Dark Refuge (24 page)

“I never thought of that. I’ve known I was Chanku from the time I can remember anything. I was raised to be proud of who I am.”

Gabe laughed and hugged her close. “Yeah, but I remember you and Luci playing like you were characters in some of those shows and acting so silly.”

She rolled her eyes. “I remember. But we knew we were playing. It wasn’t real. But what’s this have to do with my mom and dad?”

“I think it’s our nature to watch the human dynamic and try to make it our own. It’s not ours. It never will be. We’re not only ruled by our libido but by our pack status. Whether alpha or beta, or even omega, our personalities and our actions are shaped by our genetics as well as by birth and experience.”

Em leaned against him. “So you’re saying that weird is normal for us?”

“I’m saying that your dad is either a beta or omega personality. Your mom is definitely an alpha, so their dynamic isn’t only about love, it’s about who and what they are as wolves. Your dad is the only reason my father survived. You’ve heard the story, but I probably wouldn’t be here if not for your father making sure Dad took care of himself when he was on his quest to learn more about our past.” Gabe chuckled as he reached for the screen to call Em’s parents. “In case you hadn’t noticed, my father tends to be a little single-minded at times.”

“Ya think?” Em tilted her head and gazed up at him. Her green eyes sparkled.

He chuckled, loving the scent of her, the feel of her warm skin touching his, the soft glide of her silky hair over his arms. “Does this feel weird to you?” He kissed her behind her ear and smiled at the shivers that raced beneath his lips.

“Oh, Goddess. Not one bit.”

He sat back, laughing. “We need to call your parents before we get sidetracked.”

“I know.” She tightened the knot on her sarong, sighed and sat forward on the edge of the bed.

Gabe punched in the number, and Oliver’s face was there, almost as if he’d been waiting.

Chapter 15

“Hi, Dad.” Em clasped Gabe’s hand hard enough to shift the bones in his fingers, but he stayed back, still in the picture for Oliver, but not saying anything.

“Emeline! It’s good to see you. Were you able to find the young woman?”

“We did. We ended up rescuing six women from a prostitution ring. They’d been held as slaves for years. Four of them are Chanku.”

It took Oliver a moment to respond. “Four? You’re sure?”

Em blinked and glanced at Gabe.
See what I mean?
“Of course we’re sure. They’ve all had their first shift. We’re bringing them to Montana tomorrow to introduce them to the pack. That’s why I’m calling. To tell you that Gabe, Alex, Annie and I are coming home tomorrow and plan to stay until the first of the year.”

“That’s good, honey. I’ll tell your mother. We’ll get your room ready.”

“Not necessary, Dad.” She glanced at Gabe and shrugged. “Gabe and I are mated. We’ll probably stay in one of the extra rooms at his mom and dad’s. They’re set up for guests and I hate to intrude on you and Mom.”

Oliver didn’t say a word. He stared at Em for a long, telling moment. Gabe held on to her hand, well aware she was visibly trembling.

Finally, he spoke. “Oliver? Do you have a problem with Em and me being mates? Because if you do, we need to know what it is and deal with it.”

Oliver nodded. “I want Emeline’s mother with me when we talk. She’s gone to a movie with Xandi and Liana. They won’t be home until late.”

“Then we’ll see you tomorrow and talk then.” Gabe glanced at Em. “We just got off the phone with my folks and they’re going to have us all together for lunch.”

“You called Gabe’s parents first, Emeline? Why?” Oliver was obviously upset, but Gabe couldn’t get a read on what was bothering him. He had no idea how to answer his future father-in-law.

Em didn’t hesitate. “Because Anton is the pack alpha and Gabe’s father. And we knew he and Gabe’s mom would be happy for us. Obviously, you’re not, but we’ll find out why tomorrow. Good night, Dad.” She reached over and ended the connection without giving Oliver time to respond.

“Well, that went about as well as could be expected.” She blinked rapidly, but the tears filled her eyes faster than she could blink them away. “I just don’t understand him. Not at all.”

“I don’t either, sweetheart.” He wrapped his arms around her. Right now she needed a hug more than anything else. “Don’t worry. It’ll be okay. I love you, my folks are thrilled that we’re together, and we’re going home in the morning. Everything will make sense once we’re in Montana.”

“I hope so. But what if it doesn’t?”

She looked so young, so absolutely heartbroken, and Gabe was glad that Oliver was over a thousand miles away. Any closer and he might want to chase the bastard down and knock some sense into him. How could any father possibly hurt his daughter this way?

“Does it matter, Em? I know he’s your father and you love him, but you’re not alone in this. Not now and not ever again. We’ll figure out what’s going on, and we’ll fix it. Besides, you have me beside you, and I will always love you. I won’t have any secrets from you. I promise I’ll stand by your side no matter what happens.”

She crawled into his lap and hugged him even tighter, and when she raised her head to look at him, her green eyes sparkled with tears. She sniffed and tried to smile, but it wasn’t a very successful one. “That’s one of the perks of this mating thing I hadn’t thought through. I’ve always had to deal with things on my own, but you’ll be there for me. My parents can’t hurt me, not as long as I have you.”

He held her close and let the sense of her, the feel of her body, the scent that was all Em’s, the life and the light of her, fill his heart. He would always protect her. He’d never realized how much it meant to him to be needed by someone, and then he almost laughed.

Just like Alex said, he was making it all about himself, and how Em made him feel.

He had to think of what she was feeling. “They might hurt your feelings, but only if you let them. You will always have me, Emy. Always.” He kissed her and she practically melted into his embrace. She felt so good wrapped in his arms, pressed against his chest, that he actually trembled. So much emotion swirling in his mind, in his heart. He nuzzled the side of her neck, dipped his head and licked the valley between her breasts, loving the way she arched against him. “I had no idea how special it would be, to make love to my mate. Alex said it changed everything.” He kissed her again. “But I didn’t realize how or how much.”

“It’s as if everything is more.” Em turned in his lap so that she straddled his hips. The silky length of her sarong slid high on her thighs so that the only barrier between Gabe’s erection and the damp heat between her legs was the light pair of cotton pants he’d slipped on after his shower. “More. Brighter. So immediate when I feel your love in my mind as well as my body. I think I could get used to this, ya know?”

“Goddess, I sure hope so.” Laughing, he kissed her again, and then again. It didn’t take long to lose the shirt he’d put on earlier, or to shimmy out of his cotton pants with Em’s help. It took a bit longer to undo that fancy knot she’d tied in her dress and tucked between her breasts. The sarong—a green one the shade of her eyes—actually seemed to slither away from her body until it pooled in shimmering green waves around their hips. He lay back and she stayed with him, the silk still sliding against his skin, Em still straddling his body, trapping his cock between her thighs, teasing him with her damp heat.

She ran her fingers lightly over the deep scratches still covering his chest. It had been less than twenty-four hours since their first attempt at mating had gone awry, and the worst of the slash marks were already scabbed over. He wasn’t a very pretty sight, but at least they didn’t hurt. Of course, as much as he wanted Em right now, he doubted he’d feel any kind of pain beyond the steady throbbing in his balls and the exquisite pain of a fully erect cock trapped beneath but not inside his woman’s sheath.

Em leaned over and licked his chest with the very tip of her tongue, pausing to kiss the deepest marks, then making a trail to first his right nipple and then the left. Both beaded up into tight little points. She nipped the left one. Sharp teeth left a sharper sting that made his hard cock twitch and reminded him that he’d sorely neglected her breasts. Cupping her soft curves in his hands, he lifted their weight and teased the silky skin. She sighed and arched her back, driving her pussy down hard on his cock. Biting back a groan, he pinched and twisted the taut peaks of each breast, tugging just enough to sting. She whimpered and then sighed. He felt the small pain through their link, then the corresponding rush of feminine fluids as her body reacted.

She might be an alpha bitch, as tough as any woman he’d known, but there was enough of the submissive in her to react when he tugged at her nipples. He filed that knowledge away for future reference, but then Em rose on her knees and his cock rose with her. She came back down on him, taking him deep inside, surrounding him in wet heat and clenching muscles, and any concept of future anything was lost.

This was here and now and absolutely perfect. Worry about her parents, about the trip tomorrow, about anything beyond the sense of his mate loving him flashed out of existence with his first deep penetration inside Em’s welcoming body.

The connection expanded, from the first tentative bits of sensation to a complete melding of minds, a link of their spirits from one to the other that was as powerful as their original mating bond had been. But the difference, Gabe realized as he lifted and turned Em, as he covered her body with his without breaking their rhythm or losing that physical, mental and emotional link, the difference was in the images that filled his mind, that filled Em’s. Where the mating bond had taken their pasts and fused them into one singular memory, this bond, this link between lovers, was all about now. It was a step forward, not back.

A step through the purity of the moment, and a glimpse of their path—together—into the future.

• • •

They lay there, panting as if they’d each run miles, but Em couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. Their mental link was secure. She’d worried that it might be as tenuous as it had been before they’d finally finished their mating bond, that once they got off the high of the original link she’d regress to that same woman, sort of shuffling through the dark where Gabe was concerned, but they couldn’t be closer.

She couldn’t love him more. Rolling her head to one side, she looked directly into his eyes, their dark amber so filled with love she wondered if she should pinch herself.

Gabe chuckled. “If there’s any pinching that needs to be done, I’ll take care of it.” He ran his long fingers over her breast and the nipple immediately stood up to meet them. “It appears they’re well trained.”

“Is that what you call it?” She dragged her fingers lightly over his chest, still careful of those horrible slash marks, but they both laughed when not only his nipples both stood to attention, but his cock rose as well. “Looks like you’re trained even better than me.” She leaned close, twirling her tongue around first one nipple and then the other. Then she began the slow slide down his body, kissing her way along his ribs, over one hip and finally reaching his cock. It was hard again, thrusting straight up from the nest of dark hair at his groin. She ran her tongue along his full length, licking from the base to the tip, swirled her tongue around the crown, tasting herself on him.

He arched his hips and groaned. She lifted her head and stared at him. “What are you thinking about when I’m doing this? You just blocked me.”

He let out a big puff of air. “I didn’t mean to. I was thinking about how good that felt, that you hadn’t touched my balls and they were begging for attention, too, that as good as it felt, I wanted to be inside you again. Why? Just guy stuff.” He laughed when she grabbed a pillow and whapped him with it.

“Okay, so what were you thinking?”

This time she sat back on her heels, but she made a point of cupping his sac in her palm and gently squeezing. “Actually, I was counting.”

“Counting? I inspire counting during sex? I need to work on my technique.”

“Your technique is excellent. I was trying to remember how many times we’d made love since our first attempt to mate. Since I gave you these.” She touched one of the deeper slashes. It had broken open a bit during their lovemaking and a drop of blood showed near the deepest part.

“Not nearly often enough.” He grasped her hand, tugged her fingers lightly away from the marks on his chest. “This happened less than twenty-four hours ago, Em. They will heal. They don’t hurt, but they remind me of how brave you are. How much I love you, and how easily we could have never had this moment if you hadn’t reacted against that bastard the way you did. I have these because, unlike all those other women he killed, you were tough enough to save yourself. In a lot of ways, I think you’ve saved me, too. We’ve been together as adults for such a short time, but already I can’t imagine life without you.”

She raised her hips, fitted him to her once again and slowly lowered herself over his cock. He slid deep inside her, feeling so perfect, she couldn’t believe how she’d been afraid such a short time ago that he wouldn’t fit at all. So many things had changed over the past week. This was the best. This amazing connection with a man who made her stronger, more self-confident, more the woman she was meant to be. He loved her enough to encourage her to be herself.

What an amazing gift.

Smiling, she rose and fell over him, opening her mind, her thoughts, her dreams to this man who had meant so much to her as a child. Only a few years older, she’d seen him as someone so much more than she was. He was older, smarter, braver. Now he was her mate, and she realized something even more profound—she might not be his age, though four years wasn’t a big deal when one was almost immortal—but she was every bit as smart and as brave. She was his equal in those things that mattered.

And the thing that mattered most? Gabe loved her every bit as much as she loved him.