by Kayla Wolf
”And what are your priorities now?”
”Well, most of them have to do with staying in bed with you all day,” she purred, and the devilish gleam in her eye shot straight to the core of him. Almost painfully aroused, he buried his face in her throat, kissing her, his hands roaming across her body—but then she tutted, pushing him back, shifting around until she was straddling him, her palms holding his chest down.
”You heard the doctor,” she said softly, her eyes gleaming. “You have to take it easy for a few days. That means I’m in charge.”
He chuckled, about to contradict her—but then her hands were on his body, moving down, down, pushing his pants down and freeing him from the confines of his underwear, and he gasped, completely arrested by the feeling of her hands on his manhood. Who was this woman? So bold with him, so confident … what had happened to the shy wolf he’d made love to on the beach? He choked back a groan as she kissed a trail down his stomach, lingering on his hipbones and driving him wild before her lips finally began to make their way towards where he so desperately wanted them.
When she took his manhood into her mouth, it felt like his whole body was about to disintegrate. He dropped his head back against the pillow, utterly at the mercy of the gentle attention of her tongue, her lips, her hands resting on his hips and holding him still as he fought the urge to reach down and bury his hands in her thick, dark hair. She brought him closer and closer to the edge with sure, deliberate strokes of her tongue—and then, when he thought she was determined to make him come, she eased off, leaving him shuddering with desperation and almost incoherent with need for her.
Finally, he sat up, heedless of how dizzy it made him, reaching out for her and drawing her close. At some point, she’d managed to shed her clothing, and she was naked in his arms as he held her, kissing her throat, her collarbones, her breasts, drawing whimpers and gasps from her as they lost themselves in each other. She was straddling his lap, and he could feel the heat of her sex, so achingly close to his cock and yet so far away. He rocked his hips a little, and she chuckled, flattening her palms against his chest and pressing him back to the bed again.
What could he do but obey the goddess above him?
Her hair had come loose from its braid and was falling around her face—her silver eyes were gleaming with love, with mischief, with acute, aching desire that mirrored his own. He gazed up at her, his hands on her hips where she was hovering above him, teasing him, waiting until he was absolutely desperate to have her before she slowly, achingly slowly, lowered herself, enveloping his cock in the hot, slick heat of her sex. Nothing had ever felt so good. He was powerless to do anything but drop his head back against the pillow and bite back a groan, his whole body burning with need for her.
Then she rocked her hips, and he could see her gasping with delight at how he felt inside her. There was something about the way they were both made, some kind of quirk of anatomy that meant they suited each other perfectly. Every time he drove himself up into her, she gasped with delight, grinding herself down onto him in response in a way that made him almost lose control. Before long, he was holding himself back with gritted teeth, determined not to let himself come until she, too, had had every bit of pleasure she wanted from him.
She was close—he could tell from the way she was breathing, her cheeks flushed, her lips red, and her eyes locked on him, half-focused, almost blurred with lust. And by the time there was no way he could hold himself back any longer, she, too, was clearly at her edge. They toppled over together, Lori’s nails digging into his chest as she held onto him, the spasms of her orgasm rocketing through her even as he, too, felt the waves of pleasure roll over him, obliterating his conscious mind.
They lay there together for a long time as their breathing settled, their fingers entwined. And despite everything they’d been through, the lingering injuries, the difficulties they still had left to face, looking down at her peaceful face in the afternoon light, Harvey knew that he’d never felt so good as long as he’d lived.
Chapter 15 - Lori
“Has it really been a whole month?”
”Time flies when you’re having fun,” Harvey said with a grin. They were sitting together on the beach, gazing out over the water as the sun began to sink toward the horizon. It had become something of a ritual, the two of them watching the sunset together, ever since that first day when he’d come home from the hospital. They’d spent that particular afternoon in bed, then gotten up and wandered down to the beach, hand in hand, to talk about what the future held for them.
And what it had held, so far, was a whole lot of happiness. Harvey had suggested she stay—not necessarily with him, but on the peninsula, at least. They had plenty of spare cabins, what with it being the offseason, and with nowhere else to go, she may as well stay with them. She’d been thrilled by the offer, but somehow, they’d never quite gotten around to finding her a cabin to stay in. She’d stayed with him that night (after all, he needed someone to keep an eye on him, what with his recovery from his wounds), and then the next night, and the next night, and the next night.
They’d had a wonderful time together. It had been a little tense at first, of course—they’d been through a lot, and there were a lot of hurt feelings to sort through, a lot of feelings of betrayal. But Lori trusted Harvey more than she’d ever trusted anyone in her life, and she was beginning to feel that he was trusting her, too. He was quicker to smile, these days—there was an ease to him that felt new, felt wonderful. A kind of softness that he usually kept protected by walls that were finally beginning to come down.
There was a long way to go, of course. It had only been a few weeks, and the aftermath of the battle had been hard. The wolves, to their credit, had cleaned up the battlefield completely. When the dragons had gone up to check on the site of the attack, all they’d found was empty road, not so much as a bloodstain to reveal what had really happened. And it was clear that the threat from the wolves was gone—especially after such a disastrous defeat.
”How are you doing?” he asked her softly, clearly sensing that her mind had turned to darker times. She sighed, glancing up at him with a quick smile.
”I’m okay. Just … still thinking about the pack. They’re not mine, but I still wonder … I mean, I just hope they’re okay. For my sisters and brother’s sake, at least.”
He nodded. She’d told him about Kara and Jack and little Bella. She knew her parents had survived the battle, at least—she’d watched them limp away, hurt but still safe, and so she knew that her little siblings were cared for.
”You miss them, huh?”
”Not my parents,” she said sharply. “I’d be happy to never see either of them again as long as I live. But I miss the little ones, yeah. I just … I’m scared they think I abandoned them. That they won’t know how much I cared about them, how much I loved them. You know how those wolves twist the truth,” she added with a scowl. She’d explained the wolves’ side of the story of the peninsula to the dragons early on—they’d all reacted with complete shock. How many other lies had her parents told her? It felt like she was going to spend the rest of her life working through it all.
”I mean, I don’t know their situation or anything. But if you wanted your siblings to come and stay here, I can’t imagine that being any kind of problem.”
She blinked at him, taken aback. “Seriously? You’d want a handful of wolf pups running around?”
”Well, we already have Lachlan and James’s kids, and they have a great time. Something to think about.” He smiled. “We’ve got a few spare rooms at home, anyway.”
She smiled at that. “We?”
”Yeah, we. It’s our place. You live there, right? I’m not imagining the fact that you’ve been in my bed every night for the last month?” he teased her, and she grinned, ducking her head.
”I guess! It just feels … weird. I don’t know. Like … everything in my life’s suspiciously good at the moment. I’m scared someone’s going to
come and take it all away again.”
”Never,” Harvey said softly, taking hold of her wrist and looking firmly into her eyes. “You hear me? Nobody’s taking you away from me. Never again. Lori, you deserve to be happy. I hate that the people in your life have made you believe that that’s not the case. But everything good that’s ever happened to you … you deserve it, and more.”
”Thanks,” she said softly. “Thanks for saying that.”
”Can’t wait until you actually believe it,” he smiled, reaching down to take her hand. “Now, c’mon. We’ve got to get to dinner before it gets dark. You want to lead the way?”
”We’re going to Bryce’s, right? I’m really good at finding Alice’s place, but …”
He chuckled. “One of these days, you’ve got to tell me what you and Alice spend so much time talking about.”
”All good things,” she said with a grin. “Her research, mostly. It’s fascinating. Ever since she and Daniel got together, she says she’s been studying soulmates, the magic that draws us together.”
”I’m very drawn,” Harvey agreed solemnly, pulling her into his arms as though he was being possessed. “Powerless to resist—“
”Stop it,” she laughed, not minding at all. “Seriously. She said she’s particularly interested in the pairings between dragons and non-dragons. Humans and wolves and stuff.”
”Oh, yes? Opposites attract?”
”Do you ever worry ….” She took a deep breath as they walked through the sand dunes, surprised that she was bringing this up already. “Dragons live forever, right?”
”More or less, yeah. Why?”
”Wolves don’t. Humans don’t.”
A shadow passed across his face. “I’m going to love you forever, Lori. I don’t want to think about—about outliving you.”
”I know. And I didn’t want to think about it either, but that’s just the thing. Alice says she’s been studying some of the women who’ve come to stay here with their soulmates. Looking at cells under a microscope, comparing them to dragon cells. I don’t know,” she said, feeling a bit foolish. Alice had explained a lot of her research in detail, but for Lori, who’d only finished high school—it was all a bit beyond her. “Apparently, she’s also been talking to a group of other dragons about it. I think she mentioned Stephen from Dragon Valley? Do you know them?”
“Dragon Valley … yeah,” Harvey said. “We met some of them a while ago. They live in a secret valley up in the mountains. Pretty interesting place. Some of them came over to the peninsula and fought the wolves with us. I think they said that Stephen used to be the king there. His son is now in charge from what I heard. Alexander I think his name is. I didn’t know that Alice had kept in touch with them.”
“She said she has,” Lori said. “Apparently, this Stephen person has also been studying the soulmate connection. They have a couple of humans in their valley now, too, which led to questions about immortality and how that works with soulmates. She said that Stephen and she think that something happens when dragons are mated to humans and wolves. That you kind of … share your immortality.”
He blinked down at her, clearly surprised by this. “Truly?”
”Ask her about it, I don’t really get it,” she admitted. “But I mean, it’s good to know. Not to freak you out, but … I’ve got some pretty long-term plans that revolve around you.”
“Not freaked out at all,” he said softly, taking her hand in his. “It’s an honor to share my immortality with you. I think Alice and Stephen must be right. Because I don’t want any years that I can’t spend with you.”
Smiling to herself, she followed him up the hill in the dusk air, heading for the cheery little cottage that Bryce shared with his soulmate Jasmine—a bright, bubbly human woman who Lori had taken an instant liking to. Everyone on the peninsula had been so kind to her. At first, she’d been frightened to meet Harvey’s friends, terrified that they’d hate her for coming here to spy on them, but to her great surprise, everyone was nothing but lovely.
”Of course they love you,” Harvey said later when she mentioned her surprise, his brow furrowed in confusion. “I love you, why wouldn’t they?”
”Because I came here to spy on them for an evil wolf pack that wanted to kill them and their families and steal the home they’d built?”
”Yeah, but you’re on the right side now. Besides—you saved us. Everyone knows what you did—warning us about the attack, risking everything to give us the heads-up. You’re okay by everyone, Lori. Don’t worry.”
It had still taken her a while to get accustomed to everyone, but now, she was really looking forward to having dinner with them all. Bryce had an enormous dinner table he’d built himself (along with most of the furniture in the settlement, it seemed—the big guy was something of a master carpenter.) It was the perfect size for all six couples to share, and Bryce always cooked something delicious for them all to share.
Lori gazed around the table as the group talked and laughed, catching up on the events of the week. Since the attack, bookings had resumed, with most of the evacuated guests coming back to finish off their holidays—many of them even extended them by a few days at a sharply discounted rate to make up for the inconvenience of their displacement.
”How are you settling in, Lori? How’s the special project going?”
She’d volunteered a few days into her stay with Harvey to help out around the place. She wasn’t very good with filing or paperwork, and the strange old computer in the reception area was incomprehensible to her, but she had taken to wandering around finding odd jobs to do and errands to run—helping in the kitchens with meals, chatting with guests, giving them directions. A week or so into her stay, she’d glanced over at Harvey, who was poring over the bookings for the next fortnight.
”Have you ever thought of running a creche?”
”A what?” He blinked at her, taken by surprise.
”A creche. Somewhere for the parents to leave their kids for the day so they can relax.” She shrugged. “Probably a dumb idea, I don’t know—”
”That’s a brilliant idea,” he said blankly. “We get so many questions about which of our nature walks are okay for kids—so many stressed-out parents who just need a break—”
”Exactly,” she said, feeling emboldened by his enthusiasm for the idea. “I’d be happy to get it started.”
”You don’t have to do that.” He blinked at her, concern in his eyes. “You’re a guest here.”
”I don’t want to be a guest. I want to be—a resident. A member of the group who actually contributes something. I want to be useful.”
”If you’re sure,” he said, frowning. “But seriously, Lori. You’re welcome here regardless of whether you’re making yourself useful or not.”
She smiled. “I know. And you have no idea how good it is to hear that, after so much time spent with people who were only interested in me for the work I could do. But I’d really like to help get something like that set up.”
So that had been her little project for the last few weeks. It was good to have something to do while Harvey was out working—as much as she’d enjoyed the first few days of lounging around his house in blissful repose, waiting for him to come back home at the end of the day, she was the kind of person who got restless after too much relaxation. And the others had been just as enthusiastic as Harvey had about the idea—especially the ones who had children.
“Speaking of things that are special,” Harvey said suddenly, and the hubbub at the table subsided, curious eyes shifting over to him as he got to his feet. “I have—well, kind of an announcement, kind of a question. And I thought—what better place to ask than surrounded by family? Not just my family,” he added, looking straight at Lori. “But your family, too. If you want us.”
”Of course I do,” she said, her heart pounding. “I—you’ve all been so welcoming—Harvey, what are you doing?”
Because he was in front of her chair, and he was kneeling, ga
zing up into her eyes with his handsome face shining with love for her. The human women at the table had covered their mouths with their hands—and even Lori recognized this scene from television.
”I—Harvey—shifters don’t get married, do they?”
A laugh went up, and Harvey grinned at her. “Not traditionally, no. But I’d take any excuse to tell you how much I love you. How much I admire you and appreciate you—how grateful I am that you’re finally in my life. And I want to ask you—officially—to be my mate. Forever.”
She stared at him, a little surprised. “I—thought I already—” She cleared her throat, amusement dancing in her eyes. “Yes,” she said gravely, ignoring the stifled giggles from the rest of the dragons at the table at the formality of the situation. “I will.”
He rose to his feet and pulled her up and into his arms, swinging her around with some difficulty in the crowded dining room as the room erupted into thunderous applause. Lori laughed, her head thrown back and her hair askew. Harvey kissed her then gently put her back on the ground, where she looked around a little dizzily. But it wasn’t over—the dragons had all leaped out of their chairs and were taking turns hugging her too, welcoming her to the peninsula, to the family. She realized as Alice released her from the longest hug of them all, that there were tears in her eyes, and she dashed them away, choked with emotion.
”I—I don’t know what to say,” she laughed. “Thank you. Thank you all for—for everything. I’ve always had a pretty fraught relationship with the idea of family. But you’ve all helped me see that—that family is where you find it. Family are the people you love—and the people who love you.” Harvey took her hand, and she beamed up at him, overflowing with love for him, for his family and hers, for the little community that had taken her in.
”Thank you for showing me what a home is meant to be.”
*****