Taming the Fire (33 page)

“What did he do?”

“Nothing, at first. I told him I was a tourist who got lost. But he didn't believe me. He tried to subdue me. And he was strong. Strong like you.”

Her teeth began to chatter as the memory slammed into her brain. She'd not been able to bear a man's touch, and the ACRO agent hadn't been gentle about taking her to the ground to restrain her. The memories of the rape, of all the beatings she'd suffered, had blacked out her mind, and she'd managed to snag a knife from his belt. Without thinking, she'd stabbed him.

The man's eyes had widened in shock, and he'd reared back, giving her a chance to crawl from under him. The rage inside, the horror at what she'd just done and the smell of blood had combined into an explosive mixture, and the beast had come out to finish the job.

So yes, the beast had played a role, but she'd seen the wound she'd caused with the knife, and she knew the man would have bled out even without the wolf's help.

Trance's arms came around her once again, and she realized she'd been speaking out loud.

And that she was crying.

“Listen to me,” he said fiercely. “You did what you had to do to survive. I know what that's like. But it's in the past. You have a new future here. A new beginning. So cry it out, but then let it go.”

“I—I don't know if I can.”

“I'll help you, Rik. I'll be right here to catch you. We'll work through it together.”

She hugged him so tight he gasped. A strange, warm energy filled her, made her heart beat faster and her breath come hotter. It took her a moment to realize what the feeling was.

Happiness. For the first time since her childhood, she was happy. And, she suspected, she was also in love.

W
HEN
D
EVLIN WALKED
through the ACRO compound, it was always with a purpose. Having his sight back had actually forced him to slow down, to notice more—but on days like today when he wanted to pass unnoticed, it was a real pain in the ass.

He shoved sunglasses on at one point, began taking long strides, forcing his bodyguards to rush to keep up with him.

They were nearly past the excedo training center when he heard Annika's laughter and turned in time to see Gabriel on his back on the mat.

“He's getting better,” she'd told Dev grudgingly. Kira had given Dev the same information, saying how Gabriel was a natural with the animals. “They're really taken with him,” she'd added. “I'm thinking of giving him a couple of the dogs once he gets his own place.”

It was a definite change from when Gabriel had told Marlena that he might not stay at ACRO. Dev wondered what the turnaround point for him was, and then told himself that he didn't care, that he had an entire team of operatives to worry about.

That the young man's laughter did not affect him.

Fuck
.

He watched from the side of the building as Annika took Gabriel down again with an electric shock—and he knew what she was trying to get Gabriel to do.

Suddenly, Gabriel was no longer there. Instead, Annika flipped feet over head and landed facedown on the mat. She tried to get up, but couldn't—most probably because Gabriel had a foot planted on her back; his invisibility must change his molecular structure such that he was immune to her electrical charge.

He'd come far in a few days. Dev wasn't surprised. It was amazing what some compassion and being surrounded by like-minded people would do to a person.

Suddenly, Annika was up and standing, hands on her hips, looking around.

Dev himself froze as hands traveled across his shoulders and down his arms. He couldn't tell if Gabriel was in front or behind, but one hand was slowly making its way down his chest toward his…

“You little son of a bitch,” he muttered. But Gabriel was already gone from him, back to Annika. And back to his noninvisible persona.

He didn't even look in Dev's direction.

Rik was at his house. Trance grabbed a couple of cold beers from the fridge as he watched her look around the living room.

He'd had his choice of houses when he'd moved onto the ACRO compound—he'd picked this one because it had three floors and the top was perfect for a playroom/dungeon. But soon after, he'd retired that room and now it was empty. He'd moved everything to the basement he didn't use and could never quite figure out what to do with all the space. He was a big guy, yeah, but three bedrooms and three baths, plus the entire first floor, had always been too much. Too lonely, even though ACRO kept him busy enough so he had little downtime.

“I like your house.” Rik turned and accepted the beer, holding the bottle by the long neck. “Do all agents get houses?”

“Most of the time, if you want. A lot of agents don't—they'd rather live in the old officer and enlisted dorms and have things done for them.” He shrugged. “But I wanted my privacy.”

She took a long sip of beer and then licked her bottom lip. “Privacy, huh?”

God, he wanted her. On the couch, the floor—it didn't matter. “I told you, I don't like to share.”

That made her grin. “I don't either. That part was never an act.” She turned almost shy. “It's hard without the persona. I've had it for so long…”

“I know. It's not easy for me either, Rik.” He gathered her in his arms and pulled her to him and kissed her again, and God, he could kiss her for-fucking-ever and still not get enough. When he finally pulled back, her lips were red, slightly swollen, and she'd dropped her beer bottle to the ground.

So had he. And he didn't give a fuck. “I'd like to finish what I started, back at the safe house. Except I don't want you chained. I want to make love to you with nothing between us.”

She reached up to stroke his cheek. “I haven't ever done that, Trance. Haven't let myself lose control with someone, because—”

“I trust you.”

“What if I don't trust myself?” she practically whispered.

“What if it's time to finally start?”

“And you're willing to be my experiment?”

“Ready, willing and able.” He'd already buried his face against her neck, his mouth nipping at the sweet skin behind her earlobe, her hair tickling his face. “Besides, you'll be mine too.”

She pulled back, looked at him with her eyes wide because she'd forgotten about his issues with strength. “So we'll just go slow.”

“Yeah, slow.”

“There was nothing slow about those kisses,” she pointed out. “If something happens… if the wolf comes out…”

“She won't.” He led her up the stairs by the hand until they came to his room—one entire wall was windows that opened up to the forest.

“Oh, that's beautiful,” she said. “It's almost like we're outside.”

He was behind her, his hands traveling down the front of her BDU shirt, undoing button after button until he was able to pull the shirt off her shoulders, revealing her sport bra. As she faced the woods, he pulled it over her head and let it fall to the ground next to the shirt. He made quick work of her pants and underwear as well, and she sighed softly as his hands brushed her breasts and one moved down her belly toward the juncture of soft curls between her thighs. “Don't shave,” he murmured. “I like it like this.”

“I like… when you do that.”

He stroked a finger against her clit. “That?”

“Yes.” Her word came out as a long, stuttered moan, and no, he had no intention of stopping anything.

“You're so wet, Rik… so hot… Is that all for me?”

She could only nod this time as he stroked her folds, ignoring the swollen nub for a few minutes. Her hand circled his wrist like a tight handcuff as she attempted to bring his fingers back to where she wanted them. She was strong, but without the wolf, not even close to his match. Still, he liked her fingers on him, guiding him, and after a few more minutes, he let her do just that.

“Show me, baby,” he murmured against her neck. They were both sweating now as she rubbed her bare body along the length of his fully clothed one. His cock ached, his balls tightened as though he could come right in his own pants watching her lose it.

With both of them working together, two fingers against her sweet spot, she was quick to release. Her orgasm made her knees sag. But his arm held her steady around the waist, and when she was done shuddering, he slid a hand under her ass and carried her to the bed. She faced away from him, on all fours, and as much as he wanted to explore her further, his needs were too great.

Besides, this position allowed her to see the woods still—she hadn't taken her eyes from the view, and he thought about her imagining her freedom and figured maybe that would be enough to keep the wolf happy.

It seemed to be working, as Rik was practically mewing as she remained in front of him, her hands fisting the sheets, unable to keep her body still.

He made quick work of opening his pants but he was too damned impatient to take them off, and simply pulled them down to free himself. Rik was already whimpering, pushing back against him and he didn't make her wait.

He entered her—she was slick, ready for him, and she arched her back to allow him access. His hands splayed along the bare skin of her back as she pressed against him so he went deeper and deeper inside of her. He threw his head back, reveling in this feeling—no chains, no barriers, nothing at all between them anymore.

“Oh God… Trance!” She was yelling in earnest now and his groans matched hers. He was pretty sure they could be heard outside the house and he didn't give a shit about that, about anything but this, this combination of fucking her and making love to her. It was tender and raw and neither of them were worried about keeping their guards up any longer.

He had no doubt that, although he was the one on top, she had all the control—she was taking him, had turned her head so she could watch him, could look him in the eye as he roared toward climax.

“Now,” she told him. “Now, Trance.”

He let himself come in a pulsating stream of release, held fast to her hips as she went over the edge as well, her contractions drawing out his orgasm until he half collapsed on top of her.

He dragged a tongue up her spine and she shivered as he tasted the salty and sweet from her body. And then he rolled off her, taking her down to the mattress with him.

He lay on his back and she turned into him. “You didn't even take your clothes off,” she murmured. “And you're still hard.”

He locked his gaze with hers. “I guess we're going to have to do something about that.”

R
IK LAY
in Trance's arms, her heart swelled with contentment. And love. And, as he pushed his erection into her hip, horniness.

God, she'd never felt like this before. Always in the past, sex had been about keeping the beast happy. When Rik got off, her releases were exactly that—releases of tension that took a lot of sass out of both her and her inner wolf. But this… the sex act with Trance was so much more than an orgasm. They were making love, expressing their feelings through touch and taste and whispered endearments. For once, her releases didn't exhaust her; they energized her.

She dragged her lips across his shoulder and spoke against his sweat-dampened skin. “Take me again.”

She didn't wait for a response, instead climbing on top of him to straddle his hips. Between her legs, his shaft spread the swollen lips of her sex. His jeans rasped against her tender skin, and while she liked the contrast of soft and rough, she wanted skin on skin, with nothing between them ever again.

There had been too many barriers in her life and in their relationship already.

As though he heard her thoughts, he arched up and shoved his jeans down. She helped him remove them, and then his shirt, and in a few rapid-fired heartbeats, he was as naked as she was.

This was the way it was meant to be. Finally.

Inside, the wolf sang. Trance had taken Rik from behind, the way a wolf's mate would, and she was happy, perfectly willing to let Rik have Trance the way she wanted now.

Playfully, she kissed her way down his muscular chest, reveling in how good it felt to linger, to coax a response from a man with gentleness instead of pain or humiliation. She dragged her fingernails lightly over his rippled abs as she worked her way lower… lower… until her cheek brushed the tip of his cock. A little hiss broke from his lips as she nuzzled him, going even lower.