by Aliyah Burke
“Just running over my day,” she mumbled back.
“Very good.”
Retreating back into her head, she pulled up the mental image she had of him. Christ, he looked like an avenging angel tonight. She’d seen him pissed but this was not from fear, this tonight was from anger and rage.
Probably wanted to yell at me that I’d left without his permission. Still, I hope they can work it out with the clan and pack, they need to work together.
The music segued into Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major. Trying to push the dirty blond haired, blue eyed man out of her mind proved to be adaunting task. The way his blue jeans hung off lean hips, covering his powerful legs, shirt taut over broad shoulders, hanging looser over his flat abs. Hell, even in her mind he was so real, it was as if she could smell his woodsy scent, feel the calluses of his fingers along her skin.
She bit back her whimper and desperately shoved her thoughts in a completely different direction. Squeezing her eyes tight, she took a deep breath and nearly whimpered once more. There it was again. The scent of pure outdoors yet warm with masculinity.
“Give me a minute, Vera,” she said.
“I’ll be back in a little bit then.” Vera’s hands fell away and a warm blanket draped over Dyana.
“Thank you.”
She released a sigh when the door clicked and she bit the inside of her cheek until the metallic tang of blood came. What am I going to do about this? He’s got to give me the damn papers and let me get on with my life. Back before I knew I had a husband. Back to how it was before I learned what it was like in his arms.
Heat flushed through her and she shifted on the bed. This was not the place for her to become aroused. The blanket slipped off and she grunted, reaching back to tug it into place only to stop when it was put back. The caress of fingertips along her lower back, intimately familiar.
“Tell me you didn’t break into my room.”
“Okay, I won’t tell you.”
Casimir’s deep voice pebbled her nipples and sent more moisture flowing to her core.
Tossing up one more prayer for strength, she rolled over, ensuing to keep herself covered. Damn it. Damn him for doing this to her. There went that damn whimper again.
“I don’t have the energy to deal with you right now, hoss. So be good and leave me alone.”
His gaze raked over her, making her wonder if she hadn’t imagined covering up with a blanket. Casimir didn’t respond, instead, he moved nearer to her, grabbed the nape of her neck and hauled her up to slant his mouth over hers.
She moaned and pushed her tongue forward to meet his as it entered her mouth. Addicted. That’s how he made her. She was addicted to his taste and touch. Plastering her hands against his torso, she pushed and he growled low, refusing to back away.
Intending to shove harder, she found herself spreading her fingers along the definitions and leaning closer. Where’s my damn pride?
He lay her back, hand sliding down, tugging the blanket with until he cupped her hip. His warm heavier body covered hers, shirt brushing against her tight nipples.
“I told you we would talk later.” He kissed her between each word.
“And I said there’s nothing to talk about. Unless you have the papers.”
His grip tightened. Casimir nudged her legs apart and slid her toward the edge of the table. “We’re not divorcing. You are my mate.”
“Fuck you,” she grunted even as he pushed his cock’s broad head inside her. Her eyelids fluttered. “Oh shit.”
“I’m going to fuck you.” He sank fully within her pussy and she couldn’t stop the groan from slipping from her lips.
She couldn’t draw on any argument even if she wanted to. And hell, she hadn’t any desire to do so. Her head tipped back as another sigh escaped. She gripped his shoulders and tugged him tighter to her, desperate to have him as close as possible. He cupped her breast, thumb swiping along the nipple.
“When I’m done fucking you here, I’m taking you to your room where I’m starting all over again.” He buried his face in her neck and nipped. “And again.” He moved slowly within her, each stroke antagonizing, slow and languid.
Casimir took her hands in his and lifted them out over her head, his eyes bore into hers as he played her body as his own instrument. Were she a romantic she’d think he was madly in love with her. From the heated burn of his eyes to the set of his chiseled jaw. He pushed her nearer and nearer to the edge, without releasing her gaze. Amber flames lit the blue as she hovered on the edge of her precipice.
He lowered his face closer and whispered, “Come for me.”
She quivered and her body responded to the command-drenched trio of words. She fell, embracing the release as in the background Suite for Orchestra No. 3 in D Major played, completing the sensation this wasn’t just a fucking but a uniting of souls. It wasn’t quick and fast. No, he took his time until her entire body burned for him then he still wouldn’t go fast, but prolonged each instance of pleasure that he gave to her.
Casimir gathered her body to him as he filled her with his own release. Murmured words in her ear set a new flame alighting along her skin. She squeezed her eyes shut and gave into the moment, wanting—needing—the connection with him, even if it was just for the time.
She’d not had time to recover from that before he began all over again. At the end when he finally pulled out of her for the last time, Dyana had about as much ability to move as a limp noodle. He sat her on the massage table and draped another blanket around her shoulders before kissing her.
“Let’s go,” he said.
Even in her languid state, she couldn’t miss the order in his tone. “What happened just now isn’t going to mean I’m letting you boss me around, hoss.”
“Dyana,” he said. “Get dressed.”
She listened wanting nothing more than to curl up in bed against his warm, hard body and allow the fantasy to continue. Instead, she shrugged back into her clothing. What the hell is Vera going to think?
“I told her you were my wife and I’d not seen you in a long time,” he said as he pulled some bills out from his wallet.
“Are you about to pay me for that?” Hands on her hips she glared at him.
“No. I was paying her for letting us have our time in here.” He gave her a disapproving look. “Why would I pay you?”
“I don’t know, don’t you usually pay whores?”
His body snapped straight before he tossed the bills and stalked over her, fury burning in his eyes. “You are not a whore, you’re my wife. My mate.”
Desperately trying to ignore her desire to have whatever was between them be real, she wasn’t about to be someone’s rebound, second choice. So she hardened her heart and ignored the pleading her brain and heart did to not go down this road.
“Really? Because not too long ago I was just a nuisance that you wanted to divorce so you could marry some other woman. Now suddenly I’m supposed to believe that I’m your mate? You couldn’t rid yourself of me fast enough. The unwanted spouse, the secret from your past you needed to dispose of.” Tears burned her eyes. “The one who wasn’t worthy of you or your position because of my limp. I’m weak, remember?” she sneered at him. “I’ve got something others will exploit and use to their advantage.”
His gaze widened and she nodded. “That’s right, I heard you commenting on that to your lieutenant. So, I know how you truly feel, I’m not going to fall for it. Go back to your bitch. You know what, let’s not even get a divorce on paper. Let’s just agree right now.”
He blinked then stared. Casimir didn’t move, just stood there, his intense gaze boring into her as if truly seeing her for the first time. Or, as if he was seeing something different after all this time.
“Come on,” he said. He grabbed her arm and led her from the room. They didn’t stop, just went to the elevator where he put her inside and followed her in, she was in a corner and he stood in front of her, protecting or not, she wasn’t positive but she u
nderstood she wasn’t getting away from him until whatever he had to say was out of his mouth.
On her floor, he led her from the car and down the hall where he held out his hand. Wordless, she passed over her key and waited for him to unlock it and let them in. She remained by the closed door as he prowled through the entire suite, checking it out.
“Seeing if Ranger is in here?” she questioned. “He’s not, I asked him if he’d like to stay here, but he declined. Apparently, he’s a bit worried you will kill him.”
“I will.” Casimir yanked his shirt off his head and dropped it on the sofa. “If he touches you again. And no, I was looking for more of those assholes who are trying to kill you.”
The seriousness and brutal honesty of his words almost distracted her from the sight of his bared chest. How the fuck does someone who was supposed to be so sickly as a child look like this? Then his words sank in. “Wait, what?”
Chapter Fourteen
Casimir hadn’t thought anything could ever get to him on a level like this woman had the ability to do. She’d not even been trying, but the sight of those unshed tears gleaming in her brown eyes as she tossed his heartless words back at her tore at his heart. Kraven had warned him he’d needed to change his thoughts and behavior on that. He’d ignored him and now it was coming back to bite him in the ass.
The thing was, Dyana wasn’t weak at all. Yes, she had a limp but the woman was stronger than anyone he’d met. She didn’t let it slow her down, she’d followed her calling and was damn good at it. She put others before her, had a heart of gold, and to top it off, she’d faced down a rogue shifter determined to kill her without hesitation.
“What are you talking about that someone is trying to kill me, hoss?”
Hell, even her calling him “hoss” had become something he’d come to like. The way that syrupy drawl dragged it out, like she was on her knees before him, touching him with slow, languid strokes.
“Shifters.”
She stared at him, eyebrows up and question in her gaze. “Why are shifters trying to kill me now? I left. I want no part of your world.”
Her words ripped open his chest, exposing more of that emotion.
“My nephew is trying to take over the pack and is doing so by attacking those under my protection.”
He moved toward her, needing to have her heated skin against his once more. Casimir didn’t even slow nor give her a chance to voice her disagreement, just scooped her up in his arms and carried her through to the bedroom where he placed her on the king mattress then gathered her close to him.
“You think this is going to distract me?” She pushed away from him, sitting up and glaring at him. “My life is in danger again because of you?”
Even as her words stabbed him, her gaze caressed. “No one will hurt you.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep. Just sign those motherfucking papers, hoss, so I can get on with my life. Haven’t you taken enough from me already?” She put her back to him. “Show yourself out.”
“I’m not leaving.”
She rolled back toward him, eyes blazing. “You don’t get to do whatever the fuck you want you know. When people say no, you have to respect that.”
“You’re my wife.” He laid his hand on her hip, drawing her closer.
“So, what, that means I can’t say no to you? Hate to break it to you, but that archaic thinking isn’t going to work in my world. For some stupid ass reason my grandparents married me to you, thinking I would have protection. Newsflash. I don’t. So, now I’m apparently a shifter with a bullseye on my back. This isn’t what I wanted from my life. I don’t need this. More importantly, I don’t want it.”
“You are in it whether you want to be or not,” he said, voice unexpectedly gentle.
She tried to give him her back once more but he forbade it, anchoring her so they remained face to face. He slid her closer, allowing her gentle scent to wash over him. Casimir detected fear in the low notes of her smell. Not strong, but enough to let him, she struggled with her fear.
He took her hand and placed it on his chest. “I am so sorry for your losses, Dyana. I wish it hadn’t happened, but they did. This—” he pushed it harder over his heart, “—beats for you. I will protect you until it no longer does.”
Her nails dug slightly into his skin, causing iron to coat his cock. There wasn’t anything seductive in her gaze just resignation. “I didn’t ask you to. Never did.”
“Pack life isn’t bad.”
“I’m not living there. I’m not living with you. When this is over, I’m going home to Georgia and starting my life over.”
“No.”
“I wasn’t asking for permission from you. I’m telling you what I’m going to do.”
“You need to be with Pack.”
“No, I don’t.”
He ground his jaw. “This argument is pointless.”
“I agree. I’ve survived this long without your Pack, I’ll be just fine.”
“And the threats?” She was silent and he frowned. “You want them to come. You want them to take you.”
She shrugged nonchalantly. “Want is a strong word. I won’t fight it though. Then I can be with my family.”
“You are.” What have I done to her? She doesn’t have any fight left in her. It soured his gut.
“No, I’m not. Your Pack didn’t welcome me, hell, you, my husband, didn’t even want me there. You put me in a cabin, not even allowing me to stay in your house as if I weren’t worthy of it or something of the sort.”
“I handled you wrong, I admit that. But you are important and worthy.”
“Why?”
He blinked. “Why what?”
“I’ve not changed since then, so what’s making me worthy now when I wasn’t before?”
“You have changed.”
“So because now I’m a shifter I’m worthy? Whereas I wasn’t before?” She shook her head and rolled from the bed. “That takes racism to a whole new level I’ve not experienced before. Wasn’t good enough as a pure human, but now that I’m a shifter I’m worthy of the great and perfect Casimir Lars.”
A knock at the door, had him fully alert. He couldn’t scent any shifter but didn’t plan on taking any chances. “Stay here.”
Striding out, he yanked the door open and frowned. The woman looking up at him wasn’t at all who he expected. This was the woman who’d been beside her today. He wasn’t allowing his guard to slip, women, even human women had proven to be dangerous.
“What do you want?”
She looked him over, from head to foot then shoved her hands in her pockets. He couldn’t sense any fear from her and he wasn’t sure why there also wasn’t surprise. Is she so used to seeing a half-naked man answer Dyana’s door?
“I need to see Dyana.” The words were slightly cold and edged, like a diamond-tipped scalpel.
“Who are you?”
Another rake of her gaze that turned dismissive. “Dyana?” she called out.
He didn’t turn from the visitor when he felt Dyana’s presence behind him, then elbowed by him. “Everything okay?”
“I came to check on you. Are you okay?”
He cleared his throat, unused to being ignored.
Dyana cut her gaze to him. “I’m fine.”
The woman took her hand and squeezed. “You need anything, you call me. I’ll see you tomorrow at breakfast.” She looked at him. “My name is Samhna Cortaine.”
“Casimir Lars,” he responded, searching his mind for that name and coming up blank. He’d have Kraven check it out.
Dismissed again. “Sleep well, Dyana. You did great today. Leg doing all right?”
“Yes, thank you. I’ll see you for an early breakfast.”
They hugged and the woman walked away down the hall, her dark hair swaying with each step she took.
He dropped an arm across her front and guided her back into the room with an easy motion. She didn’t fight him and he glanced down at her. Her expr
ession remained blank as she looked everywhere, but at him.
“You’ve always been worthy of me,” he said, unsure how to bridge this gap between. A gap there solely because of his ignorance and prejudices from growing up weak. “I’m the one who isn’t worthy.”
She shook her head. “Show yourself out.”
“No.”
For a moment, he held out hope she would argue with him, show some spunk but she just shrugged. “Whatever. I’m going to bed.” Then she walked away.
He watched her head for the bedroom and pulled out his cell phone. The moment she vanished from view, he dialed a number and waited for his lieutenant to answer.
“I’m checking in now,” Kraven said.
“My room is on the fifth floor. Bethany and Rainie are on that floor as well, keep an eye on them. Someone else came after Dyana tonight.” Hell, the words alone sent more rage through him.
“I see Tora, we’ll keep them safe. Everything alright between you and the missus?”
Had the question fallen from anyone else’s lips, he would have beat them. But this was Kraven. “No. A light went out inside her. I don’t know how to get it back on.”
“Out of my league to help there, Alpha. I don’t have—”
“I smell an eagle shifter in this place.” Tora’s voice came over the line. “Also using a masking agent, not the same as the other one but even more effective at hiding the scent.”
“Just yank the phone from me, why don’t you,” Kraven muttered in the background.
“You think this eagle shifter is after her?”
“Not sure what other reason one could have for masking their smell. We know what happened with the others who’d done so.” Her tone brisk and business like.
“Where did you smell it?”
“Here in the lobby. It’s so faint, I’m not sure if they’re still here or if it’s a lingering remnant.” Her wolf growled low over the line, and he was striding to the door when he heard her sneer, “Leopard.”
“Hello, canine. Long time no see.” Casimir recognized Keane’s voice. “Did you come for a repeat performance?”
“Want to know what it’s like getting neutered without anesthesia?” Her words had less warmth in them than a polar ice cap.
