Reclaiming Angelica (4 page)

Why had he deluded himself into thinking he held the reins?
His Angel was wild, untamable. One of the many things he loved about her. She
was his match in every way.

Giving in to instinct, Raul punched his hips in short, sharp
jabs, slicing through honeyed muscles with savage intent. This deep and close,
he felt every ripple, every flutter, as she clenched and released around him.

“You keep that up and I’m not going to last long,” he
warned.

She gave a siren’s smile. “You wouldn’t leave me hanging,”
she countered and brought her hands up to play with her nipples, plucking,
squeezing, and stroking the large brown nubs until he thought he’d go insane.

“
Madre de Dios
!”
he bit out.

Laughing softly, she told him, “There’s nothing virginal
about me.”

Their gazes locked in sensuous battle, Raul retaliated by
slowly trailing his hand down the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. When he
traced the delicate crease between her leg and mons, her breath hitched.
Smiling, he upped the ante, using his knuckles to brush across her clit, then
dance lightly away. Her hips jerked, and she cried out.

Another warning tingle. This one skittered down his spine to
land in his balls. Raul’s smile faded as lust spiked. More blood rushed to his
already engorged penis. He felt his eyes go wolf. Praying his mate wouldn’t
notice, he increased the speed of his thrusts.

Angel garbled out something unintelligible. Reaching out,
she grabbed him by the hips, nails digging into the flexing muscles. Her body
tautened, her tempting neck straining toward him. In response, Raul shifted
even closer so with each movement, his pubis bore down on hers.

When that wasn’t sufficient enough, he leaned forward and
planted his palms on the floor, on either side of her torso. The move gave him
the leverage he needed to thrust with the power his body demanded.

The change in angles caused Angel to cry out. “I need to…
Let me…Raul!” She punched the thigh of his restraining leg. “Release me so I
can…”

He was already lifting so that he no longer straddled her
thigh. Angel wrapped both legs high around his waist.

“Oh baby, Angel,” he gritted out between clenched teeth as
he hammered his hips into hers. A drop of sweat splashed into the valley
between her breasts, and his black hair hung in a wavy curtain around his face.

Their gazes met, clung. As his orgasm approached, his nails
sprouted into claws. He dug them into the plush carpet. Feeling his canines
lengthen, he pressed his lips together and hung his head, breaking their gaze.
Even now, he retained enough possession of his senses to hide what he was.

Angel’s nails scored his back, and the taint of iron scented
the air, exciting his beast to epic proportions.

“Please, please… All of you. Give me all of you,” she begged
right before her spine bowed and a scream ripped out of her mouth. Her cunt
clamped down on his cock like a vise, then began to pulse.

Raul’s hair went flying as he jerked back his head to keep
from marking her, an orgasm roaring through him. His muscles locked into place
for one timeless moment, and then his hips began to shake as pulse after pulse
of semen jetted from his cock. He poured into Angel everything he was—heart,
mind, and soul.

Raul slumped on top of his mate, panting. When his breathing
evened out, he nuzzled his nose in the responsive skin behind her ear and
whispered, “I love you, baby. Whatever the problem is, we can work it out. Just
don’t leave me again. I can’t take it.”

“This changes nothing,” Angel told him in an extremely even
and controlled voice, but underneath, his wolf sensed hurt, anger, and…defeat?

Confused, he pushed to his elbows to see her face. “What…?”

She shoved at his shoulders, and when he refused to budge,
said, “Please get off me.” Her voice was ultracontrolled and completely
unemotional, but again Raul sensed an underlying pain.

“I think,” he answered slowly, “I’d better stay right where
I am. What just happened here?”

Angel let her hands drop to the carpet and turned her face
so he viewed her profile. “Sex. That’s what happened here.”

He nudged her chin so she faced him again. “Don’t, Angel.
This was more than sex. I love you, and you love me. Don’t you?”

She didn’t answer. Simply stared at his nose like it had
somehow become fascinating.

“Angel?” he questioned, but a hint of uncertainty crept in
as his father’s warning about the consequences of loving humans rose again to
torment him. Silently he cursed. If he’d marked her, she’d be bonded to him,
and he’d know exactly what she was feeling. She had to love him. He refused to
believe otherwise. He’d felt her love for him. That couldn’t have changed in
the few short weeks he’d been gone. “Don’t you love me anymore, baby?”

Her sigh felt like it came up from her toes. Finally she met
his gaze. “Yes, I love you.”

The relief he felt left him weak. “Then why did you leave
me?”

Intimately connected as they were, Raul felt her stiffen. She
seemed to search his eyes for something. Whatever it was she was hunting for,
Angel didn’t find, because she turned away again.

“It doesn’t matter,” she stated softly. “I thought if I…”
She sighed. “Never mind.”

“You thought what, baby?” he asked, determined to get to the
bottom of this. He knew his woman and her varied, mercurial moods, but this was
a strange one, even for her. She’d gone from passionate to despondent in a
matter of minutes.

“I’d like to get up now,” she said, which wasn’t an answer,
or at least, not the one he’d expected.

“And I’d like us to talk this thing through. If I move,
you’ll leave, and nothing will get settled,” he countered.

Something, some unrecognizable emotion, flickered across her
expression. In slow motion, Angel turned her head until her gaze once more met
his. Her eyes held steely determination. “You want to talk?” she asked softly.

Raul felt a prickle of warning slither down his spine. “Yes,
I do,” he answered, albeit a bit warily.

“Let’s talk about the secret you’re keeping from me,” she
said, gaze drilling into him.

“Secret?” Raul managed to choke out, stiffening in
horror-tinged shock. Suddenly it was imperative that he move. He went to push
off her, but Angel raised her legs and caught him in a vise about the hips.

“Yes, secret,” she confirmed.

With no choice but to tough it out, he stated as calmly as
he could, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Besides, we’re talking about
you. About why you left me.”

“And I want to talk about why you disappear once a month—”

“You know I travel a lot with my job. You said it didn’t
bother you,” he interjected.

“And the reason you hold back when we make love…”

“I’m a big man. You’re tiny compared to me. I don’t want to
hurt you,” he said, happy to provide a reasonable explanation. It was the
truth, but not the whole truth.

“…and why your irises glow gold, and your facial features
change when you’re in the grip of strong emotions,” she demanded.

Raul felt his heart stop. “That…that’s just crazy. You’re
imagining things.” She couldn’t have noticed. He’d been so careful.

“Tell me!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he insisted, heart
pounding in his chest so hard he thought he’d pass out.

His fear roused his beast, which only moments before had
settled into a sated stupor.
Not now.
Please, God, don’t let it come out now.

“You’re lying,” she said flatly, tightening her thighs when
he tried once more to get away, retreat to safety.

Panic lived inside him now. Don’t tell her! his inner child
demanded.
You know what happens when you
tell!

Raul could see his mother’s face and his father’s despair
when she’d left. Hear his father’s repeated warnings,
“Never tell a human what you are.”
The past superimposed over the
present.

Tell her!
his wolf
demanded.
It’s not natural to hide from a
mate.

Raul agreed that having this secret between them was wrong
but couldn’t unlock his throat to speak the truth.

“Raul, please. We can’t continue with this thing between
us,” she pleaded, sounding almost desperate.

Her gaze locked on his. The hurt in her voice and the tinge
of moisture in her eyes added unbearable pressure. Raul opened his mouth to
tell her what she needed to know, but no sound emerged.

Nooooooo! his inner child screamed.
You can’t tell her! She’ll leave, and then we’ll die!

Tell her
, his wolf
demanded.
Tell mate what we are!

His breath escaped in pants.
Oh God!
He gasped, trying to get enough air.

“Raul?” Concern replaced the hurt in Angel’s tone. “Are you
all right?”

Tell her!

No!

Tell her!
his wolf
roared.

NOOOOO! Mustn’t tell!
the child screamed.

“Can’t…breathe!” His lips moved, but no sound emerged.

“Raul, your lips are turning blue. Breathe, baby!” Angel
released her hold on him.

As the internal war continued to rage, Raul’s stomach
churned and his chest hurt. His vision began to narrow, growing dark around the
edges. He crawled off Angel and knelt on all fours with his head hanging down,
gulping for air.

Raul couldn’t believe he was freaking out like a little kid.
He was a grown man, a badass—an alpha, for crying out loud. Embarrassment
collided with panic until the only thought in his mind was escape.

“Raul, baby, you have to breathe. If you don’t, you’ll pass
out.” Angel hovered beside him, laid a hand on his back, and stroked
soothingly.

She said more in soft tones meant to calm him. Unfortunately
Raul couldn’t hear her through the roaring in his ears. He had to get out of
here. He wheezed audibly now. He shook his head sharply, forcing himself to get
a grip, and a portion of his hearing returned.

“Oh God, you’re hyperventilating,” she said in dawning
realization. “Let me run to the kitchen and grab a bag. Breathing into one is
supposed to help.”

As soon as Angel disappeared down the stairs, Raul shoved
weakly to his feet, staggered dizzily against the wall, and pulled up his
pants. Mustering all his strength, he managed to make it down the stairs and to
the door.

“Raul?”

He glanced over his shoulder, hand on the doorknob. “I’m
sorry,” he managed to choke out, then softly closed the door behind him.

Once away from Angel’s too-observant eyes, Raul tapped into
the strength of his wolf. His breathing instantly evened out. The rest of the
damn panic attack took longer to fade. With hands that visibly trembled, Raul
managed to enter his vehicle and shove the keys in the ignition. As the motor
purred to life, he speed dialed Mercer.

“Yo!” Mercer answered.

“I need you or one of the guys on babysitting detail,” he
said, forcing himself to sound calm and in control.

“Boss, you all right? You don’t sound so good.”

“I will be. I gotta go for a run. Clear my head. I don’t
want to leave Angel alone but I…we… Just watch her for me, will you?”

“Sure thing. I gotcha back.” There was a brief pause. “So,
you two worked things out?” he asked, his concern coming through loud and
clear. His men hadn’t agreed with his decision not to tell Angel what he—what
they—were. She was his mate. As far as they were concerned, that settled any
issues or concerns they might have had regarding Angel keeping their
confidence. Raul could only imagine what they’d say if they knew the reason
she’d left him. That is, if they didn’t already suspect.

“We will,” Raul assured him. “As soon as I get a handle on
my wolf.”

“I’ll be there in fifteen,” Mercer promised and disconnected.

Raul left the driveway and parked farther down the block
within sight of the house, remaining there until Mercer arrived to relieve him.

* * * *

Angelica stood in the foyer, the bag dangling limply from
her fingers, listening to Raul’s SUV back out of the driveway. When the roar of
the engine faded, she crossed over to the couch, sat, and put her face in her
hands.

“Way to go, Angelica. You pushed the man right into a panic
attack.”

She sat like that for another few minutes. Then rubbing her face
wearily, she rose to her feet and straightened the mess they’d made during the
chase, before trudging upstairs. Needing to talk, she grabbed her cell and
dialed the number of her cousin and best friend since grade school, Sophie.

Sophie answered on the second ring. “Hiya, chica! Thought
you’d be busy having big monkey makeup sex. Wasn’t Raul due home today?”

“He’s home,” Angelica said flatly.

“Uh-oh. Someone doesn’t sound happy. Come, tell Momma Sophie
all about it.”

Angelica flopped onto the California king-size four-poster
bed she’d purchased specifically with Raul in mind, the thickly padded
blue-and-gray geometric-patterned comforter cushioning her body. “I had
everything planned. It should have worked perfectly.”

“I take it Wolf-boy didn’t share his deep, dark secret?”

“He showed up at the house in a rage because I’d left him.”

Sophie snorted. “Yeah, did you expect differently? He’s a
wolf. He thinks you’re his mate. You knew he’d go bat-shit crazy when he got
the news of your leaving.”

“I know, I know. That was part of the plan. I wanted to
catch him off guard, make him lose control. I thought maybe, if he got angry
enough, he wouldn’t be able to control his wolf. That he’d, you know, mate me
or shift. Then he’d have to tell me what he is.”

Sophie made tsking noises. “Honey, your man’s an alpha. He
wouldn’t be one if he didn’t possess absolute control over his beast. Stop
playing head games and just tell the man you know already.”