Pursued by a Werewolf (Mystic Isle, Book 4) (22 page)

His hands molded against her lower back, holding her tight. He smelled so good and felt even better.

“Yes.”

“Good.”

His cocky smirk made her tingle. The beat slowed just enough for close dancing and the look in his eye said he was done talking for now.

Instead, he spoke to her with his hands, his hips, his kiss. She moved against him, fluid and easy. Melting. Blending. Losing all sense of time and place until it was only him and her at the center of the universe.

She slid a palm up his chest, needing to touch as much as she craved being touched. As soon as she reached the warm skin beneath the open collar of his shirt she closed her eyes and thought of Valencia’s suite in Paris.

When she opened her eyes they were surrounded by the soft, muted tones and quiet that had always soothed her. As nice as the island was, she wanted complete privacy. The Paris apartment was so romantic, perfect for what she had in mind.

“No more secrets, huh?” she asked, reminding him of their conversation the evening before.

He had the good grace to look sheepish. “Last one.”

“A pretty big one.”

He stepped back and studied her with deliberate thoroughness. She felt the intensity all the way to her toes.

She was suddenly a little breathless, but the happiness bubbling through her made her want to raise on her tiptoes and kiss him.

“You look incredible,” he said, pleasure in his eyes, just as she’d hoped.

Hunter backed her against the nearest wall. His lips sought hers, kissing her with a passion that stole her breath. But she couldn’t let him distract her. Not now. Not when there was so much left unsaid.

Wrenching her lips from his, she placed both palms against his chest and pushed. “You’ve got some explaining to do.” She quirked an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah? You sure you want to talk right now?” He trailed a fingertip down the side of her neck, across her collar bone and then down the length of her arm. The caress almost made her knees buckle. Almost.

“Right now,” she whispered, drawing out the words.

He groaned. “You expect me to think while you’re wearing that scrap of a dress, smelling good enough to eat?”

“Absolutely.” She stared him down, unwilling to let it go.

“I--”

“Have a confession?” she prodded.

He nodded slowly. She watched his eyes. He didn’t shy away, didn’t back down. “Or two. I bit you the second night we were together. You came so hard you didn’t even notice.”

Avery let her head drop back against the wall. “The second night?”

She remembered that night, every detail. Every kiss. Every caress. The way his mouth felt moving across her skin, down her stomach, lower still until she’d lost her mind.

Except, obviously, the most important detail. His bite; him marking her as she’d shattered in his arms.

“I know you don’t believe in forever, but I believed in us. I knew the moment we met that you were my mate.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“So you bound us together without asking? Without even telling me?”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Hunter was having a hard time determining Avery’s mood. But her body language hadn’t changed. And she wasn’t shouting.

“I know…” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear wanting to kiss her again so badly he ached. “I couldn’t help myself.”

“And your second confession? Pearl said something about a job.”

“I asked her to arrange lessons with you for three weeks so I’d have enough time to carry out my plan.”

“I knew it! You played hard to get on purpose.”

He didn’t deny it.

She raised an eyebrow and smirked.

“Are you mad?” he asked, afraid of her answer.

“I should be. I should be furious. You bound yourself to a vampire. Are you crazy? You know I can’t give you kids. And you barely even knew me--”

“I knew enough to be crazy about you.”

“And that’s why I’m not mad.”

“I don’t follow.”

She ran a foot up the back of his leg. “You knew.  Somehow. And you had faith in me. And you waited until I knew you well enough to fall for you.”

Those words were like a jolt to the heart. Words he’d been waiting to hear, for a lifetime it felt like. But gods help him, he needed to hear more.

“You fell for me?” He couldn’t hide the smugness in his tone.

“You’re kind of irresistible.” She raked her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, giving him that sultry look he loved so much. But where she used to see him as another man to warm her sheets, he now saw the pure, unfettered love in her deep blue eyes.

“Is that right?” He ran a thumb along her jaw, completely seduced by her. There was no where he’d rather be. Wrapped up in her arms, making love, laughing at a movie, walking along a beach hand in hand, it didn’t matter so long as he was with her.

“Actually, you’re completely irresistible. Which is why I could never keep my distance. Why I always felt safe with you, even when I barely knew you.”

“And now?”

“Now I know you.” She rose up and kissed him. “How are things back home?”

“Tense. We think the power went to his head. I’ll, ugh, I’ll be needed there for a while.”

She nodded. “I’ll go with you.”

He stared at her, wishing he could just make good on his promise and whisk her away. “For how long?”

She’d wanted to travel, not be bound to a pack of werewolves. They both knew it.

“For as long as it takes.” She smiled, undoing the buttons of his shirt. “Did Maxim string him up by his tail?”

“No.” He shook his head. “I did.”

She paused, glancing up at him.

“Not literally,” he told her. She visibly relaxed. “Although, I would have been justified.”

She worried her lower lip.

“What’s wrong, Avery?”

“Nothing. I just, sometimes I forget that you’re, you know… dangerous. Deadly, even.”

“I could never be dangerous to you,” he whispered against her lips. “Don’t you know? You’ve tamed the wolf.”

“Is that right? You? Tamed? I don’t believe it.”

He laughed at the disbelief in her voice. He loved that she didn’t pull her punches. That she said what she felt. That she made him laugh. “I love you, Avery.”

“I love you, Hunter Ciolek. And your wolf.”

Those three little words. He’d longed to hear them and now that he had, it felt like pieces of his soul clicked into place.

“He’s rather fond of you too.”

“Is that right?”

He reached for the zipper beneath her left arm and slowly tugged it down. As delicious as she looked in this dress, she’d be even more decadent naked, quivering beneath him.

“You’d better believe it.”

EPILOGUE

Hunter woke to a gentle trilling sound. He reached for Avery but found the bed empty. Bolting upright, he confirmed his worst fear. He was alone.

His heart dropped even though he knew he was being hasty.

“Avery?”

There was no reply.

The trill drew his attention to the nightstand. His cell phone lit up and he reached for it. There were two text messages waiting for him from Avery.

HELLO MY HANDSOME WOLF.

Followed by:

MEET ME ON THE PONT DES ARTS BRIDGE. XOXO

His heart beat slowed and he sighed. Scrubbing a hand down his face he thought back to the day before, momentarily reliving the time in her arms. She was his. And he was hers at last. His pursuit was over.

He had nothing to worry about. But he didn’t relish waking up to an empty bed, especially after telling himself as he’d been falling asleep, arms around his mate, that he’d never have to wake alone again.

Yesterday, these last two years, hadn’t been a dream.

He dressed in a hurry and practically ran the whole way to the bridge. Somewhere down the way a musician was playing
La Vie en Rose
.

He made it to the bridge and recognized the fences full of locks. Lanterns lined the edges. He caught Avery’s scent on a breeze. The scene before him, flickering candlelight, thousands of padlocks sparkling in the moonlight, violinist playing one of the most romantic songs…it spoke to the human in him and humbled the wolf.

And in the center stood Avery, radiant in an ultra-feminine red dress. Nothing like her normal style but perfect for her nevertheless. Seeing her beautiful curves, feeling her gaze on him made his heart beat faster. His stomach felt odd and fluttery. And his inner wolf was strangely quiet but completely alert.

“Hi,” she said when he was an arm’s length away.

“Hi.”

He loved her so much.

She studied his face and a slow smile stretched her lips. She released a breath and he realized she was nervous. He was dying to touch her and was ready to sweep her into his arms and carry her off, but she’d planned this for a reason. He needed to hear her out, let her have her say.

She held out her hands, opening them toward him. A silver lock rested in her palms. He closed his eyes for a two full seconds, a feeling so powerful ricocheting through him that he felt weak in the knees.

Her voice played through his mind, telling him of the legend of the bridge. Why all those locks were attached to the railings along the edge of the bridge; thousands of them professing love and commitment.

He wasted no time taking the lock from her.

“There’s an inscription on the back,” she said.

He flipped it over and studied the words there.

Avery & Hunter Forever

He’d never considered himself the weepy type but in that moment, he felt tears in his eyes.

“I love you, Hunter. Now and as long as we’re given. However long our forever is. I’ve known it for a long time, been struggling with myself and my feelings. Wanting you even though I kept telling myself it could never work out, that you’d hurt me. And it was all to try to keep you at a distance. An arm’s length away. But that was the problem. From the moment we met, I never really wanted you an arm’s length away. I wanted you right next to me, holding my hand, holding me in your arms, keeping me safe, making me laugh.”

She looked over at the banister covered in locks. “I wanted to kiss you that night we stood on this bridge. I wanted to seal our souls together. I wanted to make you mine and for you to make me yours. I wanted a lock on this fence that declared we’d be together. It just took me a while to realize that I couldn’t have a future if I didn’t let go of the past. If I didn’t move on and stop torturing myself. Stop punishing myself. I think somewhere in the back of my mind I thought that flings would keep me safe. But it was an illusion. A diversion. You’re not a diversion and what I feel for you, what I’ve felt for you since that moment you first reached for my hand, it’s hardly an illusion--”

He cupped her cheek in his hand and brushed his lips across hers. “I know. I’m glad you know. So glad.”

“Want to put that on the fence over there?”

She smiled up at him, her eyes sparkling in the moonlight. Damn, she’d never looked more beautiful. It was true what they said. Love transformed a woman into a goddess. But it also transformed a man.

“Absolutely.”

They hooked the lock over a blank space on the fence and together, clicked it shut. When they straightened she reached into her cleavage and then held up a small silver key.

Eyes locked with his, she tossed the key into the water below. “Forever is a wonderfully long time.”

THE END

A NOTE FROM SELENA BLAKE

Dear Reader,

I hope that you’re sighing right about now. Avery’s found her match and I couldn’t be happier. This was a hard book to write. There was a time where I didn’t think it’d ever hit shelves.

But Avery’s story needed telling and Hunter needed his mate. Compared to the pain of Avery’s past, I really had nothing to complain about and now that it’s finished, I’m anxious to share their story with the world. I truly believe in forever, second chances and risking your heart.

Since I know you don’t want to miss any upcoming book news I keep my
website
updated regularly and you can frequently find me chatting with readers on my blog. Sometimes I let my assistant give away books on Fridays, so stop by. Visit at
http://www.selena-blake.com
.

And if you’re in the market for free books, be sure to
sign up for my newsletter.
Joining gets you instant access to my Members Only lounge and every good WolfCub knows that the Members Only Lounge is where it’s at. That exclusive key gets you into the Wolfpack. And there are currently five (yes, 5!) free reads waiting for you. Ready to sign up?
http://site.selena-blake.com/members/

I truly hope you enjoyed
Pursued By A Werewolf
. But even if you didn’t, I’d still appreciate a review. I read each and every one and I learn from them so that each book is better than the last. If you’re not sure where to leave a review, here are a few suggestions. Why not start at the site where you purchased your copy? I’m
active on Goodreads
and review books there myself. Look me up. There’s also Shelfari and LibraryThing. If you have a blog, that’d be a great place too.

If you’re on Facebook, look me up. I’m at
http://www.facebook.com/authorSelenaBlake
.

And if you’re on twitter, you’ll find me there too.
https://twitter.com/selenablake

As always, I love hearing from my readers. You can write to me at
[email protected]
.

Happy Reading,