“Then, come back to bed. Let me finish loving you.”
She took a step back, mouth hanging open. She snapped it closed and glared at him until his brows scrunched. “I just told you Raul put an ultimatum on my compliance. The sun is up. He’s going to unleash his sluaghs on my family!”
“Calm down. Sluaghs cannot attack during the daylight hours. You know this.”
The order given in a placating tone made her see red. Of course, she knew that. It didn’t stop her irrational fear, though. She snapped her teeth together, anger and guilt turning her gut into a rolling mess. With quick, jerking motions, she finished getting dressed and strode for the doorway.
Calan caught her hips before she could pass through the opening. With his other hand, he grasped her wrists, stretched her arms over her head and pressed her body to the smooth black wall. She squirmed in his hold, bucking against the incredible male body holding her still. He widened his stance, his legs locking her hips against him.
“I said”—he nipped her jaw—“calm down.”
He stripped her of the anxiety before she could shove his metaphysical presence out. “I will not calm down. My brother—”
“Is safe.” He dragged his lips across her cheek to her ear. “Riesa, my female hound, has watched over him all night. He’s currently sleeping in his SUV, which is parked in front of a home with a pink car in its driveway.”
Cynthia’s house. Ian had mentioned her pink Volkswagen. Harley’s body sagged with instantaneous relief. “But Raul—”
“Is nowhere close. The male dogs have been prowling the area surrounding here looking for any sign of the redcap or his creatures.” Calan pressed an openmouthed kiss to her skin, then traced a small circle with the tip of his tongue. “They haven’t found him. Remember, whether I’m sleeping or making love to you, they will share their knowledge if they discover any threat. I have ordered them to do so.”
He popped the button on her jeans. She sensed his intent, wanted to resist, knew it was the proper thing to do. Raul was still out there. He’d swoop in with his sluaghs as soon as night fell. She needed to get Ian and Cynthia to safety before that happened. The thoughts danced through her head, but when Calan’s roughened fingertips brushed her skin, all she could manage was a small whimper.
He unzipped her pants, and the tight material of her jeans parted. She held her breath in anticipation of what he’d do next—shove them down or slip his fingers underneath the crotch of her underwear. He toyed with the small bow at the top of her panties before inching his fingertips lower. He cupped her sex and massaged her. The slow caress flooded her core and sensitized her achy clit. Arousal slickened her lower lips, drenching her thong.
His chest expanded with quicker breaths, and his hard muscles pressed firmly to her back, making her intimately aware of their state of dress—her mostly clothed, him naked and aroused.
“You are mine. That means your brother is under my protection too. I feel what the loss of him would do to you.”
Calan shoved roughly at her jeans, and they pooled around her ankles. She opened her mouth to say…what, she didn’t know. Her words got lost with the sensation of his thumb flicking over her clit. He pushed her thong to the side and dipped two fingers into her opening. He kept up the circular rubbing to the sensitive bundle of nerves. Combined, the stimulation left her quivering in his arms.
“I promise you.” He stilled his prodding fingers. “You won’t lose Ian. Ever.”
Calan’s cock replaced his fingers before she could question his vow. The head of his erection breached her lower lips. With her legs trapped by his powerful thighs, she couldn’t widen her stance to accept him, and his shaft sliding inside her body felt impossibly large.
“I want to love you.” He nudged at her chin until she tipped her head for his kiss. The slow swipe of his tongue along her lips stoked her needs. He eased back before she could give into them. “Right here, right now.” Another lick, and her sex tightened around his cock. “Do you deny me?”
“No, I love…”
He swallowed her words on a kiss and slammed into her. The orgasm caught her by surprise. She writhed over the thick length impaled within her. He held still and let her squirm. Finally, the incredible feeling eased. A breathy sigh escaped. He took the sound and fed her a low growl.
He shifted his hips and drove into her. Her body shook under the rough thrust. More growls, more grunts accompanied the powerful strokes. He kept their lips locked so each of his pleasured sounds spilled into her.
She couldn’t move, couldn’t return his passion, couldn’t even finish her declaration. He urged her to feel—his strength, his stamina, his devotion. She greedily accepted it all and kissed him hard, needing to show him what he’d stopped her from saying.
The grinding press of his driving cock allowed her orgasm to build. He rolled his hips before it could whip through her and take her up higher. The intimate caress along her sensitive core tore a whimper from her throat.
He quickened his pace until he pounded into her, kissing her madly the whole time. The emotion she’d allowed into her soul while they’d slept together wrapped around her, seeming to pull him inside. It wasn’t real. She knew that, but the consequence of the moment hit her. She and Calan were mates.
Mated, not simply married.
He would be hers for an eternity. To love. To cherish. To worship.
Tears slipped free and trailed down her cheek. She couldn’t stop them.
The brush of Calan’s mind against hers touched her with hesitant butterfly wings. “Harley, why the tears?”
“Happy. I’m happy.” A pleased sound met her words. She’d never heard anything better. The Hunter who’d been created to punish her kind was everything she never knew she wanted.
