"You would only change when you met your mate, love. You could have stayed home and fell in love with a human male and had more diluted-blood children, but you and your children would never feel the urge of the change until you met your mate. It's like a built-in security system. I am your mate. That is why you feel the way you do."

Tara laughed hysterically, even as she moved closer. He was mad, yet she couldn't help drawing closer to him. She needed him, needed to feel his body rising over hers, his lips nipping and pulling at her flesh as he drove into her. "I don't believe this."

"You must. You must believe me, Tara. You have precious few minutes before your blood surges and your wolf takes over. When that happens, we will come together as wolves, with violence. I don't wish to hurt you. Don't make me hurt you." He reached down, opened the drawer next to him, pulled out a blade and cut his thumb. "Take my blood, become more pure and your first change won't hurt nearly as much."

"I'm not drinking your blood." She grimaced. "That's just sick!"

"You don't have to drink it. You need merely let it touch your skin. Let a drop touch your skin and if I'm wrong, nothing will happen."

What if he was wrong? Would he have to kill her because she would become a beast? But he wasn't wrong, she knew it. More importantly, she felt it, deep in her bones. She looked at him unsure. Can you get a disease merely from touching someone's blood, or would she also have to have an open wound? "What will happen if you are right?"

"You will want me more than you have ever wanted any man."

h.e.l.l, she already wanted him more than she'd ever wanted another man. What did she have to lose other than her freedom? Your virginity, Tara, or your life. She realized then, that no matter what happened, he couldn't let her go, she'd seen too much. Whatever he was, he could never let her go back home for fear that she would report him and his kind to the media. Not that she was that stupid. They'd have her in an asylum so fast her head would spin. Standing, she moved closer to him. Looking up at him, she noticed his startling blue eyes. How she loved blue eyes. "Kiss me first."

He cupped her jaw with his wounded hand. His thumb brushed over her cheek as he lowered his head and touched his lips to hers, spreading a streak of his blood on her face.

She groaned as his tongue parted her lips and explored the dark recesses of her mouth. Her hands moved up to his chest, then over his shoulders to wrap securely around his neck. The fire in her blood surged hotly and she pressed herself against him, rubbing her body greedily against the length of his.

She felt it then. Something moving inside her, making her blood surge, her skin itch with some unknown need. What if he told her the truth? If he had, they would come together with force. She would be injured. As a wolf perhaps it wouldn't be so bad, but the way he talked, he made it seem as though she would return to her own form and be sore. Did she want her first time to hurt or did she want it beautiful? Would he make it so-could he make it so?

She pulled back, licking his taste from her lips. Something wild in her raised its head and snarled. It wanted the contact with him. Still, she couldn't bring herself to let him ravish her. She would take what precious time she had and wring a few promises from him. "Will it hurt?" She bit her lip, looking up at his handsome face.

"If you are still a maid it will hurt for a bit, then the pain will subside and I will do my best to help you enjoy it."

"So, that's a big yes." She sighed and turned in his arms. He didn't release her. Instead, he held her close to him, his arms looped around her, holding her just under her b.r.e.a.s.t.s while he kissed her ear and the side of her neck.

Gooseflesh beaded on her skin and she groaned. Tilting her head to the side, she gave him better access. There was nothing for her to do but let him love her. Let him take her and hope that what he said was true. She prayed that if he did speak the truth, that with time, some more tender emotion would come with the heat.

"It does," he rasped into her ear. "Our emotions are tied with the pa.s.sion. Our people, like the wolves on your planet, mate for life," he murmured, telling her she'd spoken out loud. His hands moved up to cup her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, his thumbs brushing over the taut tips. "Can you not already feel some tender emotions for me?" He rolled his hips forward, pressing the proof of his desire into the cleft of her behind.

She groaned. Her whole body felt on fire. Her nipples hurt with it and her hips ground back into his involuntarily as he held her captive in his embrace. "How could I feel anything for you? I don't know you." It was the truth, she didn't know him, but she wanted him with a hunger she'd never known before.

Turning in his arms, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. Their mouths fused together, their pa.s.sion holding both hostage to their desires. She knew she could never leave him, not without first ridding herself of the hunger that consumed her. Consumed them both.

Their tongues dueled and she buried her fingers in his hair, pulling his head closer, trying to crawl inside his body, needing his warmth, needing something, that she knew only he could give her. Her stomach clenched as he reached down and grabbed her rear. Lifting her, he pressed the lower halves of their bodies together. He groaned when she wrapped her legs around his waist, hooking her legs at the ankles.

He carried her to the corner where she'd woken, the bed reappeared, bigger this time and he lowered them down onto it. Tara barely noticed. Her body had gone up in flames as soon as he'd touched her. He lay above her, her legs still wrapped around his waist as she tried to pull him beneath her skin. Her hands clawed at his shirt, ripping it from his hard frame. Her fingers sank into the soft hair of his chest. She smiled when he ripped his mouth from her and groaned.

"If you keep that up, I might lose control," he breathed against her neck, his voice hoa.r.s.e.

Tara wasn't sure she cared at that point. Too far gone with her need, she bit his bottom lip and drew it into her mouth.

"There's only so much a man can take, love." He grasped the collar of her nightgown and ripped it down the front.

She squeaked with fear, her eyes growing wide. "You said you wouldn't hurt me."

"Then get out of that d.a.m.ned thing and let me get undressed before I totally lose my mind."

Rhyne had reached the final pinnacle. He could take no more of her heated caresses. His mind was gone-so far gone, he could think of nothing but burying his c.o.c.k into her tight sheathe. He hopped off her and stripped himself bare in a matter of seconds. She removed her tattered gown and came back to him, her hands making small circles over the whorls of hair on his chest. He jerked and groaned when her fingers found his nipples.

He wanted nothing more than to sink himself in her softness, but knew this was her first time. She needed to feel in control. He would give that to her if it killed him. Reaching up, he cupped her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, his thumbs brushing lightly over the tightened peaks.

She mimicked his action and his hips thrust forward involuntarily.

Jerking, he almost came on the spot when his c.o.c.k brushed her belly and she looked down. She was a G.o.ddess. Her platinum hair floated about her head like a halo. Her small white teeth bit her bottom lip. As she looked back up, pa.s.sion in her gaze, he almost groaned with the need to sink his shaft between those full, moist lips.

Leaning down, he kissed her instead, knowing such love play was for a more experienced student than his mate. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers feathering through his hair. If he lived another ten-thousand years, he would never get enough of her. Never.

Gently, he laid her back across the bed. Her long hair fanned about her head like silver silk. Her deep chocolate eyes gazed up at him, filled with desire. How would he ever stop himself from taking her roughly? He may not feel his age, but his body knew it-knew it was well past time he mated and it hungered. For her.

His beast almost took control. It snarled at him to take her and be done with it, but he'd promised not to hurt her. He would do his best to control his raging hormones this first time. Then, after she'd had sufficient time to heal, only then would he lose himself in her wet velvet embrace. As long as he held breath in his body, he would keep his word-even if it killed him.

Lowering his head, he laved her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She mewled beneath him, her body arching to meet the ministrations of his mouth and tongue as he suckled her. His hand shook as he brushed it down the length of her body. His fingers trembled with need as they parted the plump lips between her thighs.

Again, she arched into his caresses as his fingers circled the small bundle of nerves. She moaned her pleasure as he pressed his mouth back to her breast and lightly sc.r.a.ped his teeth over the pebble-hard peak. He rubbed her sensitive skin with the light stubble that covered his face.

She raised her hands, her fingers lacing through his hair, pulling him tighter against her as his fingers rubbed over her c.l.i.t.

Rhyne wasn't sure how much longer he could keep himself from her. The urge to change was overpowering. Yet, he knew if they changed, the coupling would harm her. In her innocence, he could damage her for life. He must stay in control! He took a deep breath, hoping to gather more restraint. Big mistake. The action only served to fill his senses to overflowing with her spicy scent and the smell of her arousal. His wolf took exception to being held back and he almost raised his head and howled his frustrations.

Deciding to help her along on her search for her first o.r.g.a.s.m, Rhyne moved down her body. Positioning himself between her spread thighs, he put her legs over his shoulders and lowered his head to her s.e.x. Taking a deep breath, he reveled in his mate's scent for a moment before swiping his tongue along her wet slit. The pink flesh quivered in response and he grinned with satisfaction as her head thrashed on the pillow.

She jumped beneath him when he tongued her c.l.i.t, her hands finding his head, alternately pulling him closer and pushing him away. With ruthlessness he never knew he possessed, he latched onto her hard nub and sucked.

"Please!" she begged.

"What do you want?" His voice was low, guttural. The wolf almost in control. If he didn't take her soon, the wolf would and she would probably never forgive him.

"I-I don't know. This is all so new to me. How can I...how can I be a werewolf and not know it?" Her hands fisted in the sheets as she fought her own wolf. "I've been a monster all my life and didn't know it."

Tears streamed down her face and he moved to comfort her, the wolf leashed for the moment. "You're not a werewolf. You're a wolf shifter. There are many breeds. We all come from the same place and, through the centuries, many of us have forgotten our shifter side, or our human side. You're no monster." He gently smoothed the hair from her face. "Let me show you."

Tara nervously licked her lips and nodded. She couldn't let him put his head down there again. It was just too embarra.s.sing. "Make love to me..." Her eyes widened with shock and she covered her face with her hands. "G.o.d, I don't even know your name and I'm telling you to have s.e.x with me." She tried to slip out from under him, but he held her down.

"Rhyne. My name is Rhyne Calama. I'm your mate." Warm breath brushed her cheek, fanning her desire. "You don't want to stop me." He settled deeper between her thighs, the head of his p.e.n.i.s brushing against her heated core.

He was right. She didn't want to stop him. But what did that say about her? That she was willing to have s.e.x with the man who'd brought her here against her will was appalling. Still, it didn't stop her from drawing his head down to brush her lips against his. She wanted this-she needed this-and it scared her to her very core.

He pressed his shaft into her slowly.

"It's not going to fit," she panted, wiggling beneath him.

He chuckled. "It will fit. There is no need to worry about that."

He flexed his hips, and suddenly, she didn't care about anything anymore. The press of his c.o.c.k against her nether flesh was all that mattered. She needed this-needed him. It didn't matter that she wasn't the type to have a one-night stand. Something told her that this was more. He was more.

She gasped when his c.o.c.k pressed against her hymen. Goodness, why hadn't she just gone out and had that thing broken long ago? If she had, it wouldn't detract from her pleasure now. But noooo she'd had to insist on remaining a virgin until she married. Fat lot of good that did. She wasn't married to this man, though he insisted she was his mate.

Leaning down, he suckled her nipple and thrust forward.

Tara gasped as the expected pain shot through her. Thankfully, it didn't last long. Soon, she arched up into him, seeking his deep, measured thrusts. She feathered her fingers through his hair. "Yesss."

He continued to gently stroke into her.

"More," she gasped when he hit a particularly sensitive spot. "Please, Rhyne. I need something more."

He pulled from her and knelt by her side. "Roll over, baby. I need to take you on your hands and knees. My wolf needs it."

And it did. She could almost feel the urgency of his other half as he sat back on his heels and stared into her eyes. His irises turned a dark, midnight blue that was almost black and his pupils began to take on the glow of a predator. She did as he asked and rolled onto her hands and knees.

They both groaned as he pushed deep within her again.

She grunted when the tip of his c.o.c.k nudged her cervix. "OhmiG.o.d, that feels good." She licked her lips. Pushing back against him, she tried to make him lose the d.a.m.nable control that kept her from reaching her climax. It was there. She knew it was there, she just couldn't seem to reach it.

He continued to drive into her with deliberate lingering thrusts.

"Please, Rhyne." She arched her back, pushed her hips back and he growled.

"This is the claiming, Tara." He plunged into her hard enough to make her whimper. "Do you accept me-accept my wolf-as your mate?"

"Good grief, you can't ask that now!" She wriggled her a.s.s backwards. "I can't stress how unhealthy it is for you keep bringing me to an almost o.r.g.a.s.m, then leaving me high and dry like that."

He held her still in an unbreakable grip. "You will answer me, Tara." His voice became distorted as he held himself still, his c.o.c.k deeply impaled in her quivering v.a.g.i.n.a. "Do you accept me as your mate?"

"Yes, dammit! Now f.u.c.k me." Tara wriggled again and squealed when he pulled his c.o.c.k from her and drove back in several times in quick succession. Her climax hit her hard. Her entire body tightened as she screamed.

Rhyne reached around, buried his fingers in her p.u.s.s.y and circled her c.l.i.t.

His hair, soft as silk, brushed her spine adding to the overwhelming sensations a.s.saulting her. He pounded harder, deeper, as she begged for another release.

Rhyne settled deeper into her molten folds. When the wet velvet walls of her p.u.s.s.y clasped his c.o.c.k, he felt the familiar tingling in his thighs and b.a.l.l.s-an indication of his impending o.r.g.a.s.m. He leaned forward and sank his incisors into her shoulder. His wolf needed to leave its mark on her.

She screamed another o.r.g.a.s.m as he bucked within her, ramming himself deep. Reaching out, he grasped her hips in an unyielding grip and dragged her to him. Their bodies slapped together with an audible force. The musky scent of her woman's cream nearly drove him wild. He wanted nothing more than to bury his face between her legs and lick her to heaven and back. Yet, he knew he must claim her in the most elemental of ways first. She would only be safe after she bore his scent and he valued her safety above all else-even his own release-especially his own release.

When his scalp and very skin began to itch, he knew he was on the knife's edge of his own climax. When he came into her, it would change her for all time. His conscience niggled. A part of him wanted to tell her-warn her, but the beast would not allow it-causing him to hold fast to her shoulder. He drove into her heated softness until she came again. When her walls clamped down onto his c.o.c.k, he threw his head back and finally growled his own release.

Rhyne relished in the sound of her voice as she called out to him. He loved the strange accent, the breathy way she moaned his name. The way she pressed back against him, grinding her rear into his groin as he emptied his seed into her womb, made him come harder than he ever had.

With luck, they had just made his heir and his position as the new alpha would be secure. He'd never wanted the position, but now that it was his, it felt good-right-and he would not give up the mantle to anyone other than his heir without a fight. It was already too late for anything less.

He collapsed on top of her, careful to keep his weight on his elbows. He didn't want to crush her. She was his mate now and her health must be above all else. This was the woman who would carry his cubs. Rhyne watched as she fell into an exhausted slumber. He took the time to pull her into the safety of his arms and pull the blankets over their cooling flesh, before he too succ.u.mbed to the darkness.

Tara woke to utter quiet. Only the soft breathing of the man who held her marred the silence. Quickly, she pulled away, terrified at what she'd done. She was insane, she had to be. No one could turn into a wolf and her lover most definitely was not a werewolf. She needed professional help and she needed it bad.

Her mind played over her memories, reminding her of the commitment she'd made. She dismissed it. She'd been under duress. Things like that didn't count when under coercion. Even she knew that. She ran a trembling hand through her hair and sighed. What would become of her now? She certainly couldn't go home and live a normal life. Not now.

She looked over at the man who called her mate and inhaled deeply. d.a.m.n, he smells good. She leaned down and inhaled again, looking up just in time to see his eyes pop open. "What makes you smell so good?" she asked, rubbing her face on his chest.

"I'm your mate."

His voice came out on an almost growl and she looked up at him, her worries forgotten. What was it about him that made her want to just eat him up? Was he telling the truth? It didn't matter that she'd already seen him in a half-transformed state. She didn't want to believe what she'd seen-what she'd just done-with a complete stranger!

"There is no need to fear me, little one." He reached up and brushed the hair back from her face. "I will never harm you. Nor will I allow anyone to harm you. You are my mate. As such, you shall be protected above all others."

Tara shuddered. "Protected from what?"

He shifted, pulling her more closely into his arms. "From those who would seek to take my place, take my heir's place. I wasn't born into the role of alpha, but now that I have the power, I find myself reluctant to give it up."

"Could you give it up? I mean, if you wanted to, of course."

He nodded slowly, then grinned. "But why would I want to? I have you." He reached down and placed his palm over her flat stomach. "I have my heir. I have everything I could desire."

"Do you have happiness?"

He gave her a sideways glance. "What does happiness have to do with anything? Are any of us ever truly happy?" He shook his head. "I think not."

"I want to be happy. Do you think I want to sit around watching the gra.s.s grow, with nothing better to do than follow someone else's children around or listen to others speak of what a wonderful life they had before?" She shook her head. "I think you spent too long underground. I can't live with someone who doesn't believe in love and happiness. I refuse to live with such a man. If you're like that, you can just forget any kind of relationship with me, mister."

He sighed, took her hand and nibbled her fingers. "I'd like to think we could be happy together. I want that for us. For our children."

Tara looked up at him and smiled, finally knowing she could spend the rest of her life with this man. The chemistry between them would allow for nothing less. "That's all either of us can ask."

The next morning arrived far too quickly for Tara who'd barely managed more than a couple hours sleep the entire night. No sooner had she closed her eyes, snuggled deep in her mate's arms and drifted into exhausted slumber than she'd find herself on her back, or stomach, or knees, taking his c.o.c.k as he f.u.c.ked her into another o.r.g.a.s.m. Gah!! She didn't know how much more of his loving she could take. And if he didn't stop shaking her shoulder in an attempt to rouse her, she just might murder him.

"Rhyne... I need to sleep. Leave me alone for a while."

Feminine giggles reached her ears, startling Tara into complete wakefulness. Rolling over, Tara blinked as she tried to focus bleary eyes. After a few moments, she could see clearly, and wished by all that was holy that she couldn't.

Women of every shape and size, old and young surrounded her bed. There had to be at least two dozen of them, all wearing gowns reminiscent of Ancient Greece and smiling at her as though they knew every dirty, raunchy thing she and Rhyne did the night before.

She could feel the blush spread across her cheeks, see the flush of embarra.s.sment spread across her chest and arms. Scooting up in the bed, she pulled the silken coverlet around her. "What's going on here? Where is Rhyne?"

One of the older women moved forward, bowed at the waist, then gracefully sat on the floor just near the head of the bed. Looking up at her with guileless eyes, she began to speak, her voice as harmonious as harp song. "Don't worry yourself, my queen. Your mate has gone to prepare for today's ceremony and to arrange a surprise for your upcoming nuptials."

"Surprise? Nuptials?"

One by one, the rest of the women found places on the floor, surrounding her raised bed as they looked on with something akin to amus.e.m.e.nt.