Not Sore Enough to Stop

RHIANNON

“Wake up, Annie,” Isaac whispers as he leaves featherlight kisses down my neck.

“No,” I groan, rolling over in the massive bed.

He chuckles before pulling me back into his chest.

“We should go have breakfast.”

I perk up at the mention of food.

“Breakfast sounds good,” I sit up.

He slides out of bed and I’m suddenly not hungry for food. His muscles flex and roll under his tan skin.

He pulls on a pair of sweatpants and I wonder how anyone can look so good in loungewear.

I slide out of the bed and wince. I try to turn around but he’s already noticed.

“What’s wrong, Annie?” He reaches me in two long strides.

I feel like I’ve been stabbed. There is a deep, rippling soreness between my legs. The muscles in my lower abdomen are tight and crampy. I could definitely use a few Advil.

“I’m a little bit sore.” I brush it off. “I’m fine.”

“Bullshit.” He brushes my hair back and says, “That didn’t look like someone who is a little bit sore. I should have had you take a bath last night.”

He angrily runs his hands over his face. “I should have taken care of you.”

“Hey! I promise, I’m just sore. I’ll be all right. Last night was…” I bite my lip and blush at the memory.

He relaxes a little bit, then says, “I’m going to draw you a bath right now.” He walks quickly toward the bathroom.

“Will you join me?” I ask, and he freezes mid-stride.

“You’re going to make this hard on me, aren’t you?”

I bite my lip and shrug. He makes me feel things I didn’t know I could. Since my accident I’ve felt weak and powerless, a pitiful charity case that everyone feels bad for.

Isaac makes me feel powerful and sexy. He’s awakened something in me that I intend to explore.

I follow him into the bathroom. He’s filling the large tub with water. He dumps some white powder into the water and the room fills with the soft smell of lavender.

“Hopefully that will help with the soreness.” He gives me a sweet kiss before pulling down his sweatpants.

The soreness between my legs should have me swearing off sex for a while, but seeing him in all of his tall, muscular, well-endowed glory has wetness pooling at my core.

I step forward and boldly grab him in my hand. The action catches him off guard. I slide my hand over him softly.

“Get in the tub,” he tells me, raspy and demanding.

Pouting, I climb over the edge and sink into the warm water, moaning as the heat instantly soothes me.

He climbs in behind me, pulling my back flush with his chest. I feel him against my ass, and it makes my breath hitch in my throat.

“I can’t fuck you today, Annie. Shit, I might not be able to fuck you tomorrow, either. We need to take this slowly. Your body needs to adjust.”

I frown, turning my body in the water to look at his face.

“Don’t pout, baby. I’m not happy about it either, but I need to take care of you.”

Placing my back against his chest again, I rub my ass against him. He groans and grips the edges of the tub.

“Annie,” his voice a warning I’m not going to heed.

He spins me around so that my legs are wrapped around him. His dick rubs between my legs. I kiss him, hard, trying to spur him on. Sore or not, I want him, now.

He holds my neck in his large hand, keeping my head still while he deepens the kiss. I whimper into his mouth. I can feel him smiling against my lips.

My brain goes fuzzy. All I can think about is his tongue massaging mine, our wet skin slipping smoothly against each other.

He brings his hand down between us, finding my clit. He rubs soft, fast circles until I’m panting and moaning loudly.

“Fuck, you’re so beautiful, baby,” he whispers as he kisses my exposed neck.

When he pulls his head back, I can see that his canines have released. I wondered last night if they did, but it was too dark to see. Something about seeing them makes my core pulsate.

I lean forward to suck his lower lip into my mouth before gently licking one of his elongated teeth.

He lets out a loud, animalistic growl while quickly standing from the tub. He’s got his hands on my ass, squeezing me greedily as he rushes us to the bed.

He lays me down and climbs on top of me, nestling between my legs.

“Goddamn it, Annie. If this is too much, you have to stop me. I wanted to wait but…fuck,” he says frantically.

He pushes his head into my center, pausing to watch the reaction on my face. I bite down on my lip and nod for him to continue.

He slides in slowly, never taking his eyes off of my face. The burning ache is there, but not as badly as last night. I close my eyes and feel every hard inch of him.

His thrusts are slow and deliberate. He pulls out slowly, then snaps his hips forward, entering me slowly but hitting a spot so deep inside me, I moan with each thrust.

“Open your eyes,” he groans. When I do, I notice he’s looking down, looking at where our bodies are connected.

“Look,” he says. “Watch my cock sliding inside of you. Watch it filling you.”

I look down and see him sliding in and out of me. His huge length moves, coated in my slick arousal.

I feel myself starting to clench around him. My release is so close. My head falls back, and my jaw goes slack.

“Fucking cum,” he demands through gritted teeth. “You’re close, I can feel it. I need it, baby. Cum all over me, squeeze me.”

“Isaac…oh my…ahh!” I scream as I clench around him, hard, my back arching off the bed.

“Oh my fucking God,” he growls as his thrusts get sloppier. “Fuck, it’s so good, baby.”

He stills, and I can feel him jerking violently inside me while moaning into my neck.

He doesn’t pull out, just drops down to one elbow so that he doesn’t completely squish me under his weight.

When our breathing regains normalcy, he slips out of me and climbs from the bed.

“Come on, we really do need to eat.” He smiles his beautiful, dimpled smile as he walks toward the closet.

“Can I ask you something?” I ask nervously.

“Of course.”

“When will you mark me?”

He tenses before he says, “Whenever you’re ready. When I mark you, it’s…it’s like marriage. It’s much deeper than that, but to a human that’s the closest thing. I’ll mark you when you’re ready.”

“When do mates usually mark each other?”

He laughs. “My dad marked my mom the day after they met.”

I gape at him.

“For us, it’s normal,” he assures me as he turns toward the closet again.

“Grab me some clothes? I don’t want to get out of bed.

When he reappears, he has black jeans and a sweatshirt I don’t recognize. I must look confused.

“I…you don’t have to wear it. I just…here, I’ll get you a different one.” He reaches for it, but I hold it tightly.

It’s a black sweatshirt with a hood. There are small blue and purple flowers embroidered on one sleeve and up one side of the hood.

“I got that a few years ago in Japan. It’s cute and soft and I-I don’t know…I wanted to buy it for my mate.” He looks down at the sweatshirt as a pink blush spreads across his cheeks.

“Thank you, I would really like to wear it.” I kiss his cheek softly before standing to get dressed.

It’s a little bit big; I think he assumed his mate would be a wolf. I roll the sleeves over once, and then it’s perfect.

As we walk into the dining room, everyone is already eating. They all smile and nod as we walk up to the front table.

He pulls out a chair for me and excuses himself for a moment.

“We didn’t think you guys were going to make it down this morning,” Noah laughs.

The girl next to him slaps his arm and says, “Shut up, Noah!” She stands and walks around the table, extending her hand to me. “I’m Madelyn, I’m the gamma here.”

I stand and take her hand. “I’m Annie, it’s so nice to meet you!”

She returns to her seat. “How are you liking it so far? I know you only got in last night, but do you like the house? Everyone being welcoming?”

Noah snorts, and she hits him again. “Shut up, asshole. I’m excited, okay?”

“I just didn’t think the connection would come so quickly, that’s all,” he laughs.

I smile awkwardly. I have no idea what they’re talking about.

“Oh,” Madelyn explains quickly, “the gamma is the protector of the luna. We usually form a special bond, and it becomes my duty and honor to help you, serve you, and protect you.”

“Oh. That’s very sweet… I didn’t know…” I don’t know what to say. The thought of someone serving me makes me uncomfortable. It would be nice to have a friend though.

A steaming cup of coffee is placed in front of me, then a plate with waffles and bacon. I turn to see Isaac moving into his seat beside me.

“Thank you,” I whisper, placing a small kiss on his cheek.

The room erupts into a loud chorus of “ohs” and “ahs.” My cheeks burn, and I bury my face in his side. I feel him laughing.

“All right, that’s enough,” his loud voice quiets the room. He’s still laughing though, and so is Noah.

I moan into my coffee mug. It’s a perfect cup.

“You did good.” I wink at him as he watches me cut my waffles. His eyes flicker, and I knowingly smirk. I really am going to enjoy provoking him.

“How’s the house?” Noah asks, and Isaac shifts in his seat, irritated.

“It’s great,” he responds curtly.

I squint my eyes and look back and forth between them.

Noah leans forward in his seat. “Do ~you~ like the house?” he asks me.

“Yes, why do you ask?”

He and Isaac had a weird exchange regarding the house last night, too.

“Well, you see, our dear alpha here used to say, and I quote, ‘I don’t understand why alphas want separate quarters. When I find my mate, I’m still going to live in the pack house with my pack.’

“Interesting, right?”

I snort and cover my mouth with my hand. Isaac’s lips twitch, and he coughs to cover his smile.

“I was wrong, all right?” he says so quietly you almost can’t hear him.

“Sorry, Alpha, what was that?” Noah asks.

Isaac discreetly flips him off before saying, slightly louder, “I was wrong. I understand alpha’s quarters now.”

We all laugh except for Isaac, but he does smile, which causes my heart to beat faster. His dimples really do mess me up.

He catches me staring, and his smile turns into an arrogant smirk.

“Good morning!” Cel’s cheery voice calls as she walks toward us. A man with a cane is walking beside her. I jump up quickly, Isaac also rising to his feet.

“Annie, this is my father, Clayton,” he gestures, “and Dad, this is her.

I take Clayton’s outstretched hand only to have him pull me into a hug.

“It is so wonderful to meet you, Annie. I’m sorry pack business kept me from giving you a proper welcome yesterday.”

I’m taken aback by how similar Isaac and his father look. Clayton’s hair is shorter on top and peppered with a few gray hairs, but otherwise they are nearly identical.

“I… It’s great to meet you,” I stutter nervously. His gaze, while friendly, is intimidating like Isaac’s.

“What are your plans for the day?” he asks his son.

“I was going to take her to the lake, if she wants to go,” he turns to me.

“That sounds great,” I smile up at him.

“We’ll let you go then.” Clayton pulls Isaac into a hug and holds him there, talking to him quietly.

Isaac’s eyes go wide momentarily before he nods in understanding to his father.

“Let’s go.” He softly takes my hand as I smile and wave a small goodbye to everyone.

He leads me to a path behind the pack house. As we walk, he chews his lip, deep in thought.

“Isaac, is everything okay?”

Whatever his dad said to him is clearly on his mind. What if he doesn’t approve of me? Maybe he was telling Isaac to reject me!

Isaac doesn’t answer. He leads me down the trail until we come to a hill.

“Come here.” He steps forward and lifts me into his strong arms, briskly walking up the hill.

At the top there is a huge lake.

“It’s man-made,” he says quietly. “It gets really hot here. This is everyone’s favorite spot in the summer.”

We start walking the trail that circles the lake.

He seems distant and uncomfortable. What happened? What did his dad say?

“Isaac, please,” I beg. “What happened?”

He stops and grabs both of my hands in his.

“Annie?”

“Yes?

“Will you…will you go on a date with me?” he asks nervously.

“I… Yes! I would love to go on a date with you!”

We both breathe a sigh of relief.

“Sorry, I was nervous. I’ve never asked anyone on a date. Wolves don’t really date. My dad said I need to take you out, do some human stuff for you.”

I smile and bite my lip. Maybe his dad doesn’t disapprove then.