The Road to Wolfe (The Sanctuary Series Book 4)

by Nikita Slater

  Our coupling is both erotic and painful. I'm going to have bruises to show for this, but it's worth it. With each thrust I fly higher and higher, dizzy from lack of breath, exhilarated from the things he's told me. This is much more than sex, it’s the intertwining of our souls in a passionate, angry, loving explosion of ecstasy.

  As I fly off the cliff into the arms of my orgasm, he follows directly behind, his hips slamming into me one last time as he buries himself as deep as he'll go, touching my womb and shooting his seed inside me. As his warmth bathes me, I close my eyes and inhale his wildly masculine scent, a feeling of well-being settling over me as I drift in contentment.

  Forty

  "You look exhausted. Is there anything I can do to help?"

  I'm standing next to Dr. Summers at the entrance of the new hospital. Within a week we've managed to get it up and running, but we’ve barely had time to breathe as new patients swamp the hospital.

  She shakes her head, puts her hand on my arm and pulls me back outside into the fresh air and sunshine. My escort of soldiers is standing with us. Dr. Summers unhooks her mask from her ear and pulls it down, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes.

  I remain silent, giving her the time she needs to recover.

  She opens her eyes and looks at me. I'm worried about the dullness of her gaze, the lines of tiredness in her face that weren’t there before, and the slight slump to her shoulders. She is overwhelmed by the illness gripping our city, but she's our first and best line of defense so I have to keep asking more from her, even though I desperately want to send her home to sleep.

  "There are over fifty patients in this hospital. I lost two today and one yesterday. We've lost a total of 16 people since the flu started. This thing isn't slowing down." She stretches her arms over her head and then back, rolling her shoulders as she eases the tension in her body. "Most are either very young or very old, but even healthy adults are getting hit hard by this."

  I pause for a moment, gathering my thoughts. I need to make sure that I'm asking the right questions, giving the doctor what she needs to make the best possible choices in this grim situation.

  "Do you think this is the same flu that ripped through the sanctuaries 15 years ago?"

  She nods her head. "I think so, though I don't know for sure. I was still learning medicine back then and wouldn't know how to recognize different viruses under a microscope."

  "Fair enough," I answer. I step to the side, pulling the doctor with me as a family arrives at the hospital and goes through the entrance, one of them looking gravely ill. "It has all the hallmarks of the flu that took out the Las Vegas Sanctuary while I was living there is a teenager."

  She nods but doesn't say anything. Either she's too tired or there's nothing left to say. The origins of this flu are important, but we might never understand where it came from. Our resources are best concentrated on mitigating the damage.

  "I want you to be completely honest with me," I tell her, giving her a stern look to emphasize my comment. "Would you say things are getting dire in our Sanctuary?"

  Without giving it thought she nods her head. "I was lucky enough to be living on the east coast during the last flu epidemic. We didn't get it as bad as you did out here in the west, but I can tell you from my knowledge of infectious diseases that this is going downhill quickly."

  Though the news is grim, this is what I needed to hear. "Tell me what we need to do."

  Her gaze meets mine for an intense moment and then she looks away, staring out at the city. "You won't like it."

  "Let me decide that. I need all of the information so I can make the best decisions for the Sanctuary that I can. You’re the expert, I’ll do what I can to abide by any advice you give me."

  Her eyes fill with tears and she nods, swallowing visibly before answering. "I needed to hear that," she whispers. "I need to know that the future leader of this Sanctuary has its citizens best interests at heart. I'll tell you what needs to happen, and you can decide what you'll do."

  "Go ahead," I tell her.

  She looks at me, her gaze serious. "You need to post a citywide order telling everyone to stay home, then impose a curfew. The only ones that are exempt are people who have permission directly from the Warlord. You’ll need to come up with a system for your citizens to let you know when they need supplies. Have your security forces drop the supplies off and leave. No contact between households. Anyone who’s sick must be immediately isolated. And finally, no one in and out of the city."

  My mouth goes dry as she speaks and I nearly shake my head automatically. What she’s proposing goes counter to everything I believe in. This country, this continent and this world have fallen. There are a select few of us who survived the apocalypse. It’s our duty, our right to fight for our freedom, our right to survive as a species. If I enact the changes that she’s proposing, I’ll be taking away those freedoms.

  But freedom means nothing if we’re all dead.

  After several moments of thought, I say, "I'll make sure it gets done."

  "Thank you," she tells me, her sincere gratitude clear in those two words. She pulls her mask back over her face and turns to go back into the hospital.

  I stop her. "Have you managed to make any progress at the lab?"

  She glances back at me and gives a slight nod. "I've been going to the lab in the evenings, and my assistant works during the day when I have to be at the hospital. For obvious reasons our progress has slowed, but we're getting there." A kernel of hope has entered her voice and my heart leaps in response. "I think we'll have a treatment soon, Skye."

  I twist my lips in a smile, thank her and wave her back into the hospital. I turn back to my escort, glancing at Kingston in particular. He has become my righthand man, my second-in-command. Some days I wonder what I ever did without him.

  "What's next on my agenda?" I ask him, half joking. It drives him nuts when I treat him like a secretary, yet we both know how indispensable he's become to me.

  He ignores my teasing and looks down at me, his dark eyes serious. "I think we should go back to the palace."

  I shake my head at him. "We have more stops planned. Hannah is going to meet me at the new school for an inspection and then I’m going to go to the wall to see if Wolfe needs anything."

  "I think we need to go back to the palace," he insists.

  I frown. "Why?"

  His gaze is steady on mine, but I can feel the tension in the air. Finally, he says, "No more hospital visits."

  It finally dawns on me what he’s so upset about. He doesn't want me near the flu-stricken hospital or out in the city where I can meet citizens who might be sick. I appreciate his protectiveness, but I can't stop doing my job. The city needs me, and I must make myself available.

  I reach out to touch his arm. "I understand your concern and I promise to be very careful. I'll even wear a mask when we come to the hospital, but I have to go where I'm needed."

  He shakes his head. "No, you don't."

  Now I'm starting to get annoyed. This man works for me, not the other way around. "It doesn't matter what you think, we will continue with my agenda for the day."

  He looks at me with a straight face and I can see the hesitation in his eyes. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree. Your safety is more important than your desire to tour the city. You are going back to the palace immediately, Skye."

  I open my mouth to argue with him, but he takes my arm in a tight grip and pulls me toward the vehicle. His men falling in around us. I frown at them. This is a coordinated plan, and I know exactly who’s to blame.

  Wolfe.

  We get into the lead vehicle, Kingston sliding into the driver's seat while I take the passenger seat. The rest of our escort get into the vehicle behind us. "Tell me, Kingston, were you given permission to defy my orders?"

  At first, he doesn't answer so I add, "It’s in your best interests to tell me now what the standing order is so I take out my anger out on the correct person."

/>   He seems to see the wisdom in my words. "Warlord Wolfe has made it very clear that your health must come above anything else, including your direct orders."

  "And whose decision was it that I should be removed from my duties when the illness in the city became critical?" I demand, my voice rising in annoyance.

  "The Warlord and I have agreed that if you become at-risk for catching an illness, you are to be returned to the palace immediately."

  "When I become Warlord…" I start to say and then stop myself. I haven’t agreed to become Warlord, yet here I am, acting as though it's inevitable.

  We remain silent for the rest of the trip to the palace. As Kingston drives into the underground garage, he finally murmurs, "He cares about you. More than he'll ever say. If anything were to happen to you…"

  He trails off, but he’s said enough. Those few sentences have diffused my anger. Wolfe loves me more than logic or reason and this is why he’s trumped my orders when it comes to my health and safety. I don't agree with him, but I understand him. Finally, I understand Wolfe.

  "Thank you, Kingston," I say calmly, letting myself out of the vehicle. "I'll see myself up to the Warlord's chambers. Please let Wolfe know where to find me."

  It’s a mark of our mutual respect and how far we’ve come as a team that he nods and turns away, striding from the garage to find his Warlord. He trusts me enough not to escort me and I care about him too much to break my word to him. I stride over to the stairwell and start the climb up 30 stories to the top.

  Forty-One

  Wolfe

  "Warlord, Miss Skye is waiting for you in your chambers."

  Kingston bows his head toward me as I pass him in the hall. I grunt my acknowledgement and continue on my way, but his voice stops me.

  "Sir… I'm not sure it's my place to say anything…" He hesitates, his tone uncomfortable.

  I raise a brow and turn to look at him. It's not like Kingston to be so tentative. He’s one of our top warriors and I’ve been pleased by his service to my woman. Whatever he's trying to say must be about Skye. She's about the only person that can disconcert a man like Kingston.

  "Either spit it out or let me get on with it. I'm tired, dirty and eager to see my woman."

  He clears his throat and says, "I am completely loyal to Skye. She’s a good person, in her heart and in her actions. As such, I will be her devoted servant until she no longer needs my service."

  I listen to his words and nod. "I'm pleased to hear it." Though I have to fight a bolt of jealousy telling me now would be a good time to find out what his intestines look like.

  Both Skye and I have been so busy lately that she ends up spending more time with her personal bodyguard then she does with me, her husband. Well, her soon-to-be husband. Though I know that there's nothing to be jealous of, I still dislike that this man gets to do for her on a daily basis everything that I want to do.

  "Is there more?" I demand.

  He stares at me hard, clearly indecisive. I would be amused if I didn't badly want to leave his presence for the much more pleasant company of another.

  He nods his head sharply as though coming to a decision. "She's in a bad mood. You should probably watch out."

  I try to think of what I might've done to her since I saw her last, which was this morning in our bedchamber as we each got ready for the day. I can think of nothing that might've pissed her off.

  "I’ve navigated her moods in the past, I think I'll be fine." I turn to walk away.

  "I told her she has to stay in the palace," he rushes to stay. "The illness in the city has grown rampant, the doctor is concerned. She's recommending a citywide lockdown."

  Now I understand what Kingston is trying to tell me. "Thank you for the warning."

  "Yes sir, I wouldn't let my worst enemy walk in on her blind when she's…" He lets his words trail off as he realizes he might be overstepping.

  I smother a chuckle. He's right, it would be downright cruel to let anyone walk in on Skye after she's been told that she must abide by rules she didn't set herself. I was the one to tell Kingston that everything Skye demands goes, except when it affects her health.

  "I appreciate the warning," I tell him, then turn and walk away.

  With Kingston's words in mind, I open the door to the Warlord's chamber a little more cautiously than I normally would. I don't necessarily fear Skye, but I prefer not to get stabbed, shot, or bashed in the head with something heavy before I get a chance to talk to her.

  My hesitation is unwarranted though, as she’s not lying in wait with a plethora of weapons to sharpen on my hide. I find her standing next to the open bedroom window, gazing out across the city. She’s deep in thought and I realize that she hasn't heard me come in.

  "Skye." I call her name and she turns her head to look at me.

  Light from the early evening sun sets fire to her hair, the waves falling across her shoulders in a multitude of colours.

  "You’re home." Her simple words root me to the spot.

  This is the first time she has referred to her place at my side as home. The moment is significant and lost on neither of us. She's trying to tell me something, though I'm not sure exactly what.

  She walks toward me, away from the window. I realize she's wearing nothing more than a robe draped over her shoulders and crisscrossed in front, giving brief glimpses of her nude body as she walks. As she approaches me, she allows the robe to slide slowly down her shoulders, catching at her elbows then falling to her wrists, revealing her breasts. For a couple of breathtaking seconds, she holds it closed over her stomach before allowing it to drop completely.

  Skye is stunning no matter what she’s wearing, but nude is when she truly shines. Every curve of her body is shaped to perfection, as though built for the touch of my hands and the worship of my lips. She is muscle and sinew, womanly curves and graceful movements. She is mine.

  Before I can reach for her, her walk turns into a run and she leaps at me, jumping up into my arms and swinging her legs around to grip my hips. I drop my hands to catch her so that she doesn’t fall and hurt herself.

  Before I can say anything, she loops her arms around my neck and drags my face down to hers, thrusting her tongue aggressively into my mouth. Every thought in my head flees as that perfect small tongue darts in and out in a devil’s dance. Skye is attempting to seduce me, and I am her willing victim.

  I clutch her tightly, pressing her curves against my body and sliding her bare pussy over the rapidly growing bulge in my leather pants. I hold her up, kissing her back with the voracious appetite of a man gone too long without his favourite treat.

  I swing her around and push her against the wall, slamming my hand into the concrete behind her back to make sure that she’s protected from the roughness. She gasps into my mouth and I take the opportunity to thrust my tongue deep into hers, sweeping her mouth with as much if not more aggression than she’d shown me. She clings to me tightly as I treat her to the tempest that constantly swirls within.

  Finally, she breaks the kiss and tips her head back against the wall. I drop my lips to her neck, devouring her sweetness as she attempts to catch her breath.

  "Wolfe,” she says breathlessly. "We need to talk."

  Ah, now we can get to the root of this seduction.

  "Should've talked before you jumped on me and rubbed that naked little pussy all over my crotch." I drop my hand to her ass and squeeze hard until she’s squirming against me, then I slide my fingers down her crack and let them linger against her pussy, now dripping wet and soaking my hand.

  "I need you to let up on the security. I can't do my job if I have a dozen men trailing me everywhere."

  I give her ass another hard squeeze and then bring my hand back around to the front to loosen the ties on my pants. She squirms, pressing her wet little pussy against my knuckles, trying to make herself come as she tries to negotiate her security detail. Cute, but ineffectual. I take my hand away and she groans in disappointment.

&
nbsp; "Is that all?" I demand, pulling my cock from my pants. She immediately tightens her legs around my hips and attempts to push my cock towards her entrance. I hold back.

  "You can't keep me locked up in the palace. You told me to get the city in order and I'm doing it. I can't do it if I can't go out into the city."

  Her voice is surprisingly steady considering how needy her body is. She's thrusting her hips against me and yanking at my hair so hard it feels like she's pulling it out by the roots.

  "Find a way," I tell her. "We aren’t negotiating your safety."

  She growls at me, uses the strength in her arms and legs to drag herself up my body and poise herself above my throbbing cock. I'm impressed by her athleticism. I drop my hands to her hips and hold her still, not allowing her to sink down.

  "Do you intend to remain locked up in the palace?" she demands. "Because you’re just as important to the city as I am. Your life must also be preserved. If this flu is so threatening that I must remain in isolation, then so must you."

  Though her body is begging for mine, her words are serious, and her stormy grey eyes are hard with purpose.

  "You’re too precious to risk," I tell her. "My life is a shield for yours. The city isn’t strong enough yet to hold under attack. I will not rest until every defense is in place to protect you."

  Her eyes soften and she nods. "I thought so. I feel the same, Wolfe. I won’t rest until there’s fresh water for you to drink, education for our children, food in our bellies, and a safe place to recover if we become ill. You must allow me to continue my work, for the sake of our family."

  I stare at her, watching her features, reading her. She means every word. This place is our home. I am her home. Together we are creating a home for the people we care about, including our future children.

  I nod and give her what she's been waiting to hear. "You may continue work if you take every possible precaution. You do not go where there’s known illness, you’ll wear a mask, and you will report often."