Believe: The Complete Channie Series (179 page)

River

“
I
…I
WANT
…” R
IVER
COULDN
’
T
catch her breath. There wasn’t enough room in her chest. This feeling, this desire, was stronger than anything she’d ever felt before. It was even stronger than the pull of her wolf had been. “I want…”

Jonathan rested his forehead against hers. “Me, too.”

“Kiss me.”

“As you wish.” Jonathan pulled the strip of leather holding her braid out of her hair. He unwound the plait, running his fingers through the strands until her hair fell in loose waves down her back, past her hips. He cupped the back of her head then brushed his lips across hers. The kiss started out the same as all the others; soft, gentle, tentative, then built in pressure and intensity. Jonathan pulled her closer and slid his tongue over her bottom lip.

River’s eyes flew open.

Jonathan stopped and dropped his hand. “Was that too much?”

“No. Just…unexpected.” River smiled as she repeated Jonathan’s words then grabbed his face with both hands and pressed her mouth against his.

Jonathan smiled against her lips.

This wasn’t supposed to be funny. River pulled back.

Jonathan tangled his fingers in her hair and held her head in place. “Don’t interrupt me when I’m kissing you.”

River didn’t usually like to be bossed around, but Jonathan’s alpha attitude made her entire body quiver.

He licked her lower lip again, but this time River was ready for it. She wasn’t ready when he slid his tongue into her mouth, but at least she didn’t startle like a frightened rabbit. It took less than a second for her own instincts to take over. She chased his tongue with hers and smiled when he groaned into her mouth. Jonathan tasted like apples…only better. River couldn’t get enough.

Jonathan tilted his head and pursued her lips from a slightly different angle. Time stood still as they explored each other’s mouths.

Jonathan pulled away and searched River’s eyes. “Are you okay?”

River’s heart raced. Her breath came in shallow, rapid gasps. Her skin burned with fever. But she’d never felt better. “I’m fine. Are you?”

Jonathan quirked the side of his mouth into a lopsided smile, flashing a single dimple. “I’m so much better than fine.”

“How many women have you mated with?”

Jonathan’s dimple disappeared as his smile faded. “That’s kind of personal.”

“I know. And I’m sorry for asking, but it’s important.”

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I don’t have any sexually transmitted diseases. I promise.”

“Are you a virgin?”

“Yeah, but just barely.”

“What does that mean?” Either he’d mated or he hadn’t.

“I’ve messed around a lot, but never quite made it to home base.”

“Home base?”

“This is first base.” He kissed her lips then nibbled a trail of fire down her throat. “Sex is home base.”

“What’s between first base and sex?” River’s voice sounded faint and breathy to her own ears.

“A whole lot of fun stuff.” Jonathan slid his hand under River’s tunic and stroked the skin beneath her breast. “This is pretty close to second base.”

River trembled.

Jonathan slid his hand to her waist. “Do you want me to stop?”

“No.” River’s skin felt as if it were on fire, but she wanted more of his heat. “Are you getting hot?”

Jonathan’s grin displayed both dimples. “You have no idea.”

“I’m burning up. Do you mind if I take off my vest?”

“Not at all.” Jonathan’s eyes dilated as he watched River remove her vest. His nostrils flared. “Do you mind if I take off mine, too?”

Instead of answering, River untied his vest with trembling fingers then slid it off his shoulders.

Jonathan used his golden claw to remove it the rest of the way. He dropped it on the floor then raised his eyebrows. “How about the shirt?”

River nodded and raised her hands to the drawstring of her tunic.

Jonathan grabbed her wrist. “I meant mine.”

River’s face burned even hotter. “I keep forgetting that you aren’t used to naked breasts. Have you never watched a woman nurse a baby?”

Jonathan’s cheeks reddened. “I try really hard not to. And most women are pretty modest about nursing in public. They cover themselves and their babies with blankets.”

“Even during the summer?” River loosened the drawstring of Jonathan’s tunic and pulled it off over his head. His sleeve got tangled in his golden claw.

Jonathan tugged it free. “Yes, even in the summer.”

River ran her hands over Jonathan’s chest.

He stiffened and inhaled through his teeth when she touched the leather strap that held his golden claw to his body like a harness.

River lifted her gaze to meet his. “May I remove it?”

He nodded.

His skin was rubbed raw under the harness buckles. “Oh Jonathan. Why didn’t you tell me this was hurting you?”

“It’s not that bad.”

“I should have padded it.”

“You can do that?”

“I made the felt pads that protect Red’s hide from the pack frame. As soon as we get home, I’ll make some for you.” She traced around the raw spot on his collar bone. “I don’t want you to wear your claw again until these sores heal.”

“That’s going to make it kind of hard to hunt. I can’t hold my bow without it.”

River smiled. “I wasn’t expecting you to hit anything.”

“Hey! I’ve gotten pretty good. I hit the target nearly every time now.”

“Shooting a live animal is a lot different from shooting a target.”

Fine lines appeared around Jonathan’s eyes and mouth. “It can’t be any harder than shooting a man.”

Even with the constant reminder of his missing hand, River had forgotten that Jonathan was a soldier. He hadn’t mentioned it since he’d told her about his brother’s death. “Have you ever killed a man?”

Jonathan lowered his gaze from River’s face to the floor.

She instantly regretted her tactless question; but Jonathan answered before she could apologize.

“We were coming back to base. I caught a flash of something in the trees with my peripheral vision. Probably the sun hitting the barrel of his weapon. He must have seen me flinch or something. He got off a round before I dropped him, but he didn’t hit anyone. We did a sweep but didn’t find anyone else. Just that damn kid. He couldn’t have been more than fifteen. I can’t help but think he wouldn’t have fired if I hadn’t spotted him.”

Jonathan returned his gaze to River’s face, but his eyes remained unfocused. “There were others, but that’s the one I can’t get out of my head.”

River cupped his cheeks in her palms. “You had no choice. You had to defend yourself and your fellow soldiers.”

Jonathan nodded.

River wanted to wash all thoughts of war and killing from Jonathan’s mind. He would have to kill again before the people of New Eden were free from Zebulon’s rule. She already held his face in her hands so she pulled him closer and pressed her lips against his.

River had thought that Jonathan’s kisses couldn’t be any more passionate before his confession. She was wrong. He slid his hand under her tunic again and caressed her back.   

Her head spun. She needed to lie down.

As if he’d read her mind, Jonathan laid back on the bed, bringing River with him. 

His heart pounded beneath her ear. A low rumble came from deep inside him. It vibrated against her cheek. If River had any remaining doubts that Jonathan was the son of Ephraim, that growl erased them. She’d never heard a sound quite like that before, but she knew what it meant.
Mine
.

She’d just been claimed by an alpha male.

CALL OF THE WOLF

J
ONATHAN
HAD
NEVER
TOLD
ANYONE
about killing the Afghani boy. River’s attempt to ease his conscience only intensified the shame and guilt he wore like a second skin; until she kissed him.

They’d been making out for nearly an hour so he was already turned on. But a sudden, almost violent, surge of desire hit him like a tsunami, obliterating everything but her.

Jonathan had never wanted any woman as much as he wanted River. She stirred something primal deep inside his gut. His groan of pleasure sounded more like a growl. A weird desire to bite her neck startled Jonathan out of his lust induced trance. He broke the kiss then ran his fingers through her hair, sweeping it over her shoulder.

River closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side, exposing the honey gold skin of her throat.
Was she reading his mind?

Jonathan tried to maintain a semblance of civility and kissed her jaw instead of biting her. But when he drank in her scent—clean and slightly spicy, like snow covered pine—his desire to taste her skin grew until it consumed him. His lips parted instinctively and pulled her skin against his teeth. She tasted even better than she smelled.

Jonathan had marked more than his fair share of girls in high school, leaving love bites that most of them wore like badges of honor.

Frankie had been disgusted by Jonathan’s behavior and referred to the evidence of his conquests as “the mark of the beast.”

Jonathan didn’t want to mark River’s skin with a hickey. He wanted to
bite
her. What was wrong with him? He wasn’t some freakin’ vampire. He wove his fingers even deeper into her hair, holding her still as he sucked harder. But it wasn’t enough. He skimmed his lips down her throat to the tender skin where her shoulder joined her neck, parted his teeth, and bit her.

The rusty taste of her blood broke the spell. Jonathan pulled away and gasped when he saw the drops of blood beading twin crescents on River’s skin. He grabbed his shirt up off the floor and blotted her neck with it. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”

Franklin was right. Jonathan was an animal. Only a despicable beast would bite someone.

He expected River to shove him away, slap him or scream at him. She didn’t.

She climbed onto her knees, placed one hand on his shoulder and fisted the hair on the back of his head with the other. She straddled his hips, pulled his head to the side and bit him back.

Pain lanced his neck, but he didn’t fight her. How could he, after what he’d just done?

She licked the bite, soothing the hurt, then grabbed his face with both hands and smashed her mouth against his.

Jonathan didn’t remember lying down, but they were definitely horizontal and River was definitely in charge. She was also topless. Either she wasn’t as inexperienced as she’d claimed or she was a damn fast learner. What the hell did they use for birth control?

That stray thought froze Jonathan mid-kiss, but when his mouth quit moving, River just kissed a trail down his neck.

She paused to lick the bite mark then continued to work her way lower, to his bare chest.

“River, sweetheart…we need to slow down.” At least they both still had their pants on.

She responded to his request with a whimper.

Something primal inside Jonathan growled and demanded that he take River, right here, right now. He wanted to roll on top of her and…
No!
River is not ready for this.

Jonathan grasped one of River’s wandering hands and brought it to his face. He kissed her palm. “I mean it, River. We need to stop. Now.”

River rolled onto her back, exhaled loudly and stared at the ceiling.

Jonathan didn’t want her to think he wasn’t enjoying making out with her, or worse, rejecting her. He traced the upper edge of her tattoo with his finger. “What’s the significance of this?”

River covered his hand with hers and pressed it against the mark. She hesitated before answering. “The bow and arrow represents my grandfather, my mother’s father. The wolf is my father’s symbol. That’s why it’s in front of the bow and arrow.”

“Does everyone have them?” Jonathan propped himself up on his elbow. He’d noticed similar tattoos on Eli, Gabriel and Reuben.

“No.”

When she didn’t elaborate, Jonathan kissed her forehead. “It’s okay.”

River peeked at him from under her lashes. “Thank you for not mating with me.”

“I know the proper response is ‘you’re welcome’ but I’m just not feeling it.” Jonathan wiggled his eyebrows at her.

She covered her face with both hands and giggled.

Jonathan found her shirt on the floor and used superhuman self-control to hand it to her without sneaking another peek. He put his on as well. “What happens if you get pregnant?”

River’s
eyes grew wide.

Jonathan tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “What’s wrong?”  

She sat up and started counting on her fingers. “Oh no. No. No. No! This can’t be happening.” Her voice increased in pitch and volume with each exclamation.

“What can’t be happening? What are you talking about?” He ran his hand through his hair then climbed out of bed and paced the length of the hut. He fisted his hand then opened it, splaying his fingers. If River went home and told Reuben that Jonathan had felt her up; how many fingers would he take? Or would he cut off his entire hand?

River squared her shoulders, but tears streamed down her face. “I won’t let them punish you. I’ll tell everyone the baby is Eli’s…”

Jonathan froze then blinked and shook his head. “What baby?”

“The baby we just conceived.” River buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

Jonathan knelt in front of her and tried to pry her hands loose, but they might as well have been super-glued to her face. He cupped the back of her head and pulled her cheek next to his. “Sweetheart, there’s no way you and I made a baby. It’s just not possible.”

River leaned back and slid her hands to her stomach. “You mean…you
didn’t
spill your seed?”

“What?” Understanding hit Jonathan like a slap across the face. “No! Of course not!”

He gripped her chin between his thumb and fingers and forced her to meet his gaze. “We did not do anything that could possibly get you pregnant. Even if I had…um…you know…”

“Spilled your seed?”

“What makes you think that would have gotten you pregnant? We’re both wearing leather pants. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

“It’s common knowledge, Jonathan.”

He wanted to laugh, but if she really believed she could get pregnant without actually having sex, it wasn’t funny. Not at all. No wonder she was afraid of kissing.

“River, sweetheart, you know how animals get pregnant, right?”

“Of course. I help Reuben control the horses when it’s time to breed them.”

“So, you realize that in order for it to work, the stallion has to—”

“I know how mating works. I’m not an idiot.” River sniffed and wiped her eyes with her fingertips. “I know the best way for people to conceive is by coupling. But I’m in the middle of my most fertile time. And outsiders are ten times more fertile than our men. If you spilled your seed on me, I could still get pregnant.”

Jonathan sat on the bed and draped his left arm over her shoulders. “River, that’s impossible. The only way for me to get you pregnant is for me to…um…spill my seed…inside you.”

She shook her head, tickling his neck with her hair. “A councilman’s daughter conceived a child with Eli and all they did was kiss.”

Jonathan smiled and rolled his eyes. “I can guarantee you they did a hell of a lot more than just kiss. Whoa. Hold on a minute. Eli has a kid?”

Jonathan
had always suspected Eli was a pig, but this confirmed it. “What happened to the girl and her baby?”

Jonathan was willing to bet Eli was not supporting them.

“I don’t know what happened to the girl. I don’t even know which councilman is her father, but he was able to keep the trial very private. I wouldn’t have known about it at all if I hadn’t overheard Reuben and Hannah talking about it."

“And the baby?"

The council auctioned him off to the highest bidder.”

“What! You can’t sell children!” Was there no end to the depravity of this society?

“The boy is a treasure to his adopted father. He’s also spoiled rotten.” River’s lips curled into an I-know-a-secret smile.

“What about his adopted mother?”

River’s smile disappeared. “She died.”

“I’m sorry.” Jonathan cocked his head to the side. Paul was adopted. Reuben was a single dad. It had to be more than a coincidence. “Is Paul Eli’s son?”

“Eli fathered him, but he’s Reuben's son.”

Jonathan was glad that Reuben had adopted Paul, but that didn’t change the fact that he’d been sold at auction, like a slave. What if the highest bidder had been a pedophile? Jonathan’s stomach churned.

It went against everything he believed in to learn of such evil and do nothing about it.

“What’d they do to Eli?”

“Nothing.” River scooted a little closer to Jonathan and nuzzled his neck. “The girl testified that Eli didn’t know she was betrothed to another when she kissed him.”

“They believed that?”

“All I know is that the council advised Eli to make better use of the whores and servants already available to him and to stay away from the daughters of councilmen until he was ready to choose his mates.”

“So, basically, he got away with it. Why am I not surprised?” Jonathan squinted his eyes shut. “Wait a minute. Did you say ‘mates’…as in…more than one?”

“Fertile men with good bloodlines are expected to take at least two mates.”

“So, this is a polygamist cult. Great.”

River leaned back and furrowed her brow. “You don’t know anything about our society or why we do the things we do. We are not a cult.”

“You keep saying that, but it doesn’t change the facts.”