Wolf’s Princess (45 page)

“I want a shower,” she whispered into his neck.

“Eat first?” he suggested.

She leaned back from him to examine the tray of sandwiches and fruit. “Not yet. I really want to take a shower.”

“Well, I did promise you a fun shower this morning, didn’t I?” He made a half-hearted attempt to wiggle his eyebrows. He saw in her the same leaden exhaustion that pulled at him. “You want a rain check?”

“For shower sex? Yeah.” She pressed a kiss to the side of his neck. “Sorry. But we can shower together. I feel,” she trailed off, an uncertain smile tugging at her mouth. “I feel like I don’t want to let you out of my sight.”

“That’s exactly how I feel,” he agreed. “So shower now, then food, then sleep.”

He turned to the mirror to undress, and that’s when he realized he was bare-chested except for a necktie. “Fuck,” he said, mildly horrified to have been walking through the streets of Omaha like that. He should have taken the damn tie off at the mayor’s house, but he’d had other things on his mind then. It made Rose giggle, so a little embarrassment was worth it.

They undressed and made it to the shower. As Rose fiddled with the water temperature he heard Stone on the stairs tell his mate they were fine. If Rose had needed any medical attention, Sky would have called for her. Then he drew Sara back down the stairs.

The hot water felt marvelous. The spray wasn’t enough for both of them to get wet at the same time, so they took turns standing under the showerhead. With rough cotton washcloths lathered with soap, they bathed one another. It wasn’t sexual, although he could see how it could turn sexual. In fact…

He sighed, looking down at his hardening cock.
Bad timing
, he told it.
Settle down
. Of course, it didn’t. With Rose naked and wet under his hands, he couldn’t really blame it. Him. Whatever. Rose noticed his body’s reaction. They were only inches apart, so how could she not?

“My, someone’s feeling more energetic,” she remarked.

Only hours ago she had been in fear of rape and here he was, waving his flag at her like a dirty old man. “Sorry.”

“No problem. Am I all clean?” She raised her hands above her head and stretched her beautiful body for his appraisal. She turned slowly, showing him her long, lithe back and high, round ass.

He swallowed. “Yes.”

“Good. Let’s see you. Did I miss anywhere?”

He turned for her, his erection bobbing uncomfortably. “I’m good.”

A tiny frown puckered her brow. “No, I missed one place.” She grabbed the soap from the dish and lathered her washcloth. “Right here.”

He jerked breath in through his teeth when she took his cock in her hand and proceeded to gently soap him. “Rose.” He groaned.

She stopped. “Am I hurting you?”

“No, but you’re not helping me to not think about sex.”

The washcloth dropped. She wound her arms around his neck. “But I want you to think about sex.” Her mouth smoothed up his throat to his lips, where she whispered, “Make love to me, Sky.”

He kissed her with all the love and awe and tenderness in him. Ten minutes ago he had been laden with emotional exhaustion, so weary that even walking to the bathroom was an effort. Under his mate’s touch, the leaden fatigue sloughed off, circling the drain like the soapy water around their feet. Was this what men came to The Limit to find? Each time he and Rose made love it was different. Whether it was hot and fast, or slow and languorous, or gentle and tender, there was a connection between them. That connection gave him a strange kind of peace. He wasn’t alone anymore. He and Rose were a pair. If the men who came to The Limit were looking for that connection, they were out of luck. The connection was love, not physical pleasure.

Not, he reflected as he pushed into her welcoming body, that there was anything wrong with physical pleasure.

*

Shower sex wasn’t quite what Rose had expected it to be. Instead of a wild man pounding into her, she had a gentle, tender husband telling her with his hands and lips that she was safe and she was loved, and that’s what she needed right now. The feel of his penis stroking inside her made her forget the awkward position of standing on her toes, her back brushing the wall with his every thrust. She noticed the water going cold, but with pleasure building up inside her, she didn’t care. When the pleasure broke in a rain of fire through her entire body, she didn’t feel the cold anymore.

Sky convulsed against her with a strangled shout. She held him against her breasts until he stopped panting. When he finally lifted his head he wore an expression of mild surprise.

“The water is cold,” he remarked.

She giggled. “You can turn off the water. I think we’re clean now.”

He did, smiling. “I feel pretty clean.”

So did she. With some surprise, she examined that thought. The water and soap had cleaned her body, but making love with Sky had cleansed her from the filth the Askups had smeared her with.

They dried off and went back to their room. Rose stopped dead, staring at the windows. “It’s still daylight! I feel like it should be midnight.”

He glanced at the clock on the dresser. “Not quite six o’clock. Busy day. You’re not putting your nightgown on, are you?”

“Yeah. I know it’s not bedtime yet, but I don’t want to leave this room tonight.”

He caught her face and kissed her. “Good plan, but you don’t need to cover up. It’s just me.”

“You can stay naked.” In fact, she liked the idea of looking at him. “But I am not going to spend the night fishing crumbs from uncomfortable places.”

He laughed and turned to get his shorts. Too bad. But it still left his magnificent chest on display. He brought the food tray to the bed and they sat opposite each other on the mattress to eat. The bread was a little stale, but Rose ate hungrily. She stared at the tattoo on his pec. As the muscles beneath it bunched and smoothed when Sky lifted his sandwich to eat, the wolf seemed to crouch protectively over the rose.

She swallowed her bite of ham and bread. “I love you, Sky.”

His gaze shot to her face. He seemed to have a little trouble swallowing. His eyes watered as he forced the bite down. “You do?”

“Yeah.” She resisted the urge to look away. “It didn’t start that way. I didn’t want to come to Omaha, and once we got here, you didn’t seem to want me here. You never had time for me.”

He reached over the tray to take her hand. “I was an idiot. I thought what I was doing in Omaha was more important than my mate.”

“It is important,” she began, but he cut her off.

“Not as important as you. I resented you.” He looked at her and she could see shame in his eyes. “I had people to talk to about the vote, and I felt guilty for leaving you alone when I was supposed to be courting you.”

“And I resented you. Do you know how many times I almost killed Zoe and Tanya at breakfast? But little by little I began to have feelings for you.” She smiled a bit. “Well, feelings besides annoyance. You gave Katelyn a home. And you rescued Odell. That’s the day I started to realize you were more than just the clotheshorse I thought you were.”

He put his neglected sandwich down. “Clotheshorse?”

“Well, you are always dressed in a suit. Even back at the den, you wore khakis and a polo shirt to work in the garden. Most of the Pack barely tolerate wearing shorts.”

“I do like nice clothes,” he admitted.

“Uh-huh. Like silk ties?” She nodded at the battered black tie lying carelessly over the dresser. “Why were you still wearing that in wolf form?”

He shrugged, slight color rising into his cheeks. “I was wearing my suit when I came back from getting Shadow released from jail. That’s when I found out you had been stolen. I didn’t take time to change clothes before going after you. When my wolf forced the change, he managed to get rid of all the other clothes, but I guess he couldn’t get the necktie off. Why didn’t you tell me I was still wearing my tie? All of Omaha must think I’m a Chippendale dancer, whatever the hell that is.”

She couldn’t help it, she went into a peal of laughter. “Don’t worry about it. Any Chippendale dancer would be green with envy over your physique. And, please, let’s keep that tie. You can wear it for me in private.” She leaned forward to stroke her fingers over the tattoo. “You said you would tell me why you loved me. Why do you love me, Sky?”

His smile made his dimple appear. “I love you because you are you. You respect yourself. Sometimes you give way to someone else’s needs, but you’re not a doormat. You stand up for yourself. You let Zoe and Tanya get away with a lot, but when you drew the line, you didn’t put up with their shit. My wolf celebrated when you took Zoe down. He and I both knew right then that you were the perfect match for us. You can take care of yourself. Hell, you didn’t even need me to rescue you from Askup this afternoon.”

Her gaze, which had dropped to stare at her fingers, snapped up at that. “Yeah, I did need you. I knew you would come for me, and that kept me going. That didn’t mean I was going to sit around and wait for you, but I knew you were coming.”

“Why do you love me, Rose?”

“You mean, besides the fact you look sexy in a tie?” She smiled. “I already told you. It’s because you have a big heart. You stayed here in Omaha and did everything you could to help the women here. You spent all your gold to rescue Odell, even though you knew it could give the mayor the excuse he needed to take you down. And that wasn’t the first time you had done something like that. You saved Katelyn too. I don’t know how many other women you helped, but because of you some women in Omaha are safe and well. You did that because of who you are.”

“No. I mean, yes, I tried to save women.” There was hint of self-derision in the curl of his mouth. “But you know the real reason I stayed in Omaha? Because I liked being the big man, the one everyone looked up to.” His mouth compressed into a thin line. “I fooled myself into believing that Omaha would never be right without my help. I ran a whorehouse. Yes, I didn’t force any woman to do work she wasn’t willing to, but I went along with the system for years. I could’ve called for the Clan or the Pack to come here any time, and we could’ve taken McGrath down.”

His self-loathing was almost tangible. She cut through it and placed her palm on his cheek. “It’s over now. It’s done. Do you think Ryan will do a good job as mayor?”

“Yes. He’ll have good advice from men like Dean Erikson and Judge John Case. That’s why I’m willing to leave Omaha. He can turn things around here without my help. I’ll do what I can tomorrow and maybe a few more days, but I want to go home, Rose. My wolf wants to run free through the grass on the prairie, and then come home to you.” He took both her hands and squeezed them. “But I need to stay in Omaha at least long enough to make sure the women in this house will be safe.”

“Of course,” she agreed. “We’ll stay long enough for that. Can we leave by Christmas, do you think? Or do you think you’ll need more time to get things settled here?”

“We’ll leave by Halloween. We’re not staying any longer than that.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay longer?” She examined his face, looking for the truth. “I understand if you do.”

“Thank you.” He lifted her hands to his lips. “I’ll help McGrath tomorrow. I’ll do what I can to smooth his way. But you are my priority now.”

The sun had set while they talked, and only a faint wash of light lit the room. He picked up the tray and put it outside their door.

“That should keep that cat busy for the rest of the night,” he said, closing the door firmly.

Rose climbed into bed and pulled the sheet up to her chin. “Mitzi was a little heroine today.”

Sky got in beside her. “I hate to admit it, but she was.”

He didn’t sound like he hated to admit it, he sounded cheerful. She laid her head on his shoulder and draped her arm over his chest so her finger could trace the outline of his tattoo. “You adore Mitzi, don’t you?”

“I wouldn’t say that.” He stilled her hand with his own. “I tolerate her; I adore you.” He lifted her hand to his lips and brushed a kiss over her palm. “So, you love me because I have a big heart?”

She tugged her hand free to glide down his torso to his penis. “That’s not the only big thing I love about you.” In the near dark she lifted herself to look down at his face and left teasing behind. “I love you for reasons I can’t even name. You’re handsome, and that might attract me to you, but that’s not a good reason to love someone. I love you because I know you’ll always come for me. I can depend on you. In the beginning, you didn’t put me first, but today you told Ryan you couldn’t help him because you needed to be with me. That told me in big capital letters that you love me. That’s why I love you back.”

“I’ll never put you second again. I’ve learned my lesson. You’re not a princess to me. You are my queen, and queens always come first.”

“I thought kings came first.”

“If the king is smart, his queen comes first.”

“Is that a double entendre?”

He laughed. “Do you want to argue about it?”

She laughed and laid her head back on his shoulder. “Nope, that sounds just about right.”

Epilogue

Rose sat on the bench Sky had built for her outside their small brick house inside the den’s wall. It was mid-May, not quite summer yet, but the grass was green, the sky was blue, and the air was warm with the promise of hot days to come. Sara waddled by with one hand pressed to the small of her back, her other hand wrapped around Patia’s.

“Hurry up, Auntie Sara,” the little girl commanded.

“Hold your horses, kid, this is as fast as I go.” Sara grinned and waggled her brows at Rose.

Rose waved, hiding a smile of her own. Sara’s baby was due in three weeks. She was excited and happy. Stone was excited and terrified. She laid a hand on her own almost imperceptible baby bump. Sky might be terrified too, but he hid it better, at least for now. She wasn’t due until late September or early October. He was delighted, proud to have fulfilled what he believed was her fondest wish.

It was true that at this time last year she had wanted nothing more than a baby. When they were still in Omaha, he had promised to do his best to impregnate her, and each month when her period arrived he mourned his failure. He mourned far more than she had. Her agonized longing for a baby didn’t seem nearly so important once she had a mate who loved her.