Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Raura

He slept fitfully for the first hour, then began to settle. Now, he’s resting peacefully. A little while ago, I tugged the bedclothes down to check the wound. It’s practically closed up already. We heal fast, but this is something else. The man’s a powerhouse. I’ve never encountered a wolf as strong as he is.

I stare down at his face, tracing the lines of it with my eyes. The stubble is darker, shadowing his square jawline and the hollows beneath his cheekbones. I want to touch him…and I almost do.

It occurs to me that I’m now perfectly comfortable feeling my way around the perfect body I’d admired from afar just a few days ago. I hadn’t thought twice about stripping him off and cleaning the blood from him with a wet washcloth after we got here. Then I took a tepid shower before returning to the bedside, wrapped in a threadbare towel. This situation has brought out a side of me I never knew existed.

“You look tired.” His voice snaps my head up just as I start to nod off in the chair I’ve pulled up next to the bed. “Where are we?” He frowns as he looks around. The motel room is small and bare, but it’s clean, and there’s no one around to bother us.

“Roadside motel,” I tell him.

His eyes widen. “Is it safe?”

“I’m pretty sure it is. The manager didn’t ask any questions when I checked us in as Mr. and Mrs. De Wolf.” My lips curl up.

“Checked in…” His eyebrows pull together. “Where did you get cash to pay?”

I nod toward the beat-up pickup truck parked right outside our door. “Caught a lucky break there. There was a wallet beneath the driver’s seat. Had a couple of hundred dollars in it.” I keep my voice casual, not wanting to dwell on the less-than-legal methods we’ve had to resort to in our desperation. “The hardest part was helping you out of the front seat. You’re heavy when you’re out of it, you know?”

Riot lets out a soft chuckle, the sound rumbling deep in his chest. “Mr. and Mrs…De Wolf?” One eyebrow arches as he looks back at me.

I can’t help but grin at the ridiculous alias I’d given at the front desk. “What? I had to think fast.” My cheeks flush a little at the implication of the name, but I shake it off with a shrug. “Be glad I didn’t go with something worse.”

He props himself up on one elbow, wincing slightly. “I am glad,” he murmurs, his silvery gaze holding mine. “That you got us this far. You’re incredible, Raura.”

The sound of my name on his lips sends a shiver down my spine. Before I can react, his hand darts out and grips mine, tugging me toward him. Our faces are suddenly inches apart, and I can feel the heat radiating from his body.

“Riot! You’re hurt!” I object…it sounds feeble even to my own ears.

“I’m fine.” Riot’s eyes search mine for the briefest moment before he closes the distance between us. His lips meet mine in a kiss that leaves me breathless and clinging to him. All the fear and adrenaline of the last day seems to pour out of me into that single, scorching moment.

When we finally part, I’m trembling and dizzy with a need I didn’t know I could feel. Or maybe I did…especially after those moments in the shower last night. Riot just stares at me with an intensity that makes me want to melt into him right here and now. I have to resist the urge to yank him back and pick up where we left off.

It’s a decision I don’t have to make as he pulls me toward him. Our lips crash together with an urgency that’s overwhelming. His hands roam over my body with a possessive hunger that ignites a fire deep within me.

When he gives a low moan and pulls me on top of him, I don’t resist. My towel loosens, slipping down my chest. His skin is scorching against mine, every inch of contact sending sparks of electricity shooting through my veins. When his tongue slips past my parted lips to duel with mine, a soft moan escapes me.

Riot growls low in his throat, the rumbling sound vibrating against my mouth. His hands slide down to grip my hips, yanking me flush against the rigid length of his body. I can feel the thickening ridge of his cock pressing insistently against my belly, stoking the flames of my own desire higher.

Needing to be even closer, I settle over his lap without breaking our heated kiss. Riot’s hands span my lower back, his fingers digging into my flesh almost desperately as I rock my hips against him. The delicious friction has me whimpering into his mouth.

His lips blaze a molten trail along my jaw, down the slender column of my throat. I throw my head back with a gasp as he nips at the juncture of my neck and shoulder. Tingles of pleasure race across my skin wherever his mouth touches.

“Raura,” he rasps hotly against the hollow of my throat. “I want you…need you…”

The naked hunger in his gravelly voice makes me shudder with longing. I capture his face in my hands, searching the stormy depths of his eyes as I whisper, “Yes…. Yes, Riot. I want you too.”

It’s all the encouragement he needs.

The heat in his eyes makes my stomach flip, and I can’t suppress a low whimper when he strips the towel from me. As he takes in the sight of me, I feel raw and vulnerable, but I also feel a rampant need that drives me to seek more.

With a hand that shakes slightly, I tug at the edge of the blanket covering him. Riot lets out a harsh groan as I yank it down, baring his hard body to my hungry gaze.

“You’re…magnificent,” I husk out. And he is. A sculpted masterpiece of lean muscle and sleek, powerful lines. My body reacts instinctively, growing slick and hot as if in welcome.

“God…Raura…” he groans. Riot’s hands move with an urgency that heats me further, stroking a path down my chest, my breasts, the curve of my belly. He can’t seem to get enough of me, his touch reflecting a desperate need that mirrors my own. His exploration is worshipful, his touch searing my skin. Everywhere he touches me, I feel branded by his passion.

When he follows his fingertips with his mouth, it almost sends me over the edge. His tongue is hot as it swirls over my tight nipple, the sensation almost painful the pleasure is so extreme.

There’s an urgency about us that borders on frantic. This isn’t making love; it’s a desperate, primal claiming, enhanced by the constant threat of danger and the realities of our desperate situation.

We don’t take our time; there’s no slow buildup. I want him, and I can see that he burns for me, too. So, I take what I need.

Straddling his hips, I position myself over his thick, pulsing shaft, guiding the head of his cock to where my pussy is dripping for him. I let out a little gasp as I lower myself, filling myself with his flesh. For a moment, we freeze, our gazes locked as our bodies join in the most intimate of ways.

“Fuck. Yes!” he chokes out. Then, with a mutual groan, we’re moving together, our rhythm building as our need takes over. His hands grip my hips, guiding me, helping me to find the perfect rhythm.

It’s frenzied and feverish and desperate, and it feels so damn good. I’ve never felt this way before…so connected, so intertwined with another person.

“Oh God!” My voice is a hoarse cry as I twine my arms around his strong neck, pulling his face into the curve of my throat. His lips move there as our bodies slide together in perfect sync. With every delicious stroke, the tension inside me coils tighter, an indescribable pleasure spreading through me.

I’m on the precipice, hovering there. Riot feels it, too. His eyes lock on mine, his pupils blown wide with dark desire. “I’ve got you,” he grunts, his voice raw. “Let go, Raura.”

And I do. With a keening cry, I shatter, my body convulsing around his as waves of white-hot pleasure wash over me. Riot follows suit, his body tensing as he spills into me with a hoarse shout.

I collapse against him, utterly spent, my breathing ragged as his arms tighten around me, holding me close. For a long moment, we just stay there, entwined and soaking in the aftermath.

Finally, reluctantly, he releases me. I pull back and stare at him for a moment. “Wow,” I breathe out.

He reaches up to brush the hair from my face, his fingertips tracing my cheek lightly. “Yes,” he says.

“That was…” I shake my head, looking for words.

“Magical,” he finishes for me before easing me gently to the mattress beside him. It’s wafer-thin, and the springs are worn, but it feels like the most sumptuous bed I’ve ever lain in. And the way he gazes at me feels like I’m some sort of goddess.

“Thank you,” he murmurs, grazing his lips over my forehead.

“I know you’ve been locked up for a while, but it’s not really necessary to thank women for sex these days.” I wink at him.

“Thank you for saving me.” His eyes are intense. “Twice. You saved me twice. I’d still be back on that mountain if it wasn’t for you.”

“I owed you, remember?” I touch his cheek. “You shared your food. Saved me from Parker. I would never have made it out of that place without you.”

“I wouldn’t have left if you hadn’t been there.” Riot’s face clouds.

And something dawns on me. “Your sister!” I suck in a breath. “What we did…it will put her in danger.” I pause as the implication hits me. “I’m the reason she’ll be in danger. Oh, God, Riot!”

He puts a finger to my lips. “It was more, Raura. What Parker wanted from me…” He shakes his head. “I was going to lose myself in that place.”

“But what about Willow?”

His jaw works. “Parker will be locked in that place for at least a day. Then, he needs to deal with the fallout of what happened at the Enclave. With any luck, I have a bit of time before he turns his attention to her.”

“So we can go to her now!” I say quickly. “Do you know how to find her? We can make sure he doesn’t get to her.”

Something flickers in his eyes. He cups my face. “You’re fucking incredible, you know that?”

“What’s that got to do with anything?” I frown. “We have to help her.”

“Anyone else would be rushing back home.” His thumb strokes my cheek. “And you’d put yourself at risk again?”

“I won’t be at risk. You’ll be with me,” I say firmly.

“We’ve already seen how that could turn out, Raura.” The side of his mouth twists. “I won’t let you get in harm’s way again. I’m taking you back to your people.”

“You’re what?”

“Steel Lakes. You told me it’s where you came from. I’m taking you home, Raura.”

I stare at him because I don’t know what I want more: to go back home or to stay right here with him. But I know that’s not possible. Because where he is, there’s going to be danger.

And yet, a part of me doesn’t care as long as I’m near him.

He feels like home.