by Honor James
Nodding as he ground fresh sea salt into the bowl he quickly tossed the fries and then sat down in the chair at her side though he did shift just a hair away. At her hurt look he shook his head. “I’m on the edge as it is, Harker. I need a little time for control or I might do something that I’d hate myself for because I’d be hurting you.” Reaching out he laid his hand lightly over hers. “I just need a bit more control,” he said again softly.
She turned her hand over in his and moved closer. “You won’t hurt me, Miklos. I know that as much as I know my own name. I have touched your very soul as we have dreamed together just as you have mine. Could you see me hurting you?” she queried, really wanting to know his reply.
“No,” he said with a frown, “of course not. But you are injured and if I don’t get my instincts under control I will strip you down, drop you, and do something that will get me hit again I’m sure if I even bring it up. That is what I’m talking about and with your injuries I really, really don’t want to explain to the hospital staff or your crew why you’re back in there getting readmitted and stitched up again.”
“Right.” A slow grin spread over her face as she continued. “Although it would be fun as hell to be able to do that and then have to make that explanation.” And it made her all kinds of needy to know that he wanted her as badly as she wanted him.
“You say that now, but I’m thinking as they are stitching you up again and you’re in agony you’d be threatening me with things that I’d rather never actually hear a woman that could or will be intimate with me ever say.” He smiled at her slightly mockingly. “Eat up, you need the energy to let your body heal, Harker. We’ll worry about getting you all worked up when you’re healed. Until then”—he slid his hand free—“I need just a few minutes to keep from being in that position.”
“All right, love,” she said with a grin and moved slightly from him, giving him his space once more. When he seemed to be more in control of himself she began to eat slowly. “I will heal, you will be surprised how quickly I heal and I think it’s mostly because I have led a rough-and-tumble life.” Her leg began to ache as she sat there so she adjusted position. “I just ache and hurt from time to time with old injuries.”
Looking to her he knew what she was referring to this time and nodded slowly. “Put your foot up,” he said, shifting so she’d be able to use his leg as a prop. Patting his knee he watched and waited. “Come on, Harker, I’m in control again so I’ll be fine. Besides, this is about you being comfortable.”
She twisted in her seat and gave him her leg. “That felt so good when we were dreaming. I swear I woke and I could still feel your hands on my thigh.” It had felt better than it had in a very, very long time.
Shrugging slightly Miklos popped the last of his burger into his mouth and chewed as he moved his fingers up and down her leg, gently massaging it. “Was this one of the injuries that they caused?” he asked quietly. He didn’t really want to know and yet he wanted to know everything about her, even the painful stuff.
“No, this was from a burning building falling on me.” She tugged at her pants slightly and showed him the marred flesh there. It was clearly a third-degree burn that had been grafted and mostly healed over time, even he could see that. “I had a ceiling beam fall on me. The docs are amazed I’m walking, let alone still working.”
“I’m not,” he said and shrugged when she threw him a questioning look. “You have a will of iron and don’t take ‘no’ for an answer. You figure out how to make something happen and get it done. You don’t let anyone stand in your way. Not bad traits to have especially when mated to a dominant creature like a Wolf, but I’m hoping that you know how to bend a little, too.” He was slowly learning the same trait himself. Relationships were give and take. To demand constantly stunted them in the worst of ways.
She leaned back and smiled. “I think that for the right man I could seriously learn to bend.” For him she had a feeling she could bend as much and as often as he needed. She would win some of the battles, she knew, but some she had a feeling would have both of them relenting, give and take.
As his fingers massaged the aching thigh she let out a small moan of appreciation. “Your hands are perfect, Miklos. That feels so very good.” It was sending tingles down her spine.
A few minutes later he ran a light hand down her leg, his hands resting gently on her ankle. “How’s it now?” he asked softly as he sat back and watched her, his hands not moving from her foot, needing the connection now.
“It feels better than it has in forever, Miklos. Even when I was in PT and would get rubdowns it never came close to feeling as good as what you just did. Thank you for that. For giving me a moment without the dull aches of the past to remind me of then.”
Shrugging he smiled slightly. “It’s the least I can do. I’ve learned a few things over the years having four brothers that loved to pound on each other.” Watching her for a few minutes he suddenly shifted her leg down. “Why don’t you go do the tour and I’ll clean up a bit and then I’ll join you and we can either take a look around outside or hit the sack.”
“Only if you swear that you won’t run from what you want to do to me in our dreams, Miklos.” She felt the heat, the need from him, and it burned as hot as her own need and heat did. She was hungry, desperate for everything, anything. She wanted him. To hell with her injured back. She wanted him. “How long will you push me away, Miklos? Do we wait until I have healed and the stitches are out? Do we wait until it is no longer an angry, puffy red? How long?” she whispered as she licked her suddenly dry lips.
Looking at her he sighed softly. “Until you are fully healed and can take whatever comes,” he said quietly before getting to his feet. “Go and take your walk. You need the exercise to make sure you don’t stiffen up. I’ll clean up and we can talk later, make some choices, some decisions,” he murmured, holding out his hand.
She slipped her hand into his and squeezed as she stood. “Don’t run from me, Miklos. You would really not want to see just what I can do with fire there, pretty boy.” She would never hurt him, but if he ran she would be sorely tempted. “Now, I will walk around and get to know our home, but then I want to curl up into that massive bed of yours, pipe up the fire, turn off all the lights, and sleep with you, Miklos. In our dreams, however…” She gave him a hot and suggestive look. “Well I think you can imagine…” He had played hell on her waking moments in the beginning. Just the thought of him giving her near orgasms in the middle of training in a gym full of her coworkers, not exactly classy. Oh hell yeah he wasn’t going to get away from her. Ever.
Chapter 14
Lifting a brow he shook his head at her. “Go, woman,” he said with a growl before he stepped away himself. Moving around the table he picked up the dishes and slowly began to clean. After washing them, he left them in the rack to dry. He’d put them away in the morning. For now though, he wanted to go and see where Harker was at. Inhaling slowly he tracked her down but stayed in the doorway watching her as she moved around slowly.
She was looking at the paintings and her hand reached out and hovered over the visage of a small child there. She felt him and without turning asked, “This is you, isn’t it?” How had a painting survived from the battles and war that his land had been thrown in when his family had been murdered? Looking at the woman and man whose hands were on his shoulders, she smiled. “Your parents?”
Nodding slowly he moved forward to stand just to her left. “Yeah,” he murmured softly. “The night we left we didn’t go far and two days later we returned and took each of our portraits with us. We hid them with a friend and then, a few years later, collected them before coming to the States. We wanted to have one piece of our family with us always and a way to remember our parents.” Reaching out he touched his mother’s face. “I can still hear her laughter but I can’t remember her voice when she spoke or sang, but her laughter haunts me.”
“The joy,” she assumed and nodded. “I’m glad tha
t you have this.” She turned and faced him. “I want that kind of love, Miklos,” she admitted. She looked back into the faces of his parents and it was there, the clear love that the mates held for each other. It was nearly blinding in its power.
“Me, too,” he said quietly, looking down at her as she stared up at the portrait. Clearing his throat after a moment he looked away before sneaking another peek at her. “What haven’t you seen yet?” he asked, his chest feeling heavy after their brief talk about his parents. Any time he spoke of them he felt the same way and just needed time to let the old wounds of the loss fade back into his memories.
“I’ve seen it all.” She was watching him, her eyes taking all of him in, from the way he tensed to how he was balanced up on the balls of his feet. She was very observant, something he’d have to try and remember. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Miklos, I didn’t mean to cause you pain, just tell you how much I wanted that, so you would be fully aware of what I am asking for from this between us.”
“I know that, Harker,” he said, quietly turning his head to look at her fully before his eyes moved up to the portrait again. “It’s still a sore point for me talking about my parents. I was extremely close to my mother and her death nearly killed me once it finally hit and we weren’t running anymore,” he murmured. “She was my world,” he revealed, lowering his eyes to meet hers again. “I never want to feel that pain again. I know I keep pushing you away, but I need to go slow, Harker.”
“I’m sorry, Miklos.” He needed time to slow, and she needed the affirmation that they belonged. “All right, we will do this as you need and want, my dear one. We will take the time you need. I will stop pushing you.” She stepped back and let her hands fall to her sides, hugging herself after a thought. “I think I’m ready for sleep now.” She wondered if he had a separate room for her to crash in.
Cursing, Miklos moved to her and took her hands in his, kissing each gently before he tugged her closer to him and wrapped her in his arms. “I don’t want you to just stop touching me, Harker. I’m a sensory animal. We like touch as much as any others do. But I do need time to adjust to having you in my life and the thought that I won’t lose you. Because, right now, I’m terrified I will lose you, that you’ll walk away, that something will happen to you,” he revealed even though it went against his instincts to do so.
“I’m not walking away, Miklos, ever.” She grinned, wrapping her arms around him, and squeezed his waist before laying her head against his chest. “I really am, however, getting sleepy, Miklos, so if we are going to my house we should go now, love. However, I would still really love to sleep in that bed with you, if you want me there still?”
“Of course I still want you here,” he said against her hair squeezing her just a little, ever mindful of her wounds. “Come on, let’s find you something to wear for bed and we will crash for the night. Together,” he added after a breath of time. “I want you in my bed and in my arms, Harker.”
Harker smiled and nodded. “I’m glad that you do because I was just thinking of a way to convince you that I needed to sleep in your arms, forever in your arms, without pushing you too hard and too fast.” Their dreams would be another thing. She just hoped she wasn’t as forceful in them as she was in reality.
“Then let’s get you into something more comfortable,” he said, leading her from the room and turning the lights off. “Go into the bedroom and grab something from my closet,” he suggested. “I just need to secure the house and turn everything off. There’s a couple new toothbrushes in the bathroom cabinet and the toothpaste is in the top left drawer. I’ll be right there,” he told her as he leaned down and kissed her softly.
She pulled back and nodded. “Go, I will find something to wear.” Like just a T-shirt. When she moved from him and into the bedroom, she went straight to the closet, and after a brief glance took out one of the white T-shirts and pulled off her clothes, folding them neatly and putting them on a chair before pulling the shirt slowly over her head.
She was gasping for air, the pain ripping through her when she finally finished pulling on the shirt. Licking her lips she moved toward the bathroom and very quickly brushed her teeth and washed up slightly.
Exhausted from just the simple act of getting ready for bed she sat on the side of the bed and then curled up on her side while she waited for him to return to her.
Moving through the house Miklos quickly locked up and then headed back to the room. Checking on her he went into the bathroom and washed up quickly before brushing his teeth and then returning to the room. Going into the closet he stripped and pulled on a pair of boxers and a shirt. Moments later he had the lights off, the drapes pulled, and was sliding into bed next to her. Reaching out he went to brush back her hair but instead clenched his hand and lowered it to her shoulder to lightly stroke her skin. “Are you okay, Harker?” he asked, the smell of pain strong in the air as he reached down and pulled up the blankets.
“I am perfectly fine. However, I would be far better if you would please hold me close,” she whispered as she turned slightly and into him. “I love you, Miklos,” she whispered as she gave him her back, welcoming him to hold her, hoping and praying he would pull her close.
Shifting slightly closer, Miklos wrapped her in his arms and gently eased his body against hers. “If I hurt you in the least, you tell me,” he said softly in her ear before he pressed a kiss to her cheek. Brushing back her hair gently he nibbled on her neck for a moment before settling down on the pillow, his head behind hers. “Rest, Harker, you need that the most,” he murmured, finding one of her hands and lacing his fingers through hers.
“I will see you in our dreams.” She breathed out before she allowed sleep to take her and send her off into deep sleep.
* * * *
She opened her eyes when she felt his hands moving down her body lightly. She felt his mouth lightly kissing her body and smiled. “Hello, Miklos, have I mentioned just how much I love this whole dream-sharing thing?”
Shaking his head slowly he looked into her eyes. “No, I don’t believe you have. But then again you were jumping my body at the time so conversation wasn’t exactly the big thing.” Lowering his head again he kept kissing his way down her body slowly, carefully remembering to take it easy because of the kick back to reality. If he got too enthusiastic his body in the bed next to hers sleeping could move the wrong way and hurt her.
“You aren’t going to hurt me, Miklos,” she tried to assure him as her hands moved into his hair. She squeezed the strands lightly and when he looked up at her she smiled. “You won’t hurt me, Miklos, I need you to be who you are in this dream. Give me all that you want to give me and let me give you all of me, at least in our dreams?”
Watching her he nodded but didn’t say anything. He wasn’t going to make any promises, because he was not going to hurt her. Shaking his head to loosen her hold, he moved his mouth back to her skin. Tasting her slowly, he worked down her torso, licking and nipping until he was lying between her legs. Shifting he spread her wide and slowly slid his tongue up the wet seam of her pussy, growling low at the taste of her and nipping lightly at her soft inner thigh.
“Oh gods.” Her hands moved to fist the sheets under her, the silk creased under her hands as she felt his tongue teasing her, nipping her lightly before stroking her. It was killing her slowly, and she didn’t want to live if it meant stopping. “Miklos.” His clever tongue was doing this thing where it felt as if it were curling up and inside of her pussy, caressing her in a way she had never felt before, and it was making her nearly scream in pleasure.
Sliding his tongue in deeper he teased her inner muscles as he drew out the moisture her pussy was producing. Growling low he rubbed the flat of his teeth over her clit gently even as he lifted her ass up into his hands and squeezed the soft flesh. Darting his tongue in and out even faster he growled again, this time letting it come up and out of his chest so it poured into her body, his eyes on her as she moved and made little sounds.<
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Her head arched at the neck and she bit her lip so hard that she tasted blood but it didn’t matter. It was amazing to feel this with him. “Miklos,” she breathed in a voice that said everything she couldn’t. It was filled with need, hunger, and a desire that she couldn’t feign, one that was eating her up inside and left her burning in need.
Lifting his head with one slow lick he shifted a hand and pressed two fingers deep into her pussy as he moved up her body slightly. Laying at her side, one leg over hers, he moved his fingers in and out of her slick pussy. “Harker,” he murmured, nipping at her shoulder. “What do you want, honey?” he asked softly, rubbing his thumb against her clit.
“I want you, Miklos, I need you.” She spoke in a tone that brooked no argument. “I need you inside of me, Miklos. I need you to bring us both to that point, bring us both to completion, but please I need you deep inside of me now.”
Sliding his fingers free he rolled over her and, with one fast movement, slid his cock into her deeply, seating himself completely in her pussy. Hissing out at the feeling he lowered his head to nibble on her chin. “Like this?” he asked her with a smile as he began to move gently, finding his rhythm and the one that would please her most.
“Oh yes, just like that.” Her legs wrapped around him, her heels at the curve of his ass, and pulled him deeper and harder inside of her body. She gave as much as she got. She demanded with her body and gave her very soul. “Miklos.” She arched up and tugged him to her, kissing him even as she moved with him.
Eyes locked on her face, Miklos changed positions lifting her as he went to his knees. When she was up in his arms he grabbed her bottom and moved her over his cock. “How about this?” he asked as her eyes went wide. “Is this on the list for later?” He was referring to when they finally got to do this again in reality.
