My Captive Valentine

by Elyce de Reefe

  He slipped an arm around Elizabeth and pulled her close, dropping a kiss on the side of her head. Contentment hummed along the bond and he smiled.

  “They look happy here,” Elizabeth said.

  “Yes.”

  The wolves hopped and danced in the snow, looking carefree and playful. Cray was too far away to be sure, but he thought they might actually be trying to catch mice. Cray grinned. Mice were wily little creatures. Fast and hard to catch. Good practice. Dean had gotten a look at Mist’s leg and decided it was healing well. Cray pulled in a satisfied breath.

  He tugged Elizabeth a little closer. “And how are you feeling, sweetheart?”

  “I'm feeling great.” He felt happiness bloom along the bond and sighed with contentment. It was good to be home.

  ***

  Elizabeth watched the young wolf pack hop and play in the snow. They were adorable. She knew that Cray was really happy to have them here on pack territory, and she was happy for him. She moved closer to her husband, enjoying the feel of his arm around her. It was so nice to have him home again. She smiled, remembering earlier that morning when they first entered their cottage.

  “Elizabeth,” he’d said. “Come here.”

  “What? I'm right here.”

  He dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face in her belly. She patted his head tentatively. Was this a homecoming ritual among the People?

  “Take off your jacket.” His voice was husky.

  “Um… Okay.”

  “Ahhh.” It was a long exhalation of satisfaction. and then he started rumbling deep in his throat, almost as if he were purring. She was just about to ask what in the world— when he rose to his feet, picked her up, and carried her toward their bedroom.

  “Elizabeth, my love, you’re pregnant.”

  A fierce surge of joy shot down the bond and reverberated through her body.

  “I couldn't tell before, with all the other scents around, but here—walking into the cottage—your scent is strong here. And you are definitely pregnant.”

  “Are you sure? Oh, Cray…” She felt tears come to her eyes. “I thought it was never going to happen.”

  “Elizabeth, honey, I told you it would happen when the time was right.” He touched her cheek gently.

  “Yeah, well, what do you know about babies?”

  He just grinned. She had to concede his point, but somehow, she didn't really mind.

  After that, there was very little talking for a long time.

  ***

  Lucas followed Mari out onto the porch. She clutched a cup of peppermint tea in one hand and a raisin scone in the other. He carried coffee and a small plate with three scones. She ignored him, leaning against the railing and gazing out at the Rabbit River and the meadow beyond. She'd been distant for weeks now, ever since he'd foolishly declared that she was his, and his heart ached with it.

  He set the plate of scones down next to her on the porch railing. “Mari. Let us not fight anymore. Can you tell me what it is that has you so upset?”

  She turned on him then, her expression so fierce he almost took a step back.

  “I can't stand it, Lucas! I just hate feeling helpless.”

  He spread his hands in a gesture of appeasement. Helpless was how he felt about ninety percent of the time with Mari. “But why would you feel helpless? I don't understand.”

  “Lucas.” She stomped a little foot in emphasis. “I don't like being stuck here. I don't like not having control over my own destiny. I had enough of that with Jerry. I think I should...” She broke off and made a face, her mouth tightening into a grim line. “I think I should move out for a while.”

  His heart lurched. “Ah, no, Mari. Do not leave us. We would miss you.” He swallowed. “I would miss you.” Not seeing her every day? Not knowing she was safe under his roof? Forget the Law— he didn't think he could stand it.

  “Am I so onerous a burden on you, Mari?” he asked quietly.

  She sighed. “No, Lucas, you big lug.” She pushed him gently on the arm, and he welcomed the contact. It was the first time she had touched him and weeks. “You've been great. Kind and generous and—” She broke off, glancing up into his eyes. “Sweet.” She flushed slightly. “But a girl needs a little independence.”

  Lucas felt sick. “She does?”

  “She does. Sometimes a girl needs to go out on her own to find out who she really is.” She met his gaze again, blinking rapidly. “I kind of skipped that stage.”

  She looked away and continued, speaking more softly. “I know you can’t understand that. You’ve probably known who you were from birth.”

  He wanted to argue, but she didn't give him a chance.

  “I'm putting you on notice, Lucas, When Lauren comes this summer, I'm going to move in with her.” She shrugged. “I don't know. Maybe I’ll get a job, or maybe I’ll just watch the kids for her.” She paused. “Maybe go back to school.”

  “But the Law—”

  “Well, it's your Law, so you'll have to work it out. Anyway, we’re staying at Lyla’s house, so doesn't that kind of make it pack territory?”

  “No. Mari—” But she cut him off.

  “I'm going. You have three months to figure it out.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “And if you ever want me to speak to you again, you won't try to stop me.”

  She turned and went back into the house, leaving him alone and speechless on the porch.

  He stumbled over to one of the Adirondack chairs and sat down abruptly, one hand over his heart. He thought the thing might actually be breaking.

  She is leaving.

  Not for three months, a little voice said.

  But she is leaving me.

  To go to Lyla's house with Lauren, the voice continued.

  He sat there unmoving for a long time, and then he pulled out his phone.

  “Boaz. I need you to look into creating a land corridor between the territory and Lyla's old house.”

  “What do you mean, purchase the property between them?”

  “Yes. Not all of it. Just enough to create a corridor to connect the two.”

  There was a short pause. “On it,” Boaz said. “Anything else?”

  “That's it for now.”

  “Right,” Boaz said and clicked off.

  Lucas sat on the porch for a long time, feeling completely drained. But when he went back inside, Mari was her old cheerful self again. Laughing and joking with Elizabeth as they prepared lunch.

  He should talk to Dean. This must be a human thing. Or maybe it was a female thing.

  But watching the two women together, he couldn't believe Mari would leave them forever, and he tried to let that thought soothe him.

  ***

  Bridget pulled on her salmon colored satin panties, examining them in the mirror with a critical eye. They really did look nice, and her body, she had to admit, was more toned and fit than she'd seen it in a while. Hiking through the snowy woods for days on end will do that to a girl. Not that she'd ever been unfit, but, yeah, there was definitely a nice line running up the outside of her thigh—an indentation really—from just above her knee all the way up to the hollow of her butt cheek. Nice. She twisted sideways wondering if that would be equally attractive to a ‘werewolf,’ or only to human sensibilities.

  The door clicked open and Bridget grabbed for her bathrobe, clutching it to her chest.

  “Nice shorts.” Gage stood just inside the door. He pressed the lock closed with a click.

  “Come over here, and let me see better, ma petite. Leave that bathrobe there, eh?” His eyes blazed. They were definitely glowing. A soft amber glow just visible in the late afternoon light.

  Bridget felt ridiculously exposed. She still wasn't used to being naked in front of Gage. Oh, she was fine lying next to him under the covers, but this was like being on display. She continued to clutch the bathrobe to her chest in a rumpled heap.

  “Gage… I was just…” She trailed off as he stalked to
wards her, mouth set in a determined line.

  “Let me have that.” He pulled the robe from her unresisting hands, tossing it aside. Then he took both her hands in his.

  Cool air assaulted her uncovered flesh— she wasn't wearing anything but the panties. She tried to swallow past a suddenly dry throat. This is silly. This was Gage after all. But the heat and intensity in his gaze was enough to send her pulse pounding.

  “Ah, Bridget, mon rêve, you are truly the sexiest woman alive.”

  He held her arms away from her sides, his eyes roaming up and down her body. “I think it is time to play ‘My Captive Valentine.’ You must submit to me and let me do all the wicked things I long to do to you— and I will submit to you, be your sex slave…”

  She laughed as he dropped to his knees in front of her placing a kiss on her belly just below her navel.

  “Gage, that doesn't even make sense.”

  He winked up at her. “We will make it up. But for now, come closer and open your legs a little.”

  She felt a sudden jolt of arousal at his words. He still held her hands firmly in his.

  “I was just about to get dressed, go down and help with dinner,” she tried.

  “Ah, ah. Open. Don't make me have to spank you, my naughty little valentine.”

  Now that really shouldn't have sent a jolt through her, but it did.

  He inhaled deeply, releasing her hands. “Ah, yes. Wider, good.” He pressed the fabric of her panties aside and placed his mouth right there—

  The jolt that went through her then had her wondering if her legs would even hold her.

  “Uh, Gage—”

  “Shhh… Quiet, my little valentine. I am working…”

  Bridget bit her lip. She wasn't sure she would ever get used to the amazing way he seemed to know just how a touch her. Being mated to him was way beyond anything she could've imagined. He was funny and thoughtful and caring and—

  He pressed his mouth more firmly to her, sending heat pulsing through her body. Then he pulled back, grinning up at her. “You will always be my little captive.” And then he placed his mouth back on her, doing something with his tongue—

  “Oh, Gage—”

  Epilogue

  Two weeks later…

  Gage stood and stirred up the fire. Bridget lay curled on the faux white bearskin rug, firelight flickering over her creamy skin. As had happened several times over the last few days, neither of them had made it down to dinner that night. He smiled, feeling a wave of satisfaction wash over him.

  He'd known she was meant to be his from the moment he'd caught a hint of her scent. But he’d had no idea the kind of person she’d turn out to be. So fearless and so generous of spirit. So strong and so smart.

  He loved the way she could make even Dean take a step back with her clear-eyed analysis of facts he had taken for granted for ages. It wasn't often anything made the Lore Master reevaluate his assumptions, but his Bridget could do that.

  The way she cared so passionately for nature and for the wolves, he cherished that about her. Of course he would never say so, but the fact that the two of them had been the ones to bring them back for the pack gave him an enormous sense of pride.

  And there was a sort of matter-of-factness to her. She seemed to take everything in stride. Even Mikey. Maybe especially Mikey. Gage had a feeling her strained relationship with her own parents made her particularly sensitive to his plight.

  And Mikey, Maiden blessed him, had started to lose that strained expression around his eyes. He was getting around better now, without the walker. Not surprisingly, he had already begun to put on weight under Elizabeth's careful ministrations. Nina had declared it was only a matter of time before he got his full strength back. It was happening much faster than human healing could account for and Gage wondered, not for the first time, just how potent those few drops of blood had been.

  Mike and Jeff seemed to have formed a tight friendship. Gage was glad. Not only was it good for Mikey, but Jeff had been too much alone since he’d joined the pack. It wasn't only that he was so much younger. Gage always got the feeling that Jeff felt that he was here on sufferance. Like one false move and he might be kicked out. Having a human join the pack, a human who was also guilty of participating in a kidnapping, seemed to have finally driven home the fact that he was here for good. A full-fledged member of the pack, responsible for showing their newest member the ropes.

  Gage smiled. The parallels between the two youngsters were surprising— in spite of the fact that one was human, and one was not. Both had missed the support of a nurturing environment growing up. And both had made bad decisions in an effort to survive. But both had been only too happy to change their ways. Gage grinned. And if Elizabeth got her way, both would be attending Plattsburgh University in the fall. The amount of creative grumbling both boys indulged in—very quietly—every time she gave them another schoolwork assignment was enough to make a father proud.

  Bridget stirred. Gage glanced down at her sleeping form. She was so beautiful, sometimes she stole his breath. He walked over to the bed and pulled off the quilt. Returning to the fire, he settled down beside her and pulled it over both of them.

  Gage sighed and tucked his body securely around hers, feeling her settled back into him in her sleep. More than having a mate to complete him, to warm his bed and his heart, the precious joy of discovering all the intricacies of Bridget, the woman, was something he never could have anticipated. And he had a feeling he was going to continue to discover new facets for the rest of his life.

  He lay his head beside hers on the white fluffy rug and inhaled her scent. And what a beautiful life it was going to be.

  The End

  This book is finished, but the story continues.

  Stay tuned for:

  Moon Glow

  Book 6 of The Rabbit River Saga

  Coming Soon

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  Acknowledgments

  First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge the help and support of my wonderful critique partner, Anastasia, for all her advice and encouragement throughout the writing of this book. I am truly blessed to have a critique partner like you, Anastasia. It just wouldn’t be the same without you, girl. You are the best!

  I would also like to thank the Passionate Proofreader, Wendy Chan for her help with the final edits. She was kind enough to work overtime to get this book ready for publication in time for Valentine’s Day. Thanks, Wendy!

  And again, I want to thank Cheryl of OffGridHomesteadPrepper.com. She always reads over my final draft and helps me and catch those last few typos. You rock Cheryl! Thanks for always being there when I need you. I really appreciate it.

  Finally, I need to acknowledge that I got the great wolf silhouette used in the chapter breaks from Freepik (they were created by Freepik). Check them out, at www.freepik.com they have lots of free clip art. I also want to acknowledge that I got the great background photo for the cover from Unsplash.com, a free photo website that’s really fantastic. This beautiful photo of the snowy mountains is by Eberhard Gross Gasteiger, who obviously knows a th
ing or two about great nature shots. And I also need to give a big shout out and thank you to graphic designer Shashika, from Fiverr.com for her fabulous cover design. Great work Shaskika!

  I would love to hear from you, my readers, about this series, gardening, or anything else. My e-mail is elyce@elycedereefe.com Oh, and if you don’t have a copy of Elizabeth’s Cookbook and would like one, just let me know. I will probably start selling these soon so get your free copy while you can.

  All my best,

  Elyce

  About the Author

  Elyce de Reefe grew up in Santa Cruz, California and New York City. She likes to call herself a coastal girl, since she has spent nearly all of her time on one coast or another. She enjoys all genres of romance as long as there’s a hot, sexy hero with something to learn, a smart female lead who refuses to compromise on who she truly is, and the promise of a happily ever after. Her characters often find themselves on a journey of discovery, struggling to achieve true intimacy while solving the real-life problems thrown in their way.

  To date, Elyce has written paranormal wolf shifter romance, contemporary romance, and romantic suspense. But there’s a Sci-Fi series in there waiting to come out, and possibly an epic fantasy series, as well as thoughts on a time travel story. Her ancestors were highlanders, after all.

  Elyce loves hiking in nature, riding horses, watching wildlife, swimming under a blue sky, digging in the dirt, and sitting in front of a fire with a good book. She enjoys these things even more in the company of friends and family. Add wine and chocolate, and voila! It’s a beautiful life.

  Oh, yes – and she has a very special place in her heart for wolves…