Sassy Ever After: All By My Sass (Kindle Worlds Novella) (The Pride Command Book 2)

by Michele Bardsley

  She looked out the window. “Where did the Hunter go?”

  The monstrous spirit had disappeared before. Was it even real?

  Make the alpha leave.

  The Hunter’s male-female voice echoed into her head, its demand fierce. Oh, it was real, all right. And it was apparently irritated that Reese had shown up and run off with its sacrifice.

  Have you met my husband? she thought back at the creature. I can’t make him do anything.

  You will find a way. I’ll return soon.

  I’ll be here. I won’t go back on my word.

  She felt the Hunter’s approval, and it was a strange sensation, as though it had rewarded her with a gold star for choosing death. Now, it was courage she needed. That’s what the Hunter expected. For her to act like an alpha’s mate.

  “Abby?” Her husband gripped her shoulders and lightly shook her.

  She blinked and stared up at him. “The Hunter is gone. It doesn’t want to harm you. So it left.” She moved away from his embrace and felt his eyes on her as she took off the gloves and rubbed her ice-cold hands together. God, she was freezing. Her whole body shivered, and her teeth chattered. As she shucked off her coat and boots, she studied Reese. His entire body was encased in white and gray camouflage—even his snow boots were white. She briefly wondered at the duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

  “You talk to it?” He pushed back the hood and removed the goggles. The white ski mask came off, revealing the short black hair, chiseled good looks, and gleaming amber eyes of her husband.

  “It projects its voice into my head.”

  “If the Hunter stays away because I’m here, then you’ll be safe as long as I’m with you.”

  Stubborn man. The Hunter would lose patience with her husband. She’d felt the Hunter’s reluctance to kill her mate, but it might decide that Reese was no longer good for the werecougars. Especially with his single-minded devotion to her.

  He stared at her. “Why did you do it?”

  “You know why.” Abby sat on the couch and tugged off her socks. She couldn’t stop shivering. Not all of it had to do with being cold. How could she get Reese to leave? How could she make him stop looking as though he couldn’t decide whether to hug her or strangle her?

  He took off his coat and draped it over the couch with a casualness that belied the fury in his eyes. Well, what had she expected? He wasn’t going to thank her for leaving him, even if it was to save him and to make sure his line survived intact. He glared at her, arms crossed. He was probably counting all the reasons why he shouldn’t kill her himself. But she knew his anger was rooted in his fear, his love.

  “I must honor my pact with the Hunter. I’d prefer it if you weren’t here.”

  “Too bad. I won’t live without you, Abby.” He strode to her and yanked her up by the arms. “You’re everything to me,” he said through gritted teeth. “You are more valuable than my blood line. More than my own life.”

  “You are worth a hundred of me!” she shouted. “You are the alpha. The colony needs you. It’s duty. Don’t you understand? You have a duty to our people that transcends anything you might feel about me. It is because I love you and the colony that I made this bargain. You will be stronger without me. Just let me go.”

  “I can’t. I can’t let you go. I need you.” He let go of her arms and stepped back. She saw his vulnerability then. “You are my strength, Abby. My heart. If I cannot have you, I will have no one. There is only one mate for me. You. Even if you go through with this, if the Hunter takes you, I will follow you into the afterlife.”

  “You can’t. If you don’t take another mate, then my sacrifice is for nothing.”

  “That’s what I’m telling you. You don’t get to make bargains on my behalf. If any sacrifice is made for our people, it will come from me. Not you.”

  “I am your sacrifice.”

  His expression pinched as if she’d punched him in the gut. “You are too stubborn, too fierce, Abby. Your soul is like fire. And I need that. I need you.” His voice broke. He sucked in a breath. “I’m a better alpha with you. We are the strongest together. You bring balance to the colony—and to me. I would have found a way. You should have trusted me.”

  That’s what he’d been telling her, showing her, and she’d been in too much pain, too afraid to understand the words, the actions. She and Reese were two halves of a whole. He needed her as much as she needed him. Beyond everything—carrying on Reese’s line—not wanting to be without him had driven her to desperation. To madness. She hadn’t considered that he wouldn’t want to live without her, either.

  “You’re shaking so hard I can hear your teeth chattering.”

  Abby blinked up at Reese. Her cold, snow-soaked clothes had chilled her to the bone.

  He offered his hand, and she took it. He pulled her to her feet. “C’mon, let’s get you undressed.”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard that one before.”

  “Every time I get near you, I want you naked,” he said, but his tone was so grumpy he seemed more resentful than enamored. But hell, did she blame him? “I’ll run you a hot bath.” He waited until she looked at him again. He held her gaze, and she saw his pain, his fear, his anger. “Then we’ll talk.”

  Chapter Four

  Reese stood and watched at the window holding the AK-47 he’d retrieved from his duffel bag. The winter storm had fizzled, though lazy snowflakes still drifted from the black sky. He’d turned off the porch light. The Hunter would return--the only question was when.

  He almost wished the ugly bastard would appear so he’d have something to do other than think about Abby. About her stupid, idiotic, moronic self-sacrificing ass … he made a fist, the urge to punch something so strong. He understood why she’d done it. He did. But she hadn’t understood that he could not live without her. It would be like living without breath, without heartbeat. He would’ve found a way to keep their colony going, even if it meant giving up the old ways.

  Had she really believed that her life was so much less than his? Or that he would simply work through his grief until he could find a replacement wife with a working womb?

  He uncurled his fist and sucked in a ragged, harsh breath.

  In the kitchenette, Abby washed their dishes.

  Earlier, they’d sat at the tiny table to dine on soup and grilled cheese. Underneath the oversized shirt--one of his, he noted--he’d watched the seductive sway of her breasts. The rigid points of her nipples revealed she was either cold or thinking about him. Maybe she was just thinking about what he was capable of doing to her. Neither of them tried to fill up the silence.

  He wanted her. Even now, as he looked out into the snow-filled darkness and tried to keep his mind on business, his ears were tuned to her movements. He heard the patter of her socked feet on the hardwood floor. She stopped just behind him.

  He turned to face her and nearly lost his ability to breathe. She looked vulnerable. He knew better, of course. She was strong. So strong. He drank in her face, the upturned nose, the elfin chin, and the sloped angles of her cheeks. Her hair wasn’t a single color. Interspersed in the cocoa strands were glints of auburn and gold. Her gold eyes were flecked with green. They were too dark to be called hazel, but all the same her eye color was more complex than brown.

  Plain adjectives didn’t do her justice.

  Her gaze strayed to the window. “It won’t be back tonight.” She bit down on her lower lip. Tonight. He could tell it was more information than she wanted to give him. But she had never been good with duplicity. She’d never hidden anything from him.

  Except this.

  His heart turned over in his chest.

  “We have better ways to spend the time,” he said.

  She looked at him then. Desire heated her gaze. She dropped to her knees, her gaze on the floor.

  He stared at the crown of her head and tried to restart his lungs. He needed to get it together, but the knot in his throat stalled his ability to speak. Her submission w
as always so sweet.

  Reese dragged her to her feet. He claimed her with his lips, rejoicing when she melted into his embrace, accepting the rough assault of his kiss. His heart jackknifed and started a wild beat. Reese dragged down her jeans and panties, and she kicked them away. He walked her backwards, then turned her around and pushed her against the small counter space between the sink and the stove.

  He was her alpha, she his mate, and by God, tonight he would remind her of their sacred, unbreakable bond.

  Abby gasped as he thrust a finger inside her slick heat. She knocked the sugar bowl, tea box, and spoon off -- all of which tumbled to the floor. Her palms flattened against the laminate. She struggled for breath and her whole body trembled in anticipation.

  “You are mine, Abigail. No one takes what’s mine,” he growled.

  “Yes,” she panted, the scent of need and desire thick in her sweat.

  Reese fumbled with his jeans. Then his cock was sliding between her thighs and deeply within her.

  One of his hands anchored on her hip, holding her firmly while he took her. The other hand reached for her breast, twisting her nipple, delighting in her groan of pleasure.

  He slid his hand over her stomach and claimed her feminine core. He stroked her clit roughly, and knew from her breathy moans that she was very close to her peak.

  He thrust into her hard. She cried out. He thrust again. And again. Every bit of his rage, his disappointment, and his love, he sunk it into Abby with abandon. He was losing her. Maybe she was already lost. No. He would save Abby. He would find away. He gripped her hips, plunging himself in and out of her, losing himself to the grip of her pussy on his cock.

  “Abby,” he said, his voice raspy. “Don’t leave me.” He buried his face at the base of her neck, kissing her as he steadied his rhythm. “I love you.”

  “Oh, god,” she moaned. She reached around, her claws digging into his ass. “I love y—Ah!” She orgasmed, and her pulsations squeezed hard on his cock.

  He groaned as heat and pressure pooled to his groin. His back stiffened, and he rocked into her body, holding her arch, and letting go his climax. His pleasure was fierce. “Oh, Abby. Abby!”

  After their shudders stopped, he leaned forward, resting his head between her shoulder blades.

  For a long moment, they stood in the kitchen, panting and sweating.

  “You are beautiful,” he finally said as he withdrew from her. “I want to worship you.”

  Her shoulders quivered under the onslaught of his words. His cock was already hardening again. He rubbed the ridge of his shaft against her ass, thinking of all the ways he wanted to use it on her. This may be our last night, he thought. Because if they couldn’t stop the Hunter, then they would die together.

  As she straightened, he took her chin into his hand. “I love you, Abby.”

  “I love you, too, Reese.”

  Her eyes were already glazed with desire. His balls tightened. God, she was so incredibly responsive. If the Hunter didn’t kill him, his raging lust for her would do the trick.

  Reese turned her in his arms. Abby’s tongue wetted her lower lip. He leaned down and swiped his own tongue across her mouth. “Get ready for me, babe.”

  * * *

  Naked, Abby lay on her stomach on the quilt and awaited Reese. Her hard nipples poked into the soft material. Her skin prickled in the cold air. But she would be warm soon enough.

  “While I love your ass, I want you to roll over for me, so I can see your fantastic breasts.”

  She complied instantly.

  Reese smiled. Feral and danger. “Good. Now, stretch your arms above your head.”

  Abby did as she was told, anticipation warming her belly.

  Reese rounded the bed and squatted down. He put leather, fleece-lined cuffs on each of her wrists, tightening the leather wraps. He picked up the short chain that connected them. “If you think you need to, you can break the chain.”

  But she wouldn’t. And they both knew it.

  Reese smiled, and then showed her the black leather mask designed to cover only her eyes. He tucked the strap over her head. She closed her eyes as he fit the mask against her face. The fur lining was soft, but having her vision taken away made her feel wary. She was completely vulnerable to Reese and his every sexual whim. That both titillated and terrified her.

  Damn it. She loved it when he went all dominant on her, but she also knew that in order to reap all the rewards, she had to trust him. Implicitly. And until this night, she thought she had. But maybe she’d never really allowed herself to trust Reese. Not completely.

  Because you aren’t good enough for him, that infernal internal voice told her. So, how can you trust a man who exercises such poor judgment? Crap. This was her fault. All of it. Well, not the infertility, but the current mess she was in with the Hunter. If she truly believed Reese was a sound alpha, she would have trusted him to make the right decisions for them instead of taking matters into her own hands.

  But had she been right? After all, he was here, chasing her down, instead of being back home leading their colony.

  She heard him moving around. With the sensory deprivation, her werecougar senses were super sensitive to every wisp of sound, from his heavy breaths to the rustle of sheets as he joined her on the bed.

  “I want you to think about all the wicked, naughty things I plan to do to your body.”

  Her whole body quaked at his words. She craved him. His touch. His approval. His love.

  Why on earth would she ever give him up? Why hadn’t she fought harder for them? For love? Guilt settled into her belly like acid.

  His hands snaked around her thighs. His mouth pressed against her very core. Then his wicked tongue tortured her. Sucked away the evidence of her desire. Teased her clit. His clever tongue darted in and out of her, the strokes rough and fast. Bliss coiled tight and hot. Just as another orgasm threatened to overwhelm her, Reese pulled away.

  Abby bit her lip to keep from protesting.

  Reese inserted two fingers inside her, and then started licking her clit again. The thrust of his fingers matched the thrusts of his tongue.

  Just as she would’ve tipped over the edge again, Reese withdrew his fingers and stopped the lovely tongue-lashing. Sweat dripped between her breasts, and her whole body felt on fire. She wanted relief, but at the same time, the denial of her pleasure only stoked her higher.

  Reese kissed each of her hips and licked her belly. His tongue dipped into her navel and sucked out the moisture pearled in the tiny concave.

  Without sight, every sensation was exponentially increased. He was so good at torturing her.

  She loved it.

  “I’m going to take you,” he said in a low voice. His breath rolled over her left hip as he scraped his teeth across her flesh. Her heart stuttered as he stood up. He left for a brief moment. When he returned, he wasted no time fitting his cock against her slick cunt. He grabbed her waist and lifted her.

  As he slid inside her, the thick girth of him stretching her wide, she wrapped her legs around his waist and placed her shackled wrists behind his head. Her arms clenched his shoulders.

  Oh, God. She sucked in a steadying breath. She tightened her grip around his waist and neck and used what leverage she had to meet his thrusts.

  Her tender breasts rubbed against his lightly furred chest, her distended nipples getting electric thrills with every raw movement.

  Reese filled her, stroking her higher and higher.

  “I want you to come,” he roared. “Come on my cock.”

  Abby’s orgasm exploded as waves of pleasure and pure joy racked her body. She cried out when a second burst of ecstasy followed close on the heels of the first.

  Reese’s groan intertwined with her low cries, and then he pressed deeply inside her, his hands digging into her as he came. Unbelievably, she went over the edge again, her whole body aflame as she rode a third upsurge into bliss.

  Chapter Five

  Abby awoke
in absolute darkness. For a panicked moment she thought she was blind but then realized the fire in the cabin had gone out.

  It’s always darkest before the dawn. Her mother said that. Wait long enough and the sun will come up. You’ll find your way again.

  It was close to sunrise. The silence was eerie, almost expectant. She couldn’t help but think of the Hunter. Was it outside? Waiting?

  Or did they have more time?

  She sensed Reese next to her in the bed. The man didn’t snore. Was he close to perfect or what?

  A warm male hand slid over her breast. Abby smiled as Reese rolled on top of her and lavished attention on her breasts.

  He sucked her nipple into the warm cave of his mouth, flicking the aching tip with his tongue. She wrapped her legs around his and pushed her slickening heat against his hard length. He tormented her other breast as one of his hands drifted down her side.

  His movements were lazy, each touch and kiss designed to stoke the fires slowly. She writhed under him, pressed his body where she could since she was denied touching him with her hands.

  She enjoyed Reese’s gentle conquering of her body. By the time his cock slid inside her, she was more than ready for his final subjugation.

  He slid his arms under her shoulders and increased his rhythm. She wrapped her legs around his waist and met every thrust.

  Reese adjusted his angle and pounded into her harder and faster. She felt electrified. The sweet tendrils of orgasm coiled tightly.

  “Abby,” he whispered hotly in her ear. “My beautiful mate.”

  She arched against him, crying out, as she spun higher into the glossy bliss.

  Moments later, he joined her.

  Even as she reveled in the aftermath of their lovemaking, Abby sensed something was wrong. The darkness was not so much outside, but all around them. She suddenly felt as though she couldn’t breathe.

  “Reese!”

  He understood what she couldn’t voice. He rolled off her and onto the floor.