by Niles, Abby
Val’s shouted, “He’s thirty yards from the house!” had knocked all sense out of him and he’d sprinted after them, determined to catch the asshole—and he’d left Ava unprotected.
Without him there, the bastard had gotten to her. Stabbed her. Had been watching her die.
Liam had never wanted to feel Ava drain from his body again, but that connection was what saved her. That, and the sick fuck’s need to watch her bleed out slowly. If he’d done it quickly, Liam would never have been able to save her in time. It would have been over as quickly as her heart had stopped.
He cringed away from the memory of the bright, potent blaze that had sizzled white hot inside him three times tonight as her heart had slowed. So different from the first two times he’d believed she died. That blaze was what had stopped him in the woods. Confused him. He’d never felt anything like it before. The current that was Ava ran strong inside him, but started to pulse, then slowly fade with each passing second. He’d finally realized she was dying. That he needed to get to her immediately.
And his beast had taken over. The shift was instant, and the beast had raced back to the house with a speed Liam would never have achieved in human form. When it crashed through the door of the garage, it saw the bloodied knife held in the madman’s hands, Ava pinned helpless beneath, and bloodlust had consumed his whole being. He’d seen nothing but red—and death. The bastard’s death.
Liam hadn’t hesitated to kill. One jerk of the animal’s mighty head and it was over. His first kill, but he’d do it again as long as it kept Ava from harm. Even if it meant she’d look at him differently now. Couldn’t be with him because of what she’d witness him do.
Exhaling harshly, he tried to banish the horror he saw in her eyes right before she passed out. Horror that had been directed at him.
Would she even want to speak with him when she woke?
A tap came from the door before Val poked her head inside. Her gaze moved to Ava and she grimaced. “I’m sorry to disturb you, Liam, but I have some answers for you I thought you’d like to hear.”
He straightened. “Already.”
“Once we washed the propane off the body and I was able to get his natural scent, it didn’t take long find his home.” She pulled a leather chair beside his and sat down. “His name was Jeremy Lingerfelt. Ring any bells?”
“No, can’t say that it does.”
“Didn’t think it would. It took us a while to piece everything together. Then we found the notebooks.”
“Notebooks?”
“Six of them. One for each of the last six years.” Inhaling, she shifted closer to the edge of the chair. “Liam, he was the mate of the woman killed in the car accident.”
“The one I hit?” He blinked. “But she was married. I met her husband. Her kids. They were all human.”
“All true. According to the notebooks, she and Lingerfelt met six years ago when she was assigned to work on a project with him. They were both chemical engineers that specialized in pharmaceutical ingredients. We think this was how he was so knowledgeable about the stuff he kept injecting Ava with. After they were introduced, the Drall immediately spiked, and you know how the rest goes. They started up a whirlwind affair, and he marked her. She was just as in love with him, knew what he was, but refused to bond with him until she was free of her marriage.” She shook her head. “She was walking away from it all that day. Her husband, her kids, everything, to bond with Lingerfelt.”
All he could do was stare at her while he digested the information. “And then that car coasted out in front of me and I swerved to miss it, but hit her instead. And she died before—”
“Yes.”
Disturbed by what he’d heard, he swallowed. The reciprocation of the bonding was supposed to be a day of celebration but, for this poor bastard, it had turned out to be the day he entered hell. Dea. No wonder he’d gone over the edge.
He glanced at Ava lying so still in the hospital bed. He’d been so close to the same outcome—because of that man.
Knowing the reason didn’t change Liam’s condemnation of him. Though he could understand the man’s madness—hell, if he’d had to live with that emptiness day in and day out after feeling the glory of Ava’s life, he may have gone mad, too—but torturing two innocent women for the sake of revenge was inexcusable.
“He’d been planning his revenge for years, Liam,” Val continued. “Years. Even that reflective glass he used while you two were captured was his invention. Lingerfelt’s basement was like a mad scientist’s laboratory. The notebooks held detailed records from the day he met the woman, his mate, to just yesterday. He wasn’t out in the woods the entire time like we thought. And he’d bugged Ava’s house. We found a computer that had a video feed linked to her living room, kitchen and hallway.”
When Val’s lips pressed together, Liam hesitantly asked, “There’s more, isn’t there?”
“Color me surprised when we came across a different video.”
Liam froze. “Emma didn’t—”
“We know,” Val interrupted. “We have the diary, but I’m not thrilled Ava kept this information from us.”
“She was protecting her sister.”
“Yeah, I get that. That doesn’t mean I’m happy about it. Either way, thought you’d like a little more info about the body he tossed out in front of her sister’s car.”
“So it was a real person?”
Ava hadn’t been sure if it had somehow been a fake.
“Yes. His name was Viktor Reynolds.”
Realization dawned, and he inhaled sharply. “Holy shit. That was the drunk driver who caused me to hit Lingerfelt’s mate with my car. The one that got off with barely a slap on the wrist.”
“The one and only.”
“He really was going to punish everyone responsible for her death, wasn’t he? Even people not directly involved.”
“Liam, those journals hold five years of meticulous planning. Every failed attempt was recorded, and the solution to those attempts. Blueprints, diagrams, freaking personal schedules down to the minute—Reynolds’, yours, Ava’s, Emma’s. He’d recently even started keeping a record of me. I’ve never seen anything so elaborately plotted. And he was determined to get to Ava.”
“How did he get into the house?”
“He kidnapped a young shifter, drenched him with propane, then took him out to the woods and set him free. To confuse SPAC further, he’d placed decoy scents. It was mass chaos out there. We didn’t know what was going on until one of our agents finally found the shirt soaked in propane. Then we knew we’d been duped.” She sent Liam a grim smile. “Thankfully, you were bonded to Ava and realized what he was doing before we did.”
Liam exhaled as his gaze once again strayed to Ava, thinking he may have still gotten to her too late.
“How,” he cleared the hoarseness from his throat. “How did he kill Viktor Reynolds?” “Blunt force, from what I read.”
“And his body?”
“It’s buried somewhere off the road where her sister wrecked their mom’s car. I have a team searching for it now.”
“Did he have family?” he asked.
“No. Divorced. No kids. Parents deceased. Only child. Makes my job easier. Since he was human, this could’ve gotten messy for us very quickly.”
“What’s going to happen when you find the body?” he asked.
Val gave a tight smile. “SPAC will take care of it.”
Meaning he would never know. Probably better that way.
Val got to her feet. “Anyway, I hope it brings you the closure you needed.”
Closure. He looked at Ava’s pale face. No he hadn’t found closure yet. He wouldn’t until she opened her eyes and he saw love shining back at him and not fear.
After Val left, he cradled Ava’s hand in his. “Please, wake up baby.”
It was hours later before one of her fingers twitched. At the movement, he straightened with his heart in her throat. A low moan followed next.
“Ava?”
Slowly her eyes opened. Terrified she’d cringe away from him, it took everything in him to hold her gaze, but he forced himself to, forced himself to face her judgment.
When her gaze focused on him, a small smile came to her lips. “Liam,” she whispered.
A stuttered exhale spurted past his lips as he shot off the chair to sit on the edge of the bed and brought the back of her hand to his mouth, kissing it. “You don’t hate me?”
“I could never hate you,” she whispered weakly. “I love you.”
“Oh, thank you, Dea, I thought…you were so horrified.”
“I’d just witnessed my first beheading, Liam. I think I was entitled to a little horror at it.”
Relieved, he laughed softly. “I love you, Ava…so much.”
She was silent for a moment before she asked, “D-did you know him?”
“No, but Val was able to figure it all out.” While he quickly filled her in about Val’s visit, sadness crept into her eyes.
“I hate him for everything he did to us…to Emma, but there is a part of me that feels sorry for him. How is that?”
“It’s a sad situation.”
Her hand tightened around his. “I never want you to suffer like that man did. I want to make you whole.”
At her words, his chest expanded. “Let’s get Miles in here and see how long it will be before I can take you home.”
“Our home.”
Elation filled him. He was finally going home.
Thirty minutes later, that elation deflated to concern as Miles pulled him out into the hall after checking Ava.
“She’s very weak, Liam. She’s out of the woods, of course, but her body has taken a beating. She needs time to heal. No strenuous activities.” Miles penned him with a pointed glare. “Including sex. At least for a week. I know you’re anxious to have her bond to you, but she’s not ready. Do you understand?”
Panic threatened to suffocate him as he made himself nod his understanding. After everything they’d been through, they would still have to wait. Anything could happen in a split second. A tumble down the stairs. A trip over the carpet…a car accident.
Until Ava could bond to him, she still could be taken from him. And the possibility terrified him.
…
Five days later, Ava slipped off the stool and tip-toed out of the garage, while Liam had his focus solely on sanding a piece of oak. It wasn’t that she was trying to be deceitful by sneaking away, she loved the bullheaded man, but she needed a moment alone—a moment where he wasn’t hovering over her like she was a walking porcelain doll.
Ever since they returned from the hospital to an immaculately clean house, thanks to SPAC, Liam hadn’t left her side. Literally. She couldn’t even go to the bathroom without him…hovering.
Though she understood his fear, it was exhausting.
She made it no farther than the kitchen, before the door leading to the garage slammed against the wall and a panicked “Ava!” bellowed throughout the house.
Suppressing the need to roll her eyes, she said, “In the kitchen.”
“You need to sit down!” He took her arm and started tugging her to the living room “You can’t be walking around like this. What if you pass out and hit our head or you get dizzy and fall?”
Enough was enough.
“All right, seriously,” Ava said, yanking out of his grip. “Take your pants off. Now.”
He froze, staring at her as if she’d said she was from another planet and not that she wanted him to get naked. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” Wrapping her arms around his neck, she rubbed her body against his. “Pants. Off. Now.”
“Ava.” He tried to pull her off him, but she clung tighter, making him groan. ”It’s only been five days. Dr. Bradley said—”
She pressed a finger to his lips. “I don’t give a rat’s ass what Dr. Bradley said. I feel fine, better than fine and now I want to make you feel fine. No more of this worrying. Please. Let me make you whole.”
When he didn’t argue, she took hold of his arm and led him to the stairs. As she passed Emma’s old room and headed to hers, he gently tugged her to a stop. “There? Don’t you think that room has bad karma? It’s where he attacked you. Twice.”
The first night back in the house, they’d slept on the couch together. The next day Emma had packed up her stuff and went back to their parent’s place as she’d planned to. Ava and Liam had slept in that room ever since.
But they couldn’t avoid Ava’s bedroom any longer—it used to be their room before, and she was determined to reclaim it for them.
“That room is also where I slept beside you for six months. Where you held me each night, and where we fell deeper and deeper in love.” She took his face between her hands. “Yes, bad things have happened in it, but it’s also filled with love. That is what I want to focus on. Replace those bad memories with good.”
The uncertainty eased out of him. “I like how you think.” He paused, studying her intently. “You really ready for this?”
“Liam, we’ve missed eight months and five days, let’s not miss any more.”
He grinned as he gathered her close to his chest. “I’m really going to be yours? Finally?”
She stood on her tip-toes touching her lips to his. His arms tightened around her as she whispered, “For eternity.” She pulled back. “Now, carry me over the threshold.”
Happiness lit his face as he lifted her up into his arms and stepped into their room. “Do you remember how I marked you?” he asked.
“Since I had no idea what you were doing at the time, the details are a bit fuzzy,” she admitted wryly.
“Oh, this will be fun.” Setting her on her feet, he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her to stand between his legs. His hands roamed over her hips, then he pulled her pants and panties down, and had her kick them aside. He lifted her shirt over her head, tossed it, and she stood naked before him. His gaze trailed warmth over her body.
He swallowed hard. “You’re so beautiful.”
A pleased flush heated her skin, but she put her hands on her hips. “You’re supposed to be instructing me, not ogling me.”
He chuckled. “Hard not to, but you’re right.” His gaze lowered to the curls at the apex of her thighs, and his tongue slipped out to lick his lips. She knew that look, knew what he wanted, and he confirmed it by saying, “I started here.” He cupped her between her legs. “Do you remember how I buried my head here, sucking and licking until you were panting my name, pleading?”
She moaned, desire twisting low in her belly. “Mm-hmm.”
Liam closed his eyes as his finger delved inside her. “Oh, yes you remember. Already so wet and ready for me.”
“I also remember you left me unsatisfied to seek your own release,” she murmured. He’d brought her so damn close to completion, only to thrust inside her like a wild bull, driving in and out of her, hard and fast. Only after he climaxed—
“But I came back, didn’t I?” He moved his hand back and forth against her, making her hips rock into the motion. Pleasure shot through her.
“You were trembling with such need, all it took was my tongue touching your clit and you came.” His arm swooped around waist and he spun her down onto the bed, settled between her parted thighs. “Like this.”
His tongue circled her. She arched up, grabbing the back of his head, keeping him pressed against her as he teased her with another wet caress. “Jesus, Liam!”
“What did I do next?” he whispered, pulling back to nip the inside of one of her thighs.
The orgasm was instant, exploding out of her body. She arched up, consumed, and just as the last shudder left her, he nipped the other thigh, and she was thrown into another climax. Long, hard, and soul-grabbing, wracking her body with pleasure. Gasping, she collapsed back against the mattress, muscles like water, eyes closed, body humming. “God, I love these marks!”
She opened her eyes. Liam
was staring down at her with such supreme masculinity a jolt of pure lust shot through her.
She yanked at his shirt, and he helped her pull it over his head. “So you are saying, I need to—” she pushed at his chest and made him lie back against the pillow, kissing down his chest as she worked on the button and zipper of his jeans. After he peeled them down his legs, she tossed them off the bed and took his cock in her hand “—put my mouth here first?”
She stroked him once, feeling a deep female satisfaction when his hips bucked up and his eyes closed, a rumbling groan vibrating from his throat. “Uh-huh.”
“And right before you orgasm—” she straddled his hips and ground her wet center against the length of him “—I slide you deep inside me, and ride you until you come?”
Eyes closed, teeth bared, tortured pleasure strained his face. “Y-yes.”
“And then what?”
His eyes opened, and the caramel gaze of his beast gazed back at her. “Bite the top of each shoulder.”
“Like this?” She bent down and sank her teeth into the exposed skin. His body jerked hard beneath her.
“Fuck, yes! Like that.”
“All right, then.” She gently kissed his lips, and slid down to take him into her mouth. She groaned around him. It had been too long since she’d taken in his long length, tasted the essence that was Liam. He was already rock hard, pulsating in her mouth. With each stroke of her tongue, he thrust up helplessly, making her feel powerful. She loved having this control over him—always had. Always would. When it came to the bedroom, she and Liam had never shied away from anything.
She gripped the base of his cock in her hand, knowing the tight pressure of her palm, the wicked whirl of her tongue, and the suction of her mouth would ensure a quick release. She made it two more bobs before his hand fisted in her hair, stopping her.
“Now. Fuck me now!”
She straddled his hips, guiding him deep inside her. She placed her hands on his chest for leverage as she rode him hard and fast. His fingers dug into her hips, helping her keep up the speed. Then his eyes popped open. “Bite. Now!’
