Of Gods and Wolves (23 page)

“I for one, think it's about time you gave into that hottie,” Tristan took a sip of his obnoxiously blue drink.

We were having a late night breakfast at Denny's, one of the few places you could get biscuits and gravy on the island and the only place you could get it at 1 AM. I smiled at Tryst over my own dish of pancake puppy sundae, imagining places on Trevor I'd like to lick hot fudge off of.

It was getting bad. He was taking things slow for me and I was mostly in agreement but it was also driving me crazy. Part of me acknowledged it had only been a month since me and Thor had broke up but the rest of me didn't care. I wanted Trevor so bad, I was having to substitute with ice cream and fantasies.

“
I agree,” Jackson nodded. “Who cares about how long it's been since Thor. That boy loves you, go for it.”

“
I didn't realize you guys were on Team Trevor,” I laughed. “You barely know him. How could you possibly know he loves me?”

“
Is she kidding?” Tristan made a face at Jackson.

“
How much of those horrible post-break-up days do you remember?” Jackson asked carefully.

“
Very little,” I thought back and got some flashes but most of the time I just remembered lying in bed.

“
Do you remember us waking you up?” Tristan lifted an impeccably red-dyed eyebrow.

“
Of course,” I snorted. “It was shortly after that, I had to take back all my emotions from Trevor.”

“
Right,” Jackson looked thoughtful for a minute. “So you know he took the pain from you. You realize, he'd been feeling that pain for you, so you wouldn't have to?”

“
Oh,” I'd known that Trevor had taken my pain and had mistakenly taken every other emotion as well but I hadn't realized what that really meant. I hadn't realized the pain had gone to him instead, almost as if he'd been siphoning it away from me.

“
Yeah,” Jackson said. “Do you know how long you were out?”

“
Three days, right?” I had a hazy memory of waking up and talking to Trevor the first day. “Did Trevor come by the first morning? Is that when he took my pain?”

“
Honey, he didn't just come by,” Tristan looked astounded over my ignorance. “He
stayed
. We found him camped out on your porch when we got there. Something about telling you he wouldn't leave until you let him in.”

“
Holy shit,” I breathed as it all sank in. “I remember now. I didn't care. I was so mad at everything. He sat out there for three days? How is that even possible? What about food? Water?”

“
I'm assuming he drank from your hose,” Jackson shrugged. “I don't know, maybe he left for short spans to eat but I don't think so, Miss V. He looked bad when we got there.”

“
Between the pain he was taking from you and the lack of sustenance, he looked real bad.” Tristan grimaced, “ Kinda smelled bad too.”

“
Tristan!” Jackson snapped.

“
Well, he did,” Tryst made a snarky face.

“
He sat there for three days,” I whispered again. I'd had some suspicions over Trevor taking my emotions. I'd even been a little angry. I'd had no idea, yet again, what Trevor was really about.

“
Yeah,” Jackson said gently. “Now can you see why we're so sure? I don't even need to touch you, to know this one's a keeper.”

“
I gotta go,” I stood up and pulled some money out of my wallet. The boys just shushed me away.

“
Just go, honey,” Tristan laughed. “Go put a big grin on that boy's face.”

“
I'll do my best,” I smiled as I ran for the car.

I drove home filled with thoughts of Trevor. What kind of man camped out on your porch for three days because he knew you were in pain over
another
man? What kind of love was that? The love magic rose inside me, twirling around the wolf.
True love
, whispered the rushing flock of butterflies, and I knew.

This wasn't the simpering true love of Hallmark cards and chick flicks. This was the pure, unrefined source. Love unbound, unlimited by circumstance or conditions. It existed whether you wanted it or not. An unfailing, never ending, rush of raw emotion with a single thought: to make the object of its affection happy.

All Trevor had wanted, from the day we were bound together, was to see me happy. He was content when Thor was good to me. Yes, there was our attraction, an underlining craving I saw sometimes in his eyes, but he accepted our relationship. He accepted whatever I needed him to accept because he loved me.

I pulled into the driveway finally and nearly broke my ankle, in my rush to get out of the car. Inside, the lights were already on and I smiled, knowing that Trevor was there. We'd had dinner and watched a movie earlier. He was passed out on the couch when the boys called, so I left him a note telling him he was welcome to stay and I'd be back soon.

I opened the front door carefully.

Sure enough, Trevor was curled up with Nick, asleep on the long sofa. The TV was still talking softly to him. I locked the door and turned off the TV before turning to study my wolf.

He loved Nick and I thought it was hilarious. You know, the whole dog and cat thing. I just assumed werewolves wouldn’t get along well with kitties. I was wrong again. That seemed to be a new theme, me being wrong about Trevor.

Trevor's hair curled down around his neck as he slept, clinging to the pillow and shining like a pelt. I'd tried to deny my attraction to Trevor for so long, ignoring his good looks had become a habit. I had finally admitted I wanted him but I still hadn't really seen him. His beauty had become part of the scenery, as his love had become part of my home. Just another thing to take for granted.

As I looked at him lying there, I felt the part of me I'd given to Thor come rushing back, its violent return shaking the cobwebs from my eyes. My breath caught as I saw Trevor’s striking face clearly. I followed the strong line of his jaw, admiring the dramatic angle. It was clean shaven and I knew he’d freshened up for me. His thick lashes swept down over sculpted cheeks, tangling in a curl that had fallen over his forehead. The half-light bathed his skin, turning it into antique gold. Liquid metal stretched over a wealth of muscles, earned not from a gym but from living life to the fullest.

Everything Trevor did was filled with joy and it shone through his body. It showed in the thick arms he used to hold me, the wide shoulders he shrugged off sorrow with, the corded legs he danced on, and the faint lines of laughter around his eyes. He was love and light and everything that made life meaningful. Why had I fought this?

I knelt beside him as his love washed over me. Even asleep, it flowed from him to reach to me. It was partly the Binding but I knew then, that it wasn’t entirely magic. It was Trevor,
Vѐ
ulfR, my Sacred Wolf, and I loved him. I wasn't afraid anymore and I was done waiting. I was done fighting. I was done taking things slow.

I brushed the curl off his face and ran my fingers back through his thick hair. It was so silky, more the texture of fur than hair, and I let myself take the time to fully enjoy it. I wouldn't let him stop me this time. I needed to warm myself with the fire inside him, the magic. I wanted to let it rage. I wanted to feel it spread and consume. I opened myself to him and felt it burn away my reservations, turn my past regrets into smoke and ashes. His eyes opened slowly and he blinked at me, then smiled a sleepy, lopsided grin.

“Vervain,” I loved the way he rolled my name over his tongue, almost growling it.

“
Hey, baby,” I stared at him and let the wolf rise within me. She was already excited, her heart racing along with mine.

His lips parted and he frowned a little. “There’s something different about you,” he frowned deeper, “no, about
us
.”

  “
Yes,” I smiled gently and stood up.

His mouth dropped open a little further and his eyes searched mine with guarded hope. Gently, he moved Nick to the sofa and stood up. He towered over me but then hunched down, so he could peer into my face.

“Please don’t do this unless you’re sure, Vervain.” He swallowed hard and the look in his eyes was so vulnerable, it tore at my heart. “If you use me to get over him and then just move on, it will break me.”

I hated myself a little then, for denying what was right in front of me.

“I’m sure,
Vѐ
ulfR,” he groaned as his name left my lips and pulled me to his chest.

His kiss was gentle strength, savagery softened by love. His lips were worshiping mine while his tongue conquered. It was such a wild mix of urgency and adoration, I was almost dizzy by the time he’d carried me to bed.

The dragons and phoenixes on the bed's walls, waited anxiously for us. They seemed to dance back and forth, twining about each other in anticipation. The bedsheets were high-count cotton sateen, in a brilliant sapphire. The comforter was matching blue velvet, and the pillows were goose down. From the back corners, two lights peered out, shining gently, illuminating the sensual stage for our performance.

There was only one way into the bed, from the opening at the foot, and Trevor sat me there before returning to our kiss. I felt him pull up the dress I was wearing and I lifted my hips so he could get it over my head. He withdrew so he could kick off his pants and then pulled his shirt off impatiently. When he stood in his boxers, he stopped like he was suddenly aware of my lack of clothing.

He knelt before me. “You’ve no idea how badly I’ve wanted this,” he ran his palm lightly over me, from collar to belly, and I shivered. “How many nights I’ve dreamed of you just this way,” he looked up at me as he slid his hands up my back and pulled my chest against his. “I love you, Lady Hunter. I love you more than the moon and the call of the night. I love you more than all the Froekn and may they forgive me, but I’d deny them for you. I’d turn my back on everything I am, if you asked it.”

“
I’ll never ask that,” I laid my lips on his gently and then pulled back. “I wouldn’t have you change, ever. I love the Froekn as my own family, I love your father as my own father, and I love you, just as you are.”

He groaned and tightened his arms around me, teasing me with his tongue as he filled me with his love. I lay back into the softness of the bed and took him with me. He rolled to the side, pulling me up further onto the mattress. His hands were at my bra and then my panties. Soon, I lay nude beside him and felt no hesitation, only eagerness. I reached for him but he stopped me.

“I need to see all of you, Vervain,” he whispered. “I need to touch all of you.”

He pulled me into the curve of his arm, rolling me onto my back as he remained on his side next to me. His hand hovered over my face, then gently traced the line of my cheek, down my neck, across my shoulder, and over my chest. He skimmed the tops of my breasts and I shivered, reaching for his hand and pressing it lower.

“Please, Minn Elska,” he kissed my forehead, “let me love you slowly this first time.”

I whimpered but he didn’t laugh at my frustration, he kissed me, long and deep. His hands trailed over the tips of my breasts as we kissed; first one, then the other, and I writhed beneath him. He was barely touching me and I was so wet with wanting, I thought I’d melt away.

He drew back and held my gaze with his honey-eyes. They started to glow with a fire I felt burn into me, sparking low and then raging higher. A rumble of excitement vibrated through his chest and into mine, spreading along my nerves until they reached my core. The tingling built and my legs shook as I came a little. I looked at him with wide eyes.

“
How did you do that?” I was half afraid and half enthralled.

“
Our pleasure comes from every touch, not just the intimate ones,” he smiled and lowered his face to my breast.

He stroked me, not with his tongue, but with his face. He rubbed his entire face over me, inhaling deeply and then sighing hot breath over my skin. When he had touched every inch of my breasts, rubbing his lips across the overly sensitized nipples, he gave each peak a long lick of his tongue before breathing warm air over them. I weakly tried to sit up, to pull him to me, but he slid his body over mine and pushed both his hands up to press me down by the shoulders. I heard him growl low in his throat and the wolf in me responded, going limp.

Trevor had always sweetly given in to my wishes. Not in a submissive way but in an indulging, caring way. To have him take control, was surprising and surprisingly exciting. I couldn’t stop shaking, just a continuous light tremble that seemed more of a vibration. Almost like my body reached for him on every level, including sound. My body was singing to his.

He slid down me, rubbing his face back and forth, everywhere he went. He left no part untouched, no skin unscented or unexplored. He stroked my arms, holding them to his chest as he splayed my fingers over his face and tasted the tips of each. He took each of my legs, lifting them up to stroke his face along them, drawing up to my toes and pressing his whole body against me as he went. He even rubbed his cheek into the arch of my foot. I’d never felt more beautiful or more loved.