Page 41 of Wolf Unleashed
His hand stilled. “Why not?”
“Because while you left your pack, you didn’t abandon them. I know you, Rafe. You don’t walk away from responsibility or safeguarding those you believe need it. You had a falling out with your father, or your alpha. I’m not even sure which since you won’t talk about it, but I do know that the shifters in that pack are still yours. You won’t risk them, even if not blood-bonding me is the price. I understand it. I respect it.”
“But it still hurts,” he repeated.
It hurt more than he could know. She’d grown up thinking her mother had left her, hadn’t wanted her, and while Rafe stuck by her side, it felt as if he would never give all of himself to her. “I’m a grown woman. I’ll learn to handle it.”
“You know I love you, right?”
“Prove it.”
He chuckled. “Sounds like a challenge.”
“What is it with you shifters and challenges?”
“They’re fun,” he said, rolling on top of her and lifting himself just enough to keep his weight off of her. His hard length struck her inner thigh, teasing a body that was already primed to receive him. “And the rewards are usually quite delicious,” he said as he pressed his lips to hers. “Go ahead, Artemis. Challenge me. See how an alpha takes a female.”
“Just love me, Rafe. I don’t care how, as long as it’s you, the real you.”
He slid into her easily, his tongue still tasting her, not rushing the lovemaking. Rafe moved with a fluidity to him, intending to please, to show all of himself to her. It felt as if he was determined to be one with her, if not through a blood-bond, then in the only other way he knew how.
Her fingers sifted through his hair. He’d broken the kiss, but hadn’t looked away. “I don’t need the bond with you, shifter. I need this, right now, what we have here.”
“A dry bed?”
“I should smack your ass.”
He whipped the sheet off of them. “By all means.”
She broke into laughter.
“A female laughing as I fuck her doesn’t exactly build a male’s confidence.”
She threw her hips up, slamming into him, driving him deeper. “For as much as Ishouldsmack your ass, I’d rather see what you’re made of.”
“Very sassy tonight. Game on, precious. Challenge me. Go ahead. Anything you’d like.”
“Call your father and tell him you’ll return and be his heir.”
Rafe stopped moving. “I’m not giving you up.”
“Talk to him, Rafe.”
“He won’t change his mind. He’s stubborn.”
“He’s not the only one.”
Rafe began moving again, his face having gained a hard edge to it. She reached up and cupped his cheek. He pressed his face into her palm. “I can’t, Alyssa,” he said softly, his strokes slow and deep now.
She couldn’t remember the last time he’d called her by her given name. She threaded her fingers through his thick hair and pulled him down, ruining his rhythm. The feel of his weight on her felt glorious, even though she couldn’t breathe easily.
“Fuck, why did you do that?” he asked, pushing up on his arms when he realized he was crushing her. Her lips captured his. She loved the taste of him, and the way his tongue tangled with hers.
As their lips parted, green eyes darkened. “You are mine, Artemis. I’ll share you with Tiernan and Maddox, but no other. And no one, not my father, not the DSA, no one. Do you hear me? No one will keep me from you. I don’t care if I have to give up my pack or my life to protect you. I am tied to you in a way that’s stronger than a blood-bond.”
“I thought nothing was stronger than the blood-bond.”
“What I feel for you isn’t dictated or controlled by blood or genes. You’re a part of me. You’re in my every thought, my very soul. I know that sounds corny, but Eero was the heir and I always felt like I had a different purpose in life. I still feel that way, like I’m meant for something more. I don’t know what it is, but I know it involves you.”
