by Laina Kenney
“I will set guards in the neighborhood,” Rylek said, and Valeri subsided. Angel could feel his muscles relax where she was pressed against his side.
“My thanks, Alpha.”
“I know your friends and fellow Cadre members will be pleased to help. Miros and Matsij I will need this night, but Ives and Balke are outside within call. I feel certain they will consent to stand guard until the dawn.”
Valeri squeezed her waist and said she could tell he was relieved. She felt it, too, if she was honest with herself.
“However, I do suggest that Angel call in sick to work tomorrow. You have had a series of shocks tonight, so a rest will do you good, and we will need the time to get this situation under control so that your workplace will be safe. Unfortunately, I cannot post vulfen guards inside your place of work. It would be noticed.”
Angel almost laughed at the absurdity of it. Oh yeah, all the sick people would notice if the admitting clerk had two huge guards sitting beside her watching her every move. Or worse yet, there might be two wolves sitting there, baring their teeth every time anyone moved in her direction.
“Okay, I’ll call in sick tomorrow.” She looked at her watch and sighed. “Or I guess I’ll have to call in today. It’s after midnight. But I am keeping my job.”
Rylek smiled and inclined his head.
“Your father will send food, Valeri.”
Valeri grinned. “It will be most welcome. I am on the healing path and will soon eat through Angel’s pantry.”
“With the amount of food your father will prepare, there will be no danger of that. If I were you, I would expect to see him at the door tomorrow.”
Rylek raised his eyebrows at the end of his statement.
Angel looked from one to the other. It seemed there was an unspoken message in those simple words.
Valeri grimaced but nodded.
After a moment, Rylek bowed and went to the door with his companions. Within minutes, he had everything arranged to his satisfaction, with two more large vulfen men on guard outside, and he was gone.
Chapter 11
The moment the truck pulled out of the driveway, Angel sank down onto the couch. She didn’t know why she felt so much better with only Valeri in the house, but she did. It would be impossible to deny it.
The part of her that she rarely acknowledged was rising, and it liked having Valeri there.
He was checking all the doors and windows. She looked at him and couldn’t believe the beauty of the man, when the dog—wolf—side of him had been in such bad shape the night before. Although, now that she was watching, she could tell that he still favored the injured leg.
“You should sit down and rest that leg.”
At his startled look, she blushed.
“I should have a shower,” he said. “I smell so bad the hunters will be able to find me blindfolded in the dark.”
Angel thought he smelled pretty good, but his nose was probably ten times better than hers. She liked the scent of him in her home, but she rose and went to the tiny linen closet, pulling out a washcloth and towel. She handed them to Valeri and pointed down the hall to the bathroom.
“The soap smells like violets, but you’ll be clean.”
She thought maybe such a masculine man might not want to smell like flowers, but he smiled and thanked her before heading off down the hall.
Angel grabbed more supplies from the closet and quickly made up the bed in the spare room. Her computer was set up in there, but she didn’t think he would be bothered by that. Last night he had slept on the mudroom floor for most of the night. A bed should be an improvement.
She pushed away the thought of the hours he had spent in her bed comforting her tears. He had been a dog then, and she had felt safe with him. Even as a man, that feeling of total safety lingered. He was a protector, and as he said, he owed her his life. She didn’t want him to think of her as a debt to be paid, but it was a truth she had to face. Once he felt the danger to her had passed, he would be out the door and back to his real life.
She felt drawn to him, excited by his presence, but there was no guarantee that he felt the same. She cautioned herself not to expect it. He was a different creature altogether, and she would drive herself crazy trying to predict what he might do.
She studiously avoided thinking of his comment that she could shift whenever she wanted, but the part of her that had slept so long wondered what it would be like to run free.
The wind rattled the back door, and she could tell it wasn’t shut. She opened the door, but instead of closing the screen and latching it, she stood and gazed out into the night. She took deep, slow breaths of the rain-soaked wind and inhaled the wonder of the night.
The air was so clean and fresh, heavy with the scent of rain and green growing things. The minerals in the earth were another part of the flavor, and Angel pulled in more air, greedy for the information it would give her.
Whenever her mother had caught her sniffing things as a child, she had told Angel to stop. Now she understood that they had been hiding from a threat and anything unusual might give them away, but at the time she hadn’t known why she couldn’t just be herself. Now she found that instead of rejecting the idea, she was eager to know more. Eager to explore the world with her senses in every way that she could.
The scent of violets came to her, and she turned to see Valeri standing behind her. A white towel was knotted low on his hips, and droplets of water still gleamed on his chest and washboard abs.
Angel had never yet seen him wearing a shirt, but he seemed larger, somehow, standing so close. His eyes were a dark, vibrant blue, and she couldn’t make herself look away.
He was so perfect to look at that she knew he would disappear sooner or later. Perfect men didn’t make a habit of knocking on her door. She had to memorize him now because he would soon be gone.
“I knew the door was open,” he said. “I needed to make certain there was no further danger.”
She closed the outside door and latched it tight before shutting the inside door and locking it.
“No, nothing’s wrong. No danger. I was just…”
What could she say? I smelled the wind and it told me things? I was trying to learn things the children of your world already know?
She didn’t say anything.
He stepped closer and pulled her fluttering hands into the shelter of his strong ones. His eyes were gentle on her face.
“Talk it out, Angel. Talk to me. You can ask me anything. You may take whatever you need from me.”
Her instinct murmured.
She leaned up and kissed his perfect mouth. He froze for a second, and then his hands came up to rest on her upper arms.
She used his light grasp for support and pulled his head down so she could kiss his forehead, his nose, and his cheeks before she went for his mouth again.
She wanted to learn him by feel, to memorize his beautiful form by touch alone. She wanted to arch and twist and tease him until he bit her. The thought of his fangs sent a ripple of heat down her body. She didn’t understand it, but she couldn’t deny the strength of the feelings sweeping through her.
She nipped and tugged at his full bottom lip. His indrawn breath made her blood sizzle. She wanted more. She wanted everything with him, and she wanted it all now.
“Slow down, Angel. We are not in a hurry.”
She nipped him again, and he laughed, though his body tensed.
“Or perhaps one of us is in a hurry.”
She tried to push closer and he held her back a little.
“I am a vulfen male and you are my mate. Angel, we have all the time in the world.”
He was her mate?
Angel was surprised at the words, surprised how right it felt to claim that connection with him. At the same time, she was afraid to reach out and just walk into an unknown world. Everything she had thought she understood was sliding away, to be replaced by something new and very old at the same time.
“You can’t be real,�
�� she moaned. He was too perfect to be real. And perfect men just weren’t interested in her.
He pulled her to him and locked her in an iron embrace. As tight as his arms were around her, she only wanted them tighter. She rested her head against his wide chest while he stroked her hair all the way from the top of her head to the end of her ponytail. He did it over and over. Even that soft touch drew fire on her skin.
“Feel my body against yours. Feel my heart beat for you. Trust the voice inside you that says I am the other half of your soul. Angel, I am real, and so are you. You have hidden your deepest nature to survive, but now you can be free. I want you to be free.”
As soon as he said the words, Angel understood. Her spirit wanted to be free. She wasn’t crazy. She wasn’t even human.
His heart thumped steadily against her cheek. His flesh was hot, warming a coldness, a separateness, which had marked her entire life. He was strong and bright and good, and the scent of him wrapped her in a comfort she had never known before him.
The hot, shaky feeling of only moments ago subsided into a glowing warmth that made her want to cry and laugh at the same time. She was drowning in new sensations, and she only wanted more.
She nuzzled his skin and licked once to get his taste.
Valeri’s hands rubbed up and down her back. He slid one hand up to free her hair from its messy ponytail and cupped the back of her head under her hair. Her neck relaxed, and her head rested in his grasp.
Their eyes met and held, a softly glowing blue on blue. The connection between them was strong, and she could feel tears gathering in her eyes. She blinked rapidly. She didn’t want to cry all over him again. If he was her mate, she wanted something better.
He murmured her name as his head lowered in slow motion to take her mouth in the gentlest kiss. She tried to lure him into a deeper kiss with lips and teeth, but he was holding her in a position that left her a little off-balance. He was supporting her weight, and she liked it, but she couldn’t get her feet planted to push back.
A thrill rushed through her, making her fingertips tingle. She was with her mate, and he was teasing her with the pleasure of his mouth. She was just where she had always longed to be without ever knowing it.
He deepened the kiss until her knees wobbled, and she clutched at his shoulders to keep from sliding to the floor. His strength under her hands both soothed and provoked.
Oh god, his taste.
She pushed up on her toes to get closer. His flavor was dark, and like the finest wine it went straight to her head. Her clothes were suddenly too tight. All good sense was floating out of reach, and she didn’t want it back. She only wanted him.
Valeri licked and explored the soft depths of her mouth while she arched and pressed against him. Her large breasts were crushed against the wonderful hardness of his chest, and the layers of fabric caused a maddening friction. The sensation was driving her crazy.
He was slow and thorough when she wanted fast. She arched her hips against his, and a bright flash of pleasure pierced her. She repeated the move, arching and rocking to try to grasp that elusive sensation again.
She moaned into his mouth.
His big hand tilted her hips up and anchored her against the hard ridge of his penis. He rubbed against her in rhythm with his now savage kiss, and her body went up in flames.
She mewled and writhed to get closer to the devastating motion. Every touch sizzled with a blazing joy, but it wasn’t enough.
“Please, please.”
He muttered something against her throat and pulled back long enough to strip her T-shirt off over her head. Her tank top quickly followed and then she was back in his arms. Her breasts pressed against the hot skin of his wide chest, and the crisp hairs there teased her nipples into burning points.
He shifted her from side to side slowly, in rhythm with his smoldering kiss, and fierce sensation shot from her hard nipples straight to her melting pussy. There was no word strong enough to describe the feelings he aroused. Her body was pulling her along a path she didn’t recognize. He was driving her mad.
She broke away from his mouth. “More,” she said.
“Yes.”
He knelt and stripped her jeans off and pulled her down onto his lap, thighs spread on either side of his. His engorged penis jutted out between them. It leaped once, as if it could feel the approval in her gaze. The sight of him so ready to fill her made her body ripple and flex.
“Angel, you must be sure. Say yes. Say yes and we will—”
She pressed her mouth to his in a hungry kiss to stop his words. She didn’t have time for a long discussion just then.
“Yes. Hurry.”
Valeri raised her body and brought her down over him, impaling her on his hard cock in one long fierce glide. Angel gasped and stiffened as a tiny orgasm flashed through her blood.
He groaned. He stretched her so tightly he must have felt her climax all around him. The thought made her twist in his arms. She could feel her wetness coating him.
She wanted him to know how he made her feel. She wanted to feel everything with him, and she wanted it all at once.
“Yes, we will know every pleasure together,” he murmured against her vulnerable throat. “The world will go up in flames.”
His teeth scraped, and her head fell back. His arms around her back supported her weight while he thrust slowly in and out of her wet body. He nipped and tugged at her nipples, his avid mouth moving from one to the other and back until she was writhing in slow motion in his arms, skewered over and over on his plunging cock while he feasted on her sensitive breasts.
She was floating in a sea of carnal scents and sounds, beyond any hope of rescue. A fine tension invaded her limbs, but she allowed him to support her full weight, accepting the worship of his driving body pushing her higher than she had ever been.
At the moment of surrender, he sank sharp fangs into the tender spot between shoulder and neck, and it catapulted her into a blind screaming release. She could feel her body rippling around his hardness, milking him for his molten seed.
He shouted something against her throat and went wild, lunging faster inside her, stabbing deep again and again. He sank his teeth into her neck right beside the first bite and held on.
Angel shrieked with unbearable joy before the world fell away and there was nothing but him.
When she gradually rose to awareness again, it was a peaceful process. Valeri’s considerable bulk pinned her to the cool tile floor, but she liked the feeling of having his big body over hers. Her pussy contracted sharply around him, and he thrust once involuntarily.
It drew a groan from him, and he moved a little but did not withdraw.
After a time, he raised up on one elbow and smoothed the tousled hair from her face.
He touched his lips to hers and breathed words into her mouth.
“I will be a good mate to you, Angel. I will give all of my soul, my blood, and my body freely for your happiness and satisfaction. I will give my strength for your protection. I will hunt for you and feed you from my hand.”
His words, punctuated with tiny licks and kisses, seemed to glow inside her heart. The side of her that had been silent for so long sang with exhilaration. The feeling bubbled up inside like a golden fountain of champagne. It was as if she had been waiting all her life to hear those words from him.
She smiled against his mouth.
“Mate,” she said.
Chapter 12
The next morning Angel knew she had to call in sick. She didn’t like it, but she had agreed to the Alpha’s suggestion, and she wouldn’t go back on that. She would leave a quiet message for her supervisor, but she couldn’t do it so early. She would wait a little longer.
Valeri was looking out the front window into the brightening sky.
“I still have a job. This doesn’t change that. And I want to keep my job.”
Valeri shrugged, but there was a frown on his face.
“So keep your job. Being a m
ate is not being a prisoner. But know that your coworker Dr. Novaks is part of a hunting society that targets your people for no other reason than that we are different. He is twisted. Can’t you smell it on him? I cannot believe your wolf allows you to be close to him.”
“I’ve never been close to him, not like that,” Angel protested, but her tone was uncertain. Dr. Novaks made her uneasy, and the reaction had been there even on their first introduction at the hospital. “Do you mean because he smells like vinegar?”
Valeri sighed and reached out to her. When she approached he drew her close to his side, and they watched the sky turn pink with the coming of the sun.
“The doctor’s mind is twisted. His scent reveals it as surely as if he had a sign of warning branded on his cheek, as humans once used to do. He wants perverted things. That is, no doubt, what drew him to the society in the first place. They would have played on his weakness because they are eager to expand their numbers into the higher echelons of humanity. They lack credibility and have a difficult time raising the funds they need. Over the years, they have mostly been outlaws and criminals themselves. Now, I think, they want more respect.”
Angel leaned into him, cuddling closer to the warmth of his body. Even after the night they had shared in her kitchen and then her bed, there was still that hint of fire underneath every word they said to each other, a flame of banked passion waiting to rise and consume them.
But right now, she needed comfort more. Being hunted was a frightening thing.
“My life is different,” she said slowly.
Valeri rubbed her back but said nothing.
“I feel so connected to you, but we’ve only known each other for one night.” She flushed as she said the words. They made it sound so quick and sordid, when it was anything but that. She couldn’t explain why a virtual stranger should suddenly be the most important person in her world, but he was. The word fate was too small to encompass all that she felt for him. She couldn’t get her head around it.
“We have known each other for two days, Angel. That is long enough to recognize a mate. It may be fast for a human, but it is normal for us. The vulfen people do not waste time denying a gift when it is offered. I didn’t expect it, didn’t expect you, but I knew you the first time I saw you. A part of me recognized you.”