Chapter 5 Carter #2
Carter shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Well, since your leg and hand are better, what do you say we get a real run in as our wolves?”
Excitement at the possibility of shifting to his wolf and taking a long run in the surrounding forest caused Carter to bounce several steps, a wide smile taking over his face.
“I’d love that. My wolf hasn’t been able to do that for months.
Since before—” Carter cut himself off, his smile fading and the excitement draining away.
“Before what, little wolf?” Rey prompted him gently.
Shaking his head, Carter hunched in on himself. He didn’t want Rey to know about Darryl. “It’s just been a long time,” he mumbled.
Rey didn’t push him for more information, which Carter was grateful for. “Then tomorrow we will shift and hunt. I look forward to it.”
It didn’t take too long to reach the lodge the Emerald Lake Hills pack was staying in.
Nick and Thayne headed inside, while Carter lingered on the porch with Rey.
He’d always been too shy to start any kind of physical intimacy at the beginning of his relationships. His exes were always the instigators.
Rey lightly squeezed Carter’s hand and pulled him toward him. “May need to get a step stool to carry with us or I’m going to throw out my back every time I kiss you,” Rey said before bending down the distance and settling his lips over Carter’s.
Memories of Darryl berating him for being a lousy kisser assaulted him. The insults had started slowly, hidden little jibes that Carter hadn’t realized at first were meant to be cruel. He’d brushed them off until Darryl called him a terrible kisser. That came a week before Darryl first hit him.
Those memories made him insecure about Rey enjoying his kisses. A fact that caused Carter to remain utterly still, to let Rey guide the kiss. Rey brought a hand up and cupped Carter’s cheek, his thumb trailing over Carter’s bottom lip. “Aren’t you going to kiss me back?” he asked softly.
Carter gave a small sound of dismay. He attempted to break away, but Rey refused to let him go. “Relax, little wolf. Open your mouth a little,” Rey said, his voice low and soft. Carter parted his lips a fraction, and Rey hummed. “Just like that, my sweet mate.”
Rey settled his mouth over Carter’s once more, his tongue flicking out to caress over Carter’s bottom lip, taking the same path his thumb had.
Heat flared deep inside Carter. His stomach tightened, and pleasure zinged straight to his groin.
Carter opened farther, tentatively touching his tongue to Rey’s.
A muted growl reached Carter’s ears, and Rey slid his hand around to Carter’s nape, deepening the kiss.
Rey swallowed Carter’s gasp when Rey’s tongue surged forth into his mouth.
Carter reached up to grip Rey’s biceps, holding on in the onslaught. None of his exes had ever kissed him so passionately before. Rey practically devoured Carter’s mouth, leaving Carter struggling to pull air into his lungs and making his cock harder than concrete. “Rey,” he whimpered.
Breaking the kiss, Rey rested his forehead against Carter’s. “Mmm, little wolf. I can’t wait to get you beneath me to see if the rest of you tastes just as delicious as your lips.”
A shudder worked its way through Carter.
No one had ever made him feel like they wanted to eat him up.
He tried to kiss Rey again, but Rey stopped him.
He whined, and Rey gave a husky chuckle.
“I don’t think I can stop if we start again, and I don’t want to break my promise.
Go on inside now. I’ll see you in the morning for breakfast.”
Carter pouted. “But—”
Rey placed a finger over Carter’s lips, halting his protest. “When I claim you, Carter, it will not be on a porch where anyone can see us. It’ll be in my bed with time for me to explore your delectable body and make you come more than once before I take what’s mine.”
Jesus! His mate was out to kill him. The heat, which had banked slightly when Rey broke the kiss and denied him another, intensified, and Carter couldn’t seem to catch his breath.
He felt pretty sure his cock had never been harder in his life.
Pre-cum oozed from the tip and soaked into the boxer briefs he wore.
“You’re not fair,” he said, his tone ragged from the lust swamping him.
Smirking, Rey replied, “Don’t worry, little wolf. The wait will be worth it. Now, head on inside. Oh, and no touching. This is mine.”
Rey cupped Carter through his jeans, squeezing gently.
Carter keened and ground against Rey’s hand, almost sobbing when Rey released him.
Carter’s legs shook as he took a step away from Rey.
His knees felt weak, and his chest heaved with his panting breaths.
Rey guided him to the front door of the lodge and reached out to open it, carefully nudging him into the lodge. “Good night, my sweet mate.”
Carter whispered, “Good night,” before the door closed entirely, and he leaned his forehead on the cool wood.
The vibration of his phone against his thigh pulled Carter from the lust-induced fog clouding his mind.
Thankfully, the main room of the lodge was empty, or he’d feel embarrassed at having lost himself so completely to the desire pulsing through him.
He took his cell from his pocket, frowning when he saw a number he didn’t recognize.
Figuring it wasn’t anyone he knew, he declined the call.
It was almost two in the morning. Who the hell would call him at this time? It had to be a wrong number.
But his phone vibrated again two seconds later. Carter accepted the call and said, “Hello?”
“Miss me, you little slut?” Darryl asked.
Carter froze, terror ripping through him. His wolf whimpered in his mind, and Carter felt the blood drain from his face. “D-Darryl? Bu-but you’re in jail.”
“Not anymore, bitch. Thought you could get away from me? Thought jail could keep me away from you? Where are you? You better get home now, or you’ll regret it.”
Carter couldn’t contain the whine he let out in the cabin’s silence.
Tears streaked down his cheeks, and the warmth and peace he’d felt with Rey felt like it had happened to someone else.
He hit his knees, sobs racking his body.
The phone was yanked out of his hand as an arm went around his shoulders, guiding him from the floor and onto a nearby couch.
“Who the fuck is this?”
He couldn’t hear what Darryl replied, but he heard Nick curse and growl. “You stay the fuck away from him.”
A tinny, taunting laugh echoed through the phone, and then Nick swore again. Darryl had hung up on his cousin. The sound of his cell phone being snapped in two barely registered. “Shh, Carter. It’s okay,” Thayne whispered into his ear.
Other doors in the cabin opened, and he heard someone ask what was going on. Carter hadn’t realized just how loud his crying had become. Darryl would never let him go. Flashes of Darryl’s fists slamming into his face and stomach caused Carter to flinch. “Go get Rey,” Nick snarled at someone.
Thayne stroked a hand over Carter’s hair, but Carter couldn’t stop the gulping cries he emitted.
Phantom pain spiked through his belly as Darryl’s boot struck his abdomen.
The bastard wore steel-toed boots because of the construction job he worked.
Rage engulfed Darryl’s features, and Carter flinched at the alcohol-infused spittle raining down on him from Darryl’s screams of degradation.
He barely registered the front door opening or the loud growl that ripped through the room.
Someone pulled him from Thayne’s embrace, and he found himself lifted onto a firm lap.
The person holding him rocked back and forth, crooning to him.
“It’s okay, little wolf. He won’t touch you again.
I swear on my life, sweetheart. Please calm down. ”
Quiet murmurs drifted around Carter. Then he felt Rey stand, holding him tight to his chest. Then a door opened and closed.
The light of the lodge dimmed, and Rey lowered them both onto a bed, cuddling Carter to his chest. He didn’t speak again, just stroked his fingers through Carter’s hair.
The crying jag, fear, and being held to the warm body of his mate exhausted Carter.
He drifted between awake and asleep, his tears drying on his cheeks and leaving behind a tight, itchy feeling.
At some point, he fell asleep entirely. The sound of birds chirping outside, voices echoing through the lodge, and dishes banging together woke Carter.
Warm sugar and vanilla teased his senses, and he knew Rey still held him, his giant body wrapped around Carter, keeping him safe.
Carter slowly opened his eyes to find Rey watching him, a soft but worried expression on his face.
“Good morning, little wolf,” Rey purred, sliding the back of two fingers down Carter’s cheek.
Carter tensed, the memory of the night before coming back. “Shh, sweetheart. It’ll be okay.”
He shook his head. It wouldn’t be. Darryl would find him and make him pay for being arrested. He’d surely kill Carter this time.
“He won’t get near you ever again, Carter. I swear to you, I’ll annihilate the son of a bitch,” Rey said.
He grew horrified when he realized Rey knew about Darryl. “H-how?”
Rey looked confused for a split second, then understanding dawned on his face. “Nick told me about him.”
Panic that Rey would reject him after knowing about what Darryl had done to him edged in. “I-I’m sorry!”
“For what, sweetheart?” Rey frowned.
“You can’t possibly want a mate as weak as me,” Carter said, struggling to pull away from Rey.
“You aren’t weak,” Rey said. “Get that idea right out of your beautiful head, little wolf. You’re strong. So strong. You survived a traumatic experience with someone you should have been able to trust.”
Carter shook his head again. “But I’m supposed to be stronger than a human.”
“Strength is more than muscles and physical ability, Carter.” Rey cupped Carter’s cheek and tilted his head until their gazes met. “Manipulation and emotional abuse can strip someone of their physical strength faster than fists. What he did to you wasn’t your fault, Carter.”
Rey stroked his thumb along the ridge of Carter’s cheekbone. “And don’t believe for a minute that I don’t want you for a mate, sweetheart.”
Carter stared at Rey, trying to decipher if the man was lying to him or not. He saw no deceit in Rey’s eyes. Rey smiled at him, leaning in to drop a soft kiss on Carter’s forehead. “Why don’t we go get something to eat? Then we can go for that run, okay?”
“Okay,” Carter said. He looked around and frowned. “This isn’t where I was staying.”
“You were too out of it to remain on the bunk bed you chose upstairs. Nick and Thayne gave up their room for the night.”
Carter gasped. “What? Oh, no. They shouldn’t have had to do that!”
“They suggested it, and they found other accommodations for the night.” Rey rolled out of bed and held his hand out to Carter, helping him off the mattress.
Rey wore only a pair of boxer briefs, having removed his clothing during the night while Carter slept.
Carter couldn’t help the blush that stole over his cheeks or the way his eyes traveled the long, muscular length of Rey’s body.
The tattoos lining Rey’s chest, back, and arms were gorgeous.
Thick lines of ink mixed with a multitude of different wolf tattoos.
And of course, the briefs cupped his firm, rounded ass cheeks like a glove, the flesh flexing with each step Rey took.
“See something you like?” Rey asked, eyebrow raised. Carter licked his lips, and he saw Rey’s eyes darken further. “I’ll take you up on that offer soon, little wolf. Until then, get dressed so we can go eat. Going to head over to the Senaka pack lodge to change. I’ll be right back.”
Carter scurried out of the room and headed to where he’d stowed his bag. He grabbed a change of clothing and raced into the bathroom to rinse off and dress.