Shadow's Awakening: The Shadow Warder Series, Book One (An Urban Fantasy Romance Series) (44 page)

Conner closed the distance between them, reaching up to cradle her face in his hands.

“You,” he said. “I want you, Hannah. It only took me a few days after I left you at the Citadel to realize I’d made the worst mistake of my life. I’ve been trying to get back to you ever since. If I have my way, I’ll never leave you again.”

Hannah’s eyes filled with tears. Dammit, she’d sworn she wasn’t going to cry again. Why couldn’t she be stronger? More like Kate. Hannah couldn’t imagine the confident and brash Kate crying at a moment like this. Conner leaned down and kissed the corner of her eye, tasting the salt of her slowly falling tears.

“Please don’t cry, Hannah. I’ll do anything you need to make it up to you. Do you want me to go?”

“No. No, I don’t want you to go. But there are things you don’t know. It’s more than the bond. You might be angry.”

“Whatever it is, I don’t care, Hannah. I’m not mad about the bond. As far as I can tell, it’s not something you did to me. We did it to each other. I love it. I love feeling you around me. And what you did while we were fighting was amazing.”

“I know.” Hannah forced herself to move a few steps away from Conner. If he was going to be upset, she wanted some distance to cushion the blow. “I love you,” she said. Conner shifted to move to her. Hannah held up her hand to stop him. “But you need to know, there’s a reason they wanted me so badly in the lab. Why I was willing to risk dying to get out of there. It wasn’t because Michael wanted to rape me and get me pregnant.”

Hannah dragged in a breath, hoping with everything she had that Conner would be okay with what she was about to tell him.

“It’s because I already am pregnant.” She risked a look at Conner. His face was completely blank. Her heart sank. “They found out after they had me for a few days. I was afraid of what they would do to the baby if I didn’t get away—”

“Zach said he saw something,” Conner said, studying her face, his words not making sense. “I was hoping he was right. But you’re sure? You’re pregnant? With my baby?”

“You’re the only person I’ve been with in…a really long time. So yeah, it’s yours. I mean, the baby is. Yours.” Hannah shut her mouth. She was making a mess of this. Conner’s expression was impossible to read. Was he wishing he’d kept his mouth shut about wanting to stay with her?

“Are you okay? And the baby? You lost a lot of blood before.” Conner paled, as if remembering how bad her injury had been.

“I think so. I feel fine. Iris said I was fine and I’m pretty sure she found out about the baby when she checked me over before.”

“We have to get her to check again.”

Conner reached for Hannah’s hand. She had the feeling he was about to drag her back into the Sanctuary and demand a full medical exam in front of everyone. Hannah skipped back out of reach.

“I’m fine,” she said firmly. “Iris would have said something if I wasn’t. And they said in the lab that Shadows almost never miscarry. Plus, they did some kind of spell to make sure the baby would be healthy. I would feel it if anything was wrong. I know I would.”

“You’re really pregnant? Zach said he saw it, but I was afraid to hope it was true.” Hannah nodded.

A blinding smile spread across Conner’s face. His whoop of joy took Hannah by surprise. Then she was in his arms, spinning around, the rush of relief making her just as dizzy as Conner whirling her in circles.

“You’re not mad?” she whispered into Conner’s neck.

“No way. I couldn’t be less mad. Now you’re stuck with me. Bonded, pregnant—you’re never getting rid of me now.”

Abruptly, he put her down and pulled an unfamiliar phone out of his pocket. Flipping it open, he began hitting buttons.

“What are you doing? Where did you get that phone? It’s not the one you had in the cabin.” His phone at the cabin had been a state of the art smartphone. This was a basic flip phone.

“It’s a burner.” At Hannah’s blank look, he clarified. “A disposable phone. We ditched our other phones in case they could track us.” Hannah’s face fell.

“Conner,” she said. “You had to leave everything. I never meant for anything like this to happen to you.”

He closed the phone and kissed her cheek, rubbing his stubbled one against her smooth skin.

“I didn’t lose anything. I have you. I have our family. That’s more than I ever expected.”

“But Kiernan,” she began.

“Kiernan has his own reasons. He could have stayed behind if he’d wanted to. Don’t worry.” Conner kissed her again, this time lingering over her lips. “I texted him to say you needed to get some rest. He’ll tell the rest of them. I’m taking you back to our rooms.”

He lifted her into his arms and started for the door. Fortunately, he remembered how to get back to their suite, since Hannah didn’t have a clue. Her head spun with a combination of joy and relief. In all her imaginings about seeing Conner again, she hadn’t dreamed he would be in love with her. Wanted her, maybe. She hadn’t dared to hope for love.

Kicking the heavy door shut behind him, Conner dropped her on the bed. Hannah scrambled to sit up and found herself pinned down with one strong hand. Conner grinned, scanning her body with lust simmering in his brown eyes. Heat pooled between her legs. It felt like years since he’d touched her.

“Stay right there,” he said. “I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what I would do to you if I got you alone in a bed again. Now that I have you here, you’re going to have to lie back and let me have my way.”

Conner made quick work of their clothes, stripping them both and dumping the borrowed garments in an untidy pile on the floor. Hannah didn’t care if they ever wore clothes again. She had a brief fantasy of staying in bed with Conner for the next few weeks, sending out for food and refusing all visitors. It would take at least that long to do everything she wanted with him.

Conner meshed his fingers with hers, spreading her arms wide on the bed. Releasing her hands, he slid his palms down her torso, lingering on her breasts. When she moved to touch him, he returned her arms to their spread position.

“Don’t move,” he whispered. “I want to touch you and if you put your hands on me, this will go too fast.”

“I want to touch you, too.”

“Not yet.”

Her hands palms down on the bedspread, Hannah’s promise not to move pinned her as effectively as a rope. She squirmed at the hot suction of Conner’s mouth on her breast. She’d thought she’d glorified his touch in her memory. It was even better than before. Heat exploded at every point of contact, the energy flow of their bond melding her pleasure with Conner’s in an overwhelming flood.

Every sucking draw on her swollen nipple sent shooting sparks straight to her core. His hand cupped her other breast, plumping the sensitive flesh, fingertips reaching to pinch her neglected nipple. She gasped at the sensation of his fingers on one side, mouth on the other, both tormenting her. Smoothly he switched, soothing the nipple he’d caught between his fingers with his mouth. Hannah arched her back with a long moan, pressing her breasts closer to Conner.

Without releasing her, he shifted his body between her legs, nudging her heat with his erection. As if her body remembered what was in store, she flooded with moisture. She’d wondered if her memory had exaggerated his size. The hard flesh sliding over her clit told her that if anything, she’d again missed the mark. Everything about Conner was better than she’d remembered. And she’d thought she’d built him up in her fantasies. He felt huge and hot against her, his cock already nudging her slick opening.

Hannah didn’t want to wait. They had plenty of time to indulge in hours of foreplay later. She didn’t need any more. She wanted all of him, filling her up. He’d asked her not to move her hands, but he hadn’t said anything about the rest of her. Bracing her heels on the bed, Hannah tilted her hips, dragging her pussy along the crown of Conner’s swollen cock. His groan vibrated against her breast. Encouraged, Hannah pressed forward, capturing the first inch, drawing him deeper with a wiggle.

Conner released her breasts, propping himself up on his arms. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

“You’re killing me. I wanted to take this slow,” he groaned.

“Just fuck me. Please, Conner. I want it. I want you.” She rocked her heat into him, managing to capture another inch. Conner moaned in surrender and drove his cock deep, filling her completely. The blinding pleasure of his possession swept her under. Hannah’s release built with every thrust. Wrapping her legs around Conner’s hips, she raised her hands from the bedspread to bury her fingers in his hair. This was what she’d wanted, to be surrounded by him, to feel him everywhere—his cock moving inside her, his energy melding with hers to saturate them both with sensual bliss.

“I love you,” Conner breathed into her ear.

Lifting his head, he brought his mouth to hers, taking it in a hard, possessive kiss. The stroke of his tongue matched the rhythm of his cock, setting Hannah’s body on fire. Release took her under, Conner’s mouth swallowing her scream. The rhythmic clamp of her pussy around his sensitive cock was enough to ignite Conner’s orgasm. He spilled himself into her, sinking to cover her with his weight for only a moment before rolling so her limp body rested on top of his. Sleep took them both a moment later.

It was dark. Dark and cold. Hannah was almost naked, not tucked into a warm bed with Conner, but wearing the thin hospital gown again, stumbling between parked cars. Her feet were freezing. And someone was stalking her. A tall shadow slipped behind a concrete pillar, drawing closer. She tried to hide behind a pickup truck, ducking down low even though it made the gown split open across her bare back. Ears straining, she listened for footsteps. Nothing.

Rising slowly, she crept out from behind the truck and headed for the exit. Or where she thought the exit was. Just like the last time she was here, the garage was a maze of cars and concrete. Moving quietly, Hannah looked for the ramp out. Just when she thought she’d spotted it, a hard grip closed on her arm, yanking her backward. She stumbled and fell, twisting to look up. Michael grinned down at her. The triumph in his eyes sent a bolt of terror down her spine. She jerked back, screaming, twisting violently to break his grip.

“Hannah,” she heard him say, oddly in Conner’s voice. “Hannah,” he said again, more insistent, but still sounding just like Conner. His face began to melt, then fade. Light spilled into the garage before it, too drifted away.

Hannah came back to herself wrapped in Conner’s arms, tucked into the big bed in their rooms in the Shadow Sanctuary. Her cheeks wet with tears, she felt Conner’s heat against her naked skin, the resonance of their bond wrapping her in warmth.

“Hannah.” A kiss to her jaw, then another whisper. “Hannah, it’s okay.”

Still confused, she sat upright with a jerk. Taking her hand in his, Conner levered himself up, leaned against the smooth wooden headboard of the bed and dragged her into his arms.

“Conner,” she whispered, relaxing against him, her head tucked into his neck, breasts pressing into his side.

“Nightmare?” he asked, brushing her long hair off her face. She nodded.

“Sorry I woke you up,” she said. “I dreamed I was lost in the garage and Michael found me.” Hannah shuddered, thinking about the cold concrete and the sense of being stalked. “He’s going to come for me, isn’t he?”

“He’ll want you back,” Conner said, pulling her arm over his chest so that she lay draped across him. He traced his fingertips along her spine in a soothing rhythm. “But he’s not crazy enough to attack a Shadow Sanctuary. And he doesn’t have the manpower to pull it off even if he was that reckless. No other Director would approve a move like that, and he can’t tell them why without admitting what he’s been up to. So as long as we stay here, you should be safe.”

“What about the other Shadows?” Now that she was out of the lab, the idea that she’d left them behind was eating at her. Three other Shadows. Women, like her. One of them being sexually assaulted.

“I had to get the baby away from Michael,” she said. “I didn’t know where to look for them.”

Abruptly, Conner sat up again, lifting and turning Hannah so she sat beside him. Taking her chin in his hand, he met her eyes.

“You did the right thing,” he said. “We’re going to be parents. Our first priority has to be our child.” Hannah studied his face, then nodded once.

“Maybe I can help—”

“No,” Conner interrupted. “You’re not doing anything. You’re staying right here where you’re safe.”

“And you?” she asked. “What about you?”

“I’m staying here with you.” Conner pulled her back against him, relaxing into the bed once more. “Kiernan sent me a text earlier. We’re all meeting again for breakfast to talk about rescuing them. We’ll see what their plan is, but you saw the faces of the Shadows when they found out their females were in the lab. They’ll get them back. My job is to protect you and our child. If things were different, if we knew these Shadows better, I might consider going. But I’m not leaving you with a bunch of strangers. Even if we think it’s safe. The last time I left you alone somewhere safe I almost lost you.”

Hannah didn’t answer, just lay against him, drawing random circles on his chest with her fingertip. Conner kissed the top of her head.