by Quinn Loftis
“Peri, it’s beautiful and I am so honored. Thank you,” Dalton said and meant every word. The ring held a stone in the center of a type he didn’t recognize. “What is this?” He pointed to it.
“It’s a piece of the moonstone.”
“The moonstone as in one of the fae stones?” he asked, his eyes going wide.
“The one and only. I told Lucian I wanted to make a ring for Jewel and the moonstone suddenly appeared in my hand. I took that as a pretty big sign I was supposed to take a piece of it. My interpretation is that the Great Luna is very pleased with this union and she is showing her blessing to you. It’s a good sign.”
“Is everything okay?” Jewel’s voice caused Dalton to clamp his fist closed. He put it behind his back as he turned to face his mate.
“Everything is great, Little Dove.”
“Hey Peri, Lucian,” Jewel said as she stepped up beside Dalton. “What’s up?”
Lucian and Peri both smiled. “We have been asked by your mate, to be here,” said Lucian. “I think everything will be very clear in a moment.”
Jewel’s brow drew down as she looked up at Dalton. He dropped to one knee as he held her stare. “Little Dove, I love you. I adore you. I cherish you and I’m honored you are my mate. Will you also give me the great gift of being my wife?” He held the ring out to her and waited.
Tears filled her eyes as she stared at him and then looked at the ring. It only took a few heartbeats before she quickly nodded. “Yes, absolutely yes.”
“Fantastic,” Peri said and rubbed her hands together. “Lucian, my love, you’re up.”
Dalton stood and slid the ring onto Jewel’s left hand and then took her face in his hands and kissed her reverently. “I love you,” he whispered and then pulled back and took her hands in his.
“Peri and I have come to witness the joining of Dalton Black and Jewel Stone in marriage,” Lucian began.
Jewels eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. “We’re doing this now?”
“Do you want to wait?” Dalton asked.
Jewel seemed to think about it for a minute and then said, “I feel like I should tell you that fifty percent of all first marriages end in divorce.”
Dalton grinned and he was sure his wolf was peeking out through his eyes. “And I feel I should tell you zero percent of Canis lupus bondings end in separation. We wolves mate for life. Divorce doesn’t exist in our world.”
“What if you get tired of me?”
“That’s not possible,” he told her.
“You have lady bits,” Peri cut in. “They never get tired of those.”
“Perizada.” Lucian growled.
“She’s not wrong,” Dalton said causing Jewel to giggle.
“And what if you get annoyed with me?” His mate challenged.
“I’ll spank you for annoying me and then make love to you to make you get over being angry for spanking you.” Dalton’s words were blunt, but he needed his mate to understand he would do anything to keep her happy and to keep them together. Even teasing her and enjoying her shocked expression. Life would never be boring with her.
Jewel gasped and Dalton noted the change in her scent.
“Wow,” Peri muttered. “Ship just got real.”
Dalton growled. “Say yes, Little Dove. Or I will continue to say things that are going to make you put even more pheromones into the air. It’s going to get very awkward.”
She practically squeaked when she spoke. “Yes.”
“Thank the Great Luna,” Lucian muttered. “So, then, without further ado. Do you, Dalton, take Jewel to be your wife? Will you love her through peace and war? Will you care for her in times of illness or injury? Will you hold her when she is cold, feed her when she is hungry, offer your comfort when she is in distress, and take her burdens when they are too much to bear? Will you stand beside her forever in this life and in the next?”
“I will,” Dalton said without hesitation.
“Jewel Stone, do you take Dalton to be your husband? Will you love and respect him through peace and war? Will you care for him in times of illness or injury? Will you hold him when he is cold, feed him when he is hungry, offer your comfort when he is in distress and take his burdens when they are too much to bear? Will you stand beside him forever in this life and in the next?”
“Absolutely,” Jewel said. A huge grin spread across her face as she stepped closer to Dalton.
“By the power given to me on a website that granted me a certificate saying I could legally marry a couple, I now pronounce you man and wife,” Lucian finished. “You may kiss your bride.”
“But before you do,” Peri said quickly. “Congratulations. And goodnight. Let’s go, mate. Judging by the look in Dalton’s eyes, when their lips touch, clothes are going to be coming off. I’m not staying for all that.”
Dalton didn’t even turn to see them leave. His eyes were only for his mate, his wife.
“We’re married,” Jewel said into his mind.
“We are,” Dalton said as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her body tightly to his own. “And now I’m going to kiss my wife.”
Jewel tipped her head back so her lips were closer to his and licked her lips.
“Minx,” he whispered just before his lips captured hers. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Dalton went straight for their bed.
“You say the word stop and this goes no further,” he said through the bond.
“You’re my husband, my mate, my best friend,” said Jewel. “Why would I tell you to stop?”
“Are you ready for this next step?” he asked as he laid her down on the bed, propped his body over her, and looked down into her eyes. He brushed some stray strands of hair from her face as she stared back at him with lust and love.
“I want you,” Jewel said. “I want you in every way and I want you to have me.”
Dalton’s stomach tightened at her words. “Then I will give my wife what she desires.” Their lips met again and Dalton pushed his tongue into her mouth. He groaned as her taste flooded his own. He pressed his body down against her as his hands began a slow, thorough exploration of her body.
Dalton peeled Jewel’s shirt over her head, her jeans were next. By the time he’d removed her undergarments, he was so lost in his desire and need of her that he couldn’t have told you how is own clothes had been removed.
Jewel’s hands skimmed over his back and across his shoulders. He could feel the slight tremor in them and heard the catch in her breath when their chests touched.
“I love the way you feel,” he whispered against her ear. “Your skin is like silk.” His right hand ran up her calf, then her thigh and her waist. His thumb brushed the underside of her breast and she stopped breathing all together. Dalton didn’t move his hand any further up. He stared into her eyes and searched her mind for any signs of distress or fear. All he found was pleasure, passion, and his mate’s own voice repeating in her mind “don’t beg, don’t beg, don’t you dare beg.”
“Little Dove,” he crooned. “Tell me what you need? You don’t have to beg. I will give it to you.”
“I want you to mark me. Hands, teeth, lips, mark me and make me yours,” she said and there wasn’t even a tremor in her voice. All he heard was desire.
Dalton’s eyes roved over her body. He could see the faint scars on her arms and the scars on her stomach courtesy of Lorrelle and Volcan. They didn’t take away from her magnificence. They only made him more in awe of her because those wounds were a testament to her strength.
His lips trailed across her jaw and down her neck to her shoulder. Dalton licked his bite mark once before sinking his teeth into her and marking her again. At the same time, he joined their bodies.
He made love to his mate, showing her how precious she was to him, how desirable and sexy he found her. As he took her, Dalton whispered to her all the things he wanted to share with her. With every moan, sigh
, and whispered plea for him not to stop, he felt their bond growing stronger.
Much later, he held her tightly against him, their hearts pounding heavily in their chests as they both tried to catch their breaths. Dalton wanted to say something sweet and loving but he just couldn’t speak. To put it bluntly, his Little Dove had rocked his world. In fact, he was pretty sure the world had fallen off its axis.
“Did you know that studies show that doing something for twenty one days in a row will make it become a habit,” his mate said, and he could hear the humor in her voice.
“Is that so?”
“It is.”
“And are you saying what we just did needs to become a habit?” Dalton bit his lip to keep from laughing.
“Absolutely.”
“And what do studies show when you do something several times a day for twenty one days in a row?” he asked, loving how her body moved against his as she laughed.
“Well, if that something is drugs, the outcome is most likely death. If that something is cleaning, the outcome is a creepy obsession with cleanliness. And if that something was what we just did, the outcome would be friendlessness, homelessness, and a sex-induced stupor we might never recover from.”
Dalton pulled her up on top of him and nipped at her neck. “I think I’ll risk it.”
***
Sly held his mate in his arms as they sat in front of the fire place in their home. She’d been chilled to the bone ever since getting back from the draheim realm three days prior. She hadn’t said much and it was breaking his heart that he couldn’t fix what had happened to her. Z had tried talking to her, but Evenora only wanted Sly. She didn’t like him to leave the room or get too far away from her. So, he simply held her.
“I love you, Evie,” he whispered against her hair.
“I love you too,” she said through her tears. “I feel broken, Sly. He broke me.”
Sly squeezed her tighter, wishing her could somehow get closer to her. “We all get broken at some point in our lives. Volcan broke me when he took you away. But here you are, back in my arms where you belong. We will put each other back together again. We will heal.”
“Don’t leave me,” she said and it sounded like a question. “He said you wouldn’t want me anymore. Not after everything he did to me. I can’t lose you.”
Sly took her face in his hands and made sure she was looking in his eyes before he spoke. “I have loved you since we were children. Do you remember? I use to follow you around practically begging for your attention and you would throw rocks at me and tell me to go eat worms?”
She smiled, though it was small. “You were a smelly boy.”
“And now I am a smelly man, but I am your man. And that will never, ever change. Throw rocks at me and I will dodge them. Tell me to eat worms and I will dig them up and smile as I swallow them. Tell me you believe Volcan’s lies and that I won’t want you anymore and I will spend my life proving you wrong. I. Will. Never. Leave. You.”
Tears streamed down her face and she leaned forward pressing her lips to his. “I might ask you again tomorrow,” she warned.
“And I will tell you the same thing and then kiss you senseless.”
Evanora pressed her forehead to his. “Thank you, Sly. For not giving up. For doing whatever you needed to do to get me back.”
“You don’t have to thank me, my precious one. I will always come for you. I will always want you and need you.”
She yawned and he pulled her down onto the pile of furs he’d laid on the floor. “Sleep, my love. You need rest. Sleep and then when you wake I will make love to you so you will know how much I love you, need you, and desire you no matter what that lying snake told you. Sleep.” He pulled the blanket over them and tucked her close to his body. When her breathing evened out and he knew she was asleep, he finally let his own eyes close. Before he drifted off, he whispered into the night, “Please, Great Luna, heal my love, restore her so one day she will smile and laugh again. Remind her of how precious she is, as I will do every minute of every day.”
***
“Vasile needs us,” Peri said as she sat in Lucian’s lap. They were sitting on a spot at the top of the Carpathian Mountains, where he’d been born. She’d needed to get out of her home and away from the others for just a little while.
“Don’t you think maybe you need a few days to yourself?” her mate asked.
Peri knew she did, but she didn’t know how to do that. The world was still turning and bad people still needed to be destroyed. And she also didn’t want to deal with her emotions after having seen Jewel die, the Great Luna die, and what she had thought was going to be the end of the world as she’d known it. A piece of her had broken inside, and Peri didn’t know how to deal with it.
“I can help you,” Lucian said, hearing her thoughts. “Let me hold you and bear this for you.”
Peri turned her face and burrowed into his chest as she let go of the hurt and fear that had ripped the air from her lungs. She’d watched too many that she loved die. Some had stayed dead and some had been given another chance, but it still hurt. She’d watched a goddess lay down her life and thought evil had won. She’d felt the world crumble around her, and then the ground had shaken, and everything had been okay. She hadn’t been able to catch her breath since her time in the draheim realm, and she was still panting. Peri was beginning to wonder if she was finally going mad.
“You’re hurting, my love. That’s all. It’s pain. Let it go. Let yourself mourn. I’ll hold you.”
“Don’t let go,” she whispered. “Please, whatever you do, don’t let go.”
“Never,” Lucian promised as he held his mate tightly to his chest. He had no idea what was going to come. He had no clue what they would face tomorrow, but he knew that he would be by her side, or he’d carry her if need be, but he would never leave her to face any of it on her own.
Acknowledgments
As usual, there are so many people to thank when it comes to the journey of writing a novel. It takes more than just an author to achieve such an endeavor. First and foremost, I thank my Lord and Savior. He is the ultimate creator, the ultimate being with incredible imagination and I am daily in awe of the world he fashioned together for me to live in. Thank you to my husband, my love, and my best friend, all rolled into one. I couldn’t do this without him. Thank you to Jessica for your unending humor and willingness to delve into the scary place that is my mind. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you to my readers. Without you I’m just a chick putting words down on pages, but because of you I’ve gotten to live my dream. There really is no way for me to show my thanks.
About the Author
Quinn Loftis is a multi-award-winning author of over twenty novels, including the USA Today Bestseller, Fate and Fury. When she isn’t creating exciting worlds filled with romantic werewolves, she works as a pediatric nurse and crafts like there’s no tomorrow. She is blessed to be married to her best friend for over twenty years and they have three sons, two dogs, and a cat that wants to take over the world.
Connect with Quinn
www.quinnloftisbooks.com
[email protected]
www.facebook.com/QuinnLoftisBooks
www.twitter.com/AuthQuinnLoftis
https://www.instagram.com/quinnloftisbooks/
https://www.pinterest.com/quinnloftisbooks/
Quinn’s Bookshelf
The Grey Wolves Series
The Gypsy Healer Series
The Elfin Series
The Dream Maker Series
The Clan Hakon Series
You can also find Quinn writing contemporary romances as her alter ego, Alyson Drake, at www.alysondrake.com.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
&n
bsp; Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
