Darkest Wolf (14 page)

His face had fallen serious, hard lines surrounding his eyes and mouth. “Is this okay?”

Reaching up to stroke the side of his face, all she wanted to do was to relieve the tension she saw there. He needed to be brought back to where she was—the two of them connected like they were one being instead of two. “It’s more than okay, Randolph. It’s perfect.”

He nodded, some of the tension eased away from his back. Then he began to move.

In small thrusts at first that became harder and harder, he moved within her. Elizabeth lost all sense of time. She could have been anywhere—even floating above the earth on another planet—because the only thing existing in the universe was the two of them locked in this most intimate of embraces.

The more the tension increased, the harder it became to hold back her pleasure. She wanted this to last forever. Her body felt like it had been made for this moment. Her muscles contracted around him as he fit her perfectly.

Finally, an explosion of sensation traveled up her spine and moved out of her with the power of a bomb going off. She yelled his name, pleading with the universe to make the pleasure continue.

Rex followed her, gripping her against him as he came screaming her name.

Panting, she opened her eyes. For a moment, she couldn’t believe what she saw. It wasn’t possible. Except that it was happening. As conscious thought returned to her, she could feel the vision in front of her eyes happened.

A cord connected the two of them. Colors traveled from his body into hers as the same thing occurred in the opposite direction. Without having to be told, she realized what was going on. Parts of Rex’s soul were moving from his body into hers where she was sure they would stay. “Randolph, open your eyes.” She almost couldn’t breathe from the beauty of the moment. For the rest of eternity, she would know him better than any two people ever got to truly know each other.

Red came first. It was Rex’s passion. She could feel it surround her. He did nothing halfway. Blue—the color of his loyalty. It was as much a part of him as his passion. Red and blue together, she knew he would never be anything but fierce and loyal to her.

Yellow followed. Rex had a sensitive side. He might not like to acknowledge it, but it was there, fragile and open. But that wasn’t alone. There was a dark gray part of Rex which entered her. The part of him that said he would do whatever had to be done to make things work for his family. He considered this his dark side, but she saw what it was: pragmatism. Elizabeth understood this part of him very well. It was a character trait she felt certain she shared with him. It didn’t make him dark. No, it made him a realist.

Above all of it was the sense of love. Rex loved her. How was it possible she could have earned such emotion from him in the days they’d been together? And how was it possible she returned the feeling to him? A tear slipped from her eye. What parts of her soul was he getting? There was no way it would be as beautiful as his.

Chapter Eleven

Rex stroked the side of Elizabeth’s face. They hadn’t spoken, not since the soul exchange had started. At last, mating made sense to Rex. He’d always gotten the physical side of it. He just had never understood why everyone was so hush-hush about the whole thing. It wasn’t just sex—it was the exchange of their very essences which made all the difference.

For the rest of his days, he would get to carry part of Elizabeth around with him and that made him the luckiest guy alive. It also finally explained why a shifter couldn’t live without their mate. Or, at the very least, didn’t want to. Who would want to continue on living after they’d had half their soul torn from them?

Elizabeth’s silence worried him. He’d always known he had a dark side. Had she gotten it? Did she hate how it felt inside of her? Here he was getting to revel in being surrounded by warmth, loyalty and love. Maybe she was trying to digest how she would live with his difficult nature. “You okay?” His voice sounded rough, like he’d been screaming. He cleared his throat, not wanting to make her run away. Now, more than ever, he knew he couldn’t lose her.

You won’t
. His wolf sounded so damn confident. Rex had never shared his unerring belief all would be well, somehow.

“I am.” She nodded, turning to look at him, her blue eyes huge. “Was it bad?”

“Was
what
bad?” She couldn’t possibly mean the sex. If she did, he was going to have to do something about it immediately. It hadn’t even occurred to him she wouldn’t have enjoyed herself…

“My soul.”

He blinked at her words. They’d shared a common fear, and he’d had no idea she’d worried. Why on earth would she think she was anything but extraordinary? “You’re like a giant ball of light that has infused my body. I never knew goodness until I was given you. It’s my soul that concerns me. It must be a burden for you. Especially since I’m feeling so good right now. All of my negativity must have gotten transferred to you.” A tear slipped from her eye. “You really don’t know yourself at all.”

“Or maybe you just want to see the good in me.”

She shook her head. “Just the opposite. I wanted to hate you from the moment we met. You made that impossible.” She slid over until she straddled him. His cock jumped to attention. “I have to talk to you. It’s important. But right now, all I want to do is kiss you and…” Her voice lowered. “
Kiss
you.”

“Elizabeth, you have to be sore…”

She never gave him the chance to continue his thought as her mouth came down on his, hard. This was a different Elizabeth than before. Her kisses had started out tentative.

Now she seemed assertive and in control. A woman who knew what she wanted. He loved it.

Their mouths fused together. It was like she wanted to combine their bodies the way their souls had meshed. The closer he could get to her, the better. She tasted like citrus fruit and ambrosia. A gift the gods had given him he intended to cherish forever. He pulled back to take a breath. “At least I don’t have to take your clothes off this time.”

“You already destroyed them.”

When this was over, he would buy her more. A million articles of clothing if she wanted them. Whatever Elizabeth desired, it was hers for the asking.

Right now all she seemed to want was him, which was more than okay. If the real world didn’t need them, he would spend forever in this hotel room with her. It might be dark and moldy but it had become heaven for him. Although, he suspected anywhere he was with Elizabeth would feel that way.

His cock had gotten even harder. It hadn’t taken any time to get right back into the action. He wasn’t sure how that was even possible, considering how thoroughly they had enjoyed themselves just minutes earlier. Rex felt like a drowning man, and Elizabeth was all the air he would ever need for the rest of his life.

“Please. I know this is fast but I need you again, Randolph. Please.” He didn’t like the desperation in her voice, and something inside of him wanted to explore what made her feel like she had to beg for what he was happy to give her.

However, he wasn’t a stupid man. They would talk—later. For now, she needed, and it was his pleasure to provide. More than his pleasure, his ultimate goal in life from the moment they’d met.

“Roll over.” He wanted her beneath him. He wanted to look in her eyes as she came apart. She did as he asked, and in seconds he was above her, ready to place himself in her warmth—a place he’d never known existed until he’d found it within Elizabeth. “I love you.” He’d spoken the words and they felt right on his tongue. He could feel her love for him in the parts of her soul where she’d melded to him. But he wanted to tell her, in case she hadn’t received the same from him.

“Oh, Randolph.” Tears leaked from her eyes, and he wished he’d never said a word.

What was wrong? Was the idea he loved her so unappealing she wept?

She raised her neck until her head was right beneath his. Seconds later, she’d fused their mouths together. He could feel the wetness on her cheeks as her mouth begged him for attention.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Anything his witch needed, he would do. Anything to see her stop crying.

“Just, please, Randolph. Please. I need you.”

He wouldn’t have her ask again. She never needed to feel like she should plead for anything from him. She was his mate. With a gentle push, he was inside of her. Her muscles quivered around him, making him nearly end their joining before it had begun.

He groaned as he struggled to keep himself in check. Would it always be like this with her? Would he always be two seconds away from losing control?

“Yes, thank you. Thank you.”

He grabbed the side of her cheek, forcing her to look him in the eyes. “You don’t ever thank me for this. I should be thanking you. I’m always going to want to be with you like this. Always.”

Rex couldn’t imagine how alone she must have been feeling. Separated from everyone by a curse placed on her face. He would find a way to show her she would never be alone, never be without him.

“I hope that’s true, Randolph. I truly hope so.”

Together they moved, a rhythm forming which made him want to shout for joy. He thrust forward, and she took him deeper inside of her. She gasped, and it moved through him like joy and sadness. He felt so close to her, he was sure he could feel what she felt as she experienced it. “I’ve got you, sweetheart.” His words were barely a whisper but he knew she heard them.

She reached out with both hands, and he grabbed her behind her head to keep her from hitting the headboard behind them. Her hands cupped his cheeks even as their bodies picked up pace in this sweet mating dance he was sure he would never forget.

“Please don’t ever let go.” Her voice quivered as she exploded around him. Her body clenching around his, pulling at him until the pleasure was so intense he spilled inside of her, knowing he’d found home inside his little witch.

Rex felt certain time must have passed. He wasn’t sure how much of it, though.

Finally coming back to his senses, he rolled off Elizabeth. He had to have crushed her.

“No, don’t move. I like the warmth.” She sounded sleepy and, he was glad to hear, happy.

He snuggled next to her, pulling her until she spooned against his back. Much as he hated the cover for the bed—it did not smell exactly one hundred percent clean—he moved them both underneath it. “I’ll keep you warm.”

She sighed. “Your skin is like a furnace next to me.”

“We are hotter than humans by a few degrees.”

“I was cold now I’m warm.”

He pinched her arm gently. “It’s because you’re so thin. Five more pounds on you and you’ll be warmer.”

“Five more pounds and I’ll be fatter.”

“You could never be fat.” He kissed the back of her neck. “What did you want to talk about earlier?” He felt her whole body stiffen up. It was as he’d suspected. Whatever she had to discuss was the reason for her unhappiness. Her scent changed from blissful to the acrid smell of fear in a matter of seconds. She was scared of him? “Elizabeth, whatever it is, you don’t have to fear me or be sad. Just tell me and we’ll work it out. You’re my mate. You are my only priority.”

All that mattered in the world was her. He had to get things straight with Westervelt—had to stop his father and make the pack stronger—so she could be safe. His brother’s reasons for excluding the non-mated males from decisions, while still wrong, made more sense to him now. Only the mated could truly understand how much there was to lose. He had to protect her soul; it had been entrusted to him.

“Rex, I did something before I understood…”

The scent of danger hit him hard. Someone—no, more than one person—approached the room. He jumped to his feet, shushing Elizabeth as he did. He’d destroyed her clothes and left her vulnerable.

“Go into the bathroom. Get the bathrobe. I know it’s gross but do it anyway.” She nodded as she rose from the bed. The room smelled of sex and passion. Anyone who entered would know he’d not been alone in here, which meant there was no way he could properly hide Elizabeth from what was coming. The good news was whoever now made their way up the stairs toward them was human. They’d tried to mask their scents, to eliminate them. His brother Az had a supply of herbs that allowed this trick, but Rex had always been able to smell through the lie.

Elizabeth wrapped the robe around herself before she turned to him. “Who is it?”

“Your twins.”

“What?” Her voice rose beyond which he would have preferred, and he hushed her again. “Stay in the bathroom.”

“No. If it’s the twins, you’ll need my help.”

“I need you safe. I’m going to shift.” His wolf paced within him, ready for a fight to defend their mate.

“You can’t kill them. If they so much as get hurt their mother will kill my family.” He shook his head. She still didn’t understand how capable he was of handling her problems. But she would. He would make certain of it. “She’ll never get the chance.” He pointed at the bathroom. “In there. Now.”

She bit down on her lip as her scent altered from terror to a combination of fear and anger. Good, it was better she was annoyed with him than downright scared. Frightened people did foolish things.

Elizabeth walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

I love you
. He spoke into her mind seconds before the door opened. In a flash, he’d called the white light onto himself, his body moving fast into the shape shifting which came as naturally to him as breathing. Unlike some shifters, he’d never fought the ability.

He loved it, and when given the chance to run in the woods, craved the shift. Now he just wanted to kill these horrid creatures who had abused his mate for so long.

The door opened slowly. It was late. Perhaps they thought to find them asleep? He didn’t care. They slipped in together. One in front of the other like they’d moved in tandem their whole lives. This might very well be the last time they got the chance.