Hidden: The Swamp

by Royce, Rebecca

  Both of the men I’d helped shifted back, hitting the floor in their human forms. They gasped for breath, grabbing their heads and crying.

  I turned to Rainer, wanting to be near him and Preston more than anything. I called the shift, finding my human form even harder to get to than my wolf one had been. I might have fallen forward, but Preston caught me.

  “Got you, Mac.”

  “I’m going to…” I never got to finish that thought. The world went black.

  I woke up when Rainer laid me down in the bed. His worried gaze met my own. I couldn’t even smell his emotions. Everything was just a big fog around my head. He brushed my hair off my forehead. “What you did… I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

  “I didn’t know what I was doing. There had to have been an easier way. Someone to teach me. I… bumbled it. He got thrown around.”

  Rainer shook his head fast. “Stop. You saved them. They told me they’ve been Loups for years, losing their ability to function even as humans. You saved them. They tried to come home with us, but I sent them on. Told them they could thank you another day.”

  That was good news. I couldn’t take people right now unless they were mine. “Thank you.”

  He shook his head. “Don’t ever thank me.”

  I touched the side of his face. “They were always Loups. Once they were, they didn’t change back and forth, right? They were human or they were Loups.”

  He nodded. “For years and years.”

  “Rainer, we don’t know each other yet but don’t you see… that means you can’t have been a Loup. Ever. So whatever happened when those people died…”

  He sucked in a breath. “MacKenzie,” he looked away, “I know. I can’t deny it. I know. Someone lied. Someone… I can’t right now.”

  I nodded. I understood. Some things were just too much sometimes. “Lie down with me. Please don’t leave me here alone. I feel…” I swallowed. “Too many things.” And one of them was empty inside, hollow. “Never mind. We don’t know each other like that yet. I’m sorry. I’m not a needy person. I…”

  He threw off his shirt and set it aside before lying down next to me. I was totally naked. They’d apparently foregone dressing me this time and just brought me home. Rainer scooted in next to me. His body was warm, and I was immediately calmer.

  I managed to battle back my tears. “Sorry.”

  “Stop. No thank yous and no unnecessary apologies between us.” He tugged me close to him. “I needed this, too. I wasn’t going to presume, but I am going to accept your invitation graciously. Close your eyes. What you did. I’ll say it again. It blew me away. First off, you shifted twice in just hours. Neither Preston nor I could do it. Then you fixed what is supposed to be unfixable. MacKenzie, that is… I don’t have the words.”

  I swallowed. “Rainer, I feel empty inside. Like I’ll never be filled again.” I sucked in my breath. “I’m not tired. I’m wrecked.”

  He leaned over and kissed me. I closed my eyes. Rainer was warm, and even as much as it shocked me that he kissed me, I couldn’t get enough of the sensation. He lifted his head. His eyes were huge. “I’m sorry. I know that was out of nowhere. I just suddenly felt like I had to kiss you.”

  I shook my head. “More. Please.”

  His mouth met mine again. I drew him closer, holding onto the back of his neck. There would be no such thing as too close to Rainer right then. He moved until he was entirely on top of me. The weight of his much bigger body pressed down on me, and the feeling of being surrounded by his strength took over. I couldn’t get enough.

  I squirmed beneath him.

  We kissed and kissed. I let my hands roam the length of his back where I could reach. Rainer was hard, and he was covered in tattoos. I wanted time to go through them, to memorize what he’d chosen to permanently ink on his body. But right then I just wanted to feel more of him, as much as I could.

  I was naked, but he was clothed from the waist down. I lifted my head to kiss all over his face. “Rainer.” I needed to breathe. “Whatever is happening between us, you don’t have to do this.”

  He blinked rapidly. “Do you think I feel forced?”

  “You didn’t ask for any of this. I’m throwing you into this situation. You didn’t ask for any of this.”

  He pushed my hair off my forehead. “You are so beautiful, MacKenzie Harper. I’d want you if you were human walking down the street. I can’t imagine a circumstance where I wouldn’t want every inch of you. I don’t want to rush you. It just feels like all I want to do is kiss you right now.”

  This man had spent time in prison. I wouldn’t be the next thing in his life he had no choice about. I kissed his neck, and he shuddered. “MacKenzie.”

  “Rainer, you are a beautiful man. Tell me to stop.” I kissed the same spot again, kissing down his neck until I reached his shoulders. He was warm, and I licked him, just to taste him more thoroughly.

  He jerked his hips against me, and I cried out. I had no experience with this at all except for the one time I kissed a human in tenth grade. I’d tried to get into the idea of doing this with a human, but I’d never been able to muster up much enthusiasm for the subject.

  I didn’t know Rainer’s sexual history, and right then I didn’t care. We couldn’t have STDs and unwanted pregnancies weren’t a thing. We had to be mated to get pregnant, and we had to want it.

  Rainer stared down at me. “You make me feel like I am who I’m supposed to be. You make everything suddenly make sense.”

  We didn’t know each other yet. I wasn’t going to pretend that I was suddenly a completely fulfilled person because I’d met my mates. Whatever this was, it was still developing. That was okay. I still wanted him. Forget that, it was more than that. I needed him. And I didn’t know why it was so strong but oh, how I did.

  He ran his hand down my body, pinching my nipple. I almost came off the bed. Rainer smiled down at me. His eyes were heated.

  “More,” my voice lowered. I hardly recognized the sound.

  He nodded. “Anything you want.”

  Rainer replaced his fingers with his mouth and sucked hard on my nipple. I closed my eyes, a moan starting in the back of my throat and practically exploding out of me. He jerked his hips against me, brushing the cotton fabric of his pants against me when he did, reminding me that he was still partially dressed.

  I opened my lids. “We need to get your pants off.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “We don’t have to do that. I can make this all about you. I want to. I need this, too.”

  I shook my head. “Both of us.”

  “I’m not going to say no.” He winked at me. “But what I really want to do is make you come.”

  I had no experience with this other than with my own fingers. The idea of intimacy with humans had made me completely disinterested, but the words he spoke made my heart rate kick up. Yes, I wanted him to do just that.

  I tugged on his boxers, and he took them off. His cock jutted forward, hard and catching my full attention. I didn’t have much of a frame of reference, but he looked huge to me. Reaching out, I cupped the end of his cock.

  He sucked in a breath. “Fuck. Your sweet hand.”

  I smiled at him. “Like that?”

  “More than like it.” He pressed his nose against my chest, taking a deep breath. “I’m never going to get enough of how you smell.”

  This was my Alpha and oh how I wanted him.

  Chapter 7

  “Come here.” He pulled me up against him so that we were both on our knees. My breasts pressed against his chest. I’d always been curvy, and I didn’t have to stretch hard to rub my nipples against the hard lines of his chest. A jolt of pleasure shot through me every time I did.

  Rainer ran his hands down my back, stopping right over my ass before he squeezed my cheeks. He grinned at me. “I am a big fan of your ass. Just so you know. I may stare at it every time you walk past me.”

  I smiled back. “I didn’t notice.”r />
  “Of course you didn’t.” He threw back his head, laughing. “Subtlety is not my strong suit so you must have been really unaware of it.”

  I’d always notice it now. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on. He pressed our lips together, and I fell into the heat of the moment, letting myself just exist in the universe that was Rainer.

  I’d never known this much heat could exist. He pulled back to stare at my face, and in that moment, his eyes were all wolf. Rainer winked at me, and then they changed back. He nuzzled my neck before he kissed me again.

  I couldn’t get enough of this and I… needed more. I scraped my fingers up his back, and he gripped me tighter before lowering us both down onto the bed again so that he was over me. I reached between us and stroked him from tip to balls. He hissed in his breath.

  “You’re a beautiful man.” His long brown hair, his sculpted body, and his ink… I’d never known I had a thing for tattoos, but it turned out I really did on Rainer.

  He shook his head. “Stop. Couldn’t be further from the truth. You’re the beauty in this bed.” His gaze traveled over me. “Those eyes. Your hair. The shape of your body. Every bit of you… you’re stunning.”

  My cheeks heated. I was naked underneath him, and I felt so much more exposed from the words he spoke than anything we’d done together so far. I touched his mouth. “Sweet words.”

  He stroked down my stomach, stopping right over my vagina, running his hands over my thighs. I shuddered. This was what I needed. “Touch me everywhere.”

  Rainer nodded. “I plan to.”

  He pressed his finger inside of me. Shivers ran through me. Yes, Rainer needed to put his hands on me, his mouth on me, his cock in me, anything to be filled up with him. I pulled his head down to mine and kissed him, hard. He smiled against my mouth, easing his finger out. He released my lips so that he sucked on the finger that had just been inside of me.

  Rainer moaned, closing his eyes. My heart rate kicked up. I wouldn’t have thought that was sexy but watching him like the way that I tasted, that was fucking hot. I swallowed. He opened his eyes again to stare down at me.

  He was turned on. Even if I hadn’t been able to see evidence of it from how hard he was, I could scent it. Rainer’s desire for me was spicy, like cinnamon. I wanted to roll around in it. I kissed his chest. “You are going to show me all of your tattoos, tell me about them, another time.”

  Rainer nodded. “Can’t… form words.” I understood the sentiment. I kissed down his chest until I got to his cock. Where I’d gripped him before, I kissed him now, right on the tip. Where I was now, I could have taken him in my mouth, just wrapped my lips right around him and sucked. My mouth watered. That was just what I wanted. I opened my mouth, and he quickly shook his head.

  “No. I need to be inside of you.” His voice was scratchy. “We’ll do it again, and trust me, I’ll never say no again. Like a dream.”

  He’d formed words pretty well right there. I kissed him one more time. The smell of him was heady, male, and mine…

  We had to squirm around to get back into position. It was funny. I giggled, and he kissed my chin. I’d expected more nerves than I had. I touched his cheek. “I’ve never done this before. But… I feel like it’s the most natural thing in the world with you.”

  He kissed me, his mouth gentle. “It’s the mating. I’ll always take care of you, MacKenzie.”

  I loved how he said my name. He never shortened it. It almost sounded musical on his tongue. He pressed two fingers inside of me before pulling them out slightly, finding my clit.

  I sucked in a breath. “Oh, right there.”

  “Good. I want to find all your spots. I want to know your body so well I can play it like an instrument. Plan on me learning everything.”

  I loved the thought of that. I cried out as he found a rhythm that moved through me. Pleasure surged from the tip of my chin all the way down to my pussy. I squirmed, drawing my knees closer to my chest. I couldn’t find a position that was comfortable. Not when I had so much… need… inside of me. I had to… oh.

  The world exploded. That was the only way I could describe what happened to me. Colors crossed in front of my eyes, and I shattered from the pleasure. I cried out. His mouth came down on mine, his tongue dancing against my own. He let go of me, but only to readjust so he could push inside of me.

  My body adjusted but slowly. It took a moment as he pushed inch by inch. I opened my eyes and captured his gaze. He was inside of me. I’d never had this feeling before, and I wanted to remember it just like this; I wanted to imprint this moment on my brain.

  And then he moved, and I couldn’t think at all. I lifted my hips to take his thrusts deeper. We both cried out together. Shivers wracked through me, and I hadn’t even come yet. I thought the orgasm from his fingers was intense, but it was nothing for what was going to happen. I could already tell.

  My gums burned. The sensation caught me by surprise. I jerked in my movements, which caught Rainer’s attention. He stared down at me, mid-thrust. “MacKenzie, are you okay?”

  “I don’t know what’s happening. I…”

  Fangs elongated in my mouth, and before I could overthink it, I bit down hard on his chest. I came hard as a taste of his blood coated my tongue. I moaned. This was heaven. The thought hit me even as horror threatened to overtake me. What had I just done? Rainer’s cock thrust deeper inside of me as a jolt of pain took me by surprise. The place where my shoulder met my neck burned.

  Rainer licked the spot where he’d bitten me, and I did the same for him. It was a heady sensation, and I shuddered, coming down as he spent inside of me. He lifted his head to stare at me, a smile in his eyes as his fangs receded, my own doing the same.

  I tried to catch my breath, my heart racing. Pleasure still pulsed through my veins.

  He grinned at me. “I forgot about the marking.”

  I panted as I spoke to him. “I didn’t know. It was just… instinct. I’m sorry. I…”

  He nuzzled against my neck. “Are you kidding? No apology. You just marked me first. It’s what mates do. I’m probably going to want to keep that mark on you going all the time when it fades. You’ll mark me again and again. I forgot that mates used to be covered like this all the time. It’s normal. It’s… sought after. A beautiful sign.”

  A wave of exhaustion rushed over me. I’d been so empty, and it had kept me awake, unsettled. Now, with him still inside of me, pleasure riding me, and his mark on my neck, I couldn’t keep my eyes open. Rainer pushed the hair off my forehead. “You’re so beautiful, MacKenzie.”

  I closed my eyes.

  * * *

  Light filtered into my consciousness. I was sore in the way that only came from lying in one position too long. I was half strewn over Rainer, who lay on his back with his eyes closed as he breathed deeply. His long brown hair covered the pillow. I lifted my head to get a better look, my gaze immediately drawn to the bite mark I’d left on him. It was red, and as I moved my own neck, I could feel where he’d probably left a similar looking mark on me. Not that I’d complain. That had been hot.

  I reached out to stroke my hand over the evidence of what I’d done to him, and he shifted slightly, bringing his arm around me tighter but not waking up. I smiled down at him. He was hard like he’d been carved from rock, but right then he seemed soft. I turned my attention to the ink on his chest. He’d had quite a bit on his back, too, but I couldn’t see it right then so instead I looked at the ink closest to where I’d bitten him.

  It was a chain wrapped around a wrist. I stared at it for a second, hoping there wasn’t some sort of symbiotic relationship between the bite I’d just given him and the placement of that picture.

  “I got that one in prison.”

  I startled, and he placed his hand on my back, settling me. “Sorry, it’s totally creepy to wake up and see someone staring at you. I guess. I’ve never had it happen.”

  “I like your eyes on me.” He ran a finger over my s
kin where his hand had been. “That one I got in prison. It’s meant to be a reminder to keep the beast chained up.”

  I shook my head. “And now you’ve had to shift again.”

  “No have about it. I loved it. Doing it with you… that was a whole different thing, too. The five of us together? Even though we were worried about you… afterward… that just felt right. Like how it was supposed to be.”

  I knew what he meant. There had been an ease about it. “Rainer, I won’t be another prison for you. The Loups. All of these issues with what turned out to be my role in the pack. I won’t have you chained up for it.”

  He stopped rubbing and laid his hand flat on me. “MacKenzie, that is not a prison sentence. Being yours… while you do whatever this amazing thing that you are going to do is… that is what I was born for. It’s like I can finally take a breath.”

  “We don’t know what any of this will mean yet. What if there is a Loup breaking in every night? Are we all just going to stay here? Where is my family? What about the group that took me to that lab and locked me up in North Carolina? What about Hunters? What about…”

  He leaned over and kissed me. I closed my eyes and let him. He wasn’t shutting me up, it was more like he was sharing my anxiety with me, and that was nice.

  “Whatever has to happen, I’ll take care of you, and we’ll do it together. As for your parents… let’s go check in with Gus.”

  The door flung open, and Preston walked into the room. “Morning you two. Was just coming to make sure you’re alive before I have to go to work. You both slept a full twenty-four hours. The younger two are up, drinking coffee after their knockouts. So I need you guys up to handle their confusion. Also, I just wanted to look at Mac before I left for the day. I’m selfish like that.”

  Rainer stretched his arms over his head. “Morning, Preston. You just spit out a whole bunch of information.”

  He pointed at my neck. “Oh, look at that. You marked her. Lucky fucking bastard.”