Page 113 of Taming the Kraken

“I want you,” she admitted in a pant. Why not admit it? He already knew. Besides, her body was telling on her anyway. She fought for dominance against his mouth, his teeth pulling her lips.

“Good,” he whispered huskily. “Now let’s go back upstairs.” He licked her bottom lip before he raised his head and gazed down at her with lustful eyes.

“Why? What does this solve now?” Brandy sagged against his chest as he pushed himself into her hand. She felt his hardened length bulging against his pants.

“It solves a major problem of mine. And one of yours.” He removed his hand from her pants and placed both hands on her waist. “If you want to,” he said in a low gentle seductive tone as his fingers played at her sides.

She looked into his blue eyes and smiled. Why wouldn’t she want to? She couldn’t argue that the chemistry between them in bed was amazing. It was like someone had read her diary and created a man to please her. She never left his room unsatisfied. And it was getting harder and harder to leave his side. But she wouldn’t think about the reasoning behind that.

“Brandy?”

A voice called out from behind her, making her jump. She stepped away from Mikah and turned. She already knew who it was, and her chest sank as she stared at the man walking up the path.

“Noah? What are you doing here?” Brandy took in a deep breath, trying to regulate her heartbeat. She hoped the scent of her arousal wasn’t heavy in the air and that her swollen lips weren’t overly noticeable.

“Umm … the elders told me I could find you here. They suggested that I walk you home and escort you to the dinner party tonight.”

Brandy looked at Noah and frowned slightly. Noah acted like a nice enough guy. He was only a few years older than her, with blond hair, brown eyes, and a nicely put together appearance. As far as looking at him went. But when he started to talk … he was incredibly boring. And she was quite certain he would be just as boring in the bedroom.

“I wasn’t planning on going to the party tonight,” Brandy answered honestly. She felt Mikah shift behind her and could feel his heat upon her back.

“The elders want us to be a match. We owe it to them to try, don’t you think?” Noah rubbed his neck and glanced back at Mikah. He could see the murderous glare this man was giving him, and he wasn’t sure why. The man was bigger than him in all aspects. And while he could sense he was a werebear, there was much more to him. A strong, powerful force he wouldn’t want to face. He averted his gaze from the man to avoid giving the impression that he was challenging him.

“I told the elders I wasn’t ready. I am not ready to settle down and do my part to procreate a druid baby. I am not livestock.” Brandy folded her arms over her chest and watched the wave of surprise come over Noah’s face.

“I don’t think you’re livestock, Brandy. You know, I asked if I could be paired with you. I’m willing to wait. As long as there is a promise to be my intended. I don’t want to wait for no reason.” Noah straightened up, a bit indignant on his own behalf. There were plenty of druid women chasing after him. Why should he have to beg her? She should be thrilled he picked her. But he was determined he would have her. She was beautiful. Her body was voluptuous. Her large, rounded breasts, hourglass waist, flawless skin, and beautiful, bewitching eyes were everything he wanted. Her hair was a dark shade of red that shined and beckoned him. She was going to be his mate. He had decided it years ago and was finally ready to make sure it happened. She had to pick from the druid men, and no man there would go up against his family. He was making it publicly known that Brandy was his. One way or another, she would have to come to him.

“You should probably keep dating others. I don’t plan on promising myself to anyone.” Brandy could see the slight agitation in Noah’s eyes. His lips formed a thin line, his eyes twitching slightly.

“The elders have asked for me to bring you to the party tonight. We can’t ignore the elder’s wishes. Going against them is unwise,” Noah said as he tried to control his voice.

Mikah finally snorted and placed his hand on Brandy’s shoulder. “She isn’t finished here today. We were just discussing that we need another delivery, and she has promised that it would be here.”

Brandy rolled her shoulder and shrugged his hand off of her. “I can handle this myself.” She glared at him for a moment and rubbed her forehead.

“She can bring it after the party then. She has an obligation to be there.” Noah felt angry when he saw the man’s hand on Brandy’s shoulder. And even though she brushed his hand off, he didn’t like the look in the man’s eyes. Noah glared at him in a slight challenge, but the man only looked at him with a condescending smile that said go ahead and try. And this infuriated Noah more.

“Perfect. I’ll be expecting her tonight then.” Mikah’s eyes met Brandy’s, promising what their night together would bring. He then glanced back at Noah, holding his gaze until the man looked away. That druid had no idea who he was playing with. The man didn’t know it, but Mikah was barely holding on to his composure. He wanted to show that man the clear difference in their strength.

“Fine!” Brandy snapped and looked at Noah. “Wait for me at the end of the walkway. I have one more thing to do here.” Noah reluctantly walked away and she waited until she was certain he was well out of sight before she turned around angrily to confront Mikah.

“What was that all about?!” Brandy snorted. “Why did you interfere? This is my life. I can handle it myself. I’m just your pleasure buddy, remember?” she hissed, then noticed his blue eyes darken.

“You’re just going to do what the elders tell you? Get yourself bred so you can pop out a few puppies for them?” Mikah growled out between clenched teeth.

“You don’t know anything about the lives of druids. This is our responsibility. Druids have to reproduce with other druids. I don’t have a choice in the matter.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. Why was he getting so angry over this anyway?

“To hell with your feelings then? You’ll just take whatever chosen mate they give you?”

“I have a choice, Mikah. I can choose from any of the male druids.”

“You don’t have a choice. You have a gene pool you have to choose from.”

“Why do you care, Mikah? You aren’t offering me anything else, right?” Brandy raised her brows at him and folded her arms over her chest. Why did she even say that? She could see the wounded look in his eyes, but she didn’t break her stare.

“Brandy, I already talked to you about that⁠—”

“Exactly, Mikah! We already know where the other stands. You aren’t taking a mate. And I have to take one from my kind. This is where we are.” Brandy shrugged as she swallowed down the lump forming in her throat. Why? Why was she feeling pain inside? After hearing him begin to shut down the possibility of being together, she felt gutted. This was just for fun. She wasn’t serious about Mikah. This was just to pass the time for now.