Once Upon a Shifter (61 page)

Those cool blue eyes softened a bit when they dropped to look at my parted lips. My tongue slipped out to taste his breath, and he groaned when I sucked my lower lip between my teeth and bit down.

Swallowing hard, he cleared his throat in obvious discomfort. "I can't control my actions around you, Mena. I turn stupid the second I catch your delectable scent. What does that mean? No one has ever had this effect on me."

I wanted to tell him that he was falling in love with me, but I was afraid that would make him run for the hills, so I only smirked at him when his gaze shifted back to my eyes.

"It doesn't matter what it means, Phoenix. We're just living in the moment, remember?"

I didn't wait for a response, before closing the gap between us and capturing his bottom lip between my teeth. Proud that I had turned the tables on him, I swallowed his choked gasp of surprise as he tightened his grip on my wrists and opened his mouth to control the kiss. Before I knew what was happening, Phoenix had hoisted my body up on the wall, still trapped under the steely ropes of his muscles.

A preternatural groan escaped his lips as he assaulted my mouth, sending heated waves coursing through my body with each swipe of his lips. When his tongue swooped into my mouth, all I could do was react. All thought processes were gone. I acted on instinct.

Tiny whimpers escaped as he pressed his body against mine, before he pulled back from the kiss and softly dropped heated, open-mouthed bites down my neck and across my shoulder. The heat from his mouth stoked my insides, igniting the tinder into a raging inferno. As soon as his mouth nipped at my breast, I exploded.

Gripping his hair in my hands, I lost myself to the sensations, as he rolled the nipple between his teeth, before suckling it between his lips.
Oh God, that felt so good
. I clawed at his back, leaving bloody gouges, but didn't care. He healed fast, he could take it.

He hauled my body up farther, and my legs instinctively went around his waist. Gripping my hips, he carried me to the bed, dropping me on the edge. His massive hands spanned my thighs as he spread them apart and eyed my sex appreciatively. Before I could come up with a witty comment, he was sliding into me.

I watched his eyes as he filled me in one swift thrust, and they changed. The intensity shining out of them morphed into something wild, something animalistic. I met him, thrust for thrust. From at the edge of the bed, he repeatedly slammed into me, while he stood just out of reach. My fingers clutched the sheets, mindless. Hisses of air escaped his lips in a rush, and as he dropped his thumb to my clit, I suddenly felt weightless.

I floated in a sea of sensations, lost in Phoenix's feral gaze, just feeling. Lava coursed through my veins, and I clawed at the sheets… anything for release. I could feel myself climbing the precipice of oblivion, and before I jumped, I saw his eyes change again.

As I fell, waves of pleasure crashed over me, pimpling my skin with goosebumps. His eyes were the only thing to focus on.

Tenderness shone in them, reaching out and caressing my skin with their gaze.

Scooting my limp body up onto the bed, he followed, his body covering mine fully, the warmth of his skin sending me spiraling with more sensations. He caged me in with his elbows, and I was happy to finally be able to touch him again. My hands immediately fisted in his hair, as his mouth crashed against mine, teeth clashing with teeth, tongues melding.

We breathed the same air as Phoenix poised himself at my entrance again. Apparently, he'd had a change of heart and, instead of fucking me into oblivion, he was going to be a little sweeter. I gasped at the sensations again, as my body stretched around him. Then he moved.

Oh God, if Phoenix slamming into me was good, this was heavenly. As he stroked my insides with each thrust in and out, I again went into Mindless Mena Land, where I couldn't think at all, only feel. With his cool skin rubbing across my heated body, lubricated by my slick sweat, I lost myself to the experience. I could smell him—his body wash, his sex. It was heady. Grunts, whimpers and groans thickened the air, and I couldn't tell who they belonged to. His deep blue eyes reached inside me, stoking that flame, licking it to life again.

The pressure inside was building and the only release was on top of me, his body weight pressing me into the mattress. Instead of being oppressive, it was erotic as Phoenix continued his slow stroking—in, out—in, out.

The smooth muscles on his back contracted under my fingers as he dipped his head to my neck. Opening his mouth on the delicate skin, I felt his incisors release, right before they sank into my flesh.

The rush was exquisite. Blinding colors detonated behind my eyelids as I squeezed them shut to focus on the impressions of Phoenix. Nothing was physical anymore, it was all impressions. I was aware of being filled, rubbed, stoked—I was aflame, burning from the inside out.

I became invincible—treasured like this. Phoenix had said it before, and now I understood, because I felt the same about him as he did about me. He was everything I never knew I wanted. And now that he was mine, now that he had filled that empty void in my heart where he belonged, I doubted I could cope if he was ever taken from me.

I leapt into the chasm of oblivion again, sure I could fly. He leapt with me.

We lay there panting for what could have been either minutes or weeks. I didn't know, nor did I care. For the first time in my life, I felt satiated.

"I just needed to know that you wouldn't regret it and hate me after we did that, Mena," he said, his voice deep and husky with the after effects of our little sexcapade. "I've fucked up so much already when it comes to you, and it kills me to know that Rhodes' hands are on your body when you aren't with me. I don't want to give you another reason to enjoy being with him."

I grinned. "I guess it's a good thing you are fantastic in bed then."

He chuckled as he rolled off me, but it sounded forced, and I realized then that he wasn't looking at me. I reached for him when he started to pull away. He stilled, but it was a good ten seconds before he turned those amazing eyes on me. "You matter to me, Mena," he finally said as he studied me, but I couldn't do anything except stare back. I couldn't form words and speak aloud what I felt for him. I guess I was afraid my words would mean a lot more than 'you matter to me'. I was scared to death if I opened my mouth 'I love you' would tumble out. "I don't know what this is between us, but I can't let you go."

"I don't want you to," I managed to say.

"How can you trust me after everything you've been through? I broke my promise—"

"I didn't ask you to promise me anything, Phoenix. You came up with that all on your own as a bribe to get me here, and then you and my wolf conspired against me and forced me to come anyway. That's the only mistake you've made. You took the option away from me. I would have come on my own. In case it's not bluntly obvious, I'm ready for us to move forward."

"You're sure?" he said, a mixture of doubt and hope fighting each other for residence in his expression.

I smiled. "Oh, yeah… I'm more than sure about that."

He leaned in and gave me a soft kiss, letting his lips linger on mine a sweet moment longer before moving away. "Come," he said, holding his hand out for me once his legs were free of the tangled sheets. "We need to shower and get ready. My clan wants to meet you before we go visit the witches tonight."

I beamed at him as he led me to the bathroom. "You're letting me go with you this time?"

He grinned slyly. "You say that like I actually have a choice in the matter. I'm almost positive if I refused to let you go that you wouldn't let what we just did happen again until I conceded."

I shrugged. "I'm sure we would argue about it and, of course, I would win, but then we'd get to find out how good make-up sex between us is."

"With your stubbornness and my temper, I doubt it will be very long before we find that out anyway."

I giggled, and then immediately gasped when Phoenix pulled me under the shower head and flipped the lever up.

So cold!

Chapter 34

Mena

Phoenix led me farther into the depths of the underground compound and into a large room full of people. A raised area near the back of the room had a podium sitting atop it. I was only guessing that was where he stood when meetings were convened, because he hadn't said a word or even looked at me since he left me to dress for this meeting and the outing later to talk to his
magical connections
.

I watched the back of his head as we walked down the aisle, and then he stopped beside the stairs and held out his hand so I could go up before him. He still wasn't looking at me, and that worried me. Was he having mixed feelings about us now that we'd had sex? Was he nervous about seeing the witches again or was he keeping something from me—again? Maybe he didn't know what his clan would think about their High Vampire being with a Werewolf Pack Leader. That had to be it. Maybe I could help him with his nerves a little, I thought as a smile spread across my face.

I took two steps up the short staircase and stopped directly in front of him. His eyes briefly registered surprise before I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my mouth to his.

His lips hummed against mine, and then his hands ran swiftly down my torso until he was cupping my butt in his palms. Swiftly picking me up, he pulled my legs up by the back of my knees so I could wrap them around his waist, never breaking the kiss as he continued up the remaining steps.

As he put me down, I realized that we had an audience, a big one from the sound of it. Catcalls, shouts and whistles echoed off the walls of the room and I felt heat rise to my cheeks as I smiled against his mouth.

"You matter to me," I said as I tried unsuccessfully to catch my breath.

Instead of responding with words, Phoenix's fingers dove into my hair and he crushed his mouth down on mine, taking possession and owning the right to call me his. His whole body trembled as he held me, touched me, kissed me, and I wondered if the man that was in my arms was possibly even more afraid than I was.

Did I love him? Was it really love or was Phoenix's theory about love correct?

"Yes, moron, you love him,"
my wolf said. It was the first time she had spoken to me since the Dana incident, so it caught me off guard a bit.
"Even I can see that, and I'm not a hearts and flowers kind of girl, though I do enjoy chocolate. You should tell him to buy us chocolate."

"No, you're more like a Kibbles n' Bits kinda girl, aren't you?"

"Ha! Did you just make a joke? Funny. It's about time you got your sense of humor back. I was beginning to wonder if you were going to turn into a piece of white bread: stale, plain and dry as hell."

I ignored her and deepened the kiss. It was quite annoying to have a conversation with another voice in my head when I was trying to enjoy the feel of Phoenix's lips on mine. My guess was that was her intention all along, to annoy me.

Phoenix breathlessly pulled away and leaned his cheek against mine. "I was counting the seconds until you kissed me again, Mena. Do you have any idea what you do to me? I was counting the damn seconds."

"Well, if you hadn't ignored me after our shower, you might not have had to count so high."

He snickered as his lips brushed across mine once more. "I was only thinking, Lupacchiotto. It's nothing for you to worry about," he said, but there was a touch of doubt in his voice, as if he was unsure how I would take what he was keeping from me.

I resisted when he tried to pull me to the podium. His face was puzzled when he turned back to look at me. "You want me to trust you, but it's obvious you're keeping something from me," I whisper-shouted, my eyes cutting over briefly to look at the crowd staring up at us.

He raised an eyebrow, but the corner of his lip twitched, like this scene had been planned all along and I was playing my part perfectly.
Bastard!
"I'll tell you now," was all he said, and then he held out his hand for me to join him in front of the podium.

"Phoenix." I warned him with my eyes, but he reached out and grabbed my hand then pulled me against his unyielding body, holding me firmly in place by a hand at the small of my back. I instantly became putty in his hands when his fingers came up to caress the side of my neck. Whatever he was about to do didn't matter to me anymore, because all I could think about was the memory of our naked bodies tangled together in his bed only an hour before.

"Relax, Mena. It'll be fine. They will love you. I promise."

I stepped out of his embrace so I could collect my thoughts and looked out across the room, suddenly anxious about what Phoenix's clan's reactions would be about a werewolf pack leader being on their home turf. Several members had seceded from my pack, but Phoenix had been his clan's leader for over a century, and I doubted any of them would leave just because they didn't agree with their master's plans. He hadn't said anything about any of them disagreeing with him, but, then again, he hadn't shared anything with me about his clan and he knew all the current affairs about my pack.

That would need to be remedied, and soon.

He looked powerful and beautiful as he looked out across the faces of his people. I hoped to look as in control as he did someday.

"Most of you know why I gathered you here," Phoenix started, "and some of you have even had the honor of meeting Mena, Montgomery's new werewolf pack leader. If you haven't heard, let me inform you now, Mena's pack and my clan have merged. We are no longer enemies, but strong allies. Eight of Mena's pack have rebelled against her and have even taken the life of one of their own. These eight are our enemies and must be captured and executed immediately. They are a danger and a threat to us," he turned to look at me, "because Mena is one of us. You will treat Mena with the same respect that you do me, and anyone who doesn't see it the way I do will be dealt with using utmost severity." He held out his hand to me and I took it with trembling fingers. "Please, welcome Mena Hoke as my new second in command."