Her Druid Desire (The Amber Druid Series) (42 page)

           
Ignoring the twinge of pain, Nadia concentrated on the movement of his body, his
erection so deep inside of her that she could squeeze him with internal muscles
and make him shudder against her. Hot breath blew out against her ear while the
hair on his legs rubbed the backs of her thighs, his hipbones pressed into the
backs of her thighs whenever he finished a stroke, and his chest teased her
nipples. There were so many facets of this that Nadia didn’t know where to
concentrate on what felt the best.

           
The sedate thrust he had going on was costing him, Nadia knew this because he
was such a raw, animalistic man, and he was holding back for her sake. When she
lifted her hips she was planning to take him off guard, planning to make him
lose control, instead
she
moaned when her movement caused him to hit the
right spot, so she did it again, and again. Soon, his pace sped up, and Nadia
was gripping him with her legs and praying with everything she had for the
feeling not to end.

           
“That’s it angel, work for it…I know you want it…” His deep growl shook her
body as he set his fangs to her throat and teased her with the tips. Her
insides flamed, and burst, sending her into pleasure overload. Her body
erupted, and slung her into the air, passion shaking her body and mind.

           
She was slung back to the bed, and immediately Drake’s mouth was pinned against
hers, kissing her like she had never been kissed before, so deeply, so
mind-numbingly. He was slamming into her, bruising her body inside and out with
the force of his thrusts, moving the bed against the floor with each slap of
his body against hers, that Nadia came again in a rush of pleasure, her body
giving everything it had for the man that was making her scream his name again
and again.

           
With a final jerk, then a shudder, a warm sensation filled Nadia. Then Drake
collapsed on the side of her, pulling her body into his and kissing her
senseless again as if he couldn’t get enough of it, or her.

           
After everything they had just done, she felt extremely worn out and exhausted,
emotionally and physically. Apparently he didn’t.

           
Every single one of his ten fingers was speared deep into her hair, tickling
her scalp. His lips and tongue were gentle, but excruciatingly tempting as he kissed
her thoroughly. Their bodies were still entangled, and even though he had
already slipped from inside her, Nadia could feel heat and the slickness from
his overheated skin since he was pressed up against every available inch of
her.

    
Images of what they had done seared her brain. From
foreplay to the act itself, Nadia had never imagined anything so unrefined and
base between them, but overall every touch, kiss, and slide of skin inside and
out, had been loaded with feeling and emotion. Even though he hadn’t voiced the
words, she knew he felt something terribly strong for her. Pulling back, she
let her arms cuddle up between their bodies, while her head tucked under his
chin where it fit nicely.

Her body
felt more than sore; it actually throbbed in certain places. She knew for
certain that his teasing nip from earlier against her neck had left a scratch
because her neck was extremely tender now.  She yearned to leave the bed,
and sink into his Jacuzzi tub, but curled her hands into the hair on his chest
instead, lifting her head to find his eyes still glowing in the semi darkness.

“I love
you,” she whispered, watching as his pupils all but disappeared, swallowed by
the golden glow of amber in his eyes. The one thing she had waited years to
say,
now seemed so absurdly easy, so effortlessly spoken.
Nadia reveled in her admission. “For years I have wanted to tell you, to see
what your response would be to my words.” Her fingers never stopped touching
his skin, and when Nadia opened her mouth to continue, his fingers stopped her
from speaking.

“I will
never lie to you, so I’m telling you now that I did love my two wives. They
meant very much to me at certain times in my life.” Nadia’s heart almost
expanded the whole width of her chest. She knew what he was going to say, and
her eyes filled with tears. “But never in my life, never, have I ever felt for
another woman the way I feel for you.” Golden eyes singed her with heat. “You
are mine to keep, mine to worship, and mine to love…forever. There will never
be another for me, and I would never wish harm on any animal, but I’m so very
happy that you brought Belle to me that night; otherwise, you would have never
been planted firmly in my sights, and I would never have realized your true
feelings.” He settled a gentle kiss to her forehead, as tears streamed down her
cheeks. “I thank God for you every day.”

“Drake…”
she whispered, unsure of how to tell him she wanted to be with him forever. “I
want to be yours,” she said, her voice low but firm.

His hand
dug into her hair. “Angel, I hate to break it to you, but I have no intention
of letting you go.” A crooked, sexy smile emerged, and Nadia could see his fang
tips gleaming in the moonlight. An electric thrill sped through her veins.

“Good…because
I want to be yours…forever.” She saw his smile dim
,
then vanish completely
. “Forever…Drake, I want you to
bite me.” She stopped speaking, hoping to gauge his emotions, and watched as
his eyes grew stern and hard mouth straightened to a thin line.

Seconds
felt like minutes and Nadia felt fear creep into her system. She had assumed
that if she shared her body, and her emotions with him, he could never turn her
down. Laying here beside a man who’d completely shut down, she wasn’t so sure.
What was she supposed to do if he didn’t agree? Tightening her hands on his
chest, she hardened her thoughts, and told herself it would not come to that.
She locked onto his gaze, opening herself up to him.

“I will not
allow you to get rid of me so easily.” One dark eyebrow rose at the force in
her words, but she continued. “I want this! I want you and I love you. I see no
reason why you
  shouldn’t
‘gift’ me over into
your world.” Nadia licked her lips and went for the kicker. “How could you turn
me and my love away, when I know you feel the same for me?”  

The room
filled with a deafening silence.

She felt
her face burn with heat and humiliation over her embarrassing emotional
display. He didn’t respond, but the look on his face was something she’d never seen
before. It almost looked like fear.

Stupid! You
were so stupid to think he would want this!

She flew
out of bed, amazed that he even let go of her, and ran to the bathroom,
grabbing her discarded clothes along the way.

“Nadia!”

Ignoring
his shout, she hastily tugged on her silky dress slip and trench coat, while
her body throbbed with every pounding of his fists against the door. Tears
flooded her eyes and fell to her cheeks, but she resolutely determined she
would not break down in front of him. That would happen in the privacy of
her own
home.
Only there would she let go.

“God, you
don’t understand just how big of a step this is!” he said, almost painfully
from the other side of the wood.

She knew
how easily he could overcome the lock, so rather than giving him the
satisfaction of unlocking the door with his powers, she would do it herself.

Checking
her emotions, swiping at the tears on her face, and gathering nothing but cool
indifference around her, she tugged the door open, only to see her beloved,
looking as ragged as she felt, standing there.

He was
still in change mode, eyes bright, fangs flashing, and purely, deliciously,
naked. Nadia struggled, wanting to cuddle into him, but slammed those thoughts
away.

“How big of a step?”
She
questioned, thrusting her anger and the blazing trail of pain she felt into
every vibrating inch of her body. He’d pushed her too far, her Spanish blood
was churning. “Is it too much of a step for you?” Nadia shot daggers at him,
noting the still blazing burn of his eyes, and those fangs hinting at his
dangerous side. But that didn’t deter her one bit.

She shoved
a finger into his chest. “I’ve waited years…years Drake, for you, to be with
you, to love you, but you think this ‘turning me’ might be too big of a step?”
She knew tears were still rolling down her cheeks, but that didn’t stop her
words or the finger pointing. “How about you man up, and call me when you do.
Or, better yet, don’t, because I’m sure it will be too late.”

She didn’t
say anything else, just turned towards the front of the house to leave.

An almost
inhuman roar was her response, but other than flinch, she didn’t stop. She
wasn’t sure she would be able to leave at all if she caught one last look of
him. Minutes later, in her Rover, she finally was able to take a breath, but
her emotions were hanging on by a thread. Peeling out of his driveway helped a
bit. Seeing the road flying beneath her tires also calmed her.

Don’t think
about it yet. Get home, then you can dwell.

The thick
forest on either side of the road was almost welcome. As dark and dangerous as
her mood was, she should have known better than to expect a smooth departure.

A loud pop,
then the Rover swerved, Nadia had the frame of mind to pump the brakes, but
that didn’t stop her from sliding off the road, into the shallow ditch and
kissing the edge of a tree. She was thrown forward, but not harmed, thank God.
Scared, more than anything, and feeling stupid now that she was sitting out
here, wrecked, and emotionally pissed. She took a moment to survey her
surroundings…in the dark, feeling a little stupid, a lot scared, and so
unbelievably alone…her car a wreck and in a rut…just like her life.

“Good God,
how much more miserable can I be?”

She tried
laughing at herself, but ended up crying instead.

After a few
minutes of feeling sorry for herself, she stopped. She was on the side of a
private road, had wrecked and she certainly wasn’t going to be able to drive
away from this. She needed to find a way out of this mess.

Climbing
out of the vehicle was a bit precarious, but she managed, and then she got a
good look at the front of her truck, as well as the blown out tire.

“Damn.”

Well, there
was nothing to this. She was going to have to call Drake. “Shit.”

Seemed like her vocabulary was down to just the basics now, Nadia
thought, as she grabbed her
Iphone
from her coat
pocket, tapping out her
passcode
.
She didn’t notice until she brought the phone up to call Drake,
that there was no service.

“C’mon, really?!”
She all
but yelled at the offending piece of technology.

Birds
chirped, and a breeze sang out as a response.

What the
hell was she supposed to do now? Nadia shook her head and glanced around. Well,
it appeared she would have to start walking, and hope that her signal would
come back.

She trudged
resolutely along, noting that the sexy heels that had seemed like a good idea
earlier,
weren’t so much now. The wildlife sounds around her
were almost comforting, until Nadia realized that a light growling noise was
interspersed with the regular cooing and cawing of the birds. She stilled
instantly, and almost,
almost
, ran back to her truck to get the bat in
the backseat.

Why didn’t
you take it in the first place?

She glanced
back and could only see her back bumper…a LONG ways away. She would never make
it. A light sweat broke out on her skin. Her heart raced. She glanced back to
the road in front of her, just as the bushes rustled on the right side, and a
large, rotund shape walked out, growling softly deep in its throat when it saw
her.

Nadia
almost passed out.

A bear was
calmly studying her from about forty feet away.

Something
was wrong.

For fifteen
minutes, Drake had been trying to calm down, not that it was working, but he
had tried, and now some niggling little breach had tapped into his
protectiveness streak. The amazing amount of trust that she’d placed in him to
ask him to change her, was thrust away, the love she shared with him was also
pushed away. He couldn’t put a name to it, couldn’t describe it, he only knew
it had something to do with Nadia.

Within
seconds, he was outside, tapping the air with every ounce of his
Druidity
.

She wasn’t
far, and something was deathly wrong.

Every
thought he’d had was now put on hold.  
A darkness
,
something vile, and evil was close, and Drake had every intention of getting it
away from his woman. She might be angry with him, but she was still his, and he
would take care of her.

Within
seconds, he was on his private drive, running into the woods, desperate for
something, anything, to lead him in the right direction.