Carlo pulled her tighter to his chest. “It isn’t your fault. Nanshe. Don't believe that. Things happen. We were only human at the time. We didn't know anything. We made wrong choices and mistakes. That, in itself, is being human. You have suffered that fate so many times, and I did the same no matter how many lifetimes I went through with you. I didn't learn from my own mistake that we shoulder some of that burden together. Don't take it all alone.”
“But don't you see, Carlo? If I had simply told you the truth, we never would have been here, and perhaps many people in Encantado wouldn’t have died because of it.”
Carlo lifted her face and looked down at her. “That is not your fault. You made a mistake. It’s that simple. We can’t always control which roads we must take in life. I know this because I thought leaving you would be better than killing you. Because of what I saw in the past, I nearly made the same mistake and didn't give you a chance to explain to me why. I didn't give life a chance to happen. And because of that, you were taken and Skuld hurt you.”
“At least I found out the truth. Something good came of it.”
Carlo sighed and pulled her even tighter into his chest. “But I will not leave your side again, that I can promise. It doesn't matter what Skuld wants to do. We will fight her, and we will win.”
“She is so powerful, Carlo.”
“So are you, my mate, and you are not alone. All of Encantado is behind you. And you came to us with this danger, despite knowing I could have killed you. I will never forget that.”
“But–”
He crashed his mouth to hers, cutting her off.
This selfless woman was hurting, silent sobs racking her body as he held her. But when she walked, she held her head high, her shoulders back, and her spine stiff as steel. She was so strong yet so fragile. When was the last time she’d relied on someone else? When was the last time someone had promised to take care of her instead of letting her face the world alone? Carlo wasn't sure, but he knew he would never leave her again.
Carlo would always be by her side. And tonight, he would prove it. He would show her just how important she had become to him.
He ate at her mouth, sucking on her bottom lip to open for his seeking tongue. Their tongues dueled with each other, wet and hot. Her body pressed against his, but her dress was in the way, blocking him from her heated skin. He wanted to feel her flesh, expose her to him and see her as she truly was with nothing between them. The past was all out; everything they needed to know was clear. They no longer had to hide anything from each other. And it was wondrous. He rolled them to place her on her back and slowly kissed his way down her neck. She arched her back, giving him more access.
Carlo removed her dress, every bit of her exposed skin available for his tongue, his teeth, his lips. He studied her, learned her, paid attention to every gasp, every moan. He loved the way she clenched the covers when he nipped at the underside of her breast. He was entranced by how she bit her lip when he traced his tongue across her nipples. Even more so, he was taken by the way she sucked in her breath when he kissed her navel before trailing his tongue over her stomach and nipping at her pelvic bone.
Nanshe was a goddess, and he would worship her. He continued his path down her body, across one of her legs, pausing only long enough to snake his tongue under the curve of her knee. Before continuing, he massaged her insole, kissed her heel, tongued the ball of her feet, and even kissed his way along her toes.
Carlo needed her to understand she was beautiful, that he would always be at her feet kneeling and grateful she belonged to him. He paid the same patient attention to her other foot and leg before his hot breath danced over her exposed pussy.
“This is mine,” he whispered a moment before he licked her from base to clit. He sucked on the exposed flesh, flicking it with his tongue, wringing a cry from her. He didn't stop, continuing his ministrations as she bucked against his mouth. He wanted her to come on his tongue. He wanted to taste her delicious nectar.
He pressed his tongue into her, weaving it back and forth like his body was going to soon do to her. When he got inside her, he’d fuck her in and out, making her back arch and her toes point. Beautiful. She was so beautiful and priceless. And his. He nipped her clit to make her scream. And then he pressed farther.
With his tongue inside of her, he nuzzled her clit with his nose, giving her two sensations. Nanshe moaned as he ate at her flesh. He stripped his shirt from his body and threw it to the side. He had shifted his fingers to claws and ripped at his pants, kicking them away with his shoes and socks.
He wanted nothing between them, wanted to be able to claim her and pull her in. Her body clenched, her leg shaking. As he sucked on her, he gripped her thighs with strong fingers to lift them up and out so he could gain better access. He even allowed his tongue to shift partially like it would in the wolf, becoming long and rougher, lapping her clit over and over until she screamed.
Yes, mate. That's it.
Carlo kissed his way up her body, bunching her breasts together so he could pull both nipples into his mouth at once.
“I will make you come for me again and again and again. I'll fuck you till you understand no past and no future could ever separate us. I will always be here. You'll always feel me inside you. Never again will you have to walk alone. Do you understand?”
She nodded, her eyes closed and her head thrashing from side to side.
“You are mine. You are a queen. If I am King of History, then you are actually more than a queen. Nanshe, you’re a goddess I will bow to always. I belong to you as much as you belong to me.”
He lifted above her, balancing between her legs, his cock hard and fierce between them. “Look at what you do to me, Nanshe. What no one else could ever do to me. Look at how hard you have me. Look at how your taste alone slays me. How could you ever think you’re not enough? How could you ever think anything different? None of this is your fault, but if you want to take the blame, all you have to do is accept your one fault.”
She opened her heavy, hooded eyes and gazed at him. “And what is that?”
“That you made me love you.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Carlo slammed into Nanshe after aligning his cock with her entrance. He wanted to make love to her, to be soft and gentle, but once her heat was wrapped around him, he lost all sense of decorum and was ravenous for her. He angled his hips, dragging his cock along the sensitive insides of her pussy.
She was magnificent, a priceless possession he would cherish forever.
“What did you say?” she whispered, her eyes damp with tears.
“You made me love you,” he replied, repeating his words. “I love you, Nanshe. I think I always have. And I know I always will.”
She screamed as he worked his hips against her.
“Once more, tell me,” he demanded. “Give me the words, what you've always felt. Let me be your anchor. Let me be your rock in the storm. You will never have to hide.”
Nanshe dug her nails deep into his shoulders. “I love you too. It has been so long since I have known and wanted to share it, but the times were never right.”
He kissed her, silencing her words. “That's because it was too soon. We had to go through too much pain so we could appreciate what we have now. I know the past is your domain, but for a moment, live in the present. Don’t let the past encroach on us here. It doesn't matter what happened before. All that matters is what we have now. Feel me, Nanshe. I'm right here with you. I'll never leave your side again.”
Carlo clutched her to his chest, pumping his cock in and out of her heat as her cries pushed him on. Her need was beautiful to behold. Nanshe scored her nails down his back and threw her hips in rough demand. She gave as good as she got, and he was so thankful to belong to her.
They came together like crashing waves upon the shore, soft and easy but loud and rough at the same time. He needed her more than he ever thought possible, and he was no longer afraid to share it.
&n
bsp; “Say it again,” he ordered.
“I love you.”
“Again.” He slammed into her.
“I love you.
“Again. Never stop saying it.”
Nanshe whispered the words like a mantra. Three little pieces of a sentence that suited his soul, pieced him back together and ensured his mind would never shatter again.
“Damn,” he moaned as he rolled her, taking and demanding her pleasure.
She was Chaos, and Carlo wondered how he’d ever been afraid of it. Tumultuous though it may be, it had welcomed him home and created a place in which he was absolutely accepted in every facet of his being. She had not denied him, and she had never turned her back on him, not even when he didn't treat her as he should have.
He wrapped her legs around his back, hooking her ankles together at the base of his spine. “Hold on to me.”
“Always,” she promised.
They rocked into each other, his body moving to get deeper within her. He couldn't get close enough. His mouth and hands were everywhere he could reach. Nanshe nipped at his shoulders as he pinched her nipples. She sucked on his jaw, and he yanked her body harder against him.
Carlo was not alone in his desire and need to share everything within them that they couldn't quite articulate into words. This was what it meant to claim. This was what it meant to no longer be alone.
What he had gone through was meant to be. It had all happened so he could appreciate her and the Chaos deep within her.
He pulled her in for a deep, soul-searching kiss, linking their mouths together and trusting their souls to know when they needed to breathe. When he exhaled, she inhaled. When he breathed deeply, she gave him life-giving air.
“You are everything,” Carlo whispered against her mouth. “I am sorry. I’m so sorry for everything.”
Nanshe shook her head. “It doesn't matter now. You said for us to leave the past behind. Now we can have a more glorious future.”
He palmed her cheeks with both hands and kept her head still for his deep kisses, sucking down her sweetness. He couldn't have backed away from her if he tried. “I need you so much.”
Carlo pulled out and rolled her to her stomach, jerking her hips roughly to move her to hands and knees. He slammed back into her body, taking her in the traditional way of the wolves in the wild, her ass bouncing with each harsh thrust.
He moved again, gripping her hair in his fist and yanking her head back to expose the marking on her throat. Set in vivid display, black against her creamy white skin, that mark said she belonged to him, that he possessed her and owned her mind.
“Yes, yours,” she promised. “Always yours.”
“Take it. Take it all, Nanshe.”
She thrust her body back against him, wailing as the bed slammed into the wall. He didn't care who heard him claiming what belonged to him.
His balls grew tighter, pulling against his body as desire and pleasure spiraled in his gut.
“Come for me, baby.” His fingers found their way to her clit to bring her higher, circling the exposed nub until she screamed and bucked beneath him with her climax.
He let himself go, slamming into her once, twice, a third time before releasing his seed deep within her and pressing his face against her neck.
“Mine.”
And she always would be.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“I swear, it feels like this is a meeting of the Power Rangers and we're about to combine our powers and call Captain Planet.”
Dominic slapped Romano over the top of his head. “Would you just shut up?”
“I mean, seriously, this getting exhausting. Half the city is either burned or chopped to shit. Because of the battle, we're still trying to rebuild. It's gonna cost millions of dollars to get everything corrected. All the packs are working together with the mages and the Mage Council. There haven’t been this many Kumbaya moments in our fucking history in quite some time. When was the last time we actually felt like real Mafia men?”
Dominic punched Romano in the mouth. “I said shut up.”
“Well, he does have a point.” Arturo shrugged. “We’re operating much differently from the way we used to. Nowadays, people are looking to us to keep them alive and safe. They’re no longer paying us protection dues, but they see us as the only way to keep Encantado from falling into some evil fucking clutches. It feels like I haven't shot my gun in forever. Those were the good ol’ days.”
The other wolves around the table grunted in agreement.
“Well, I can't say you're wrong. The world is changing. Encantado doesn't look like it used to, but that could be for the better. Maybe it is time we operate more smoothly without having to worry about inter-pack wars or district wars when we're going to have enough from the outside,” Adonis added. “You know I'm all about making money. Couldn't be the worst thing in the world to create some kind of group to answer to these roles and pull resources in as much as possible. Fighting Skuld is going to take all of us.”
“Well, I agree. I know I'm the newest one to the group,” Alexi leaned forward and folded his hands on the table, “but I've spent plenty of my life on the run with my rules. It's time the Renegades had a home.”
“Maybe.” Adonis smiled, apparently catching his drift.
“Exactly.”
“Good.”
The two men were confusing, and Carlo wanted it clear. “What are you saying?”
Adonis nodded in acknowledgment. “You are now the King of History, from what I understand, and that might mean you cannot reside in Encantado. Is that true?”
“Yes, but we'll have to deal with that later. For now, I will be in Encantado to help stabilize everything.”
“Well, we'll table that discussion for the moment.” Dominic cleared his throat. “What are we going to do to keep the other cities safe? We cannot assume Skuld is not going to stop attacking. We stopped her this time, but the warning she gave Nanshe means she will return eventually. She just may be taking time to regroup. We have to be prepared and can't be caught unaware again.”
Kalinda took a sip of water from the glass in front of her and adjusted herself in her seat. “Agreed. I need to get the mages more prepared. More time with Silva and the other wolves so they can learn proper self-defense to use in conjunction with their magic will help with the Hollows. We did notice magic worked just fine against the golems, however, as well as the dragon.”
“I'm still in awe of the fact there was a damn dragon in Encantado,” Silva jumped in. “Like, how did I miss that? That was such a perfec SpellBook post. It would have been like … hashtag, everything is cool but it’s not. Hashtag, this girl is on fi-yah. Hashtag, wings give stings. Hashtag, angel in the wind, and–”
“Cut it out, Silva. It wasn’t that awesome.” Dominic hid his laugh behind a cough.
“Chill out.”
Silva scrunched her face at Torin. “You're such a spoilsport stick in the mud.”
“Yes, I might be that, but I did save your ass.”
The tips of Silva’s ears turned red. “It wasn't my ass, exactly. You just sort of showed up at a good time to get those Hollows off my back. By the way, I was kind of busy trying to protect Zoey and Rosemary’s Baby. All you did was keep one measly Hollow from getting me from behind.”
“Try ten.”
“What?”
“There were ten of them behind you. You just didn't see me come in,” Torin added.
Silva gripped the arms of her seat, sitting forward, but Arturo lifted a hand to stop her from getting into any further argument. “That's enough. We need to focus on the matter at hand. So do we agree to create a group?” He looked to the others in attendance for the meeting.
The Alphas of each pack, Kalinda and her Mage Council, the Fae, and the Renegades all sat around the table.
“This is one of the most powerful rooms in Encantado right now. If we can't save the city, nothing can,” Adonis agreed.
“Fine. We're going to b
e some kind of protectors, is that what you're saying?” Romano raised a brow. “Because that's kind of cool. I mean, do we get a patch and some rings to go with it, so we call–”
Dominic growled deep in his chest. “Shut. Up. Romano.”
“It was just a question.”
“But I guess I like the word ‘protectors.’” Dominic shrugged.
“You would,” Arturo replied with a soft smile. “You have always been a shield for others.”
“But I could still kill just as easily.”
“Well, we all can,” Adonis added with a laugh. “That might be why we're the best. You know, sort of the anti-heroes of the story, so to speak. Yeah, we could do bad things. We like to kill people, and we make good money doing it. But when push comes to shove, we're not going to let anybody else pick on our city.”
Alexi clapped his hands with a chuckle. “I think I like how you described that. We will drink after this, da?”
“Absolutely.”
“So we're in agreement,” Arturo announced.
“I will obviously make sure the Guardians are in accord with you. If this is what we choose to do, the Guardians at the edge of Scorched Earth will be at your disposal as well.”
“Whoo! That's kind of nice. You think I can use you guys on a couple of runs when I'm sending my trucks out to other cities?”
Torin glared at Adonis. “Don't go too far, wolf.”
“Well, didn't hurt to ask,” Adonis finished, shrugging his shoulders. “I mean, none of us are going to stop our other work. You understand?”
“I don't want to hear about what else you do. What we discuss in this room will be the safety of Encantado. As long as we're all behind that, we’re good. Anything else you do that warrants you coming up on the Guardian watch list is on your own ass, not mine.”
“Ooh.” Silva shivered in her seat. “You sound like a big dog.”
Mated to the Chaos (Portal City Protectors Book 5) Page 17
