Chapter 14 - Tannen

I moaned as her muscles clenched around my cock, even as I continued pumping in and out of her. Her own moans of pleasure only excited my wolf even more, and I never wanted it to end. Her screams eventually subsided to soft pants as I continued to thrust inside her.

Eventually, I slowed, pulling out of her as my cock continued to throb. I needed more of her, to savor this, and based on the expression she was giving me, she knew exactly what I was thinking.

"You like that?" I asked,

"Mhm." She gave a coy smile that made my wolf growl in need and drive me wild. "I guess I should repay the favor," she said, shifting us so she crouched on top of me, straddling my legs.

Crouching in front of me, her fingers wrapped around my shaft and began stroking up and down. I groaned. For someone who hadn't had any experience before me, she was a natural. She continued pumping, looking up at me as she did.

She slowed, then hesitated, color flooding her cheeks for the briefest of moments as if she was nervous. Then her tongue ran up and down my cock, wiping off her juices. She moved slowly at first, then more eagerly as she moaned. Her free hand slipped between her thighs, and I knew she was playing with herself, the sight driving me even crazier as her mouth wrapped around my cock.

Fuck. I'd imagined what her lips would feel like sucking my dick. It was so much better than I pictured.

She moaned, the sound thrumming against my cock, making it even harder as I began to ache. Her mouth stayed on my dick even as she rocked back and forth, and I could tell she was already getting close again. Just knowing that was enough to push me to the edge. Her breath grew ragged, her hips bucking, and I watched as she orgasmed a second time, not missing a thrust.

That was enough to undo me. I groaned, coming inside her mouth, pleasure and relief consuming me as my cock kept spasming. Her mouth slid off my cock, and I watched as she swallowed before licking her lips.

"Fuck," I muttered. I raised an eyebrow. "For someone who doesn't have much experience, you're a natural."

She gave a wicked grin as she crawled back up so she was lying on top of me, her face inches from mine. "Good to hear," she said, her eyes sparkling. "Though, that's not saying I don't have a few things to learn. I just need a good teacher."

"Well then," I growled, hands tangling in her hair. "I'm more than happy to be of service. Think you're ready for your next lesson?"

She tapped her finger against her full lips in mock contemplation. "I think I can make some time," she said before bringing her lips to mine again.

A while later, after we finished for a second time, she rolled off me, chest heaving. She sighed in pleasure.

"You all right?" I asked.

"Mhm." She nuzzled against me, her eyes fluttering shut. "What's going to happen when this is over?" she asked after a minute.

I didn't need to guess what she was talking about. "No idea," I said. "I'm hoping that things will go back to normal, you know?"

She stiffened beneath my arm.

"What?" I asked.

"Back to normal, as in…"

I shrugged. "I mean normal. We're not tied to one another anymore, and we can do our own thing. That's what we both want, right?"

Thea didn't answer, just pushed away from me and sat up. I felt the absence of her warmth almost painfully.

"You just want to go back to sleeping around, then?" she asked, talking to the wall instead of me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, propping myself up and staring at her.

"That's what you mean by back to normal, isn't it?"

My brow furrowed. Honestly, I hadn't really thought about it one way or the other. I had mostly just wanted to get back to something less dangerous. I hadn't considered my sex life.

"I don't know," I said. "I don't know how I'm going to feel when it's gone. It's hard to tell what bits are from the bond and what parts are actually me, you know."

She hesitated, her cheeks coloring as she looked away. "So, us? You really think all of that was only because of the bond?"

"I wasn't lying when I said I was attracted to you," I said. "But neither of us knows how we're going to feel when the bond cuts out. We might not be able to stand each other. It's not worth thinking about right now."

"Yeah," she said. "Yeah. Of course."

"I thought that's what you wanted," I said. "We've both been talking about getting the bond broken and the marriage annulled. I figured you wanted things to go back to normal, too."

"I do. I did. Fuck." She groaned, putting her head in her hands. "God. Just forget this conversation ever happened."

"Hey, hey. It's all right." I ran my hand along her arm. "It's a valid question. But with the claiming bond, I don't think either of us is necessarily thinking straight right now. We won't know how we'll feel until after the bond is broken." I hesitated, trying to figure out how to say the next bit. "Without the bond, I'm guessing we'll want to go back to our own ways."

"Right." She shoved away from me, crawling out of bed. "I don't know what I was expecting. It's just, after everything you and I have been through, I thought it would be… you know, different."

Something clicked in my head. I came to stand in front of her, my hands going to her arms. She didn't lean toward me, but her shoulders slackened.

"If you want to give it a try, we can," I said. "I could maybe see it working out if we took it slow."

She gave a bitter laugh. "You'd never be happy with just one woman, Tannen," she said. "We both know that."

"Maybe I could be with the right woman."

The words were out before I could think better of them. Even more surprising, I realized I meant it. Thea hesitated, eyeing me with suspicion.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm trying to tell you that I'm willing to give it a shot," I said.

Thea backed away, shaking her head. "You said you were attracted to me beforehand. You could have given it a shot, then. Instead, the only reason any of this happened was because of the claiming bond. You wouldn't have acted on it without it. And you just said you expect us to go back to the way we were before this. None of this is real," she said. "You don't care about me. You never did. It's all just been the claiming bond this entire time."

"Thea, that's not true," I said. "Do you think I would have bought you from an auction if I didn't care about you?"

"You would have if you thought you were saving your own hide," she fired back.

My eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She gave another bitter laugh, shoving on her clothes as she spoke. "You didn't come find me out of the kindness of your heart. You tracked me down because you knew that if anyone found out what happened and that I'd run off because of you, Astrid or Rand would have come after you in a heartbeat. It was guilt. It wasn't because you cared."

I snarled, rubbing my face in frustration. "Why can't you just accept what I'm saying?"

"Because I remember who you were before all this," she spat. "The only reason you changed your mind was because of a claiming bond. The instant that's out of the way, you'll go back to thinking the same way you always did."

"Thea… that was ages ago." I stepped forward, hand reaching out. She stepped back.

"Let's just break this claim," she said. "So we don't have to deal with each other anymore."

"Thea, let's talk about this. We should break the claim to make sure our feelings are genuine, but that doesn't mean we can't—"

"No," she said. "I know what will happen. We'll sleep together, and then after a couple more times, you'll throw me away like you have all the other women. I'm not going to let you hurt me." She glowered at me, though her eyes began to water. "You've already gotten what you came for, so why don't you just go?"