Savage Silence: A Dire Wolves Mission (The Devil's Dires Book 4) (9 page)

That consideration, that understanding of her needs, was something she’d never experienced. Thaus got her in a way other men couldn’t, and that made her want him all the more. So she clung to his hard body, and she worked herself against his hard cock. And she died a little bit right there against him.

Her orgasm took almost no time at all to wash over her. The mating haze and Thaus’ innate sensuality definitely helped with that. She gasped and clung to her mate as he kept rocking, as he kept grunting softly into her neck, kept giving her what she needed. What she wanted. But when she was done, sated and saggy and half exhausted from the emotional and physical climb, he was still hard.

“Shouldn’t you—”

“Don’t worry about me.” He took a step back, just enough so he could adjust himself in his pants. Obviously not wanting to go too far just yet.

But Ariel hated knowing she hadn’t done enough. He’d given her pleasure, taken his time with her, coddled her broken self, and followed her emotional rules. He deserved more than a case of blue balls. And for the first time in a very long time, she wanted to please someone else. She wanted to let go and give of her body. She wanted more. For him.

Ariel slid her hand between them, earning a growl from Thaus.

“What are you doing there, baby?”

“Touching.” Her fingers hit the waistband of his jeans, pausing for just a moment before slipping underneath. “More touching.”

Thaus stood frozen in place, breathing hard as he let her do what she wanted. What she needed. Still not touching her.

Ariel brushed the head of his cock with the backs of her fingers, the wetness of precome making her ache in an entirely new way. She wanted a taste of him. He jerked at her touch, a tiny whine escaping his throat when she wrapped her fingers around the head. Something that made her grin.

“You okay there?” she asked as she ran a fingertip along the ridge.

“Fuck,” he hissed with a thrust of his hips. “You damn well know it.”

Yeah, she did. Ariel slid her hand farther inside, gripping him at the base and tugging upward. Loving the way he shivered against her. Her position was awkward, and she was beginning to think about climbing off the counter so she could get on her knees, when his hand landed on her thigh.

And her world came to a screeching halt.

Her thoughts shattered, her control disappearing in a split second. One touch, one tiny move by him, and she was right back there. In that hell. Alone.

“Don’t,” she spat, burying herself in guilt when his entire body pulled away. When he practically jumped across the floor to lean once more against the opposite bank of cabinets. “I don’t want to stop, but I can’t handle that. Just…don’t. You can’t hold me down.”

Thaus’ eyes stayed locked on hers, his expression unreadable. She knew how hard this would be, how difficult a physical relationship would be to develop if she couldn’t stand the feel of his hand on her body, but she wanted to try. She wanted to explore her boundaries with him. To seek out comfort and healing in the mating bond bringing them together. She just wasn’t ready to dive in completely yet. And she couldn’t stand the thought of being held in place…in any way.

But Ariel should have known Thaus would get it. His response was a simple nod and a whispered, “Okay, baby. Whatever you need.”

Ariel shook her head and hopped off the counter, pressing herself against his chest once more. Seeking that state of bliss he’d given her earlier. Hoping she hadn’t ruined it. “I’m sorry. I just…I can’t be held down. They would wrap chains around us…on these hard tables…and they’d hold us down so one could—”

But she couldn’t finish her thought. Couldn’t dig through her grief to those memories. She didn’t want to.

“I’ll never hold you down, baby. I swear to you. And they won’t ever get anywhere near you. No one like that will.” Thaus kissed the top of her head, his movements slow, and his hands gripping the countertop once more. Giving her a chance to recover. Giving her everything she needed and asking for nothing in return.

T
haus couldn’t decide
if he’d been shot straight into heaven or hell. Balancing the sexual need within his mate as well as her fears and his own rage at what those bastards had done to her was an impossible conundrum. How could he please her without frightening her? How could he ease her desires without destroying the fragile bond between them? Everything with her ended up being some sort of exquisite torture, a lust-fueled roller coaster that sometimes ended in a way he hadn’t seen coming. One hand on her leg, and they’d crashed. That was all it took.

But his mate, she rallied hard, which only caused more confusion. He had Ariel pressed up against him with her legs spread around him…and he couldn’t touch her. Not really. He’d slipped with the hand on her thigh, and her reaction had been immediate and visceral in its fear. A fact that just about killed him. She seemed so shattered by what they did to her. Thaus wanted to fix that, to help her find some sort of comfort, but he had no idea if he ever would. No one healed from being treated so violently. They moved on and learned to live with the memories and the nightmares, but they never truly healed. Those scars ran too deep to disappear. Instead, they stood out, scabbed and swollen. Always one touch away from breaking open again. From lashing out with renewed pain. People who’d been so broken didn’t heal; they learned to live through the pain and the mess of a cycle of fear most people would never experience. They soldiered on even when they had no idea how to do so. They survived because the other option wasn’t an option at all.

Thaus stood completely still, watching Ariel, waiting her out. She seemed so much smaller as she collected herself, so breakable. He knew her strength, though. He saw it on her face every moment of the day. She battled demons he could only imagine, led by a sense of determination that eclipsed everything around her. She was more powerful than he was by far, just for being willing to get out of bed every morning and face what the day would bring.

Ariel proved that strength when she once again slid her fingers into his waistband. Brave to the point of pain, his shewolf.

Thaus jerked back, clenching his hand into a fist so he wouldn’t reach for her. “You don’t have to—”

“I know, but I want to,” she said, once again getting to know his cock with her fingers. A warrior fighting a battle in her own mind as she tried to push past something he could never truly understand.

The heaven of her touch once again warred with the hell of not being able to reciprocate in any way. He growled and dropped his head, unsure about continuing but unable to resist. Her hand felt so good, too good almost. Felt like the breath of an angel from a place he’d never thought he’d make it into. Just the sight of her, the peeks he managed of what she was doing, was almost enough to push him over the edge.

He thrust into her grip slowly, holding back as much as he could so as not to scare her again. Grunting softly when the head slid through her fist.

“You have to tell me,” he said as he rocked faster. “Let me know if I push you too much.”

“I will.” She grabbed his T-shirt, fisting the fabric to bring him closer. Pushing her own boundaries, it seemed. For his mate was out to prove something, whether to him or herself, he didn’t know. But Ariel was a woman on a mission, and he was the one benefiting from that objective.

Thaus was far more careful this time with where he put his hands. Not on her, that was for sure. Instead, he grabbed the counter by the edge and held on. Hoping he could control himself and remember not to touch her. To wait for her to ask.

But as the pleasure climbed up his spine and his sac tightened against his body, he knew that was going to be a tough one. Already, his arms itched to hold her, his hands dying to run over her skin. She had his cock in her hand and her breasts against his chest, yet he somehow managed to hold himself back.

He should be a goddamned saint after this hand job if he managed not to grab her.

“Fuck, baby.” His legs shook with his oncoming orgasm. He was going to come so hard, much harder than ever before from a simple hand job. He knew it was all because of her, his mate, his one true match. Ariel’s touch ignited him in ways no one else’s could, and bonding sexually with her was something he wanted with a desperation he almost couldn’t fathom.

The mating haze danced around them both, clouding Thaus’ mind and driving him down a road of pleasure and desire he couldn’t have turned off of if he’d wanted to. And he didn’t. The mating imperative kept them together, kept him rocking into her touch, kept him wanting more. And his mate? She seemed just as affected. Just as wild and needy.

He had no idea if they’d be able to stop. Ever.

But before he could finish in her hand, before he could even realize what the hell she was doing, Ariel yanked him forward. He stumbled, crashing into the opposite bank of cabinets and grasping the edge of the counter hard once again. His mate, his shy, beautiful mate, had the look of a wild animal about her. Eyes bright, breaths coming fast. Feral.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he turned to face her. As he readied himself for anything.

“Want more,” she said with a sexy-as-fuck growl, her hands shaking. “I’m… Thaus, I’m scared, but I want… I need.”

He wasn’t quite prepared for that, though. Heaven and hell, together again. He knew what she needed, knew exactly what it was she wanted, but there was no way she was ready. He refused to even consider sex an option at that point because the woman was in a sort of frenzy that would feed his own desire. It would make him careless and blanket her with far more confidence than she had. The mating haze had convinced Ariel she was ready, but Thaus knew the opposite to be true. He couldn’t take her.

But he could give himself to her. He could surrender to her needs and let her do whatever she felt she needed. Give her the time and the space to work through her fears of touch and intimacy. He could, and he would. For her.

“Okay,” Thaus said finally, surrendering to her need as best he could. He leaned back, gripped the edge of the countertop, and spread his legs a little wider. “I’m right here, baby. I’m right here, not moving, and I’m all yours. What do you need? What is it I can give to you to make you feel better?”

Ariel whimpered a sound that tore through his heart. But in the next moment, she dropped to her knees and dove for his pants. He held completely still, watching her, unable to look away from the sight of his mate on her knees before him. Owning him from a submissive position. She had the power. She held all the cards and told him what game to play. And when her tongue came out to taste the head of him, he almost died for the sixth time in his very long life.

“Holy fuck,” he murmured, hanging on tight to the stone counter. “Baby, you’re killing me.”

She placed her hands on his thighs, gripping him tightly as she balanced against him. Teasing him with her touch and warmth. She leaned in slowly, teasingly so. Keeping her eyes on his as she opened her mouth. As she stopped the entire world with the look she shot him. And when she finally reached him, when she moved close enough, she wrapped her lips around the head of his cock, and she sucked. Hard.

Thaus moaned and jerked at the pleasure shooting straight up his spine, dying inside at the heat and the wet and the delicious fucking pressure. His mate, his stunning, shy, strong as fuck mate, had his cock in her mouth and was pulling him in deep. And she never once looked away while doing it. The sight, the sensation, the way she willingly swallowed him down—it was too much. He wanted to fuck her. No teasing, no foreplay, no soft words. He wanted to throw her ass on the counter and thrust inside. Wanted to slide deep and fuck her until she screamed. Until he made her come on his cock.

But none of that could happen just yet, and there, once again, was the hell with his slice of heaven.

“That’s it,” he hissed as she licked the slit before taking him back inside. “Fuck, you feel so good. Do you like that?”

She moaned around him, sucking him in once more. Just the tip this time. Just enough to make him want to claw at her head and push himself deeper. He grabbed the counter harder and held on for dear life instead. He was going to come. He was going to come so hard. His claws erupted from his fingers, burying themselves in the underside of the stone counter as his hips jerked forward. In the next moment, a huge snap sounded through the kitchen, making them both jump. Making Ariel pull away and leave his poor, soaking wet cock standing all alone and needy.

“Oops,” Thaus said with a shrug. He’d broken the slab of stone on the counter behind him, snapped it right in two. Not that he gave a shit. Collateral damage wasn’t something he was concerned about at that moment. Ariel stared, still on her knees, her face so fucking close to his cock he almost begged for her to return to what she was doing.

But apparently, the gods of timing and opportunity would have rather seen him in hell. The sound of an incoming, low-flying helicopter sounded deep and dark through the otherwise quiet morning. The thumping of the blades moving closer at a high rate of speed.

“Shit,” Thaus said, tucking himself away and fastening his pants. “We’ve got company.”

Ariel jumped to her feet, looking terrified and almost panicked. Thaus wanted to reach for her, to calm her, but he knew that was the wrong move. Instead, he herded her back against the island and leaned over her. Not touching, but surrounding.

“It’s more than likely my pack, but let me go make sure, okay?”

She nodded, still looking all kiss-swollen and sex-hazed. And scared. Fuck, he hated to walk away from her even for a second, especially when she might need calming as the sex haze lifted. When she might need him to reassure her that nothing had changed, that he’d still wait for her, that he wouldn’t push her. Bad fucking timing was an understatement for the arrival of his team.

He nuzzled her neck and gave her a reassuring growl before pulling away. “I’ll be right back.”

“You’re not supposed to say that.”

“What?”

“That horror movie thing. You’re never supposed to say I’ll be right back.”

He stared down at her, wanting to smile at that little show of strength, at the display of something almost normal. Instead, he leaned in a little closer to whisper in her ear. “I can say it because it’s true. I haven’t slid my tongue into your pussy yet, and there’s no way I’m dying before I get that chance.”

He cocked a grin her way then hurried out the back door. He was going to have a raging case of blue balls in about ten minutes, but there was nothing he could do about that. His team was here.

As the chopper rose from where it must have dropped the Dires off, gaining altitude for the journey south, Phego came over the far hill. Tall and as thick as the rest of them, his brother looked the most like a serial killer in his opinion. Cold eyes, an almost expressionless face, and an air of something downright diabolical tended to keep people away from him. He was the man to go to when you needed something no one else thought you could get. Relentless was a good word for Phego, and Thaus was awfully glad to have him in his corner.

“See anything?” Thaus hollered when he knew the other Dire could hear him.

“A wall of fucking mud ready to come down. Otherwise, nada.”

“The mud could work in our favor.”

Mammon followed Phego through the trees, appearing like a shadow of the other Dire. “You could blow the fucker, T. Block the bastards from making it up the mountain.”

“Yeah, that’s my thought.”

“You’d bury the attackers,” Mammon said.

“But it’d block us in, too,” Phego added. “Rough mountains to the south, ocean to the west, and an almost impossible range to the east? That’s not exactly a great place to be. We could end up trapped pretty easily.”

“Trapped with a newly mated couple?” Mammon shivered. “Fuck and no. Did that once, remember?”

All three men grimaced and said, “Levi,” at the same time. That was one shared memory none of them wanted to revisit. Hell, Thaus had been injured during that time, had been laid up with the shot to his shoulder, and still, he remembered the sounds of nonstop sex coming from the bedroom of the little cabin.

Not again, even if he was the one getting lucky.

“What’s the situation with your mate?” Phego asked, breaking Thaus from his own thoughts.

Thaus sighed. There was a certain difficulty to telling them anything about Ariel. Her secrets were his to protect, but the guys needed to understand her. Needed to know why they’d have to take down the Glaxious pack for her without ever touching her. They needed the basics.

“The fucking Omega stealers had her.”

“Shit,” Mammon growled. “Was she at Merriweather when the battle went down?”

“No. She escaped before that. But they…” He shook his head, unable to say the words. But his team had been together a long time, and they had an understanding most men didn’t. So Thaus took a deep breath and looked each one in the eye, making sure his words carried the hate and the disgust they deserved for what they meant to his mate. “She doesn’t like to be touched anymore.”

Phego snarled, his entire body stiff with what could only be rage. Mammon wasn’t much better. He stared, shocked, obviously taking an extra moment to fully grasp the meaning behind the words. Because Thaus wouldn’t be graphic, he couldn’t. If Thaus said the word, if he told them those bastards had raped his mate, he might give in to a fury that would never let him go. And that was the last thing Ariel needed.

“Motherfuckers,” Mammon growled, cracking his neck and looking ready to battle at any second. Phego, well, he calmed quickly. He was more observant than the rest of his brothers, more tactical. While Mammon would rage just like Thaus, Phego would settle and look over every option. Would think through exactly how to deal with a threat. And then he’d destroy it.

“You solid?” Phego asked, looking Thaus over with concerned eyes. Thaus knew what his brother meant. Phego probably sensed how close to the edge he was, probably knew what any one of them would want to do in a similar situation. He was making sure Thaus had control before they dealt with what was coming.