New Beginnings (15 page)

Raj came to him the next night. He made
amends in a way that still left Liam confused. He’d never cared for
a man, or even a woman in such a way.

They had four years together. Raj taught him
so much about himself, and how much Slater walked all over him. He
opened Liam’s eyes, even if neither of them spoke of their
affair.

To keep things a secret, Raj always kept a
woman on the side. Liam occasionally did, but he tired of the
incessant talk too easily to put any effort into a
relationship.

The man was always possessive, and when he
saw the stranger hitting on his woman of the week, he lost it.

Liam sat at the far end of the bar and
watched some human trash come on to Raj
’s latest piece of
ass. She dismissed him, but Raj walked in and snapped.

He flew over in a rage and threw one
punch that brought the meatbag to the ground. That should have been
enough, but he landed on the guy
’s chest with both knees and
a sickening crunch as he kept swinging at the guys face.

Then Brody, the dumbfuck who should never
have gotten involved in wolf business, had to go and pull Raj off.
When Raj swung at him, he ducked away and fought back. Somehow,
that piece of shit overpowered Raj and might have beaten him to
death.

Raj shifted, and clamped his massive jaws
around Brody
’s throat.

Liam heard the shot as ringing filled his
ears. He felt the bullet pass by his head and then Raj fell, his
head blown apart and his body shifting back to human. It was chaos
after that, and Liam had to stay objective. No one knew about their
love, and no one could ever know.

A tear fell down Liam’s face as he pulled
Raj’s picture from under the mattress. A picture he took while he
lay on the very same bed, asleep after a long passionate night.

“I’ll lead the pack for you, Raj,” he
promised for the thousandth time.

Then he had an idea. He reached over to call
Slater’s vampire bitch. Maybe he could convince her to tear
Slater’s newest wolf to pieces. It was almost poetic.

Jess stood at the window, trying to figure
Slater out. Her initial impression had been wrong. He was
everything she thought a man should be. She only knew a few pack
Alphas and they were all egotistical bastards who wanted everything
catered to them. Not Slater.

He even cleaned. Something she could never
imagine Gregory doing.

Closing her eyes, she breathed deep. His
scent filled her lungs as he approached. Big hands smoothed over
her waist before he pulled her back against his body.

His lips grazed over her ear as he
whispered. “Where do we start?”

Slater overloaded her senses with a powerful
body, his gentle words, his darkly seductive scent, and his touch.
Then there was the way his power wrapped around her, melding with
her. It left her shivery. Man, he made her nervous.

She just about squeaked. “Can we go for a
walk?”

His lips pressed against her shoulder before
he said, “All right.”

She went through the back door and he
followed. “Does this trail go to the lake back there?”

“It does.” He looked over at her. “The water
will be warm. Maybe we could go for a swim. What do you say?”

She couldn’t help herself as she nodded and
licked her lips. “Sounds like a plan.” Maybe having Slater naked
and wet would keep her from stressing over their real issues.

“Come on.” He took off at a dead run and she
struggled to keep up with his long strides. “Sorry.” He chuckled
when he glanced back, and then slowed down when he noticed she was
lagging behind.

He took her hand and she couldn’t help
smiling when he said, “We’ll get used to running together. I can
adjust my speed to make it easier for you to keep up.”

“Oh, I’ll just get used to running faster.
Don’t slow down on my behalf.”

“How about I slow down until you catch
up?”

Amused, but still determined to prove
herself, she slapped his arm away and tore off toward the water.
She made it there and came to a stop. It was a few seconds before
Slater swept her up and spun her around.

“Alright then, we’ll play it your way.” His
voice was all growly, the sound rolling against her, making her
ache for him.

“My way involves fewer clothes.” She reached
down to pull her shirt over her head and shed her jeans. She hadn’t
bothered with undergarments after the shower. She raised a single
eyebrow. “Well aren’t you going to get naked? Or just watch
me?”

His smile was slow as his eyes raked over
her body. “You are such a delight.” First his shirt joined hers,
then his pants. His body was long and broad with just enough muscle
to know he made his living working with his hands.

Unable to resist, she closed the distance
and reached up to thread her fingers through his hair. He leaned
down to make it easier for her, and put both hands in her hair as
he stepped into her body. He was warm and smelled so good she had
to breathe him in.

“You smell incredible,” she murmured.

“As do you, but you taste better.” He
nibbled at her ear and his fingers tripped down her spine, reducing
her to shivers.

“I don’t know about that.” It came out a
breathy purr as she licked up his neck, and he did taste good. Her
hands caressed up the flat planes of his stomach, over his pecs and
then around his shoulders and neck to pull him even closer as he
picked her up and carried her into the water.

He was right, the water was warm. Jess
twisted away from him and swam further out.

Slater followed and wrapped his arms around
her waist. He pulled her close and whispered in her ear. “Are you
going to make me chase you?” His hand trailed down her stomach as
they moved in sync to tread water, and then his fingers slipped
between her thighs to brush over her clit until her breath
caught.

“Not if you’re going to do that,” she
purred.

He rubbed a little harder. “Like that, don’t
you?”

“Mmhmm.”

He dragged her back toward the little strip
of beach and half out of the water while he drove her closer to the
edge of release. “I want you again. Tell me you want me.”

“Yes.”

He laid her down and crawled between her
legs so he could stare down at her. “What do you want?”

It might have been stupid to admit, but she
said it. “You, all of you.”

“Good, because I’m not letting you go.”

God, she hoped not, and sure that was
desperate, but she wanted to feel something real instead of closing
everyone off like she usually did. He stared down at her with his
intense, pale gray eyes. His gaze stirred feelings she never knew
she was capable of.

“Jess, give me a chance. Let me earn your
trust.”

“You already have,” she whispered.

He slid into her so slowly, his eyes locked
on hers. She felt his presence entwine with her, sending sparks of
pleasure throughout her entire body. They moved together in a
sensual dance, their cries like a song to wash out the fear and
hesitancy.

* * * *

Victoria heard the splash of water and a
needy moan. Her pulse quickened as she silently rushed through the
forest. The scent of sex, Slater and jasmine caught her senses. She
paused and closed her eyes, enjoying how good they smelled
together.

A woman’s cry of passion called to Victoria.
She crept to the edge of the trees, far enough away that neither of
the lovers would notice.

What a sight they made. Slater was over the
blond, pumping into her with powerful strokes that made her full
breasts bounce as her body undulated to take him deeper.

Slater never took Victoria with so much
passion and that both pulled at her heart, but pleased her at the
same time. She knew beyond a doubt that she was right to let him
go.

He made a sound that Victoria had never
heard before and she clenched her thighs.

She wondered if it was wrong to watch the
man she was with for years with the woman he was meant for. It
turned her on, but she didn’t want Slater, not now that he had
found his mate.

No, something inside her shifted. She wanted
her own man. One who wouldn’t keep part of himself locked away.
Slater would always be her closest friend, but nothing more.

“Slater,” Jess cried out, her nails raking
down his back.

He hissed and thrust harder. “Come for me
Jess.”

“I am.”

Their eyes were locked on each other as
Slater came to a stop and the moment was so intimate, Victoria
finally found a shred of decency and slipped back into the
night.

Something told her it would be wise to check
on Liam. The sick fuck had actually tried to call her earlier, but
she ignored the phone to come check on Slater to see how they were
progressing.

* * * *

Slater never imagined he would fall this
hard for any woman. His feelings weren’t this intense with Clara
and maybe they had their problems, but he never felt the desire to
be everything for one person.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t sealed with
Clara. Maybe that was what was missing.

Yet there he was, making love to a woman he
barely knew, but he felt like they were one. He craved every last
detail of her life. He could spend his whole life getting to know
her. He just hoped it didn’t take that long.

He thrust deeper, faster and she came undone
around him with such primal sounds. Her gaze was locked on his,
never straying. He couldn’t look away as he followed her into
erotic abandon. He held himself deep inside her as her sweet little
body milked him dry.

Promises of love were on his tongue, but he
bit them back. He had a feeling she would only laugh if he said it
so soon. Sure, this was how it worked with wolves, but he knew she
wasn’t ready to believe him yet.

“Slater,” she whispered, “I don’t know what
to say.”

“Then don’t say anything. We have forever to
discuss anything and everything you want.”

“Mmm, are you always this perfect?”

“Obviously not. I messed up at dinner that
night, but somewhere in the back of my head, I knew we were headed
here. I just didn’t think I could go there again. He sighed and
rolled to his side, but brought her with him. “You changed all
that.”

Jess snorted. “You never wanted another
woman? Somehow, with as good as you are with the rough and tumble,
I doubt that,” she murmured as she propped herself on her elbow and
snuggled closer.

“There were women, but no werewolves and no
humans. I didn’t want to risk another mating, but I couldn’t resist
you.”

“Anyone I should worry about coming to claim
you?”

“No, in fact the last woman I was with told
me I should go after you because she knew she wasn’t for me.” He
moved in to kiss her.

She leaned back with a raised brow. “Who was
she?”

“A woman in a similar situation. Someone who
wanted no strings attached but I told her I couldn’t do it after I
met you. Her name is Victoria.”

“And she is?” Jess sat up, putting distance
between them.

He knelt in front of her and looked into her
crystal blue eyes. “A vampire.”

Her head tilted to the side, one corner of
her mouth turned up. “A vampire. So you wouldn’t mate with
her?”

He shrugged. “I’ve never heard of a wolf
mating a vampire. I have heard of bonds being broken when a
werewolf’s mate is changed into a vampire. So I couldn’t form an
attachment unless I honestly cared. Remember, I didn’t want to
care.”

Sighing, she stood, gathered her clothes and
walked back toward her cabin.

Now what the hell did he do? He was telling
her the truth. He snagged his own clothes and followed. “Where are
you going?”

“I just need to think.” Damn, her voice was
cold and distant.

“About what?”

“About this. About us. I’m still wrapping my
head around everything, and you keep saying you don’t want to
care.” She didn’t stop walking and she wouldn’t look at him, but he
could sense her pain.

He grunted in exasperation. “That’s not what
I said, Jess.”

“You just did. Your words were…,” she did
finger quotes, “I didn’t want to care.”

“Seriously?” He asked.

She shook her head and picked up the
pace.

“Let me explain.”

“Why?”

“My first impulse was to shut you out, and
that didn’t work out so well. I spent two weeks trying to get you
to listen to my apology. Victoria came to me the other night and I
still turned her away because I was so caught up in what I feel for
you.”

“But you don’t want to,” she sing-songed as
she hurried up her porch steps and slipped through the back door
that she slammed in his face.

He leaned against the door and tapped. She
turned back and motioned for him to leave. She hadn’t locked the
door but he wasn’t sure what the right move was. Jess kept going to
her bedroom.

It was now or never, and he decided to take
a chance since that window was still open. He walked around the
cabin, and climbed inside as she stepped into the room.

She tossed her clothes and shoes at the bed
and crossed her arms over her chest. “Damn it, Slater. What do you
want?”

“To talk, so you might understand my old
motivation and why
that
is different now.”

“Fine.”

“My heart has been broken. I kept away from
wolves and humans so I wouldn’t have to go through that again.
Things change, I don’t care about that now. I care about you. I
want you. The past is long since over. So let’s just forget how it
started and move forward.”

Frowning, she turned and walked into her
closet.

He followed. “Look, Jess, I’m not perfect.
I’m just a man. As you probably know, we make mistakes. I do learn
from them. I was trying to compare you to my first mate which
wasn’t fair. I should never have changed her, but she nearly died
in child birth. I didn’t ask, I didn’t think, I just changed her to
keep from losing her. She didn’t want that life, and when we lost
our son, she couldn’t take it anymore. I still blame myself.”