Dark Wolf Unbound (Heart of the Shifter #2)(25)

She gripped his shoulders, shifting as he drove deeper. "You don't need  to say that, Jace. I want this as much as you do. It doesn't have to  come with promises-"

Anger rushed through him, a deep fury that she actually believed that.  "Wrong." He stilled his hips, forcing himself to stop, refusing to  continue until she understood the truth. "This does have to come with  promises. You matter. You deserve to be worshipped, not used and tossed  aside." His fingers tightened in her hair, and urgency coursed through  him. "Don't ever say that this doesn't have to come with promises.  There's no other way. You need to understand that. You deserve promises,  and you have them from me."

Her brow furrowed as she listened. "You mean that," she whispered, her voice soft with wonder.

"Damn right." He drove deep again, satisfaction rolling through him when  she gasped. "I've been living as an alpha for years. My job has been to  protect and lead, not to feel or care, but you've reached inside me and  ripped apart the shields keeping me focused. You make me want to be a  better man, not just a better alpha." He framed her face. "When you look  at me, you see the man I want to be, the one I've been trying to be for  so long. You make me feel like I have a chance. You matter, and this  matters." He buried himself even more deeply inside her, and she gasped  again, her fingers digging into his shoulders.

He grabbed her hand and set it on his chest, over his heart. "Tell me  you feel this." His heart was thundering, and it felt hot, as if the  wolf inside him was clawing to get out.

Her eyes widened, and she nodded. "I do." She spread her palm across his chest. "It feels like I'm touching your soul."

"You are."

Her face softened. "Thank you, Jace."

He framed her cheeks with his hands and kissed her, summoning the most  tender, most passionate, most honest kiss he could summon, trying to let  her see everything he was and everything he wanted to be. She wrapped  her arms around him and held him to her, accepting his kiss, and  offering him the same.                       
       
           



       

His throat tightened, and for a split second, he couldn't breathe. He  felt as though he needed to wrap himself around her, threading his soul  through hers until they were so tangled that they'd never come undone.

She gasped and arched beneath him, her hips moving in a tantalizing  rhythm with his. He braced his palms by her shoulders, his muscles  flexing as he thrust again and again, the heated coils within him  twisting tighter and tighter until-

"Jace!" Abby gasped his name, her body tensing as the orgasm ripped  through her, dragging Jace ruthlessly with her. He bucked against her,  holding onto her as the orgasm claimed him, ricocheting back and forth  between them until all that existed was an unending cycle of climax and  completion, again and again until finally, mercifully, it released them  both.

Jace sank down beside her, keeping most of his body on top of hers, just  allowing his weight to settle on the cot. She snuggled against him,  tucking herself into the shield of his body as they both fought to catch  their breath. Perspiration was glistening on her body, giving it a  magical sheen that almost did justice to the enormity of what had just  happened.

What had just happened? He felt as though he'd fallen thousands of feet  through a vortex, being spun ruthlessly around and around, until he had  no equilibrium, no foundation, and no sense of where he was supposed to  be. Except he knew exactly where he was supposed to be: right there,  with Abby, and nowhere else.





Chapter 15





Abby rested her head on Jace's shoulder, tucking herself up against him.  His arm was around her, his fingers gently playing with her hair. She  sighed, amazed at how relaxed and at peace she was. Her body had been  strung with tension for so long she'd forgotten what it felt like to be  able to breathe deeply and let herself relax into the mattress.

It was because of Jace, and everything he offered her. She ran her hand  over his chiseled chest, still in awe of his physical perfection. He was  elemental beauty and grace, everything Abby wasn't, and yet, he'd made  her feel like she was the oxygen he needed in order to breathe.

She spread her palm out on his chest, counting the beats of his heart.  His skin was still hot, the warmth pouring into her like the warm  sunlight on a cold day. Was that his wolf energy? Or just his own inner  strength as a man?

He put his hand over hers, trapping it. She watched his fingers encircle  hers, his strong hand dwarfing hers. "You make me feel safe," she said  quietly. "After Lucius, I was afraid all the time. I felt as though he  was in the shadows, stalking me, ready to attack at any moment."

His fingers tightened around hers, and he brought her hand to his mouth,  pressing a kiss to each knuckle. "I want you to feel safe," he said,  his voice equally as soft. "I'll do whatever it takes to protect you,  but we can't ignore the truth."

She frowned. "What truth?"

He rolled onto his side to face her, draping his leg over her hip. "The  fact that if I hear that song, I will shift and kill." He traced his  finger along her jaw. "You're safe with me now. I promise you that. But  that song..." He shook his head. "It owns me."

Guilt settled deep in her chest. She knew he spoke the truth, because  she'd seen so many wolves try to fight it, and all had failed. But she'd  also seen something else. She'd seen Grigori, Lucius, and Damien learn  to defeat it, because their drive for control and dominance was so  strong. Jace had the same inner drive, but his was protection and safety  of others...of her. Could a good heart be strong enough to defeat it,  the way a black heart was? "It's not that simple," she said.

"Because Grigori and Damien have managed it." His words were grim, his  jaw tight as he acknowledged that they had succeeded where he hadn't.  "Tell me about Grigori. I need to know it all. Why is he after you? Why  Lucius?"

She sighed, not wanting to go there, but knowing she needed to. She  couldn't hide from the nightmares anymore. Grigori had Seth, and the  only way to get him back was to face it. She focused on the warmth of  Jace's leg over her hip, and in the intimacy between them that somehow  kept the darkness of her past at bay. "My mom was Grigori's mate when he  was young. They met when she was fifteen, and he was twenty-five. He  was the son of the pack alpha, powerful, handsome, and charming. He was  captivated by her beauty, and he claimed her. She was swept up by him  and fell for him immediately. She was sixteen when she had my sister."

Jace's eyebrows went up, and he ran his hand down her arm and over her  hip, as if he sensed that she needed him to ground her. "And you?"

She nodded. "She was eighteen when she had me. She'd been so young and  innocent when she first met Grigori, that she couldn't see how depraved  Grigori and his father were. She was completely under his spell." She  bit her lip, focusing on Jace's eyes to ground herself. "I saw so many  terrible things," she said. "They loved to torture innocents. Men,  women, children. It didn't matter. It was-" She shook her head to clear  it. "When I was seven, my nightmares were constant. I was terrified that  Grigori would come into my room at night and take me, like he'd done to  the others. I started singing to distract myself, then one day..." She  stopped, as images of that terrible night flashed through her mind.                       
       
           



       

"Look at me, Abby." Jace's voice was gentle, drawing her gaze to him.  His eyes were blazing with barely contained anger, but she knew it was  toward Grigori. Somehow, his anger chased away the fear, cocooning her  in his strength.

She held up her hand, and he took it, sliding his fingers between hers  before bringing her hand to his lips and lightly kissing it. "Continue,"  he said softly, between kisses.

She watched his lips press against her skin, focusing on him instead of  the memories. "I was hiding in the trees near a clearing where they'd  staked out a male shifter and his two daughters. I was so scared for  them, and for myself, so I started to sing. I knew they wouldn't hurt  me, because I was Grigori's daughter, and therefore he was the only one  allowed to hurt me. I thought singing would help bring them peace, but  instead-" She stopped.

Jace slipped his hand behind her neck and kissed her, his mouth tender  and demanding at the same time. He didn't stop the kiss, continuing  until she melted against him, her body crying out for his touch. He  broke the kiss and began to nibble down the side of her neck. "Let me  guess. Your song made the dad shift and attack the others. Grigori or  his dad saw it happen, figured out your talent, and decided to use you."