by Leela Ash
“Sure, I did,” Lia said, shaking her head. “Now all of Stonybrooke knows I’m a virgin.”
“Don’t worry, most guys would find that pretty hot,” Eric said. Courtney elbowed him in the ribs and he laughed. “Just saying.”
Lia shook her head. It didn’t matter what most of the guys in Stonybrooke thought. She just wanted to be with Kane. But Kane had been shutting her out ever since the night they’d nearly had sex. And now that the ceremony was over…
She tried not to let the thought bother her as they drove back to the Desmond household, but when they arrived, they found Lia’s things already out of Kane’s room and packed and stacked neatly on the living room floor. There was a note on top.
Now you can finally get out of here.
“That’s weird,” Courtney said, reading the note and flipping it over. “Did you and my dad have a fight or something?”
Lia’s eyes filled with hot tears and she swallowed hard.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Would you mind driving me to campus? I’m going to see if my dorm room is still available.”
“Of course,” Courtney said, furrowing her brow. Eric helped her to move Lia’s things to the car, and soon, she was back on campus, trying to put the whole experience behind her.
***
It wasn’t until about six months later that Lia heard a soft, urgent knock on her dorm room door. She lived alone, and listened cautiously at the door, afraid. The shifters had won the vote against the reform, luckily, but the incident with Max had left her afraid of her own shadow. Especially without Kane there to protect her.
“Who is it?” she asked nervously.
“It’s Kane.”
“Kane?!”
Lia opened the door quickly, her eyes immediately filling with tears as she took in the beautiful sight of him. It was bittersweet, really. She had wanted nothing more than to speak with him one last time, for so long. She had been beating herself up for months, wondering what in the hell had happened with him. She’d cared about him. Maybe even loved him. But to be treated so callously, after sacrificing so much…
“We need to talk,” Kane said, sinking down on Lia’s bed. He looked like a wreck, and she frowned at him.
“So talk.”
“I…” Kane trailed off before he even began and then tried again. “I haven’t loved…anyone. Not since my wife. Caring about you scares the shit out of me. Not just because of the normal things, you know. You being younger, or a virgin, or whatever. But because I’m terrified to love again. More afraid of losing it. Does that make sense?”
Kane’s dark eyes were serious upon her, and she saw, suddenly, the agony he must have been in the entire time they had been together. He had done his best to keep himself in line, not only for himself, but for his wife.
“It’s okay to let her go,” Lia said, going to him and holding his hands tightly in hers. “And you can mark my words, I’m not going anywhere.”
Kane’s handsome face looked vulnerable, and then strong again, and he held her close to his body, sending a deep thrill down her spine.
“I love you, Lia. I’ve loved you for so long, and too afraid to admit to what it was. Please, forgive me for being an asshole.”
“I did a long time ago,” Lia whispered. “I love you too, Kane.” They were silent for a few moments as they held each other close, as if to convince the other that they were in it for the long haul.
When they pulled apart, their eyes met, and suddenly, Kane’s lips were upon her, hot and eager, his hands gripping her body and tugging at her clothing. Fire ignited her loins and she gasped as Kane’s hand wedged itself between her legs to feel the heat of her middle through her jeans.
She wasted no time in stripping Kane’s shirt off, revealing the broadly muscled torso that had left her longing for more so long ago. Now, he was here again. And there was nothing left in their way.
“Fuck!” Lia hissed as Kane ripped her bra off and sank his mouth onto her nipple. A flood of warmth surged through her body, and she arched her back as Kane continued to devour her. She could feel the urgent pressure of his groin against her leg, and knowledge of it drove her wild with desire. Soon, they were both naked, with Kane on top of her, his dark eyes glittering with need as he slowly began to press his shaft against her middle, sending hot tendrils of ecstasy coursing through her.
“Promise you’ll never leave me again,” Kane said. “Promise you’ll marry me and I’ll give you whatever you want.” He pressed the head of his cock just outside of her, his eyes dark and sensual. “I’ll take whatever you want.”
The words made her shudder. The truth was, she had never pictured herself with anybody the way she had with Kane. She’d wanted to hear those words since the moment she’d laid eyes on him.
“I promise,” Lia gasped, crying out in bliss as Kane slowly slid himself partly inside of her body, without breaking her hymen. “I’ll marry you. Please, just take me.”
“As you wish,” Kane whispered into her ear. He pushed the rest of himself inside her and Lia cried out. It hurt a little, but it also felt better than anything she had ever experienced. She could feel every inch of him inside of her, and they both knew it as soon as her hymen was broken.
“Are you all right?” Kane whispered, stroking Lia’s hair lovingly. “I shouldn’t have waited so long. I just…”
“It’s fine,” Lia said, stroking Kane’s cheek. “I understand.”
They kissed passionately, languidly, as Kane began to thrust gently inside of Lia, their bodies entwined as they seemed to find their own sensual rhythm. Lia moaned deeply as Kane introduced her to parts of herself she hadn’t known existed, and their bodies embraced as they became joined together in harmony. Lia had never felt so whole.
She bucked her hips up against him, inviting him to unleash his full power upon her, and Kane’s eyes grew dark.
“Are you sure you’re up for that?” he whispered, kissing the nape of her neck gently. “It’s your first time.”
Lia arched her brow at him, and he unleashed a growl. The wolf inside him was clearly present, and she cried out in sudden ecstasy as Kane began to unleash the deep, repressed passion he had been keeping locked away ever since his wife had been killed.
Lia shuddered in bliss as, again and again, Kane brought her closer to her climax, until finally, with sudden power, Lia gripped Kane’s arm and moaned as her body began to shudder beneath him. She could feel herself closing around the powerful muscle inside of her, contracting around it as he gave one final burst of powerful thrusting. A sudden explosion inside of her intensified her orgasm, and Kane continued rocking his hips until every last drop was spent inside of her.
They collapsed on the bed together, panting and holding each other tightly.
“I never want to be without you for so long again,” Lia whispered as Kane held her close to his chest.
He kissed the top of her head and squeezed her tightly.
“Courtney said you should move back in tonight,” Kane said. “She’s waiting with Eric in their truck.”
“What?!” Lia exclaimed.
Kane laughed and kissed her again, deeply, passionately.
“Welcome to the family, kid,” he said, the twinkle back in his eye.
Lia’s heart soared. It was everything she had ever wanted. She was about to go home.
THE END
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Chapter One
Victoria tapped her foot against the leg of her desk as she watched the clock. She was sure the second
hand was ticking slower than it had been an hour ago. It was only one p.m. but already her eyes were starting to droop. She was waiting for four thirty so she could get the hell out of there and go home to rest.
She was drowsy and tired, but she only had herself to blame. She had been up until the early hours of the morning drinking and dancing, not giving a shit that she had to be back in the office at eight thirty precisely for a day of boredom and dealing with idiots on the other end of the phone. As long as her station stayed relatively quiet, she should be okay. She rubbed her eyes and almost lowered her head onto the desk.
As if whoever was calling could telepathically read her mind, her station started to flash and she rolled her eyes. Great, she thought, what will I get blasted with this time...?
She reached her arms up high over her head and stretched, and as she did so, she shot a quick look behind her at the other teleoperators. Surely another one of them was free and could field the call. She waited for another few seconds before reluctantly reaching down to the red button, and just as she was about to hit it and break into her unenthusiastic spiel, she was saved the hassle by one of the new kids behind her.
Thank Christ, she thought.
She poured herself another glass of water from the jug beside her and pretended to be flicking through some work-related notes and the manual that lay limply in front of her. But really she was trying to piece together the events of the night before and remember if she had acted out of character or not.
She knew that she and Helen had started in Ocean Bar and done several shooters before moving on to a new, modern place she couldn’t even remember the name of. It had been sleek and clinical and she hadn’t liked it in the slightest. They only served expensive mineral water in fancy glass bottles and frowned at her when she asked for tap. When they’d ordered two vodkas, the tab had been over fifty dollars and Victoria glared at them as if they’d just punched her pet cat.
She worked in telesales and marketing and barely cut minimum wage. She couldn’t afford to go to places like that and resented Helen for dragging her to them. Helen worked as an exotic dancer and regularly made hundreds of dollars for just a few hours of work. Even though Victoria was glad she didn’t have to get naked in front of strangers to pay the bills, she was still kind of jealous of her friend’s exciting and carefree life. But they had still had fun, even with the bar costing a fortune and the knowledge of her early start nagging at the back of her mind. They’d sat up at the bar and had knocked them back one after the other, Victoria managing to excuse herself eight times out of ten when it came turns to buy the next round. She was sure Helen knew what she was up to, but she no longer cared. If her friend wanted to rub it in her face that she had more money that her, then she could pick up the bill.
They’d met some guys, she could remember that much. And she thought there had been discussion of joining them in a club. Helen had been really up for it, grinding up against one of them in the last bar, but Victoria had gotten the feeling that they were a bit creepy and weird. They’d both been tall and slender with slick white blonde hair and an icy air about them that she couldn’t place. It had kind of freaked her out because she had the feeling they’d been planning it… It was if they had waited until they had been good and drunk and then moved in. They even admitted to watching them the entire night.
“We saw you in Ocean Bar,” one of them said.
Victoria ignored him and sipped her drink.
“We wanted to come over but you looked so deep in conversation.” He smiled at her, and when she looked up at him she noticed how black his eyes were. There wasn’t a single hint of color in his irises. Victoria shivered.
“Helen,” she had said, “These guys are giving me the creeps, can we go?”
“But I kind of like this one,” she hissed into her ear while the two men chatted. “We could get some free drinks out of them at the club and then bail.”
“I’m not going,” Victoria said defiantly, “But if you want to…”
Helen rolled her eyes. “Okay,” she said, “I’m done anyway, and you’re right, they could be anybody.”
Victoria linked Helen’s arm and smiled.
The two guys were still chatting as the girls backed away quietly and made their way to the door. It was as Victoria opened it and the cool night air blew in after her that the guys both turned and glared at them, looking completely pissed that they’d been ditched.
“Hey!” the one who had been speaking to Victoria called as he held out his hands in disbelief.
“Sorry, guys!” Helen called back.
They had ran down the street laughing and hailed a cab. It was October and the leaves were falling, blowing around them in an orange and gold cloud.
“Taxi!” Victoria shouted as she held out her arm. A white cab zipped up next to them and the girls both clambered in. As the driver started the engine, Victoria looked back towards the bar and felt a tingle of terror roll over her as she realized the two men stood outside, completely still and side by side, just staring at them without moving a muscle.
“Creeps,” Victoria whispered before slumping down in her seat and snoozing as she let Helen direct the cab driver back to her apartment.
Chapter Two
The feeling when she could finally switch off her computer and pull on her coat was the best thing in the world. She was hungover to hell and just wanted to crawl into her apartment and veg out on the couch. She knew she was going home to an empty place, and there were times when the disappointment of how her life had turned out would catch her off guard and drag her under, but Victoria was determined that this wasn’t going to be one of those days.
She hadn’t always been alone. She had had a serious relationship once. Rob… she had loved him very much. When it hadn’t worked out and she had been forced to leave their lovely little house in a much nicer neighborhood than where she was now, she tried to console herself with the theory that this was her time to make a fresh start and discover the life she was meant to have.
Two years passed and it was becoming apparent that the life she was meant to have was spending her days hating her job and earning basically nothing, going home alone and watching rom-com’s on Netflix, and maybe looking forward to the occasional night out with Helen, who would generally make her feel worse about the situation. Helen’s life always looked so glamorous. She was stick thin with big fake boobs and pumped up lips, and men lusted after her everywhere she went. She had a long line of sugar daddies willing to pay her bills and shower her with gifts. She danced at one of the best strip clubs in town three nights a week and seemed to earn more than Victoria did in an entire month. She was kind hearted, but she seemed to miss the fact that her best friend didn’t have a disposable income like she did, and Victoria regularly found herself feeling like she just couldn’t keep up.
“The men would go wild for you at the club. You should consider it, you know,” Helen had told her one day.
“Oh please, no chance,” Victoria laughed.
“They would,” Helen protested, “Especially with your beautiful curves. You’d make more money than me!”
Victoria shook her head and dismissed the idea immediately. Even if she believed Helen, she would never have the confidence to do something like that. It had been a full two years since a man had seen her naked, and she wasn’t about to change that by taking her clothes off for a room full of strangers!
“Your loss,” Helen had pouted.
***
As she left her office and made the short walk home, the cold bit her skin. She pulled her coat and scarf tightly around her. At least she was being woken up after a day of feeling half asleep. She stopped by her usual take-out place and debated going inside to save her the chore of cooking once she got back to her apartment. She couldn’t even remember what she had in the refrigerator, but when she saw a group of rowdy men inside, she decided it was a sign that she should just go home.
It was dark already by the time she got to the
steps at the foot of her building, and as she checked her mail, an eerie feeling suddenly washed over her.
She turned on the spot and looked down the street. She seemed alone, except for the old lady at the building opposite who was walking her dog, but she had the strong feeling that someone was watching her.
She turned back around and looked down the other end of the street. Cars flashed by on the main road and the wind rustled the tree next to her, blowing a plume of leaves in her direction.
“Stop being stupid,” she said to herself. “There’s no one there.”
She collected her mail and started up the steps. Even though she had just looked everywhere, she could feel eyes on her back and her skin prickled. She fumbled for her keys in her pocket, but her hands were so cold it was as if they had been frozen.
“Come on,” she hissed to herself.
She finally grabbed them and jabbed the key into the lock, turning it quickly and shoving the door open with her body. She slammed it behind her and looked out onto the street. It was as empty as it had been before.
“You’re cracking up,” she said to herself. “You need to get yourself to bed.”
***
Her apartment was small and cozy. When she had moved out of the home she shared with Rob, she had barely taken anything with her, knowing full well that she wouldn’t be able to afford a big place.
Her apartment consisted of a small front room with a tiny adjoining kitchen, one bedroom in which she managed to fit a full-sized bed, chest of drawers and arm chair, and a bathroom. The hallway was small and she had decorated it with a selection of mirrors of all shapes and sizes to try and make it feel more open and welcoming. It wasn’t so bad, but she wished she could have gotten somewhere bigger so that she could actually enjoy the space. Victoria had a secret passion for interior design, and she spent most of her lonely nights in looking at design apps and home and garden magazines, dreaming up her ideal home and choosing exactly how she would decorate it. She always told herself that one day, it would happen.