“I was so angry with you for coming to the rights battle last night. You could have been killed.” He kissed the top of her head.
“This wouldn’t have happened if you had just been honest from the start. If Noah had known that I was an alpha all along he wouldn’t have challenged you. There would have been no prize.” She pulled back so she could look in his eyes.
“No. If he had known, he might have planned something worse. Knowing that you were an alpha would have forced him to not only kill me, but the entire pack. He was unreasonable, Cate. I knew that the first moment I met him, years ago in Vegas. I knew it yesterday on the steps. He would have killed anyone that dared get in his way, just so he could have you. I couldn’t let that happen. Agreeing to the alpha’s rights challenge was the only way I could think to keep you safe. Even if I had died, the pack would have protected you.”
She stroked his bare chest. The bruises and small cuts had already healed, but he was not fully recovered. After arriving at the estate, the healer had quickly stitched him up and poured a foul-smelling concoction down his throat insisting that it would help him speed the recovery process. Cate could see that the wound was beginning to patch itself, but the infection was not yet gone. The red streaks had faded to a dull pink, but they remained dangerously close to his heart.
“You should have told me. I didn’t understand what I was to the pack.WhoI was to the pack.”
“I know that. I knew immediately that you didn’t understand the significance of the pack’s submission to you and your lack of submission to me. I meant to tell you, but things happened so quickly. I saw it as an advantage to keep you in the dark until the danger passed. I made Lukyan, Alek, and Mylo promise not to tell you. Lukyan and Alek agreed with me, but Mylo insisted I was making a huge mistake. He said you would not stay out of the fight. That you couldn’t. I should have listened to him.”
“What you should have done was trust me as your partner.”
Struggling, he sat up to that he could better look at her. “I do trust you. I trust you more than anyone else on this earth. You are my partner in everything. But this battle had nothing to do with trust and everything to do with protection. I know you want me to consult with you on important matters. I want that, too, but I can’t turn off my need to protect you. I didn’t know a way to involve you in the plan and still keep you safe.”
He pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed it fiercely. “I love you, my Cate, more than anything. I needed to protect you as best as I could, and if that means that I had to keep you in the dark about a few things, then I’ll just suffer the consequences. As long as you are alive, that’s all that matters.”
She rose, and with great care straddled his hips. “I needed to keep you safe, too, which is why I couldn’t stay away from the battle. Your and Peter’s safety are the most important things to me. Peter was safe here with Mikaela, but you were in danger. I couldn’t stay away.” She circled her palms over his chest before leaning in to lick his nipple. His fingers tangled in her hair as she laved the dusky pink bud.
His hips moved below hers. “Dimitris, we can’t. You’re injured.”
“You shouldn’t have started something you weren’t willing to finish, my Cate.” His hips ground between her thighs with more insistence.
“You still have an infection. The lines have faded, but I can still see them below your skin’s surface.” His good hand cupped her soft bottom, pulling her roughly against his growing erection.
“Tell me what the healer said.”
“What?” She blinked in confusion. His hard shaft was distracting her. “Um, she said that you need to rest for a few days.”
“Did she say I couldn’t fuck my mate?” He thrust against her. She groaned.
“Not exactly. She just said that we need to make sure you rest and don’t exert yourself.” Her body moved in time with his now.
“Then it’s settled. You’ll have to do all the work.” He tugged at her t-shirt, exposing her breast to his view. “Take it off.”
Her wetness grew at the sound of his thick accent. She pulled off the over-sized sleep shirt, baring herself to her mate. He reached between them, pulling at the wisp of fabric covering her mound. “Don’t tear them,” she said, less concerned with the state of her underwear than she was with his injury.
“I’ll buy you new ones.” With one tug, the fabric split from her body, leaving her completely bare astride him. She wiggled her hips. He was ready for her.
“Now, Cate. I can’t wait.” She slicked her folds over his length. He thrust against her. “Now!”
She wiggled again, teasing him with her wet heat. He groaned. Scooting back, she took the length of him in her hands. He was hard and thick in her palm. She stroked him from his base to tip a few times before lowering her mouth to his head. Her tongue snaked out and licked away the pre-cum that had pooled there. “Inside you, Cate. Please.”
Dimitris face wore a pained expression. Taking pity, she moved up his body and lowered herself onto his shaft. Her body stretched until it fully admitted him. She stilled, drinking in the fullness his body created inside of hers. Dimitris’ hips pushed against her impatiently. Her hips rocked with the rhythm he set. They moved slowly at first, but soon, the two picked up speed. Ripples of pleasure washed over her as her body squeezed down on him. His growl of satisfaction sent new waves of pleasure through her.
She moved her hands between them, rubbing her nub, pushing her body to find another release. He reached up and grabbed her by the hair. With a soft yank, he pulled her chest to his. Knees bent, his feet gained purchase on the mattress, allowing his hips to thrust higher. His body clapped against her ass until hers released its tension.
She moaned against his neck.“Bite me, Cate.” Riding out the final waves of her pleasure, she opened her mouth and bit down on his neck until she broke the skin. The small taste of his blood wracked her body with new spasms. Howling, Dimitris’ body pushed wildly against hers as he pumped hot seed inside her.
The two lay there for long seconds, sticky with sweat and slick from their need for one another. Slowly, she pushed up, careful not to touch his injured arm. “Did I hurt you?”
“Only in the most wonderful of ways, my Cate. You can hurt me like that every day if you’d like.”
She smiled and kissed him quickly. Rolling off his body, she scrounged around until she found her wrinkled sleep shirt. In her haste, she had thrown it several feet from the bed. She used it to wipe his body clean before pulling the sheets back up to his chest. Then she cleaned herself. Dimitris watched her with unabashed appreciation. Her body heated under the intensity of his gaze. She needed to put some space between the two of them before she hopped back into bed with him. As much as her body craved him, his body needed rest more.
“I’m going to shower, and then go find the guys. They will want to know that you’re awake.” She hurried toward the bathroom.
“They don’t need your super hearing to know that I’m awake, Cate.” He chuckled when he saw her face pink.
