Page 5 of The Alpha's Autumn Baby Mama (Triple L Ranch Shifters 4)

A guttural moan came from the man behind me. He was awake. The stiffie might have told me so, but I didn’t want to mistake morning wood occurring late at night for a deliberate attempt to fuck me.

So, I gave another squeeze, the tip grazing my ready hole. “Feel good, Levi?”

“Yes. It feels pretty great.”

“Understatement of the year from my position. Any idea how this happened?”

“No.” He nipped the spot where my neck met my shoulder. “But it’s about time, isn’t it?”

I didn’t want to believe it. We’d been friends forever, business partners in our gardens that had ended so disastrously. We’d had such an incredible life together so far, sharing everything, all but the one thing I’d craved deep within my soul. I licked my lips, prayed for the right answer to the question I was about to ask. “About time for what?”

“To mate.”

My eyes flooded with tears, but this was not the time to cry or discuss something so right. Why now? That was a question for another time or one that perhaps might never be answered. And I didn’t care. Now was not a why, it was a fact, a call for celebration. I let my head fall to the side, giving him space to mark me. If not now, then never.

His teeth sank into my neck at the same time his cock entered my body. No pain at the intrusion, no need for lubrication. Not in a mate. Our bodies knew what to do and as a trickle of blood ran down my neck, I welcomed the one I’d yearned for always. He lifted his head and licked away the blood from the wound. Driving deep into me and pulling back, he set a rhythm that was absolutely perfect. He wrapped his arms around me and pinched my nipples, nibbled at my shoulder, fucked me until he poured his cum into my body and then pulled back and helped me roll to face him.

“Your turn, mate.”

I’d never have seen any of this coming when we left Carson Valley. The darkest day of my life had become something else entirely. When we’d made love to each other more than once and were lying on our backs side by side panting, the tent fabric was glowing with the light of dawn. At this time of year and in this area, it was probably after seven, close to eight, and we needed to get moving to get as far as we could before it got dark again.

The very thought of being in this tent again made my heart hammer and my cock hard.

“So what do we do now?” We were facing each other, foreheads pressed together and skin to skin from collarbones to toes, and everything felt up in the air.

“What does anyone do after they mate?” He stroked my cheek with a forefinger. “I just hope we’ll do a lot of it.”

“We were already playing house. Did you want me before…whatever happened that led to last night?” I shouldn’t ask because I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer.

“Owen, every single time you went out with someone else, I wanted to drag you back into the house and send the guy packing.”

My grin stretched my lips, an unfamiliar expression lately. “Why didn’t you?”

“Because you wanted to go out with them. You were playing the field hard.” He bumped noses with me. “And I figured you had to get it out of your system. If I’d made a move and ruined our friendship in the process?” He swallowed hard. “I couldn’t have stood it.”

“Your friendship is very important to me as well, and that’s why I held back. I dated a lot of people, hoping to get you out of my system.”

“Not to get me jealous?”

If I grinned any wider, my face was going to crack. “I don’t know if I thought that way, but there was probably an element there. I suppose I’ll have to stop that now?”

“Probably be best.”

We’d always laughed together more than most people I knew, but this time, we clung together until laughter melded into one more carnal celebration of our mating.

Chapter Six

Nova

Were they never going to leave? My wolf had been chantingmate, mate, mateall night, and I’d never known her to be so interested in someone else’s life. Maybe she was just as confused as I was by our voyeurism. Not that we could see what went on in that tent, but we sure as heck could hear it.

Whoever these guys were, they were for sure into one another. The walls of that tent had ballooned and swayed all night long, and their moans and cries and other sounds had rarely ceased. They had very impressive stamina. Or so I assumed, since my own experience in that department was nil. When everyone your age moves away…the dating pool is pretty small to nonexistent.

But even my wolf was getting chilled and pacing to keep warm. If these guys decided to continue their tent booty call much longer, I’d have to hike the rest of the way around the lake and try to get back to the trail that way. The lake wasn’t huge, but it would involve some scrambling over ice-coated boulders I’d rather not have to do.

The sun rose over the peaks to the east of me, of us, and shone down on the tent, silhouetting moving figures inside. Since I hadn’t heard any sex noises for a bit, I crossed my fingers that they were dressing to either pack and leave or at least leave the tent and go hiking or something.

Few people camped this high in the mountains so close to winter, so whoever these men were, they were definitely badass. Or maybe hiding their love from someone? Maybe one of them had another mate?

---