6. Charlie

6

Charlie

My body aches, I’m so unprepared for this moment. I heard the lock slide into place earlier, and the sound echoed through my body straight to my core. I bit my lip hard to hide the whine of need and heat. I’ve never kissed a man before. I’ve never touched one. Standing here with Jackson, I know he’s already ruined my chances with any other man. My body is on fire, a burn I’m not used to. His warm mouth against my skin has me biting back a moan as I press my legs closer together. I’m close to naked, standing in front of a window, and the cold from the glass makes me shiver.

He notices and pulls me into his body. “Here, little wolf.” He draws us towards the bed.

I don’t know if I should tell him I’ve never done this. Maybe he already knows. I mean, I was up for auction as a Virgin, and that status hasn’t changed. Though I feel uneasy being so inexperienced compared to him, this Adonis, a thirty-year-old military man who probably has women crawling to him, thought the has a flare of green envy flaring inside of me.

“Jackson, I—” I want to kiss him again. I could drown in the feeling of his mouth. It was the first time the pain and sadness didn’t feel like they were pulling me under. For the first time, I felt like someone had thrown me a life jacket in the sea of sorrow I find myself drowning in daily.

“I should leave” are the words that slip free, and I cringe. That’s the last thing I wanted, but my brain and body are somehow confused.

“Not so fast, little wolf. We are mates. You’ll stay here. Or I’ll go where you are.” He looks around his room as if he will receive some grand revelation. I do the same, sweeping my gaze through his room of all dark wood; most of the furniture is still covered in sheets like some Victorian home that hasn’t been lived in for centuries. It doesn’t feel like his.

Breaking my perusal, he asks, “Where do you live?”

“Above the bakery, where I work.”

“Lola’s bakery?”

“The very one.”

He nods. His large hand wraps around mine as we sit on his bed.

“Jackson, Alpha, you should know?—”

“Don’t call me Alpha unless you want to.”

I nod. He pulls me down to lie with him—the ache in my body pulses again. I need him to touch me everywhere. His simple touch seems to calm all the pain I carry.

“Touch me?” The words slip out before I can think better of it.

“That I can do,” he says confidently as his large hands wander down my body. I can’t help myself as my mouth slides to his neck below his beard. My tongue tastes the pine and musk that is all him. My large incisors drop down, and I know it’s too soon, but I want this. I want him. My claws poke into his broad chest.

He grabs my wrists, pulling them away from his tanned skin, and moves me so I’m straddling his hips. He slowly lets my hands slide down his stomach, and my fingers dip into the crevices between each muscle. His body is rigid and massive. Even straddling his waist feels like a stretch for my legs.

My eyes flick up to his. The dark blue is almost black with his desire for me; he looks like he’s on the brink of losing control. The power I feel like I hold right now is heady as I allow my hands to slide over his hard body.

He drags one of his up my stomach and cups my breast, and the other travels up to my neck, possessively wrapping around it and pulling my mouth back to his while pinching my nipple, and I moan into his mouth.My core pulses, and I allow my hips to rub over his hard cock.

“I need to be inside of you, mate. Tell me what you need. My control is hanging by a thread.” Jackson’s words send a new wave of pulsing heat through my body. I push down onto his large cock.

I purr at his words and kiss him again, eliciting a moan from both of us. “I need you to touch me everywhere—” make me forget everything, are the words I leave unsaid. Right now, I think he has the power to make me forget my name, and I would welcome that reprieve, if only for a moment.

His hand easily unclips my bra, and he lifts me off his body. “These off now,” his voice is a menacing growl as he points to my cotton panties. That may as well be ash. They are so wet.

Without hesitation, I follow his command. He undoes his belt and slides his pants down.

Then, his hand pumps his thick cock twice.

I suck my bottom lip into my mouth, nerves skitter through my body at the sheer size of his— ‘are they all that big?’ Holly and I have talked a lot of girl talk but never about size. Will it fit? Should I consult a doctor? My feet take a tentative step back as I consider the ramifications of that thing inside me.

“Come here,” he says through a clenched jaw.

My head snaps, “Jackson, you know I’m...”

His eyes soften, “Say my name again.”

“Jackson,” I whisper as he reaches out and pulls me back on top of him. The heat in his eyes is a warmth I welcome.

My core now resting on his pulsing cock, I slide along his length, lost in the feeling of it. The head of his cock slowly starts to work inside me, and I tense. My inner hussy forgot that we were going to be impaled by that—that weapon.

“Charlie, talk to me.”

“I’ve never done this…”

His body stills, and he looks me in the eyes. “I’ve never mated either. This is new to me, too,” his tone is sympathetic and reassuring, a complete contrast from his alpha voice.

“I need to be inside you now, though,” Jackson growls as if he is holding himself back from taking me in one swift motion. The feel of his finger pressing into my hips is going to leave bruises.

The desperation in his voice—for me—has me pushing aside the last little bit of hesitation.

I want his mark.

I want his claim.

I want all of this, man. Breathing deeply, I try to relax as he slips deeper inside of me.

His hands pulsing into my skin with each slight movement down. His jaw is rigid as I slide down a little more. A small sound escapes me, and his sharp gaze latches in on my mouth.

My eyes pinch in pain. This feels like too much and not enough; a thrumming chant in my mind says claim him . My body tightens around his cock as I slip a little further down. I bite my lip to try to hold back the whine that is building in my throat. ‘Is this supposed to hurt so much?’ My wolf says nothing.

“Charlie, look at me.” His voice is gentler now, a whisper.

Tears build in my lashes as I try to slide down a little more.

“Mate, look at me.” His hands push me back up off his length. I whimper for an entirely different reason.

I shake my head. Gah. Maybe I’m just as broken physically as I am emotionally; the thought sends my head spiraling. I choke on the sob that I can’t even manage to have sex without being a complete failure.

“Fucking Christ, Charlie, tell me what’s wrong?—”

His words are sharp and laced with frustration, breaking my heart a little more.

“Jackson, it hurts,” I mumble out.

His fingers softly trace circles on my hips as I watch the movement. “Are you a virgin?”He asks.

I nod once.

“Charlie, oh mate,” he kisses my hand and tips my chin up slowly. “Okay. That’s okay, you’re okay with me. I’ll take care of you. You’re safe.”

The tears that were building in my lashes spill over. My entire body shivers from his gentle words. He is so delicate, and I don’t know how to react. This is so embarrassing and shameful that I can’t even manage to get a mating right.

I try to slip off of him, but instead, he slides me so my body is lying next to his on the bed. “Charlie, there is nothing wrong with being a virgin.”

His soft voice matches his hands as they slowly slide down my body, pulling another sound from me. His hand disappears between my legs as he finds the sensitive spot at the top of my core.

My legs automatically spread wider for him, “That’s it, little mate, don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.” His breath is warm in my ear as he softly nips the tender flesh. The heat of his mouth and the feeling of his hand between my legs ebbs away at the shame that flooded my body minutes ago.

His large finger presses into me. “Oh! You’re so wet for me,” he slides his finger in and out slowly, and I rock with the movement.

“More?” I ask. I don’t even know what I want more of, but it doesn’t feel like enough.

Jackson’s mouth moves to my nipple as I feel a stretch at my center, and he pushes two large fingers into me. I claw at the bed at the intrusion, paired with his warm mouth flicking and sucking on my sensitive nipple.

“You see how easily you’ll take me, your pussy squeezing my fingers so tight.”

I pant under his quickened pace, and then he’s gone. The growl is unrestrained as my eyes peek up at him.

“The first time you come for me, it’s on my cock while I fill you, locked together with my knot.”

His words are followed by his body spreading my legs wider and the thick head of his cock lodging into my entrance.

“Eyes on me, Charlie.”

Locking in on his dark blue eyes filled with heat, I suck in a sharp breath at how badly I want this.

“Now, tell me if it’s too much, I’m holding myself back from fucking you hard. I don’t want to hurt you, but I also need to be so deep inside of you that you forget who you are.” His words are a deep growl. An oath that has me nodding with nerves.

“Words.” He growls.

“Yes, Jackson, I understand, please…”I’m begging now.

His smirk is cocky but sends a flare of heat through my body, “I won’t deny you.” He slowly pushes into me, and it’s too much and not enough. I squirm slightly at the intrusion.

My fingers dig into his hips, wanting to pull him in and push him out all at the same time. “Jackson,” I whine.

“Relax, little mate. I’ve got you.”

His large hands sweep the hair from my face as his hips slowly start to press into me so gently that I barely notice the movement. The feeling of pain gradually morphs into pleasure. My body starts to loosen under his ministrations. The nails or claws I had dug into his hips recede. I press up into his hips and let the sensation of his slow movements destroy me. That is all this is, a painful, blissful death.

“Don’t worry, mate,” he kisses my forehead. “I’m honored to be the only one who will ever touch you.” His possessive words are followed by a full, hard thrust, causing me to call out his name.

He thrusts into me again, his hands dragging down and gripping my ass. I moan at the feeling of his fingers kneading me.

Then his large hands cup my breasts and begin to pinch and tease at my nipples. My core tightens, and he takes a nipple in his mouth while continuing to thrust deeper into my center. I let out a low moan. His name echoes through the room.

“Jackson.”

“That’s right, mate, come for me.” He takes the other nipple in his mouth, and then his hand slides between my legs and rubs slow circles.

“Oh god,” I yell as my body pulses around his, my incisors slide down, and I bite him right at the base of his neck while he loses all rhythm and viciously pounds into me. ‘ Claim him,’ are the words echoing in my mind.

“That’s a good girl, fucking own me, Charlie.”

My wolf growls her possession as the room fills with a gold, fiery glow. My teeth release him. I lick the soft flesh, taking in my mark. A strong sense of possession pulls at me.

‘Mine,’ my wolf growls.

He is mine. The thought settles a feeling deep in my gut.

“My turn, little mate,” Jackson growls. His hands have pulled my wrists above my head as he memorizes everything that sets me off. His pulses are slow as his hands explore, teasing me. His eyes are fiery blue nearly black as his mouth follows a line down the column of my neck.

I lick my lips and taste him again. Taste his power and my claim, and my eyes roll to the back of my head as he drives into me faster, his knot nudging at my entrance.

His eyes shift to a beautiful golden-red hue as his teeth drop. My body is poised. I tilt my head to the side, submitting to him completely. I want to be owned by this man .

His movements become more erratic as he says, “Mate.” Then he bites down.

Ecstasy washes through my body and floods the room. As our mate bond is sealed, linking us for time and eternity. No. It’s more than that; my soul is seeking refuge in his. I can feel our wolves connecting; the power of his dominant wolf pushes through the bond, filling me with strength. I revel in his power. The sun could never shine another day, and the light pulsing from my chest from this bond will forever keep me warm.

My hands sweep up to his hair, and I push it back as he pulls his mouth to mine. “Mate,” he growls. Tears of happiness fill my eyes. My fingers drag through the thickness of his deep brown hair as I sweep it back, holding him close.

I pull his head to mine and whisper, “Mate.” Then I kiss him with everything I have and everything I know he can destroy me with.

We stayed locked together for a while, and I tried to keep my mind from wandering, but it was useless. The broken portion of my brain knows that this bond, this budding love, is going to break the last bit of me. I know loving Jackson will be my undoing.

“Little Mate? Where did you go just now?” Jacksons voice is soft as he gently sweeps my hair behind my ear.

I swallow past the lump of embarrassment and try to explain to him what’s going on. “Jackson, part of being in my old pack was being submissive.”

“Which you are not,” he adds quickly.

“But it was also to keep us controlled. I was only taught that a man has needs, and I’m supposed to allow him to satisfy his needs.”

Jackson takes my mouth in his, “Not anymore, mate; we will explore your pleasures—our pleasures—as our bond grows. You’re no one’s submissive unless you want to be.” He pauses and kisses my nose tenderly, “I think you would’ve been a shit submissive anyways.”

My mouth falls open, “The audacity. Why would you say that you don’t even know me.”

“Charlie, your wolf threatened me—the Alpha—the first time she met me. She’s not a submissive.” His hands slide to my ear, sweeping away loose strands of hair. “She is going to be the perfect Luna, though.”

I purr. My eyes go wide again. “Oh my god,” I cover my mouth.

Jackson’s laugh is full, and his voice fills my head.

‘ I like your purrs, little wolf, and I think my little wolf likes me now, too.’

I roll my eyes, then realize he didn’t say that out loud. “We are linked?” I ask.

“Yes, Charlie, it’s a perk of mating; what else don’t you know?” His hand gently sweeps down my arm.

“I’m not sure,” I switch to speak into our mind link.

‘ I never really learned much about mate bonds, my —’ my words falter because it’s too soon to tell him about Ryan, and yet it almost felt natural to tell him about my brother.