He bent his head and nipped her breast, licking all around her nipple until she was ready to bite him in frustration.
When he marked her there, right above her nipple, she came so hard she almost passed out.
“Yes, yes, Tabby,” he ground out through clenched teeth. He pulsed inside her, his eyes screwed shut in ecstasy, a deep, shuddering groan escaping from between his lips.
Alex opened his eyes and bent down to her, taking her mouth in a sweet, soft kiss. His hand was still wrapped around her wrist. “I love you.”
She flexed her hips, earning a groan in response. “I love you too.” She grinned.
“Now, can I have my arms back?”
“I don’t know.” He flexed his own hips, making her gasp. He was still hard. “I don’t think I’m done with them yet.”
She licked her lips and dragged one foot from his back down to his ankle, stroking him with it. “Well, if you’re still using them, I suppose I could let you keep them a while longer.”
His grip tightened, but not so much that he caused her a moment’s pain. Just enough to tell her she wasn’t getting out of this bed any time soon. “Let me?”
She kept the grin off her face, doing her best to look sultry. She wasn’t done with him, either.
“Emma?” She didn’t know why the Curana had demanded Tabby come to Wallflowers, but the summons had managed to get her out of the last of the cleanup at Living Art. Glory had grumbled, but Cyn had waved her out the door with orders to return with lunch. That had shut Glory up. Alex waited outside, refusing to leave her alone even long enough to walk to Wallflowers. Whoever had injured his cousin was still out there, and Alex wasn’t taking any chances with her safety.
Inside the store were two people chatting with Emma, but she couldn’t quite get a good look at them. All she saw was a flash of red hair and the tinkling sound of feminine laughter.
“Tabby?” Emma Cannon glided up to her, hands extended. “I have someone I’d like you to meet.”
She caught a strong, feral scent and damn near passed out. Oh. Oh dear. I’m screwed. Behind Emma stood a Wolf and a Puma. The Wolf had waist-length red hair, a nasty scar on one cheek, and eyes the color of a frosty day. He wasn’t the handsomest man she’d ever seen, but there was something about him that demanded your attention and kept it. The Puma was a blonde woman with bright green eyes and an easy smile on her face. She was almost too pretty to be real.
She leaned heavily on a cane, her free hand wrapped around the redhead’s biceps. Whether that was to hold herself steady or just because she felt the need to touch that massive arm, Tabby didn’t know.
“Rick and Belle Lowell, I’d like you to meet Tabitha Garwood, my newest Pride member.”
Rick’s eyebrows rose at the words Pride member.
“Tabby, these are the Poconos Alphas.”
Yup. I’m screwed. She nodded respectfully. “Mr. and Mrs. Lowell.”
“I’ve just been telling them about what happened out in the woods.”
Rick’s power slammed into the room. “Tell me everything.”
Tabby shuddered and did. She told him her date of birth, how her mother’s obstetrician had declared her a girl, how her mother had knitted her first cap.
She told him about her first scraped knee, her first fistfight, her first kiss. Then she told him how she’d been made Outcast, abandoned by Pack and kin. She told them how she had lived like a Wolf for years, found her way to Halle and met Mrs. Anderson. She described Gabe, Julian, Alex, Ryan, Cyn, Glory, and Brit, the girl who couldn’t handle a drunken Wolf. She told him about Gary’s stalking and how the Pumas had saved her and claimed her as their own.
She almost told them about all the sex she and Alex had been having. She decided at the last minute they probably weren’t interested, since by that point, both Rick and Belle’s eyes had begun to glaze over.
By the time she was done, Emma’s mouth was hanging open. “Note to self. Never ask Tabby to tell me everything.”
“Can I have a drink of water?” Tabby croaked. Her mouth was parched, but at least that heavy weight of the Alpha’s power was gone.
Rick had a bemused look on his face. “Are you done?”
“God I hope so.” Belle limped toward the sofa, ignoring the way Rick nearly jumped to her side. “I don’t know if I can handle another round of This Is Your Life.” She settled in with a sigh, rubbing her hip with a wince.
“Who was your old Alpha?”
She stared at Rick. Hell, at least he won’t head to Georgia and try to eat him.
“Dennis Boyd, sir.”
“Out of?”
“Marietta, Georgia.”
“Address.”
She supplied it with a wince. She figured he’d check up on her story and decide for himself whether or not she could stay.
“Calm down, Fido. You’re scaring the crap out of her.”
Tabby blinked and turned toward the Luna. “Ma’am?”
Belle glared at her. “Don’t ma’am me. Makes me sound like my mother.” Belle’s glare turned into an evil grin that had Tabby backing up a step. “Tell her, Rick.”
“We’ve already checked out your story, Tabitha.” She turned back to look at the Wolf Alpha. His expression had softened significantly, making him much more approachable. He might even be likeable. “Dennis Boyd is no longer the Marietta Pack Alpha. His son has taken over for him. He’s been Alpha for about two years now, and he’s been trying to find you. He wants to make amends for what was done to you.”
“He wants you to go home. Even your parents want to see you again. They know now what the Alpha did was wrong.” Belle patted the cushion next to her. Tabby fell into the seat, stunned by what she was hearing. “You have options. One, you can do what Micah wants and return to Marietta. No doubt everyone will want to fawn all over you and show you the boo-hoo, oh-how-sorry-we-ares. Two, you can stay here in Halle and tell them to go fuck themselves, thank you very much.
Which, frankly, is the option I would personally go for.” Belle gave her the most vacuous grin she’d ever seen, morphing from powerful Luna to bimbo Barbie in the span of seconds. The sharp intelligence behind those green eyes belied the look, leaving Tabby feeling bewildered and not a little off balance. “Make sure you use an air horn to drive the point home. They hate that.”
“Belle.”
The Luna grinned up at her mate, the empty-headed look completely gone. The Wolf Alpha sighed, but the sound was full of fondness for his blonde mate.
“Three, you can come to the Poconos with us. I’ve already spoken to the Pack and explained your circumstances. They’re willing to waive Protocol in light of what’s been done to you and what you’ve done since then.”
She gasped. Go to the Poconos? Leave Halle?
Join a new Pack? One that might actually want her?
“I mean, what self-respecting Wolf would want to live with all these…cats?”
She growled until she saw the wicked grin on the Alpha’s face.
“Them’s fightin’ words, Fido.” The Luna was laughing with him. “Besides, from the sound of that growl, I think she’s made a decision.”
“No one said she can’t be both Pack and Pride.” Rick lifted Belle’s hand and kissed her knuckles. “You’ve proven that.”
Belle tilted her head. “True. Emma?”
“Hmm?” The Curana calmly poured tea from the silver tea service, her brown eyes dancing with glee.