Dawn's Innocence

His mouth was driving her insane. Her sensitized nipples strained for more of him. His tongue circled the pebbled flesh of the firm peak, tracing slow lazy circles and then claiming the flesh as he nipped and suckled hungrily. Her thighs trembled as the pressure building deep within her core grew to a painful throb of need. Her hips lifted off the bed as he released her arms and slipped his hand down to massage her core through the thick, denim jeans.

Tristen felt the heat of her need through the material of her jeans. Another menacing obstacle he had to get around. Clothing should definitely be optional. He groaned when her hips bucked against his fingers in search of deeper contact. Instinct to take her and seal the deal roared in his head. His lips claimed her mouth in a hot, wanton, desperate kiss fueled with desire. Tongues twisted and rolled against one another. Searching each other out in the confusion of the heated kiss. He lifted his head and barred his teeth, nipping at the sensitive spot behind her ear and trailing down her neck. A growl rumbled deep in his chest when her fingers dug into his back and her hips pressed and rocked against his erection.

Even though he was in his human form, his wolf pulled out all the stops, going dominant over Kacie and her wolf. And damn, surprise, surprise, what do you know, he liked her beneath him pinned beneath his weight and writhing against him for more of what only he could give her.

"Kacie," he rasped. Leaning back on his calves to behold the beauty of her flushed face, swollen lips, and aroused nipples and all that bare skin, he sucked in a deep breath. She was beautiful. Instinct was a run away train on a short track. She wanted him. Responded to him with vigor and want that matched his own. His hands trailed down the gentle slope of her stomach and tugged at the button on her jeans. "I want to kiss you. The way you kissed me last night."

Kacie's body stiffened in response to his demand. She'd never let anyone kiss her there before. The act seemed too intimate and personal for a casual temporary fling. That was exactly what her past lovers had been. Temporary. "I..."

"I want to Kacie. If you don't like it, I'll stop. I swear. Kacie let me make you feel the way you made me feel last night." He saw the hesitation etched across her expression. She was going to take a little more convincing. No problem, he liked taking the time to convince her. Was he a little nervous about going down on her? Ummmm yeah. But, he'd done plenty of research on the subject. The need to taste her was an elemental thing...something he simply had to do. He needed it like he needed air.

Tristen lowered his body over hers, stroking her lips with his tongue as he slid inside her lush mouth. A gentle kiss, soft and slow, coaxing and questioning. Slowly, her body relaxed beneath him. He wanted to dive right in. Taste her. Feel her softness against his mouth. Love her in the only way that he could without risking them both.

He rolled onto his side and cupped her body against his. Stroking her breasts with his fingers, his breath seesawing in and out of his lung and his mouth locked to hers. He was going to have to take this slowly and earn her trust in him first. His fingers walked down her stomach and inched to the zipper on her jeans. Easing the brass tab down with a gentle tug, the metal teeth whispered open. Tristen lifted his body, resting on his aching pelvis as he used both hands to unfasten the button that was as stubborn as the woman beneath him.

Her scent, wild, lush, and fragrant, with a hint of musky sweetness filled his nostrils. The smell of her desire pushed him to the teetering brink where instinct, wolf, man, and woman melted into one. "So amazing," he whispered in encouragement. Teasing her erect nipples with his tongue, his fingers got busy. Like soldiers on a covert op, his fingers traced the curls beneath the gauzy strip of lace and silk fabric loosely called panties.

Kacie gasped as Tristen's fingers sank in between her damp folds and explored the sleek nub with careful strokes. The jeans were too tight for an outright expedition of her. But, he was managing to do just fine, hovering on the sweetness of her periphery. Her body bucked in pleasure as he teased the nub at the apex of her sex to hard, aching, fullness. Between the lapping motions of his tongue, teasing her breasts to throbbing peaks of want and the stroking of his fingers, she was a gone woman willing to let him do anything he wanted. She was awash with sensation and building need that blazed and seared inside of her, building like a fire out of control.

The jeans had to go. Tristen gently slid his fingers out of her panties. Man, she was hot, writhing beneath him and her hips bucking to meet every stroke of his touch. He took his time. Navigating inside of the waistband of her jeans and inching them down her curves. He worked one shapely leg free and then the other. Groaning as he looked down at her sprawled out on the bed, unabashedly, and beautifully naked beneath him.

He was tense and stiff with want of his own. His erection tented out the front of his sleep pants, hindered by the cotton fabric. He smiled as her eyes fixed on the front of his pants. Obliging, he pulled them off and tossed them to the side. Fair was fair, she was naked and he should be too. The challenge would be to keep his throbbing hard on a respectable distance from her soft, wet, heat soaked core.

He wanted to plunge in. He really, really did. His cock bucked in agreement, nodding like a bauble head in agreement. Not now. Not here. Where a houseful of witnesses would hear everything they did and anyone could come knocking at the door at any minute. That was so not the scene he wanted for his first time. He could and would wait until they were alone. Interruptions were not going to be an option. And nothing, absolutely nothing would be allowed to distract him from her. Then and only then, he would bond to her physically. He was already hers, heart and soul. As much as his body ached for her, he was going to have to wait for a little longer.

He covered her body in his warmth. Slowly, he immersed his being in her tasting her sleek flesh of her soft skin with his tongue. Laving one hard rosy nipple and then the other, working his way down as he got her there with him. Gently and slowly, Tristen took his time to lap a trail from her breasts to her belly button. His fingers found their way lower. His tongue continued a gentle playful assault on her tummy as his fingers dipped into her moisture-dampened curls.

Kacie tugged on the short ends of Tristen's sleek, black hair. Bordering between giggling at the playful nips and laps his mouth inflicted on her stomach and moaning in desire at the havoc he reaped on her most sensitive of places. Her belly button was an outie and he tongued and toyed with it with rapt fascination. His fingers stroked along her core. Tingles of arousal spread along her nerves as he gently rubbed the aching bloom with long, measured strokes of his fingers. When he changed tempo and dove into the heart of her depths she moaned from the sensation of him exploring her so intimately.

He was working her up to a lather, breaking down the barriers of her resistance. He wanted to do more than touch. He wanted to taste her. See her and kiss her in the most private of places on her body. Her head swam with the heat of desire as he kissed a path, a slow, soft, gentle path to the heart of her. Fear and shyness battled with the promise of utter pleasure from his hot breath as it wafted over her sex. He waited for her permission before he went any further. She pushed her embarrassment out of the forefront of her mind and opened her thighs. Silently giving him accesses to what they both needed.

Kacie gave him the green light, opening up and letting him in. Her fingernails scraped across his scalp as he slid lower gently parting her with his fingers. She was absolutely as beautiful down here as she was everywhere else. Her core was covered with a sleek layer of short, soft black curls, hiding the deepest part of her. He was nervous. All the years of careful study and reading article after article on the subject had not prepared him for the wonder of the real thing. But, his confidence was false bravado. He had to pretend that he knew what he was doing, even if he really didn't.

No fear. No timid shivering, not from her. She trusted him and he was going to deliver. Kacie's core glistened in the dim light from the lamp on the bedside table. The sweet musk of her scent was enough to push him past his moment of doubt and he plunged in full speed ahead. He kissed the sensitive bundle of flesh at the top of her and skated his tongue over the sensitive, soft, tissue. She shivered in response, her thigh muscles clenching down on his shoulders. He took it as a good sign that he was doing something right.

A bit more confident, he suckled the tender bit of flesh. Lapping at the apex of her sex with the tip of his tongue he lost himself completely to her. She tasted, he could not put it into words. Her taste was sweet as berries ripe off the vine and slick honey on his tongue. Braver, he delved in deeper. The sounds of her moans of pleasure like music to his ears. He parted her wider with his thumbs and kissed and tasted every inch of her. Stroking his fingers deep along her smooth, sleek, silky channel as he tongued every inch of her.

He was going to lose it. The smell of her, the smoothness and silkiness of her thighs gripping his shoulders and the sting of her fingernails scraping across his scalp and the pull of her fingers wound though his hair tugging him forward, closer and deeper into her, was maddening. He groaned a needful wanting groan, sampling every part of her and denying himself. He could tell she was close too. Her walls clamped down on his fingers. Squeezing and milking them with muscular contractions as she cried out for more and dug her heels into his spine. He wanted her to come for him. He wanted to taste her orgasm on his tongue. The more she begged. The more he gave. Speeding his pace. Deepening the thrust of his tongue and fingers as they made it happen.

Kacie reeled in the wonder of sensation. Tristen was all over her, probing and tasting with wild abandon. Pleasure surged and rolled though her body, from her core and spreading out to the tips of her toes. Nothing had ever felt so good as his mouth on her, his tongue, lapping at her secret spots, and his fingers, dipping into her. She grappled with his hair and locked her thighs around his shoulders, using him as an anchor to keep her earthbound. She teetered on the edge, whimpering like a pup and wriggling her sex against the wonder of his tongue and fingers. Bucking her hips, she speed the rhythm of his fingers and tongue as they worked against her sex. The pressure inside of her built until she felt as if she were going to burst into a ball of fire and burn the house around them to ash. With more coaxing from Tristen's willing fingers and mouth, the fire exploded into flames of sheer pleasure and delight. His name was on her lips when she came.

Tristen gripped the sheets in his fists. Gently kissing the mound of soft curls as Kacie came for him. He rubbed his cheek along the silky flesh of her right thigh, scraping the roughness of his stubble against such incredible softness. He had bathed in the perfume of her scent and drank of the sacred river of her orgasm. The taste of her release was on his tongue and sweet in his mouth. He ached for her. Longed for more than just a taste. He wanted her, all of her.

Kacie finally drifted back down to earth. Tristen was glued to her side. His hardness pressed uncomfortably against her hip. He was hurting. She saw the strain pleasuring her had put on him etched across his brow. She could ease his pain, if he'd let her. She scooted her hips back and took his length into her palm. Easing along his hardness with gentle, long strokes. "Tristen, it doesn't have to be like this. You're hurting. I'm hurting. We could end this for once and for all. Make love to me. Now."

Heeeellll yeah! Tristen's entire body jerked and practically vibrated off the bed at Kacie's breathy request. He could care less who saw what or overheard what they were doing behind this closed door. She was offering him her body. He had her heart. Ok, so the setting wasn't exactly what he wanted. Who the hell cared? Witnesses? No big deal. He could handle any nosy relative that came sniffing around. He rolled Kacie onto her back. Cupping her face in his hands as he pressed his length against her. She was so soft, so sleek, so warm, and so ready for what he had to give. The soft fleece of her dark curls formed a blanket around his erection. His hips bucked with the need to dive deep inside of her.

"Tell me you love me. That this is the beginning of a life that you'll share with me, forever." He searched her eyes for the truth he already knew. She shifted her hips beneath him, positioning her body for his entry and opening up for him entirely. But, her lips stayed firmly closed. He growled in need and gripped the sheets from the strain of holding back.

Why in the hell did he have to ask all the hard questions at a time like this? Love him. Of course she did. Forever? Start a life together? How? "You know I love you."

"I know you do. But, you didn't answer my question. I'm asking you for forever." Tristen pressed her with urgency. He wasn't going to be able to resist her much longer. Already he ached with a need that he'd never felt before. He longed to be inside of her. Mark her as his.

"Look, if this is about that silly superstition. Let's erase the doubt. It's not real. There is no bonding. It's all in your mind." The blankets fluttered as Tristen slid off of her and rolled onto his back, stiff as a board and staring up at the ceiling. She stretched her hand across the wide gulf of bed that separated them. Suddenly in the absence of his heat, she was so cold.

"It's real to me. Unless you're in this for the long haul, I can't go any further." Tristen threw back the covers, sitting up on the edge of the bed and ignoring the gentle feminine touch on his shoulders. "Damn it, Kacie. I just asked you to marry me. The 'superstition' as you call it is the last thing I'm thinking about. I want you, all of you. Not for a moment or a few months or years, but forever.

"Can't you see past your own hang ups and fears and just let go and enjoy being in love with me?" Tristen ground out in frustration. He fumbled for his sleep pants and thrust his legs in the twisted lengths of cotton, standing to pull them over his hips. The erection tinting out the front of his pants suddenly seemed so ridiculous hanging off of him and so ready for action. Serving as a pathetic reminder of what he could and at the same time couldn't have.

"I just don't see how a marriage proposal suddenly gives us authorization to have sex." Kacie wrapped the blankets tightly around her chest to cover herself. Tristen stood rigid as a statue at the side of the bed. His arousal was so painfully evident as was his anger and hurt.

"Have sex? A few minutes ago you were begging me to make love to you! And now it's been reduced to fucking?" Tristen shouted, louder than he'd intended to and winced at the anger in his voice. "Look, I can't keep doing this. This off and on thing that we have going on. It's not fair to me or to you and I am done with it." He ignored the tears welling in her eyes. Good, he'd at least gotten his point through that thick skull of hers. "It's really simple, either you love me or you don't. Either you want to be with me forever or not at all. If you don't want me for forever then quit wasting my time and yours."

"Tristen...I..." Kacie's bit her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. How could things have gone so terribly wrong in a matter of minutes? She'd felt closer to him than she had anyone in her entire life and now, he was a stranger.

"Save it. I don't want to hear it." Tristen marched out of the bedroom and slammed the door with a resounding boom that echoed over the noise of the house. Shouldering past his sister, he stomped down the hall and left Kacie behind, naked in that big bed alone. He was seething in outrage at what an idiot he'd been and as for the erection protruding between his thick thighs he was going to take care of it the only way he knew how. The only way he could, with a cold shower, fantasies about where he'd been less than five minutes ago, and his fucking palm.

Kacie had two choices. Stay in bed and cry or get out of it and go on with her life. Obviously, whatever she had to offer Tristen wasn't good enough for him. She wanted to indulge in a good cry. Instead, she gathered up what dignity she had left and got dressed. Packing what meager belongings she owned into her duffle bag, she made a plan to leave once everyone settled in for the night. She couldn't face the whole house, knowing with their superior hearing, they'd heard the way Tristen had belittled her. She couldn't face him either. She'd offered her body and given her trust to him and he'd thrown it back in her face. Making demands of her that she wasn't sure she could live up to. Forever was too big. Too much. Too uncertain. And she wanted no part of it.

Chapter 54

Marianne leaned on the doorjamb and debated what she should do. The fight between Kacie and Tristen had been ugly enough to rattle the windows when he'd stormed out, slamming the door behind him. Kacie had yet to emerge from behind her closed door. Marianne had heard the bedsprings groan beneath Kacie's weight and then the rustle of the covers being pulled over Kacie's head and then, for a long time with the air scented with the rain of tears, nothing. Kacie was up now, shuffling around her room and there was the tale tell sound of dresser drawers being emptied, the closet door opening, the rustle of hangars, and the stuffing of things into a duffel bag. Kacie was leaving. There was no time for politeness. Not if she were going to stop her from going. Marianne barged into the room and asked, "You bailing out?"

"Looks like it," Kacie answered. Slinging the bag over one shoulder, she avoided Mouse's analytical stare. The kid was obviously considering what magic combination of words would talk her into staying. The answer was simple. None. Kacie had no idea what she was going to do. Hoof it into town and figure it out when she got there, she guessed.

She had no place to go. No money. No car. She guessed that either Torr or Jan was about to get a houseguest until she could scrounge up enough money to get out on her own. Hell, with what little she had in the bag, she could sleep under a fucking bridge and set up shop begging for spare change at the end of the off ramp, if it came down to it. One thing, the only thing she knew for certain was that she was not spending another night under the same roof as Tristen. He simply wanted too much. He'd pushed too hard. And she couldn't face him again. Not knowing how badly she'd shut him down.

"My brother is an ass sometimes. Give him a couple of hours to cool off and he'll be back up here begging for forgiveness with his tail between his legs." Marianne slid the bag off of Kacie's shoulder and set it on the floor. Scooting it out of sight with the heel of her foot as she led Kacie to sit on the edge of the bed and parked her there. The woman was on the verge of a second downpour of huge alligator tears. Kacie had no idea of where she was going to go or what she was going to do with herself once she got there. Marianne couldn't let her wander off in the middle of the night alone. Especially not with as upset and clueless as Kacie was at this minute.

"I don't know what I did wrong. One minute we're... well never mind and the next, he's yammering about forever and proposing marriage. I don't understand." Kacie accepted the tissue Mouse held out to her and blew her nose. Hot tears welled up in the corners of her eyes and threatened to spill over. Her bottom lip wobbled between sniffling gasps. She stared up at Mouse and wanted to cry even harder. Here she was discussing her love life, or sudden lack there of with a twelve year old. How pathetic was that? "What did I do wrong?"