Chapter 26

Chapter

Twenty-Six

Rowan

M y heart pounded against my ribs as we ran out the door, hoots and hollers following us out into the night.

"Hell of a game, Rowan!" Liam called after me, grinning.

"You're welcome!" I threw them a sly smile over my shoulder as I guided Evelyn to my truck with a possessive hand at the small of her back. She was still in her underwear, and I was more than okay with that. Opening the passenger door, I helped her inside with a hand cupping her upper thigh.

The instant I slid behind the wheel and started the engine, Evelyn transformed before my eyes. Gone was the cautious, reserved she-wolf. A wild, feral creature sat in her place, eyes blazing with untamed desire.

Her hand crept up my thigh, sending sparks through my body. I sucked in a sharp breath as I backed up and pulled out of the parking lot. "Evelyn?—"

But she was already crawling into my lap, straddling me, pinning me back against the seat. Her mouth claiming mine in a searing kiss that obliterated every thought.

Blindly, I yanked the wheel to the side, bringing the truck to a screeching halt on the shoulder a block from the pub. I was panting as I wrenched my lips from hers.

"I won't take you for the first time in my damn truck."

She attacked my mouth again, hands fisting in my hair. "I don't care where," she growled against my lips. "I just need you. Now."

With a groan, I surrendered to the inferno raging between us. Our tongues battle for dominance as I gripped her hips, grinding her against me.

This was madness. The lust. The need. I'd never experienced anything like it. Every fiber of my being screamed to make her mine.

But I can't. Not yet.

My wolf howled inside me, a primal need to claim our mate thundering through my veins. But a tiny, rational part of me resisted. I gentled my touch, stroking her back as I slowed our frenzied kisses.

"Evelyn, look at me," I rasped.

When her eyes opened, the blend of green and gold was nearly swallowed by black. The same desire, need, and desperation. I saw it all reflected there and felt it radiating through our bond.

I pushed a stray tendril of hair from her face. "I want you more than my next breath. But not like this. Not something quick and rough. When we bond, I'm going to take my time. I'm going to worship every inch of you."

She shivered, her voice husky. "Then take me home, Rowan."

I nearly came undone right there on the side of the road. The urge to give in, to lose myself in her, was overwhelming. But her safety came first. Always.

"I need to know this is truly what you want." My voice was hoarse. "That you're ready to belong to me, body and soul. Because once I claim you, there's no going back. Not for me."

Uncertainty flickered in her eyes and she bit her lip. She tried to mask it, but didn't recover fast enough. "If you're asking if I want you…" She dropped her head, running her tongue over my lower lip.

She knew what I was asking, and that wasn't the answer I longed to hear, but it was enough for this moment. I couldn't push her. I wouldn't risk scaring her off. I wrapped my arms around her waist and squeezed, then helped her back to her seat and waited for her to buckle up.

I could barely see straight as I put the truck into gear and peeled away from the shoulder, tires spitting gravel. The drive back to my place was a blur, my focus split between the road and the maddening temptation beside me. Evelyn's hand rested high on my thigh, tracing idle patterns that sent jolts of electricity straight to my core.

Keep it together. I reprimanded myself even as a low growl built in my throat. My wolf paced restlessly beneath my skin, desperate to lay claim to our mate. Soon , I promised him. And I believed it. Every day Evelyn drew closer. Every day, she let a little more of her guard down.

What felt like an eternity later, we pulled up to my door. I barely had the engine off before Evelyn was out of her seat belt straddling my lap, her lips finding mine again in a searing kiss. I groaned into her mouth, my hands spanning her waist, the heat of her sinking into my palms.

"Inside," I rumbled between kisses, grasping for some semblance of control. She reluctantly slid off my lap, and we stumbled out of the truck. I reached back in to snag our clothes off the seat and followed her up the steps with unsteady legs.

The moment we crossed through the door, I dropped everything and pressed her back against it, caging her in with my arms. I drew a deep, shuddering breath, struggling to master myself. I wanted her so badly I was shaking with it. But I couldn't consummate our bond fully. Not until I knew she was ready. Not until I knew she was fully mine.

Evelyn trusted me. She wanted me. But something was holding her back, and I knew exactly what it was.

Nathan Black.

Kitimat Pack.

She'd left to escape them, and they still loomed over us like a shadow. So tonight, I would show her what she had to look forward to. Then tomorrow, I'd do whatever it took to make her safe here in Black Lake.

"I'm going to take such good care of you, Evelyn." I nuzzled into her throat, reveling in the sigh that left her lips. Picking her up, I carried her to the bedroom and laid her back on the bed. My bed. Where she belongs. The possessive thought sent a thrill through me.

I took my time undressing her, revealing her curves inch by tantalizing inch until she was bared before me, flushed and wanting. My eyes drank their fill, committing every detail to memory.

"So beautiful," I breathed.

I worshipped her slowly with hands and mouth, stoking the flames higher and higher. Each breathy sigh and moan I coaxed from her lips sweeter than the last. I picked up where I'd left off in the cabin and learned her body like a map—every freckle, every sensitive spot. The sounds she made when I touched her just right.

Her taste on my tongue was pure ambrosia, and I toyed with her until she was writhing. Until the only word falling from her lips was my name, a desperate prayer. Every beat of her heart thudded through me, and as she released control, her ache and desire flooded our bond like I'd broken through a dam.

I flowed with that current, responding to every want, every ache, until she arched off the bed, shattering apart in my arms. I pulled her into my chest as she shuddered and rode out the waves. "I've got you. I've always got you."

As she lay there quivering and boneless, I quickly shucked off my own clothes and wrapped her body with my own. She tipped her chin, and our eyes locked, the rest of the world falling away.

In that moment, nothing existed but her. Us.

I pulled her close, and we rested tangled together, gasping for breath. I felt her heartbeat gradually slowing beneath my cheek where it rested on her chest.

"Rowan," she whispered, threading her fingers through my hair. "That was..."

"Yeah." I lifted my head to meet her gaze, stunned anew by the vulnerability I saw there. The trust. I brushed a thumb over her kiss-swollen lower lip.

She reached up to cup my face in her hands. "Can I please?—"

I shook my head. No. My wolf growled, pressing forward until I could barely keep him at bay. NO. I couldn't solidify this bond until she was sure. If she left now, I would be torn apart. But if she left after that? I didn't know if I could survive it.

Her eyes were glassy. "I want you. All of you. But..." She bit her lip, hesitating.

I kissed her forehead. "I know." A piece clicked into place in my heart. She wanted me . She would choose me. But I had to make her and my pack safe first.

I was the alpha. That responsibility had never rested so heavy on my shoulders.

As she drifted off to sleep in my arms, a sense of rightness, of completion, settled into my bones. I didn't have all the answers, but this was exactly where I was meant to be. Where we were meant to be.

Together.

As the first rays of dawn filtered through the curtains, I extracted myself from Evelyn's warm embrace. She murmured but didn't wake, her face peaceful and content. I could watch her like that for hours, but there was work to be done.

Silently, I moved about the house, gathering supplies. My mind raced with plans and contingencies, mapping out every possible scenario. We were heading into the unknown, and I'd be damned if I let anything happen to Evelyn or our pack.

There was a soft knock at the door at ten, and I jogged as soundlessly as possible over my hardwood floors, opening it for Finn. I stepped out on the porch.

"What do you think?" I glanced down at the metal canister in his hands.

"I've never seen anything like it." Finn handed me the jar Lyra had given me, the liquid now at a lower level. "Rowan, you have to be careful. I haven't had enough time to test this."

I nodded, taking the canister from him. "It works?"

"Yeah. It's aerosolized. But?—"

"Got it." I pulled him into a quick hug. It wasn't that I was hiding this work from Evelyn or my pack, but Lyra had given the jar to me. I'd felt something when our fingers had brushed, not strong enough to be a message, more like an impression. This was for me and me alone.

As soon as Finn left, my thoughts drifted to the night before, to the feel of Evelyn's skin against mine, the taste of her on my tongue. I shook my head, trying to focus.

But even as I strategized and planned, part of me was still back in that bed, holding the woman I loved. The woman I'd die to protect. My mate, in every sense of the word.

I finished my preparations and made us breakfast just as Evelyn began to stir. I felt her awareness surfacing in the other room.

Grabbing the plate with eggs and sausage, I strode back to my bedroom and perched on the edge of the bed, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "Morning, beautiful."

She blinked up at me, a slow smile spreading across her face. "Morning." Then she took in my appearance, the packed bags against the wall outside the bedroom door, and her expression sobered. "Is it time?"

I nodded solemnly. "It's time. We have to move." I took her hand, lacing our fingers. "But I want breakfast with you first."