Page 15 of Rejecting his Mate (The Wolves of Black Mountain #2)

Chapter 15

Halle

I ’m not sure how long I sleep, but when I wake, Cade and Jackson are sitting together on the other bed, talking in low voices, their phones locked in their hands. Sawyer and Wyatt are nowhere to be seen.

I sit slowly, my head throbbing.

Cade’s attention comes to me. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

I rub my temple. “Like I got hit by a truck.”

Scooting off the bed, he comes to me, pocketing his phone. “You need anything?”

“No,” I assure him, warmth spreading through me. This caring side of him is different from the moody asshole he has been. Who knew all I had to do to get him to stop snipping at me was break my brain? “Where are the others?”

“They’ve gone to get food.”

I blink, trying to clear the exhaustion from my vision. “I need to shower. ”

“You up to it?” He seems concerned that I would try it. I wonder how much I scared him.

“Yeah.”

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Jackson says.

“Me too. About you, I mean.” I wave a hand as I slide off the bed. “I’m still half-asleep.”

My legs don’t immediately find traction, and Cade places his hands around my biceps, steadying me. My skin heats, his touch inflaming something inside me that I don’t understand. Ignoring how ragged my breathing sounds, I try to calm my beating heart. The pulsing between my legs is unmistakable and not a normal reaction.

“Easy.” The concern on his face surprises me. It is more than I have ever been shown by anyone other than perhaps Adeline. There is something more there as well. I don’t think I imagine the hunger in his eyes, but it vanishes so fast, I can’t be sure.

“I’m okay,” I promise. My words come out breathy and a little husky. How can he annoy me one moment and then make my heart pound out of my chest the next?

Cade doesn’t seem certain, but he releases me anyway. The loss of his touch leaves me feeling disappointed, but I hide my feelings, ducking my head and disappearing into the bathroom.

As soon I’m out of his space, I let myself breathe. It is so hard to think in his presence, not that my mind is much clearer now.

I ignore my reflection in the mirror, going straight to the shower cubicle and turning the water on. There is a stack of towels on a small shelf above the tub, so I grab two. There is no complimentary shower gel, but one of the guys must have showered while I was asleep, as there is a bottle on the rack inside the shower. I flick it open and smell it, the masculine scent filling my nose. It will do.

Slowly and carefully, I strip out of my clothes and test the water with my hand, adjusting the temperature until it is perfect and I can stand under the spray.

I take my time washing and use the shampoo left in the shower to lather up my hair. Cade is in my mind the entire time, his face, his body, his touch on my skin. I can’t stop thinking about him.

When I close my eyes, his face dances in front of me. I quickly open them again, ignoring how my pussy is tingling. There is a deep ache inside me that I want him to fill, as wrong as that is. He’s already made it clear that he does not want to touch me while Dalton’s mark remains on me. I scrub my skin harder as if I can remove his scent from my body.

My skin is red, and I don’t know if it has made a difference, but it hasn’t changed my thoughts. I feel Cade everywhere, and I wish he would kiss me again, but this time mean it.

I should get out from under the spray. The water is starting to go tepid, but I don’t move. Instead, I stand there, letting it cascade over my head. My body is still singing from Cade’s touch, there’s still heat between my legs. I need to do something to take the edge off.

Cade makes me want things I’m not sure I’ll be able to have. He makes me want better for myself, a mate who will not hurt me or try to control me, although Cade does that too, even if it is not in the same way as Dalton.

I push him out of my head, not wanting him to take up space that I have reserved for Cade.

My pussy throbs.

I know it’s wrong, considering Jackson and Cade are right there, but I slide my hand down my belly. Biting my lip, I glance at the door as if they can see through the wood and know what sins I am committing.

Closing my eyes, I slowly rotate my fingers around my tormented clit. As soon as I touch myself, my hips jerk, and I suck in a breath. This is going to be fast and furious. I feel as if I have all this tension built up inside me that I need to release.

I swirl my fingers again, applying a little more pressure. My eyes drift closed as I enjoy the throbbing. Dalton never touched me like this. I would never have allowed him to, and he wasn’t interested in my pleasure anyway, so the waves of it rolling through me are stronger than anything I have ever felt.

I keep my eyes closed as I envision Cade’s face. My fingers tease, making those sensitive nerves thrum as my breath feels trapped in my throat. I try to stop the noise, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t stop the pants and the little moans I am making as my orgasm starts to build.

My eyes open, and when they do I see a large figure standing in the room. My scream dies in my throat when I realize who it is.

Cade .

The greedy desperation in his eyes, locked onto my fingers between my legs, makes my pussy throb even harder.

“I thought you had passed out,” he murmurs, placing some fresh clothes on the edge of the basin. “You’ve been in here for ages.”

“I’m okay.”

I pull my bottom lip between my teeth, uncertain whether I should say or do something. My fingers are still between my legs, making it very clear what I was doing before he stepped inside the room.

As if realizing this, his eyes lock on my pussy before they lazily drift to my breasts. The water is now almost cold, but that need between my legs demands I finish what I started.

The scent coming off Cade is strong, and I can smell his arousal as he steps toward the cubicle. I should probably cover myself, turn the water off, and tell him to get out, but I don’t move.

Instead, I just watch as he rolls up his sleeve before his hand dives under the water to cup my pussy, moving my hand away. The moment he touches me is as if fireworks explode through my body. He keeps his eyes locked on mine as he rubs his thumb over my clit.

That first touch nearly has me coming out of my skin, and I suck in a breath, trying not to embarrass myself by screaming his name. My hands latch onto his wrist, and I’m not sure if I want to pull him away or push him further into me.

I feel as if I am tethered to him, like string attached to life-saving driftwood. I can’t pull my gaze away as he slips a finger inside me. It stretches me, and it is a little odd, but I like how it feels as Cade moves his finger, pressing it in and out of me as he massages my clit.

My hand flattens against the tile behind me as I try to steady myself. There are too many sensations, too much of everything, yet I want more.

Another finger slides inside me, and this time I feel a burn as it stretches me further. I tense my hips, not sure if I want him to stop or continue until he starts to thrust his fingers. That bite of pain morphs into something else, something far more pleasurable.

I part my thighs wider, feeling full but not full enough as his digits go deep inside me. “Cade.” I whimper his name, my thoughts so scattered and jumbled that I don’t think I’m capable of anything else.

Drifting closer, his head is under the water now, his hair dripping into his eyes as his mouth moves closer to mine.

Kiss me.

I will him to do it. I want him to, but he doesn’t close that gap between us, and I forget about everything other than the pulsating in my pussy as my orgasm rolls through me.

Wave after wave of pleasure goes through me, my walls squeezing his fingers, still buried inside me. I scrunch my face so hard it gives me a headache, but all I can focus on is the jerking of my body as I ride it out.

As it starts to subside, I open my eyes, looking right into Cade’s. Slowly, he pulls his fingers out of me and grabs my chin. I blink against the stream of water cascading down my face, but I don’t dare look away .

Kiss me.

He doesn’t, and for a moment, I swear I see regret in his eyes warring with his desire. “How can I want you as much as I do when you are bound to another?”

I’m not sure if this question is aimed at me or himself, but I can’t answer it anyway. I feel the same.

He releases his hold on me and steps out of the shower. Clothes dripping, he grabs the towel from the shelf and gives me a final look before leaving me alone in the bathroom.

I stare at that closed door, willing him to come back, but he doesn’t. The hollow feeling inside my gut makes me want to vomit.

Turning the water off, I get out of the shower and wrap myself in a towel. I have no idea what just happened, and I’m not sure if it made things better or worse between us, but all I know is I want him to do it again. Cade’s hands on me are like nothing I’ve ever experienced.

Feeling numb and empty, I pull the clothes Cade left for me on and wrap a towel around my hair. I hesitate before opening the door, and then I get angry at myself. He’s the one who barged into the bathroom and decided to get me off. I was doing perfectly fine before he came in.

My head lifted high, I go back into the room. Expecting there to be an atmosphere, I’m almost surprised to see nothing out of the ordinary. Jackson is still sitting on the bed, but Cade is standing in front of the window, glancing out through the blinds.

He doesn’t turn to look at me as I climb onto my bed. I wonder what he’s thinking. I wonder if Jackson knows Cade had his fingers in my pussy.

The door opens and Sawyer enters with Wyatt. The smell of food hits me instantly, and my stomach grumbles loudly. “Wasn’t sure what you wanted,” Sawyer says, “so we got a bit of everything.”

Ignoring Cade, I focus on his brother, smiling at him. “Anything is fine.”

The food is laid out on the dresser top, and I pick a few things before sitting back on the bed. I’m careful to avoid Cade, uncertain where we are or what it means — if it means anything.

The guys talk about different witches they know that could help remove my mating bond, but I tune them out, trying not to focus on the way my heart is beating a little stronger and a little faster with Cade in the room.

I clean up the mess we made, and then I climb under the covers, settling amongst the pillows. I don’t want to sleep yet, but that choice is taken from me as my eyes slide shut of their own volition.

The last thought I have before I go to sleep is Cade’s fingers buried deep inside me.