Chapter 17 #2
“And you’re mine,” he replied in between the kisses I showered on his lips and throat. He swept me into his arms and pinned me to the wall, kissing his way down my throat and into my blouse. “I love you. No matter how much guff you give me.”
He made me feel like the most delicate spun glass while finding ways to pay respect to my strength.
A unique pleasure. We both knew I was powerful enough to hold my own, but the fact that he wanted to protect me as much as I wanted to protect him meant the world.
It was a partnership built upon mutual admiration and respect. It was love, in its purest sense.
Goddess, I was so lucky to have found this man.
“I love you, too. And I vow to give you as much guff as you need.”
He laughed, only stopping when I shoved out of his arms, shimmied out of my clothes, and made a naked mad dash for the bathroom.
“If I start chasing you, we’ll never make it into that bathtub,” he said, and the growl under his words brought goosebumps to the surface of my skin.
Every last inch.
Two-point-two seconds later, I was reminded anew exactly how fast he could run.
He hooked an arm around my waist and hoisted me onto his shoulder, pinning me there while he jerked open the fly of his jeans.
He tossed me onto the bed and threw off his clothes, moving so fast my vision couldn’t even track where they landed in the room.
Then he was on me, bending my knees over his elbows and pinning me against the mattress. It was a vulnerable position, but it didn’t feel that way with Ronan. I never felt afraid or powerless with him. Never felt dominated—at least not in an unsexy way—never felt unsafe.
Slowly, holding my gaze with his, he slid to his knees to the floor. I squirmed on the bed as he drew me to the edge of the mattress then brought me to the cusp of release with lips and tongue and controlled rakes of his teeth—again and again and again.
“Ronan Williams,” I said, my voice hoarse, “you get up here right now and finish what you’ve started or I’m going to magically glue you to this bed and have my wicked way with you.”
His laugh vibrated through me as he licked and nibbled and drew enticing circles with his tongue on my flesh. When he finally rose above me, I was trembling. When he slid into me, it was like the first sip of water after crawling through the desert. Thirst quenching.
Satisfying.
We made it into the tub a half-hour later, and the lavender bath bomb did not disappoint. Ronan decided that two bath bombs would be twice as nice and when the water bubbled up like carbonated water and splashed onto the floor, I made sure he knew who would be mopping it up later.
“I told you one was enough.”
“Yeah, but two was more fun.” He stared down at the floor then back at me. His grin was devilish and cute, and I was tempted to throw another bath bomb in just to watch it widen.
“You look like a kid with a science project.”
He flashed me a wicked brow twitch. “Can I touch your beakers?”
The laugh burst out of me, unexpected. “That was the corniest sex joke ever.”
“Not even close. I can do better.”
“That wasn’t intended to be a challenge, Williams.”
“And yet, here we are, smack in the middle of a challenge,” he said, and leaned back. Our heads were at opposite ends, which worked since the faucet was conveniently placed high enough to accommodate the position.
Had he had that in mind when he’d asked the contractor to install it? I would’ve asked, but he was already digging into his repertoire of corny sex innuendos.
“Is your name Earl Grey? Because you sure are a hot tea.”
I groaned.
“Did someone spill sugar on you? Because you’re looking mighty sweet.”
“Dear Gods, that’s awful.” I pretended to gag.
“How about this one?” He cocked one russet brow and gave me a tilted grin. “Are you a parking ticket? Because you’re looking mighty fine.”
“Oh gods, not the parking ticket one.” I splashed him. “Do you know how many times I’ve heard that?”
He gave me a ridiculously sexy grin. “Well, I was just going to ask if you wanted to spoon in bed, but I’d really rather fork you.”
“Bravo, sir.” I clapped my hands, splashing us both. “I didn’t think sex jokes could also be dad jokes, but you’ve proven me wrong this evening. You’ve done well.”
“Admit it. You liked the fork one.”
I laughed. “I loved the fork one.”
We got out of the tub, toweled each other off, and were on our way to bed when Ronan’s and my cell phones rang.
“That can’t be good,” I said.
“No,” he said, snatching his jeans off the bedroom floor. “It can’t.”
Mason had video-called us both at the same time. I wrapped myself in a towel and joined on my phone, holding it up so Ronan could also be seen.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“We’ve got some wolves moving on Esperanza Pacheco’s apartment. I’ve alerted her and Dylan Milano. He’s here with me now. We’re not going to allow them to breach the premises, but this would go smoother with more wolves around.”
“That’s almost never the case, and you know it,” Ronan said.
“Agreed, Williams. More shifters equals more chaos. I’m usually the first to admit that.
However, right now, I think we need to make this a ‘shine the light’ moment for the pack rather than a ‘slit their throats in the dark of the night’ moment.
Send some wolves over. Alphas.” He cleared his throat and lowered his tone.
“Unless you feel differently, Alpha Lennox?”
Ronan looked at me—no, he looked to me. The men were waiting for my call. Nice of them to pretend I knew what the hell I was doing when it came to the pack.
“I’m going to defer to you on this. You have more experience with wolf psychology than I’ll ever have, and you’re on scene. If you think this is the best way to proceed, I’ll trust your instincts.”
“Your faith in me is appreciated, Alpha,” Mason said, and there wasn’t a trace of sarcasm in his voice.
Was this real or a show for Dylan? Either way, I was touched by the gesture. Mason didn’t pay deference to anyone he didn’t choose to—unless he was trying to trick them. I supposed it was possible, but I didn’t think he was trying to trick me.
Not anymore.
I glanced at Ronan, remembering his words and the sentiment of the wolves in the pub tonight. “They can’t be allowed to get away unscathed. If you don’t punish them, they’ll try again and it’ll be worse next time.”
“Second?”
“Yes, Alpha?”
“If those wolves get anywhere near Esperanza’s little boy, you will no longer worry about shining a light for the pack. You will start slitting throats. I want these wolves to know exactly what happens to someone who threatens one of my pups.”
Mason’s smile was brief, but fierce. “Understood, Alpha.”
By the time we reached the apartment building, the offending wolves had all scattered. Dylan was in Esperanza’s cramped living room with a small, dark-haired boy on his lap and the badass wolf herself tucked against his side.
“Are you all right?” I asked Esperanza the second I came through the door.
“We’re okay,” she said.
They made to stand, and I shooed them back onto the sofa. “Let’s not worry about pack formality tonight, okay? Especially not with a little one in your arms.” I nodded toward Antonio. “He wasn’t too scared, was he?”
“No way,” Antonio replied with a yawn. “Not scared of those guys. I’m an alpha. I po-tect Mama.”
He punctuated the sentence with the cutest growl ever. I got the feeling that if I “awwww-ed” him, he’d be insulted, so I hid my grin.
“Thank you, wolf.” Nodding solemnly, I adopted the succinct cadence of the alpha leaders I’d known. “Alpha Betty is proud of you.”
Antonio blinked his eyes open wide and sat up. “Mama says you’re a good alpha. Old Alpha wasn’t nice to Mama and Mr. Dylan. He made them work so late. I had to stay with Mrs. Clyde down the hall almost every night.”
“Be respectful.” Esperanza gave her son a stern look. “Mrs. Clyde helped you with your reading and helped Mama keep you safe.”
“I keep myself safe.” He patted his little chest. “Also, I like staying with Mr. Dylan better. He lets me play video games.”
The look of fear mingled with sheepishness on Dylan’s face was comical. “Only after we read two books and he eats all his dinner, and only for twenty minutes—we set a timer, I swear it.”
Esperanza's shoulders shook, but she didn’t let out the laugh that was so obviously bottled up. She shook her finger, mock-scolding him. “Do better, Mr. Dylan.”
“Mama, don’t get mad. It’s not Mr. Dylan’s fault that I sometimes hide my peas in his plant. They’re so yucky.”
Antonio was the most precocious four-year-old I’d ever met. His vocabulary was alarmingly broad, and he seemed aware of everything going on around him.
“I didn’t realize four-year-olds could communicate so clearly.”
“Antonio is smart, like his mom.” Dylan ruffled the boy’s hair. “He can already read.”
Antonio rested his head against Dylan’s chest.
Esperanza beamed at her son. “Plus, he’ll be five next month. There’s a big difference between a new four-year-old and an almost five-year-old.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re all okay.” I crouched in front of Antonio. “I know you’re tired, but would you mind if we went on one more adventure tonight?”
He yawned. “Right now?”
“Yep,” I said.
“Okay.” He held out his bare toes, wiggled them. “I gotta put on my dinosaur shoes if we’re going outside. Someone has to tie them because it’s hard.”
“I’ll help you,” Dylan said. “Go grab them.”