The Vow (Black Arrowhead Series Book 1)
Page 16
For the first time in my life with Lakota, I didn’t have a comeback. I felt swept away, no longer confused about what I wanted—what my wolf wanted. As he carried me to the bed, I placed my hand over his heart. The rhythm was strong and picking up speed.
Strangely, I was more nervous than I’d ever been with a man. Was I going to have to take charge and show him what to do? Being given someone’s virginity was a profound honor, and I wasn’t sure if I deserved that privilege.
When he placed me on the bed and ran his hands up my bare thighs and sensually caressed my hips, I realized that Lakota was a sexual creature who required little guidance. He didn’t need to ask me what I liked—my body told him.
Gripping the pillow behind my head, I gasped from the heat of his mouth against my bare skin, his teeth nipping and tongue tasting below my navel.
Lakota’s eyes widened, and he froze. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, my voice falling to a whisper. “I’m just a little nervous.”
He climbed over me and rested half his body on mine. “How do you think I feel? It’s only the most memorable experience of my life.” Lakota kissed the tip of my nose. “No pressure.”
I laughed softly and relaxed. “Are you sure you want this? Want me?”
His eyes hooded, and he touched his lips to mine, drawing in a deep breath. “I love the way you smell.” His hips rocked against mine, and I sucked in a sharp breath. “The way you feel.” He kissed me, his lips trailing down to my neck. “The way you taste.”
I was certain I was trembling beneath him, my nails scoring his back.
“Come on,” he said, sitting up and pulling me onto his lap.
Straddling him, I delivered a molten kiss. Our tongues teased each other, barely touching yet daring the other to go deeper. Lakota might have had no experience in bed, but he’d clearly mastered the art of kissing, taking it to a whole new level. It was a slow kiss, the kind you feel all the way down to your toes—the kind that left no uncertainty about where that moment was heading.
Lakota lifted the hem of my nightshirt and tossed the garment onto the floor. My nipples tightened beneath his gaze. No man had ever looked at me the way he did. It was more than just physical admiration; it was as if he could see into my soul. He admired my small breasts with reverence, though he refrained from touching them.
He brushed his knuckles against my stomach, teasing me until my eyes hooded and I arched my back. Lakota slowly dragged his hand between my breasts, his fingertips awakening every nerve in my body as they moved up to my jaw. He stared amorously into my eyes, never blinking. My wolf stirred, begging for more affection.
“What are you looking at?”
He leaned forward so his breath warmed my lips. “Your wolf. She’s watching me.”
A tingle turned into a power surge as I rocked my hips. Lakota brushed his thumb across my bottom lip, so I took it into my mouth and sucked. He reclined his head, his breath heavy and eyes closed. His restraint was palpable, and it felt as if I were mounted on a rodeo bull before the gate opened.
I took his hand and led it down to my breast. When I rocked my hips again, the urgency to mate with him tightened like a coil. Firelight held our bodies together, and shadows wrapped around us like a blanket, desire fueling the flames.
He kissed me hard and held me tighter. My fingers tangled in his hair, and I clawed at his back.
“Mine,” he whispered, his mouth moving to my ear.
Something shifted in that moment, something so deep within me that I almost felt myself split apart. Not desire, but love. It terrified me like the flames of a fire, yet I was drawn to it like a moth. I wanted to feel that warmth and never leave.
When I rose onto my knees, Lakota drew my nipple into his mouth and circled it with his tongue. Nothing was hurried or rough about his touch, but a moan was trapped deep in his throat. He savored me, tasted me, and admired me with every touch. I rested my hands on his broad shoulders while he took control, his mouth greedily latching onto my other breast, his hands splayed across my back. Lakota made me feel beautiful without saying a word.
“Are you sure you’re new at this?” I asked on a breath.
His eyes met mine. I’d never really looked at them up close. A thin circle of ebony rimmed both irises, and the blue glittered like pale gemstones with numerous facets. “On my word, Melody Cole. You’re the only one.”
Only one. Those two words lingered in my head for longer than they should have.
Lakota turned us around and lay down on his back, me on top. It was then that I realized he was constantly shifting so that I had the dominant position. Maybe he wanted me to take charge, but I had a feeling he was still afraid of his assertiveness when it came to women. Lakota was truly the most handsome man I’d ever known, and I suddenly realized the honor he was giving me. He could have given himself to anyone. Someone more beautiful, more experienced, a stranger, even one of his old girlfriends back in Austin who might have been holding out for him. I stroked his jaw, knowing he’d made the choice because he trusted me.
When Lakota reached down to unbutton his pants, I stopped him and got off the bed. I stood before him, taking measured care to remove his pants and treat him like a prince.
A blush reddened his cheeks, and he averted his eyes. That was the only moment I’d seen a flicker of uncertainty. No woman had ever seen his body. Not like this. Hoping to erase any doubts he might have, I placed a kiss by his navel. My right hand explored the fine hairs on his legs, tracing up to the soft skin between his thighs before stroking his shaft.
He bucked beneath my touch, his body arching in a magnificent display. I kept touching him so he would get used to someone else’s hand on his body. I remembered my first time and how I was a trembling mess, so I wanted him to feel relaxed. His energy throbbed against me, the power of his wolf undeniable.
When I bent over and kissed his Adam’s apple, a deep groan vibrated against my lips. His musky scent was in my nose, the salt from his skin on my tongue as I licked the base of his throat and then nipped his chin.
“I like these games you play,” he said. “Lie on top of me so I can feel your weight.”
I eased myself over him until our bodies were flush. It took every ounce of willpower not to rise and take him inside me.
Lakota’s fingertips grazed my cheeks. “I don’t want this to be rushed. You deserve my attention.”
“Do whatever feels right.”
He softly kissed my mouth. “This isn’t about me; it’s about us. You… and me.”
“Stop saying that,” I said, my voice quavering.
“Saying what?”
“You, me, us.”
He rolled me onto my side, his back to the fire. “That’s all there is. Listen. Do you hear the silence outside our window? No crickets singing, no owls, no airplanes, no people. The world disappeared, and we’re all that’s left.”
My breath caught when his hand eased between my legs, his eyes never straying from mine. I clutched the back of his neck as he pleasured me slowly, our skin melting together like porcelain against bronze.
“It’s softer than I thought,” he murmured.
My Shifter instincts were making me want to turn my back to him and feel him behind me, but instead I bent one leg at the knee so he could know the pleasure elicited from his touch.
Dark, unquenchable desire pooled in his eyes. When I sucked in a sharp breath and made a whimpering moan, he quickly stopped.
“Am I hurting you?”
I kissed him hard, nipping on his bottom lip and then guiding his mouth to my neck as I grew wetter. Lakota sucked on my neck, and a split second later, he reached down and hooked my leg over his hip.
“Please, take me,” I whispered. “Please.”
He stroked the head of his shaft along my slick entrance, and it nearly split me apart. “This feels too good. I don’t know if I can control my wolf. Maybe we should stop.”
I knew exactly what he was afraid of. Lak
“It’s normal,” I assured him. “It feels like you’re going to shift, but you’re not. Trust me. That’s what intensifies the pleasure—makes us lose control. Don’t fight it. Give in to your wolf.”
Lakota suddenly rolled on top of me. “I need to be inside you,” he growled, rocking his hips. It wasn’t a discussion. He drove deep, the connection so insatiable that it was every bit as explosive as being in heat.
His chest swelled, and his eyes locked on mine. Lakota had finally become one with his animal spirit. He slammed his hips into mine again and again, and our bodies married. Lakota was everywhere—on top of me, inside me, in my thoughts, in my memories, his voice in my ear, his breath on my face, his taste on my tongue, and our souls joined.
Without warning, he abruptly stopped and sat back on his heels, an inscrutable expression on his face as he looked down at me.
“What’s wrong? Why did you stop?”
“To see if I could,” he admitted.
Rising onto my knees, I placed a tender kiss on his mouth. I couldn’t begin to understand the conflicting emotions he must have been experiencing because of fears he’d carried his whole life.
Lakota needed to know without question that I wanted him, so I turned around on his lap, my back against his chest. He kissed my nape, his hands cupping my breasts.
His shaft was thick and hard like granite. But instead of satiating his needs, he reached down and slipped his fingers inside me. “Do you like this?” he asked, the deep timbre of his voice prickling the hairs on the back of my neck.
With each gasp I made, he repeated the action. I reached up and locked my arms around his neck, giving him all of me. He pulled his fingers out and quickly circled them around my sweet spot until I whimpered. When I couldn’t hold on any longer, I fell forward on my hands and knees.
“Now,” I urged him.
Lakota branded me, burying himself deep as he fell across my back. “I don’t want to stop,” he said, his voice ragged.
“Don’t stop.”
Two words he needed to hear.
Permission.
Invitation.
I clawed the pillow, my inner wolf forcing her wildness into me as I rode out his demanding thrusts.
Lakota pressed between my shoulder blades, coaxing me to lie flat on my stomach. He stopped, his body feverish as the weight of him bore down on me. “Not like that. Too out of control.”
With his heart thumping against my back, he slowly rocked into me. Lakota’s rhythm changed to one that was deep and purposeful, forcing me to take every inch of him—his weight, his breath, his heat, his moans, and especially where our bodies joined. He touched places inside me, and I couldn’t get enough of him.
“Mine,” he whispered.
Pleasure tore through me like a bolt of lightning. I tossed the pillow onto the floor and rested my head against the mattress. Lakota placed his hands over mine, and we locked fingers. That single gesture made me feel more connected to him than anything else. I tilted my hips, my climax speeding out of control. I came hard, clenching around him so tightly that he growled. Lakota suddenly flipped me over, and I stared up at him breathlessly.
His eyes were like ice as he plunged into me in search of his release. “I want to see your face when I come.”
And I wanted to see his. The longer I stared into his eyes, the deeper I fell, and the more passionate he became. Ancient heat coursed in Lakota’s veins, and he finally succumbed to his animal instincts. His rhythm was hard and fast, knocking the bed against the wall. I craved him, needed him. When I locked my ankles around his waist, he stiffened and roared as he came.
I trembled beneath the passing storm, my hands resting on Lakota’s sweaty shoulders. His arms gave way, and he fell on top of me, out of breath. I didn’t complain or try to wriggle free, even though he’d smothered me with his full weight. It was a beautiful moment for a man who, at the age of thirty, finally knew what it was like to be completely lost and found all at once.
He began kissing my shoulder.
“Is the big bad wolf going to eat me now?” I quipped.
Still inside me, he looked up and gave me a wolfish grin. “I just might.”
I wanted to stay that way, but Lakota slowly rolled onto his side. With his back to the wall, he leaned against it to give me more room and propped his head in his hand.
He circled his finger around my breast, and I shivered, goose pimples erupting across my skin at the sudden loss of his body heat.
“Was it what you thought it would be?” I asked.
He threaded back his hair, which was tangled and slightly damp. “Not exactly. It was…”
“What?”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to sound foolish.”
“I won’t judge. Promise,” I said, crossing my heart with two swipes of my finger.
His brow furrowed as if he thought he was going to regret opening his mouth. “It was… wetter than I thought it would be.”
I chuckled. “That’s a good thing. That’s when you know that you’re doing it right.”
He stroked his hand across my midsection, seemingly mesmerized by the way my body responded to his touch. “And would you say that I did it right?”
I placed my hand on his. “It scares me how good you were. You’re going to have quite the reputation once the women back home find out what they’ve been missing.”
“That remains to be seen,” he said obliquely. “Come here and lie in my arms, female.”
He held up his left arm, and I folded into his embrace. It felt comforting and safe to snuggle against him—to nuzzle my face into his neck. I loved that part more than I would ever admit to him.
“Is this what it’s always like?” he asked.
I wanted to say no, because I’d never had a man hold me after sex, not like this. But I shrugged my answer, deciding to take the silent route.
The promise I’d extracted at the motel ran through my mind. Maybe Lakota had already forgotten, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it as we held each other. I’d asked him to be open to the idea of sex with someone he liked, and his reply kept repeating in my mind: “The next woman my heart beats fast for, I’ll invite her to my bed.”
Did his heart beat fast for me?
Lakota stroked my hair, his eyes drawn to the fire. “I don’t think I’ll ever be right about my father’s crime, but it’s not holding me back anymore, and I have you to thank for that.”
I shifted to look up at him. “You are not your father’s son.”
Lakota closed his eyes. “I know that now.”
“What’s upsetting you?”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I finally understand how vulnerable a woman is—how much trust she gives to a man. I wish he were alive so I could kill him myself. A second-in-command, violating the trust of a girl who looked up to him. It fucking burns me to know he did that. I hope his dark spirit is pressed to the ashes of the underworld.”
A chill ran through me, and he held me tighter.
“Do you miss your family up north?”
“Sometimes. But I can see or talk to them anytime on the computer or the phone.”
I drew an invisible heart on his chest. “Do you think someday you’ll return to live closer to them?”
Lakota wouldn’t be a bounty hunter forever. Would he want to join a pack? Did he consider Austin or Cognito his home? Where would he go?
“My home will be where my heart is, and that depends on who I give it to.”
“Do you see yourself in a pack or doing something else? Do you dream about the city or country life? I feel like I don’t know that much about you. We never had deep conversations before.”
He rubbed the corner of his mouth. “I don’t know. I would rather be in a pack, but I’d have to trust the Packmaster enough to give him my loyalty. I’ll probably have to get mated.”
I snorted. “Why?”
His fingertips circled around my back. “I think seeing so many happy couples around me would make it hard to do my job as second-in-command. I would want a mate to talk to late at night about the things I couldn’t tell the pack.”
“Maybe you just need a best friend.”
“Isn’t that what a mate is supposed to be?”
I brushed my finger around the fine hairs on his chest. “How did someone like you become such a romantic?”
A moment skipped by before he answered. “Maybe I was just born to love since I wasn’t conceived in it.”
“You’ve done great things. You just don’t realize it.”
“It’s my job. I help people. That’s what I do.”
But I wasn’t talking about his job. Lakota had been the force that brought two families together. His very existence had healed his mother’s pain—that much, I was certain of. He could have rejected her for giving him up, but as far back as I could remember, Lakota had always treated her like a second mom. He’d been Hope’s protective big brother, and I couldn’t imagine her having gone through life without his counsel. He was as kind as he was strong, and if he didn’t think that was great, then he was blind.
He tucked one of my tresses behind my ear. “Can I ask you something?”
“I’m an open book. Except for chapter twelve.”
Lakota held the pensive look on his face. “Has any man ever hurt you?”
I furrowed my brow. “I don’t do relationships, remember? No broken hearts, just a bunch of yelling.”
He tilted my chin up. “That’s not what I meant. Has a man ever… you know, hurt you? Is that the real reason why you don’t get serious?”
I lowered my gaze to his lips. “My pack did a good job looking out for me, and I guess I was lucky with the men I dated. My relationship status has nothing to do with an abusive past. Your first assumptions back at the motel are correct. I don’t get serious because I’ve got too much on my plate. I guess that makes me selfish.”
He pressed his lips to my forehead. “I don’t think you’re selfish at all.”
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