Page 53 of With Fangs and Claws (The Wolf Queen 1)

“I’ve an idea,” I replied finally. “What you did, Weyland did the same after he found me with Kris.”

Axe’s smile faded at that, and a low growl trickled from between his teeth.

“Wanted to mark his territory after that little bastard got his hands on you.” Axe nodded sharply. “Did our brother look after you? Make you feel all sweet and hot.”

I blinked, my tongue flicking out to moisten my bone-dry mouth, but I tilted my head, indicating that he had.

“But what happened now was… more.”

“Gods, don’t let Weyland hear you say that,” Dane said, shaking his head. “It’s clawing at him that he can’t touch you and if he heard that, he’d take it as a personal challenge to prove to you otherwise.”

“Gael touched me just now, too.” I was surging on. Being a swoony young miss wouldn’t help me to understand what was going on here and I couldn’t afford ignorance. “Is that why it felt stronger?”

Axe’s smile was back now, and Dane’s lips twitched, as if he wanted to join him.

“The gods gift a wargen’s mate with the ability to be pleased by the entire pack,” Dane explained. “And to make sure she prefers the touch of all of her mates, that pleasure multiplies each time another mate touches her. Gael did that willingly?”

“Well, I didn’t exactly grab his hand and force him to put it on my stomach,” I grumbled.

“Might do him good if you did,” Axe muttered.

“He was awake and saw what was happening to me and he put his hand above yours until I… took my pleasure.”

“Looks like the little bastard is coming around to the idea,” Axe said to Dane. “Knew he would. He just needed some time.”

“And the sight of our mate with her clothes falling off her back after enduring her father’s abuse probably went some way towards that,” Dane added. A sharp knock at the door had his head whipping around, and then he sighed. “That will be Weyland. We need to go back down to the barracks and get the official report from the garrison commander before we ride to the capital. We’re particularly interested in whether there’s been an increase of human activity around the border.”

“You’re thinking of the king and his men?” I asked. “I can’t see why he would. The agreement about the ore is still in place, isn’t it?”

“I’ll be delivering the deal to Father as soon as we reach the capital,” Dane said with a rueful twist of his lips. “Not that he’ll be pleased with it.”

Another knock sounded at the door.

“We better go.” Dane went to get off the bed, then paused, reaching out to trace the line of my jaw. “We’ll come for you in the afternoon. Our father’s business is important, but not more than you.”

He moved slowly then, very, very slowly, like a wolf on the hunt, my eyes going wide as I felt his breath fan across my skin. But right as I blinked, he swooped in, brushing his lips against mine, then pulling away before I could respond.

“Until later, my queen.”

“Better give me one too,” Axe said with a grin, hauling me into his side and then slamming his mouth down, taking my breath away.

Dane gave me his kiss, but Axe took his and kept on taking. I was still caught up in the sweet haze left by his brothers and now that was being joined by another that he was stirring. He parted my lips masterfully, then thrust his tongue inside until both of us groaned.

“No more than that,” Axe said as he pulled away, “or I’ll not be leaving this bed and neither will you.”

He stared at me then, that smile still there, but it was muted compared to the challenge in his eyes. He was taunting me, trying to prod me into asking for just that. To wrap my arms around his neck and pull him down on top of me. Part of me wanted that, but a significantly larger part told me I was much less sure about what would come next, and that cooled my ardour considerably.

“Weyland is angry that we are not… mated,” I said, forcing myself to voice my fears. “And I’m not sure when or if I’ll be ready for that.” I blinked then, realising I was in a foreign country with a culture I didn’t understand, with no family or husband nor the means or skills to support myself. I shook my head. “How is this supposed to work?”

“We told you before,” Dane said, having pulled on his shirt and armour. “The two-souled convince their mate to give them their heart, soul and body by giving her theirs first. If you are not ready yet, that is no surprise to any of us, even Weyland.”

“Our brother is not good at waiting,” Axe said with a shrug. “Be reassured by the fact that when you finally do surrender to us, he’ll devour you, inch by inch, channelling all that passion into your pleasure.”

My eyelids fluttered as I considered that idea.

“But until that point, he’s probably going to be a bit of a prick. There’s never been something that Weyland’s wanted that he hasn’t been able to get readily, so this is a new experience for him.”

“So, he’s a spoiled brat?” I asked.

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