Part 18 (2/2)

His mouth flattened. ”No big deal? Those were Morphs, ready to rip you to pieces, Jamie. You know what they do, but you seem to forget. They won't stop until you lie there, broken and bleeding and dying. You can cry out for mercy and beg someone, anyone to rescue you, and they'll keep slas.h.i.+ng at you until you pray for death. And then they'll drink your terror, relish it and watch as you bleed out, whimpering in agony. They kill anyone, anything, women, little girls...Dieu, she never had a chance...”

Damian cut off his words. Torment flashed across his face as he ran a hand through his sweat-dampened hair. ”I should never have agreed to let you come out tonight. Too much of a risk. I swore I'd never use such poor judgment again.”

She bit back the bitter disappointment. ”The attack could have happened anywhere. And you had fun,” she protested.

Intensity radiated from him. He fisted his hands. ”Fun? What the h.e.l.l point is it when you could have been killed? You talk of enjoying yourself when there's danger at every corner and your life is at stake. I should have paid better attention to my instincts. I let down my guard and you were almost hurt. It's not worth it.”

”And me? I'm not worth it?” she cried out.

A muscle ticed in his strong jawline. ”You're worth every single breath I take to protect you, Jamie. It's my duty to keep you safe. With every last drop of blood in my body I will do it, but no more taking risks. It's too dangerous and life is too precious to be so d.a.m.n foolhardy. I won't ever make that mistake again.”

This was a side of Damian she hadn't seen. He was blaming himself, his anger directed inward. Not at her. What the h.e.l.l had happened to him that he couldn't forgive himself?

”If you were so intent on keeping me safe, why did you help Ricky and Adam? It was their battle, let them fight on their own.”

”Because they're pack. Rafe put them under me and I take care of my own. That's what family is, Jamie. You step in when it's needed. Teamwork. Don't you understand the value of a strong family?” His voice softened. ”Surely your brother did the same for you at some point.”

Never. Mark was more interested in his career than her needs. Pack, family. She was a lone wolf. No one ever helped her, so she learned to go it alone and it was a direction she was happy to take. Or had been. Thinking about what she'd never had grieved her so much she lashed out.

”It's only important to you because you see yourself in charge of everything and everyone. You can't let go. You have to have control, always. It's an obsession with you.”

His eyes glittered with intent as he stepped forward. ”Chere, you wouldn't want to see me lose control.”

Power radiated from his big body, the muscles tense, his green eyes locked onto her like a laser. Her body responded to the overwhelming masculinity, aching and yearning, the s.p.a.ce between her legs throbbing.

Something inside snapped, s.e.xual frustration boiling over like a volcano. ”Try me,” she taunted. ”I can handle it.” Jamie stared him down. ”But I doubt you can.”

No chance to bite back the words, change her mind. Damian cupped the back of her head and crushed his mouth against hers. It was no gentle, teasing kiss, but one of pure possession, staking his claim. His tongue boldly thrust past her lips, tasting her, exploring the wet cavern of her mouth. Jamie moaned and clutched fistfuls of his s.h.i.+rt. Her knees threatened to give out as she sagged against him.

He kept at it, exquisite sensual torture, the tension simmering just below the surface. As if his life depended on her, his next breath, instinct hammering at him.

Heat and masculine l.u.s.t radiated from him. A tiny s.h.i.+ver skated down her spine. He nipped her bottom lip, then licked it in a lingering caress. Boldness overcame her as Jamie cupped his erection, squeezed.

She opened her eyes, startled at his hot, intent look. It warned she'd pushed him too far.

”Right now,” he spoke against her mouth. ”I will have you. I won't wait any longer.”

A low growl ripped from him. Damian felt desperate to get inside her. His body tensed with the crazed need to mount and s.e.xually dominate.

A rose flush tinted her porcelain skin; Jamie's full mouth begged to be kissed again. He stroked and soothed as her hands clutched his wrists. Jamie's soft b.r.e.a.s.t.s pressed against his hard torso. The intoxicating smell of her flooded his senses, the floral shampoo she'd used mixing with her own delicious scent.

His hands slid down her hips to pull her forward then he cupped her sweet little a.s.s, sliding farther up to explore...

The scent of her arousal hit him like a sledgehammer. His body tightened painfully, his b.a.l.l.s aching, his c.o.c.k hardening to solid steel. Damian stepped back, kicked off his shoes, pulled at his s.h.i.+rt. b.u.t.tons popped with the force of champagne corks, clattered to the floor. Desire and apprehension flashed across Jamie's face as he shed his trousers.

He divested her of the plain cotton briefs in a minute, pulled up her dress and tipped her backward onto the bed. Instinct roared, his body primed to penetrate, claim and conquer. The wolf inside snarled for the right to mate. He mounted her, letting her feel his immense strength, his power and prowess. Proving he was worthy of breeding with her. Pinning her wrists to the mattress, he dragged in a deep lungful of her arousal.

Wide gray eyes stared up at him. A quiver went through her body.

d.a.m.n, what the h.e.l.l was he doing? Turning feral, letting the moon ride him.

With all his control, he leashed himself and released her wrists. Don't scare her. Slow. He braced his hands on either side of her body. The kiss he gave her was gentle, tender.

Jamie pushed back farther on the bed as he climbed over her.

His hands explored, drifted over her slender hips, spanned her narrow waist. She seemed so fragile, yet beneath was enormous strength. A survivalist who endured losing so much and faced challenge with courage and spirit. A woman who was more than equal to him. She was life and adventure and laughter.

She was his. He would make certain no other male would dare touch her again. For all his crazed yearning, his touch was tender as he grazed her cheek with his fingers.

Jamie sat up, hugging herself, eyes big as dinner plates. He pushed her down, gently.

”Lie back and let me care for you,” he purred. Damian parted her slender legs with his hands.

He stared at her cleft, wet and glistening. His erection strained to the point of bursting.

”You're beautiful, so d.a.m.n beautiful,” he said softly, dragging in a lungful of her scent. Ah, so sweet, aroused and feminine.

He'd die if he couldn't taste her.

Jamie couldn't let him control her. Pleasure her. It was a power play, and if he took charge, she'd be hopelessly lost. Giving in meant more than surrendering to his s.e.xual dominance.

It meant forging an even deeper physical link between them, a tie that terrified her. s.e.x presented an intimacy she emotionally could not control.

Damian would trap her in his world, tying her to him.

Resistance to his tender, erotic caresses seemed futile, but Jamie summoned all her inner strength. She tensed and was reluctant to respond to his touch.

And then he lowered his head and put his mouth between her legs.

Licking her, lapping her in long, expert strokes between her cleft, feasting on her sweetness. Damian's tongue on the aching flesh between her legs did crazy, erotic things to her. Every stroke and whorl drew air from her body until she felt herself strained with the need to breathe, to burst out of her skin. He licked, swallowed, the rough bristle from his bearded cheeks abrading her thighs. Tension heightened, spiraling her upward and upward until she stiffened, and gave a keening wail, her body thras.h.i.+ng as she climaxed. The o.r.g.a.s.m exploded out of her so fiercely, she almost blanked out.

When she lifted her head, the hint of untamed danger lurked deep in the depths of his jade-green eyes. A wolf, his beast, barely held at bay. But held at bay, all because of her.

In silent surrender, she pulled off her dress and removed her bra. Jamie lay back, holding out her arms to him. Scared as she was of being dragged into his pack, his family, she instinctively knew he would never hurt her. Her body tingled with arousal, hungering for the contact between them.

Damian leaned back on his haunches, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. His c.o.c.k ached with the need to penetrate. Mounting her, he felt the enormous strain of his muscles tensing as he tried to keep himself in check. He kissed her again, his mouth drifting down to nip at her throat. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were like apples, perfectly shaped with rosy, taut nipples.

He kissed one very gently, then ran his tongue around it. She whimpered, her hips rising and falling off the mattress, driven by instincts of her own.

”Soon,” he soothed her. Damian took her nipple in his mouth and gently suckled. She clutched his shoulders, her body twisting.

He released her nipple with a small popping sound.

”Give in, ma pet.i.te,” he whispered. ”Let me inside. It's time. You belong to me.”

He rose on his forearms, afraid of crus.h.i.+ng her. She was so tiny and fragile, the delicate exterior camouflaging a tough steel core. The heart of a true warrior beat inside Jamie, someone dragged to h.e.l.l who clawed her way back to the light.

<script>