Page 23 of Heartless Wolf (Wolf Moon Rejected #1)
CHAPTER 23 - DASH
I thrust my shaky, stiff arms beneath her armpits and lifted her off the bed. The instant her chest hit mine, my wolf went into nurturer mode.
“Dash, I can walk.” Her protests charged me with more determination, and I hoisted her into my arms, ignoring the bite of joint pain and feebleness.
My wolf wasn’t letting go… and that was my first mistake. Her earlier sassiness faded away, replaced by a need to let her mate comfort her.
“I don’t want you to walk.” Body clutched to mine, the restraint I set in place unbuckled faster than a loose saddle on a horse. Her freesia and honey scent weakened my control, her steel-blue eyes cracking the barrier between us. “Can’t have you escape, Mooncrack.”
Fuck, neither of us would win a fight like this, though, she’d been in the cell longer and was probably weaker.
She groaned and the tremor on the bond told me her strength rekindled with distance from the iron. “Do I want to know what Mooncrack means?”
I tickled her ass crack to show her the meaning, and she giggled and batted me away. My second mistake. I shouldn’t touch her like a creep, but I never professed to be a good man, nor did I want to be.
My protesting fingers squeezed her harder. “I came up with the nickname after you got saucy over the thong I bought you. I thought you wore them when I saw Heather picking her wedgie at the ceremony. It’s a dead giveaway of a woman wearing one.”
Her head tipped back with laughter. “That was a sexy mating gift. Pity Steele didn’t get to enjoy it.”
“Fuck, Liv,” I groaned into her hair. “What would you have worn for me if you weren’t betrothed to that asshole?” A question better not asked, but fuck, her scent and softness left me defenseless.
My imagination ran wild. Honey Birdette or something equally as sexy. Teal to match her hair. Straps and lots of them. Rings and buckles for me to slowly unfasten and peel the lingerie from her body. Fuck that. Tear from her body and enjoy the satisfying ping as they snapped.
Hardening by the second, my dick drummed her ass a few times, and she lazily smiled at me. My heart stuttered and I pictured her giving me the same sleepy smile when she woke in my arms.
I carried her up the stairs, through the space in the wall, and into the bathroom without any resistance. Pleased, my wolf purred at her and set her down, my muscles shaking, about to give out. I positioned myself at the door, turned my back to the shower stall, waiting for her to strip and wash. Having her naked and so close was going to be a temptation I wasn’t sure I could resist.
Her breath quickened when she realized I wasn’t going anywhere. “I want a hot shower with privacy.”
I smiled and stroked my chin. “I can’t afford you slipping away.”
She shoved at my arm with fragile fists, and my wolf growled, wanting to claim her wrists and lift her knuckles to my lips, give her a little bite. “Promise me you’ll keep your back turned?”
Pain flared as I cranked open the squeaky door and flushed the shower on, letting it heat up for her. “Of course.” Absolutely not.
She snorted and shoved me in the chest. “You just lied.”
“I never pretended to be a good man.”
After that wet fucking dream of her riding me, I was hot and bothered, my balls heavy and aching. Castor’s line from yesterday about his woman in the bath, slick, hot, and wet circled in my head. With my mate naked, drenched, soapy, and moaning from the heat, I wasn’t going to stick my eyes straight ahead like a good little soldier. Fuck, no. Not when I might never get to see my mate naked and writhing beneath me again.
I tipped my head sideways, gesturing to get in and hurry up. I needed to get her clean, dressed, and back down to the cell. Shower myself, and tug one out to ease the ache in my balls. Slade and Alaric arrived in forty minutes, and I couldn’t be late for our first big ride.
“No, you don’t.” She swallowed at my gaze, burning in anticipation of her show for me. “You don’t give a fuck.”
“Sounds right.” I laughed and faced the wall.
Her clothes dropped to the floor, telling me she trusted me enough not to abuse our closeness. The door clicked shut as she entered the stall, and I gave her a minute to enjoy the soothing water before my predator turned his gaze on her. Fuck the countdown. I turned to admire what would never be mine. Supple, pale skin, like cream between a sponge cake that I wanted to lick and taste. More than once. Windy curves like a mountain road along the cliffs overlooking the ocean. She tipped her head back, palms gliding over her hair, rinsing it. She whimpered under the water.
I had to place my palms flat on the glass to stop from smashing the pane and bringing her into my arms. “Liv?”
“It’s okay. The bruises sting like a bitch.” She gasped and her eyes snapped open, widening when she caught me hungrily admiring her. “Dash!” She splashed water at the door to discourage me.
Grinning, I burned her into my mind and soul before returning my gaze to admire the wall. “Never said I was a gentleman.”
“No, you’re not. You’re a devil in denim.” A nickname I could embrace. Not fuck-up. Disappointment. Disgrace.
If I thought dreaming of fucking her had me charged up, then fuck, this had me even more electrified. Every instinct screamed for me to turn and study every curve, every nook, every soft part of her. Jump in there clothed. Soak under the water as I ran my palms along her soapy skin and bit her neck. Cup the breasts she tucked behind her arms. Take her nipples in my mouth and suckle. Lift her leg over my arm to arch her pussy right to take me. Rendered fainter by the iron, I didn’t think I could do round two of lifting her.
Squelching noises suggested she squeezed shampoo from the bottle. The long groan she let out as she massaged her head made my balls tighten and my cock swell.
“You good? You need anything?” I asked, my voice hoarse, my tongue desperate to soak up every last drop of water from her body. “A hand washing your back?”
She let out a husky chuckle that kindled the wild flames in my belly. “I’ll beat that cockiness out of you, like I did with Archer.”
“Oh, yeah?” I shifted back to lean on the edge of the shower, wanting to be closer.
My cock inflated twice its normal size, anticipating defeating our enemies and being able to get rough with her like my wolf wanted to. Fuck, I had half a mind to grab her when she emerged from the shower, and throw her onto the sink and pound into her. Make her come twice and then circle that sweet little bud she was hiding between those legs to punish her for trying to escape.
The temptation to look upon my beautiful Lunar mate again hit critical. This time, I didn’t hold back, letting out my pure nature. Wolf, not man. Villain. Biker. I turned to face her in all her glory. The weight of her heavy breasts bouncing as she rinsed her shampooed hair under the water mounted the ache in my cock to drive into her pussy and lock my knot in the nook fitted only for me.
Hair clean, she cracked open her eyes, realizing I broke my promise. “Dash!” she shrieked and covered herself with her arms and hands.
Too late for that. I mapped all her lush, soft curves. My tongue scraped at my teeth, longing to trace them. I leaned my forehead on the warm shower door. This would be so much easier if she was just another woman I met at a bar, and not someone I used to care about. The woman I wanted as mine until my brother’s accident came between us. A gift from the Lunar goddess that I wasn’t able to lay claim to.
I put my hand on the window and just worshipped her. Separated by glass and a whole world of pain for not claiming her. I resented keeping her at arm’s length. Steam fogged up the pane, and I signaled for her to wipe it clear and let me ravish her with my eyes. I thought she would object and get back to her business and finish up. One swipe of her slick palm cleared a path for me to devour her wild beauty. Curved and cut from the skin of the goddess herself. A shy smile pried her lips apart. Hair wet and body glossy. Nipples hard and ready for my caress. Goosebumps pebbled her skin despite the hot water.
Eventually, she set her hand on the glass opposite mine, a world away, yet so close. Ragged edges of our bond wrapped around each other, desperate to be saved. What I couldn’t have, yet I wanted with all my soul. My mate. My love. My heart. Second chances never happened for a guy like me. I didn’t deserve them when I destroyed people’s lives. I was selfish. Disrespectful to my father. A rebel. No good for her.
“Dash.” The word felt like starbursts.
“Keep going,” I croaked, stroking the fogging glass, desperate not to lose her in the steam.
Reluctance melted away as she lathered for me, her lazy smiles indicating she enjoyed my admiration. I clung to the fading handprint on the glass as she washed for me, holding my tortured stare like a true Alpha. Rosiness crept over her cheeks, not from embarrassment, but from the heat of my gaze, hotter than the damn shower.
I didn’t say a thing. My mouth conveyed every emotion, praising her palms gliding over her soapy skin, my tongue flicking over my lips, lavishing her fingers scrubbing clean the grit from the cell. Fuck. So beautiful. Precious. Mine.
When she moved over her breasts, squeezing them, cupping them, my balls were ready to burst. I gave her a crooked grin to show my appreciation. Fuck me, when her hand went between her legs, leisurely stroking her folds, I nearly crashed through the door to get to her.
“Fuck, Liv.” My fingers curled on the warm glass. “Don’t stop or I’ll come in there and punish you.”
She flicked off the shower, smiled seductively, and elbowed open the door. “Prove it.”