“You’re perfect, Tess, just the way you are. I wish you could see yourself as I do.”
She reached her hand up behind her, to cup his face as he nuzzled her neck. He couldn’t have said anything so right, even if Aloe had been coaching him.
“I want to stay with you, Damien, but I can’t blood-bond you.” Before he could argue, she turned in his arms and thrust her fingers against his lips, silencing him. “I know you think we can, but the risk is too great. You have to accept the fact that my leaving is best for both of us. You’ll blood-bond another and forget about me.
“Don’t you see, Damien? I have to go. If I stay here, I’ll be miserable seeing you with another woman, not being able to touch you, to kiss you, to make love to you. I wouldn’t even be able to enjoy the innocent pleasures like walking with you and talking, not as friends because being friends wouldn’t be enough.”
He leaned his forehead against hers. “When?” he asked. He wasn’t fighting her. Relief and fear flooded her simultaneously because leaving had just become very, very real.
“Soon.”
“Stay with me. One last night, Tess?”
Before she had the good sense to walk away, Tess leaned into Damien’s embrace and nodded yes.
* * *
DAMIEN
“Scram,” Damien said to the shifters still hanging out in his living room as he tossed two towels over his shoulder. He had left Tess by the lake. He wanted this last night together to be perfect, which meant having an empty house to return to when he and Tess finished their swim.
Callen, Blade, and Hayden cleared out. Hayden paused by the door, as if he wanted to say something, but then he placed a hand on Damien’s shoulder, gave a supportive squeeze and left.
Knowing Hayden was here for Damien’s pack helped considerably. Tess had given Damien a lot to think about when it came to the weak shifters of his pack. Hayden would make an excellent alpha, and he’d address the problem that Tess pointed out. Unlike Drake, Hayden did not ignore the suffering of others.
Damien caught Tess’s scent before he turned at the bend in the path. His pack didn’t know what they were losing in her. He would make changes once he understood the problems better, but he needed her insight, her wisdom, and her compassion. If he couldn’t convince her to blood-bond, however, he’d have one of his men escort her anywhere she wanted to go. Then he’d proceed with the suicide mission against the WSSO. He wouldn’t allow her to watch him go feral or watch him sacrifice himself. Tess deserved to leave here with her spirit intact.
Hayden would take over the pack when Damien was gone. The pack would be safe. Tess would be safe and find happiness wherever she went. He’d have to hold on to that thought.
The sound of splashing water reached Damien before he spotted Tess swimming toward shore. Her graceful arms cut into the water as she did the backstroke. Then she floated on her back as she gazed up at the moon, blissfully oblivious to his presence.
The white shirt she wore in the water—his shirt—clung to her body, accentuating full breasts and her tight peaks. Ravishing, beautiful, his Tess, and so unlike any other shifter he’d ever met. He couldn’t let her go, but he had no choice.
She was bobbing in the water when Damien cleared his throat. She startled, thrusting her body back under the cover of water as she turned. Her smile, bright and beautiful, emerged when she spotted him.
“Hi, there, big guy,” Tess said as she swam to the shore.
Damien lowered his hand to help her out of the lake.
“You’re so pensive, Damien. What are you thinking?” Tess took his hand.
He pulled her past a sludgy part of the shore that was steeper than expected. The shirt that hung past her thighs clung to her like a second skin, showing off her breasts and ass quite nicely. She insisted on swimming with the shirt on, so no one would see her back, even though they were alone out here.
“I was wondering how quickly I can carry you to the house, rip that shirt from you, and be inside of you. I have a stash of condoms in my drawer waiting for you.”
“A stash? Exactly how many is in a stash?”
He raised a brow. “Do you doubt my ability to keep you satisfied, Sweetness?”
“I wouldn’t want to wear you out, Alpha,” she said, with the perfect amount of petulance. That made him want to strip her bare and paddle that lovely ass of hers right here on the shore. In fact, that was a very good idea. Instead of handing her the towel, he laid it down in the tall grass.
“What are you doing?” Tess asked as he stalked toward her.
“I think you know.” He continued backing her up toward the towel. Her nipples formed tight points, poking through the wet shirt, making him consider leaving it on her.
“Out here?” She quickly looked in all directions.
He pointed to the towel. “I’m waiting.”
“You’re not serious.”
“I’m counting to ten. If you’re not on that towel by then, I’ll be spanking that tight ass of yours before I fuck you. One… two…”
“You wouldn’t dare spank me.”
“Five… six….”
Her eyes went wide, a look that he was quickly becoming addicted to, as she quickly laid down on the towel. She made it in time, which was slightly disappointing as he was looking forward to having her bent over his knees with her bare ass in the air. He circled her and liked how her breathing increased. His little shifter didn’t know what to expect, but the flush of her skin gave her desire away.
Damien was standing at her feet, gazing down at her. “Unbutton the shirt.”
Starting at the top, her hands gradually moved lower and lower, taking her sweet time. Tess attended to each button until the shirt lay open less than an inch, exposing a thin line of skin down her torso to the auburn thatch between her thighs.
“Knees up,” he ordered. She didn’t hesitate to bend her legs, giving him a fine view of glistening pink flesh. “Very nice. Now spread your legs. Wide.” Her breathing hastened as she followed his directions. “You don’t move until I tell you. Is that clear?”
“But—”
“That’s the last time you get to talk back to me. The next time will be a very harsh spanking. Spread yourself.”
Long, graceful fingers reached down and spread those beautiful folds. Her eyes traveled the length of him to his fully erect cock. He contained his grin, though he liked how she licked her lips.
Her eyes followed him as he circled her, but she didn’t speak. He knew she didn’t want to be spanked. He’d change her mind in time. He’d take it slow, easy with her to make sure she enjoyed it, but for now he had other plans. The site of her spread open and waiting for him made his cock throb to be inside of her, but that would have to wait until they were back at the house where he had his condoms.
Soft moonlight bathed the lake in front of them. “Can you see the water?” he asked when he stood behind her head.
“Yes.”
Damien bent down and licked behind her ear. “Your pretty pink pussy is on display, Tess. Anyone who’s out there swimming can see you.”
“Oh, God…”
He could scent her arousal, stronger now. His Tess had a naughty side to her; she just didn’t know it yet. “You’ll keep your pussy open, on display, so they know you’re mine.”
Damien thrust his tongue into her mouth, tasting her as he watched her legs to ensure they remained open. Her moan made his cock harder than he thought possible as he licked a path down her chin to between her breasts. He shoved the shirt panels aside, exposing her breasts before he bit down gently on one very hard nipple, and her hips bucked into the air. He worked her nipple, drawing it taut, pulling with his teeth, and holding her until she was squirming beneath him. A deep moan escaped her when he released her.
As he approached her pussy, she was still holding herself open, which he found quite admirable. She really didn’t want to be spanked, and knowing that made him want to spank her all the more. For now, he had so
mething else in mind. With his chin he nudged her hand aside and sucked her little nub between his lips as his rock-hard cock dangled above her mouth. Her scent as well as her moans had him dipping lower until he coated his tongue with her juices.
That’s when he felt her tongue lick the tip of his cock. The sudden need to be inside of her slammed into him. It was all he could do to keep from thrusting into her mouth. He focused on dragging his tongue through her folds, licking every part of her, trying to drive her wild. He needed to convince her that they were perfect together, that they were meant to blood-bond.
The moan that spilled from her lips caused his hips to buck. Suddenly, her head lifted, and she pulled him into her mouth slowly, with a determination that said he would not escape her, not that he wanted to. Wet heat wrapped around his cock as she sucked on him as if she wanted to pull his seed from him. His blood raced with the need to fuck her, to make her his. He buried his face into the core of her pussy as she took more of him into her mouth. Her body arched beneath him. When she threw her head back, he struck the back of her throat. As she sucked him hard and fast, he lost all sense of what he had been doing. She had taken control, and he had submitted to her.
The need to control, to dominate again, surged within him. He plunged his tongue into her entrance, swirling inside of her with a rhythm that matched how she started to bob on and off his cock. He felt alive and one with his mate in that moment. When her walls fluttered and clenched around his tongue, she clamped down on his cock, causing him to peak. Her thighs squeezed his head as her orgasm locked her to him. His release was glorious, as he savored the exquisite feeling of her sucking him off. Then her legs relaxed, and he pulled away. She took one final swipe of his cock, licking him dry.
My mate. Joy, peace, utter calmness spread through Damien as her swept Tess up in to his arms and she slid her arms around his neck, beautiful green eyes watching him closely. He wasn’t ready to let her go. It was like giving up the air one breathed, and it was not a future he could even fathom facing.
He walked with her down into the water where he released her. She drew her body against his, her arms still around his neck. The water here was too deep for her to stand, but fine for him. With her holding onto him, he walked toward the shoreline. The water lapped over her shoulders, soaking her shirt. She shivered, though not from the cold water.
The sheer shirt hid nothing, but it was sexy as hell with how it lay open, each side barely covering her breasts. With his mouth, he peeled one wet panel back and circled one tight peak before sucking. He shoved the rest of the shirt off of her chest, fully exposing her so he could pull the other peak into his mouth. She squirmed beneath him, but it was a slight nip to her bud that had caused her to rake her nails over his back hard enough to leave a burning trail behind.
His wolf raged to life, sensing a challenge, or more precisely a claiming, as Damien’s cock pressed against her mound. Her mouth opened as her head tilted back. Capturing her mouth with his was natural, as was how she lifted first one leg and then the other around his back.
The tip of his cock slid into her, and her eyes widened, knowing this was meant to be. Her legs tightened around him, and her hips nudged forward, seeking him, inviting him. Slowly, he eased the rest of the way into her until their bodies molded to one another. Warm. Soft. Perfect.
The wolf within him howled, eager to finish the claiming. But his wolf was not in control, nor would he be, not when it came to Tess. Tess was Damien’s and always would be.
Damien suddenly dipped her backward into the water, causing her to screech and grip his shoulders as if she feared being dropped. He’d never drop her, never let her fall, ever. There was a shallow shelf of rock in this section of the lake hidden by high grass. Gently, with his cock still deep inside of her, Damien laid her down on the flat surface, her ass positioned at the edge. Her back sank into the few inches of water. The change of angle allowed him to drive deeper into her, especially when he lifted her legs to rest on his shoulders. He pulled out of her and then thrust back in fully, hearing her breath hitch. Long, deep thrusts... each one was a claiming in its own right, proving she was his. As his pace picked up, he buried himself in her to his hilt as her breasts bounced in rhythm to his thrusts. Her tight nipples stood erect above the waterline, exposed to the cold air.
“Touch yourself,” he ordered.
Her hands skimmed over her breasts and lower to her clit. It wasn’t what he had been thinking, but the sight of her finger circling her clit set a fire within him. His pace turned erratic, needy, and she arched her back, abandoning her clit. For as much as he wanted to place his mouth on her, the sight of her arching out of the water, tight buds pointing to the stars, was too perfect. Her walls squeezed him as his name poured from her mouth. He couldn’t pull out in time. He didn’t want to. They hadn’t used a condom, because this was a claiming, of mind, body, and soul.
After he eased out of her, he kissed the inner thigh of one leg and then the other. She reached over to stroke the side of his cheek as he slipped his hands under her back to help her sit up. One hand glided over her scars, and she startled for a brief second.
“Let me see you, Tess. All of you.”
She drew her legs off of his shoulders, tucking them under her as she turned her back to him and pulled her hair aside. Slowly, he peeled the shirt off of her. He had seen the angry burns before, when he had rescued her, but she had never bared herself to him, not like this, at her most vulnerable. Starting just above her luscious ass, he lightly kissed each burn as he worked his way up to the base of her neck. She turned just then, eyes cautious, but no longer scared.
His wolf was blessedly calm and content for once. Under the stars, he and Tess held one another, touching faces, hands, arms... every inch of one another, as if seeing one another for the first time. He brushed a strand of hair from her face.
“How did I get so lucky as to have a sweet, beautiful mate such as you?”
Green eyes widened in shock; he had spoken aloud, said the one thing she wasn’t ready to hear, let alone accept.
“I need to get dried off,” she said, sliding past his arm as he reached to embrace her. She rushed off the slippery rock, nearly falling before she regained her balance and crashed through the tall grasses. She was too eager to get away from him, to escape, as she grabbed the towel from the ground, draped it around her and ran toward the path that led back to his house.
Damien grabbed the second towel, wrapped it around his waist, and caught up to her. Neither of them spoke. He had said too much already, though he didn’t regret it. She needed to know how he felt about her.
After the cabin fire, when he’d told her he loved her, she had brushed it off as lust. Clearly, there was more than lust between them, and he intended to prove it. He planned out an entire series of dates together. Sex would play a part of that, if she was still willing, but it would only be a small part. He would woo Tess until she forgot about leaving.
When they reached the house, Tess raced upstairs.
“What did you do, now?” Hayden said as he Alex and Callen walked in right behind Damien. Hell, this wasn’t what he needed right now.
“I smelled the trepidation coming off of her before I reached the door,” Hayden added.
A lock, or at least a sign saying to knock first, was a definite must. “Nothing. We went for a swim, and at some point I referred to her as my mate,” Damien said as he grabbed a pair of sweats from the supply by the door and tossed the towel aside.
Hayden gave Damien a sympathetic look. “Unfortunately, that may be the least of your worries right now.”
Damien grabbed three beers from the refrigerator and took a very long gulp of his as he glanced up the steps and along the balcony. Tess had disappeared into one of the rooms. He hoped it was his, but he had a feeling she had returned to the guest bedroom.
“Should I keep drinking, or do I need to be sober for this?”
Hayden grabbed one of the beers. “A bit of bot
h. The WSSO has made a public statement, saying the war on shifters is going well.”
“Now we’re officially at war?” Damien said, eyeing Callen, who hadn’t said a word but was listening. He had an earbud in one ear and a radio in his hand.
“It appears that way, and the government has remained quiet. So by default, the WSSO is coming off as if it’s in charge of policy and enforcement. The statement made a point of explaining how shifters are dangerous and need to be contained.”
“Contained?” Damien couldn’t hold back his derisive laugh. “We try to stay out of the cities as much as possible, and it isn’t enough for them. They’re justifying what’s coming.”
“They cited practically every instance of a clash between humans and shifters in the past hundred and fifty years that ended in loss of human life. No mention of loss of shifters or that most of those clashes were the result of humans hunting us.”
“Get to the important part,” Alex urged.
“They announced having a weapon that will weed out shifters from humans. They failed to mention that it would kill most shifters.”
“I don’t think many humans would care,” Damien said, glancing up toward the balcony, hoping Tess would return soon. He needed to know that she was okay.
“Rangers found an entire camp of suspected shifters dead up in Oregon. It was Michael’s pack.”
That got Damien’s full attention. “The whole pack? There were over a hundred up there last I heard.”
“One hundred thirty-three, including four newborns. It’s all over the news,” Callen added. “Some reports are saying they were shifters so diseased that they lost any ability to think rationally, if they ever had it. The media is reporting it as a mass-suicide. No mention of the virus.”
“Hi, guys.”
All three shifters looked up. Tess had showered and dressed in jeans and a plain white t-shirt with her hair pulled up in a ponytail, a vision no matter what she wore. Her smile gave nothing away, but she didn’t maintain eye contact with Damien for more than a second. All this because he hadn’t been able to keep his mouth shut.
Damien’s Dilemma Page 28
