by Skye Malone
Beneath his hand on her breast, he could feel her heart racing. Breathing fast, she clenched her fists on the bedsheets, her hips pushing at him as if she could never get enough, and a choked noise left her as she came.
Satisfaction swelled in him. As she rode out the orgasm, he eased back, not fully stopping until she sank onto the bed, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
“God, Wes…”
Pride filled him. He loved giving this to her.
“More?” he whispered.
An incredulous, pleading noise was his answer.
His smile grew. Returning to her soft folds, he slipped his fingers inside her, massaging firmly as his tongue laved her. Mouth opening in a silent cry, she arched her back, writhing against him as he worked her to another orgasm. A gasp left her as she came harder in only moments, her body pulsing wet and hot around his fingers. Breathing fast, she melted against the mattress, little aftershocks still radiating around his touch.
In the darkness, her eyes found his. “I need you inside me,” she whispered. “Now.”
Red-hot desire fired his blood. Sliding his hands along the planes and curves of her beautiful body, he kissed and nipped and licked at her as he moved back on top of her. Meeting his eyes with a slightly dazed look, she spread her legs wider for him and smiled as if in invitation.
His heart swelled. Fire could break out and all the world could fall again, and he wouldn’t even notice. All he wanted was to be inside her, to feel her.
Forever.
Her hand ghosted over his chest and up to his neck, pulling him to her as the tip of his cock found her slick entrance. The scent of sex and Lindy surrounded him, more overwhelming and beautiful than any he’d encountered in his life. Kissing her deeply, he pushed into her only to groan against her lips as she rocked into him, taking all of him to the hilt.
His pulse raced. He was so hard, so ready, even this felt as if it would send him over the edge.
But he’d resist, for her.
In the darkness, he looked down at her, his night vision tracing her gorgeous face in silver. Her eyes locked on him as if there was nowhere she’d rather be.
“Make love to me, Wes,” she whispered.
The strangest feeling suffused his chest, as if everything inside him had filled with light and yet didn’t hurt at all. He met her lips again, his tongue twisting with hers as he drew himself out and thrust into her over and over. His hand massaged her breast and then slipped down, pulling her ass to him while she moaned quietly, biting her lip to keep from making too much noise.
What he wouldn’t give for more nights of this. Every night of this, his body pounding into hers while her nails dug into his skin, clutching her to him, claiming him until they were far more than just two people who, a week ago, had been barely more than strangers.
Until they were truly lovers and so much more.
His hand fisted the bedsheet as he fought to continue thrusting his throbbing cock deep into her wet channel. Tightness built inside him, making him grunt and growl into the pillows as he penetrated her, and when her orgasm overtook her, clenching her pulsing muscles around him, every trace of restraint fell and blinding ecstasy washed all but Lindy away.
Heart pounding, he lay still for a moment, his cock pumping out every last trace of him into her. Gods, he hoped they’d been quiet enough, here at the far end of this sprawling house, but right now, he could scarcely remember. Carefully, he withdrew from her and then pulled her close, breathing deep her beautiful scent while she curled perfectly into his arms.
“Thanks,” she whispered.
A chuckle left him, utter relaxation stealing through his muscles, draining everything but this quiet moment from his world. Gently, he tightened his arms around her, smiling in the dark. “Anything for you.”
21
Lindy
Morning light peeked past the thick curtains on the windows, and beneath her, an actual bed supported every inch of her body. Wes lay sleeping at her side, his slow breaths peaceful, and somewhere down the hall, her family was sleeping too, not dead at her mother’s hand or stolen away by the Order.
It wasn’t perfection, but God, it was so close.
Blinking the sleep from her eyes, Lindy looked up at Wes, his face relaxed and softened by sleep. What would it have been like if this was her normal? If the two of them were together, really together, and had come up to visit her family for the weekend or something ordinary like that? What might have been, if she’d had her whole future and life ahead of her, and they could have been together for… what?
Forever?
She nestled her cheek against his chest. It was silly, really. They’d spent so many hours together and been through so much that it felt like longer than the few days they’d only actually known one another. And neither of them had made any guarantees or had any real conversations about how they felt, because why would they? She’d spent the past weeks thinking she was going to die. What would the point of long-term discussions have been?
And she still might not make it anyway.
She breathed in the smell of him, trying to push the dark thoughts aside, if only for the moment. But what would it have been like if things were normal? Would he have noticed her? Would she have noticed him?
Her eyes strayed across his chest, tracing the lines of his tattoos and scars.
God, yes. She’d be in heaven right now, having him with her. Everything physical was only the start. To be with someone so loving, so attentive and compassionate, who treated her the way he did…
It would have been amazing.
Except… it still wouldn’t have worked out.
A pained feeling rose in her chest. Wes was ulfhednar. His kind had ancient beliefs about finding their true mate and being with them forever. And, if there was even a shred of truth to that, what did it mean for her? Yeah, she was drawn to him, and yes, she enjoyed being with him, but… she was human. Or would be again soon, hopefully. And he’d always be a wolf. A beautiful, amazing, breathtaking wolf. But she couldn’t ever share that world with him.
So where did that leave them?
She closed her eyes, focusing on breathing in the warm, spicy scent of him. If nothing else, she could remember this. Even if there never would have been a happily ever after with her and Wes, whether or not she made it past the next few days or weeks, at least she had this now.
He stirred next to her, and she blinked fast, driving any trace of sadness from her expression. Why she managed to feel so much more when he was around, she had no idea, but right now, she didn’t want to worry him.
They had this moment. It would have to be enough.
“Good morning,” he said, his voice scratchy from sleep.
“Morning.”
He brushed back a strand of her hair, a smile on his face. “Sleep okay?”
She nodded. “You?”
“Yeah.” He smiled, something in the expression like maybe she’d had a lot to do with that, and it made her heart swell with an odd sense of joy.
She pushed away from the bed slightly, sliding up to reach his lips and kiss him. His arms wrapped around her, drawing her on top of him, and she could feel his cock against her, hard and ready for more.
Against his lips, she smiled, writhing her hips on him, and he made a hungry noise, his hands sliding down to grab her ass and hold her to him. “Tease,” he murmured.
“Always.”
He chuckled.
From deeper in the house, she heard the sounds of people moving around, and she glanced over her shoulder.
She felt Wes tense below her, and she looked back. “What?”
He hesitated. “Your hearing. It’s really…”
She realized where he was going with that, and she turned away.
“It’s all right.” He kissed her cheek gently. “We’re going to figure this out, yeah?”
She looked down at him, struck breathless by support and resolve in his eyes. “Yeah.”
Kissin
g him once more, she climbed off him. Searching around, she gathered her pajamas, only to pause when she realized what her family would see when she left the room.
Shit. As if things weren’t uncomfortable enough.
Taking a steadying breath, she pulled her pajamas back on and gave Wes a smile before she headed out of the room. Henry was in the kitchen, cooking a pan of eggs over a camp stove.
“Morning,” he said politely as she made her way from the hall.
Lindy murmured a greeting, her cheeks burning. Walking fast, she hurried toward the other guest room down the opposite corridor to gather her clothes. A short visit to the bathroom saw her cleaned up and dressed, and she came out to find Wes sitting on a bar stool near the kitchen, sipping coffee while Henry continued making food.
Her brow rose at the sheer normalcy of the scene.
“Ah, Lindy?” Henry stepped out from behind the breakfast bar. “Moment of your time?”
Trepidation prickled through her, but she walked closer.
“I went hunting this morning.” He nodded toward the patio door on the opposite side of the kitchen. “It’s hanging out back.”
She stared at him and then turned to Wes, who shook his head at her unspoken question of whether he told the man exactly what she’d been eating.
“Hurry now.” Henry smiled. “Before your little brother gets up, eh?”
The urge to deny knowing what he was talking about pressed at her, but hunger got there first, gnawing at her insides without giving a damn for how uncomfortable it all was.
God, she hated this.
But explaining to Frankie would be so much worse.
Ducking her face away, she hurried for the back door. The cold air bit at her as she stepped outside, but her eyes immediately went to the rabbit carcass hanging from what looked like a planter hook at the end of the wood patio.
Shudders coursed through her. Hate wasn’t a strong enough word.
A few minutes later, she returned to the door only to find Henry already there, offering her a small towel. Eyeing him suspiciously, she took the cloth, wiping her face and hands. “Who the hell are you?”
“A friend.”
It wasn’t remotely a sufficient answer, but something about his smile left her feeling like it was the only one she’d get.
She stepped past him and headed for a bar stool beside Wes. He reached over when she sat down, putting a hand to her leg, and she gripped his fingers, trembling.
Her father came down the hall. “Good morning! You all about ready?”
Henry nodded, surreptitiously stuffing the bloodied towel into a drawer without even a hint of what he was doing in his expression. “Soon as you folks are ready, we can head out.”
“Where is this place we’re going?” Lindy asked.
“Not far.” Henry gave her another one of his enigmatic smiles before returning to wash a few dishes in the sink.
Andrew headed for the coffee maker. “You sleep okay, honey?”
She glanced at him, but he didn’t seem to be implying anything. “Um, yeah,” she managed, feeling like a teenager caught out too late.
Dishes clinking in the sink became the only sound.
“I-I’m just going to go get my bag,” she stammered.
Hanging on to the friendly expression, she fled the room.
After so many days of traveling only with Wes, trooping through the woods with the others felt terrifyingly loud. Never mind that she could probably pick up on any Allegiants or draugar that were nearby. Every crack of a branch made her tense. Every slough of snow from a tree left her jumpy. When it had just been the two of them, she knew they could take care of themselves.
But now Frankie was with them. Her dad too. Both traveling through the woods to meet potentially dangerous strangers, accompanied by a guy who clearly knew far more about this than he was letting on.
How could she be sure it wasn’t a trap?
She stayed behind Henry, eyeing him warily as he led the way, ready in case he made a threatening move. The forest was eerily quiet around them, without even a bird or small animal in the underbrush. Overhead, the sky was a sickly shade of gray, and between all the trees, no breeze stirred the air. The strangest feeling they were being watched nagged at her senses, though she couldn’t detect any trace of the Order or draugar.
A small motion caught the corner of her eye, and her focus snapped over to it.
In a clearing to her right, a large brown bear stood, staring at them. A thick scar marred its face and more crisscrossed its sides like a mad roadmap of old injuries. Lindy froze, alarmed, but Henry just kept walking, nodding briefly to the creature like he was saying hello before continuing through the forest.
The bear eyed them, and chills crept over her skin at the sudden impression of fury in its gaze, but after another moment, the creature simply huffed and turned away, disappearing into the woods more silently than anything that size should have been able to move.
Lindy stared after it. That impression had to be her imagination. But regardless, even if she didn’t know jack about bears, she was still pretty sure they didn’t wander off at someone’s nod. Unless Henry trained them. But then, who the hell trained bears in the forest? And trained them just to wander on after watching the group pass them by, as if the bear was…
Standing guard.
No.
Incredulity stole her breath as an impossible thought rose. The berserkers. Bear shifters. But they’d been wiped out by the Order, hunted down to the last cub and sow in the forests outside Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, nearly twenty years ago.
Her eyes turned to Henry, the pictures in his den sending shivers through her for a whole new reason. And maybe she was wrong. Maybe he was just good with nature, and all the animals around here knew him, and his wife divorced him years ago but he’d never gotten over her.
But it would explain a lot.
Except why he’d offered to help her or her dad.
Biting her lip, she eyed the forest and Henry alike. What if this was a trap? Some way the last of the bear shifters wanted to get revenge on the Order? She and her family could be walking into a hostage situation for all she knew, where they’d threaten her dad and brother if she didn’t somehow become the berserkers’ weapon instead.
Her heart raced, the darkness inside her churning and whispering with bloodlust and hunger. Like a live wire, her skin tingled with energy just waiting to lash out, scorching anything that came near. She needed to tell her family to turn back. That this was a bad plan. Of course Henry baited them with the offer to help her, but that didn’t mean he really—
The man glanced back over his shoulder. “It’s okay,” he told her calmly.
From the corner of her eye, she could see her father and brother glance at her, alarmed.
“You all are safe. My friends and I won’t hurt any of you.” The edge of his lips rose in a sad smile. “I swear to you on the graves of my cubs.”
Wes’s footsteps hesitated even as Lindy blinked and turned to her dad. Neither Andrew nor Frankie reacted at all to the choice of word.
They knew?
Nodding as if to himself, Henry turned and kept going, and her family followed immediately. Glancing at Wes uncomfortably, Lindy trailed after them.
Another hour passed before the thick forest finally came to an end. The tree cover fell back to reveal a spacious clearing filled with beautiful log cabins. Smoke drifted up from chimneys above peaked green rooftops. Window boxes, empty now due to the cold, sat beneath brightly colored shutters. Stone-lined paths led from one house to the next, and more surrounded spaces that would probably be gardens if the sun ever returned to the world.
After so much destruction in the rest of the country, the entire place felt surreal, like an idyllic painting come to life.
At the far-right end of the clearing, the front door of a large cabin opened and a woman stepped out onto the porch. Like Henry, she was tall and broad, giving the impression of a sturdy tree that wou
ld damn the wind that tried to knock her over. Dressed in a sweater and a skirt with what appeared to be pants underneath, she strode to the top of the stairs leading down from the porch and regarded them all like they were disappointing school children late for their first day of class.
Chuckling to himself, Henry headed toward her, leaving the rest of them to follow.
“You made it,” the woman called like she wouldn’t have been surprised if they’d failed.
Lindy moved to put herself between Frankie and the woman, and from the hard glance she received, she was fairly sure her action hadn’t gone unnoticed. Sharp eyes lingered on her a heartbeat longer than the rest, only to slide back to Henry when he stopped at the base of the steps.
“Maeve,” Henry said. “Meet Lindy and her friend Wes.”
The woman harrumphed. “Might’ve guessed that, Henry Blackburn. Half-starved thing that she is. You’re fighting it, aren’t you?” She fired the question at Lindy and didn’t wait for a response. “Good for you.”
Her voice was harsh, like the words might be a compliment, might be an insult, and the woman hadn’t yet decided which.
Henry appeared amused as he turned back to Lindy. “This is Maeve Thorncastle and her son Otis.”
Lindy blinked, and only then did she register the boy peering past the gap of the doorway, his body nearly the size of a teenager, but his face and eyes like those of a child. When she spotted him, he flinched and then retreated into the house like a turtle tucking back into its shell.
“Thank you for having us again, Maeve,” Andrew said. “It’s good to see you.”
Maeve scoffed.
A scuffing sound behind them made Lindy look back sharply. A dark-haired man stood several yards off, a machete strapped to his waist and a rifle on his back. He was built like Henry—tall and broad, a wall in human form—but not as old. Maybe in his early thirties with a trimmed beard and dark eyes that seemed to catch everything. A jagged scar crossed his face, stretching from his hairline over to his opposite jaw and then down his throat, giving him a savage look. That he was most likely the bear from the forest seemed obvious. A quiet air of stilled motion hung around him, like a knife hovering just at the edge of breaking skin, and something in her wanted to snarl at the sight.
