Tamara stole a glance at Devin. “It’s not set in stone because of all the mess that needs handling, but we’ve been talking about it. And yes…we want to exchange vows in a month.”
“Wow, Devin,” Nick said. “When were you going to share the news?”
“We haven’t told anyone else yet,” Devin said.
“I’d love to be in your wedding, Tamara.”
“Elisa has been helping me plan the details and the guest list.” Tamara nearly squealed in excitement. “I can’t wait.”
Selene couldn’t help but to share in the other woman’s excitement. It was a dream come true for her. Her mind suddenly ran on the email she’d received from her supervisor yesterday evening. “I have some other good news, Tamara.”
“What’s that?”
“Brad Thatcher has finally been sentenced as of three nights ago.” Selene smiled. “The biggest charge was thirty years with the possibility of parole.”
Tamara smiled meekly. “I’m just happy that he won’t ever hurt another woman again.”
“That’s not all.” Selene shook her head. “Karma is a bitch.”
“What do you mean?” Tamara asked. “Of course, it is, he’ll spend major time behind bars to think about what he’s done.”
“He’ll spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. While he was being transported to a prison, the van he was in got derailed. They were ambushed by a pack of animals. The injuries left him paralyzed from the waist down. It’s kind of a funny coincidence. The investigators say the attackers were most likely wild wolves.”
“What!” Tamara frowned, and fixed her glare on Devin. “Did you do it?”
“Yes, I did, Tamara,” Devin said. “Everyone will be certain the coward will never raise his hand again to anyone. He’s lucky I let him live.”
Selene gasped. Her mind raced as she put the pieces of the puzzle together.
“That night you left me…and didn’t return...” Tamara’s voice grew louder with anger.
“Yes,” Devin simply said.
“How could you?” Tamara stood. “I told you not to get involved.”
Devin stood too, and scooped Tamara up in his arms. “Excuse us. We have something to discuss. Enjoy the rest of your breakfast.”
He carried Tamara out of the dining hall, kicking and screaming.
“I guess me and my big mouth just ruined breakfast.” Selene put her fork down and glanced at Nick.
“It’s okay,” Nick said. “I’m sure they’ll talk it through.”
“I hope so.”
“Why don’t we go for a walk to catch a breath of fresh air?”
Selene smiled. “I certainly need to work off some carbs after this breakfast.”
Chapter Twelve
Selene nibbled on her bottom lip as she registered the information on the computer. There was one bus scheduled to leave the town in two days, and not another one for nearly a week.
She regretted that she’d have to leave Nick so soon.
A group of wolves had been sent to retrieve her car. It was found half a mile away from the roadside, which indicated that someone had moved it. Maybe Darius and his followers had done it in an attempt to prevent law enforcement from finding her after they’d kidnapped her. None of her belongings were in the car. No credit card. No identification. Her purse and suitcase were gone. She knew all that stuff could be replaced when she returned home. What she did worry about was what could not be replaced when she did?
“Are you still on the laptop?”
Nick’s voice scared her from behind.
“Yes.” Selene knew her credit card number by heart. What was keeping her from ordering the ticket?
Nick sat next to her, freshly showered. No amount of almond scented body wash could hide the springy, pine smell that was so uniquely his. She’d come to recognize it within seconds whenever he entered a room. She’d even come to crave it.
“You found the Greyhound website.” He leaned over to glance at her screen. “You’re expected back to work in a few days, right? Anything come up on the schedule?”
“There’s one.”
“When does it leave?”
“In two days.”
“Oh.” He almost sounded regretful.
“We’re only just getting to know each other, Nick.”
“Selene. I know, but we want what’s safe for you.”
“I know what will happen,” she said, wringing her hands in her lap. “I’ll return home and never hear from you again. You have no intentions of contacting me after I’m gone, do you?”
He took her hands. “That’s ludicrous. You’ll return in a month for Devin and Tamara’s wedding. Everything will be settled by then.”
She frowned. “You plan to make me wait that long.”
“Of course not. We’ve sent a messenger to Darius and his followers. We want peace in this town once again, and if that means allowing him his part of the property, we’ve voted for it. More than likely, I would visit sooner than you think.”
Selene pulled away. “After everything’s settled…then what?”
“I’ll come for you.”
“Tell me about the woman who betrayed you.”
“She’s not worth bringing up, Selene,” he replied softly.
“Is she the reason why you won’t trust me?” She had to know.
“That’s just it. I trust you. I want you so badly that I would do anything to have you and that scares me to be honest.”
“I want you, too,” she admitted.
“I refuse to bind you to this type of life.”
“What do you mean? Don’t I get a choice?”
“The ways of the wolf are different from those of the humans. We have no choice when it comes to true mates.”
“Tamara told me already. She told me that Caedmon couples are mated and bonded for life. She also said that there can be sex without bonding.”
Selene felt ashamed for admitting that she needed him in that way.
“Tamara is not wolf. She has genuinely accepted the Caedmon spirit, but she doesn’t understand how difficult it is to control an animal who knows his mate by scent.”
“You should know then,” she alleged, sternly. “Am I or am I not your mate?”
“There are signs…”
“…but you’re afraid to find out.”
“You might want this now, but once you return home, things will be different. You will continue your work, and maybe even forget about me. I want what’s best for you and that may not be me. You may very well decide that you want to live a normal human life with a human male.”
“I will never forget about you now that I’ve met you and all that we’ve been through. There is no other man for me.”
“Buy the ticket. If we are true mates, not even distance will keep us apart.”
“You’d rather us prove this the hard way?”
“Maybe…”
“I’ll buy the ticket, but promise me something…” She typed her credit card information into the input box on the website.
“Anything…”
Selene clicked the submit button, and didn’t even wait for the confirmation screen to appear before she closed the laptop. Standing in front of him, she let her bathrobe slip from her shoulders and down her naked body before saying, “Show me again what you desire from me. This time, I don’t want you to stop until you’ve taken me.”
“Selene—”
She straddled his lap and kissed his protest away. Her body set fire in passionate bursts the moment he laid his hands upon her bare skin. The taste and smell of him began to erode her senses. His male pheromones and pine scent were undeniable. He pulled her closer into his chest against his rapid heartbeat. His tongue tangled with hers and set a consistent, demanding pace.
He dragged his lips up and down the column of her neck, and she lifted her chin to give him further access. “Your smell is intoxicating.”
She peeled away his robe to reveal his chest, and then be
nt her head to kiss him there. His moans encouraged her and she used her fingers to commit every curve to memory, as well as her tongue to remember his taste. Her hand brushed against the top of him, and he seemed to pulse against the confines of his briefs. His palms slid down her back to grab her hips and pull her closer into him. Her pussy throbbed over him.
Nick kissed along her neckline and past her collarbone to find the sensitive mounds of her breasts. He suckled her nipples, taking his time on each.
She couldn’t stand it anymore, and needed the release that only he could give her. Her hips moved in a slow sensuous rhythm above him. He grew harder still against her.
He stood with his hands still gripping her by the ass. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her toward the bed. He laid her down gently and came down over her.
“Once this happens, there is no going back,” he whispered. “You will be mine.”
“I don’t want to go back. Not unless you’re right there with me.” She made her point by pulling him down for a kiss.
He explored her, sliding his hot lips over her body. She shuddered with pleasure as he licked and nipped lightly at her skin. He made a hot trail down the center of her body, stopping just above her pussy. Smoothing a finger across her neatly trimmed mound, he lifted his gaze to make contact with her.
“You want to come again, don’t you?” he asked.
She nodded. It was the truth. She’d been thinking about the last time he brought her to orgasm like a scene of a movie set on replay. Her pussy trembled in need whenever she daydreamed about it.
Nick coaxed her legs apart with roaming kisses against the insides of her thighs. He opened her with slow strokes of his tongue, pressing his mouth into her slick pussy. Her legs fell back even more as he took long laps at her like a cat would relish a fresh bowl of milk. She couldn’t hold back her moans because they came from deep within, much like the heightened sensation warming at her core. Still he refused to pay attention to her much needed center. The core of her desire.
Instead, he drew circles around her clit and sipped at the soft folds of her sex. With her hips raised off the bed, she tried to lure his tongue where she needed it the most. He used it against her, grabbing her ass tightly and thrust his tongue into her pussy.
She cried out in surprise.
He moaned against her, and then slowly pushed in the out of her. Her pussy fluttered with intense contractions. She grabbed at the bed sheets, and then pressed the fabric to her mouth, biting into it. Anything to keep her screams at bay.
As if she wasn’t already in enough pleasure, he tongued her clit, sending her into ecstasy. The strokes were leisurely and soft at first, but turned into quick and expert lashes against her throbbing pearl.
Her orgasm came in spirals, and she called out his name.
While her body still pulsed in bliss, he slid up against her until they fit together perfectly. He must have removed his briefs in the process, because his hard cock fell against her belly. His thick muscular thigh slipped between her legs.
“I want you completely, Selene.” He slipped a finger between her dampened, aching sex. “Are you prepared to give yourself entirely?”
“Yes…for you. For this.” She lifted her hips and wrapped her legs around him again.
He felt hot and heavy against her sex, and she squeezed her eyes shut bracing herself for the pain. Palming the outside of her left thigh, he lifted her legs even higher to open her wider.
“You’d give yourself to me? Body, mind, soul…heart?”
“Yes.” Her breath caught in her throat when he cupped her sex.
He dipped a finger into her drenched pussy. “Say it.”
“I give myself to you, Nick. Heart, body, mind, and soul.”
“And I give myself completely in return.”
“Nick…” She needed to tell him, but it was too late.
He positioned himself against her opening, sinking inside just enough to breach the surface.
Selene grabbed him about the neck and held his face to hers. She bit into her lip—hard—to keep from crying out. He slid inside gently…slowly. “You are wet, but gods, I will come before I take you. Damn, you’re tight.”
Her pussy spread wider for him, burning like fire. She needed this. Her body strived for this type of intimacy with him.
He pressed further into her until he hit her virgin barrier. “Fuck…”
She squeezed his neck as the pain sprang up her body. “Do it.”
“Why, Selene,” he rasped against her neck. “Damn it, you should have told me.”
Nick began to pull away, but she wouldn’t let him go.
“Take me,” she commanded. “Show me what it feels like to be desired. Please.”
He plunged past the obstruction and buried his cock to the hilt.
“Dios Mío,” she gasped.
It felt as though he’d pierced right through her soul. The pain seized her. Every nerve ending in her body took off like a firecracker. For what seemed like several moments, they lay there in each other’s arms. She held him to her until the ache subsided. Until the pain was replaced by the pleasure of him filling her completely.
Nick began moving gently within her. She ached in more ways than one and whimpered against him.
“Easy,” he whispered against her throat. “Open for me. I’ll be gentle.”
He kept to his words, sliding in and out of her tenderly until his cock was coated in her juices. She swallowed down her apprehension, and lifted her face to meet his stare. She wanted to be strong for him, but had no idea there would be so much to bear.
He smoothed some hairs away from her face and kissed her forehead. “Okay?”
“Yes,” she said. “I’ve faced my fear. I placed my trust in you, and you saved my life.”
His eyes clouded over with submissive grace, but he did not break their gaze as he thrust in and out of her with firm yet careful strokes. Carnal adrenaline took over and she began to move against him. He set a slow and sensuous pace, cupping her ass and bringing her forward to meet his thrusts. She relaxed and let the foreign, yet breathtaking sensations take over her. Her pussy began to spasm and her body ascended to climax once again.
A low groan vibrated in his throat and his strokes sped up. He lifted his face to the ceiling and released himself into her. His essence flooded her, warming her insides like a potion. He shuddered against her as he came. His dick plunged deep, burying the last of seed inside her.
Selene knew it would be good with him, but could have never imagined he would surpass her expectations. If lovemaking felt like this, she wanted him to take her again and again.
Nick slowly pulled out of her, leaving behind stinging pain and satisfying pleasure all at once. He collapsed next to her and pulled her against him. “How could I not have known?”
“Just hold me, Nick.” She wrapped her hands around him. “It was mine to give. My choice to make. And I don’t regret it.”
Chapter Thirteen
Selene glanced across the river beyond the trees as the last of the sun faded away in the distance. The sky was a canvas of burnt orange and dusty red, mixed with the gray of the overhanging clouds. A flock of birds took flight directly above them, their wings taking them towards the mountains.
The stunning image brought serenity to her anxious heart.
“What do we do now?” Selene leaned back against his chest and cradled her head against his shoulders.
Nick reached beside them and pulled a small plastic sack from their picnic basket. “We eat dessert.” He handed her the fresh baked chocolate chip chunk cookie they’d selected from the village bakery.
“You’re being silly,” Selene said, smiling, and took the cookie anyway to appease her sweet tooth. She broke a piece off and handed it to him. “My bus leaves in less than thirty minutes.”
What was supposed to be her last meal with Nick just before she left for the city had turned into an afternoon of wasting time in the park, sit
ting at river’s edge, and napping under the sun.
“I’m aware. We’ve been delaying your departure for quite some time. It’s obvious now that I want you to stay.”
“I could lose my job,” she said. “I have lots of vacation time build up, but that will run out.”
“In case you haven’t noticed from touring the town over the past few days, half of our women don’t work. They have important positions within our community if they so choose to give back. There are those who have careers, but it is only by choice. It’s not customary for Caedmon women to have jobs outside of the home. An old custom, but one that has kept our numbers growing, our children well taken care of and educated, and our men supported.”
She frowned. “I love my work. It’s something I won’t give up.”
“I know. You shouldn’t give up what you love,” he said. “Can you continue your charity work if you were to stay with me?”
Selene turned slightly. “Are you asking me to stay?”
“Yes. I need you to stay.”
“I hope to live up to the expectations.”
“What do you mean?” He rested his chin on the top of her head and interlocked his fingers with hers.
“This thing about true mates. Tamara and the other mated women who I spoke to have more to offer to their men than what I can. I want to be strong for you, but I can’t be your everything if I wasn’t intended to be.”
“Don’t say that. You are everything to me now.”
“And when your true mate comes along…?”
Nick chuckled.
“Why are you laughing?” She was annoyed that he’d think this was a joke.
“Don’t take the nights—and mornings and days for that matter—that we’ve shared in my bed…and outside of it lightly. I don’t.”
“Those moments will always be special to me.” Moments she’d never forget. “But I want to offer you more than just sex and conversation.”
“You offer much more than that, Selene. Why do you think I cannot bear to see you leave now?”
“It’s no surprise that we’re both crazy about each other.”
“Crazy is an understatement,” he said. “You gave me what could never be duplicated. You relinquished yourself to me. Your body, mind, soul, and heart. I accepted. More importantly, my wolf accepted. There is no way the animal inside of me will let me rest until our bond is complete.”
Wolf's Promise (Caedmon Wolves) Page 9