But whenever he tried to walk away, something in his heart tugged him back. She doesn’t want you, he tried to tell himself, but it didn’t stick. He told himself to stop with the wishful thinking, but he couldn’t help wondering if there was something more to all this. A reason she wouldn’t want him to stay.
He didn’t know what the issue was, but he would ask her again. One more time. And if she truly wanted him to leave after that, he would respect her wishes. He moved around the side of the house until he could see the second-floor room that used to be hers. Then he rolled up his sleeves, found a foothold on the worn brick, and started climbing.
3
Lily walked into her room with a heavy heart and began going through the motions of getting ready for bed. She shut her heavy door behind her and locked it, then started to unzip her dress. When it got caught and wouldn’t go down any farther, she cursed.
“Want some help?”
She gasped and whirled around to see a dark figure silhouetted against her window, leaning against her frame casually like it was the most normal thing in the world to do.
She sighed and took a step forward. “I can see you still know how to climb up to my window.”
“How could I ever forget?” he asked drily, stepping toward her with folded arms. She could feel her heartbeat in her throat as he got closer.
“You were supposed to go home,” she said.
“I couldn’t,” he said. “I could tell you didn’t really want me to.”
She turned away. “What I want doesn’t matter,” she said. “I’m not the only one involved.”
“So there is something else,” he said, moving forward to take her by the arms. She tried to pull away, but he kept her there, gently pressing her to tell him what was wrong. “Tell me.”
“I can’t,” she said. “And there’s nothing you can do.”
He sat on the edge of her bed and looked out the window. “So many good memories here. And so many bad ones.”
She grinned and sat next to him, enjoying the easy warmth he exuded. He’d always been the gentlest, strongest person she’d known. She had no doubt if he knew what was holding her back, he’d try to help her. Even after she’d left him, hurt him, abandoned him at the behest of her family.
But she had to protect him from himself. He’d only cause trouble if he stayed.
“Lots of good memories,” she said. “I’m sorry it ended bad.”
He shrugged. “I guess, deep down, a part of me always knew it had to. I mean, we were from different worlds. You were the rich princess, and I was just a self-defense teacher. Still, I had hoped—”
“Me too,” she cut in quickly. “I hoped too.”
Silence fell over the moment. She wasn’t sure exactly why he was there, but she knew she wouldn’t get him to leave until he’d said or done whatever he’d planned when he’d snuck in. Lucas was stubborn like that. When he wanted something, he got it. It was something she’d loved about him, as someone who was too passive in her own life.
“I just don’t get why you’d want to stay here. There’s something special between us. There always has been. I know you can feel it. Leave with me. I’ll protect you.”
She nodded. “I know. But I can’t afford to.”
He reached up to cup her face in his hand. It was so tender that she had to blink away tears. “Tell me why. Let me help you.”
“I can’t,” she choked out. “I can’t. What do you want from me?”
“I want to be with you. If not, I want to know how to free you.”
“You can’t,” she said. “There’s nothing you can do.”
“Then be with me,” he said. “One more time. Let’s just remember what we had.”
She let out a long, resigned breath. Once Lucas started touching her, she’d never be able to ask him to stop. But she deserved this. One last wild moment before everything went to hell when the tournament started tomorrow. “All right.”
He kissed her ear where it met her jaw, and she gasped. “If you stay, someone like Bruce will be able to do this to you,” he said, moving down to kiss her shoulder.
“Lucas,” she gasped out, offended by his words. He was being cruel, even if he spoke only the truth. He tugged her dress down, revealing her shoulders.
“If you stay, someone else will get to undress you. Mate you. Stay with you. Make you smile.” He kissed along her shoulders as his words grew more frantic. “I can’t stand it.” He took her hand in his. “You’re mine.” Lucas lifted her knuckles to his lips and kissed gently between each finger, making her gasp and feel as if he were kissing somewhere else entirely. Electricity raced straight down to her toes.
They had always shared a certain level of intimacy, but Lucas had wanted to wait until they were mated to take things all the way. But this felt different. With the bittersweetness of having him back, knowing she would only have to lose him again, everything felt more intense, more amazing.
Lucas moved from her hand up her arm, slowly moving on top of her as he pressed her back onto the bed. Pretty soon, he was straddling her, his thick, powerful legs caging her in on both sides, surrounding her and protecting her.
He pinned her hands above her head and dove down for more, kissing and sucking along her neck in a pure act of possession, and stopping at her earlobe to take it between his lips and bite down softly as she writhed against her captive hands.
“Don’t stop,” she heard herself murmur.
“You’re so hot, Lily. So beautiful. I could do this to you forever,” he said.
He moved both of her wrists to one of his and moved the other to unzip her dress and pull it down to her waist, baring her to him in her bra. He placed a large, powerful hand on one of her breasts and began to knead the soft flesh there while he moved to her other ear and began to kiss it, more dominant and powerful with each second. He reached under her bra and cupped her breast, his hand caressing her and holding her, as if he could hold her entire body at once.
Each second drove her wilder. With a devious grin, Lucas moved his mouth toward her breast, kissing it with reverence, then sucking on her bared nipple as he squeezed gently on the softness there.
One was soon not enough, and he released her hands to hold both her breasts, playing slowly with her nipples, running his strong, coarse fingers over them and teasing her with the promise of more.
This was so much further than they had ever been when they were younger, but it felt so right. Lucas was respectful and protective when he was younger. But now she saw the fire of desire burning in his eyes, the same fire that coursed through her veins with every touch from his hands, every kiss from his lips.
His emerald eyes glowed with heat at the sight of her. And with every moan, every gasp that escaped her lips, she could see his face become more intense. Could feel his body moving faster in time with hers.
The air around them swirled with his sweet scent, completely overwhelming her and enveloping her with his essence.
“More, Lucas. Please.” Her entire body was on fire, begging for release. And only he could bring it.
“Impatient?” he teased into her ear.
But answering her soft request, Lucas moved lower, running his hands down the soft shape of her curves, drinking in deeply the sight of her, the feel of her. She felt truly beautiful as he gazed upon her.
With one smooth motion, Lucas reached under her dress and pulled off her panties. He played with the softness down there, exploring until he found the center of her desire.
She let out a quiet gasp as his hand rubbed over the sensitive nub, and his lips closed down over hers to stifle it, his tongue delving deep inside her mouth while his hand moved up and down over the tiny spot that sent sparks shooting through her. Each flick of his finger, each stroke of his tongue felt so incredible. She could have never imagined something like this existed.
And she couldn’t hold on much longer.
The pressure built to a fever pitch, the wetness and strength of his ton
gue moving in her mouth, behind her teeth, deep inside. His finger now making agonizing circles around her center. She felt frenzied, so close to the edge, waiting to be thrown off to feel what was on the other side.
With one last flick, she careened into a new dimension of pleasure. Wave after wave of energy pulsed through her as Lucas held her in his strong arms, surrounding her as she saw bright light and each nerve exploded and every muscle tensed and relaxed and tensed again in quick succession.
It felt like it would go on forever. But slowly, the energy ebbed, her muscles relaxed, and her body felt light as a feather. Elated and happy. In ecstasy.
Lucas placed a slow, romantic kiss on her lips, and Lily let out a soft sigh.
But he wasn’t finished yet.
Lucas moved lower on the bed, coming down her body in a trail of kisses over her breasts, her stomach, her sides. Until he reached where she was hottest and still aching pleasantly from the pleasure she’d just experienced. He hiked up her dress and held her hips, then began to work with his tongue.
At least that’s what she thought was happening. She couldn’t see past her dress but she could feel intense sensation as his tongue stroked her voraciously, then plunged inside her, only to come back up again to work expertly over the small nub that caused her body to light up with incredible, mesmerizing tension.
She couldn’t hold on to him, so she grasped the sides of the bed desperately, trying to hold on to something.
His tongue hit her in all the right places, making her writhe with ecstasy and pleasure. She tried her best to hold back her moans, but it was just too much. Too much of… everything. And she couldn’t get enough.
It was a good thing they were in a remote part of the house where nobody ever went.
As Lucas licked slowly, his hands came up and pressed over her breasts, playing with her painfully hard nipples that were happy to be receiving attention again. More, more, more.
Then it hit her again, a wave breaking over her, crashing down and washing her through a sea of pleasure and excitement and relief as a second orgasm, even stronger than the first, coursed through her. She cried out, and Lucas was there in an instant, covering her mouth with his again, riding out the pleasure with her as she felt every nerve come alight with sensation and release.
“My… Lucas… I…” Lily gasped for breath, trying to find the words, but her mind was blank, wiped clear of any thought from the incredible feelings from the moment before.
“I know. That was incredible. You’re so hot,” Lucas whispered, placing kisses on her cheek, her nose, and her forehead.
“I don’t think I can take any more,” she said, words finally starting to form.
He sighed and looked up at her door. “They’d probably hear if we went much further anyway.” He nuzzled against her and she sighed in relief at just having him close.
“Now what?” she asked.
“Run away with me,” he said.
“I can’t.”
“Tell me why.”
She swallowed. “I can’t.”
His face hardened as he stood, pulling his clothing back into place. For a moment, her heart sped up as she wondered if he was about to leave her. She’d deserve it.
“If you won’t come with me, then I’m going to win this for you, Lily. For us,” Lucas said, standing before her, looking very tall and proud. Her wolf could sense his, prowling just beneath the surface.
“Even if you did, we couldn’t be together,” she said. “You aren’t full alpha. They’ll find out who you are.”
“Not before we’re mated,” he said with a grin. Then he frowned. “Unless you have a problem with me only being half.”
“You know you’ve never been half of anything to me,” she said quietly. For her, Lucas was the real deal. “But what about Asher? Does he know about this?”
“It was his idea. I wasn’t planning on entering, though. Just seeing you one more time.” He sat on the bed and brushed a hand through the hair at the side of her face. “But now that I know you want me, that you never stopped, I can’t leave you.”
“I don’t want you to get hurt because of me,” she said. “Why can’t you just move on?”
“Same reason you can’t move on, Lily,” he said, looking straight into her eyes. His eyes glowed like emeralds in water. “You’re it for me. My mate.”
She swallowed, her throat incredibly dry. “It could all be for nothing,” she said. “If they find you out.”
“They won’t,” he said. “I won’t let them. And if they do, hopefully by then, I’ll have found out the reason you won’t leave and made that a non-issue.”
She winced. Her little sister would never be a non-issue, and they’d never have a right to take her.
She knew she should tell him to run, to leave, but it didn’t seem like he would listen even if she did. She looked him over, memorizing his features, his beautiful but rakish hair, his straight nose she wanted to draw a finger down, the long lashes over his gorgeous eyes. She’d never seen a more beautiful man in her life. She never would.
And he was right. Maybe he didn’t have to win. Maybe she could use the next week of fights to try and figure out if there was a way to escape, for both her and her sister. She had to give it a shot.
She couldn’t lose Lucas again. She couldn’t see herself mated to someone like Bruce.
“Okay,” she said. “You can stay.”
“I was going to stay anyway,” he said.
“But you have to leave right now.”
“I will,” he said, but he didn’t look like he was leaving. Finally, he stood and walked to the window, knowing that was the only way out. “First round of fights is in two days. I’ll be there. Wear red and I’ll know you’re supporting me.”
“Why red? Are those your colors?”
He shook his head. “No, but it’ll stand out. Red is aggressive. I’ll know you’re with me.” He grinned. “Besides, I’ve always loved you in red.” He thought for a moment, tilting his head. “On second thought, make sure it’s nothing sexy. I don’t want the others looking at you.”
“Lucas, I’m the prize. Of course they’re going to be looking at me.”
He growled. “You don’t have to make it easy for them.”
She nodded. His possessiveness warmed her down to a deep level. Not only had he not given up on her, but he still saw her as his, was still just as protective as he’d been when they’d been together as teens.
He was still her Lucas. And in a couple days, she’d see what those years of MMA training and fighting had done for him in the ring.
Before that thought could even sink in, he was gone, and the only evidence he’d been there was the slight rustling of the curtains.
* * *
Two days passed in an instant. Lucas trained hard with his brothers; even Jordan had worked with him for a day at his request. He felt he was as ready as he could be, and he didn’t feel that rusty for being off the pro circuit for a while. As a manager, he’d probably learned as much from the fights as he had as a fighter. And luckily, he’d always stayed in shape.
The alpha tournament was held in a large arena that closely resembled some of the countless fighting rings Lucas had fought in or been to during his MMA world tours. A large ring encircled by reinforced chain-link fencing, surrounded by seats and bleachers.
His younger brother Asher had once been part of an alpha challenge where various alphas were invited to go live in a mansion to try and win over a particular female. But as far as he’d known, no actual fighting had been involved (at least in principle) and it was totally the female’s choice as far as mating went.
But an alpha tournament was different. And Lily’s father seemed to have taken an old ritual and applied modern standards to it. The rules were fairly straightforward and were similar to typical fighting rules. With a shifter twist.
Fights were until an opponent tapped out, was rendered unconscious, or was injured beyond the point where the fight was d
etermined forfeited by TKO. No shape-shifting was allowed and all fighting had to be done in human form, presumably to prevent the alphas from killing each other too quickly with claws and teeth, as they’d have done in the wild.
And alpha powers were permitted, though to be honest, Lucas wasn’t sure what he could expect there.
With shifters fighting, there would be a lot of broken bones. And with their enhanced strength and supernatural healing powers, most matches would probably come down to a knockout.
Lucas had fought many shifters before, all shapes and sizes. Some he encountered as opponents in sanctioned MMA matches. Others he’d fought in sparring matches. Others he’d fought in the street when they threatened humans or disturbed the peace.
He was confident this would be a fairly easy-to-win tournament. Though many shifters had picked up mixed martial arts, either for self-defense or for fun, their skill levels were all over the place. Whereas Lucas was a perfectly honed machine. No weaknesses in his form or technique. No fear of the opponent. And a limitless drive to win, thanks to Lily being the prize.
While Lucas was prepping in the pristine locker room adjoining the arena, he heard someone come in. He turned to see someone he didn’t recognize, and he definitely would have remembered seeing this person before.
He was short for a shifter male, dressed in a suit and tie. His face was young and boyish and, well, beautiful. Lucas narrowed his eyes. Was that really a man?
“I’m Matt,” the man said, stepping forward with an outstretched hand. “I met your brother Asher during the alpha challenge a while ago.”
Lucas raised an eyebrow. “You were one of the other alphas at the challenge?” That meant he was another of the snobs that thought Lucas was beneath them.
Matt nodded. “Your brother’s a bit of a pain in the ass. But he called me, explaining the situation and saying you might need some help. I’m here to check out the event anyway, and goodness knows I want you to beat up some of the jerks out there, so I’m here to tell you what I know.”
Lucas continued to prep. “I’m not sure what you could know that I don’t. I’ve been fighting and training my entire life.”
Alpha Champion (Wolf Fighters Book 1) Page 3