Dark Wolf Unbound (Heart of the Shifter #2)(24)

At her words, he finally began to understand why she could look at him  and not see a murderer, because she believed she was the one truly at  fault. He laughed softly, a laugh filled with the shared pain of causing  harm they'd never intended. He moved up her body and kissed her, trying  to pour into the kiss the words he couldn't articulate, a kiss that  told her that he understood her pain, and that it would never mar the  way he saw her.

He broke the kiss, searching her gaze as he pressed his hand to her  stomach. "And when I kiss these scars, I see a woman who endured a hell  that would have killed most people. I see courage." He kissed her. "And  beauty." He kissed her again. "I see a survivor so brave that I'm  humbled by the fact you look at me and see anything worthwhile."                       
       
           



       

A tear trickled down her cheek. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so  sorry that my voice made you do something so terrible. It's not your  fault. You need to understand that. It's my fault. I'm the one  responsible for my sister's death. I killed her, Jace. Me."

He took away her words with a kiss, using the intimacy to shield them  both from the pasts that tormented them so deeply. He palmed her belly  again, kneading the ridged flesh with his knuckles, as if he could break  apart the scar tissue and give her a second chance at life. He deepened  the kiss, pouring himself into it, wanting nothing more than to take  away her pain. "Kiss me back, sweetheart. Let yourself feel how  incredible I think you are."





Chapter 14





Jace knew the moment Abby succumbed to the kiss. Her body softened, and  her arms went around him again, holding him tight against her. With a  low growl, Jace moved his hand along her ribs. He slipped his hand under  her bra and cupped her breast, flicking his thumb over her nipple.

She twisted under him, a tiny gasp of pleasure escaping from her. He  grinned and grasped her shirt, pulling it over her head in one deft  move. The moment her shirt was off, his world seemed to stop. He was  stunned by the magnificence of her body. Her breasts swelled above the  cotton of her sports bra, and he loved the curve of her hip. Her belly  bore the marks of her bravery, the beauty of her soul that had survived  the abuse, and triumphed over the assault.

Abby put her hand on his arm. "The way you look at me is amazing," she  whispered, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "I never thought  anyone would look at me that way."

Jace stretched out beside her and kissed her, framing her jaw with his  hand for a moment, before sliding his palm lower, along her neck. He  traced the curve of her collarbone, then let his fingers drift over the  cotton of her bra. He hooked his fingers beneath the elastic band, then  slipped it up her arms and over her head.

The moment it was off, he palmed her breast, letting the soft flesh fill  his hand as he kissed her again. Her skin was soft, almost like silk,  her body blessed with all the curves of being a woman. Desire mounted  inside him, and his wolf paced restlessly, needing to claim her. Jace  held both in check, however, determined to make Abby understand how much  he cherished every kiss, every touch, every moment with her.

Still rubbing his fingers across her nipple, Jace kissed her jaw, grazed  her earlobe with his teeth, and then scraped them across her  collarbone. Abby slid her fingers into his hair, her gentle touch like  fire.

Jace kissed his way across her skin, honoring every dip and curve of her  body, until he reached her breasts. He swept his tongue across her  nipple and then blew gently. Satisfaction surged through him when she  shifted restlessly. He could feel she was completely attuned to him,  sensitive to his slightest touch, as he was to her.

He slid his hand over her hip and to the waistband of her jeans as he  continued to weave magic with his lips on her breasts. When his fingers  landed on her zipper, he felt the subtle shift of Abby's hips toward  him, accepting his touch, asking for more. He was so connected to her,  he could sense every move. It was as if he could feel her soul inside  his body, as if every one of her emotions had become a part of him.

He'd never been so connected with another human being. It was surreal,  and probably should feel threatening, but it didn't. It made him burn  with life and desire, awakening parts of him that had been long dead, or  maybe never even alive.

He caught her mouth in another kiss, this one more desperate than the  last, as his need for her began to escape the edges of his control. He  unfastened her jeans with one hand, and then palmed her stomach, lower  this time, his fingers touching the edges of her underwear. Raw, carnal  need ate away at him as he recalled touching her on the stairs. She'd  been so responsive, completely entrusting herself into his safekeeping.  Her orgasm had been a gift, proof that she'd relinquished fear about  Lucius so she could focus on Jace, trusting him to alert her if danger  mounted.

That was what he lived for: safeguarding those he'd vowed to protect. To  have Abby surrender to him so completely when hell was breaking loose  around them had awakened in him a fierce, almost savage need to protect  her, to rise above the shit that Grigori had thrust him into.

He slipped his hand lower, his fingers tangling in the silken curls and  then the damp folds of her body. She gasped his name, but he deepened  the kiss, not allowing her space to break free of him. Her hips moved  restlessly under his hand, matching the rhythm, inviting the intimacy.

"I need more," he whispered into the kiss. "I need all of you."

She nodded, her fingers going to the waistband of his jeans. Primal need  poured through him and he rolled off her, shucking his jeans and  tossing them aside. Abby propped herself up on her elbows, her eyes  burning with emotion as he grasped her jeans and tugged them down over  her hips, taking her underwear along.                       
       
           



       

He couldn't take his gaze off hers as he slid her pants over her feet.  They dropped to the floor with a soft thud, and then he lowered himself  on top of her, letting their skin touch inch by tantalizing inch. Her  breasts brushed his bare chest. His thighs settled on hers. His cock  rested on her stomach. The sensation of her body against his was  electric, a whirring hum of sparks shooting through him, eliciting  searing awareness in every nerve.

Abby smiled and slid her arms around his neck. "Amazing," she whispered.

"Perfection," he agreed, as he bent down to kiss her.

Her lips were soft, but her kiss was bold and courageous, stripping him  of what little resistance he still had left. He was insatiably aroused  by her vulnerability and courage, but her boldness undid him. With a low  growl that was more wolf than man, he slid his knee between hers to  part her legs. She locked her ankles around his hips, a statement of  such trust that his throat actually tightened. With Abby, it didn't feel  like sex. The physical attraction was undeniable, but it was so much  more with her. He felt like the physical need thundering through him was  driven by his soul's need to connect with hers, not just the way her  body felt against his.

His cock ached with need, and his muscles were trembling with the effort  of holding back, but he would not take her before she was ready. He  wanted to make this more than right for her. He wanted to make it a  moment that would heal all the broken fragments of her soul and wipe  away all the remnants that Lucius had left behind.

He kissed her again, more deeply, summoning all the tenderness he'd had  to shed when he became alpha. He reached inside, trying to find the  softness that he wasn't allowed to have, while he slid his hand over her  hip, tracing designs on her skin. Her fingers tightened in his hair,  and he felt her body soften under his as she allowed herself to merge  with him, allowing them to merge into a perfect union    .

She was damp and ready for him, and he knew he couldn't wait anymore. He  tightened his grip on her hair and then adjusted his hips so his cock  was pressed against her entrance. He wanted to keep kissing her, but  even more, he wanted to see her face, and he wanted her to see his. He  needed her to ground herself in him, to know that the man she was with  treasured her. He broke the kiss and pulled back, just enough to be able  to make eye contact. "You need to know something," he said, as he moved  his hips, pressing more tightly against her.

Her eyebrows went up. "And what's that?"

"I will always protect you. You're mine now, and that means you will  never have to fight your battles alone." As he spoke, he sank inside  her, connecting them the only way that mattered.