The Protector's Heart (Wilde Creek Three) (13 page)

She cried out his name as her back bowed and
her body tensed. Releasing her clit, he tilted his head, pushing
his tongue into her pussy to lap at the sweet taste of her climax.
She moaned, shivering, as he fucked her with his tongue.

“Mal, please, Mal,” she moaned, tugging on
his hair.

He lifted from her body and said with a
snarl, “Mine.”

“Yes, I’m yours. Make love to me.” Her voice
was rough with use, and he flexed his fingers on her ass before
lowering her to the couch.

He couldn’t control the trembling in his
hands as he stood up and undid his jeans, shoving them off with his
shorts. He looked at Nila and she lifted her arms to him. A well of
need opened up in him. He’d never wanted anyone more than he wanted
her, and it had nothing to do with his attraction to her physically
and everything to do with the emotional tie. She was his mate; his
everything.

He went to his knees on the couch and leaned
over her, placing one hand on the cushion where her head rested,
and with the other, he grasped his throbbing cock. He squeezed the
base, trying to stop the orgasm that was pushing hard. He didn’t
want to come like a teenager on the first stroke.

When he felt like he was back in control, he
watched her face as he pressed into the tight, hot heaven of her
body. Her gaze locked with his as she hooked one hand around his
bicep, the other resting on his chest over his heart. Her mouth
fell open as he pushed into her, but she never stopped watching
him, and he couldn’t look away either.

As he sheathed himself completely inside her
and his vision winked out a few times from the sheer pleasure, she
wrapped her legs around his waist and hooked her ankles in the
small of his back. The motion drew him even deeper into her, and he
bit the inside of his cheek to control himself.

Angling his hips back, he slipped his cock
nearly entirely from her and thrust back in, slowly, until he was
certain she was ready to take him. Her nails dug into his arm as
she lifted her hips to meet him.

He drew in and out of her a few times,
slowly, making sure she was ready for more. Her head lifted and she
kissed him, her thighs tightening on his waist as she urged him to
move faster. He stroked into her body as his tongue played with
hers, and he moved his free hand under her hips and lifted her up,
moving faster and harder until their kiss broke and her breath
gusted from her mouth.

“Yes, fuck, yes,” she panted as her nails
sank into his chest.

He found the angle to make her come again,
his body hitting hers just the right way so that her pussy clutched
at him rhythmically and heat flooded his cock. She rubbed her body
against his, using her legs as leverage to keep rubbing her clit
against him. His balls drew up tight and the base of his spine
tingled, but he gritted his teeth, determined to let her come
before him.

He lifted her a fraction higher and she
screeched in pleasure, her heels digging into his back as her pussy
locked down on his cock, and he couldn’t have stopped himself from
coming if he’d had a gun to his head. The world dropped away until
it was just the two of them, and the hot pleasure that poured over
him as his cock spasmed inside her welcoming pussy.

His fangs elongated and he snarled, fighting
his wolf’s instinct to mark her neck and make her theirs. It was
too soon, and he hadn’t asked her. The urge to bite rode him hard
as his cock spasmed a second time and his vision blurred. Doing the
only thing he could think of when he had zero blood left in his
brain, he sank his fangs into his bicep and bit himself.

Nila stopped squeezing his waist with her
legs and her arms moved around him, tugging on his body until he
lowered enough so they touched, chest to hip. He kept most of his
weight off her with his arms, and extracted his fangs from his
bicep. He’d heal quickly, even if his wolf was a little pissed that
he’d bit himself instead of her.

Nila pressed her face into his neck and
hugged herself closer, and he held her tightly, never wanting to
let her go.

Chapter 10

Nila had never felt such peace on the heels
of pleasure. No one had ever rocked her world the way that Malachi
did. He’d made her come twice, and he’d seemed determined to make
her happy. Which she
so
totally was. She was certain now
that she and Malachi were meant to be together. Something had
clicked in her heart for him. She knew she was human, but maybe
humans could have mates, too, and if so that meant that Malachi was
meant to be hers and she was meant to be his.

She inhaled and smelled something
metallic.

“Mal?”

He lifted off her slightly, his hair mussed
from where she’d gripped it so tightly, a sleepy, sexy look on his
face.

“Yeah, sweetheart?”

She looked at him, wondering why she smelled
blood, and then she saw bleeding teeth marks on his bicep.

“What did you do?”

He glanced down, looking guilty. “I bit
myself.”

She frowned. “Obviously. But why?”

“I needed to bite something and I didn’t want
to bite you.”

Immediately, the afterglow faded and her
happiness leaked away with it. “I see.” She felt like she’d been
sideswiped by a truck. That he wouldn’t bite her when they made
love meant that he didn’t want to mark her as his mate. It was
Damien all over again. She’d opened her heart to Malachi and he’d
treated her just the same.

He pulled from her body and then sat up,
hauling her into his lap. His finger curled under her chin, and he
tilted her face until she was forced to look into his eyes.

“Sweetheart, you misunderstand. I didn’t want
to bite you because I haven’t asked you to be my mate officially,
and I didn’t want to take that choice from you. Once I mark you,
you’re mine forever, no matter what.”

She blinked and tears leaked from her eyes.
“I thought…”

“Because I’m a jackass.” He kissed her lips
and cupped her cheek, brushing the tears away with his thumb. “I
know you believe you understand what being my mate means, but I’m
not going to rush into things until you know everything there is to
know.
Then
I’ll ask you properly, declare us mates to my
pack, and bite your pretty neck and mark you.”

She let out the breath she’d been holding.
“I’m sorry, I ruined the snuggling.”

He chuckled and cradled her in his arms.
“It’s okay, love. We’ll snuggle after round two.”

Looping her arms around his neck, she kissed
his throat. “Thank you for taking your time with me.”

“I would never betray your trust, Nila. You
mean the world to me.”

She closed her eyes and inhaled his spicy
scent. “You mean the world to me, too.”

When she woke in the morning, she found
Malachi on his back on the bed, Jack sprawled on top of him. The
footy pajamas were missing, and he was wearing only his diaper.
Jack’s mouth was open as he breathed deeply in sleep, his thick
lashes casting shadows on his chubby cheeks.

She went up on one elbow and looked down at
Malachi, whose eyes opened slowly. He grinned.

“How do I keep sleeping through Jack waking
up?”

“I wore you out.” He kept his voice low to
match her whisper.

She gave his shoulder a light slap and he
chuckled softly. “Where are his jammies?”

“His diaper leaked, and by the time I figured
out the diaper he was already asleep, so I just brought him in
here. The bedding was a little damp, and I was worn out from you
keeping me up half the night.” He winked.

“Thanks, Mal.”

His smile slipped and he looked serious. “You
do know that I want him as part of our family, right? You’re a
package deal as far as I’m concerned, and I want Jack to be part
our new life together.”

She felt tears sting her eyes. “I’m glad to
hear that.”

“Someday, when you’re ready, we can give him
a sister or brother to play with.”

“I’d like that.”

Her heart actually felt like it would burst.
It had been one thing for her to care for Malachi and want to be
his mate, and she’d known that he cared about Jack, but because
they hadn’t talked much about their relationship yet, she wasn’t
sure what his feelings were. In Damien’s pack, males ostracized the
pups of other males if a female became pregnant before she was
mated. Malachi accepted her and Jack without reservation.

They talked quietly until Jack woke, and then
Malachi took him into the kitchen while she changed the linens in
the crib and then joined them.

“Oh yeah, look at you, champ,” Malachi said
as he sat in a chair in front of Jack’s high chair, cheering him on
as he ate yogurt.

“Carrot,” Jack said, grinning widely before
shoving his spoon into his mouth.

Malachi looked at her with a smile. “Is he
calling me carrot?”

“I think so. It’s his favorite word.”

“That’s cool.”

She busied herself with making breakfast for
them, watching as Malachi talked to Jack and Jack babbled at him.
Malachi leaned back in his chair and said, “What are your plans for
the day?”

“Are you talking to me or Jack?” she
teased.

“I’m pretty sure Jack’s plans for the day
involve chewing on as many things as he can get into his
mouth.”

She laughed. “That sounds about right.”

“I thought we could go buy a Christmas tree.
I don’t usually decorate since we spend Christmas day with my
folks, but I thought maybe this year they could come here?
Christmas is in eleven days, in case you didn’t realize it from the
thousands of commercials on TV.”

“I’d love to do that. I haven’t celebrated
the holidays in ages.”

“After that, we can go to Mia’s. She sent me
a text this morning and invited us to dinner tonight. She’s a
pretty good cook.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Nila’s own family was gone, and she envied
Malachi. She had been the product of a one-night-stand; her mother
hadn’t even known what his name was. Her mother had gone to live
with her sister, Betty, who helped to raise Nila, as her mother
worked two jobs to keep their heads above water. One night her mom
went to her second job and never came home. There’d been a fight at
the bar she waitressed at and someone pulled a gun, and she was
caught in the crossfire. Betty had done the best she could, and
Diane had helped, too. When Betty died of cancer just before Jack
was born, Diane had been the only person there for her.

Malachi stood and hugged her. “What’s wrong?”
she asked, her voice muffled by his shirt.

“You look so sad.”

She lifted her head and he kissed her. “I was
just thinking that Diane is the only tie I have to my family now.
You’re blessed.”

“I know, sweetheart, but my family will be
yours and Jack’s too. And the pack is like a big family, with
Acksel and Brynn as the overbearing parents.”

She laughed. She reached over and turned off
the burner so the eggs didn’t scorch, and hugged him back.

“Do you hear from Jack’s grandparents at
all?” Malachi seemed to be choosing his words carefully.

“No. Damian’s dad, Isaiah, is widowed; his
wife died shortly after Jack was born. He had no siblings. One
time, before I left him, Damien shoved me and I hit my head on a
cabinet and was bleeding pretty badly. He left me there, bleeding.
I didn’t have a car at the time, so I called Isaiah. It was two
hours before he came over with one of the pack members who had some
medical training. I told him that Damien hurt me, and he said that
I chose him as my husband and I should’ve known what I was getting
into. He doesn’t think much of me because I’m human, and he never
claimed Jack as his grandson.”

Malachi’s hold on her tightened just
slightly. She peered at him, noticing that his eyes were flashing
from blue to amber. “Malachi?”

“I’m not angry at you, sweetheart, I’m
furious that Damien put his hands on you. You never told me that.
When you talked about how bad it was, I think you skipped some
things.”

“I was stupid.”

“It’s not stupid to want to believe that
someone is a good person. You got out, that’s the important thing,
but I want you to tell me everything.”

“Why?” Her mouth went dry and her throat
tightened. She didn’t want him to think less of her for how long
she stayed.

“Because I don’t want there to be any secrets
between us, and also because Acksel is going to speak on our behalf
to Damien’s alpha and ask him to force Damien to sign the divorce
papers.”

Her breath seized in her chest and for a
minute, she couldn’t hear anything over the buzzing in her ears.
“Wh-what?”

“I spoke to Acksel last week about the
situation. We can’t get married until you’re divorced, and I may be
patient, but I’m not patient enough to wait for him to die of old
age. I want you to be free to make your own choices, Nila. You’re
not free right now, because you’re still tied to him.”

“Isaiah won’t care. The legal marriage is a
joke to their pack.”

“We’ll handle it. But I really need to know
everything. Can you tell me?”

She looked at Jack, who’d moved on from
yogurt to Cheerios. “When he’s done eating.”

When they were finished, she cleaned Jack up,
put him on the floor in the family room with his favorite toys, and
turned on the television. She found the kids’ channel he liked and
then walked into the kitchen.

Malachi was waiting for her at the table, and
she joined him, taking the fresh cup of coffee he’d prepared for
her. She looked at the steam that rose from the surface. Malachi
placed his hand on her forearm, and the slight weight and warmth
was enough to tell her that he wasn’t going anywhere, no matter
what she told him.

She’d done a lot of foolish things in her
life. She’d snuck into a movie theater and gotten caught. She’d
skipped school and missed an important test, almost screwing up her
ability to pass the class and graduate. But the stupidest thing
she’d ever done was fall for Damien’s lies. His clean-cut good
looks had fooled her into ignoring the beast that truly lurked
beneath the skin. She’d been impressed that he was a wolf shifter,
led to believe that he thought she was special enough to date even
though his pack didn’t care for humans. Then she got pregnant, and
married, and then…the verbal barbs came. She was too fat, too lazy,
too stupid. Nothing she ever did was right, but she kept trying
hard to make him happy.