S. Yule - Lycan Vengeance

“I guess. I’m just awed at all of the things I never knew about lycans. I’ve done so much research, but it seems I really don’t know as much as I thought I did. I got so much wrong.”

“We guard our secrets wel . Our survival depends on it.”

She sucked in a breath when he walked to her and nudged at her hand with his nose. He was amazing. He was beautiful. She’d never seen a golden wolf before, and the contrast the color lent to his eyes was breathtaking. She hesitantly sifted her fingers through his fur. It was soft and thick, and she had a strange urge to bury her face in it.

“You’re gorgeous.”

“Nowhere close to as gorgeous as you are.”

Rose’s cheeks burned when Knox changed back, as he now stood before her naked. The stitches had come out of his neck when he’d shifted, and the injury was nothing more than a passing memory. Not one extra ounce of fat resided on his muscular frame, and she saw that he was big . . . everywhere. She licked her lips as he looked around at the bloody towels and bodies.

“I’m sorry about the mess. I’ll clean it up.”

“What are we supposed to do with the bodies?”

He bent down and retrieved his jeans from the floor, stepped into them, and pulled them up over his lean hips. She wanted to touch him, but now was not the time. How could the need to run her fingers over his skin so effectively block out the carnage in her bedroom?

“They have to be burned and the remains buried so no one will find them.”

“I’ll clean up the towels and blood.”

He went to her, pulled her into his arms, and rested his chin on top of her head. She laid her ear against his bare chest and listened to the steady rhythm of his heart.

“I’m sorry I let you down with Russell.”

She pulled back, looked up at him, and felt sad when she saw the shadow of guilt in his eyes. She laid her palm against his cheek.

“You didn’t let me down. If you hadn’t pulled him off me—and I don’t know how you managed to do so in your condition—he would have killed me. And if you hadn’t told me about the iron, no telling what would have happened. You saved me, Knox.”

When he started to protest, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him. He groaned and dipped his tongue between her lips to taste her. After a few moments, she reluctantly pulled away.

“Let’s get this mess cleaned up.”

“Yes, let’s do because we need to talk.” He put the rest of his clothes on before getting to work.

Three hours later, the snowstorm continued to rage outside. Knox had managed to dispose of all of the bodies, and she had bagged up the bloody towels and thrown them out before scrubbing the floor in the bedroom. It was late, and she was tired, but her body wanted something other than sleep. It ached for Knox.

He now sat across from her at the kitchen table eating the hamburgers she’d made him. When he was finished, she threw the paper plate away and sat back down.

“So we can, um, communicate in our dreams, huh?”

“Yes, we can. But I don’t think that’s really what you want to ask me, is it?” His gaze penetrated her, making her want to squirm in her chair.

“You said it was a thing mates could do.”

“Yes.”

“Damn it. You know what I’m asking.” She fidgeted with a piece of her hair.

“Then ask.”

“Are we . . . are we—what I mean is . . .” She growled in frustration.

He reached over, took her hands in his, and scooted close until her legs were trapped between his thighs and their faces were only inches apart.

“Yes. We are mates. You are my mate, and while I’m sorry that that may be distressing news to you, I’ll never regret that it is so. I love you. I’ve loved you from the first moment I saw you, even after you tried to kill me.”

“I know.”

He raised a brow. “You know?”

She nodded. “Yes. When you trusted me enough to tell me about iron, I had a hunch, but when you refused to change because you thought I would hate you for it, I was certain. And by the way, don’t you ever do anything—or not do something—that might endanger your life to save my feelings again. I would never want you to die because of me.”

He cupped her cheek in his palm, and she leaned against him, soaking up the warmth of his touch.

“I would do anything to keep from hurting you.”

“I know. But you dying would be the thing that would hurt me most. I love you too.”

He sucked in a sharp breath before a grin broke over his full lips. “Say it again.”

She giggled. “I love you.”

“Again.” He kissed her eyelids.

“You heard me, man. I love you. Now, if you don’t mind, I need a shower.”

He kissed her, and her blood heated as he tasted her thoroughly, stealing the breath from her lungs.

When he broke the kiss, her stomach clenched when she witnessed the searing desire that burned in his glowing eyes. The searing desire she stirred within him.

“I need a shower too.”

He picked her up, carried her to the bathroom, set her down, and started the shower. After he pulled off his shirt, he reached for her, and tugged her against his chest so he could nuzzle her ear.

When she shivered, he growled and blew on the lobe before licking, then sucking on it.

“I want you so much. You can’t imagine how hard it’s been for me to keep my hands off you,” he whispered.

She lightly ran her fingers over the bulge in his jeans. “I think I have an idea how hard it’s been.”

He grunted, and pushed his hips against her. “I’m having a very difficult time taking this slow.”

She gave him a gentle squeeze, and a tiny sliver of apprehension ran through her when she remembered how big he was. She was burning up for him, but his size was intimidating. “I want you too, Knox.”

“Have you ever been with a man?”

She shook her head, and he smiled.

“I can’t tell you how much that pleases me. I promise I’ll be as careful as I can with you the first time, no matter how much it kills me.”

“I’ll be okay. I think you are aware by now that I’m no delicate flower.”

He took her chin between his fingers. “Hey, look at me. I don’t want you to be ‘okay.’ I want you to be delirious. I want to make you feel so damn good you’ll scream out my name as you come apart in my arms with me buried deep inside you.”

“I want to be with you. You’re just a tad intimidating.” She bit her bottom lip as she glanced down at the bulge in his jeans.

“We’ll be great together.”

“I know. I’ve just got a case of the jitters.”

“Let’s see if we can do something about that.”

And he proceeded to do something about it, because after his mouth came down on hers, all hesitation fled, and the only thing she wanted was to touch him, taste him, love him. She was glad she’d never been with another man, as she had no doubt all of them would have paled in comparison to Knox. When his tongue dipped inside her mouth, she moaned in pleasure and wrapped her arms around his neck to anchor him to her.

She went up in flames under his touch and barely noticed when he stripped her clothes from her, until his hand cupped her bare breast. She gasped as his fingers flicked her nipple and played with the stiff peaks, each tug pulling on invisible strings of pleasure that were connected to her core. Tension built inside her, and when he bent and covered her with his mouth, her knees buckled.

He held her up effortlessly while he sucked her breast deep before letting it pop out of his mouth, and tongued her nipple before gently rubbing his stubbled jaw over her, then sucking her back into his mouth. She cried out, and he trailed his hand down her back, over her ass and hip, and around to her mound. He stroked her slick folds while he continued to lick and nip her nipples. She arched into him, and he slid one finger inside.

Her muscles clenched around him as he moved deeper, and she tangled her fingers in his hair, holding him against her.

“You are so hot, so wet, so tight just for me. I’m aching to be inside you.” He dipped his finger deeper and pulled it almost out before thrusting back in, mimicking what he would soon do with his body, mimicking what she craved him to do with his body.

“Mmmm.”

He bent down and licked a trail to her stomach, down to her thigh, then to her calf, where he proceeded to kiss every scar she had. Each stroke of his tongue was in perfect sync with each thrust of his finger. He’d lit a stick of dynamite inside her, and she was about to explode. He kissed his way back up to her breasts, and she cried out as she teetered on the edge of release.

She rocked against him, and when his thumb circled her clit again, the building tension spiraled inside her and burst into a million pieces. Her climax hit her hard, and he coaxed wave after wave from her with his fingers and mouth. After the last tremor of her orgasm shivered through her, he stood and pulled his jeans off.

She had no time for apprehension over his size as he picked her up and stepped into the shower.

He turned her to face the wall and lathered a loofah up with soap. He stretched her arms above her and placed her palms on either side of her head.

“Stay still for me.”

He began washing her shoulders in slow circles before journeying down her back. When he reached her ass, she closed her eyes and moaned, pushing back at him as he soaped her. He growled, and the loofah hit the floor as he stepped closer and his lips trailed along her neck, heating her skin everywhere they touched.