“What?” Eloise couldn’t believe it. She had been out cold for more than a day and he hadn’t told her. He had known she was counting the days. He hadn’t told her that she had lost one.
She could only stare at him as that sank in, sending her head spinning and her heart soaring.
He had set foot in the village after the moon had become full.
He wasn’t their alpha.
Her blood chilled a degree.
But he could be.
“You defeated our alpha. You challenged him and you won. Will you accept the right of the victor?” Her heart raced as she waited for him to put her out of her misery, a trickle of fear running through her even when she knew deep in her heart that he didn’t want to be their alpha.
“No.” He placed his hands on her waist, slowly drawing her towards him. “I never wanted that position. I may have eliminated a threat to our pride, but the rules I can’t abide still exist. If I had taken the role of alpha again, my title would have still been a barrier between us.”
He had already let it pass to another. He had given the pride to August.
Cavanaugh drew her closer still, until she could feel his heat and she itched to step into his embrace.
“I never had any intention of becoming the pride’s alpha again, Eloise.” His eyes darted between hers and his mischievous smile returned, telling her that he would have found a way to delay her if she hadn’t knocked herself unconscious. He could have distracted her for days in that cave and she wouldn’t have cared, because it had felt too good to be with him. “I had no intention of letting anything come between us again. I left because I wanted you as my mate, not because Stellan defeated me. I messed up… I should have done some things differently… but all I could think about was passing five years away from the pride so I could be free to be with you. I am free to be with you… and all I want is forever with you.”
She wanted that so much and she knew that he did too. He had made a life for himself in London, at the nightclub, and perhaps they could make a life there together. She wanted that.
“Will you have me?” he whispered and she almost laughed at how nervous he looked and the way his hands trembled against her.
As if she would turn down the only thing she had ever wanted.
Cavanaugh as hers.
She stepped into him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and drew him down for a soft kiss.
She whispered against his lips.
“I’ve wanted forever with you for longer than I can remember.”
He gathered her into his arms and kissed her hard, and she blushed as a cheer went up, reminding her that they weren’t alone.
She didn’t care.
All she cared about was the male in her arms, holding her pinned against his body, his lips searing hers with a kiss that melted her heart.
Her Cavanaugh.
Her fated mate.
Everything she had ever wanted.
Chapter 15
Cavanaugh sat at the top of the wooden steps outside Eloise’s house, his back against the door and his gaze fixed on the distant square and the celebration happening there. August had been happy to take the title of alpha, lifting the weight from Cavanaugh’s shoulders. His cousin had proven himself a strong male and he was happy leaving the pride in his hands.
Eloise sighed and leaned back against him. She sat wedged between his thighs, her arms resting over his as they circled her waist. He held her gently even though she had recovered from her injuries. She had been surprised when he had told her that he had been the one to take care of her and had rewarded him with an achingly tender kiss when he had promised he would always take care of her. It had been a struggle to deny his urge to draw her into his arms and deepen that kiss, taking things further. He had wanted to make love to her and claim her as his mate.
He had been fighting that need since the night she had come to the bonfire and he had told her that she was his fated female.
She settled her head on his shoulder and hummed along with the song the pride were singing, a traditional folk one that welcomed the new alpha.
He tightened his hold on her, thinking back ten years to when he had endured hearing that song and had hated every second of it. He had despised the week-long celebration of his attaining the title of alpha. It had made him keenly feel how everything he cared about had been ruthlessly stripped away from him as each traditional part of the celebration slowly shoved him into a role he had never wanted.
Eloise patted his arm, as if she was aware of his thoughts. He took the comfort she offered, holding her closer to him and reassuring himself that his ten long years of misery were over now. Everything he had wanted was back in his arms.
Back within his reach.
He dropped a kiss on her shoulder, her thick warm jumper soft against his lips, and then pressed a kiss to the gentle slope of her neck. She shivered and giggled.
She always had been ticklish there.
It didn’t stop him.
He pressed kisses up the curve and one behind her ear, and then dropped one a little lower, closer to the nape of her neck. She shivered for a different reason and tilted her head, angling it away from him and giving him the access he wanted. He took one hand away from her waist and twirled her wavy dark hair up with it, holding it against the back of her head.
Cavanaugh dropped his lips to the nape of her neck and kissed it before licking it, stroking his tongue over the sensitive flesh. A moan slipped from her lips and he couldn’t resist the urge that bolted through him.
He opened his mouth, angled his head, and lightly bit the back of her neck with his blunt teeth.
“Cavanaugh!” she barked, her voice echoing across the village.
The singing stopped dead.
She elbowed him in the ribs, but he refused to release her, sinking his teeth in deeper instead, and covered her mouth with one hand, stifling another moan.
He tried not to smile when he heard August’s voice loud and clear, telling them to get a room.
Eloise elbowed him again and he released her. She shot to her feet, whirling to face him, her cheeks bright red in the low light.
Cavanaugh did smile now.
He stood and seized hold of her hand, and opened the door behind him. Her scowl fell away as she eyed the open door and then him, and the scent of her desire hit him hard, tearing a growl from him.
He pulled her into the small house, barely giving her time to shut the door before he tugged her towards the thick furs spread out in front of the fireplace in the living room. He released her and she slowed to a halt, her eyes raking over him, making him burn for her.
He waited, staring at her, his chest heaving beneath his jumper and heart labouring as he tried to be patient. He needed to claim her now. He couldn’t wait any longer. It had been a struggle to wait for the whole of last night and today, giving her time to make a full recovery, but he didn’t have the strength to hold on anymore.
“Eloise,” he husked and she answered him by toeing her boots off and stripping out of her jumper.
He smiled as she yanked her top off too and tackled her trousers. Gods, he loved this woman. She was a slave to the same intense passion and need as he was, always primed for him, hungry for another taste.
She frowned when she was standing in only her underwear and he was still fully dressed.
He snapped himself out of it and tugged his jumper off. When his head came free of the neck, Eloise was right in front of him, her fingers making swift work of his trousers. He groaned as she shoved them down and palmed him through his black trunks, making him forget what he had been doing. He stood with his arms still in the air, tangled in his jumper, and his trousers around his knees, lost in how good it felt to have her hand on him, even if it was through a barrier.
Her hand drifted upwards, under his long-sleeve t-shirt and he came back to the world. He was meant to be stripping. He finished with his jumper, grabbed the hem of his t-shirt and pulled it up. Eloise
purred.
His knees weakened.
Gods, he wanted her to purr like that when he was inside her.
He tugged his top off and threw it aside, and then stopped dead again as she ran her hands over his chest, slowly exploring it. He moaned and tipped his head back, forgetting everything again when she brought her lips into play, kissing and licking her way down his chest to his stomach.
She swirled her tongue around his navel and he growled when she kneeled on the furs, her face level with his aching shaft.
A wicked glint entered her golden-brown eyes.
Cavanaugh flexed his fingers and reached for his trunks.
Eloise dropped her head and started unlacing his boots. What the hell? Cavanaugh growled again and she giggled. Minx. She wanted to drive him wild, and he was already halfway there, going out of his mind with need.
She carefully removed each of his boots and made him step out of his trousers, and even went as far as taking off his socks for him.
He growled and reached for her, intending to pull her up to him and kiss her until she melted into him. She reached up too, slid her fingers into the waist of his underwear, and he could only stare blankly at her as she pulled it down his thighs, freeing his cock.
It instantly grew harder, as solid as steel and throbbing with need.
He dutifully stepped out of his trunks, his gaze glued to her, waiting to see what she would do next.
She rose onto her knees, wrapped her hand around his length, and then wrapped her mouth around it too. He groaned and swallowed hard as she stroked her tongue over the sensitive head, swirling it around and sending hot shivers shooting down to his balls.
“Eloise,” he murmured, closing his eyes and surrendering to her.
She slowly took him into her mouth, her moist heat tearing another low groan from him, and sucked him as she withdrew.
He clasped her head in one hand and guided her on him, breathing hard as he struggled to retain some control. He needed to feel her lips on him, feel his cock sliding into her hot wet mouth, but he had to stay in control and stop himself from surrendering to his urge to thrust, plunging deeper, taking every drop of pleasure she wanted to give to him.
He needed to be inside her when he found release this time, his cock buried in her body and his fangs in the back of her neck.
His balls tightened at just the thought and he pushed her away, breathing hard to calm himself.
She smiled and rose onto her feet, trailing her fingers up his stomach to his chest. He growled and swooped on her mouth when she was close enough, claiming it and slipping his tongue between her lips before she could protest. He kissed her hard and reached around her at the same time. She gasped into his mouth as he snapped the fastenings on her bra and tore it off her. The scent of her arousal grew stronger and he groaned, lowered his hands to her backside and dragged her against him, thrusting his cock against her belly.
“Cavanaugh,” she whispered against his lips and he wanted to give in to her, doing as she silently asked him, but he needed to do something else first.
She squealed as he lifted her and turned with her. He kneeled on the furs and laid her down, and broke away from her lips. He trailed his down her throat to her chest and suckled her left nipple, swirling his tongue around it, and then her right as his hands went to work, shoving her underwear down her thighs. She wriggled, bringing her knees up, and he sat back and tugged her knickers down the rest of the way.
Eloise settled her feet on his thighs and smiled as she slowly spread her legs, her hands drifting across her breasts at the same time, her eyes hooded and filled with hunger he wanted to satisfy.
He growled, grabbed her hips, and shoved her up the furs, giving him room. She closed her eyes and threw her head back as he delved between her thighs, sweeping his tongue over her nub, tasting her desire for him.
He moaned and clutched her backside, raising it off the furs, and devoured her, alternating between suckling her sweet bead and flicking it with his tongue.
Eloise arched her back, thrusting her breasts high into the air, and he stared at them, his cock pulsing as he swept his tongue over her, from her core to her nub, tasting all of her. Gods, he needed to be inside her.
He dropped lower, probing her entrance with his tongue, imagining feeding his shaft into her and filling her. His cock throbbed, kicking against his stomach, and he resisted rubbing it against the furs to get some satisfaction. She moaned as he swept back up to her nub and laved it, pressed her feet into the floor, and writhed, rocking against his face. She was close, her body flexing as she sought release.
Cavanaugh couldn’t wait any longer.
He flipped her onto her front, pulled her hips up so she was on all fours, and entered her in one smooth stroke, tearing a cry from her lips. He grunted and shifted forwards, plunging deeper still, and pressed his hands into her shoulders, pinning her to the furs. She moaned with the first deep thrust of his cock and bit her lip with the second, igniting a need within him that he had been battling. It burned through him, more powerful than before, laying waste to his restraint.
He slipped his hands beneath her, pulled her up so her back pressed against his chest, and cupped her breasts as he sank his fangs into the back of her neck.
She cried out again, a sharp bark of pleasure that made him growl against her neck. He tightened his grip on her, keeping his fangs in check as best he could, stopping them from becoming too big and damaging her. She moaned and shifted her legs wider, sinking deeper onto him.
He groaned with her and began thrusting, short shallow ones, as much as he could manage while retaining his hold on her. He couldn’t let her go. He needed to hold on to his female until she had found release and he had found his too, joining them and awakening the bond between them.
Eloise rocked on him, alternating between rotating her hips and thrusting, her breathing coming quicker. He grunted and pumped harder, shoving deeper into her as he kept hold of her neck, his instincts awakening and beginning to seize control of him. Eloise threw one hand over her head and raked her nails over the back of his neck, ripping a feral growl from him as pleasure blasted down his spine to his balls. He drove harder into her and dropped one hand to her mound, slipping his fingers between her folds to toy with her bundle of nerves as she arched forwards, giving him better access to her body.
He clutched her right breast with his other hand, tweaking her nipple as he plunged into her. Her blood coated his tongue, the sweet taste of her drugging him, making him thrust harder and deeper, a slave to his desire to satisfy his mate. She moaned and moved with him, thrusting against him, her claws scraping the back of his neck as they grew. He shuddered and rocked deeper, grunting each time he slid into her hot sheath, his hips pumping furiously.
His fingers danced between her thighs and she fluttered around him, gasping as she clutched the back of his neck and tipped her head back, pressing it against his.
Cavanaugh bit down harder.
Eloise screamed.
Her body quivered around his as she tensed, gripping him hard both inside her and around the back of his neck. Her release scalded him, hot and slippery as he drove into her, thrusting wildly, pushing her into finding another with him. She jerked forwards and cried out again as he came, spilling himself inside her, his entire body quaking with his release.
Cavanaugh breathed hard against her throat, clutching her to him, his teeth still buried in her neck. She moaned as she sank back into him, her back plastered against his front, and slowly released his neck. She dropped one hand to her lap and one to her breast, catching both of his and slipping her fingers between his, linking them.
He managed to convince himself to let go of her and carefully removed his fangs from the back of her throat. He licked the marks he had left on her, cleaning the blood away.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered and wrapped his arms around her, dragging her arms with him. “Did it hurt?”
She shook her head and he licked her wo
unds again before nuzzling her shoulder. She lifted his hands to her face and kissed them.
Cavanaugh closed his eyes and savoured the sensations building within him, growing stronger with each passing second. Their bond. He could feel it weaving them together.
“Gods, I love you, Eloise,” he whispered against her skin and she moved.
He sensed her need and released her, allowing her to pull free of him and come to face him. She settled on his lap, her legs around his waist, and searched his eyes. He could feel all of her emotions, all of her happiness, all of her hope.
All of her love.
He kissed her before she could say the words he had been waiting his entire life to hear, already able to hear them in his heart and his soul through their bond.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss before slowly drawing back and smiling at him, her honey-coloured eyes overflowing with the emotions he could feel in her.
“I love you too, Cavanaugh.”
He couldn’t stop himself from kissing her again.
Eloise was finally his. It felt like a dream, one he had thought would never come true.
He had a lot to make up for, lost time and a thousand mistakes included.
He was going to spend the rest of his life showing her how much he loved her, and making up for everything he had done wrong and every second they had been apart.
Because he felt like the luckiest son of a bitch alive as he kissed Eloise, aware of the incredible gift she had given him.
She had given him everything he had ever wanted.
She had given him forever.
Forever with her.
The End
Read on for a preview of the next story in the highly addictive Eternal Mates paranormal romance series, Bitten by a Hellcat, available February 17th 2015
Bitten by a Hellcat - Chapter 1
She was a bad little kitty.
One of Hell’s own.
And she prowled the nightclub in a way that had every males’ eyes glued to her shapely form.
Even his.
Craved by an Alpha Page 15