Emily left La Push much more quietly than she had arrived, telling Kim that she was going to make a fresh start in Spokane. Sam didn't say goodbye. Instead, he waited with Leah from the cover of the forest. He wasn't sure why he wanted to watch her go; a large part of him hoped never to see her ever again. But he needed to confirm that there was nothing left between them. The imprint no longer strangled him; it had no influence over his voice; it no longer pulled and pushed him against his will. When he closed his eyes and looked for it, he saw nothing. When he felt for the cables, his fingers found only air. But he feared that when he grew complacent, Emily would suddenly appear before him to trap him again.
In order to reassure himself that nothing was left of the terrible force that had chained him, he decided to watch her leave. He asked Leah to come with him, and whether it was simply to provide moral support, to see with her own eyes that Emily was leaving, or to ensure that he didn't change his mind at the last minute and go with her, he wasn't sure. She stayed several feet in front of him as they walked. He wanted to hold her hand, but she kept hers shoved deep into her pockets.
He wished he could read her mind. Despite being on good terms with him, and although his only contact with Emily since their return was to break the imprint, Leah had not yet returned to the pack. When he broached the subject with her, she deflected the question. When he asked Jacob about it, the Alpha had shrugged and said that Leah could do what she wanted, whenever she wanted. Since she participated regularly in their light patrols, and they had seen no evidence of vampire activity since returning from Seattle, he didn't feel justified in pushing for her return.
Sam stared at the back of her head, trying without success to peer into her brain. Apparently she felt his gaze. "Since when did you start shooting lasers out of your eyeballs? You're staring so hard you're gonna set my hair on fire. Or what's left of it after that vamp tried to barbecue me."
"Oh, sorry," he apologized sheepishly. "Your hair looks cute, though."
She glanced over her shoulder at him, and the gentleness in her eyes relaxed him. "Rach did a decent job with the cut, huh?"
"Yeah." He shrugged. He was fairly certain that she looked good because she looked good, not because Rachel had done anything special. But it didn't hurt that the style easily exposed his mark on her neck. "Not a lot of girls can pull off short hair. But you look great."
"Thanks. I thought maybe you thought it was too short, the way you've been eyeing it."
He explained, "Nah, I was just, well, I was wondering what you're thinking about. You seem kind of tense."
She sighed and stopped walking. "Can you blame me? I want this over with."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made you come," he hastily backtracked.
"Stop apologizing, Sammy."
He toed at the dirt beneath his foot. "I can't help it. I have an awful lot to apologize for."
Her voice softened. "No you don't. I told you before, I know that all those awful things, well, you didn't do them. It wasn't you who said them."
"But I hurt you," he protested. "I did despicable things, and I'll never forgive myself. I hate what I did. I hate the things I said. I hate that I ever made you feel like anything less than the love of my life, than the best thing that ever happened to me, the most amazing girl in the world…"
She removed her hands from her pockets and slipped her fingers into his clenched fists. "The imprint did those things, not you. Isn't that right?"
"Yes, of course," he agreed. "I'd have never hurt you if I had any choice in the matter. But the words came out of my mouth and no one else's, and I should have been able to stop them. It was my feet that ran away from you when it counted most, no one else's. I can't believe…"
She pulled him toward her, and they enveloped each other. "That's because what happened to us, it's unbelievable. It was unnatural, inhuman, and cruel. Not just to me," she explained. "It happened to you too. I remember, don't you? It was one of the most awful things I've ever seen. Watching you get pushed down inside yourself, still there but unable to take back control… The person I loved so much, your wonderful, warm, brave spirit crushed under the weight of the imprint. It hurt so much, not just that you were leaving me, but that you were losing yourself…"
He crushed her to him, getting as close as he could. "I'm right here, baby. I'm right here. I refuse to let you go, do you understand? Never again. I'm yours and no one else's. I promise."
He felt her smile against his neck. "I know. I trust you."
"How can you? I'm not worthy of your trust."
She kissed him where she was pressed against him. "Of course you are. The spirits, the universe, this unstoppable force, they told you to leave me behind. They told you to let me go. It would have been so easy for you to give in. But you didn't. You didn't."
He choked, "How could I? You're everything to me. Everything. I'm never letting you go. Never."
"Oh, Sammy," she sighed.
"Never," he repeated. He lifted her right off her feet and kissed her deeply.
When they finally stopped to breathe, she rested her cheek against his chest. "Do you want to skip it? We can just go," she suggested.
"No," he answered hesitantly. "I want… I guess… I need…"
And as always, she knew what he meant. "Closure," she finished.
"Yeah. I'm not going to believe she's gone unless I can see it with my own eyes."
"Me neither. Let's go." This time when she started forward, she tugged him after her, his hand safely tucked in hers.
They saw Emily, but she never saw them. From afar, they saw her loading her things into a UHaul trailer. She was struggling under the weight of a box, but neither stepped forward to assist. To their surprise, someone else did. Paul emerged from the lobby with an end table in hand. He passed Emily, lifted it into the trailer, and took the box from her. "Thanks," she said.
"You're not welcome," he sneered.
She brushed a sweaty lock of hair out of her face and pouted, "Seriously? I'm just trying to thank you for giving me a hand! I didn't ask for your help, and you're free to leave at any time."
"Nope." A grin was plastered on his face. "You're my charity case of the day."
"Ugh!" she stormed into the building, and he jogged after her.
"What's he doing here?" Sam asked.
Leah explained, "He's subletting her apartment. Her lease isn't over until December, and he's ready to get out of his dad's house."
When Emily and Paul emerged again, she was shuffling backward, trying to keep a grip on a heavy entertainment center. Paul whistled from the other end, and Sam wondered at the odd angle. Their friend held his side up much higher than necessary, forcing Emily to carry the brunt of the weight when he could have handled the entire thing by himself more easily. Emily realized it when she tripped over a crack in the sidewalk, and he easily caught it before it landed on her. "Hey, why did you even let me get this side?"
He slid it into place and shrugged. "It's your stuff. Who am I to tell you what you can and can't touch?"
"But I was actually making it harder for you to hold, wasn't I?"
"Yeah, so?"
She stood up and brushed herself off. She scowled at him. "So why didn't you tell me to let go?"
"It's funny watching you try to pick stuff up. You're so weak, it's amusing."
Emily lost her temper. "Why the hell are you here, Paul? If you can't be civil, you can go!"
He tilted her head at her casually. "Nah. I don't think so. The faster your truck is loaded up, the sooner you're gone. And I can't wait for that to happen. But I suppose if you tear something trying to pick up a box you can't lift, you're not going to be able to drive, and we can't have that. You need to get out of La Push ASAP. So why don't you just sit your sorry little ass down and let me finish up, okay?" He turned on his heel and strolled back into her building.
"I will not!" She stormed after him.
"Suit yourself," they heard him answer in an obnoxious sing-song voice.
After a few more trips, when Emily was inside, Paul waved at them cheerily. Leah waved back with a smile, but Sam's feelings were mixed. He appreciated what Paul had done for them, but he couldn't forget Paul's feelings for Leah. And since she still hadn't rejoined the pack, he couldn't read her mind to reassure himself that she hadn't developed any reciprocal affection. He stewed over it and held Leah even closer.
Soon enough, the trailer was loaded. Emily looked around and checked her watch, and Paul helpfully explained, "Sam's not coming. Kim's not coming. No one's coming."
"I wasn't waiting for them," Emily lied.
Paul ignored her. "Sam never wants to see your face again. I think you've finally figured that out. And as far as the council is concerned, you're bad news. You're selfish, you're toxic for the pack, and you put the Rez at risk. Kim's reputation's not doing much better. She seems to think that maybe if she fades into the background where she came from, no one will notice that she's even worse than you. And she knows that you're social suicide, so she's keeping her distance."
"I… I d-don't know what to say," Emily stuttered. "She's my friend."
"So long as it's convenient for her. She's got bigger things to worry about than you."
"What do you mean?"
Paul snorted. "Imprints are breaking left and right. What do you think she's doing? Trying to sink her claws as deep into Jared as she can."
Emily looked uncomfortably at the ground. "They love each other."
"Right. Love," Paul spat. Then he took a deep breath and sighed. "Look, you've done so much damage, and there's no going back. But you helped free Quil, and I appreciate that. Talk to Kim, will you? Make things right. She's holding on to a delusion. She should let him go and find something real. For both their sakes."
She stared at him blankly for several seconds, but then she broke eye contact. He opened the car door for her and shut it when she was inside. She stared past him into the woods, almost directly at the spot where Sam held tightly onto Leah. But they were certain from her expression that she could not actually see them. Her brow furrowed and her lips turned down, but then she turned away and started the ignition. As she pulled away, Paul waved and called out, "Good riddance!" Then he winked at them and headed into what was now his apartment.
Sam felt Leah's muscles stiff under his hands. "LeeLee? Are you okay?"
She didn't turn to him, nor did she move. After a beat, she answered, "Are you?"
"I am." She didn't respond, so he twisted her to face him, but her eyes darted back and forth instead of looking him in the eye. "Hey, are you okay?" he repeated.
"That depends," she whispered. His reaction would determine hers. "You're holding onto me awfully tight."
Then he understood. He kissed her forehead. "It's not because I'm trying to anchor myself in place, or anything."
"No?"
"No." He volunteered nothing more, because he couldn't figure out what else to say.
At his silence, she prompted, "What does it feel like?"
"Honestly?" He tipped her chin up so that he could see how nervous she was. "This is going to sound strange, but it feels... clean."
"Yeah?" She blinked, holding herself very still and searching his face for any trace of dishonesty.
He reassured her, "I'm free. It's really gone. Truly."
Then she smiled, and her beauty eclipsed her fear. "So that's all?"
"Mmm." He zeroed in on her plump, red lips.
"There's nothing left?"
He shook his head. "No. Everything's left. Everything I ever wanted." And he kissed her softly and sweetly.
She sighed happily and nuzzled her cheek against his chest, wrapping her arms around his middle. He held her with one arm, and with the other, he stroked her silky hair. With each pass, he felt a little tension slowly drain out of her body. She gradually melted against him. He was struck by the distinct difference in her body language. Even over the last wonderful weeks they had spent together, while he was making his devotion known, and they were beginning to rebuild what had been broken, she remained guarded and wary. Her muscles were taut, her shoulders always hunched, and worry lines marred her brow. Pain had invaded her tranquility, but now her body felt as he remembered it: soft, inviting, and safe. Here was the girl who had been his refuge for so long.
He was afraid to break the spell, but he couldn't stop himself. If he was lucky, he could turn this happy moment into pure bliss. "I've missed you so much," he said hoarsely.
She admitted, "I know. I have too."
"I never want to be apart again. It's miserable. Maybe if I had never known how amazing life can be when you're with me, I would have been able to handle it. But everything that's good in me, it's really you. It's due to you or it's for you. You're part of me. I don't feel complete when we're apart."
She swallowed thickly and nodded against him. "I know. I know just what you mean."
"I don't want to let you go." He squeezed her tighter.
"Then don't," she murmured.
He chuckled, "You shouldn't say that. Because I mean it literally."
"Like, we should just stick like this forever? One of us always walking backward, tripping over each other, no free hands?" she teased.
"Well, when you put it that way, it just sounds impractical. Am I crazy if I still mean it?"
"No, you're not crazy."
He clarified, "Not anymore."
She sighed, "God, I'm so glad it's over. Now maybe things can go back to normal."
It was an innocuous statement, but his heart leapt in his chest. "That's what you want?"
"Of course."
Hesitantly, he asked, "In that case… I was hoping…" But he was too afraid of rejection to say the words. If he didn't ask her, she couldn't turn him down.
"What?" She looked up at him with curious eyes. "What is it, Sammy?"
"Well, nothing is normal so long as we're apart. When anything happens, you're the one I want to tell. If I'm happy, you're the one I want to share it with. If I'm down, you always make me feel better. If a vampire's strangling me," he joked, "you're the one who pries them off." Her sharp bark of laughter startled a squirrel scaling the tree next to them. He softened his voice. "But honestly, all night long I wake up and reach out, but you're not there. I miss you so god damned much. I want you to come home. Will you come home?"
She didn't answer, and for a moment he was terrified. But then she stood up on her tiptoes and brought his mouth down to hers. The kiss began just as the last had, sweet and tentative. But he was coiled with too much tension to remain gentle. Heat built between them as he inhaled her sweet breath, tasted her lips, and felt the vibrations of her low moan against him. The sound triggered something deep within him. It called to his wolf, who was even less patient than he to reclaim their mate. The mark she left on his clavicle flared with arousal, and the sensation swept over him. "Please," he begged. "I need you. You and no one else, ever."
He cupped her skull in his palm and began to turn her head to expose the mark on her neck, but she twisted and slipped out of his grasp. He was dismayed until he saw the glint in her eyes. She was teasing him. "You need it, huh?"
Did she want him to say it again? He would get on his knees if she wanted him to. "I need you. Just you."
She slowly grinned at him and answered, "Then come and get me." And she took off.
She was fast, but in their human forms, he could keep up with her. When she glanced over her shoulder and realized that he was right behind her, she took it as a challenge. She gracefully hurdled a fallen log before whipping her shirt over her head. It landed on his face, temporarily blinding him. He tripped, and by the time he righted himself and tossed her shirt away, she had stripped off the rest of her clothes and disappeared.
Sam shed his clothes and phased. He was momentarily startled that he could not find her in the back mind. He still had not gotten used to the fact that she had left the pack and never formally rejoined. He could easily track her, so he took off in pursuit, remembering similar chases through these very woods throughout their shared childhood. If she was running at full speed, he wouldn't catch up to her. Luckily for him, she hadn't run away. She was making a beeline for the cabin.
When he arrived, the front door was still ajar, and he could hear her inside. He phased back into his human body and went straight to her. She was standing in the bedroom in front of the open closet door. She had donned one of his dress shirts and was rolling up the sleeves. She was nude underneath, and his mouth went dry. She grinned at him. "You lose. You're too slow."
He shook his head and grinned predatorily. "Actually, I win." He began to stalk toward her.
Just before he reached her, she ducked underneath his arm, slipping out of his grasp and landing behind him. "How do you figure?"
"You're practically naked in my bedroom. That's clearly a win."
She reached backward and slid open a dresser drawer, retrieving a pair of panties that she had never taken back to her mother's house. "Practically isn't the same thing as actually, and it's not for long anyway. I'm getting dressed."
As she bent to put them on, he caught her eyeing his naked form and lingering on the heavy weight between his legs. His supernatural sense of smell told him that he wasn't the only one affected by the sight of the other. Her musk filled the air, so she must have wanted him too. His wolf growled with satisfaction under his breath, as he pounced forward and trapped her against the dresser. "No you aren't."
She flashed him a wicked smile. "Are you planning on stopping me?"
He pulled the scrap of fabric out of her hand and tossed it over his shoulder. "Yeah. I am." He caught her lips with his once more and drank her in. He was greedy, ravenous from being starved of her for so long. He had felt her absence more acutely than if he had lost a limb. He had proved to himself that he was capable of surviving without her, but that was all. He was alive, but nothing more. Her smile was his reason for waking up in the morning. Her brilliance was his motivation for the future. Her strength allowed him to face any challenges that came his way. And her body was a reward that he didn't think he had earned, but the magnetism between them made it impossible to stay apart any longer.
He pressed himself against her, ready to rip away the thin layer that separated them. His pulsing erection shoved against the shirt, desperate for her touch. Yet he could not bring himself to stop kissing her. The way her mouth moved in tandem with his showed him that she had missed their connection as acutely as he had. The way she clutched at his shoulders told him that she was as needy as he. He lowered his hands to her thighs beneath the loose shirt, and he slid his hands up her body. Her curves were enticingly feminine, belying the power of the muscles beneath. Her skin was impossibly soft even after dozens of beatings, lacerations, and burns.
He cupped her tempting ass in his hands and kneaded the flesh. He started massaging her with the tips of his fingers, slowly inching closer to her center. Then he discovered how wet she was, and he involuntarily began to grind into her stomach. He was more desperate than he had been during their first, fumbling experiences together, but now he knew what he was doing. He began to tease her with long, trembling strokes along her slit. She moaned in response, the vibrations from her throat traveling straight to his groin, and he lifted her onto the dresser.
His need for intimate contact battled with the desire to keep kissing her, so he compromised with himself. He pulled away just far enough to slip a hand between them and opened the top button. As he moved down, he kissed each new patch of skin as it appeared, and when the last button was undone, he leaned back to look at her. It was far from their first time, but the sight still stunned him, and he wondered if she had somehow become impossibly lovelier during their time apart. Her deep brown eyes watched him through her long lashes. Her plump lips were parted and flushed. Her long, sinuous limbs were draped around him. The suggestion of her shape peeked out where the shirt parted.
She was still the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She outshone the heavily made-up girls he saw in magazines and in movies, and digital alterations or airbrushing could only diminish her natural allure. Other women spent thousands on personal trainers, enhancements, and surgeries, but could never replicate the smooth lines of her body or the tantalizing swell of her breasts. And the girl the spirits had chosen from him was nothing in comparison to his Leah.
He reached out to open the fabric, and at the vision of her beautiful breasts, even more tempting than the first time he saw them, his mouth began to water. He cupped them in his palms and stroked in teasing circles. When she began to hum in response, he rubbed his thumbs over the peaks as they pebbled under his hand. Then he dropped to his knees and began to worship them with his tongue, infinitely grateful that she was allowing him such intimacy.
Leah tossed back her head and moaned, arching her back and burying her fingers in his hair. He licked and nipped and gently bit at her nipples as she began to squirm, seeking contact for her neglected core, and he obligingly slipped a hand between her thighs. She was practically dripping. He could hardly wait to bury himself inside her, but he feared he would only last seconds after such a long period of celibacy. It wouldn't be enough. He didn't just want to make love to her or reclaim her. He wanted to replace every bad memory he ever caused her with one of ecstasy. He wanted to give her bliss. He wanted to feel her coming around him. And then he wanted to fuck her so hard that neither of them could remember any of his transgressions.
Sam didn't tease her, not this time. There would be time enough for that after she was satisfied. He suckled her nipple deep into his mouth, much harder than a human could tolerate, and pressed his thumb against her swollen clitoris. She gasped and had to let go of his head with one hand to support herself from falling. He gathered some of her moisture on his fingertips and began to rub circles against the little nub, and she began to tremble. Then he worked his long middle finger into her pussy, and he couldn't believe he had ever fit inside her. She was as tight as the day she gave him her virginity. And if her trembling was any indication, she was very close to the edge. Was it possible that she needed him as much as he needed her? He stroked deliberately until she clenched around him in rhythmic spasms. His cock throbbed as she rode out her climax on his hand, and his mark throbbed with heat.
"Sam!" She tried to pull him up when the orgasm subsided, but he wasn't cooperating. His wolf had taken over. It had been subdued for too long under the chains of the imprint. Now it was free, and the scent its mate was giving off was too tempting to resist. He lowered himself to drink her. He knew from experience that her clitoris would be too sensitive for direct stimulation, so he removed his fingers, merely kissed it as he passed, and then he lapped up her flavor from her swollen lips before plunging his tongue into her body. "Oh, god!" she cried.
To the wolf, Leah was absolutely delicious. Her essence was rich, honeyed, and sweet, and if he could only taste one flavor for the rest of his life, she would be it. His eyes slipped shut, his senses overwhelmed with her. He drank his fill, moaning against her skin like the glutton he was, until she whimpered with renewed need. Then he shifted up slightly and took her clitoris between his lips, and he suckled at it until she came once more, calling his name. He had to close his eyes against the entrancing sight of her in order to keep from falling over the edge with her.
He didn't stop his ministrations. He wanted to prolong her climax as long as possible. He knew from experience that she could do so over and over and over again, and he had months of neglect to make up for. There was no way to do so in one day, but he would happily try. But eventually he realized she wasn't just crying out in passion. She wanted his attention. He wasn't willing to leave her pussy unattended, so when he finally took his mouth from her, he slid two fingers inside her once more and began to pump. "Oh shit, you're trying to kill me, aren't you?" she gasped.
He wiped his mouth with his free hand. "What is it, baby?"
"Please." Her voice sounded broken and desperate, and he loved the sound. "I want you inside me."
"I am inside you," he pointed out with a smirk. He thrust his fingers hard to emphasize the point.
After she was done gasping, she pouted prettily. "It's not… isn't... More. Pease!"
He smiled in satisfaction. He had reduced her to sentence fragments. "Don't worry. I'm going to give you everything, LeeLee. Everything." He started to curl his fingers against her g spot as he removed his fingers, and then he plunged them back in.
"Fuck!" She started to roll her shoulders in order remove the shirt completely, since it was still hanging onto her arms.
"No," he commanded quietly.
She recognized the tone even if he wasn't Alpha any longer, and she froze. "What?"
"Don't take it off." The open shirt framed her perfectly. She was as sexy in his clothes as she would be in expensive lingerie, and the picture she made could fuel his fantasies for a lifetime. Her arms were partially restrained behind her by the fabric, which caused her back to arch and thrust her breasts forward. He would have to remember this. Another time, perhaps he would bind her wrists together and take her just like this. The thought of her submission thoroughly pleased his wolf. "I want you fuck you while you're wearing it."
"Yes! Please, fuck me!" she wailed and squirmed against his fingers.
He promised, "I will," and then he pressed another kiss to her clitoris. "When I'm ready." His voice was full of false bravado. He was more than ready. He barely had control of himself. He was absolutely desperate. But he wanted to enjoy the vision of her body overcome one more time when he was not distracted by his own pleasure.
She huffed in irritation, but the sound turned into another epithet when he tilted his head so that he could suckle at her clitoris while simultaneously massaging her g spot from within. This time, when she came, he didn't let the climax wane. He tongued her and pumped his fingers as she convulsed with wave upon wave. It wasn't until she pushed him away forcefully that he stopped.
He stood to his full height before her, his cock bobbing in front of him. She eyed it hungrily and slid off the dresser, dropping to her knees.
"Don't," he ordered.
She looked up at him, startled. "Why? I want you in my mouth."
"I need to be in your pussy," he said in a clipped tone. For emphasis, he fisted his own cock with the hand he had just removed from her body, and he coated himself with her.
She flushed visibly, and he scented a fresh wave of her arousal. He almost purred with the knowledge of the effect he was having on her. "Oh god…" she whispered.
He bent down to pick her up by the waist, he set her back on the dresser, and he ravished her lips. "Do you taste yourself?" he asked in between kisses. "Do you taste how good you are? Why I couldn't stop? You're fucking incredible." He kissed his way down her jaw and to her neck, making her shiver. He buried his nose behind her ear, unable to stop his wolf from sniffing deeply. His wolf reacted with a primitive desire for her to smell more like him, so he deliberately rutted into her flat belly, leaving a trail of precum across her skin. He couldn't wait any longer to fill her with his seed, so he pinned her wrists behind her back with one hand, pulled her to the very edge of the dresser, and guided himself into her.
She gasped as her tight walls resisted the head of his penis. Despite use of his fingers, she remained impossibly tight. It was probably a good thing he didn't possess her in one swift stroke; he didn't want to hurt her. Instead he delved his tongue into her mouth, forcefully kissing her the way he wanted to fuck her. He stabilized her with the hand he was using to trap her hands at the small over her back. "Let me in," he commanded, and he rocked his hips forward.
Sam couldn't stop a deep moan as her pussy accommodated his broad head in its entirety. The sensation was indescribable. She was still insanely tight, not only her channel, but her entire body. She was strung like a bow, back arched, head thrown back, hands restrained, knees bent and feet planted for purchase against the wood. He worked his free hand between their bodies and pinched at her nipples, sending small ripples through her pussy and over his glans.
He reluctantly pulled back, and he couldn't help himself. Although the sight might force him to climax, ending it before it had even really started, he looked down at the sight of his head pressed against her swollen, wet lips. His dark, thick dick looked enormous compared to her tiny opening. It was irresistible. He pushed forward until he was halfway inside. Leah began to pant at the intrusion. "Oh, god. Oh, Sam. Oh, god."
He withdrew, but this time he snapped his hips forward, and she surrounded him completely. "Fuck! Leah!" He had to still himself now. His world narrowed down to his partner and the exquisite sensations she created. She was gripping him in the tightest, wettest, hottest vice, perfectly molded to his contours. No other woman in the world could feel like she did.
And she was his.
He let out a throaty moan and began to move in increasingly deep, powerful strokes. He struggled to keep her in place against his assault. She was barely able to brace herself since he had trapped her hands, but his wolf loved how helpless she was, how open, how unguarded. She whimpered from the pleasure she derived from his thrusts. Sweat beaded against their skin as heat raged between them. She was molten lava, an inferno, but unlike the weak, half-dead coals and embers where his imprint had so recently been moored, her fire was pure, raw energy, life-bringing sun, and light against the darkness. There had never been anyone quite like her in the universe, and there never would be again. He was infinitely grateful to know her.
Eventually he realized he needed more purchase if he wanted to truly pound into her. He let go of her hands, and she immediately wrapped them around his neck as the shirt slipped off. He easily lifted her onto his waiting cock, and she slid down his shaft, surrounding him. He held her by her buttocks and let gravity settle her fully onto him, and she cooed at the sensation. She licked her lips, and then she licked his, murmuring, "You're so deep."
"It's perfect," he replied, and it was.
"I love having you inside me."
He turned and walked her back toward the bed, and the movement sent pleasurable waves shooting up his spine. "I love being inside you. I love you," he said sincerely. "Best place on earth. I don't ever want to leave."
"Only for you, Sammy." Her voice shook with emotion, and a tear rolled down her cheek. He kissed it away. "I love you too," she admitted. "I never stopped."
"Me neither. Oh..." He lifted her up and lowered her back down. "Fuck…"
This time she helped him by bracing herself on his shoulders to raise herself a few inches, and then together they slammed her back down again. "God!" she cried.
"I only love you more…" He repeated the motion. "And more…" And again. "And more…" And again. "Lee, god!"
Leah kept crying, but he knew she wasn't sad, not anymore. Her emotions mirrored his. They were both vulnerable, open, and holding nothing back, and felt how deeply their devotion and passion ran. Her tears were a manifestation of their connection.
He couldn't stand to separate their bodies even by an inch, but the throbbing in his cock mandated him to regain control so he could fuck her properly. He lowered her onto the bed, and then he began to slam into her. "I love..." He thrust. "God! I love..." And again. "Unhh..." And again. "I... ohhhh..." And again. "I love you." And again. "I love you." And again. He couldn't believe how long it had taken him to tell her. It was the truth, his truth, the truth that had never left him, the truth that held together his identity, that kept him from being lost in the darkness.
Leah let out a continuous wail of pleasure, interrupted only by gasps and epithets, and he lost all control. He buried his head in the crook of her neck and licked, bit, and sucked, covering her in his marks. His own throbbed in response. Each contact of his teeth, though not hard enough to draw blood, spurred telltale clenches of her pussy around him. "Fuck! Are you..."
"Ohhh..." she moaned in response. "Y-y-yeah. Yes!" She came over and over and over again, clawing her nails down his back. He felt like a god. He wished this would never end.
Sam was home.
When he felt himself right on the edge, when her grip on his cock, the heat of her body, and the love of her heart were almost too much to bear, he pulled out. Her eyes popped open in surprise. She whimpered, "Why are you stopping? It's so good!" The pleading edge to her voice drove him wild.
He deliberately misconstrued her. "I'm not stopping. If I had my way, I'd never stop. I'd never leave this moment, this place, here with you. I'll never give you up, I'll never let you go, and I'll love you forever."
"Oh, Sammy." She smiled at him, a sweet, sexy turn of her lips. "I love you too. So much. You can't possibly know how much."
"I do know," he denied as he tenderly tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Because you've shown me every day for our whole lives. And I promise I'll show you the same from now on. Now get on your hands and knees," he growled.
Her skin flushed as she complied, and her pupils dilated as she looked over her shoulder at him. "Like this?"
He palmed her ass, spreading her lips apart with his thumbs, and rumbled in satisfaction, "Just like that." And he slid back home.
Now he couldn't stop himself from pistoning into her. He mastered her with his strength, he overwhelmed her with his passion. His strokes were so powerful that she had to brace herself against the headboard with both hands. He pushed himself incredibly deep. He held her in place with his hands on her hips, and he fucked her with everything he had. He would have rendered any other woman unconscious with his onslaught. With a feral snarl, he bit out, "Tell me you're mine!"
"I'm yours!" she screamed.
"Fuck! Lee! Fuck!" he cursed. He wanted to finger her clit, needing to send her over the edge once more, but he couldn't do it from this position. He wrapped his hand around her throat and pulled her back as he settled on his ankles, and he spread her legs beside his so that she straddled him, her back pressed to chest.
He tilted her chin to the side with his fingers, licking the shell of her ear as he thrust up into her. "You're mine," he repeated.
"I'm yours," she gasped and squirmed.
He kept one hand on her throat and slid the other to tightly pinch her nipple, and she responded with a small, quaking orgasm as she sat on him.
He could not hold on any longer. She was too much. She was everything. No one, not Emily, not the elders, not imprinting, could change that. He raised his hand from her breast and placed the pad of a finger against her lips. "Lick it," he ordered. The soft soft suckling of her lips and sensuous swirl of her tongue almost undid him, but he removed his finger and circled her clitoris. Immediately she began writhing uncontrollably in climax.
Keeping his hand on her throat, he turned her head exactly as he wanted it, baring her neck. Their marks were both bright red, radiating blissful sensations outward over their skin like a spiderweb, entrapping both of them. He was surrounded by her, cocooned in her, loving her, being loved by her, and it was perfect. They would emerge from this coupling bonded even more closely than before.
He wanted to hear her say or one more time. Against her flesh, he snarled, "Say it again. Say you're mine."
"I'm yours," she wailed.
"And I'm yours," he vowed. He buried himself as deeply as he could into her hot, clenching pussy, and he was overwhelmed. This time he bit deeply enough to draw blood, drinking in the coppery flavor as she screamed in bliss, flooding her womb with hot, thick ropes. They shuddered and shook and came together, defying the spirits, defying destiny, defying even the gods, giving themselves to one another, merging into one inseparable soul.
After a time, they fell forward into the bed together, still joined. He curled around her, cradling her close, and licked gently at the renewed mark on her neck. "Feels so good," she mumbled sleepily.
"Mine too," he told her.
She turned her head just far enough that he could kiss her, and then she asked, "Even though I didn't mark you again?"
"Yeah. But I'd like it..." She slipped off him and he huffed in disappointment. "Hey, I was comfortable there."
She turned to face him, and she smiled. It was his smile, the sweet, lovely, dimpled one that belonged only to him, and his heart melted. It enraptured him just as it had when they were small. This time he cupped her cheek in his palm and brushed his thumb over the little divot.
She kissed his finger and finished his aborted sentence. "You'd like it if I marked you again?"
"Yeah."
She took his hands in hers and kissed his knuckles. "I will. Sometime..." She yawned, and he flashed back to a memory of the exact same yawn from years before, lying face to face in her childhood bed. "Sometime later. I would have just now if you weren't behind me. Not that I'm complaining..."
"Whenever you're ready," he answered softly. He hoped it would be soon.
"That was incredible," she murmured. "You were amazing."
His ego swelled, but he knew he couldn't take all the credit. There was no other woman on earth whose body could fit his so well, or whose passion could eclipse hers. "Nothing's as good as this, as us together," he agreed.
Her eyes slipped shut, and she sighed happily. He had heard the sound countless times before, but it was never as precious to him as it was now. "I'm really sleepy."
"Then go to sleep, baby."
"Will you be here when I wake up?" she asked, her voice sounding small.
His heart clenched because she felt the need to ask such a thing. "If I get my way, we'll never be apart again."
She opened just one eye and peered at him. "Can I pee by myself?"
"Maybe. If I'm feeling generous."
She snorted and closed her eye. "I'll boot you out the door if I have to."
"I'd like to see you try," he teased.
She still didn't open her eyes, but she retorted, "You think I can't kick your ass, Uley?"
He really ought to let her sleep, but he couldn't resist. This peaceful companionship was too good to miss. He hadn't just missed his lover for the past several months. He had missed his best friend. "Is that a challenge?"
"Damn straight," she mumbled.
"You're tough. I'll give you that. And you'd probably fight dirty. But I still outweigh you by, like, a hundred pounds, and that's when we're human. I'm practically two of you when we're wolves. All I'd have to do is pin you down. And you know how much I like to pin you down, LeeLee." Her hand relaxed in his, and her breathing evened out. "LeeLee?" he whispered. But she was asleep.
Sam hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep since he last held her in his arms, so he was utterly exhausted. But he stayed awake for as long as he could, watching her by the light of the moon, listening to her breathe, soothed by her heartbeat, memorizing exactly how she looked in this moment. She was stunning. Beautiful. Perfect. She was his, just as he could only ever be hers.
X-x-x-x-X
A/N: Just one more chapter to go.