Lucian walked up to her and placed a hand on her cheek tilting her face up to look at him. “Be careful, please.”
“I’m always careful,” she scoffed.
“No you’re not,” he challenged. “You’re impulsive, hot tempered and—”
Peri cut him off. “The next words out of your mouth better besexy as hellor so help me, Lucian—”
He interrupted her rant with his lips pressed firmly to hers. Peri groaned as she submitted to him and leaned closer to his strong body. It felt like it had been forever since he’d held her in his arms.
When he finally pulled back, he held her face in both of his hands. He was gentle, as though she was made of glass. “You are amazing. I don’t want anything to happen to you. I don’t want you in danger. Please be careful. I love you.”
Well, how can a girl not oblige when he talks like that?
“I love you,” she reciprocated. “I will be as careful as the task allows.”
“That will have to be good enough,” Lucian murmured against her lips as he pressed them once more to hers.
“Come back to me soon. I have need of you.”
Peri loved how honest and open he was with her. Lucian didn’t waffle about, he simply told her how he felt and what he needed. There was no guessing game, no wondering, and it was refreshing.
“Then you shall have me as soon as I’m able.” With one last kiss she flashed, leaving her mate and the shelter of his arms. Sometimes being powerful sucked.
Chapter 13
“I didn’t think that I had a future. I had accepted that my fate was set. One day, I was certain, I would die at the teeth of my captors. But out of the darkness, you charged in—a mighty wolf, rescuing me from evil. I was destined to be yours. And in the short time I’ve known you, I’ve come towantto be yours. There are so many unknowns, yet I feel that as long as you are by my side, I can stand before anything life has to throw at me and not fall.” ~Bethany
Bethany wiped the sleep from her eyes as she focused on the closed door. She’d locked herself in the bedroom, unwilling to face Drake once he returned. She was still angry and she was still reeling from all the information Jen and Jacque had shared with her. She didn’t know how she could look at Drake without blushing from head to toe.
Bethany vaguely remembered hearing the door to the suite open and close last night, but she didn’t know if Drake had attempted to get into the room with her. She wondered if he was angry with her, if he’d come looking for her after she’d stormed from the suite? A tiny part of her felt bad for leaving him the way she did, but the rest of her felt justified. He’d been acting like an ass hat—that had been Jen’s description. Bethany had said that he’d only been being a jerk, but Jen said male wolves were never something as minor as a jerk. She said they are always at least an ass hat—that was the lowest level of jerkiness they were capable of. It only got worse from there, unfortunately. Then she’d said a whole bunch of other descriptive words that Bethany decided she’d save for only the most severe of situations.
She climbed out of bed, realizing that she didn’t want to be braless and in her pajamas when she faced Drake, so she gathered up some clothes and headed into the bathroom.
Just as she was combing out her freshly blow-dried hair, Bethany heard a knock on the bedroom door.
“Bethany?” Drake’s deep voice rumbled through the door. Hearing it caused chills to race up and down her body. “I know you’re still angry, but I need to see you. I need to see that you are…okay.” He paused and then growled. “Please.”
Letting out a resigned sigh, she walked over to the door. “I’m going to open the door, Drake. No touching.”
He growled at her and she couldn’t help the smile. He was like a kid who’d had his toy taken away.
Bethany unlocked the door and then pulled it open. Drake stood only a foot away, looking as though he hadn’t slept at all. His eyes took in every inch of her greedily, and Bethany had to force herself not to fidget under his scrutiny. When his eyes finally met hers, she saw that they were glowing.
“Are you alright?” he asked her, his voice guttural and dark.
“I think the better question is,areyoualright?” she asked.
His eyes narrowed. “No, I am not alright.”
Okay, so he wasn’t going to beat around the bush. Fine. She could be just as blunt as he was.
“Who’s fault is that?” she asked as she folded her arms in front of her and leaned her hip against the door jam.
He dropped his head and his shoulders seemed to sag as though the weight of the world had been laid upon them. “Will you just let me hold you? Please.”
Bethany fought the urge to screamYes!at him and throw her arms around him. She was going to have more dignity than that. She also wasn’t going to admit that it was taking something akin to a miracle to keep herself on the opposite side of the doorway. As soon as she’d opened the door and laid eyes on him, she realized just how much she missed him. She didn’t like being away from him, not even for one night. She hated that she’d gone to bed alone, without anyone to tell her goodnight, like she’d done so many times during her captivity. She hated that the sound of soft breaths coming from the other room hadn’t been the sound that helped her drift safely off to sleep.
“Dammit, female! I can feel your need as strongly as my own. You can’t keep something like that from seeping through the bond. And my wolf can smell it on you—your desire, anguish, regret, and fear. Why do you continue this nonsense? Why are you torturing us both?” He was on one knee now. His forearm across his thigh as he leaned forward, resting his other hand on the ground to support himself.
