She drew in a breath, held it—she wasn’t seeing that, was she? The man looked to have been reduced to an animal.
What had happened in the three days since she’d been gone?
He looked unpolished, almost wild, and he’d never looked more incredible.
His voice, ragged, more growl than words, rumbled through the air, “I caught you, wife,” he stepped forward until their bodies were flush against one another, “don’t even think about running again.”
She opened her mouth to reply, but he cut her off, slamming his mouth down on hers, taking her lips with a voraciousness that left her reeling. His hands holding her head captive, he deepened the kiss, invading her mouth like a starved beast presented fresh meat.
He groaned, the sound animalistic, primal, savage—more creature than man.
Her body throbbed, her pussy responding to the most basic of human drives—mate!
And for the first time in the whole of her life, she felt utterly devoured.
Chapter Eleven
He stood like stone, body on fire, emotions roiling, unable to move his gaze from the one thing he was most desperate for.
Finally, she was there, with him, where she was supposed to be.
The beast that had been snarling and snapping for days was finally quiet…because their master was there. The leash that had snapped was still frayed and broken, but he had hold of it now. At least he hoped he did—he’d never let the beast inside him loose before, always terrified of losing control, of slipping, of showing his weaknesses.
For years, he’d held himself in complete control, not yielding a fucking inch to his baser instincts for fear of becoming like his father, but that first night he’d seen Kendra, had stepped into her presence, had felt the warmth of her gaze and the brilliance of her smile…the dark abyss in which he’d imprisoned that beast began to crumble…and he’d been denying it all along.
And now, he discovered he didn’t give a shit if that baser, darker, most predatory part of him was loose, because he’d gotten the results he’d wanted—his wife was in his keeping, and she was pregnant with his baby.
Mine!
Mate!
The beast inside him growled, and he barely bit back the sound from leaving his chest.
A powerful surge of pride, of possessiveness filled him, making his skin feel tight and his blood heat.
He’d wanted to kiss her until all her breaths were his, all her moans of pleasure were his, all her thoughts were of him, but he knew he needed to be careful with her.
He’d ended their kiss, lead her into the sitting room from the bedroom—away from the bed that was all too tempting—and now she was staring at him, eyes narrowed, arms crossed, her lips swollen from his kisses, and her hair in adorable disarray.
He’d had to chase her to their home in Schroon Lake, but that wasn’t what bothered him—the flight had only taken 45 minutes, and he’d taken a car from the landing site on the soccer field at a small Bible college one town over. He’d donated money to them for the inconvenience. What bothered him was that she was in the Schroon Lake house in the first place, not at home where she would be safe, protected, provided for?—
Whose fault is that, asshole?
“Why did you run?” he asked, his voice like a whip crack in the heavy silence of the room.
She glared at him, huffing. “I didn’t feel particularly welcome, Gideon,” she replied flatly. “You’d just told me I was nothing more than a cum receptacle and heir incubator, and thatfuckingme was a disgusting chore—oh! Let’s not forget how I’m such a failure because I couldn’t even do the most basic thing a woman can do, right? No baby, no worth, right Gideon Maddox?” As she spoke, her voice had gone from flat to heated, until she was vibrating with barely restrained emotions.
His kind, sweet, modest wife had used crude language, and he was both shocked and turned on—but now was not the timeto focus on that, because the woman was bleeding her pain all over him.
Moving, he sat down next to her on the plush couch, one she’d personally chosen, taking her hands in his. She tugged, trying to break free of his hold, but he refused to let go.
Finally, after a short struggle, she stopped, though her glare was still in place.
“What do you want, Gideon? Obviously it’s something because otherwise why would you even bother looking for me, enlisting the help of your brother to spy on Cora?”
He sighed, then replied, his voice as gentle as he could make it when all he wanted to do was drag her into his arms and squeeze her until she was a physical part of him. “I saw the packages, Kendra.”
Suddenly, his soft wife was made of stone. She stiffened, her eyes widening with shock, her face bleaching of color.
