Chapter 14
When they reached the final copse of trees between them and Balaur, Vallie suddenly had a restless beast inside of her that wouldn’t quell. There was no denying that fear was at the edge of it, but beyond that, it was the sense of loss.
She feared that she and Lambda would never get back to Luven. She’d never get to experience what this mate bond truly meant with him.
Vallie wouldn’t say she loved him; she still didn’t know him. But she had come to expect and cherish his presence. He was a quiet sort of man, and that wasn’t necessarily what Vallie had thought would be right for her. But here she was, staring at him while he rummaged through the pack. They had decided taking it was too risky. They needed to be as light on their feet as possible.
Lambda knelt beside the pack, stuffing all sorts of things into his pockets, but stared at the canteen, puzzled.
“Why is the canteen causing you problems?”
“Because we probably need it for the journey back and it won’t fit in my pocket.”
“Can we leave it here and grab it during our exit?”
“Maybe. But what if we have to leave a different way, or someone is hot on our heels? Then we’ll be without a canteen.”
Vallie shrugged. “Tella made it without a canteen.”
“Yeah, and she was half-dead when she fell over the wall. I’d prefer it if we all made it back in better shape than that.”
“We will,” she insisted, though that felt more and more like a lie with every passing moment. She swallowed her fears down and refused to name them out loud. But one thing was for certain—if she and Lambda weren’t getting out of this, going back to Luven, and getting to live that perfect life laid out, she wasn’t wasting the rest of the time they had together.
“I know I said I didn’t want to mate,” she began slowly and turned her body to Lambda. He stopped fiddling with the canteen and looked at her, his hands still against his legs. “But. I think it would be kind of nice to be close to you for the next few hours.”
He nodded and opened his arms. “You can sleep on me until it’s time to go.”
“That’s not actually what I meant,” she continued. “Maybe in a little while I’d like to fall asleep on you, but before that, I think I’d like to take off all my clothes and take off all your clothes and see what it’s like to have your hands and mouth on me again. And my hands and mouth on you.”
Lambda’s eternally stoic face cracked a smile. “Go on then. Take off all your clothes.”
“You going to follow suit?” Vallie said, pushing her braid over her shoulder.
“I think you said you wanted to take off all your clothes and then take off all mine. I’d like to enjoy the view of you stripping down to nothing before I do the same.” His voice was low and a touch growly, just like Vallie liked it.
“It’s pretty dark,” she said, slowly peeling her shirt over her head and tossing it aside. Her nipples hardened in the cold, night air and she pulled her hair out of its braid and fingered it loose.
“Vallie, I could count the freckles on your belly right now.” He paused. “Six.”
Vallie reached for the button of her pants, popped it, then stepped out, taking her panties along too.
“Gorgeous,” Lambda said, coming to his feet. He pulled his shirt off, stepped out of his pants, then wrapped his arms around Vallie’s waist and pulled her close.
“I can’t see as well as you in the dark,” she whispered, running her hands over his back, down to his ass, around his hips, “so I’ll use my hands to see you.” She snuck a hand between them and ran her fingers over his cock, solicitating a sharp growl.
“There is no way I am letting you play with my cock until I’ve properly played with your pussy again,” Lambda mumbled, his lips against her ear. “And your nipples and your mouth and this little space on your neck”—he ran a finger just below her ear—“I want to hear you moan when I bite it again.”
“Did you like biting me?”
“Fuck, yes. I can’t wait until I really bite you. I want to make you mine with my mark, sink my wolf teeth into your neck while you scream with pleasure and let everyone know that you belong to me.”
“What the hell, Lambda?” Vallie grabbed his butt. “You know I like when you use that mouth to say delicious things to me.”
“This mouth can do a lot more than talk,” he growled, and seized her lips with his. His hands moved over her, down her back to her ass, to her thighs, around her waist. His tongue ran over hers, dipping and tasting, his teeth scraping against her lips in a wild embrace. She moaned incessantly, but he swallowed them all.
He moved down her body now, kissing her neck, landing teasing bites on the tender skin as a prequel of what would happen when they were finally, truly, together as woman and wolf. His hands cupped her breasts, teased her nipples. She threw her head back and breathed.
“Fuck, Lambda.”
“Soon,” he chided, taking a nipple in his mouth. He ran his tongue around the taut tip as his hand cupped her other breast. “Hell, Vallie. You taste amazing. I can’t wait to taste even more of you.” His hands slid lower, molding her skin against him. He fell to his knees and buried his face against her belly and sighed.
“I—” she began, then stopped herself. What was she supposed to say? She didn’t want this to end with him. She didn’t want to face the fact that they both might die in a few hours. She was forever grateful that he was by her side, entering the belly of the spiteful beasts, saving her family.
She was on fire for Lambda, but it didn’t feel like a hot blaze that would burn out. It felt like an eternal flame, like in the old stories. A flame that couldn’t be extinguished, not by rain or snow. It would burn on forever, only growing brighter as it did.
“Lay on your back,” Lambda said, looking up at her from his knees. “I want to feel you come on my tongue.”
She did as she was told, lying prone on the forest floor in front of him. He slid between her legs, arranging them over his shoulders while his hands ran up her belly to squeeze her breasts.
He growled again, his face inches from her. “You like me,” he mumbled.
She sputtered a laugh. “Obviously, I like you.”
“No. I mean, I can smell how much you like me. You really like me. You want me. Your body wants me between your legs. You want to be mine.”
“Yeah, I do,” she answered truthfully. “Your possessiveness doesn’t scare me. It makes me wet,” she added.
He grumbled then, and dove into her core, his tongue strong and purposeful as it dipped inside her before finding her clit. Vallie arched against the earth, thrusting her breasts to the treetops, and shuddered.
“Yes,” she hissed. Oh, hell. How she had missed intimacy. The feeling of giving herself to another so completely. Her soul laid bare in the night. He moaned against her pussy and moved his hands frantically over her. Like he loved this as much as she did. Like he couldn’t get enough of her.
Vallie threaded her fingers through his hair and tried to keep her eyes on his head, but she couldn’t. The way he kissed her, touched her, moved with her had her thrashing like a wild animal against the forest floor. Her vision blurred, starred—colors swept in from the sides until she finally came, sobbing, shaking, against his mouth. She grasped for him and found his hand, holding tight as her orgasm broke again and again.
“Lambda.” Her voice cracked. “I need you up here. Hold me,” she gasped.
He crawled up her body, then pulled her against him. He cradled her head and tucked it under his chin, smothering her hair with kisses.
“I’m here,” he whispered. “I’ve got you.”
She nodded against him and grabbed onto him. Hell, he felt so solid. Like he was made of something sterner than her—rock or earth. Some material that could withstand anything.
“I hadn’t… I hadn’t come in years before today. Not when I was awake at least. And…it’s different. It’s different with you.”
“It was different for me to,” he answered. “It’ll always be different with us. You’re my mate, Vallie. There’s no one else in the world for me. I’ve known that forever. I don’t care about your past. Elias…I only wish you didn’t have to go through the pain of losing him. I wish you didn’t have to go through any of the pain that brought you to me.”
“Fuck, Lambda, when you say things like that,” she began.
“What?”
“It makes me think I could probably fall in love with you.” She smiled. “And now that I know you can eat pussy like a god, well, I’m never letting you go.” She couldn’t help but tease him, try to lighten the mood, because the rush of bonding with Lambda was too much to take.
“I wouldn’t let you,” he answered. “Do you want to go to sleep? I can hold you until you drift off. Tell you another story.”
Vallie shook her head. “Hell, no. I slept before. We’re facing dragons in a few hours. If you think I’m going to sleep without having your cock in my mouth, without riding your face again, well, you still have to get to know me.”