Protected Promise by Julie Trettel

Landon

Chapter 16

 

 

 

I liked Owen a lot. He was smart and funny. We’d been laughing and drinking for hours, but this time I sipped the scotch he offered, knowing I did not want to risk getting drunk again. I had to admit, I did like the amber liquid I swirled around in my glass, far more than the stuff I’d had the night I’d bonded with Kaitlyn.

I couldn’t help but notice that Tobi and Kaitlyn had been locked in a room for several hours. They had only come out for dinner and even spent most of that time talking with each other. I liked to see they were bonding, but I couldn’t help but feel a little left out when my two favorite people in the world were laughing at an inside joke that I wasn’t a part of.

“The room the girls are in is for you and Kaitlyn,” Owen said.

“Or the girls from the looks of it. If they’re going to run their mouths all night long, you can just crash with me, man,” Jackson said.

“Thanks. If it’s okay with you guys, I’ll go check in on them. I’m about to call it a night.”

I was exhausted. It had been a long day, but a good one. Even though in a way I hadn’t really spent much time with my mate, I had enjoyed just being near her. It was those simple moments in life that meant the most to me, like the fact she was comfortable enough with me to sleep the day away in a car.

I knocked softly on the door and listened. The voices on the other side silenced and the door flew open.

Tobi gave me a knowing look. “Pay up, Kaitlyn. I told you he’d be after you first.”

“What if I came looking for you?” I said without missing a beat.

“Did you?”

“No. I came to evict you from my room.”

“Big talk there, mister. But I’m afraid you are interrupting Ladies’ Night.”

I laughed. “Since when do you do Ladies’ Night that doesn’t involve dragging me into something I’m going to regret?”

“Since I befriended my Pack Mother.” She smacked me hard on the arm and I had to force myself to refrain from growling at her. “Why didn’t I hear it from you first?”

I shrugged. “I was getting around to it.”

“I told you she would want to know.”

“You’re my mate. She should have assumed.”

“Well, I didn’t assume. I hoped for your sake you didn’t screw it all up, but how was I supposed to know you’d go all Alpha and take her the first night you met her.”

“Second,” I grumbled. “It was hard, but I walked away the first night.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Kaitlyn confirmed. “I was so confused, and a little disappointed by that.”

“You were in no condition for me to stay. I wouldn’t do that to you,” I assured her.

“Unless you were both drunk, you mean?” Tobi said with a grin.

I groaned. “You told her?”

“She was there when we got to the hotel, remember? She’s not stupid. She knew the second she caught a whiff of me.”

“Well, I do think you’re both a little bit of an idiot to have drunk bonded, but whatever. What’s done is done. I have full faith it would have happened eventually.”

But would it have? Kaitlyn was struggling to be intimate with me. I didn’t blame her, knowing her past and all, but it did make me feel like an ass as if I took advantage of the situation. I knew I hadn’t forced myself on her, but had we both been sober that night, I doubt we’d be here together now and that bothered me more than anything.

“Kaitlyn, do you wish to be left alone with this buffoon?”

“Tobi, I swear. I’m still your Alpha,” I reminded her, even though she knew she was the only person on Earth that could get away with harassing me.

She just grinned. “Fine. What time are we leaving in the morning?”

“I’d like to drive straight through tomorrow. I’m excited to show Kaitlyn our territory.”

“That’s fine. I hate leaving Jackson, but I’ll settle down more when we’re out of this city. I have such a love hate relationship with this place.”

“You seem to be doing really well. Better than I expected.”

She shrugged. “I do better away from those windows in the living room. It’s easier back here to convince myself we’re not a million miles in the sky.”

I hugged her, surprised and a little relieved when Kaitlyn didn’t growl at us.

“Get some sleep. We’ll leave early.”

She said good night and left us.

When Tobi shut the door behind her it felt like all the air was sucked from the room.

“Are you okay?” I asked. My wolf was starting to get on edge.

“Fine,” she said.

I stripped down to my boxers and sat on the bed. Kaitlyn hadn’t moved from the chair she’d been sitting in when I walked into the room. I could feel the tension in the air between us and I didn’t like it. She was practically buzzing with nervous energy.

I didn’t know what to do so I got up and pulled the bed sheets down and slid beneath them.

I didn’t say a word. The last thing I wanted to do was pressure Kaitlyn.

She got up and took off her clothes… all of her clothes. Then she walked over and turned the lights off, but not before I grew uncomfortably hard from the quick peep show.

I felt like an ass for it, but I couldn’t help it. My mate was beyond gorgeous. I desired her in ways I didn’t even realize I could. That shouldn’t be a bad thing, but it didn’t feel like a good thing either.

I crossed my arms behind my head, not trusting myself not to reach for her.

She crawled into bed next to me and laid still beside me. Neither of us spoke. The distance between us wasn’t uncomfortable, but I wished I could just reach out and touch her. I wasn’t a man that was used to hesitating or second guessing myself. I wasn’t some tyrant that just took what I wanted when I wanted, but I liked to think I was a decisive Alpha, yet Kaitlyn made me question that. She made me question every move, every thought, everything.

After what felt like an eternity, she rolled onto her side and looked at me. She felt skittish to me and I didn’t want to frighten her.

Her hand reached out, but then she pulled it back. After the second time she did this, I reached for her hand and placed it on my chest. I shivered at the calm that washed over me from her touch. I felt her relax too.

“You can touch me anytime, Kaitlyn, in any way you’d like.”

She cuddled up next to me finally beginning to relax as she laid her head on my shoulder.

“I wasn’t sure you’d want me to after last night. I thought maybe you’d be a little disappointed in me.”

“Never. Last night was amazing. I got to hold you in my arms all night long.”

She nodded her head against my chest and I wasn’t sure if she was aware of it or not, but her hand started to roam across my stomach and chest.

I tucked my arm back under my head as I laid on my back and allowed her full control of the situation. It wasn’t easy, especially as she became bolder and more sure of her movements. More than anything I wanted to take control and show her how right we could be together. I needed her pleasure as much as my own.

When she planted light kisses across my chest, I knew my boxers were fully tented. I felt no embarrassment about that. I wanted her to know just how much her touch affected me and just how badly I wanted her, yet I remained still, silently giving her full control.

As her hand dipped below my waistband, I moaned involuntarily.

I looked down to judge her reaction, but all I caught was a knowing smirk. She knew what she was doing.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yes. Are you?”

I chuckled. “Yeah, I’m more than okay.”

She closed her eyes as she squeezed me and then pulled, eliciting a deep moan from me.

“Um, could we maybe try?”

I gulped and took a deep breath. “You’re in full control here, gorgeous. Whatever you need, all you have to do is ask.”

Her grip on me loosened. “I really need this underwear to disappear.”

She didn’t have to tell me twice. They were removed and tossed across the floor in record time.

I remained as still as I could as she continued her explorations, growing bolder by the second. My self-control was beginning to wane when she changed course and kissed me.

That was it. The frenzy within me was ignited and I kissed her back hard breaking my stillness to wrap my arms around her and thread my fingers through her long blonde hair.

I rolled to my side trying not to pin her down. My desires were so strong I was barely holding on by a thread.

I pulled back and looked deep into her eyes with a million questions in mine.

“I’m good,” she confirmed as I resumed my kisses.

She wrapped her legs around me and pulled me tightly to her. We fit so perfectly that it took barely any movement to position myself against her.

“Are you sure?” I asked, wishing I could play with her in the way she had me.

I knew I wasn’t going to last long. If she said yes, this would be fast and furious, but I suspected that was what she wanted in that moment.

“Yes, Landon. Yes.”

I thrusted forward and filled her. For a brief moment we both stilled and then she smiled. It was the most radiant, triumphant smile I’d ever seen.

“So beautiful,” I whispered as I began to move against her.

With no foreplay for her, I was worried I’d be done before she was even really ready to start, but that wasn’t a problem at all. It was quite obvious that she had enjoyed playing with me as much as I’d enjoyed letting her.

We moved in perfect sync. This time there was no inebriation. Those couple of drinks I’d had with the boys had done nothing but relax me a little. We were entirely sober.

As she laid beneath me, I remembered why I had been so still to begin with. This wasn’t about me and my needs. Tonight was about her. If I were being honest with myself, every night for the rest of our lives would be about her needs. I knew for now that meant relinquishing control to her.

I grabbed her by the waist and rolled to be on my back. She looked a little surprised. Neither of us really had a clue what we were doing, yet it also seemed like the most natural thing in the entire world.

She took a second to find a good position that was comfortable for her. Her hands splayed out across my chest. She took my breath away as she stared down at me with her golden hair fanned around her face.

And then she moved.

It took a moment for her to find a rhythm that made her feel good, but when she did, it was magical. She looked fearless and strong. There was no skittish victim to be seen. My girl was in full control and all I could do was hold on and enjoy the ride.

It didn’t take long before she was incoherently moaning and repeating my name amidst other things until she began shaking all over and collapsed upon my chest. I held her tight as I found my own release quickly.

When she looked up at me again her eyes were damp, but her smile told me she was going to be okay.

“Thank you,” she whispered just before she fell asleep on top of me.