Impulse: Southern Arcana, Book 5 (22 page)

Sydney chuckled. “Oh, I’m sure most of them already have the number. But I can let them know it’s time to start using it.”

“If I don’t manage to convince them myself. My driving tour’s not over yet.”

“You’ll probably do it, at that.” Sydney clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re a good man, Mendoza. A strong wolf, but a good man. If you ever need anything…I’ll fight for you. We all will.”

The words reminded him of his mother.
You’re more than a wolf, Julio. You’re a man.
She’d always said it so seriously, with a gravity he never appreciated until stepping into the challenge circle in pursuit of his council seat.
You’re both, so don’t you ever let them make you choose.

“Fighting’s the last thing I want,” he told Sydney, “but I appreciate it. And I’ll keep it in mind.”

“You do that. And while you’re always welcome in our home and among our pack, I won’t be offended if you bundle your girl up and go find someplace less crowded to spend the night. There’s a nice little place over in Destin. Patty said Sera might like the restaurant there.”

“No, your people need to settle in. The longer I’m here, the more uncertain they’re bound to get about what I’ve done and why.”

A bit of tension in the other man’s shoulders eased, maybe at not being forced to say as much himself. “They’re grateful, don’t ever think they’re not. And you having Sera and her being so happy… That’s mostly kept the women from wondering what you’ll ask of them in return. But change comes hard.”

And for good reason, considering the sorts of things his uncle had likely coerced from them in addition to their money. “Then it’s time for us to split. But we’ll see you and Patty soon, Syd. If not here, then in New Orleans, all right?”

“You bet. Now go get your girl.” Sydney nodded toward the trailer with an amused noise. “And get a hotel room before one of you gets bit by something poisonous because you’re rolling around naked in the woods every night.”

Julio ignored the jibe because it was true, but the place was so damn
crowded
, who could blame him for wanting to run off into the woods to be alone with Sera? He walked up beside the makeshift steps and leaned his head in the open door. “You finished sewing curtains yet?”

“We’re getting there.” Sera grinned at him over the head of the high-school-aged wolf seated in front of the sewing machine. The whole living room was covered in plastic bags from a local fabric store, and Sera had to hop over a bolt of fabric to reach the door. “You ready to start packing?”

“I thought I’d handle it while you finished up here.”

She reached down to smooth his hair back from his forehead, fingers lingering at his temple. “All right. You know which way we’re headed yet?”

Any place but Atlanta, considering that Alec had warned him to steer clear of Cesar and his father for the time being. “Tennessee? The mountains are nice, and there’s a pack in Sevierville we could visit.”

“Sounds perfect.” She touched his lips briefly before straightening. “I’ll start saying my goodbyes.”

For a moment, he wanted nothing more than to drag her back against him. But no matter how great things had been for them, for
her
, amongst Sydney’s pack, it wasn’t where they belonged.

And it was time to go.

The hotel turned out to be a wood-shingled New England-style building with Victorian furnishings. Sydney had apparently called ahead, and the man behind the desk favored Sera with a broad smile as he handed over their keys.

“Looks like you’re the belle of the Florida panhandle,” Julio murmured teasingly as they stepped into the elevator.

“Queen of the redneck shifters,” she replied just as lightly. “It’s different. Not bad, but weird.”

“If it’s not bad, does that make it a good weird?”

“Maybe.” She cuddled close to his side, her fingers tracing absently along his belt. “I always knew wolves could see past the coyote thing if they had a reason to get to know me. I guess a lot of them never had one before. But none of them wanted to piss you off.”

As usual, she was selling herself short—and giving him far too much credit for something he hadn’t done. “It was you, Sera. They might have been polite in deference to me, but that’s it.”

Instead of arguing, she gave in with a laugh. “Okay, maybe. But that’s partly the submissive thing too. All other things being equal, the stronger a shifter is, the more they’re going to want to take care of me. It gives me an unfair advantage.”

And it bothered her. “Want me to ask them to leave you alone? Back home, I mean?”

The elevator door slid open, and she tugged him out into the hallway before answering. “No. If someone
needs
me… Anna does, sometimes, and Miguel too. If they need to spend time with me because my magic helps them feel calmer, I don’t want to take that away.”

“But?”

Even though the hall was empty, she didn’t answer until he’d opened the door and led her into the suite. She pushed it closed in silence and locked it for good measure, then turned to face him. “I need to belong to you. It scares me a little and it makes you feel like a jackass. But pretending it’s not there won’t change it.”

Everything she said was true—including the part about the futility of denial. “It’s different,” he said finally. “If I know you need it, I mean. If I don’t have to wonder whether I’m forcing you without realizing it.”

She wet her lips, looking almost nervous. “I promise I won’t let you force me without realizing it. If you’re taking away the choice I want to make, I promise I’ll tell you. I just need you to promise to listen.”

To what she wasn’t saying as well as what she was. “I can do that.”

Her shoulders relaxed a little, but she didn’t push away from the door. “I get off on the dominance in bed, and on you letting everyone know I’m yours. Those are easy. It’s the life parts that always tangle me up.”

Julio held out his hand. “So we take it as it comes.”

A smile played at the edge of her lips. Teasing. Mischievous. “You could take me as I come.”

The wicked smile may as well have been a hand around his dick. Julio stifled a growl and arched an eyebrow. “Sera.”

Without looking away, she slipped her fingers over his, and he twisted his hand and closed it around hers.

She wanted to belong to him, and there was no better way to show her she did.

“When do you want dinner?” he asked casually.

“Whenever.” Her lips twitched. “Later, unless you’re hungry right now.”

“No, I think I want to stay in for a while.”

Sera laughed and spun, turning toward their joined hands so that his arm ended up around her when her back thumped against his chest. “Finally, I get you to myself. No fathers or sisters or needy alphas or precogs with gambling problems.”

“Not all of which was actually my fault,” he murmured against the curve of her neck.

“People need you.” She tilted her head forward, and her braids slipped over her shoulders to bare the back of her neck. “I don’t mind sharing you, as long as I get time like this, too.”

“You mean like…this?” He breathed the last word just before closing his teeth on the delicate line of her spine.

“Exactly this.” Her body melted against him, a trembling mix of soft submission and eager anticipation. “Now you know why I picked two braids instead of one.”

“You think ahead. I like that.” Julio slid one hand around her to splay on her stomach. She was sweet against him, yielding and warm.

And for once, not in a hurry. Her frantic impatience had disappeared, leaving a woman who rocked back against him with a satisfied moan but didn’t try to hurry him. “I think about your mouth on my throat. Or your hand. I think about you touching me so often my brain’s like a nonstop porno.”

“Now you sound like me.”

“Good.” She traced her fingers over the back of his hand before twisting to kiss his jaw. “Can this be the one where the alpha wolf lets his hot-as-fuck possessive and bossy side out to play?”

“Depends.” On whether she was ready. On whether
he
was.

She pressed her forehead to his jaw. “Only if you want to.” The quiet words were tiny. Vulnerable. “It’s empty if it’s not about both of us needing it. Don’t ever give me more than you really want.”

It had never been about a lack of desire, not
ever
. Julio nudged her head up and kissed her slowly. “How far, darling? Tell me now.”

She didn’t answer right away, and she didn’t tell him
anything
. He watched her consider the question seriously, and after a moment she gave a serious answer. Not one meant to tease or sound sexy, but a quiet drawing of boundaries. “Light bondage, spanking and rough sex are fine. I don’t like degradation as much. I don’t mind experimenting with pain, but maybe not tonight.”

“No pain.” It wasn’t his thing, and he’d never been into name-calling or punishment. “Bring me your makeup bag. Show me what you bought the other day when you thought I wasn’t paying attention.”

She blushed almost as red as her hair and ducked under his arm to get to the luggage. “Maybe I was thinking ahead.”

“To what?” He caught her around the waist, held her bent over and lowered his voice to a rumbling growl. “Me fucking your ass?”

“Yes.” Her tank top slipped toward her shoulders, revealing pale, freckled skin and the lacy edge of the same pale-green bra he’d seen before. She wiggled, grinding back against him as she tugged the shirt over her head. “Don’t tell me you haven’t been thinking about it.”

He edged his hand under the back waistband of her shorts, smoothing his fingers over the swell of her ass. “I have.”

“Now?” She sounded breathless as she tore open her suitcase and surfaced with her makeup bag. “You want it now?”

“Not yet.” She had to be ready, because he wasn’t about to hold back, not this time. “I want your mouth.”

“Yeah?” Another wiggle. “Can’t put my mouth anywhere interesting from here.”

He slapped her ass. “I could.”

Sera whimpered her arousal and pushed up on her toes. Her movements practically begged for him to slap her again, but she didn’t say anything as she clutched at her makeup bag, her fingers tight around the handle.

He let her straighten. “Show me what’s in there.”

The top unzipped, and she held the bag open to reveal a jumble of makeup containers and hair elastics. Her birth control pills were tucked into the left pocket. The right one was stuffed full of condoms.

Blushing, she tugged open an interior zipper to reveal a third storage space holding a slim vibrator and a full bottle of lube.

The blush was adorable, and the rest of it… Julio pulled the vibrator and the small bottle from the case and dropped them on the bed. “Want to help me undress?”

Sera tossed the bag to the floor and followed it down, ending up on her knees in front of him wearing her tiny shorts, lacy bra and the wickedest smile he’d ever seen curve her lips. She got both hands around his belt and lifted her gaze to his. “You never make me feel dirty for what I want.”

“Why should you?” He leaned down to unhook her bra, then slipped his hands under the lace to palm her delectable breasts. “I want the same stuff.”

Her nipples drew tight against his palms, and her head fell back. She got his belt open, but her fingers fumbled with the button. “Fuck.”

“Slow.” He pulled his hands free, taking her bra too. Once he’d slipped it from her arms, he tilted her chin up. “We’ve got all night.”

She laughed and nuzzled his hand. “Maybe I’m just
that excited
about blowing you.”

“That’s a flattering possibility.”

“It should be.” This time her nimble fingers conquered the button on his fly with a minimum of fumbling, and she guided the zipper down without looking away from his eyes. “And it’s true. You wouldn’t believe the daydreams you’ve starred in, baby.”

Julio thrust against her hands, challenging her. “Show me.”

She left his jeans hanging open and pressed her open mouth to his erection, breath hot through the fabric of his boxers. Before he could react her fingers hooked under the waistband, and she freed his cock with an appreciative moan. “You still want slow?”

Her breath blowing over him raised goose bumps on his arms, and he delivered a sharp tug to one of her braided pigtails. “You’ll need the time.”

In response she licked him, her unwavering gaze locked on his as she dragged her tongue up his shaft with every indication of blissful enthusiasm.

The wet heat combined with the look in her eyes dragged a moan from deep in his chest. “Again. Slower.”

She gripped his hips and obeyed, every lick a tease and an offering rolled in one. Too soon, the leisurely licks left him starving for more. Again, he tugged at her braid. “In your mouth, Sera.”

“God, I thought you’d never ask,” she whispered. Her hand closed around his cock and she sucked him deep with a groan.

Julio slid his hand to the back of her head, and it took every ounce of his self-control not to pull her closer, thrust harder. “Oh, hell yeah.”

Her whimpering moans were their own sort of vibrating torture. She licked and sucked and stroked her fingers up and down his shaft, but her eyes held a hungry invitation. The tighter he gripped her head the louder those noises got, turning pleading and encouraging.

Shuddering, he drove just a little deeper and then pulled her head back. “More?”

She dragged her tongue over her lower lip as she panted for breath. “I don’t know if I can take all of you, but I’d get off on trying.”

“Would you?”

Sera dropped her hands to her lap and parted her lips, silently offering him total control.

Julio dragged in a harsh breath and shook his head. “Behind your back.”

Her breathing sped as she obeyed, tangling her fingers together as he’d instructed. “Like this?”

“Shh.” He took himself in hand and rubbed the head of his cock against her lips. She whimpered and parted them again, straining forward to take him into the heat of her mouth.

He started slow, with tiny movements of his hips. When she shuddered and sucked him hard, Julio gritted his teeth and applied gentle pressure to the back of her head. “More.” This time, it wasn’t a question.