18. Rule #18 Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

Rule #18: Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

Daniel

M y hand still rested on her calf, her smooth, golden brown skin warm to the touch. I could hear her heart galloping a mile a minute. Vulnerability shone in her eyes when she'd stretched out her legs. Such a small movement in the grand scheme of things, but for Zoe I knew how momentous it was. She didn't let her guard down easily. And she was terrified. I didn't like that she was scared. I wanted to show her that I'd never hurt her and I wondered why she locked herself away so tightly.

I caressed the sun-kissed skin of her leg, slowly lengthening my strokes. I didn't want to spook her. I needed to take this slow. Her breathing became shallow, but I was entirely distracted by the way her tits gently rose and fell beneath the black tank top that she was wearing. Her nipples pebbled, and I honestly couldn't remember what we had been talking about. She was mesmerizing. I swallowed trying to wet my suddenly dry throat. The pulse point in her neck jumped and it took all my self-control not to leap up and suck on it. Would she moan? God, I bet she made the sweetest sounds. Would she grab my hair and tilt her head to give me better access? Or would she flip me over and kick my ass? At this point, it could honestly go either way.

"Daniel?" Her voice was breathy. Like she was fighting herself.

"Hmmm?" I answered.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Do you want me to stop?"

She swallowed once. Her big brown eyes darted between mine and down to my mouth.

"No," she whispered, as if she was afraid to say it out loud.

"Why don't you trust anyone?" I asked. I didn't move further than her knee. I wanted her to feel safe with me.

Her gaze met mine, holding it, she wasn't backing down. She was so goddamn strong. Too strong. She had built walls around her that very few people got through. I wanted to be one of them.

"Because they will always betray me. People say they love you and that they have your back. But in the end, whether it's next week, or next month, or three years from now, they stop caring. They stab you in the back."

"You trust Lewis though?" I tried not to sound jealous. They had a history I couldn't compete with.

"I trust Lewis," she confirmed. No reason.

"Do you trust me?"

Her heartbeat pick up speed. Eventually she replied, so softly that if my werewolf hearing wasn't so sensitive, I wouldn't have heard her. "I want to."

She was scared.

"I won't hurt you," I promised.

"You don't know that."

"I do. "

"How?" she asked, cocking her head to one side.

"Because for the first time in a long time, I'm looking at someone that I want to protect more than myself."

"I don't need your protection. I do fine on my own."

"I know that. Doesn't mean I don't want to have your back."

"Is this because I saved your life? You feel like you owe me?"

I scoffed. "No. I got you ice cream for that. We're even."

She laughed in surprise and it lit up my chest like fireworks on the fourth of July.

"I want to kiss you again," I blurted out. As much as I knew I had to tread lightly, Zoe wasn't the kind of person who I could get through to by walking on eggshells.

Heat blazed in her eyes. "Then do it," she said.

There was my girl. All fire and fury and owning what she wanted.

I set my ice cream down and crawled up over her body. Her soft thighs parted and I came to rest between them, my face hovering above hers. I caressed her cheek, taking in the smattering of freckles over her nose.

"You're so fucking beautiful," I whispered before crashing my lips to hers. It was like breathing oxygen after being underwater for too long. Everything clicked into place. Her soft lips were just as hungry for me as I was for her. My blood warmed as her lips moved with mine, and she slipped her arms around my neck, holding me closer. Her legs wrapped around my waist and I swallowed her moan.

Fuck, this girl was going to be the end of me.

She nipped on my bottom lip and I opened my mouth to her. Her tongue caressed mine, and that was it. I was gone. I ground my hips down into her as my lips landed on her neck. Zoe rolled her head to the side, giving me better access to lick, nibble and place open mouthed kisses down her throat. She smelled like sunshine and summer. And while the sadness that I always scented on her lingered, it wasn't as powerful as before.

"Daniel," she moaned my name like it was her undoing. And maybe it was. It certainly was mine. I took her mouth in mine, I needed to taste her. My hands roamed under her tank top, feeling her soft, warm skin. She mirrored me, slipping her hands under my white t-shirt, raking her nails down my back, making me groan. She smiled against my lips then surprised me by flipping me over and she was straddling me. Fuck, she was a vision. A goddess I'd get on my knees for and worship. I had plans to do just that. Maybe not tonight, but soon. My hands caressed her strong thighs, skimming the hem of her shorts but giving her control.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yes." Zoe nodded. "I'll kill you if you betray me, Daniel." She ground down on my length. I was so hard it hurt, straining against my jeans.

"I'll die before I do that," I promised with a groan. The way she moved her hips over me made my mind stutter. The soft fabric of her shorts did nothing to hide the warmth underneath them.

"I'll make sure you do," she said as she discarded her tank top. I groaned at the sight of her perfect tits bouncing in front of me. I reached up, palming one and her head fell back, owning her pleasure. I pinched her dark nipple, rolling it between my fingers. Zoe let out a low moan, and I couldn't resist lifting my head and sucking it into my mouth. She held my head as she let out another wanton moan.

"Fuck yes," she whispered, digging her fingers into my hair, holding me right where she wanted me. I lapped at her nipple, tweaking the other between my fingers and she ground harder against me. Swirling my tongue around her, I bit down and her fingers tightened in my hair before I soothed it with my tongue.

Zoe reached for my t-shirt, discarding it somewhere on the floor .

"Holy fuck," she said, staring down at my body. I lay back, one hand behind my head, the other holding her hip while she explored my body with a light touch that made me harden even more, if that was possible. She leaned down, soft lips molding to mine, but our kiss was short lived as she moved to my cheek, my jaw and she trailed kisses down my neck. Rampant desire flooded my body, but I held still, letting her explore. Her hands roamed over my chest, my stomach and when she ran her nails lightly along my lower abs, I groaned as my dick twitched. Fuck, I needed to be inside her. I wanted to flip her onto her back, take over and sink into her. But she needed this control. She needed to know that she could trust me. I'd give her this. I'd give her the whole goddamn world if she asked for it.

She reached my belt and held my gaze, lifting an eyebrow in question. I lifted my hips, giving my consent. She unbuckled my belt and got rid of my jeans and boxer briefs, then stood on the bed above me, her feet on either side of my waist. I sat forward, running my hands up her strong legs then kissed her toned stomach. Despite how much she worked out, she still had soft parts and I loved it. I kissed all the way down to her shorts, then slid them, along with her panties, down her legs and discarded them to the growing pile of clothes on the floor.

I stared up at her, naked in front of me in more ways than one. She shivered when I traced my fingers over the moth tattoo on her thigh. I could see now that it was a Death's-head hawk moth. It symbolized transformation and rebirth. She also had a half sleeve tattoo on her right arm that I inspected, slowly taking in every inch of her. The work was stunning, a snake running through a skull with flowers blooming around it. Life, death and beauty. It was so Zoe. I ran my hands over the her round hips, up to her waist and back down again.

"You sure about this?" I asked, giving her an out. But we both knew we were far too gone at this point. She was so wet and all I had to do was dip my head to taste her. It was driving me crazy, but she was in charge here.

Instead of answering my question, she sat back down, pushing me back on her bed. She kissed me again, grinding against me, and I groaned into her mouth. I fisted her hair, pulling her harder into me.

"I'm clean," she panted. "Contraception potion." She dipped her head, kissing me again and I indulged her before breaking away.

"I'm clean," I said. It was true. I always used protection when I'd been with a woman. "Bare?" I asked.

"It's exhausting being strong, Daniel," she admitted, laying her forehead against mine, holding my face in her small hands. "It's exhausting being alone. I just want to feel something other than anger for once. Make me feel. Please." Her voice cracked on that please, and there was no way I could deny her.

I grinned at her. "Oh love, I'm going to make you feel so much more than anger."

I rolled her over and her body went soft beneath me, giving herself to me. It wasn't lost on me how much she was trusting me right now. I'd show her that I'd never betray her. I kissed my way down her body feeling her writhe beneath me as her fingers threaded through my hair. I dragged my teeth lightly over her hips, kissed her thighs, moving to the inside then inched my way up to where she needed me.

The moan she let out when I slowly licked her nearly had me coming. I lapped at her sweetness, one taste and I knew I was addicted to her. Her fingers fisted my hair as she pushed into my mouth, taking what she wanted. She gasped when I pushed a finger into her, pumping before adding another.

"Daniel, please," she begged.

I sucked on her clit, moving my fingers in a come hither motion, rubbing her G-spot. Her moaning increased as did her breathing. I could feel her soft inner walls clamping around me and fuck, I couldn't wait to be inside her. I pulled out and she made a noise of complaint.

"I was so close," she whined.

"I know. But I need to feel you," I said, almost feral by now. I could only take so much.

Moving up her body, I nestled between her thighs before kissing her deeply, notching myself at her entrance.

"Ready?" I asked on her lips.

"Yes," she breathed, and I pushed in slowly. I wanted her to feel every inch of me. I wanted to remember how she felt this first time.

"Fuck, yes," she moaned, throwing her head against the pillows as she gripped my back.

"You feel so good taking me, Hurricane," I groaned with my face buried in her neck. "So fucking perfect for me."

I thrust in and out of her slick heat, our bodies coming together like we both had demons to exorcize. She pulled her knees up to my waist and I swore as I went deeper at this angle. She kissed me hungrily, not holding anything back. Lips, teeth and tongues clashed as we lost ourselves in each other.

I rolled us over and she sat up, still impaled on me. A fucking goddess. I ran my hand up her stomach, between the valley of her breasts, before wrapping my fingers around her throat.

"Take what you want, Zoe. I'm yours."

Her hips undulated on top of me as she rode me, owned me. She was so fucking tight, so warm and wet that I had to hold myself from blowing right then and there. I was mesmerized by the way her tits bounced as I watched her give herself to me. Warmth shot down my spine. There was no way I was going to last much longer. I pressed my thumb to her clit, circling the little bundle of nerves, making her gasp as she hurtled to her peak. Her breathing became labored as she moaned her pleasure .

"Gonna come," she managed.

"Let go, darling. I've got you."

I thrust up into her. And that was both her undoing and mine. Her body tightened as she called my name over and over. Two more hard thrusts and I followed her into pure fucking bliss.

She fell down onto my slick chest and I ran my hand softly up and down her spine as she came back down to earth.

"Please don't make me regret that," she whispered into my chest. Her vulnerability was laced with apprehension. I kissed the top of her blue hair, and noticed there were streaks of gray. "Like stars in the midnight sky," I murmured.

"What?" she asked, sitting up, moving off me.

"Your hair. The gray streaks are like stars in the sky."

She jumped up and ran to the bathroom and I followed her. While she looked in the mirror, I wet a warm cloth and bent down behind her, running my fingers lightly down the tattoo inked on her spine. It was a delicate line drawing of vines and small flowers. So pretty, just like her.

She jumped when I wiped between her thighs. "What are you doing?"

"Cleaning up my mess." I stood and threw cloth in the sink in front of her. "What's wrong?"

"Do you know how I get my hair this color?" she asked, lifting a strand of her midnight blue hair.

I shrugged. "The hairdresser?"

"No. Magic. I don't need to keep going to the hairdresser to get it coloured. I can change it whenever the fuck I want to. The grays mean that my powers are failing. The ley line isn't doing anything! The power boosters aren't going to work anymore. I'm losing my magic!"