Broomstick Breakdown

Chapter Nine

The smell of cooking sausage and toast woke her. Sophia stretched and yawned to work the kinks out of her body. She couldn’t entirely blame the couch for her poor night’s sleep, the main reason stood shirtless and yummy looking in the kitchen. There should be a law against looking tastier than coffee in the morning, she thought grumpily as she dragged her ass to the bathroom. No amount of hair and teeth brushing would take care of the dark circles under her eyes, though.

When she came back out again, he smiled at her and immediately her nipples tightened into hard points and moisture creamed her panties. As she took a seat at the table, she tried to avoid looking at him. She was still annoyed at him for walking away from her last night, but even more annoyed at herself. She knew her control was crumbling fast. The list of reasons why she should continue to say no to what he offered paled in comparison to the delights her body-and heart-seemed to think she’d gain.

I need to get out of here. Unbelievably enough, he gave her the opening she needed.

“I’ve got to go into town this morning to grab a few things. I’d bring you with me but,” his eyes twinkled at her, “I don’t want you finding a broom and taking off on me.”

“You’re trusting me to stay alone?”

He shrugged. “Where are you going to go? I don’t get the impression you’re an experienced woodswoman, and only an idiot would go haring off in the wilderness.”

Sophia didn’t say a word. Actually, she couldn’t, because the hard kiss he gave her as he walked out the door left her head spinning. Pleasantly so, but the kiss acted as a reminder of why she needed to leave.

Aidan took off in his monster truck, and even before the sound of his engine disappeared, she was on the move. A quick search of the closet revealed a dust pan, but no broom, not even a mop.

Shoot. He’d probably hidden it. Sophia glared at the forest around the cabin. Here she was, surrounded by wood. However, the spell to imbue a broom with flight required a straight length with a bristly end. Crooked limbs made for erratic flights and lacked the bristles, which acted as fuel. Not to mention, not having that wider head at the back was like steering a boat without a rudder.

No problem, she still owned two perfectly good feet. She ignored his statement that civilization resided miles away. He could be lying-even if he didn’t seem the type. And as for danger in the forest, she was a witch. Surely she could handle some woodland critters. Besides, she couldn’t just sit around like a good prisoner. Escape at all cost. It’s what her coven would recommend, and what she needed to do, because she wouldn’t survive another night like the previous one. Heck, she probably wouldn’t last until dinner if he took off his shirt again.

So after tying a sweater around her waist and pulling out her most comfortable walking shoes from her bottomless purse, she set off on her jaunt through the big, scary woods. Her purse swung at her hip. Following the road would have probably made more sense, but she remembered the way it weaved, so logic dictated if she went in a straight line through the woods, she’d save time, not to mention avoid Aidan when he came back.

Sophia admittedly wasn’t much of a nature girl. Her idea of communing with Mother Earth usually consisted of visiting the fruits and vegetable section of the grocery store. But people went hiking all the time. Some even-ick!-enjoyed it. How hard could it be?

An hour or so later, sweating and grime-covered, not to mention scratched from slapping branches and brambles in her hair, she cursed aloud, “Stupid forest. Why couldn’t they have built a path through it?”

She said a few more choice items under her breath, most of them shockingly unladylike, but she shut up quickly when she heard the snapping of a branch, a noise that she extraordinarily enough hadn’t caused.

Sophia paused mid-step and listened. The annoying sounds of birds singing accompanied by the constant rustling of tree branches came to her ears. She chided herself for her fear. I’m not a little pig, and the only wolf I need to worry about has gone to town.

Instead of taking another step, she suddenly stopped, paralyzed with fright, for behind her came a low, rumbling growl.

Oh, shoot and double shoot. I’m going to get eaten.

Sophia debated whether to run, but then she reminded herself of something. I’m a witch. Like, hello, a stupid wild animal is no match for my magic. With more confidence than she felt, Sophia whirled around to face the beast stalking her as its next dinner.

Unlike Little Red Riding Hood, she didn’t trust the very large wolf that faced her with gleaming yellow eyes. It stood higher than a regular wolf would, its fur a mottled russet and brown with large teeth better-suited to a carnivorous dinosaur. She had a feeling the beast she faced was a shifter, but, to make sure, she tried to send a spell of paralysis. Even with the quickly chanted words and clapping hands completed correctly, the spell was to no avail. The wolf took a step forward.

Sophia swallowed and took a step back, while a drop of fear rolled down her spine to the waistband of her jeans. “Um, Aidan, is that you?” she questioned in a wavering voice. She already knew it wasn’t. Aidan’s wolf was much nicer-looking, with dark hair that glinted blue. But perhaps the mention of Aidan’s name would make the other shifter think twice about having her for lunch. Sophia took another step back, one the wolf mimicked. She held out her hands in an attempt to look benign, and she tried pleading with it. “Listen, I’m here with Aidan. He’s a wolf shifter just like you. Maybe you know him. Big, tall guy, drives a monster truck?” She ended her rushed speech on a hopeful, questioning note, but the mangy beast just growled and bared even more teeth.

Sophia would have wet her pants if her bladder hadn’t frozen tight in fear like the rest of her. Her voice worked just fine, though. When the wolf finally decided to make its move and leapt with a chilling snarl, she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Then she was too busy fighting for her life. Somehow, a necklace of puncture marks didn’t sound healthy.

Aidan, who furiously tracked the weaving and circling path of his none-too-bright-at-that-moment mate, heard her shriek of terror come from closer than he would have thought her. With no care for his clothing, he shifted, the cloth tearing in his urgency. His fur was still sprouting even as he leapt toward the terrifying sound of snarls.

He didn’t bother concealing his arrival, because speed was much more important than stealth. The scent of her fear came to him at the same moment that he caught sight of the perpetrator. Randy-pack beta and now a dead wolf walking.

Roaring in fury, Aidan charged and distracted the russet wolf that turned its head from its attempt to rip out Sophia’s throat. Without hesitation, Randy braced to meet his charge. Aidan’s momentum barreled him right into the other beast, and they tumbled into the underbrush. In a blood-frenzy-Aidan smelled Sophia’s injury-he snapped and tore at the other shifter. Caught in the grips of a mindless rage, he wanted to kill Randy, too furious to care of his status as second-in-command. A line had been crossed when he’d dared harm Sophia.

No one hurts my mate!

Sophia gingerly sat up, still alive if scratched up from the mangy wolf’s claws. And speaking of wolves, Aidan had arrived in the nick of time, the darkness of his fur and evident rage easy to recognize. She watched in terror as the two large beasts wrestled viciously a few paces from her. It never even occurred to her to make her escape while Aidan and the other wolf were locked in battle. She couldn’t leave him. What if he was hurt or if the other wolf prevailed and killed him? A racking shudder went through her at the thought. He can’t die. I won’t let him! But there was nothing she could do, only sit there feeling helpless as the violent fight with snapping teeth raged.

After what seemed like forever, the fight ended. Aidan’s beast held the other pinned by the throat. The wolf that’d attacked her whimpered in submission and Aidan released him with a slight shake. Trotting to her, Aidan turned his back to the cowed and defeated beast. Aidan’s wolf shape blurred. Her eyes widened in surprise and she blushed as he changed back into his man shape, naked as the day he was born. And damned if he wasn’t hot!

Unlike the first time she’d seen him nude in the woods, it was full daylight out and she got the full impact of his maleness. He definitely packed an erotic punch. From his broad chest, crisscrossed in more muscles than should be legal, down to a tapered waist and below that… Well, let’s just say he put most men to shame. Sophia couldn’t help the heat that suffused her body even amidst the turmoil. Screw logic, she wanted him like she’d never wanted a man before. And she had a feeling if she didn’t take what he offered, she’d never find that feeling with anyone else. He was her one chance at what romance books hinted at: the elusive one and only love of her life.

She must have stared at him too long, because right before her mesmerized eyes his dormant shaft lifted and grew in interesting ways. Her lips unconsciously parted, and she licked them.

Aidan growled and dropped to his knees, which hid his most interesting body part. “Show me your injuries.”

“It’s just scratches,” she said, looking into his face, which had creased with concern.

“It shouldn’t have happened at all,” he snapped.

Sophia dropped her head in chagrin, his rebuke stinging even if truthful. “I’m sorry. I should have listened and stayed in the cabin,” she mumbled.

A calloused finger tilted her chin up to meet his gaze. “While I agree you shouldn’t have left the safety of the cabin, it is also my fault for not informing the pack, and, even worse, leaving you alone at all. Although,” he said with a glare over his shoulder, “my pack brother should have known better than to attack without asking questions first. Especially considering you’re covered in my scent.” Aidan stood up and turned around.

As she looked around his legs, Sophia saw that the russet wolf had disappeared and in its place now hunched a man, also naked. He was not even close to being as interesting as Aidan.

“She’s a witch on pack land,” said the other.

“She’s my mate,” growled Aidan.

“Who doesn’t wear a mark. And if Jason has anything to say about it, she won’t. He won’t like this.” The other man seemed to gain confidence and stood, unashamed of his nakedness. He really should cover it, thought Sophia given his diminutive size.

Sophia smothered a giggle. This was not a laughing matter, but the whole thing seemed incongruous.

“I was planning to speak to Jason today or tomorrow. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep this to yourself. Don’t make me regret letting you live. This is the only warning you’ll get. Come near Sophia again and I will kill you.”

With a snarl, the other man shifted back to his wolf shape and bounded off through the woods. The danger gone, Sophia stood and placed a hand on Aidan’s bare back.

He didn’t turn to face her, just muttered a terse “Follow me.”

Sophia would have argued with his command, but the view of his naked buttocks as he stalked back in the direction, she assumed, of the cabin robbed her of speech, although it did create vividly erotic scenarios in her mind. Her lust, barely in check since she met him, simmered to life, and she was done fighting it. Running away wouldn’t make her feelings for him disappear. Am I nuts? Probably, but face it, what I feel for him is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. How stupid would I be to throw it away?

As if her acceptance of her fate unlocked a dam, pure arousal flooded her. Her breathing came short and not because of the exertion of the walk either. A blazing heat consumed her, and she wanted to tear off her clothes and let the fresh air of the forest cool her down. Or even better have Aidan lick…

“Would you stop that?” he said in a strained voice. He turned to face her, and she realized he found himself in the same aroused state. Sophia took a step toward him, then another. Screw it, she threw herself at him and tilted her face up to seek his lips. His arms came around her tightly and lifted her, which helped her find them. She proceeded to devour him hungrily.

He, however, was stupidly trying to protest. “Your scratches need tending.”

She sucked his lower lip and muttered, “I’m fine.”

“This isn’t the place…”

“Oh, shut up and make love to me already,” she said impatiently.

But the idiot still hesitated and, untangling her arms from around his neck, he set her back. “I might not be able to control myself. I don’t want to do anything you’ll regret. I can wait.”

“Well, I can’t.” She sighed when she saw he wouldn’t budge. Funny thing, now that she’d made up her mind, she wanted him to claim her. Now. She wanted to belong to him forever. She rolled her eyes. “You’re going to make me say it out loud, aren’t you?”

He crossed his arms over his chest, and Sophia almost melted into a puddle. The man owned way too many muscles.

“Fine. I want to be with you. Are you happy? When I thought you might die back there protecting me, it made me realize I’d probably never find another man who makes me feel the way you do. I’m tired of fighting my own body and heart. Screw what the coven says. I want you. So, bite me, love me, do what you have to. But, please, Aidan, make me yours.”

Aidan couldn’t believe his ears. The words he’d thought to never hear had suddenly spilled from her lips. But still he hesitated. “Don’t say it unless you mean it. Once done, we will be bound together forever.”

“Do you intend to lock me up and prevent me from continuing my studies as a witch?”

“What? Of course not,” he replied indignantly.

With a seductive smile, she closed the space between them and peered up with eyes gone smoky with desire. “Then, in that case, claim me.”

A man-and wolf-only had so much willpower. He wouldn’t fight her, especially not since he’d wanted this from the first moment he’d met her. He only wished she’d chosen a more comfortable location, but waiting was no longer an option.

He melded his lips to hers in a searing kiss. She melted in his arms, and he hugged her close to him, her plush frame fitting so perfectly against him. Only one thing marred the occasion-she still wore clothes. Not for long. Impatient and too clumsy to undo the buttons to her blouse and jeans, he simply tore them from her. She gasped, but not in fear. Nay, his naughty witch with heavy lidded eyes cried out in pleasure.

“Take me,” she panted.

Aidan wanted to take things slowly. He wanted to explore every inch of her luscious body. Lick the cream he could smell. Suckle her nipples into hard little berries.

But the moment his fingers touched the slick folds of her sex and flicked across her swollen nubbin, he lost control. And she reveled in it. He turned her around to face a tree and bent her over part-way. Through a growl he said, “Brace yourself.”

Her slender fingers splayed against the bark while her bottom lifted toward him temptingly. His cock jumped and throbbed, eager to plow her channel, but he retained enough control to know his size needed to be coaxed in. By gripping his rigid shaft in one hand, he was able to guide it between her buttocks and rub it against her cleft, which wet his bulbous head with her sweet juices.

She mewled and wiggled her bottom at him. “Please, Aidan.”

He pushed himself between her moist lips, the heat of her core making him throw his head back in pleasure while his canines descended in anticipation. Inch by inch, he eased into her, the tight walls of her sex squeezing him. She keened and trembled at his slow penetration. Finally, he found himself fully seated inside of her, blissfully slow, but he had to pause. The exquisite feel of her all around him, along with her scent and cries, threatened to make him lose control. But he needed her to climax, for only in the moment of her orgasm would he mark her. He pumped her, and the satisfying sound of slapping flesh was punctuated with her moans of pleasure.

He leaned forward along the curve of her back, her buttocks fitting nicely in his groin. He nuzzled her back, careful to not hurt her with his wolf fangs. As he tasted her soft skin, working his way up to her neck, he groped forward with hands and found her breasts hanging heavily. He cupped them, then rolled her nipples between his fingers.

She cried out, and her channel quivered around him. The trembling waves that rippled through her body made him suck in a breath.

“I’m sorry I can’t make this last longer,” he gasped. “I want you too bad.”

She replied by pushing her bottom back into him, sheathing him deep while clamping down on his cock. Aidan gave up the fight. He’d make it up to her later.

Wrapping one arm around her waist, he set the pace, increasing his speed as he pistoned his shaft in and out of her. With his other hand, he pulled her partially up from her bent-over position. His lips touched the vulnerable skin of her nape, as his instinct to bite her, mark her, became overwhelming. Tighter and tighter, her channel squeezed him, brought him to the brink, and when she came, screaming and convulsing in shockwaves around his cock, he bit down and tasted her lifeblood.

Ahh, sweetheart, finally you’re mine, forever.

Sophia, lost in the throes of passion, didn’t feel any pain when he finally marked her. On the contrary, when his teeth penetrated, she rolled right into a second orgasm, even more intense than the first. The pleasure consumed her wholly. So much so, she stopped breathing for a moment and her body shattered blissfully into thousands of pieces. Her orgasm was incredible, and it wouldn’t stop, instead it increased when finally with a cry that closely resembled a howl Aidan spent himself inside her, the hot wetness of his seed filling her over and over as her sex spasmed around his cock, wringing every last drop of pleasure from him.

Even more fascinating, she felt the moment their souls touched and melted partially together. Through this intimate link, she could feel Aidan and how much her cherished her, loved her. The depths of his emotions awed her, and she swore to herself she’d be worthy of him.

She might have blacked out for a second, the intensity of the moment too much for her. The next thing she knew, she found herself cradled in Aidan’s naked lap. He used his lips to brush the top of her head, and his arms hugged her tight.

“Are you okay?” he whispered anxiously against her ear through a curtain of hair.

“Of course not,” she replied mischievously. His body stiffened. “I’m still horny. You didn’t think one time was going to cure it, did you?” Under her cheek his chest rumbled with laughter, and she smiled, too, before kissing the hollow of his throat.

“I do have a question, though. Why is it I can read your thoughts? Or at least I assume I can. That or I’m going crazy.”

“A true mating benefit. We’re joined spiritually as well as physically now.”

“What’s that mean?”

“We can read some of each other’s thoughts and feel strong emotions.”

“Really? Can you read what I’m thinking now?” Sophia imagined him licking his way down her body.

His chest shook with laughter again. “You are one naughty witch. I think that sounds like a plan, but what do you say we adjourn to a more comfortable location first?”

“Mmm, you know what I’d really like is a shower. With you in it.”

The words barely left her mouth when he stood and began jogging through the woods, carrying her like she weighed no more than a feather. The unconscious display of his strength stirred her passion, and she twined her arms around his neck before she kissed her way along his jaw.

“Sophia,” he pled.

“Yes?” she said, not pausing in her light caresses.

“I’d like to make it to a bed before I fuck you again, but, damn it, if you don’t stop it, I’m going to take you like a rutting animal again.”

“But I liked it,” she replied, giggling when he added a burst of speed.

Quicker than she would have believed possible, considering how long she’d wandered around lost, they made it to the cabin.

He let her slide down his body. Both naked, their skin melded together. Her breasts squashed against his chest, but she didn’t care. He kissed her like a starving man, sucking her lower lip before delving into her mouth with his tongue. Their tongues danced together for a while, but an insistent prodding against her lower belly kept distracting her. Pulling back, she reached down to grab him, then wrapped her hand firmly around his thick shaft. Like silk-covered steel, his cock fascinated her, and she wanted to explore its length. But knowing where it had been, she needed to bathe it first. Pulling him as if his dick were a leash, she led him into his bathroom, where he’d rigged a shower stall.

She wasn’t sure how he got water to the cabin. Maybe he had a well. She didn’t really care. All that mattered was that when she turned on the faucet, warm water poured out.

There was something about standing in a shower naked with someone that was strangely intimate. Sure, they’d had sex out in the woods. He’d seen her naked, and she’d seen him naked, but in the confined space of the bathtub with the shower curtain drawn, it became more intimate. Not to mention steamy.

Under the hot spray, their mouths found each other, and a frenzy of kissing ensued. It involved a lot of tongue and stroking of bodies. Even with their recent bout in the woods, his cock still poked at her readily and she gripped him in a wet palm, sliding her hand back and forth, enjoying the hard, thick feel of him. Even naughtier, she wanted to taste him.

She soaped his body quickly. Through their bond she could feel his amusement at her eagerness, but even more exciting, she could sense his arousal. When she had him clean to her satisfaction, a gesture he’d reciprocated on her body, she positioned him under the spray, which blocked it from hitting her but kept the air hot and steamy. She dropped to her knees in the tub and put herself eye-to-eye with his shaft. As if to say hello, it jerked and a bead formed on the tip. Grasping him tightly around the base, she licked the salty droplet, a move that earned her a groan. Still lapping at him, she looked up and caught her breath. Aidan gazed down at her with smoky eyes. She could see the hunger on his face and, through their link, how much he loved, cherished, and wanted her. A heady sensation, but she had harder things in need of her attention right now.

Opening her mouth wide, she went to work, sliding her wet orifice down the length of his cock. She moaned around her mouthful when his fingers tangled in her wet hair, pulling at it deliciously, the pain heightening her burgeoning desire. She used one hand to hold his cock steady as she sucked and slurped away, the pleasure indicator easy to follow in how his fingers tightened in her hair and his breath came short or, even better, he let loose a groan.

But she wanted him wild, losing his mind like he’d done to her since the moment they’d met. Her free hand came up to fondle his heavy sac. She kneaded his balls, squeezing them, but it was when she stroked the soft skin right behind that she finally found what she was looking for. He jerked, and the muscles in his thighs tightened.

“Stop before you make me lose it,” he growled.

Her response? Suck harder and stroke with a firm finger the sensitive skin hidden by his sac. His hands tried to pull her away, halfheartedly, and still she suctioned him. She knew the moment of his release had arrived when his whole body went rigid and, with a moaning sigh, he said “Sophia.” The spurting warmth in her mouth made her swallow eagerly even as the throbbing in her pussy intensified; she knew her turn was next. She could read his intent thanks to their bond.

And she couldn’t wait.

There wasn’t a man-or shifter-alive who wouldn’t agree that getting a BJ was the best thing a girl could give you. Even better when she swallowed. But with his pleasure sated, Aidan needed to step up to the plate. He could clearly smell and sense his mate’s desire. The scent was delicious, and it made him hungry. The shower, however, wasn’t a great place for the type of pleasure he wanted to give her.

He turned off the water and wrapped a fluffy towel around her, then carried her back to his bed. He tossed her onto the mattress, and she bounced, which caused the towel to fall away and revealed her perfect body-perfect for him at least.

Heavy breasts with large puckered nipples, an indented waist, flaring hips, and a rounded tummy he wanted to bury his face in. Her creamy round thighs were closed, but he could imagine the pink treasure hidden between them. He’d shortly become well acquainted with that delight.

First, though, he wanted to worship her breasts. They demanded attention, and he wouldn’t deny them. After crawling up onto the bed, he grabbed her ankles and pulled her legs apart. He loved her soft cry and heavy lidded eyes. He crawled up between her parted legs. As he did so, he tried not to look down. He had a different objective, but, what the hell, he was a man, and he had to look at her pussy. Unlike many modern women, while she kept her bush short, she didn’t shave it bald. The natural presence of hair was something he liked. Perhaps it was because of his wolf side or maybe he just liked his pussy old-style. Whatever the case, he thanked his stars as he ran a finger through her curls to the silken slit of her mound.

She shuddered, and wetness coated his finger. She was so ready for him. He hated to torture her, but he wanted to make up for their quickie in the woods, show her the heights he could take her to as her man, her mate.

He moved forward ‘til the crown of his cock just barely touched her nether lips. She sighed and wiggled her hips, but he stayed just out of reach, only teasing her with light touches. Before she could protest-he could see her brow creasing in frustration-he latched onto one of her nipples and almost accidentally sheathed her when she bucked hard under him.

Her hands came up and grabbed his shoulders, her nails digging in as he sucked and bit at her sensitive peak. She kept bucking under him like a spirited filly, and his recently sated desire came roaring back. How could it not when she moaned so sweetly and her scent filled the air like the most erotic of perfumes?

As he pushed her mounds together, he lavished attention on her turgid points, drawing her nipples out with hard sucks that made her thrash.

Only when she mewled his name with a drawn-out please did he stop the torture. He slid his lips down the rounded and soft skin of her tummy. As if she sensed his objective-she probably could read it through their link-she drew her legs up and wide, exposing herself to him in a way that made his breath catch.

He’d hoped for a lot of things in his mate. A passion to match his own, however, was better than a dream come true. He rubbed his way down over the curve of her belly and nuzzled her soft curls. She twitched and writhed at his touch, her impatience and desire begging for release. He took his time, first tickling with the tip of his tongue the soft skin of her inner thigh. It was only when he transferred his butterfly caresses to the other side that she begged.

“Aidan, please.”

He covered her sex with his mouth, and she almost knocked him off her body, she bucked so hard. Chuckling at her passionate response, he wrapped his arms around her thighs and locked her down before opening wide to taste her again.

Anchored and unable to thrash, she keened at his touch and he lost himself in the pleasure of tasting her. Her channel was thick with her cream, and he stabbed his tongue deep, lapping at her inner core. When he switched tactics and suddenly latched onto her swollen, sensitive clit, she came hard almost instantly. Her scream rang out in the room like the sweetest of music and he flicked at her nub faster. He loosened one hand from where he held her down to delve between her silken folds. Two fingers he plunged into her sex, catching the rippling waves of her orgasm. The clutching wetness of her channel affected him greatly.

In torturing her, he tortured himself, and he couldn’t take any more. He slid up her body and caught her lips with his as he sheathed himself in one stroke. She fit around him like a tight, moist glove and he angled himself to plunge deeper, seeking her g-spot. He knew he’d found it when her fingers scrabbled at his back, pulling him closer and scratching him in her frenzy.

“That’s it, sweetheart,” he murmured against her mouth. “Come for me again.”

He kept up his pounding pace, and, in short order, she cried out, her pussy squeezing and milking him into orgasm. One last mighty heave and he went rigid, his hot seed spurting inside her.

He had enough presence of mind not to collapse on her and somehow managed to roll without breaking their intimate connection. She snuggled, drowsily on his chest, splayed over him decadently.

His arms tightened around her when he heard not aloud but through their connection the words I love you, Aidan.