Dark Wolf Rising (Bloodrunners) (22 page)

It was the last thing she would have expected after such incredibly wild, aggressive sex—but knowing that she’d brought a smile to his lips, that she’d made him
happy,
was the part that meant the most to her. The part she’d always hold close to her heart.

Somehow, they found the strength to pull themselves onto the pillows, facing each other as they lay on their sides. Their hands and lips stroked and explored, learning the other’s body through taste and touch. She traced the swirls of his tattoo with her finger, then moved on to one of the scars on his chest, trailing her fingertips down to another long scar that slashed across his ribs. “Where did you get this one?”

* * *

Eric felt his lips twitch with a smile. “Believe it or not, Eli.”

“Your brother?” she asked, shifting up on an elbow. “How?”

“We were goofing around, playing too rough. We were always like that. Drove my old man crazy. He’d go off the deep end whenever he caught us, but Eli always stepped in and took the brunt of his anger. He protected me, every damn time.” He glanced down at the scar. “The day I got this, I’d been teasing him about his new girlfriend. I was being a shit, egging him on. We started wrestling out behind our barn and I ended up cutting myself open on some metal that was sticking out of the ground. Eli freaked out, carrying me like a damn baby all the way to Jillian’s mom, who was our healer at the time. I kept telling him it was no big deal, but I’d never seen him so upset. He looked worried until she finally got the wound closed.”

“You miss him, don’t you?”

“Every damn day,” he said in a low voice, covering the dip at her lower back with his hand. He spread his fingers, splaying his hand over her skin, loving how soft she was. “I wanted to send for him the moment the League was destroyed, but I can’t do that to him. Bring him back into this mess. If I told him we needed him, he’d come. But he doesn’t deserve to get caught up in this shit.”

“He might feel differently. He might feel that it’s worth it, if it means having his family back.”

“You think so?” he asked.

Caressing the grain of stubble on his jaw with her fingertips, she said, “I think you need to give him the choice.”

He sighed. “We’ll have to find him first.”

Her eyes widened with surprise. “You don’t know where he is?”

Pulling in a deep breath of her mouthwatering scent, Eric took a moment to enjoy the way a gleaming lock of hair draped over her feminine shoulder, the ends curling against one of those deliciously small, berry-red nipples. He wanted to take that sweet little nipple into his mouth and suckle until she came again. But he knew she probably needed a little more recovery time, so he forced his attention back to the conversation. “Not exactly,” he murmured, lifting his gaze back to hers as he answered her question. “Eli works with an...interesting group of people. They travel around a lot.”

“What do you mean by interesting?” She looked more than a little curious.

“Think non-human mercenaries,” he offered drily, “and you’d be pretty close.”

“Mercenaries!” She muffled her
well-that-certainly-wasn’t-what-I-was-expecting
laugh with her hand. “Sorry I asked.”

Eric grinned, loving the lyrical sound of her laughter. “They’re good guys. Just a little rough around the edges.”

“I can imagine.” Her tone was wry.

He stroked her hip, but as his hand started to slip toward her sex, she stiffened, grasping his wrist. “I should, um, go and tidy up.”

“No, don’t. Please,” he begged, quickly cupping her in his palm. After so many orgasms, she was slippery and warm, drenched in her juices.

Her face turned crimson. “But I’m...soaked.”

“I know,” he groaned, loving the way she arched when he found her clit with his thumb. “It’s so perfect, Chelse. You feel so good. No way in hell am I letting you wash this away.”

He hadn’t paid any attention to her beautiful breasts before, but he intended to make up for that now. While his fingers played through her slick, swollen folds, he spent long moments feasting on her nipples, loving the way they felt in his mouth...against his tongue, until his control finally snapped.

“Damn it,” he growled, quickly sheathing himself in another condom and pulling her beneath him. “I know you’re probably too sore, but I can’t wait. I just need...I need to be inside you.”

She gasped as he worked himself in, thrusting his hips against hers until she’d taken every inch of him, the fit tight and perfect and slick.

“Hurt?” he asked, his chest heaving with the ragged force of his breaths.

“A little. But it feels too good to stop.” She reached up, smoothing her fingertip over his brows. “Your eyes are glowing.”

His voice was a whisper. “Are you scared?”

She shook her head. “No. I know you won’t hurt me.”

He closed his eyes and lowered his head, pressing soft kisses along the tender column of her throat.

“Just...don’t bite me.” There was a catch in her voice.

Eric slowly lifted his head, watching her with a hard, penetrating stare, frustration riding his body like a second skin. “You can trust me, Chelse. If I feel myself losing control, I won’t stick around and take the chance of hurting you.” He drew in a shuddering breath. “Just give me a chance. That’s all I’m asking.”

She gazed up at him as she curved her hands over his shoulders, her own stare deep and measuring. Then she drew him down to her until their lips were touching, their breaths soughing together, and whispered, “I’ll...try.”

When it was over, their passion-wrecked bodies collapsed like the victims of a violent storm, bruised and exhausted, but it’d been worth it. He didn’t know how long they lay there, waiting for their breathing to return to normal, but he finally worked up the energy to deal with the condom. Then he came back to the bed, turned off the light, and for the first time in his life, Eric wrapped his arms around a woman and held her close after sex, unwilling to let her go. Clinging to her for all he was worth. “Don’t go.”

Her breath tickled his chest. “You want me to stay?”

He buried his face in the silken mass of her hair, breathing her in, and rasped a husky response against the shell of her ear. “Just try to leave me.”

* * *

Eric opened his eyes to the silvery glow of moonlight playing over the gentle curve of Chelsea’s cheek, her long hair spread out over the pillow. He wanted to press his face into that silken mass and breathe the scent of her into his lungs, keeping it there for as long as he could. Keeping her close, beneath his hands...his body, so that he could be there to see to her safety, sheltering her from the dangers of the world.

Just don’t forget that you’re a threat to her, too.

“Shut up,” he muttered under his breath, no longer willing to listen to that destructive voice. Old fears? His conscience? Whoever it was, they could mind their own damn business. He had no use for them tonight.

He knew she still didn’t trust him. Hell, he still didn’t completely trust himself. But they could work around it for however long this thing between them lasted. The idea of an ending made him want to snarl, so he shoved that irritating thought from his mind, as well, focusing instead on the moment. He’d spent the night in her arms, and he hadn’t lost her. Lost some of his control...yeah. He’d taken her hard and rough and raw, but he hadn’t hurt her. Judging by the number of times she’d come screaming in his arms, the primitive, visceral craving she incited in him worked for her.

He’d always been an aggressive lover, but never like he’d been with Chelsea. His hunger for her made his past experiences with women seem like child’s play. Her soft skin probably bore the marks of his fingers from where he’d gripped her hips and thighs in a hard, possessive hold, but she’d never complained. She’d simply given as good as she got, his own body bearing the marks of her nails, and he loved it. Would wear them with pride, the marks healing too quickly for his liking.

Just have her make new ones.

He smiled, his wolf and him for once on the same page. It was a hell of a plan. But first, as much as he hated to cause her pain, he knew he had to come clean with her.

As if she sensed his disquiet, she stirred beside him, a sleepy smile curving her kiss-swollen lips as she stretched and cuddled closer. “Hey, you.”

“I didn’t mean to wake you.”

She reached down, curling her soft hand around the rigid length of his cock. Her eyes sparkled. “I think maybe you did.”

“Chelse,” he murmured, bracing himself on an elbow, “there’s something we need to talk about.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked, obviously sensing from his tone that she wasn’t going to like what he had to say. She pulled her hand away and sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest as she stared down at him.

“Nothing’s wrong.” He climbed out of the bed and turned on the light, then grabbed his jeans and pulled them on. Lifting his hand, he rubbed the back of his neck as he turned to face her. “I just...there’s something I need to tell you about Perry. It isn’t going to be easy for you to hear. The only reason I didn’t tell you earlier is because I—”

“What is it? Is she hurt?” she asked, cutting him off.

“No, she’s fine.” He blew out a frustrated breath. “Hell, I know I’m screwing this up, I just don’t know how to—”

“Eric, just say it.”

“The girl that helped Sophia make it up to Miller’s Ridge—the one who called Jeremy on Sophia’s phone—it was Perry.”

“You saw her?”

He gave a brief nod. “I also talked to her.”

Her eyes went wide with disbelief. “And you just left her there?”

“Not by choice,” he grunted, not liking the way she was looking at him. “Damn it, I tried to get her to come with us, Chelsea. She refused.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, Eric. If you’re telling the truth, she must not have been in her right mind. They’d probably drugged her!”

He braced his hands on his hips. “She didn’t smell drugged. I would have known, Chelse. She said she couldn’t leave because Jason is in some kind of trouble that has to do with her. She’s afraid that if she runs out on him, he’ll lose his ranking in the pack.”

“His ranking?” she choked out, shaking with fury. “You expect me to believe that she’s worried about his stupid ranking? That’s impossible. She wouldn’t risk her life because of his goddamn social status. She’s childish and selfish, but she wouldn’t be that stupid! She wouldn’t act just like our mother!”

“I know this is hard to hear, Chelse.” His voice was deep and low. “But I’m telling you the truth.”

“No...I can’t—I refuse to believe this.” Her long hair streamed over her shoulders as she shook her head, her pale skin flushed with anger. “You probably just didn’t want to have to deal with her.”

Eric narrowed his eyes. “That’s bullshit and you know it.”

“And what about Cian?” she snapped. “Why didn’t he say anything to me about Perry being there?”

“Because I asked him not to,” he ground out, knowing this particular truth was going to piss her off even more. But he refused to lie to her. “I wanted the chance to tell you myself. When it was the right time.”

“Well, you should have done it before!” she shouted. “Because now I don’t believe anything you have to say. All you’ve done is prove that you’re just another selfish, controlling bastard who isn’t worthy of—”

There was a screech, followed by his guttural curse, and then she was panting, saying, “Let me go, Eric. Now.”

He blinked, surprised to find her trapped beneath him on the bed, her wrists bound in the hard grip of his hands. He released her as he reared back, bracing himself on his knees, terrified by the thought of what could have happened. His throat was tight, a burning lump stuck in the middle that made it hard to talk. “I was afraid you were going to react like this,” he panted, his voice little more than a croak. “I was hoping that after what happened between us, that you might...hell, I don’t know. Have a little faith in me.”

“That was your plan?” she snapped, using the sheet to cover her body as she rose up on her knees in front of him, both of them kneeling in the middle of the bed. “Were you hoping that I’d be more inclined to believe your lies about Perry after you’d screwed me?”

He ground his jaw so hard that it hurt. “You know that’s not true. I tried to get her to leave with me, Chelsea. But she was determined to stay.”

She snorted, still not believing a word he’d said. “Like I told you before, she might be selfish, but she isn’t stupid. She isn’t a doormat. If you’d really offered her the chance to get away from that place, she would have taken it.”

Keeping his gaze locked on hers, he took a deep breath and said, “I’m not saying I agree with her, but did it ever occur to you that she might actually be in love with this guy? That as upset as it makes you, you should support her decision to stay with him?”

Her breathing got a little harder, her mouth trembling. “You really are a manipulative son of a bitch, aren’t you? I can’t believe I let you get close to me.”

“You didn’t let me, Chelsea.” His eyes narrowed with a visceral jolt of anger. “You
begged
me.”

The next thing he knew, his head was snapping to the side, the imprint of her hand burning in his skin. He took a deep, rattling breath, and knew the wolf was burning in his eyes when he brought his gaze back to hers. Its fury seared through him, scorching his veins, his muscles bulging as he stared her down.

She paled, her scent spiking with the heartbreaking threads of fear. She actually thought he was going to hurt her. Thought he was going to be just like all the other bastards who had treated their women like shit. Battered and abused and psychologically tormented them.

Yeah, he was pissed. Furious. Hurting at her lack of trust. He’d known the truth was going to be hard for her to take, but he hadn’t expected this. Hadn’t expected her to throw it all back on
him.

There was really only one thing left to do.

Moving off the bed, Eric reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out the set of keys that Wyatt had slipped him earlier at dinner. Then he padded on his bare feet across the room, set the keys on the dresser and turned toward the door. “The keys are yours,” he said, keeping his back to her. “They belong to the gray Rav4 that’s parked beside the cabin.”