The Protector's Heart (Wilde Creek Three) (12 page)

“Oh, I guess that’s okay then.” Her eyes
glittered as she smiled at him, and he lowered his head to kiss
her. Their lips met for just a bare moment before Jack banged a
plastic toy on the tray and broke the mood.

They smiled at each other and she left his
arms. He immediately felt the loss of her warmth. It had taken a
while for her to warm up to him. The first few weeks that he’d
known her, he wasn’t sure she would ever give him the time of day,
but now she was living in his home and trusted him with her and
Jack’s safety. It was a heady feeling, but the weight of the
situation still sat heavily on his shoulders. She was technically
married, although he supposed humans would consider them
‘separated,’ since they were no longer living together. The
strangest thing to him was that she bore no marks on her neck. A
wolf who would marry a woman but not mark her must really have a
screw loose. Malachi would have marked her immediately. A marriage
could be dissolved by divorce, but the markings that bound a couple
together in a mating lasted forever. Once Mal’s wolf had scented
Nila as his mate, he had wanted no one else, and could think of
nothing but marking her and keeping her forever.

His gums tingled as he thought about marking
her lovely, untouched neck, but he shoved the thought away. For now
they were taking things slow physically, and that meant the fangs
needed to stay where they were.

By the time his SUV and Adam’s truck were
emptied, and Jeremiah had called to say Nila’s former home was
empty, clean, and the keys returned to the landlord, Nila and Jack
had become permanent fixtures in his home. He hoped like hell that
she would want to stay with him forever. While they’d eaten dinner,
taking turns encouraging Jack to eat the cut up hot dogs and cooked
carrots that he seemed to love so much, Mal found himself falling
in love with her. He’d cared about her from the beginning, from the
moment he’d laid eyes on her in the storage room, but it had been a
superficial affection based on his wolf’s instincts. But now, after
getting to know her over the last few weeks and seeing her strength
and warmth, he’d come to covet her smiles and admire her
courage.

He very badly wanted to take her to bed and
make love to her for a few days straight to get their relationship
started off right, but he knew that wouldn’t happen. Slow meant no
serious touching, even though his fingers itched to see how soft
her skin was, and his mouth watered at the thought of tasting more
than her sweet kisses.

* * * * *

Nila dried Jack off after his bath, rubbing a
towel through his tawny hair and dressing him in a pair of footy
jammies. She found herself thinking often of Malachi, who was
cleaning the kitchen up after their meal.

“Ready for bed, Jack?” she whispered as she
sat down in the rocking chair from her old house, which Malachi had
set in the corner of Jack’s bedroom. And it definitely
was
Jack’s bedroom. She could see that Malachi had made the room up for
Jack. The walls were freshly painted and the carpeting was new, and
it had been empty of furniture, as if he were waiting for them. The
new crib Malachi bought looked wonderful in the room next to his
dresser and the rocking chair.

“Mama,” Jack said as he snuggled closer, his
face pressing into her neck. His breath skirted across her skin and
the sweet smell of him made her heart ache. She rocked slowly,
humming a children’s song about teddy bears and picnics, but in her
mind she always switched them to baby wolves.

She hummed and listened to him drift off to
sleep, letting her mind slip to thoughts of the male in the
kitchen. She didn’t know what it meant to be a true mate to a wolf.
Damien had made sure that she was totally clueless about pack
dealings, and had led her to believe that their marriage meant
something. She could see now that it had been a way to control her.
Pregnant after a few months of dating, she had felt he was an
honorable guy because he proposed right away. She didn’t want to be
a single mom, so she said yes, trusting that he would take care of
her and Jack. By the time she was ready to give birth, Damien had
become verbally abusive, seeming to enjoy making her cry. He wasn’t
even there when Jack was born, and sent his mom to pick her and
Jack up from the hospital. She should have left him right then, but
she’d persevered, thinking being a father would make him a better
husband. All it really did, though, was make him feel trapped. The
verbal barbs he slung at her were slowly replaced with physical
abuse. The first time she tried to leave, he told her he would kill
Jack, so she’d stayed. She only confided in Diane, who helped her
leave when Jack was one. Damien found her right away. He tried to
drag her back home and threatened to kill both her and Jack, but
Diane called the police and Damien disappeared. She’d never been
truly free of him, and she still wasn’t, not as long as their
marriage was intact.

She stood slowly with Jack in her arms, her
sleepy sweetie softly snoring as she moved to the crib and lowered
him gently. She tucked his favorite stuffed wolf against his side,
blew him a kiss, and left the room, closing the door behind
her.

She could hear the sound of a fire crackling,
and smelled burning wood as she walked down the hallway to the
family room. Malachi was sitting on the couch facing the fireplace,
one arm slung over the back. He seemed to be staring into the fire.
She walked around the couch and his gaze snapped to hers.

“Is Jack all tucked in?”

“Yeah.”

“I know you don’t drink wine, so I poured you
a glass of Pepsi,” he said, leaning forward and lifting a wine
glass for her. She took it and sat down next to him.

“In a wine glass?”

“I’m all about class, baby.”

He lifted his glass to her and she said,
“What should we toast to?”

“How about perfect days?” She raised a brow
and he added, “Today was perfect. It deserves to be toasted.”

“Was it perfect? Adam gouged your wall when
he carried the rocker in, and I may have broken a coffee mug when I
was putting my dishes away.”

“Gouges can be fixed with spackle, and I
already know you broke a coffee mug.” He wiggled his brows and she
laughed.

“To perfect days,” she said, touching the rim
of her glass to his.

“Perfect.”

* * * * *

The orange and yellows of the flames
flickered over Nila’s beautiful face and made his heart ache. Damn,
he was falling hard for her. But that was okay, because he hadn’t
ever fallen for anyone before, and he was glad his first, and only,
was his mate.

She took his wine glass and set it on the
coffee table next to hers. Her hands trembled. If he hadn’t been
watching her closely he might have missed it, but since he
considered himself her personal non-creepy stalker, he caught
it.

He’d opened his mouth to ask her what was
wrong, when she turned to face him, her hands cupping his face as
she drew close to him. They’d kissed. A lot. She was addictive as
hell. But tonight felt different. Their lips touched and he slipped
his arms around her and pulled her closer. Tongues touched and
teased, dancing together as he tried to reason with his body that
Nila was still in no-touch-land, and they shouldn’t try to dry hump
her on the couch.

She made a soft sound in her throat and
slipped one hand around to grip his neck, her fingernails digging
into his flesh lightly. She nipped his bottom lip as their mouths
parted, and he was panting as he stared into her dark eyes.

Because he had no blood left in his brain, he
wasn’t able to stop himself from saying, “I want you in the worst
way, Nila.”

Her nails dug into his neck a little more and
she smiled softly. “I want you, too, Mal.”

He mentally shook himself, trying to get rid
of the fog in his head that being around her always seemed to
cause. She leaned forward and kissed his neck, right over his
pulse.

“You smell so good,” she whispered
huskily.

He gripped her waist with his hands, his
fingers kneading lightly. He opened his mouth, but all that came
out was a soft growl.

She chuckled against his neck, and then
opened her mouth over his flesh and bit down. Her blunt teeth
didn’t do any damage; he only felt pressure and heat. But his wolf
took notice, and his gums and fingertips tingled as he suddenly
found himself needing to push his wolf away so he didn’t scare
Nila. The last thing he wanted to do was make her afraid of
him.

She released his neck and licked the mark
she’d made. It wasn’t permanent, which he didn’t like, but maybe
she’d be willing to bite him every night.

No, damn it
, he growled at himself.
She was theirs, but she was emotionally vulnerable and he wouldn’t
take advantage of her.

She sighed and wrapped her arms around his
neck, her breath skirting over the mark. “I haven’t been with
anyone in a long time, Mal; I want you to be the last male who ever
touches me, because I want to be yours for real.”

He blinked in surprise, the sexy haze in his
head dissipating as he absorbed her words.

Pushing her gently to arm’s length, he looked
at her. She was smiling, almost shyly. He brushed the hair off her
shoulder and hooked his hand behind her neck, letting his thumb
rest on her pulse. He could feel the thrum of her pounding heart as
he stroked her throat, envisioning his permanent mating marks
there.

He’d wanted to let her take the lead in their
relationship. He was bossy by nature, but with Nila he never wanted
her to feel like she was forced into anything. She was his, but
he’d been content to wait until she was ready. The last few weeks
had been hell, but she was here and he wasn’t going to push her
away.

“I want to be the last male who ever touches
you, too, sweetheart. Are you sure?”

“I’m sure, Mal.”

He cupped her face and pressed his lips to
hers, a hungry growl lodged in his throat. She was his and that was
all that mattered.

Her nails scraped against his skin as she
tugged on the bottom of his shirt. He pulled away from the kiss to
tug it over his head, and his breath caught in his throat as she
undid the buttons of the pink top she wore. He didn’t want to blink
for fear he’d miss her baring her body. He helped her push the top
off her shoulders, and then he let his fingers slip down the soft
curve of her lush breasts. She wiggled a bit until her bra came
undone, and he helped pull it off and toss it aside.

Her hands landed on his chest, her cool
fingertips tracing his muscles. He kissed her again, delving his
tongue into her mouth, her sweet taste making his head spin. Her
breasts pressed against him as he pulled her closer, the tight tips
of her nipples abrading his chest. Tipping her backward, he settled
her gently on the couch and released her mouth, kissing down her
chin, the column of her throat, and her collarbone, until his lips
found one nipple and he covered it with his lips, sucking
gently.

Her hands fisted his hair, and she groaned
his name.

He couldn’t believe how soft her skin was. It
felt like heaven under his fingers, as he slipped one hand from her
back and cupped her other breast. He gazed at the tight nipple,
watching it harden further. Glancing at Nila, he found her chewing
her bottom lip, her eyes hooded with pleasure.

He worshipped her breasts, sucking and
licking the tight buds until she writhed under him, panting for
breath and fisting his hair so tightly he was surprised he actually
had any left.

He kissed down her stomach, his chin bumping
the unforgiving material of her faded jeans. She smelled amazing,
even muted through the fabric. Hot and sweet and wet, and all
his.

Undoing the button and zipper of her jeans,
he spread the material, looking at the waistband of her panties. He
kissed the space just over her panties, and her stomach
twitched.

He sat up, and she untangled her fingers from
his hair. Her hips lifted in silent invitation, and he hooked his
fingers into the waistbands of both her jeans and panties and
tugged. He moved out of the way to divest her of the clothes that
prevented him from seeing every inch of her.

He tossed her jeans behind him as she pressed
her feet into the couch and her legs spread slightly at the knees,
baring just a hint of her to his hungry gaze. He touched her knees
and urged them apart further, and she opened herself to him fully.
The sweet scent of her arousal surrounded him, making his gums
tingle again and his heart pound. His cock scraped the inside of
his jeans as it hardened further.

He glanced up her body to see her smiling
softly at him. His fingers tightened on her knees and he said, “We
could go to the bedroom.”

Her soft smile spread into a wide grin.
“That’ll be round two.”

He growled at her playful tone. Bending
forward, he inhaled slowly, letting her scent saturate his senses.
He would never forget the way she smelled when she was turned on,
like wildflowers heated by the sun — warm, sweet…his.

Her pussy was free of hair. He nuzzled the
juncture of her thigh and she giggled. Smoothing his hands down the
inside of her thighs, he felt her tremble as he lifted his head and
kissed the top of her pussy. He pushed her thighs open further,
making room for his shoulders before pressing his lips against her
hot flesh and touching her clit with his tongue. She arched under
him, and he slipped his hands under her hips and lifted her lower
body off the couch. His brain fizzled out as the first, heady taste
of her exploded on his tongue. He groaned, and she echoed the
sound.

He lapped at her clit, wiggling his tongue
over the fleshy bud until her breath hitched in her throat as he
stroked the top of it. Lifting her closer to his mouth, he sealed
his lips over her clit and ran his tongue over the top of it,
rubbing and licking. She clawed the couch as her body trembled, and
he sucked harder.