Coveted (17 page)

The maddening bastard
denied her, stretching up the length of her body until his lips hovered over
hers. The action pressed him firmly between her thighs. If he shifted just a
little, she’d go over the edge. She shivered at the need to keep moving, but he
held stubbornly still.

“Look at me.”

Her eyes snapped open.

Desire and naked need
burned in the green depths of his eyes, but so did a stark loneliness that nearly
broke her heart. She cupped his face, stroking his check. “Aiden.”

Gazing into her eyes,
he shifted his hips and pushed his way into her, inch by delicious inch. She’d
expected rough need. Instead, he watched every nuance of her face until he
finally slid home.

Shayla wrapped herself
around him. He didn’t move except for a slight twist of his hips that made her
gasp. The edge that had been so close before came rushing back.

She waited for him to
take her, but all he did was hold still, shaking with restraint. She couldn’t
hold back anymore. “Please.”

He twisted again, and
she was helpless to stay still.

“Come for me.” His
voice was rough. Hard. A command she was helpless to disobey.

 Chapter Eighteen

W
hen Shayla could breathe
again, she opened her eyes to find Aiden still watching her. She wiggled,
shocked to discover him still fully erect. Her brows furrowed. “You didn’t—”

He withdrew, rolled
her over onto her stomach, dragged back her hips until she was on her knees,
and slid into her with a single thrust.

Shayla gasped and
shivered at the sudden invasion. He nearly withdrew all the way before plunging
home again. He cupped her breasts and, much to her surprise, she arched back
into him, eager for more. After just a touch of his fingers at her core, a
second release took her by surprise, even more powerful than the first.

Aiden picked up
speed, his rhythm faltered, then he went flying with her. She collapsed, her
arms trembling, her eyelids heavy. He wrapped his arms around her and gently
lowered her to the rug, kissing her shoulder so softly she almost missed it.

The warmth from the
fire spilled over her. Aiden lay at her back, but with each passing second his
body stiffened more. Her euphoria slipped away. She moved to turn when his arms
tightened. Disappointment whirled in her mind, and the warm glow in her chest sputtered.
A hitch of pain caught in her chest.

“You don’t have to
regret what happened. I don’t expect anything from you. We both have lives to
go back to.”

Her offer nearly shoved
him screaming over the edge of sanity. Aiden lay rigid, barely able to hold his
beast back from binding her so she could never leave. His wolf had never wanted
his wife and had avoided her whenever possible. The opposite was true with
Shayla, but Aiden couldn’t bear to tie her to them for life, not if it meant
that she could come to hate him for stealing away her choices.  

He would not give her
any loopholes to leave him.

But he couldn’t stay
in the same room and not claim her. It took a physical effort to release her,
his wolf fighting his decision. Loss threatened to crush him as the chance to
claim her slipped further away. With beast frantically pawing at him, he shot
to his feet and grabbed his pants before his wolf took the decision out of his
hands.

They would have
another opportunity, he vowed it.

When he spotted the
bright splash of color of her panties, he quickly pocketed them. “Get dressed.
I want to show you something.”

He was out the room before
her scent could lure him back and tempt him into trying out that large, empty
bed. He rested his head against the door as he fought for calm. He refused to
believe this would be their last time together. Regrets plagued him that he
hadn’t taken the time to taste her intimately. Take her a third and fourth
time.

He fingered the
silken fabric in his pocket, the touch surprisingly calming him, and he comforted
himself that the longer they remained in each other’s company the stronger
their connection grew.

It was only when he
heard movement in her room that he finally straightened and took a deep breath.
He’d tame her wanderlust ways by show her his world and convince her that he
had more to offer than her old life could ever provide.

* * *

Shayla lingered by the
door, working up her nerve to follow, feeling a bit lost after his abrupt
departure. She re-knotted the ruined ties to the dress, smoothing the crumpled
material as she debated her options.

She’d never had a man
run from her…at least not until after they discovered what she did for a living.
She was the one who usually sent them packing before it progressed to that
point.

She didn’t like the
reversal at all.

She opened the door,
surprised to see Aiden leaning casually against the far wall. Then she saw what
was in his hands.

Her panties.

“Give them back.”

Her face heated as he
very deliberately folded and shoved them into his pocket.

He straightened to
his full height, muscles bulged as he crossed his arms. His face went hard.
Okay, that was impressive. Despite herself, she was a little bit intimidated,
but she wasn’t backing down. She thrust out her arm and wiggled her fingers for
emphasis.

He seized her hand
and linked their fingers together, ignoring the way she tried to shake free. “I
earned them. Spend the evening being my guest, and I’ll think about returning
them.”

Shayla raised a brow.
“Blackmail? I thought better of you than that.”

Teeth flashed as he
smiled. “When it comes to you, I’ll use everything at my arsenal to win.”

“Win?” But instead of
responding, he tugged on her hand and began walking.

They took the
staircase leading away from the main hall, the steps winding endlessly upward. They
came to a stop at a large wooden door that had to be centuries old and probably
weighed a ton. Aiden unlatched and opened it without a hint of strain. Fresh
air swept through the stairway, tugging at her skirt, making her very aware
that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath.

He led her outside,
and Shayla was surprised to see a garden spread over the large expanse of the
roof. “What is this place?”

Aiden’s fingers
flexed a little at the question, but he didn’t drop her hand as they wandered
through the plants on a narrow path. “I suppose you could consider it an
outdoor solar. It was intended as a place for the lord and lady to go when they
need time alone.”

“And the flowers?”
Shayla gently touched the petals of a beautiful pink bloom. Its sweet fragrance
surrounded her.

Aiden snapped off the
delicate stem and handed it to her. Their fingers touched as Shayla accepted
the colorful flower. He stepped closer, his green eyes darkening. Shayla almost
convinced herself to accept his kiss, but she pulled back at the last moment. She
couldn’t allow herself to succumb again, not until she knew why he ran from her
less than an hour ago.

“You grew these,
didn’t you?”

Aiden inhaled at her
rejection, but otherwise didn’t react. “Come.”

He tugged on her hand
once again, leading her through the colorful maze. When they approached a chest-high
wall covered with climbing ivy, he stood close behind her and slowly wrapped
his arms around her waist. “Look.”

Shayla was nearly
distracted by his warm, intimate tone. Until she looked where he pointed.
Sunlight spilled over the valley below, a bright orange and red as the sun hovered
near the horizon. Lush green landscape was spread out before her. Shadows from
the craggy mountains in the distance stole across the land as the evening
chased away the light.

The terrain was beautiful
and untamed.

Both isolated and
fierce.

So much like the man
holding her.

No matter where she
looked, there was nothing but rugged land and fields. She would never have been
able to run without being caught. She held her breath and waited, but the panic
she expected to feel never came. To her surprise, she didn’t actually want to
leave. Not anymore. It was peaceful here, less chaotic without her demanding
job and psychotic stalker.

She’d never strayed
far from her city life and the hustle and bustle of crowds. Much to her shock,
her gift hovered around her like a comforting blanket instead of suffocating
her.

When the sun finally
vanished, stealing the last of the light, Aiden inhaled deeply. “I come here to
think. Working with the plants keeps my hands busy and my mind free to worry
out any problems. A lot of the plants are used for cooking and medicinal
purposes.”

“The men here rely on
you.”

“There are three of
us who run the place. I stay here with the men.”

“Do you ever feel
trapped?”

Aiden took a while to
answer. “Not really. People tend to take one look at me and cast judgment.”

He paused as if
waiting for her reaction. Shayla almost laughed when she recalled her first
reaction to him. “You’re not the only one.”

Aiden pressed lips
against the side of her neck. “Is it hard for you?”

“Hard?” Shayla shrugged,
wanting to avoid going into why her gift made a normal life impossible. Until
she’d learned to control her gift as a child, all she had to do was touch
someone or something to learn their deepest secrets. It was not conducive to
making friends. Not that she could tell him that, especially not now. If he
learned about her gift and what she could read from him and his men, he would
never let her go. “At times. I’m more of a loner.”

The brush of Aiden’s
thumb across the tip of her breast diverted her thoughts. Only when a chilly
breeze swept over her thighs did she discover that he’d slowly been raising her
skirt.

“What are you doing?”
Shayla was bemused.

His fingers skated up
her thigh, leaving a string of heat in their wake, before disappearing under
her skirt. “If you don’t know, then I must be doing something wrong.”

Her stomach tumbled
at his husky response. When his questing fingers brushed intimately against
her, her knees threatened to give way. She grabbed the wall for support, the
rough surface of the stone scraping against her fingers.

“Aren’t we going to
be late for dinner?” Not that she cared anymore as a hunger of another sort
swept over her.

“Then you’d best
hurry.” As if to put his words into action, he deepened his caress. She arched
into his touch, her nails scraping against the wall, her body no longer hers to
command. Then he leaned down, nipping at her throat. The sharp, unexpected sting
sent her flying.

When she could
breathe again and stand on her own two feet, Shayla turned in his arms. Eager
to be closer, she swept her hands up his chest, standing on her toes, aching to
capture his lips.

But he pushed her
away.

Again.

“I don’t understand.”
Without the warmth of his arms, cold burrowed through the protective layers of
her heart. She crossed her arms, not caring for the way her hands trembled,
hating the physical pain that rippled through her at each inch separating them

Aiden rested his forehead
against hers, clutching her arms when she tried to back away. “We can’t miss
dinner. If I kiss you right now, I won’t stop.” He trailed a finger down her
cheek, but it felt like he reached into her and touched her soul. “I need more
than a few hours to finish what I have in mind for you.”

Shayla shivered at
the sensual promise in his voice, almost succumbed to the lure, but she tore
herself away. Aiden was right. Each encounter with him only ratcheted up her
excitement, turned her on all the more. Everything was happening too fast. They
both needed distance, time to cool their lust.

The novelty of it
left her breathless. If his smug smile was anything to go by, the bastard knew
it, too.

Shayla trailed her
hand down his chest until her fingers reached the waistband of his jeans. She
trailed a single nail along the edge and looked up at him from under her
lashes. “I hope you can survive that long.”

Aiden inhaled. “I can
smell your desire for me. It’s enough.” Then he caught her hands, stopping her
questing fingers. “For now. But be warned, play with me and you’ll pay for it
later.”

That was the only warning
Aiden would give her. He barely restrained himself from taking everything she
offered and demanding more. His wolf whined at the delay in staking claim, but
Aiden had vowed to eliminate the threat to her and the pack first. Once
everything was settled, he’d figure out a way to explain his ancestry and
convince her she belonged at his side.

Should be easy.

Except for the last
woman who had learned the truth chose death rather than stay with him.