Chapter 29: Hunter

Lottie's smell and taste are driving me insane. I know I said I wouldn't knot her, but that's all I can think about doing at this moment. Once I get inside her, it'll be damn near impossible not to, but I want the first time to be for our mate bond. It may sound ridiculous to some, but I've never knotted a female. Fucked, yes, but I never felt the overwhelming desire to thrust my knot inside her and lock us together.

It's not something reserved specifically for mate bonds; plenty of shifters knot when having sex. It's pleasurable, so why wouldn't they? I just never wanted to until now, until Lottie.

I take my time feasting on her, enjoying her squirms of pleasure and moans of ecstasy. When I sense her growing close to her peak, I slip a finger inside her and tease her clit with my tongue. Her breathing intensifies, and her thighs tighten around my ears.

"Oh, fuck Hunter. Yes, don't stop. Oh my god, more," she demands, and I give my Nightingale what she wants.

Curling my fingers inside her, I suck on her clit, and she comes apart around my tongue. Screaming out her orgasm as she convulses and quivers. I don't stop my thrusting fingers until the last tiny shockwaves of her orgasm subside to quit mews of bliss.

Her taste is heavenly, and the smell of her heady release has my knot thickening and aching for release inside her. My body senses my mate and wants to release my cum inside her. The feeling is so overwhelming and strong that there's no room for anything else in my mind and heart at the moment. I'm completely consumed with Lottie.

"Fuck. I was not expecting that," she mutters breathlessly.

Crawling up her body, I wedge my hips between her thighs and rub the length of my cock through her wetness.

"I'm not done with you yet."

Kissing her, I slip my tongue into her mouth, and she moans against me. Her talented hands sliding around my shoulders, her nails digging into my back. My hips thrust of their own accord. I growl at the feel of her heat against me. It's so fucking good it almost has me coming right then and there.

Lottie cants her hips matching my movement, shifting to line up her entrance with the head of my cock. She groans when it slips inside her. Her slick desire easing my entrance.

"More," she whispers in a needy but demanding tone.

"Fuck. Lottie, easy baby. Slow down. You're too tempting. All I want to do is rut into you, but I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't hurt me. I want it all, Hunter. I don't want slow."

Pushing infinitesimally more inside, I don't allow myself to thrust fully inside her yet.

"Are you sure? Once I get a full feel of you, I won't be able to hold back."

"Yes. I want you, Hunter. Do it, fuck me."

I don't hesitate; my battle with my desire to be gentle losing to my need to have her. Giving her what she wants, I thrust deeper. Impaling myself inside her tight pussy. Her back arches, and her walls tighten around my cock, squeezing me, pulling me deeper. Wanting more. With each fluid thrust, she takes more of my control with it.

Our breaths mingle as I hover over her, trying to retain my control and not thrust fully, seeding my knot inside her. I said I wouldn't, not yet. And at this moment, that's all I want to do. The beast inside me demanding it. It wouldn't solidify our bond, not without my bite and the full moon, but I want the first time she takes me, the first time I feel a female around my knot, to be our bonding.

She wriggles and rocks her hips, wanting more. Leaning back on my heels, I lift her hips to meet mine, watching where her body takes my cock. The sight is erotic and ignites the primal part of me that knows she's my mate.

Mine.

My thrusts become harder, faster, and erratic, pumping my cock into her until I reach my knot. Bumping it against her clit with every thrust in a way that makes her squirm and scream.

"That's it, little bird, scream for me. You like it when my knot rubs against your pretty pink clit don't you?"

"Uh huh," She nods and groans again when I press deep, stopping when all but my knot is inside her.

I press down and swivel my hips. The movement causes us both to moan in pleasure. My balls tighten at the sensations. The smells and sounds fill every one of my senses until all I know is her and us. The feel of her soft skin against mine, the smell of her desire mingling with my own, the sounds of her pleasure ringing out unhindered, and the taste of her still lingering on my tongue.

"Come for me my sweet Nightingale. Come on my cock and squeeze me inside you. I want to smell your cum on me."

Lottie grips the back of my thighs, digging her blunt nails in, pulling me closer. I thrust into her hard, and she whimpers.

"Again."

So I do it again.

"Again."

I pick up speed until all I can hear is the sound of our skin slapping together. My knot threatens to slip inside her, her wetness inviting me in.

"Fuck it feels so good. I love it when your knot pounds against me. Oh, shit, I'm gonna come. Don't stop."

My balls tighten in anticipation, her walls clenching down hard on my shaft as her orgasm rips through her. Her screaming moans and shaking body, an instant aphrodisiac, causing my own orgasm to shoot up my spine, tighten my balls and shoot down my cock buried deep inside Lottie.

I press so close it wouldn't take more than a slight movement to thrust my knot inside her, but I don't. My shaft stiffens, and I roar out my release. Pumping my cum inside her tight pussy.

"That's it, take my cum."

Holding tight to her hips, I rock inside her, milking out every last drop of pleasure.

It takes a minute before my dick stops twitching inside her from every little movement we make. I slip my cock out of her and fall to the bed at her side, pulling her naked body against mine and find comfort in holding her until my racing heart calms.

Lottie burrows her face into my chest and curls in. Wrapping my arms around her, my inner beast sighs in contentment. Our legs are tangled together, my grandmother's quilt crumpled beneath us. Needing to care for my mate, I'm unable to rest for long before standing and making my way to the bathroom.

Lottie makes a small, happy noise, nuzzling the blanket when I gently extricate myself from her. I return within moments, warm damp towel in hand to clean us both up. She lets me, and I tuck her under the blanket, joining her after depositing the towel in the hamper.

She easily finds a comfortable spot lying atop my chest and sighs blissfully. The sounds shoot straight to my heart and deeper. I never knew a person could burrow so deep inside my soul so quickly that my entire being wants to latch on to her and never let go.

Others have told stories of how it feels when you give in to the mate pull and connect with the other person on a level deeper than anything human could ever be. I just never expected to feel it for myself. Now that I have, I'll do everything in my power to keep her. Give her anything she asks of me and some that she doesn't.

My fingers move lazily over her bare shoulder and back, tracing the lines of her shoulder blades and spine, running up to play with the short strands of her hair. Her eyes are closed, and her breathing is deep and calm. I'm not sure if she's fallen asleep or not. When her hand begins to move on my chest in a similar pattern to mine on her back, I know she hasn't.

"How do you feel, my sweet Nightingale?" I whisper in a low voice.

"Well fucked and warm."

I chuckle and slip my hand down to squeeze her ass cheek. She giggles but remains languid on my chest, humming in pleasure as my grope turns into a caress.

"Ready for round two, or should I say three, already?"

"I am always ready for you, little bird. As many times as you want."

Lottie lifts her head and rests her chin on my chest, her ocean eyes glittering in the moonlight as she watches me.

"What's it like?"

"What's what like?"

She fiddles with my chest hair and gives me a playful scowl. "You know what I mean. Being a shifter. What's it like?"

I figured that's what she meant. She's so intrigued by non-humans and not at all afraid or freaked out. Wanting to know more, learn more. That's a good thing. If she were to react poorly to us, it would make all of this much more difficult.

"To me, it's normal. It's what I've always known. Having to hide it and deal with humans is time-consuming, and sometimes I wish it could go back to the way it was hundreds of years ago when we lived out in the open among each other."

Lottie is listening intently, tilting her head to the side. Her lips are kiss-swollen, and her hair is tangled, but she's never looked more beautiful to me.

"The shifting takes time to get used to. Bones breaking and rearranging and all that. It starts off painful but eventually lessens."

"And being a wolf? And your beast? Your true form. Does it feel different?"

"Sometimes. But it's part of me. Being in those forms can be freeing. There's less stress and worry about menial things like bills and work. Everything breaks down to a base level. Need, want, desire. I still have cognitive thinking and understand everything, but all I care about are things like running, hunting, eating . . . fucking."

Lottie laughs when I stroke down her backside and press my hips up, letting her feel my growing erection.

"I love your laugh. The sound of your voice is hypnotizing. Do you know that?" I ask, brushing the stray lock of golden hair back behind her ear that has fallen in her face.

She shrugs one shoulder as if shrugging off the compliment. "I've been told my voice is many things by many people. Not sure how much I believe anymore. It seemed like they were only saying it to butter me and get me to sing more songs to make more records and sales."

I stop her with a brush of my thumb across her lips, silencing her insecurities.

"I don't care what other people tell you. I'm not them. I don't care how many records you sell or how much money you have. Your voice is enchanting and beautiful, and if you were willing, I would listen to you sing, hum, or even grunt all day long."

The downturn to her lips eases and smooths out. Turning into a shy grin.

"Would you sing for me, my sweet Nightingale? Now that I'm in human form. Sing for me and not a stray wolf you didn't think could understand you?"

I try to coax the unease from her brow by smoothing my thumb over it and brushing along her cheekbone. After a moment's pause, she smiles and nods.

"Yeah. I'll sing for you."

Sitting up, the quilt falls away, revealing her tan skin and ample breasts tipped with hard, dusky pink nipples that divert my attention momentarily. Lottie stands from the bed, and I get a full view of her from every angle. My gaze lingers over every inch of her as she tip-toes over to her guitar perched on a stand in the corner. She grabs it and returns to the bed, sliding under the warmth of the covers next to me.

The blanket falls from around my waist, revealing my hardening cock as I prop myself up on an elbow and turn onto my side to watch her. She settles against the headboard and pillows, propping her guitar on her crossed legs.

"What would you like to hear?"

"Anything you're willing to sing."

Clearing her throat, Lottie adjusts the strings, confidently places her hand around the neck, and rests her arm on the base of the guitar, readying her fingers to play.

The majority of her nude body is shielded by the bulk of the guitar, but her nipples bob into view periodically as she moves and shifts to play. Seeing her bare before me in more ways than one has everything inside me sparking to life and paying attention.

The first few chords are unplanned and loose in their construction until she finds her stride, and a song emerges from her fingertips and then her lips.

The words are soft and smooth, flowing like cream over coffee. Rich and deep. I hear the words, but I don't process them with my mind. Instead, I feel their meaning, feel the emotions behind them—curious longing and tender affection. They're sincere and earnest, provoking the same emotions inside me through her song.

She bites her lip and looks up at me through her lashes when she's finished, bashful in a way that's so at odds with her personality.

"It's just something I've been working on. Something my mother and the studio didn't approve for my aesthetic ."

Pushing myself into a sitting position, I gently grab the guitar and set it at the foot of the bed, taking care because I know how much she loves it. Gripping Lottie by the waist, I pull her to straddle my lap and press my lips to hers in a kiss that conveys the way her song made me feel.

She melts against me, and I wrap us both in the quilt to keep her warm and in the circle of my arms.

"When you're with me, you can sing whatever you want. Whatever pops into that beautifully talented head of yours. Because every word and note is you, and I want to experience all of you. Every happy pop song and corny love ballad. Every sad requiem and unhinged jam session. They are all you and I—"

I stop myself before admitting what I truly want to; that I love every part of her. Because admitting my affections are turning into love may scare her off, they almost scare me. But they can't because she's my mate, and I knew all along that it would lead to this. So, I tell her as much as possible without using the L word.

"I think you're amazing."

She smiles against my lips and wraps her arms around my shoulders, bringing our bodies flush and making me growl at the friction against my hardening cock.

"I think you're pretty amazing, too." She speaks the words so quietly directly into my lips before pressing a kiss to them. Then her expression shifts, and a devious little grin spreads across her lips. "I also think your knot is pretty amazing."

She emphasizes this with a roll of her hips pressing into my erection and swelling knot. And that's all it takes to ignite round three.