, devouring with passionate kisses, hands fumbling to touch more and more of one another that it felt like they were melding and melting together. Beneath her hand, the fabric of his T-shirt tore, and her fingers slid over hard, hot male flesh and through sprigs of surprisingly soft dark hair. She wanted to touch more and tried to maneuver him off her a little so as to get both hands on him.

  This caused a reaction she should have expected. In a heated state such as he was presently in, a werewolf wasn’t exactly thinking straight, more like thinking with his dick and what he wanted. Trying to move him, even an inch or so, had him tensing up, and before she could blink, she was locked beneath him, big, hard, aggressive body pressing her down into the mattress and his face a scant millimeter from her own.

  She’d never tangled with a werewolf before but had heard they could be quite charming and coaxing. But you didn’t lead them on. Oh, they were chivalrous and old-fashioned when it came to females, so she was well aware he’d never force himself on her or threaten her. Right now he’d stopped and was waiting for the yes or no, and he was right on the edge.

  Ada wouldn’t pretend she didn’t know how much he wanted her, but then, he should be able to tell with his extraordinary sense of smell and hearing. No doubt she was letting off a truckload of pheromones and waves of desire.

  She wasn’t in the mood to play him. With his face so close, she jutted out her chin so their noses touched and rubbed her pelvis against his.

  “I want to touch you, you aggressive moron, so move so I can get my hands out.”

  “Well hell, brownie, who’s the sweet talker now?” He shifted a little and eyed her suspiciously. “Tell me now if we’re going further or not. I’m all for having you—”

  “No, I am having you.” She said with her own amount of aggressiveness.

  With her hands free, Ada took hold of his shirt and ripped the damn thing off. She made a soft brownie murmur of appreciation, eyes locking on the toned, muscular torso that was hers to explore.

  “Have away, lufu. In the meantime…” He took hold of her damaged sweater and with one swift tug tore it off.

  It was exhilarating watching his handsome, chiseled face, the way his prominent cheekbones flushed with desire and his eyes clouded because of her. Then he placed a hand between her breasts, just resting it there gently and kissed her, sweetly, passionately…tenderly. Her toes curled and some of the ice he mentioned earlier melted from her guarded heart. It knocked her off balance, took her breath away, and brought a tremor to her hands while placing a bud of something she didn’t want to consider in the vicinity of her heart.

  “Sultry, beautiful, lufu. Smell earthy, like a fresh field.”

  “W-what does lufu mean?” She gasped, arching and gripped his shoulders to steady herself as the hand between her breasts moved a fraction, a pinky finger stroking along a curve.

  “Means love. Talk later.”

  Sweet destiny! With the element of surprise and supernatural speed and agility, Ada leaped out from beneath him and managed to roll across the bed.
The big werewolf with his much faster reaction time and speed caught hold of her ankle and stopped her.

  “Werewolf—”

  “Fine, if you’re gonna react like that, we’ll talk while I touch you.” He pinned her legs with one of his and pressed a hand to the middle of her back, effectively holding her in place on her stomach.

  “What?” Flustered, out of her depth and no match for his physical strength, not many creatures were, their only rivals being demons, she tried to control her rampaging need to think clearly.

  Had she overreacted to the endearment he used? To the tenderness of the kiss? Reportedly, as per CreatureBook, he was a fantastic lover, well experienced, sensual, and passionate, but she didn’t recall tender. Add that with lufu, meaning “love,” and she was a little unsure they were approaching being lovers with the same emotional detachment and expectations.

  Then again, if the way she had reacted to him said anything at all, she may not be as emotionally detached as previously thought. Gods and all their whims, what was happening?

  “If you’re gonna get so upset over whether we talk now or later, I’d just as soon do both.” His chest brushed her back, his heat saturating her. She shivered; he growled in approval and swept her long, ever so slightly waved hair to the side. “Tell me now if you really don’t want me, and this all stops, OK?”

  Talk, yes, they should talk. At least then she could keep him at bay until she figured out what the hell was going on!

  “Nathaniel, yes, we do need to talk, and no, I don’t want to stop. Let me up—”

  “I’m much more into showing, honey.” He snapped her bra undone. “And doing, rather than talking.”

  Before she could think up a way to slow this down to ensure they were both of the same mind, his teeth clamped onto the sensitive spot at the curve of her neck and very gently, exquisitely, bit.

  Ada erupted in tremors, body arching, thoughts evaporating.

  “Mine.” He snarled. “Oh yeah, lufu, we’re gonna be sooo frigging good together…”

  A large hand swept over her back, exploring and learning the sensitive spots, the spots that made her gasp. Next were his lips and tongue, and only then did her senses return enough to put together coherent thoughts into words.

  But first, she would enjoy. After all, it had been a bad day and a worse night so far. Her normally structured life had been thrown into absolute chaos, and she’d had to take a long hard look at herself. None of it had been fun.

  This was.

  With a brownie murmur of approval as his tongue dipped into the small of her back and swirled, her panties soaked with readiness for him, she raised her butt a little and wiggled to entice him. With a growl that could very well have shaken the entire building, not just the bedroom, the werewolf planted two big paw hands on her ass. Ada didn’t hesitate. Quickly turning onto her back, she wrapped her legs around his hips and jerked him down on top of her.

  Nate grinned. “So good.”

  It’d been years since she indulged in sex and felt that those few past times were about to be blown away. She was concerned about two things though.

  “You better not have marked me.” She tugged him closer, fingers sliding through the fine dark hairs over his very muscular chest. “I mean it, Nathaniel.”

  He merely smiled, eyes fixed on her breasts that were barely covered by the undone bra. “Lush.”

  As his head lowered toward her lush mounds, she caught his face between her hands and held him still.

  “We need to be very clear on this, wolf. There is no future between us, no relationship, nothing. And I am not another conquest you can brag about to your pals. We go into this on equal footing, and it’ll be brief. I’m not interested in anything more than a short, physical get together.”

  For a moment he was perfectly still, his very fit, toned body tense above her. His green eyes that were like liquid pools of moss had been fixed on her barely covered breasts, but now shot up to her eyes and narrowed. His lips pulled back from his teeth in a sign of annoyance. Not understanding why he wasn’t agreeing with what she said, or the annoyance, she frowned at him, loosening her grip. Creatures were damn difficult to deal with.

  As suddenly as the annoyance and aggression came, they faded and were replaced by a very charming smile. Slowly he lowered himself on top of her, one hand going into her hair. Long fingers on his other hand gently touched her cheek. She melted with the look in his eyes and timbre of his voice.

  “You are the most stunning woman I have ever met, Ada. You’re smart, and surprisingly, caring and loyal. I see you as equal, and better in many ways. I am honored that you lie with me.” There was pure sincerity in his eyes, face, and tone. She was stunned. Then everything changed. “But, brownie, you’re not using those smarts if you think anything between us is ever gonna be brief, and could ever be over.”

  For a moment she was so stupified, she just blinked up at him. Hadn’t she just overreacted to him calling her something meaning love and kissing her tenderly? Sweet destiny! What exactly did he mean by that?

  Her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve still got some learning to do, brownie.”

  Before she could react, he kissed her in that disturbingly tender way. Then he was off the bed and adjusting himself in his jeans. He paused there a moment and glanced over her semi-naked body, eyes glazing a little and hand wiping his mouth. Then he shook his head as though to clear it and headed for the door, speaking over his shoulder on the way.

  “Get ready, we’re going to Galdo.”

  And he left her completely unsatisfied, perturbed, and wary. What the hell was the werewolf up to, darn it?

  He was aching and uncomfortable and needed to blow off some steam. Unfortunately, a cold shower would have to do, and that did very little for his heated state.

  Jerking on clean underwear, jeans, and a navy blue polo shirt, he dressed quickly and was putting on shoes and congratulating himself for having some restraint with his brownie mate when Nico appeared. The vampire solidified from mist to the stunning, elegant, and stylishly dressed vamp he always was.

  As usual, Nico cast turquoise eyes over Nate’s attire with cool disdain. Often the vamp reminded him he was the Crown Prince of the Werewolf Clan, and as such should dress with a touch more care and style. As far as Nate was concerned, being the crown prince of the werewolves was all about taking care of his kind and others, ensuring the well-being of their lands and assets, and being someone to look up to. Yeah, sometimes he wasn’t so sure he was meeting that criteria, but he was up for every challenge and faced it head on.

  Nico smiled, inclining his head. “That you do, fratello. And you meet every aspiration, except, sadly, those regarding style. Your taste in other matters, though, is superb. As is your intelligence.”

  This had Nate’s brows rising. Nico did not often give compliments; he’d cut you to the quick if you did something he disapproved of. But when a compliment was given, Nate lapped it up.

  “Yeah?”

  “Of course.” Nico waved a hand airily. “The brownie is superb, and you showed great intelligence by halting the amorous activity. It may take a little time for her to lose the distrust and develop affection, and it would be good if she does so before she discovers you are her mate.”

  “Let’s hope she starts learning quickly because I don’t have too much patience left.”

  “Could you not change your clothes?” Nico implored, face pained and almost pleading.

  “What’s wrong with this?” He stood and looked down at his black jeans and navy blue top.

  “Perhaps your brownie will have more success with you than I have had.” With a dismayed shake of his blond head, the vamp glided to the bedroom door. “Come, we must get to Galdorcwide and speak to the seer before too much time elapses. Grydern’s treatment of the imp may not be pleasant.”

  That was true, and it steamed Nate up. Stopping only to grab a leather bomber jacket, he filled his pockets with wal
let, keys, and the usual assortment of weapons. His brownie was downstairs in the study being entertained by the fairy prince Ace, or Glitterbug as he was often called. The fairy always wore the most outrageous outfits encrusted with gems, and his skin always glittered.

  Freshly dressed in a thin jumper the color of cranberries, tailored hipster gray slacks and low heeled black boots, she probably was going for the casual look. She missed it by a mile just because she held herself with such reserve. Instead, she looked sophisticated and untouchable. But Nate knew differently. Ada was touchable, very much so. His eyes narrowed in on the spot where he’d marked her softly. It was a temporary mark, not that of a mate, just a taste of what was to come.

  She’d covered most of it with a small flowered lime green neck scarf. She glared at him when she caught him looking, and he gave a wolfish grin.

  “Ace, are you not assigned to searching for the amulet the imp wears with Ruine?” Nico inquired.

  The happy, gorgeous fairy shrugged. “The big demon doesn’t need my help; he has Sev and Blaine. I want to hear all about the missing imp from brownie lawyer Ada.”

  Glitterbug Ace might appear to be frivolous and inconsistent, but beneath the sparkle he was deeply caring, ultrasensitive, and extremely helpful. This tended to annoy his big companion, surly Prince Ruine of the demons, greatly, as he preferred wars and fighting, brokering deals and blacksmithing.

  “Si? Why is this?”

  “Oh, I’m just gossiping.” Ace said airily.

  No point drilling the fairy for information, he’d go off on a meaningless tangent until he was ready to discuss his thoughts properly.

  “Well, we’ve got to go. You coming back to Galdo with us?” Nate asked.

  “Sure! I’ve got to get home, anyway.” Standing, Ace offered his hand to Ada.

  Territorial feelings and jealousy snapped inside Nate, and he would have jumped between the two but for Nico laying a firm hand on his arm.