Somehow, I don’t think that particular action had anything to do with the tracker. My dick doesn’t think so either and begins to harden. Luke glances up at me, wolf eyes sparkling with a hint of mischief, and I cup my hands over my semi-hard cock.
“What?” I say. “It’s not like I can help it.”
Luke makes a chuffing noise that sounds like a laugh and continues his search with my other leg, then I sit down so he can check my stomach, my chest, my arms… but there’s nothing.
At least my inconvenient erection appears to have broken him out of his self-flagellation.
He walks around behind me, sniffing at the arch of my lower back. Nudging me backward to sit on the bed, he jumps up behind me and runs his nose up my back until he reaches my neck. He pauses, pressing his cold nose harder into my skin and taking a few deeper breaths, then makes a whining noise and steps back, quickly shifting back into his human form.
Running a hand over the back of my neck, he searches out whatever his wolf found, his thumb brushing across a spot by my hairline and slightly to the left.
“Here,” he says, brushing over the spot again. “There’s a metallic scent, and I can feel something under your skin.” His other hand comes up to cup my cheek. “This is going to be uncomfortable, but I’ll make it quick.”
Before I have a chance to ask him what he means, there’s a sharp stab of pain from the area he indicated the tracker was. It’s nothing more than a quick flash and by the time it really registers, it’s over, Luke lifting his hand away from my back, his claws slowly retreating.
There’s a small silver cylinder speckled with blood lying in his palm. It’s such a small thing, but I hate what it stands for. They took my name, my past, and everything that made me human. They really did treat me like a dog.
Not that I ever thought any differently, but still… that stupid tiny thing is a physical manifestation of how little they thought of me.
Luke tosses the tracker onto the nightstand and pulls me into his lap, pressing his lips to mine, his tongue pushing into my mouth. He devours me, his touch almost frantic as he kisses me.
After a few moments, he pulls back, resting his forehead against mine. “They’re never taking you back. I won’t let that happen,” he says, eyes closed and half-panting. “Never. You’re mine now. No one is ever going to hurt you again.”
The urgency to his words and the force of the emotion behind them make it clear I’m not the only one with some anxiety—and trauma. I don’t know enough about Luke’s past to know where this is coming from, but that doesn’t mean his pain is any less valid than my own.
I wrap my arms around him, running my hands up and down his back in a soothing motion, as his body gradually relaxes. He buries his face against my neck and lets out a long, slow breath.
“Sorry,” he says. “I didn’t mean to make this about me.”
I press a kiss to the side of his head. “If I get to have an occasional breakdown, you do too. Neither one of us gets to have the monopoly on being overwhelmed.”
“But—”
“Nope,” I say, covering his mouth with my hand.
His lips curl into a smile and his tongue darts out to lick my palm. I laugh, snatching my hand back. Eyes shining with warmth and affection, he reaches up to cup my face then pulls me forward into a kiss.
A loud knock on the bedroom door makes me jolt in surprise. Luke’s arms tighten around my waist and he scowls in the direction of the offending noise.
“We’re busy,” he says, the words laced with a hint of petulance. “Go away.”
Macy coughs out a laugh on the other side of the door. “Whenever you’re done… packing, I threw together a couple sandwiches so you can eat on the road.”
Luke’s scowl deepens and I can’t help the giggle that escapes my mouth at how put out he looks about being interrupted. I can’t say I’m happy about it either, but now probably isn’t the best time for us to get distracted anyway.
“We’ll be there in a minute,” I call out. Luke tightens his hold for a second, then reluctantly releases me so I can stand and begin pulling the sweatpants back on. The movement of my muscles pulls at the small wound on my neck and I wince.
Luke rests his hand against my back, his brows pulled together. “I’m sorry I had to do that. Your healing should be quicker than this, though.”
I shrug as I pull on a shirt. “Of course something’s wrong with me. If—”
“There is absolutely nothing wrong with you,” says Luke, pulling me back against his chest. He’s still naked so I can feel the press of his semi against the fabric covering my ass.
“You know I didn’t mean it like that,” I say. “I just meant… I’m not surprised whatever they did to me messed up my shifter abilities or whatever.”
Luke rubs his face over my hair, scenting me. “You’re amazing. Surviving all that.”
“If you say so…”
