Kept (28 page)

By the time I ran down the block a ways, I heard the fight. Or should I say, I watched as a four-door Buick came flying down the street. From the haphazard way it landed, I suspected it was Thorn’s handiwork.

I caught up with them, after I thankfully entered the veil of a magical masking field. Nick must’ve painstakingly tried to keep humans out of the mix. (Which would be rather difficult with cars flying all over the place.)

The overwhelming stench of burnt cinnamon made my eyes water. Many spells had been cast here.

“Face me, wizard!” I heard Thorn snarl. “Or do you hide behind your cowardice?”

Thorn stormed toward me. Which meant Nick was somewhere in front of me. Among all the cars parked along the street.

“Thorn, don’t do this.” I held up my hands. From the rage that shadowed his features, I knew the wolf was in control now. Thorn rarely looked like this: claws out, eyes dark yellow with hunger for blood.

“Nat.” A faint whisper from my right. Along the wall of one of the brownstones. “Get away from here.”

Thorn surged forward. He’d caught Nick’s scent. Before he could close in, I watched the street light up so bright, I couldn’t help but turn away for fear of being blinded. But Thorn didn’t need his eyes to see. His nose and planned path led right up to Nick.

The thudding sound of his footsteps got louder. A growl emerged as he charged. When I expected him to ram into Nick, I felt the impact.

And so did Thorn, as he bounced off an invisible wall of some kind.

Dazed, he yelled with a hoarse voice, “You’ll fight me for what you did to her.”

The lights around me dimmed. When I spotted Nick standing not far from me, his staff aimed at Thorn, I whispered a plea. “Just go. Don’t force him to use old magic to hurt you.”

“I haven’t done anything to him except defend myself.”

“I know. I’m asking you to look the other way. Tele-port out of here. Do what you always do. Just give him time to cool off.”

Nick took in my face for a few seconds. All the while, Thorn paced in front of the barrier. When Nick touched my cheek, Thorn banged against the wall holding him back.

“Please?” I put some distance between Nick and me.

“I could end this now,” Nick said. “He’d never remember tonight or what he learned.”

The barrier disappeared. Thorn moved, closing in fast.

“But I’d never forgive you if you did that,” I whispered.

“That’s why I won’t.” Lights shimmered around the edges of Nick’s form. By the time Thorn reached for him, Nick had blinked away into the night.

Chapter 23

M
ost
women didn’t have to drag their ex-boyfriends to their double-parked cars after breaking up a fight. I guessed I was the lucky lottery winner tonight for that particular ordeal.

“Why did you do it?” Thorn grumbled.

“I didn’t do anything.”

Thorn refused to open the passenger door. “You know damn well what I’m talking about.”

Fury rose in me quickly. “I’m not the one throwing around cars in a fit just because I got angry after
eavesdropping
on a conversation.” I rolled down the passenger-side window. “Now get in the car before I throw you in it.”

Thorn got in and slammed the door.

“Feel better now?” I quipped.

Thorn was beyond furious, so I let him stew while I drove. We’d been through long drives together before. Back in college, Thorn had driven me to all sorts of parks so I could run as a wolf. But tonight was different. Thorn had raced all the way here to defend my honor. And I’d denied him justice in order to protect the man who was my friend.

At last we made it to the Grantham cabin—thankfully in one piece. When I pulled up to the house, I expected him to flat-out leave me.

“Come run with me,” was all he said.

“What?”

“Take off your clothes and come with me to the forest.”

When a man like Thorn Grantham spoke words like that, he demanded enough attention to make any woman remove her breeches. But I didn’t want to run tonight. Snow continued to fall. Some of the roads were slick with slush and mud. After all the running
after
Thorn, I didn’t want to chase him anymore. I’d had enough.

But then I looked at him. His eyes blazed with need that made my heart ache. He didn’t touch me, but I felt the invisible tug nonetheless. It had a hypnotic effect on me that I couldn’t resist. The wolf within urged me forward. I took off my coat first. Unzipped the back of my skirt. My boots followed not long after.

We abandoned the car to sprint out into the woods. Once we ran a bit from the house, the rest of our clothes came off. The change took over, and the wolf inside me reveled as I surrendered control.

Like carefree pups, we ran through the snow and bushes into the night. I didn’t care where we went. Or what we hunted for. Only that this moment lasted where Thorn and I were together.

After a few miles, he took me to an abandoned house. From the outside the structure appeared dead: broken shutters, boarded-up windows, and a slightly caved-in roof. The scent of the fire that had burned part of the roof remained. But the years of sunshine and cold weather had dried out the wood.

I switched back to human form once I was safely inside. Even with walls, a bone-cold chill swept through the room.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“A quiet place. The old Taggert house. We can hide away for a while from the others.” By “others,” I knew
he meant Erica. I suspected she’d call him pretty soon to check on his whereabouts.

“I should go home.”

He grabbed and shushed me. “Do you want to go home?”

I wanted to protest. But the feel of his strong arms wrapped around me left me heady with happiness. Instead of running tonight all alone to vent his anger, he’d chosen me to join him.

He tucked me into a safe spot next to the stone fireplace. A few pieces of wood remained inside. Thorn had been here before—alone. His scent lingered in the blankets stowed away in a corner.

Why did he hide away here? As the future alpha, he should stay in his father’s cabin. Was it to hide from Erica as well?

“Everything will be nice and comfy once I get the fire going.” He left my side to light the fire with a set of matches. When the flames danced in the bitter wind, he added two bits of hay to bring the fire to life.

“Why did you bring me here?” I asked. Why not head straight for the truth?

“We need to talk.” He didn’t speak for a minute or two, and then blurted, “Are you happy with that wizard who used you?”

I’d hoped, at all costs, to avoid this conversation. Thorn knew about Nick, but I’d never meant for him to learn about what happened. “Nick’s harmless. No matter what’s happened, he only wanted to protect me.”

“I don’t like it when you’re with him.”

A smile crept to my lips. “And you think I like it when Erica rubs her relationship with you in my face?”

“That’s different.”

“How? I’d love to know.”

Thorn’s face reflected both pain and anger. “I don’t want her. I want to be with you.”

Slowly, the fingers of his right hand crept along the floor. They lingered close to my thigh before they flexed and contracted. I read hunger in his brooding eyes, the tension stretching the muscles on his shoulders and neck. The fingertips brushed against my skin briefly, then retreated. For seconds that stretched into eons, all I could hear were his rapid breaths. The rapid beating of his heart. Finally he surrendered to his need without words, pulling me closer. The hard lines of his heated body drew me in, stirring my blood. I tried to fight the rising desire, but, hell, the man was naked.

His body was mere inches from mine as his eyes took me in. Even though we faced each other, he didn’t speak for a few minutes. “I could kill that wizard. But no matter how much I hate him, I can’t deny that we’ve
both
wanted to protect you. Even if you didn’t want it that way.” He tilted my chin up and possessively brushed his lips against mine. Our gazes locked again. The heady scent of his desire increased. His desire to be with me instead of Erica.

“Do you remember the night when I came home with your father?” he asked.

I nodded and tried to rub the chill from my arms.

“Erica asked me point-blank why I couldn’t let you go.” He pushed my hands away from my arms and caressed my skin. “She said you were flawed. I told her you were perfect. Perfect in all the right places.”

I sucked in a deep breath. Then snickered to hide my elation. “I bet she took that well.”

He rubbed his nose against my cheek and inhaled. Deeply. “I won’t bore you with her response.”

His hands descended down my arms, then drifted to my face. He left a trail of pleasure that heated my skin.

Something inside begged for me to go home, but I couldn’t resist. This moment, this second, Thorn Grantham belonged to me. From his smooth lips to the tips of his
toes. I breathed in his essence and filled the empty space in my heart with its warmth and love.

I had to speak. He’d called me
perfect
. Perfect, for God’s sake. Even if this man truly didn’t belong to me, his words brought sunshine to a ship cast adrift on turbulent waters.

“You’re the love of my life, Thorn.”

He opened his mouth to reply, but I placed my fingertip against his lips. His mouth moved to speak, but I didn’t want to hear his words. Even if he wanted to say the same. I knew where things stood. My trembling hands moved to place his hands on my hips. The cold air, from the hole in the ceiling, brushed against my shoulders and hardened the tips of my breasts.

A smile touched my lips. Was I imagining this whole encounter? His lips placed kisses from my forehead down to my nose. Then they met mine. At first tentative, then possessive. The urgency grew to a fevered pitch as our tongues touched. The chill in my bones turned to fire.

Thorn continued to head southward, to nip at my neck. The blond whiskers on his chin rasped against my skin.

“I’ve hungered for you,” he whispered against my skin. “For so long.” He reunited our lips. Light kisses melded into a hungry embrace, where we reached for each other again and again—fervently trying to keep the momentum going. From my position in his lap, my body responded to his every touch. He reached under my arms to pull me upward so he could kiss my breasts. I became heady with each stinging bite. Each tug of his lips as he sucked, each pull of his mouth tightened my body until I shuddered with need.

But he wasn’t done with me yet. His rough hands roamed over my back and then cupped my bottom.

For years I’d imagined us together like this. All the
elaborate positions we’d do. How we’d make love and then sleep for hours curled next to each other. Like we used to do when we were together. I refused to hold back anymore. No one would come for us tonight. We wouldn’t stop this time. The length of his arousal pressed against my stomach told me as much. More kisses from him turned into my moans and pleas. He’d touched me everywhere … except for where I truly needed him.

But Thorn Grantham had limits as well. Teeth clenched and eyes churning with need, he grasped my waist and pulled my hips up. The whole time we couldn’t break our gaze from each other. I swam within the pools of his golden eyes, waiting for him. Then he united our bodies, releasing a satisfied growl as he wrapped my legs around his waist.

I gripped his shoulders, an exquisite pressure building in me while I rode him in his lap. Every sensation left me wishing, hoping, our lovemaking wouldn’t end. He held my hips and ground into my body, whispering my name in my ear. “Natalya.” Additional words tickled my neck, but I couldn’t hear them. What words did he whisper?

After so long without him, the urgent need for release came fast. When I reached the peak, I held him close and sighed. Thorn continued to move inside me, gently now. Contracting and pulsing with each thrust, I expected him to grab my hips to find his release, but he seemed content to wait for his moment.

When our breathing had slowed, he led me to the blankets. Thorn unfolded them and pulled me down beside him.

He explored my body again. Kissed calves. Nibbled inner thighs. For the longest time, he teased me with his tongue, licking my belly button and then descending southward again and again. When I thought I’d climaxed too many times—as if that’s possible—he claimed
me between my legs. While before I’d set the pace, now Thorn took control. I reveled in his heat, his passion.

The energy built between us. His eyes turned from gold to burnt amber. So dark. So strong. He adjusted his position to grasp my buttocks. The deep strokes left me begging.

“Please, Thorn …”

“Soon, baby, soon.” His warm breath against my neck turned into soft growls. Then his body stiffened, his pleasure found. I followed him a second later, gripping his waist. He collapsed against me, and I welcomed his weight. The feel and scent of him surrounded me like a protective cocoon. I missed this feeling so much.

Eventually, he settled himself at my side, my back against his chest. With a worn wool blanket pulled over us, I drifted off into a peaceful slumber as the lights of the fire danced against the walls.

When I woke up, I could see the lingering dark of the night sky through the hole in the roof. I stretched and couldn’t resist smiling. I’d spent the night with Thorn. He lay next to me with his arm protectively over my hip. The fit was perfect—as if his arm should be there every time I woke up.

Yet, it wasn’t meant to be that way. Especially once we left this house.

The sting came fast, and it seared me deep enough to bring tears to my eyes. An ache that was painful enough to churn my stomach. This place. This moment. This hideaway had been stolen, and
I
was the one who took it. I’d put Thorn in this position.

I didn’t know how I managed to do it, but I pulled his arm off me. Oh, God, it hurt
so
bad to do it. I made it a few steps and stopped at the open doorway. The freezing cold flowing through the forest nipped at my skin. It
was the punishment I deserved for putting myself before the pack.