Choices (6 page)

It happened several times and all Hale could do was cling to her damp body, groaning, cursing, and telling her that she belonged to him.

He held her for a long time after it was done, his hands moving restlessly over her body. The need to climax had been replaced with the need to touch her, to feel every part of her.

Hale could still remember thinking, after the first time he’d had her, that their coupling would be significant, but this, this was even more than that. Would each time they were together be more intense than the last? And after this experience, how could he ever desire another female again?

The last thought disturbed him. He rolled over onto his side, keeping their hips joined. His cock had begun to soften, but he didn’t want to leave her.

To his annoyance, she tried to move away from him. His hands gripped her hips, perhaps too tightly, and he growled low in his chest.

“I just want to get comfortable,” she said.

Giving in, Hale released her, not at all liking the feeling of his cock slipping from its warm cocoon. He thought she was wanting to put some distance between them, but was surprised when she turned to nestle her body into the crook of his arm and rest her head on his chest. It was the same way she had cuddled up to Alder the day before. He liked that.

Hale could tell that she was falling asleep. It annoyed him, and he found himself wanting to do something very strange. He wanted to talk to her.

He nudged her. “Taylor.”

“Hm?” was her sleepy reply.

“Don’t sleep.”

She opened one eye. “What?”

“I’ll want you again in a few minutes.”

Now, both of her eyes were open and she laughed. He liked it when she laughed.

“Again, seriously?”

Hale thought for a second, and then said, “At least twice more.” This seemed to surprise her, which prompted him to ask, “How many times does my brother take you when you couple?”

Her body tensed. “I don’t want to talk about Alder when we’re in bed together.”

He could tell she felt guilty, which annoyed him on multiple levels, but he changed the subject. Sort of.

“Then what about the other males that you’ve been with?”

Hale realized that it was important to him that he satisfied her more than past partners. She seemed to have enjoyed herself, but he had never been with a human before. Perhaps there were things he should be doing differently.

“There hasn’t been anyone else,” she said quietly. “Only Alder, and now you.”

He blinked at her. “You were a virgin?”

She nodded, worrying her bottom lip.

Still finding it hard to believe, he asked, “How old are you?”

“Twenty-two.”

“And you were never with a male before my brother?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Can we not talk about this? I thought you said you wanted to have sex again.”

Hale swiftly pulled her legs apart. Her folds were still drenched and he pushed into her with minimal resistance, enjoying the sound of her gasp.

“No wonder you’re so fucking tight,” he growled.

He was able to go for longer the second time, and if it was possible, his climax was even better than the last. By the third time her legs shook as he flipped her over onto her knees and taught her how to mate like a wolf.

Taylor collapsed down on the sweat-drenched furs, her mouth taking in deep lungfuls of air, as if she had just come up from drowning. In a way, she had.

Hale was a maelstrom. He would pull her under and each time she thought it was over, he’d pull her down again. She’d lost count of how many positions he’d put her in, how many times she screamed his name, and how many times he’d made her come.

When she regained her equilibrium, Taylor dared to look down at him. She half-expected him to mount her again, but at long last, the alpha looked completely worn out. His head lay on her chest, his mouth half-heartedly licking at one of her tender nipples. Experimentally, she lifted a hand to stoke his hair.

His eyes, which had been heavy-lidded, closed completely and his chest rumbled with something that bore an uncanny resemblance to a purr.

Staring down at his contented face, Taylor felt something in her chest, something that hadn’t been there before, something inexplicable.

Hale must have sensed the shift in her mood because his eyes cracked open. The candle had melted considerably but still burned brightly, its light reflecting off his multi-chromatic orbs. He pushed himself up, his weakened arms trembling slightly, and he moved so that his face hovered over hers.

“I want you in my bed every night.”

If she’d thought Hale couldn’t possibly make her bashful after everything they’d done, she’d have been wrong. She tried to make light of what he’d said.

“You should probably pace yourself, otherwise you’re going to get bored pretty quickly.”

That seemed to annoy him. “Who says I’m going to get bored?”

There was that stupid feeling in her chest again. She tried to stomp it out with cold, hard logic. She was with Alder. She couldn’t possibly have feelings for two men at the same time. And if she had to choose one or the other, it most certainly couldn’t be Hale, the one who was eagerly awaiting her being pregnant so that he could start sleeping with other women. She seriously needed to figure out which part of her brain was being so moronic and lobotomize it.

“Never mind,” she said, and then, feeling him against her leg, added, “You can’t possibly be hard again.”

“I can’t help it.” He collapsed onto her again, nuzzling his head into her neck. “But I won’t be able to come again unless I have something to drink and maybe some meat.”

At the mention of food, her stomach let out a loud growl that could rival any of Hale’s. He chuckled into her neck before sitting up.

With a teasing look, he said, “I’ll have to see if there are any plants around the den for you.”

“I think my onions are still on the floor out there,” she said, making herself sit up.

Hale watched her stretch, his eyes on her breasts. Unexpectedly, his hand reached out to touch her. Much the same way his brother had, he ran his thumb down the length of her scar.

“You were hurt?” he asked.

She watched him trace her scar, surprised that it didn’t bother her to have him touch it. “My heart wasn’t working, so they had to take it out and replace it.”

He raised a brow. “They can do that?”

She nodded. “They can replace a lot of things where I come from.”

“Will it happen again?”

“I don’t think so,” she said with a shrug.

“You don’t think so?” he repeated, his eyes narrowing.

Taylor sighed. “I also don’t think that the wind will stop blowing or the world will stop spinning, but life’s too crazy for certainties. I sure as heck didn’t think I’d end up here with you.”

That seemed to distract him and he grinned. “Get used to it.”

Hale stood, grabbing a pelt to wrap around his hips. Taylor had lost her dress, bra, and panties somewhere between the den entrance and Hale’s bedroom, so she reluctantly followed suit, grabbing what looked like a deerskin and wrapping it around her shoulders.

“Can you bring me something to wash up with?” she asked, noting that she was, well, sticky.

When Hale didn’t respond, she glanced up at him. He was facing away from her, looking down toward the doorway. She peered down, just in time to see Alder enter the room.

Her muscles locked up, only her heart moving—no, slamming, inside of her chest. In a moment of ridiculous optimism, she thought maybe he’d come to join them. As soon as his face came into view, that idea was banished. He looked pissed.

She just stared at him, her lips too oppressed by guilt, humiliation, and self-loathing to speak. His full attention was on Hale.

“Let’s go,” he said, pointing to the doorway.

It didn’t even sound like him. His voice was a deep baritone, steeped in anger and authority. Hale didn’t argue, didn’t look at her, he just let out a small sigh of resignation and followed.

Before he left, Alder spared her a glance. “Stay here.”

For a minute, she complied, sitting on the furs and willing herself to keep it together. All of the heat seemed to leave the room and she clutched the pelt tighter around herself.

“What did you think would happen?” she hissed at herself. “Did you really think Alder was going to be okay with this?”

Taylor put her hands on her hair and shook her head, letting out a loud groan. When her fit subsided, she felt marginally better.

“I have to fix this.”

She got up from the pallet and adjusted the deerskin so that it covered the bulk of her nudity. She fiddled with it for a few moments before recognizing that she was stalling. After a brief hesitation, she grabbed the candle and left the room.

The cold hadn’t been her imagination; the passageway was actually quite cool. Finding Alder and Hale wasn’t as hard as she thought it would be. All she had to do was follow the shouting.

Light spilled into the passageway, emanating from the room they were in. She blew her candle out, approaching the doorway with caution.

“Did you think I wasn’t going to find out?” she heard Alder yell.

Taylor could tell it was Alder because he still sounded furious. She froze at the door, blood rushing to her face. The thought had crossed her mind that he would be mad, but this—she’d never heard him like this, even the night he’d caught Hale feeling her up.

“Do you want me to answer that honestly?”

In contrast to his twin, Hale sounded calm, though some of his trademark confidence was gone. She felt bad that he was taking the brunt of Alder’s rage. It was unfair, but she couldn’t bring herself to enter the room.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Hale? Why can’t you be satisfied with what you have?”

“Silas was a bomb waiting to blow up in our faces,” Hale shot back. “I did what I had to do.”

Huh?

“You went behind my back and provoked him, then you left that poor girl there to deal with the aftermath.”

“I did what had to be done.”

Alder let out a humorless laugh. “Well, it sounds like you’ve got everything under control then. I’m done here.”

Biting down on her lip, Taylor peeked around the corner. The room was sparsely furnished and an oil lamp sat on a square table. The men faced off near the table. Hale had his arms folded across his chest, his posture defensive.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Hale asked.

“I’m through letting you use me,” Alder clarified. “I’m leaving tomorrow and I’m taking Taylor with me.”

Alder moved to pass Hale, but Hale slammed his fist down on the table with such force that Taylor jumped. The oil lamp wobbled, nearly falling over as the sound bounced off the stone walls of the cavern.

In a low voice that was full of menace, Hale said, “You aren’t taking her anywhere.”

Alder seemed unimpressed by his brother’s outburst. “There you go again, not thinking about anything but yourself,” he spat. “You have no business having a mate and I’m sure as hell not letting you anywhere near mine ever again.”

A muscle in Hale’s jaw ticked. Taylor saw his hand clench into a fist and she quickly stepped into the room, making sure her footsteps were loud enough to draw their attention.

“Please don’t fight,” she implored them.

Their heads both snapped in her direction. In unison, they said, “Stay out of this.”

It was almost funny how alike they looked in that moment, but Taylor was too irritated to be amused. She put her hands on her hips and glared at them.

“No,” she said firmly. “I’m not going to stay out if it because you’re both standing there with your brains all jacked up on testosterone, making major decisions about my life.”

She looked at Alder. “I don’t want to leave.”

To her relief, he didn’t seem angry anymore. Pushing past Hale, he approached her, opening his arms. She went to him without hesitation, sinking into his warm embrace.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “If anyone should have to leave it should be him.”

Taylor turned her head towards Hale. “What did you do?”

Hale refused to meet her gaze.

“He intentionally incited war with Whiteriver,” Alder supplied. “Then he lied and said they instigated it so I’d help him.”

Taylor pinched the bridge of her nose. She wasn’t quite invested in the pack enough to share Alder’s anger, and if truth be told, she was mostly just relieved that Alder wasn’t mad at her.

“There has to be a way we can fix this,” she said. To Hale, she said, “I don’t have any say in how you run your pack, but if you are going to start a war with Whiteriver, I won’t stay.”

Hale opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a hand.

“Don’t,” she said. “Take some time, think about what you want, and then let us know.”

Taylor took Alder’s hand and gave it a gentle tug. Reluctantly, he let her guide him from the room. The passageway was dark and she regretted blowing out her candle. Thankfully, Alder seemed to know where he was going.