Lydia Dare - Wolf Next Door

Finally, Will took pity on her as her head thrashed on the ground. He said, "Stop thinking. Just feel. I am inside you.

Come

for me, Priss."

Then she did. She cried out as pleasure exploded within her body. Every part of her quaked and trembled with the ecstasy of it. Then he tensed above her and simply looked down into her eyes. Prisca pushed her hair back from her throat and tugged his head down with a pull of the back of his neck. Will began to stroke within her again, the pleasure only intensified by the wild glint in his eyes.

"Take me," she cried, when the pleasure became so great she couldn't take any more.

Will's lips touched the sensitive skin at the base of her neck so softly she barely felt it. She thought once of protesting, but then he surged even harder inside her as he licked across the area. But out of all the times he'd pleasured her, she'd never reached the heights she did when he finally took her over the top, exploded within her, and grunted out the word, "Mine," just before his teeth pierced her tender flesh.

He rested atop her, his breaths heavy as he brushed her damp hair from her face and kissed her quickly. A smile unlike any she'd ever seen graced his lips. "Are you all right?"

She nodded quickly, too overcome with emotion even to voice her thoughts.

As though he could read her mind, he put a finger over her lips and said, "Don't even ask that question. I'll answer truthfully. It has never been that way for me before." Then he rolled to the side and drew her over to lie on his chest.

Prisca closed her eyes, content to let the world continue spinning around her, if only for a while. She'd never imagined such bliss was possible, and she knew it was decadent to allow herself to bask in it. Still, she couldn't help herself. For so long, she'd wanted him, loved him, and wished for the impossible.

Will's hand stroked her side, and she sighed. She'd lived within the midst of wolves forever and hadn't even known it. Now that she did, she'd not change a thing.

Thirty-Eight

"You bit me," Prisca said as she playfully smacked Will's chest. Morning light streamed through their window.

"Hmm," he agreed before capturing her hand in his and nipping at her palm.

Prisca giggled and jabbed him in the ribs. "You should have done it sooner. Years ago, in fact."

Will sat up in their bed to examine the mark he'd left on her neck the night before. Crescent shaped, like his mouth, it was a little red. He gently touched it with his finger. "Does it hurt?"

She cupped his jaw with her hands and shook her head, her violet eyes twinkling. "It hurt more when I thought you just didn't want me."

"No more secrets," he promised.

"No more secrets," she echoed before collapsing against his chest. Her ear pressed against his heart.

Will wrapped his arms around her, reveling in the rightness of the world. Prisca had always managed to calm the wild beast within him, but now that same peace seemed to encompass everything around them. The sun seemed brighter. The bed seemed softer. His love for Prisca was stronger, which he hadn't even known was possible.

Everything was the same, only better

. For once Ben was right about something.

"What do you suppose Blackmoor did with Lord Brimsworth?" she asked, breaking him from his reverie.

Will hadn't given the golden wolf another thought, not after Prisca had fully accepted him. He shook his head, now wondering the same thing. "I'm not sure. But, I'm certain Simon showed him more mercy than I would have. You don't ever have to worry about him again, Priss. You know that, don't you?"

She nodded against his chest. "I feel different, Will. I feel you inside me. That sounds strange, I know."

"I've marked you. You're mine, and he won't have the urge to seek you out again."

"Like a dog's territory?" she laughed. "How flattering."

With a playful slap to her bottom, Will kissed her brow. "Speaking of territory, how do you feel about Scotland? I have that manor in Dumfriesshire that Father left to me. We'd be closer to Ben and Elspeth."

She turned up her pert little nose at that. "I like Elspeth, but I could do without Caitrin Macleod."

Will couldn't help but chuckle.

"And she said the others in her coven throw fireballs and control the weather. I think that's a bit too dramatic for me."

"But the brothers Hawthorne are just the right amount of drama?"

She shrugged. "Oh, I know how to manage them, and I haven't even started on my five separate plans of vengeance."

"Heaven help them." He laughed.

She grinned. "Will?"

"Hmm."

"I'm starving."

***

Breakfast was always a casual affair after a moonful. The rest of the Lycans returned from the woods with their wives as the sun rose over the horizon. The women cast shy glances at one another. When she saw them in the breakfast room, Prisca felt the need, at first, to cover the wound on her shoulder. But, the more she thought about it, the less she wanted to hide it. She was quite proud to be Will's Lycan mate.

Will filled her plate for her at the sideboard in the breakfast room, and she settled down beside him, surprised to find she was ravenously hungry.

Will pushed her hair to the side so he could see the mark on her neck. He leaned over and kissed her cheek and then whispered, "The moonful makes me hungry, too."

"Well," Simon began after a sip of coffee, "you should know that Major Forster has sent the Earl of Brimsworth to Glasgow."

The old officer nodded. "I have a cousin there who I think can mentor the man better than I could."

Will growled under his breath.

"I know what you're thinking," Simon said. "But he has been dealt with. The major saw to that. And Brimsworth gave his word as a gentleman that he wouldn't return here."

"As a gentleman?" Prisca echoed. He seemed the furthest thing from that, the feral, golden wolf still fresh in her mind.

Will sighed beside her. "He gave his word?" At Simon's nod, he looked at Prisca. "His honor means everything to him. If he gave his word, we have nothing to worry about."

Well, if Will believed it, she trusted him. She smiled at her husband and then took a sip of tea.

When the butler entered the breakfast room, Elspeth asked him, "Have you seen Miss Macleod, Billings? Or is she sleepin' late this morning?"

The older man looked slightly uncomfortable. "She left for home a couple of hours ago, actually." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a note. "She did leave word for you, my lady."

Elspeth took the bit of foolscap and tore into it quickly. Her eyebrows arched and she shrugged as she said, "She says she forgot her father's birthday is approachin'. And she needed ta return home posthaste. She extends her thanks for allowin' her ta stay as long as ye did." She addressed the last to Simon and Lily. A frown marred Elspeth's pretty features.

Ben's hand reached to cover hers. "Do you think that's all it is?"

"I donna ken what she's thinking. Mr. Macleod's birthday is in April. I suppose April's approachin', but it's no' right around the corner."

"We'll send a note to make certain she's all right," Ben suggested.

Then they all shoved Miss Macleod's absence from their minds and concentrated on the meal. Finally, Simon pulled Lily to her feet and said, "We're going to catch a few hours of sleep. I suggest you all do the same." As he walked by Prisca, he touched his hand to the top of her head and said, "Welcome to the family, my dear."

Epilogue

Westfield Hall, Hampshire December 1817

Will tugged Prisca toward what he promised was a secluded parlor. She was surprised he'd managed to locate a place that was not occupied by one family member or another. Westfield Hall was nearly bursting at the seams.