by Rivi Jacks
He leans above me, bending me over again, my legs once more over his shoulders as he continues the deep thrusting. My orgasm is so intense when I come, I scream as it racks my body. He continues to thrust until he rears his head back and roars with his release. He holds me tight against his body as the aftershocks continue to consume me.
Once our breathing has calmed, he repositions us on the bed and pulls the covers up. “Sleep.” He smooths my hair off my damp forehead and tilts my face up, giving me a kiss.
I’m exhausted, but I don’t fall asleep. Lying here with him, our limbs entwined around each other, feels so good I want to savor the moment. Does our lovemaking affect him as it does me? I wonder if feeling so needy for sex all the time is normal. Less than two weeks ago, I was a virgin with no problem controlling my libido. Now all I think about is Lucas and the things he does to me, and what I want to do to him, and how soon can we do them.
“What are you thinking about, my sweet?” he asks, twisting a lock of my hair around his finger. His head is propped up against the headboard, and mine is on his chest as his arm cradles me against his side. I’m absentmindedly running my fingers over his chest and stomach.
“About telling Ben I’m staying here with you,” I say softly.
“Living—you live with me,” he says firmly.
“It’s not going to be easy.” I actually feel nauseated just thinking about the conversation with Ben.
“I’ll go with you when you’re ready to speak to him.”
“You will?” I lean up to see his face.
“I will.” He watches my hair uncurl from his finger, then his eyes meet mine. “He entrusted your care to me, and now the situation has changed—in more ways than one.” He grins wolfishly at me. “It’s only right that I speak with him.”
“You... you’re not going to say anything to him about us?” I ask in alarm.
His eyes glitter as he gazes at me. “Sofie, you are mine. You will not be leaving me, and I am not going to lie to your uncle or anyone else about us.”
I groan and cover my face with the sheet. I know he’s right, but—how embarrassing.
“My sweet, I need you to do something for me.” His tone alerts me.
“What?” I peek out at him.
“Tomorrow, some men will show up here—Mercenary types.” He certainly has my attention now. “I’ll feel better if you aren’t at the meeting.”
I sit up, holding the sheet over my breasts. “What?”
“We’ll only be going over what happened tonight. You won’t miss anything and I’ll tell you later what went on. Better yet, I’ll have Jake fill you in.”
“Why?” I notice a tightness around his eyes.
“The fewer people who know who you are—what you look like—the better.” He lifts his eyebrow in a mocking manner. “Since you don’t seem to know why you are of such interest to the Kihn or Ezra—and I sure as hell don’t know—we need to play it low-key and keep you out of sight.”
“I don’t know,” I say softly.
His eyes bore into mine. “I believe you. But I also know—you aren’t telling me what you do know.”
My breath catches as he continues to hold my gaze. I lie back down beside him. “Okay,” I murmur. “I’ll stay away tomorrow. I’ll... go to the movies or something with Diane and Emma Rae.” We lie there in silence.
“I wish you trusted me,” he says unexpectedly.
“Lucas, I do trust you!” I cry, burying my face against him.
“Shhh.” He pulls me up close, and I wrap my arms around his neck. He kisses my forehead. “Sofie, I will always take care of you, and I won’t let anything harm you. Hey—” He tilts my face up and wipes a tear from my lashes. “When you feel strong enough to talk to me about this, I’ll be here to help you. Okay?” I press my face against his neck. “You are everything to me, baby. Hey, look at me.” His eyes have an intensity that stills my breathing. “Whatever frightens you—I will deal with. Understand?”
“Yes,” I whisper and he crushes my body to his, holding my head against him as I snuggle.
“You need to sleep now, and I need some down time.” He pulls the covers over me, and I sleep.
I dream Lucas is lying beside me, stroking my body with his hand. I stretch and his hand slides over my stomach. I turn toward him and my eyes open to look right into the most beautiful shade of green. I think he sees the surprise in mine because he leans back.
“Why do you look so startled? Who did you expect?” he growls.
“Oh, Lucas,” I caress the side of his face and grin. “I was dreaming, and when I opened my eyes…” I shrug.
He rolls me onto my back and covers my body with his. “Dreaming, huh? Who the hell were you dreaming of?” he growls and nips my earlobe.
“Oh—he was a tall, dark, and dangerous man,” I tease and giggle, raising my arms above my head, stretching and causing my breasts to swell provocatively. I see the flare of desire in his eyes. He roughly spreads my legs apart and rubs his jean-covered crotch against my sex. “Ahhh! Lucas!” I’m so sore I don’t think I can take him doing much of that.
“What’s the matter, my sweet? You think you can tease me and then not pay up?” He takes a nipple into his mouth, sucking it forcefully.
I moan and try to arch my back, but he has me pressed into the mattress. He continues to lick, tug with his teeth, and suck my nipples. I writhe beneath him and whimper, feeling myself getting wet between my legs.
Lucas suddenly rolls off me, onto his back. “We need to talk before you leave to meet your friends.”
What? I’m panting with my need. “Lucas...” I scoot close to him.
“Sorry, Sofie, we don’t have time. I’ve got to get back to the arena, and I wanted to talk to you before you left.” I close my eyes. I want him—now! “What’s the matter, sweet?” he murmurs in my ear.
I open my eyes and see the mockery in his. Smug bastard! He’s doing this on purpose. “Nothing,” I mumble.
“Are you sure?” he asks, grinning.
I shrug, and then I attack. I sit on top of him and grab his arms, pinning them on either side of his head against the mattress as he laughs. I grind against his erection and, leaning forward, I latch on to his neck. I bite, and then I suck. Hard.
He growls an almost animalistic sound and slings me off him. As I bounce on the bed, I roll and hit the floor running. He moves fast and comes after me with a snarl that gets my heart pounding and adrenaline flowing. I squeal and hurry to get the couch between us. I’m panting, and I know my eyes are large. Playing with Lucas this way elicits a certain amount of fear. I’m also very naked, which just now registers. Damn it! I glance toward the bed, contemplating running back for cover, and that’s when Lucas makes his move. He slings the couch out of the way.
What the hell? Then I’m airborne.
I land flat on my back on the bed with Lucas lying on top of me. He raises my arms above my head, spreading them wide and doing the same with my legs until he has me spread-eagled beneath him. I giggle, and he grins like an idiot. Then he kisses me as if he wants to consume me.
When he raises his head, I’m breathless. He throws his head back and gives a yell. I think it must be some type of battle cry, and the only reason I think that is because Jake and Sawyer have their own yells for when they hunt and fight. I know—men!
Lucas presses me further into the mattress. “I caught you, my pretty. You are mine.”
“Without a doubt,” I breathe.
“Let’s go take a shower.”
What?
“Come on.” He gets off the bed, pulling me into his arms. “Let’s go, we don’t have much time.” He nudges me toward the bathroom and then he slaps me on my bottom, hard.
“Ow!” He laughs and pushes me on toward the bathroom as I rub my smacked backside.
“Get the water on while I undress,” he orders.
“Yes, sir!” I sassily answer, which gets me a raised eyebrow.
“Don’t be fresh, Sofie.”
I’m standing under the spray getting my hair wet when he steps in. He grips my waist and pulls me back against his body. I feel his erection poking me as he pushes me up against the shower wall.
“This is going to be fast, sweet.”
He enters me quickly from behind, raising me to my tiptoes with each thrust. Lucas’ hands are over mine on the shower wall, and he’s right; it is fast. Soon I feel the familiar tightening in the pit of my stomach.
Lucas slows his thrusts, stops and holds perfectly still. “Let’s get you washed.” What? I’m panting with need as I press back against him. “Hold still, Sofie,” Lucas whispers in my ear as he rubs soap over a washcloth.
“Lucas!” I hiss as he runs the cloth over my breasts.
The washcloth is not made of rough material, but as sensitized as my skin is, it might as well be burlap. I moan as he runs the cloth repeatedly over my breasts while he’s still buried deep inside of me. He goes down my stomach, where he dips into my belly button, and down between my legs. Oh! I don’t want him to stop rubbing there. My body quivers uncontrollably as desire surges through me, my blood pounding in my ears. It’s all I can do to remain standing. He moves the cloth over my shoulders, down my back, and between my buttocks, pressing hard with his fingers.
That does it. My legs give way, and he grabs my waist as I come. Lucas wraps me in his arms, turning us under the spray of water. He’s still buried deep inside of me.
“Here, brace your hands,” he says as he begins to thrust. My body is still quivering from the aftereffects of my orgasm.
The sound of Lucas’ harsh breath echoing off the shower walls is erotic and I can’t help but respond to him, even though I’m truly spent. I push back against his thrusts as he pounds into me. With one last forceful thrust, pushing me up against the shower wall, he finds his release. He leans his full weight against me as we struggle for breath.
We’re clean, dried, and wrapped in robes within minutes. I’m still dazed and trembly from my orgasm as I dry my hair while he dresses. When I step back into the bedroom, I notice the couch is back in position.
“I did not have time for this,” he admonishes as he sits on the bed pulling socks and boots on.
“You started it,” I reprimand.
He grins boyishly. “I did, didn’t I?” He raises one of his eyebrows at me.
I can’t help but grin back. I slip on underwear in the closet and come out dressed in a little black cami and barely there panties. I’m exacting a little payback. He watches me as he finishes dressing.
“Sofie.” The sound of his voice lets me know playtime is over. “Even though the Kihn aren’t hunting you, it doesn’t mean that if the opportunity were to present itself—”
Damn it! I knew the Kihn leaving me alone was too good to be true.
“The Kihn may not be looking to take you, but that doesn’t mean Ezra won’t come up with something else.”
“You think I’m still in danger.”
His gaze locks on mine. “I’ve…” He hesitates. “I think it will be okay for you to go out today, but you need to be extremely careful. And I want you back here before dark.”
I don’t think this is what he started to say, but I let it go. “Okay.”
Lucas steps over to me and runs his index finger gently down the side of my face. “Dar stated that, from the first, Ezra’s decision to take you worried him.” He frowns slightly.
“Do you... trust this Dar?” Lucas gives me an are-you-kidding look. “I mean... do you trust what he told you last night about breaking with Ezra?”
Lucas stares at me for several moments. “I think Dar realizes the consequences of his actions.”
“But who is Dar more afraid of—you or Ezra?”
Lucas’ lips lift slightly as he regards me. He smiles and leans down to give me a quick kiss. “You are very astute, aren’t you? I think Dar is afraid of Ezra’s unstableness.” Lucas walks over to look out the windows.
“But he’s... sure of what you will do.”
Lucas turns to look at me. His expression is frightening. “He knows what I will do.”
I visibly swallow.
He’s ready to go before I am and pulls me into his arms. “I’ve enjoyed the little exhibition you’ve been giving me.” At my feigned surprise, he places his hand between my legs and rubs over my panties. I moan, leaning into him. “And if I weren’t late, I’d exact my own form of retribution,” he growls before kissing me lightly. “Soon, my sweet,” he promises, his voice caressing my skin. I shiver. He tips my chin up and looks into my eyes with an intensity that causes my breath to catch. “You be careful.”
“I will. Please be careful too,” I tell him. Standing on tiptoe, twining my arms around his neck, I kiss him deeply.
After he leaves, I look about the room. Everything now seems—lifeless.
Diane, Emma Rae, and I decide we don’t want to go to a movie. We need to catch up, so we get take-out from a Mexican restaurant in Marshfield and head for my house. We spend what’s left of the afternoon together, just us, and it’s a good time. Diane drops me off at Lucas’ a little before five.
Several cars and trucks are in the driveway, Jake’s truck and Sawyer’s Jeep among them. It looks as if the same meeting or another one is going on, but the house is quiet. I drop my coat and bag in the bedroom and head toward the kitchen. I decide everyone must be out at the arena.
I’m fixing myself an ice water when the back door opens, and Nick enters. This catches me by surprise, and apparently him too.
“Sofie,” he says quietly.
“Hi.” I go back to slicing a lemon.
“Everyone’s at the arena,” he reports.
I glance at him. “I figured that’s where they were.”
“I’m glad we’ve got a minute,” he says. Oh no! I’m not. “Sofie, I need to apologize to you—”
“Nick,” I interrupt, “I think it’s best if we don’t say anything.” He looks surprised and opens his mouth to say more. I hold up my hand. “Let’s just... let it go.” I make a slash through the air with my hand.
“You can do that?” he asks.
“I can.”
He shakes his head. “I can’t.”
“What?” Is this really happening?
“I think we need to talk about it.”
“Nick, I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s leave it alone.” The last thing I need is confession time with Nick.
“You won’t even give me that?” he asks, angrily. Oh hell! I wonder if I can make it to the back door without him stopping me. “I need to tell you I’m sorry, and I need to explain.”
I’m just not interested in his explanation of why he tried to kidnap me. I plop lemon slices in my glass and turn to leave. “Let it go, okay? Please.” I can tell by his expression, he isn’t going to agree.
“I know I was wrong. I was stupid.” He takes a couple of steps closer and leans against the counter. I look up into the darkest, bluest eyes I have ever seen. “Sofie, I do love you.” Awww—crap! “But I see that you belong to Lucas now.”
I frown at him. “I’m not going to talk about Lucas with you.”
“Did he bite you?”
My mouth drops open. “What?”
“Sofie—every supernatural—you come in contact with can tell you have his mark.”
His mark? “What the hell are you talking about?”
He studies my face. “You don’t know.”
“What are you talking about, Nick?” My temper rears up as I set my glass on the counter.
He’s quiet for a moment, searching my face. He is either trying to make up something or he’s trying to decide how much to tell me. “I can tell that you have had Lucas’ blood.” I gulp. “How did it happen?” he asks quietly.
I lick my lips, thinking back to the night Lucas came to my house and I cut my finger. The air seems to suck out of the room. There’s so much I don’t know, and I think Lucas prefers it that way.
“How
did you get his blood?” Nick asks me again.
I’m stunned, but I have no intention of telling Nick how it happened. “How... how can you tell?” I’m almost too afraid to hear what he’s going to say.
“Sofie… in the supernatural world, Lucas is—top dog.” I search his eyes. “It’s... just something we can tell,” he says, by way of explanation. “He’s never given his blood before, to my knowledge.” He says that as if it will make me feel better.
Several things make sense now. The way people act toward Lucas. I remember asking him if he were some kind of royalty. Of course, I was teasing, but I’d guessed he might be someone important. The recognition I’d gotten from complete strangers right after the incident at my house. Taylor’s reaction the night after he returned to town, right after I’d had Lucas’—blood.
I step over to the kitchen table and drop into a chair. Lucas said we’d shared blood and I belonged to him forever because of it. Top dog? What does that mean?
“I’ve upset you,” Nick noted.
I look over at him. “I’m... glad you told me.”
“I didn’t tell you to upset you.”
The back door opens and Bobbi strolls in, stopping abruptly. “I might have known,” she says, bitterly, with her hands on her hips.
I don’t pay any attention to her. Why has Lucas kept this from me? “Why can’t you leave him alone?” Bobbi demands, her voice full of venom.
“Bobbi, not now,” Nick tells her firmly. I rake my hair off my forehead. “Sofie, are you okay?” Nick asks, stepping toward me.
“Is she okay?” Bobbi screeches. “She’s always okay, Nick. She’s Miss... perfect Sofia Reece!”
I look at Bobbi, but what she says doesn’t quite register. I hear the door open again, and Teresa walks into the kitchen.
“What’s going on?” she asks.
“The usual!” Bobbi whines.
“Nick, why can’t you make up your mind?” Teresa spouts off at him.
He ignores both of them. “Sofie, maybe you need to go speak with Lucas,” he suggests softly.
I look into his dark blue eyes. Oh, I am going to talk to Lucas, for sure. The question is should I wait until I’m calm or confront him while I’m pissed.
