“Sebastian, I’m going to come.”
“Of course you are, my love.”
“N-no. Too soon.”
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He increased the rhythm of his thrusts. The man wasn’t playing fair. He called the tunes on her body, and it obeyed him. She came—hard and powerfully. Sebastian didn’t stop pushing into her. If anything he increased the violence of his assault. Not more than a minute passed before she was coming again without much recovery time. Her body had never behaved that way with any other lover.
“Sebastian!”
“Yes, baby. I know.” His voice was deep now, and she shut her eyes in case she saw. Nevertheless, she heard it, the sound of his claws scraping and ruining the wood of his desk. “Sophia, you are mine. Mine.”
His release flooded her, and he was still at last.
The scent of bacon frying led Sophia to the dining room. Lucille, the housekeeper, was just placing a few dishes on the sideboard along one wall of the room. Sophia rushed over to fill her plate. She was starving after a full night of lovemaking with Sebastian.
Not to mention sore!
Her cell phone buzzed, and she checked the display. A text from Jack asking about how she was doing. She knew what that meant. He wanted her to check in about her progress. Guilt washed over her. She hadn’t even thought about being alone with Sebastian the night before without his Guard. Then again, it wasn’t like she had a second to think about it. He had jumped on her and thrust her legs apart to satisfy both their needs. A phone call or even delaying Sebastian wasn’t happening.
It would have been a good time though. Sebastian would have been distracted with her, and the hunters could have done their thing with him none the wiser. She chewed her lip thinking about it and gazed at Lucille.
The woman smiled shyly and nodded her head in greeting. She must be late fifties or early sixties with hair completely silver. The strands were bright like a new dye job, but Sophia suspected it was natural.
“Are you a shifter?” she asked.
The older woman hid her hands in her apron and backed away a few steps. She ducked her head and spoke softly. “Yes, ma’am.”
“I told you, Lucille. You don’t need to call me ma’am. I’m younger than you.”
She shook her head, making the silver curls bounce. “No, ma’am. You’re the alpha’s mate. No, never. We can’t disrespect you.”
“Did Sebastian threaten you? If he did, I’ll talk to him. He should respect his elders too.”
“No, ma’am. Please, don’t do that. He wouldn’t be happy if he thought I complained to you.”
Sophia didn’t know what to make of the woman’s fear. Was she just scared because she was painfully shy even at her age? Or was it because Sebastian was a hard taskmaster and lorded his authority over them?
“Okay, if you’re sure.”
The housekeeper scrambled out of the dining room, and Sophia sank into her chair. She chewed on a piece of bacon and tried to sort through her own confusion. Lucille was one of the people Jack wanted to kill because they were violent and murderous wolf shifters, not human at all. Dealing with the older woman made it impossible to believe she could hurt anyone. It could all be an act of course, and there was the fact that Sebastian probably killed that man who attacked her.
While she thought through everything a million times, the dining room door opened. Sophia startled when Ava strode in. The woman was the last person she desired to see that morning, but at least Ava didn’t appear to be pissed off—yet.
“Good morning,” she mumbled and headed toward the sideboard.
Sophia stared after her. “You live here?”
Ava didn’t turn around but began to make herself a plate. “No, I stayed, and so did a lot of the others so we could be close for the selection.”
Sophia didn’t respond, but she noted the tension in Ava’s back and shoulders.
The shifter took her time turning around. Her plate was piled with more food than Sophia could have eaten. Eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, hash browns, and toast. How could a woman with a figure like hers eat that much and not gain?
“Sophia.” Unlike Lucille, Ava didn’t stare at the floor or fidget. She looked Sophia straight in the eyes. “Please consider me to be one of your Guard.”
Sophia’s mouth fell open.