Layla Nash - A Valentine's Chase (City Shifters: the Pride) (14 page)

A
ll the romance
made me nervous. Made butterflies swirl in my stomach until I could barely hold onto my wine glass. I even had to wander through the apartment I'd dreamed of in order to gather my courage to eat dinner with him. The flowers, the chocolate, the look he gave me when I walked in... I shivered. It felt like too much. A movie kind of romance.

And then he asked to read my palm and I almost melted right through the chair. I didn't trust myself with him. Didn't trust my memory enough to entrust it with his words and the amazing gesture. But I let him take my hand and felt my fingers get lost in his capable, strong hands. He made a thoughtful growling noise that set my heart fluttering, and tapped the center of my palm. "Well. I see that you're very lucky in love."

I laughed, covering my mouth with my free hand when he peered up at me with a jaundiced look, and I inclined my head as I struggled to form a thought. "That's what I'm told."

His eyes laughed at me even as his expression stayed serious. "There is a strong life line, and one of those fork things that mean you've got a strong personality."

"A trident," I said, leaning my chin on my fist as I watched him.

"A fork is even better than a trident." Rafe frowned as he stretched my fingers back. "It says you're strong, and intelligent, and funny. You care about everyone around you, and you're willing to fight to protect others."

My breath caught.

He watched me, his eyes slowly turning the color of dark honey, and he didn't look back at my palm. "You are the bravest person I've ever met, Meadow. You stood up to those sons of bitches, and you stood up to your own past. To everyone who lied to you. You're so strong."

"I don't feel very strong," I said, barely a breath of sound. It felt too vulnerable to even admit it. I could pretend to be confident and self-assured all day long, but to really admit it was all a charade... I gulped for air and shook my head. "I don't feel brave."

"That's what makes you brave," he murmured, and squeezed my hand, his fingers drifting down my wrist to my forearm. "Baby, that's all that bravery is. Doing what you have to even when you're scared. You saved yourself, and then you helped save me. You're amazing. And wonderful. And more magic than I ever hoped to find in the world."

I wasn't the type of girl who fainted, but that almost pushed me over the edge. I closed my eyes and smiled, shaking my head at him, and took a deep breath. "Do you —"

I cut off when he placed something small in my palm and curled my fingers around it, and I opened my eyes. Breathless. Rafe didn't blink, just watched me, and I slowly opened my hand. A small ring rested there, innocuous. I couldn't speak.

Rafe cleared his throat, his voice all husky, and touched my knee. "It's a promise, Meadow. One day soon I want to buy you a diamond, but this ring — this is my promise to you that I will always be there. When you're weak, I'll be strong for you. When you're afraid, I'll be brave. If you forget, I'll be your memory. I'll be your truth. Always. You will never have to walk alone."

The ring blurred as tears filled my eyes, and my fingers shook as I picked it up. A small silver thing, with two hands holding a crowned heart.

"It's a claddagh ring," he said, taking it and sliding it onto the ring finger of my right hand. "Now. If you wear it this way, it means you're in a relationship. The heart points toward you. If you wear it the other way, it means you're single and looking. So I hope not to see it that way," and he slid me sideways look. "And when we're engaged, you wear it on your left hand."

"I don't remember you asking me to marry you," I managed to whisper, though I clutched his hands with as much strength as I could muster.

"Just wait." He winked. "This Valentine's Day shindig was just a practice round. There'll be so much damn romance when I propose that you won't know which way to turn."

I laughed, even though it came out a little more like a hiccup, and touched his cheek. "Just warn me, will you? I'm not used to all this."

"I'll make a note." He held my hands in his and met my gaze with a serious, determined look. "Meadow, you're the other half of my soul. Please. Live here with me. Be my mate."

"Of course," I said. As if there were any other answer. "You showed me that there's magic in the world."

He smiled, then abruptly straightened and caught at my hand. "And one more thing."

I jumped. "What?"

Rafe studied my palm, frowning and grumbling under his breath, then tapped just beneath my thumb. "Well. This series of lines right here tells me there's a lot of yelling in your future."

"Yelling?" I looked at him, puzzled, then squealed as he lurched up, caught me around the waist and threw me over his shoulder. "Be careful! Your chest. Be
careful
."

"All I'm interested in is
your
chest," he said, striding into the bedroom with a beautiful king size bed and more flowers and more candles. Rafe swatted my butt and dropped me onto the sheets, staring down at me with such hunger and determination that all of me shivered.

Rafe tore off his sweater and kicked off his shoes, loosening his belt before reached for my legs. He knelt on the bed, his hands making dents in the mattress next to my shoulders. Rafe nuzzled his nose to mine and kissed my cheek. I reached for him, tried to run my hands into his hair, but Rafe nibbled and kissed his way down my throat. I sat long enough to pull of the sweater and undershirt and my bra, and he grinned. He caught my breasts and made that hungry noise again, and I fell back against the bed.

He dragged my jeans off and began a careful exploration of my un-casted calf and ankle. I watched as he worked his way up to my knees, then my thighs, and my breath caught. He eased my knee up and out, careful of the cast, and settled between my legs. His chin rested on my hip as he watched me, teasing my center over the thin cotton of my panties. I sighed and arched away from the bed. Rafe kissed the inside of my thigh and snuck a finger under the cotton to nudge and stroke until I moaned. It wasn't enough contact.

Desire built slowly in an inevitable wave, each glancing touch and delicate kiss driving me closer and closer to the edge. When he finally ripped the panties away and sucked on the bead of nerves at my center, I came straight off the bed. Sensation overwhelmed me and sparks cascaded across every inch of me. My muscles tensed, seized, and I cried out. He hummed against me and I shivered, fingers working into his hair to keep him close. Rafe chuckled and broke away long enough to murmur, "There's a lot more yelling to do, baby," before his mouth latched to me once more.

I was a sweaty mess by the time Rafe finished unbuckling his belt and slid off his jeans. He grumbled, gently rubbing my thigh, and I jumped as frayed nerves sparked to life. I managed to open my eyes and lift my head, sighing his name.

Rafe knelt between my legs again and laced his fingers with mine, lifting my arms to pin my hands above my head. He gazed at me, searching my face for something, as he fitted his body to mine. The gentle shove and the warm pressure of his cock threw me into ecstasy again and I bucked against him, desperate for more. He grumbled but held himself back, keeping my arms captive, and his teeth dragged down my throat. "You're all mine now, Meadow."

The climax rolled through me as I gasped and begged him for more, trying to tug my hands free, and after a moment Rafe thrust again. My hips rolled, lifted. Desperate for movement. But he managed a tortuously slow pace until I writhed and lifted my knees to try and drag him closer. He groaned, forehead dropping against my shoulder, and began to move with more urgency. I begged him, calling his name, and Rafe thrust harder. He released my hands and I grabbed his shoulders, dug my nails in to keep him close, and he filled me over and over until he moved wildly. I hung on and tried to meet his thrusts as my channel seized up and my vision faded into darkness.

Rafe collapsed on top of me, his hips pumping a few more times, and he groaned. I couldn't open my eyes, could barely move, but managed to stroke the back of his neck. Sweat dripped from his chest to mine, and Rafe kissed a fiery line across my collarbone. I sighed and adjusted my legs, and he sank deeper. I cried out and shivered, clutching at him, and Rafe grumbled. "You're trying to kill me."

I sighed and stretched, felt his body react in a sudden surge. "I can't help it."

Rafe pushed up on his elbows to look down between us, then slid his arm between my back and the mattress. He rolled suddenly and pulled me with him, so I sprawled across his chest. Rafe helped me sit back until I straddled him, sitting up so he could squeeze my breasts. He gripped my hips and smacked my thigh, lifting his hips to impale me before he spanked me again. "I can't do all the work, darlin."

I laughed and started to move, caught up in the long slow slide of him into me, the gentle friction as he rose to meet me, and the explosion of sensation when he teased my clit as I rode him. My head fell back and I raked my nails down his sides, bouncing harder. He was right, though. We both did an awful lot of yelling.

D
espite the heavy
robes I wore and the scarf wrapped tightly around my throat, the cold winter air cut right through me. It could have been nerves. Smith stood next to me, tall and regal and carrying a giant staff of gnarled oak. I held my breath as the clouds parted and the full moon became visible. All around us in the silent woods, figures great and small coalesced around Smith and his staff. I shifted my feet and tried to look more confident, pulling the hood of my robes forward to hide my expression. I considered making a run for it, though the bulky cast didn't let me move very fast, but as I took a step back, something warm bumped my hand.

A wolf nosed my palm and I smiled. I couldn't help myself. Rafe in his wolf form nearly took my breath away. His shoulder easily reached my waist, and he leaned gently against my hip when uncertainty overtook me. He was my rock, in more ways than one. Even the magic cane didn't give me the same strength that a glance from Rafe provided. It had been Smith's idea. Apparently the shifters used to run with the Wild Hunt, but things had gotten out of hand a couple of times and the fae and the shifters grew apart. Smith invited Rafe as a favor to me, because I felt stronger with my mate by my side.

And because BadCreek still roamed the world, and these woods, on occasion. I took a deep breath and pushed away any thoughts of those sons of bitches. Someone else could deal with them. I glanced over as Smith held out a hand, and I eased closer through the snow as everything grew slow and distorted and hazy. The woods faded in and out of focus, and my breath caught. "What's happening?"

"The Hunt is afoot," he murmured, and winked at me.

I took a deep breath and tried to smile back, despite the gravity of the event — my first Hunt. Magic dwelled deep in the night and I felt a dream-like haze settle over everything. But still Rafe nosed my hand, and I felt anchored. Dreamy but firmly rooted in the earth.

Smith raised the staff and someone blew a horn, a surreal, tinny sound that went straight to my bones like nails on a chalkboard. The hairs stood up on my arms as the horn echoed and bounced through the woods, shaking snow from the trees and swirling the clouds in panicked eddies. Another horn joined the first, deeper, and cried out in warning to whoever dared occupy the woods that night. I shivered as a third and fourth horn sounded. I looked for the players, but all of the figures with us remained still and silent as the unearthly horns sounded.

An invisible signal came as the horns faded and a heavy silence settled over the forest once more. Smith dropped the staff and everyone lurched forward as one. The magic caught me up, dragged me along in breathless exhilaration, until I didn't realize I was running beside Rafe and Smith as if I had wings. I laughed and threw my arms wide as the Hunt careened through the trees, bouncing and jostling and then leaping, until we nearly left earth behind.

Through it all, I kept my fingers firmly twined in Rafe's fur. He kept pace easily, and as we caught sight of the full moon once more, he threw his head back and howled. I wanted to sing, to scream, to shout my joy to the world. Finally. Finally, I felt like I belonged. Like I'd found my people and my place.

The last few weeks had been a huge learning curve, trying to figure out how to be a muse and how to trust myself again, but through it all, Rafe remained my rock. If I doubted that magic existed and I wondered if it had all been a dream, inevitably the cane would show up and trip me, just to remind me of its presence. Usually on my way to the bathroom, or when I was trying to get dressed, or when Rafe wanted to do something sexy. But even when I threatened to turn the cane into kindling and threw it into the coat closet, Rafe just laughed and said it was good to have magic in the house.

On the darkest days, I didn't always agree. On the darkest days, I believed what I'd been told my whole life — that I was making things up. That none of it was real and life really wasn't that perfect.

But when I doubted myself, Rafe believed. When I forgot who I was and who I wanted to be, he remembered. He reminded me, every morning and every night and every time he saw me, who I wanted to be. When I felt like I wasn't enough, that I would never be enough — he showed me that I completed him, and that he completed me, and together we were stronger than we were apart. We were mates, and that was stronger magic than anything else in the world.

T
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