by Nina Croft
Why did that make her feel good?
“Then maybe it’s time.”
She sensed the moment he gave in and her breath left her in a long sigh. He took a single step, which brought him up close. Then he released her hands and raised his to frame her face. Warmth flowed through her from his touch. His thumb brushed over her lower lip and her mouth tingled. Without thinking, she parted her lips and her tongue licked at his skin. He tasted of salt.
He tipped her head back, and she stared up at him. His eyes were dark like bitter chocolate, but with little flecks of gold. She held his gaze as he lowered his face to hers. His lips were warm and hard as they touched her lightly at first. He began to draw back, and she lifted her hands and wrapped them around his neck, sliding them into the silky softness of his hair, holding him against her.
“Kiss me, Connor,” she murmured. “Kiss me like it might be the only chance we ever have.”
His mouth slanted over hers, harder this time. She closed her eyes and sank into the sensation. He pulled her closer, until she felt him hard against the length of her body. As he stroked her lips with his tongue, she forgot about everything but the taste of him, the sensation of his lips on hers. Then his tongue was pushing slowly inside her mouth like warm, wet velvet. He licked along the sides of her tongue, the roof of her mouth, and heat flooded her, pooling between her clenched thighs. She held on as her knees shook and still his tongue thrust into her. She needed more. Much more, and a whimper rose up in her throat. His hands slid down over her back to cup her bottom and pull her harder against him. And still he kissed her, until her head swam and body ached for him.
Finally, he drew back and she sucked in air.
Staring up, she saw his eyes were feral and his wolf lurked just beneath the surface, but she experienced no fear only a savage delight that she could make him lose control.
He was breathing hard as he stepped back from her.
“Please, Connor.”
He shook his head. “I daren’t. If I lose control, shift…”
“You’ve spent two nights with me as a wolf. They are the only times I’ve felt safe since I came here. I trust you. Trust yourself.”
***
His dick throbbed with need and inside, his wolf howled.
How had he let this go so far? His hands fisted at his side as he fought for control.
She stared at him with those huge golden eyes pleading, her lips swollen from his kisses. Then holding his gaze, she gripped the hem of her T-shirt and pulled it over her head. His gaze dropped without thought. She was so beautiful, her breasts surprisingly full on her slender frame. Her nipples, dark and taut with the need he too felt. His hand came out slowly, hovered close to her.
“Please, Connor.”
At her words, he gave in. The tension seeped from his body and his fists uncurled. Reaching out, he cupped one breast in his hand. Her skin was so pale against his. She’d gone still as he touched her, and now as he ran the pad of his thumb over one taut peak, a shudder ran through her. Breathing in, he scented her arousal. He lowered his head and took the tip in his mouth, licked her with slow strokes of his tongue. Her hand held his head against her, and the fast thud of her heart drummed loud in his ears. He bit down gently. Her back arched and a gasp left her throat.
Stooping, he picked her up in his arms and carried her back to the keep. She kissed him as he lowered her onto the bed, her hands in his hair. He pulled free, then straightened and stood staring down at her. Her lashes lifted and she gazed back.
“Don’t leave me,” she whispered.
“I won’t.”
He leaned down and tugged off her boots, then unfastened her jeans and peeled them down over her long legs, leaving her naked. At the sight, his cock pulsated and he tried to rein in his need.
She was a virgin. He had to go slowly, but every cell roared to take her, make her his. She watched him through half-closed eyes, her lips slightly parted, her breasts rising and falling with her rapid breaths. The air filled with the scent of her need and his hunger rose until he thought he might explode.
Quickly, he stripped off his sweater, kicked off his boots and almost tore off his jeans.
Her gaze followed the movements until he stood before her naked. She came up on her elbows, her eyes widening.
“Holy crap,” she muttered.
The words did nothing for his control.
Slowly. He needed to take this slowly.
She was perfect, her body long and slender, her breasts full and pointed, the nipples tight, her belly flat with sable curls at the base. As he stared, she arched her back and opened her legs, his eyes drawn to those curls. The flesh between her thighs gleamed with moisture. She wanted him, and the last of his control vanished. He had to taste her.
He fell to his knees, his hands gliding up her legs to drag them apart. He kissed his way up her inner thigh, breathing her in. She lay perfectly still and he glanced up the line of her body. Her hands were fisted at her side, her eyes closed.
He brushed one finger over her sex and her lids flew open. Holding her gaze, he parted the folds and his finger slowly pushed into her. She was so tight and slick.
His balls ached with the need to be deep inside, but he was determined to give her pleasure first. He withdrew his finger then slid it lightly upward and she jerked in reaction. He thrust inside her again, and then repeated the process. A sigh eased from her. Then two fingers, and she pushed back against his hand asking for more. Finally, he parted the folds of her sex, exposing the swollen nub. Leaning in close, his mouth caressed her. He kissed her sex as he had kissed her mouth earlier, as though he would never get enough. His tongue pushed inside, tasting the salty sweetness of her, then up over the tight little bud. She strained against him, her thighs widening as if to get him even closer. He played her with his teeth, grazing them across her sensitive flesh, and a small scream escaped her. Her hands were in his hair now holding him tight against her. She was so hot and wet and he could sense she was close by the tension in her muscles and the way her hips rose rhythmically as he filled her slick heat with his tongue. He shifted to concentrate on her clit, running his tongue over and over her. Then he sucked her into his mouth, bit down gently and she fell apart.
As she screamed her release, a scalding wave of molten pain poured through his mind. He felt the moment the implant gave way and his brain exploded in agony.
Some part of him knew she was still screaming. In panic now, but he couldn’t concentrate on anything but the red hot agony threatening to tear him apart.
He threw himself backward onto the floor. He was dying. The blood vessels in his brain exploding. With the last of his consciousness, he called his wolf.
Too late.
His wolf rose to the surface and then blackness.
Chapter Six
Keira dragged herself across the floor to where he lay.
The room filled with a wild keening noise. She knew it came from her, but couldn’t make herself stop. Her world had changed from pleasure beyond anything she had ever imagined to a nightmare of fear.
He lay so still. She couldn’t feel anything from him and panic threatened to overwhelm her. Why couldn’t she have left well alone? She had almost begged him to make love to her and now she had killed him.
She ran her trembling hands over his silky fur.
“Please,” she murmured. “Please, Connor, be alive.”
If he was dead, then so was she.
His body was still warm. She crawled around him and put her face close to the great jaws. For a moment, she felt nothing. Despair flooded her. She was beyond tears, but dry heaving sobs racked her.
She hugged him, burrowing her face in his coat.
And against her cheek, she felt the faintest of heartbeats.
She didn’t move for a long time. The day faded, the night drew in around her, and the cold crept into her body. The only warmth came from the great beast she held. Finally, when his heartbeat improved to a steady thu
d, she crawled onto her hands and knees and pushed herself to her feet.
The wolf didn’t move as she pulled on her clothes. After adding a sweater on top of her T-shirt, she still shivered as though with cold. She knew it was deep inside her.
It had felt so good; she hadn’t imagined it could be like that. His mouth on her, inside her.
Right up until the moment she had nearly killed him.
She still wasn’t sure he’d be all right.
Stepping softly around the keep, she pulled things out of their places and considered them. Some she discarded, others she tucked into a small rucksack. After twenty-two years, she possessed little that had any meaning to her. Her hand hovered briefly over the hollow in the wall where she’d hidden her notes, but then passed it by. Maybe one day, she would tell someone of them, but not yet.
She placed the rucksack close to Connor, scribbled a note, and laid it on top.
I’m sorry.
Then she picked up her sleeping bag, left the keep, and took herself off to a safe distance. She dozed on and off through the long night but woke as the sky turned tangerine with the sunrise. Cold and stiff, she wrapped the bag tight around her as she stared at the entrance to the keep, willing Connor to appear. She didn’t dare go back and check him in case he awoke while she was close, but her nerves were ripped to shreds by the time he finally emerged.
He was fully dressed and carried her rucksack in one hand. So the plan must still be on and he wasn’t going to abandon her. She wouldn’t have blamed him. As he came out of the shadows around the Keep, she saw how ill he looked, his skin tinged green under the olive, dark shadows beneath his eyes. But he was alive.
She stood so he would see her and not come too close.
He stopped. “Are you all right?”
She couldn’t hear the words from this distance, but she understood their meaning.
Yeah, as all right as anyone could be when their first orgasm was probably their last because it had nearly melted their almost lover’s mind. Christ, she was messed up. But she nodded her head and forced a smile.
His smile in return looked equally forced, probably because he was wincing at the same time. She hoped she hadn’t done any irreparable damage.
He put the rucksack on the ground and straightened. Raising one hand, he held up a piece of paper, a small brown bottle, and a mug. He placed them next to the rucksack and then strode off in the opposite direction. When he’d reached a safe distance, Keira headed back with her sleeping bag in tow. She picked up the note and read it slowly.
I’m sorry, too. That wasn’t how I envisaged the evening ending.
Take two of the pills. They will knock you out for the journey. I’ll see you when we get there.
And Keira, don’t worry. Somehow, we’ll sort this out. You’re not alone.
Connor
PS then lie down before you fall down
She almost smiled at his attempt at lightness, but didn’t quite succeed. This was the moment of truth. If she took those pills, she put herself totally in Connor’s hands. Did she really trust him enough? Or would she wake up deep in some Agency laboratory. She glanced up to where he sat perched on a rock, watching her. Her heart ached. She’d never expected a happy ever after, but these last days she realized she’d begun to hope for something more than her life had been. And her hopes all centered on this man.
Yes, she trusted him.
She stared at the bottle, rattled it, then slowly unscrewed the top. She shook two pills into her palm. They were small, white, and totally innocuous in appearance. Before she could think anymore, she popped them in her mouth, swallowed, and took a gulp of water from the mug. Then she lay down and curled on her side so she could watch Connor as the darkness stole over her.
The drug acted fast, too fast; he was disappearing from her vision as the shadows encroached on her mind. Finally, he was all she could see, and then the light went completely.
***
Connor felt like shit. He couldn’t remember feeling this bad in his entire life. Except for the actual moments when Keira had just about melted his brain. A constant hammering battered his skull from behind his left ear. The implant had gone, whether it had melted, or come loose and vanished when he shifted, he didn’t know. He’d have to check when he got back to London. He wished he had some pain killers, but since when did a goddamn werewolf get headaches?
It had occurred to him as he watched Keira unscrew the bottle, that it might have been a better idea to get her to walk the five miles to where he’d parked the vehicle and take the pills there. Obviously, his brain wasn’t working as it should, and it was too late now. Under normal circumstances, carrying her would have been easy; she weighed almost nothing. But these were hardly normal circumstances. Anyway, it was too late.
The pills would take only minutes to work. She lay on her side. Her head pillowed on her hands and he knew she watched him.
For a second, the memory of how she had tasted, how she had felt… the softness of her skin, overrode the pain in his skull. His cock twitched, which was amazing. Half an hour ago, he’d been ready to swear off even thinking about sex for the rest of his long and miserable life.
He felt the moment she slept, the pain in his head receded slightly. He waited another five minutes and then got slowly to his feet and approached her cautiously. Crouching down, he brushed the long hair from her face, and a wave of tenderness swept over him. She was deep under and he lowered his head to kiss her lightly on the lips.
He gathered everything up, pulled the sleeping bag from under her, and carried them back to the keep. He didn’t want to leave any signs in case the people searching for her returned. When he left the keep, he made sure the branches covered the opening. No one looking at the place would see it as anything more than a ruin.
Finally, he went back to her, put her rucksack over his shoulders, and picked her up in his arms. It was a long, hard five miles and he was glad of the reviving effect of the drizzle that started to fall half way through the journey. But at least his head cleared on the way and he was pretty sure there’d be no permanent damage.
He was starting to feel a little more optimistic by the time the truck came into sight. Then he swore under his breath. Two men leaned against the vehicle, watching his approach.
His first thought was—Agency. But as he got closer, he recognized them. The taller man was one of the werewolves who had picked him up in Kinlochlevin. The other had been in the room with the alpha. It seemed a lifetime ago but was in fact only four days. He had a gun in the bottom of his rucksack that Sebastian had given him. Unfortunately, his rucksack was back at Keira’s keep. Besides, he would hardly have been able to draw the weapon with his arms full of unconscious woman.
He swore again then decided to ignore them while he put Keira in the vehicle. He juggled her into one arm and pulled his keys from his pocket. The men straightened but didn’t speak as he opened the back and laid Keira down on the seat. He’d come prepared and had a cushion for underneath her head and a blanket for over her. She appeared tiny and pale curled up on the seat. He checked her pulse but it was steady and he sighed, slammed the door, and turned back to the two men.
“Is she dead?” the tall one asked.
“Of course she’s not bloody dead.” He was going to add—what do you take me for? A stupid question under the circumstances. Was he going to have to fight? And was there any point if they were armed?
“Look, I don’t want any trouble. I’m on my way out of here and you won’t see me again.”
The shorter man moved forward. He had sandy hair and shrewd pale blue eyes. As he stepped up close, Connor’s wolf awoke and without even thinking, a growl trickled from his throat.
The two men exchanged glances but made no aggressive moves.
Connor frowned. “What is it you want?”
The blond man nodded and the other spoke. “We want you to fight Logan.”
Shock hit him in the gut. Whatever he’d been expect
ing, it wasn’t this. “What? Why?”
“You saw what he’s like. He’s evil. But he’s old and powerful. None of us can go up against him.”
“And you think I can?” The disbelief was clear in his voice.
The taller man nodded toward the other. “Pete is the second strongest in the pack. And your wolf just faced him down and told him to piss off.”
“He did?”
Pete’s brows drew together. “Do you know anything?”
“Let’s suppose I don’t.”
“How long since you were changed?”
Connor glanced at the vehicle, eager to get away. Keira wouldn’t stay under forever and he needed her safely inside that room before she woke. But he suspected talking was the best way to get through this.
“Six years.”
“Only six? Shit, I’ve never come across a wolf so strong at six.”
Connor scowled. He didn’t want to be fucking super-wolf.
“We’ve spoken to the others,” Pete said. “No one will shoot you if you challenge Logan.”
“Well, that’s comforting, but I’m not challenging anyone.” He nodded toward the back of the car. “I have a sick woman and she needs help.”
Pete shrugged. “We had to try. We won’t stop you. But if you change your mind…”
“I won’t.”
They stepped away as he opened the driver’s door. Connor hesitated and turned back to them. “Why don’t you all go up against him? You could take him if you worked together.”
“It’s not the way it’s done. There would be no one strong enough to lead the pack. We would be in chaos. Look, if you change your mind, you’ll find us in the big walled house at the northern end of the moors.”
Connor shook his head. “I’m not the man you need.”
He climbed in and turned on the engine, but couldn’t get the image of the woman out of his mind, the one whose arm had been broken. But he was no wolf leader. They would have to sort out their problems. Right now, he had enough of his own. But he was aware of them watching him and he couldn’t drown out the little niggle of guilt that nagged until way after they had disappeared from sight.