Page 16 of Boundary

"Rebecca changed that. I kept going back to her for weeks. She was different than the other girls, more confident. So, by the time I was ready to finish it, she was crying her news of being pregnant to me. I wouldn't abandon my children, so I married her, and I was a proper husband until she left me."

That surprised me, but not as much as when Dale turned me to face him and placed his strong hands on my waist to keep me near. "I was a cad. That stopped a century ago. Rebecca knew, Vera. She was rebellious and naughty to have ever laid beneath me, but she wasn't stupid. It's why Rebecca still sought the love of her life. She found him and died in his arms of old age, a grandmother to the children she bore for him. She was happy, and I could never deny her what she desired."

Studying his eyes, I found no anger or regret. "You hold no animosity towards her?"

"Why would I?"

This was so new to me. Didn't all men behave like suspicious, jealous, maniacs? Dale was so different. "I didn't think." Moving out of his hold, I dodged his approaching lips. "The mousse will need three hours to set. You'll have to enjoy them tomorrow night. I'm going to head home. Thank you for inviting me to dinner." Passive, Dale watched as I headed to the stairs. "Alpha?"

"Will be waiting for you. Head out, and he'll find you." Sliding his hands into his pockets, Dale relaxed with a sigh. He waited till I was standing on the first step downstairs to talk further. "Vera? Thank you for coming and giving me a chance."

Unable to resist giving him a semi-smile, I made my way down the stairs and towards the back door. As I changed my shoes, Alpha appeared beside me. Patting his head as we walked home, I kept my hand on his neck, enjoying the way stroking him made me feel light and free. Much the same way touching Dale did.

"Your owner is going to be a problem for me. I like him." Assessing the depth of that admission, I fell silent for a long moment. "I like him, but I don't trust him. Too many times before has charm, and false sincerity deceived me."

Alpha rubbed his head against my thigh in comfort. When we reached my yard, Alpha stopped and let me approach the house alone. Bidding him farewell, I went inside and locked the door. Gazing back up the clear path towards the house, I collected my thoughts about the night. "I really like him."

* * *

Strong hands caresseddown my waist. A hungry mouth left a wet path down my midsection. Broad shoulders nestled between my thighs and scruff scratched across my tender folds.

"I'm going to devour you."

Biting my lip, I clutched my fist in Dale's thick dark hair. Fingers tingling with the contact.

"I'm going to make you cry my name until you can think of no other man but me."

My blood was burning up, my body aching for him to take me. When his tongue tasted me, it felt like he'd done so much more. My nerve responses fired like he'd electrocuted me. Arching my back, a cry of pleasure escaped my lips.

Growling, Dale lapped at my pleasure-center. Moaning, I squirmed beneath him, biting my lip to resist crying out his name until it mattered. A howl echoed through my room, startling me. Looking up, my eyes went wide at the big black dog standing over me, tongue hanging out in happiness.

"What the...?" Sitting up in bed, shocked, I looked around my room. It was dark, and I was alone. "A dream."

Sitting on the side of my bed, I scrubbed my face. I missed sex. The last fourteen years weren't always hell. When we were intimate was about the only time Malcolm was affectionate. He'd tell me how he loved me and adored me, and how good I made him feel. When you have no choice in the way your life is, you take the good days and make it count. So yes, I missed sex, because, for fourteen years, it was the only pleasure I'd known.

There was another howl, alerting me to what had intruded on my dream and woken me up. The full moon bathed the backyard in moonlight as I tiptoed through the dark cottage to the back door. It was beautiful. The lights to the manor house were out, and the gardens natural glow in the night was magnificent.

Unlocking the back door, I stepped out onto the back deck. The wind picked up and was a little chilly, but it didn't detract from the magical aura of the night. The energy of the night buzzed through me, calling me to run through the woods and revel in the goddess's light. Staying on the back patio, I watched the clouds blowing low and heavy through the night sky. At intermittent times, the clouds would block out the moon, and darkness would descend. It was only brief, and when the moon came back, it was worth waiting for.

Another howl close enough to be right next to me made me jump. Alpha stood inside the trees of the boundary line baying to the moon as if she was his long lost love. It left me awestruck. When he finished his moon song, he lowered his head and looked straight at me. Happiness flooded me that he allowed me to witness what seemed an intimate moment with him and the moon.

Clouds blew over again, darkness descended, and shadows slipped through the trees. Fear trickled down my spine. It was ridiculous. I knew it was the other dogs from the house, but still, there was something dangerous in the way they moved. Like ghosts chasing their salvation.

When a stag bounded into my backyard, I stood awed by such a magnificent creature. Then five large dogs descended on it. Stalking forward, the dogs surrounded the stag, and I knew they meant to kill it. The stag, brave even in the face of defeat, lowered its head and prepared to fight.

"No, don't!" Stepping forward as if I could stop the slaughter, I caught the dogs' attention. Stupid, I know. No one ever said I was a genius.

All the animals turned at my intrusion. Recovering first, the stag tried to use it to his advantage by rushing the dog in front of him. Realizing in time, the dog shifted but yelped as one of the stag's antlers collected his back leg and flipped him.

Three of the other dogs charged. One dog took the stag's throat while the others brought it to the ground. Covering my mouth in horror, I averted my gaze from the slaughter. Turning to rush back inside, I stopped wide-eyed and backstepped.

The fifth dog was on my porch, head, and body low, ready to pounce as it stalked towards me. Whimpering, I backed up. Weighting his paws, the dog who looked more like a wolf at this moment, readied to pounce. Trying to protect myself with my hands as he leaped, I closed my eyes and prayed to the goddess.

A crash and snarls rippled through the night, like a boulder thrown in the pond. Alpha held my would-be-attacker on the ground. Saliva dripping from his angry jowls as he threatened the other wolf. Because now that I'd seen them hunt, I recognized the breed. Not waiting to see more, I jumped the railing into the backyard, ran around to the steps, and raced up them. Bolting into the house, I slammed the door shut, jamming the locks in place before backing away from the door.

Trembling and hyperventilating, I was more scared than I'd ever been. Lighting flashed; I jumped. Thunder roared, and, as the rain started pouring, my legs turned to jelly. Falling to the floor, a heap of a spineless, blubbering, messed-up woman, I screamed. The lightning exposing me for the pathetic female I was. "I just wanted a safe, quiet place."

Another loud snarl followed by a dog's whimper before the thunder shook the cottage. "I just wanted to be safe."

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