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Charlie’s POV Waking up to find Nathan missing from the bed was becoming a bit of a bad habit. After the way I found him last time, with Mallory wrapped up in his arms, I wasn’t sure I wanted to go looking for him again. But unfortunately, I couldn’t seem to sleep without him so I threw on my clothes and started the search. Once again, it didn’t take me long to locate him. He was in pretty much the same place I’d found him last time, only this time the situation couldn’t be more different. “Nathan! Are you okay? Where are you hurt?” He was covered in blood and I was tugging at his shirt, ready to strip him naked to find the source and stop the bleeding. “I’m fine, little lamb. It’s not my blood.” He assured me. Only once I knew he wasn’t hurt did the others standing with him come into focus. Another woman stood next to him, splattered head to toe in thick red blood. And a man the size of a house was practically plastered to her side, the blood from her body smeared down his
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” I cursed to myself and the four walls of my office. I’d come down here to hide from the fact that Charlie was still lying in bed. Completely naked. After showering together, we both agreed that particular cat was out of the bag. No need to hide what we’d already seen. And we both happened to prefer sleeping in the nude. The problem was, I couldn’t stop thinking about her luscious body. And my cock apparently had me on mute because all my attempts to talk him down were summarily ignored. Like I said, it was a problem. Which is how I found myself opening the Council summons claiming Darcy had conspired with Mallory and her mates to murder Quade. I set the summons aside. Even something that dire couldn’t divert my attention from the ache in my cock or the almost inescapable desire to rejoin my naked mate in our bed. I’d never felt such a soul-deep need to be one with another person before. Not even with Mallory. My mind automatically drifte
Charlie’s POV “Mmm, that feels amazing.” Nathan joined me in the shower and made washing my hair into a full blown spa experience. “I aim to please.” His fingers drifted from my scalp to massage my neck and shoulders. My head dropped back and I moaned as my muscles melted under his touch. Despite the mind-blowing orgasm I’d just had, his touch had my pussy throbbing all over again. Or maybe I was just still tingling from our earlier escapades. “Thank you, by the way.” I told him, thinking about that orgasm again. “For what, lamb?” He sounded distracted, too busy leaving kisses down the column of my neck. “For this morning. For giving me my first orgasm and treating me like my pleasure mattered to you.” I answered. “What?” He turned me to face him, peering down at me in concern. “You’ve never had an orgasm before today?” “It’s not like the men I’ve been with concerned themselves with whether or not I was enjoying myself, Nathan.” I flashed him a weak grin, my words hanging hea
Nathan’s POV None of this was fair to Charlie. She’d been dealt a shit hand her whole life and I certainly wasn’t making things easier for her. Since the day our mate bond snapped into place, I’d been taking way more than I was giving. I could understand why she was frustrated with me. I was putting her in an uncomfortable position and I couldn’t expect her to be happy about it. If our roles were reversed, if it were her ex who was coming to stay and she expected me to play nice with him, well there was no fucking way that would be happening. At the same time, I couldn’t turn my back on Mallory when she needed me and I couldn’t say no to her mates when they asked me for a favor. I’d buried myself too deep in this mess with Quade and my pack wasn’t strong enough to stand alone if shit hit the fan. Winter Woods needed Black Moon as an ally. What I could do, what I needed to do for both Charlie and my own sake, was face my feelings for Mallory once and for all. Building a future
Charlie’s POV Sex had never been a positive experience for me, but every time Nathan touched me, my body lit up like the fourth of July. Flames licking my skin and sparks flying everywhere our bodies connected. I craved his hands on me like my next breath, a soul-deep need that I couldn’t deny. Feeling the heavy weight of his muscular frame pinning me to the mattress should have terrified me, but the panic never came. Instead I felt anchored, safe from the storm swirling in my own mind. I felt cherished, protected, maybe even loved. “I need to feel you inside me, Alpha.” I whined then pressed the flat of my tongue to his beaded nipple. “And you will. But not before I’ve got you good and ready for me.” His voice was deep, gravelly, and so sexy it made my toes curl. “I’m already wet! So wet for you!” I argued. “Hmm. I think I need to judge that for myself.” I could feel the teasing grin in his voice. He crawled down my body, lifting my cami and leaving hot, open-mouthed kisse
Nathan’s POV Sliding my throbbing length inside Charlie’s tight pussy was the best experience of my life, hands down. We fit together like two puzzle pieces, meant to be locked together, connected for all eternity. And I’d never felt anything so amazing in my life. But despite a physical pleasure so intense, I felt like I might spontaneously combust, it was so much more than that. Watching Charlie shatter, fall apart in my arms then trust me to put her back together, that was the real ecstasy. I couldn’t wait to do it over and over again, a plan my little mate seemed to agree with. “Where are you going little lamb?” She was crawling down my chest, inching toward my cock, already at attention and ready for round two. “You promised.” She reminded me with a pout and a pointed look at my slick-coated cock. “Yes, I did.” I smirked at her needy whine. “Go on then. I’m all yours.” A huge smile spread across her face and my heart thudded heavily in my chest. I could live on that smile
Charlie’s POV Nathan wanted to mark me. Me. The girl from an enemy pack who had nothing to offer but some mind-mangling head trauma and a small side of half-truths I’d yet to reveal. It was almost unbelievable and way too good to be true. I told him I needed time to trust his feelings for me were real and that was partially true. A man like Nathan didn’t do anything he didn’t want to do, bond or not. But my battered heart still lurched to a halt at the thought he’d choose me when women like Mallory were his usual class, far above my own. But more than any of that, I couldn’t let him bite me without telling him my whole truth. Every last excruciating, despicable detail. I might have done a lot I wasn’t proud of in my life, but even I wasn’t disgusting enough to take Nathan’s future from him without him knowing exactly who he was bonding with. So while I genuinely was looking forward to all the ways he wanted to show me how much he wanted me, something I’d never once been in my
Nathan’s POV So much for that good night’s sleep I was hoping for the night before our court appearance. I thought a nice hot shower after working up a filthy sweat with my little lamb would put me right to sleep like it usually did. But instead, I was wide awake, watching her sleep and wondering how the hell she wormed her way under my skin so deep I'd give her anything she asked me for. Because the thing she asked me for was the last thing in the world I ever would have agreed to in my right mind. Apparently when it came to Charlie, sanity was a thing of the past. I still couldn’t believe I’d let her win our most recent argument. “I want to go with you to the hearing.” She’d mentioned one day over lunch. “No! Charlie, we’ve had this conversation before. It’s too dangerous. I can’t risk your safety by dragging you into the middle of our fight.” I lectured her in the sternest tone I could manage without an outright bark. “I know it’s dangerous! That's why I need to go. I’ll