Chapter Twenty-Nine
Catherine took Graham’s hand and led him to their bedroom. She let go of his hand in the bathroom doorway.
Catherine got to work prepping a bath for him. She figured out early on that if he’s had a rough day training or is feeling drained, he liked to soak practically as soon as he got home. Whatever happened in those baths, he would always emerge refreshed and with far lighter shoulders. She turned the faucet on for the largest tub she’d ever seen. It was set against the wall, surrounded by stone. It was large enough for Graham to be able to lay back in it comfortably.
As she got the tub ready, Graham remained in the doorway. His hands rested in his pockets and his eyes were glazed over, staring at something in the distance. She added salt and a few calming herbs. Even as she stripped her clothes, Graham remained stoic, looking but not seeing. She sighed and pulled off his shirt and dropped his shorts. Even still she got no reaction from him. She took his hand and led him to the tub. After checking the temperature she pushed him toward the tub and he mechanically got in it. As he settled in and laid his head back on the towel she’d rolled up on the tub’s edge, he let out a long breath.
Catherine nudged his legs so she could step in and sit on the opposite side of the tub. She pulled his foot up into her lap and started massaging it. She focused on the balls of his foot and his toes before working down the sole and into his heel. When she was done with his left foot, she moved onto his right. As she worked on the taut muscles of his calves, she looked up and noticed his eyes were closed.
Smiling to herself slightly she crouched forward and slid over him until she was sitting in his lap. She felt the hardness of his cock at her middle and hummed. She ran her fingertips through his hair and his eyes opened. He sighed in contentment.
“Why’d you stop rubbing me?” he asked, his eyelids heavy.
“Oh, so you did notice?” she joked.
A small crack of a smile graced his lips. “It was helping me think.”
“What were you thinking?”
His fingers started massaging her thighs and she held back a moan of pleasure. “I believe we’ve heard enough about what I think. You got handed a lot of new information today. What have you been thinking?”
Catherine let out a puff of air to which his smile grew. “I’ve been thinking that my life just keeps getting more and more complicated.” Graham hummed in understanding. “I’ve been thinking that it would be nice to get some answers.” His eyes rose up to meet hers. She let out a sigh. “I’m thinking I want to learn how to shift easier, to learn more about myself in order to be a better person… a better mate to you.”
“You don’t have to be a luna to be the perfect mate for me, Baby,” he said with conviction. “You’re already perfect to me. No one has ever taken care of me like you do. No one has ever loved me like you do. I don’t want to lose you.”
“Why do you keep saying that like it’s predestined?”
“Fuck destiny,” he hissed, his brow dropping and his anger returning.
Catherine massaged the muscles in his shoulders until the line between his eyes smoothed. “You believe in our mate bond, don’t you?”
“Of course I do.”
“Mate bonds are fate, destiny, aren’t they?”
His eyes hardened. “There is still a choice in bonding. You can choose to accept or reject it. Fate may put someone in front of you, it tells you that this person is meant for you, but you get to choose. What your father is doing is taking that choice from us. What he talks of is not destiny but his own control.”
Catherine nodded. “I want to know more about myself, Graham,” she said, more firm now. “Maybe we can take back some of that control. He needs me, he’s said so himself. Clearly he doesn’t believe in Stuart to lead but he believes in us. He wants you to think he has all the power but he doesn’t… I do.”
Graham tried to control the grin threatening to split his cheeks. He hid it by leaning forward to kiss her collarbone. “That’s certainly true. You have all the
power over me too.”
She giggled as his beard tickled her breasts. “I can’t sit here around the house all day with nothing to do. I’ve cleaned the microwave fifteen times already.” Graham laughed and shook his head. “Rebecca mentioned needing a head chef at the packhouse.”
1/3
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Graham stiffened and sat back to give her an appraising look. “I don’t want you at the packhouse.”
“Why? Old girlfriends you don’t want me to meet?”
His cheeks turned an adorable shade of pink. “Maybe one or two. But that’s not what bothers me. They don’t hold a candle to you.” Catherine flushed with pleasure and wiggled a bit on his lap. She felt his erection pulse against her back. He traced his finger down her throat. “What worries me is the men.”
“Don’t think I can beat back unwanted attention?”
He smiled. “I’m sure you could, Baby. Doesn’t mean I trust them not to fight dirty. Everyone who hangs around a packhouse is looking to further their position or solidify it. Taking a run at the alpha’s long lost daughter is a good way to achieve that.”
“I’m a mated woman,” she assured him.
“In your heart,” he whispered, placing his palm over the organ in question. “But men with ambition only care about the soul,” he continued while placing his hand around her neck where his mark would soon be. “Even then that doesn’t stop ’em. Even taking away the romance some may desire. Jensen has a lot of enemies.” His eyes flashed and a devilish smile graced his face. “Trust me, I’ve made them for him. You are not only the alpha’s daughter and only true heir, you’re his right hand’s mate. I haven’t said anything up until now but you have to understand how much danger you are in at all times… when I’m not around anyway.”
Catherine thought about what he said for a minute while his hands traveled over her body, gliding with the warm water. “Jensen mentioned something about guards…” Catherine started. Graham’s body tensed. “Something about blood binding?”
A growl ripped through his chest, setting the hairs all over her body on edge. She stilled in his lap. “You will not be doing that,” he ordered. She felt his aura slip out and she ducked her head. He smothered the pressure immediately. “Fuck, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.” He took in a deep breath to steady himself.
“What is blood binding, Graham?”
“It’s when you make a vow and then mix your blood to seal the promise. In the case of a guard, it allows them to sense you, to know your emotions. Not only can they know when you’re in danger, they can find you easier. They will carry a piece of you and the link cannot be broken unless one of you dies.”
Catherine made a face. “I don’t want that.”
“Good, cause I wouldn’t allow it even if you did,” he grumbled.
“Is there really no one in the packhouse you can trust?”
“There’s one. He’s out of town on some business,” he murmured, looking away.
She chuckled. “In that case we both know I need to be able to shift properly.” Graham raised his eyes to meet hers again. “I’ll need to be able to protect myself.”
“Okay.”
“Putting aside what I need,” she began, his grip tightened on her. “I want to learn more about my family’s history. I want to work. I want to better myself for you, for my family, for me. Can you understand that?”
Graham nodded. “I can. Is that… all you want?” he asked, drawing her closer.
She purred and brushed her breasts against his chest. “Are you asking if I want you?” He hummed. “No, I don’t want you. That’s something I need.”
She lowered her lips and sealed them over his. He purred in satisfaction. He nibbled her lower lip and sucked it into his mouth. She moaned and cupped his head as she started to gyrate her hips against him. The water sloshed around them, some of it spilling to the floor. Graham groaned and he dropped one hand to open the drain. He then turned the faucet on, letting hot water swirl around them and steam to fill the room. She pulled away to get some air.
He shoved his head against her chest. “We still need to figure out how to get around your father’s command. I need to mark you, Catherine. I need it with every fiber of my being. I need to be a part of you.”
As he spoke he positioned himself at her entrance. Catherine glided down until she was fully seated on him, releasing a soft moan all the way down. She lifted her hips and started a slow, sensuous rhythm. The water rippled around their bodies and she realized she never wanted to leave this tub. She lowered her mouth and let her canines scratch over the mating spot on his neck. His hips jerked at the action.
2/3
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“We’ll sort it out, mate,” she whispered against his ear as she started moving harder against him. He groaned long and low. “Maybe I’ll command you to do it myself and see who really holds the most power over you.”
Graham growled at her words and took control of their movements. He rammed himself harder into her and she cried out. The water around them had thankfully drained, otherwise the bathroom would be flooded. Her cries reverberated over the stone walls. She gripped his shoulders, trying to stay balanced and not fall to the floor with each strike of his pelvis against hers.
Graham’s canines extended as they got closer to their peak. His teeth hovered over her neck and he growled when an invisible force kept him from touching her there. He took out his frustration by pistoning even harder into her. Catherine’s orgasm took her by surprise. The mixture of pain and pleasure his assault wrought on her had her body quaking as he rode harder to reach his own. Needing something to possess, his teeth punctured the skin of her shoulder and dug deep.
She screamed as blood dripped down her chest. The pressure from his jaw kept her pinned in his lap while his cock twitched and expanded with release. It took a couple of minutes for him to release his hold on her. When he did she slipped back into the tub and laid her head back on her own towel. At some point he’d reinserted the plug in the drain and she sighed as the water rose around her. Graham took her slender foot in his large hands and started kneading the sole. She moaned as his thumbs worked causing him to chuckle.
“Sleep, Baby,” he whispered to her closed eyelids. “You’ll need the rest if you’re to conquer the world for me.”
Surrendering to Destiny
