Page 48 of The Scent of Seduction

“I really should shower.”

“Go ahead, we’re not going anywhere.”

She should probably join her mate, but at the moment, the bed was much more inviting. Nicole closed her eyes and found that the events of the night and the emotional rollercoaster of the morning had taken their toll. Her eyes were heavy as the mattress dipped and Nicole naturally rolled back against Jaryn’s naked body. His arm came around her, pulling her tighter against him. His lips nuzzled on the back of her neck, his legs twined with hers beneath the sheets. The hair that covered his arms, legs, and the patch on his chest rubbed against her skin as his scent drifted over her. She smiled as she floated away towards unconsciousness.

Epilogue

Six months later

Jaryn sat at his desk in his home office, looking at the calendar for the newly dubbed Phantom River Conference Center. Two months ago, when construction had been in full swing on the chalet, he’d hired Alec Rogers to be the manager of the chalet. The human had come with impressive references and a degree in hotel management. Alec's ability to communicate with the shifter construction crew and coordinate marketing with a human based marketing firm had equally impressed Jaryn. Because of Alec’s efforts, the conference center now had events booked solid all the way through to the end of the season, well into the fall.

He pulled up his mail system and shot a quick note off to Shaun, asking for an update on the last of the adoptions of the super-shifters they’d rescued from Broyles’ compound. His Beta had worked tirelessly to find them all homes with shifters of their same species. The Phantom River pack had always been open to inter-shifter relations, but rarely sought them out. To place the super-shifters, his Beta had to build bridges that hadn't previously existed, and as a result, their quiet little pack became extremely well known throughout the nation. Fortunately, no one had ever made the public aware of the activities that occurred in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Jaryn marveled at how the ASC and COP had kept everything under wraps, despite the world's hunger for salacious news.

He thought of the additions to his home as a result of their discoveries that night. Kaden and Gavin were now eight months old, and both boys were little crawling machines. He spent half his time at home chasing them around, and the other half waiting to hear their little voices babble out ‘da-da’, instead of the ever popular ‘ba-ba’.

Of the multitude of memories he’d built with his family over the last several months, the most cherished was the first time Jaryn had shifted in front of the boys. He and Nicole wanted the boys to be comfortable around their parents’ wolf forms and had taken turns showcasing for their children. Their little eyes had widened in almost comical proportions. Gavin had laughed hysterically as Jaryn nuzzled his tummy, and Kaden had curled his little body around one of Nicole’s paws, then promptly tried to stick it in his mouth.

He lifted his head as his mate’s scent drifted towards him. Nicole stuck her head in the office and Jaryn smiled, as her presence never failed to make the room seem brighter. He pushed back from the desk and held open his arms. “Did they finally go down?”

Nicole sighed as she sank onto Jaryn’s lap. “Yes. I think Gavin may be teething. The only thing that seems to calm him is the rocking chair and a cool cloth to gnaw on.”

Jaryn encouraged Nicole to rest her head against his shoulder. “How’s Kaden handling it?”

“I can tell he’s upset. He doesn’t understand what’s wrong with his brother. As soon as I put Gavin in their crib, Kaden reached out for him.”

The boys were so close, so aware of each other. They relied on Nicole and himself for daily care, but for companionship, everyone realized all they needed was each other. Sometimes Jaryn’s heart ached a little when he’d be holding one of his sons, and they made it clear to him they’d rather be in the playpen with the other. But there were other times Kaden or Gavin would sit on the floor playing and he’d come into the room to see one of them lift their arms, asking silently for their father. His heart would fill with such love he feared the muscle would explode from his chest.

“What are you thinking about so hard?” Nicole asked softly.

Jaryn’s arms tightened around his mate. “How much I love my family. It’s amazing how quickly those boys have wrapped me around their tiny fingers completely.”

Nicole murmured her assent and placed a little kiss at the corner of Jaryn’s neck. Her tongue came out to sample a taste of his skin, and just like that, Jaryn’s mind shifted from innocent babies to the feel of his mate’s body writhing beneath him in ecstasy.

He buried his hand in Nicole’s long hair and lifted her head for his kiss. Jaryn locked his mouth onto hers, kissing her deeply. So much of the time they’d spent together over the last few months had been caring for their sons. Pleasurable duties in their own way, but with his mate’s taste upon his tongue, Jaryn ached to claim his wife in the most base and primal way. They needed to lose themselves in each other. To share a mating, where neither of them thought for one second about the next bottle of formula to heat or dirty diaper to change. He felt compelled to remind his mate of the love and lust that flowed through their bodies and souls, physically leaving them both panting and sweating, as they tried to process the intensity of their coming together.

With images of writhing, united bodies swirling in his mind, he nibbled and tasted his way to her ear. He ran his tongue delicately around the rim of her ear, then nibbled on it before sucking on her earlobe. Nicole’s neck arched back, granting him access as she shivered with pleasure.

“More,” she moaned.

His ears picked up the sound of her rapid breaths and his eyes watched the pulse in his mate’s neck pound with excitement. His mouth descended and sucked up a mark over the same tender skin he’d marked the night they consummated their union. There was no physical trace of his mating bite, or for that matter the one Nicole had subsequently given him, but Jaryn knew their souls would forever carry each other’s mark. Any preternatural being would instantly recognize that Jaryn and Nicole belonged to each other, and every morning he awoke with Nicole in his arms, he was thankful for the day she drifted into his hometown.

He stood with Nicole in his arms and walked around the desk. The sofa in his office wasn’t wide enough to make love to his mate on. They’d discovered that the hard way a couple of months ago when they landed on the floor with a loud crash that’d woken the boys in the playpen in the living room, calling a halt to the enjoyable adult activities. Jaryn bent and picked up the pillows that rested against the armrest and the blanket folded over the back. He tossed them both to the floor on top of the thick area rug.

Nicole giggled against Jaryn’s chest. “Put me down so we can do this right.” Jaryn shook his head. “Keep your arms around my neck.”

Jaryn kneeled on the floor on one knee and rested Nicole’s weight on the other. He spread out the blanket then gave their made up little nest a proud glance. His arms slipped beneath Nicole's knees, and he eased her down onto the cozy blanket with utmost care. Jaryn quickly stripped the T-shirt over the top of his head and unbuttoned his jeans. His mate was just as busy removing her clothes, causing Jaryn's fingers to pause as Nicole gradual exposed her creamy skin. The scent of her arousal floated up at him as she kicked her pants away, and he closed his eyes to savor the blend of honey and musk.

“Hey stud, you going to join me down here?”

Jaryn’s eyes flashed open, and he licked his lips at the sight of Nicole’s nude body spread out and waiting for him. His wife laughed softly and held her arms out to him. Jaryn stood in order to lower his jeans and underwear to the floor. He wrapped his hand around his cock and gave it a stroke. A bead of pre-cum escaped from the slit and this time it was Nicole who licked her lips as her green eyes focused in on the drop of clear fluid.

He captured the fluid with his thumb, then kneeled between his mate’s legs. Jaryn braced his weight on one hand and offered Nicole his thumb. Her lips quickly sucked the digit inside her hot mouth and her tongue wrapped around it, capturing every trace of Jaryn’s offering. Her teeth scraped over his skin and a low groan rumbled deep in his chest. He lowered his body till they were skin to skin, his head tilted down and Nicole’s lifted till their mouths met in another explosive kiss. His mate’s arms came around his neck and her legs wrapped around his waist. Jaryn’s hands caressed the curve of Nicole’s torso and he released her mouth, only to trace his lips down her neck. He scooted down her body till he faced the full round mounds of her breasts.

He stroked one nipple with his tongue, licking it back and forth as Nicole whimpered and arched her back.

“Harder.”

He smiled to himself. Since their mating, his woman had blossomed into a sensual being. Jaryn loved giving into her quiet pleas and demands as they moved together towards the pinnacle of shared pleasure.

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