Laura's Wolf (Werewolf Marines)

by Lia Silver

  “I wasn’t. I’m more worried about you.” Before Roy could protest that she shouldn’t be, she added, “If either of them shows their creepy faces, I’ll say ‘freeze,’ and you can shoot them.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Roy swallowed the pills with a sip of coffee, leaning over the side table in case it spilled, and put down the cup. He’d drunk so little that if Laura hadn’t been watching him, she’d have thought he’d never even picked it up.

  Laura touched her finger to her own mug. It had gone cold. “Want me to fix you some more coffee? Or tea?”

  “No, thanks.”

  “Or some toast? It might make you feel better.”

  “It’d make me throw up. Sorry. I’ll be able to eat something by tonight, probably. Tomorrow, for sure.”

  “Is there anything I can do?” Laura felt completely helpless.

  “No. I just have to ride it out…” Roy took a deep breath, his fists clenching, as if he was gearing up to lift some enormous weight. “Yes, there is something. I’d like you to stay with me. Could you lie down beside me? Just for a little while?”

  Laura slid under the covers and pulled Roy close to her, knowing how hard it must have been for him to ask. “As long as you need.”

  “Thanks. See, that was being a good friend. You do know how to do it.” Roy lay quietly, his hair mingling with hers. Laura wondered what he was thinking. She only knew he had fallen asleep when his hands stilled.

  Laura had been upset and jittery the day after she’d had nightmares, but she’d never felt too sick to get out of bed. She’d skipped meals because she’d lost her appetite, but if she made herself eat, she felt better. Roy had said he wasn’t physically ill, but in the state he was in, that didn’t seem like a meaningful distinction.

  She wondered if he’d ever truly heal. He’d said he’d never been the same after the ambush, but she suspected that it had only pushed him over an edge he’d already been standing on. All those years of stress and fear, of fighting and killing and watching people die. If it had taken twelve years to break him, would it take another twelve for him to mend?

  If Laura had spent her entire adult life without ever getting truly close to anyone, would it take her another lifetime to learn to love and be loved?

  Roy pulled her tighter into his body, his eyes fluttering half-open.

  “I love you,” he mumbled, sounding two-thirds still asleep. “I won’t leave you. On my honor, I swear I won’t.”

  Laura kissed him, blinking back tears.

  Roy immediately fell back asleep, making her wonder if he’d ever really woken up. He reminded her of a man in a fever, drifting from fitful sleep to confused waking. But it comforted her to know that no matter how tired he was or how much he was suffering himself, he was still looking out for her.

  Maybe it didn’t matter if they both needed years more to heal. They didn’t have to wait till they had perfected themselves to live their lives and be together. They could start now, as they were. They had already started.

  Chapter Eighteen: Laura

  Rescue Mission

  “Okay, I’ve found the problem,” said Roy. “Give me fifteen minutes, and we’ll have our hot water back.”

  “You’re so handy,” Laura said admiringly to Roy’s back. Or, more accurately, to Roy’s butt. The rest of him was wedged behind the water heater, which had stopped working that morning. They’d discovered that the hard way when they’d tried to take a shower together. Roy hadn’t so much as twitched, but Laura had practically levitated out of the stall.

  She was glad he was perfectly happy to crawl behind the water heater and mess around with pipes and stuff, because not only did she have no idea how to fix it, she wasn’t remotely dressed for home repairs. She’d meant to do laundry and was wearing her last remaining clean outfit, the bank teller skirt and blouse she’d driven up in.

  “It’s nothing complicated,” Roy replied, his voice muffled. “Like I said: fifteen minutes, and then we can shower. And then maybe go hunting?”

  “Sure.”

  Laura was glad to hear him sound so energetic and cheerful. He’d been sick all day after his nightmare, but by the next morning, he seemed to have recovered completely. Three days and nights had passed since, and he’d had no more problems. Laura didn’t fool herself into thinking that would be the end of it, but she hoped he’d at least have a nice long break before the next attack.

  “Pass me the wrench.” He reached back with a dusty hand.

  As she put it in his palm, he froze. The wrench started to slide, and his fingers closed over it just before it would have fallen.

  Roy extracted himself from behind the water heater and turned to Laura, still holding the wrench. She immediately knew that something important and dangerous was about to happen; he was poised and ready like a wolf ready to pounce on its prey.

  “I hear a Harley,” he said. “I think it’s DJ.”

  Adrenaline flooded Laura’s veins, setting her heart pounding and her skin prickling. Once DJ arrived, they’d brief him on the situation, and go rescue Gregor’s hostages that night.

  That night, Laura would face Gregor again. She’d rescue Keisha and the others. People would die. Roy was going to kill someone on her behalf. Roy might die on her behalf. Laura herself could die.

  That night, she and Roy would risk their lives together.

  “DJ rides a Harley?” Laura asked, as if it wasn’t obvious. Her thoughts were moving at lightning speed, but her words were lagging behind.

  “Yeah.”

  Roy strode out of the garage, the wrench falling from his hand. It bounced on the concrete, the sound tinny and distant. Laura followed him. She couldn’t feel her own feet hitting the concrete. She could hear the motorcycle now, but it was almost drowned out by the roar of her own pulse.

  Roy winced as the sound grew louder. Belatedly, she grabbed his hand, trying to steady him in the pack sense. She couldn’t do it. Her concentration was shot. All she could think of was that tonight was the night. Roy was falling and falling, and she couldn’t catch him.

  He extracted his hand from her grip and put his fingers in his ears. Then he sniffed the air, and turned to her with an expression that she couldn’t read at all.

  “Laura—” he began.

  The Harley roared up the dirt road. The rider had a long gray ponytail trailing behind his helmet. He waved at them, then continued down the road toward Jim Sullivan’s place.

  About ten seconds after he was out of sight, Laura put up her hand to wave back, then dropped it. The sound of the Harley faded.

  They looked at each other and burst out laughing.

  “That wasn’t DJ,” Roy said unnecessarily. His words were apparently lagging too.

  “I was so sure it would be tonight,” Laura gasped.

  “Me too. I’m all revved up. My heart’s going like a freight train.” Roy beckoned Laura to come close. “Listen.”

  She laid her head against his chest. His heart was beating so fast and hard that the vibration hummed through Laura’s body, setting the rhythm of her own heartbeat. With her face so close, she could smell the dust and oil on his shirt, and the sweat that had sprung up on his skin. He was breathing quickly. So was she.

  His arms closed around her, squeezing tight, his fingers sunk deep into the flesh of her back and sides. He’d been ready to fight for his life and hers, and now there was nothing to fight for.

  Laura tilted her head up. Fine beads of sweat glistened on Roy’s face. His pupils were huge, like a cat’s eyes in the sun. A cobweb clung gray over his black hair, which was still damp from their interrupted shower. She reached up to brush it away.

  Roy grabbed her hand in a crushing grip. He stared down at her, his eyes wild. Then he was kissing her with passion and fierceness and no finesse at all, as if it was the first time he’d ever kissed a woman or he thought it would be his last.

  Laura had her hands up his shirt, touching his smooth skin and firm muscles and jagged scars. He
’d almost died for her. He’d been willing to risk his life for her tonight. She’d never felt anything like the heat of his mouth.

  “I—Would you—”

  She was making no sense, but Roy seemed to understand. He turned and made for the cabin, hauling her with him, stumbling as if he was drunk.

  Laura heard a bang as he kicked the door shut behind them. She thought he was heading for the sofa bed, but either his knees buckled or hers did, because the next thing she knew, they were kneeling on the living room floor.

  Laura dragged off Roy’s shirt, leaving his hair a mess. She kissed his mouth, his collarbones, his chest. He was breathing like he’d come up for air after a dive.

  Roy unbuttoned her blouse, looking as if he’d rather rip it off, then fumbled with her bra. Laura unsnapped the front closure, freeing her breasts. He immediately bent to kiss them. His hands were heavy on her shoulders, his mouth hot on her nipples.

  Laura was unbalanced, one leg doubled beneath her. Roy leaned into her, tipping her backwards. She put her hand on his chest and pushed.

  She meant only to shift his weight, but he went down as if she had knocked him sprawling. He lay on his back on the living room floor, looking up at her with hunger in his eyes.

  “Do anything you want with me,” Roy said. His voice was even deeper than usual, husky rather than smooth. “Anything at all. I mean it.”

  Laura stared down at him. At that powerful, beautiful body of his, handed over to her as a gift. She couldn’t quite believe that he meant it.

  “Anything.” Roy tipped his head back, offering her his throat.

  She knelt over his thighs and leaned in close, so he could feel her warm breath on his skin. She’d kissed his throat once before, but it felt different now that she had found her own wolf. Now she understood viscerally what his gesture meant—not only absolute trust, but impressive courage. She knew Roy would never hurt her, but she wasn’t sure she could ever bring herself to let anyone’s teeth near her throat.

  Laura kissed him where the pulse beat strongest, and felt his gasp under her lips. His eyes closed, his long lashes trembling, and his whole body shuddered beneath her.

  She wondered what it felt like to him, then remembered that she could find out. Laura reached out to him in the pack sense. A surge of love and desire and adrenaline flooded through the bond, nearly knocking her off her feet.

  Roy grabbed her wrist, his eyes opening wide. “No, no, stop!”

  Laura quickly released the connection. “Sorry!”

  To her relief, he was laughing, though a little breathlessly. “Right now I can barely handle what I’m feeling myself. If I get your feelings too, I won’t even make it inside of you.”

  “Gotcha. Just our bodies and our words.”

  “Our bodies and our words,” Roy echoed.

  They were both still fully clothed from the waist down, Roy in his jeans and leather boots, Laura in her gray business skirt and black pumps. His shirt was crumpled on the floor. Her open blouse and unsnapped bra hung from her shoulders.

  Laura climbed off Roy’s thighs. He started to sit up, but she put her palm on his chest and pushed him back down. He didn’t have to let her, but he did.

  “Shut your eyes and lie still,” said Laura.

  Roy obeyed, but she could see his chest heaving, the pulse beating at his throat. His heart must still be going like a freight train. The muscles of his shoulders and arms were bulging, his fingers twitching as if he was fighting himself to not to reach out for her.

  He’d given her that power over him, to order him and have him obey. He could pick her up and carry her; he could pin her to the floor with one hand and barely even notice. But he wouldn’t use that extraordinary strength of his except for her purposes and by her command. She felt as if she had a tiger on a leash.

  Laura couldn’t help wanting to con him, to use the power she’d been given in a way he wouldn’t be expecting. She liked the thought of teasing him and misleading him, but only in a way that would please them both in the end. Just the thought of it made a thrill of excited heat course through her.

  She rolled off her panties and hid them between the sofa cushions, then once again knelt over Roy’s thighs.

  “Okay, you can open your eyes now,” she said.

  He looked her over from head to bare breasts to prim gray skirt, obviously trying to see if anything had changed while he’d had his eyes closed.

  “I wanted to watch you control yourself for me,” she lied. And then, honestly, “It was really hot.”

  Roy looked a little dazed. “Good.”

  “Do you like taking orders?” Laura asked, curious.

  “Sometimes.”

  “Can I give you another?”

  “You can do anything.”

  “Anything?”

  “Anything,” Roy promised.

  Laura leaned forward, eyeing him intently, as if she wasn’t sure he’d be willing to take this order. Roy took a deep breath and held it, poised on the knife-edge between anticipation and fear, waiting for her command.

  “Get the condom out of your back pocket,” she ordered. “I know you’ve got it in there.”

  Roy laughed, then shifted his weight to extract it. As he tore the packet open with his teeth, Laura unbuckled his belt and unzipped his jeans. She had to help him smooth the condom on; both of them were clumsy, their hands shaking.

  She raised herself over him, her skirt still on. His jeans and boxers were only pushed down past his hips. Laura lowered herself over him with excruciating slowness, watching him closely, waiting… Waiting…

  “Oh…” he murmured at last. “You forgot…”

  He was reaching up to take off her panties when she settled herself all the way down.

  As her slippery wetness enveloped him, the jolt that went through Laura was echoed in Roy’s startled inhale.

  “God!” Roy gasped. “When did you do that?”

  “When your eyes were closed.”

  “Hell of a mislead.”

  Laura leaned forward, bracing her hands on his shoulders, so she could get a better angle for herself. She found it, then began to ride him. Currents of electric heat burned through her, building and building, more quickly than she’d ever experienced before.

  Roy held her arms, steadying her. He was panting, head thrown back, even though she was doing all the work. “I’m too keyed up. I can’t last much longer.”

  “Me neither.” Laura moved faster, harder, her fingers curling around the swell of his muscles. “I’m nearly there. Hold on, Roy. That’s an order.”

  He swallowed and nodded. She could feel his determination in every tensed line of his powerful body, his struggle not to be overcome by the pleasure she was giving him. But she was free to be overwhelmed, to let herself go, to lose control…

  Almost—

  Almost—

  The instant before Laura came, she grasped hold of their bond.

  “Oh, God!” Roy’s hands clenched around her arms as he was pulled into her ecstasy, and both of them were swept away in the tide.

  Afterward, they lay on the floor together, her head on his shoulder, his arms around her. The hardwood was cold and she was sticky with sweat, but she was too lazy and content to move.

  “You like to tease,” Roy remarked.

  “And you get off on being teased.”

  He grinned. “When you do it. I said you could do anything.”

  “And you like to take orders.” It intrigued Laura; she wouldn’t have expected it of him.

  He shrugged. “Like I said, sometimes. When I’m in the mood.”

  “Did you always, or is it because of your job?”

  Roy chuckled. “Totally different thing. The orders you get as a Marine are the opposite of hot. No, I think it’s always been something I liked. When I was a teenager I used to fantasize about sexy villainesses capturing me and having their wicked way with me.”

  “When you were a teenager, huh?” Laura teased. “You st
ill have villainess fantasies. Admit it.”

  “They started when I was a teenager,” Roy admitted easily. “You’re okay with it, right? I’m not into whips and chains or anything like that. I just like beautiful women doing things to me or telling me what to do. What about you? You ever give orders before?”

  “No.”

  “You ever wanted to?”

  Laura squirmed, her ears and cheeks starting to burn.

  “Are you blushing?” Roy asked. “I showed you mine, now you have to show me yours. I won’t judge you or think you’re weird or anything. I’m the one who had a thing for Catwoman.”

  “It’s not that they’re weird. It’s that I’ve never told anyone any of my sexual fantasies before. It feels so…” Laura fished for the word. “Intimate.”

  “It is intimate. That’s why I wanted to know. I could tell you one of mine in more detail first, if you like. But if it’s too much, I’ll drop it.”

  It was his willingness to back off that made Laura feel safe enough to tell him. Besides, she knew how he’d react, and she liked to hear him laugh. “I’ve got lots. Of all sorts. But the one I think you’d like is… um… being this sexy international criminal mastermind. Who captures James Bond.”

  Roy started laughing. “Seriously?”

  “Seriously. I wouldn’t actually want to do this in real life—this is just the fantasy—but there’s whips and chains involved. He gets chained up naked in my dungeon. There’s long interrogation scenes. Naked interrogation. And so forth.”

  Roy managed to stop cracking up long enough to gasp out, “Where have you been all my life?”

  Laura prodded him. “When you’re done laughing at my most intimate secrets, go finish working on the water heater. I could use a shower.”

  Roy’s eyes glinted with mischief. “Is that an order?”

  ***

  That night Laura leaned back against Roy’s chest, warm and sleepy and content, encircled in his strong arms. It was long past time for them to go to bed, but she was so comfortable, she hated to move. Maybe they could sleep on the sofa.

  Lazily, she tilted back her head, examining Roy’s face in the flickering firelight. He was looking down at her with such tenderness that it made her eyes sting with the beginnings of tears. It still frightened her to know that he loved her. It meant she could hurt him, and he’d been hurt so much already. It meant that if anything happened to him, it would break her heart.