Drive Me Wild (The Others)
Page 21
“Rafe.” She murmured his name and twisted her body restlessly beneath him. She needed him inside her again. After all her lectures on responsible sex, he once again had her hot enough to worry about it tomorrow. “Please.”
“Of course, my sweet Tess.” He slid home with one smooth thrust, driving to the hilt inside her, and making her body arch beneath him. “Is that better, sweetheart?”
She heard the amusement in his dark rumbles and set her jaw. “It will be better … once you … move!”
She tried to set the rhythm herself, but he held her still. He released her hands to grip her hips and hold her in place. He filled her completely, pressing high and hard inside her and keeping her from riding him the way she wanted. She cried out.
“Hush,” he soothed, fingers flexing against her skin. “You will get what you want in just a minute, baby.” He paused, his grin flashing. “Then we’ll see if you get a baby.”
Tess froze.
“A baby?” she repeated carefully.
He flexed his hips, his hardness shifting inside her, making her moan.
“Do you not want to have children?” He watched her warily.
“It’s not that,” she said, finding it nearly impossible to concentrate while he stayed buried inside her. “I just didn’t think … that is, you never said you wanted to have them. Especially not with me.”
His eyes glowed as he leaned down to kiss her. “You’re the key to everything,” he told her, his raspy voice suddenly tender. “You lifted the curse. How could I not want you, and a child with you?”
She felt the joy and heat drain out of her at once. Suddenly he no longer felt like a welcome part of her finally back in place, but like an invader trying to conquer her body. “Right. The curse. I’d forgotten. It’s all about the curse, isn’t it? That’s all you care about.”
“You are wrong.” He grabbed her hands again when she raised them to his chest to push him away. He pinned them down next to her head and forced her gaze to meet his. “I have trouble believing that you do not understand this already, but let me explain.”
His voice was rough and hard, but his thrusts were gentle as he began rocking his hips against hers. “What you do not seem to see, my sweet, thick-skulled gatita, is that the important part of the curse was not the words with which it was spoken, but the intent with which it was cast.”
She heard him, but she also felt him, and she damned her body for betraying her by softening around him and welcoming him deep inside her. If he continued, she’d be lost again, and another little piece of her heart would break off, knowing that she loved him and he just wanted to fuck her.
He leaned down to kiss her softly, and she closed her eyes against the glow of his. If she continued to look at him, she would almost be able to convince herself that the light in his eyes was love. She didn’t want to lie to herself like that.
“If the intent is everything, sweet Tess, then the witch’s intent was not to force a Felix to remain faithful for only a year and a day. She did not care about time limits.” He bit her lower lip, then soothed the tiny pain with the rasp of his tongue. “She cared about love.”
Tess’s eyes flew open and she gazed up at him. Had Rafe De Santos just said the L word?
“The curse was never meant to withstand love.” He moved smoothly above her, every shift and flex another kind of caress, a caress accompanied by the words she was finally beginning to understand. “The minute that old witch got her wish, the curse ceased to have meaning. And that happened the minute a Felix fell in love with his own witch.”
He nudged deeply inside her and stopped, resting against the mouth of her womb, so much a part of her that Tess thought she would die if he separated from her for a moment. She stared up at him and felt her heart stop. She knew then what he was going to say. Whether it was her gift or a different kind of power entirely, she couldn’t say, but she knew, and she began to smile.
He kissed her softly, sweetly, lovingly, and pulled back to gaze down at her with a tender golden gaze. “It happened the minute I fell in love with you.”
Tess felt her heart expand until it threatened to burst. It pressed up into her throat, making it difficult to breathe, and down into her belly, making her stomach turn a happy somersault. She had to wait for the first wave of joy to recede before she could speak. “I love you, too, Rafael.”
He smiled at her like sunshine and resumed his strokes, sliding in and out of her with long, lazy thrusts that soothed even as they aroused. She could feel her climax nearing, more like the gentle swell of a deep ocean wave than like the breakers that crashed over her and threatened to drag her under. She had already gone under, and she didn’t mind drowning in him.
She stared up into his eyes as they moved together. He released her hands and she wrapped her arms around him, clutching him to her. Her legs curled around his hips to cradle him close to her. And as she stared up into his eyes, again she knew.
She felt the smile curve her mouth, saw his head tilt and his own smile in response.
“What?” he whispered, brushing his mouth over hers in another of those tender, drugging kisses.
“Just a little déjà vu,” she murmured, laughing.
He stilled and his gaze sharpened. “About what? What do you see?”
She slid her hands down the length of his back to his ass, where she squeezed playfully.
“All sorts of things,” she teased. “But if you come in the next five minutes, you’ll get to make your own mark on repopulating the Feline world.”
Rafe’s eyes widened, his mouth opened, and the joy that flooded his expression made Tess’s heart expand once more. “Really?”
“Really.” She smiled through the happy sting of tears and lifted her head so she could tug his lower lip between her teeth. Her body clenched tightly around his, and her fingernails scraped teasingly across his ass. “But if you don’t make sure I come with you, I’m naming him Hubert.”
* * *
The baby, born a standard Feline six months later, was perfect, happy and healthy and thoroughly celebrated.
They named him Gabriel.
Also by
Christine Warren
On the Prowl
Not Your Ordinary Faerie Tale
Black Magic Woman
Prince Charming Doesn’t Live Here
Born to Be Wild
Big Bad Wolf
You’re So Vein
One Bite with a Stranger
Walk on the Wild Side
Howl at the Moon
The Demon You Know
She’s No Faerie Princess
Wolf at the Door
Anthologies
The Huntress
No Rest for the Witches
Praise for New York Times bestselling author
CHRISTINE WARREN
BLACK MAGIC WOMAN
“Excitement, passion, mystery, characters who thoroughly captivate, and a satisfying romance make [it] a must-read.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“Will capture your senses and ensnare your imagination. Another great novel from Christine Warren.”
—Single Titles
“Sexy, action-packed romance!”
—Joyfully Reviewed
PRINCE CHARMING DOESN’T LIVE HERE
“Christine Warren’s The Others novels are known for their humorous twists and turns of otherworldly creatures. Like her other Others novels, Prince Charming Doesn’t Live Here is an excellently delicious story with great characterization.”
—Fresh Fiction
BORN TO BE WILD
“Warren packs in lots of action and sexy sizzle.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
“Incredible.”
—All About Romance
“Warren takes readers for a wild ride.”
—Night Owl Romance
“Another good addition to The Others series.”
—Romance Junkies
“[A] sexy, engaging
world … will leave you begging for more!”
—New York Times bestselling author Cheyenne McCray
BIG BAD WOLF
“In this world … there’s no shortage of sexy sizzle.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
“Another hot and spicy novel from a master of paranormal romance.”
—Night Owl Romance
“Ms. Warren gives readers action and danger around each turn, sizzling romance, and humor to lighten each scene. Big Bad Wolf is a must-read.”
—Darque Reviews
YOU’RE SO VEIN
“Filled with supernatural danger, excitement, and sarcastic humor.”
—Darque Reviews
“Five stars. This is an exciting, sexy book.”
—Affaire de Coeur
“The sparks do fly!”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
ONE BITE WITH A STRANGER
“Christine Warren has masterfully pulled together vampires, shape shifters, demons, and many ‘Others’ to create a tantalizing world of dark fantasies come to life. Way to go, Warren!”
—Night Owl Romance
“A sinful treat.”
—Romance Junkies
“Hot fun and great sizzle.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
“A hot, hot novel.”
—A Romance Review
WALK ON THE WILD SIDE
“A seductive tale with strong chemistry, roiling emotions, steamy romance, and supernatural action. The fast-moving plot in Walk on the Wild Side will keep the readers’ attention riveted through every page, and have them eagerly watching for the next installment.”
—Darque Reviews
HOWL AT THE MOON
“Howl at the Moon will tug at a wide range of emotions from beginning to end … Engaging banter, a strong emotional connection, and steamy love scenes. This talented author delivers real emotion which results in delightful interactions … and the realistic dialogue is stimulating. Christine Warren knows how to write a winner!”
—Romance Junkies
THE DEMON YOU KNOW
“Explodes with sexy, devilish fun, exploring the further adventures of The Others. With a number of the gang from previous books back, there’s an immediate familiarity about this world that makes it easy to dive right into. Warren’s storytelling style makes these books remarkably entertaining.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews (4½ stars)
About the Author
Born and raised in coastal New England, CHRISTINE WARREN now lives as a transplant in the Pacific Northwest (she completely bypassed those states in the middle due to her landlocking phobia). When not writing (as if that ever happens), she enjoys horseback riding, playing with her pets, identifying dogs from photos of their underbellies, and most of all reading things someone else had to agonize over. She enjoys hearing from readers and can be reached via email sent to Christine@christinewarren.net.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
DRIVE ME WILD
Copyright © 2012 by Christine Warren.
All rights reserved.
For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
www.stmartins.com
eISBN: 9781466814899
St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / December 2012
St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.