Destiny's Choice (10 page)

She didn’t know about that, but she was proud of her body.
She was t
oned and fit, nothing sagged and what muscles she did have were defined in a feminine way. Her breasts, while not small, were still perky
.
H
er stomach
was
flat, and her ass nicely rounded. Not bad for a
one hundred and seventy- five
year old Lupa.
If
she did say so herself.

Simply smiling at him, she climbed on the bed and between his legs. “Hands above your head and keep them there,” she directed.

With obvious reluctance, he did so.

Roan was s
tretched out like a feast before her,
and
Rivera was going to gorge herself on her magnificent True
Mate
. Starting at his feet, she slowly worked her way up. She wanted to learn all she could about Roan and learn she did. His feet were ticklish and kissing the inside of his thighs made him moan. Nibbling on his hip bones caused him to gasp and buck and sucking his nipples got her a deep groan of pleasure. But his true hot spots were his neck and the tops of his shoulders. The minute she began her assault of those areas, he started to tremble.

“Rivera,” he moaned deeply as she lightly bit down on his cartaroid.

“You taste so good, Roan
.
”
S
he breathed onto his skin between sips and nips. “You feel so good, so warm, and hard.”

Laid out on top of him, Rivera covered Roan like a living blanket. She could feel and taste, touch and smell every inch of him. And to have him willingly bare his neck to her, the ulti
m
ate
show of trust and submission, well, it sent her arousal through the roof. But even with all these responses, Rivera could still feel him holding back. She could see it in his expression
. His
eyes
were
closed tight,
his
knuckles white where he was grasping the headboard. That just wouldn’t do. They were True
Mate
s
and she wanted all of him. God
knew he was getting the full package with her.

Moving a bit down his body, she sat up, his hard shaft poking her in the ass. She braced her hands on his chest, getting closer to that rigid length.

“You can let go now, Roan.”

Eyes glowing with white heat popped open,
his
jaw clenched. “I…I don’t know if I can.”

Not a lie but not the whole truth either.

“Why not?”

He let out a harsh breath, eyes closing then opening, their glow dimmed. “I…I’ve always been the dominant one in the bedroom. Submitting to my True
Mate
was never a question despite that
. But now, I…I want to and I’m not sure how I feel about it.”

“I see.”

She should have known it was too good to be true. Why she was surprised though, she didn’t know. But she was. Roan was her True
Mate
, they were bonded. His submitting to her on their First Mating was supposed to be a gift, a sign that he really wanted her. Now she knew the truth.

Climbing off him, she went and picked her robe off the floor, slipping it on and tying the sash with angry movements.

“Rivera, wait.” He sat up quickly; about to leave the bed but she stopped him.

“My life has gone to shit, my parents are monsters, and the only consolation out of all this is you. At least, that’s what I thought. But once again, the happy ending I’d wished for isn’t going to come true. Though why I should be surprised is even more of a shock, but there you go.” She swallowed back tears, not wanting Roan to see just how much his rejection hurt. “You made me believe, Roan. For the first time in my miserable life, you made me believe that finally, finally, it was my turn. That getting to this moment was worth the hell I lived through. My God, you even bared your throat to me.” Sh
e choked out. “But it looks as if you don’t really want me either.”

“No! That’s not true.” He came off the bed, reaching out to her, but she took a quick step back, her expression making him stay where he was. “Sweetheart, I never said an untruth, I swear. I’ve been upfront with you about everything.”

“Really.” She folded her arms under her breasts. “So this was what? A mistake? A trial run? A diversion?”

“Of course not,” H
e snapped. “You’re my True
Mate
. I have more respect for you than that.”

“Then what is it, Roan? Because I’m really getting sick of having the rug pulled out from under my feet.”

“I…” His mouth opened and closed, confusion and frustration clear on his face. “I…”

When he didn’t say anything else, Rivera just shook her head. “Figures.” She then retrieved her bag, getting out a tee and a pair of cotton shorts.

“Rivera…”

“Don’t!” She rounded on him. “Just, don’t.” Grabbing the spare blanket from the foot of the bed, she went to the living room. Once changed, she lay on the sofa, pulling the blanket over her. Trying to empty her mind, she closed her eyes. But sleep was a long time coming.

Chapter Six

Roan LeGuer, you are, without a doubt, the worlds biggest fool
, he thought as he sat on the bed, head in his hands.

He finally had his True
Mate
ready to claim him and what d
id
he do? He panics like a scared virgin on prom night. And why? Because…because…Hell, he couldn’t explain it in his own mind why. There were way too many thoughts and feelings jumbled around to even begin to sort through them. Kind of sad really considering he
’d
been anticipating finally being with Rivera
from
the moment he knew she was his. Now, not only had she not claimed him because of his own stupidity, but making it up to her was going to take some serious thought. Possibly some groveling. Maybe even a little castigation.

He groaned, rubbing both hands down his face. There was nothing he could do about it at the moment. Morning would come soon enough to beg for forgiveness.

With that happy thought in mind, he stood then shifted, padding quietly
to the living room and taking his usual place on the hearth rug. Rivera’s even breathing let Roan know she was asleep. But he could still feel the hurt and sadness through their bond. His wolf whimpered softly, wanting to comfort their
Mate
. Roan remained where he was. Any kind of apology wouldn’t be welcome at the moment regardless of the sincerity. No, he and his wolf would just have to console themselves with watching over her and being close should she need them. Not exactly the best plan for making it up to her, but it would have to do. His wolf didn’t exactly like that plan, but was mollified to stay close.

Letting out a deep sigh, Roan closed his eyes. The scen
t of gardenias and fresh snow
followed him into a light doze.

                           *            *            *             *

A piercing scream rent the morning quiet causing Roan to jerk awake. He immediately jumped to his feet, shifting back to a man and looking around for danger. He spotted Rivera sitting straight up
.
H
er face
was
sheet white, and her breathing
was
choppy.
H
e raced to her side
,
and
gather
ed
her in his arms. She was shaking, her heart beating wildly as he pulled her onto his lap.

“Shh, you’re okay, sweetheart,” he crooned. “Just a bad dream.”

She stiffened slightly, but Roan
,
held on, refusing to let go. “Please,” he whispered into her golden hair. She needed this as much as he did.

Gradually relaxing, Rivera leaned against his chest; her head snuggled under his chin.

“You want to talk about it?” His hand stroked lightly up and down her spine. “It might help.”

Her sigh was soft, but Roan
,
could feel the fear still hovering through their bond. “Just the usual.” She shrugged. “It was the time when one of those quacks thought I had bad blood. The leeches weren’t doing a fast enough job so he decided to slice small cuts on my arms and legs to speed
the bleeding along.”

Roan held back the growl bubbling in his throat. “How old were you?”

“Uh, fourteen, I think
.
Maybe fifteen.” She shrugged again. “Most of what I remember is begging my parents to make it stop.”

“But they didn’t.”

“No,” her reply was barely a whisper.

When it came time to execute Ian and Lillah, Roan
,
was going to make sure they both got a taste of what Rivera had suffered at their hands. It was the least they deserved.

“I’m so sorry, Rivera.” He gathered her tighter into his embrace, wanting her to feel
his strength and
know
she was safe. “So sorry.”

“It’s fine. That happened a long time ago.” She let out a harsh breath. “Hell, I haven’t had any of those dreams in decades. But with the truth of my parents now out, well…”

Roan nodded against her golden head. “And I certainly haven’t helped.”

“Roan.” She made to pull away but Roan held on.

“Please, sweetheart. I need to say this.”

For several heartbeats, he waited. Then she sank back into his arms.

He had woken a few times during the course of the night to make sure Rivera was okay, so it gave him time to think. Time to work out just why he wasn’t claimed. The conclusion wasn’t that surprising.

“I’ve never not been in charge of a situation. Even when growing up, my brother and the other kids always deferred to me. My father told me it was the mark of a great Alpha that others would know
this instinctively. That it was my responsibility to use that instinctual response for the good of the Pack, not myself. Then he was killed and my responsibility became more. I found myself shouldering everything.”

“
Then
I come along.”

“Yes. And while I knew that our First Mating would be in your capable hands, well, to be honest, I panicked.”

She drew back
. Her
dual colored eyes
were
wide with shock. “Why?”

He grinned sheepishly. “
As
Alpha
, it
doesn’t mean that I don’t have my own fears and shortcomings. I’m just able to hide them better. 
W
hen it
then
came time to let you in, to let you have all of me, every little thing, well, I…I was afraid I wouldn’t
be
good enough.
Have
what you really needed.
Or b
e
your perfect
Mate
.”

“Nobody is perfect, Roan.”

“I know.” He chuckled. “
Nevertheless
,
at that moment, I wanted nothing more than to be perfect for you. To be the
Mate
, the man, you deserve. Of course, all that thinking just made matters worse and I wound up not only hurting you
,
but
making you think I didn’t want you. That couldn’t be farther from the truth, Rivera. Please believe that.”