Chapter 24
Leo dragged me into the nearest room. I recognized it as the storage room for the heavier winter linens. At least it was private.
“Leo, what-“I gasped as Leo shoved me up against the wall. Somehow despite the force in his movements, his touch remained gentle. He nuzzled his face against my neck and shoulder.
“Leo?” I tried again.
His only response was a whine of pure need. I realized his wolf was in control and in heat. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on as he kissed and licked his way from my shoulder to my chin.
Leo’s gaze was almost a physical weight. I couldn’t meet his eyes. There was just too much emotion, too much want and need in them. It overwhelmed me.
I gasped as Leo darted forward and caught my neck in a bite. It should have hurt, but it didn’t. It felt good. It felt amazing. I closed my eyes and fought to keep quiet.
Leo let go and nuzzled me again. I melted into his hold until he called out.
It wasn’t my name, of course. It was Eva’s.
For just a moment thought he’d recognized me, or at least his wolf did. But no, he thought I was Eva. He was too far gone in his wolf’s need to tell us apart.
Realizing that hurt more than the bite. The sound of her name in his voice left a bitter taste in my mouth, even though it was a relief.
Our deception was intact. I should be glad. And I got to be the one with Leo right then. I was glad for that.
Leo nibbled at my ear and peppered my throat with gentle kisses. My knees went weak under his attention. I wanted more. I wanted him.
I tilted my head up for a kiss. Leo huffed happily and met my lips with his own. I melted into his hold.
Leo’s hands began to roam. His left stroked up and down my side. His right hand cradled my chin and pulled me in for another kiss.
I moaned as his hand wandered up and cupped the back of my neck. He really did have magic fingers. My whole body tingled as he rubbed and squeezed in just the right spot.
“Need you,” Leo panted.
I nodded. “I’m here,” I said: “I’m yours.”
I wished it was true. For that moment, it was.
Leo staggered back from the wall and I fell with him. He looked around, visibly confused by our location. I considered trying to guide him to his rooms, but it was too far. Someone would see us.
I tugged a thick comforter and some pillows down and offered them to Leo. We might as well use them. I was the one who’d have to do the laundry later.
Leo made a delighted sound deep in his chest and began to tug blankets and pillows down. He arranged them in the far corner of the room, behind a stack of storage boxes. In a few short moments he had constructed a cozy, secure little nest for us.
He flopped down into the blanket nest and tugged me in after him. He hugged me to his chest and rolled us over. I ended up in a pile of softness with his warm, firm body hovering over me.
Leo had lost his shirt at some point in the proceedings, and he went to work on my clothing next. I helped, eager to get my hands on his broad
shoulders and firm chest.
We fell into another kiss, this one deeper and harder and more desperate than before. Leo’s eyes were full of hunger. I gazed up at him and nodded
L’opened my arms to welcome Leo into a close embrace. He nuzzled my chest and licked at the bite he’d left on my throat, I moaned as warmth shot through me.
Leo whined at the sound and looked into my eyes.
“It’s okay,” I said, “It’s good. Feels good.”
“Yes. Feel good,” Leo rumbled, “Let me make you feel good.”
I tried to answer but all that came from my mouth was a long, low moan.
1/2
Chapter 24
+25 Bonus
It was hard to make any sense at all when his hands and tongue kept finding all the sweetest places on my body. I was soon whimpering and squirming beneath the alpha.
Soon my thoughts were lost to pleasure and the feeling of Leo’s body against mine. It was wonderful and I wished it could last forever.
I fell asleep in his arms, wrapped in blankets in a closet. I woke up tucked against his chest in his bed. He must have carried me, asleep, through the manor.
I slipped out of bed before he woke, but I didn’t quite make it out into the hall before I heard his footsteps behind me.
Leo
Leo woke to an empty bed yet again. Why did his mate always leave?
He heard soft shuffling out in the sitting room and rushed to the door. This time she wasn’t going to get away without letting him see that she was all right. His wolf had been out of control. He needed to know he hadn’t hurt her.
Leo didn’t remember much from the night before. His wolf had been frantic. It had demanded his mate’s presence and all Leo could do was
search for her.
His last clear memory was of pressing a warm body against a wall and soft flesh between his teeth. Had he bitten her? How much damage had he done?
When he opened the door, though, it wasn’t Eva who stood there. It was the maid, Tessa. He scowled at the sight of her.
“Where’s Eva?” he demanded.
“She only stepped out to take a walk, Alpha,” Tessa replied, bowing low.
“She’s all right?” he asked.
The maid looked surprised, but she nodded quickly. “She is perfectly well, Alpha.”
“But she went out.”
“She likes to watch the sunrise,” Tessa said.
She hadn’t told him anything like that. But she was always leaving early. Maybe sometime he could convince her to wake him so they could walk together.
“Why are you in here?” he asked the maid.
Hadn’t he forbidden her from entering his rooms? He was sure that he had.
“I was only bringing fresh linens and towels,” Tessa said. “I was going to leave them at the door but Eva said to put them in here. I’m sorry. I’ll go.”
“Wait.” Leo studied the maid.
Something bothered him about her face, about her scars. That face shouldn’t have scars. They didn’t match his mental image. Though he was sure they were the same as they had been the last time he saw her.
“Sir?” Tessa bowed again.
“Your scars,” Leo said, “Where did they come from?”
The maid flinched at his question and looked back at the floor. Leo felt just a little guilty. Even if she was a schemer, scars like that probably came with a painful story. But he had to know.
There was something wrong with this pack. The alpha’s weakness. Eva’s evasiveness and the persona she put on in public. The scars on this maid. The pieces just didn’t add up to anything good.
