Prince of Wolves (The Grey Wolves #1)(24)

“So, what is this other thing that marks the female as a mate? I’m assuming it has to do with the blood rites?” she asked him.“You are correct, it is about the blood rites. The reason I wanted to speak with you alone is because it is the only part of the ceremony that is private,” Fane explained.
“Whoa whoa whoa, back up. I thought you said there was no taking it lightly stuff happening in this ceremony,” Jacque said a little frantically.
“Luna, I’m going to lay this out plainly for you. There will be no lies, half-truths, or bush beating,” Fane told her firmly.
Jacque tried, she really did, but she couldn’t contain the laughter.
“Meu inimă, would you please share with me what you find so funny?” Fane asked her patiently.
“It’s called beating around the bush, oh prince of wolves, not bush beating,” she informed him, still giggling despite her efforts not to.
“Oh, well, my mistake. There will be no beating around the bush any longer. We are going to call it what it is, so if you turn a lovely shade of red I will try hard not to find it adorable.”
“Fine, spit it out already,” Jacque answered, irritated by his little sermon
She planted herself on her bed, legs Indian-style, back straight, her hands folded in her lap. She was trying desperately to not be anxious but she was quite unsuccessful. Finally, Fane began to explain the blood rites, and he was right, what he told her made her blush so badly that she felt its heat.
“What I told you is true about the bonding ceremony. We do not have to consummate or make love, whichever you prefer to call it, in order to be fully mated. We do, however, have to exchange blood.”
Jacque cringed at that. “That’s really gross. You do realize that, don’t you? I mean, surely that can’t be good for a person.”
Fane gave her an “I’m not finished” look, and she abruptly stopped talking.
“There is no eloquent way to put this, it just is what it is. I will mark you and take your blood by biting you,” Fane paused, waiting for her reaction. She did not disappoint.
“YOU ARE GOING TO WHAT ME?” Jacque yelled, completely caught off guard by his revelation. I mean, she thought to herself, when he said exchange blood I was thinking finger prick, a little embarrassment because I’d have to suck on his finger and vice versa, but biting me? That's in a whole 'nother category of embarrassment.
Fane walked over to her bed and knelt down in front of her. He placed his hands over hers and she instantly felt reassurance flow through her. She closed her eyes and let herself soak it up, embracing the comfort he was providing.
When she opened her eyes she was staring into glowing, crystal blue eyes. “How did you do that?” she asked him.
“For wolves, touch is a very powerful thing. It provides comfort and reassurance for them, and like other things, it is even more potent between mates. You needed my comfort and I could do nothing else than provide for you. When you need something, it calls to me. I can feel it, my wolf can feel it, and we are obligated to do what we can.” 
Jacque tried not to think about that, but call her crazy – which at this point she was bound to be – she could just picture herself craving a Snickers ice cream bar in the middle of the night while a raging thunderstorm wreaked havoc. Here came Fane knocking on her window, soaking wet, with a Snickers in hand. That could be kinda handy.
Fane caught all of her little daydream and chuckled at her. “You really think the oddest things. You know that, right?”
“Let’s stay on track, wolf-boy. Bite me where exactly? Since this has to be done in private, I’m a little leery of the answer,” she told him.
“Relax, Luna. I’m not going to bite you anywhere that you might one day like,” Fane said.
Jacque knew he was just trying to get a reaction out of her and, much to her chagrin, it worked like a charm.
“You just stop that thought right there. There will be no discussing of the future likes and dislikes of our maybe one day physical relationship, got it?” Jacque told him with finality.
“I will humor you for now,” Fane told her with a grin. “Moving along, love, I will bite you on your neck. Rest assured, Luna, I am a werewolf but at least I’m not a vampire. My bite will not last so long as to drain you of your blood, only long enough to take enough blood to swallow and leave my mark on you.”
Jacque was quiet for a moment. She took a deep breath, then said, “I’m not even going to ask about the vampire comment. I’m just gonna let that one slide by without so much as a wave or glance. What I will give my attention to is this whole leaving a mark on me bit. I get that when you bite me you'll get blood in your mouth and yada yada, but how are you going to leave a mark on me?” Jacque asked him with surprising composure.
“I’m not really sure how I leave a mark on you. I think it’s just a part of the whole supernatural part of bonding. The mark I will leave is the visual symbol that you are mated,” he explained. “The final warning to other males that you have been bonded is smell.”
“I’m going to smell? Please tell me I’m not going to stink, ‘cause I don’t do stinky, okay?” Jacque implored him.
“No, Luna, you are not going to stink. To other Canis lupus you will smell like me because you have taken my blood, and I will smell like you when I have taken your blood. Once we have consummated our mating, the smells will intensify greatly,” Fane explained.
“You just had to throw that last curve ball in there, didn’t you? Well, don’t get your hopes up ‘cause I’m not going to swing at it,” Jacque told him haughtily.
“So this whole biting thing is done in private. Why?” she asked.
“Would you like me to bite you on the neck in front of your mom?”
“Point to you. You’re right, there is no way that mouth of yours is coming near my neck in front of anyone, not my mom and especially not your parents,” Jacque said.
Oh crap, she thought, I have to meet his parents. She felt panicky at that thought yet she didn’t know why. She hadn’t been nervous when she'd met Trent’s parents. She heard Fane growl as he caught the thought of Trent in her mind.
“Oh shut up already, you over possessive, royal, Romanian pain in the backside. It’s not like I’m thinking about him biting my neck,” Jacque said sarcastically.
Fane stood up and sat next to her on the bed. He leaned closer and swept her hair away from her neck, revealing the markings on her shoulders and neck. Fane traced the marks and let out a low growl. Jacque shivered at his touch and found that she couldn’t quite keep her breathing even. Actually, she felt like she might pass out at any moment. What came next almost sealed her fate.Fane leaned even closer and whispered in her ear, “I would hope you were not thinking of him biting your neck. I assure you that once I do you will never have need to think of another again.” And then he gently placed his lips on her neck. Jacque didn’t even try to suppress the small moan that came out of her tightly closed lips. But naturally, Fane could not leave well enough alone. After he kissed her neck, he pulled his lips away playfully and gently nipped her.
Jacque jumped and turned to look at him breathlessly, putting her hands up as if to ward him off. “I, um...” She shook her head and rubbed her face with both hands as she struggled to get her thoughts and words to cooperate with her mouth. “Now I understand why that part is done in private. Thank you for demonstrating.”
Fane grinned at her wickedly. “I could demonstrate again. It is proven that people are most likely to remember things when done three times.”
“Nice try, Don Juan, but people remember things they are told three times, not things they do,” she countered.
“We could test out the theory to see if it applies to actions as well. I’m all for scientific study,” Fane teased.
“Well, you’re out of luck because I suck at science and therefore do not enjoy it,” she said matter of factly.
Fane leaned forward again and this time Jacque leaned back, but this didn't deter him, he just grinned and leaned closer.
“So you mean to tell me, my micul incendiu (little fire), you did not enjoy my demonstration? If you did not, then I did not do it correctly and I would feel obligated to try again.”
Closing her eyes, Jacque immediately thought of a wall shielding her mind and then she came up with plan. Evasion is not working, time to move on to plan B. If you can’t beat’em, join’em. Let me just see if I can give him a taste his own medicine and just maybe it will throw him off his game and then I can retreat. You know what Jen would call you right? she asked herself. Yeah, yeah. I’m a chicken s_ _ t, so be it.
Her plan of attack decided, Jacque stopped leaning back and instead leaned forward. This did indeed confuse him and make him back up a tad. Encouraged by the little victory, she got a little bolder and scooted her body closer to his. Fane’s brow furrowed and she could tell he was wondering what was going on, but he did not move, just sat very still. Jacque decided the angle she was currently in was all wrong for her scheme so she got up on her knees and scooted around until she was directly behind him. She was sitting on her legs with her feet behind her. She placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned close until her mouth was right beside his ear.