Out of Smoke and Ashes Read online

He was shocked to feel the cuffs unlock.

  He didn’t move at first as she stood back. She shrugged her robe off and dropped it to the floor, revealing a body even he had to agree was beautiful, if not the ideal gender for his tastes.

  She picked up the glass of tea and held it out to him. “Sit up,” she quietly said.

  Slowly, he did, reaching out to take the glass after rubbing feeling back into his wrists and hands.

  She shook out three of the blue pills into his other hand. “Higher dose because you’re a wolf,” she said in that same, quiet voice.

  He nodded and took them, washing them down without complaint or reservation.

  “I have a deal for you, Marston. You can say yes or no. I still won’t kill you if you say no.” She met his gaze. “I promise.”

  Sensing her sincerity, he nodded.

  “You have a few axes to grind. So do I. I thought my brothers were the greatest. They raised me, protected me, gave me a great life. They were pissed off on my behalf over what happened with the cockatrice shunning me. Many in the nest wanted to kill me.” She let out a harsh laugh. “At least that’s what they told me.”

  He nodded again, still not daring to speak.

  “Let’s get this straight. What I’m offering, I’m still in charge.”

  Another nod. That he was still alive, and now freed from his restraints, bode well for his future.

  Her gaze met his, unwavering. “Mark me. Mate me. The whole nine yards. I won’t screw around on you, either. And together, we take down that fucker Abernathy, as well as the cockatrice. We show them an old beta wolf can fuck Abernathy’s shit up, and that a wolf-atrice can take over the cockatrice and their ‘pure blood’ bullshit. They won’t be able to disrespect us any longer. We join the two races and take them both over.”

  She extended her hand.

  When he quickly weighed his options, he knew the answer was obvious. “On one condition.”

  “What?”

  “That you let me use the bathroom and freshen up and eat first. I think by that time those little blue pills will have worked their magic and I can do you justice.”

  The tiniest hint of a smile quirked the corner of her mouth. “Deal, pops.”

  He reached out and took her hand. “Deal.”

  * * * *

  He ate, showered, and removed the butt plug from his ass before returning to the bedroom. She’d kept her robe off, apparently completely at ease naked.

  “May we talk for a moment?” he asked.

  She nodded. “Sure.” She settled into the chair along the wall and near the foot of the bed. “About what?”

  He sat on the edge of the bed. “Can you shift?”

  “Yep. Wolf and cockatrice. Although as a cockatrice I can’t take the largest form and don’t have all the powers.”

  He slowly nodded. “That is very impressive.”

  “You don’t need to stroke my ego. I said I’m not going to kill you.”

  “I know.” He met her flinty gaze. “I would like to get to know you. Perhaps that’s a little schmaltzy, as they say, for you, but it does mean something to me.”

  She nodded.

  “Where have you been living? Your accent sounds American, but I can tell you sometimes slip.”

  A smile. “They raised me in Russia and Austria. I’m fluent in Russian, German, French, and English. I’ve lived here in the States for fifty years.”

  “That explains it.” He smiled and took a deep breath. “I have decided I have another condition.”

  She frowned. “What the hell? We had a deal.”

  He stood and walked over to her. She didn’t stand. He looked down at her and, moving quickly, grabbed a fistful of her hair and wrenched her hair back. “Oh, I still want our deal, never fear.” Her eyes never left his and he was pleased that she didn’t fight him.

  Although he damn well knew she could easily eviscerate him before he could blink.

  He leaned in. “In everything we do, while I would like to give you my input, I will accede to your leadership role, as it were.”

  “Okay,” she said, a nervous undertone in her voice. He smelled how she’d suddenly grown wet and suspected he’d guessed right. “So what’s your other condition?”

  He leaned in closer, grazing his teeth across her throat. “In bed, so to speak, I am in control. I do not wish to resort to chemical assistance every time. I believe I can keep you satisfied, but only if you allow me to do things my way. It was how I was able to…perform, as it were, with my wife. And how I prefer to perform when with a man.”

  He looked down to see her fingers tightly curled around the edges of the chair arms.

  “In bed?” she said, breathless.

  “Yes. Metaphorically speaking. Could be anywhere. I mean our relationship as a whole between us. When it comes to sex, I am…” He chuckled and nipped her throat. “I have some pretty kinky desires and quite a few years of pent-up sexual frustration. I think you are more than sturdy enough to allow me free rein in that way. Although with my wife she was content to let me be in charge because it was how things were done back then.”

  He reached between her legs, pleased when she spread her thighs for him. Her juices were flowing, and he forced two fingers between her labia, enjoying the soft moan of pleasure she let slip free when he did.

  He raised his fingers to his lips and tasted them. “Do we have a deal?”

  Her eyes had taken on a slightly glazed look. She nodded.

  He twisted his hand in her hair, roughly, shaking her. “Answer me,” he barked.

  “Yes!”

  “Say it,” he growled. “When it comes to sex and our relationship, I get carte blanche with you. I will own your body in that way, and you will do what I say, when I say it, and how I say it. Pain and pleasure. Understand?”

  She licked her lips. “You’ll own my body and…and do whatever you want to me.”

  He grinned as he yanked her out of the chair by her hair. “Then get on your fucking knees and suck my cock, bitch. Get me nice and hard. Then I’m going to show you that this old wolf can teach you a few tricks.” He didn’t let go of her hair, making her drop to her knees where he held her head between his hands.

  “Suck me down to the root,” he ordered, digging his fingers into her scalp. “And play with my balls.”

  Her eyes dropped closed, another soft moan escaping her as she did just that.

  “Good girl,” he hoarsely said as he roughly started fucking her mouth. It only took a couple of minutes for her to get him fully hard, and from the way the scent of her arousal filled the room, he knew she was enjoying every second of the degrading, demeaning things he said to her as she did.

  He fisted her hair again and pulled her to her feet. Using it as a handle, he dragged her over to the bed and threw her facedown on top of it. When she tried to roll over, he slapped her and shoved her back down onto the bed.

  “Stay,” he barked. He grabbed her hips and lined up his cock between her labia, rubbing the engorged head of it up and down and soaking it in her juices.

  I’m going to enjoy fucking her ass whether she likes it or not.

  But not tonight.

  He slammed his cock deep into her pussy before reaching around her and grabbing her by the throat. He pulled her up onto her knees, impaled on his cock. When she tried to bounce up and down on him, he tightened his grip on her neck. “Not yet,” he ordered.

  He licked the back of her right shoulder, creamy, unblemished flesh. “Do you submit to me, mate?”

  He felt her swallow before she whispered, “Yes!”

  He squeezed a little tighter. “Not good enough,” he said, his cock throbbing and screaming to fuck her. “Ask me. Beg me to mark and mate you, bitch. You want to lead the wolves? You’re going to have to be the whore to one, aren’t you? So make it good. Make it count. Make me believe you mean it.”

  She shivered in his arms. Her vocal cords vibrated under his fingers as she spoke. “Please mark and mate m
e.”

  “Tell me you want to be my bitch. Tell me you want to belong to a beta. Tell me you want my mark on your flesh. Tell me you want to get pregnant with my pups.”

  She shivered again. “I want to be your bitch. I want to belong to you. I want you to mark me. I want your pups.”

  He licked her flesh again. “Tell me you want me to turn you into my filthy whore. That you want me to do every depraved thing to you that no one else has done.”

  “Yes, please!”

  “Say it!”

  From the way her pussy clamped down on his cock, he suspected she might have just had a little orgasm. “I want you to turn me into your whore and do depraved things to me.”

  “Like make you sit at my feet and suck my cock.”

  “Yes, like sucking your cock.”

  “And fucking your ass.”

  Her body tensed, but she swallowed. “And fucking my ass,” she whispered.

  “I’m going to fuck every hole in your body,” he said. “Whenever I want to. Wherever I want. I will own your body.” He reached up with his free hand and twisted her right nipple, making her cry out, but another wave of flutters passed through her soaking wet cunt. “In fact, tomorrow I’m going to take you out and get your nipples and clit pierced. Mark my bitch in more than one way. Right?”

  “Right.”

  “So say it.”

  “My body belongs to you. I submit to you. I want to be your mate.”

  He chuckled as he licked her shoulder one more time. “Then prepare for the fucking of your life.” He sank his teeth into her shoulder as he fell on top of her. She screamed in pain and pleasure as her pussy clamped down on his cock. He kept his teeth embedded in her flesh as he fucked her, growling as she undulated beneath him while wave after wave of orgasms washed through her and threatened to make him shoot too soon.

  He closed his eyes and tried not to think of Peter, his long-dead love, but it was his face in Marston’s mind as he finally quit holding back and let his balls empty deep inside his new mate’s womb.

  Only when he’d pumped every last drop into her did he release his bite and sit up. She lay there, panting, tears on her cheeks.

  He watched as the mating mark quickly healed over. “So,” he said. “Was that good for you?”

  She pried an eye open and looked at him. A smile had started to cross her face, but he reached out and slapped her.

  He’d make her pay for his swollen eye. “That was rhetorical. I felt you coming like the bitch in heat you are.” He grabbed her hair and pulled her up as he changed position to lie back in bed. “Get your fucking mouth back on my cock and get me hard again. You wanted to be fucked, so you’re going to be fucked.”

  Her eyes widened before she dropped to her knees between his legs.

  He grinned as she let out a soft, happy moan before she sucked him between her lips. He could already feel her through their mating bond.

  And she was happy to comply.

  Not to mention she had enjoyed every second of it.

  He eased up, stroking her hair. “Good girl,” he cooed. “You’re going to learn to like sucking my cock. For the foreseeable future, you will start and end every day on your knees between my legs, in your rightful place. Not to mention in lieu of blue pills, you’re going to have to use your mouth to get me hard and ready to fuck you. When we are alone in this house, you will stay naked and ready for me to use at my leisure.”

  She moaned with renewed pleasure, the sensation vibrating through his cock and into his balls. He was glad he’d read her right, that she had a deep, hidden streak in her she’d likely never allowed anyone to see.

  He wouldn’t treat her like this all the time, although he wouldn’t deny a sadistic satisfaction over making her pay for the beating she’d given him.

  But for tonight…

  No, she wasn’t his Peter. Not even close.

  But I could grow accustomed to this.

  Chapter Eleven

  It was a little after eleven o’clock the next morning. Ain had to hold his phone away from his ear. On the other end, Lina, Jan, and Rick were engaged in a screaming match of dragon proportions.

  Apparently the Goddess had pulled rank on her men. A moment after a disquieting silence came over the line, Lina spoke again. “Hi, Ain. Sorry about that. You still there?”

  “Yes, I’m here.”

  “Listen, I’m sending the boys out today to get an RV. We’ll be ready to leave by tonight or first thing in the morning, at the latest.”

  “Um, you just got home from the hospital this morning. I wasn’t calling to ask you to go to Maine with us. I was just updating you.”

  “I know. I’m fine. I pulled a page from Callie’s playbook. Seriously, I’m fine. Dr. Alberto wants to study me. I’m a freak of nature even by shifter standards.”

  “Still—”

  “Want to talk to Lacey? She’ll tell you.”

  He didn’t like the fact that he was now embroiled in the middle of a dragon domestic dispute. “I got the distinct impression that Rick and Jan don’t want you going to Maine with us.”

  “I’m the Goddess and the Seer. They can fucking bite me. No offense, but we do things a little differently than wolves. We’re all going to Maine with you. If Abernathy’s going to be there, I’m going. I’m damn sure not staying home alone while everyone else gets to go up there. Besides, I want a crack at Marston if he shows his ugly mug.”

  “I see.”

  “I’m not going to fly with the babies this young. And I hate flying anyway. So an RV is perfect. Been wanting one for family vacations anyway. We can drive straight through and be there in around twenty-four hours. Meet you there, no problem.”

  Elain tapped him on the arm, wanting his attention.

  “What?” he silently mouthed.

  She made the universal “gimme” gesture with her hand.

  “Hold on, Lina. Elain wants to talk to you.” He handed it over and turned to find Brodey and Cail smirking at him. “What?” he asked them.

  Cail laughed. “Glad she’s got you as pussy-whipped as she does us.”

  A few minutes later, Elain finished the phone call and returned Ain’s phone to him. “Where can we buy an RV? Or do we have one stashed around here somewhere?”

  “What?” all three men asked.

  “Babe, I’m going to buy our airline tickets here in a minute,” Cail said.

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “Nope. I want to caravan with Lina and her guys. It makes sense.”

  “In what universe?” Ain asked.

  “Eh, Ain,” Liam said from where he’d been watching and listening. “A word?”

  He stepped over to speak with his father-in-law.

  “Um, boyo, I wouldn’t think of stepping in and interfering. But if she’s anything like her mum, I would quit while yer ahead. That’s the exact same look Maureen would give me when she made her mind up about something, and yer better off trying to move a starving lion off a fresh kill than trying to get her to change her mind. And considering how upset she is over Carla, it might be best to go with her idea.”

  Ain took a breath to try to get his thoughts under control.

  Followed by another breath.

  He returned to his brothers. “I guess we’re going RV shopping. We don’t have much time. Someone call Lina back, please, and tell her we’ll meet them at their house tomorrow morning by nine.”

  Brodey and Cail stared at him. “What?”

  “You heard me,” he said as Elain broadly grinned and threw her arms around him to kiss his cheek. “One big enough for all of us, including Mai and her guys. I’ll talk with the jaguars and the others to see if they want to come, too. They can follow us or meet us up there.”

  “You are the best Prime ever,” she said with a grin.

  “I’d damn well better be your only Prime,” he said.

  * * * *

  The men ended up going all the way to Pt. Charlotte to find a Class A RV that would suit
their needs and comfortably fit them. They returned home before dinner with their acquisition.

  And still no word from the kidnappers…or Abernathy.

  Elain and Mai cooked dinner that night for everyone. Oscar, Doug, and Wally opted to fly to Maine and would meet them there. The Montalvos would come back in the morning to follow them by car up to Lina’s, and to Maine from there. Mark would fly in Friday morning.

  “My Seer powers can kick in any time they want,” Elain softly groused to Mai in the kitchen as they were doing dishes after shooing the men out. “Lacey and everyone can’t give me any answers. I know I get little visions about me and the guys, and I seem to be able to feel things from people when I touch them, but neither of those skills are helpful right now. What I really want to see for myself is that Mom is all right.”

  “From what I understand, Lacey has a great track record,” Mai said. “I’d even heard of her before my parents died. She’s got a good reputation.”

  “I know but that’s not the same as proof. Or answers,” she added.

  “What are your instincts telling you?”

  Elain frowned. “I had a feeling Abernathy wouldn’t quit. I just never thought he’d stoop this low.”

  “Will Daniel rule against me, do you think?” she fearfully asked.

  Elain hugged her. “No. Absolutely not. My gut tells me that Abernathy is using your uncle to get me up to Maine. He probably guesses from the way shit went down before that there’s no way I’d let you go and not go with you. He wants me up there.”

  “And you think he’s going to try to ask for some sort of trade?”

  “If I was a gambling woman, yes, that’s a sound theory.”

  “He’s insane.”

  “We know that, but he thinks he’s the hero in his delusional world.” She felt the Alpha stir a little and carefully backed away from her anger. “I should have ripped his throat out while I had the chance that day,” she whispered. “I was right there in front of him. I could have just reached out and…” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

  “Maybe this sounds naive, but I’m going to trust Lacey’s visions, too. I know you and the guys will kick his ass.”