Chapter Thirty
The scent of her need tempted him, pulled at him,filled his senses with the ambrosia of her heat. Aiden stepped into the small cave Del-Rey had made available for him and Charity. She waited on him, stretched out atop the mattress, watching him with hungry eyes as he closed the rough wooden door behind him.
Candlelight flickered over her features, highlighting the dark depths of her eyes, the creamy complexion of her skin. He could smell the light scent of soap and rainwater, proof that she had managed to browbeat the Coyote Breeds into arranging for a bath.
A sheet covered her from breast to thigh, leaving her long, tempting legs bare. His hands went to his shirt, stripping it off quickly as he reached the end of the bed. He could feel the blood beating hard and heavy through his body, his cock throbbing in demand.
The primitive need to complete the mating
cycle, to take that final step, pounded in his brain, in his body. She was his mate. His woman. She had been taken from him, touched by another, no matter how impersonally, his hold on her severed for long, agonizing hours. And more. To the bottom of his soul he believed Charity would conceive this night. Her scent was wilder, like spring nearing. A rebirth. Yet, he could tell her arousal was still heated, painful in her need. Breed mating instinct had never been explained to him. Hell, no one had known it existed until just recently. Feeling his way through each phase of it was the hardest journey Aiden had ever taken. Facing what he prayed was this final phase, was the hardest. He needed her, his body clamored, demanding the final submission, and he was terrified she would refuse. Would he have the strength to walk away from her if she did?
He could feel his own lusts spiraling. Feel his needs burning through his body.
“Why are you waiting?” She tilted her head, watching him curiously. He moved to the side of the bed, sitting down on the mattress slowly as he turned to face her. He would have preferred to wait till another time, but he knew his body, his instincts had finally marked the end of his patience.
He reached out to her, his fingers smoothing over her cheek, his thumb running over her lips.
“I need you,” he whispered, grabbing desperately for his control to ease her into the coming experience.
“I don’t understand. ” Her lips trembled nervously, her gaze flickering for just a moment, indicating that perhaps she did understand, or at least suspected.
He sighed roughly. “The mating is not complete, Charity. I’ve tried to wait, to give you time to accept the bonds between us, but I can wait no longer. ”
She drew in a hard, steady breath. “This is about the anal thing, isn’t it?” She narrowed her eyes on him as her hands tightened on the sheet that covered her.
He grimaced, feeling her body tighten in rejection. “I will not do this without warning you first, Charity. I swear to you, I will not hurt you. I can do no more than that. ”
She arched a brow with insulting sarcasm. “You actually think it’s going to fit?” she drawled mockingly. Aiden couldn’t help but smile. “I know it will, Charity. And soon, you’ll know it as well. ”
The most endearing little pout sculpted her lips then. Aiden had not seen this particular expression on her face before. Equal parts determination and curiosity mixed with her disappointment that the loving she had expected would not be coming. She was burning for his touch, her body throbbing in need of release. The heat was an inferno in her cunt, her scent as wild and sweet as a summer thunderstorm.
“Aiden, did I neglect to tell you I’m really not into pain?” she finally asked him carefully, her tone filled with exaggerated patience. “I’m sure you couldn’t have guessed it by now, but it doesn’t rate very high on my list of things to experience. ”
He hid his smile. Her smart mouth was one of the things he most enjoyed about her.
“There will be no pain, Charity. I promise you, the moment you ask me to stop, I will do so willingly. But I bet,” he whispered, “Once I start, you will be begging to continue rather than ease up in my possession of you. ”
“You’ll stop if I need you to?” Her breathing had increased, her breasts rising and falling against the covering, her nipples poking against the cloth.
“If you need me to,” he promised feeling his own breathing roughen, his cock so hard, so engorged with lust that the pain of it was nearly overwhelming. He could only pray he could maintain the control he needed not to harm her. “Just relax for me, Charity. ” He drew the sheet slowly from her body, staring into her eyes, keeping his voice soft, low, comforting. “Just relax and feel. ”
She swallowed tightly. “Yeah well, the feeling part is what’s starting to worry me,” she gasped as he lowered his head, lips covering the mark on her shoulder. “Oh hell. I guess we’ll find out now if it really is an exit only. ”
Aiden chuckled. He couldn’t help himself. He could hear her nervousness, her arousal and her acceptance of what was coming in the tone of her voice. Her hands gripped his forearms as he stroked his tongue over the mark he had left on her, relishing the sweet, slightly tangy taste of her skin. Her body was soft and delicate in his arms and he couldn’t help the unfamiliar surge of emotions that welled within him. He held on to her, his hands moving to her back as he drew her closer in his arms, needing to hold her, to know she was safe, secure.
He remembered clearly that blinding fury that had surged through his soul when he realized she had been taken. Fear. He had never known fear in his life until that moment. The thought of his own death did little to affect him. The thought of so much as the slightest added pain to the delicate body in his arms sent his primal senses thundering with the need for violence. The need to mark in that final, ultimate surrender.
“I lost my mind when I realized you were gone,” he whispered at her ear, feeling her tremble in surprise.
“I have never howled in my life, Charity. But the moment I realized you were missing, even the wolves knew my rage. ”
They had answered the primal call. They had tracked the jeep as it made its way up the mountain, then returned the news of its location as it stopped. Primal instinct, sharp, flashing, a communication with the animals he had never expected.
“I was frightened,” she whispered. “I prayed you would find me, Aiden. ”
“And I did,” he growled. He couldn’t stop the vibration that echoed through his voice. “I have to finish this now, Charity. I have to complete the mating. Now. ”
He couldn’t explain it. It made no sense. The act of anal sex would not aid in conception. The hormone in his semen would in no way affect anything to further mark her. Yet, he couldn’t deny the impulse. He wanted to turn her instantly to her stomach, raise her hips and mount her immediately. Assure himself that she was his, completely his, submitting to the sexuality between them, accepting the mating they shared. And he feared it was from there that the overwhelming need was bred. The need, the overwhelming compulsion to assure himself that his mate was his alone. That she would submit to his every need. That she would give herself, no matter how he needed her.