Hope Awakened by Charlene Hartnady

Chapter 31

Reece kissed and caressed every part of her. None of her soft skin was left untouched. He laved her breasts until she was crying out. He suckled on her clit, almost bringing her to completion several times. He worshiped her body in the way that she deserved to be worshiped.

Only when Hope begged him to take her did he settle himself between her lush thighs. Only then did he ease his prick into her snug heat. As much as he wanted to slam into her, to mount her with abandon, take her hard and fast, he knew that this was the very last time for them. It had to be. He needed to savor her. To commit this moment to memory.

Slow.

Easy.

Her eyes were wide and hazy with lust. Her mouth was swollen from his kisses. It hung open as he slowly eased himself in and out of her tight confines. He could feel her breasts soft against the hard plane of his chest. Her hard nubs abraded him. He pulled her legs higher, lifting her thighs.

Her soft moans turned to cries, and her nails dug into his shoulders. He had her spot. Right there. He eased off a little, moving slower…drawing out their pleasure. He wanted this to last. He kissed her neck. Nipped at her earlobe. Then kissed her lips. Swallowing her hard cries.

Every stroke took them higher. Every thrust caused his nerve endings to flare more vividly to life. His heart slammed in his chest. He could feel hers doing the same against him. In sync and as one. Their bodies were slick, sliding against one another. He could feel her pent-up need for him. He wondered if she could feel the same coming from him. If she could feel it in his touch. See it in his eyes.

Her channel fluttered around him. Slow flutters. Slow. Her mouth fell open, and she moaned. Her breath seemed to catch in her throat. Everything stilled for an instant as her whole body tightened around him. Then she was milking him. Her snatch spasming around him so tight it almost hurt. Almost. Hope screamed his name. And they were falling, falling into bliss, falling into each other. He leaned his face down as his orgasm rushed through him. Crashing, smashing, obliterating.

He felt a sharp sting on his neck.

Reece roared as her blunt teeth sank into him. His orgasm flared back to life like a fire fueled with gasoline.

His feathers rubbed. He wanted to bite her back. Every instinct told him to do it. Instead, Reece grit his teeth for a moment and roared again, feeling his seed leave him in hard spurts. He finally slowed, hearing her whimpering beneath him, hearing her trying to catch her breath. He fell to the side in a boneless heap, not wanting to crush her. Reece lay on his back next to her, his chest heaving.

“I’m sorry,” Hope pushed out between breaths. “I don’t know what came over me. I…I got this urge to bite you. I wanted you to bite me back. Stupid,” she muttered.

“No. It’s not stupid.” He felt for her hand and clutched it. “It’s mating behavior.”

“It’s what?” She sat up.

“It’s mating behavior.”

“Don’t you mean kinky behavior? I’ve never done anything like that before, and I have to say I liked it. It sure sounded like you liked it too. I guess I’ve never been very experimental in bed.” She chuckled softly.

“I did like it.” Fucking loved it. “I’m half lion. We bite during sex to enhance our partner’s pleasure.”

“My biting you made you come harder?” He could hear that she was smiling. “You’re only telling me this now…that we’re done?”

“Yes. It makes us come much harder.” How did he break this to her without freaking her out?

“Why didn’t you bite me back, then?” She gave his arm a playful slap.

“It’s mating behavior, Hope.”

“You keep saying that, but I’m not sure what you mean, exactly. Mating, as in sex? Surely you don’t… You…” She sat back up. “Mating as in marriage?”

“Mates who are committed to one another bite each other. Biting is frowned upon during casual sex.”

“Oh, shit!” She put a hand over her mouth. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I just…I just did what felt natural. Why would biting you feel natural?” Her eyes were wide.

“You are a passionate female. You didn’t know what it meant.”

She shook her head. “I didn’t. We can forget about it, since we won’t be having sex again, anyway.” She sounded disappointed. There was also relief there. He had freaked her out.

“That’s why I didn’t bite you back, even though I wanted to. Your orgasm would have been two or three times harder if I had, but…” He shook his head. “I vowed never to bite a female again unless she was my mate for life. Not unless we were committed to one another. Biting is supposed to strengthen a relationship. It is one of the things that ties two people together.”

“Again? You’ve bitten someone before?”

He nodded once. “Yes. And it didn’t end well. I…I was crushed. When I commit to something, I don’t do it by half measures.”

“I know, it’s one of the things I admire about you,” Hope said. “I’m so glad you didn’t bite me, then. This could get messy.” She pointed between them.

“I hate Shard because he stole my female,” Reece blurted. He hadn’t meant to say anything. It just came out.

“Oh.” She pulled a fur up over herself. “What happened?”

“There were several of us vying for Nerusha’s hand – a female in the flock. After months of fighting for her, Nerusha announced that I was the successful suitor. I was beside myself with joy. I was very much in love with her by then. My love for her grew day by day as the mating ceremony grew closer.”

“Okay, so you and Shard, as well as several others, were sleeping with Nerusha at the same time while you were trying to win her?” Hope was frowning hard.

“No. There were many suitors for her hand, but Shard and I vowed never to make a play for the same female. We agreed that it could cause a rift between us. We agreed that our friendship was more important.”

“What happened?”

He sucked in a breath. “On the day of our mating, Nerusha broke it off with me. She said that she had made a mistake, and that she was in love with Shard. My best friend and the woman I loved both lied to me. Shard had been seeing Nerusha behind my back all along. He broke our vow. He lied. Nerusha cheated. That is why I understand how you are feeling about Emmet and your sister. I have an idea of the pain and disappointment you felt.”

“That’s awful. She left you at the altar?”

“I’m not sure what an altar is?”

“She left you hanging. Humiliated and betrayed you.”

He nodded once more. “The two most important people in my life. Of the two, it was Shard who hurt me the most. Just like your sister has hurt you.”

He watched as her beautiful eyes clouded with sadness. “I didn’t respond to her text.” Hope pulled a lip between her teeth. “The one where she asked me if I knew what signs to look for. She tried calling me a couple of times, but I never responded. Now I feel like a bad person. A terrible person. She needs me, and I’m not there for her. At the same time, I’m still so mad at her.”

“You are not a bad person.” He took her hand back into his and squeezed. “You are a wonderful person. It is normal to feel this way. When we get out of this, you can call her and start the healing process.”

“It’s always the good people who get stomped on.” She turned towards him. “You’re a good guy, Reece. Shard’s a jerk. For the record, I would have chosen you.”

“You don’t even know Shard.” His voice hardened up.

“He’s smooth and charming.”

Reece choked out a laugh. “I’m none of those things. I’m not sure whether you are complimenting me or insulting me.”

Hope smiled; it was radiant. “It’s definitely a compliment. You’re real. You say it like it is. You’re not the kind of guy who would blow smoke up someone’s ass…” Hope laughed. “You should see your face! That means to tell someone what they want to hear. To say things you don’t mean just to make the other person happy.”

“No, I wouldn’t do that.”

“It makes sense why you hate Shard so much. Why you lost it when he came over.”

“He is the reason Nerusha is dead. Even after they mated, I continued to feel something for her. It’s hard to switch off your feelings, even after a person betrays you.”

“I can relate.”

He pulled in a deep breath, not liking that Hope was insinuating that she still had feelings for that bastard, Emmet. He didn’t deserve her affections. Instead of saying anything about her ex, he went on, “Shard is a selfish prick.” Reece ground his teeth, trying hard to find control. He could feel his beast, just beneath his skin…prowling, tail thrashing in anger. “He planted his seed inside her, even though he knew she would sicken and die. He knew!”

“It’s my understanding that you guys are wired to procreate. I’m not trying to take up Shard’s side here, but you can’t really be angry with him for that.”

“He killed her.” Reece stood. He went to the refrigerator and pulled out two bottles of water, handing one to Hope.

“You probably would’ve done the same. All of the Feral males—”

“Never!” he snarled.

“Okay, okay.” Hope held up a placating hand. She started opening the water and then clapped a hand over her mouth instead. “Shit!” she muttered as she let her hand fall, her chin on her chest.

“What’s wrong?” He sat on the edge of the bed.

“It’s probably nothing. I’m sure it’s not going to be an issue, but I didn’t take my birth control last night. I normally take it every night before bed. I’m pretty sure we’ll be okay. We shouldn’t have had unprotected sex…that’s all.”

Reece nodded. “Let’s not panic about this. There’s nothing we can do about it right now.” He wasn’t sure how he felt. It wasn’t shock and horror like he would have expected. Hope would make a fantastic mother.

“I can see you’re a little worried. Don’t be. It’s one lousy pill. I will take a pill to stop a pregnancy when we get back. I’m sure Leukos and Magnar will send help. We won’t be stuck here for too long.” She pulled some hair behind her ear. He could see that her mind was racing.

“You get pills that can stop a pregnancy?”

She nodded. “I have up to five days to take it. The sooner the better. As long as we are rescued within five days, I can take the pill and I won’t become pregnant. It will be a precaution. I’m worrying about nothing.”

“Exactly.”

“I’m probably not even ovulating.” She chuckled. “Even if I was ovulating right now, the chances of becoming pregnant are not that great. The window period is three to five days in any given cycle. I often tell couples not to seek fertility assistance for at least a year. Why? Because these things take time.”

Reece pulled on his jeans. He made a noise of affirmation. The thing was, non-humans had strong seed. It was rare for a female in heat not to become pregnant. Since he could see that she was worried, he decided not to set the record straight.

“What are you doing?” Hope asked.

“I heard your stomach rumble. I’m going to make something to eat. The fridge is fully stocked.”

Her stomach rumbled loudly, and she put a hand to her belly. “I’m ravenous. I hadn’t realized until right this minute.”

“We last ate yesterday at lunchtime.” He was hungry, too. Injury and mounting would do that to a male. He needed sustenance.

“No wonder, then.” She smiled. It lit up her whole face. “What are we having?” She rubbed her hands together.

“Whatever you want.” Reece said. “You should get dressed while I am cooking. The Fallen might come back…even Ekon, perhaps. I don’t trust any of them. You are a temptation.” He looked down at her full breasts. At the pink tips of her nipples and the glistening fur at the junction of her thighs. He felt his prick stir, even though he had just mounted Hope. No! He couldn’t touch her again. He turned towards the kitchen. Fear rushed through his veins. Genuine fear that made his heart race and his mouth dry. He wanted to mount Hope again and again. He wanted to plant his seed inside her. He wanted to bite her…to mate her. Reece wanted to take her for himself. The problem was that he knew deep down that Hope didn’t want him back. Not like that. Not after being hurt so badly by her ex. She was still raw. Still healing. Perhaps there was more between them, but she had convinced herself that she was only interested in what his cock could give her.

Even more importantly, he was not worthy of a female like her. Not after allowing them to become captured. After putting the queen’s life at risk. No! Reece pushed out a breath. He needed to focus on her safety, on getting them out of there alive. This train of thought would get them killed.