He’d never seen this coming. He was antisocial and afraid to trust himself with a human woman, yet Lauren had managed to change him. He’d learned to yearn for things he hadn’t even known he wanted.
* * * * *
Good going, Lauren berated herself. I should have kept my mouth closed and not blabbed about loving him. She took her time brushing her teeth before she followed him into the other room with just a towel wrapped around her body.
He stopped pacing when she entered the room. The towel hooked around his waist was all he wore, he hadn’t gotten dressed while she’d tended to her teeth. His dark gaze fixed on her.
“Come here.” He pointed to the spot in front of him. “Please.”
Lauren walked to him without hesitation. The serious look in his eyes alarmed her but her spine stiffened. She’d faced a lot of tough things in her life but being rejected by Wrath would probably top her list of “moments that sucked”. She stopped where he pointed and refused to look away. She wanted to see his eyes, read his emotions. She wouldn’t cry in front of him. She loved him enough to want to avoid making him feel guilty.
“I’m not one of your males.”
That wasn’t what she had expected him to say. “I know.”
“I’m not even fully human. I’m part canine.”
“I know that too.”
“I snarl and have mood swings because I battle with both sides of myself. I’ve also suffered abuse.”
Ah, the reasons why he’s going to dump me. The sensation of tears made her blink rapidly to fight them back. “I know that too, Wrath.”
“I don’t understand what normal is. I have nothing in common with you and we grew up very differently.” He looked away from her to glance around the room before he caught her gaze again. “This room is nice to me. It’s far better than anything I could have ever expected. There are no chains here, no locks to keep me inside and no one comes to hurt me. I’ve seen inside your home and there’s a drastic difference.”
She couldn’t refute anything he said but she could point out what they did have. “None of that matters to me. Do you know what does?”
Something flickered in his gorgeous eyes but she wasn’t sure what emotion caused it. She waited to see if he even wanted to hear what she had to say or if he’d already made up his mind.
“What?”
“You make me happy. I hope I make you feel that way too. This…” She waved her hand at the room. “Doesn’t matter. It’s just being with you that does. I know your past and mine are drastically dissimilar but it’s the here and now that I care about.”
He took a deep breath.
“Is this goodbye? Don’t drag it out.” Her voice dropped and her heart broke a little. “Tell me if you want to end this. I love you, I probably shouldn’t have blurted it out that way, but there it is. I don’t regret letting you know how I feel because life is too short. I’d regret not telling you that. You can make excuses all night for why we have no future but just tell me the truth, okay? You don’t feel the same way about me? Just say that. I can take it.”
He inched closer. “I feel more for you than I ever thought possible. I don’t want to say goodbye to you but I don’t want you to hate me either.”
“I could never do that.” She wanted to touch him and her fingers curled into her palms just to resist.
“You will if I stop fighting what I want from you. I’d keep you with me, Lauren. I’m stuck here in this place until my duty is done and you deserve better. I know this. I would never let you go if you were to stay. I couldn’t.” His voice deepened. “You keep saying you are mine and it taunts me to claim you.” His gaze traveled down her body. “I’d mate you and your life would change forever. Your world is too dangerous if you were with me. You’d have to live in mine, give up everything you have, and…”
“And what?” Her heart raced and hope soared that he loved her too.
“I love you too much to ever make you choose between your world and me.”
More tears filled her eyes but she didn’t bother to blink them back. He loves me! “It’s an easy choice to make if you’re asking me.”
He tried to turn away but she reached out and grabbed his arm. He peered down at her and she saw raw pain staring back at her.
“Ask me, Wrath. Please?”
“I can’t. I’m not fit to be a mate and I have nothing to offer you.”
That did it. Anger rose. “Nothing? You’re wonderful and amazing, Wrath. You’ve had such a rough life yet you’re the kindest man I’ve ever met. You’ve given me more in the short time we’ve had together than anyone else ever has. You risked your life to get me back. You fought for me when Vengeance went a little nuts and I love you. Do you know what it does to me when you hold me? I feel like I’m exactly where I belong. You touch me and I’ve never been so alive. You have scars inside and out but you faced your fears to make love to me. That’s the best gift anyone could give.”
He shrugged off her hold. His hands rose to cup her cheeks and leaned down until their faces were just a few mere inches apart and searched her eyes. She wasn’t sure what he looked for but she knew he’d find honestly.
“I won’t ever let you go if you agree to be my mate. Ever. It won’t be easy but I’d do anything for you to make you happy. I would die if you ever left me. I couldn’t survive missing you.”
“I choose you, Wrath. Always you. You’re not going to lose me.”
He inhaled and nodded. “I’ll put my scent back on you.”
She gasped in surprise when he suddenly dropped his hands and hooked her around the waist. Lauren was yanked against his big body and pressed flush against his firm torso. He rubbed up and down along her front and she laughed.
“What are you doing? That tickles.”
He stopped and adjusted his hold on her, scooped her into his arms and grinned. “I have a better way to put my scent on you. Don’t be afraid.”
“You can stop worrying about that, baby. I kind of get hot when you make those noises and I love how aggressive you can get.”
His eyes widened when he stared at her as he walked over to his bed. “Honestly?”
“Oh yeah. And the fact that you can pick me up so easily and do it often? You make me feel sexy and feminine. I really appreciate that.”
“You are very desirable and all female.” He lowered her to his bed until she lay on it, released her and backed up. His hands gripped his towel and he dropped it to the floor. “See what you do to me?”
“Yeah.” She licked her lips, staring at his rigid cock, aimed right at her. “I see. Very impressive and I hope I do it for you all the time.” She wiggled, tore at her towel and tossed it to the floor. “I love looking at you. I could do it all day. I hate it when you get dressed.”
He moved to the night table, tore open the drawer and grabbed the lotion. Lauren smiled when he brought it back to the bed, lowered next to her and shoved the discarded towels under his knees to cushion them from the hard floor.
“You won’t need any of that. I’m already turned-on.” She knew she was wet and it had nothing to do with the shower. Wrath loved her and he was naked, wanted to mate her and that was all the incentive she needed to be ready for him.
A smile curved his mouth as he opened the lotion and held it out to her. “Touch me.”
She sat up and hesitated. “You want me to use that on you?”
“Yes. I’m too excited and I won’t last. Make me come first. Sit on the edge of the bed and face me.”
Okay. She was eager to put her hands on anything he wanted. She shifted enough to spread her legs open so he was between them. Her gaze locked on his cock and she opened a palm.
Wrath poured a generous amount of lotion into it and capped the bottle, just dropping it to the floor next to him. He hissed when she wrapped her hand around his shaft to spread the lotion and gripped him with her other hand too. The slick one slid to his nuts, cupping him there and she gently scored him with her fingernails whi
le gripping his cock to give the hard length a gentle squeeze.
Wrath threw his head back, his body tensed and he growled. Lauren loved watching him, the way his body tightened to reveal the definition of each muscle, and her gaze fixated on his six-pack abs. Her tongue darted out and wet her lips as she leaned in and inhaled the smell of soap and man.
He jerked when her mouth opened on his ribs, her tongue laved the skin under his nipple and the tip traced the round, flat disk that grew taut at the slightest touch. His hands reached up, gripped her thighs, and his hips started to grind in slow, sensual thrusts to rub his cock in her hand.
“So sexy,” she breathed and backed up enough to look down and watch him, imagining him doing that inside her pussy. “I love the way you move.”
He growled as she stroked his shaft one-handed, teased the sensitive skin along the underside of his balls and scooted a little closer until her stomach brushed the head of his dick. His hands tightened on her, his breathing grew harsh and his cock began to swell bigger in her hold.
“That’s it, baby,” she urged. “Mark me.”
He jerked his head down to stare at her. She looked up and the raw passion in his eyes made her almost come. He snarled, flashed those sexy fangs of his and hot semen shot across her belly and ribs. His features tensed, his eyes narrowed, and watching him get off was enthralling.
His body stilled, the tremors eased as she stopped stroking him and his hold on her thighs relaxed. Lauren gasped when he suddenly gripped her arms, pushed her flat onto her back and released her. Big hands opened on her abdomen and she could feel him spreading his release over her skin. Her gaze met his as he leaned closer with a nearly feral expression.
“Mine,” he rasped. “I need you now. Spread your thighs wider and let me claim you.”
She parted her thighs more, a little stunned that he’d just come but wanted to be inside her. He did the unexpected instead of fucking her. He backed up a little and inhaled, growled loudly and glanced up once more.
“You carry my scent now.” A wickedly handsome grin curved his mouth, he licked his lips and adjusted his hold on her again, pinning her legs open and slowly lowered his face until hot breath fanned her pussy. “I want yours now.”
Her fingers clawed the bedding as a hot, thick tongue teased her clit. Wrath didn’t go at her gently or slowly. A hungry, near desperate mouth fastened onto the bundle of nerves, licked rapidly and snarls added a slight vibration to the ecstasy he was dishing out.
“Oh, Wrath,” she moaned.
He grew more aggressive, as if he was frantic to make her climax, nuzzled his face in tighter against her pussy and his bottom teeth lightly raked the supersensitive spot he paid special attention to. She moaned and he did it again, then again. Her back arched and she would have slammed her legs closed because it was too intense but Wrath wouldn’t allow it with his strong hands pinning her.
She cried out his name and enjoyed every mind-blowing wave of ecstasy that shook her body. His mouth tore away from her pussy, he rose and she opened her eyes just as he collapsed on top of her. Her arms were pulled above her head, he shackled her wrists together with the fingers and thumb of one hand and cupped her face.
“I’ll never let you go. I’ll die for you. I have to have you right now.”
He entered her pussy with his thick, still-rigid cock in one steady, slow thrust. Lauren gasped at being parted, taken. She unquestionably felt claimed when he paused while buried deep inside her and his body surrounded hers as he came down over her even more.
“Look at me,” he demanded.
Lauren couldn’t have looked away from his piercing gaze if she wanted to, not that she did. She watched his eyes narrow as he slowly withdrew until he almost left her pussy, he paused, but drove back into her deeply. Pleasure and oversensitivity made her gasp, her body still recovering from her climax.
“Take me, Lauren. Let me love you.”
She’d have done anything for him, given him anything at that moment. He moved again, slowly pulled back until he almost left her body then surged forward abruptly to make all those nerve endings inside jolt awake from the way he stroked them.
“I want to hold you,” she panted and tried to free her wrists but his hold just tightened.
“I’m in control and I need to stay that way. Your hands on me make me lose my mind.”
He held her down. Their gazes locked as he kept fucking her and Lauren had to admit it was sexy as hell being pinned, unable to do anything but feel Wrath, his powerful body driving into hers. He shifted his position, adjusted the angle of his cock and did it again. She cried out louder as more pleasure raced to her brain and Wrath grinned.
She wanted to ask him what was so amusing. Her body burned, the need to come again nearly unbearable, but she didn’t get the chance. He released her face, reached down to clutch the top of one thigh and began fucking her in earnest. He hammered her with his cock, hit that same spot over and over, rapidly, and she threw her head back. Her eyes closed—she couldn’t keep them open—and she forgot how to breathe as rapture rippled through her. A haze of white wiped out her ability to think, she screamed and the body over hers jerked enough to shake the bed.
A howl deafened her. Wrath’s hips bucked against her pussy and he came hard inside her. She could feel the swelling as he locked inside her. He released her wrists and thigh, braced his arms to avoid crushing her under his body and his face lowered until hot breath fanned her neck.
“Always, Lauren,” he whispered. “I give you my life, my loyalty and my heart forever.”
Her arms lifted, wrapped around his neck, and she clamped her legs around his ass to hold on to him as tightly as her exhausted body could.
“I love you, too.”
His mouth opened and he gently nipped her throat. “I hope you meant it when you said I have you because I can’t let you go. You’re my mate, my other half, and my soul.”
Tears filled her closed eyes and she smiled. “I’m all yours, baby.”
Chapter Nineteen
Lauren opened her mouth and shook her head. “This is ridiculous, Wrath. I can feed myself.”
He growled at her, dark eyes narrowed and he waved the fork in front of her mouth. “Open.”
Her lips parted and he eased the bite inside. She took it, chewed, and enjoyed the taste of sesame chicken. Wrath turned a little, stabbed the fork into a veggie and watched her eat. She knew he waited for her to finish it so he could make her take another bite.
His cock twitched against her vaginal walls, a reminder that she straddled his lap, and they were still connected. He’d rolled her over, their bodies still locked together after a third round of hot sex and he’d shifted their bodies until he sat on the edge of the bed to be able to reach the nightstand.
She’d forgotten about the food Shadow had said he’d bring until Wrath had torn open the plastic bag, opened the large container and she’d smelled the Chinese food. Someone had run for takeout, gotten a huge amount of it in a big to-go tray and had even remembered to bring a few sodas in cans with two forks. Wrath had insisted on feeding her.
“Eat more. You’re little and you need your strength.”
Amusement made her chuckle and she allowed him to feed her another forkful of food. “You’re going to be bossy, aren’t you?”
Uncertainty flashed in his gaze. “I’m sorry but your care and well-being are my first priority. You are hungry, your stomach sounds reminded me that you haven’t eaten and I’d be a bad mate if I didn’t make sure all your needs were met.” He inhaled, puffed up his chest and a stubborn streak shone in his stare. “I will learn to be the best mate.”
He was so damn cute and if he didn’t already have her heart, he would have won it over in that moment. She reached up and traced his cheekbone. “You already are the best.”
His cock twitched again, was rock hard, and she wiggled a little. He felt so good and she wanted to ride him. His hand released her hip and his open palm tapped her ass.
It didn’t hurt but it was enough to startle her.
“Stop that and eat. Food first and then I will mount you from behind. You will enjoy it.”
Laugher boiled up and she didn’t smother it. “I believe that.”
He fed her more food. She grabbed the second fork, and offered him a bite. He hesitated and opened his lips, accepting it.
“I want to be the best mate too.”
He swallowed. “You already are. You make me happy, Lauren.”
A knock sounded at the door and Wrath responded by snarling. “Do not enter!” His voice lowered as he gripped Lauren’s hips and lifted her off his lap, abruptly parting their bodies. “Go into the bathroom and close the door.” He rose to his feet, got in front her and effectively blocked her body if anyone walked inside the room.
She fled for the bathroom, noticed Wrath stayed at her side the entire time and bit back a laugh. He was making sure no one got a glimpse of her body. He closed the door for her and she wrapped a towel around her. She couldn’t hear what was going on in the next room but waited patiently for a few minutes.
The door opened and Wrath had donned on a pair of loose sweatpants but nothing else. His expression was grim as he met her gaze.
“Is everything all right?”
“We’ve been requested to go to Homeland. Justice wants to meet with us.”
“Justice North?” It shocked her. “The leader of the New Species? I see him on television all the time. Why does he want to meet us?”
“I believe he wishes to meet you and discuss your relationship with me.” Wrath took a deep breath. “We need to discuss a few things.”
“Okay.” She tried not to feel apprehensive. Wrath loved her, had claimed her as his mate and he didn’t want to lose her. That was the worst thing he could say and he wasn’t about to do that. “What do you want to talk about?”
He took her hand and led her back to the bed, sat and pulled her down on his lap. He hesitated, met her gaze and took a deep breath.