Call of the Wilds (31 page)

“I never had those feelings for Sable. It was all about guilt and responsibility.”

“You know, she called my baby a half-breed.” Just repeating the words, she felt as if she were suffocating. Her throat constricted and she struggled with the painful memory. “My son is not an abomination.”

A flash of anger passed over his face. “Our son,” he rolled the words around his mouth like he was tasting a fine wine, “is very special. I can’t believe it. I have a son and I almost lost him before I even knew. I want to see him as much as you’ll let me. Maybe I won’t be around every day but I’ll always take care of you both. I promise you he’ll never want for anything.”

“Except a real family.” He wanted to be a long-distance father. He didn’t love her. The hole in her heart enlarged to a crater. Soon she’d be as empty as the Tin Man.

“Oh, you just don’t get it, do you?” She stalked into the bedroom and slammed the door.

He opened it a minute later. “I get it,” he said gently. “I love you, Karin. You.”

He loves me!

“I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you when I thought we couldn’t have kids. The baby is a welcome bonus, something I thought I’d never have in my life. The thing is, I don’t know how you really feel.” He sat next to her on the bed. “I screwed up bad, and I almost lost the best thing in my life. I might have lost you anyway if I told you the truth, but at least I’d know I tried. You once told me I was scared, and you were right. I was afraid to admit just how much you mean to me, afraid to lose someone I love again.”

“Are you sure?” She tensed, hoping for the right answer. How she ached to tell him she loved him. Those words had been on the tip of her tongue for so long, but she held back. She wanted to live in this minute, forget the past, and not think about the future, but she had to for her child. She embraced his ancestry and everything about him, but did he really accept her or would he grow to resent them one day? What if he decided he couldn’t live with a human female and left them?

“I knew I wanted you the first time I saw you walk into the refuge. I never thought I’d feel that way about a woman again. I never thought I deserved to feel it again. I tried to convince myself it was just physical, but in my heart I knew better. You bring out the best in me. You make me feel like anything is possible.”

The baby picked that minute to kick, as if urging her to go for it. She took his hand and placed it on her stomach. Watching his eyes light up with wonder, she started to believe they might have a future together.

“How do you feel about being a real full-time father? Can you teach our child to accept his human side as well as his Lycan ancestry?”

“My father taught me to conquer my fears. My mother taught me to respect all cultures. Our community chose to live separate from humans, but my parents always believed there was good and bad in every race. When they died, I buried their beliefs with them. You made me see the wisdom of their words. I only hope you’ll give me the chance to instill those beliefs in our son.” He cupped her chin tenderly. “How do you feel? You never asked for this. He might be like me.”

“He couldn’t have a better father to take after. I know who you are, inside and out, and I love you.”

“Can you forgive me for being so stupid?”

“I made mistakes too. We both trusted the wrong people. I just want to start over—together.”

The tension left his face. “You’re my mate, Karin. I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life making you happy.”

“Do I make you happy?”

“Karin,” he groaned and pulled her down on the bed so they were lying side by side. “In the last fifteen years, the only time I’ve been happy is with you.”

“Prove it.” She grinned at him as she tugged his shirt free of his jeans. “You’re overdressed.”

“Are you sure? If we make love, I’m not leaving here without you.”

“Damn right you’re not, I’ll tie you to the bed.”

“If anybody gets tied down, it’s going to be you.”

“Give me a break. I’m pregnant, and I have one arm in a cast.”

“Geez, I’m sorry, doc. I wasn’t thinking. We should wait. I don’t want to hurt you or the baby.”

“Oh, no. You’re not getting off that easy.” She went to work on the buttons.

“You have no idea what you do to me,” he growled.

“Then give me a hand with these buttons. I’m incapacitated.” The raw lust in his eyes went straight to her core. If anything, being pregnant made her want him more. The need to touch him, taste him, and have him inside her overpowered everything else.

“Do I have to leave the thong on?” she whispered.

He chuckled. “No, I’ll give you a break this time.”

“Good, because I don’t want anything between us, not even this tiny scrap of material.” She worked her fingers inside his shirt, desperate to feel his bare skin. Her top, his pants, they tore at each other’s clothes in a frenzy of hands and fingers and teeth. It was so intense between them she could hardly wait until he had his clothes off, but when they finally bared all, he sank back on the bed, hesitant.

“It’s okay. You won’t hurt me.”

He ran his fingers through her hair, then over her neck to her shoulder and down her arm, stopping at the cast. “This is my fault. I’ll never forgive myself for letting her hurt you.”

“It’s not your fault. Maybe it’s not even her fault. I know how I felt when I thought I lost you.”

“But you didn’t kill anyone.”

She smiled at him. “But I wanted to.”

He looked at her like she was a veritable smorgasbord and he didn’t know what to sample first. His gaze and then his hand fixed on her breast.

“They’re a lot bigger,” he muttered hoarsely.

 
“Are you complaining?”

“No, I’m thinking I should keep you pregnant all the time.”

“A little less talk and a lot more action please.” She wanted his lips, and she leaned into him and captured them. She explored his mouth with her tongue. He tasted familiar and yet completely different at the same time. She touched wherever she could reach, as if to convince herself she wasn’t dreaming. When she played with the hair on his chest and pinched his nipple, he hissed and nipped her lip.

His mouth left hers and seared a path of liquid fire to her breast. She grabbed his hair and squealed with delight when he swirled his tongue around the dusky tip. Finally, he took her breast into his mouth and suckled gently, making her whimper for more.

“Harder.” She moaned softly and dug her nails into his shoulders. Her sex clenched, and a surge of moisture coated her thighs.

He settled there for a few minutes before moving his mouth to her other breast. Then he worked his way down, stopping at her belly button. He looked at it curiously and rubbed his thumb over it. “It looks like it’s going to pop soon.”

“Oh my God, talking again.”

“Patience, woman, I’m enjoying this. You’re so beautiful. Pregnancy becomes you.”

“Oh, yeah.” She laughed. “Morning sickness, heartburn, and backaches are very becoming.” But his words brought on a rush of emotion that tore at her heart. This was what she’d been missing. “And I love every minute of it.”

Tenderly, he kissed her belly, swollen with their child, and then moved up beside her. “And I love every minute with you.” His eyes grew dark. He brought his mouth down over hers. She parted her lips, and his tongue played wicked games with hers.

He slipped a finger into the wet folds of her pussy, and she moaned deep in the back of her throat. His touch so tender and intimate promised ecstasy. Her hips jerked as he began a slow circular motion around her clit. She was so ready for him. She nearly exploded from his touch. Her muscles tightened around his finger, driving her mad with the need to have him replace it with his cock.

“Malcolm,” she murmured into his mouth. “Please.”

“Not yet, sweetheart. I want to taste you.” He moved between her legs and lowered his head to lap at the cream glistening on her curls.

Her thighs trembled at the first rasp of his rough tongue. Parting her swollen lips, he licked one side and then the other, making her moan and buck beneath him.

“More,” she begged and opened her legs wider.

This time he swirled his tongue around her aching clit, then plunged it deep into her passage. Her insides clenched, and she dripped with anticipation.

“I’m going to explode.” She wanted more. He gave it to her.

 
He flicked his tongue over the swollen nub, then sucked until she went wild.

“Oh, yes. Oh, ohh!” Her blood roared through her veins as if jet-propelled, and her orgasm exploded like a thunderstorm.

He crawled up next to her and held her until her spasms subsided.

“I missed this so much,” he murmured into her neck.

“But, baby, you didn’t come yet,” she whispered back, already feeling desire ramp up again.

“I love watching you come, knowing I can do that for you. If I had to stop now, I’d be okay with it.”

“But I wouldn’t. I want everything I missed. I want to feel you inside me again.”

She smoothed her hand down his chest and belly searching for his cock, hard and sticky against his stomach. She played her fingers over the mushroom head, smearing beads of pre-cum over his flesh. His cock twitched as she scraped it lightly with her nails. She reached lower, cupped his balls, and tested their weight, caressing them, first gently, then harder. They grew heavy and tightened in her hand. He tensed and sucked in a harsh breath.

“Hmm, you’re good for many more babies,” she murmured into his mouth. She curled her hand around his shaft and stroked his silky length from the tip to the base until his breath grew ragged, and his hips bucked. When she thought he might explode, she released him and pulled away.

“Fuck.” He groaned, and his head fell back on the pillow.

“Mmm… maybe you’re not as okay as you thought.”

“Tease.”

“Not me. When I start something, I finish it.” Feeling wild and wanton, she rolled over onto her hands and knees. “You’re a wolf. Act like one.”

He stared at her with wild, hungry eyes, and the heat in his gaze stoked the fire between her spread legs. She felt his need as if it were her own, and she shuddered. Moisture flowed from her pussy and coated her thighs. His nostrils flared and beads of sweat appeared on his face. The need to be penetrated overpowered her.

“Fuck me, Malcolm.” She smiled at him over her shoulder. “Please.”

“No.” He growled, came up behind her, and kissed the small of her back. “I’m going to make love to you, Karin. Do you trust me?”

His low rumble vibrated against her heated skin. His words touched her heart. “I do.”

“I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you wear my mark and make the same commitment to me?”

Emotion overwhelmed her, making it difficult to speak. He’d already marked her, heart and soul. Whatever proof he needed, she’d give it to him gladly. “Yes, Malcolm. I love you and I want us to be together forever.”

“Forever,” he whispered. His big body covered her. His muscular thighs molded to hers and spread her open. His chest hair brushed her back. One big, warm palm spread possessively over her belly, and the other cupped a breast. The head of his cock nudged her pussy, and she wiggled her hips against him. Swearing, he reached between them, positioned himself at her entrance, and pushed inside her. He took possession of her gently and achingly slow. As passionate and wild as he could be, he was also a gentle and considerate lover.