His fangs bit into her skin, just the slightest amount, barely piercing her flesh. She tilted her head, exposing more of her neck to him.
He bit hard.
She screamed, her climax pulsing through her in violent waves of pleasure so intense it almost hurt.
Roc snarled, thrust one more time and then the pulse of his hot seed hit her inner walls, flooding her. And still he continued to surge in her, again and again and again, until she had nothing left to give and he had nothing left take.
He collapsed on top of her, muscles shuddering. Pinned beneath him, she couldn’t breathe. He rolled them to the side, still sheathed within her.
Livie tipped her head back to suck in some much needed air. The back of her head hit the gentle cushion of his pelt. She lay there, completely surrounded by him. Secure and at peace.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Roc picked up a lock of Livie’s matted hair. He rubbed the strand between his fingers, idly noting that he had changed back into his human form at some point.
He couldn’t recall it even happening.
He wasn’t one hundred percent sure that his head was still attached. He thought it might have exploded with his climax.
Hell, talk about amazing. He’d never experienced anything remotely like that before.
Those magazines had it all wrong.
That had not been fireworks and little hearts fluttering in the air. That had been a nuclear explosion of epic proportions with possible body parts disintegrating in the turmoil. And he couldn’t have cared less.
He’d gladly sacrifice a foot to experience that all over again.
Oh, hell yeah.
He smoothed her hair back, threading it behind her ear so he could see her neck. There. His beast rumbled contentedly. His mark on her neck. Perfect.
He ran his thumb over the small amount of blood that lingered on her skin, intending to wipe it away. The puncture marks below hadn’t healed.
She must still have some of the drug in her system, delaying her ability to heal.
His claws snapped out and he quickly moved his hand away. Those damn bastards.
“Livie?” Her eyelids flickered in response, but she didn’t open her eyes. “Did I hurt you?” He drew his finger over the small wound to emphasize his point.
Damn, he really was an animal.
She muttered something incomprehensible, rubbing against him as she snuggled deeper into the bed and him. His cock took immediate notice.
Unfortunately, so did his nose. He could smell them on her. He had been able to ignore it so far, but not anymore.
He scooped her up, cradling her as he headed into the bathroom.
She made an irritated noise. He glanced down to see her scowling up at him with one eye open in an annoyed Popeye fashion.
“Whaf doen?
He lifted her higher in his arms, bumping the tip of her nose with his.
“I’m putting you in the shower.” He scowled. “You stink.”
Her stormy gray eyes popped wide in outrage. She lifted her arm and sniffed.
“I do not! I . . .” she sniffed again, her eyes took on a shuttered look. “I smell like them.”
He nodded once, hating that blank look. Had she lied to him? He didn’t think so. She’d smelled like she spoke truthfully, but she had him so tied up in knots, he just didn’t know.
If those bastards had touched her . . .
“Ouch.” His claws were digging into her hip. Ashamed, he concentrated on retracting them. “Sorry,” he uttered gruffly.
He lowered her to her feet, reaching out to turn on the shower, adjusting the temperature until he was satisfied.
He placed his hand on the soft warm skin of her back, urging her into the spray.
Avoiding his eyes, she stared at the tile wall. “You didn’t hurt me.”
She was back to avoiding his gaze, despite the world shattering sex of a few minutes ago. He didn’t blame her for not having faith in him, but he couldn’t take it anymore. She could yell at him, hit him, do whatever she wanted as long as she did not avoid him.
With a quick move, he spun her around. Gripping her shoulders, he shook her until she met his eyes.
“Goddamn it all, Livie!” He snarled. “Yell at me. Tell me how angry you are, but don’t fucking avoid me!” He pulled her into his chest. “I know I failed you. I’m sorry. God, I can’t tell you how . . .” His throat tightened on the words.
What kind of a mate was he?
Her little hands pushed at him. Blinking rapidly, he took both of her wrists in one of his. His hand engulfed both of hers completely, the tiny bones so fragile and yet capable of so much power.
“What are you talking about?”
The utter bewilderment in her voice surprised him.
“I’m talking about letting those bastards get their damn hands on you, Livie.”
Her brows drew together. “I took off, remember?”
“Oh, I remember all too well.” He let his beast into his voice. She didn’t appear impressed. “I’m still thinking of turning you over my knees for that.”
She cocked her head as if to say ‘try it.’
Her soft ass laid bare over his legs, up in the air, naked and vulnerable . . . with an abrupt shake of his head he dismissed the image. He refused to allow her to distract him.
“I’ll never let you get away from my side again. I should have found you before they . . . Damn it!” He whirled and punched the tile.
“I don’t understand. I thought you didn’t want me anymore. Why would you say that?” Stark and empty, her words hung in the air.
Roc slowly turned back to face her. How could she possibly think that? Good god, she was his mate, the one he had searched for. But the closed look in her eyes told him she believed each word.
His hands shook. He was afraid to touch her.
“Livie, you are my mate. Why would you think that?”
She folded her arms across her stomach in a protective gesture. “In the alley, after the fight,” she whispered. “I saw how you turned away from me. I let everyone down. I’m not strong. I didn’t use my power right away and . . .” she tightened her arms. “Everyone got hurt.”
Her shoulders hunched forward. “Why would you want me? I’m not lovable.”
Her words shook him to the core.
He snatched her up, holding her at eye level. “Who told you that?” He demanded.
“My mother.” She said simply.
His heart almost shattered right there.
He knew her mother had abused the girls, but he hadn’t known how much damage she had done until now. Sela had tried to tell him before. He hadn’t understood. How could he? He loved everything about her. He could not comprehend anyone loving her less.
He wrapped one arm around her waist, keeping her pinned where he wanted her. Cupping her chin in his palm, he forced her to meet his eyes. “Mate. You are everything to me. My entire world. There is nothing for me to live for without you. You are my heart. I love you.”
Her eyes widened.
“I couldn’t look at you in the alley because I was afraid to see your disgust with me. I’m your mate, your protector. You should never suffer a scratch while I am with you.” He folded her close again, the image too painful. “Livie, you lost an entire section of your leg.”
He began to shake.
“I should have killed every single one of those bastards and laid their throats at your feet! I’m so sorry.”
She mumbled something he couldn’t understand and he realized he had her face smooshed into his skin. He loosened his grip.
“You love me?” She whispered it like she understood English and he was speaking Portuguese.
He shook her. “Yes, I love you! Haven’t you been listening? I love you and I know that I’m not what you wanted in a mate. I know that my beast scares you, but . . .”
Fingers pressed over his lips, halting him.
“You’re everything that I need.” Tears tracked down her cheeks. �
��It just took me a while to figure it out.”
“Livie?”
She smiled. “I love you too.”
A roaring began in the back of his brain. It spread slowly at first then picked up speed like a snowball going downhill fast. Tumbling and turning and growing until it consumed him.
“Roc?”
He blinked, trying to focus on her through the chaos. Her soft gray eyes stared at him in concern.
His knees wobbled.
Cupping his hand over the back of her head, he dropped. Onto one knee, then the other until he simply sat down.
“What’s wrong? Should I call a doctor?” Livie’s voice rose with each question. “Do you even have a doctor?”
When she tried to get up, he tightened his arms. Now that he was sitting, the blood seemed to be relocating to its correct places in his body. His brain began to function once more.
His cheeks burned.
“Let me up.” She shoved tentatively at his chest as if afraid she might hurt him.
“I’ll go get help.”
“I don’t need help.” He put a finger to her lip when she would have argued some more. “I’m not sick.” God, he was never going to live this one down. “I didn’t expect it.”
“You didn’t expect what?” Her eyes searched his face and chest while she asked the question.
“I didn’t expect you to love me.”
That brought her head up in a hurry.
“You almost fainted because I told you that I love you?”
He winced. “I did not almost faint.” He squared his shoulders. “Men do not faint.”
When she continued to eye him like he might fall apart at any minute, he continued. “Damn it, Livie. I’ve looked for you for centuries. After I found you, I thought everything would fall into place. Then you tried to kill me and it shook me. Made me doubt everything. I knew it would be a challenge to overcome your fears.” He rested the top of his head on hers, so she couldn’t read his face.
“I tried to brace myself for it to take years until you were ready to admit to being my mate.” He took a deep breath. “I didn’t expect you to love me so soon.”
****
Cheek pressed to his hard chest, Livie listened to his words in shock.
He loved her. He truly and totally loved her. Her mother was wrong.
And what’s more, he wasn’t afraid to admit his vulnerabilities to her. Maybe that was all part of loving someone. She didn’t know.
He had not been ashamed of her. This strong man with his furry alter ego had been upset that he hadn’t somehow protected her.
She wanted to laugh with joy. She wanted to kiss him and dance in the street and . . . kiss him.
She wiggled out from under his hold. Setting her hands on his chest, she shoved hard. He landed on his back side and she quickly straddled his hips.
His eyes immediately heated up.
The shower gave up any semblance of warmth and cold water fell over them.
Livie shivered, turned and eyed the shower faucet. It was about two feet away. She would have to move to turn it off.
Two large hands gripped her waist. “I’ll get it.”
Smiling, she planted her hands firmly, anchoring him to the floor. “No, I’ve got it.”
Focusing inward, she pulled at her Element. Warmth pulsed through her until it reached her inner wrist. Her mark flickered.
As soon as the tattoo began to glow, Roc’s eyes flew to her, measuring and determining. He smiled, squeezed her hips and relaxed.
Thrilled with his trust, Livie sent out a concentrated burst of power. The wind formed a cushion around them, sealing out any droplets of chilly moisture.
She leaned forward, darting down to grip his nipple between her teeth. He tensed, his powerful body arching upward.
She laughed. “Hmm, I guess I’ve got the beast by the . . .” she didn’t get a chance to finish before he flipped her.
He settled in between her legs, “Now, what were you saying?”
She grinned, cupping his face. The glow from her mark caught her eye. She glanced around his shoulders. Her cushion of wind still held.
Wow, she really could control her Element. She didn’t have to fear it any longer.
She didn’t have to fear anything.
I so totally rock.
Roc rolled his hips forward, nudging her entrance with the broad tip of his cock.
“You were saying?”
She lifted up until he slid in a couple inches.
“I was saying,” she hooked one leg over his hip. “I love you.”
In an instant, his eyes shot darker, an explosion of fireworks bursting forth. He shoved all the way inside of her in one strong thrust, lodging his arms under her back, he cupped her head in his palms and began to slam into her.
Barely able to draw in air, like a piece of seaweed helpless on the tide, Livie held on, unable to do anything else.
She didn’t want to do anything else, she was right where she wanted to be.
There was no more room for teasing or even a gentle whisper of love. This quickly turned into something else, something deeper and fiercer. A primal bonding, a need to imprint themselves on each other.
To mate.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Roc rubbed the towel over her back in a long caress. His eyes met hers in the mirror, smiling. Lowering his head, he opened his mouth over her shoulder, still holding her gaze he lengthened his fangs before he gripped her skin lightly.
Shivers ran up and down her spine.
Cheeze-its, he is going to turn me into one giant melting mass of horniness.
No matter which way she looked at it, she really couldn’t see anything wrong with that.
Grinning, she slid her hands up behind his neck, drawing him down closer.
The phone rang.
Roc grimaced, nipped her once more, patted her ass and left to grab his phone.
Once he had left the bathroom, Livie grabbed the edge of the counter. Several deep breaths later, her knees finally stopped wobbling and she managed to stand on her own.
Hoo baby.
A dopey smile on her face, Livie took in her reflection. Yikes! She blinked slowly. It couldn’t be that bad. She peeked at the mirror. Yee gads.
How could Roc have failed to mention this to her?
Despite being wet, clumps of her hair had knotted together and stuck up in odd angles all over her head. She’d lost weight again – damn it – and the effect looked remarkably like Frankenstein’s bride after an extended stay as a prisoner in a forgotten camp run by mutant birds that had decided her hair would make a decent nest.
She’d never looked so awful in her entire life.
“We need to get over to Mac’s right away.” Roc stood in the doorway, tapping his phone against his thigh.
“Why didn’t you tell me I looked like this?” She demanded. She might not be the most vain person in the world, probably not in the county, but . . . a girl’s gotta have some standards.
He looked her over. His eyes heated then he scowled. “I’ll put the weight back on you.” That sounded vaguely like a threat. “But, right now . . .”
“I am not talking about my weight.” Livie pointed at her hair. “This is a awful.”
He cocked his head. “Well, it might be a little messy.”
“A little?” He winced, rubbing his ears. “This is a full scale disaster.”
He walked closer, studying her head from all angles. “I don’t think it is really that bad. You . . .” he paused, shook his head. “What am I saying? Livie.” He shook her gently. “We don’t have time for this. We need to get over to Mac’s right away.”
Livie shoved hard on his chest. “I don’t care if The Order plans a full scale invasion. I’m not going anywhere looking like this.”
She wiggled out of his hold and stomped into the shower to grab the conditioner. “I can’t believe you didn’t say anything. I’ll be lucky if I can get a comb through this.”
>
“Mate.”
She popped her head out, pointed her finger. “Don’t take that tone with me.” His eyes widened and his mouth dropped slightly. “The Order is always planning something. I’ve learned to live with that.” She tugged on one ratted clump. “This, I can’t live with.”
****
The first stirrings of panic hit her as they climbed Mac’s front steps. Her sisters were inside the house somewhere. She hadn’t even had a chance to hug Rea before The Order struck.
Rea’s limp body. Sela not meeting her eyes.
She stumbled between one step and the next. Roc’s hand was there in an instant, steadying her then pulling her tight to his side.
“You okay?”
She didn’t know how to answer that. The love she felt for him beat steadily inside of her, a powerful presence that threaded through the very fiber of her being, similar, in fact, to the feel of her Element.
Her love for her sisters was different yet equally important. They may have spent the last years apart, but that love had been the only thing to keep her going at times. It was entrenched in her soul.
How could she face them, knowing she had disappointed them?
“Sela,” she began. She couldn’t finish.
“Ah, mate.” He wrapped both arms around her, tucking her head under his. “We were the ones who were wrong. It wasn’t you. Sela couldn’t help in the fight. She panicked.” He buried his face in her hair. “Damn, baby. I’m so sorry. I didn’t think.”
Was he right? Had she misinterpreted the whole situation in the alley, not just how she thought Roc had felt? Had she allowed her insecurities to cloud everything?
God, she hoped so. She had Roc. If she could have her sisters, live near them . . . tears welled. She’d survived long enough, she wanted a life now.
As if he knew, Roc squeezed her, rumbling gently.
The door opened. “What’s taking so long?” Mac barked.
Roc lifted his head. “Give us a minute.”
Roc must have done something with his expression as well because Mac didn’t argue.
The door slammed shut.
Livie blinked a few times, took a deep breath and pulled back. He stared at her for a minute then leaned down and nuzzled her neck. Much like a wolf would do, she imagined, to give comfort to his mate.
Fur, Fangs and All (The Elementals Book 2) Page 21