Torment: Reckless Desires (Dark Wolves Book 1) (11 page)

Before he could reach her front door, Joss was there, opening it. She expected her brother to go inside, but he waited there and let them through.

“You’ll stay with her?” her brother asked.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he muttered under his breath when Khet grunted and kept going.

Khet didn’t stop until he had her in the bathroom, with the door closed behind them. He set her on her feet, not uttering a word as he turned the faucets and adjusted the temperature as the tub filled. Once he was satisfied, he turned to her again. With trembling fingers, he removed her clothing, piece by piece, and then let them drop to the floor at their feet.

Delana lifted her hand, pushing the hair out of his eyes. He didn’t meet her gaze. The grinding of his teeth and the iron set of his jaw made her ache for him. “Khet,” she started.

Delana lifted her hand to the bump on her temple, wincing at the ache throbbing there. She was about to turn to look in the mirror when he grasped her by the shoulders and held her still. He just grunted and shook his head. Once he had her naked before him, he scooped her up and set her in the soothing heat. With a hand on her shoulder, he eased her down until her hair floated in the water around her. He took his time, gently massaging shampoo onto her scalp, before rinsing it.

He laid her back, careful not to jostle any part of her before wetting a washcloth and ringing it out. When she lifted her hand to take it from him, he ignored it and swiped the soft material over her forehead. Each gentle stroke on her skin had her relaxing a little more until her muscles released their tension and her eyelids grew heavy.

***

Delana closed her eyes, and Khet took a deep breath for the first time in what felt like hours. Every time he rinsed the damned cloth, and the water came back tinted pink, fury rose, making everything within his sight flash red. He bathed every inch of her, making sure that not a speck of dust, not a drop of blood remained on her beautiful skin.

For as long as he lived, he would never forget the sight of her battered body lying so still on the ground. The only thing that had kept the beast from taking complete control had been the slight rise and fall of her chest, proving that she lived. Had she died, nothing would have stopped it from destroying everything in its path. Not only the Mahehkan wolves but every living thing within its reach.

Oh, he’d made sure each and every single bastard who’d had a hand in harming her had died. His only regret was that the Mahehkan pack’s Alpha hadn’t been there. He may have defeated the enemy, but there were more of them out there. The beast had reveled in the bloodshed, demanded to hear their agonized howls. It had wanted more—so much more. But its need to care for its mate had been greater. Tending to her wounds, caring for her, had taken precedence.

Already her body was working to heal her injuries, but in her human form, it would take longer, and the healing would not be complete.

“I’m okay. I am,” she whispered and brought a wet hand out of the water to brush the hair from his forehead.

“You’re not. Not yet, but you will be,” he said, his voice gruffer than usual. Without missing a beat, he stood and scooped her out of the tub. “You need to shift to heal.”

“I just need rest. I don’t know what Malec did to me, but I’m healing fast. I can feel both my legs again. See?” she said as she wiggled her toes on both feet, proving she could.

“Still, you’ll heal better in your wolf form. Or is that not the case with your species?” He grabbed the softest towel from the pile next to the tub and patted her dry before picking her up again and heading to her bedroom. Settling her in the center of her bed, he waited.

“It is. But we haven’t taken care of your wounds yet,” she said with a stubborn tilt to her chin.

Khet hadn’t even thought twice about his injuries. If anything, he’d dismissed them as insignificant and forgotten about them. None of his had mattered in the face of a single one of hers.

“If you shift, and promise to stay where you are, I will shower and come back and join you,” he offered. It didn’t matter that he’d planned to do so anyway. He’d already seen Delana’s stubborn streak when she’d tried to eat a huge portion of meat back at the camp. Who knew what she’d do to try to take care of him now, and the last thing he wanted was for her to do anything that would jeopardize her healing.

Delana gave him a good long look, making him aware that he had no clothing covering him. Not that he minded her looking, but having her eyes on him only incited the beast closer to the surface again.
Mine. Mate.

Two days. We will let her heal. Then we can claim her again,
he assured the beast. He only hoped after what he’d put her through he wasn’t lying.

“I will, but you have to give me something in return.”

“And what is that?” whatever it was, if it were in his power to give it, he would.

“I want to know what Muhurua means,” she demanded.

He looked at her and damned if his lips didn’t want to turn up and smile. “I’ll tell you what? Once you’ve had time to heal, and we’ve talked, if you still want to know, I will tell you.”

She looked at him again, appraising him. “Fine. Don’t be long,” she told him before shifting.

Khet didn’t waste any time. He had no doubt that if he took more than a few minutes, she would get up and come looking for him. But by the time he returned, with a pink towel wrapped around his waist, and his hair still dripping from the shower, she was fast asleep.

His chest tightened at the sight of his mate. Shifted, he couldn’t see the fading bruise on her temple or the angry red lines where claws had raked her back. He could almost pretend he hadn’t heard her spine snap when she’d attacked the Erritrol to save him. But he had. Only a miracle had saved her. That, and a tiny boy who had more control over his abilities than any of them put together.

Khet took a deep breath, savoring her scent. He hadn’t been there to protect her when the enemy had come, but he’d be damned if that ever happened again. Even if she didn’t accept his claim, he would stay in the village and keep her safe. Now he had to pray the Goddess would shine her light upon him again, and Delana would forgive him.

Delana stretched and snuggled deeper into Khet. The last time she had woken, she’d glanced at the clock, shocked to find that she’d lost an entire day. She would have gotten up, but her wolf hadn’t wanted to move. With Khet so close, it had been more than happy to give him a long lick on the muzzle and go back to sleep. At some point, she’d shifted back to her human form, as had he, and she lay there wrapped up in him.

With the weight of his arm around her waist and the heat of his chest at her back, she once again had the urge to stay right where she was. Too bad her body wasn’t tired anymore. Even though her muscles were tight, the soreness was gone. She gave her toes a reassuring wiggle and moved first one leg, then the other before releasing a sigh.

“Feeling better?” Khet asked, his whisper husky as he pulled her tighter against him.

“Much.”

He was silent for so long, she might have thought he’d drifted back to sleep, but with each passing second, his body hardened with tension that had nothing to do with the fact that they were both naked and in bed. Whatever he had to say, he’d have to come out and say it. She wasn’t going to make it easy for him to tell her he was leaving again.

“I’m sorry. I should never have left. I was a fool.”

Delana’s breath whooshed out of her lungs. Okay, that was a lot better than what she’d expected. She twisted in his arms to face him and was about to say something when he pressed his lips to hers, silencing her.

“I know I hurt you, but I want you to know that regardless of your decision, I am not leaving again. I…” he growled and took a deep breath. “I was going to say that I would step aside and let you choose another mate if that was what you wanted after how I treated you, but I can’t. It would be a lie. Just the thought of you with another man makes me crazy.”

“I don’t want another,” she told him softly.

He looked at her, his eyes unbelieving. “The beast inside me—”

“Is nothing like the Erritrols that we saw in the forest. Nothing like the ones that attacked the village.” She lifted her hand up to his heart, spreading her fingers wide. “You are Erritrol, but you are not as they are.”

“I was.”

She shook her head. “No, you weren’t. Had you been, you still would be. Miga told me about the curse. About how only some of the Erritrols escaped it, and why. You deserved to be saved, Khet. You are not like them. You never were.”

“The beast is there, Delana. It fights for freedom. It thrives in blood and death.”

He tried to pull his gaze away from hers, but she refused to let him. “It is a part of you, but it doesn’t control you.”

“But it did. When we were in the forest, it took over. I had no control. I didn’t just eliminate the threat, Delana. I slaughtered them. I bathed in their blood. I needed it—craved it. I am no better than any of them.”

Her heart ached at the anguish in his tone, the raw pain in the depths of his eyes. He couldn’t believe that. She wouldn’t let him. “You didn’t hurt me. You didn’t hurt Malec. You defended and protected us. And even though you were still struggling when the others arrived, you didn’t attack Argram or Miga. You didn’t hurt Wesken or Joss, either. Only the enemy. So tell me, had the beast been in control, would it have stopped with the enemy? Would it have stopped as
you
did?”

Khet stared into her eyes. For a moment, she thought he would object again—protest his worthiness. But then he took a deep breath and crushed her in his arms.

Delana breathed him in. There was something in the way he held her which promised acceptance. For him. For her. For the life they would build together. When she pulled back, it wasn't to gaze at him again. No. She wanted to be one with him. To truly be his and to have him be hers. She took his mouth with the certainty that he would be there in the days to come. In the years to come. He was hers, and she wasn’t letting go. Not this time.

With a groan, he lifted his hands, tunneling his fingers in her hair, pulling her deeper into the kiss. When he swiped across her bottom lip with his tongue, she didn’t resist. Didn’t want to. He slid one hand down her back, not stopping until it cupped her ass. With another groan, he pulled her tight against him. There was no question about what he was asking. And there was no way she was refusing.

“I need to claim you again. My wolf needs to claim its mate. Argram’s scent on your skin…”

Delana opened her mouth to protest, but Khet shook his head silencing her.

“I know why he did it, and it had nothing to do with showing his dominance. He was proving a point. To me. He knew what I was too stubborn to face. That I wouldn’t be able to live with the idea of you with anyone else. You are my mate, Muhurua,” he said as though needing to reinforce the fact.

“You never told me what that means,” she reminded.

“My heart,” he whispered. “Muhurua translated into English means my heart.”

Her lips parted, and she wanted to say something, but the words froze in her chest.
His heart.
All that time, he’d been calling her something so sweet.

When her tongue darted out to wet her lips, his gaze followed. A moment later he was devouring her. His tongue slipped between her lips, and she opened up to him, eager for his kiss—for his claim. He brought his hand down the back of her thigh to her knee, and with a moan, he lifted it over his hip spreading her wide open before pressing his hard length against her. By the time he broke the kiss, their breathless little pants mingled. Her heart raced, and heat pooled between her thighs.

“Take me, Khet,” she demanded.

“I will never let you go. Not ever again, Delana. You have to be sure this is what you want—that
I
am what you want.”

Telling him wouldn’t convince the wolf. Hell, it wouldn’t convince the man, either. With a quick roll, she pushed him onto his back and straddled him. His big hands slid up her hips, squeezing just enough to make her aware of his strength without hurting. She lifted, reaching between them to grasp his cock at its base.

Khet’s chest rose with the breath he took, but he didn’t let it go.

Rather than lower herself onto him right away, she slid her hand over him with a long, firm stroke. “You’re mine, Khet. All of you,” she told him.

The air hissed from between his teeth, but before he could say a word, she positioned herself and came down, taking him all the way in.

Khet’s fingers dug into her hips. He moaned and closed his eyes, the muscle in his jaw jerking. “Delana,” he whispered, his voice tortured before opening his eyes again.

“I’ve made my choice,” she told him again. And she would keep telling him until he believed it. “You are mine.” She rocked her hips, grinding her clit onto his pelvis. When she lifted, he didn’t wait for her to come back down. He thrust fast and hard, filling her.

Gasping, she tossed her head back and moaned. She was already too close. A few more like that, and she would explode. Then again, that wasn’t such a bad thing. Later they could take their time and explore every inch of each other. Right then, she needed to be one with him. She lifted, this time, ready for his thrust. When he plunged in again, her toes curled as sensation washed over her. She didn’t wait. Digging her fingers into the muscles of his chest, she set a quick tempo, lifting and lowering, then rocking against him. He met each of her downward thrusts with his going up, then pulled her forward when she rubbed against his pelvis. His fingers held her ass so tight she might bruise, but the way he filled her, the way he stroked that sweet spot inside her, she didn’t care. She would gladly have his fingerprints on her ass if this were what caused them.