Defying Destiny (32 page)

How would she ever atone for these

grievous sins? How many Wolves had she

killed in her lifetime? Three hundred?

Five hundred? She wasn’t even sure

anymore. How many had she left behind to

mourn the loss of their loved ones? How

many

families

had

been

totally

annihilated?

“I don’t know what to do,” Maralee

murmured, arms tightening around herself,

as she tried to keep the pain from bursting

from her chest. “How can I be allowed to

live when I have caused so much

suffering?”

Nash trotted over to her. He laid his

heavy head on her knees. He howled

forlornly and Carsha hugged him, before

translating. “He says he would have done

the same to protect his people. You cannot

be blamed for protecting yours.”

“How can you say that?” Maralee

shouted, startling both Nash and Carsha. “I

killed them. Every single Wolf I ever

encountered. There had to be another way

to protect people. You must know how,

Nash. Tell me what to do. I can’t stop

protecting people, but I can’t kill Wolves

anymore. How can we end this? Please,

Nash, you have to tell me how!”

He shook his head and lowered his

eyes. Maralee pushed away from him

angrily.

“You won’t tell me,” she said

incredulously. “I ask you to show me how

to stop killing your people and you won’t

tell me your secret? Why?”

“He doesn’t know,” Carsha said. “He

is a Wolf Guardian. See the mark on his

face. It looks like a crescent moon. The

Full Moon Curse does not affect him. Not

since he was born. The rest of us go

crazy.”

Nash lowered his head as if ashamed.

“If it doesn’t affect you, then there has

to be a way to stop it from affecting the

others,” Maralee said reasonably. “Nash,

why don’t you just return to your human

form and talk to me?”

He turned his back on her. He lay

down on the floor, closing his eyes as if

he were going to sleep.

“He won’t ever be human again,”

Carsha said.

“Is he stuck this way or something?”

“No,” Carsha said, laying down

beside her uncle and using him as a furry

pillow. “It is because you made him

ashamed of who he is.”

Nash growled.

“What did he say now?”

“He told me to stop blaming you for

everything,”

Carsha

murmured,

her

eyelids growing heavy.

Nash stood up, disrupting the girl’s

impending sleep. He murmured something

to her. She stood up, before crawling onto

his back. He trotted over to the door and

whined, obviously wanting to be let out.

“Where are you going?” Maralee

asked.

“Uncle Nash says that he needs to take

me home because my mother will worry.”

“Are you coming back?” she asked

him, her heart thudding in her throat.

He nodded. Maralee hesitated for a

moment before unlocking the door and

opening it for him. She closed it again

before he could exit.

“Wait! I’m coming with you,” she said

impulsively. The thought of being without

him, even if he were to remain a Wolf

forever, was more than she could stand.

He barked at her angrily and she

flinched. He was obviously refusing her

company, but she pretended she didn’t

understand. She went to the small

wardrobe to find her clothes. Nash rushed

over to the wardrobe and closed it with

his nose, Carsha clinging to his back.

Maralee looked down at him. Her eyes

flooded with tears.

“Please don’t leave me, Nash.

Please.” She was trembling, her stomach

clenching, her throat closing off her supply

of air. “I am so lost and alone when you

are away.” She sank to her knees to hug

him. “Please. I love you. Let me stay with

you.”

Fur melted into smooth, warm skin.

Nash’s arms wrapped around her waist.

Carsha made a sound of protest as she slid

off his back to the floor.

Having grown accustomed to his Wolf

form,

Maralee

had

forgotten

how

magnificently handsome he was. She

gazed up at him, never wanting to close

her eyes again for fear of missing one

precious glimpse.

“You silly woman,” he murmured.

“How can you love a Wolf?”

His voice, so smooth and deep—the

sound made her heart warm.

“How can I not?”

He smiled, not the crooked one that

made her heart thud with excitement, but a

wide, genuine smile. Her breath caught in

the happiness that suffused her.

“Oh Nash,” she said. “I do love you. I

do.”

He kissed her then. Her soul lifted to

the clouds. Carsha’s timid giggle brought

them back to their senses.

“I’ll be back tomorrow,” he promised.

“You are still recovering and it wouldn’t

be fair to Rella to wait until morning to

take Carsha home.”

The thought of him leaving still filled

her with loneliness and dread, but she

nodded in understanding. Hearing the

words from his lips made her more

inclined to believe he would return. He

kissed her once again, making her sigh

with pleasure, and then reverted to his

Wolf form. It was an amazing sight,

watching him melt effortlessly into a large

black Wolf.

“Wow, Uncle Nash!” Carsha said.

“How can you transform in front of a

human?”

He said something to her in their

language.

Carsha giggled. “She must be special

for sure.”

Carsha climbed onto Nash’s back once

again and Maralee wrapped her arms

around his neck.

“Hurry back to me, love,” she

whispered into his ear. “I want you to

make love to me for hours and hours.”

He whined. Maralee didn’t require a

translation

to

know

that

he

was

anticipating the same thing. She released

him regretfully and moved to open the

door for him. This time she let him leave

for she knew he would return. She trusted

him. With her life. With her heart.

Maralee did not sleep well that night.

She kept imagining she heard Nash’s

return. Several times, she climbed from

her bed and padded down the hallway to

the front door, but he was never there. She

had placed her faith in that man, made him

responsible for her happiness. She had

never depended on anyone before. The

idea of doing so now made her a tad

crazy. What would she do if he realized he

couldn’t love a killer? Questions like

these had her staring at darkness well into

the night.

She wasn’t sure when she finally fell

asleep, but she was aware of the exact

moment she woke up. A cold nose pressed

against her neck and a warm tongue bathed

her skin just below it. She smiled and

burrowed her fingers into his thick fur.

“Nash,” she murmured drowsily.

He licked her ear, making her giggle.

She opened her eyes to find it was still

dark, although dawn was threatening.

“And I was worried you wouldn’t

return.”

He melted into his human form and

touched her face. “Do you really want me

to make love to you?” he whispered as if

in awe.

“So that’s why you returned,” she said,

grinning.

“No,

I

would

have

returned

regardless. That’s why I ran.”

She laughed and pulled him down on

top of her. He kissed her eagerly, stealing

her breath with his passion. She clung to

him, desperate to keep him near.

“This is a bad idea,” he said, while

his hand moved under her hospital gown

to stroke her breast.

“Why do you say that?” she asked, her

hands finding the naked skin of his back,

his firm buttocks.

“The way you call my name when you

get excited will certainly alert Doctor

Witha Crush to our antics.”

“I do not call your name,” she said,

knowing she spoke a lie. “Well, I do, but I

can be quiet if I try.”

“It’s okay,” he murmured, removing

her gown with very little effort. “I can

wait...” He shifted downward to suckle

her breasts, stroke her belly, her thighs.

“…for at least five minutes.”

“Did you lock the door?” she asked.

This wasn’t exactly the ideal place for

this, but she wanted him. Desperately.

“Damn,” he muttered.

He stumbled from the bed and moved

to the door. He locked it, leaving the key

in the lock. She lifted her head to look at

him, drinking in the sight of his perfect

body in the dim light. He stood over her,

gazing at her with love and desire.

“I want to taste every inch of your

skin,” he murmured.

“Yes,” she agreed, lying back weakly

upon her pillows at the mere thought.

“Don’t make me wait any longer.”

He approached the end of the bed

where he licked her toes and the insoles of

her feet.

“That

tickles,”

she

murmured,

wiggling her toes.

He licked her ankle, her calf, the back

of her knee. She sighed with pleasure as

he made his way slowly up her thigh. He

expected her to try to stop him when his

tongue moved to the sensitive flesh

between her thighs but she merely opened

up to him with a shudder of pleasure.

“Oh Nash,” she whispered, trying to

be quiet.

He moved his tongue against her until

her breathing quickened and she was near

her climax and then he continued his

journey up her body.

“Why did you stop?” she asked,

shuddering when his tongue dipped into

her navel.

When he reached her breasts, she

buried her fingers in his thick hair to hold

him near.

“This feels familiar,” she sighed, “and

wonderful.”

He continued upwards again. Just as

his tongue touched her lower lip, he

paused. His heart thudded out of control.

Did she truly accept him for what he was?

“Do you still think I’m horrible?” he

asked.

“How can you ask me that?” she

whispered, lifting her head to kiss him.

“At one time, you said—”

She covered his mouth with her

fingers. “I didn’t understand. Your

physical form doesn’t matter. You’re you.

You’re Nash. I love you.”

He wanted to believe her words.

Needed a physical connection to validate

the emotional one.

“Can I move inside of you now?”

“Do you need to ask?” she whispered.

Her hand worked its way between

their bodies to stroke the hardened length

of him. She knew just how to touch him.

He’d forgotten how intoxicating lust could

be—how quickly she consumed him.

His head fell back and he sighed with

bliss. “I thought you would take a

submissive stance when you were ready.”

“On my knees?”

He gasped when she guided him to her

beckoning warmth. He slid inside of her

marginally and she moved her hand away.

The feral growl he emitted made her body

spasm.

“I prefer this way. I can watch your

face,” she whispered.

As he sank into her body slowly, he

lost his train of thought.

When he had filled her completely, he

paused and looked down at her. He found

her head tilted back in wonder, eyes

closed. She wasn’t watching his face at

all.

“Does it hurt?”

She forced her eyes open to look at

him. “I’ve never experienced anything so

glorious in all of my life.”

When he began to move within her,

she gasped, her back arching in ecstasy.

“Except that,” she amended. “Oh Nash.

Nash!”

“Shh,” he murmured with a smile,

taking her faster and deeper, grinding into

her. He withdrew completely until she

moaned a protest and he buried himself

within her again.

She bit her lip, keeping her cries of

bliss locked inside of her, until unable to