Page 18 of Claimed

He comes to me in swift strides, cups my face, and kisses me deeply. I melt into his arms and I let him pick me up like a stray kitten, cradling me in his lap.

I expect him to lecture me for my foolishness, for drinking, for being out at night, for passing out next to a massacre, for getting arrested. I expect to be in trouble, but he does not say so much as a word about any of it. He kisses me and he picks me up and hugs me very, very tight, wrapping me in an embrace that gives me a sense of immediate safety.

I snuggle into him, bury my face in his shoulder, and regret ever having tried to live a normal life. I’m not normal. I belong with him.

“I missed you,” I whimper.

“I missed you too,” he says, squeezing me closer.

“And I’m sorry.”

“I know you are.”

He doesn’t tell me it’s not my fault, because we both know it is, but he doesn’t start in on me, blaming me, lecturing. He just holds me.

“I would suggest a fairly swift departure,” the lawyer says. “They weren’t ready to arrest at the time, but they’ll no doubt have warrants and such soon enough, and it could be more complex to…”

She need say no more. Alexei sweeps me up into his arms and carries me off back to the elevator. I bury my head in his neck and submit to being rescued.

We go to a car. And then we go to the airport. And then we get on the kind of plane I never thought I’d get on in my life. A private jet with the kind of interior that looks like a fancy lounge. It’s really impressive.

Being with Alexei again is filling my body with a whole host of hormones that makes the trauma of the day fade. Not into insignificance, I’m not insane, but it’s more like my mind can only hold so many kinds of feeling at once. His presence is a balm, soothing me, making me feel safe, turning me on…

We settle into a large chair. Well, he sits in the chair, and I sit on his lap. He wraps an arm around me and snugs me up against his body. If this were a commercial flight, I’d have to have my tray table upright and my seatbelt fastened, but on a private flight, I’m free to be flung around the cabin like a rag doll if anything goes wrong and that feels like luxury.

I bury my face in his neck again, breathe in his scent, and let the awful events of the day be just that, awful events of the day. I am so tired of inexplicably terrible things happening to those I care about.

I wonder if he is blaming me for this. I know I made some dubious decisions. I know I didn’t follow the rules.

“Are you mad at me?” I ask the question in a soft voice.

He lifts a brow at me. “Mad?”

“For getting into… all of this mess.”

“You were a bad girl, but do not worry. Being bad is in the blood for us wolves.”

His hand rests on the back of my neck, fingers lightly squeezing.

He is a stranger, but my soul knows him.

I can’t be near him this way without reacting to him. My arousal has been simmering since he first made physical contact with me. Every bit of sexual need that felt as though it had abandoned me comes rushing back at once with an intensity that makes me nearly buckle at my knees.

Once the plane door closes, it only gets worse. The small space seems to intensify everything. Our pheromones are just being recirculated. I breathe him in over and over again. I can practically feel him inside me already, though we are still clothed and separate.

His hands clamp down on my hips. “Stay still,” he says in a deep voice.

I had no idea I was grinding so much until I can’t move anymore.

“Sorry,” I whimper.

“I know it’s hard, but you have to resist the urge for just a little longer,” he says. “When we land, you will be mine. It is just a matter of hours.”

Hours seem like lifetimes right now.

“This is the only thing that might feel good. I need it. Please. I need you.”

“Begging in that sweet little voice won’t make me do what you want.”

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