by Leilani Love
Sandra opened the box and smiled at him. “I didn’t know what kind of donuts you guys liked so I grabbed a few different ones.”
“Thank you,” Warrick said as he looked into the box. Not wanting to hurt her feelings he grabbed one of the glazed ones. When he took a bite she gave him a big smile. Not really sure what to say, he was happy to hear the sound of Hope coming down the stairs.
“Sandra, good morning,” Hope said as she walked in, her eyes lighting up when she noticed the box of donuts on the counter. “Oh donuts!”
Sandra laughed picking up the box offering them to her. “I hope I didn’t show up too early but just in case, I thought I would bring a treat.”
Hope shook her head, looking up at Warrick and giving him a smile. “Sandra’s helping me make sure we have everything the families need before they start to move into their new homes. She’s been great at making sure I haven’t forgotten anything.”
Sandra shrugged. “Anything I can do to help.”
Warrick sipped his coffee, watching the two girls talk as he leaned against one of the counters. He noticed Hope smiled often. There was something about her that put people at ease. The few times they had been out among others he noticed that people were drawn to her like a moth to a flame when she was near. He doubted he was any different.
Sandra, he thought was nice but something made him uncomfortable around her. Warrick was sure whatever the problem, it was with him and not her. For forty years, he had only seen his brother and the witches that came in to drain his blood to cast spells. The feeling of unease could just be because he had met so many people in the past few months and he wasn’t quite used to it.
After Hope had finished her coffee and donut she got up and looked at her watch. “If we leave now we should arrive in town just as the stores are about to open and we can order the rest of the stuff on our list. We’ll be back in time to help finish cleaning that first house.”
Sandra nodded, grabbing one of the extra cups of coffee and giving him a polite smile. “It was nice to meet you, Warrick.”
“You too,” Warrick said returning her smile.
Hope came up to him and leaned close enough to brush her lips against his. “Will you be home before dinner?” she asked, surprising him.
“Yeah, I just have to help the electrician. Once we finish a few of the stores we’re going to work on the houses that are just waiting on wiring.”
When she looked up and smiled at him he felt his chest swell with pride. The look in her eyes reminded him of the one that his mother would give his father when she thought he’d done something amazing. He now understood why his father always puffed up afterward. There was something wonderful about having someone look at you like you’d just hung the moon.
Warrick watched as the two of them walked to the door. Sandra, the last out the door turned and gave him a smile. “Don’t worry Warrick. I’ll have her back early.”
8
The next few weeks passed mostly the same way. Hope often found herself crawling into Warrick’s bed after he fell asleep in order to help with the nightmares. Some nights she managed to crawl back into her bed before he woke up, other nights she awoke to feel his hand roaming her body. Those mornings Hope felt a wave of frustration when he became fully awake and stopped.
This morning was no different. Hope moaned softly, her back arching into his touch as he cupped her breast. Her hips were tucked into his and she could feel his hard cock pressed against her ass. Each time his fingers tugged at her breast she felt her core contract. She bit her lip not wanting to moan and risk waking him up.
When he pinched her nipple, her hips bucked against Warrick’s and she heard him moan as his cock slid between her ass cheeks. She could feel when he woke up because his hand stopped. She bit her lip to keep from swearing out loud. She had heard her brother Damien make jokes about blue balls and how bad they hurt. Either he’d exaggerated or Warrick was in constant pain. Something she was obviously willing to help him fix.
“Hope,” Warrick whispered, his breath on the back of her neck causing a shudder to run up her spine.
Unable to help herself she tilted her head, offering her neck in a sign of submission. Hope’s wolf needed him to claim her. Based on the way his body tightened behind her, for a moment, she felt like he might finally sink his teeth into her neck and claim her.
The tension grew until finally Hope turned, rolling carefully to her back to look up at him. His face was tight, like he was clenching his jaw, but the look in his eyes told her he was the big bad wolf and if she wasn’t careful he might just eat her. Her hand came up and traced his jaw. “Good morning Warrick.”
His eyes closed, as he nuzzled her hand with his cheek. It was rare that he didn’t jump out of his bed the moment he woke up. Kassandra had told her to seduce him, make the first move.
“Please kiss me Warrick.” The words were spoken so softly, not even loud enough to be called a whisper.
He heard her. Warrick opened his eyes and they locked onto hers. The look so intense she felt her breath catch. She slid her hand from his jaw up to his hair.
“Are you sure?” he asked his voice laced with a tension.
With just a little bit of pressure she pulled his face down to hers. When she could feel his breath on her lips she whispered, “Please.”
Warrick brushed his lips against hers. So soft she almost thought she imagined it. She could feel his body tight against hers. Hope arched her body against his, parting her lips. When he moaned she felt a shiver of desire and power. There was something oddly powerful, knowing that he wasn’t as immune to her as he liked to pretend.
His lips captured hers and she moaned into the kiss. Warrick’s tongue traced the seam of her lips. A soft gasp escaped her and when her lips parted she felt his tongue slide in. Her tongue came out and tentatively touched his. That feeling of power surged through her and she felt herself grow bolder. When his tongue withdrew she followed with hers.
The kiss grew in intensity until Hope found herself breathless and clutching at him. When he started to pull away a growl escaped her and again, she followed. She felt him chuckle as one of his hands slid up along her side, under her shirt, brushing her breast. The growl turned into a moan and she felt his lips curve in a smile.
“I’ve dreamt of what it would be like to hold you in my arms, Hope. You were always the light to my dark.”
Warrick’s words pulled at her heart. She slowly opened her eyes to find him watching her. Hope reached up and traced his tight jaw with a fingertip. “I dreamt of you, too. I never understood them until after we found you. I wish I’d understood them earlier. I would’ve found you sooner.”
Hope watched a shadow cross his face and wondered what he was thinking. She could feel him pull away when she mentioned finding him earlier. She wanted to ask him about what his brother did to him but knew that he was more closed off than her brother.
“Your brother should be arriving soon. We’re finishing the outside paint on two more houses so the families can move in,” Warrick said before he started to pull away.
Hope sighed nodding. That wall he put between them came back quickly she thought. Her body was tight with need. She shouldn’t have laughed so hard at her brother’s frustration when she found him trashing the bar after his mate had drugged him and left. Hope knew her brother wouldn’t laugh at her but she could see his stupid little grin now.
“I’m going to take a shower,” Hope said as she walked out of his room. “Nice, cold shower,” she mumbled as she stepped into the hall.
When the cold water hit her body, Hope gasped and quickly turned the hot on, adjusting the water to a much more favorable temperature. She honestly didn’t know what was worse, the fact that the wolves could smell that they hadn’t been together or that she smelled of sexual frustration.
She had heard the women talking about it when they thought she was in the other room. Some of them blamed her for being too picky and turning him away becaus
e he still had a few scars on his body. When one of them called her vain she almost stepped into the room until Sandra spoke up, “Are you guys really so jealous of her that you’d call her vain. If anything the problem’s her mate. I need a jacket every time he walks into the room, he’s definitely the cold one.”
When all the women in the room agreed, Hope bit her lip. Warrick wasn’t cold. What he had been through had been traumatic. He was the pack alpha for some of the women in that room and he deserved their respect. If it weren’t for him and her brother they would still be living in a rundown with no hope of a future.
Not sure what to say, she had stepped into the room, her head held high. They all froze, a look of horror on their faces wondering what she might have heard. Hope knew she should put them in their place. They would have deserved it but instead she pretended like she hadn’t heard them, deciding instead to try and kill them with kindness. When she spoke to Kassandra about it later, Kassandra had told her that if it kept happening she should put her foot down. She pointed out that idle gossip isn’t a bad thing but as the alpha’s, Warrick and Damien deserved the packs respect. Kassandra smiled at her before saying, “Just like in chess, as a queen your job is to protect the king. You’re the only one strong enough.”
Hope felt better after her shower. She was going to spend the day with Violca and Kassandra. Violca was throwing her dinner party tomorrow night and somehow the two of them had talked her into getting new clothes to wear. It was supposed to be an informal dinner so she didn’t see why they had to go buy new clothes. To be honest, Hope’s closet was full of clothes she hadn’t worn but the two girls had a way about them that made it hard to say no.
Dressed and ready to go Hope gave herself one last look in the mirror before heading downstairs. Damien’s voice was the first one she heard and she smiled. Since meeting his mate her brother had settled down and started to become the man she always knew he was. Not that he was a bad man before, but she was glad the term ‘man-whore’ was no longer associated with him.
As she heard her name, she paused at the bottom of the stairs, “I’m worried that as long as she is with me she will always be in danger,” Warrick said in a hushed toned.
“You really don’t give her enough credit,” she heard Damien say which made her want to hug him. “You can fight it all you want but the Fates have bound you two and all you’re doing is hurting the both of you. Even without the mark she’s stuck with you. Always has been. Whether the two of you live together or not she’s your mate. You’re responsible for her happiness and all you’re doing is hurting her… and yourself.”
After a moment of silence, Hope proceeded down the stairs and into the kitchen. Damien was the first to look at her. Damien gave her a wink and she realized he’d known that she was there and had overheard part of their conversation. As her cheeks heated up she looked over at Warrick who looked guilty.
“Good morning Damien,” she said with an overly bright smile, hoping Warrick didn’t notice she was blushing. She kissed her brother on the cheek. “I kind of miss the days you ran the bar and didn’t wake up until closer to noon.”
Damien chuckled as she made her cup of coffee. “The bar’s almost done being built, but Robert’s going to run it for me. I’m just going to be a silent partner.”
Hope grinned, glancing at Warrick who was quiet. After a few minutes of chatting with her brother the two left. Kassandra and Violca would be coming over in about an hour to pick her up and take her shopping. Her mind went over the conversation she’d overheard. She hadn’t heard much, but enough to know that Warrick still worried about his brother, Gabriel. Hope was touched that he worried about her, but she felt like her entire life Gabriel had kept her from the life she wanted and she was no longer willing to live this way. With a slow smile, she decided to stop worrying and instead plot what she would buy on her shopping spree, especially since she’d decided to take Kassandra’s advice and seduce Warrick.
9
Warrick thought about Damien’s words throughout the day as they finished painting the houses. Was he just hurting the both of them? It wasn’t like she could just go and be with someone else. Even when she thought he had betrayed her, her wolf had never let anyone touch her. She was a grown woman. If she were human she would probably have grown children of her own and possibly be expecting grandchildren.
In her sleep Hope had responded to his touch. Warrick felt his lips tug up into a grin when he thought about how she had clung to him. Awake with the lights on, Warrick was aware of his every scar, but in his sleep the man and the beast within didn’t care about how she deserved someone whole, it just knew she was theirs.
When he woke all the reasons why he shouldn’t take her came flooding back. His brother’s threats of hurting her were the primary ones. There were times when he woke up that he swore he had heard Gabriel through their twin link. They would need to be close for that to work and, with the constant patrols, Gabriel would have to be a fool to even attempt to come near them.
Laughter from the other side of the house pulled Warrick from his thoughts. Curious who was laughing Warrick got off the ladder to see what was causing it. As he stepped around the corner he saw two kids running around chasing each other with paint on their hands. The two looked like brother and sister, both with the same light blonde hair and brown eyes. The boy looked to be about five years old and the girl couldn’t be much older than three. Her little legs were moving as quickly as they could as she chased her brother, white paint on her outstretched hands.
“Ha, ha Mary you can’t catch me,” the boy said looking over his shoulder taunting his sister as he ran straight toward Warrick.
When the little boy was close Warrick grinned noticing the boy was too busy looking behind him to notice Warrick in front of him. The little guy ran right into his leg causing the boy to fall. Warrick laughed and Mary saw her chance to catch up to her brother, touching him with her white hands.
“I win,” she squealed in delight.
Her brother pushed her off him giving her a dirty look as he looked up to see what he’d run into. A look of fear crossed the poor boys face as he began to stammer, “I’m sorry…I didn’t.”
Warrick gave him his best reassuring smile, not sure what to say to the kid. He’d lowered himself down to help the boy up when he noticed the boy’s sister, Mary, looking up at him with big eyes, her lower lip quivering. “Please don’t hurt us,” Mary said, her big brown eyes filling with tears.
The fact that the two kids were so scared of him worried Warrick. Did he really look that scary? “I wouldn’t hurt you,” Warrick said as he put his finger in the wet paint on the boy’s shirt and tapped Mary’s nose.
It was amazing how quickly she went from about to cry, to a look of surprise, before full-blown giggles. “I win,” she told him as she pointed at her brother.
The boy frowned. “You only won because I ran into him and fell down.”
Warrick reached a hand out to help the boy stand. He couldn’t help but notice the slight pause the boy took before finally taking his hand. When he stood, Warrick smiled, “You were too busy looking behind to see what was in front of you. She won fair and square.”
Mary beamed up at him before sticking her tongue out at her brother and running away. Before her brother could run after her Warrick stopped him. “It’s okay to let your sister win every once in a while. Your job is to protect her.” The boy nodded and Warrick pointed to the paint. “Now I believe it is your turn to get her. Just be careful and try to stay in the backyard so you two don’t run into anyone else.”
With a grin, the boy put his hand in the paint and took off after his sister. The high-pitched squeal was easy to hear. Warrick shook his head and came around the house to see Damien standing there, a grin on his face. “What?” Warrick asked.
“Nothing just wondering how long it’s going to take you to look and see what is in front of you.” When Warrick frowned, Damien just laughed and walked away, going back
to work. With a mock growl Warrick went back to the house deciding to lose himself in his work.
Warrick got home before Hope and took a shower. His thoughts kept going over Damien’s words. As the hot water cascaded down his back, he had an image of Hope this morning when she’d asked him to please kiss her.
The thought of being the reason she was in pain cut him like a knife. Warrick could honestly say he would withstand the fires of hell if it meant keeping her safe. He smiled at the memory of her as a child claiming him for herself. It had been a happy memory for so long he’d begun to think he had imagined it.
Dressed in his nicest pair of jeans and a button down black shirt, Warrick finished adjusting his hair in the mirror. He kept going over his conversation with Damien in his head. He would need some time to think about it.
As he stepped out of the room he ran into Hope. She was stepping from her room and his breath caught. She was wearing a pair of black boots that went up to her knees bringing his eyes to the black pants that looked like they could have been painted on. As his eyes followed them up he noticed her top was red, covered with black lace that had metal hooks going up the middle. It reminded him of a sexy version of the corsets women used to wear. It pushed on her breasts, holding them up along with her barely covered nipples. He was torn between staring at her breasts and wanting to cover them up for fear they might pop out. He must have been staring at them for longer than he thought because when he heard her clear her throat, he snapped his eyes up to meet hers. One of her lovely eyebrows was raised and a very teasing smile played on her red lips.
“I’m sorry I didn’t know you were home,” Warrick said feeling his cheeks heat up at the thought of her catching him staring at her breasts.
“You were in the shower. I hope you don’t mind but I brought home dinner. Thought we could eat in the little breakfast nook,” Hope said.