Enzo leads me to a clearing on a cliff that overlooks the water. He directs us towards a large boulder where we sit, looking out at the water. Enzo continues to hold my hand as he speaks. “Laura and Declan are buried in the States so I can’t visit them. However, I come here sometimes when I feel the need to talk to them. And lately, I’ve been coming here a lot.” Glancing my way, he whispers, “Telling them about you.”
“What?”
With a small smile, he continues, completely ignoring my surprised outburst. “I’m proud of you, Riley. You faced a situation today that was confusing and emotional. I am sorry for putting you in that place by the way.” A mischievous grin crosses his face as he adds, “Okay, that’s a lie.”
A blush crawls up my neck and fills my cheeks as I remember the feel of his hands on my body. His tongue, his teeth, the taste of myself on his lips. Fuck, focus Riley.
“But you didn’t allow the stress to push you back into old habits. Your strength is one to be admired, Riley. You are a true alpha and one I am proud to follow. That is if you’ll let me.”
Angling his body so he looks me in the eye, he continues, “I know my past is full of baggage. Baggage that is unresolved, but I promise you. I will be true and faithful to you. Laura was my first mate and the loss of her and Declan was unbelievably hard and painful. But you are not Laura, Riley. There is no competing with my past because you are my future.”
“Enzo.” I don’t say anything else as he squeezes my hand.
“I never told anyone my story before, Riley. You gave me that strength. The strength to be vulnerable with you. To endure the scars and wounds I’ve carried for so long. To let someone in and let them carry it all with me. You are the light in my darkness, Riley. The reason I can smile again.
“If you let me, I want to do that for you. I want to treat you better than anyone else ever has. I want to be the reason you glow when you smile. I want to give you all that you need. Well, me and the other four.”
A tear slides down my cheek as I look down at our interlocked fingers. “Fuck.” More tears escape my eyes.
“Gods be damned, Enzo. Why do you have to be such a fucking duck?”
His brow raises at that and a small smirk perks up on the side of his mouth, exposing that dimple. Gods that is lickable. “I’m sorry. A duck?”
I can’t help the smile that cracks free on my face. Taking a breath, I pull myself together enough to respond. “Enzo, I don’t know what to say. All I can say is I want you to be my mate. I meant what I said about wanting to complete the bonds. I’ve come to realize that life is short. I don’t want to waste another second, second guessing everything and everyone in life. I trust you guys and I want to be your mate.” His eyes glow as he leans down and captures my lips in a searing kiss. My wolf perks up, feeling his wolf so close to the surface.
“Enzo,” I whisper against his mouth before pulling back enough to rise and straddle his lap. His eyes are bright and wanton with desire. “Enzo, I want you. I want you in every way you’ll allow me to have you.”
“Under the stars, Riley,” he whispers as he kisses me again. He stands and I wrap my legs around his waist. He moves us over to the clearing and gently lowers me to the ground laying me on the soft grass. His larger frame hovering over mine, with my legs still around him I pull him down on me. My hands slide up his arms and hook around his neck. “Riley, are you sure you want to do this here, now?”
“Enzo, if you fucking make me beg, I’ll knee you in the balls and make it the most painful experience.”
With a smile on his face, he leans down and kisses me with more passion than before. He rests his upper body on his elbows as his fingers glide into my hair.
“Clothes. Off. Now,” I pant out.
“Are you always this demanding?” Enzo smiles as he gets up and strips off his shirt.
“I am not wasting valuable time that I could be using to make love with you, waiting for the clothes to come off. I told you, Enzo, I want you and I want you now. Pounding inside me from behind while you pull my hair.”
I have never seen Enzo move as fast as he did when I finished that statement. He has his pants hanging from a tree across the field and his shirt in a ball three yards away. He was now working my jeans off as I pull my shirt off over my head. He literally rips my panties and bra from my body and throws them in the direction of his jeans.
Before I know it, I’m on my hands and knees, cheek pressed to the ground and Enzo’s tongue in my pussy. Glancing back, I get a good look at his eyes which are glowing a bright honey gold. Oh, fuck.
Mine. My wolf growls in response.
His tongue slides in and out and he growls against my clit. The humming vibrations run up my spine, pulling a whimpering moan from my throat. His hands dig into my thighs as he holds me tightly in place as I try to rock against him.
“Mine,” he growls again.
“Gods, yes. Enzo, fuck me please,” I unashamedly beg.
Enzo gives me one last lick, this time across my clit before he’s leaning over my back, gathering my hair into his hand. He pulls my hair enough to signal he wants me up on my hands. Following his lead, I rise up on my hands and knees. His cock, which rests against my pussy, twitches, and fuck, I want that twitching inside me. He pulls his hips back before ramming into me. His cock shoves its way into my entrance and I scream out at the sudden intrusion. A burning stretch begins as Enzo gives me no time to adjust to his size.
His pace picks up as he leans down and peppers my back with nips and licks. The hand not intertwined in my hair softly glides around my waist and comes to rest on my lower abdomen. A firm tug on my hair has my head tilting back, fully exposing my neck and arching my back.
His pace never slows as his hand dips lower, his fingers circling my clit with the perfect amount of pressure. My walls clench harder around his ever-growing cock, squeezing him to the point, I swear, soon he won’t be able to move inside me.
“Enzo. Gods. Fuck. I’m going to come.”
“No,” he growls, tightening his hold on my hair.
I squeeze my eyes shut as he continues thrusting in and out at a rapid pace. My fingers dig into the earth under my hands. I rock into him as he pounds into me. His pelvis slamming against my ass with every thrust. His fingers move quicker across my clit.
“Enzo. Fuck. Please.”
He thrusts inside me one more time and freezes in place. His cock twitching, knocking against the bundle of nerves deep inside my pussy. Fuck that feels good. My wolf is pissed he stopped moving. She rises to the surface, my body and mind are too far gone, I am unable to hold her back.
“Move,” she demands.
“No,” he growls back. In a move faster than I’ve ever done before, we’ve flipped Enzo to his back and are now straddling his hips.
“Mine,” my wolf growls back at him as she slides us down his cock. Grinding against him, my clit sliding across his hip with every thrust I can feel my climax climbing again. My wolf falls back and again I’m in control.
Enzo sits up, his eyes back to his normal sable brown with bright gold flecks. Rocking my hips, he glides in and out. My fingers tangle in his silky hair. His lips lock on mine, his tongue dances and twines around my own. He tastes of sugar and me. An explosion of flavors.
His fingers dig into my hips as we both hit the peak of our climax. Molten heat floods my system and I break our kiss as it becomes too much. My fangs elongate and my wolf pushes forward again.
“Mine,” she growls as she bites down on the juncture of his neck and shoulder. Officially claiming her second mate.
Just as my climax recedes and I’m about to take a breath, Enzo bites down on the other side of my neck. Sending pleasurable pain through my body, triggering a second climax that hits like a fucking Mack truck.
“Enzo,” I scream out as my body convulses so hard my muscles lock in place.
“Mine,” he growls in my ear before kissing his mark. I sit there in his arms for what feels like foreve
r, not that I mind one bit.
“Riley, are you okay?” The worry in his tone jars me back to the here and now.
“Mhmm,” I manage to mumble out. With a chuckle, he lifts me off his cock. A soft whine escapes me as I immediately miss his heat and the feeling of completeness he induced in me.
“Don’t worry baby you can have it back any time you want but we should head back or at least contact the guys. I’ve missed at least the last five check-ins and they are probably freaking the fuck out. Cree is most likely scouring the city looking for you, being newly mated and all.” That gets my attention.
“Shit.” Standing on shaky legs, I nearly fall back down on my ass. I look around for my clothes. My panties and bra are in tatters, my shirt is over the cliff and my jeans button is popped off. “Fuck, Enzo, look what you did to my clothes.”
He shrugs a shoulder as he replies, “You said you didn’t want to waste time on the clothes.”
Making it back to the penthouse I do the walk of shame as I walk in wearing torn and unbuttoned jeans and Enzo’s t-shirt. Enzo wears a grin from ear to ear on his face which I would be fucking pissed about if it were not for the fact that I helped to put that grin there, for which I am preening over. Not to mention the fucking dimples. Dimples man. Fuck, I’m a goner.
Reed sits at the desk in the corner of the room, holding the receiver to his landline. When he spots us entering the room, he slams the phone down. “Where the fuck have you two been?” When he gets a good look at me, he jumps from the desk.
“What the fuck happened to you? Were you attacked?”
Shrugging my shoulders, I reply, “Sort of.” Enzo’s bark of laughter could be heard from the roof. Causing me to laugh in turn.
Reed’s anger boils over at our reaction. “Fucking give me a straight answer.”
Enzo steps behind me and lifts my hair off my neck, exposing my mating marks. Both of them.
“Well fuck.” Reed looks at me like he’s looking at an alien. An expression that looks like pain flashes across his face. So quick if I hadn’t been looking at him, I would have missed it. “Good for you, Riley.”
“Reed,” I start to say when he takes off out the door. “Enzo, what the fuck just happened?” Shock fills my mind as tears well in my eyes.
“I’m not sure, babe. Why don’t you go shower, get something to eat and some rest. I’ll be back in a little while. Try not to worry about Reed. He’ll be okay.” He wraps me in a hug and places a kiss on the top of my head before heading out the door behind Reed.
Trying not to think too hard about the pain that radiated from Reed, I head to the kitchen for a bagel and coffee. Deciding on a bubble bath instead I take my meal with me to the bathroom where I prep my favorite milky bubble and lavender salt bath. Soaking in the tub, I finish my bagel and coffee and just relax.
Reed
What the fuck was that? Anger, jealousy maybe, hurt. What the fuck do I have to be hurt over? The fact that Riley didn’t pick me to be first, maybe?
“Get a fucking grip, Reed,” I reprimand
“I agree man. She’s not yours to control. You can’t always be first in line.” Enzo’s voice sounds from behind me.
“Fuck man. I know. She’s not a fucking possession to be owned. She’s a fucking person, a treasure to behold and cherish. I don’t understand this feeling. It’s not just me though, it’s my wolf too.”
“Well, tell your wolf to put a lid on his jealousy. Riley is an alpha in her own rights and she’ll decide for herself who she wants to be with and when. This was not planned and she shouldn’t have to feel guilty over the fact that it happened. You should be proud of her for opening up and taking that step forward. At the very least, you should be fucking happy for her. Hell, you should be happy for me. You know what my life has been like and the hell I’ve gone through, Reed.”
“I know man. Shit, I am happy for you. I’m proud of you and her both. You both equally have pasts full of nothing but heartache and gut-wrenching pain. You both found yourselves in each other and are helping each other heal. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. And you know you’re my brother, Enzo. All I’ve wanted for years was for you to be happy and at peace.”
“It really wasn’t planned, Reed. It just happened. Same with Cree. It’ll happen for you two as well. Give her time. You can’t force these things, Reed.”
“I fucking know that, Enzo. I fucking know all of that. I can’t explain it. I don’t know why my wolf is hurting. I don’t know if it’s because she chose you guys first, or he feels like maybe he’s not good enough, or maybe he feels like he’s losing you, Enzo. I can’t fucking explain it.” Taking a second to really feel my wolf, an image of a man pops into my head, followed by another image, this one with one word attached. “Or maybe I can. I need to talk to Riley first.”
“Yeah, you do and the first thing you need to do is get on your fucking knees and apologize for making her feel ashamed of what she did.”
“I will man. I will.”
Heading back inside I try to gather my thoughts. My wolf sends image after image, trying to help me understand why he feels the pain he does and I finally get it. I know what this is about. It’s not because she mated with Cree and Enzo, he was thrilled about that. It’s pain over the idea that we might lose her when this secret comes out.
Chapter Fourteen
Riley
It was a long night, trying to sleep through my worry over Reed’s reaction to my mating marks. I could hear when he and Enzo returned, their quiet whispers like knives digging into my soul. I wanted so much to go to him, to cut through the shit and hash this out. But all I could see in my mind was the hurt in his eyes, his expression of sorrow and pain.
I knew Enzo would talk to him, he was his friend, his brother in arms. He knew Reed better than I did, and if he said to not worry, I needed to trust him. That was what a good mate did, right? We trusted and believed in each other.
It wasn’t until Cree slipped into my room sometime in the night, wrapped me in his tight hold, and whispered how much he loved me in my ear, that I was able to fully drift off.
A chill cascades across the bare skin on my arm, telling me that Cree was no longer in bed with me. I open my eyes to the mid-morning sun shining through my sheer blue curtains. A little gift from Reed after I complained about this place being too modern with all its grays.
“Gods, Reed. Do you hate color or something? Your office is one thing but you have no color in this place. Every room is a shade of gray. Your towels, carpets, and dishes are all white. The furniture is all charcoal gray. You could at least have color curtains or maybe a colored throw pillow. Would it kill you to add a little color to your life?”
“Riley, you are all the color I need.”
That was the first time Reed kissed me. After rendering me dumbstruck and in awe at how smoothly he delivered that line. The next day after working out at the gym, I returned to the penthouse to find sheer blue curtains hanging from my windows, a sky-blue comforter, and pale blue decorative pillows adorning my bed. It was the sweetest gesture from my alpha wolf.
Rolling to my back, eyes closed, I stretch my achy muscles by raising my arms over my head, groaning in relief as the knots unwind and relax.
“Now that is fucking sexy,” Wild moans from beside me.
My eyes pop open to find Wild lying in my bed beside me. “What the hell are you doing in here? Were you watching me sleep? You creeper.” His eyes twinkled with mischievousness and his smile was infectious. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face, no matter how irritated I still was with him.
“I knew you couldn’t stay mad at me,” he stated, attempting to be carefree and unconcerned but I could read through it. I saw the underlying worry that ate at him.
Placing a hand on his cheek, directing his eyes to mine. “Wild, I might still be irritated by the whole planning my future without consulting me thing, but I understand. I get it now. I’m not upset with you. I’m rather proud of you.” His e
yes soften to surprise at my words. “You protected your family; you protected my family. You could have given up Grace and ended the whole thing, but you didn’t. You kept her secret, putting yourself and your family in Alastair’s crosshairs. You did all of that for me. I can’t say I fully understand why, considering you didn’t even know me. That didn’t matter to you though, you still did it. For that, how could I be mad at you?” Leaning up I place a small chaste kiss on his lips before whispering, “I think you’re incredible, Wilder. You are fiercely loyal and protective. You love deeply and passionately. You’re playful and unpredictable. Greatest of all, you’re mine.”
“And you’re mine,” Wild whispers before capturing my lips in a soft yet intense kiss.
Too soon, Wild ends the kiss, resting his forehead on mine. “I would love to keep going with this,” pulling back he continues, “but I came in here to let you know Cree will be coming by to see you soon. And heads up, he’s still pissed about yesterday.”
“Good Gods, he needs to get over it. I was fine. He saw that for himself last night.”
“Baby, try to remember you were kidnapped. He’s still a bit on edge, we all are.”
“I get that but he needs to remember that I have five mates and I am going to spend time with each of you. Sometimes in a group and sometimes alone. When I am spending time one-on-one with you guys, I will not be checking in with the others every fifteen minutes. He needs to figure out how to be okay with that. You too.”
He places a kiss on my nose before getting up from the bed. “I know baby girl. Give us some time to get used to the new dynamics here. By the way, congrats on the new mating marks. Sexy.” Giving me a wink, he walks out the door, hollering back, “Twenty-five minutes, babe.”
Grabbing a pillow and smashing it over my face, I let out a frustrated groan before getting up and getting ready for the day. On the agenda for today is the bar’s books, training with Enzo, odd jobs around the gym, then back home… home? When did I start thinking of the penthouse as home?
Shattered Strength: Shadowcrest Pack Series Book Two Page 12
