“Sweetheart, he’s on the floor recuperating, he’s not dead,” Chase said softly into her hair.
She lifted tear-stained eyes to his face and then turned to see the bloody, brown wolf lying on the floor panting, his tongue lolling out of his open mouth.
She pulled out of Chase’s arms, crouched down next to Riel’s animal form, and petted the big furry head. She looked him in the eye, her tears falling on his brown fur, and kissed the top of his head.
“Thank you,” she whispered in his fuzzy ear and then stood.
Chase helped her back up and into his arms.
“How long does he have to stay like that?”
Chase noticed how scared she was when she stared at the still animal. Riel’s only sign of life was the movement of his chest when he took slow even breaths.
“Not long. His wounds will heal and close within a few hours, and then he’ll be able to shift and speak to us.” He was proud of Riel. He’d proven himself once again to be able to be a commendable defender.
“Well we can’t just leave him here. Come on, you and River can carry him into one of the bedrooms. If he has to be lying down it should be on a bed.” She ordered them around.
Julia had also calmed once she realized the brown wolf was alive and soon to be well.
They carried him to one of the lower level bedrooms and then left him alone to rest. The men were in the process of calling the cleanup crew when Seff showed up in Chase’s vehicle.
Shortly thereafter the cleanup crew arrived and installed heavy-duty metal doors in the front and back entrances of the house.
The windows were replaced. A group of four would stay the night to secure the premises. River had insisted they alternate with another set of enforcers to ensure maximum protection.
In the kitchen, Julia cooked a meal to keep some semblance of order while Sophia quietly dissected the personnel in her lab over and over again.
Chapter Eight
In the dining room, everyone spoke at the same time, telling what happened from their own point of view. Sophia sat quietly, internally reviewing every single interaction she’d had with the members of the lab for some clue as to who could be behind the attacks.
Everyone was staying the night. Chase and River thought it would be easier to keep the women safe with the security patrolling outside. Seff stayed in the room next to Riel’s, while Julia and River took the room at the end of the hall opposite Chase and Sophia.
Once inside their room, Chase pulled her in for a kiss. They removed their clothes slowly, moving their kisses and foreplay to the shower. First he washed her and himself. After they’d both rinsed the soap off their bodies, he pulled her back into his arms. He nipped and licked every inch of her warm skin, branding her all over again.
Her hands glided over his muscles, her nails caressing his shoulders and biting into the hard planes of his chest and abs. She threaded her fingers in his wet hair and tugged, bringing him closer to her hungry lips.
He carried her to the bed where she watched him lick the drops of water clinging to her tightly puckered nipples. He devoured the tips, sucking them into the hot cavern of his mouth while she moaned her encouragement.
Her pussy throbbed with every bite on her skin. His finger speared into her swollen cunt, doubling the pleasure already streaming inside her body. He kissed her stomach and moved down until his head was between her legs.
Electric currents ran through her, pooling heat to her sex and racking shudders down her body. His head lowered, and he licked and sucked his way up and down her pussy. He dipped his wicked tongue into her slick sex and fucked her mercilessly.
She pinched her nipples to increase the pleasure while he rubbed his lips over her engorged clit. She glanced down to see him watching her. Her breath hitched, and she bit her lip in a whimper while her fingers rolled and tweaked the tight buds harder.
She rocked her lower body on his face. He inserted two of his digits into her wet cunt while his tongue lapped at her. He curved his fingers to rub the upper wall of her channel, making her head roll back and her back bow as she tried to ride his face harder.
His lips clamped over her nubbin. He moved his fingers faster in and out while drawing circles on her clit with his tongue. Her legs locked in tension, her toes curled on the back of his shoulders, and she came screaming his name in a sob.
Her legs dropped to either side of him while she tried to catch her breath. He kissed his way back up her body. Her hands fisted in his hair and pulled him up for a kiss. She ran one of her hands down his front and grasped his cock, squeezing it and making him jerk in her hand.
She guided the hard length into her wet entrance and whimpered at the delicious feel of him filling her. He was so deep she could hardly breathe. She wrapped her legs around his hips, the balls of her feet digging into his muscled ass.