Fever (Blood Moon Rising, #1) (8 page)

“
I was going to sleep on
top of the covers.”

She suppressed a giggle. “After what
we did earlier, you’re going to be shy now?”

That look of arousal spread through
his eyes. Without a word, he crawled under the sheets with her and
wrapped his arms around her as she laid her head on his chest. They
lay there, staring at the fire. It was so cozy, nothing at all like
her rundown apartment.

Home sweet
mansion
.

“
What do you think is going
to happen?”

“
I don’t know,” he said
after a while. He held her tighter, reminding her of his earlier
promise, that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

She intended for that promise to work
both ways.

She snuggled closer to him, spreading
her fingers over the taut muscles in his chest. Exhaustion began
overtaking her, turning the world blurry and her thoughts to
mush.

“
If this is what forever
would look like with you, I can’t say I’d mind.”

She was asleep before she could hear
his response, a smile on her face. For the first time in a while,
she was content. Maybe she would have tried to savor it a little
bit longer if she’d known it would all come crashing down the next
day.

Chapter 8

Gage didn’t sleep the entirety of the
night for fear he’d doze off and wake to find this had all been a
dream. As the early morning sunlight spilled through the window and
onto the blonde of his mate’s hair, he marveled at how angelic she
looked. Her face was peaceful, that same tiny smile spread across
her cherry lips she’d had when she’d fallen asleep in his arms last
night. She’d accepted him when he told her about his past, about
the future she would face. And his brave she-wolf had taken it all
with surprising grace and strength. She was more than he ever could
have hoped for. His sweet, perfect Danica.

A stray curl of blonde hair lay across
her cheek. Gently, he stroked it back, his heart swelling as she
whimpered and snuggled closer to him.

A soft knock at the door diverted his
attention.

What is it?
he said telepathically, not bothering to hide his
irritability. Since Danica had come barreling into his life, he
never wanted to be disturbed while in her presence. He never wanted
to take another second with her for granted.

Sorry,
man
, Nik’s voice said in his mind.
But we’ve got a lead on the witch.

Where?

She runs a private
practice. Lives out in the boondocks about an hour from
here.

Be right out. Have the car
ready in ten. Fetch Erik. He’s coming with us.

Gage heard Nik hurry away. He hated
rousing Danica, but he wasn’t about to leave her here. No, he was
never going to let her out of his sight again.

He nuzzled her neck. She sighed and
stretched out beside his mostly naked form. Slowly, her eyes opened
and she smiled. With the light caught in her hair, she looked like
sunshine. Hell, if every morning was going to be like this, he
never wanted to get out of bed again.

“
Morning,” she said
sleepily.

“
Morning,” he said gently.
“I’m sorry to wake you, but we have a lead on the witch who helped
Onyx.”

She sat straight up. “Well, what are
we waiting for?”

He grinned, his admiration for her
growing. Good lord, he was falling hard and fast for this one. He
just hoped they didn’t crash before they’d been able to bond
forever.

Gage had already prepared his room
with a change of clothes for her. It seemed natural, with her being
his future queen. They both got out of bed and dressed in a hurry
before meeting Nik and Erik downstairs. Nik was wearing typical
battle attire - sweatpants and a hoodie that had a picture of a
bottle of moonshine and a caption that read “I got Moonstruck in
Moonstruck.” Not the cleverest title, but he seemed to like wearing
it, calling it his “lucky sweatshirts.”

Erik was dressed a little more
practically. The older wolf had on camo, the dog tags from his army
days dangling around his neck. Gage and Danica greeted them.
“Thanks for coming,” Gage told Erik.

He chuckled, shaking his head. “After
serving that prick Malachite for so long, I’m never going to get
used to hearing my Alpha actually thanking me for doing something
he could have easily commanded me to do.”

Danica looked at him
curiously.

“
Alphas can force their
cohorts to do their bidding,” Gage explained. “Some abuse that
power, turning their packmates into slaves.”

“
That’s
terrible.”

“
It was,” Gage replied,
then led her down the steps.

The car was waiting out front, the
heater going full blast. Nik and Erik took the front seats while
Gage and Danica crawled into the back.

He stared out the window, brooding.
The more he thought about it, the more taking Danica along seemed
like a bad idea. But the thought of leaving her here,
unprotected….

She wouldn’t be
unprotected, though, would she?
his
conscience said slyly
.
She would just be where he couldn’t see her, which would drive
him bonkers. He had no intention of hovering over her, but
considering the situation, he failed to see how he could do
anything but. He couldn’t afford to be reckless about this, not
when it meant losing the thing he valued most on this
earth.

“
You’re
worrying.”

Gage looked up to find Danica watching
him curiously. “I’m fine. Just thinking,” he lied.

“
You’re tapping your foot,”
she said, pointing.

He looked down, finding his foot had
begun patting out its own nervous rhythm. He hadn’t
noticed.

“
It’s the same habit I have
when I get worked up over something. Drives my coworkers crazy when
I’m wearing heels.”

I’ll be
damned
. He had the feeling she could read
him like a book if she wanted to. The only other person who could
do that was Nik.

Gage bit his lip, bouncing back and
forth between his decisions and getting all the more anxious for
it.

On the verge of telling Nik to turn
around so Gage could place Danica under maximum security, he
started to open his mouth when she reached over and grabbed his
hand.

He blinked, looking down.

With a small, confident smile, she
squeezed his hand, and his agitation slipped away. He squeezed
back, enjoying her nearness and the strength it gave
him.

“
Teammates work together,”
she said.

He slowly smiled. “That they do.” He
wasn’t used to sharing power. The closest confidante he had in his
pack was Nik, but even he knew his place. With Danica, he would
have to start thinking about her as a partner and not as her
protector, though he intended never to stop that aspect. He already
knew the first he kissed her he’d die for her.

Several cars followed them, about half
his pack, a string of trucks, SUVs, and two door sports cars that
made an odd caravan. Witches were clever. If she became aware of
their approach, she might call for help herself. They needed to be
prepared for the worst, though he hoped through a little diplomacy
it wouldn’t come to blows, magical or otherwise. After dealing with
so much death and destruction in the old regime of his pack, he’d
vowed to work hard toward peace, in any situation. “Tell the others
to wait about a mile out and to surround her property,” Gage said.
“I don’t want her growing skittish.”

“
Yes, sir,” Nik said. He
pressed a button, giving Gage and Danica privacy as the opaque
black glass scrolled up.

Danica looked tense. She was wringing
the bottom of her blouse with her free hand, staring out the window
while tapping her foot. He smiled at that. “What do you think will
happen once we get there?” she asked.

He sighed. “It’s anyone’s guess. It
depends on how hostile she is. I won’t draw first blood, but I will
defend my own.” He squeezed her hand tighter.

She relaxed somewhat, staring at the
back of her hand. “So, are all new werewolves made by
Marks?”

“
Yes. Though mates can only
be Marked by touch. All others have to be bitten while in wolf form
for the Mark to appear.”

“
So you and your
brothers…”

“
Yes. The were transformed
then attacked us.”

Gage closed his eyes. He could still
see the blood in the snow in the back of his mind, where he’d
buried all other dark memories of his past. Like if his oldest
brother, Jason, had died in a pack brawl or in a gutter. He was
always hanging around a rough crowd, even by were standards. No one
had heard from him in forever. He’d given up hope he’d find him
alive. He wouldn’t know what he would say to him if he did. Some
ghosts were better left buried.

He opened his eyes, banishing the
thought of a once well-loved smile he’d grown to
despise.

Danica cocked her head to the side.
“You okay?”

He looked at her and smiled. “I am
now.”

That pretty blush returned to her
cheeks, and she stared at her lap. The skirt she wore was short,
showing off her smooth, creamy thighs. He may or may not have
planned it that way. He wanted to run his hands over her legs, feel
their softness, and touch other parts of her.

“
So we’re to be mated,” she
said softly.

“
Yes.” There was no beating
around the bush. It was either going to happen or it wasn’t. Throat
tight, he said, “I would never force you into something you didn’t
want. The Change will still happen. I can’t do anything about that.
But I can give you your freedom if you want to walk away from this
pack… from me.”

Danica was silent for so long, his
heart nearly pounded out of her chest waiting for her to respond.
“I don’t want to walk away,” she whispered at last, meeting his
gaze. “Even saying it out loud feels like I’m ripping my heart out,
corny as it sounds.”

His own heart sped up a beat as relief
flooded him. “I don’t want you to, either. I want this, more than
I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.”

He leaned in without
realizing he was doing it. Her breath caught right before his lips
covered hers in a questioning kiss.
The
question is
, he thought to her,
do you want it too?
It
wasn’t just permission to continue he sought. He needed to know she
was committed to this, to him.

She responded, closing her eyes and
kissing him back. For a few precious seconds, their kisses were
innocent and sweet. Her tongue flicked out to meet his, and he
deepened the kiss, reaching around her and pulling her close. She
still had hold of his hand. Before he fully realized what she was
doing, he felt his fingertips slid up her skirt and touch her soft
curls. She was soaked - and not wearing any underwear from what he
could feel.

He leaned back to look her in the eyes
as he touched her. She gasped as his fingers caressed her wet
folds, his thumb running along her sex. She arched her back, and he
kissed her beautiful neck as his fingers slid deeper, probing a
little further each time.

“
Yes,” she whispered
raggedly, bucking her hips to his movements. “Just like
that.”

“
I can’t wait to be inside
of you,” he said into her ear.

A groan was his answer. He knew the
two wolves up front could sense and hear everything going on, but
hell if he cared. His mate was opening up to him, and it made him
the happiest - and the horniest - he had been in years.

She lay her head back
against the seat, sighing softly as he touched her. He wanted to
please her, more so than any other woman he’d been with. He
needed
to make her happy.
He wanted her to come with him inside her, sealing their bond
permanently, but he knew he’d have to be patient.

That can wait.

He went deeper and deeper, reaching
for her sweet spot. He knew he’d found it when she gasped sharply.
Her nipples stood erect against the white blouse, showing through
the sheer material of the thin lacey bra she wore. She was so damn
sexy. Her hip thrusts became more frantic as he reached into her,
nipping her core, growing harder as he watched chills break out
over her skin.

“
Yes. More. Faster,” she
breathed.

He obeyed, all too willing to give her
what she wanted. Her panting steamed up the window, and sweat broke
out over her chest. “Gage,” she whimpered.

“
Come for me,” he
said.

A strangled cry escaped her throat
before she clamped down on her bottom lip, bucking several times
before lounging like putty in his arms. She lay there
panting.

He kissed her damp cheek. “Feel
better?”

“
Much. Thank
you.”

“
The pleasure was all
mine.” Giving her one last stroke, he pulled his hand out of her
and licked his fingertips, one by one.