Legacy Found

Chapter Eighteen

James was having a hard time believing Shelley was here with him. One minute, he’d been running in the forest, trying to escape the ache in his heart, the utter loneliness her leaving had brought. The next, he’d heard Shelley howl. Somehow, he’d known it was her. He’d smelled her. The rich, musky scent of female wolf. His wolf had stalked her, claiming her, dominating her in that form.

She was his.

He’d barely restrained himself from mounting her in animal form. But he’d managed. He wanted, needed, to be in his human form to claim her as his mate.

He knew they should talk. He had no idea why she’d come back. And right now, he didn’t care. Maybe it was unfair of him, but quite frankly, he didn’t give a shit. She’d come back to him, was naked in his bed and ready to accept his claim.

He threw one thick, muscled thigh over her legs to keep her pinned to the bed as he leaned down and captured her lips. She was so damn sweet. And she’d put him through hell.

His urge to be gentle fought with his urge to punish.

He pulled back and bared his teeth at her. “Don’t you ever leave me again,” he growled.

She brushed a lock of his gray hair out of his eyes and offered him a solemn promise. “I won’t.”

His wolf howled, urging him to flip her onto her stomach and claim her before she changed her mind.

The male wanted to touch, to taste, to savor every second of what was to come.

He kissed her again, his tongue tracing her full lower lip before plunging inside. She was so responsive. Little whimpers of pleasure came from her throat, making him crazy with need.

Their tongues danced. Twined.

He covered one plump breast with his hand, loving the way her nipple puckered and stabbed his palm. She writhed beneath him, pushing her breast more fully into his hand.

He released her lips and peppered kisses along her forehead, down the slope of her nose and along her cheekbones. He nipped at her jaw and licked the curve of her neck.

Working lower, he traced the line of her collarbone, marveling at her courage. After everything she’d been through, she was able to give herself so completely. It was nothing less than a miracle considering they’d only known each other for a matter of days.

Guilt began to tickle his conscience and he pulled back. “Are you sure?” There was no going back once he’d claimed her in the way of their people.

She nodded, her gaze solemn. She looked lovely with her light brown hair spread across his white sheets. “I’m sure. Are you?” She nibbled her bottom lip. His cock jerked as he watched her tongue soothe the small sting. “I come with a lot of baggage. Some might not like your choice of mate.”

“Screw ’em.” Savage pleasure washed through him. “You’re mine. Anyone who doesn’t like it can get the hell out or fight me for leadership of the pack.”

Worry filtered into her gaze. She raised her arms and locked them around his neck. “I don’t want you to have to fight.”

He shrugged. “Nature of the species. When the time comes, I’ll step down. But that won’t be for quite a few years yet.”

He’d had enough talking and slid down her body until his mouth was level with her breasts. Capturing one perky nipple, he suckled gently. Her hands slid to his shoulders, clutching at them.

The feel of her nails scoring his skin made him crazy. Leaving her breast, he continued lower. He lapped at her flat stomach, tasting heat and salt from her skin. His teeth grazed her hipbones and she arched her hips and moaned.

He could smell her now. Heat and woman and a touch of floral that was uniquely Shelley. He made a space for himself between her legs and went to work. He wanted her crazy for him when he took her.

Her legs shifted restlessly as he ran his hands over her inner thighs, teasing the crease at the tops of her legs.

“James.”

His name was little more than a breathy gasp but his balls drew up tight to his body. He wasn’t going to make it much longer. Not this time.

Opening her with his fingers, he blew on her slick folds. She quivered, tilting her hips toward him in silent offering. This was what he wanted. Shelley—willing and ready to accept him.

He ate at her delicate folds. Tasting, licking, nipping. He dipped his tongue into her slick channel. Damn, she tasted sweet. He couldn’t get enough of her.

She sobbed and writhed beneath him as he devoured her. He captured her clit between his lips and teased it with the tip of his tongue. Her long, tortured moan was music to his ears.

Pressing two thick fingers into her tight channel, he worked them deep. He wanted her ready for his claiming, which would be more intense than anything they’d done so far.

She gave a shattered cry and arched off the bed. Her inner muscles clutched at his fingers. Cream coated his hand. He kept working them until he sensed she’d had enough.

When she collapsed back onto the mattress with a smile playing on her lips, he knew she was ready.

Coming over her, he kissed her softly.

Then he sat back on his heels and rolled her onto her stomach. She tensed, but didn’t object.

“Come up onto your knees.” He’d explained to her about the claiming process, so she knew what was about to happen. Tucking his hands beneath her, he urged her upward. Shelley rose up, resting her weight on her hands as she pushed her butt up into the air.

The long length of her spine was delicate and very feminine. But it was marred by a crisscross of pale scars. Shelley had never mentioned them, so neither had he. She also had scars circling her slender ankles.

Just thinking about her being shackled made him want to kill someone. He hated that she’d had to save herself but was eternally grateful that she’d been able to.

He hated the scars. What they represented. He leaned down and kissed several of them.

Shelley stilled. “I know they’re ugly.”

“No.” He kissed another one. “They’re badges of courage. Of survival.”

“I don’t want to talk about them.”

He didn’t want to spoil their claiming with talk of her past. She’d tell him about them when she was ready. If that was tomorrow or ten years from now it didn’t matter to him. Only she mattered.

He gently eased her thighs apart, breathing a sigh of relief when she didn’t object. “That’s it,” he encouraged. He couldn’t resist caressing her ass. It was round and firm. “Spread your legs and make room for me.”

The wolf inside him howled as her legs slid open even farther. He fingered the dark cleft of her ass, flicking his thumb over the tight opening. She jerked, but remained steady.

He shifted until he was settled between her soft thighs. Holding her steady with his hands at her waist, he angled his body so his cock slid over her heated folds, bumping her clit. Her moist heat enveloped his cock as he repeated the action again and again.

Slowly, Shelley relaxed and began to move with him. “That’s it, baby,” he crooned. “I want you to feel good.”

He slid his hands over her sides and around to her front to cup her breasts. Her nipples were so tight. Hard little nubs of pleasure. He caught them between his fingers and pinched, careful to exert just the right amount of pressure.

She was panting hard now. But so was he. His heart was racing. His cock aching.

Easing back, he fit the head of his cock to her opening. He pushed past the natural constriction and slid the head of his shaft into her channel.

Sweat beaded on his temple. The sheets were cool beneath his knees. The air in the room was warm and filled with the scent of sex. Of male and female. His cock head was throbbing and hot as her sheath rippled around him.

“Forever,” he gritted out as he surged inward. She was tight, her inner muscles contracting around his shaft. She tilted her head back, a low cry coming from her lips.

Swearing, he worked his hips back and forth, going deeper with each thrust. “Relax, Shelley. You can take me like this. Take all of me,” he pleaded.

Every nerve ending in her body was on fire. Shelley didn’t know if she’d survive this. She only knew she had to.

The orgasm had ripped her to pieces, leaving her shaky and exhausted. Now a new energy gripped her. Expectation flooded her with adrenaline. It was time for them to complete the claiming.

She knew what it entailed. She knew James had to take her from behind in order for her to be claimed, for them to be considered mated. It was a submissive/dominant position. One that required trust. She hadn’t been too sure she’d ever want to make herself that vulnerable to a man. Now, she couldn’t wait for it to happen.

She was more aware of her body than she’d ever been in her life. Especially the imperfections. James had mentioned her scars for the first time. She knew he’d seen them. It was impossible for him not to, considering he spent every night in her bed. But they hadn’t turned him off. He saw them as badges of valor. For the first time, she didn’t mind them so much. Not that she’d ever want to talk about how she got them, but she could live with them.

She was panting hard now. Her hair was damp and hung around her face. The sheets below her were pristine white.

His hands gripped her waist in an unbreakable bond before shifting to her breasts. The ache was almost unbearable, but nothing compared to the need to have his shaft buried in her core.

She wanted him. Needed him. Loved him.

She’d cried out when he’d finally put the head of his cock to her opening and pushed. Her inner muscles were sensitized and swollen after her orgasm and it made it more difficult to accept him. James wasn’t a small man.

But she wanted him.

Desperately, she breathed in and out, trying to relax. He used his grip on her breasts to rock her as he made shallow thrusts, pushing deeper with each one.

“Take all of me.” She heard the urgency, the need in his words.

Shelley found a rhythm, rolling her hips back to meet him as he forged inward. Patiently, he worked his cock until he was buried to the hilt. She felt stretched to the limit. She had little control in this position. But she trusted James.

They were both panting hard now. There seemed to be a shortage of air in the room. It was thick with the scent of her cream, his heat, their growing need.

She sensed the growing determination in him and it fired her own. They belonged together and she wasn’t going to let her past rob her of her future. Not any longer.

A new sense of purpose grew in her and she shoved her ass back, wanting him to be a part of her.

He growled and began to thrust. There was no slow deliberation now. Hard and fast, he took her. His balls smacked against her sensitive clit with each thrust, driving her up quickly.

He caressed her breasts, massaging them, teasing her nipples as he pumped his cock into her core over and over. “You feel so fucking good.” His voice was guttural as he plunged over and over.

Shelley was mindless of everything but the need to find completion. He was deeper than he’d ever gone before. She bucked and shoved against him. He gripped her tighter. His hips hammered against her.

The wet slap of skin against skin was an erotic sound that made her even hotter. His cock rubbed against a sensitive spot in her channel and she felt her inner muscles contract.

“That’s it, baby. Come for me.” James urged her on. His thrusts became harder, more violent.

She cried his name. He swelled inside her and she knew this was it. The claiming was upon them. Her sheath tightened around his cock, rippling around his hard length, locking him inside her.

Arching back, she cried out again as her body was drenched in pleasure. Her arms shook. Her thighs quivered. Only James’s hold on her was keeping her from falling face down on the bed.

He was rigid behind her. She dimly heard him yell. Felt his hot, wet release as he came. With his cock head swelled, he was locked in her core. His orgasm seemed to go on forever and sent her flying over the edge twice more. He leaned down, caught the back of her neck between his teeth and nipped, marking her.

Spasms of pleasure shot through her and she moaned, loving the sign of his possession. She didn’t fear James. She knew he’d do whatever he thought she needed, no matter the cost to himself. That knowledge was priceless.

Her heart raced and her lungs burned as she struggled to get enough air into them. The room around her began to fade and her arms buckled. Her head hit the pillow.

She heard James swear and then she was lying on the mattress with him practically on top of her. He was still buried in her core.

She turned her head and sucked in a breath. James angled his torso off her and she was immediately more comfortable.

Shelley couldn’t believe what had happened. The first time she’d been claimed by a male it hadn’t been her choice. She hadn’t even known the male or understood what was happening. She’d been so lost in her first needing, she hadn’t cared. He’d been tranquilized and dragged away from her and killed before she’d even learned his name.

This experience had been totally different. This felt right. This was her choice. James was her mate.

They were still joined, his cock still pulsing within her. She liked the feeling and it made her smile. She had no idea how long they spent like that before James finally moved.

It wasn’t easy to disengage their bodies. Their skin was practically glued together with sweat. They both moaned and then she laughed as he dragged himself up and landed face down on the pillow next to her.

He slowly turned his head and stared at her. “Are you laughing at me?”

She couldn’t help herself. She felt so good. Amazing in fact. Light. As though the shackles of the past were finally gone. “Yes.”

He smiled and it changed his entire face. The lines at the corners of his eyes deepened. He seemed happier. Younger. Not the same tough-as-nails alpha he showed to the world. Oh, that part of him was still there. But this was a side of himself he showed to few.

He dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “We need a bath.”

He rolled off the bed and dragged her groaning after him. They stumbled into the master bathroom and she leaned against the vanity while James set the water running in the tub.

When he was satisfied with the heat level, he straightened and turned. There was the alpha male. Satisfaction gleamed in his eyes as he studied her naked body. He prowled toward her, slid his hand behind her neck and pulled her toward him. “You’re mine now.”

Where once his claim would have sent her into a panic, made her run, now it made her feel wanted and loved. She slid her hands over his massive chest, tugging none too gently on his chest hair. “And you’re mine.”

He growled and nipped playfully at her neck before scooping her into his arms and depositing her into the tub. He climbed in behind her and pulled her back into his arms. They lay there, not talking, as the tub filled.

As soon as he turned off the taps, James grabbed a bar of soap from the built-in shelf and rubbed it between his hands. The lather built quickly and he set the soap on her stomach and began to wash her.

He started at her neck and worked his way down her arms. It was erotic to feel his soapy fingers slide through hers. She lolled in the water, enjoying his attentions. When her arms were done, he started on her torso. He purposely touched every square inch of it, excluding her breasts.

Her breathing got quicker. Shallower. Her nipples were red and tight, eager for his touch. “James,” she moaned. Tired of waiting, she grabbed his hands and placed them over her breasts.

“Oh, is this what you wanted?” he teased, plucking at her soapy nipples.

“Yes.” She ground her butt against his erection, which was growing rapidly beneath her.

He growled, sliding one hand between her thighs. There was no teasing. He shoved two fingers right inside her. She gasped and jerked, sending a wave of water over the side of the tub.

“James,” she gasped.

“What?” he asked innocently. “You don’t like this?”

He worked his fingers in and out in a game of advance and retreat until she couldn’t speak.

“I love your pussy,” he whispered in her ear. “So hot and tight and pink.”

She could feel her cheeks turning red at his graphic words. But her embarrassment was quickly forgotten as he traced the whorls of her ear with his tongue.

“You’re so responsive. So perfect for me,” he praised between licking and nipping her neck.

He hooked his legs between hers and parted her legs, leaving her open for him to play with. He stroked his thumb over her clit while he drove his fingers into her again and again.

It should have been impossible for her to come. She was exhausted. Sexually wrung out. Yet the familiar heat rose within her. Her channel rippled around his fingers and she came yet again.

This one wasn’t quite as explosive as the last one, but it was still devastating to her senses. For a female who had always equated sex with something bad, her opinion was swiftly changing.

Oh, the lack of control was still there. But she knew it was mutual. Plus, he cared for her. Wanted her pleasure. Didn’t want to dominate and control her every move.

For the first time in her life, she felt as though she was a part of something. A real partner. A mate.

“Beautiful,” he whispered. He wrapped his arms around her. And this time there was nothing sexual about the embrace. It was all about comfort.

Tears seeped from the corners of her eyes. She was emotionally spent. The morning had been a complete roller coaster.

“It’s okay.” James stood and rinsed the soap off both of them. He helped her out of the tub, pulling the plug so the water would drain. Grabbing a towel, he began to roughly dry her. “Don’t cry, Shelley.” He dabbed at her face. “You’re killing me here.”

But she couldn’t help herself. She swiped at the tears but they kept coming. James dragged the towel over his body and tossed it aside. He lifted her again and left the bathroom behind. He bypassed his bed, which was a total wreck, and headed down the hall to her room.

Shouldering the door open, he padded to the bed and managed to turn the covers down. He didn’t release her as he sat on the mattress and stretched out. He grabbed the sheets with one hand and dragged them up, covering them.

His heart beat next to her ear as she snuggled against him. He sifted his fingers through her hair. “Everything will be fine. You’ve just been through a lot.”

She hated that she was weak. That she was reduced to tears. Saying nothing, she wrapped her arms around him and held on.

“I’ve got you,” he promised. “Sleep for a bit. You’ll feel better after a nap.”

For the first time in her life, she truly trusted a male. Not just any male. Her mate. He would keep her safe while she slept. She’d be stronger when she woke and ready to deal with everything.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

His arms tightened around her. Lips brushed the top of her head and she sighed. Exhaustion overtook her and she slid gently into sleep, lulled by the sound of his strong heartbeat.