17. If You Don’t Like Reading Sex Scenes, You’ll Want to Skip a Lot of This Chapter

When I went back in a few minutes later, I had a plan. "Okay, hear me out. I know you don't want me there—which is just wasting your best secret weapon—but you absolutely need to take Kenji and Daniel with you as backup. Get them to tell you the guys who can be bribed to sit this one out. I've got money. I can help bribe people."

He'd already started shaking his head.

"And I know a lot of wicches. They can go and keep the noncombatants out of the ring. If they try any underhanded stuff, my family can hex them, leaving Logan for you to deal with. We won't interfere with the challenge itself. We'll just keep the others from jumping you."

"No."

I waited for an explanation but got nothing more. "Why the hell not?"

He patted the bed beside him.

"No. Tell me why you won't accept my help." It didn't matter what he said. He didn't own Big Sur. He couldn't keep me from saving his stupid life.

Sitting up, he held out a hand. "Come on. I don't like it when you're so far away."

I thought about smacking his hand but then took it, climbing back on the bed. He tried to pull me down with him, to tuck me into his side, but I wasn't giving in that easily. I sat on his thighs, crossed my arms, and stared down at him.

"Well?" I waited.

"I've had this fantasy so many times. Except you weren't wearing the top. I'm not complaining. You're keeping it interesting."

I balled a fist. "I will punch you in your junk right now if you don't explain why I'm not allowed to help you. You raced over here this afternoon to help me, but I'm not allowed to return the favor? Why the hell not?" I might just punch his junk on principle.

The charming smile dropped and he sighed. Scrubbing his hands over his face, he said, "No threats of violence between partners."

"Okay, fine, whatever. I wasn't really going to do it."

"You punched me in the truck."

"Only because you were pissing me off."

He pinned me with a glare. "Arwyn."

I absolutely agreed with him, and I was ashamed of the threatening and the hitting, but I also really wanted to smack him for not letting me help. "Sorry," I said in a voice that clearly indicated I was not at all sorry.

"It can't always be your way. I'm a pretty easygoing guy, but that doesn't mean you can order me around." He rested his hands on my thighs. "Tell me you understand that, Arwyn, or this ends right here. I'm not your lap dog."

My arms dropped and I squeezed his hands. "I don't want a lap dog. I just don't want you to die." My eyes filled with sudden tears. Looking up, I blinked rapidly. "You've got a secret weapon in your pocket. Why won't you use me?"

He patted his chest again. "Come down here and we'll discuss it."

"No." I wasn't letting him lull me into agreeing with his stupid scheme.

"So stubborn," he muttered, his thumbs brushing back and forth over my inner thighs. "Okay, Arwyn. Are you listening?"

I locked eyes with him and he sighed, no doubt seeing the hurt in mine.

"It has to be a clean fight."

When I opened my mouth to argue it would never be a clean fight with Logan involved, he held up a finger.

"There can be no question who the stronger wolf is. We don't recognize the authority of wicches, vampires, fae, humans—anyone—over us. If your family comes to interfere in the fight, it will never be viewed as a valid challenge and I won't be seen as the rightful Alpha. Daniel and Kenji have no place in the pack at present. They'd be attacked the moment they set foot on pack land.

"If I am to ascend to Alpha, to whip this pack into shape, I can't plot and bribe. The only way I earn their respect and loyalty is through honor and strength. I won't cheat for the greater good. I can't control what others do, only what I do. And I don't cheat."

Stupid, noble wolf was going to get himself killed. "So I just sit back and wait to be informed you left town," I air quoted. "Is that it?"

He squeezed my thighs. "A little more faith in me would be nice, but essentially yes."

"Well, I have to say, I hate everything about that. Except the righteous anger. That was kind of hot."

His gaze softened as he gripped my hips and dragged me forward, so I was perched on the bulge in his pants. "Only kind of?" The thumb that had been caressing my inner thigh slipped into my panties, and then slid up, down, and around. Shuddering, I tilted back and braced myself on his legs. I felt a claw at my waist and then my panties were gone, and he had a finger in me while his thumb continued its relentless pursuit of my orgasm.

It didn't take long and then—I don't even know how he moved me so quickly—he'd slid down on the bed, my knees on either side of his shoulders while he gripped my hips, keeping me in place and wrecking me with his mouth. I might have moaned. There was undoubtedly shouting. It's possible I left my body.

Still quivering, I was tossed back on the bed while he peeled my thermal and bra off. I reached for his shirt, still not believing this was happening. A man I cared deeply about—with a ridiculously hot body—was able to touch me. But it wasn't even about that. I mean, yes, it was, but mostly it was about my being able to touch him, to run my hands all over him, and not experience pain or horror or fear. He was a gift I would never not be grateful for.

Kneeling between my legs, he lifted my knees. His gaze drifted over every inch of me before his lips followed the same path.

"So beautiful," he murmured between kisses.

Desperate, mindless, I wrapped my legs around, him, tilting up, needing him.

"Soon." His tongue swirled around my breasts. While his mouth ravaged one, his hand plucked and rolled the other. Head thrown back, hands kneading his shoulders, I couldn't get enough of him, couldn't feel any more. And then I did.

He slid in, and we both groaned. I had a moment of panic. "Condom?"

"Yes." And then he pulled back, slammed home, and all thought was gone.

The orgasm shattered me, but he wasn't done. He slid out, flipped my liquid body over, lifted my hips and slid back in. One hand at my waist, keeping me in place, the other at my breast, he gave me one more life-altering orgasm before finishing with me.

Breathing heavy, still joined, he wrapped an arm around my waist and repositioned us so I was once again the little spoon. Keeping one arm under me, around my middle, he rested the other on my breast, kissing my shoulder.

"I may never walk again." My heart was still hammering in my chest.

"It's overrated."

"That made up for many years of nogasms."

"Nogasms?" His fingertips swirled lazily on my stomach. It should have tickled but didn't.

"No partnergasms." Sex was miserable when you could hear every thought and experience every sex-related issue. I used to drink to dull the voices. The sex was still horrible, but I had the added bonus of heading down the alcoholic path in life. Deciding it wasn't at all worth it, I gave up partnergasms.

"Ah. Happy to help in any way possible," he growled, his beard tickling as he kissed a trail over my shoulder.

Still joined at the happy place, I realized I was feeling full to bursting again. "How?"

Chuckling, he moved my leg, opening me up, resting it on his own. Slowly, very slowly, he began to rock while the fingers on my stomach moved lower and the one at my breast brushed over my nipple.

It didn't take long before exhaustion was forgotten and there was only Declan. Writhing, I tried to feel every inch of him, be felt by every inch of him. The tremors were gaining strength when I felt his teeth on my shoulder. It didn't hurt. If anything, it seemed to intensify the orgasm for both of us.

Panting, spent, I rolled away from him. "Don't even think about it. I need sleep."

"Me too. Let's get cleaned up first, though." He was already up and dragging me from the bed. "Come on. Quick shower, sheet change, and then we sleep. Okay?"

I stumbled after him, legs weak. When he turned on the water and tried to pull me in with him, I squawked. "Dude, if I get this hair wet, it's at least an hour of drying and conditioning." I began coiling it all up, and he took advantage of my arms being over my head to use both his hands all over my body.

"I'd like to remind you about how those long, sexy curls of yours might have brushed over a lot of me while parts of me might have been covered in bodily fluids."

I stopped what I was doing and dropped my arms, my hair cascading down my back. Damn. He was right. "From now on, hair gets tied up before any messing around commences."

"Noted." He pulled me into the shower with him.

An ancillary benefit of all this hair was that he wanted to wash it and he gave a great scalp massage. Although the scalp massage did lead to other water sports, we were finally back in a clean bed, my damp hair in a special towel. Snuggled into his side, we were both out within minutes.