The thought of hiding her heritage hurt him, though. The fact she’d had to do it stabbed him in the chest. If he couldn’t be a wolf, if he had to hide that part of him, it would destroy him.
“I’m so sorry you’ve had to live life this way. You don’t have to now, Savannah, and you shouldn’t. You’re fae. You should be proud of who and what you are. I am. I’m so fucking proud of what you’ve done to protect your friend and to help the pack. We all are. If this is what happens because you’ve hidden your true self for so long, it stops now. I can’t allow you to put yourself in danger again. Not like this, baby. I thought I’d lost you. So did Storm. Embrace who you are, because we do, and we support you. You’re safe here, you have me and an entire pack at your side.”
Her chin lifted, a haughty glare in her eyes when she met his. “I am proud of who I’ve become. Not where I came from, not what my family believes is okay, but the family I now have … you, Storm, the pack. I’ve learned what matters now, and I’ll be myself when we’re here and away from prying eyes, Ash. I’m not out of danger, I never will be. My family won’t ever stop looking for me, but I’ll embrace my new life with you and my fae heritage. This … this won’t happen again. I promise.”
“Good, because I love you just the way you are, Savannah, and I don’t care if you look like this, or the way you did when we first met. I love you … your warrior, your heart, your soul.”
“I love you, too, wolf. I’m glad we’ve sorted things. Now, can you grab me a sandwich or something? I’m starving, and while you’re doing that, I’m going to have a quick wash and brush my teeth. Hope there’s a spare toothbrush, if not, I’m using yours.” She pulled the covers back, crawled out of bed, then looked around. “Oh, looks like I’m not in Kansas anymore. Where’s the bathroom?”
Chuckling, Ash pointed. “Over there, and there’s a spare brush set out for you. I’ll be back with food as quick as I can.”
He waited, watching as she padded across the room. Savannah, up, about, healthy, and in his bedroom. Now all he had to do was make her stay. How hard could it be…
Chapter Twenty-Three
“I’m impressed. It’s the best sandwich I’ve eaten in ages.” Savannah licked her lips, passing him her empty plate. “You’re not just a pretty face. Hmm, I might have to keep you around, Detective.”
“I even clean up after myself,” he joked. “Like a good little boy.”
Savannah looked him up and down, lounging back on the pillows, sighing. “I doubt you’re a good boy, and you’re definitely not little.”
Her voice had changed, now sultry, with a touch of sexy thrown in. Damn, did she know or was she still tired? Whatever, her words caused his cock to harden immediately. Her eyes stayed on his briefly before lowering over his body … fuck, she’d see his arousal and he didn’t want her to know. Not when she’d only woken a short while ago. What an ass he was.
“I’ll take your plate down and wash it.” He turned to leave, but she stayed him with one word.
“Don’t.”
“What?”
“I said, don’t. I want you to stay. Ash, do you have a good memory?”
What the hell was she talking about? His cock thick in his jeans and she was making small talk about how good his memory function was?
“I’ve been an investigator for years. It comes with the job description.”
“What did I say to you before we went after Nash? Can you recall?”
“You said a lot, if I remember.”
“I did, but you must remember the most important part, Ash. About us, and what I wanted us to do after … surely you haven’t forgotten?”
Holy fuck. He did. Of course, he fucking did. She’d wanted them to bond. She’d told him straight up, and he’d grown hard right there when she’d said it…
“I have not forgotten. How could I? It’s the most important thing in my life, in our lives.”
“Nash is dead. We’re home. So?”
So? She’d barely woken after being out cold. How could he? He couldn’t. He wasn’t a brute. She had to heal, grow strong. He couldn’t possibly…
“You have to…”
“I’m fine.”
“You’ve only just wakened, Savannah. We can wait for a day, or two, or a week, a month, however long it takes until you’ve regained your strength.”
“Ash, what part of royalty, fae, and being strong don’t you get?” Savannah shook her head. “Who left you eating dust in the forest? Moi, that’s who. I’ve slept, and now I’m feeling stronger than ever. Don’t treat me like an invalid because I’m anything but. If I needed any further recuperation, I’d let you know. I don’t. What I do need is you … here, in bed, with me.”
“Really?”
“I need your tongue to work magic on my body,” Savannah purred. “I need your fingers to make my skin sing. I need your cock to make me yours, Ash, I’m hoping you can do all of that and more, Detective.”
Now his cock strained against his jeans painfully. Her words sinking in and sending him to the very edge of his restraint. “I’ll bite you,” he croaked out in an attempt to stall her once more.
“I look forward to it,” she urged him. “My teeth ache to taste your blood too…”
“Savannah, fuck, you’re not making this easy.”
“I hope not, hard is what I want right now,” she teased him.
“I give up!”
“I hope so.” Savannah waggled a finger. “Come here, Ash, before I singe your ass with my renewed fae power.”
“I’m coming.” He pulled his tee over his head, dropping it to the floor.
“Not yet, wolf.” She laughed, the sound high and tinkling as he stalked toward her.
“You’ll pay for that.” He stopped at the edge of the bed, removing his belt, then dropping his jeans … her eyes falling to his cock. Her tongue popping out to play across her plump lips when she saw he was once more commando.
“Do you ever wear underwear?”
“Nope.” He kicked himself free before tearing the comforter off her. “Why? Do you want me to?”
“Definitely not.” Savannah looked down at the plain white t-shirt she wore. “Who dressed me in such a sexy little number?”
“I did. It’s one of mine, and I happen to think you look hot as hell. In fact, good enough to eat.” She inhaled sharper at the suggestion, giving him a nod of approval. “But it has to go.”
Crawling up beside her, Ash leaned over to snatch the hem in both hands, then lifted it up and over her head. Savannah helped, wriggling herself free, and in moments, she lay bare before him. Perfection personified, her body lit by the moonlight shining through the window … her breasts round and heavy, with her thin waist, hips not much wider, and her legs long and already opening for him.
“Ash, you’re staring.”
“Of course, I am. You’re fucking gorgeous. So delicious, I’m trying to decide which delicacy to taste first.”
Her face flushed, her heart picking up to a quick staccato, and her lips opening into a smile. “All of it.”
“I’m sure I will, but I know where you want my tongue on you, baby. I can scent your arousal, Savannah. You’ll never be able to hide from me what you want, what you need … and I’ll give it to you, always.”
He settled himself between her willing thighs, hooking them over his shoulders, and inhaled deeply … a long sigh escaping when her arousal settled in his nostrils. Exquisite. His fingers played across her thighs, softly caressing, moving higher and higher until he reached her sweet pussy, and causing Savannah to gasp when he arrived. He needed to feast on the sight of her, so he spread her open with one hand, gazing upon her beauty and teasing her mercilessly with his finger on her clit until her moans grew louder and her hips bucked beneath him.
His cock strained with the need to be inside her, but he’d promised himself this pleasure first, so he lowered his head slowly to take his first taste from the bounty Savannah offered. Her moans grew when she sensed
his nearness, his hand splayed on her belly to hold her in place, his mouth opening to blow over the heat radiating from her … her back arched and a high-pitched squeal erupted from her, sending his cock to strain and harden even further. He allowed himself to pause a beat, his eyes darting up to see the beauty of his mate as she sank further into her passion. She was so beautiful it took his breath away. Her hands hung onto the headboard, with her fingers white and the muscles in her arms straining, her head arched back, and her neck bowed.
Then he dipped down for his first taste, his tongue darting out to tease with a long, slow stroke … causing Savannah to whimper and keen. Her taste exploded inside him, her unique mix of flavors he’d never get tired of, pulling her closer, desperate to bury himself as far as he could between her thighs to savor her. Her body shuddering beneath him with every stroke his tongue played across her folds, his hands holding her firmly, her heels digging into his back and her screams growing louder.
“Ash! More! Fuck!”
He wanted to give her more, to give her his all, wanted her to shatter beneath him while his name fell from her plump lips. Bringing his fingers to tease her lips, he added one into her channel, where he wanted his rock-hard cock to be. Not yet. Not until she fell over into ecstasy … fell into utter bliss, where she didn’t know which way was up and he knew he’d caused her to fall apart.
Nipping his teeth over her clit brought an immediate response, a scream and a hand in his hair. “Don’t stop, please! Don’t stop.”
He couldn’t even if he wanted to. Her juices filling him up and he couldn’t resist feasting on them, her taste exquisite, like a drug, and he was addicted to her. Every groan, every moan, every shudder of her body taking his own pleasure higher. His tongue working her clit harder, his finger dipping deeper inside her, her channel tightening around him, pulling him in. She was near, so near … her cries growing louder, her body covered in a sheen of sweat. He knew he’d tip her over soon, but he wanted the crest to be as high as possible before she toppled over. Wanted her to completely, utterly lose control and shatter with utter abandon.
Flattening his tongue, he ran it all the way from her ass, up over her entrance, back to her clit, and pressed hard over it, with his entire mouth covering her. Suckling hard, taking all of her inside to nip, suck, and tease her into oblivion.
“Oh. My. God!”
Her legs stiffened, her screams echoing around the room as her body shuddered beneath him. He didn’t stop sucking until she begged him to, tugging on his hair, and kicking at his ass.
“Ash, please, stop!”
With one last swipe, he looked up with a pained look. “Women. One minute you say one thing, the next you change your mind.”
“Funny, but seriously, you’re amazing with that tongue of yours.”
“It’s not the only weapon in my arsenal.” He crawled up her body, caging her in.
“I hope not.”
Her eyes still glazed over from her orgasm, the scent surrounding them, and her taste still filling his mouth. All he wanted now was to seal them together. Forever. For eternity. To feel her inside him … their souls together as one. Or would he?
He stalled above her. Wondering what would happen when they finished their bond. Savannah being fae meant they were crossing into territories unknown. He knew wolf ways and what to expect if he mated a she-wolf. He didn’t know what would happen with Savannah.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Savannah stroked his face gently. “You’ve left me, Ash.”
“No, I’m here. I’ll never leave you, baby.”
“Don’t lie, you’re worried … why?”
“I’m not worried, just wondering what’ll happen when we bond.”
“Doesn’t matter. We’ll be together.”
She was right. He was foolish to think otherwise. Spending one second worrying over this, and not on their time together was a gross negligence of his duties as a mate. One he’d put right this very second.
“I love you, my mate.” Pushing her thighs apart, he grabbed his thick, heavy cock, rubbing his tip against her before he pushed deep inside with one smooth thrust. “I promise to be faithful,” he pulled out slowly, held himself there, “I promise to be true,” then filled her again, “I’ll protect you…”
Savannah’s brow lifted as she interrupted. “Thought we’d settled I can protect myself?”
“Shh, let me do this, baby. I’m a wolf and I’ll always protect my mate.” Another thrust of his hips, Savannah’s lips opened, and a soft moan escaped. “I’ll protect you, even if you don’t need it. Our souls will be one for eternity, the Goddess has blessed us, brought us together, and we’ll honor her gift. I accept you, Savannah, as my soulmate, for eternity.”
Pushing harder, faster, Savannah met him with each movement, her legs opening wide to give him better access, her eyes staying locked with his while her breathing sped up.
“I’m supposed to respond. Fuck. Ash, I’ve no idea what to say, other than you’re everything I’ve ever dreamed of or wanted. So, Detective, let’s do this bond thing … for eternity and all that shit. I’m never letting you go. I love you too damn much.”
He couldn’t help but smile. “Typical Savannah, unique and beautiful all rolled into one. My warrior fae queen.”
“Princess…oh yes! I’m going to … again. Aah!”
The moment was upon them. Ash allowed his fangs to break through his gums, then he struck, darting forward to pierce the skin on the delicate skin at the point on Savannah where her shoulder met her throat. Holding her head firmly against himself, forcing her to the same point where she’d hopefully perform her own mating bite … Please, baby, do it.
Her blood entered his mouth right at the moment he felt a sharp sting as she bit him. Euphoria spread through him … her essence flowing over his tongue … an explosion of flavor in his mouth simultaneously as an orgasm erupted inside him. So many sensations he fought to latch onto them. Her blood tasted like a delicacy he’d fight to the death to taste again. His body spasmed with the orgasm shaking him from head to toe. Her mating bite burned like lava … sending waves of pain and pleasure through his entire system.
Then … then … tendrils of something else entered him. Something strange, otherworldly, fragile at first, then as the orgasm waned, he fell to the side, pulling Savannah to him, but the feeling remained. A wraithlike sensation wafting around inside him … what was it?
“Can you feel me?”
“Savannah? Is that you?”
“Yes, it’s me. Please don’t freak out, Ash. I didn’t know if it would work. And it might not last.”
“What the fuck’s happening?”
“Fae can mind-talk. Well, not all of us can, but some, especially powerful ones, and if they’re blood-family. We’ve just bonded, and bitten each other, so I was hoping it might work.”
“Don’t you think a heads up would’ve been good? This is … strange.”
“Sorry, I didn’t want to say anything in case it didn’t work.”
“Wait, you’re in my head, does that mean…”
“No, I can’t read your mind, or your thoughts. Jeez, don’t worry, I’m not going looking for your secrets, Detective.”
“Can we stop this now, please?”
“Sure.” Savannah pinched him. “Didn’t think you’d react like that. Don’t you use something similar when you’re in wolf form?”
“We do, but only in wolf form. Sorry, it surprised me. Maybe if you’d prepared me. It was a shock, that’s all.”
“Hey, if it lasts, just think of all the fun we can have. And if it doesn’t, then you don’t have to worry about it.”
When he thought about it, it wasn’t so bad. It had been a shock, but being able to communicate privately certainly could be advantageous. “I didn’t mean to sound so upset, but if we keep this, then maybe we shouldn’t broadcast our ability. I can see situations where it could be handy to have this not be general knowledge.”
Savannah pursed her
lips, then a smile crept onto her face. “I agree. Several reasons, but yeah, we keep it to ourselves.”
“Okay, now, would you like a bath or a shower?” Ash asked, running a finger along her shoulder. “I want to clean your wound.”
“Hmm, bath or shower? What’s better for round three?” she asked with a smirk and a glint in her eyes.
“That’s easy. Shower. Bath is far too small. I guess we’ll be doing a remodel … huh?” Picking her up, he headed for the bathroom.
“Absolutely, we must have both options, so the bath needs to be upgraded.”
“I’ll look into it, for now … shower it is. Hope you like them hot, Savannah.”
“I do, hot and heavy, just like you, Detective.”
Laughter erupted from them as they disappeared into the bathroom and their new life. One a wolf, one a royal fae, both warriors and both madly in love…
* * *
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About Ava
Ava lives in Bonnie Scotland, spending her time with family, pets, and dreaming of the next time she can get away from the cold weather and rain. When she’s not dreaming of her next vacation she’s writing … everything from hot Alphas, to suspenseful Vampires, with Dragons, Angels and everything else her imagination can come up with.
She has a weakness for chocolate (who hasn’t!) and has been known to scavenge for her favorite delights in moments of weakness. Her writing companions, who keep her company, are Luna, her German Shepherd, and Jinx, a black Lab. She’d be lost without them at her feet, even when they interrupt her, sometimes at the most inopportune times.
Dark Moon Falls: Volume 2 Page 26
