Mated in Mist (17 page)

The shower started behind her and she had to force herself not to turn around and look at Ryder through the clear glass door. She’d ogled him enough for the day. Leah quickly stripped out of her clothes, aware that Ryder was staring at her. She couldn’t help but feel his intense gaze on her. It was almost palpable. She wasn’t self-conscious about her body, especially with Ryder, so she slowly eased herself into the extra-large claw foot tub. The thing could easily fit three or four people, and it achieved the amazing feat of covering her knees and breasts at the same time. It was seriously her most favorite thing in the house.

As soon as she let the water lap over her skin, she let her magic ease through her pores. Her small cuts and burns healed quickly, the bruising taking a bit longer as they were deeper. Soon, she was healed, and the water was at a decent level. She reached up to turn it off, but Ryder beat her. She hadn’t even heard the shower turn off since she’d been focusing on each bruise on her body.

“Lean forward,” Ryder said. She did, bringing her knees to her chest so he would have space to maneuver around.

He slid into the tub right behind her, his legs encasing her on each side. He wrapped an arm around her waist and brought her back to his front. His rock-hard erection pressed into the small of her back, and she had to bite her lip to stop from moaning. She let her head rest on his shoulder and sighed, finally finding some semblance of peace for the first time since she’d felt that pinprick at her neck.

They lay there in silence, their breathing easing into soothing inhalations and exhalations in sync with one another. His hand gently ran up her stomach and to the space between her breasts before going back down again. It was an easy movement, one of comfort and familiarity. She had her fingers on his other arm, letting them dance softly along his skin so she could feel his touch, feel
him
.

“I almost lost you, too,” she said finally, surprising herself. Ryder’s hand stopped moving, his fingers right under her breast.

“Leah…”

“I know we’re being careful, or at least trying, but I can’t lie to myself anymore. I almost lost you because you were trying to save my life. I’ll never be able to repay you for that…but I don’t know what I would have done if you’d died.” She was grateful he couldn’t see her face.

“I don’t know what I would have done if I had lost you either,” he said after a moment of silence. “I just don’t know.”

“What are we doing, Ryder? How can it hurt this much yet feel so…right?”

He kissed the side of her neck, and she let out a sigh. When he buried his face there, she had to press her lips together before she said something monumentally stupid like she loved him or something.

“I can’t form a bond with you, Leah. I…can’t.” His voice broke and he let out a growl. “You have no fucking idea how much I want to, damn it. I want you in my bed. In my life. I want you as my mate, but I
can’t
.”

She froze, her body suddenly cold. He’d never said that before, even if he’d hinted at it. If only he’d have enough trust in her to tell her
why
he couldn’t. It broke her, even though she knew that she couldn’t have him either. What would happen to him if she created the bond? What would the Coven do to him then?

“Maybe…maybe we could try without the bond?” She winced, prepared for his refusal. “We can do as we are…just without the bond.”

He didn’t speak for so long she was afraid she’d said something wrong. Or maybe he was trying to find a way to let her down easily.

Instead, he slid his hand down her stomach to cup her sex. She gasped and rocked into him.

“We can try, Leah. We can damn well try. But if it hurts too much, if you need more, you need to let me know.”

And he would let her go. He didn’t say it, but she knew that’s what he’d meant. They would have fun, have some sort of emotional tie and relationship, but they wouldn’t bond. She could do that and hope that one day he would tell her
why
he couldn’t bond with her. She deserved that much. But for now, she would take it.

“Okay,” she whispered. Then he slid his fingers between her folds and rubbed her clit. She gasped, arching off his body. He wrapped his other arm around her and cupped her breast. His large, calloused fingers plucked at her nipple and she tilted her head toward him, needing his mouth.

He obliged, sliding his tongue along her lips so she would open for him. She sank into the kiss, rolling her hips as he fucked her with his fingers and played with her breasts. He teased along her entrance before sliding two fingers in, then sped up before slowing down to tease her once more. She gasped, aching, needing more, but he didn’t stop his motions, didn’t let her go over the edge. His cock dug into her back and she rubbed against it, wanting him to come along with her. He groaned and rocked his hips, as well. Water sloshed over the sides of the tub, but she didn’t care. She just wanted him to take her to the top and let her fall in ecstasy. When he pinched her clit, she shook, her body bowing as she came hard against his hand. He didn’t stop and she almost came again. Then he removed his hand and pushed her forward slightly so he could get out of the tub.

She felt cold at the loss of him but didn’t have time to dwell on it. He had her out of the tub and in his arms in a blink. She moved so she could wrap her legs around his waist and rock into his cock again.

He groaned into her mouth and gripped her ass with his hands. When one finger played with her hole she stiffened, then leaned in to him as he slowly worked her, gentle and yet heated.

“I’m going to fuck you there one day, little witch. Do you like the sound of that?”

She nodded and kissed him again, loving the way he growled and wanted more of her. When he sat her down on the edge of the counter and leaned in front of her, she gasped.

He spread her legs wide and licked his lips. “Keep your legs open. Can you do that? Can you keep your legs steady when I lick your pretty cunt?”

She bit her lip and moaned. “I can try.”

“I’d say there is no try, only do, but that might break the mood.” He slid his finger up and down her slit even as she gasped a laugh.

“We need to watch that movie,” she said as he slid one finger into her, curling up so he rubbed along that bundle of nerves that made her eyes cross.

“Later. First I need my feast.” Then he leaned forward and lapped at her, eating her until she could barely breathe. His beard brushed along her inner thighs and lower lips until she couldn’t formulate words. He fucked her with two fingers, then three, even as he kept his mouth on her, sending her quickly over the edge once more.

Even as she called out his name and clenched around his fingers, he kept moving. He stood up, grabbed a condom from the drawer, and slid it over his length. Ryder gripped her hips, and she held onto the edge of the counter so she could slide off.

“Fuck me, Ryder.”

“I can do that, little witch. I’ll fuck you until we’re both breathless and sated. Just make sure you fuck me just as hard.”

“I can do that. Just get inside me.
Now
.”

He grinned at her, tightened his hold on her hips, and thrust into her hard. In one stroke, he filled her so full she could barely breathe. She wrapped one leg around his waist and slid the other up his body so it rested over his shoulder. He held onto that ankle, kissing and licking her calf and behind her knee as he fucked her hard on the counter. She gripped the edge until her knuckles went white, rocking her hips ever so slightly and tightening her pussy so she squeezed his cock. He must have liked that because his eyes glowed brighter and he picked up the pace.

When he lifted her other leg to his shoulder and gripped her ass, she let out a yelp, reaching for his shoulders to hold on. He held her weight with ease, lifting her and positioning her so he went deeper than he ever had before. Their gazes met and she held her breath, unable to think, to speak, to do anything but
feel.

He pulled her up and slammed her down on his cock, the sensation so fucking good she almost passed out right then, unable to even come because she knew if she did, she’d shatter. But he seemed to know where her mind had gone and slid home again, this time holding her down over him. She came then, knowing it was too much and not caring. He came as well, filling the condom, the sensation so warm and so
him
. She wanted him bare within her, wanted to feel him pump into her and fill her full. But she knew that wouldn’t happen.

It would never happen. Because if it did, they’d create the bond. Instead, she would have to deal with a condom for however long they made this work.

It would have to be enough, though. Because she wasn’t sure what she would do without him. And frankly, she was afraid of what he’d do without her. They’d have to live with the decisions they’d made and learn to deal with this new form of…whatever this was.

But with the feel of Ryder deep within her and the sated state of her body and emotions at that point, she didn’t seem to care.

She would take Ryder Brentwood however she could. Because there wasn’t another option. Only pain and yearning. Until they broke. Again.

Ryder stared at the man who had caused so much pain, so much fear, and resisted the urge to kill him where he stood. Slowly. Or perhaps not too slowly, as Ryder would rather be back at his den with the woman who made his heart stop—even if he didn’t know what the hell he was going to do with her.

Luis, the Coven leader, a water witch with no qualms about killing, and the father of Leah, sat before him in his ornate, wooden, long-backed chair that looked more like a throne than an assembly chair. His peers surrounded him; the same witches who’d run toward the back exit when the first bomb blew. Only a few of those who remained had come to Ryder’s side during the blast. Those would be the witches the wolves would negotiate with and work with to help their people in the future.

The Alphas had agreed, and now Finn and Ryder would do what must be done to take the next step. Their worlds were burning, literally. According to their contacts in Washington, the government would be revealing their plan and laws soon. Once that happened, the current standstill would end, and they’d have to face whatever came. Ryder wasn’t looking forward to that in the least. But that hadn’t happened yet, and first, he needed to get a few things straight.

The witches in front of him were one of those pieces.

Leah stood by Ryder’s side, healed and angry. Or maybe he was the one who was angry. Leah looked more…resigned about the fact that her father had tried to kill her. As if that had been the inevitable conclusion to the relationship that had never been. He wanted to wrap his arm around her shoulders and bring her close, but he wasn’t sure she would accept it.

Something had changed between them, and he couldn’t figure out what it was exactly. But this wasn’t the time to worry about what his wolf ached for or how the woman beside him made him feel. He had to take care of the problem at hand, then he could worry about himself.

That was how he’d functioned in the past, and that was how he would have to now—even if it hurt like hell.

“You’ve summoned us here for a reason, wolf,” Luis snapped. “Get on with it. We don’t have all day to deal with your people. We have a war of our own to deal with.”

Ryder tilted his head and studied the man in front of him. Sweat slicked the witch’s forehead and his hands were clenched in front of him. Luis knew something was up and was damn worried about it.

Good.

“We’re here to deal with that war, or have you forgotten?” Ryder asked calmly. Leah put her hand on his back, settling the wolf beneath his skin that wasn’t so calm. “We’re also here so you can see that our people,
all
our people, are alive after the attack.”

Luis raised his chin. “And?”

“Why did you do it?” Ryder asked, his voice low. “Why did you sacrifice your daughter and risk the lives of your people to help the humans who want us all dead? It doesn’t help anything except to perpetuate the violence.”

Gasps sounded in the room, but Luis merely narrowed his eyes. “You dare accuse me of this? What proof do you have?”

Finn growled beside Ryder and pressed a button on his phone. The voice of the human who had called out Luis’s name at the camp sounded as he told of his plans and the connection to Luis. They hadn’t recorded it when they’d been preparing to fight but
had
gotten his confession again before the cops came. At least, Finn had, once he’d made it to the camp. Ryder had only been thinking about Leah—something that was dangerous. But with the mating urge riding him hard, he couldn’t function like he needed to.

“Lies!” Luis screamed and stood. “You want the witches dead, that is why you come in here with your false accusations. Get out of here before I show you what kind of witch I am. What power I wield.”

“Oh, I think we already know what kind of witch you are,” Leah said smoothly. “You’re the kind of witch who cheats on his wife and lies to the woman who fathered twins for you. You’re the kind of witch who spends years,
years
, hunting them down and trying to snuff out their lives so the world doesn’t look down on you. You’re the kind of witch who makes contact with organizations who not only hate the paranormal but want to use them for their means so you can kill two witches who truly mean nothing to you. You’re the kind of witch who, after having one twin killed, will find every way possible to have your daughter’s life ended. Even start a war with the wolves in order to get it done. You’re no true witch. You’re a traitor in every way possible.”

Ryder wanted to throw his head back and howl at her words. She didn’t sound broken or defeated. She sounded
strong.
She sounded
wolf
.

Leah raised her chin, her hands at her sides. “You killed Roland. I know you had something to do with my mother’s death. And now you’ve risked the lives of your people, the lives of the wolves who wanted to help the witches in the Unveiling. All so you can end my life.”