Operation Saving Daniel (Entangled Covet) (18 page)

This time he attacked first, taking Ethan by surprise and driving him to the ground. Ethan countered but Daniel came back relentlessly, until Ethan’s sides heaved with exhaustion while Daniel appeared unaffected.

Finally, he got what had to be a death grip, his teeth sinking deep into the black-furred throat. He shook him mercilessly, blood spraying across the clearing, and the watching wolves howled as the blood lust took them.

Ethan no longer fought back.

“Finish it,” Lissa muttered, but at the last second, Daniel released his hold, and the other wolf collapsed to the ground.

Lissa held her breath waiting to see if he would rise. His eyes were open, gleaming dull steel.

The golden wolf vanished, and Daniel stood in the center of the circle once again in human form. A savage bite marred the smooth muscle of his shoulder but otherwise he appeared unharmed.

The black wolf raised his head slightly but collapsed. A second later, the wolf was gone, and Ethan lay on the ground naked. An open wound at his throat spilled his blood to the dirt beneath him.

“What happens if he doesn’t finish it?” she asked.

“It’s finished,” Joe replied. “He’s dying.”

…

Daniel’s whole body ached, and his shoulder burned with pain. He knew he should finish this but couldn’t bring himself to make the final move. Did that make him weak? He didn’t care and he didn’t dare look at Lissa, sure he would see the loathing in her face.

But she had come back. Why?

“Keep still,” he said to Ethan. “I’ll get help.”

“No, you won’t,” Ethan replied, his voice hoarse. “I’m finished. You won.” He smiled. “I really never thought you had it in you.”

Daniel glanced up as Lissa came to kneel beside him. He risked a quick peek at her face but could make out nothing from her expression. She must hate what he was: a killer.

He waited as the light dimmed from Ethan’s eyes and his life slipped away. Then throwing back his head, Daniel roared, and all around him, the wolves answered.

Finally, silence fell. He looked from the body of Ethan to the circling wolves, and then rising to his feet, he grabbed Lissa’s hand and pulled her with him.

He searched for his clothes, found his jeans, and managed to get into them without releasing his hold. “Come on,” he said. “We have to get away from here.”

Joe stepped forward. “No. You need to stay. You’re the new pack leader.”

Crap. He was the fucking pack leader.

But he knew the custom, the old leader would be devoured by the pack and somehow it seemed fitting. Ethan would have approved. That didn’t mean he wanted to see it. Nor should Lissa.

“Later.” Dragging Lissa into his arms, he picked her up. As he strode away, a howl rose up from the wolves. Ignoring the sound, he stepped into the darkness of the surrounding trees. He kept walking until the noise diminished to a quiet roar and then relaxed his hold. She slipped to the ground, though his arms remained around her. He’d thought earlier that he would never hold her again, now he was and he couldn’t let her go. He still knew what he should do—make it easy for her to walk away, to go find that normal life she wanted and could never have with him.

Finally, he drew back and peered into her face. “Why did you come back?”

She tossed him an are-you-a-complete-moron look. “The question should be why did I let you persuade me to go in the first place? I knew it was wrong the moment I walked away.”

“I’m a killer.”

“I saw. And a good thing, too—he deserved to die.”

She didn’t hate him, though he still couldn’t believe they had a chance together. But though he searched inside himself, he could find no taint of evil and some of the tension seeped from his muscles.

“Are you really all right?” he asked.

“I’m fine. Thankful it’s over. Though it isn’t really over is it?”

“No, it will never be over. For me anyway. But you can put this behind you. You’ll be safe now.”

Her eyes narrowed. “And what about you? What will you be doing while I’m putting this behind me?”

Time for a little more truth between them. He waved a hand back toward the clearing. “That is what I am.” He swallowed. “I’m a werewolf and a killer and those facts will never change. I can never give you a normal life.”

Without warning, she pulled back and punched him on the arm. “You promised to marry me. You’d better not be trying to weasel out of it just because you’re the big boss now and I’m not even a wolf.”

A spark of hope lit up inside him. “You’d still marry me after this?”

“Hell, yes.”

He almost went to his knees with relief. “You love me?”

“Hell, yes. Though I’m real glad you didn’t stay and eat Ethan.”

This time he didn’t fight the grin. There was still the problem of the pack accepting her, but who the hell was Alpha here?

He was.

And the wolves could either accept his mate or find another fucking pack.

Time for the old laws to change. But maybe not tonight. Tonight he had other plans.

…

Beside her, Daniel’s whole body thrummed with power. As he turned her in his arms, she opened her mouth to speak. Then shut it again.

His eyes were hot and filled with a burning hunger. She was aware that he was nearly naked; he wore only his jeans, quickly pulled on, and still unfastened. His chest was bare, as were his feet, and she needed to touch him. The feeling swept over her, filling her until she thought she might burst out of her skin.

“Take off your clothes,” he ordered softly.

She sighed. “I love it when you go all masterful.”

A brief grin flashed across his face and was gone. “Take them off, or I’ll rip them off. And I’m sure you don’t want to be naked when we go back and face the pack.”

“Good point.”

She unbuttoned her shirt, then hesitated, glancing back the way they had come. “Are we safe here?”

“None of the others would dare bother me, not after tonight. You’ll always be safe with me.”

Yeah. He was the biggest, baddest wolf around, and he was hers. She kicked off her shoes and dragged her jeans down over her hips to stand before him naked. The expression in his eyes scorched her as he slowly stripped off his own jeans. He was already huge and hard and the muscles in her belly clenched tight.

Without another word, he pushed her back against the tree trunk behind her. The rough bark scraped her skin as his body pressed into hers, the hardness of his erection nudging her belly. His hands shifted to her ass, and he lifted her until her shoulders pressed up against the tree. She leaned back for balance as Daniel held her poised, his cock pushing insistently at the entrance to her body.

“I need you,” he ground out, almost against his will and then shoved into her with one hard thrust, filling her completely.

For a minute, he stood immobile, his forehead pressed against her shoulder, and she breathed in the scent of him, blood, sweat, and musk. His tension was clear in the labored breaths, the
thud
of his heartbeat as he fought for control. But she didn’t want him in control—she wanted him wild and fierce. Her hips shifted restlessly against him, and everything tightened low down in her body, her inner muscles contracting around him, so he groaned against her skin.

He raised his head slowly, staring down into her face, and his nostrils flared. His eyes glowed feral, holding her mesmerized, as at last he moved. Fingers dug into the flesh of her bottom, holding her in place as he pulled out, then thrust back with a roll of his powerful hips. Closing her eyes, Lissa wrapped her legs around his waist, her hands gripping tight on to his shoulders. She gave herself up to the feeling as he deepened his movement, grinding his powerful body against hers.

She could sense the pent-up urgency as he sped up until he was slamming into her, harder and faster. Each stroke pressing against her so the pleasure built and built and the world ceased to exist except for his big, hard body. Lissa opened her eyes as her climax built, wanting to see him come. The pleasure amplified until it was almost unbearable, and finally she exploded, throwing back her head and screaming into the night. As he spilled himself inside her, his head went back, and his voice joined hers. He was still moving as though he couldn’t bear to stop, and she leaned forward, tangled her hands into his hair, brought his face to hers, and kissed him.

At last, his body went still, and he fell to his knees with Lissa clasped in his arms. He rolled as he fell, so he hit the ground beneath her, and she ended up on top, straddling his hips.

Lowering her head so it rested against his chest, she closed her eyes, concentrated on her breathing and the sound of his heartbeats as they gradually returned to normal.

When she raised her head, Daniel’s eyes were closed, his mouth relaxed, and she could tell nothing from his expression. There was a wicked wound in his shoulder where Ethan had taken that first bite, but the bleeding had stopped. She leaned forward and kissed it. Still he didn’t move, and she peered at him suspiciously.

“Are you asleep?” she asked.

“No,” he murmured. “Just recovering.”

From what? The fight or from making love? Probably both. She had no idea if he regretted killing Ethan or was relieved it was over.

But it wasn’t over. It was only beginning.

From what she understood, Daniel was now pack leader. He had killed the old Alpha so the job was his. And Daniel would make a great leader.

She’d wanted an ordinary guy but ended up with an Alpha werewolf and the leader of the pack. Talk about the best-laid plans… Even so, she wouldn’t change him for anything. Something occurred to her. “Will Julia be all right?”

His brows drew together, his lips turning down. “It depends how you define all right. Ethan scratched her with a wolf’s claw—she’s going to change.”

“Oh my God. Julia a wolf?”

“Yeah, scary thought. But she’s strong and I’m certain there’s wolf inside her. I’ve sensed it. She’ll survive.”

And Daniel would be there for her. Lissa stroked the hard lines of his face, over his cheekbones to the shadowed hollows beneath, trailed them over the sensuous lower lip, delving inside as his mouth opened for her, loving the feel of his hot tongue lapping at her fingertips.

He gazed up at her, his eyes like deep pools in the dim, shadowy light. They were peaceful, and some of the tension drained out of her.

“You recovered now?” she asked.

He smiled and nodded. Raising his hands to her waist, he held her as he turned them both so she lay beneath him. Then he leaned down and kissed her, and she opened her mouth to the slow, erotic assault of his tongue.

Slipping one hand between them, he massaged his palm against her sex as his mouth slid from hers to her cheek, then down to nuzzle her throat, and lower. He took one swollen nipple into his mouth and suckled hard, sending darts of pleasure through her body to ignite a fire low in her belly. Then he bit down and her sex flooded with heat. And all the time, his clever fingers played with her, dipping inside, then stroking lightly over her swollen nub until she was writhing against him.

At last, he sheathed himself inside her. Still sensitive, her muscles clenched around him, and he groaned low in his throat.

This time their lovemaking was languid and sweet. With each thrust, he rotated his hips in slow teasing circles so the pressure mounted higher, concentrating on that one small point between her thighs. He tensed as her inner muscles clamped tight, and they came together in a fiery burst of pleasure that left Lissa limp and boneless. Finally, Daniel collapsed on top of her, then rolled them both so they lay, arms and legs entwined, on the forest floor.

…

Daniel didn’t want to think, and he definitely didn’t want to move. Lissa’s legs wrapped tightly around his waist while her arms wound about his neck, her face burrowed against his throat. Her short hair tickled his nose, and he breathed in her scent, like wild flowers.

He’d needed her as an affirmation of life. Because Ethan was dead. And Daniel had killed him. But whatever he was experiencing now, it wasn’t guilt. Ethan had deserved to die, had needed to die.

Lissa shifted beside him. She loosened her grip on his neck and inched away, resting her chin on her hand and staring into his face.

“I can almost hear your brain working,” she said.

He frowned. “Ethan is dead, and I thought I would feel nothing, but—”

“It’s shock. And I’m glad you’re feeling it. You should be shocked when you kill someone, even if they are evil.”

“And what about me. Am I evil?”

“No!” she said, so emphatically that he smiled. But maybe she was right. While he could still sense the buzz of power that had rocked his system when he’d injected the drug, apart from that, he didn’t feel inherently changed.

He pulled himself free of her and rose to his feet, holding out a hand to her. “We need to go back.”

She frowned. “Why?” she asked. “Why can’t we go home?”

“The pack must swear their loyalty to me. Until I have their oaths they’re leaderless and according to Joe, a leaderless pack is not a good thing.” He had so much to learn.

Lissa took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. He watched as she found her clothes scattered around them, and dragged them on, slipping her feet into her shoes. Daniel pulled on his jeans and they walked together in silence, hand in hand until they were close to the clearing when Lissa turned to him.

“So what happens at this swearing thing?”

One more of the things he didn’t know. “No idea. I’ve never been to one before. Neither, has anyone else in the pack. Ethan murdered everyone who existed before he became Alpha.”

“So what do we do?”

“They must swear an oath to the new leader. Anyone who doesn’t want to has the right to demand combat.”

“You have to fight?”