My body was warming again, and I was ready to throw all cares about aches and pains out the window. I was sure he could make it feel good.
His eyes gleamed knowingly as he stroked down my face. “There’s much, much more I want to do to you, but we need to leave tonight.”
“Tonight?” I asked. I glanced over my shoulder at the clock. It was almost three a.m.
“Tonight,” he confirmed, his gaze tracking me, something unidentifiable in their depths.
I sat up in bed, glancing around my meager little apartment, at the small amount of belongings I’d collected in almost half a year. I thought of the classes I’d been taking…and Kelly. Who I guess had set me up with a rapist.
Really, not much to miss.
“I think I just have a few things I need to throw in a bag,” I finally announced. He seemed to relax, and I cocked my head at him, wondering what he was thinking.
I got out of bed and dressed in a pair of yoga pants and a slouchy tee, before throwing things in a bag. Hendrix lazed about on the bed, his eyes tracking my movements.
I felt like prey.
But then again, I always had kind of felt that way around him.
I stopped suddenly at the end of the bed, trying hard not to just stare at his sculpted, perfect body in admiration, and actually concentrate.
“Will things be different?” I asked haltingly, my hands reaching down and tugging on the end of the blanket awkwardly.
He cocked his head, his gaze ever intense. “Different?”
“Will I be a member of your household…or will I be a prisoner?”
He leaned forward, his ab muscles flexing with the movement.
“You’ll be mine,” he stated simply, as if that explained everything.
I opened my mouth, not liking his answer, and he leaned forward, grabbing onto my hands.
“Little wolf, I’ve learned what it’s like to lose you. I’m never going to do anything to jeopardize that again. These last few months, not knowing where you were, worrying you could be dead. I ached for you. I thought about you every second. I—” His voice trailed off for a moment, and a hint of vulnerability crossed his features. “I couldn’t breathe without you,” he finally finished.
That was perhaps the closest to a “love you” that I was going to get from Hendrix. It certainly felt as heavy as those words.
“Okay,” I murmured.
He blinked. “Okay?”
“Yeah. Okay,” I grinned. He wrinkled his nose at me In confusion, but brushed a soft kiss against my lips and released my hands.
“Okay then.”
I finished packing my things and then I stood staring at my apartment, my rational self saying I was making a huge mistake…but my heart…living on cloud nine.
He’d gotten out of bed by that point and slid his clothes back on. Once I said I was ready, he took my bag and my hand and we left. I paused at the doorway, looking back at the little apartment once more, wondering why it had never felt like home.
“Come on, little wolf,” he encouraged softly. “It’s time to go home.”
* * *
There was a limo waiting for us outside the building—of course—and I felt a wave of appreciation as I slid into the creamy leather seats. There hadn’t been much luxury living on the government’s dime. It had been kind of embarrassing how used to the finer things I’d gotten. You could say this much for an alpha warlord, or at least the Hendrix, River, and Caspian type of alpha warlord…they lived in style.
I sighed as my head lolled back against the cushioned seat and the air conditioning softly blew on my face. Hendrix was staring at me again, as if he couldn’t bear to look away. His hand tangled with mine and warmth flooded through my veins at the simple touch.
“You’re too far away, little wolf,” he growled as he pulled me onto his lap.
“Much more comfortable than the leather seat,” I murmured, not really joking at all since my body was craving his touch constantly.
The limo pulled away and my thoughts drifted to River and Caspian.
“What were Caspian and River’s injuries?”
“River had a concussion and a broken arm, but that healed quickly once he could shift. Caspian had a concussion…and his leg got hurt.”
My insides chilled hearing that. Caspian didn’t have a leg to spare…
“His leg?” I asked, heartbreak in my voice.
“He broke it in three places. And it got infected while we were stuck under there since the bone almost pierced through the skin. It was touch and go for a while. But he pulled through. He has a more noticeable limp, but it’s better than the alternative.” Hendrix’s fingers grazed my skin soothingly, helping to push away the tension I was feeling at their injuries.
We were all fine. That…was extremely lucky.
“Tell me about your life the last few months. I want to know everything,” he ordered a few minutes later.
I winced, because it wasn’t that exciting. But I still told him anyway, and he listened avidly as if I was sharing the most enthralling story on earth.
Thirty minutes later, we were at the pier where the boat was docked that would take us to the island. Hendrix had detailed how security had been tripled around the compound, something I was actually happy about for once.
As we stood on the dock to get on the small yacht, I glanced at the city in the distance. “Hendrix,” I started hesitantly.
“Yes, little wolf?”