“I know. Yeah, I know.” Making up his mind, something soft settled into place in his heart. “The minute I get to her, I’m going to consummate and bring on her shift.”
“Not a very hearts-and-flowers moment for her. Rayne deserves better.”
“She sure as hell does, brother, but I promise I’ll make it up to her or die trying.”
* * * * *
Rayne had never in her life felt so exhausted. She’d been trussed up like a Christmas turkey in the back of the old van Selena was driving for what seemed like several days. The windows in the back of the vehicle were blacked out and she’d honestly lost track of time. She was pretty sure they’d been traveling for at least two days, stopping only late at night when Selena was too tired to drive anymore. On those occasions, the she-wolf would get a room at a ratty motel and ask for one in the back. Both times Rayne had been yanked forcibly from the back of the van and marched into the room with the barrel of a gun jabbing the small of her back.
Gods, how she wished Ringo had consummated with her. By now she could have shifted and torn Selena’s throat out. As she was now, she might heal from a gunshot wound or the slice of a knife but it would be much slower than what a fully shifted lycan could do. She hated feeling so helpless.
Selena was a powerful she-wolf, over a hundred years old. Rayne wasn’t an idiot. She knew she was no match for her.
Since being taken, she tried so hard to connect with Ringo, to let him know she was in trouble. Despite everything that had happened, she just knew in her heart he would never desert her. She prayed that despite their being unconsummated, they were connected enough that he could feel her distress.
Selena never spoke to her, merely treated her as a piece of meat to haul around, but she quickly learned what was going on when two other females, both unmated lycans had been tossed into the back of the van. Like herself, they couldn’t speak because Selena had placed tape over their mouths. Like herself, they were bruised and scraped from head to toe. All wore similar clothing, as if Selena had broken into their houses and stolen them straight from their beds.
The women were young but at least they were out of their teens.
Rayne had no idea where Selena was taking them but she had a pretty good idea they were destined to end up with the rogue lycans who were terrorizing the countryside.
Gods! What a fate!
She’d almost rather be dead than be taken by a lycan who was more beast than man. He could turn her and she’d be bound to him forever. A forced consummation was not only physical rape but a rape of the soul that could prevent her from ever being with the man she was meant for. It was Ringo she loved. It was Ringo she wanted. He was her destiny. Tears burned behind her eyes and she helplessly closed them as the van began to bounce along. Obviously they’d left a main highway and were in the country somewhere. Tensing, she glanced at the other two women. With their mouths covered, it was impossible to make out much about them except for the terror in their eyes. Rayne wished they could at least speak. They could reassure each other and try to find a way out of this awful mess.
Suddenly the van stopped. From the darkness, she knew it was the dead of night. A light went on as Selena stepped from behind the wheel. The back door was thrown open and before she could blink, she and the others were hauled out of the vehicle by several men. She didn’t recognize any of them from the night of the barbecue at the Wolf Creek Ranch from where she’d been taken the first time. Unceremoniously they were carried through a maze of old trailer houses and RVs until they arrived at one on the edge of the clearing.
Each of them was carried into a separate bedroom of the mobile home and she was dumped like a bag of potatoes on a bed. The man who’d carried Rayne immediately left the room but Selena remained behind, glaring at her with eyes full of hate. She reached down and yanked the tape from Rayne’s mouth, making her cry out in pain.
“Shut up! Weak puta!”
“Why are you doing this, Selena? You were one of us.” Rayne’s words were broken as she struggled to speak past her dry lips.
Selena smiled wickedly. “I’m doing it because I can, chica. I hate you all and if I could’ve taken more than you, I would have. I’ll be the mate of the alpha of this pack once we have a new one and, as such, you will have to accept it. I think I’ll enjoy having you subservient to me.”
“What happens now?”
Selena laughed. “Soon you and your little friends will be selected by the men out there. They’re hungry for women, and by supplying you, I will have earned their respect. They won’t dare cross me after presenting such a gift.”
Rayne didn’t dare mention Ringo or the fact they were a mated couple. Like everyone in Cloverfield, she knew the rumors about Selena and Ringo being much more than friends at one time. No, she kept her mouth shut about that. She just had to hope that someone from home would discover she’d been taken and get here before it was too late. And Ringo? Gods! Where was he?
Chapter Eight
Ringo was here wherever the hell here was.
She knew it. She could feel his emotions burning through her very bones. Rage. Worry. She’d slept solidly through that first night despite the aches and pains from Selena’s frantic kidnapping spree. Maybe she was just so exhausted her body had shut down or something. Rayne figured she’d slept through most of the day. The trailer wasn’t air-conditioned and the afternoon heat was stifling. The only solution to the unbearable heat was the bliss to be found in semi-cold showers. She’d already had two of them and sensed another in her near future.
Unfortunately, while she’d slept the sleep of the dead, the other women had been removed from the premises. She had no idea where they’d been taken and worry ate at her. Had they been given to the bunch of lycan males she could, even now, hear laughing and talking in the distance?
The trailer house was as dark as the grave with most of its windows covered with black tar paper that had been affixed somehow on the outside. The only window she could actually see out of was in the bedroom she’d been brought to the night before. Unfortunately, there was nothing but trees and shrubs as far as the eye could see. This place was like a jungle. Frustration ate at her. Surely there was some way to escape and she knew that if Ringo was here as she suspected, he would save her. But when?
At dusk, Rayne lay on the bed beneath a rattling ceiling fan as she sought relief from the heat. At least she was clean and the refrigerator in the kitchen contained a bit of food but the anticipation was killing her. Suddenly she tensed as the very air seemed to change. There was a quiet scratching sound coming from the screen at the open window. Rolling over the bed, she staggered to the window and saw Ringo looking in. Damn, if he didn’t look like an angel to her as he stood there, concern evident in his eyes.
“I can’t stay long,” he whispered as he leaned close. His dark eyes raked her from head to toe. “Are you hurt?”
She rested the palms of her hands against the screen and drank in the sight of him. “No, just banged and bruised up a little. I’m okay. Already healing. Get me out of here. Please.”
Ringo settled his palms against hers with only that fine metal mesh separating them. “I need to explain.”
“No, you don’t. You’d never be a traitor to us—or to me. I couldn’t believe that of you. Not ever.”
He closed his eyes and the sigh she heard coming from him almost broke her heart. “Gods!”
Suddenly he lifted his head and looked around. “I can’t stay. We’re taking them down soon. One call and Gabe and Cactus will join us. Manuel is with Selena right now, explaining that we’re here to join up with them. Figure he’ll keep her occupied for quite awhile.”
“You mean they’re, um…”
“Yeah.”
“No more talking then,” she said. “I’ll look for you. When?”
“Tonight.”
“I’ll be waiting. Be careful.”
Ringo started to turn away. He’d risked so much to help them all and she couldn
’t let him doubt any longer. “Ringo?” He looked back over his shoulder.
“I love you.”
Ringo’s eyes swirled with emotion. He rested his hand on the screen once more. “I’ll be back.”
Later that night she heard raucous sounds through the bedroom window. Yep. The sounds of a bunch of drunken fools were unmistakable. It took a hell of a lot of booze to affect a lycan and again she worried about the other women. These men had already proven themselves to be nothing but criminals. Would the others be okay? Would they be in any condition to fight off inebriated, horny wolves? Closing her eyes, she prayed for their safety and wondered what was happening. Knowing Ringo was coming but not whenwas making her nuts.
After a while the din died down.
Ringo was coming to her. She felt it to the marrow of her bones and then he was there. At first she only heard the rustling of sound outside her window. She sat up in her bed and scrambled over in time to see a heavy razor sliding over the perimeter of the screen.
“I’m comin’.”
“Ringo! Finally. I’ve been so worried, so scared.”
The screen was pulled away and Rayne watched Ringo slither through the opening. There wasn’t much room between the bed and the window so he landed in a heap in the middle of the mattress. She pounced, so relieved to see him, to be able to touch him. Everything that had happened before was just a nightmare that had no basis in fact. His arms went around her as she rained tiny kisses on his face and the corner of his mouth.
“Thank the gods you’re here!”
Ringo rolled with her until she was pinned beneath him and despite their dire circumstances she grinned foolishly up at him. Tears swept the surface of her eyes and then he kissed her. Not a gentle kiss but one of possession and hunger.
Rayne opened to him, tasting his tongue as it brushed her own, thrusting it inside his mouth as she grabbed his long hair to hold him closer. Her breasts pearled, aching and tender, against his chest and unable to resist, she writhed against him as he deepened the kiss.
Finally he drew back and ran the side of his thumb along her cheek. “Listen to me, darlin’,” he began. “We have to be quiet, careful and quick, but first I have to make a call.”
Quick?
What was he talking about?
She didn’t have time to wonder because, without another word, he sat up in the middle of the bed and tugged at his boots. Tossing them aside, he reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out a cell phone while glancing occasionally to the wide-open bedroom window.
“Gabe, it’s me. I’m with Rayne right now and she’s safe. Manuel is keeping Selena occupied at the moment and hopefully he’ll convince her that we defected from the pack and mean to join her.”
Ringo listened for a while, watching her carefully. Rayne didn’t know what the plans were tonight but she had to get over this giddy excitement over his presence and pull her head firmly back on her shoulders if they were to survive what was to come.
“You men need to head this way. Most of this bunch is dead-dog drunk or heading that way fast. Hide out in the woods at a safe distance and I’ll hit speed dial. The next call from me will be to tell ya’ll to get your asses moving but I’ll need a few hours.”
Silence again from Ringo as Gabe spoke then Ringo cleared his throat. “I’m consummating with Rayne tonight before everything goes down. Yeah, yeah, I know. Not the most romantic of circumstances but I won’t have her vulnerable tonight. She needs to be able to shift so she can either fight or get the hell out of here if she has to.”
A thrill of anticipation swept her.
This was what she’d wanted, waited for.
Her heart tightened and her throat clogged with emotion.
Finally he hung up and tossed the phone aside. He stood at the side of the bed and reached for the hem of his tee shirt. The look in his eyes was downright mesmerizing and she found herself wondering if the gods had ever made a sexier man.
Kneeling in the center of the bed, she asked the question that was uppermost in her mind. “Are you doing this because you have to, Ringo? Or because you want to?”
He reached out, grabbed her and hauled her to the edge of the bed. Cupping her face, he stared into her eyes. “What do you think? Everything I said the other night was utter bullshit. It was a big show we devised in case there were spies in the club. It had to be believable and unfortunately you were humiliated in front of everyone.”
“No!”
“Don’t lie to me, honey. Yes, you were and for that, I’m as sorry as hell. I never want to see that look on your face again. It haunts me.”
Tears filled her eyes but when she started to speak, he set his finger against her lips. “There’s never been another woman for me, Rayne. No one I could love anyway. There’s been no one I could give my heart to until you wandered into my sorry life.”
“Oh Ringo.”
“This isn’t the right time or place but, Rayne, I have to ask you. Will you consummate with me tonight?” He looked around the cramped space with contempt. “I promise I’ll make it up to you, sweetheart. You deserve candles and flowers and shit but—”
This time it was her turn to put her fingers to his lips. “Sh. It doesn’t matter,” she whispered. He certainly had a way with words. Candles and flowers and shit? Such a man! It took effort to keep the smile from her face. “The only thing that’s important is that we’re doing this. We’re committing to a life together. I promise to be the best mate I can be.”
Groaning, Ringo pulled her into his arms and breathed into her hair. “I don’t deserve you. I don’t deserve any of this.”
“But you do. You’re the man I love and I’m going to spend the rest of my life telling you how great you are.” She pulled back with a smile. She wanted to linger over the moment but there just wasn’t time. “Let me show you now.”
Needing to touch him, she gently drew her hands over the hard contours of his chest, staying to linger over his washboard abs. Her lips and tongue found his firm flesh. She nipped the muscle at either side of his sternum while reaching down to cup his hard cock through the worn denim of his jeans. Ringo made a low sound and gripped a fistful of her hair and tugged her head back. “You’re beautiful, Rayne. The prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Aw, that’s nice to hear considering I’ve worn these same clothes for a few days. I’m thinking maybe you are just partial to grunge.”
Ringo smiled. “You smell pretty damn sweet though.” He sent his fingers through her hair, catching up the damp curls and settled his lips at her throat. Licking, nipping kissing, he released her hair and grabbed the hem of the oversized tee shirt and pulled it off. Suddenly his hands were at her breasts, thumbing her nipples. Pleasure streaked from the hard tips straight to her belly to settle deep in her pussy. Moisture gathered like a slow-moving song between her legs and her vaginal walls clenched in anticipation. The memory of every erotic moment she’d spent with him in the past coalesced in her mind as he suddenly pushed her back on the bed and dragged her shorts and panties from her body.
Grabbing her thighs, he opened her fully and looked down at her. His teeth flashed white but it was only a semblance of him that she saw. Lupine teeth had elongated. He would bite her, take her, fuck her. Tonight.
“Take me, Ringo,” she panted. “I can’t wait.”
Ringo unsnapped and unzipped his jeans and soon he stood naked, backlit by the moon filtering through the open window. He went still then seemed to come to a decision. “Don’t move,” he whispered.
She closed her eyes, considering her decadent and wanton pose, until he returned, to hold a folded cloth to her mouth.
“What?”
“Shh.”
Quickly she realized it was a small towel from the bathroom. “We can’t risk discovery, Rayne. Bite down on this because I swear to the gods I’m going to make you scream.”
A chill raced over her flesh and she shivered as she bit down on the soft terry cloth. Immedi
ately, he moved over her and took one aching nipple in his mouth. He sucked hard and bit the throbbing, aching peak. The tender scrape had her back bowing from the bed, her body tensing in expectation of more delicious pain. Sensation arrowed downward, zipping straight to her core. Restlessly, she lifted her knees capturing Ringo’s big body between her legs. His rock-hard erection brushed her pussy and a sound broke free only to be caught in the fabric of the towel. The head of his cock brushed through the tender, wet layers and she heard him catch his breath before switching to the other nipple.
The torturous teasing continued as he licked, nipped and sucked at her breasts. He engaged her entire body, a true master. Over and over his cock rubbed her pussy until she wanted to scream her frustration. Suddenly Ringo released her nipple and came up over her on the bed. He removed the cloth from her mouth and bent to whisper against her lips. “Do you know what’s going to happen?”
“Yeah. Mom told me. I know,” she answered. “You’ll fuck me deeply and while you are buried to the hilt, you’ll bite me.”
“And then?”
“Then the base of your cock will swell up and we’ll be locked together.”
“Damn, I wish I could hear you scream, sweetheart, but we can’t risk it.”
She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile but inside she was as frustrated as Ringo. She wanted every little experience of this night to be perfect, the way it was meant to be but that just wasn’t possible. “Make it up to me?”
“Hell yeah.”
Ringo moved his mouth from her throat to her breasts and then lower, tasting every bit of her skin as he went. When he finally bent his head to her pussy, she shakily bit down on the cloth just as a wild cry broke from her lips. The suctioning pull of his mouth was so amazing but when he scraped with his pearly lupine teeth she would’ve shot straight off the bed if he hadn’t held her in place. A shock wave of pleasure ripped through her. He sent his tongue plunging deep and she convulsed around it, screaming out with a muted sound.
He kissed his way back up her body and, needing to touch him in return, she reached down to take his long, thick cock in her hands. Rayne squeezed and played, paying loving attention to his swollen, tender balls. With a low, rumbling sigh, he moved higher, giving her a better angle and she stroked him to her heart’s delight. Her palm drifted over the thick, hot length and she sent her fingers to circle the flanged head, collecting the drop of semen that had settled on the tip. Carefully, she rubbed that single bit of fluid over the head and around the ridge below it.
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