Untamed: The Savage: The Complete Series (14 page)

I took command of his mouth, kissing him hard as my entire body contracted. I held out for as long as I could, waiting for Alaric to join me, but it was all too much to take.

I threw my head back and let out a long, loud moan. Alaric stilled, watching my face with intensity as I broke apart around him. Then his hold on my ass tightened, his jaw hardening. A moment later, I felt his rod pulsing inside me, filling me with seed.

He staggered to the bed and laid me down. He crawled over me and slipped his hands under my thighs, lifting my ass up off the bed.

“Again?” I didn’t need to look down to have my answer. Without ever taking his eyes off my face, he slid back inside me in one stroke.

“Every night I took my cock in my hand and came while thinking of you.” He withdrew and thrust back in. “Now that you’re here, I don’t think I can ever stop.” He curled over me and fixed his mouth on the skin of my neck, biting and licking. Back bowing, hips seizing, he drove into me, his pace deep, unwavering.

I wrapped my arms around his back and squeezed my eyes shut, dimly aware that we were inching up the bed with each demanding thrust. I clutched him with my arms, legs, and sex, determined never to let go. “Then don’t stop,” I whispered and bit down on the flesh of his shoulder.

He stopped and looked up, flashing his teeth as he growled. With a feral glint in his eyes, he hooked my legs over his arms and pounded into me, each stroke harder and deeper. I dug my nails into his ass and spurred him on, a high-pitched, needy sound coming from my throat. Sweat coated our skin but we didn’t stop. We couldn’t.

In that moment we were no longer Alaric and Chloe. We were a single throbbing, pulsating creature in the throes of ecstasy.

And I knew then, as he came with a roar that triggered my own shuddering orgasm, that even if we were beaten down or torn apart, we would never be broken.

C
hloe
and I made love three more times before we fell on the bed in exhaustion. I had been so deprived the past five months, I probably could have gone all night.

“You could have died,” Chloe whispered, touching the scar on my back. “You were hurt and bleeding, but you still saved me.”

I took hold of her wrist and pressed a kiss to the center of her palm. I had gone so long without this woman, I didn’t think I’d ever stop touching her. “I would spend my last breath keeping you safe.”

She sighed and pressed a kiss on my shoulder.

“Chloe…” I didn’t know how she was going to react, but she needed to know. “I’ve been out for almost four months now,” I said, eyes searching her face for anger.

She shot up. “What? Why didn’t you call me?”

I sat up, setting my hand on her leg. “Because I wanted to have my act together first. I wanted you to see someone who’d fixed his life, who was worthy of you.”

“You already were.”

“I want to take care of you, Chloe. I want to provide for you,” I said, feeling laid open and vulnerable. I had never had a problem conveying my feelings, but right then, it felt like my entire future hinged on her reaction.

She gave me a smile, her lower lip quivering a little. “I want to do the same for you.”

A sigh of relief rushed out of me.

“How did you get released so soon?”

“I didn’t know at first. The guards just told me I was free, gave me my belongings, and let me out the front gate,” I said, remembering the moment I’d stepped outside that invisible line as a free man. I had closed my eyes and taken a deep breath, filling my lungs with fresh air. But the air had rushed out of me when I had seen who was standing on the other side of the gate. “Your father was waiting for me.”

“My dad…” she said. “He did this?”

I nodded. “He shook my hand then offered me a job and apartment. I told him no, that I wanted make it on my own terms.”

The expression on the older man’s face had transformed into one of begrudging respect. “I’m going to keep tabs on you,” he had warned me.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” As he’d walked back to his car, I’d called out, “I’m going to make something of myself, Mr. Randall.”

He had lifted a finger but a smile had been on his lips. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

“My public defender and I went directly to Officer Morcillo and I told him I wanted to pay back everyone by doing odd jobs. We used my notebook and contacted almost every person I’d stolen from. Most were receptive but a little wary of me. Some just told me not to worry about it. But there was one man who saw that I was handy with tools and offered me a job at his cabinet factory.”

Her green eyes widened. “That’s wonderful.”

“I’m learning so much,” I said, a wide smile splitting my face. “Everything I learned, I put into this house.”

“Did you build the whole thing yourself?” she asked, looking around.

I nodded, pride filling my chest. I stood up and held out my hand, excited and nervous for her reaction. “Let me show you.”

She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and took my hand.

“It’s not finished yet,” I began as I retraced the steps to the front door. “The doors and windows are the only things I had to buy. But the structure, the walls, the kitchen, everything, I made myself.”

She turned to me, her face glowing. “It’s amazing.”

“Wait till you see the best part…” I took her hand and led her back into the bedroom.

“The best part doesn’t happen to be your penis, does it?” she teased.

I paused, a grin on my face. “Okay, this is the second best part then,” I said before opening another door that led out to a small deck. In the center, surrounded by twinkle lights up in the branches, was a large clawfoot tub.

Chloe gasped and walked over to it, sitting along the curved edge and playing with the bronze faucet. “It’s even hooked up,” she said in amazement as the water rushed out.

“You said you wanted an outdoor tub,” I said, walking over and peeling the blanket away from her body. I bent down and pressed a kiss on her shoulder.

“You did all of this for me?”

“Mm-hmm.” I crouched lower, nuzzling her neck. “All of it. All for you.” Finally, when I was down on one knee, I took hold of her hand and looked at up her beautiful face.

Her hand flew up to cover her mouth. “Alaric…”

On my hand lay a dark wood ring I’d made myself. “The last time you told me you’d give me five days,” I began, my heart about to burst. “This time, I want all your days. Every single one. So… stay? Forever?”

She nodded, tears glistening in her eyes. “I will.”

“
G
ood morning
.”

I opened my eyes to find Alaric’s face above me, his hands planted at either side of my head. “Mmm.” I stretched my arms over my head, pretending the sight of him didn’t do strange and wonderful things to me. How he could still turn me on with a look after almost two years of marriage is beyond me, but I wasn’t complaining.

He set one hand on my hip, his thumb caressing the sensitive skin there. Through the hair falling over his face, I could see the heat in his eyes. He pressed his lips to my nose and collarbone, kissing his way down to my stomach. Then he laid a large hand over my womb, his expression losing its edge. “How are you feeling today?” he asked in a husky voice.

I folded an arm behind my head and watched him with a smile on my face. “Pretty good. No nausea yet.”

He grinned and laid his cheek on my stomach. I threaded my fingers through his hair, basking in this perfect moment. The sun streamed in through the windows above our heads, the birds chirped outside, and all was well with the world.

A
little while later
, I walked him down to the steps to say our goodbyes.

“We’re finishing up the Henderson’s cabin today,” Alaric said, his hand caressing my belly. I wasn’t quite showing yet at twelve weeks, but he made a point of always touching my stomach before he left, as if saying goodbye to the being inside. “I might get home later.”

“I’ll be here.”

Word had gotten out about our tree house, and numerous people had inquired if Alaric would build them a house as well. Eventually, Alaric had started his own company and now employed five other construction workers. After they complete the Henderson cabin, they were contracted for three more houses in North Carolina. The financial stability was good, but to see the pride in Alaric’s face when he came home every day was even better.

“Be safe,” I said, giving him a peck on the lips.

His hand looped around the back of my neck and he pulled me in for another lingering kiss. “Have a good day, My Beauty,” he said with a grin.

“Same to you, my Beast.” I gave him a wink before he climbed down the steps, got into the pickup truck, and drove away.

I turned and went back into the house that I had completely and utterly fallen in love with, all the way to the back door, across a roped walkway, toward another tree that held up my office. The structure was about the size of a shed, but it had everything I needed including a desk, chair, and bookcases. I even had a comfortable armchair in the corner for reading purposes.

I sat down at my desk, staring at the blank document on my laptop. I had just sent off the final edits of my interior decorating book to my publisher and had planned on starting a new book, but writing about tree houses didn’t seem all that appealing today.

Instead an idea grew from a quote I’d read on a brochure many moons ago. I set my fingers back on the keyboard, excitement surging through my veins. The words, much like the memory of their author, had haunted me for years, but today I vowed to give them new purpose.

J
une Gray is
a daydreamer who was born in the Philippines, raised in Australia, and now calls the United States home. At the age of ten she penned a short story inspired by a Judy Blume novel and has been unable to stop writing since.

S
he has lived
on four different continents and most recently inhabited a 240-year-old castle owned by a Graf in rural Germany. She now resides in Oklahoma with her husband, two daughters, and a mini schnauzer.

H
er stories are drawn
from dreams, fantasies, music, and trips through airports. Apart from her lifelong affair with words, she also loves graphic design, singing in the shower, Dunkin Donuts, and working out.

For more information on upcoming projects, news, and short stories:

• @AuthorJuneGray
  
• JuneGrayAuthor
  

T
he Disarm Series

Disarm

Arrest

Surrender

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he True North Series

Finding West

Heading East

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he Origin Series

The Origin

The Forsaken

T
aking
Heart