His wolf agreed.
He just hoped they were both strong enough to handle what might happen.
Once again, the weight of his entire world descended on him. The choice would be the most crucial he ever made. It wasn't just about them, but their people. The fate of their world.
Even so, there was no turning back. Destiny had decided for them.
The night was inevitable.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Feral Hearts
Rhys's pulse quickened as Makenna's eyes scanned him from head to toe.
He didn't return the evaluation, knowing if he did he'd be on her in a flash. So he took her shoulders and turned her around. Grabbing her shampoo, he filled his hands and lathered up her hair.
“Mmm. That feels good.” The ecstasy in her tone had him gritting his teeth.
Take care of her first.
He repeated the mantra as he ran his fingers through her locks, ridding them of the remains of battle. Rhys turned her again and tilted her head back to rinse. Before she could do or say anything that set him off, he reached for the sponge hanging from the shower head and the bottle of body wash. He squeezed a good amount on the puff and spun her around again.
“You sure do like to manhandle me.”
He chuckled and got to work soaping her down. First he scrubbed her back, then skipped over her backside, cleaning her legs. Finally, he ran his hands over the most perfect ass ever created.
Created just for him.
Rhys tried to remain detached as he smoothed the puff over her skin. The blood running in rivulets down her body and swirling on the shower floor helped. His gut twisted. He'd almost lost her before he truly had her. His own pride and mistrust had put her in danger. He paused, his hand clenching her hip.
Makenna faced him, seeming to know what was running through his mind. “Hey.” She ran a finger down the scar on his jaw. “I'm okay. Like you said, we did what we had to. It was us against them and we survived.” She lifted on her tiptoes and kissed his lips. It was soft but packed with emotion. “Finish up and then it's your turn.” She gave him a seductive smile and stood back, arms above her head.
Oh, she wasn't making this easy on him. His melancholy washed away as he placed the puff in the center of her chest. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back as he smoothed it over her breasts, down her abdomen, and over her legs. Bending as he did so put his eyes level with her chest and he swallowed hard. Rhys closed his eyes as he finished his job and stood back up.
She grabbed his hand holding the puff. “You missed a spot.” She guided him to the top of her pubic bone, smiling.
He sucked in air. This first time truly touching his queen had been overwhelming already. But that? That would be his undoing.
Still, a horde of enemies couldn't have stopped him from lowering his hand to her sweet center.
She hummed. The harmony blended perfectly with the music in his head, the song he'd heard every time he was near her, since the first time he'd touched her in the wine aisle.
The melody that was only theirs. That told him she was the one. That Makenna was his.
Never letting his fingers actually touch her, knowing it would be the death of him, he ran the puff along her lips. Too soon he was done. He rinsed the sponge and hung it back up.
Her fathomless eyes opened on his, followed by that mischievous smile that meant nothing but trouble for him. He sucked in several deep breaths, trying to maintain control. She reached for a bar of soap on the ledge and lathered her hands. He didn't want to ask why she had something other than her body wash. If he knew for sure another man had been in here with her, there was absolutely no way he wouldn't mark her immediately.
“Turn around.”
Rhys followed her quiet order. When her delicate fingers touched his back, he almost lost it. She smoothed over his skin, the muscles rippling under her touch with his restraint. As she slid her hands over his buttocks, she leaned into him, pressing her breasts against his back. Gods, she was killing him. He rested his hands on the opposite wall, straining with the effort to stay sane.
Makenna swiped down each leg and back up, then patted his back. “Now the front.”
Yes. She was going to kill him.
Rhys slowly turned, ready to combust. Makenna smiled sweetly as she washed his chest, long fingers sliding over him, lighting his skin on fire. Their eyes locked. She knelt, scrubbing lightly over his hips and down his thighs. When she stood again, the fire he felt blazed in her eyes. She took him in hand, and they both gasped. She lovingly stroked him once. Twice.
Rhys couldn't take any more. He captured her hands in his and brought them to rest on her hips, entwined with his. “You touch me any more, and I'll embarrass myself.” The words came out strained.
“Then what─”
He cut off her sentence with a searing kiss. He bit her lower lip and she opened for him. The second his tongue met hers, his world exploded. She tasted like the rich wine they'd had with dinner, mixed with her own unique taste.
Forever.
His.
Makenna yanked her hands from his grip and grasped his shoulders as he pulled her to him. Fuck, she fit against him perfectly. With only a few inches in height difference, they met hip to hip, chest to chest.
They were made for each other in every way.
He spun around, pinning her to the back wall. The spray hit his back, splashing up his neck and sprinkling down on them as he deepened the kiss. When he dug his fingers into her ass and lifted, she wrapped her legs around his waist. He pressed into her and they both groaned. He moved his hips slightly, sliding his length along her center.
Finally. Finally he was about to join with his queen. The woman he hadn't planned on loving, but felt himself falling for with each touch, each kiss.
Makenna broke the kiss. Her breath came in short pants. He chased her mouth with his, but she leaned back and grinned. At his growl, she grew serious.
“Fuck me, Rhys. Now.”
He’d call being with her making love, but now wasn’t the time for semantics.
“As you wish, my love.”
Her brow creased, then relaxed.
She didn't understand what love was. As much as that saddened him, he was more than happy to show her. To discover love with her.
Turning them, he sat her down and shut off the water. He helped her step out onto the rug and grabbed a towel from the rack. He quickly wiped them both mostly dry. She frowned.
“I told you. The first time I take you isn't going to be against the wall. I'm taking my time. We're doing this right.”
Makenna’s smile was reward enough. He swept her up in his arms.
She nibbled on his jaw. “I love when you do that. No one else has done that with me before.”
“Get used to it.” He quickly ate up the distance to the bed and laid her out reverently, like the gift she was. He paused to slow his heart and take her in. She was gorgeous, spread out for him to devour. He intended to worship her, enjoy her as if she were his last meal. “Kenna, you're perfect.”
She swallowed hard and averted her eyes as red creeped from her chest into her cheeks. “I'm far from perfect.” The pain flashing in her eyes, biting into his own heart, told him someone, maybe more than one someone, had hurt her.
That was not acceptable.
Rhys stretched out beside her, gripping her chin. Glistening eyes met his. He'd make those tears disappear.
“You are perfection personified. Anyone who says different is blind and daft.” He leaned in and kissed her. First her nose, then each cheek, then a kiss to the corners of her mouth before taking her lips. “Let me show you.”
He shifted until he was over her, but not touching. He raised her hands above her head. “Keep them there.” She nodded. If she touched him, no way could he stop his reaction. He'd be inside her in a nanosecond, marking her for all time. “Let me love you.”
Rhys kissed a path from her temple down her jaw to her throat. Just as she'
d done that first time, she tilted her head, giving him access to mark her. His heart rolled over. Such trust. More than she could fathom right now. That reminded him to be gentle, to hold himself back until she knew everything. He discarded the sober thought and continued his exploration of his divine creature.
She arched against him as he kissed between her breasts, then nibbled at the skin just beneath one. He worked his way across to the other as she writhed beneath him. So responsive. Summer and sweetness teased him at his first real taste of her skin. He bit gently on a tightened point. Her gasp turned to a moan as he moved his attention back and forth between her breasts.
His wolf went nuts under his skin, scratching and pawing. He'd been quiet for a while as their human sides interacted, but now he wanted Makenna's wolf. He could sense her, just under the surface, fighting to be set free. His wolf wanted Rhys to stop playing and make her his for all eternity.
Rhys ignored him.
Each time he pinched or bit, she gave him more. Apparently, his queen liked some bite with her pleasure. Good to know. The revelation made him harder than he'd been in his life.
Needing more, knowing Makenna did as well, he worked his way down her abdomen. Spreading her supple thighs with his broad shoulders, he made himself comfortable. He had a feeling he'd be there a while.
Makenna tensed and raised to her elbows. She shifted her hips and he grabbed them, moving her back where he wanted her. “Rhys, you don't have to─”
“Hush. You're supposed to be letting me love you.” He slid his hands under her thighs, wrapping them around to pin her hips in place.
When she opened her mouth to argue, he lowered his head and bit just inside her leg, centimeters from where he most wanted to be.
She gasped, then flopped back on the bed. “By all means, then. Continue.”
He chuckled, then grazed his teeth along her skin, careful to keep the sharp points of his wolf retracted. If he let them drop...he couldn't let that happen. Not yet.
He placed a soft kiss on her mound and she stilled. She lay open and willing. For him. All for him. Her mate. He had to taste her.
His eyes rolled back in his head. Perfection wasn't a strong enough word. All his, forever exploded on his tongue. Something clicked deep within him. The rightness of sharing this with her. Only her. Rhys dove in with gusto, devouring her. Instead of distracting him from marking her, it only increased the fever in his blood. The need to make her his.
In that moment, it was decided.
There would be no fighting their fate. No fighting the inevitable.
In that instant, he gave up trying.
Makenna responded to him like he couldn't have imagined. Without avarice. No restraint, no hiding. Honest and open, she let loose with whatever she felt, giving him everything.
Needing to be inside her more than he needed to breathe, he thrust two fingers deep. Fire. Nearly coming off the bed, she let loose with a cry of his name that shook the walls. Fuck, she was stunning. Glowing and free. Her soul bared to him. The moment nearly brought tears to his eyes as she came apart at his hands.
She came back down, panting, and flopped over on her stomach. Rhys kissed his way up the back of her leg, over her ass, and up her spine.
“Mmm. That was─” She turned her head so she could see him. “You are really good at that.” Her voice was breathless.
Rhys kissed and nibbled at the juncture of her neck and shoulder. He licked a certain spot. There. That's where he'd put his mark. The mark that would bind them once she returned his claim. Until then, it would serve as a message to the world she was his and he was hers.
“I aim to please, love. But only you.”
She sighed, then lifted her hips, seeking him. “Now, Rhys.”
Rhys rolled her over on her back and stretched out on top of her. “I want to look into your eyes the first time I love you.”
Makenna smiled and wrapped her legs around his hips. Then she froze. “Wait. We need to grab a condom. I mean, I'm on the shot, but I don't, I mean, I'm sure you've been with...”
If he wasn't mistaken, that was jealousy turning the edges of her curiosity green.
He smiled. Then frowned. How could he tell her that any human form of protection would be ineffective? Or that there was no way she could get pregnant until after they'd bonded? Or that they didn’t get human illnesses? He thought fast.
“It's been a very long time for me.” And it had. He couldn't even remember the last time. They all faded to nothing when he looked at her. “I'm clean. And I trust you.” He lowered his head, locking their eyes.
“Do you trust me, Kenna?” he whispered.
Indecision flashed across her face for a millisecond. Then her eyes widened. “Yes. I trust you, Rhys.”
It soothed him, quieting something deep within. His wolf stopped still, tilting his head. Rhys lowered his lips to hers in a kiss meant to show his love without words. Words he couldn't say yet. “Thank you. I won't hurt you, Kenna. I won't abuse your trust.”
Tears leaked down both her temples. “I know.”
He kissed them away, then smiled. She returned it.
He took her lips again as he slowly pushed his way in, wanting to feel and enjoy every second. The strangled sounds that emitted from them both were all animal. The song in his head, the one he knew resonated in hers as well, reached a fevered pitch, the two melodies harmonizing, finally, as they were always meant to.
As one.
He watched in awe as tears slid down Makenna’s face, but these he didn't mind. They were pure joy from the rightness of being joined with the one being created for them. The ecstasy and elation of their souls and bodies meeting.
As he seated himself fully inside her, elation turned into a biting, clawing demand. Fire lit his bones, searing all the way to his soul. He felt the same happen to her as their souls began to twine together. The connection between them flared to life, feeding on the flame.
The need to bond fully with her, the craving to claim her for all time, reached a point of pain in his gut. It erased every other thought.
Her wolf showed herself. Her eyes morphed, gleaming in the darkness of the room as her beast called to his. Rhys's answered, his vision changing as his own wolf presented himself. Their harmonious calls filled the quiet night as the two animals met for the first time. He could feel her human side, sense her confusion, but also her knowledge of the rightness of the moment.
Of fate and destiny colliding in the night.
Rhys's control splintered. As did Makenna's. Their feral animals, elemental, no other care than bonding with their mate, took over. They weren't worried with human concerns. Weren't bothered with truth and revelations and secrets.
They simply wanted the other half of their soul.
Beasts in their eyes, no thought but sealing their love for all time, Rhys and Makenna lost any reservations they may have had.
Pulling back, he drove in deep. Her nails dug into his back, drawing blood, and her legs gripped him tighter as he pounded into her. He set up a rhythm that echoed in his soul and hers. The feeling of being inside her, having her wrapped around him, her hands marking him, was like nothing he'd ever experienced.
The world fell into place.
Everything made sense.
He was powerful. Loved. Complete.
He'd intended to be gentle, but there was nothing gentle about their joining. Perfect, right, and oh so good, but not gentle. The headboard slammed against the wall, shaking the ceiling fan above. For one moment he worried he was hurting her, until he eased off and she growled, pulling him closer.
He resumed his pace. Fire consumed his blood. He felt it course through hers.
Harder. Faster. Deeper.
Feral hearts, meeting in glorious union, lighting their world on fire.
Then she tilted her head to the side.
Rhys had no intention of denying her. Couldn't restrain himself if he’d wanted to. One thought dominated his mind in the glorious chaos
and madness.
Mark her.
Makenna closed her eyes, and his canines dropped low. When she opened her mouth to cry out his name, her teeth extended as well. Sheer joy rippled through him.
With a soul deep cry of her name, he dropped his lips to the spot he'd chosen. His fangs sank into her supple flesh. She screamed, a sound of joy and ecstasy and love all mixed together.
Then she reared back her head and struck at his shoulder.
They both exploded.
Colors blasted like lightning in his vision as her blood filled his mouth, as his own flowed into her. The song in their heads held a single, unified note, winding around their souls.
The god and goddess within them rose from the depths, embracing one another. Overjoyed that their new incarnations had finally found one another. At being reunited once again. The song reached an ethereal tune, tying Rhys and Makenna together for eternity.
The space around them illuminated with the glow of their magic. Their bodies rose from the bed, locked together as they floated, bathed in the light.
Rhys's mouth released Makenna as hers did him. They licked the wounds, sealing them for all time. Then both their heads were thrown back with the impact of the initial bond locking into place. When the brief pain ebbed, he felt her. In him, around him. Everywhere. Just as he could feel his own arm or leg. Her heart beat in his chest as his own, the rhythm in perfect time.
They lowered back to the bed as the light faded. Their breaths slowly evened out and their hearts calmed.
Reality crashed in like a mighty wave.
He'd mated Makenna.
Not just marked her but joined them for all time.
They were one.
He’d never imagined she’d return the mark so soon.
Makenna's sigh shook him out of the raw terror that'd gripped him. He rolled to his side, taking her with him, still joined. He expected to see shock on her face, but there was only peace. Her eyes were closed, and the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen graced her enchanting features.
“I love you, Rhys.” Her whispered words caressed his skin. She tucked herself into him and within moments breathed soundly, in a deep sleep.
Sleeper (Rise of the Fianna Book 1) Page 10
