Raed released her neck as he rolled to his side, taking her with him. He draped her leg over his hip and tucked her head under his chin as he held her against his chest.
The feel of him still buried thick and deep caused little tremors to rock her body. Lexi fought to catch her breath. Her eyes started to drift shut as Raed ran the palm of his hand up and down her back in caressing strokes. Satiated, and drowsy from lack of sleep, Lexi fell asleep in Raed's arms.
Raed looked down at Lexi as she slept. Making love to her had been incredible, but their coupling hadn't gone exactly as he had expected either. He had managed to hide his eyes when they had gone wolf, and his claws when he hadn't been able to hold them back any longer, but what had happened after he had climaxed had been unexpected to say the least. His cock had swelled to the point where he had been unable to pull out of Lexi's body. He'd also come longer than he had ever done in the past.
He'd felt his sperm continue to shoot out of him in half minute intervals even after Lexi had fallen asleep.
Now, fifteen minutes later, his cock had finally softened enough for him to pull free. If he didn't know any better, he would swear his body had acted like a wolf's when mating. He had seen more than his fair share of documentaries about wild wolves to know the male's erection swelled, locking him to the female, during intercourse. Raed had no idea if he was capable of that when taking his wolf form, but he didn't think it should have happened while making love in his human one. What the hell was going on?
Lexi mumbled something unintelligible in her sleep as she snuggled closer against his chest. Raed held her tighter and kissed the top of her head. Unlike the other times he had taken a woman to bed, Raed's hunger had only increased, despite his recent release. He wanted to have her again, but he was more than a bit worried about how she'd react if he were ready for again so soon. And maybe she hadn't noticed the first time, but she would notice eventually if he continued to swell each time they slept together. The swelling wasn't exactly normal.
Even though Raed felt somewhat reluctant to make love to Lexi again, he knew he would. He yearned for her touch. He was quickly becoming addicted to her scent and the taste of her. The feel of her body against his as her welcoming heat surrounded his cock had given him more pleasure than he had ever experienced in a woman's arms.
They fit perfectly together. It was almost as if Lexi had been made for him and him alone. He didn't know if he wanted, or could, let her go in the end.
This left only one option—he would have to tell her what he was. If he could bring himself to reveal the truth. He'd never told a mortal about his being a werewolf, or what he did during the night. None of them had. Tiw hadn't told them they couldn't, but they had all agreed to keep what they were a secret from those they had been charged to protect. Plus there really hadn't been any need to tell. He and his men mostly kept to themselves. They made no mortal friends as a human's short life span made lasting relationships an impossibility. Raed had already watched those who had been close to him grow old and die while he had stayed virile and strong. The hardest had been watching his wife and sons all grow old and leave him. He'd made a vow to himself never to have feelings for another mortal again.
Now Lexi had come into his life.
Raed had no idea what he wanted to do about her, or what seemed to be happening to him. He gently eased away, climbed out of bed and stared down at her.
He hadn't woken her so he gently covered her with the sheet and quickly pulled on his discarded jeans. He had promised to make her supper. The food wouldn't get made any faster if he stayed up his bedroom making love to her for the rest of the day.
He quietly opened the bedroom door and slipped out into the hall. Before he closed it behind him, Raed looked over at Lexi. The sight of her asleep on his bed with her long, light brown hair spread across his pillows made him long to go back and join her. Instead, he pulled the door closed. There would be plenty of time to make love to Lexi again.
Downstairs in the kitchen, he found Algar sitting alone at the table drinking coffee as he read the newspaper. Raed headed for the fridge.
"I didn't hear Lexi screaming with terror, so I guess things went okay?" Algar said as Raed walked by.
Raed opened the refrigerator door and looked inside. "Well enough, I suppose."
He started to pull out ingredients to make a stir fry.
"You suppose? From the red marks on your back, I would say things went better than 'well enough'."
He looked over his shoulder at Algar. "That part exceeded all my expectations."
"But?"
"I couldn't keep my wolf at bay. I hid the changes from Lexi. I may have shredded the sheets with my claws a bit, but she didn't notice. I just hope she doesn't remember how I became locked inside her afterward."
Algar came to stand beside Raed. "Locked? How?"
Raed reached inside the freezer and took out a package of chicken breasts. He turned and gave Algar a hard stare. "Let's put it this way—I went too much wolf at the very end."
Algar's eyes widened for a split second before he shook his head. "That isn't normal."
Raed grunted. "Yeah, tell me about it."
"I think you should tell Tiw what's going on. He made us the way we are. Maybe he has the answer as to why you can't control your wolf around Lexi." Algar looked at the food on the counter and the package of chicken Raed held. "What's with the food?"
"I promised Lexi I would cook for her."
"What about the rest of us?"
"You can fend for yourselves," Raed said with a grin.
"Gee, thanks."
As Raed turned back to the counter, he decided he would do as Algar suggested and talk to Tiw. Surely his god would be able to explain what was happening to him.
* * *
Lexi woke up alone in Raed's bed. She stretched then looked around the room.
She'd been too busy before to notice anything but the king-sized bed. The walls had been painted a deep, royal blue. The rest of the furnishings were solid pieces made out of dark wood, just as the bed's headboard. The floor was also dark hardwood. Very much a man's bedroom; there wasn't anything feminine about it.
She rolled over onto her side and stuck her face in Raed's pillow. She smiled as she drew in his musky scent. Her smile didn't disappear as she thought of what had taken place in his bed. Not that Lexi had that much experience, but Raed had managed to blow her socks off. He'd given her more pleasure than she had ever found in another man's bed. The others she'd slept with just didn't compare.
Lexi ran her hand along the mattress where Raed had lain beside her. Strange.
Pulling back the sheet, she looked at the four straight lines that had been ripped into the fitted sheet. They almost looked like claw marks. She ran her fingers down them. The royal blue sheets didn't appear that old. They didn't have a soft, been-washed-over-and-over-again feel to them. Lexie shrugged and rolled onto her back.
When the minutes ticked by and Raed didn't return, Lexi decided to search for him. She didn't want to lie around naked without Raed being with her. Also there was the off-chance one of his men would walk in looking for Raed. She would rather be fully dressed if that happened.
Dressed once again, Lexi poked her head out the door. She didn't see anyone in the long hallway. Where had Raed gone? She walked down the curved staircase and headed for the living room. She only found Wulfric and Dolf, playing a video game.
They didn't seem to notice her as they took turns cursing at each other.
Lexi moved farther down the hall. Raed had to be inside this large house somewhere. As she neared a closed door at the end of the hall, she sniffed the air. Her nose crinkled at the smell of something burning. She pushed opened the door and stopped short just inside. Lexi had to bite her bottom lip not to laugh.
Raed stood by the sink with a baking sheet held in an oven-mitted hand. Two pieces of something blackened and charred beyond recognition sat smoking on the sheet. Algar, wearing an expression
of disgust, waved a tea towel at the open oven door, dispersing the smoke.
"I told you not to set the oven so hot," Algar said as he waved the towel furiously. "Open the kitchen window wider or we'll never get the smoke out of here."
Raed threw the baking sheet into the sink with a clang then pushed the window over the sink. "It's open all the way now. The chicken was frozen. I didn't think the meat would burn so quickly. I just wanted it to thaw out a bit at the higher temperature before I turned it down."
"It may have worked if you had only left it that way for a couple of minutes not for almost a half hour."
Lexi loudly cleared her throat to get Raed and Algar's attention. When they turned to look in her direction, she asked, "Problems?"
"You could say that," Algar said as he threw Raed another disgusted look.
Raed glared at Algar.
Lexi's lips twitched as she fought back a smile. "Let me guess, that was to be supper?"
Raed threw the oven mitt on the counter. "Yes. Part of it anyway."
Lexi crossed to Raed's side and studied the charred remains of the chicken in the sink. "I thought you said you could cook?"
"I can. That's what I get for trying to take shortcuts. At least the stir fry is still good."
"Only because you haven't started cooking it yet," Algar said drolly.
She then noticed the pile of chopped vegetables on a cutting board on the counter. She looked over at Raed. "Would you like me to take over?"
He shook his head. "No. I promised to cook for you, and cook for you I shall."
Raed went over to the freezer and pulled out a package of frozen burgers. "We'll just have to settle for these instead of the chicken. I'll cook them on the barbeque out back."
"I can help if you want."
Raed put the package of burgers on the counter, then led Lexi over to the table.
"Sit." He pushed her down onto one of the chairs. "I can handle this myself. I want to do this for you."
"Okay, if you insist."
Raed picked up the burgers and walked through the double doors that led to an immaculately landscaped back yard.
Algar stopped his towel waving and shut the oven door. He sat next to Lexi.
"Raed does know how to cook. We all do. He just doesn't get his turn very often."
"You guys should make him cook more often if he needs the practice."
"It's not like that. We feel it's beneath . . . it's just that old habits are hard to break."
Lexi wondered what old habits Algar referred to, but she let the subject go. "So you guys always eat together? I would have thought mealtime would be a free-for-all here."
Algar smiled. "It can be at times for the midday meal. Supper is another story.
Long ago, Raed commanded we have the evening meal together. It's a good time to talk and make plans."
Commanded? "I see. If all of you guys can cook, then who is the best?"
"Brand."
Lexi blinked. "Brand?"
"Yes, Brand," Algar said with a laugh. "I know. You would never guess to look at him, but he can cook up a storm. I think it's partly because he likes to eat, and eat well.
It took us a while to learn, but it wasn't as if we had any choice in the matter. We all had flown the coop, so to speak, and we had to fend for ourselves." Algar shuddered dramatically. "Our first attempts make the chicken over there look like a master chef cooked it."
Lexi laughed. "Food Poisoning R Us?
He chuckled. "No, but if we weren't imm—"
"Algar," Raed interrupted in a stern voice as he stepped back into the kitchen.
Algar stood. "I guess I'll leave you two alone." He turned to Raed. "Shall I tell the others we'll get together later as usual?"
Lexi didn't miss the meaningful glance Algar shot her way before he looked back at Raed.
Raed nodded. "It may be a little later than normal, but I'll make the meeting once I take Lexi back to her flat."
"Alright." Algar turned to face Lexi. "I hope to see you again soon. Enjoy your meal."
Once Algar left, Lexi watched Raed move over to one of the cupboards and take out a large frying pan. He put the pan on the stovetop and turned on the burner. She hadn't noticed until now that he only wore a pair of jeans. As he put oil and the cut-up vegetables into the frying pan, her gaze ran over his bare back where the muscles bunched. Lexi flushed slightly at the sight of faint red marks running down the wide expanse. She'd been the one to put them there.
When he finished starting the stir fry, he leaned back against the counter, crossed his arms over his broad chest and gazed at her. The stance caused his large biceps to bulge. Lexi still found it hard to believe she had made love to a man like Raed. Staring at him only half-clothed made her body heat.
"If you don't stop looking as if you'd like to eat me I'll burn the food again."
Lexi licked her lips. Raed groaned.
"You can't expect me not to when you're dressed like that. Or not dressed." She ran her gaze up his left arm to his shoulder. With his arms crossed, she could clearly see his tattoo. In black, the image of two stylized wolves stood on either side of a figure of an equally stylized man. The design seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on where she had seen it before. "Nice tattoo."
"Thanks."
She went to stand before him and ran her hand up his arm to the tattoo, trailing her fingers over the mark. "Is there a story behind why you picked this design?"
Raed pulled her hand away and brought her fingers to his mouth. He swirled his tongue around her index finger before he sucked it into his mouth. By the time he released her finger, Lexi's knees had gone weak while her body had liquefied. "No."
He slowly lowered his head, about to kiss her, when the sound of a wolf's howl echoed outside from the back of the manor. Raed stiffened. Lexi looked around him and through the window, but she couldn't see anything outside. "Was that a wolf? I thought there weren't any more wild wolves in England?"
"There aren't." Raed stepped around her and yelled, "Algar!"
Algar quickly ran into the kitchen. "We heard. This is new. Darkness hasn't even fallen yet."
"I don't like this," Raed said. "Tell the others to split up. I'll join you in a minute."
With a nod, Algar left. Raed turned and took Lexi by the shoulders. "I'll be back.
Stay here."
Why had the sound of a wolf's howl caused this kind of anxiety? Even if there really had been a wolf out there, the men's reactions seemed a bit extreme. She nodded and watched Raed run out of the room.
Chapter Six
Lexi was about to sit at the table when the sound of food sizzling in the frying pan brought her up short. Obviously Raed had forgotten about it in his hurry to leave.
She pulled open drawers until she found one with cooking utensils and fished around until she found a spatula. She stirred the vegetables before she lowered the heat under the pan.
The smell of barbeque smoke wafted through the open window. The burgers!
Lexi knew Raed had told her to stay put, but she didn't think he would want her to let the burgers burn. She crossed over to the outside door and stepped out onto a flagstone patio, then followed the smell of the barbeque to the back corner. Smoke billowed out from under the gas grill's lid.
Lexi shook her head when she saw how high Raed had set the heat. She opened the lid and waved a hand in front of her as smoke swirled around her face. She held her breath until it cleared, then reached for the barbeque spatula hanging from the side of the grill. She flipped the four burgers. Great, they hadn't burnt yet. That task done, she closed the lid and turned to go back inside to check on the stir fry.
She froze in place when she saw a large grey wolf standing only a few yards away. The side of the animal's upper lip curled as it growled. Lexi slowly took a step back until she felt the heat of the grill behind her. The wolf started to close the space between them.
Lexi groped behind her until she found
the long-handled barbeque spatula. She held the cooking utensil out in front of her like a weapon, not that she thought she could do much with it if it decided to attack. "Shoo," she said as she waved the spatula at the wolf.
The wolf growled louder and took another step closer. Lexi's heart started to pound with fear. She had always thought wild animals were supposed to be more afraid of humans than humans were of them. For a wild wolf, if it was wild, it didn't seem to scare easily. Lexi took slow, even, sideways steps as she tried to get the barbeque clear of her back. If she had to make a run for it, she didn't want it in her way.
She waved the spatula at the wolf again as the animal bunched its back legs under itself. Just as she was sure the wolf was about to spring, a streak of dark blond fur slammed into it. Even though she knew she should be running back inside the house as fast as her legs could carry her, Lexi found herself unable to move. She silently watched as the second wolf fought the first. Their snarls and growls filled the air. It soon became apparent the dark blond wolf was stronger. He—Lexi could now see both wolves were male—forced the grey wolf back. Before the dark blond wolf could take the other one down, the grey wolf managed to twist free and take off running.
The dark blond wolf looked over at Lexi, then in the direction the other wolf had gone, and then back to her again. He loped over to her, appraising her with his blue-eyed gaze. Lexi froze and held back a whimper as he came even closer. The wolf sniffed her leg before he turned and loped away, obviously in pursuit of the other wolf.
Lexi sagged in relief. That had been a close one. Not wanting to meet up with either wolf again, she quickly moved back to the barbeque and returned the spatula to its place. A large hand landed on the top of her shoulder and spun her around. Lexi let out a yelp. When she saw it was only Raed, she smacked him in the chest. "Don't do that. You scared the crap out of me."
"I thought I told you to stay in the kitchen," Raed said in a stern voice.
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