Chapter 16
“You’re everything I didn’t know I needed,” I say, not ever wanting to move from this spot.
Settled between her legs, her brown eyes lock with mine. Her body beneath me. My child growing inside her. I’m overwhelmed with love I never thought I could have or have the chance to feel. This wasn’t in the cards for me.
When I was turned the night of the storm that killed my brother, I truly believed my life was over, and I was waiting to die.
Every year before Nariko has been slow and agonizing.
While I felt like I had no more left to give the world, there was a small part of me that knew I had unfinished business before I could die.
I suppose that’s what dying is—unfinished business and things left unsaid.
Now, my reason for holding on is right here.
“You saved my life,” I admit in a choked whisper, all of my emotions getting the best of me. “You saved me.”
Her smooth hand slips across my cheek, and I lean into her palm.
I lift my hand and place it against hers, needing her touch for a little while longer.
I kiss the sensitive part of her wrist, exhaling when all the emotions I’ve been feeling from everyone build up to the point of agony. One touch from her, they all melt away.
“Saved you? What did I save you from?”
Everything.
I slide to the side and reposition us to look out over the pasture, the bolts of lightning dancing with every strike. Intertwining our hands, I debate telling her the truth, but when I hear her gasp, I know words don’t need to be said.
She can feel what I do through the bond.
“You saved me too.”
Her confession takes me by surprise. “Me? What did I save you from?” She had everything she wanted before me. She had her entire life planned out. If anything, I interrupted everything she wanted for herself.
“My career consuming me. I know, having goals is important, but you reminded me it’s okay to want more. I don’t have to confine myself to work.” She draws lazy circles on her stomach and excitement plucks the tendrils that connect us. “I can have both.”
Nariko moves, placing her head on my chest as we watch the lightning put on a show.
“This is beautiful,” she says into the night. “When did you figure out this spot was the perfect view?”
I wrap an arm around her, my thumb brushing up and down her shoulder. She sighs, completely relaxed. There isn’t a better feeling for a man when his girl feels safe in his arms.
“Hmm, let me think. It’s been a few years.”
“A few? Or a few decades,” she teases about my age.
“Oh? You have jokes?” I tickle her sides, and she hollers in laughter, kicking and screaming, her laugh feeding my own happiness.
“Okay, okay, okay,” she breathes. “I give! I give,” Nariko gasps.
I kiss her forehead, lingering my lips for a few seconds.
“I think it was only a year after I bought the land. I took Van Gogh with me, and at the time, Westin and Jazz weren’t here yet.
It was just me and Van Gogh exploring. We camped under the stars and learned every square inch of this place.
I had a small notebook and pen with me and marked every spot I loved the most.
“It’s this spot and another a few pastures over.
It has a creek running right through it, but there was something about this spot.
This rundown cabin. The view. The way I could see the storms in the distance, even though I hated them for what they took from me, I hate to admit there was a solace in watching them from so far.
The lightning, the rain, the way the clouds turned purple, I got to see it all.
Maybe it’s because it was a way for me to feel close to my brother.
I don’t know. Or maybe it’s because Fate knew my mate was a storm chaser and I needed to show her this because it’s hers now. ”
She turns her head and presses her hand on my chest, pushing herself up enough to stare at me. She doesn’t say a word, but she replies with a soft kiss.
I point up to the sky. “You never told me what those clouds were, Sugar.”
“As if you don’t know.” She slouches to the side, her head still on my chest.
“Pretend I don’t. I just want to hear you talk.” I kiss the top of her head and run my fingers through her long, black hair that shines even in the night.
“Mammatus clouds can indicate a strong storm or any kind of bad weather. They are lumpy or form what looks like lobes that hang down.”
I knew that, but I love that she knows it too.
“Name the different types of tornadoes. You have twenty seconds.”
“Twenty!” She bolts up, her hair whipping around her shoulders, when she spins to glare at me. “That’s not enough time!”
“Fifteen now,” I whistle. “Time’s a tickin,’ Sugar.” I pat my wrist where a watch would be.
“Um. Uh. Ah!” She giggles, flicking one finger out. “Wedges, Ropes, Cones,” she continues to count. “Stovepipe. Rain-Wrapped. And—”
“Five, four—” I count down. “Three…two…”
“Multi-Vortex. Waterspouts! Landspouts!” She screeches just as her time runs out. “Ha! I win. I win.” She does a cute little dance, snapping her fingers and twisting her upper body to no beat.
“You got lucky,” I tease.
With a dramatic hand to her chest, she scoffs. “I’ll have you know that was all talent, baby. You’re just jealous.” She taps the end of my nose. “And you never told me what my prize was.” She climbs on top of me, straddling my waist.
Our connection electrifies, buzzing with heat. My fingers wrap around her hips, squeezing tight. She plucks the hat off my head and places it on top of hers.
I growl in approval. She looks so damn good up there with my hat on. Wrapping my arms around her, I flip us until she’s on her back. My eyes shift to their natural red hue, my fangs breaching my gums, showing my mate my want.
“You look too good in my hat.”
“Maybe I should get my own.”
I snarl, not liking her in a hat that isn’t mine. “No. If you wear mine, it’s another way for me to stake my claim.”
“Oklahoma.”
“Nariko.”
“Oklahoma,” she sounds unimpressed. “There isn’t any other way to claim me. You’ve marked me. I’m pregnant.”
I lick up her throat, groaning when my tongue swipes over her pulse. I love feeling the beat, the rush of blood teasing me with the perfect dinner at the right temperature.
“There’s always another way, and I’ll always find it.
” I pepper kisses along her throat, controlling my desire to feed.
“Let’s play a little game.” I suck her earlobe into my mouth, and I’m gifted with a sweet gasp that escapes her lips.
“I ask you questions, and if you answer them correctly, we take a piece of clothing off.”
“We?” She rubs my shoulders, her desire plucking at the bond, adding to my need. “No one loses?”
“Where would the fun in that be?” I growl, nipping at her bottom lip. “Question one: What is the scale that categorizes how strong a tornado is?”
“Hmmm,” she pretends to think, tapping her chin with her finger. “I don’t know. That’s a hard one.” Humor glimmers in her eyes.
My hand drifts up her shirt, caressing the soft skin of her stomach.
“The Enhanced Fujita Scale.”
I lift her shirt, tugging it over her head, and lay it over where the roof peaks. “My mate is so smart.” I kiss up her chest, kneading her breasts through her black bra.
“I thought you said”—she gasps—“that you’d take clothes off too. That was the deal.”
I lift up, giving her a crooked smirk. “How could I forget?” I tug my shirt off next, lightning veining across the sky at the same moment.
The glow illuminates Nariko’s face, her attention locked on my torso.
“Fuck. You’re so beautiful.” I graze my knuckles across her cheeks.
Her palms glide across my abdomen. “You are too,” she replies, and I’m able to see the warmth creep into her cheeks when the next bolt of lightning flashes.
“Define a wedge tornado,” I state, slipping her bra strap off her shoulder, showing bare, smooth skin.
I can’t help myself. I bend down and kiss the elegant curve, my tongue flicking out to taste the sweat on her skin. The breeze is warm and humid, not giving us any relief to cool the burning desire infiltrating our system.
Pulling the cups of her bra down, I curl over and suck a hard nipple into my mouth, rolling the morsel between my fangs. I add pressure, a slight sting that has her back arching and her fingers tugging on my hair.
“I…I…most…” She tries to answer me and fails as I tweak the other nipple between my thumb and index finger.
“Most, what, Sugar?” I become too impatient, unclasping the button of her jeans.
“A wedge tornado is most likely very strong and violent. They are wide at the base and…”
I cut her off by grinding my hard cock between her legs, thrusting hard enough to roll her clit, and she cries out. It’s muffled by the loud, piercing booms the storm releases.
“And what?” I moan, realizing this little fucking game isn’t going to last long at all.
I want her.
And I want her right fucking now.
“Wide at the base and the top,” she finishes her answer, her mouth parting in ecstasy.
“Good girl,” I praise in a mild growl, my fangs tickling my lower lip.
I’ve lost control of subduing my nature. I can’t help it when I’m with her. She is a want I will never stop craving.
Leg by leg, I tug her pants off and place them with our shirts. I get undressed next, my hard cock leaving a trail of precome across my stomach.
“Well, this is unfair. I’m already naked,” I tsk, gripping the thin material of her panties. With a firm yank, they rip, giving me the view I’ve been dying for since this morning.
I do the same with her bra, uncaring that the hooks break. I’ll buy her a new one. I’ll buy her everything she wants. If it were up to me, she’d stay just like this. Bare, her body on display for me to feast my eyes and fangs upon.
“Is the game over already?”
I lift her leg onto my shoulder and kiss her inner thigh; the sweet scent of her cunt has my mouth watering for a taste.
Lifting the other leg, I clutch onto each butt cheek, pulling her closer to my mouth.