by Alisa Woods
Jace and Noah’s eyes had gone wide, and Owen could hardly believe the words that were coming from her mouth. In submitting to her, she had freed herself from Brad’s domination—she was pledged to two alphas, and that allowed her to speak her true mind. And she was choosing him. And, in doing so, she was taking a stand, bravely telling her pack exactly where she stood. Owen had no idea why this surprised him—he’d known all along how brave and stubborn she was.
The fury on Brad’s face was priceless. It was all Owen could do not to smirk. But this was Nova’s moment, and he wouldn’t do anything to diminish it.
Brad sputtered for words, then finally forced out, “I’ve worked here for years! You owe me more than this, Nova Wilding.” But his bitterness seemed to turn the pack against him. Their faces opened in shock, then narrowed into glares. He turned to face them. “She’s been promised to me. That’s what Arthur wanted. You know this is true.”
There was a lot of whispering, but no movement.
“It’s not what I want.” Nova’s voice was strong.
He snarled at her, then turned back to the pack. “She’s lost her senses. How do you think she’s going to run this company with an Army grunt for an alpha? I’ll tell you how—she’ll run it right into the ground. I’m not sticking around while some interloper comes in and takes over Arthur Wilding’s company. We don’t need his wayward daughter. We can do this on our own. Who’s with me?”
No one moved a muscle. It quickly became clear that he was on his own.
“Fine.” He turned back to Nova. “Congratulations on destroying everything your father built!” Then he turned on his heel and marched out of the office.
Nova waited until he left before turning to those who had stayed, pride shining in her eyes. “Thank you,” she said, her voice rich with unshed tears.
Brad was gone. Nova had chosen him. But the euphoria of the moment started to wear down, and a wave of dizziness washed over him. Even with the bolstering of the submission from Nova, he wasn’t healed yet.
Nova noticed and frowned, coming to his side. “You need to rest.”
He smiled and looped his arm around her shoulders to draw her close. “Rest isn’t the thing I want most at the moment.”
She grinned and pulled him down into a kiss.
Owen wasn’t sure if everyone in her pack truly approved of him. Or whether Jace and Noah were still hovering around them. All he knew was that he was holding the women he loved in his arms, and he would never let her go.
Nova watched as Owen slept.
They were back at the River pack’s safehouse, up in the mountains, far from the craziness of the city and the dangerous whirlwind of the last two weeks. It amazed her that in the short span of days since she kissed Owen for the time that she could be here with him, in a cabin in the mountains, ready to have him claim her for the rest of her life.
She had never been so happy.
Owen made a soft rumbling sound and burrowed into the pillow, but he didn’t wake up. He’d slept pretty much continuously since late the night before when they had arrived at the safehouse. He’d passed out on the way up the mountain, and even the jostling of his pack carrying him to the cabin didn’t wake him. She’d closed the blinds, but the noontime sun was beating its way around the edges, trying to waken him. She got up and put towels over them, hanging them from the curtain rods at the top to block out even more light.
Just as she was finishing the last one, his voice made her jump.
“Probably easier just to let the sun in.”
She whirled toward him, heart hammering. “I just was trying to—”
“I know what you were doing,” he said, eyes glittering with mischief. “I’ve been watching you for the last half hour.”
Her mouth dropped open.
“Come here.” He held out a hand, gesturing her over. It wasn’t a command, although he could have used his command voice on her, now that she’d submitted to him. But the truth was, with him sitting up in a rumpled bed with no shirt and his hair mussed in a bed-head kind of way, sleepy-eyed with that lazy, half-awake smile… well, overpowered futuristic militia from her game AfterPulse couldn’t keep her out of that man’s bed.
She quickly crossed the room, and just barely resisted the urge to jump into the bed—she’d been waiting all morning for him to recover enough to wake up. Instead, she eased gently onto the mattress next to him.
“Well, that’s nowhere near close enough.” He pulled her into his lap.
She let him but tried to be careful about it, gently running her hands over the dozens of scars on his chest. “Are you sure I’m not hurting you?”
He nuzzled into the crook between her shoulder and her neck. “You mean that little dance your hands are doin’ on my chest? You keep torturing me like that, and you won’t be wearing clothes much longer.”
She grinned and tilted her head, offering her neck to him. A growl rumbled in his chest as he nipped and kissed his way up to her jaw. She sucked in a breath, her heart racing with his touch. She’d never wanted something so badly as she wanted Owen Harding to strip off her clothes and claim her.
But he stopped at her jawline and pulled back.
She glared at him. “I’ve been waiting all morning for this. Don’t tell me you’re not healed enough to kiss me.”
He bit his lip, but it was doing a poor job of holding back the grin. “Oh, I’m definitely healed enough for that. And a whole lot more, baby girl. But don’t you have a company you should be running?” He peered intently into her eyes.
“I have something more important to do.” She leaned down to kiss him, and she gave it her complete attention—one hand in his hair, the other splayed across his chest. She could feel the unevenness of his scars under her fingertips, rough over the hard steel of his muscles, but knowing how he got them and why… they just turned her on even more. If that was possible. Wetness was already starting to pool between her legs. She explored his mouth with her tongue, and he let her have free rein, but he couldn’t miss the scent of her arousal. He had to know how much she wanted him. She certainly didn’t miss the hard flagpole of his cock rising between them and pressing into her. Her hand slipped down his chest, shoved aside the blanket, and grabbed hold of it through his sleep pants.
His answering groan to her stroke just made her body ache more for him.
But he grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her hand away. Then he broke their kiss.
“Nova.” His voice was hoarse. “Tell me again that you want me. That you want my bite. Because I swear to God, now that you’ve made this submission bond between us… I’ve spent the last half hour telling myself I can’t just wake up and ravage you immediately. That I need to ask you if you’re sure—”
She stopped him with fingers to his lips. “I’m sure.”
“We can wait—”
“I can’t wait.” God, she wanted to jump this gorgeous man. “Why do you think I’ve been sitting here by your bedside for the last twelve hours?”
One side of his mouth tipped up. “Because you wanted to nurse me back to health?”
She gave an exaggerated sigh. “Well, yes, that, too.” Then reached down to pull off her t-shirt. She wasn’t wearing anything underneath. Satisfaction coursed through her as Owen’s gaze immediately dropped to her bare breasts, which, since she was on his lap, were within licking distance of that talented tongue of his—and he damn well better use it on her.
But instead of tasting her, he ran his tongue along his own lips, then slid his hand up to cup her breast. He groaned and looked back into her eyes. “Nova,” he warned.
She held his hand to her breast, encouraging him. The rumble in his chest grew louder.
“I’ve been waiting for you to wake up,” she said, her own breathing starting to get short, “because there was no way I was leaving your side and taking the chance of Brad finding me and claiming me. Not when I’ve already given my heart to yo
u.”
His hand stilled on her breast, which just made her pout. “I have your heart?”
“Yes.” She leaned into him, practically begging him to give attention to her body, not her eyes, which he was staring deeply into.
“That’s only fair,” he whispered. “Because you’ve had mine from the beginning.” He pulled her down into a kiss, and this time he was serious. He worked her breast and plundered her mouth, then quickly slid her off his lap and onto the floor. His hands left her, and a small sound of protest escaped her, but then she saw he was working his sleep pants off with record speed. She only got her jeans partly unbuttoned before his hands were shoving hers away and roughly yanking her jeans down.
“Step out of the damn pants, Nova,” he growled. She felt the thrill of the command flush through her, and she worked as fast as she could out of them. As soon as she was free, he grabbed hold of her hips and lifted her from the floor, literally tossing her onto the bed. She almost laughed… until he pounced on her with a lust-crazed look that nearly stopped her heart. Her hands went to his chest, looming above her, but he just grabbed them and yanked them over her head, trapping them against the sheets. He held them together with one hand while the other dove between her legs and cupped her sex.
“You’re so wet for me,” he panted against her neck. Then he thrust two fingers inside her. She arched up, gasping and half-shrieking with the suddenness of it. As he pumped her, ramping her fast and hard toward orgasm, his mouth suddenly clamped onto her aching breast, sucking and nipping and lapping at her, rubbing his face all over her chest as moved from one side to the other. He was tasting her, devouring her, holding her still while he ravished her with just his tongue and his fingers.
“Owen!” she cried as the sweet pressure built between her legs. She wanted so much more from him. All of him.
He growled, moving his mouth up to feast on her neck while still pumping her toward her released. “You are mine. All mine. Forever mine.”
“Yes,” she gasped. Then the orgasm took her, breaching her walls and breaking her down, one giant, savage wave of pleasure that crashed through her like a wrecking ball. She bucked hard against him, her body succumbing to the wave and to his hands, one still holding her pinned above, the other wrenching pleasure from her below.
Dear God in heaven… how did she get so lucky as to call this man her own?
Suddenly, he released her, but before she could protest, his hands were on her hips again, flipping her over on the bed, then pulling her rear end up into the air. He was positioning to take her from behind, and she barely got her hands under her before he slammed his cock inside.
She gasped and then moaned with the fullness of it. Before she could even begin to adjust, he was pulling back and slamming into her again and again, gripping her hips to hold her against the onslaught. He was wild with her—more wild even that their most fervent lovemaking before, that one night in her bed when they spent half the night coupled one way or another. This was different—he was claiming her hard with his cock, branding her with his need, even before his fangs came out.
This was the moment she had been waiting for—the hot lovemaking she had always been promised was due to mated couples—and her heart surged with happiness that this was happening with a man she loved more than anything. And his savage need for her, the press of his fingers into her hips, his groaning, grunting pleasure as he took her… it was better than her hottest, wildest fantasies had ever been.
“Oh, God, Owen,” she called out, ready to cry with all the feelings trapped inside her, building like the orgasm he was rocketing her towards.
“Fuck, you are so good,” he breathed, his voice ragged. Then one of his hands left her hip, sliding up her back as he leaned over her. She felt his hand in her hair, fisting and yanking her head back even as he was still pounding into her.
God, she was so close. Again. Her entire body clenched with anticipation of the orgasm, then she shuddered as she felt his hot breath on her shoulder, leaning forward to claim her with his bite. The small sounds of pleasure that were escaping her—the moans and gasps and whimpers—were nothing compared to the growling, grunting above her.
She felt him trail his fangs across her back. “Tell me you’re mine,” he breathed, voice shaky with need.
“I’m yours.” No truer words had ever been spoken. “Take me!”
He roared and sunk his fangs into her. The pain pushed her over the edge, and her body exploded with pleasure. White hot heat poured into her—Owen’s magic—from the bite, swirling in and filling her from the inside out with his magic while his cock stretched and filled her as well. Wave after wave of the orgasm wrecked her, making every part of her quiver with pleasure. His groans reverberated through her flesh as his mouth clamped onto her. Then he slammed deep inside her and stilled, the guttural moan echoing the pulsing she could feel as he came. He held her that way, tight and close, piercing her with his cock and his fangs for a moment longer, then he released her completely, falling to the side into the pillows.
Her whole body shivered with the absence of him for a split second until he pulled her down to him as well.
“Holy fuck,” he whispered, gathering her up to his chest, cuddling her close. She couldn’t get much closer without having him inside her again, but that wasn’t what made her feel like their souls had been seared together. That was the magic working its way through her system. Her heart was soaring, her mind wiped clean of anything and everything other than the gorgeous man breathing heavily beside her, still coming down from his own release. She snuggled closer into his arms, placing soft kisses on his neck and face and nuzzling him the way they had when she first pledged her submission to him.
Her heart trembled at how close she had been to making the wrong decision. The wrong man. In a way, Owen had been the wrong man for her from the start—not in her pack, not able to take a mate, the forbidden bodyguard—until she realized he was exactly what she needed to break her out of the predetermined fate that Brad and even her father had envisioned for her. A fate that was of their choosing, not hers. Owen had come along and stirred her around and made her realize she could truly make her own choices.
He had saved her in so many ways. And not a moment too soon.
His hands found her face, softly touching her everywhere. “How did I get so lucky?” he whispered.
She pulled back to look at him. “You’re not the lucky one here, soldier. That’s pretty clearly me.”
He grinned, and she loved the look of joy on his face. It actually brought tears to her eyes, which she fought hard to beat back. She didn’t want him to think she had anything but happiness raging through her with his magic filling every cell of her body.
“I hope I can always trick you into believing that, Ms. Wilding.” His eyelids dropped to half-mast, that hooded look sending fresh shivers through her. “Or convince you by some means.” His tongue sneaked out to lick his lips, like he was getting ready to taste her again—another thought that sent flushes of heat racing through her.
“What? You mean we’re doing this more than once?” she asked with a smirk.
His eyes flashed with a bit of that wildness again. God, he was killing her with that. Then his arms hardened around her, and before she could blink, he’d flipped her over again, trapping her between his gorgeous, hard-muscled body and the mattress. His eyes feasted on her, drawing a long, hot stare across her skin.
“It’s never going to be Game Over for me, not with the smoking hot mate I have.” The hungry look in his eyes was quickly followed by the growing hardness of his cock between them. It was like the one night they had shared before—the man had amazing recovery time, and he used every inch of it. She was going to be sore tomorrow—deliciously, deliriously sore.
He dipped his head to nip at her neck and before she could even ease into the rhythm of his skin on hers, he was already inside her again. Slow and l
anguorous this time. Hot as a Texas day and twice as sexy, Owen slowly worked her body. He knew just where to touch, just how hard and how soft, and if she hadn’t already lost her heart to him, she would have given it over, tied in a bow, right then, just to always have this man in her bed.
“You’ll always be mine, Nova Wilding.”
She found his eyes and stared deep into them. “Yes.”
And the rest of the night was just their bodies speaking an endless echo of those words.
Two days after the kidnapping, Owen was back on the job.
Only now “the job” was a whole lot more complicated. He still considered his job to primarily be keeping Nova Wilding alive, but now he was also expected to help her lead the pack. He had no problem with that—the Army had taught him plenty about leadership, and in spite of Brad’s dramatic departure, most of the pack had been more than willing to submit to him when he and Nova returned to the office this morning. He was flush with the magical energy of all those submissions, and he could see Nova’s energy level go through the roof as well. It made him want to christen her office with the lovemaking they had been having pretty much non-stop since they mated.
But it was time to return to the real world.
And in that world, the one outside the safehouse cabin where they had celebrated their mating, Owen wasn’t at all convinced the danger to her and the other Wilding wolves had passed. Something Nova had said kept nagging at him—that maybe the psycho who had kidnapped her, Tommy Rachet, wasn’t actually the Wolf Hunter.
