by Ramona Gray
“I will accompany you as well,” Kane said. “One shifter will not be enough protection against the dangers in the forest.”
“I’m going too,” Reese said.
“No,” Kane replied immediately. “It is too dangerous, Reese.”
“I can take care of myself,” she said.
“Aye, my love, I know. But you are still not going.”
He held his hand up when she opened her mouth. “There will be no arguing with me about this. You will stay with the pack.”
She frowned at him and he kissed her lightly on the forehead before staring at the rest of the shifters. “Is there any other who wishes to make the journey?”
“I want to go,” Sara said.
“No, little one,” Kane said.
She glared at him. “You are not my alpha, Kane, and I am more than capable of protecting myself. I’m going.”
The shifters stared uneasily at their leader. Kane, a small smile crossing his face, nodded. “Very well, young one. You are welcome to join us.”
“NO!”
Radek had stood and he glared at Kane. “She is not going, my alpha.”
“She is, Radek,” Kane said calmly.
“I forbid it,” Radek said.
Before Kane could reply, Sara scowled at him. “You forbid it? It is not your place to forbid me from doing anything. I’m going, Radek, and you cannot stop me.”
“No, you are not,” Radek growled.
“Yes, I am,” Sara snapped.
“Human, you will listen to what I say and – “
“Like hell I will!” Sara shouted. “I’m not – “
“Enough!” Kane’s deep voice cut through her protests and the shifters made an uneasy whine.
“If Sara wants to go, she can,” Kane said to Radek.
“She will freeze to death, Kane,” Radek said. “She can barely stand the cold here in our home where there are fire and pelts. She will not – “
“I will go with them and keep her warm,” Davin interrupted.
Radek snarled at him. “You will do no such thing, Davin.”
“Why do you care whether she lives or dies, Radek?” Davin asked. “You hate humans, remember?”
“You are not to touch Sara. Do you understand? Not for warmth or for any other reason,” Radek said.
“Who are you to give such orders?” Davin asked. “Do you think I will obey you because you are the cousin of our alpha?”
“If I see you touching her, I will – “
“You’ll what?” Davin stood, his hands clenching into fists. “What will you do, Radek?”
Radek’s fangs popped out and he snarled again at Davin. A thick beard began to grow on Davin’s smooth cheeks and he made his own growl before stalking toward Radek.
“Stop it!” Sara’s voice rang out over the clearing. The two shifters turned toward her and she glared at them both. “I am going to the village with Abby and the others. I appreciate the offer, Davin, but I do not need you to keep me warm. I’ll be fine.”
She sat back down, trying hard not to shiver, and squeezed Raina’s knee gratefully when the shifter put her arm around her.
Kane stared at the clear night sky. “We will leave the morning after tomorrow. If the weather holds and we move quickly, it will take us two days to get to the village.”
“You forget that I cannot travel during the daylight hours,” Val said.
“I have not forgotten,” Kane replied. “It is impossible for you to go with us. Travelling at night is unwise.”
“I’m going,” Val said. “Either I go or Abigail does not.”
“Val,” Abby stroked his long hair, “you know you can’t go. I’m sorry, I wish you could, but Kane is right. It’s safer to travel during the day.”
“You are not going without me, little dove,” Val said quietly.
She stared solemnly at him and he cursed loudly before standing and stalking to their cabin. Abigail sighed before following him.
“Radek, you will be in charge of the pack while I’m gone,” Kane said. “If there is – “
“I’m going with you,” Radek said.
“For what reason?” Davin asked. “You have never shown any interest in the village before. Why would you be so eager to be around the humans? I have already offered to accompany our alpha and the humans and there is no need for another shifter. Is that not right, my alpha?”
Radek stared desperately at Reese. He had no hope that Kane would understand his silent request but Reese might. His hands clenched into fists and his stomach was a tight knot of anxiety as Reese studied him silently. She curved her hand around Kane’s thick neck and tugged his head down. She spoke quietly into his ear and he glanced at Radek before frowning at Reese. She smiled at him and spoke rapidly into his ear again and the alpha sighed before standing.
“Radek will join us. Davin, you will be needed here to assist Theran. He will be alpha in my absence and he will require your help.”
Davin’s mouth dropped open before his back straightened and he gave Kane a look of pride. “Aye, my alpha. I will be happy to do that.”
“Good.” Kane took Reese’s hand before standing. “It is getting late. Return to your cabins, my pack.”
Raina held her hand out to Sara. “Come, Sara. I’m so happy that you are still staying with us.”
“I am too, Raina,” Sara said.
She followed the young girl to their cabin as Radek trailed silently behind them.
Chapter 16
“Radek, we have to keep the cabin warmer,” Raina lectured as she added a few logs to the fire.
“Aye, I know,” he said.
“Well, I do not want to hear you complaining about how hot it is. Poor Sara is always cold. It will be good for her to find warmer clothing in the human village,” Raina said.
She pulled Sara a little closer to the fire. “Perhaps you will find a human mate at the village, Sara.”
“We will not be there long enough,” Radek said. “A day or two is not long enough to find a mate.”
“I suppose not,” Raina said. “But there is no harm in looking.”
She squeezed Sara’s arm. “If you do find a human mate, I will miss you, Sara.”
“I will not be finding a mate. Your brother is right – a day is not long enough.”
“Mama and papa only knew each other for a month before papa bit her,” Raina said. “Mama said she knew he was the one only a few days after she met him.”
“It’s different for shifters,” Radek said. “You know that, Raina. Humans cannot smell a mate’s desire for them.”
“Aye, I suppose not,” Raina said before sitting on the rug in front of the fire. “Sit with me, Sara. I would hear you sing again.”
Sara leaned down and kissed the top of Raina’s head. “I’m very tired, Raina. I think I will go to bed.”
She nodded to Radek and disappeared into her bedroom. Raina frowned at Radek. “You make her nervous, Radek.”
“I am being kind,” he protested.
“Aye, I know.” His sister stood and sniffed in his direction. “Perhaps it is a good thing that humans cannot scent another’s desire.”
Radek flushed bright red. “I do not desire the human, Raina.”
“Whatever, Radek.” Raina rolled her eyes before disappearing into her room.
Sara leaned against her bedroom door and listened as Radek walked past her room and into his bedroom. His room was next to hers and she crossed the room and placed her hand on their connecting wall before pressing her ear against the wood. She couldn’t hear anything and she ran her fingertips over the rough wood before slipping into Radek’s shirt. She had stolen it from his room and couldn’t bring herself to return it to him. She climbed into bed and burrowed under the bear pelt. The bedroom was cold and she was already beginning to shiver. On more than one occasion she had taken the pelt and crept to the main room to lie in front of the fire when the cold had woken her from her sleep. She couldn’t ask Raina and Radek to heat the
cabin more than they already were – they were probably much too warm as it was – and she really needed to remember to ask Reese for another pelt.
She closed her eyes and tried to relax as she shook lightly. She had a bad feeling that she would never fall asleep. Not with Radek in the next room.
He’s naked, you know. And warm. He could definitely help heat your bed.
She sighed irritably. Thinking thoughts like that were not going to help her sleep. She buried her cold nose in the crook of her arm and pushed thoughts of the naked Radek out of her head.
* * *
She was woken by his whining only a few hours later. She lay in her bed, shivering and staring grimly at the ceiling as he barked and whined and moaned in his sleep.
Do not go to him, she told herself fiercely. He neither wants nor needs your comfort.
She clenched her fists, listening as his cries grew louder and her heart breaking at the fear in his voice. She was just throwing back the covers to go and wake him when Raina pounded on the wall between her bedroom and her brother’s.
“Radek! Wake up! You are barking in your sleep again!”
His tortured whining ended abruptly. Her pulse beating rapidly and feeling sick to her stomach, she lay in the darkness and tried not to imagine how afraid and disoriented he was feeling.
Go to him. At least make sure he’s okay.
She couldn’t. He didn’t want her anymore and it would only upset him if she showed up in his bedroom in the middle of the night. He would think she was using it as an excuse to throw herself at him and, truthfully, he would be right. She would not act like Kavine and constantly attempt to win the heart of a man who didn’t want her. She had some pride and she –
The door to her bedroom opened and she sat up, her heart stopping for a moment when she saw Radek standing naked in the doorway. She couldn’t see his face in the darkness but his entire body was shaking wildly and she silently pulled back the covers to her bed.
He shut the door and nearly ran across the room, climbing into her bed and putting his arms around her like a frightened child. She urged him to lie down beside her and she stroked his back and pressed gentle kisses into his light hair as she murmured soft words of comfort.
When his trembling stopped, she whispered, “Better?”
“Aye, thank you, Sara.”
“You’re welcome.” She started to ease away from him and he tightened his arms around her.
“Do not leave me.”
“I won’t,” she whispered. She relaxed as he buried his face into her throat and she stroked his back soothingly. Radek was warm as an oven and for the first time in days she didn’t feel cold. His body heat made her sleepy and she was just dozing off when he said, “Have you mated with Davin?”
“Radek,” she said, “that isn’t any of your – “
He lifted his head. “Tell me. Please, Sara.”
“Why do you think he wants to have sex with me? I have no experience, remember? Shifters want their mates to be experienced.”
She waited to see if he would tell her the truth. He stared at her for a moment before looking away. “Perhaps you are allowing Davin to teach you what you need to know.”
She knew she should have been angry with him for continuing to lie but instead a small thrill of excitement went through her. Radek was jealous and God help her, she wanted to use his jealousy and his lies to get what she wanted.
“I have had no more lessons since the day you left,” she said.
His hand which had wandered down to her hip, squeezed compulsively.
She sighed sadly. “I am afraid I will remain a virgin forever unless I find a human in the village who does not have the same…requirements as shifters.”
“A human will not be able to protect you the way a shifter can,” he said.
Tell him you don’t need any protection, her inner voice said indignantly. Tell him that you are more than capable of protecting yourself.
She really should, but the feel of his hard body had her libido in overdrive and it promptly ignored her inner voice as she said, “That may be true but there is nothing to be done about it.”
“There is,” he whispered.
“What do you mean?” She asked innocently.
He cleared his throat. “I am still willing to teach you, human.”
“No, thanks,” she said. “I’m not so pathetic that I would ask someone who doesn’t even want me to show me how to please a man.”
“I lied,” he said in a low voice.
She hid her smile of triumph. “What was that, Radek? I did not hear you.”
“I lied,” he repeated. “I do still want you, Sara. Very much.”
“How am I to know that is the truth?” She asked. “You could be – “
He pressed his mouth against hers and she moaned softly before opening her mouth. He thrust his tongue eagerly between her lips and she kissed him back feverishly as flames of lust licked at her belly.
He cupped her small breast through her shirt and she arched her back. He teased her nipple through the soft fabric and she groaned in frustration before reaching for the hem of her shirt. He helped her to strip it off and inhaled sharply when her naked body was revealed.
“You’re so beautiful, Sara,” he growled quietly before dipping his head and placing light kisses across her upper chest.
She pushed on his head and he nipped at her collarbone before licking a slow path to her nipple. She arched her back again, her hands threading through his hair. She muttered a soft curse when he licked the underside of her breast before tracing his tongue around her nipple. It had hardened into a stiff peak and she whimpered when he brushed his stubble across the tip of it.
“Radek, please,” she moaned.
He sucked hard on her nipple, his cock hardening at her soft cry of pleasure, and teased it with his lips and tongue until she was moaning loudly. He switched to her other nipple and teased it into a hard point.
“I love how sensitive your nipples are, Sara.” He pressed a light kiss between her breasts before claiming her mouth again.
They kissed repeatedly, tasting and licking and sucking at each other’s tongues until they were both panting harshly. Sara traced Radek’s broad back with her fingers. She smiled at the way it made his eyes lighten before nibbling on his thick neck. “I want you so badly, Radek.”
“I want you too, Sara,” he whispered.
She parted her legs eagerly when he trailed his fingers across her flat stomach. He stopped to caress the blonde curls and she pushed impatiently at his hand. A grin crossed his face and he kissed her again as his fingers slipped across the wet lips of her pussy.
“Ohhh,” she sighed and didn’t object when he used his leg to widen her thighs. His rough fingers found her swollen clit easily and he rubbed at the pink bud as she moaned and thrust her hips at him. He slid his finger into her tight opening, kissing her soothingly when she tensed, and rubbed her clit with his thumb.
“Radek,” she whispered, “will you go slowly?”
“Aye, sweet one, I will,” he promised. “And I will stop if you ask me to.”
He hoped that he could stop if she asked. His cock was throbbing almost painfully and his wolf was howling at him to take the soft female. He rubbed her clit more firmly, watching her face as she moaned and panted. He smiled again when her pelvis thrust helplessly against him. He dipped his head and sucked on her swollen nipple. She cried out with pleasure and he growled happily when her pussy tightened around his finger and she came with another harsh cry. He slid a second finger into her, stretching her tight opening, as she collapsed against the bed. Her entire body was shuddering with the aftershocks of her orgasm and he gave her a moment before kissing her lightly.
She smiled tentatively at him. “Do you want me on my hands and knees, Radek?”
Lust flared within him at the thought of Sara on her hands and knees, but he shook his head. “No, sweet one. Not this time.”
Despite his a
ssurances there was a part of him that was worried he would hurt her. He needed to see her face as he entered her. If it was too painful for her, he would stop. The thought of hurting her made him feel sick.
“Radek? What’s wrong?” She cupped his face and gave him a worried look.
“Nothing,” he whispered.
“Are you certain?”
“Aye. Are you certain you want to do this? It will hurt, Sara.”
“I know,” she said before kissing him again. “Please don’t stop now.”
He stroked her tongue with his before cupping her breast again. She moaned and dug her fingers into his back as he teased her nipple lightly before moving between her thighs. She widened them and gave him a sweet and trusting smile that brought a weird surge of heat to his stomach.
“Do it, Radek. Please.”
He reached between them and guided his cock to her entrance. She was soaking wet and the head of his cock slipped into her easily. She let her breath out in a soft moan and he slid a little further in before forcing himself to withdraw. His wolf growled angrily and he snarled at it in his head as Sara touched his face with her fingers.
“It feels good, Radek.”
“I’m glad, sweet one,” he whispered.
He hooked one hand around her slender thigh and lifted her leg slightly before pushing into her again. He went farther this time, watching her face for signs of pain and stopped immediately when she winced. He pulled out of her and she frowned at him.
“Sara, perhaps we shouldn’t do this. You’re very small and – “
“No!” She pounded on his chest with her tiny fist and gave him a look of frustration. “I do not wish to stop. It will be better if you do it quickly, Radek.”
“That isn’t a good idea. I think – “
She yanked his head down and bit the lobe of his ear. He grunted in surprise and she tightened her grip around his neck. “Take me, Radek. Make me yours.”
Desire flared within him and his eyes glowed brightly. “Mine.”
“Yours,” she whispered and then gave a harsh cry of pain when he thrust fully into her. He stopped, his entire body shaking with the need to move and stared anxiously at her.