by Dena Christy
A smile crossed Grace’s face, and she leaned closer to Honor.
“Our mates tell us everything, but don’t worry your secret is safe with us.” Grace put her hand on Honor’s bare arm and gasped and pulled it back. “Your skin is really hot. What other symptoms are you feeling?”
“I feel a little shaky, I feel hot and there is a pit in my stomach. It doesn’t hurt, it feels like a hot, heavy feeling. Do you think I’m getting sick?” Worry pulled Honor’s brow together as she looked at Grace.
“I don’t think so, but I’m going to ask you a few more questions. Have you been thinking about Rafe a lot today, more so than normal?”
“How did you guess that?” Her thoughts had been consumed by Rafe since she said goodbye to him this morning, to the point where she was easily distracted by them.
“Okay. I’m going to ask you one last question, and I want you to be honest. Are you and Rafe having sex?”
Heat went up Honor’s cheeks and it had nothing to do with how she was feeling. She knew that the blush staining her cheeks would be visible to both women, and she wished for a second that her skin didn’t show everything she was thinking and feeling.
“No. He’s kissed me and he hugs me a lot but no we haven’t slept together. What does that have to do with my feeling ill?”
Did Grace think that Rafe had given her a disease of some sort? That couldn’t be it.
“I’m totally confused, what does Honor not sleeping with Rafe have to do with how she’s feeling?” Faith looked between her and Grace as a puzzled frown crossed her face. “When I first moved in with Logan, we didn’t sleep together right away and I certainly didn’t get sick.”
“There’s a difference, though. You are human and Honor is not.”
As soon as Grace said that, Honor knew what the problem was. She closed her eyes for a second.
“I’m going into heat, aren’t I?” This was the worst thing that could happen right now. No wonder all she could think about was sleeping with Rafe. Her werewolf side was starting to pump hormones through her body because deep inside her the wolf knew that she was mated. It had decided it was time for her and Rafe to consummate their mating and it was going to force the issue.
“That’s a thing that happens to you?” Faith’s eyes widened as she looked at both women. A fascinated look crossed her face and she leaned forward. “What happens exactly?”
“Honor and Rafe are mated, but not sleeping together. Her being in close proximity to him causes the release of hormones that will make her want to have sex with him. Pretty soon, it’s going to become a need so strong that it will be painful for her if they don’t do it.”
Honor groaned and Grace smiled at her apologetically.
“So she’s going to be forced to ask Rafe for sex?”
Honor shook her head, and she trembled inside when she thought about what her body was going to do. “I won’t have to ask. My body will soon start pumping out pheromones and once he’s in close proximity to me, his body will give an answering response.”
“So what you’re saying is that once he gets close to you he’s going to turn into a horn dog?”
Honor didn’t think she would have put it that way, but that was basically what was going to happen.
“Him and any other wolf that is around her. They won’t be able to help it, and once her full heat cycle hits her, if she hasn’t had relief she won’t care who’s with her. Which is why you need to go into Logan’s office and tell him that you have to leave.” Grace gave Honor a pointed look.
Honor closed her eyes as her blush burned hotter on her cheeks. She was going to have to tell her alpha that she was in heat, how embarrassing.
“Oh my God, can the floor just swallow me up now.”
“You have to tell him. If you stay here there will be a bloodbath as wolves fight to get to you. You know you have to go home. At least if you’re home you’ll only have to contend with Rafe. I hope you are ready to sleep with him because it’s happening tonight.”
Honor’s stomach danced at the thought of what was going to happen once Rafe came home. She had a feeling that by the time he got there she was going to want him so bad that it wouldn’t matter if her head thought it was a good idea or not. Her body was going to force the issue, and after tonight she would be Rafe’s mate in every sense of the word.
Honor blew out a breath and stood up on shaky legs.
“Have fun tonight.” Grace gave her a smile and Faith flashed her a thumbs up.
Honor turned away and walked toward Logan’s office. God, how was she going to explain to him that she needed to go home? She’d only just started this job, after coming to him and asking for it. Jesus, this was only her second shift so far. Now she was going to have to go and tell him that she couldn’t stay because she was sick?
It didn’t sit right with her to lie to him, and so as she stood in front of his door she opted to tell him the truth. He was a werewolf so he would know exactly what would happen if she stayed here in the condition that she was in. There was nothing to be embarrassed about telling her alpha what was the matter with her. She raised her hand to knock and when he called for her to come in, she walked in his office and shut the door behind her.
He looked up at her, and a frown crossed his forehead.
“Are you feeling okay?” A laugh burst out of her, and it eased some of the tension inside her. “What’s funny?”
“You’re only the third person to ask me that in the past twenty minutes. I need to go home. I’m really sorry if this leaves you in a lurch, but I have to go.” For all her talk to herself about not being embarrassed, she couldn’t seem to bring herself to tell him why she needed to leave.
“Are you sick? Are you safe to drive home or do you need me to call Rafe to come and pick you up?”
“I’m not sick. I’m going into heat and I’m sure you can appreciate why it won’t be a good idea for me to stay.” She ignored the way her cheeks burned. This was a natural function of her body, and it shouldn’t embarrass her to talk about it. Of course, she would have preferred that her private life remain private but that couldn’t be helped now. Logan would know now that she and Rafe weren’t sleeping together, but that after tonight they would be.
“This is the last place you want to be. And frankly, I don’t want to deal with the mess your staying would cause.” She expected him to be a little put out that she was leaving, but all he did was give her an understanding smile. “I’ll cover for you tonight. I’ll tell Alex that you are sick and need to go home. And I don’t expect you to come in for your shift tomorrow either.”
She’d never been through this before, so she was going to defer to his wisdom in not expecting her to come in tomorrow.
“Thank you, Logan.” She turned away when his voice stopped her.
“Do you want to call Rafe and ask him to meet you at home?”
She hesitated for a second. She knew that by the time the night was over, she and Rafe would be lovers. Her body had already made the leap but it was going to take some time for her mind to catch up.
“I think I’ll just wait for him to come home from work. This seems really sudden and I need a bit of time to wrap my head around things.”
“If it helps, Rafe is a good man. And I think you showing up on his doorstep was the best thing that happened to him.”
“Thanks, Logan.”
She walked out of the office and went around to the bar. She grabbed her purse and jacket and Alex gave her a surprised look.
“You’re going home? Are you going to be okay?”
“I’ll be fine, I’m just not feeling well.” Honor wouldn’t look him in the eye as she threw her jacket on, slung her purse strap over her shoulder and turned away. She walked to the door like her body was on fire. She got in her car and gripped the steering wheel for a second.
Logan’s parting words came to her. She knew that Rafe was a good man, but a part of her felt like she was trapping him into something. It wasn�
�t her fault that her body was pushing the issue, but she wished that it didn’t have to be this way. Tonight would be her first time having sex and a part of her wished it was because he truly wanted her, and not because nature had decided to take its course regardless of where she and Rafe were at in their relationship.
Rafe pulled into the parking lot at Sawyer’s Place and braced himself for another night of watching out for Honor. Hopefully, the wolves in attendance would behave themselves because he was so wound up that he would be forced to knock some heads together if they didn’t. Every day he spent with her in his house, the more she became a part of his life. The longer he was around her, the less his head could come up with arguments over why it wasn’t a good idea for them to be together. She was in his head pretty much all the time now, and he hadn’t even slept with her. He didn’t think he’d ever thought about another woman this much.
He got out of the truck and scanned the parking lot for her car. It wasn’t there and a worried frown pulled his brows together. He was sure she’d told him that she was working tonight and he didn’t think she’d gotten a ride into town with anyone. He would have remembered if she’d told him that.
His steps were hurried as he walked to the door and when he got inside the bar, his eyes swept the room. He didn’t see her anywhere. He went up to the bar where Alex was making drinks. It wasn’t that busy, but where was Honor?
“Is Honor on her break?” Maybe she was in the back room somewhere.
Alex looked up at him and shook his head. “She isn’t here. She went home sick.”
Sick? She’d been fine when he left this morning, and worry coiled inside him. He hoped it wasn’t anything serious. She’d been through enough in the past week that getting sick on top of it would suck for her.
“Thanks, man.” He turned on his heel and made his way back out the door. He went to his truck and pulled out of the parking lot faster than he’d pulled into it. His mind raced as he hurried home. If she was sick why hadn’t she called him? He would have left work to come home to take care of her.
The trip home felt like it took a lot longer than it should have and he didn’t want to examine why he felt so concerned about her. He tried to tell himself that he would have been as concerned about any of the other women who’d been in his life but that didn’t have the ring of truth to it. Honor was different, and deep down he knew it.
He got out of the truck and his large strides ate the distance between him and the house. He walked in the door, and couldn’t see her anywhere. Was she so sick that she couldn’t get out of bed?
“Honor?” He called out and his voice echoed around him. Her car had been in the driveway. Where the hell was she?
“Rafe?” Her voice drifted to him from upstairs and he looked up to see her standing on the landing at the top of the stairs. Her face was a little pale but she didn’t look sick to him. “I didn’t expect you to be home yet.”
“I left work a little early. I went to the bar and Alex said you were sick.” He could see now that she was trembling, and his concern for her ramped up a notch. “What’s the matter? Do you need to see a doctor?”
She gripped the banister and gave a nervous laugh. Her breathing was coming a little heavier than normal and he took a step toward the stairs.
“I’m not sick and I don’t need to see a doctor. We’re mated and haven’t slept together.” She looked at him as if that was supposed to mean something to him.
“Why are you telling me something I already know?” Was she having some sort of female problem that she was embarrassed to discuss with him? He realized that they’d never been intimate, but surely she knew that there was nothing to be embarrassed about if she wasn’t well. “Tell me what is wrong and I’ll do whatever it takes to fix it. Just tell me what you need.”
She swallowed hard and closed her eyes for a second. Her hand went to her belly and she seemed to bend forward a little. Despite her saying she wasn’t sick, something was clearly wrong with her.
She slowly made her way down the stairs. She looked in his eyes and as she got closer, he could see that her pupils were huge.
Her scent hit him and it nearly sent him to his knees. His blood ran hot in his veins and every part of him screamed to take hold of her. He ground his teeth together and clenched his fists at his side to keep from reaching for her. Now the significance of what she’d said about them being mated and not sleeping together hit him.
“You’re in heat, aren’t you?” Jesus, talk about a complication. “This can’t be happening.”
“I’m sorry, but it is. I know that sleeping with me is not what you want. I had hoped that you wanted me at least a little.” Her face fell and he couldn’t lie to her.
“Oh I want you, and not just because of this. From the second you showed up on my doorstep I wanted you, but surely you can see that I’m not the right man for you. You deserve better than I can give you.” She took a step closer and his body tightened in response. God, being this close to her was arousing him, and in a few minutes, he wouldn’t care if he was the right man for her or not. He would take her regardless of if it was the right thing for her, and he would only hurt her even more when their time together was at an end. “I have to get out of here.”
If he stayed away from her, this wouldn’t happen. He didn’t want her tied to him any more than she already was. She was Quinn’s baby sister and he needed to keep seeing her that way. She came to him for protection, and them sleeping together was all wrong for her.
He felt like he was walking through water as he made his way to the door. His body screamed for him to turn around, to take her in his arms and get naked with her.
“You’re just going to leave me here like this? Do you want to know what is going to happen if I don’t get relief, Rafe? Pretty soon my body isn’t going to care who I’m with. Your scent is inside my head and it is accelerating what I’m feeling. I want you Rafe, and I want it to be you that I have sex with. If you walk out that door right now, eventually my body is going to force me to go out and look for the first wolf I can find. And when I find him, do you think he’s going to have the control that you have? You know what will happen as soon as he gets my scent. Is that what you want?”
He turned with a swiftness that seemed to surprise her. Jealousy reared its ugly head inside him at the picture she painted of her with another wolf. The thought of another wolf touching, kissing her and putting himself inside her body sent a murderous rage pumping through his already overheated body. “I’ll kill any wolf who touches you.”
He could feel his aggression rise at the thought of her being with anyone else and it wasn’t lost on him that he was being a hypocrite. He wanted her. He didn’t want to complicate her life but didn’t want anyone else to touch her either.
“So you don’t want me but you don’t want anyone else to have me? Do you think I’m going to be able to sit in this house and suffer through this?”
“God damn it, Honor. I’m trying to be noble.” He raked his hand through his hair.
She came close to him and put her hands on his chest. She looked up at him and he could see the tiny amber ring around her irises. The wolf inside her would compel her to seek relief any way she could and there was nothing he could do about that. It wasn’t her fault that this was happening, and her body was going to soon take the choice out of her hands.
“I don’t want you to be noble. I want you, Rafe. I wanted you before this started happening and I want you to be the one I sleep with. Don’t make me beg.”
Her lower lip trembled, and his control snapped. If she hadn’t touched him, if he didn’t know that she would soon find someone else if he continued to hold himself away from her, maybe he could have kept his noble intentions. But she was touching him, and his body was reacting to it. He was so hard right now that he wanted to strip them both naked and fuck her right here on the floor of his living room.
He put his hands on her waist and pulled her tight against him. She groane
d and her arms moved up his chest and went around his neck. He brought his head down and sent his lips crashing onto hers. His mouth devoured hers and he’d never wanted another woman like this. Part of it was the pheromones that she was pumping out, but that wasn’t all of it. From the second she’d shown up on his doorstep a part of him wanted this to happen. The days she’d spent in his house had been building to this and even if her body wasn’t forcing the issue now, there was a feeling of inevitability inside him. He knew he would have slept with her sooner or later, and damn the consequences.
He fought to get control of his clamoring blood. He wanted to claim her right here, right now. But he wasn’t an animal with no power over his baser instincts. This was their first time together and he would be damned if he was going to take her like a rutting animal, no matter how much his body wanted to right now.
He tore his mouth away from hers and she whimpered.
“Oh God, please don’t stop. I need this, Rafe. I need you.”
Her words were like a siren’s call and even if he hadn’t already decided that this was going to happen, what she’d just said would have clinched it for him.
“I know, and I want you so bad right now that my control is only hanging by a thread. But I am not going to take you on the floor. I want you in my bed where I can take my time and drive you out of your mind before I fuck you harder than you’ve ever been fucked before.” His voice was a deep growl, and her lips parted. He could see her desire for him ratchet up another notch.
“Jesus, Rafe. That’s what I want. I want you to drive me crazy and then I want you inside me.”
He moved like lightening, scooping her up in his arms and carrying her toward the stairs. They had to get upstairs, had to get to his bedroom before he let go of the iron grip he had on himself. The picture of her, naked and writhing on his bed, pounded through his head, and he couldn’t get up the stairs fast enough.
