Chapter 17

Seventeen

A warm and heavy arm rests over my hips as lips slowly coax me back to consciousness. I turn into him before I've opened my eyes and let Joshua play.

When he hikes my leg up over his hip and uses my openness to caress me, I finally let my eyes flutter open.

"What," he asks as he brings one of my hands to his lips and kisses my knuckles. "Can we do to make this a regular thing?"

"You'll have to come up with a schedule… equal division of labor." I hum as if considering. "Or maybe we can pretend we're all just horny teenagers and play spin the bottle every night."

All it takes is a little nudge and I get him on his back, straddling him.

His headboard is a master class in fine detail. "Did you make the bed?"

"I did."

"Is it sturdy?"

He looks up at it and his lips twist like he's never considered it before… "If you want to try to break it, I can always make another one."

"Next time." I only have to rock back and I slide right onto him. His earlier attentions left me wet and wanting.

I move on him, letting my rhythm hit all the right places, and he sweeps his hands over me, fingers gripping my hips.

"We're definitely not going to break it like this." But the way he says it, I know it's not a complaint.

Even still, I shush him, "There will be plenty of other opportunities."

I don't let him flip me over when he tries to gently change the course of this lovemaking. Instead, I let the roll of my hips and gravity do all the work.

The morning's sun slants through the windows, turned a hazy orange by the curtains that are half open.

He takes my hands and lets me take my fill.

When I come, it's in gentle waves of pleasure, and Joshua doesn't try to flip me on my back afterward, he only changes the pace a little, and I have to dig my nails into his chest as he drags a second one out of me before I collapse against him, clenching around him in spasms as he pours into me.

"That's the first time I think I've ever been able to describe an orgasm as ‘soft'."

He draws circles over my back, even as I slip to my side, sliding him from my body and silently mourning the loss. "We plan to give you every kind."

"We could stay in bed all day." I stretch against him, knowing I shouldn't tease him. "It's Saturday…"

"Sure, but the others would accuse me of hogging you." He turns me on my back and kisses a line down my sternum. "And who knows if you want something different for lunch, now that you've had me for breakfast."

"I thought it was the big bad wolf that does the eating, not the helpless woman in the woods."

"You're far from helpless. But I'm happy to eat you… any time you want."

He starts to slide down me and I grab his pillow, smacking him in the face with it. "Now you are trying to hog me!"

All it takes is a quick roll and I'm out of his bed. I run across the small gap and shut the bathroom door between us.

I hear him chuckle on the other side of the door. "Do what you need to do in there, but don't take long. When I make it to the kitchen, the countdown clock starts and if you run out, someone else is going to come after you."

It's tempting, but I pee and clean myself up as best as I can… My underwear will have to do the rest.

But when I slip back out, my underwear have miraculously disappeared. There isn't a single pair in my bag.

This time, there isn't one of Johnny's t-shirts waiting for me, but that's okay. I brought a robe with me, and it might not smell as good, but it certainly slides across my skin with a sweeter caress.

Pulling a small canvas bag from my purse, I follow the sounds of four men in various states of waking up.

I step into the kitchen, planning to confront whichever of them went through my clothes and confiscated my underwear, but Thomas is ready and waiting with a cup of tea and when I thank him, Chase has already started his question.

"Do you have any plans for today?" He looks at me hopefully and I think, once again, of the possibility of a Saturday spent in bed.

"The only thing I need to do is start my prep for the full moon, but that can wait until Monday."

They all shift uncomfortably.

"You're sure?" Thomas asks. "That we're not going to change?"

"Completely sure. But that doesn't mean that I have plans to spend the night with anyone but you."

They don't look sure, but there's nothing I'm going to be able to do to reassure them until they live through the thirtieth.

"After all, I should keep an eye on you. I'm not sure if any other part of your wolfy nature will linger. But your bodies will not change."

They don't love that answer, but they accept it.

"I have something for you." I hold up the bag and give it a little shake.

They eye the canvas with varying levels of suspicion and excitement.

"No one said we were exchanging gifts." Joshua catches me around the waist and drags me back to him.

"Not gifts. Essentials."

I reach into the bag and they all come out in a clump, but only Johnny's is actually a tangle, so I pluck Joshua's free first.

"A little protection from bad things that can't be physically fought." I set the others on the counter and take Joshua's wrist. "I know construction guys can get weird, so I braided it up like one of those tactical ones and used a rough stone so it won't catch the light."

"It's perfect." He presses a kiss to my temple.

"Amber isn't necessarily the most protective stone there is, but it'll be enough for the average, day to day things."

I kiss his wrist and wiggle from his grip when he's distracted. Chase is closest, so I pluck his from the pile and dangle it in front of him.

"I felt the need to make you an earring."

He takes it from me looking at the three stones twined in copper, "I love it." when he switches it out, he gives it a little shake.

"I tried to keep it as short as possible, so it wouldn't bug you." Kissing his neck, just below the dangling stones, I turn to Thomas next.

His tangled up with Johnny's pretty bad, but it comes apart with just a few twists and tugs.

"You get a necklace, because I thought it would be better for under your work clothes too. And I made it as flat as possible, so it'd be okay under your workout clothes." And I'd wanted each piece to be as different as the men who wore them.

I'd let my fingers guide me as I made them, and when I was done with Thomas' there was only one option.

"Sure you're not trying to collar me?"

"Can't collar a wolf." I hook the clasp and press a kiss to his collarbone.

But I give him a wicked smile, full of promises before I turn and let my full attention fall on Johnny.

"And you… You're too big, So I didn't know what would fit you." I hold up the long tangle of strings and shake them at him. "What will it be? Necklace or bracelet."

He holds out his wrist. "Necklaces always feel like they're choking me."

His stone is the largest and perfectly round. But inside that disk, there's a dark occlusion that reminded me of the wolf version of him.

Three thin strands of leather fall from the fasteners on either side, and I wrap them loosely around his wrist until I have him all tied up and can secure them in place.

As soon as I'm done, he pulls me against him, holding me close to straddle him. "What do you think we need protecting from?"

"I'm not the only spellcaster in this town… and you never know what spells you might trip over. These will keep you safe when I can't be around to do it for them."

"It would be nice if you were always around." Thomas plays with his stone, watching me.

"But I can't be split into four."

"And we wouldn't want you to be." Joshua says it like I'd actually suggested it.

"It would be messy." Johnny agrees.

"Don't take them off. If you do, or something happens and they fall off or break. Let me know and we'll fix or replace it."

"Do they do anything else fun?" Chase asks, flicking his earring so it swings wildly.

"If absolutely necessary, I could track you with them."

"That would come in handy if we're ever wolf-napped."

"Not going to happen." I kiss him. "No one's taking you away from me."

A phone rings in the distance and Joshua curses, heading for the back. And I hear Thomas and Chase murmur something before they, too, head back toward their rooms.

"Now that I have you all to myself," Johnny chuckles the words against my throat as he kisses a line down my skin. "I can have my dastardly way with you."

I shiver at the soft brush of lips and words. "And what do you plan to do to me?"

"I don't know if you've noticed," he says, the words brushing against my neck and ear, "but Joshua is sliding out of you."

I look down long enough to see he's right. "I guess you'll just have to push him back in, won't you?"

I open the front of his pants, and he slides them just far enough down his hips that his erection pops free.

He guides me down and even if Joshua technically prepared me for him, I still have to close my eyes and sigh at how much he fills me.

"That is why I'm always going to love you on top. Seeing your face."

"Is that why?" I laugh as I start to move on him. "I thought it was because I got to do all the work."

He shakes his head, weaving his hand into my hair and pulling me down to kiss him. "You control the pace… but we're more than happy to do our fair share."

And they definitely did.

His shirt bunches between us, scratching at my thighs… It's an unnecessary weight on my shoulders.

But when I snake my hand down between us and take hold of the hem to drag it over my head, Johnny catches my wrist.

He shakes his head. "Keep the shirt on, just in case."

I look at the back door, not needing clarification about what might happen.

And while it might be fun to give the old woman a heart attack, Mrs. Miller didn't need to get a good look at my breasts because she doesn't understand what trespassing is.

Johnny pulls my head down to his, kissing me thoroughly enough to take my mind off it.

But nothing can take my mind off the burning in my thighs. I'll have to build up more strength there if I plan to do this regularly…

The thought of every Saturday morning makes me groan.

I kiss him, possibly too roughly, and climb off, gritting my teeth as the cold air washes over me.

"Come here." I tug him up to standing and lead him to the island. It only takes a moment to clear away the few remaining things so I can bend over and hold myself open for him.

His hands go to my hips and he smoothes them up my side.

"God, you always make the prettiest picture."

The tiles of the kitchen island are freezing cold against my abdomen and I'm desperately glad I'm still wearing Johnny's shirt.

I spread myself wide for him. Because he likes to take his time, and I'm more than happy to entice him however I need to.

He eases into me slowly. "We want all your weekends, wicked girl." As his hips meet mine, the groan he makes is so deep, it feels like it's coming from within me. "Hell, if I didn't think it was too selfish, I'd ask for all of your days."

He stretches me so completely, I'd be worried… if I could think at all.

But there's nothing to say as he takes me in a his slowly building rhythm and I come apart again.

He comes apart with me, and when I open my eyes, I see the others watching us. But they don't ask to join in or take over. They seem happy enough as spectators.

I stay there for a while longer, cheek to cold counter top, and then Johnny pulls me up to standing, the move sliding me off of him.

He turns me, leaning me back against the cabinetry. "Go get cleaned up before one of them decides to take this as an invitation."

The hall bathroom seems safest.

I don't think any of them would hesitate to take me through round three for the day, and while I'd enjoy it… I know I'd pay for it later.

I clean myself up a little better this time, but I still don't know where any of my underwear are.

Before I can go interrogate anyone about it, that too familiar ringtone echoes through the house. But when I open the door, I don't have to go hunt down my purse.

Chase holds out my phone and I take it from him with a quick smile.

"Mother," I say, answering the phone and belting my robe.

"You're being summoned back."

It shouldn't be a surprise, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. "How bad is it?"

She doesn't tell me. She just says, "Your wolves are required too."