A Glassy Lady: Coeur de Lyon: A Renaissance Flair 2 Read online

  "I'm not afraid," Harper said with all the certainty she knew bone-deep. Rising up to her knees, she slowly unlaced the sides of her pullover. God, he made her wanton and raw, brazen and needy. It was a rush!

  "Watch me," she whispered.

  His eyes snapped open, fixating on her with a predator's focus. Feeling her lips curve, she slowly slid her top off over her head.

  Okay, so it was a little tough to be sexy when you're blinding by fabric, tugging it off without letting your hair get tangled, feeling your body exposed in all its flawed not-so-glory. Especially when first revealing yourself to the one whose opinion could destroy you.

  Finally tugging the sweater over her head, she tossed it aside and resisted the urge to cover her lingerie-clad breasts, feeling more exposed than she could ever remember being. Then she turned and caught the awed look on his face and all her doubts and anxieties washed away; replaced by a desire to see that expression on his face often.

  He reached out a hesitant hand, drawing a claw with surprising gentleness over the lacy edge of the sapphire silk and black lace bra that cupped her aching breasts. This time, she was the one that thrust into his touch, pressing into the palm of his large, calloused palm as he teased her flesh.

  Clearing the gravel from his throat, Bard looked up from her heaving chest, his face tight as he cupped her breast, gauging her expression as he palmed nearly her entire breast in his huge, calloused hand.

  A slow smile spread across his face as he shrugged out of the torn remnants of his shirt. He seemed to be drawing strength from her responses, regaining some of his self-control, as his deep voice was more controlled when he said, "Darling, if you wear stuff like this often, we may need to invest in stock for the company..."

  Okay, figures he'd regain his ability to speak when she'd lost hers. Harper was having problems remembering her own name at the moment, as his warm hand caressed her breast, her nipples stimulated by the press of the fabric and sending jolts through her, once more making her squirm with need.

  She moistened suddenly dry lips, reaching out to grip his arms for support as she struggled to clear her mind. She had a response to that comment, she really did! But then the wolf-bastard leaned in and wrapped his lips around her nipple; flicking the nub through the silky fabric as he dampened it with his tongue, teasing her with brief nips of his fangs as he worked her into a throbbing, aching mess of neediness.

  Coherent thought was gone! Out the window! Like her morals! Yep, Harper gladly succumbed to her inner Jezebel as both Southern Belle and Bitch Queen swooned!

  She dug her nails into the dense muscles on his thick shoulders, but he didn't even flinch. Instead, he just guided her back unto the mattress, his hands sliding around her waist to grip her hips as he moved his lips to the other breast, ensuring it too received appropriate adoration.

  All Harper could do was moan incoherently; entangling one hand around the back of his head as she pressed up against him, hooking a leg around his slim waist to keep him from drawing away.

  He quickly figured out the fastener, particularly since Harper tended to prefer ones that fastened in front, although she only realized this when the molten heat of his mouth engulfed her exposed left nipple; while his hand gently, tenderly, and tauntingly teased the other with only the barest grazes of his circling thumb.

  Whimpering. Harper was pretty sure she was whimpering. When his moist, hot tongue began lavishing a moist trail down over the curve of her belly, his hands sliding down over her hips, his claws pricking her skin through the thick denim of her jeans, she was definitely whimpering!

  Clenching her fingers around the metallic band holding his hair securely back into a ponytail, she struggled with it for a few moments before she was able to figure out how it was locked. Tugging it free, she let it drop as she dug both hands into his freed, thick hair. He buried his face in her stomach, groaning as she scrubbed her fingers through the long, silken locks.

  "Mmmm, don't stop doing that," he panted against her stomach before his teeth locked around the button of her jeans and, with a growled yank of his head, tore them open.

  Raising her head, she met his glowing gaze over the swell of her breasts, could see the determination etched into his face as he used just the movement of his head and his firm grip on her hips to completely unfasten her jeans.

  Lifting his weight from between her parted thighs, he hooked his fingers in the loosened waistband of her pants, effortlessly sliding them down her hips. Finding his ultimate objective impeded by her boots, however, he gave a grunt of frustration.

  Rising to his knees, looking both determined and dangerous, backed up off the bed. Leaning down, he unzipped first one boot then the other, pulling them off gently before tossing them aside. Then, meeting her gaze, he gave her a charmingly boyish grin, grabbed her jeans and yanked them off like a magician with a growled, "Violà!"

  For some reason, Harper found that hilarious. Collapsing back on the bed, giggling helplessly, she couldn't resist as he once more crawled back up over her, his massive body looming as he looked down at her.

  "Oh, you think that's funny, do you?"

  Nodding, Harper admitted, "Yeah, sorry. Sorry!"

  When his clawed fingers teasingly stroked along her ribs, unerringly discovering her most ticklish spots, Harper tried to wriggle away, to escape the demon wolf. Slapping her hands against his immovable chest, she cried out between giggles and gasps of dismay, "No! Noooo! Sorry, sorry! Please, don't..."

  He silenced her with a deep, probing kiss. Capturing her lips, he nipped at her lower lip as his hands stroked down to curl around her ass, holding her still as he lowered his weight once more between her thighs.

  Although she was still wearing a scrap of silk and he still had his jeans on, she could feel the weight of his arousal, the throbbing heat of it as it came to rest against her most sensitive parts. The movement of his hips, that slow, purposeful grind of his thick length against her, had her groaning into his mouth, her hands clutching at his bared back as she hooked her legs around his. She needed him closer, still needed more.

  Stroking her hands down his back, clutching at his muscular ass...God Bless, is he carved of marble? Before she could do much more than appreciate just how solidly built he was, however, he was suddenly nuzzling his way down her chest, kissing a damp trail between her heavy breasts, over her belly, until he was shouldering his way between her thighs.

  She knew the ladylike thing to do would be to protest, to speak up and tell him that he didn't have to do that.

  Fuck that.

  "Please, Bard...yes, please..." She begged, once more sliding her fingers through his hair as he buried his face against her panty-clad pussy and growled long, low, and deep.

  Holy shit! She about came then and there, the vibration of his growling lips as his tongue pressed against her labia through the sheer silk. She could feel the heat of his tongue, the pressure as he slid it languidly up the length until he could locate her clit and then capture the tender nub with the briefest of sharp nips.

  Harper didn't hear the sound of his claws slicing through the silk, but as she suddenly felt his warm breath gusting over her exposed labia, she managed a strangled yelp.

  "Your scent," his voice was dark, rumbling as he nuzzled her inner thigh, dragging his nose up over her body until he could bury his face in the trimmed curls over her sex. "Fuck, darling...you smell so fucking sweet, so damned good."

  Those words only made her hotter, wetter. Her brain was short-circuiting, unable to do more than just feel.

  Then the big bad wolf began to feast.

  Chapter 22

  Nothing in this world or the next tastes like a woman's arousal. Like every woman, it was different, a combination of their natural scent with their diet, even indicative of their health and condition.

  In his first taste of the woman who had been forged by the gods to be his complimentary component, Bard learned a few things.

  First, the tangy-sweet taste of
her was better than any mead, any nectar, as it slicked his tongue and coated his beard. It was a taste he would crave, one that nothing could ever compare to.

  Second, she was fertile and in perfect health, although he could taste the faintly metallic ting of medicine. Most likely some form of birth control, since she didn't have the scent of any sickness upon her, but he'd learn more...later.

  Third, he couldn't bury himself inside of her, fill her with his seed, if she wasn't ready for children. And it would most likely be just that, children, since his family tended towards multiples, of both the fraternal and identical varieties. He quietly cursed himself for not thinking about protection, while hoping that his mate was smarter than he was.

  Fourth, there was a hint of wildness in her, a touch of the Wild, the primal power that shifters drew upon. It was faint, sublimated within the ozone-tinged scents that marked most witches.

  And fifth, Bard knew just how creepy it was that he could learn all this and more, just from her scent, from her taste. It was both a blessing and a curse that came with being a shifter, particularly of a breed known for their sense of smell.

  Granted, at the moment, none of it really mattered, not when his mate was spread open before him, trusting him, letting him please her; and he would do just that.

  With his hands gripping her ass, he lavished the lips of her labia, sliding his tongue up between the folds before letting it dive deep, seeking out the source of her sweetness.

  His ears were tuned to every hitch of her breathing, listening for the slightest moan or gasp, using her own responses to dictate his.

  Oh, there was a sixth thing he learned. His mate really, really liked it when he nipped at her, whether it was grazing his fangs along the inside of her thigh or if he caught her swollen clit between his teeth.

  Taking ruthless advantage of that fact, he slipped a hand from her ass and while his teeth held her nub in place, flicking it with the tip of his tongue, he slowly pressed his thick finger between the slick lips of her sex.

  Hotter than Sindri's fabled forges!

  Then she fucking exploded.

  Her entire body surged upwards, her broken sob of release a primal cry of his name that had his chest swelling in satisfaction, Bard lapped greedily at her release, curling his finger within her as he drew out her orgasm.

  When she tugged at his hair, he looked up and met her glazed eyes.

  "Please, Bard... more, I need... you."

  With a groan of his own, Bard gave one last, long lap of his tongue before he crawled up her body. Placing his elbows on either side of her head, he looked down at her, studying her face for a few moments before he spoke.

  "Darling, I want nothing more than to be buried inside of you, but..." He drew a deep breath and rested his forehead against yours, "You're..." He cleared his throat. Damn, this was tough. Particularly since his wolf just wanted to say fuck it, bury their bone inside of her, and fill her with a pack of pups. "Baby, you're fertile right now, and I don't have a condom. Even if you're on the pill, or have an IUD, there's a damned good chance I could get you pregnant. Thor knows, I'd certainly be trying, because I want to claim you again and again and again, and that's just tonight."

  He closed his eyes, fighting back his wolf as he struggled to gain enough control over himself that he could roll away from her.

  When he felt her cool hands clutching at his bare ass, Bard reared up and found her staring pointedly up at him. The cheeky wench had loosened his belt at some point, and slid her hands into his jeans, gripping his ass firmly enough he could feel her nails digging into his flesh.

  "Bard, sweetie...if you don't mark, claim, and mate me right now, I will tie you down, and mark, claim, and mate you instead."

  "But...?"

  She reached up, palming his cheek, and gave him a small shrug and a sweet, shy smile. "Darling," she said, using his nickname for her, "If it happens, it happens. Neither of us planned this, but we have to have faith that we were brought together for a reason. I don't know what kind of mother I'd make, but seeing you with your sisters? With Erik earlier? You'll be an incredible father, one our kids will be lucky to have."

  Okay, so maybe Bard should have put up more protest, should have just marked it up to passion speaking, but honestly? He just wasn't strong enough to resist.

  Seizing her lips in a fierce, hungry, greedy kiss, Bard toed off his boots—glad he had worn cowboy boots, and had had years of practice in getting them off quickly—and tore off his jeans and briefs in a single, fluid movement. All without breaking that kiss. Yeah, it wasn't the most graceful way of stripping, but a man had to have priorities, and his biggest priority at that moment was kissing her.

  Tearing his lips from hers with a ragged gasp, Bard knew his eyes were once more glowing with his wolf as he stared into her eyes. When he spoke, it was in his wolf's growl, but the words came from the bottom of his heart.

  "I already fucking love you, Harper Llewellyn. You're my mate, my fucking beautiful darling, from the tip of your pert nose to the bottom of your cute little toes, and everything in-between..." He wrapped a hand around her left breast, kneading it gently as he leaned down to press his lips against her nipple, "And your fucking heart is mine. I'm going to make you love me, be worthy of your love, and do my best to make you happy." He, somehow, managed to summon a ghost of a grin. "Darling, I'm going to fuck up. I've been alone for a very long time, and I'm a bit set in my ways, so you're going to have to train me right good."

  Harper let him speak, let him expose his heart to her, somehow realizing that he needed to get it out there, here and now. He was naked, not just in body, but his heart and soul laid bare and at her feet.

  Framing his face in her hands, Harper looked deep into his eyes, looked at both him and his wolf.

  "I'm not perfect. Life's not perfect, Bard," she said, carefully choosing her words. "This is all moving fast, so very fast, but it feels right. Life is too unpredictable, so if we can somehow find happiness together, support one another, then maybe it'll be a life worth living. Because before now? I was just surviving, one day at a time, focused only on getting away from the Llewellyns, on finding some place I could live the life I wanted to live. And all of that, the bad and the good, has led me here, to you."

  Wrinkling her nose, she gave a short, self-conscious laugh. "Okay, appropriate romantic monologues out of the way."

  Just as he was once more lowering his head, intent on claiming her lips, she suddenly exclaimed, "Oh! I almost forgot!"

  Grabbing his hair, she yanked his head up and when he saw that eyebrow arched just so, the crook of her grin, he almost laughed. Then she said, "I love you too, Bard Ulvfang...now, if you don't mind, can we get back to the whole marking, claiming, and mating thing?

  Almost forgot? Oh, game on!

  "Hold on, mate...afraid this first time is going to be a bit of a wild ride."

  Aw, wasn't that cute, she was giving him the most adorably doubtful expression he had ever seen.

  Seizing her thighs, he ground the full, thick, throbbing length of his erection against her soaked, molten heat. As she felt inch-after-inch slide upwards between her lips, the thickness and length of him must have shocked her, and drew a smirk of pure masculine satisfaction from him as her eyes widened.

  Kissing the tip of her nose, he growled out softly, "I'll go slow for as long as I can, darling... we'll make it work."

  Sliding back down, he shifted his hips until just the blunt, engorged head of his cock was poised at her entrance, then watching her face, he slowly began to sink into her.

  Her hands clenched at his chest, her nails digging into his pecs as she arched her back, biting her lower lip as his girthy, throbbing organ forced her tight muscles to accept him within.

  Fuck, it was damned difficult to keep from just sinking in to her welcoming heat, to bury himself balls deep, wrapping his entire aching cock within her clenching body. His mental walls were clawed raw from his wolf's desperate attempts to seize control,
but the exquisite look upon his Harper's face helped Bard maintain control.

  He had to squeeze his own eyes tight, clenching his jaw hard enough he was amazed his fangs hadn't sliced open his own lips, as more and more of his cock was engulfed within her.

  Finally, finally, after what seemed like an entirely too long bloody lifetime, he felt his heavy, desperate balls press against the curve of her ass. His muscles strained, quivering with the ferocious need to hold himself back.

  He felt Harper hook her legs around the back of his thighs, felt her hands slid smoothly down his sweaty, heaving chest, around his back and then down along his spine, until she was gripping his ass.

  FUCK!

  Her sharp nails dug into his ass cheeks, clawing at him as surely as his shoved his own claws into the mattress beneath her as he curled his fingers to keep them from marring her flawless flesh.

  With a ragged groan that quickly morphed into a snarling growl, he gave into her not-subtle-at-all encouragement and began to rock his hips with increasing urgency. Every thrust of his hips sent his cock surging into her depths. Every withdrawal drew a low, mournful cry from her throat that only encouraged him to surge forward once more.

  Settling his weight more fully atop of her, he buried his face in the crook of her neck, and wrapped his arms beneath hers, crushing her up against his chest. Moving his hips, undulating his entire body so that he was stroking her with his muscular frame, he knew he was not going to last for much longer—despite his earlier self-induced release.

  Determined that he would not cum alone, determined that she would be caught up in another orgasm before he would sink his fangs into her body, he clenched his ass, tightened his pelvic muscles, and focused on delaying his orgasm even though he could feel it building rapidly out of control.

  Again, and again, he thrust powerfully, using the strength of his hard-earned thigh muscles behind his cock's relentless assault, and when he found that spot inside of her that seemed to make her squeak, to clutch his ass tight enough that he could feel the blood welling beneath her nails and dripping down his ass to mingle with the sweat coating his body, he knew he had found just the right spot.