Crave the Night (10 page)

And then she heard the wolf. She
twisted around to see a great grey beast standing on a rise, muzzle
raised to the sky.
Rafe
. He
howled, the mournful sound starting low and rising up the scale,
shivering through her like all the aching solitude of the world
distilled into one cry. Even as it ended, it still filled the night
like a question begging answer.

And after a long moment, that answer
came, first one voice, then another and another. The wolves had
been close by, no doubt waiting for a moment of weakness.
Well, this is it. Come and get
me
.

Her attention went back to the sleepers, who
had all assumed their beast forms as the sleeping spell faded. Now
they rose, shaggy gray and brown and white with eyes like molten
gold and copper. They shook themselves awake and bounded forward,
barking a greeting to their Pack. Lila shrank into the grass,
making herself as still as she could.

The next moment the Pack boiled up from the
steep, overgrown trail. In a flood of fur, they raced in a circle
that ringed the grassy clearing, looping around their missing
members. Lila saw nose-touching and tail-wagging, the yips and
friendly bites of greeting. There must have been thirty beasts
milling in a noisy, furry knot. From Lila’s place in the shadows,
the mob looked like a single wolf with dozens of tails.

Except one wolf was still sleeping.
Lila thought it was the oldest of them, the patriarch of the land
down by the elbow of Timber Lake. He was a big and burly old
rancher with enough head of cattle to throw the nation a barbecue,
but the sleeping spell seemed to have a special grip on him. Lila
held her breath as three of the wolves gathered around, nudging him
with their noses.
What have I done?
Surely the old wolf will be all right?

Her heart beat painfully as the seconds
dragged on. Finally, the old wolf’s tail gave a thump, startling
one of his inquisitive friends into skittering sideways. Lila
exhaled in a rush that was half a laugh as the werewolf clambered
to his feet and shook his coat with an air of affronted
disgust.

From his perch on the hilltop, Rafe sent out
another howl. When it was taken up by the others, this time there
was no mistaking the note of jubilant triumph. The freshly-awakened
wolves joined in the romping chaos, folding into the dance of ears
and tails and fur. The roiling Pack circled for a moment more, and
then poured back down the rocky path, the noisy chorus floating
back to Lila long after they had gone.

She let out another long, relieved breath
and rose to her feet. She was safe. The wolves hadn’t given her a
single glance. Surely they had known she was there, known what she
had done, but they had chosen to leave her alone. All except Rafe,
who bounded down from his vantage point and trotted to her
side.

“
How come you didn’t go with them?”
she asked. “How come they didn’t eat me?”

Even as a wolf, his expression of disbelief
was perfectly clear. He bumped his head against her hand. Lila
staggered slightly, not quite braced for the force of a wolf so
large that his shoulders were level with her hip.

Then she understood. Somehow, he’d protected
her. She sank her hand into his ruff, feeling the coarse warmth of
it. It made her realize how cold she was.

“
Very chivalrous of you, Mr. Devries.
You are kinder than I deserve.”

He grabbed the hem of her dress and gave a
light tug. He clearly wanted her to follow him.

“
There’s nowhere to go out here. In
case you haven’t noticed, the house fell down. You must have huffed
and puffed a little too hard.”

He gave her a droll expression.

“
Yeah, I know. Clichés
suck.”

He tugged again. Lila glanced ruefully at
her expensive leather shoes, then kicked them off. She didn’t have
to play human anymore. “All right then. You’re in charge. Lead
on.”

They walked down the first long stretch of
the drive, Rafe padding so close to her side that she could feel
the brush of his coat. They stopped, picked up the clothes he had
discarded, and Lila tucked them in a bundle under her arm. The
gesture felt oddly normal, as if she picked up after werewolves
every day. Despite all that had happened that night, despite all
that would happen soon, she felt perfectly safe.

He turned left onto a deer track that led
deep into the woods. He looked back at her with a flash of golden
eyes. Well used to navigating tree roots and brambles, Lila
followed.

Eventually, they stopped in a clearing
surrounded by trees so ancient she could nearly hear them thinking.
She walked to the edge of the clearing, stroking the bark of one
old, mossy trunk.

Lila felt hands touch her shoulders,
gentle yet heavy and warm. She spun around, the catch of her breath
loud in the still glade. Rafe was in human form again, the
moonlight bathing every muscle of his body in marble
whiteness.
Blessed Titania!

Her gaze travelled the length of his body.
She felt helpless to stop herself, as if she were the victim of a
fey compulsion. Suddenly, her pulse felt too thick, the blood too
hot to move normally through her body. It was pooling in her core
like lava about to erupt. Every part of her tingled with the need
to be connected to him, flesh to warm, hot flesh.

What did she have to lose? It was time to
finally share the joy and generosity buried deep inside her, to
give Rafe something bright after dragging him through her dark
world. It was a small thing compared to the kindness he had shown
her.

Lila leaned into him, her cheek against the
hollow of his collarbone. With curious fingertips, she traced the
landscape of his hard, bare chest. He laid a hand over hers,
stilling her movements.

“
What’s this?” he asked, his low voice
a husky whisper.

“
An end and a beginning. You’re free.
The wolves are free. That part of the nightmare is
over.”

“
And the beginning?”

“
Of everything that comes after,
whatever that may be.” She threaded her free hand into his dark,
wavy hair, noticing how similar the rough texture was to his wolf’s
coat. She pulled his mouth down to hers, letting the heat of his
lips warm her to the core.

He didn’t need a second invitation. He
gathered her to him with a devouring need. His tongue found hers,
seeking out deeper secrets, stealing kisses from within the
kiss.

In the meantime, his fingers found the side
zipper of her dress and began an exploratory mission. He had the
dress off her before she quite realized what he was doing. Now,
though, when the cold air hit newly exposed parts, she didn’t feel
chilly at all. There was ample evidence that he was quite ready to
keep her warm.

He cupped her breast in his hand, caressing
her through the black silk of her bra. Lila pressed into him, her
fingers in his hair, then raking over the broad landscape of his
shoulders. Rafe bowed his head, taking her other breast in his
mouth, leaving the fabric wet and her nipple aching.

He tasted the other, the sensation spearing
through her until her legs were weak and trembling. Nothing he did
was by halves. His scent, musky and wild, grew stronger as they
touched. He nipped her neck, the sharp pain mixing so close to
pleasure it nearly pushed her over the brink.

He’s marked
me
. She should have been affronted, but just then it
seemed sexy as hell.

Lila pulled him down to the soft, mossy
ground. Both of them were growing impatient. In moments, her bra
and panties were discarded in the nearby ferns. But then Rafe
paused, pushing the hair from her face and studying her, amber
wolf-light sparking in his eyes.

“
You’re impossibly beautiful,” he
whispered. “Your hair is the color of the moonlight. Your skin
shines like you’ve bathed in the stars.”

“
Mhmmm,” she murmured, kissing him to
coax him back into action.

Your eyes are the
saddest I’ve ever known
. But Rafe didn’t say it. There
were moments for conversation, and this was not one of them. He let
his body do the speaking, straddling her so that she was caught in
the cage of his limbs.

There was grace and refinement in her
form, but he knew she possessed just as much boundless courage. She
was strong and fragile in a way that moved him.
You did battle for your people. You dared the impossible
out of love.
So she’d lost. So she’d taken ten years off
his life. Lila Wilding had guts and a protective streak that
matched his own.

He bent to kiss the mark he’d made on the
pale skin of her neck, laving it with his tongue. She tasted like a
meadow, spring-fresh and floral. She moaned, her neck arching to
expose her throat. The beast in him rose, responding to the primal
gesture of surrender. She was his.

With new urgency, he worked his way over her
body, claiming the gentle mounds of her breasts, the delicate flare
of her hips. Long moon-pale tresses fanned around them, gleaming
softly in the diffuse light. It was like a carpet of silk.

Her thighs parted in invitation. Rafe
explored the soft inner flesh, nipping, tasting, coaxing a cry from
her.

“
Hurry up,” she gasped.

Lila felt him enter, her body straining to
accept his size. She was ready, but this was—unexpected. She’d
heard rumors of the generously made beast-men, whispered tales
among women both human and fey. They were true. She gasped, her
eyes wide and staring into his. His frank satisfaction at her
astonishment was clear.

Then he began to slowly move. She gripped
his shoulders, riding the earthquake with a wonderment that quickly
melted to elation. Suddenly she was an elemental force, part of a
vortex winding tighter and tighter. The movements increased in
speed and force, and then she was responding with equal strength, a
dancer adding her own steps. She cried out, losing control, every
nerve dazzled. Suddenly the grove seemed filled with light, but
whether it was magic or simply madness, she could not tell. It went
on and on, driving her up and over again before Rafe made a final,
long thrust and gave himself to her utterly.

She rolled on top of him, not willing to let
him go just yet. His arms folded around her as if she had always
belonged just there, her head tucked under his chin, her hair
spilling over them like a cloak. She kissed him, tasting the salt
on his skin. He was still breathing heavily, the rise and fall of
his strong chest making her burn for him all over again. He was
warmth and life, precious beyond measure. Lila closed her eyes,
willing the moment to last.

In the hazy state between satisfaction
and the anticipation of more, Rafe closed his eyes, triumph pulsing
through his veins like a primitive drum. She was his. Beautiful,
troubled, tricky, courageous and
his
. He kissed the top of her head, drinking
in the perfume of her glorious hair.

“
When you were a soldier,” she asked
softly, “were you ever afraid that you would die?”

Rafe opened his eyes, staring up at
the stars.
Not the conversation I
expected
. “Sometimes.”

Her warm weight was here and now, the
urgency of desire a breath away. He pushed a lock of hair from her
eyes. “Why do you ask?”

“
Rafe.” She wrapped her hand around
his. “The vows I made. You need to know the whole of what I
promised.”

Her seriousness chilled him. “What?”

“
The bargain was that Masterson would
give me until sundown tomorrow if I could get them Wolf Creek.
Specifically, that I would, with all the secrecy Masterson wanted,
find something of equal or greater value to our forest.”

Rafe remained silent, waiting. He was
feeling worse and worse about what was coming next. “Yeah?”

She cleared her throat. “That was only part
of what I promised that day. I took a blood oath that I would save
my people at any cost. The only real way was through the deal with
Masterson. That didn’t work out, so now I pay the penalty.”

Rafe waited a heartbeat. “You would save
your people at any cost?”

“
Or die trying.”

Rafe felt the first of Lila’s hot
tears fall against his skin, and suddenly the urgency of her
love-making made sense.
Fido’s frackin’
balls!

“
I failed and the year and a day I had
to pull the deal off is almost up. By this time tomorrow,” she said
shakily. “I’m going to be dead.”

Rafe tensed with outraged surprise. Lila
laid her fingertips over his mouth. “Don’t say anything. There’s
nothing anyone can say. I did this to myself.”

Now wide awake, Rafe pulled her hand away,
lacing his fingers through hers. “You’re a hazard. In future, I’m
going to pack you in bubble wrap before I let you out the front
door.”

She choked a laugh that wasn’t a laugh.

His words sounded calm and confident,
but his mind was flattened like a bug on a windshield.
What the hell?
He felt like he was
falling, his stomach dropping down an endless cliff side. He
settled his arms closer around Lila, feeling her soft breath on his
skin. For all her appearance of calm, he could feel her heart
fluttering like a bird’s.

“
Hush,” he whispered, stroking her
hair.

None of this made any sense to him. Fey
logic was upside-down and backward, no more direct than a bowl of
spaghetti. For a moment he hated their convoluted rules, their
secrecy, and the unpredictable magic that had driven Lila to this
pass. Then Rafe took a deep breath, mentally taking a step
back.