The Alpha Emperor’s Resurrection

10: Caius

The woman left me alone several times, but I didn't try to get up when she was out of the room.

I was starting to feel better, but I got the distinct impression she would be angry with me if she came back and found me wandering around.

I wasn't ready to see what the world was like - I could barely handle the thought of seeing what I looked like and it was clear she was trying to guard me from the reality of my situation, however long had passed. The world I had awoken in was so different to my own that a White Wolf was the one to find me, and to nurse me back to health, without questioning who I was or what I had been doing when she found me.

My memories were still foggy; I was certain I had been an old man when I died, but the woman was far from repulsed by the fact I was naked. It didn’t seem likely that a woman as young and attractive as her would be interested in an old man, and she had actually seemed disappointed when I told her about Talia.

"Mate?"

Her flaming orange eyes widened, and she nearly dropped the plate of food she had just brought back to the room.

I laughed.

"Interested?" she asked as she passed me the white ceramic plate with an array of exotic fruit laid out on it, as if it was nothing fancy.

It hadn't taken her long to regain her composure.

"I love Talia."

It was the most diplomatic response I could give her when I was definitely interested in her physically, and I had to fight to distract myself when I remembered how she had looked when she found me.

I kept my eyes on the food, and tried to keep looking at the plate rather than staring at her.

The fact the white dress she had on was extremely low cut was not helping me stay focused, and I lost my battle to remain composed when the image of her full breasts as she leaned over me in the forest consumed my thoughts again.

"Enjoying the food?" she asked, innocently.

Her eyes were piercing into mine, sparkling with amusement, and the words were well practiced enough that she had definitely been planning to ask me that before my body betrayed me. Now it was an opportunity to tease me rather than make polite conversation.

"Do I have something to be ashamed of?"

Whether she intended to or not, she had awoken the side of me that saw her behavior as a delightful challenge.

She glanced down at my hard-on, then looked back into my eyes.

"Not that I can see," she responded, calmly. Nothing physical, at least - the fact she didn't consider me flirting with her something to be ashamed of was revealing. "We're looking for your family."

"We?"

She hadn't actually answered me when I asked if she had a Mate.

"My brother," she raised one of her eyebrows as she answered me.

She knew what I was thinking, and she was still amused by the fact I had a raging erection for her.

When I didn't respond, she moved closer to me; her scent was divine, and I was searching desperately for a flaw that I could convince myself made her in some way unacceptable.

There were no flaws.

She was perfect, and I was aching for her in a way I had not known since I was a young man surrounded by beautiful young women who were desperate to fulfill my every desire.

She reached out to take the empty plate from me; I put it down on the bed beside me, and took her wrists instead.

Her well-toned muscles left me in no doubt that she was confident in her own strength if she wanted to pull away, but I was gentle enough that she knew it was an invitation and not a demand. She climbed up onto the bed and kissed me tentatively, accepting the invitation more readily than I had expected.

I let her lead, and she pressed her hands to my chest to get me to lie down again, then straddled me, and kissed me hard as my hands explored her body and ran up her muscular thighs beneath the airy dress.

I didn't even know her name, but that was the furthest thing from my mind when she was in that position.

After she broke the kiss, she looked at me, then shifted her weight and took my hard c**k in her hand, stroking it slowly. Her hand was warm, and her skin was so soft that she definitely didn’t do anything that involved strenuous physical labor on a regular basis.

Her skillful touch made my blood rush, and she smiled at my obvious frustration.

"You would have been wasted as a Vestal," I muttered, and she looked confused. She didn't know what I was saying. “I would definitely have forbidden you from committing yourself to a life of celibacy.”

She still had no idea what I was talking about.

"You don't want this?" she asked, with her brow furrowed in confusion.

I shook my head - that wasn’t what I was saying at all.

She still looked confused. She wasn't sure whether I wanted her or not, and my response had not reassured her; this goddess of a woman really thought I might be telling her I didn't want her.

I gripped her thighs firmly and moved my hips so my hard-on brushed against her.

"I want you," I said, my voice a low growl.

Thankfully her command of my language was too basic for her to note my subconscious intonation: I want you.

I wanted her.

She smiled, the relief evident in her eyes, and shifted her hips so she could lower herself onto me before she started to move, slowly, pushing her hips against me in a tantalizing rhythm.

I slid my hand from her thigh to between her legs, and rubbed her clit gently with my thumb as she moaned and tipped her head back.

The passion between us was undeniable, but it was mixed with a sense of shame that I had allowed myself to give in to lust when Talia might still be alive.

But it was too late; the fire between us was burning hot, and there was no going back. I gripped her tightly as we moved together, but she slapped my hands away the moment I tried to remove her dress, despite the fact I had already seen her naked.

I reached up to cup her face in my hands instead, kissing her deeply and passionately when she leaned down to me, until she let out a frustrated moan, and her body trembled with the pent-up tension she needed to release.

"Harder?" I asked as I pushed my hips up, burying myself deeper in her warmth.

"Do it," she whispered, her voice soft but urgent.

My c**k pulsed impatiently, and she moaned again - it was a noise that did not need any translation.

I wanted to move her onto her back and f**k her hard, but she was in control and I didn't think that she would appreciate it if I took over as blatantly as that.

Instead, I moved my hands to her hips and guided her movements, pushing her down onto me as I thrust up.

She gasped and clung to me, her sharp, unnaturally bright nails digging into my chest as we moved together in a perfect, primal rhythm. The pleasure was intense, and I could feel her clenching around me as I increased the pace, my breath coming in short, sharp bursts.

I rubbed her clit again to help push her over the edge; she let out a loud cry as her orgasm shook her body and I followed soon after, my muscles tensing as I filled her with my release.

We stayed there for a few moments, our bodies intertwined in a warm embrace, until she finally rolled off me. I gathered her in my arms and kissed her forehead, but she squirmed away from me and got off the bed, neatening her dress.

"We shouldn't have done that," I murmured.

She shrugged.

"It was good."

"It felt good, but I love my Mate."

My Mate- my formidable, territorial, warrior of a Mate- had overlooked it if I spent a night with another woman every now and then, but I had never been tempted by another werewolf before and I suspected she would be significantly less forgiving of me sleeping with this woman.

Talia was my world, and I had been hers, once. I couldn't think of another woman being in my life besides her; she had probably replaced me a hundred times, though, and that thought was how I finally told myself that I hadn't been completely unreasonable.

The woman reached across me to pick up the plate, and I slid my hand between her legs again, brushing my fingers against her.

She drew a sharp breath; I smiled, and brought my fingers to her lips so she could taste how well we suited each other.

"I'm not finished with you yet," I murmured as she sucked on my fingers with a deceptively innocent look in her eyes.

I wasn’t about to f**k her again - I wanted to know more about her. She was the perfect blend of compliant and defiant; submissive with more than a passing hint of danger; there had to be more to our fate than a single, hurried encounter.

Talia never made a secret of the fact she was more interested in her own happiness than anybody else's—that was what had drawn me to her to begin with. As Emperor, I had wanted a woman who would challenge me, and she saw every interaction as a challenge.

The White Wolf... I had never known a woman like her before. She was clearly exceptionally powerful, and confident enough that she felt no need to display that. She took her beauty, her skill, her power, herself for granted.

I withdrew my fingers from her mouth, and whatever connection we had shared evaporated as she finally picked up the empty plate, and left me to deal with the confusing array of emotions that our encounter had awoken in me.