by Vivian Wood
Samuel’s mouth moved, but he wavered. After a moment, Josiah and Noah came forward, their movements cautious. Josiah grabbed Samuel by the neck, using nearly the same hold as Samuel had on Faith, and after a moment Samuel caved.
Faith watched as Jared’s men turned tail and fled. Once their cars were far enough off, she bent and laid the gun on the ground. She could hear the metal thunk of it as it came to rest on the gravel driveway.
“Okay there, Faith?” Noah was saying, stepping close and reaching for her. She half-collapsed the second he touched her, wanting to dissolve, unable to comprehend or cope. She looked at her brother’s body, uncertainty flooding her.
But then she saw Gavin struggling to sit up, and all her emotions returned in a sickening flood. Angerfearsadnessfearsicknessfearlove.
Faith flung herself away from Noah, stumbling over to Gavin, dropping to her knees.
“Gavin,” she breathed. He looked up at her, visibly confused.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I killed him,” Faith said, her voice breaking. “H-he was going to kill you. He had a knife.”
“Okay, it’s okay,” Gavin said, wincing as he pulled her onto his lap.
“No, Gavin, I—”
“Shhh. Let’s talk about it later, okay?” he asked.
Faith looked at his blood-streaked face and felt her own crumple. Tears came at last, great shuddering sobs.
“He was going to kill you,” she kept saying. “I love you, he can’t kill you.”
She actually screamed and fought when Josiah picked her up and pulled her from Gavin.
“Gotta get him cleaned up, girl,” Josiah grunted. “Be still and I’ll let you stay with him.”
She quieted at that, content when she saw that Noah was helping Gavin up, supporting him and moving him inside. Josiah put her on in a chair, cautioning her to stay there.
Josiah and Noah made short work of cleaning Gavin up, getting all the blood off at least. They laid him out on the couch, trying to make him as comfortable as possible. Noah went in the bathroom and returned with bandages, antibiotics, and even a few painkillers.
“H-he needs a doctor,” Faith said.
Josiah ignored her, examining the knife wound on Gavin’s chest.
“It’s not deep. He’ll be fine. He’s a Beran,” Josiah proclaimed, giving Gavin a pat on the back that made him wince. “Got that quick healing. He’ll be right as rain.”
“I’m right here,” Gavin said, his voice gone to gravel.
Noah bound the wound and made sure Gavin’s nose wasn’t broken, then forced the painkillers on him. That done, Noah said he’d done as much as he could.
“You want us to stay?” Noah asked Gavin, giving Faith an unsure glance.
“No.” Gavin was firm. “Wait. Take the gun, though.”
As if Faith had any use for that now.
Josiah gave her a long look, then sighed.
“You need anything special done with your brother’s body, girl?” the Alpha asked.
Faith blinked. There was that feeling again, the numbness and ice.
“No,” she answered.
“Right then,” Josiah said. He made to leave, then paused, turning back to Faith. “You did good, girl.”
With that pronouncement and a few more concerned glances from Noah, they were gone. Faith looked down at her hands, wondering if she should feel more horrified.
“Faith,” Gavin rasped. She looked up, her stomach sinking. This was it, then. After she’d killed a man in front of him…
“Can you come lay with me, please?” Gavin asked. He pulled back the afghan that Noah had settled over him, beckoning. “I’m getting a little cold.”
Faith got up and moved over to the couch, every inch of her body trembling. Gingerly and slowly, she laid down against Gavin on the couch, letting out a shaking breath when he enfolded her in the blanket and wrapped his arm around her.
“Gavin—” she started.
“Let’s sleep,” Gavin cut her off. He shifted and pulled her closer, pressing their bodies together everywhere but near his knife wound. He sighed and kissed the back of her head, then settled in to sleep. It seemed like only a few moments before his body relaxed, his breathing gentle against her neck.
And Faith, for all she’d witnessed that morning, followed him sooner than she could have ever conceived.
69
Fourteen
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Gavin winced at he sat up from lacing his tennis shoes. The bed in ‘his’ guest house room creaked under his weight, making him long for the comfort of his own custom-made mattress back in his Billings condo. It was one of few extravagances that he allowed himself, with his home, car, and wardrobe being simple and economical.
“Going for a run,” he said, turning to Faith. She stood in the doorway, arms crossed, looking annoyed. Inwardly, he could admit that he hadn’t been the best patient for the last week. Once he’d convinced Faith that he didn’t blame her, hate her, or feel anything but antipathy toward her now-deceased father and brother, she’d insisted on nursing him. If that’s what you called her relentless, determined pampering and coddling.
“I don’t think so, buddy,” she said, stepping toward him. She was wearing tight gray yoga pants under a lose t-shirt. Though her skin was covered, those pants were unfair. He could see every inch of her body, and it was killing him even more than her smothering care-taking.
“I am fit as a fiddle,” he said, clearing his throat.
“You are a liar,” she said, her eyes narrowing. She came closer, and Gavin’s mouth went dry. In truth, he didn’t even really want to go for a run. But he was trapped in the house with her, and while Faith thought he was still ailing, his libido had long since recovered. In full force.
“I’m restless,” he admitted.
“I don’t care what you are. You’re not leaving this house until I’m satisfied with your recovery,” she scowled.
Gavin’s lips twitched. She was pushing his buttons, every one of them, and she didn’t even know it. She was different now, after the Alphas’ duel. Her sassy mouth and stubborn attitude were an interesting development, one he was already starting to like.
“Oh yeah?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she shot back. She was right next to him now, staring down at him, tempting him.
“What if I prove to you that I’m completely healed?” he asked.
She huffed.
“And how are you going to do that? Jumping jacks?” she asked, a single brow arched.
“I was thinking…” He reached out and pulled her down on top of him, sprawling back on the mattress. His lips found hers in a surprised gasp, and he chuckled as he kissed her. He pressed his body up into hers, rubbing his erection against her belly and evoking a second gasp from her lips.
“Gavin!” she squeaked.
“I think this proves my readiness,” he said, pushing back the thick blonde mane of her hair so that he could nibble on her neck.
“It proves nothing!” she protested.
“You’re right,” he said. He growled and rolled over with her, taking a more dominant position. He pressed down into her body, brushing his fingertips over her breast, satisfied when he found her hardened nipple through the soft cotton of her t-shirt.
“I.. I am,” she breathed.
“I obviously have to be inside you to prove that,” he teased, nipping her neck.
“Gavin, no!” she said, but her breathlessness belied her desire.
“I bet I can change your tune,” he said, recapturing her lips.
“You are a terrible patient,” she mumbled against his mouth.
He kissed her words away, thrusting his tongue between her lips, savoring her sweetness. She gave a soft sigh, wordlessly reminding him of her innocence. The sound tempered him, keeping his barely-contained lust at a simmer.
Faith was giving him a gift, letting him be the first, the only man who ever truly possessed her in the fullest se
nse of the word. Gavin resolved to bide his time, make sure she was wet and moaning, begging for him before he slaked his thirst and buried himself in her body.
“You are wearing too many clothes,” Gavin said, tugging up the hem of her shirt and slipping his hands underneath to touch the smooth expanse of skin underneath.
“I’m not the only one,” Faith said, heat rising in her cheeks even as she said the words. She surprised him, though by now he shouldn’t feel that way. She had so many facets. Fearful girl, dutiful daughter, trembling virgin. But she was also clever and determined, unflinching in what she thought to be her duty.
Hell, she’d killed for him. Her own brother, no less. Should her sudden boldness be any kind of shock, after that? Gavin thought not.
So he stripped off her shirt first, baring her lacy white bra, and then rose to strip off his own. He watched her eyes widen with appreciation as they tracked down his torso, a deep flush of male satisfaction filling him.
She reached out and trailed her fingertips over his pec, down the steel wall of his stomach, only hesitating when she touched the thick vee of muscle at the top of his groin.
“You are beautiful,” she told him, her hungry gaze burning him up with anticipation.
“You’re stealing all my good lines,” he teased, reaching out and caressing the soft curve of her hip. He slid his hand up, cupping her breast through the thin lace of her bra. She sighed again as he teased her pebbled nipple with a single fingertip, keeping his touch feather-light.
“And you are tormenting me,” she informed him, shifting her hips against his. Innocent, and yet her obvious yearning was more deadly and seductive than anything a practiced courtesan could attempt.
“We’ve barely begun,” he promised.
He moved off her, sitting and pulling her onto his lap, nudging her knees apart so that she straddled him. Giving her a measure of control, even as she sapped his. He watched her closely as he cupped her breasts, measuring their heavy weight in his hands.
She fidgeted and bit her lip, her hips nudging his. She had no idea what she did, pressing her heat against him like that. If it weren’t for his jeans, he thought he could probably feel her dampness through the thin cotton of her yoga pants. Soon, she would be more than damp, she’d be soaking wet.
Gavin leaned in, brushing his lips against her nipple through the lace of her bra. Still light, teasing, stoking the flame within her.
“Gavin,” she protested, half a sigh.
“Relax,” he told her. “I haven’t even given you anything to be greedy for yet.”
She turned red at his words, but she merely bit her lip again. Waiting, trusting.
Gavin raked his teeth over her nipple, savoring her gasp for a heartbeat before he released her breast in favor of a deep, demanding kiss. The moment that she relaxed under the invading thrust of his tongue, he moved on again, burying his fingers in her hair and tugging her head back. Giving himself access to the sensitive skin at her neck, her nape. He sucked and nipped, marking her pale flesh, finding a spot behind her ear that made her cry out in surprised pleasure.
Her hands clutched his shoulders, clinging to him desperately. He slid down her bra straps one at a time, a slow and calculated movement, all the while kissing and marking the flawless column of her neck, the sleek lines of her collarbone. Kiss, suck, bite. Tease, then pleasure, then a hint of pain that fanned the flames higher and higher.
She was moving against him now, her hips rolling in a soft rhythm that couldn’t be taught. It was artless but seductive, a sign of her growing hunger, one that matched his own.
Gavin tugged down the cups of her bra, freeing her breasts in slow increments. When she was bare before him she arched her back, thrusting her breasts toward his face.
“Hmmm,” Gavin murmured, looking her dead in the eye as he licked his lips. “I wonder what it is that you want.”
Her gaze narrowed, a pout forming on her lips.
“Is it this?” he asked, leaning in and placing a kiss between her breasts. Another, longer kiss to the sensitive underside of one heavy globe. Another just above, then to the side.
“Gavin!” she said, one hand gripping the back of his neck. As if she would pull him close, press her breast to his lips. But she hesitated, and he took pity on her.
“Maybe this?” he asked, running his lips over one petal-pink, pebbled nipple.
“Ahhh,” she hissed, those hips working against him again, rubbing against his cock. “Yes, yes.”
Gavin flicked his tongue over her nipple in a quick swipe, and she rewarded him with a hard thrust of her hips. She pulled at him now, arching close to his lips, her back curving as he splayed a hand over her ass to pull her closer, closer.
“Ask me to taste you, Faith,” Gavin told her. He liked his women vocal, and if he would be her first, her only, he would have to show her what pleased him best. “I want to hear what you want me to do.”
“Taste me,” she sighed, no hesitation. No games, hardly even a blush this time.
Gavin obliged, closing his lips over her nipple, flicking and swirling his tongue over the tip. He drank in her moan, long and soft and filled with need.
When Faith’s hands left his shoulders to settle on his hip bones, her thumbs brushing his waistline in burning strokes, Gavin sucked hard and moaned into her flesh. He bucked his hips up, showing her his want without reserve.
She scooted back a bit, pulling away from his hungry mouth, her fingers unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans. She bit her lip, shoving his jeans down a few inches. His cock strained against his tight boxer briefs, the tip peeking out, begging for her attention.
“Touch me,” he encouraged. When she tugged down his boxer briefs and brushed the backs of her fingers over his throbbing erection, he bit his lip to suppress a strangled groan.
She found the glistening drops of precum at his tip, touching them with curious fingertips, spreading the silky liquid over the thick crown of his cock. Her tentative explorations weren’t enough, they were only making him greedy.
Gavin took her hand and curled it around his cock, closing his fingers around hers and showing her the right pressure. He moved her hand, making her pump his length several times before he released her.
“I want you,” Faith whispered, her eyes flicking back and forth from his face to where she gripped his rigid length. Gavin thrust up into her touch, a groan tearing from his chest.
“Enough,” he said, grabbing her hand. “I need to make you ready. I’m too big for a virgin to take without being very, very excited.”
Faith bit her lip, clearly curious.
“Like what you did the other night?” she asked shyly.
“Much more than that,” Gavin promised. “But first…”
70
Fifteen
Gavin shifted Faith off his lap, shucking his jeans and boxer briefs in one smooth motion. Faith raised a brow, but let him strip her bare too. He stepped away from the bed and went to the bathroom, returning with a shiny foil packet that he showed her. A condom, she realized.
“I don’t want you to worry about anything you’re not ready for,” he explained as he unwrapped it and rolled it on.
His consideration of her needs filled her chest with something dangerous, something she’d felt acutely in the moments before she’d shot her brother. Something a lot like love, but Faith shoved the idea to the back of her head. Right now was about the physical, not the emotional.
Faith gave Gavin a huge smile, opening her arms to him, drawing him back to the bed. He sat down, dragging her back onto his lap again, face to face, nothing else between them now. Faith bit her lip and reached down, curiosity plain on her face as she touched him, exploring the condom’s slippery surface. She took his length in her palm again, giving him an experimental stroke, satisfied when the condom stayed in place like a second skin.
Gavin grunted, hunger blooming afresh on his face.
Pulling her hand away, he grabbed her ass and brought her f
lush to his body, trapping his erection between them, pressing the base of it up against the wet heat of her core. When he bucked, brushing against her most sensitive flesh, she shivered.
“Oh!” Faith uttered. Gavin brought her arms up to circle his shoulders, then he kissed her. Deep, slow, and hard, invading her mouth, rubbing against her where she needed it most. He kissed her for long, lazy minutes, starting a gentle rhythm between them, nudging her body with his until she caught on, rolling her hips as her breathing quickened.
Gavin broke the kiss, spreading one hand over her lower back while the other slid between them. The calloused pad of his thumb found that spot, the one he’d teased so mercilessly at the hot springs. Delicious warmth spread out through her body, making her core and breasts and lips burn.
“Do you like that, Faith?” Gavin murmured, running his lips over her neck. Faith shuddered, barely able to nod.
“Tell me how much you like it,” he said.
“A l-lot,” she breathed. “I… I want more.”
“Use my name, so I know you know who’s giving you pleasure. Say, ‘I want more, Gavin’.”
“I want… I want more, Gavin,” Faith said, trying to keep her eyes open as his hips rocked, pressing his length against her, that thumb tracing slow circles. He touched her where she needed it, but she did want more.
“I love hearing you talk to me, telling me what you want,” he said, scraping his whiskered chin against the suddenly sensitized skin where her neck and shoulder met, his teeth nipping her.
“I want more,” she said, louder this time. “I want you in… inside.”
Faith suddenly found herself wishing that she knew more, knew how to talk to him, make him excited. She lacked even the words for what she needed, but she had to try.
“I want your fingers, like last time,” she finally said.
“Good, very good,” Gavin praised. “But I’m going to give you more than that.”
Then he was moving her, laying her out as he stretched out beside her. He found her lower lips with two fingertips, teasing the spot that ached most before sliding lower, lower.
