Ellie's Wolf (26 page)

“I love you, Ellie Wolfe.” The expression on his face was fiercely tender and fiercely possessive. “I can’t hold back much longer. Are you close?”

“Close,” she said in a half-sob. “But not there yet.”

“Okay.”

He didn’t change the rhythm of his thrusts, but he reached down to tickle the little nub of her clit. His flicking fingers drove her closer and closer to orgasm until her whole body clenched in an explosion almost painful in its intensity. No, not almost. It was painful, but she accepted the pain with the pleasure because being with Quill was entirely worth it. She held him while he clenched in his own orgasm with a muffled howl.

He was careful even in the throes of pleasure to not put his weight on her bruised body. Instead, he collapsed onto his side beside her in the bed. How could she not love such a tender man who showed his love for her in his actions? Their panting breaths mingled as they recovered from their lovemaking.

“Are you okay?” he asked, brushing her damp, heavy hair back from her face. “Did I hurt you?”

“I’m fine.” She was fine, marvelously, gloriously fine. The lovemaking might not have been completely comfortable, but it had been completely satisfying. “Did I hurt you?”

He laughed. “I think I’ve pretty much exhausted myself, but I haven’t felt this strong in days.”

“Are you really getting better?”

He raised a hand for her to see. In the lamplight it shook slightly. “I’m still not as strong as I was, but I’m better. With you beside me, I’ll always be better.”

She leaned up over him and examined his beloved face. Tears made her voice thick. “I know I’ve said this about a dozen times already, but I want to say it again. I love you.”

Quill’s smile was small. “You can say it as many times as you like. I’ll never get tired of hearing it.”

She dipped down to kiss him gently. “Then I’ll keep saying it.”

“You do that.” His hand lifted to smooth over her hair, her cheek, her throat. “I adore you. For the last several days I’ve been terrified for you. Enraged for you. And I felt so helpless. I wanted to find you and kill anyone who hurt you.”

Ellie remembered waking up nauseous and not knowing where she was or what had happened. “I was so frightened,” she whispered, holding his hand against her cheek and nuzzling it. “I was scared to death while I was with those men, and I was mad. Angrier than I’ve ever been in my life. I knew I’d be rescued and those evil men would be punished. I just didn’t know when.” She paused to allow him to outline her lips with a gentle, caressing fingertip. “Are you sorry you stayed back with me instead of going with Taye to find them?”

“No.” His green eyes were clear looking up at her in the lamplight. “You needed me, and your needs are more important to me than even revenge.”

“Thank you,” she whispered. She reached for the lamp and blew it out before arranging herself in the most comfortable position beside him. “When I was with them, I was afraid of what they would do to me while I slept. Don’t go. Will you hold me all night, Quill?”

“Yeah, darlin’, sleep.” His lips brushed her hair. “I won’t let you go. I’ll keep you safe tonight and all the nights to come.”

She smiled a trembling smile against his bare shoulder. For the first time in days Ellie felt warm and comfortable and safe. She fell into sleep like plunging off a cliff. But she wasn’t worried about a rocky landing. Her mate held her safe.

Ellie woke with her heart pounding sickeningly in her throat. She kept her eyes closed in case Lenny or Half-Nose was watching her. For a moment she expected a boot in her ribs and waited for drug-induced nausea to crash over her. Then she remembered Rye buying her and Taye finding her. And making love with Quill last night. Her shoulder protested when she shot out an arm to search the bed for him. The emptiness beside her sent her heart leaping into her throat again.

Low voices murmuring at the door calmed her heart. Her husband stood there, brown back bare, hips and legs covered by worn denim pants, the door open only a few inches. “Quill.” Her voice was almost inaudible.

Of course he heard her. Without apology to whomever he was speaking with, he closed the door and hurried back to the bed. His gait was a half-shuffle, but he moved quickly.

“Darlin’,” he said, sitting on the bed and dragging her into his lap to hold her close. “I meant to be with you when you woke up. Your heart is racing. Are you all right?”

“Yes.” The spike of terror she’d felt had eased when she saw Quill, but its effect on her pulse lingered. She forced herself to loosen her grip on his shoulders. “Good morning. What time is it? Who was at the door?”

He glanced toward the window, whose heavy curtain blocked most of the light. “It’s a little after ten. Taye wants to know how you’re doing and when you want to leave.”

“I’m doing okay,” she said, ignoring the fact that she was sore and even the brush of the cotton nightdress over her bruises hurt. “I guess he’s anxious to get back to the den.”

“He is. The Lupa’s baby was born only eight days ago. A little girl. But she’s safe inside the den, with plenty of protection. He said we would wait as long as it took until you were able to ride.”

A baby girl. A knife of longing stabbed Ellie. She would love to have a baby girl. They had talked of that only…Was it only a few nights ago? She refused to remember what had happened between that night and this morning and focused on how much she wanted a daughter with Quill. Especially if she had Quill’s gorgeous green eyes and golden brown curls. That would be fitting since Connor had his father’s blue eyes and straight blond hair. She was struck by a fiercely maternal urge to hold her son again.

“I want to leave right away,” she told him. “Take me home, Quill.”

He brushed his lips over her hair. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay another day to rest?”

“I want to go home.”

“Okay. We’ll go home.”

He kissed her forehead and then her lips before sliding her back to the bed and smoothing the neckline of her borrowed nightdress. “Taye,” he called. “Come in. She’s awake.”

The door opened, and her cousin, wearing only ill-fitting brown pants, came in. The waistband was far too wide for his narrow waist, and the hems hit him several inches above his ankles. Ellie suspected the pants belonged to Reverend Miller. She wondered how the Millers were dealing with having members of the Wolf Clan take over their house. He stopped just inside the door to smile at her.

“Ellie, you’re avenged. Those men will never hurt you or anyone else ever again.”

His gentle tone was a gruesome contrast with his words.

There wasn’t any question in her mind about it, but she asked anyway. “Did you kill them?”

He nodded, grim and unmoved by pity. “Yes.”

“Good.” When his brows rose, she clarified. “I wasn’t the first woman they stole. From what I heard them say, the others didn’t live long.”

Taye’s flat expression was eclipsed by something darkly terrifying crawling over it. Ellie hoped Lenny had seen that expression before he died. She turned the subject.

“Congratulations. Quill tells me you have a daughter.”

His face changed again, glowing with pride and love. “Thank you. Carla named her Hypatia.”

“I can’t wait to meet her. Let’s leave right away.”

He studied her, and she expected him to protest, but he only nodded. “Okay, I’ll start collecting supplies for the trip. Come out to the backyard when you’re ready.”

Their departure didn’t actually happen for a few more hours. Mrs. Miller had laundered Ellie’s clothes, but they weren’t dry yet. Reverend Miller gave Quill detailed instruction about what attention Ellie’s bruises and dehydration needed to be given. The Millers insisted on feeding all of them lunch. At least, all the ones who had pants to put on were fed lunch. The others stayed in wolf form, and Taye said they would hunt their own food later. Ellie derived some amusement from watching the Millers try to interact with creatures from legend, but the elderly couple had a sort of gentle dignity. They had opened their home to strangers and given generously of what they had. Other Christians could learn the meaning of hospitality from them.

As Quill and Paint led the horses up, Mrs. Miller gave her a warm hug. “You write to us when you’re settled so we’ll know you’re safe. We’ll be praying for you.”

Ellie returned the hug. “I will. And thank you for your prayers.”

Paint helped her into the saddle. “You be sure to tell us when you’re tired,” he admonished her. “We can take breaks anytime you need one.”

Quill was almost able to mount his own, needing only a steadying hand from Paint. Once in the saddle he gathered his reins and nodded at Ellie. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

With ten men and a dozen wolves in close formation, they headed to the den.

* * * *

Six days later they passed Odessa. Taye or any of his men could have made the trip in two days of leisurely travel, but each and every one of them insisted on frequent stops so Ellie could rest. The first day or so she’d been sore and glad of the stops. After that she accepted the breaks simply to make them feel better. They were so eager to be solicitous it would have been ungrateful to spurn their loving care. The men her father had called demon spawn were nothing but gentle and kind to her.

Quill cantered back to her from his position in the lead, sitting easily in the saddle and moving in perfect synchronization with the horse’s gait. He reached a hand out to squeeze her fingers, smiling tenderly. There was no sign of the droop his mouth had held, and she noticed his hand didn’t tremble at all, perfectly warm and steady over hers.

“Did you want to stop to visit family and friends?” he asked her, canting his head to indicate Odessa in the near distance.

Ellie glanced over at the tall fence that encircled the community where she’d grown up. Then she looked at the men and wolves who guarded her. “No, my family and friends are here, not inside that wall.”

His eyes, vivid in the sunlight, narrowed at the corners when he smiled at her. He had always been attractive to her, but now she found him almost unbearably handsome. Just the sight of his smile made her heart melt.

“I love you,” he told her. “Tonight, we’ll be safe at the den. Alone at last.”

A faint hint of arousal warmed her. “I can’t wait.”

They had slept side by side each night, but they hadn’t made love since the night they’d spent with the Millers. Neither of them wanted to sneak out onto the prairie, even if Taye would have allowed it. Considering the tight guard her cousin kept on her, it was clear he would never allow it. She wasn’t permitted to go more than ten feet away on her own, even to pee! What might have annoyed some women made her feel safe.

Quill turned his horse to return to his spot at the head of the formation. She examined his strong, naked back. His shoulders were broad, golden brown curls dancing a scant inch above them, his waist narrow. The muscles in his back moved smoothly under his skin in time with his horse. Watching his body move was like watching an effortless dance. Was it only a week ago he’d had to be tied to his horse to stay in the saddle?

Taye trotted over to her and morphed into his man form. His long legs easily kept pace with her horse. “I thought we’d detour around Kearney. It’s a little longer to the den that way, but quicker, since we won’t have to stop to talk to anyone. After you’ve settled in, you can take an escort into Kearney to see the Grays and any other friends.”

“Of course. I just want to be home.”

Taye’s dimple flirted with his smile. “You think of the den as home? That’s good.”

She had never lived there, but she did think of Taye’s den as home. It was a safe place where she could be with Quill and Connor and Tommy. “Home is anywhere Quill is.”

Taye looked forward, to where Quill rode. “He’s better. He’s been mounting and dismounting on his own for four days now.”

Pride in her husband’s progress warmed her voice. “Last night he helped me off my horse when we reached camp, and this morning he lifted me to the saddle.”

“So, you won’t repudiate him?”

“Of course not!”

Taye shrugged at her vehemence. “I don’t know what it was like in the Times Before, but now there are so few women and so many man wanting wives that a woman doesn’t have to keep a husband who can’t protect her.”

Her jaw dropped and then clenched. “I would never repudiate Quill,” she said in a low, furious voice.

Taye raised a brow. “Nah, I didn’t think you would. But I wanted to get it out in the open before we got to the den. Carla will need to know how many rooms to get ready for you.”

Her shock waned. “I love Quill. I’m proud to be his wife. It doesn’t matter if he walks with a limp for the rest of his life. I love him.”

Taye let out a shrill whistle. “Standing Bear!”

The wolf, larger and furrier than most of the others, loped up to them, looking up at Taye with eerie, golden eyes.

“Run ahead to the den and tell the Lupa we’ll need just one room for Quill and Ellie. Get some water heating too. My cousin will want to take a hot shower when we get home.”

Ellie barely waited for the wolf to leave then and run north. “Did you honestly expect me to repudiate my husband?”

Taye flashed his dimple. “No. I just wanted to hear you say it.”

She narrowed her eyes at him until he turned serious.

“I know you accepted him at the Millers’. But I needed to know if you had changed your mind before we got to the den. You needed to know that too. It would destroy Quill to have you cast him off after we arrived. If you changed your mind, I would have given you an escort to your cousin Doug Gray’s house.”

Ellie straightened her shoulders. “I haven’t changed my mind. I love Quill.”

Taye gave her a particularly sweet smile before melting back into his wolf form and trotting away.

Three hours later, Quill dropped back to ride beside her when they reached the walls of the den. “Tired?” he asked.

Sunset was only two hours away, and weariness dragged at her, but the excitement of seeing the den revived her. “A bit,” she agreed. “But I’m so happy to be home.”