by Jessica Lee
Olivia glanced up from under her lashes at Eion.
“One dance, Liv. That’s all I’m asking.” His full lips turned up into a slight smile. “Promise I won’t bite.” He curled his fingers, beckoning her.
Unable to resist any longer, she slipped her hand in his. “One dance,” she repeated and stood.
Eion led her to the dance floor and the music enveloped them, blocking out the rest of the crowd. He slipped his arm around her waist, pulled her into his hold, and his overpowering presence dominated her mind. Eion held her close, but left enough distance between them that tongues wouldn’t wag. The tips of her breasts grazed the front of his shirt, and her breath hitched at the contact. Her fingers curled into the material covering his back. His fresh grass and sandalwood scent invaded her nostrils and gave her head a rush. If there were others swaying on the hardwood floor along with them, she had no idea.
“You look absolutely stunning,” he whispered at her ear, his voice deep, rusty.
“Thank you.” She licked her lips, her throat suddenly devoid of moisture. “I’m surprised you asked me to dance given the condition of your leg last night. I take it you’re much better.”
“Much.” Light on his feet, his every move perfectly in time with the beat, Olivia followed his lead around the floor. “The lyrics are quite apropos. Don’t you think?”
Her nails bit into the fabric of his shirt. Where was he going with this?
“When I woke up last night and you weren’t there, I was really worried. I’ve tried to reach you all day, but you didn’t return any of my calls.” They slowly turned, doing a one-eighty on the dance floor.
“I didn’t know what to say.” She risked a glance and looked up. Eion stared down, the darker flecks in his irises more amber than brown. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.” Her pulse drummed in her ears, drowning out the song, and her vision clouded. The man who’d been her first crush, the one who’d been a part of her every late-night fantasy wasn’t even a man at all. Not really. How does a person process that kind of information about the world and go on with their life as usual? Did she really know him at all?
“We need to talk. I hit you with a lot to absorb at once. I need for you to hear the whole story.”
“Problem is…” She came to a stop on the dance floor. “I’m not sure I want to know what else you’re keeping from me.” Olivia twisted free of his hold, tears threatening to cascade down her cheeks. God, she couldn’t let anyone see her like this. She darted for the bathroom.
Olivia slammed her palm into the door, knocking it wide, and rushed inside. She scanned the room for tissue and thanked God it was a one-person bathroom. Two seconds later, the door banged against the wall behind her, and she spun. Eion stood with his back to her as the metal on metal sound of the door locking ricocheted off the tile walls. He pivoted on his heels and faced her. His eyes shone with an otherworldly glow, and her heart stuttered. Her breathing reduced to hard pants. It didn’t take a scientist to tell that the man before her barely held the animal in check. But that wasn’t what scared her. What she feared most was that a part of her was dying for him to free his primal side, take her in his arms, and burn into her mind what it would be like to be thoroughly loved by Eion Mandrake. A shiver raced up her spine.
His nostrils flared, and his fingers curled into tight fists. “We have to talk,” he said, his voice on the cusp of a growl.
“Oh, my God.” She marched forward, putting herself in his face. “I cannot believe you just came in here. What if someone saw you?” Olivia grabbed his arm and yanked. He didn’t budge. She’d have had better luck pushing a tank out of the way.
“No one saw me.” He wrapped his fingers around her forearms, stilling her. “I made sure to check before I slipped inside.”
“We are not going to stand here in the ladies bathroom and have a conversation.”
“When then?” He dropped his hold.
“I don’t know.” She threw her hands up in surrender and whirled around. Olivia wiped away the moisture from beneath her eyes with a forefinger. She leaned onto the tile encasing the bathroom sink, staring in the mirror at the image of the man she’d loved for as long as she could remember. But a veil had been lifted that could never be replaced, and she wasn’t sure she could handle what the clarity had revealed.
“Did you do it, Eion?” The question, torn from her soul, tumbled from her lips.
“Do what?” He moved in behind her, studying her in the mirror.
“Attack our calves. Were you responsible?” The words felt like the edge of a serrated blade coming up from her throat. She couldn’t turn around and face him, couldn’t believe that he could do that to them. Yet the evidence…
Eion hadn’t flinched, and the longer he took to respond, the faster her pulse raced. “In a way…yes, I’m responsible.”
The air left her lungs on a hard gasp, knocking her head forward. “How could you?” she groaned. Broad hands clasped her shoulders and spun her around. “Don’t touch me!” She wrenched against his hold.
“Liv. Listen to me.”
She shook her head. “I didn’t want to believe it.” Tears fell unchecked.
“I said in a way I was responsible.” He cupped her face. “I didn’t do it, Liv. I could never hurt you or Kris like that.”
Olivia blinked, bringing his features into focus. “Then how are you responsible?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed. “My father.”
“Your father?” Her mind grappled with the idea. Why would his father try to damage their ranch? “I don’t understand.”
“He sent a handful of my people, along with a few pure wolves, to slay some of your herd.”
Olivia shook her head as if the action could somehow help her to make sense of the situation. “We’ve never done anything to hurt him. Why would he do that to us?”
“Because of me,” he whispered. He threaded his fingers into her hair, his gaze boring into hers. “I’m so sorry. I never thought he’d do something like this, but it’s because of how much you mean to me.”
How much you mean to me. His words looped like beautiful music on a carousel inside her head, and she never wanted to get off.
“Eion…” she breathed as his mouth crushed hers. Together they groaned. So good. Hungry. And she devoured everything he had to give. His exotic flavor of spice mixed with the slightly bitter taste of hops exploded over her tongue, and she lapped it up. Couldn’t get enough. She snaked her arms around his neck and pressed her body into his.
He growled, and broke away. “Come see me tonight.”
Gasping for air, she blinked, trying to make sense out of what he’d said. “What?”
“Come to my house. After the party, come by my ranch. There’s more you need to know. But I can’t get into it here.” Eion traced her lower lip with his thumb, and her body trembled under his caress. “You’ve had the right to know everything for a very long time, and I need to tell you before it’s too late.”
“Too late for what?”
Eion backed away, but she clung to his hand, halting his escape.
“Not here,” he reiterated. “Promise me you’ll come see me—tonight.” With his other hand, he stroked her hair, his gaze heated.
A part of her was dying to say yes. Dying to know what else there was for Eion to reveal. What else there was between them. Yet her other half screamed out a warning not to agree, because she had a feeling that one act, going to his ranch—so simple and innocent—might alter the course of her life.
But before she could chicken out, Olivia took another daredevil leap, and her answer fell from her lips. “Okay.”
Chapter Sixteen
“Dammit!” Eion watched as the suds from his bottle of Bud Light overflowed and ran across his fist. He switched his beer to his other hand and grabbed a towel from the kitchen counter. Wiping up the liquid from the linoleum, Eion’s mind wandered back again to The Dry Well for at least the tenth time—Liv’s arms wrapped aroun
d him, calling his name, pressing her body into his. His skin heated. Blood surged to his cock, hardening his shaft that hadn’t given him a moment’s peace since he’d come back to town.
Eion straightened, dropped the soiled rag into the sink, and repositioned the throbbing erection behind his zipper. He tossed back a large swig of his brew. Liv had promised him she would come by tonight. A part of him couldn’t believe he’d committed to telling her the whole story, but he couldn’t keep it from her much longer. Especially after what had happened on Friday night. He’d almost lost control, went feral, and ripped Taylor’s throat out.
Liv needed to know. She deserved to have the full picture before she ever allowed her relationship with that other vet to go any further. But what if she chose to leave Taylor for him? He turned up the bottle and downed the rest of the alcohol. His pulse hummed in his ears at the thought. He was crazy for even entertaining the idea. There were so many reasons for Liv not to do that. Yet Eion had never wanted anything more in his life. God, help me.
He was the rising alpha. There had to be a way to make this work and not lose everything in the process—Liv or his pack. Eion chucked the empty bottle into the recycling bin with a loud clunk. At the beginning of the year, he was destined to be their leader, and first on his agenda: the law pertaining to human and shifter mating.
The pack would have to heel to his choice.
In his head, it made sense—logical sense. As alpha he’d just change the law and his pack would submit. But in his gut, reality churned, a simmering stew of doubt that said it wasn’t going to be that easy. Their prejudice and fear of the human race went far deeper than their simple adherence to an age-old law. The threat of being hunted to extermination was a constant reminder of why humans were avoided.
Shoving his fingers through his hair, he strode back into the den and came to a dead stop. Liv stood just inside the room. His heart slammed like a mallet against his sternum. She still wore the red dress from earlier in the evening and a pair of matching stilettos that made him want to drop to his knees and worship at the divine creation that were her legs. Gorgeous.
“You really should get in the habit of locking your door.” She tilted her head in the direction from where she’d come.
“You really should wear dresses more often.”
A pink flush colored her cheeks.
“I love it when you blush.”
“Thank you. I think.”
“It’s a compliment.” Eion lifted his arm and beckoned her further into the room to a seat. “I’m really happy you came by.”
“I said I would.” She moved to the couch and eased down onto the cushion at the end. Eion came around the coffee table and lowered himself onto the wood in front of her.
“Why don’t we start first with you telling me why you asked me here.”
His stomach roiled, the secret kept deep for so long rebelling at the idea of coming forward. Eion swallowed hard, doing his best to stabilize his gut. “Remember that last summer before graduation when a few of us went to Lake James to swim?”
“How could I forget?” she scoffed. “I almost drowned that day.” Liv sobered. “That was the last time you spoke to me. For a while, I thought you hated me, wanted nothing else to do with me after I kissed you and then did such a stupid thing. But you never had anything else to do with Kris either, so it didn’t make sense.”
“You have to understand something.” He set his elbows on his knees and studied the grain in the hardwood floor. If he didn’t focus on something else besides her eyes, he would never get all of it out. “In my world, it’s pack law that human and shifters don’t mix.”
“Don’t mix?” She cleared her throat. “Like can’t be friends?”
“Friendship is not encouraged. But it’s against our law to mate or reproduce with a human.”
“Oh…okay,” she mumbled.
“The spirit of our wolf is very old and wise, and my people believe that it never truly dies. He or she moves on once the human shell dies and passes on to the next shifter. It’s our wolf that makes that first initial bond to our intended mate. A spiritual connection.”
“I’m following. But what does that have to do with me and that day on the lake?”
Eion lifted his head, bringing them face to face. “When I pulled you from the water and brought you back…we bonded.”
A small breath escaped her lips and she sat back. “Oh, my God…” she breathed. “I remember that moment so vividly.” She closed her eyes. “You breathing into me. Waking up and seeing your face when I opened my eyes. You reached out, touched my cheek…” As if she were reliving every detail, Liv lifted her fingers and recreated the moment. “I remember feeling something like a bolt of energy race through my body.” She lifted her lashes.
All he could do was nod.
“I wasn’t sure if a bond would have the same impact on you since you’re human. But I was pretty damn sure what had happened to me, and all I could think about was getting the hell out of Little Crow Pass.” He surged to his feet and roamed over to the window that looked out into the darkness behind his house. “I thought if I got away from you, put as much distance as possible between us, that with time, as a human, you could move on and have a normal life. Just like you were meant to.”
The squeak of leather told him she’d moved, then the warmth of her presence said she stood behind him.
“But I was wrong, wasn’t I?” Slowly, he pivoted. Her green eyes shone with unshed tears, the sight of which put the pain from his bullet wound in the category of a mere scratch.
“All these years,” she laughed, but the sound emerged on the tail end of a sob, “I thought something was wrong with me. Like I was crazy for not being able to get over a childhood crush.”
“Oh, God,” he groaned. “I’m so sorry.” Eion grabbed her and yanked her into his arms. “I swear I never knew you were hurting. I thought the worst of the effects would only impact me.” He clutched the sides of her head and leaned back to study her upturned face. “I would have returned had I known. Fuck them all. I would have found you.”
A slight nod rocked his hands.
“When I came back and saw you again, I knew I was in trouble. The bond was as strong, if not stronger, than it had ever been. Yet I was determined not to interfere in your life. Besides, what choice did I have—the law hasn’t changed for more than a century with my people. Humans are considered a hazard to our existence, and as a result, mating is forbidden. But then I saw you and Taylor at Chuck’s, and how serious you two were when he offered you his ring.” “But I never accepted. I couldn’t bring myself to say yes,” she whispered.
Eion closed his eyes and drew in a deep calming breath. He cupped her face, the warmth of her tears searing his flesh.
“That’s when I knew something was up. That perhaps what happened between us twelve years ago never left you, just as you never left me. Olivia Wilson, you’re imprinted on my soul.”
Her lips parted, and she sucked in a shaky breath. This close, the sound of her pulse pounded like a drum in his ears. Or maybe it was his heart tapping out a beat? God knew he was soaring.
“I’ve tried to move on.” She tipped her head back on her shoulders and stared up at the ceiling for a long moment before bringing it forward again. “Dear God, I’ve tried. But there’s been no one I could ever...” She shook her head and blinked. “No one has ever felt right.”
“No one?” He narrowed his gaze on her. “You mean…not even Taylor?”
“I couldn’t,” she choked out. “As much as I care for him—and I do. He’s wonderful. But I couldn’t bring myself to give him all of me.”
“I knew I hadn’t smelled him on you.” His voice dropped to a hoarse rasp. The thought of Taylor crawling over her made his wolf squirm, his gums tingle, ready to burst and free his canines. He threaded his fingers into her hair, keeping their gazes locked. The primal part of his genetic code needed to see it. Needed to hear her say the words. “Tell me,”
he growled. “Tell me why you never let him or any other man touch you.”
“Because when I close my eyes at night,” she breathed, “I only see you.”
The room swayed.
Her eyes closed, then she lifted her lashes and her green gaze bore into his. “Because none of them were you.”
Mine.
He wanted to roar the declaration. Instead, he bent his head and kissed away her tears. “I’m here now.” He peppered her cheeks with his lips. “For as long as you want me, I’m here.” Eion covered her mouth with his own, breathing in her soft exhale.
And it was like coming home.
Nothing had ever felt more perfect, more right in his life. Damn them all to hell. This could not be wrong.
She wrapped her arms around him, and he dipped low, scooping her up behind her knees and placing her in his arms.
“Eion!” she cried out, and flung her head back.
“Do you want me to stop?” The concept had him screaming inside his head. It would almost kill him. But he would never take her without her wanting him in return.
Liv glanced up, searching his features, and he could have sworn time stood still while he waited for a response. Then the corners of her mouth tilted up in a sensual smile that had him on the cusp of spilling his seed right there.
“Oh, hell no,” she rumbled and shook her head. “Tonight, I’m all yours.”
***
Olivia never wanted to wake up.
This had to be a dream.
Eion lowered his head and kissed her neck, gently scraping the blunt edges of his teeth along the sensitive flesh. Gooseflesh raced over her body, and her nipples hardened into stiff peaks. Oh, this was so much better than any fantasy. This was real life. And reality was Eion Mandrake carrying her in his arms and wanting her in his bed.
He kicked the door to his bedroom open and strode inside. At his bedside, Eion allowed Olivia to slide free from his arms. His broad hand smoothed over her thigh in the process and then higher still over her hip to settle at her waist. Everywhere he touched, her skin tingled. She’d never felt more alive in her life.