by Brea Viragh
“I would never.”
No, he wouldn’t, she thought when he took her in his arms. Reverently. He would never make her beg for anything in her life, not when it really counted. There were jokes and laughter between them, yes. There were times when he teased her and brought her nearly to tears. When it came down to it, Calen would not argue with her.
Not when she wanted this ferociously.
When he moved too slowly for her liking, Odessa closed the distance herself, bringing his arms even tighter around her tiny waist and pressing her chest against his front. She raised on her tiptoes, stretching her calves like a dance until she took his lips with hers.
Yes, there it was. The softness she’d craved. The hardness beneath the velvety feeling that she’d known would be there when she searched for it.
Gods, to be touched by him. Once she got over the initial shock, the strangeness that it was Calen she kissed, Calen who reached down to clasp her ass and hauled her closer, yet, she recognized the rightness of it. The way their bodies had been made for each other. The sort of rightness of a key slipping into a lock that none had been able to open before.
She hadn’t believed in love or happily ever afters, thinking hers never to happen. Here, tonight, she could almost believe she would get it...
“Come here,” Calen demanded, his voice rough. Then she had no choice but to go where he led, repressing a howl when he dragged her up in his arms to press his erection to her core, her legs coming around his hips to hold on. She felt it now through his clothing. That impressive spear of granite, for her. Only for her.
His lips claimed hers a second time, and in the kiss, she recognized stark possession. Once they went through with this, he’d not be able to let her go lightly.
Did she want him to?
She felt the glow of moonlight overhead before Calen stalked away toward the blanket he’d laid out on the ground. The impromptu campsite he’d formed away from prying eyes.
For this, they’d need privacy. Utter and absolute, or as much as could be afforded to them.
She stripped the shirt off easily enough, leaning back to let it fall from her shoulders and expose her to him. Her silvery hair dragged low and bumped against her bare backside as he walked.
Calen grabbed it and tugged it with a fist, his fingers tangling in those strands.
“I’ve wanted you since the day I met you,” he admitted, his lungs working overtime. “Do you understand how impossible I thought this was?”
He paused for a moment to drop his head and lick a path toward her right nipple before drawing it between his teeth. Rolling it there, laving at it, drawing the peak to new heights.
“I’m sorry.” The apology burst from her in a strangled garble. Fuck, it felt good. Better than she had a right to feel.
“Never say that. I don’t want to hear you apologize.”
Then she wouldn’t. Not if that was what he asked of her.
They made it to the blanket and Calen set her down on her back, looming over her for a moment before shedding his own shirt and pants. She watched him kick them away into the roots of the gnarled river birch that marked the line of the lake. Moonlight played along his back and highlighted the rows of muscle from his training, shadowing other parts of his ruggedly handsome face.
Hadn’t I noticed it before, Odessa wondered. Her core grew wetter the more she stared. Had she not noticed how he looked? He was not excessively handsome by most common beauty standards, but she couldn’t help finding the ruggedness of his face and the clarity in his eyes, the desire reddening his cheeks, absolutely appealing.
His erection bobbed free and mighty, a line of light hair leading down to the shaft. Like a beacon.
She cocked her head, keenly aware of her own nakedness when he turned his attention to her. Taking in the lines of her body the way she had for him, his eyes narrowing.
“What’s the matter?”
She fought the urge to cover herself. Not out of embarrassment. Dancing had given her a figure to be proud of, although she’d never given into the shame others might have felt with their own forms. No, his scrutiny drew an uncertain feeling from her. That he may decide to take a step back. That he may decide he didn’t want to go ahead after all.
She would not be able to bear his rejection.
Calen did no such thing, bending to cover her body with his. His mouth trailed a path of fire from her navel up between her breasts. Lavishing attention first on one and then the other. A sensual smile curved her mouth, making an effort to retain some semblance of control, instead of abandoning all of it to embrace the wonton whims of her body. She needed to at least pretend she wasn’t throwing herself at him, right?
Fuck it.
Electricity arced and crackled between them, and the tip of her tongue darted out to wet her lips when her mouth went dry. She was acutely aware of his deep-blue gaze following her movement. Turning every little thing into something special and erotic.
He bunched her silky hair in his fist and moved closer, tilting her chin up to face him. “No matter what happens after this, whatever lover you might be forced to take at your father’s urging, you will remember me. I want you to remember every moment of our night together.”
She arched to bring her swollen center against him in a silent urge. Those blue eyes stared at her with passion and possession. She matched both of those.
“I don’t want to think about who else might have to touch me. There is only you, Calen.” She stilled, his body hard and aggressive above her. A wolf poised to claim his mate, and yet there was no danger. Only the terrible intensity of her desire for him and the demons riding them both hard.
His body stirred again, hardened even further with his need, and one hand framed the curve of her cheek to rest there. She could smell his scent, calling to her like the animals they both were, although he had never been able to shift. She didn’t need to call her wolf to recognize it.
Against all reason and sanity, they were two of the same type of creature. Odessa had never felt such a pull toward any man. Let alone the sexual attraction. For Calen, of all people. And the intensity of such a reaction was beyond her comprehension.
It grew inside of her, strong and compelling, elemental. She wanted him here and now, in the wild, with the night creatures screeching around them, because she knew time grew short.
Calen shifted to brace himself on one elbow, his free hand exploring her thighs and all the secrets between them. She gasped when he slipped a finger inside of her. Found her already wet and aching for him. Her own hands clung to the roped muscles of his back, and she dug her nails across his skin in response to his ministrations.
He did things to her with his touch alone that brought her to the edge of insanity. A firestorm of need and hunger impossible to sate in one round. She kissed at his chest and nuzzled his neck. Closer, she urged him. She needed him closer, inside of her.
His fingers continued their dance over her, his thumb tracing light circles around her clit, tightening with each breath she took until he landed on the sweet spot. She could have howled for the sensations it drew.
Until this point, she’d only brought herself to orgasm. Though she wasn’t a virgin, no other male she’d allowed to touch her had been able to do the job. None had taken the time out of their harried, frenzied coupling to make sure they hadn’t. They assumed her responses indicated a completion and went on with their lives.
Calen did no such thing.
He continued to stroke until her nerves lit and it felt like she rode to the steepest peak on a roller coaster. Muscles constricted, her breath locked in her lungs, and she tightened her legs around his hand as she fell.
It took precious moments before her thoughts cleared and she returned to her body. Only to see Calen hovering over her, his arms braced.
He captured her lips with his again, breathing her in. She wrapped her arms around his neck to bring him to her. Closer. He still wasn’t close enough. Her heart tried to beat it
s way out of her chest to reach him, and it pleased her to note, to feel, that his had matched her erratic rhythm.
“I don’t...” Calen shook his head, breaking away from her. “I don’t have any protection on me. I didn’t expect this to happen.”
It took her longer still to comprehend what he said. The night had warmed, a fresh breeze coming off the lake, and she wanted to curl in his arms more than she wanted to see the sunrise.
She shook her head. “I don’t care. I need you now.”
“Dessa, be serious. We can’t just...” He gestured between them as though he couldn’t find the right words. “You know. I don’t have a condom. It would be wrong.”
“Wrong to be with me? I didn’t realize you were so concerned about getting me pregnant, Calen.”
She appreciated his blush more than she would ever admit.
“If anything were to happen to you because of me—”
She cut him off with a press of her lips against his. “Shush. Nothing is going to happen. Okay?”
He broke the kiss, staring wordlessly at her for the space of a heartbeat. Then he dove, doing things to her with his hands, with his lips, that she sought to memorize. The firestorm of hunger grew inside of her as he kissed her chest, nuzzled at her breasts, lapped at her nipples. She melted. Mad for him. Aching for him.
“If you’re not worried, then I’ll stop talking,” Calen growled.
He forced her knees apart then, to give himself better access. Then pushed against her with only a hint of aggression. Needing her desperately—it was clear in his gaze.
Odessa felt him, hard and thick against her entrance. Larger than she would have thought for his thin body.
There was no hesitation on her part. Not anymore. Not when he cupped her bottom in his hands and held her pinned against him.
“I love you,” he said simply. And in her mind, she heard the words he didn’t want to say. I always have.
Her mouth rose to meet his, seeking and finding, tongue stroking. His hands tightened on her hips and his body surged forward at last to bury itself inside of hers. Like a streak of white-hot lightning across the sky. The connection between them sizzled and danced, grew larger until Odessa almost felt a physical explosion of that magic, welding them together.
She cried out. A bit of pain, a world of pleasure, and his shout of triumph mingled with hers.
He moved slowly at first to give her time to accommodate his size. Her legs came around his waist, her core tight around him. The friction was enough to push her over the edge immediately. Especially when his mouth moved to her neck, erotically nipping, his hips moving to a wild frenzy.
Pure feeling. It took her under, better than any shift, and she wanted to keep him inside of her until the end. Wanted to lose herself.
Calen buried himself between her legs harder, deeper. Odessa clutched at his shoulders, afraid to let go, scenting their combined musk in the air. His fingers bit deep into her hips to keep her still, keep her close as he plunged.
The intensity on his face took her breath away. It was more than she could bear, to see his hair falling around his face, eyes lined, and chin taught with pleasure.
More, more.
She wanted all of him.
A moan escaped her throat, a husky sound dragged from her heart. When Calen lifted his head, his eyes met hers, his nostrils flaring to breathe her in. She felt his breath on her cheeks, the slight stroke of his tongue across her skin causing her body to clench, drawing her pleasure to new heights.
“I can’t go back. I’m sorry.” He made the statement as she arched into him, aching. His teeth scraped down her throat. “I can’t go back to the way things were.”
She recognized the demand, the vulnerability. And smiled against him.
She was the one who should be demanding. She was the one who would one day step up to lead. Yet tonight, she gave into Calen. Right before his finger found her center again, working in time with his hips. And she cried out with the pleasure of it. His arms tightened possessively around her to bring her closer still, hips pumping. He was everywhere. His body, his scent. Everywhere he touched, he imprinted on her.
Until the feel of him, hard inside of her, pushed her explosive orgasm up toward the moonlit sky. It ripped through her like fire, lighting her nerve endings, and in her own howling, Calen found his completion.
They lay together afterward, and Odessa found it odd how she clung to him, how she wanted to, their hearts finding the same pounding rhythm.
Calen’s tongue darted out to stroke her breast.
“What are you thinking?”
She swallowed, throat convulsing. “I’m thinking that this is something I never thought possible. I’m thinking that maybe I’m not the person I was when this first started. That lonely, hopeless person who did whatever her father wanted. And maybe who I was worked for the time. But...it doesn’t work now. For what I’ve become now.”
He framed her face with his hands, brushing his mouth against her nose tenderly. Feathering kisses down her face to her chin. To her lips.
“So maybe,” she continued through the kisses, “this has been a gift. I should start thinking about it that way.”
And for the first time in her life, in her seemingly monotonous life, Odessa felt truly alive.
“It’s a gift I didn’t think to receive, either,” Calen admitted. “You gave me a gift tonight. Thank you.”
She stared at him and felt unable to return to earth. The reality of the situation they faced, where they were no closer to finding a way to break her curse than they had been that first night. He was still inside of her with her legs, her body, wrapped around him, and it seemed impossible to break the intense connection. She saw the way he burned, the way he needed only her.
A slow smile curved her lips higher and lit her eyes.
It is nice, she thought, to simply be. To stare at Calen, to know that he saw her down to her soul.
Chapter 20
Calen woke with his fingers tangled in her hair and dawn approaching once more. He scented the rising sun, the way the wind stirred in the trees and the animals of the day began to stir, to chirp.
Trying to rise without disturbing the woman in his arms proved impossible. She groaned, drawing him back, finding his skin with her lips. “Stop.”
“Stop what?” he asked.
“Trying to leave before our time is done,” she conceded.
“I still can’t believe the things you let me do to you.” Calen lifted his head and stared down at her. His hips moving on their own, wanting to claim her a third time. A fourth. Anything he could get before the sun ripped her away from him.
“We’re going to find a way to stop this,” he promised her. “We’re going to find a way to break the curse.”
She kissed his shoulder, pushing up to stare at him, her hair hiding her face. “And if we don’t?”
Any trace of joy and laughter left his voice. He didn’t want to prepare for that eventuality. “Then I will be here every night for the rest of my life until we do. I will be here, Odessa, until the end. Or else I’ll find a way to keep the sun from rising.”
“Sounds impossible,” she teased gently. Her eyes met his.
“For you, I’d try.”
He meant it, too. Every word he said to her. And he couldn’t believe they were in this position at last. It felt too good to be real. He’d spent most of his life in love with her, and to have her here, to have his fingers tangled in those white-blond strands of her hair, the imprint of her teeth on his shoulders...he wouldn’t trade a moment.
“I have to go.” He placed a chaste kiss on the top of her nose. “I’ve let too many days go by, and who knows what Van has been up to in my absence? But I’ll be back soon. Or else I’ll send word to you.”
Her voice sounded low and sharp. “If I am here when you return.”
Against those fear-based ramblings, Calen took hold of her face in both hands and brought her close. “I won’t fail you, De
ssa. Okay? No matter what happens.”
“It’s not you I’m worried about,” she admitted, and the truth of the statement cost her. He could sense it through their bond.
A growl rumbled low in Calen’s chest. His lips found hers, breath mingling for a moment before he broke the contact. “You’re a warrior. You know when to fight and when to back down. If there is ever a moment when you sense weakness, do not hesitate, and do not wait.”
A small glimmer of her power rose up at those words. At the conviction behind them. Rose in her, yes, and through that bond to him.
“You don’t wait, and you don’t stop. You do what you have to do, and you fight for yourself, for this. For us.” His eyes slid over her, expectant.
Odessa nodded, holding his stare until it branded her insides.
“You are not the swan. You are the wolf. And there is no cage strong enough to hold you.”
Those lips pressed to her brow a final time before Calen pushed himself onto his feet, the sight of him rekindling some long-lost fire in her blood. Bringing it to a boil.
She watched him, memorizing the planes of his body, the muscle that had moments earlier been pressed against her, inside of her. Another day, she thought. Another day together was what she wanted. But if this was the time they had, those stolen hours, then she would be grateful for them.
“Hey.”
She turned at the sound of his voice, brushing a stray lock of hair away from his face. “What’s the matter?”
“Dance for me?”
“Right now?” Her lips twisted in a wry smile. “My legs don’t even want to work.”
“Please.”
It was the simplicity of the statement that took hold of her in the end. She held it to her as she rose, lifting a leg out to the side without a hint of modesty. And for Calen, Odessa moved her body in a way she hadn’t since the day of the abduction. The first few moments of her impromptu dance brought regret and heartache for the women she had lost. Those feelings may never go away, she knew. But instead of letting it stop her, she used those bleak-and-base emotions. Used them to find the silver thread of joy she’d always felt in the dance.
