For the first time, she felt conflicted. Sabine wasn’t sure what she wanted anymore. She needed some time and a little distance from Drew.
“You can’t expect me to put aside a lifetime of familial allegiance, just because we’ve mated. I can’t forget all I’ve known, all that I am.” Everything had happened so fast. Too fast.
Drew’s hand curled possessively over the spot where she’d grow large with his cub if he ever impregnated her. Sabine tried to push his hand away, but he splayed his fingers possessively over her quivering flesh.
“I’m not so insensitive to expect that.” His warm breath wafted over her neck, sending a shiver down her back. “But you have to face some facts. The moment you fall pregnant, my mark has to be on you for all to see. I won’t have my gravid mate running around without the weight it carries. I won’t leave you or my cub vulnerable.”
His baldly stated declaration shocked her. “You act as if it’s a foregone conclusion, that you will impregnate me.”
A cocky grin spread across his face. “It’ll be damned near impossible for me to keep my hands off you now.”
“Like how you couldn’t keep your hands off Jules?”
Drew’s hold tightened, the warmth of his breath eddying over her skin in an airy caress. Sabine felt her pussy burgeon with desire.
“There is no comparison and you know it.”
He flicked her earlobe with the damp tip of his tongue then ran it down the length of her neck.
Sabine let out a strangled whimper.
Drew pressed his face into the sensitive vee where her neck melded into her shoulder, rubbing his lips and face into the tense tendons there.
The sound of their agitated breathing was loud within the quiet room.
“Don’t pretend you don’t feel this connection we’ve forged between us, Sabine. It’s growing. Try to ignore it all you want, though I doubt you can. I sure as hell can’t.”
Sabine drew back to stare at him, doubting his sincerity. There was no mistaking the fervency in his words. “It’s sexual compatibility and it won’t make us good partners. I’m your mate because of necessity.”
“Good matings have been cemented with less, and we have a good foundation.”
“I don’t think you have it in you to give me what I need in a mate,” she muttered stubbornly. Did that make any sense? Even though she said the words, the logic seemed skewed to her.
Drew’s brows lowered, a gleam of offence burned in his eyes. “What the hell do you mean by that?”
Sabine shot him a don’t-act-dumb look.
“Okay, I acknowledge I came into this union with baggage, some I still carry with me. We never discussed Christa.”
“Why bother? The very mention of her name brings you pain. Leave it, Drew. There is no point to it.” Sabine grumbled and wiggled out from under him.
“So stubborn.” Drew let her go, though she felt his impatient gaze boring into her back.
“Not stubborn, practical. No point in wishing for the moon when it’s out of your reach.” She slid off the bed, keeping her back to him. She didn’t want him to read her thoughts through her eyes.
“What are you admitting? You want me?” She didn’t have to see his face to know he was smirking. She heard it in his voice. Was she so transparent?
“Don’t flatter yourself.” Sabine stiffened when she heard the sheets rustle as he left the bed.
“There is nothing wrong in wanting me, Sabine. Your father is right about one thing. We’ve almost lost the ability to live in the moment. Can you tell me you didn’t revel in what we shared? The total freedom of being immersed in your feelings.”
Sabine opened her mouth to issue a denial. The silence lengthened until she fidgeted. She didn’t know what to say, and Drew seemed to be waiting for a response.
The slight weight of a garment settling over her shoulders startled her. Sabine glanced down at the blue cloth billowing around her ankles. The hem was embroidered with white lilies and stylized birds. The silky material slid fluidly over her skin.
Drew turned her to face him and pulled her arms through the wide sleeves. “I asked Hanni to send up a few things for you. After watching you in the shower last night, I figured you’d love the feel of silk against your skin.” He ran his fingers under the wide lapel. His eyes narrowed slightly, and his beautiful mouth quirked into a teasing grin. “You’re a sensualist, Sabine, and I’m going to enjoy bringing out more of that side of you. I can’t wait to start dressing you in Victoria’s Secret.” He gathered the lapels and tied the wide mock-obi sash at her waist.
What bit of nonsense was he spouting now? “Who’s Victoria, and why would I be dressed in her secret?”
He smirked and wiggled his brows. “It’s a store or catalogue which sells women’s underwear, bits and pieces of visual delights to whet a man’s appetites.”
“You frequent a shop that sells women’s undergarments?” Sabine looked at Drew skeptically.
“It’s more than a store, it’s an institution.”
“You’re a very strange man who lives in a very strange world, Drew.”
“I have a feeling you’re going to take to it like a duck to water. Look at what you have on, it suits you.”
Sabine twisted and turned to catch a glimpse of the images on the cloth. It swirled around her, caressing her ankles, making the white wings of the cranes woven into the material appear to flap gently against the blue background.
“I’ve never had anything so lovely.”
“Aimee is going to love dragging you from store to…” His voice trailed off, the look of contentment disappeared, and his face hardened. A glimmer of what seemed to be guilt tinged with anguish flickered through his eyes.
Sabine cradled his face between her hands, before she could stop herself. Her instinct to comfort her mate, ease his pain in some small way if she could, overrode everything else. Drew pressed his face against her hands, seeming to find solace in her touch.
“And she will when she gets back here. If Aimee is anything like her brother, she’ll be working on a plan, don’t you think?” She shot him a grin, daring him to deny it.
A feral smirk spread across his face. “Yes, she—you bet your sweet ass she is. She is a Lunedare.” His eyes narrowed, and he peered down at her in a considering manner. “You know, I’ve never been at the receiving end of the softer side of you.”
Alerted by the new glint in his eyes, Sabine withdrew as if contact with his skin had seared her hands.
“I quite like it.” He smiled at her, and she felt very much a like a chicken cornered by a hungry fox.
She backed away from him. “I need to go and wash if I’m to face your pack later.”
He took a determined step in her direction. “Good idea. Let me give you a hand.”
She shifted to the right and he adjusted his position to block her. “What I had in mind was a bath not another bout of sex.” She kept taking steps backward and he matched them to keep apace with her.
“No? We can do both, let me show you just what a shower head can do.” He lunged, scooped her up, and tossed her over his shoulder.
“You’re insatiable.” She wiggled on her perch.
“Yeah, I’m that. Want to find out what else I am?” Drew ran his hand over her silk covered buttocks.
Yes, she did…
* * * *
Aimee watched Micah and two weres board the inflatable raft in preparation to go ashore. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, but she sucked it up. She sure as heck wasn’t going to blubber like a spineless nitwit in front of his pack brothers and sisters.
She gripped the rail and stared at the hazy jumble of buildings dotting the coastline. They’d weighed anchor several miles out at sea off a seaport north of Savannah. Micah still hadn’t heard from the weres he’d sent to get Milo. She could sense the growing dread Micah tried to keep hidden. He was leaving to try to locate his missing men. Rifkin could be laying in wait for them and worry niggled
at Aimee.
If anything happened to Micah these weres hanging anxiously over the rail would be worse off than they had been before they tossed their lots in with him. The penalty Bardo would exact would be hefty.
Her love and pride in him filled the achy place in her heart. She’d be supportive and send him off with a gentle reminder that he had a lot to return for, a bit of light in his dark world.
“Hey,” Aimee called down to her mate as he untied the towline. “Bring me some peanut brittle if you get a chance. I have cravings.”
A perplexed look flitted across his face, before he laughed. “You can’t possibly have them yet.”
“I certainly can, if I want to,” she answered pertly. “It’s a benefit of being preggers.”
“Is this going to happen a lot during the next few months?” Micah asked, shaking his head.
“Next few months?” she wiggled her brows at him. “I like the sound of that.”
“A slip of the tongue. You’re going.”
“I’m staying, and I might want sardines and hard-boiled eggs. That’s all Saffa ate when she was carrying her triplets.”
Micah’s face lost all color. “That’s downright nasty.”
“Pickles and strawberry ice cream sounds good too.” Aimee grinned evilly down at him. At least he didn’t look morose anymore. He looked sick, not a good look for an ass-kicking were. She might have gone a little overboard.
The chuckles rippling through the throng were worth scaring the crap out of her man. It was good to hear the Redmavens laugh.
With a dazed look on his face, Micah pushed off, started the outboard motor, and headed for shore.
She flipped open the cell phone he’d given her and sighed, frustrated. The service bars were non-existent. When Micah got back, she was going to persuade him to let her contact Saffa. That is, if he came back to her.
Chapter Nineteen
Drew’s vehicle careened around another corner, sending Sabine against the door with a soft thud. From the moment she’d lured Drew into the pit, the days, hours and minutes had flashed by in a mind-boggling blur. As soon as she felt she’d found her footing, a new experience was thrust at her.
Didn’t he ever do anything at a leisurely pace?
Sabine smirked. Well, maybe one thing.
Another sharp turn whipped her head to the right and rapped it against the glass panel beside her. Sabine gritted her teeth, extended her claws and sunk them into the seat beneath her to anchor herself in place. She caught Drew’s groan over the engine’s rumble and glanced at him in time to catch the grimace on his face.
“You could’ve kept the seat belt buckled and saved my upholstery.” He tilted his head at the discarded harness.
Sabine looked at it with disdain. “I felt like I was leashed. Now I know what a dog feels like.”
Drew ran his hand over the hide-covered bench between them, similar to the way he caressed her. “Honey, that’s hand stitched-leather you’re shredding. I had this baby pimped.”
“You prostituted your truck?” What was he talking about now? There were moments he made absolutely no sense to her. She had a good grasp of the English language. Yet some things he said completely befuddled her. There had to be a book somewhere she could use to become familiar with his colloquialisms.
Throwing his head back, Drew let out a laugh. “No, I paid to have it customized. Cushy seats, burled wood accoutrements, and a kick-ass sound system.” He punched a button and a man’s gravelly voice howling, “Born to be Wild,” blared out at Sabine, and she cringed at the range of decibels screaming out at her.
“Show some respect for an American classic. Steppenwolf. That song should be the werekin’s anthem.” He patted the console before him covered with the confusing gauges and dials. “You’re gonna have to learn to recognize and appreciate the love affair between a man and his ride.” He winked at her, looking almost boyish if you could ignore the punch of his masculinity.
She yelped when he whipped to the left to avoid a stone formation jutting out in front of them, then he plunged down a sudden dip in the unpaved road which cut roughly through the thick woodlands.
“Ride? Is that what you call this, this…rat trap we’re barreling down the mountain in like caged rodents, a ride? You ride a horse. At any minute now, I expect you to hurl us over a precipice. With any luck we’ll break our necks, and I’ll be released from my misery.”
The smile dropped from Drew’s face, and he pressed a lever with his foot. They slowed down appreciably. “Don’t joke about a broken neck. I’ve never crashed a truck in my life. I have cat-like reflexes.”
“I’d feel better if you said were-like reflexes. I’d place my trust in those more.” Sabine relaxed a little and eased her claws out from the cushioning beneath her. She bent down to inspect the slits they’d left in the upholstery. They didn’t appear too bad if you didn’t take a close look.
“Come on, slide onto my lap, and let me teach you how to drive. It’ll help you get over your fears. There’s nothing to it.” Drew patted his thigh invitingly.
Tempted as she was to sit on his lap, Sabine wasn’t about to take control of several tons of metal.
“I’d rather face a pack of rabid wolves. Whenever it’s necessary to travel, I’d prefer to morph and use my four perfectly good legs. This is a disaster waiting to happen,” she moaned. Her breakfast or was it late lunch, was going to come back up, she just knew it.
“People have been driving for more than a century. On a whole, it’s pretty safe. You’re looking a little green there, honey.” He tried to stifle his snicker, but she heard it and shot him a fulminating glare.
“I feel sick. Why couldn’t we have taken a run like normal weres?” She moaned and shut her eyes. It was better not to see her death racing at her.
“Hmmm. I figured it’d be easier to haul up all the stuff the pack will be gifting us with later. There’s hardly any food at the house. We need to get supplies. The can of corned beef we wolfed down, no pun intended, hardly filled the hollow in my stomach.”
“I’m sorry I ate a portion. It’s turned into a greasy indigestible ball in my belly.” It felt more like a boulder, but who was measuring?
“You going to be okay?”
“I think I’ll survive.”
“I should have heated it up, but I was starving and we’re running late.” Drew shot her a concerned gaze. “We also need to get you some street clothes, never thought to add that to the list I sent to Hanni. You seem to hate those grey sweats you are wearing.”
“Sweats, how fitting? I’m sweating like a pig in them.”
“Yep, but they are an essential in every wardrobe.”
“Weres marking time, our ancestors would be embarrassed by that.” She tapped the door beside her. “Attached to things. Pitiful.” Sabine hid her discomfort under sarcasm and frowned. Well, for Heaven’s sake, she sounded exactly like her father.
Drew spared her a sly glance. “I seem to remember how happy a mouthy little were was when I hoisted up her treasures from her hidey-hole.”
Sabine scoffed. It’d pleased her to no end that he’d thought to collect her things. They weren’t much, but they were hers.
“Anyway, can you give me an idea what I’m to expect tonight. We haven’t observed a welcoming ritual as far as I can remember.”
Drew glanced over at her briefly, but she didn’t miss the taunt dancing in his eyes. “Changing the subject?”
“I would if you’d allow me to,” Sabine complained and slumped back against the seat.
“As the lady wishes.” He reached over and tugged her to his side. “The entire pack will gather and bare their necks to show their allegiance to you as my mate. They’ll send up a howl to welcome you. Then there’ll be food and some socializing.” A frown creased his brow. “Brace yourself. You’re going to be bombarded by the women.”
Sabine angled her head to the side. “Could I at least know what you’re talking about? I’d hate to start of
f with the she-wolves in your family believing you do my thinking for me.”
Drew let out a grunt. “Jeeze, for a moment there, I thought you’d mellowed a little. I almost took off my protective cup. You’re back to busting my balls aren’t you?”
“You are a very confusing man. What are you mumbling about now?”
“Nothing, nothing. Anyway, back to our discussion.” He looked pointedly at her. “No female Lunedare goes beyond our borders without an escort led by a fore-fighter.”
Sabine couldn’t imagine any of her pack sisters adhering to such a confining edict. Freedom to roam at will was as essential to a were as breathing.
“Really? Are your women weak and spineless? Were they born without a werekin’s innate abilities to smell the presence of another wolf?” she asked, as if she didn’t already know the answer. The she-wolves were chafing under these new restrictions. They’d be rebelling soon.
“Of course not. They are true weres.” Drew’s brows lowered at the slur against the women in his clan.
Sabine smiled to herself, glad he was offended at the suggestion that the women of his pack couldn’t defend themselves. Good.
“Oh, so they’re stupid then. Knowing they are in all probability, targeted, they’d take unnecessary risks. Or are they helpless? Don’t they have the skills to defend themselves?” she countered. On hearing her bland intonation, he slid her a narrow-eyed look.
“Every female in my clan has had basic defense training. Since the troubles began, I’ve instituted a program to tighten their skills. They’ve excelled.” Drew’s pride in his pack was evident in his voice.
“Then you insult them,” Sabine said. “With your lack of faith in them and by taking away their right to assist in the defense of their pack.”
Drew’s brows lowered as he considered her words for a second before he answered. “I’ve done no such thing. Every precaution I’ve taken is for their protection.”
“For your protection. I’m really beginning to resent those words. My father isolated us to protect us and look what happen to my family. We are a dying pack. Now, because of his reasoning, here I am thrust into an alien environment. I feel like a girl who’s shown up late for the ball, who’ll never to learn the steps to the dance to catch up.” Sabine peeked at his face. Drew’s fingers tapped the wheel. Seeing the rigid set of his jaw, Sabine let out a sigh. “Women aren’t children to be coddled, Drew. They’ll be just as passionate about righting that wrong as the men are.”
Her Wanted Wolf Page 19