Chapter Fourteen
Graham stood outside his own home for half an hour trying to shove his lycan to the back of his mind before he entered. He knew as soon as that door opened he’d scent her and he’d pounce. He closed his eyes again as he remembered the scent of her arousal from earlier. It had been so strong it had wafted across the entire training field and clogged all his senses. The little whelp he’d been training nearly succeeded in knocking him to the ground because he’d become so distracted. Then he’d seen her… and seen his men. Their lustful eyes focused on her like a bunch of hounds scenting a fox made him nearly explode. He’d been seconds away from marking her and mating her right there.
“Fuckin’ bitch,” he hissed, thinking of his arrogant sister who’d clearly provoked him on purpose.
A shattering noise from inside brought him back to reality and had him running inside within an instant. He heard cursing coming from the kitchen. He followed the noise and the delicious aromas wafting around him until he was stopped in the door threshold. He gripped the door jam as he watched his mate try to sweep up the plate she’d just dropped. Her face was red with embarrassment. She kept puffing air out of her mouth to get her hair away from
her face.
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“Stupid, stupid,” she muttered. “What is this your first day cooking? The plate you’d just pulled from inside the oven is hot? Who’da thought! Dumbass.”
“Would you like some help?” Graham asked.
Catherine shrieked and dropped the dustpan, sending the plate scattering across the floor again. Her face turned a darker shade of crimson as her eyes found his. Her eyes then dragged down his body and it was no longer fried chicken he smelt wafting through the air. He groaned and walked toward her. Her breathing grew more labored and her eyes more hooded as he grew closer. He gave her a tight smile before taking the broom from her. Their fingers touched slightly and she gasped. Fucking hell. He should have wacked one out before he came home.
“I made dinner,” she whispered.
Graham turned and swept up the kitchen floor. “I can see that. You didn’t have to.”
“I like to… holy hell,” she whispered as he bent over to sweep up the plate into the pan, unconsciously giving her a view of his ass. He stood up and turned to face her. He cocked an eyebrow, trying to seem oblivious to her mounting arousal and his dick beginning to throb. “I like to cook. Obviously.” Catherine turned away, muttering something under her breath about getting a grip. She moved pans around the stove. “Maybe you should go take a shower. Dinner will be ready soon.”
Graham’s eyebrows rose and he discreetly smelled his shirt. He hadn’t taken a shower at the training ground, he preferred using his own. Now, though, he realized he’d been so concerned with her scent that he hadn’t considered how she’d react to his. He smiled to himself, loving how he could get this reaction from her. He took the few steps toward her. Her body tensed as he leaned forward and placed a delicate kiss on her exposed shoulder. She shivered violently.
“Yes, ma’am,” he breathed, skimming his nose along her skin eliciting a moan from her.
Graham did as he was told and took a very cold shower to calm himself down. When the cold water did nothing to stave his hunger or lower his rod, hes turned up the heat and filled his palm with conditioner. He gripped his length in a punishing grip. He placed his free palm against the cool tile and worked his fist up and down. He pictured her clinging to him like she had the day before.
Instead of remembering what actually happened, he imagined how it would have felt to keep her pinned to that bed. He pictured how her eyes would have rolled upward as he touched her, filled her, fucked her to abandon. Graham groaned as he found his release. He hadn’t even gotten to the good part of his fantasy. He placed his forehead against the tile. Just a few more days and he could take her
er whenever he pleased… and he would need to be pleased often.
Feeling more relaxed than he had since spotting her in that farmers market, Graham donned some sweatpants and padded barefoot back toward the kitchen. Catherine was already seated at the table with two plates set out, covered with overturned bowls. She glanced up from the book she was reading with a soft smile. Her gaze fell and then shot back up before becoming glued to his abs. He grunted as that heated look completely obliterated what he’d just done to calm his cock. It swelled and stood to full attention as her eyes roamed over him without shame.
Graham noticed how her eyes traced the lines of his tattoos. She bit her lip as she tried to analyze them. He had tried to hide his tattoos from her as long as he could. He knew rumors about the Blackmoore tattoos ran rampant. He’d heard theories from how each tattoo represented a past life to how they marked each person the wearer murdered. Based on the way her friend, Juno, paled at the sight of the ones on his arm, he could guess which rumor she believed. The truth was far more honorable and while he held great pride in his accomplishments, he didn’t feel the need to show them off or use them to intimidate as some did.
Graham was standing next to his mate, looking down at her flushed chest. Her eyes were still riveted to the muscles of his stomach and the angry bulge beneath his sweats. She swallowed and he stifled a groan when he pictured burying himself down her throat. He used his index finger to touch her chin and lift her face upward. She licked her lips and he found his thumb following in its wake. Her eyes fluttered closed.
“What are you reading?” he asked, his voice so deep he wondered how he’d spoken at all.
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Chapter Fourteen
Her eyes opened slowly and he had to keep his finger under her chin to keep them from wandering back down. “Lycans: an In Depth History and Cultural Analysis,” she whispered. It was his turn to shut his eyes as his dick jerked upward. He’d never been so hard before. Just the sound of her wanton voice speaking of something academic nearly did him in. “Natalie took me to the library. I thought it would be smart to… bone up.”
He opened his eyes to find her smiling slightly. She knew exactly what she was doing. “And what did you learn, little mate?” His thumb and fingers gripped her chin in warning.
“I learned that when a lycan is close to losing control their eyes are the first to turn,” she said. Her head tilted and he cursed knowing exactly what she was referring to. His eyes had sharpened the moment he’d seen her sitting at the table, a sure sign that they’d turned pitch black. “What has you fighting for control, Graham? Are you that… hungry?” Her eyes squinted in amusement. Damn her.
Graham leaned down and placed both hands on the arm rests of her chair. She took in a sharp breath as his face came close to hers. He noticed black swirling in her brown eye and her blue eye glowed slightly as the scent of her arousal plumed around them. “I don’t lose control, Sweetheart.” His eyes dipped to her parted lips and back. “I take it.”
Graham took a sharp step back and Catherine let out a breath. She cleared her throat and shuddered as she repositioned herself in her seat.
“You’re an asshole,” she hissed.
“So you’ve said,” he chuckled as he took his own seat and took the bowl off his plate. She’d made him fried chicken with mashed potatoes and broccoli. He found himself unable to keep from purring.
“I hope you like it,” she said, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. He looked up to find her cheeks a soft pink.
“I love fried chicken, thank you,” he said, meaning it.
They both cut into their dinners with ravenous intent. Every few minutes Graham would groan in pleasure causing her cheeks to pinken further. How ironic the meals he would travel hours to get every week were actually prepared by his mate who now cooked solely for him. He rarely had home cooked meals. Aside from the bi-weekly dinner he was forced to attend at his mother’s.
As if reading his thoughts she dabbed her lips with a napkin, making him jealous of a damned napkin, and asked, “Why is it you don’t eat at the packhouse?”
“I normally do. I just thought you might want some time to settle in before being introduced to that chaos.”
She smiled warmly. “I appreciate it. I’ve never enjoyed eating at a packhouse.”
His eyes narrowed. “When was the last time you ate at a packhouse?”
She paused with her fork halfway to her mouth. She stuck some broccoli in her mouth and avoided his eyes as she chewed. “Five years.”
“You’ve been a rogue for five years?” he asked, setting his utensils down. She nodded her head from side to side. “What was your pack like?”
“Oh, you know, the usual,” she said, still not meeting his eyes.
“Catherine…” She looked up at him with something like fear in her eyes. “We’re going to have to discuss your pack sometime. My alpha requires it. You’ll have to meet him and answer his questions before he’ll allow you to join our pack and we mark each other.”
Anger flashed through her eyes. “Your alpha determines when two people can mate?”
He smirked at her fire. “Not necessarily but you’re…”
“Rogue,” she spat, shoving her plate aside and crossing your arms.
“You’re my mate. I’m one of his most trusted advisors and leader of his forces. Not knowing who your parents are and your unwillingness to divulge your past strikes him as dangerous. He’s of the mind that I could become weak with you and if you’re not honest…”
“Do you think that? Do you see me as a threat?” she asked, her eyes still alight with fire. “Because if you do, I can leave right now and make all your problems go away.”
Graham growled low and slammed his fist on the table causing her to jump slightly in her chair. “Don’t ever think about leaving me, Catherine. I’m warning
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Chapter Fourteen
you. You’re mine. Whether Jensen approves of you or not doesn’t make a damned difference to me. I’ll turn rogue myself before I let you go and he damn well knows it. Clear?”
A small smile tugged at her lips before she nodded and pulled her plate back in front of her. She started to eat again, that smile tugging higher every few minutes. Graham couldn’t eat anymore. Something was nagging him.
“What are you hiding from me?” he asked softly. Catherine stopped eating and looked down at her lap. “I didn’t get to where I am now by being naive. It would be better for me to find out now than…”
“I was abandoned as a baby,” she whispered to her lap. “I don’t know anything about my parents. I was…” she gulped. “I was a part of…” She looked upward and he realized what she was about to say was something she dreaded. She finally met his eyes head on. “I belonged to the MoonStone pack. I ran from them after Alpha Dominic overthrew Alpha Lionel.”
She studied him for his reaction. He was startled, to say the least, but not surprised. A lot of members of MoonStone pack defected after Lionel fell. He’d met Dominic DeAngelo numerous times and nearly every time he’d knocked the fucker square in the jaw. He was a sadistic prick and he was grateful his mate had been able to get out of there before he could hurt her. The most startling part to him was that MoonStone was on the other side of the country, nearly 3,000 miles away. Why had she traveled so far to get away from the pack?
“And your adoptive family?” he asked.
Her eyes filled with pure hatred, startling him with their intensity. Her one eye blackened while the other glowed bright. Her mouth pulled tight and he saw her canines, telling him before she even spoke that she felt strongly about what she was about to say.
“I have no family, Graham,” she hissed.
Her skin was shivering and he thought she might actually shift. Before she could, he reached forward and took one of her clenched fists. He ran his thumb. over her knuckles until they loosened and she let out a sigh. As soon as he could, he interlaced their fingers. He raised her hand up and kissed each of her fingertips until she was practically melting in her seat.
“You do have family, Baby,” he whispered against her skin. He lifted his eyes to hers and smiled gently. “And they want to meet you.”
Surrendering to Destiny
