Her Guardian Angel (Fire and Snow)

by Khloe Wren

  The sight before him held him totally transfixed. As soon as he'd lifted himself from her, she grabbed the bottom of her bra and lifted it over her head, her gorgeous breasts thrust out. She looked like a goddess with her back arched, her arms stretched above her head and her hooded eyes scorching him with their passion. Without breaking eye contact, he lowered his head to her again. He palmed each breast, he pushed them together so her nipples touched, then he filled his mouth with both of them. He sucked short and hard. Her eyes slid shut and her whole body shuddered beneath him. Hmm, she liked that. He did it again a couple of times before he just couldn't stand the burn.

  Her scent was driving him insane. He could smell her arousal and would put money on the fact that her undies were soaked. At this point he really, really wanted a taste of his mate's nectar that smelled so damn good. He released her breasts after delivering one last lick to each and slid his hands down her rib cage. He could feel her bones beneath her skin more easily than he had at the lake. Frowning slightly, he thought she really required more to eat. He had to look after his mate; she needed to be healthy with some meat on her bones. As he hooked his thumbs around the sides of her undies and started peeling them down, all thoughts of feeding his sweet mate disappeared and were replaced solely with thoughts of feeding himself--on her.

  As her undies passed over her calves, he noticed she tensed up. He smiled at her as he tossed her underwear aside. She was so exquisitely innocent. Her eyes were closed, her forehead creased with worry. He could just about hear the cogs turning in her mind. Using just the tips of his fingers, he began running small circles over the skin around her ankles, slowly, reverently.

  "Let go, Adele, you're thinking to hard, just let go and feel." His fingers slowly travelled up her legs.

  "You are so beautiful, and you feel so good under my hands. Your smell..." He breathed in deeply, taking in her natural scent mixed with that of her arousal. "...you are driving me insane with it. You are my nirvana, my sweet Adele. I need you."

  He stopped stroking her legs and started massaging the soles of her feet. He felt the tension seep out of her, and his heart lightened with joy to hear her sigh of pleasure. She tensed up again, ever so slightly, before she blew out a breath then opened her eyes and locked her gaze onto his.

  "I've never...you know...been with a man before. I've never felt like this before either, and to be honest, it's kinda scaring the hell out of me." She rushed out her confession then quickly turned her head away and closed her eyes, hiding them from him as if she expected him to reject her. His heart broke a little as a tear left her eye and slid down her cheek. Her eyes flew open as he gently wiped the tear away with his thumb. She turned back to look at him, her eyes showing all her emotions, the fear, the sorrow, the hurt. He would never reject her, never cause her pain--why couldn't she believe him?

  "My sweet Adele, don't be afraid of me. I will never hurt you. I already knew I am the only man you've allowed to touch you. You can't understand how happy that makes me. We're going to take this real slow, and if I do anything you don't want me to, just say the word and I'll stop. I promise." He saw the flash of relief pass over her face. He nipped at the arch of her foot before he spoke again.

  "Oh, and Adele, I've never been with a woman before either."

  He chuckled softly at the look on Adele's face. Clearly she hadn't thought he would be a virgin.

  "Don't look so shocked, beautiful. I've simply never felt the desire to touch a woman before I met you. But since meeting you, touching you is all I desire."

  He moved up her body and he began stroking her from shoulder to hip with a feather-light touch. Before long, he felt her relax back into the mattress.

  "That's it, my sweet Adele, just relax and feel."

  He continued his seduction with kisses and whispered words as he worshipped her body from head to toe. He stayed away from the sweet spot between her thighs on his way down to her feet. If he started off by touching her where he wanted to the most, he'd never finish his journey to her toes, and he wanted to know each and every inch of his mate's precious body. He suckled on each of her toes gently before working his way up the inside of her legs. He chuckled as he reached the back of her knee and she twitched and giggled.

  He loved the sound of her giggling. Hmm, he could just imagine how much fun it would be to tickle her into oblivion, but that would have to wait until another time. He slowed the pace down as he kissed his way up her inner thigh. She was so caught up in her pleasure she hadn't tensed up at all. He trailed his fingers in small random patterns over her inner thighs slowly going higher and higher. As he ran a single finger down the crease at the top of both her thighs, she jerked slightly and giggled again. He grinned. She was damn ticklish. He made sure to make a mental note of each one of her spots so he could revisit them later.

  He gently ran his fingers back up toward her belly button, gently swiping over where he so desperately wanted his mouth. She tensed up a little as he passed over her sensitive virgin flesh.

  "Oh, my sweet Adele, you are so exquisite and so beautiful."

  Dominic felt a great sense of pride as he looked up at his mate's face. Her body was limp, boneless under his touch. He waited for her passion soaked gaze to find his before he lowered his head to gently kiss, and run his tongue over, her delicious flesh. He hummed in pleasure at the taste of his mate's core. Just like her scent, it was deliciously sweet with a hint of vanilla, tantalizing his taste buds and flowing down his throat. He couldn't stop himself. He covered her with his mouth and delved his tongue as deep as he could, lapping up her nectar as she gave it to him. She arched up, pushing herself closer to him, pushing him deeper. Lost to the passion and pleasure of his mate, he continued to torment her sensitive flesh. He continued to hum as he stroked, sending her higher.

  It didn't take long until he felt her walls begin to tighten around his tongue. She groaned and he looked up at her and watched as she thrashed her head back and forth. Her brow creased with worry. He realized she must have never brought herself to climax before and this whole experience was totally new and foreign to her.

  "Dominic, what's happening? It hurts--I think." She groaned out her words.

  Dominic lifted his mouth from her core, replacing it quickly with his fingers. Her silky heat felt so good on his fingers.

  "You're about to come, beautiful. Just let go, don't fight it. Flow with the sensations. Nothing to be afraid of, love. Come for me, Adele, let me taste you. Gift me your first orgasm."

  His words combined with his fingers twirling and going in and out of her seemed to be working in sending her higher. He could feel her walls grab at his fingers, but she still hadn't been able to trip over and take the plunge. He lowered his mouth back to her, keeping his fingers where they were then he flicked his tongue over her bundle of nerves. She bowed off the bed, trembled all over then filled his mouth with her sweet nectar. He sighed with pleasure as he swallowed every last drop down. Oh, how he wanted to purr...it was extremely difficult to hold himself in check.

  He growled out his pleasure as she grabbed fistfuls of his hair, tugging him closer. He continued to lap up her release like a kitten would a bowl of milk. He kept his fingers inside her, helping her ride out the waves of sensations that crashed through her body. As he felt her tremors lessen and her body go limp, he reverently kissed his way up her body until he was face to face with her.

  "Thank you, Adele. That was the most precious gift I have ever received."

  He lowered his mouth to hers and gave her a hot scorching kiss, pouring all his love for her into it. He released her mouth and rolled to the side turning her around so he spooned up against her back. He wrapped one arm protectively around her hip, the other he buried in her hair and sighed in satisfaction as he felt her relax into sleep.

  Chapter Nine

  Kelly awoke gradually to the sound of machines beeping close by. What was making that annoying sound? He didn't have anything that made that noise. She took a deep br
eath in and winced as her ribs protested the movement, but what made her mind come to a halt and her heart skip a beat was that her neck felt bare. She swallowed; her throat was unrestricted by the collar. She sat bolt upright at the same time her eyes opened and her hands flew to her neck. Her head spun at the sudden movement and spots swam before her eyes, obstructing her vision. Her fingers touched bare flesh on her neck. The collar was gone...but how? As her vision cleared, she saw she was in a white room, on a hard white mattress with rails on either side so she couldn't escape. She dropped her hands from her neck then looked down at them. There was a tube going into the back of her hand that was attached to a bag full of clear liquid which hung on a pole next to the bed. She wasn't sure what it was, but it didn't hurt so she left it alone. Her eyes wandered up both her arms. There were a few bandages, and her skin was covered in bruises that were mostly faded out to greens and yellows. Only a couple were still grey, black or blue. She looked down her front. She was wearing a stiff white shirt type thing.

  Where the hell was she?

  How did she have clothes again?

  She looked up in confusion and trailed her gaze around the room then stopped still when her eyes landed on a woman sitting there looking straight at her. Her eyes went wide, and she tried to push herself away from the woman but couldn't move. She was attached to the machine with the tube, and the rails on the bed wouldn't allow her movement. She panicked, thrashing her arms and legs. She felt the pain the jerky movements caused, but she couldn't focus to stop. Her body and mind had left her behind.

  "Shhh, Kelly. You are safe. You're in a hospital. No one here will hurt you, cherie. You are safe."

  The woman kept repeating herself as she slowly moved closer to Adele. Kelly's body finally stilled and she focused on the woman. Did she know her?

  "My name is Adele. My friend, Dominic, and I found you wandering by the lake. Do you remember?"

  "I don't...what happened to me?" she said on a scared whisper. Her last memory was of Cole coming home early and dragging her downstairs. She tried to get her brain to focus, to remember that day.

  "We don't know what happened to you, cherie. You were very badly injured when we found you, so we brought you here to the hospital. You told us you were worried someone would come and take you. We've kept someone outside your room guarding you; I have been here watching you as much as I can. You haven't ever been alone. No one will hurt you again, Kelly."

  Adele's voice was calm, soothing and helping to anchor her. Suddenly pain lacerated her skull and she closed her eyes, clenching her teeth against the pain. As memories flooded back to her, she pressed her palms to her eyes. Oh, damn, the things he'd done to her, threatened to do to her. She remembered everything now, getting away, being found. She dropped her hands away, desperately holding onto Adele's worried gaze.

  "He was going to rape me; he told me that tomorrow he would finish my training. That I would be fully his forever after that. I--I got out. I ran away."

  Kelly watched as tears flowed from Adele's eyes. This woman who had only just met her seemed so upset by her pain. No one had ever offered any sympathy toward her, not even her mother. Adele reached her hand slowly toward her own. When their hands were nearly touching, Kelly grabbed hold of Adele's. Her touch was warm, gentle, safe. Adele moved closer to the bed. Kelly watched as she lowered the side rail and slowly lay down next to her. She allowed her body to be pulled into Adele's embrace. The comfort she offered was too much, and tears began to fall as she fell apart in the safety of Adele's arms.

  "He won't get near you again, Kelly. I promise, I'll do everything I can to protect you."

  After a few minutes, her tears began to lessen. Suddenly, she felt so sleepy. Adele's soothing hand began stroking her curls.

  "You were so brave, cherie, running away. You saved yourself and you were so strong, petit fille. Now, you have help. We will all help you get better and stronger."

  Kelly couldn't remember ever being cuddled so lovingly. She snuggled into Adele and breathed in her smell. She smelled like vanilla and sunshine--and protection.

  "How long has it been?" she asked on a yawn.

  "You have been here eight days, cherie. You were very badly injured so we kept you asleep so your body could heal without causing you any more pain. You're going to be sore for quite a while. You have a number of cracked ribs which take time to heal."

  Adele's voice was so gentle and soothing. Kelly wished she could stay forever in Adele's embrace, feeling safe and secure, but she knew better than most that life wasn't that easy. She took as deep a breath as she could without pain before bravely asking her next question.

  "What is going to happen to me when I have to leave? I have no where to go, I have no one."

  She buried her face into Adele's shoulder as a feeling of hopelessness enveloped her and she started crying again. How did she think running away would help? She would have been better off if he had just killed her as he had her mother. While she cried, she felt Adele rest her cheek on top of her head and begin to hum to her. When her tears slowed, Adele spoke to her.

  "It's okay, Kelly. Don't you worry about anything. When you leave here, if you want, you can come live with me. I've been talking with the Child Protection Agency and since they can't find any of your biological family, you will need to go into foster care. I've been going through all their tests so I can take you in. I promised to keep you safe, Kelly. I meant it. You will never be alone again, cherie."

  Adele's words made Kelly so happy she started crying again. Maybe, just maybe her life would be better now. She sobbed until the exhaustion overtook her and she fell asleep snuggled in Adele's warm embrace.

  ~ * ~

  Conner put his phone off speaker and held it up to his ear.

  "You still there, Dom? Did you get all of that?"

  "Yeah, I'm here, bro. That poor kid. I can feel Adele's pain from here, man."

  Conner heard the ache in his brother's voice. The mating bond must be a strong one if it allowed mates to feel each other's emotions like that. Conner had been paying close attention to his brother and Adele, trying to learn all he could. He was hoping he'd start having dreams soon. Surely his mate would be turning twenty-one soon. He was getting close to his twenty fourth birthday now. He didn't like the idea of a huge age gap, but more importantly he was impatient to meet his mate and start courting her. His brother's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

  "How's Adele looking? Do I need to come over there?"

  Conner was the current 'guard-cat' on duty; he'd rung his brother as soon as he heard Kelly wake up. He'd put his brother on speakerphone so he could hear the conversation between the girls without Conner needing to relay it all later. He hated relaying conversations. A speakerphone was so much easier--and he couldn't get in trouble for getting things wrong.

  He quietly poked his head through the doorway to see what was going on then pulled back out of view before speaking again. He didn't want to disturb either of the girls.

  "Adele is on the bed with Kelly, looks like the poor kid has fallen back asleep. Adele's stroking her hair and humming to her. Adele could probably use someone to talk to, and you know I suck at this stuff. You probably should high-tail it over here."

  Dom chuckled at him, his brother knew him better than anyone, knew how awkward he was around emotional people, especially woman.

  "You'd be fine, Conner, but I'll head over. I have to finish up here. See you soon."

  "Cool, see you then."

  Conner ended the call, rested his head back against the wall and let thoughts of finding his own mate take him away.

  ~ * ~

  Dominic had been in the office with his Dad drawing up the rosters for the next month when he received Conner's call. As he hung up, he felt his father's gaze. He slipped his phone onto the desk and scrubbed at his face with both hands. What should he do now? Had he and Adele cemented their relationship enough for this test? He really wasn't sure. He hated feeling like this. He was
the cool calm one, the one who planned everything out. Suddenly, he felt out of control, nothing was planned and the few things that were, weren't panning out. The fact his mind, body, and soul were all constantly burning to claim his mate did not help matters.

  "Stop thinking so hard son, I can hear your wheels turning from over here."

  Dominic dropped his hands to his knees and looked up at his Dad with a frown.

  "Kelly. She woke up. She's awake." Dominic felt like a tool for not being able to construct a better sentence for his Dad, but his brain was just so busy with everything, he wasn't in the mood for wasting time on grammar.

  "Ahh, so the young lass is awake and I'm guessing the lovely Adele was there for the occasion? And you're little brother was playing spy for you?" his Dad said with a raised eyebrow and a slight smirk.

  "Hardly spying, Dad, Conner's on guard duty and you know as well as I do he hates having to remember stuff so he can relay it. He chucked me on speaker phone so I could hear everything that was said."

  Dominic couldn't stop the shudder that ran through him at the memory of what Kelly had told Adele.

  "Care to share with your old man what was said? Don't think I didn't see that shudder that just went through you, son."

  Dominic took a couple of minutes to fill his Dad in on the details.

  "Well, son, looks like your mate is going to be mighty busy real soon. Why don't you see if Adele will come over to the house for dinner tonight? Your mother has something she wants to discuss with her."

  Dominic raised an eyebrow at his father. What was his mother up too this time?

  "What's Mum planning? Should I be worried? Or scared?"

  Jake barked out a laugh.

  "Neither, son, nothing to worry about or be scared of. She's been thinking about the care of young Kelly. You know, since she stepped back from full time teaching last year, she's been looking for something to fill her time? Well, she's thinking about tutoring. She was hoping Adele would let her help get Kelly up to speed and into school, which, I suspect might take some doing. Doesn't sound like she's been out in the world much, if you know what I mean."