Retribution (Moonstruck Genesis #4)

Chapter 14

HANNAH WATCHED Mac from beneath lowered lashes. Her husband. Mate. Love of her life. Other half. He was all those things and more. Even when they disagreed—to the point of anger—she couldn’t envision life without him and for the first time, it struck her. Nakai so willing to sacrifice himself after Tala’s murder. At Danny’s funeral, Sally using her body as a living shield, absorbing the bullets meant for Hannah and the children. Hannah now understood the bleak life stretching in front of Sally, and why the other woman would do what she did. She would stay. For Liam’s sake. If something happened to Mac. He was leaning over the dining table of the house they’d appropriated on the 69th’s old post. The Wolves had maps spread out as they discussed security and tactics. Every one of them was a battle-hardened soldier. Even Antoine, though his battles had been fought in a different arena.

Resisting the urge to fan her face as Mac moved and his jeans caressed that perfect ass of his, she studied him. Hannah loved his ass. Hell, she loved his chest. His shoulders. His arms, legs, abdomen, and all the little—and not so little—parts in between. The man exuded power like other men did aftershave. Her nostrils flared as she inhaled, picking out Mac’s scent from the others. Smokey sweet like burning leaves in the autumn with a whiff of honest sweat and musk. Her mouth watered just drawing him deep into her lungs. She’d never get enough of him.

As if reading her thoughts, he glanced up. His burnt honey eyes bored into hers before a tiny twitch lifted the right side of his mouth.

Soon, he promised in her mind.

There were things Hannah needed to be doing, but she was too distracted, needing her mate too much at the moment. She slipped from the living-dining area of the house and headed to their bedroom. She stripped just outside the attached bathroom, leaving her clothes in a pile. Once inside, she cranked on the hot water in the shower and while it heated, she studied her reflection.

Hannah felt old. She wasn’t in her thirties anymore and her body showed it. Her curves had filled out even more, despite attempts to work out. Of course, the workouts were designed to keep her alive more than keep her slim. Her belly showed the signs of pregnancy—Liam’s to full term, and others lost too soon. Those marks were etched on her soul. Her breasts were far from perky and she wasn’t about to turn around to check out her own ass. She knew what it looked like. When steam filled the room, she stepped into the shower.

She shouldn’t have been surprised to pull back the shower curtain to find Mac standing there when she finished, filling the room with male desire. He helped her out, wrapping her in a towel before backing into the bedroom, tugging her with him. His work-roughened palms caressed her shoulders and she braced her knees to keep from puddling on the floor. Mac drew her to the bed then picked her up to settle her on the bedspread. Mac knelt, eyes boring into hers as he reached for the towel. “I’ve missed you,” he growled. “Missed this.”

Hannah didn’t blink as she stared into those compelling brown eyes. The emotions she read there echoed the ones hidden in her soul. Leaning forward, she closed the distance to his mouth, murmuring against his lips, “I’ve missed you too.”

That was the invitation Mac wanted. His mouth seduced hers. Slow. Easy. Patient. Even though he wanted to take her hard, he didn’t. The fire of need burning inside him would consume Hannah. He didn’t want to extinguish those flames with something hot and quick. He wanted to fan them into scorching life.

Never content to be passive, Hannah arched into their kiss. He leveraged onto the bed beside her and she circled his neck with her arms, pulling him closer as she made needy noises in the back of her throat. Breaking off the kiss, Mac nibbled along the line of her jaw to reach the soft spot behind her ear. His lips explored, kissing and sucking until her fingers dug into the crests of his shoulders. Her head bowed back.

Mac fought the desire to sink his teeth into the muscle where her neck and shoulder joined. His wolf wanted to mark her. Again. For always. Hannah was his mate. His woman. His life. With great effort, he allowed only his lips to dance across the soft skin, but then the wolf took over. He dragged his teeth across her collarbone. She moaned, her eyes closing while a shiver danced across her skin.

He nipped the skin on her chest following the swell of her breasts. She squirmed and thrashed and he wanted to howl in joy. He traced his palms down her sides, along her hips to her thighs. His mouth followed, pausing at her belly button to kiss and nuzzle, stopping when she stiffened.

“Hannah?” Mac froze when she wouldn’t meet his gaze. “Babe? What’s wrong?”

She blushed and with her eyes closed, unable to look at him as she confessed. “You haven’t changed. In all the years we’ve been together, you haven’t changed. But me—” Her throat closed up, forcing her to clear it before she made her admission. “I’m old, Mac. I’m wrinkled and flabby and—”

He cut her words off with a brutal attack on her mouth. His tongue assaulted her lips, forcing its way inside. He crushed her to his chest, his heart pounding, his cock hard and thick against her stomach. His hands clenched in her hair, holding her head so he could kiss her deeper. When he finally came up for air, she could barely understand his words. He sounded far more wolf than man.

“Don’t you ever. Never, Hannah.” He worked to contain his anger and panic, emotions both too raw to let loose. Inhaling several times, he finally added, “Not ever. You hear me? Gods, woman. The things you do to me. To my heart. My body. You are my soul. I love you. You will always be the best part of me. When I look at you, I only see how beautiful you are. You’re mine, darlin’. Now and always.” His wolf, predator that it was, wanted to devour Hannah. The man wanted to sink into her as deep as he could go, staying there surrounded by her wet heat until the end of time.

Hannah stared at him and he watched her eyes widen as she read his expression. Her mouth formed a perfect “O” and he wanted to slide his dick between her moistened lips. Later. First, he wanted to love her. To show her all the ways he knew her body. To relish her taste and feel.

She slid her palms down his arms and across his lower back, her fingers tangling in his cotton T-shirt. “Too many clothes,” she groused as her lips nuzzled his five o’clock whiskers.

Mac breathed, their heart beating in time. This he could comprehend. Pushing up on his elbows, he stared down at the woman who drove him crazy on every level. He translated the expressions flitting across her face, her emotions stripped bare beneath his gaze. She stiffened, arching toward him, craving his touch. He touched her thoughts, filling her mind with his love.

“Don’t think, baby. Just feel. Just feel me.”

This woman still fascinated him. Her mind was a puzzle he was forever solving and her body was a treat he never tired of enjoying. Dipping his head, his mouth found her breast, teasing the nipple until it beaded. His wolf preened triumphantly as Hannah arched off the bed and sucked in a deep breath.

“Damn,” she muttered, her hands hooking onto the waistband of his jeans. “Clothes! Off! Now!” Hannah’s voice was harsh with the demand.

Mac gloated, knowing he could still push her to this extreme. He sat up on the side of the bed. In scant moments, his boots hit the floor, T-shirt and jeans joining them in a pile. “This better?” he teased, stretching out beside her.

“Much.”

He cupped her cheek in his hand and leaned in to kiss her, his mouth now gentle on hers. He traced her neck and shoulder with one palm, trailing it along her arm and raising goose bumps in its wake. Her nipples puckered—he liked that effect—so he dipped his head, wanting to taste her. After tasting both breasts, he slid down, once more kissing her belly and murmuring, “So very beautiful,” before dipping lower. Her hips shifted in need as his chin nudged through the soft hair at the vee of her thighs. He anchored her hips with his forearm across her lower abdomen when she squirmed too much. Her response to his touch always delighted him and he gave up any pretense at controlling his own reactions. He had a raging hard-on.

Mac pushed a finger inside her as his tongue slicked between her damp folds. Using the tip, he flicked across her clit, laughing when she grabbed for his head. There were times he wished he’d let his hair grow out. This was one of them.

Hannah, with tousled hair, nipples perked, and moist lips, pushed up on her elbows to stare at him. “Quit stalling.”

Laughter burst from his mouth. “Greedy little thing, aren’t you?”

“Damn straight I am. I want your mouth on me. Now. No fooling around.”

This was the Hannah he loved. The one who knew what she wanted, who knew he was the only one who could satisfy her. “Is that an order, darlin’?”

“Hell yeah, and that’s—”

“Major Darlin’,” he finished for her. He didn’t hide his smirk as he returned his attention to her pussy. His fingers worked her, two thick digits stroking in and out of her vagina while his tongue teased her clit. When she moaned, he used teeth, worrying the hardening nub before clamping his lips around it and sucking.

She bucked beneath him, but didn’t get far, his arm still a brace across her midsection. He held her hovering on the edge then stopped. He stretched up her body and cupped her cheek in one hand. He brushed his lips across hers, ending with the thrust of his tongue into her mouth. He wanted her to taste herself, wanted her to know how delicious he found her.

“So good, baby. You taste so fucking good.” The tone of his voice revealed the wonder he felt at the knowledge.

Hannah’s voice held a slightly hysterical edge as she gripped his shoulders, her short nails digging into his skin. “Damn you, Mac.”

He leaned back, still cupping her cheek. “I want you as hot and achy for me as I am for you.”

She swallowed a snarl. “You suck, Mac McIntire.” She pushed at him, trying to topple him to the side. Her action was fruitless. Until he decided to move, it was like pushing a brick wall.

“I do. I suck you, baby.” A glint of red flashed in the back of his eyes. “And if you are a very good girl, you can suck me.”

She smacked his arm and he grabbed her hand before she could do it again. His grip was gentle. He could easily break all the bones in her hand and they both knew it. Hannah stared boldly at him. Defiant, she kept her eyes open when he leaned in and kissed her.

Reining in his lust, Mack used his tongue to gently explore her mouth. His last kiss had been a taking. This one asked for her love then answered with his own, the moment aching in its tenderness. Once again, his fingers did their magic between her legs, hand and tongue matching movements. “I’ll always want you, Hannah. Hard and fast. Slow and sweet. It’s all you, baby.”

Her pupils dilated and her pulse stuttered when his fingertips brushed across her G-spot. The sensation knocked her off center. Her gaze sought his, locked on. He didn’t blink as she stared, studying every nuance of his expression. “I own you, Hannah. Your heart. Your soul.”

“ Ahhh , Mac,” she sighed. “You complete me.” No uncertainty, no hesitancy.

He whispered in her mind, Mine.

She continued to watch him, his declaration whispering in her memory—a word spoken to her as they lay together in a cave, a cave in the middle of a war zone a lifetime ago. He’d taken her then, as he took her now, his need raw and primal.

This felt so right to her—then and now—yet the depth of her feelings still had the ability to terrify her. His gaze scorched her bare skin and she fought her embarrassment. Hannah lifted her chin, a rebellion against her insecurity. She would not give in to it. Mac had claimed her in that Bosnian cave, had branded her with his desire. She didn’t run from him then, despite the very real sense of self-preservation that screamed along her nerve endings. What happened in that cave was irrevocable. And it changed her forever.

Mac kissed her again. He wanted to make love to her. He needed to make love to her. Because he loved her. He’d grown up hearing about mates, had watched the dysfunctional relationship his father and mother had. He’d never believed he’d ever find his own mate. Women were to sate a Wolf’s lust. He’d fucked his share and then some. Once the feisty blond wearing officer’s brass walked into his life, there’d never been anyone else. He couldn’t have walked away from her, from the blatant, raw need he felt for her. Not even if he hadn’t gotten her pregnant. He didn’t know how alone he’d been until Hannah. He hated the nights they were apart. He wanted her in his arms, wanted to swallow her gasps as he worked her into a frenzy, as he was doing now. He wanted this every night for the rest of his life.

“Make love to me, Ian McIntire.”

He breathed, the sudden constriction banding his chest easing. “Yes.”

Not that he needed one, but he liked that she invited him. “Roger that, Major.” He stretched out beside her and caressed her from thigh to shoulder with a quivering hand. Him, a hardened soldier who had fought too many battles to count, who had become Alpha by the sheer strength of his will. Hannah reduced him to a trembling boy with her fierce spirit and unbridled loyalty. Humbled by the depth of his feeling for his mate, he worshiped her.

Kisses. Deep, pervasive, each one claiming her. His. Always. And he would prove it to her, not that he needed to, but because he wanted to. More kisses peppered against soft, cafe au lait scented skin. He showered attention on her breasts until their areolas were ruched, nipples pebbled. His fingers teased through the silky curls on her mound and were met with creamy heat. He slicked the lips of her sex and he pressed the pad of his index finger against her clit. Her sharp inhalation put another smile on his face.

Mac was greedy, wanting all of her. He would wring every last emotion from her before he finished. He would swallow her cries for more as he kissed her. He would taste her passion as she came apart from the assault of his mouth and tongue. He would take this time with her for himself and the rest of the world could go to hell!

As she relaxed beneath his kisses, he slipped one finger into her moist depths. A second followed shortly to be enveloped by wet silk. Her scent intensified—coffee and sweet cream. He drank in her moans as she writhed beneath him, reaching for what she needed. He would give it to her. He would show her how enduring his love was.

His fingers slid in and out of her sex, his thumb teasing her clit. She curled her hips trying to take him deeper, need and instinct driving her body now. The scent of burning leaves and musk swamped her senses and her breath hitched as she drew his scent deeper into her body. “More,” she demanded.

“More.” His swollen cock, its tip dripping with his need for her, throbbed as the word echoed in his brain. Her hand groped blindly, found his erection, and her fingers wrapped around him. Gritting his teeth, he fought the urge to pump into her grip. He craved her—her hand, her pussy. Didn’t matter which surrounded his cock. Thought of her mouth on him almost made him come. But not now. Not this moment. This was for her. She would please him that way later. Their love-making was always a give and take of pleasure. For now, he would make her scream out her passion. He slipped down her body and his mouth replaced his hand.

Hannah couldn’t breathe. Mac’s mouth on her pussy had her wanting to squirm away, or to grab his head to hold him still so she could grind herself against his face. She did neither, crushing the bedspread in her fists instead. Someone moaned. Her. She whimpered in her need to reach orgasm. The muscles in her legs, now braced over Mac’s shoulders, trembled and she thrashed her head from side to side.

“More,” she demanded, her voice hoarse.

“More,” he murmured against her, sending vibrations through her body.

Mac feasted on her clit and his tongue lapped her before dipping into her vagina. Tension coiled inside her then exploded, radiating out like a sunburst. He swallowed greedily, his hands griping her hips to hold her still while he drank from her.

Hannah realized tears slicked her face from the unbearable sense of connection. She could spin off into infinity and know she’d never be alone. Mac would always be her anchor.

Mac scrambled up beside her, his strong arms wrapping around her, cradling her. He kissed her wet cheeks and she gazed in wonder at him.

“Shhh, baby. No tears. You know they break my heart,” he murmured against her hair.

Her body fit the hills and valleys of his as if they’d been carved from the same piece of stone and Hannah snuggled in close. This was only round one, if she knew her mate, and she did. “Not those kind of tears, Mac. Sometimes I get lost in what we have and it just overwhelms me. I didn’t even know I was crying.” Her voice hitched a little.

“Breathe, baby.”

She did, filling her lungs with his scent, snuggling against him, absorbing everything he was. They rested for a few minutes, rested until they couldn’t stand it anymore, until his hand found her breasts and his lips her mouth, until her hand found his cock lying hard against her hip. As soon as her fingers wrapped around him, his control snapped. Rolling on top of her, he spread her thighs with his legs and settled between them. The head of his cock kissed her labia and was met with silky warmth. He pushed in and swallowed her moan with a kiss.

Mac couldn’t breathe, didn’t want to move, knowing he’d come apart at the seams if he did. “God, baby, it feels so damn good to be inside you.”

Hannah wrapped her legs around his waist and he held onto tenuous control with single-minded concentration. Her thighs offered a cushion for his hips, a place to rest then push off from once he began to stroke in and out of her. Her perfectly rounded breast pillowed his cheek. Her vagina stretched around him, caressing his dick with silken waves as he filled her completely. His senses were swamped by the sensations of her.

He gritted his teeth, still fighting the urge to pump into her fast and hard, knowing he wouldn’t last. Holding infinitely still, he growled when her inner muscles teased his dick with touches made of wet silk. She laughed, but relaxed, giving him a chance to reclaim control. He raised his hips, beginning a slow withdrawal. The muscles in her vagina tightened around him and this time, his groan escaped, only to be swallowed by her kisses as her mouth sought out his.

Slow and easy, he pushed in and withdrew until she pressed against him, demanding more. She scissored her legs around his waist and feathered her fingers through the hair on his chest, savoring the play of muscles beneath his skin. She wet her lips and watched him through half-lidded eyes.

Mac sped up his tempo, keeping time with the pounding of their hearts. A wicked smile curved his lips as he drove into her harder and her body responded as it always did—opening wider, taking him deeper. She cried out, hips curling and pushing, hands clawing at his shoulders, finding purchase with her nails sinking into his skin. He bit back a howl. His wolf prowled, whining and growling just beneath the surface of his skin.

She gave him the words. “It’s all right, love. I have you. Just let go. I’ll catch you. Always.”

So he did. He raced into his climax, bowing his back as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest, her breasts abrading against the crinkly hairs covering his chest. She cried out, echoing his growls as the pressure built to an unbearable level and then they were falling, their bodies racked with shudders and tremors. They cradled each other, clung, attempted to breathe. Only Mac’s dick nestled deep inside her, still hard and throbbing as her own inner muscles responded in kind, anchored them to the world. Without that connection, they would have spiraled off into the Universe, lost in a sea of skyrocketing sensations.

Shivering in the aftermath, Mac covered Hannah’s body, almost too spent to move. When she fell into a light doze, he rolled to the side. Blindly searching, he found the extra blanket Hannah left folded at the foot of the bed. He flipped the soft fleece over them both. Exhausted, he still took a moment to stare at her, enjoying the abrasions his whiskers left on her flushed skin. He smoothed her tousled hair away from her face, loving the feel of her soft blond tresses between his fingers. Goosebumps prickled her skin when the chill air kissed her. With a final admiring glance, he flicked his wrist and allowed the blanket to caress her, hiding her from his sight as he burrowed in beside her.

Mac had given everything to his country and asked nothing in return. He wasn’t asking now. He demanded. He demanded justice for this woman because her heart and soul belonged to him now and always. He reached for the dark anger hiding inside, ready to devour their enemies with rending claws and teeth. Hannah deserved no less.

With the soft sound of her breathing a solace to his resolve, Mac listened to the world around them. Wind rustled in the trees on the mountainside. He smiled at the sounds of lovemaking wafting from the other houses clustered nearby. As tired as he was, he didn’t want to surrender to sleep. He wanted to hang onto this small moment of normalcy in a life too filled with crazy. He wanted to hold the woman he would desire until the day he died, and beyond because one lifetime with Hannah would never be enough.

Hannah sighed, a soft puff of air escaping her lungs as she rolled onto her side, seeking his warmth. He held her close, waiting until her cheek found the hollow of his shoulder and she settled. He buried his nose in her magnificent mane of hair and kissed the top of her head. Her skin was slick with sweat—hers, his. She smelled of him and his wolf wanted to roll in her so her scent marked his skin as he’d marked hers. He and his wolf claimed her each time they made love.

For a brief moment, his wolf danced across his features and fangs gleamed in the moonlight. He eased her away so he could reach her shoulder and with utmost care, he nipped the muscle joining her shoulder and neck. Not enough to break skin, but enough to mark her so all would see she belonged to him. It was a primal, feral thing to do, but he didn’t give a damn. Hannah made him feel primal and feral. Settling her back into his arms, he tuned out the world, his breathing and heartbeat synchronized with hers as it always did when they slept.

HANNAH AWOKE to darkness though her eyes adjusted quickly. Mac’s body radiated heat and she curled up closer to him, lazy and languorous, like a contented cat, though Mac would smack her butt for the analogy. “Damn,” she muttered as she stretched her legs and sore muscles protested. A faint light leaked around the edges of the curtains covering the windows. Despite swollen and gritty eyes from the late night, she studied the man sprawled next to her. She didn’t get this chance very often. Usually, he woke before her and was already gone by the time she stirred. He never failed to tease her for not being a morning person, but he also spoiled her by bringing that first precise and necessary cup of coffee to her in bed.

Mac was huge, even for a Wolf. Muscular hills and valleys mapped his chest and abdomen, and a thatch of mahogany hair added interest, especially as it tapered into an arrow shooting down his abs to the dark nest surrounding his now-flaccid penis. She was never embarrassed by her need to watch him. Shivering in the cool air, her own comfort overcame her need to see. She drew the blanket up to cover them.

A stray lock of her hair tumbled across her forehead. Before she could brush it back, Mac did so with sure fingers. Her breath caught in her chest at his tenderness. This man who was so powerful and strong, this huge man with work-roughened hands was a study in opposites. He could kill with those hands as easily as he could caress. God but Hannah loved him. Everything about him—the way he teased her, the way he triggered her anger. He was protective. He was her safe place. He also gave her wings, believing in her and her ability to do what she did best.

“I love you.” She murmured the promise against his skin before she kissed him.

His lips curved into a smile though his eyes didn’t open. His breathing deepened as she cuddled in. Her eyes drifted shut and she was about to fall back asleep when his breath whispered across her cheek. “Silly woman. Of course you do.” She laughed and thumped his chest, but only managed one punch as he entwined their fingers and curled her hand against the skin over his heart. “Is this where I say ow?”

Several hours later, Hannah gave up trying to fall back asleep when something thumped in the kitchen. She snatched Mac’s T-shirt off the floor and pulled it on over her head as she slipped out of their bedroom, softly shutting the door behind her. Strolling into the kitchen, she found Liam pouring cereal into bowls. Micah Lightfoot stood in a chair, banging his spoon on the table. Cody Donaldson was trying to pour milk into glasses while Joy Connor held little Grace on her lap. All the kids were present, but for baby Sally Dee.

Scrubbing her hands through her sleep-tousled hair, Hannah stared blankly at the munchkins gathered around her dining room table. Liam looked up at her entrance and scowled.

“So…” she asked. “What’s going on?”

Her son’s scowl morphed into a glower. “What does it look like? Thanks to you and Dad every adult in the place is—” He made air quotes with his hands. “Sleeping in.”

“How is that our fault?”

“Jeez, Mom, I’m betting they heard you two all the way to Washington D.C.” He swiped a paper towel from the roll sitting on the table and wiped up the milk Micah spilled trying to drink from the glass. “You guys infected everyone else. We were awake all night and now we’re hungry.”

Mac padded up behind her, his arms circling her waist as he nuzzled the back of her neck. When Liam snorted in disgust, Mac laughed. “Trust me, son, your time will come.”