Wild Heart

by C. R. Jane

  Hmm…maybe I was actually into spanking. Maybe that was a way for me to take back my power in a way. I wasn’t going to think about it too hard, I decided.

  “Do it again,” I said, more firmly this time. Daxon still hesitated, obviously unsure if I actually meant what I was saying. I didn’t really blame him for that. The version of Rune that he’d known had been the meek church mouse. And maybe just like I was discovering there was more to Daxon than first met the eye…maybe he was discovering the same thing about me.

  Daxon finally chuckled darkly as he began to massage my ass again in his rough, perfect hands. “Rune, say the words again. Tell me what you want me to do to your sexy, fucking ass. The sexiest I’ve ever seen. I want to hear you say it again.”

  Daxon plus dirty talk was definitely my weakness I decided right then.

  I cleared my throat and pushed against him as I spoke. “Spank me again. Please.”

  Another growl rolled in his chest as he began to kiss the side of my face, my neck, and my shoulder. He buried his face against that same place between my neck and my shoulder that Wilder had been so fond of and stayed there for a moment, his chest rising and falling rapidly and his entire body laced with tension.

  “You’re fucking perfect. I knew you would be,” he whispered against my skin. Without another word, he grabbed my hips and pulled me back into his enormous erection, grinding against my crack as his hands pushed my ruined shirt and bra all the way off my shoulders.

  I shivered as my nipples peaked. My breath faltered as Daxon’s hands slid up my hips, and then my stomach, and over my breasts. His movements were slow and methodical, designed to destroy me with every movement. He pulled me up so his chest was pressed against my back and then he began to massage and stroke my aching breasts. He suddenly pinched one of my nipples, the sharp burst of pain shocking me, but then somehow spiking my pleasure even more.

  My entire body heaved with desire. His teeth scraped against my neck as he whispered, “Maybe my good girl isn’t such a good girl after all.”

  It. Was. Official.

  Daxon was going to destroy me.

  “Maybe you don’t actually know me as well as you think you do, golden boy,” I murmured, the nickname slipping out.

  He chuckled, a bit evilly if I was being honest. “Likewise, sweetheart,” he said.

  He bit my neck, almost savagely, and then shoved me down again. For a moment, dark thoughts from the past threatened. Taking a deep breath, I pushed those fuckers as far away as I could.

  Daxon ran his hands greedily over my ass, squeezing and fondling the flesh. It was kind of a strange thing honestly to know that someone was staring at your ass and admiring it… Maybe worshipping was actually the right word for what Daxon’s gaze and touch were doing right now. See…strange.

  “So you liked being spanked,” he mused as his lips danced momentarily across my skin.

  Desire dripped down my thighs just anticipating him doing it again.

  “Yes,” I rasped, rubbing against his hands shamelessly. He continued to stroke my cheeks, and I just knew even without seeing him that he was laughing at me.

  “Let’s make sure you actually love it, shall we?”

  Daxon moved away from me for a second, and I sucked in a sharp breath as the sharp bite of a claw dragged against my cheek. It abruptly sliced through the thin strap of my thong. He yanked the fabric away and then abruptly licked through my slit, making me shudder and let out a garbled moan.

  “Look at you. Your fucking soaked, and I haven’t even done anything to you.” His finger gently danced across my clit, sending electric pulses through my entire body. “Say it again, Rune,” he ordered.

  I looked over my shoulder, my lids heavy with desire. His pupils were blown out even more, and I was a little entranced at the thin band of gold I could see peeking out. He grinned at me, a sharp-toothed grin that showed his incisors had lengthened like he was having trouble not wolfing out. Had to admit, it was sexy how much the Bitten could transform at will. Or at least it was sexy on Daxon.

  I took a deep breath and tried to channel my inner and practically non-existent badass as I shot him a wink. “Spank me, Master,” I told him with a smirk.

  He growled again, his wolf really liking the image that “master” was giving him. And I had to admit, I liked thinking about it too. Which again, made no sense whatsoever.

  His hand suddenly hit my ass cheek in a surprisingly hard smack that had me lurching forward…much different than the previous one.

  I almost came. I really almost did. I pressed my forehead against the scratchy, cheap comforter, trying to get myself under control because I knew Daxon would get far too much pleasure if he could make me come with just one swat. I closed my eyes tightly until I felt the pleasure start to retreat and then pushed myself back into him, a little too obsessed with his warmth, his skin, his touch.

  Daxon plunged a finger deep into my core, and I barked out a cry. “So wet and tight, sweetheart,” he growled out, dropping a kiss onto my still throbbing cheek where he just slapped. His tongue swept obscenely across my heated skin as he murmured, “Fucking perfect,” against me.

  My moan was desperate as I began to rock back into him, following the perfect rhythm of his fingers as they pumped in and out of me.

  “Don’t come, don’t come, don’t come,” I chanted under my breath.

  Daxon, of course, must have somehow heard me because he laughed darkly once more. Why was that sound so freaking sexy?

  “Does my good girl want more?” he mockingly asked, even though the answer was obvious. He circled my clit softly with what felt like the very tip of his claw, and I practically cried out from the effort it was taking to keep myself from going right off the edge.

  “Yes.” The plea slipped out, but I’d just reached the point of not caring. “Fucking spank me again. Please do it again,” I moaned out over and over again.

  “You’re going to come for me, just this way. And then I’m going to be inside of you,” he promised me. And I was all for him fulfilling that promise, that was for sure. Daxon reverently stroked my ass with both hands, his deep moan echoing around the room. He let go of me for one second, and I held my breath, waiting for the pain and the pleasure I was desperate for. His hand landed swiftly, again and again and again. He alternated between each cheek, every swat landing in rapid succession so I never had a chance to come down from the thrall he had me in. The final slap was right on my clit, and my body went spiraling into an all-consuming release I wasn’t sure could ever be topped. Nonsensical words erupted from my mouth as his tongue stroked my too sensitive clit as my orgasm continued to rush through me. I felt the climax in every inch of my body. I didn’t know it was even possible for one to last this long.

  Daxon’s tongue abruptly left, and I collapsed to the bed, my whole body shaking and crazy over what had just happened.

  These guys were ruining me, ripping me up into little pieces and putting me back together again in a way that somehow had them laced through my very veins. Taking a deep breath, I finally managed to flop back onto my back, immediately finding it hard to breathe as I saw how Daxon was looking at me.

  Daxon’s eyes blazed into mine, the gold of them trying to overpower the dark as he stared at me with longing and urgency and something deeper. I wanted to look away because I knew what he’d see reflected in my eyes. But I couldn’t. The look felt impossible and important, and I knew I’d be obsessing about it long after this moment was over.

  A streak of red caught my eye, and I frowned as I reached up and noticed a bit of blood painted on his ear.

  “Are you hurt?” I said foggily, wondering if I’d somehow scratched him as he’d made me come undone.

  He was still for a moment, his gaze still unyielding on mine. But this time, they were searching. Details came into clearer focus as I realized that the blood wasn’t his. Daxon pressed his forehead against mine, so close to me that his lips moved against mine when he finally spoke.


  “You’re never going to have to worry about Sterling again, baby,” he murmured, not answering my question, but answering my question at the same time.

  I froze underneath him. Was he saying what I thought he was saying? The underlying tension to his words made it clear that Sterling was gone in a permanent way, not in a temporary way like he’d just been run out of town.

  For a second, it was hard to connect golden god Daxon with actually having the ability to kill someone. But as I studied his face and saw once again the dark secrets written across his features, I remembered how he’d been when he’d caught me in the woods.

  It wasn’t such a huge jump to imagine him gutting Sterling.

  And the thought that this beautiful creature had cared enough to kill for me…well, I loved it.

  And that was when I knew how completely fucked in the head I actually was.

  And I found myself not actually caring.

  “Good,” I growled.

  His body shuddered for a second as shock blew across his face. “Good?” he asked, a bit of vulnerability in his words.

  “Yes, Daxon. I love that. I love that you protected me. I love that he’s gone. I love—” I cut myself off before I could say anything else.

  With a wild, ravaged growl, Daxon bent his head to my chest and began to worship my breasts with his lips and tongue, palming me roughly in a way that skipped perfectly on that line between pain and pleasure. I was immediately on the edge of an orgasm once again.

  I moaned as the delicious agony of his touch on my clit throbbed out of control. I was nothing but need and desire, a person completely disconnected from reality. He turned me to my stomach once more as his hands roamed over my hips and groin. He pressed his silky hardness against my backside, the sensation causing goosebumps to ripple over my entire body. Evidently, Daxon was very much an ass man. For a moment, I imagined what it would feel like for Daxon to actually be inside my ass…but I tabled that for another day.

  Daxon surprised me by moving me down with him so he cradled me as he lay behind me. He held my leg up and positioned his cock at my center. Without a word, he thrust into me, his thickness somehow hell and heaven on my swollen tissues all at the same time.

  He cupped my jaw and roughly moved my head so that I was forced to look at him…not that it was a burden to do so.

  “Rune,” he whispered. His eyes were wild. They reminded me of how Wilder was always calling me wild. How he said there was something inside of me. These men though…their wildness was tangible, like you could taste it, feel it, dive into it. And I didn’t find myself wanting to cage it up. I wanted to follow it, become the wild that they were.

  Motherfucker. I was falling in love with him. I was falling in love with both of them.

  How the hell had this happened? Dammit all to hell.

  Daxon sealed his mouth over mine and assaulted me with deep, drugging kisses, all while still frozen inside me. He kissed me lazily, as if we had all the time in the world. And wouldn’t it have been nice if we did? I could definitely get on board with having an eternity of these delirium inducing kisses that threatened to make me orgasm from just the kiss alone.

  I was pretty sure it was getting to the point that Daxon and Wilder could just look at me and somehow, I’d fly right over the edge. My thoughts scattered away as Daxon began to pump his hips against me, his hard cock moving in and out, over and over and over again. So deep. So slow. So fucking perfect.

  I gripped the comforter as he stroked that perfect, secret spot inside of me. I was going to die of pleasure. I was never going to survive this.

  “Come for me again, sweetheart.”

  “Yes, yes, yes,” I said desperately, my body trembling in his arms as my hoarse voice gasped for air.

  “Knew you’d be perfect for me the second I saw you. Knew you’d be mine.”

  “Yes,” I moaned, my climb building from his words and his movements.

  “Knew that I’d do anything to have you…anything to keep you.”

  I should have maybe been a little bit more scared of the words coming from his beautiful lips. Maybe I should have run from the room screaming. But I’d just gotten hot over the fact that he’d killed someone. So whatever.

  If I was being honest with myself, my soul was desperate for the words of devotion that these two men had given me. I’d been rejected by the one who was supposed to love me the most. The one who was supposed to love me forever. The possessiveness coming from the two of them was what I hadn’t known I needed. And maybe a part of me did want to run screaming or to flip out like I’d already done with Wilder. But right now, just for this moment, I allowed myself to breathe in his words of obsessive devotion, to allow it to seal up some of the tears and cracks written across my soul.

  I knew I was supposed to only care about loving myself, and that was a constant work in progress. But maybe, just maybe, it was okay if it felt good that they seemed to be falling in love with me too.

  “Rune. Sweetheart,” he groaned, his face flinching. “I need you to come. I need you to come now.” He slid his hand down my stomach, between my legs, and circled my clit expertly. My eyes slammed shut as instant fireworks shot off in every one of my nerve endings.

  “Look at me, Rune,” he commanded, and I opened my eyes and bit my lip.

  “Daxon,” I cried, and he pressed his mouth over mine to muffle my screams of pleasure, and then we both fell over the edge.

  “Sweetheart,” he murmured into my lips, kissing me like he couldn’t get enough. He pulsed inside of me, his release hot and heavy as his entire body shook.

  We slept just like that for the rest of the night, him still inside of me.

  And I didn’t think of anything but him…and Wilder, for the whole night.

  6

  Rune

  Spending the day on my own after Daxon slipped out of my room in the early hours of the morning felt like torture…which meant that I inevitably thought about Sterling. I should have known that Alistair would send out his men to find me… It was always only going to be a matter of time. I should have been more prepared. As much as my ex was the biggest asshole in the world, he would always be the guy that didn’t want others to play with his toys. He would always be determined to get back what he claimed as his…me, in this case.

  I decided right then and there that I would rather die than ever go back to that life.

  Even though Sterling was gone, I knew there would be more that would come. After all, where one roach appeared, a dozen others lingered in the shadows. Isn’t that how the saying went?

  The question was, how long did I have before the other roaches appeared?

  Alistair might have thought of me as dirt on the bottom of his shoes before, but after what I’d done to him, he’d demand revenge and my suffering. He’d always been vindictive like that. Although, if someone had cut out my eyeball, maybe I’d be a little vindictive too.

  Not that the bastard hadn’t deserved it.

  I wondered how Sterling had found me. I’d been so careful to cover my tracks. I realized that somehow in the last few weeks, I’d become complacent. I’d forgotten that this town was a temporary stop to hide from Alistair and that the plan had been all along to never stop running. Instead, somehow, I let myself make friends, pretend this was my home. And then of course there was the matter of Dax and Wilder, the two alphas who’d entered my life like a tornado—overbearing and unstoppable.

  The thought of leaving them felt like a knife wound to the heart.

  It was still hard to wrap my mind around the fact that Daxon had dealt with Sterling for me. I…loved him for that. My heart clenched, thinking of his protectiveness. I still couldn’t believe that he cared enough to do something at all, let alone…kill the guy.

  I stared out the window and wondered, not for the first time, when had I begun to accept that it was normal behavior that the people around me didn’t care about me at all? What did that say about me?

  The more
I thought of Sterling, the more I rocked on my heels and hugged myself, needing to stop freaking out or I’d for sure end up in a full-blown panic attack. What I needed was to remain vigilant, to keep my guard up. Sure, Daxon got rid of him, but Sterling had probably had time to call Alistair and tell him that he’d found me. Was Alistair going to turn up one day soon with his entire pack?

  A shiver raced up my spine, and darkness feathered the edges of mind at the thought of being under Alistair’s control once again. Ugly emotions rose through me. Ones of hopelessness, of feeling useless, of being trapped. A sense of heavy, oppressive claustrophobia slid over me.

  I sucked in sharp, raspy breaths and shook my arms as they tingled from the fear settling in my veins.

  Calm down, Rune. Just breathe.

  Easier said than done.

  I needed to go for a walk.

  I quickly headed out of the inn, enjoying the cool morning breeze as it swished through my hair. I lowered my gaze to the river in front of me. There weren’t enough words to describe the beauty of this town, the peacefulness the surroundings offered, so different from where I’d grown up.

  I thought that a walk would help me ignore my maddening thoughts. But it seemed they had followed me out here. I turned and decided that I had to do something other than let my mind stew, so I strolled across the green lawn, past the inn and onto the main road. Surprisingly, there were more people about than there had been for a few days. They moved around, going in and out of stores, minding their own business, though the lack of eye contact with each other was obvious. The tension between the packs still lingered, and I shook my head, thinking of how badly everything at the town hall had gone the other night. I also didn’t miss the snide glances they were throwing me as I passed by.

  Evidently I was still murder suspect number one.

  I tried to turn my mind to other things. Like how easily Daxon and I came together, how I couldn’t seem to say no to these Alphas. If I was being truthful with myself, I didn’t want to push them away, especially after the incident with Sterling. With Daxon and Wilder, I felt safer than I had my entire life.