Lone Wolf's Captive (novella) (6 page)

Delaney had always been there for him, had never once turned her back on him. He’d felt the bond between them the moment he’d laid eyes on her. They’d been too young to recognise what that connection meant at the time. She’d become his best friend—his only friend.

He’d been the lowest of the low. An omega with no family, forced to share quarters with older boys who wanted to prove their dominance. He’d been an easy target, beaten daily to reinforce his insignificance in their pack. He’d never wanted her to see him on his back, bearing his throat in submission, but she had and she’d loved him anyway.

She’d also been there when he’d grown stronger and turned the tables on his tormentors. She’d cleaned the blood from his body, had kissed every cut, every bruise. Laney had been proud of him and he’d felt ten foot taller because of it. They’d been each other’s first kiss and the night before he’d been thrown out, they’d become lovers. At the time, he didn’t want to rush her. He had decided to let her get used to the physical side of their relationship before he made her his mate in truth.

“I’m sorry,” he croaked, because what else could he say? He had done this to them, had torn them apart. Instead of fighting for her—like she had for him—he’d shamed her and shamed himself.

She was silent for so long, he thought he might actually throw up. He couldn’t lose her again, but he couldn’t keep her locked up either.

Then a tentative hand threaded through the hair at his nape and he raised his eyes to meet hers. There was no sign of scorn or disgust in them.

“You can’t leave me again, okay?” His gut clenched. Fuck, she was killing him. Tears started to run freely down her smooth, golden skin and he reached up to brush them away. The bitter smell of fear had disappeared, giving him a measure of hope. Laney’s heart shone through her eyes, her emotions stripped bare for him—so full of warmth and pain that he nearly came undone.

“Never.” The word growled out, a vow he would never break. Never again.

And then she wrapped her arms around him, her face buried in the crook of his neck, her warm tears soaking his skin.

He held her tight and let her process everything he’d just told her.

***

A heavy weight rested on her hip, warmth at her back. Delaney snuggled deeper into the covers and started dozing off again. But a sharp snort broke passed her sleepy brain and her eyes flew open.

Fletch.

She was in Fletch’s bed.

Every nerve in her body fired to life and she became acutely aware of every point their bodies touched. She glanced over her shoulder and her tummy did a somersault. He was barely covered, the sheets tangled low around his hips, revealing the thick bands of his cut abs. An arm rested above his head and he’d thrown one heavy thigh over her, as if even in sleep he was determined to keep her from leaving. She snorted. The guy had always been a messy sleeper.

The last thing she remembered was Fletch holding her on the living room floor. He must have carried her to bed.

God, she’d slept like the dead. She hadn’t slept that heavily, in…well, five years.

She eased around, so her front pressed into his side, and her belly did another somersault. Jesus, he was beautiful. She took her time, studying his features. That face had haunted her dreams for the last five years. Fundamentally, he looked the same, but the profession he’d taken up had left its mark on her once gentle wolf. He looked hard, marked by the path he’d chosen, a path of crime and violence. Her wolf didn’t have the disposition for that type of life. She couldn’t imagine him doing any of the things she guessed that line of work entailed.

He was still so young, yet faint lines creased the corners of his eyes and mouth. More whiskers had sprung up overnight, darkening his jaw. He was no longer the sweet boy she had loved with all her heart. No, he was a man, an alpha without a pack of his own to lead.

Had her father recognised that in him five years ago? A challenger for alpha?

As much as it hurt, she didn’t doubt Fletch. He wouldn’t lie to her about something like that. He knew how much her family and pack meant to her. How could she doubt him? He’d left, so she wouldn’t have to. As much as she tried to pretend otherwise, her father wasn’t a good man. He’d become cold and ruthless after the death of his mate and she’d refused to see it. Her sweet, gentle mother would hate what he’d become.

He mumbled something and scrunched up his face, then stiffened and made a yipping sound. His hands and feet started twitching, followed by a low growl, all while still fast asleep. She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. When he settled again, she reached up and ran a gentle finger down the bridge of his strong nose. It was crooked now, like he’d busted it more than once. It made him look dangerous, sexy.

The deep scar tissue across his left eye was a constant reminder of his family and packs rejection—proof her father wasn’t the only one to recognise Fletch’s strength, and a potential future challenger for alpha.

Leaning in, she kissed the smooth, soft skin just below his eye and felt his lashes flutter against her cheek. The leg pinning her tightened and the hand above his head moved down so he could thread his fingers through her hair.

“Hmm, do you know how many times I’ve dreamt of waking up like this?” His voice was rough with sleep and sent sparks of pleasure across the surface of her skin.

“I have a fairly good idea.”

His breathing grew choppy. “Jesus, I’ve missed you, Laney.”

Her throat tightened. She was still pissed at him for not trusting her. But right now, she didn’t want to think, didn’t want to talk but most of all, she didn’t want to hurt anymore.

She wanted to feel.

Their eyes locked. A glimpse of vulnerability mixed with a whole lot of hunger stared back at her. Trailing her hand up his heavy bicep, she gripped the side of his neck and squeezed gently.

“Laney…” he rasped.

His whiskered jaw tickled her fingers as she moved up to trace one of the vicious claw marks slicing across his eye.

“Sugar…” he tried again.

She shook her head and leaned in, silencing him by pressing her lips to his. He growled, the deep sound going right through her. She shivered. God, it’d been so long. Plastering her body to his, she let him take charge. The dominant male in him needed her to submit and she was more than happy to comply.

He kissed and caressed her body like a man denied the simplest of touches for the longest time. And she guessed that could be true. Without his pack, he would have been deprived the constant contact wolves craved. Her heart couldn’t take it. The weight of what he’d suffered crushed her. Even with her pack around her, she’d barely survived. How had he managed?

His whiskers abraded her skin when he nuzzled her neck and shoulder, leaving behind his scent. “This better not be a fucking dream,” he rumbled.

He wore boxers and she could feel the hard press off his erection prodding her thigh. His calloused palm lightly grazed her skin as he trailed his fingers under her shirt and across her stomach, then he cupped her breast and she sucked in a breath.

“Shit, baby.” He rolled, taking her to her back then couldn’t seem to decide where to touch, where to taste first. He curled his fingers around the side of her waist, the other moved to cup the back of her head and he kissed her deep. He tasted fantastic and every swipe of his tongue against hers shot to her core.

When he broke the kiss, they were both panting hard and she had to press her thighs together in an effort to relieve the exquisite ache there. “Fletch…”

“Fuck, I’ve missed that mouth,” he breathed against her lips. Then
whoosh
, her shirt was up and over her head, revealing her breasts to his hungry gaze. He licked his lips and dipped his head, taking an aching peak into his mouth, sucking hard. She whimpered and threaded her fingers through his hair, tugging the silky strands, wanting more.
Needing it.

“Fletch…more.”

He growled his approval then bit down. She gasped at the sensation of his canines piercing the delicate skin. He lifted his head, looking wild, feral. His incisors pressed into his bottom lip and a drop of blood darkened the corner of his mouth. Fletch held her gaze as he licked an ivory tip in silent question.

There was so much still to talk about, so much to sort out, but right now she didn’t care. They’d been apart for too long and she never wanted to suffer like that again. It didn’t matter what he did to survive, or why he had stayed away. It only mattered that he was back. There wasn’t a choice, not for her, not now. There never had been.

Her answer was to slide out from under him and flip onto her belly. Then she reached up and pulled her hair over to one shoulder, exposing her neck, agreeing without words to finally become his mate in truth.

The vicious growl that tore from Fletch’s throat caused goose bumps to break out across her skin and her sex to flood with liquid heat. The bed dipped as he moved up behind her and rested his large, hot palms on her ass.

“My cock buried in that sweet pussy, my fangs deep in your shoulder, the taste of your blood on my tongue, making love to you, making you mine. I never thought I’d get that chance. I never thought you’d give me all that, never thought I deserved it,” he said, voice so low and rough he sounded more wolf than man. “You gonna give it all to me, Delaney?”

He gripped her hips and ground his cock against her ass. She whimpered and tried to push back, while her chest squeezed at the raw pain those words held.

“You gonna give me everything?” he growled, demanding her answer.

“Y-yes, it’s yours. Take it.”

His fingers flexed on her hips, and he moaned softly. Then his whiskers were tickling her skin as he kissed a heated path from the base of her spine to her neck, all the while drawing in her scent. He gripped her chin, turning her head so he could take her mouth in an achingly tender kiss, his tongue moving against hers with slow languid strokes.

He broke the kiss and held her gaze. “I’m going to take you now. I’m going to mark you, make you mine.” His voice had blended with his wolf, powerful and all alpha.

She whimpered in anticipation.

He planted one heavy fist beside her head and she reached out to wrap her hand around his thick wrist. He nudged her legs wider with a powerful thigh and gripping his shaft, moved the head of his cock through her folds, coating himself in the proof of her arousal. Finally he pressed against her entrance, but he didn’t plunge right in. He tormented her with shallow thrusts, not burying himself deep inside like she needed. She growled and wriggled, trying to push him deeper.

“Shhh, babe. You’re too tight and I’m so fucking desperate for you. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“God,” she panted. “Just…do it.” She wriggled again.

With a low groan, he gripped her hips, holding her still. She squirmed, fighting against it. “Take me, Fletch, please. I’ve waited long enough for you.” She barely recognised her own voice—pain and anguish marking every word.

A tormented sound left his throat that lifted the hairs on the back of her neck. Then in one long, smooth thrust, he entered her fully. She cried out, fisting the sheet beneath her fingers. Oh, God. He was too big.

He went completely still. “Laney?”

“Just…just give me a minute.”

His entire body went rigid, every muscle hard as stone. “Do you trust me?” he rasped against her ear.

All she could do was nod. Still buried deep inside her, he lifted up slightly and reached around to cup her breast. Gently massaging, playing with her peaked nipple, kissing her back and neck until she focused on the pleasure he was giving her. Her muscles relaxed as his hand trailed down her stomach. Then parting her folds, he applied gentle pressure to her clit, moving in small circles. She gasped and her sex clenched around him.

A deep, rumbling sound vibrated from his chest. He gripped her hips and began to pull out slowly. It felt so good. Her entire body shook and a soft moan escaped her lips.

Oh God. No pain, only pleasure. “Please, Fletch.” She needed this, needed him to take her, hard. To claim her.

“That’s it, baby. I’m gonna take care of you.” He eased back in. His big body trembled behind her and she knew he was fighting for control. Then he was back over her, crowding her. She grabbed his wrist again as an anchor as he thrust with more force, taking her like she needed him to.

His scent surrounded her, filled the room, drifted up from the bedding and she went into sensation overload—helpless as he pounded into her. He licked and sucked the sensitive skin between her neck and shoulder and that, combined with the subtle scrape of his canines, had her sex fluttering, close to release.

Just the feel of those pointed fangs—what he was about to do, what it meant—sent ripples of pleasure surging through her body. He snarled and she braced herself. Pain, sharp and glorious shot through her entire body as he sunk his teeth into her shoulder. She screamed, coming apart at the pleasure and pain shooting through her, lighting her from the inside out.

Fletch didn’t stop. He pinned her down, kept hold of her in the most animalistic of ways. His fangs buried in her flesh as he drove into her. He kept up the relentless pace.
Oh God.
She came again, but this time he retracted his fangs and growled against her damp skin, “Mine, you’re mine. Say it, Delaney.”

She didn’t hesitate because it worked both ways. “I’m yours. I’ve always been yours.”

He reared back, and gripping her hips tight, planted deep, roaring with his own release.

Collapsing to the side, he took her with him, still buried inside her. Still hard. When their breathing evened out, he circled her body in a crushing grip, and said quietly, “Don’t leave me, Laney. Don’t ever leave me.”

The agony in his voice broke her a little more inside. It was the same thing she’d said to him the night before.

“Never,” she whispered back.

Stabbing the last mouthful of sticky, sweet pancake, Laney popped it into her mouth. Groaning, she dropped the fork, sat back and began the process of licking maple syrup from her fingers. She hadn’t been this hungry in…well she couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten this much and it likely had to do with the huge amount of calories she’d burned during the night.