“Layla,” he said gently. “I understand that you’re upset, but—”
“So this chick is my aunt, I guess,” she spat. “It looks like she was here but probably didn’t hurt Rosie. However, there’s still someone out there who did. By the way, if she was here, why didn’t she help Rosie?”
“I don’t know.” William’s jaw clenched. “We’ll find out who else was here, but at least you have some kind of answers from this letter.”
“Are you kidding me? All I have are more questions.” She put her hands on her hips and looked at him as if he’d just sprouted an extra head. “How would you like to be tricked and cheated out of your choices? These people—your people.” She pointed at him accusingly, and her eyes flashed with anger as she stalked toward him. “They moved me around like a pawn on a chessboard and played with my life, as if it didn’t make a damn bit of difference, as if I had no feelings about anything.
“She tells me my father is dead in a freaking letter? She lets me go on all these years thinking that he abandoned me and that I wasn’t wanted.” Her voice cracked with emotion. “Do you have any idea how that feels, to think that I was tossed away like defective trash?”
Her body shook with fury, and her energy waves pummeled him harshly, causing the glasses to skitter nervously along the weathered surface of the coffee table. The room pulsed with years of pent-up anger and frustration; the storm of her emotions filled the house and tore at his heart.
“No one asked me what I wanted,” she shouted with tear-filled eyes. “No one thought that it would be hell on earth to grow up a freak, like some half-breed mess who doesn’t belong in either world. I’m not exactly human, but I’m definitely not Amoveo,” she let out a harsh laugh, and her jaw clenched with determination. “I-I can’t even shift.”
William’s face softened, and his heart broke at the wounded tone of her voice as she admitted what she’d been trying so desperately to hide. She stood her ground, eyes blazing, daring him to say something and looking for a fight.
However, William wasn’t taking the bait.
“I never could, and maybe I never will. Is that what you want?” Her shaky voice dipped to just above a whisper. “To be tied down to some weakling for eternity?”
The suffering written across her face grabbed him by the throat. How could she think that? How could he make her understand that she was everything?
“Layla,” he whispered. William reached out to take her in his arms, but she shoved him away and pushed past him toward the front door. “Please wait.”
“Don’t.” She whipped around to face him and held her hand out to stop him from coming closer. Her eyes glowed brightly in the dimly lit hallway and reflected the swirling turmoil within. “Rosie is hurt because of me, because whoever hurt her was probably here looking for me.” She swiped at her eyes. “I’m nothing more than a mistake that needs to be corrected.”
As she ran out the front door and into the pitch black night, William reached out and whispered into her mind.
You are not a mistake. You are the answer.
***
Tears blurred her vision as she bolted blindly out the door into the chilly damp night and ran as fast as she could toward the woods. Her bare feet pounded through the wet grass up the hill, but she hardly felt it. The only thing she could feel was the all-consuming rage of being what she was and having no control. She barely noticed the biting cold of the wind whipping over her tear-stained face, and only one word thundered through her mind as she bolted through the moonlit woods.
Why?
Her legs pumped faster as questions raced through her mind. Why did they hurt Rosie? Why did people she never met want to kill her simply because of what she was? Why didn’t they tell her sooner that her father didn’t abandon her? Why couldn’t she shift like Raife and Tati? Why couldn’t she give William her heart? Why was she such a freaking mess?
She raced along the leaf-strewn path as twigs and pine needles spit up from her heels. The trees went by in a distorted blur, and the image of her cheetah filled her mind. She saw everything that she was able to become in the dream realm—the golden coat spotted with black, sharp claws, and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth that could tear through tender flesh like butter.
Her cheetah likeness blazed brightly and held firm in her mind’s eye as she sprinted through the darkness at inhuman speed. Fury flooded her mind and flashed fiercely through her small human body as static electricity rippled over her skin with dazzling, vivid intensity, and white lights danced behind her eyes.
Everything shimmered, and for the first time in her life, the world came into perfect focus as her body undulated, swelled, and stretched into the unrestrained form of her clan.
In one giant leap—she was free.
An unfamiliar strength coursed through her veins as she ran on four legs instead of two. Her claws dug deliciously into the soft earth, giving her the traction she needed to shoot like a bullet through the dark forest. Her furred body pulsated brilliantly with power, and her muscles worked, stretched, and strained in the most refreshing way.
She’d never felt more alive or more in control of her body, her life, or her mind. For the first time, everything made sense. She no longer felt out of step or behind the curve—this body, this form… it was always there, lurking, and waiting to be discovered.
Layla snarled and bolted around the bend of the familiar path, and within seconds the old cottage from her photograph came into view. Like her sprinting cheetah counterparts in nature, her burst of speed was not for distance.
Heart hammering her in her chest, she slowed to a trot and padded over to the entrance of the rundown cottage, which had been her playhouse as a child. When the kids teased her at school for her freckles and red hair, or when Raife and Tati would shift and run in the forest together, this is where she would come to lick her proverbial wounds.
She sensed William’s arrival before she saw him. His energy signature, tied firmly to hers, signaled to Layla as he flew closer. Breathing heavily, her long tail switching slowly behind her, Layla arched her neck and looked to the sky in search of William. She was surprisingly eager to have him see her in her clan form, and she wasn’t sure if her heart was racing from apprehension or exhaustion. Perhaps it was a bit of both.
When she saw his graceful form silhouetted against the full moon as he circled above, the world around her fell away. He shrieked loudly, announcing his presence to the rest of the night creatures—or warning them—she wasn’t sure which. Layla sat on her haunches and watched as he soared down to her, his wings pumped with unmistakable strength as his moon-glow eyes shone brilliantly in the night. His deep baritone voice floated in her mind. Verto.
Layla watched with genuine awe as he shimmered, shifted in midair, and implemented a sure-footed landing on two feet directly in front of her. Radiating raw power, he towered over her in his human form. The stern look carved into his face and the thick turmoil of his energy waves left little to the imagination.
“Why would you run out here alone?”
I can take care of myself. Layla stood and circled slowly around William, while the two inspected one another. I did that for a long time before you showed up.
He made a small sound of understanding but clearly not in agreement. “Looks like you can shift after all.” He kept his sharp gaze fixed on her as she stalked around him. “You didn’t have to use the ancient language like most of our people do. Samantha and Kerry can shift without it as well, so it seems hybrids have some unique advantages over pure-blooded Amoveo.”
A growl rumbled low in the back of her throat. That must really chap some pure-blooded Amoveo ass. Layla turned her back on William and entered the open doorway of the old cottage with her lover close behind. I have to admit this was definitely worth the wait. My whole body is buzzing, and I feel like I could kick some major butt. She threw a glance over one shoulder and snarled. So you better watch out, or I just might start with you. Her teasing voice touc
hed his mind with an unsettling familiarity.
The interior of the tiny, one-room cottage was practically empty. The wood floors had all but rotted away with weeds and dirt poking through the broken planks. The fireplace overflowed with a mass of leaves and a nest from some kind of animal. The yellow floral curtains Layla had put in when a young girl were tattered and faded from years of exposure. Even the table and chairs she used to inspect her photographs was faded and warped, but the old place still felt like a second home.
Familiar white moonlight filtered through the cracks in the roof, giving the entire place an ethereal glow. The funny hint of energy she always sensed was there, embedded in the property… or maybe it was only in her memory. Whatever it was, it made her feel safe.
Layla took a deep breath, closed her glowing eyes, visualized her human form, and within seconds, she stood on two feet instead of four.
Light-headed, but no longer fur-covered, Layla smiled at her newly mastered ability and stretched her arms over her head. Her muscles felt more alive and energized than ever before.
“I could definitely get used to this,” she said as she reached over and touched her fingers to the floor. Bent over, back to the doorway, Layla loosened the muscles in her legs.
“Me too,” William said with his eyes fixed firmly on her ass.
Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of William standing there watching her. He filled the doorway of the cottage the same way he filled every other space he entered—completely. His sharp, glowing eyes tracked every move she made, but he said nothing as she straightened and walked around the cottage, absently touching the fluttering curtains in the open window. Standing on the opposite side of the room, he gave her what she knew was a false sense of security.
She’d allowed him into her body, and now into her hideaway.
What was next… her heart?
Layla turned her back on William and looked out the open window at the moon-dappled forest. All the memories of her childhood and feelings of inadequacy came flooding back in vivid color, and she let out a gentle laugh. No more. She’d shifted, after all these years… she’d done it… and she knew that William was partially responsible.
Layla nibbled on her lip and folded her arms over her chest, wishing this big sweatshirt really could swallow her up. “I used to come out here all the time as a kid. Whenever I felt like a freak, when Sylvia and her flunkies gave me grief, or when I got lonely, I would come to this place, and somehow, everything felt okay,” she said without turning around.
Layla swallowed the lump forming in her throat and kept her gaze fixed on the woods. She didn’t have the nerve to look at William. At every turn he’d been there to help, and she’d done nothing but run or hide. Coward.
“You knew, didn’t you?” she asked quietly. “You knew I’d never shifted before.”
“Yes.” Layla glanced over her shoulder to find he’d stepped into the cabin and was looking around the small space. “I suspected it when we were in the dream realm, but the other night at the bar”—he gazed at her—“when you started to shift involuntarily, that was when I knew.”
Layla made a small sound of understanding and looked at the curtain she was worrying between her fingers. “It didn’t bother you?” She leaned against the rotting window sill and looked him in the face again. “It didn’t upset you to know that I was so… inept?”
“You are not inept,” he said as he slowly closed the distance between them. “You shifted tonight, as I knew you eventually would, and I agree with you.” He smiled and took her face in his hands. “It was definitely worth the wait, Firefly.”
Layla’s brow wrinkled with confusion as she tried to ignore the pull of desire that thrummed strong and steady between them—so much for thinking that a quick tumble would satisfy the crazy attraction she felt. She couldn’t have been more wrong, because it had only grown in its intensity.
When he brushed his thumb along her cheek, she heard him whisper that odd nickname along the edges of her mind, Firefly. A delicious tingling fluttered over her breasts, and heat flared between her legs.
“Why do you call me that?” she asked in that shamefully lusty voice that didn’t sound like her. She covered his hand with hers and searched his eyes for answers. “Why do you call me Firefly?”
Every cell in Layla’s body flamed to life, and her heart hammered in her chest in perfect time with the pounding pulse of their mingled energy signatures. William loomed over her, his long blond hair fell across his forehead, and she couldn’t help but brush it back and tangle one hand in those soft locks.
His lips curved into a smile as he strummed featherlight strokes along her cheek. “You are my firefly, Layla,” he whispered without taking his eyes off hers. “You are the beautiful and elusive pinpoint of radiance that lit up the darkness and called me home.”
Her throat clogged with emotion, and the cabin swirled with the intense pulse of their combined energies, sending visible ripples like a heat wave through the confined space.
“I love you, Layla.” His mouth set in a firm line, and his jaw clenched. “Fate or imprinting, or whatever the hell my people want to call it—none of that can make me love you.” His voice dropped to a harsh whisper. “I love you, Layla. I love your stubborn streak, the way you love Rosie, Raife, and Tati. I admire your desire for independence, and Lord knows, I love your moxie.” He bent down, brushed his lips against hers, and murmured, “Fate didn’t make me love you… you did.”
His name rushed from her lips on a sigh, and tears pricked her eyes as she greedily captured his mouth with hers. Layla deepened their kiss as William cupped her bottom and lifted her easily off the ground. She wrapped her legs around his waist and clung to him as he pinned her up against the wall. Desperate to get closer, to show him how much he meant to her, she ripped his shirt open, sending buttons flying across the room.
Still too afraid to say what she wanted… all she could do was show him.
Lips suckling, tongues tangling, she drank greedily from his perfect mouth and stroked his bare chest. I need you inside of me. Now. When she touched her mind to his, he moaned and trailed kisses down her throat as he reached up under her shirt and palmed her sensitive breast. He rolled her nipple between his talented fingers and sent her an image of their naked intertwined bodies. “Verto,” he murmured against her neck.
Static flickered around them, and within seconds their clothes were gone, and they were naked. A wicked smile curled across William’s flushed face before he captured her lips with his, reached down, and slipped himself inside her.
She hooked her ankles behind his back, anchoring to him, as he held her ass and pumped into her with slow, deliberate strokes. Her bare breasts crushed against his chest as his mouth devoured hers time and again.
White-hot pleasure blazed over her skin as he thrust his hips and filled her over and over. Layla reached up with one hand and grabbed the edge of the open window for support as he picked up pace and drove into her, harder and faster. Then just when she thought she’d reached the peak, he stopped and carried her to the small table while still buried deep in her tight channel.
“I have to taste you,” William said gruffly.
He set her down on the table and disengaged from the warmth of her body, but before she could say a word, he dropped to his knees, spread her legs wide, and put his mouth on her. Layla cried out as his tongue found her most sensitive spot. She lay back and basked in the pleasure that flared through her body in lightning-fast streaks.
She threaded her fingers through his hair, while he feasted on her and worked that sensitive nub with his devilish tongue. His arms, like two bands of steel, held her to the table as she writhed and bucked her hips furiously beneath his unrelenting assault.
“Please,” she said between panting breaths. “I want you inside me.”
William trailed kisses along her thigh, and his eyes smiled at her over the edge of her leg. “My pleasure.”
Layla scooted off the tab
le and stood in front of William, but before he could pick her up, she spun around, leaned over the tabletop, spread her legs, and offered herself to him. That was all the invitation William needed.
With one sure stroke, he drove deep. He held her hips as he thrust into her again and again. Every time he filled and stretched her, it sent wicked licks of fire through her body, and the coil of lust tightened with every breathtaking pass, until finally, he surged into her one last time as the orgasm crested and carried them over the edge.
Sweating, panting, and spent, William collapsed over Layla but was careful not to crush her. He leaned on one elbow and whispered into her ear, “This table is not the most comfortable place to rest.”
“I know.” Layla laughed as he placed a kiss on her hair. “I think I have about fifty splinters in my ass from this table.”
“I believe I can remedy that and find us a more comfortable spot.”
Just as she was going to ask him what he was planning on doing, the image of his bedroom at the farm floated into her mind. The eyelet curtains, the wrought iron bed frame, and the warm glow from the antique lamps on the nightstand, all shone brightly in her mind as William whispered, “Verto.”
Static electricity. Displacement. A subtle breeze.
***
Moments later, they were lying on a downy mattress and covered by the familiar quilt of the guest room. A huge smile cracked Layla’s face as she lay in bed naked and wrapped in William’s arms. Propped on one elbow, he had a look of satisfaction as he coiled one of her long curls around his finger and smiled at her.
She narrowed her eyes. “You think you’re pretty slick don’t you, counselor?” Layla held the covers over her naked breasts as he played with her hair.
“I have my moments,” he said quietly. “You should get some sleep. We still have a lot of unanswered questions. Malcolm and Dante will arrive with their mates in the morning, and something tells me things are going to get worse before they get better.” His serious brown eyes latched onto hers. “We still don’t know who attacked Rosie, and until we know who that is, I’m not letting you go anywhere without me. Agreed?”
Untamed (The Amoveo Legend 3) Page 18
