Blood of the Wolf by Brynn Paulin Read Free Book Online Page A

unsatisfying cotton.
    “Lucan,” she repeated, this time as a whisper. Her hands smoothed over his biceps, satisfaction on her voice. If only he could…
    With difficulty, he forced back his teeth then gazed down at her. Her lips were drawn into a smile, her eyes still closed for the after-tremors quivering along her limbs. She kissed his shoulder.
    With a content sigh, she sank into the bed. Lord, how he wanted to have her on his tongue. Instead, he fell sideways and pulled her with him. Meda snuggled into him as he drew up the sheet.
    She’d said they’d fight later. Thankfully, that wasn’t now.
    * * * *
    As dawn drew near, Lucan leaned against the headboard and stared down at the arm that wrapped around Meda—his entirely normal, non-marked right arm. Dread settled in his middle. It should be there, the indicator that Meda was his. The corresponding tracery of filigree should have appeared on her left arm. He ran his thumb along her skin as the limb in question curved across her torso, below her breasts.
    It was one of the first things he’d learned when entering the Dragon community was that those intended as mates, developed marks almost immediately after close proximity, intimacy or when the male shifted in the female’s presence. He’d experienced all three with Meda, yet no mark.
    They’d made love over and over all night, here and in his hot-spring fed tub. They’d been in constant contact. No matter what they’d done, Meda had found a way to touch him. She seemed unwilling to break contact for even a moment. Even now, she used him as a pillow while she rested.
    He hadn’t relaxed since shortly after he’d taken her the first time. In a instant of pure terror, he’d realized her left arm was a clear creamy white. Not so much as a freckle marred the pristine expanse.
    Once more, prickles of dread spread up his spine and across his tense shoulders. If the signifier hadn’t appeared, did that mean they weren’t truly destined mates, magically connected through the genetic links in their blood? He closed his eyes, feeling a little sick and violently determined. No one would take her from him. They wouldn’t be parted again, mate mark or not. Meda was his, and if he had to hide this problem, he would.
    Meda stirred and looked up at him.
    “What’s wrong?” she asked, sensing his unease.
    “We have to leave this bed soon, but I don’t want to share you,” he told her. It was a half truth. He didn’t want to be with others, but he especially didn’t want anyone seeing her arm.
    “I would like to see where you’re living now,” she replied, then pressed her lips together to hold back a smile. “I’m afraid I don’t have a thing to wear, though. My shirt has a burn hole in it and it got a little ripped last night.”
    “One of my shirts should do. My sister-in-law will probably have something you can borrow.”
    “You could take me back to my apartment—”
    “No.”
    Her eyes narrowed at his snapped word, and her smile faded. Flattening a hand in the middle of his chest, she pushed upright.
    “It’s not safe yet,” he told her, cutting off her protest.
    “I have to let people know I survived the fire,” she argued.
    Lifting her hand, he pressed his lips to her knuckles then turned it and kissed the middle of her palm. Distraction was his main objective, but at the first touch of lips to skin, his desire flared. His eyes drifted to her firm, rose topped breasts.
    “Not yet,” he replied. “Just be mine for now.”
    Unable to resist, he leaned in and drew one peak into his mouth. Meda groaned. Her fingers speared into his hair, holding him there while her back arched to push her closer to his fiery cavern. Flipping her onto the mattress, he bent over her. Relentlessly, he laved the taut flesh. Occasional nips and tugs drew cries and pleas for more. His tongue traced the edge of her nipple then dipped down the slope. Suddenly, he sank his teeth into the soft flesh on the underside of