Chapter - Richard

Ispent a godsawful three hours today in meetings about haven planning. Arkan has…ideas. Normally, I love that shit. But with the discord between Lola and me, all I wanted was to find her. And after that conversation with Vikand, I feel unmoored by it all. There's so little readable information about a Luna bond. But from the little Vikand was able to share, it's possible…

But here? With her in my arms? Everything is right. Everything feels peaceful. Including Big Daddy, who's lying on his side at the forefront of my mind, staring at her with obvious adoration.

I push forward, moving her body. She follows as if we've danced together for years. We sway and dip around the room, every swing and move of her hips stoking a fire that appeared in me the same day she showed up in Ever.

I slide my hand up between her shoulder blades to the base of her neck, gripping it tight as I press my forehead to hers. Her hand is flat between us, but her fingers curl into the fabric of my shirt. I resist the urge to rip it off and let her dig those fingers into my skin.

The song ends and morphs into the next one. So we keep dancing, spinning around the room, our lips close enough that we share every breath. I lose track of time and everything but the woman wrapped in my arms, her lithe body pressed to mine. I'm half a moment from burying my mouth on hers, conversation be damned. By Alaya's grace, I manage to hold back and enjoy these moments with her.

Still, I can't keep my hands off her, and I drop her free hand so I can wrap my arm around her and hold her tighter. Her fingers come to my waist, digging into the band of my jeans where she holds on.

It's so fucking natural to dance with her. We're in perfect sync. Big Daddy's a silent, contented observer, and that feels good too. This woman has rewired my brain in mere days. Every instinct, every focus is on the way she relaxes into my hold, letting me lead and guide. And the only way I can lead is because she allows me to do so. Dancing is such a perfect metaphor for the way alphas and omegas fit together.

Lola closes her eyes and sways with me, her body following mine as I lead us through a dozen more songs, then two dozen, then three. The moon shines brightly through the front glass wall.

But then her stomach rumbles, and Big Daddy's ears prick up.

She needs food,he commands, as if I didn't just hear.

I don't correct him, though. Instead, I dance her back into the kitchen, laughing when I deposit her onto the same stool from before.

"I promised food ages ago," I say with a laugh. "Let me make good on that promise."

She rests her cheek in her palm and stares at me, her expression amused. "Yeah, you did. I ate an entire tray of brownies on the way over here, but I'm starving anyhow."

Take care of her,Big Daddy shouts at me. Feed her, let her bite our fingers. Do all of this in bed, please, for the love of all things wolfy.

This batch of tamales won't be ready for a little while still, but I had prepped a batch for myself before Lola arrived. They sit, now cold, next to where I was making a batch for Leighton's family. Grabbing a frying pan, I wait for it to heat. Lola watches me in silence, but it's peaceful between us.

"What did you do all day?" I question. "I came to your place this morning."

She groans. "I was feeling awkward and not ready to talk to you about my attempt to—well, you know." Her expression is wry, her tone forced.

I toss three bean and cheese tamales in the skillet, loving the familiar pop as they begin to heat. "I shouldn't have let you leave last night." I shift to the right and lean over the counter, grasping her fingers and interlocking them with mine. "I should have kissed you back. Goddess knows I wanted to, Lola. I…" I hang my head. "I thought of the consequences of us pursuing one another."

She looks down at our interlaced hands. "But you feel a pull between us, don't you?"

I nod. "The only pull that matters, sweetheart." When her near-black eyes meet mine again, I bring her hand to my lips and brush my mouth over her knuckles. "It's more than just attraction, Lola."

Her nostrils flare as she stands and lets go of my hand. She rounds the kitchen island and hops gracefully onto it, pulling me between her thighs by the waistband of my jeans. "I want to hear you say exactly what you think it is, Richard." Her request is laced with all the command of a pack omega. Hackles raised, my dominance rises in response to hers.

Reaching up, I grip her throat and run my thumb over her blackberry-colored lips. "Mate," I say on an otherworldly growl. "Mine."

Luna,Big Daddy corrects.

"My wolf thinks you're my Luna," I whisper. "I don't know how I'd even know, but if I know anything at all, it's that, unlikely as it seems, I'm yours." Big Daddy flashes through my eyes. "And I am so desperately sorry I didn't kiss you last night. I'm so sorry you went home hurt, and that I didn't make it better immediately."

Her lips part, the tip of my thumb slipping between them to press at her teeth. Inky eyes flash up to mine. "I feel you in my soul, Richard. Luna or not, whatever that means, I'm here for it."

Our joint admission feels like an oath, a promise, our souls are making as we stand together.

I groan and slide a hand into her hair, gripping her neck. Pulling her head carefully backward, I bury my face in her soft skin and allow myself to drag in a deep, ragged breath of my woman.

My. Woman.

Big Daddy howls with delight deep inside my mind, panting with need.

His desire comes through in my voice as I moan, sucking in desperate, disjointed breaths of her. She's still in my arms, goose bumps covering her silky skin. There's a spot on the side of her neck, right where her shoulder muscles meet it, that I wanna sink my teeth deep into.

As if she read my mind, she cants her head to one side, giving me perfect access.

I can't help myself. And I can't be blamed for what happens after that, because her offering sends me into a frenzy that happens so fast, I can barely comprehend it. Flattening my tongue into the hollow at the base of her throat, I lick a hard path up her throat and to a spot under her ear.

She jolts in my arms, rocking her hips against my waist with a pretty little whine. I open my mouth and strike, sucking at that perfect spot where her neck and shoulder meet. Lola gasps, her breasts smashing against my upper chest as I hover over her, soaking in her taste, her smell.

Alarms blare in the back of my mind. We can't do this simply. There are considerations. But Big Daddy helps me shove all that away to focus on her.

There is only her.

The only thing that matters now that I've found her.

I trail a path of hard bites down to her collarbone, sliding one hand up to move her tee off her shoulder. My teeth trace a path all the way to the edge, leaving hard indents as her chest rises and falls fast.

I sink my fingers into the fabric of her tee, ready to rip it off her when the comm disk on my wall blares loudly. Lola jumps, and I groan.

For a long moment, we stare at each other. Is she feeling the same wonder I am? The same satisfaction? The same worry?

Her glazed eyes flick to the ringing disk on my wall, and her expression morphs to immediate concern. "It's Papá."

I spin to grab the disk, and sure enough, Marco's name flashes over it. Lola hops off the counter and rounds it, reseating herself on her stool as Big Daddy grumbles in my mind.

I drop the comm disk to the ground and direct it to answer. Then I grab my spatula and remove three utterly burned tamales from the frying pan, setting them aside.

Marco's familiar figure hologram rises up from the disk, his eyes flashing when he sees me. He looks to the right to see his daughter, breaking into a smile. "Lola, good, you're here. I was planning to call you next." He looks over at me, glancing at the spatula. "Don't kill my kid with whatever you're cooking."

I snort and slap at his hologram with the utensil. He ducks and laughs, even though it sounds a little forced. He's here with bad news and stalling, for some reason.

I'm not his Second anymore, but I still read him like a book. "What's wrong?"

He nods and straightens, glancing between Lola and me. "Eliel has officially challenged me."

Lola hisses in a breath as I press against the countertop, crossing my arms.

"When?"

"Just under a week." Marco glances at Lola. "Don't worry, mijita, I won't lose."

"I have utter faith in you," she says with a growl. "And I wish you'd allow me to be there to show my support, although I understand your concern."

Marco shakes his head. "Eliel's using magic. We know that much. If he manages to beat me, I'm convinced he'll come for you in Ever. Nu?ez agrees."

A snarl rips from me, Big Daddy shoving into my thoughts. At the full green of my eyes, Marco nods sadly.

"I know, old friend. You'll keep her safe, if something happens?"

"Until my last breath." Big Daddy's vehemence is clear in my tone.

Marco takes a breath and looks between us. "When this blows over, I'll come visit for a while. It's been too long since I took Lola on any sort of vacation."

I nod, forcing my hackles not to rise. I'm not ready for a confrontation with him, and he's intuitive enough that he'll take one look at Lola and me and suspect something. We need a plan, fast. "Of course."

He smiles at Lola. "You're glowing, mija. Are you enjoying Ever?"

She returns his loving smile. "Sí, Papá, everyone has been very welcoming, and I feel perfectly safe. Don't worry about me at all."

"Good, good," Marco murmurs. Worried eyes move to me. "I'll need a new Second after the challenge, brother. Come back home. Please, I'll beg if I have to."

Shock steals through me. Leave Ever? Could I do that? And then I consider the connection between Lola and me, and I suspect Marco's opinion will change the second he finds out.

I shake my head with a laugh. "I don't miss that life, and?—"

He cuts me off with a sharp growl. "Consider it, Richard." It's an obvious command, and I bristle against it even as Big Daddy and I both dip our heads respectfully at our king's power.

"I'll talk to you both soon," he says in a softer tone. He clicks off before either of us get a chance to respond.

When I look across the island at Lola, her chest rises and falls with heavy, deep breaths. Her wolf's amber flashes through her irises. They're both worried. I turn the stovetop off and round the island, grabbing her hand. She follows easily as I cross to where the treehouse has moved the furniture back to its original position.

Falling onto my deep sofa, I pull her with me to straddle my lap. I scoot us until I hit the back, then slide my hands up her jean-clad thighs. Dark ringlets fall over her shoulders, dangling down to touch my chest. I grab a handful of stunning curls and lift them to my nose, inhaling deeply. Whatever she washes her hair with smells like the jasmine vines from back home.

Smiling, I tuck the hair over her shoulder and press my nose to the side of her neck. She slides both arms around my neck and starts humming, long fingers carding through my waves. Sharp nails scratch down my scalp, pulling goose bumps onto my skin. Closing my mouth over a spot below her ear, I suck until she yelps and squirms in my lap.

"So," I murmur into her skin, "you know what you are to me, and what I am to you. How do you want to proceed, Lola?"

She slips back, bringing those gorgeous eyes to mine. "You mean because our situation is complicated? Or because Eliel might come for me?"

I nod. "I'd never allow that bastard anywhere near you. I told your father the truth when I said I'd protect you until my last breath. I would have done that despite our connection. I mean about us. You being Marco's daughter presents a challenge. Even then, I'm prepared to face that music. But beyond that, there's a lot for you to think about."

Her eyes narrow, nails clacking against my scalp. "Tell me exactly what you mean, Richard."

Big Daddy shoves forward, about to berate me, I'm sure.

"You heard your father; he wants me to move ‘home' to Santa Alaya. But that hasn't been my home in a long time. If we accept our connection, it means being together. You have hopes and dreams, Lola, and those things would be possible if your father won his challenge. Being tied to me might limit you."

She scoffs. "Are you saying you wouldn't come with me if I toured or traveled?"

I sigh. "I can do some of that easily, yeah. But can I travel nine months out of the year and shirk my duties here? Not really." I grip her throat to feel the steady thrum of blood through her veins. "If you wanted me to come with you, I'd figure it out, but these conversations get harder when one person is as settled as I am."

Lola frowns. "I think you underestimate yourself."

"Perhaps," I say softly. "But at the very least, for now, maybe we should take things slowly."

Fuck that, Big Daddy snaps. You are ruining everything!

Lola grips my chin, forcing me to stare deep into her eyes. "What are you saying in there? I wish I could talk to you."

Bite her and solve that problem. I wanna tell her precisely what we want to do to her, since you seem so fucking disinclined.

"He wants me to bite you," I admit, "so you can hear him."

She gives me a slow, seductive grin that turns my dick into a rock between us. "Tell him I'd love to hear his opinion on this whole ‘take it slowly' concept."

I growl, relishing the way it pebbles her nipples when my tone hits her sensitive ears. "Slow isn't his way. To be frank, it would never be mine either if there weren't considerations."

Lola rocks her hips against mine, pulling a whine from my throat. "It makes sense to me to keep this under wraps until things are settled with my father." She leans forward until her lips brush mine. "But after that…" Her words trail off.

Everything in me tightens at her insinuation. I tilt my head up, capturing her lips softly. For a moment, the world stops spinning, every one of my senses rewiring to her and only her.

And then our lips collide with all the force of a storm. I'm more insistent and rougher than I should be, but she gives back just as hard, little growls from deep in her throat sending my lust sky high. Her hips thrust against mine, her heat dragging along my rigid length even though we're fully clothed.

I rub my tongue along hers, both hands roaming over her ass and up her back, into that beautiful hair and back down again. "Can't keep my fucking hands off you," I growl.

She leans down and licks a path up my chin and over my mouth as I groan and part my lips.

"Give me more of that," I command.

Her hand fists my hair and yanks my head backward, her hot tongue tracing a ragged path up the front of my throat. I whine, guiding her to rock against my dick. We're both gonna come like this, fully clothed, dry humping like horny teenagers.

I want it.

I rub her against me harder, faster, as her mouth explores my neck and her breath becomes heavy, needy pants. Slick soaks her jeans and the front of mine, filling the air with her oranges-and-cream scent.

Seed swells my sack and drips from my cock. I'm primed to explode. When I can't take it anymore, and she's gasping with need, I take her mouth again and lick into it, the deepest kiss we've shared. Our bodies jerk together as orgasm hits her first and me right after. Lola returns the kiss, crying into it as pleasure racks her frame.

Release hits me like a damn battering ram, hips thrusting so hard, I nearly buck her off my lap. But I don't let go of that kiss—that kiss is everything. And it's not until some time later I can blink my eyes open at the panting, smiling princess in my arms and know that I will never, ever not be hers.