Witches Get Stitches by Juliette Cross
Chapter 18
~NICO~
Fucking finally!To say today was a good day was the understatement of the year. Of the last two years actually. I knew it would take a little push to make Violet give in to me. I felt a twinge of guilt for flirting with Lindsey and letting her think I was interested just to get a rise out of her.
But when I’d heard Violet hovering at the door while Lindsey was doing all the flirting, I couldn’t resist encouraging it a little, hoping it would have the exact effect that it did.
As soon as Lindsey pulled her sweater down, I’d gently told her that we could only be friends. Was it an honorable thing to lead Lindsey on? Not at all. But I wasn’t what Lindsey really wanted or needed. And winning Violet would take a little deviousness, and perhaps a firm hand as well.
I clenched my jaw at the thought of her moaning response when I slapped her ass with that firm hand. Not only did she not mind my overbearing dominance during sex, she seemed to love it. And truth be told, I was still restraining myself. Damn, that woman was made for me. The wolf rumbled in my chest, completely agreeing.
As of now, Violet might think this was just sex, but I was pretty sure the only way to get close to Violet’s heart was through her panties. She was a sexual creature. Christ. So sensual and responsive.
I was half-hard just thinking about the look on her gorgeous face when she came beneath me. I finished setting the food I’d picked up for dinner aside, then glanced at my watch. Still thirty minutes before she’d be here. I set out the Old Smokey Salted Caramel whiskey, thinking she might enjoy this one.
Picking up my phone, I then flipped back to the list she’d texted me today, grinning at the screen like a fool.
- Oral sex (reciprocal)
- Doggy style (scratch that; don’t want to offend your wolf)
- Wall sex
- Cowgirl
- Reverse cowgirl
- Sixty-nine
- Shower sex
- Whips (no chains, please)
- Blindfolded
- Tied up
- Chocolate syrup (or anything you’d like to lick off of me)
- Sex swing (can save this for later; here’s a link on Amazon)
She’d ended her list with nothing but a smiley face. I swear, if I wasn’t in love with her already, I would be now.
My phone buzzed as I was holding it, Layla’s name flashing on the screen. Video call. My sister rarely spontaneously video called.
“Hey,” I answered hurriedly.
“Hey.” She looked and sounded down.
My protective instincts kicked in at once. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing too terrible. It’s just Gigi. She had a bad day. I didn’t realize it was daddy/daughter lunch day at her school, so I wasn’t able to get my father-in-law to go and sit in for Daniel.”
Fuck. My heart sank. This was the kind of thing I wished I could do for Layla. Should do for her. Especially since she lived in Baton Rouge, only an hour away. Other than her elderly father-in-law who wasn’t getting around so well these days, I was the only family she had.
After Daniel died, she relied on her father-in-law to help out. This was actually another reason I felt guilty for not visiting. Since the incident with Ty, I was terrified of something setting me off and accidentally hurting Layla or Gigi.
“What’s she doing now?”
“Moping. Curled up on the sofa with Mr. Bobo.”
I was already heading upstairs to grab my guitar. “Let me sing her something.”
Layla sighed with relief. “That’s what I was hoping. Thank you!”
I saw her walking through her house as I picked up my guitar then set the phone on my nightstand. I was tuning a string when Gigi’s angel face popped on screen.
Layla was saying, “He wants to sing you a lullaby.”
Her sad blue eyes sparkled with joy when she saw me. The phone screen wobbled as she seemed to be getting comfortable on the sofa.
“Hey, Uncle Nico.”
“Hello, my sweetheart.” I gave her my brightest smile. “I’ve been missing you.”
“Me, too. When are you going to come and visit?”
Another sharp pang stabbed me in the chest. “I will as soon as I can.” As soon as I could trust myself. “I promise. How about your favorite song for now?”
Her chubby cheeks puffed when she smiled wide. “Please, please!”
“You and Mr. Bobo settle down. Here we go.”
I strummed the opening chords, then launched into “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” singing the words I’d sung a hundred times for her since she was a baby in the crib.
Her sweet smile and bright eyes melted my heart. Especially when she mouthed the words where trouble melts like lemon drops as I sang them. She squeezed Mr. Bobo tighter, his floppy ears bent as she squished her cheek against his. When I ended the song, I got close to the screen.
“Is Mr. Bobo asleep yet?”
She glanced at her bunny then turned back to me and shook her head. “Not yet. One more!”
Knowing that would be the answer, I laughed and strummed some soft chords, moving into something slower.
“One more. Then you have to promise to go to sleep and dream about happy things.”
“Okay. I promise.”
I heard footsteps on the stairs and had actually smelled her as soon as she’d entered my house. I kept playing, feeling her draw closer. I sensed her leaning against the doorjamb, watching me. I glanced over and gave her a smile, still singing Gigi’s song.
There was a surprised and sort of sad expression on Violet’s face. A little stricken, I focused back on Gigi with a smile as I sang the final chorus.
“Yay!” She clapped then made Bobo clap with his bunny paws.
“You feel better, sweetheart?”
“Way better.”
“Here’s a big kiss.” I leaned in and blew her a kiss. “Now get to sleep and you better keep your promise.”
“I will. Goodnight, Uncle Nico!”
“Sweet dreams, angel.”
I ended the call and turned to Violet. Her expression had morphed into one I’d never seen her wear. If adoration had a face, it was the one Violet was giving me right now. My heartrate tripled in speed.
“That’s my niece,” I said quietly.
She glanced down and cleared her throat before saying, “You sing lullabies to your little niece.”
“As often as I can.” I stood and leaned my guitar on its stand in the corner.
“Layla is your sister?”
“Actually, she’s my mother’s granddaughter by her second husband. My mother was human.”
“How’s that?” she asked.
“You do know I’m a hundred and seven, right?”
“Old man. You’re robbing the cradle with me.” She smirked playfully.
“But yes, she is like a sister to me. Her husband died in an incident working offshore, so I try to help out and keep in touch when I can.”
She took a step into the room and put both hands into the back pockets of her jeans then huffed out an embarrassed laugh.
“What?”
“I, um…” She tilted her head to the side, a guilty smile on her face. “I saw the picture of y’all downstairs and her name on your phone when she called the other day and thought she was maybe an ex-girlfriend. Or wife.”
My brows shot up as I stalked closer. “You thought I had an ex-wife and a child I didn’t tell you about?”
I spanned my hands along her waist. She curled her index fingers into the belt loops on the side of my jeans.
“Well, you’ve never talked about a sister,” she accused. “And Mateo never said anything about another cousin.”
“That’s because she isn’t related to Mateo. My mother left my dad. She had to.” I swallowed the lump in my throat, thinking about how she’d left me behind, too. For my own good as well as hers.
“Why?” she asked quietly, probably thinking I wouldn’t answer.
What Violet didn’t understand was that I’d tell her anything. I wanted her to know me, wanted to bind her to me in every way.
“My father had trouble controlling his temper. And his beast. He, uh, hurt her one too many times after shifting when he lost control.”
I slid my hands under the hem of her loose button-up shirt, needing to feel her skin, needing it to ground me. I settled my palms on her waist again.
“When she left him, he agreed it was the best thing to do.”
My poor father wasn’t a perfect man, but he never could control his temper. For a wolf, that could be deadly for others. I didn’t tell Violet that the last time he was violent, my mother was hospitalized with multiple lacerations and a broken arm.
“But how did you end up being raised with Mateo? Your mom—” She stopped, obviously realizing the truth.
“She had to leave me. A human woman can’t raise a werewolf on her own. She had no idea how to teach me what to do, how to cover up what I was. She ended up moving to Florida and remarrying a good man. A human.”
I couldn’t keep the regret from my voice. Losing my mother had ruined my father, though he knew she had to leave. I remember him sitting on the back porch every afternoon, drinking a beer and staring off into space. He withdrew further and further until he went away one day on a trip to Montana. He didn’t return home.
Mateo’s dad and our grandfather found him deep in the woods in human form, naked. And dead. He had gashes all over, deep wounds on his stomach. He’d obviously gotten into a fight with a bear or wolves and had lost.
“And to be honest, I was afraid to go with her. I’d started shifting and understood the danger for her.” I swallowed hard, my gaze sweeping her delicate collarbone. “I’d never forgive myself if I’d hurt my mother the way he had.”
She slid her slender fingers under my shirt and swept them over my abdomen. I tightened at the sweet sensation.
“You did see her though, right?”
I nodded.
“Of course. Till it was obvious to her family that I wasn’t aging. And after she passed, I lost touch with her daughter.”
“Layla’s mother.”
I nodded. “But then I get this call one day, and she tells me she’s my mom’s granddaughter. Apparently, my mother had pictures and letters of her and my father she’d passed down. Layla was happily married at the time with a baby girl and not much family still alive. But she’d wanted to meet me since I was almost all she had left except for her father. I suppose, technically, she’s my niece, but I’ve always thought of her as a sister.”
“Where does she live?”
“Baton Rouge.”
“What? That’s so close. Is that why you moved to New Orleans?”
I stared down at her, dumbfounded at that question. “No, Violet. She isn’t the reason I came here.” I wasn’t hiding anymore. “But I guess it’s another reason for me to stay.”
She licked her lips and toyed with the button at the top of my button-down. “But you get to see her a lot more now, right?”
“Not as much as I’d like,” I admitted, tucking a lock of her purple-blonde hair behind her ear.
“Because you’re afraid you might shift or something? You don’t have a hot temper, Nico. You’re the coolest guy I know. As in calm and collected.”
“Most of the time, yes. But there are times I’ve lost it.”
Ty’s terrified and bloody face flashed into my mind. I squeezed my eyes shut for a second.
“That boy in the Blood Moon pack?”
I nodded stiffly, ready to move away from this conversation. This wasn’t what I had planned for our first date.
“Well, good thing you know a very crafty witch who’s going to help you with that problem.”
“Good thing,” I agreed before leaning down to kiss those sweet lips.
I sampled her mouth for a long, lingering moment, tasting with just a little tongue. And that was all it took for me to reorganize our date night. I started unbuttoning her blouse.
She huffed. “Aren’t we going to talk about this?”
Since our hard fuck in the supply closet, we hadn’t exchanged a word besides the text she’d sent me.
“Do you want to talk?” I continued kissing and unbuttoning.
She pulled back, watching my hands descend. “Don’t I even get dinner first?
“I’ll feed you after round one.”
When I slid her arms out of the blouse, she noticed the set-up on my dresser. Then she burst out laughing.
I grinned, not even glancing back as I unfastened and removed her bra, unable to look away from her beautiful body. I’d set out an array of items I’d picked up today, including a blindfold, fuzzy pink handcuffs, and a giant bottle of Hershey’s syrup.
She turned her attention back to me since I already had her jeans halfway down her legs. She obliged and stepped out after I pulled off her socks and shoes.
“A man of action, wolfie. I like it.”
I grabbed her waist and lifted. She immediately wrapped those long, sexy legs around me, and then I kissed the fuck out of her as I walked to the wall.
“Number three already?” she asked, all breathy.
Her pulse had quickened, and I could scent the wetness between her thighs. One thing I noticed in that supply closet was how well Violet responded to my dominant nature. With every command I ordered, she became more turned on. I also knew that I didn’t want to hold back with her. Not in any possible way.
With a strong-willed woman like Violet, that meant pushing a few boundaries to show her I was no ordinary lay. I was going to be her only one from here on out. She just didn’t know it yet.
“No,” I finally answered, dropping her on her feet. Wrapping my hand around her nape, I slid my tongue along her lower lip then bit it with a little force. “Number one.”
I straightened as I gripped her shoulders and pressed her down. She followed my lead, sliding down the wall till she was on her knees. Those big blue eyes stared up at me with a little shock and a lot of arousal.
I cupped the side of her face, grazing my thumb across her cheekbone, her skin like silk. My wolf was already looking out from my eyes, siting his prey, wanting to bite and claim her in every way, but I held the leash. We were doing this my way, the only way to capture the heart of a witch like Violet. Her mouth was partly open, her pupils blown wide, black swamping her irises, leaving only a ring of vibrant blue.
“What are you waiting for?” My voice was gravel-deep, my question a command.
Her eyes fell to my crotch before she started unbuckling my belt with quick fingers. I brushed the pad of my thumb over her bottom lip, back and forth, as she panted lightly and pulled out my dick.
“You have any idea how long I’ve wanted to fuck this pretty mouth?”
She whimpered at my words, wasting no time in gripping the base of my dick and wrapping her lips around my head.
“Fuck.” A feral groan rumbled deep in my chest.
Placing my palm under her chin, I held her jaw lightly then eased her back till her head hit the wall. Then I started to slide deeper. She sunk her nails into my jeans at my thighs to hold on as I slowly pumped into her mouth, nice and shallow but going deeper with each thrust.
“Suck me.”
She did. With enthusiasm, those gorgeous eyes looking up at me. I draped my forearm against the wall, still cupping her jaw in place with the other hand, then dropped my head to watch and spread my legs wider so I could fuck her mouth properly. No. Thoroughly.
“Can you take more of me?”
She nodded eagerly, never releasing that spine-tingling suction on my cock. I pumped deeper, hitting the back of her throat, groaning at the insane pleasure spiraling through my body.
I moved my hand from under her chin to the nape of her neck, her hair sliding between my fingers, then squeezed. She started to bob her head forward and pumped her hand on my dick in rhythm with her mouth.
“Good girl,” I growled.
She reached her other hand between her legs.
I squeezed her neck tighter. “No.”
She glared up at me, defiant and frustrated. My cock got even harder. She rubbed her fingers over her panties. She was testing me. But I needed her to know that, in this, I needed, my wolf needed, full control. Full obedience.
“You heard me, Violet. No.” A rough command. I shook my head. “Touch your tits if you want, but that pussy is all mine tonight.”
A glazed expression of pleasure swept across her eyes as she rolled her middle finger around one nipple. The sight made my balls squeeze tight, ready to blow.
Reaching back into my jeans pocket since they were barely off my hips, I pulled a condom out and dropped it between her spread knees. “Put it on me.”
This time, she didn’t hesitate. I pulled out, still only inches from her lips, sweeping her saliva over her mouth while she unwrapped the condom.
She was breathless and so silent. I’d never seen Violet without a smartass comeback. Even in the supply closet, she’d been mouthy. It was such a fucking turn-on.
My wolf liked her smart mouth. He also liked her lips swollen from sucking my cock. But there was something about her being reduced speechless—panting and frantic to get my dick inside her—that boosted my aggression to the next level.
As soon as she had the condom rolled on, I pulled her up and hoisted her with one arm under her ass, leveraging higher so I could suck her pretty tits. Her nails scraped my scalp as she ground herself against my abdomen.
I reached between us and tore open my shirt, buttons bouncing to the wood floor, needing to feel her on my naked skin. We managed to get my shirt off together. I sucked one nipple before coasting to the second, groaning at how pink and puckered they got for me.
“Please, Nico,” she begged, grinding against me. “Please, please, please.”
I lowered her, holding her up with one hand on her ass and my chest pressed to hers. Not that I had to do much; she had an iron grip around my neck. Licking into her mouth, I slid my dick back and forth between the folds of her pussy. She was so drenched it didn’t take much to coat the condom.
“I could get used to hearing you beg,” I whispered against her mouth, relishing the wild, pleasure-soaked look in her eyes.
She bit my bottom lip with a sharp sting and glared. “If you don’t get your dick inside me now, I’m going to cut it off and take it home with me to use as I want.”
I smiled then lined myself up and gripped her ass with both hands before I drove inside her with one hard thrust.
Her head fell back to the wall and she arched her neck, offering me her throat. She probably had no idea what that meant to a werewolf. I didn’t take her submission as truth, but my wolf bucked at the reins. I leaned forward and sucked her neck, biting a line down her throat as I fucked her hard and marked her up.
She made these desperate little sounds, a cross between a whimper and a moan, over and over again with each thrust of my hips. I moved my arms to hook under her knees and spread her wider, my palms on the wall, watching the insanely erotic motion of my dick pounding inside her soaking wet pussy.
“Oh, God!” She couldn’t move her hips now that I had her pinned. “I’m gonna come.”
“Fucking look at me,” I growled.
She opened her eyes, an expression of near-pain creasing her brow. And then something else. Yes. Fucking right there. That’s what I wanted to see. Raw vulnerability as her body responded to mine, as I took her over the edge of pleasure into something deeper.
“Yes, baby,” I whispered against her mouth before sliding my tongue inside and kissing her with aching tenderness. “You feel it too, don’t you?”
I ground against her clit with each upward thrust, both of us groaning as she came apart, clenching around my cock.
I fucked her through her orgasm, following not too far behind, letting my head fall to her shoulder. We stayed just like that, trying to come back down from wherever we were. Because it sure as hell wasn’t planet Earth.
Ghosting my lips up her neck, I finally lifted my eyes to hers. She stared at me, that vulnerable look fading behind a cocky smile. It didn’t matter. I’d seen it, captured the moment, and stamped it on my heart. It was mine. Just like she was.
“Jesus, wolfie.” She was still breathing hard. “You sure know how to fuck.”
I chuckled, still buried deep inside her. “We took care of two on the list.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Do you even know the definition of reciprocal?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “In the supply closet doesn’t count?”
“Hell no. I may have to revoke your alpha male card if you can’t take care of business.”
I pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “Let me feed you. Then I’ll eat dessert.” I thrust up to make my point. “I’ll check a few more off your list.”
She grinned and kissed me sweetly. “Deal.”