Abandoned (15 page)

“How about later,” she mumbled as she caressed his abs and then lowered her hand to surround his cock with her palm. He wore shorts, but that didn’t stop her from wrapping her fingers around him through the loose material.

She’d kept her hands to herself in the night while they’d showered, recognizing the wince that repeatedly crossed his face as she soaped his body, but all bets were off this morning. Now that she was awake and his pheromones were filling her nose, she needed him. “You should have shifted for a while,” she muttered as she nibbled his skin. The cuts were fading anyway, but they’d be completely gone if he’d spent time in wolf form.

“I didn’t want to stop touching you even for a moment,” he whispered, his breath hitching as she stroked her hand up and down his shaft through his shorts.

“Uh
-
huh.”

When she grazed her thumb over the head, Daniel groaned. “You imp.” He lifted the leg she had straddled and pressed his thigh against her pussy, taking her breath away. She was wet, probably had been in her sleep. She’d been wet since she first walked up to him yesterday. Had it only been twenty-four hours?

Before she could catch her breath, Daniel turned the tables. He lifted her off him, set her on the bed on her belly, and climbed over her, nudging her legs apart with his knees and settling between them.

She squealed, but even her sharp sound was cut off as he pushed the T-shirt she wore up her body and over her head to tangle with her wrists. His mouth landed on her ear
,
and he nibbled a path down her neck and across her shoulders. “I want to take you from behind. Is that okay?”

She couldn’t breathe, let alone answer. All she knew was her nipples rasped against the sheet and her pussy begged for him to remove his shorts and press into her without the material between them.

Daniel lifted onto his knees. She assumed he was squirming out of his shorts. And then he ran his hands down the sides of her body, grazing the edges of her breasts, and lifted her hips off the bed. He stuffed a pillow under her belly and nudged her knees farther apart. When his fingers landed on her pussy and spread her lower lips to swipe through her folds, she shot up onto all fours and rocked back into his touch.

“So wet, baby. Always so ready for me.” He pushed two fingers into her. “And so tight…” His voice trailed off as he grabbed her hip with one hand to steady her and fucked her with his other hand.

God. She burned for him. She needed to move. But he was too strong and held her still, his arm slinking under her stomach to brace her against the thrusting of the fingers of his other hand.

Allison moaned, letting her head dip toward the mattress. When her arms began to shake, she set her forehead on the pillow, leaving her ass in the air.

“God you’re sexy, Allie.”

She was so close. He hadn’t touched her clit, but just the position she was in heightened her arousal. Just as she was about to come, he released her.
No!
She bit her lip to keep from protesting and wiggled her rear toward him, pleading with her body for more.

And then he was back, his cock pressing into her, his hands on her hips to keep her from leaning away from him. He thrust into her so fast, she came.

“That’s it, baby. Let it go.” His voice soothed her, his hands trailing away from her hips and caressing her back.

Her entire body shook, a chill racing down her spine as her pussy milked his cock, grasping it as though pleading with him to never exit her body.

Before the pulses of that first orgasm subsided, Daniel reached around and stroked her clit with his fingers while he eased out of her and then thrust back in.

So intense. So…natural…to be taken this way by him. No man had ever taken her from behind. She loved it.

His thrusts increased
,
and he doubled his efforts on her clit until he finally held himself deep inside her, his orgasm jarring his body against her ass. As he came, he pinched her clit between two fingers, sending her over the edge right behind him.

He held her still as their orgasms spiraled down, his fingers pressing into her hip.

When her knees began to shake, threatening to give way, he drew her against him and collapsed onto the bed sideways, spooning her into his chest.

She hated that his cock popped out of her during the fall, missing the feeling of fullness immediately. But the hand he settled over her breast, molding the globe and flicking her nipple, distracted her. He kept her on edge so easily, making her crave more, not less.

His lips landed on her temple. “That was so…”

She smiled. “Perfect.”

“Yes. Perfect.”

“You’re so distracting. Are you going to feed me now or what?”

He hugged her tighter, his hand squeezing her breast. “Me? Who started this?” he teased.

Allison just smiled. How had she gotten so much luck in such a short time? If he kept it up, he could almost erase the disastrous year behind her.

•●•

When they stepped into the main house half an hour later, both sets of their parents were already seated at the breakfast table eating. All four stood at once. Allison’s heart swelled at the reception. Daniel’s parents each hugged her while her parents shook hands with Daniel. They hadn’t even met him until now.

Allison’s mom hugged her tight. “Are you okay?” she asked as she pulled back to look her in the eye. “We were scared out of our minds when we heard the gunshots.”

Allison nodded. “I’m fine, thanks to Daniel and his father.” She turned toward Jerome and smiled.

Jerome shrugged. “I’m glad I got there in time and we’re safe now. There are so many Reserves on the property, no one could possibly get by them.”

As the six of them took their seats, Natalie glanced at her nearly empty plate. “We started without you. We weren’t sure if you were ever going to make it.” No one would fault newly mated couples for tardiness. They would have a free pass for months. And after the night Allison and Daniel had experienced, everyone was lucky they’d gotten out of bed.

Allison was starving, again. Seems she was always hungry lately. She filled her plate from all the serving platters in the middle of the table and tore into her breakfast, savoring every bite and nearly moaning at the taste of Natalie’s cooking.

Their parents had been just finishing and chatted around her, small talk that helped them all get to know each other over coffee.

“I spoke to Evan last night before all hell broke loose,” Daniel said between bites. He set one hand on Allison’s knee and squeezed. “He didn’t sound as relieved about this successful rescue endeavor as I would have expected. Obviously his concerns were well-founded.”

Daniel’s father, Jerome, nodded agreement. “I know he works directly for The Council and can’t share everything he knows, but the look on his face and the furrow in his brow tells me there’s a lot more we don’t know. It’s scary. I hope the women staying here can regain their lives somehow and work together
,
leaning on each other for support to get over what they’ve each been through. But there’s more to come
,
I fear. Last night was just a taste.”

Allison swallowed her last bite. It went down hard
,
as though it were gravel instead of pancakes. “I hate that you all got dragged into this. Your home. Your ranch. Your peace.”

Jerome shook his head. “Don’t go there. We wouldn’t have it any other way.” He grabbed Natalie’s hand and brought it to his lips. A glance in her direction told Allison the woman was distressed. “Scared the dickens out of all of us, but it won’t happen again. Not unless this group of thugs has an entire army at their disposal.” His words trailed off. No one commented. They all feared that was exactly what might happen.

Daniel squeezed Allison’s knee tighter. She set her hand on top of his, her nails digging into his knuckles. Her other leg bounced.

She cleared her throat and changed the subject. “Do you think there’re more women being held?”

Her father spoke next. “Not sure, sweetie. It’s possible.”

Her mother nodded. “I’ve heard a lot of young men are joining the North American Reserves. It scares the bejebus out of me.” She twisted her napkin, her elbows resting on the table top.

Natalie agreed. “Yeah. I’ve heard that too. Not sure if they’re joining out of some sense of duty or if they’re being recruited by The Council. We live so far out
,
it’s harder for me to know what’s happening in bigger cities.”

“Well, in New York we have a lot of friends in the shifter community. It seems like a little of both. Some recruiters were in the area and then some of the young men’s friends heard and joined with them.” Allison stared at her mother as she spoke. She’d never seen her so concerned.

Allison had been so worried about herself for the last several days, she hadn’t stopped to ponder the broader implications of what was happening in the shifter world. It wasn’t just that she had been kidnapped and rescued, but some mysterious secrets were definitely occurring that went far beyond her situation. “It would freak me out if anyone I knew joined NAR right now. I don’t think I could sleep.” She set her head on Daniel’s shoulder and wrapped her hands around his arm.

No one spoke for several seconds, and then they all resumed chatting on top of each other, changing the subject. Good. She needed a generic discussion about the ranch
,
or even the weather.

•●•

Daniel cringed when his mate spoke her mind. A collective breath
-
holding filled the room with silence. Every person in the room knew Daniel himself was enlisted with NAR, except Allison. It wasn’t that he’d intentionally kept the information from her. It just hadn’t come up yet
,
and right here in front of both sets of parents wasn’t the place to lower the bomb after what she’d said.

Great
. He gritted his teeth, hating the sensation that he was lying to her. He didn’t need this wrench in his relationship that started only yesterday. He tried desperately to remain calm next to her and not stiffen with her words.

After several minutes of chatter about the workings of the ranch and its normal operation under ordinary circumstances, someone knocked at the front door.

Daniel’s father scooted back and excused himself to answer, though they could all see the door from the long table.

It was Evan
,
and he apologized for barging in. “So sorry. I was hoping I could speak with Daniel.”

Daniel’s brows rose as Evan stared at him. He turned to Allison and kissed her brow.

She smiled up at him. “I should go join the other women this morning
,
anyway. They must be pretty freaked out about what happened in the night. Go.” She released his arm and nodded toward Evan. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

He hated leaving her side. He feared for her safety
,
even with the increased security. But mostly because they’d just mated and he wanted her in his presence. When he wasn’t touching her, breathing in her scent, watching the way she moved, hell…listening to the sweet melody of her voice, he felt the loss. But he knew she needed to talk to counselors and continue to make progress toward healing. And the look on Evan’s face suggested it was urgent.

Daniel rose from the table and stepped out of the house with Evan.

“Sorry, man. I know the timing of all of this stinks,” Evan said as they headed down the front steps and away from the house.

Daniel followed as if Evan knew all the best places on the dude ranch to talk instead of Daniel. The man walked at a clipped pace, on a mission.

When they reached the fence surrounding the pasture to the left of the main barn, Evan leaned against the top and turned toward Daniel. “I wouldn’t ordinarily involve you in everything happening behind the scenes, but considering the circumstances surrounding your relationship with Allison, I feel you must be kept informed.”

Daniel nodded. His gut tightened, threatening a revolt against the huge meal he’d just consumed. Evan’s face spoke volumes about the seriousness of whatever he had to say.

“I’ve spoken with the head elder, Ralph Jerard, and he agrees you need to be brought up to speed. The fact that you joined the North American Reserves last year didn’t hurt in making this decision.