Sylvia's Torment (Enforcers and Coterie Book 2) (23 page)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

“
I can’t believe
we spent the whole day in bed,” Sylvia said as she stretched out next to Derek. Sheer decadence, lazing about in bed, although it was hard to call the activities they’d indulged in as lazy. Her heart was finally settling down and beating at a normal rate.

“Well, it wasn’t the whole day in bed. We spent some time in the shower, on the couch and on the floor,” he chuckled, trailing fingers across her stomach. She shivered in response, loving the feel of his skin touching hers.

He leaned over, pressing a lingering kiss against her lips. Pulling back, he framed her face with one hand and gave her a tender smile he reserved solely for her.

“Damn, I love you,” he whispered, almost as if the words were torn from him.

“What?” She froze. Did he really say that?

“What?” He parroted back, his face now shuttered.

“No. No you don’t get to say that and then pretend you didn’t. For how long?” she demanded.

A few weeks or months maybe? Had her abduction revealed his feelings for her?

If anyone had asked her a few days ago, her own answer would’ve been complicated. Falling in love hadn’t been her goal, not when he’d eventually find his lifemate. She’d fought viciously against it, all teeth and claws.

Now she knew without a doubt she loved him, and damn the consequences.

Derek flopped onto his back and covered his eyes with his forearm. She wasn’t prepared for what he said next. “Since the moment I met you, I’ve loved you. I knew you were the one for me. The only one for me.”

Her brain short-circuited.

No words came to her. Stunned she repeated, “What?”

No way had he loved her for so long. Thirty years! They’d known each other for thirty years and not once had he indicate that he cared for her as anything more than a packmate.

He shrugged and peeked out from under his arm. “It’s true. I had plans to pursue you and convince you I’d be a perfect mate. And then you looked at Victor. Your lust for him was a sucker punch to the gut. I told you, I don’t share well, and no way would I share my lifemate with another man.”

Deeper voice, elongated claws and shining amber eyes all pointed to one thing. Jealousy. Well, damn. She’d never seen this side of him. He’d always been friendly, although a bit distant, the norm for him. He’d treated her exactly the same way he treated his other Betas.

“Remember the first time we met? You were wearing the sexiest summer dress I’ve ever seen. It swirled around your knees, and the back halter made me want to lick you. But you were with Victor,” he ground out.

She remembered that day clearly, so excited to meet Derek Quinlan, the fiercest Alpha in North America. Growing up, her favourite stories had been about him. She’d begged her parents to send her to his pack for her training.

Once he’d accepted her request, the doubts had crowded in. Her mother’s tough talks had convinced Sylvia to follow through and meet her idol.

Considered an adult by human standards in her early thirties, in werewolf terms she was still a teenager with wild hormones. Unsafe to the public until her full merging, new werewolves required the firm hand of an Alpha.

So, wearing her prettiest dress, she had hoped to impress Derek.

The Coterie Headquarters lived up to her expectations. Huge, intimidating and a perfect place to meet Derek Quinlan for the first time. Standard procedure dictated all werewolves used neutral Enforcer grounds for the first meeting, as a wolf could become unruly when meeting an Alpha. If a newbie freaked out and turned wolf, they had enough Enforcers on hand to subdue them.

Employing all the tricks her mother taught her, Sylvia struggled to maintain control. Keep all emotions under wraps and don’t freak out. Huge knots twisted her stomach, and she scrubbed her hands along her dress.

The meeting room echoed with voices as Enforcers wandered in and out of the room. She learned later they were scoping out the new recruits. Fresh-from-the-academy mages bumped elbows with reborn vampires, and humans spoke with werewolves.

“Excuse me, are you alright?” The smooth voice sent goosebumps across her skin and hardened her nipples. What in the nine hells? Was this part of the werewolf hormones? She didn’t react so blatantly towards men.

With faint dread, she turned towards him and lost all breath. Utterly gorgeous. A man to worship, lick every inch of his body until his taste was imbedded within her very soul. His smile dimmed and disappointment lurked in his eyes.

Wait, what was wrong with her? Sylvia took a step back. Her body did not rule her.

Matching his now bland smile, she said, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just waiting to meet my new Alpha. I’m Sylvia.”

“Victor. Victor Tremaine. Mage Enforcer.” Neither one held out their hand to shake. The thought of touching him sent the wrong kind of thrills through her. Something was off.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Was he hoping to chat her up?

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to bother you. It’s just, you remind me of my sister. I’m not trying to hit on you, I swear.” Hands went up in a friendly, I’m-harmless pose.

She laughed, charmed by him and no longer feeling the odd, overwhelming desire for him.

“I’ve never had a sibling. Tell me about your sister?”

They chatted for a few minutes when a sizzle of electricity travelled up her spine. An awareness, a knowledge that her destiny had entered the room. Almost panting from the sensation, a rightness to it, she glanced at the door, veiling her gaze with her lashes.

Breathing became a near impossibility. An aura of power radiated from the newcomer. A short black mohawk added to his fierceness. The shaved sides of his head gleamed under the lights. Piercings adorned his face, enhancing his wildness. The grace and fluidity of his walk made her stomach clench.

A lethal predator and he didn’t bother hiding it. At well over six feet tall, he was one of the few men she had to look up to, and it thrilled her. As a dominant, she needed a stronger male, one who could be an equal partner for her.

And who better than Derek Quinlan?

A black t-shirt showcased his huge biceps, clinging to his chest and rippled stomach. His long legs ate up the distance between them. Overcome with lust and excitement, Sylvia gripped Victor’s arm. Her need for Derek skyrocketed, becoming almost all consuming. She wanted him. Needed him.

Tilting her head up, no longer hiding her gaze, she met Derek’s eyes as he approached them. Joy flared in his dark brown eyes, then disappointment followed by anger before he wiped away all expression.

“Sylvia?” Hard, flat and without any hint of happiness.

She released Victor’s arm and held out her hand. Derek grasped it, yanked her close and growled. Acting on instinct, she dipped her head, exposing her neck and waited. Moments later, he inhaled then released her.

“Yes, I’m Sylvia.” Nervousness had successfully destroyed any lingering lust for her new Alpha. Damn it, she needed to learn how to control any response she might have towards him. Obviously, he hadn’t appreciated it.

“Come with me. You’re close to your Change.” He turned and walked away.

The truth of that meeting hit her. He’d mistaken her desire for him as desire for Victor and had kept her at arm’s length since then. Taking her cue from him, she’d buried her attraction to him, refusing to give him any reason to send her away. While hard to accomplish, she’d managed to suppress her natural reaction to him, not even betraying herself by scent. She hadn’t wanted to embarrass either of them with an unwanted infatuation. And after meeting the other pack members, she’d realized others idolized Derek as well.

Her ironclad will only faltered when both Victor and Derek were in the same room. And even that had tapered off once Derek avoided anything to do with Victor. For some reason, the mage affected her in ways she didn’t understand. Not once did he push for more, though, content with remaining friends.

“I never knew,” she muttered, stunned Derek was her lifemate. “Wait, what about the lifebond? I should’ve felt that if we’re lifemates.”

The main reason why she had abandoned any hopes of a relationship with him. Stepping aside, watching him with another woman, his true lifemate, after knowing him intimately would’ve hurt too much.

“I suppressed it,” he admitted, shamelessly and without remorse.

“You suppressed it? No right! You had no right to do that! You took away my choice.” She scrambled off the bed, needing distance between them before she decked him.

“No right?! I
gave
you the option to choose. And you didn’t choose me! My lifemate desired another man. I never scented any desire from you when I was around. But damn it, whenever Victor was near, you were in heat. How the hell do you think that made me feel? Why would I want a lifemate who couldn’t and wouldn’t be faithful to me?” he snarled and sat up, no longer covering his face.

An angry flush highlighted his high cheekbones.

“I didn’t desire him! I’ve never desired him. It’s always been you, you jackass,” she shrieked at him, so damn furious with him. How dare he make that decision for her? He hadn’t even discussed it with her. She felt her tight control slipping and had to dig her fingers into her palms.

“How was I supposed to know? You’ve never given me any indication that you wanted more from me,” he rightfully pointed out. She’d tamped down hard on any attraction she felt for him, always brushing it off as a crush.

“You’re my Alpha! Of course I didn’t.  Great way to earn a transfer if you didn’t feel the same way or got bored and shipped me off. No way in hell was I screwing up the chance to be Beta for the meanest bastard around. You were my stepping stone. An Elite, or maybe even Werewolf Coterie was next. If I could handle you, I could handle anyone.”

By this point, they were both standing and yelling, anger and frustration bleeding from them.

“Why the hell didn’t you leave? They’ve offered you Elite status many times, and several other Top Alphas have also tried to lure you away. Why didn’t you?”

“Because of you! Are you really that blind? I didn’t want to leave you. By the time they offered it to me, I couldn’t leave you. It was too late.” She hung her head, letting her hair cover some of her face as she whispered, “I’ve never been strong enough to walk away from you, even when I saw you with other women. I can’t say I’ve loved you all these years, but I’ve worshiped you, crushed on you and needed you as my friend.”

She sat down on the bed, drained of her anger.

Derek knelt on the bed and pushed her hair back from her face. He cupped her cheek. His thumb skimmed across her lower lip.

“Sweetheart, I haven’t been with another woman since the day I met you.”

Her jaw dropped as she stared at him. How in the nine hells had he managed that? There was no way a man as strong, virile and just plain sexy as him wouldn’t attract the opposite sex. Hell, she knew some men who were strongly attracted to Derek.

“That’s not possible.”

“I haven’t wanted another woman. They couldn’t even arouse me. But one glance from you and I was as hard as a horny teenager.” At his words, she involuntarily glanced down and then blushed. Sure enough, he was true to his word. How could he get hard after the exhausting day they’d just had? He grinned ruefully. “Yeah, I know. With you around, I can’t help it. You’re pure aphrodisiac for me.”

He sat down on the bed, rested his upper body against the headboard and held out his hand to her. Sylvia smiled, knowing he wanted to talk, no matter what his lower half hoped would happen. Snuggling into him, she rested her head on his chest and her hand on his stomach. She kissed his nipple, enjoying the way it reacted so quickly to her attentions.

Gentle hands tangled in her hair, tilting her head upwards.

“Now darling, you keep that up and we won’t be talking. I only have so much self-control where you’re involved.” He kissed her nose, and the affection behind the gesture made her smile.

How’d she get so lucky to have him love her?

She must have said her thoughts out loud, as he responded, “I’m the lucky one. You’re an amazing woman and one of the few who can stand up to me.”

“That first day, I was so excited to meet you. I’d heard all the stories about you, how fierce and strong you were. I was already hero-worshiping you and couldn’t wait to meet this amazing werewolf who would teach me how to control my own wolf. When you walked in that door, the lust that slammed through my body shocked me. I’d never felt like that before. I remember you were disappointed and angry before you hid your feelings. Then you treated me so distantly, I figured it was just a reaction as a new wolf, and I didn’t want to embarrass you. I controlled any response I had to you, burying it as deeply as I could. The only time I couldn’t deny my desire for you was when Victor was around. For some reason, his presence pushed it to the surface.” She laid it all out, not wanting any more misunderstandings wedging them apart.

Derek shut his eyes as he banged his head against the headboard and cursed. “That’s what he meant. Victor said he had certain abilities that would cause women to feel horny. I think usually it would be towards him, but since we’re linked, it unleashed your feelings towards me. All those years, wasted.”