Rikki bit her lip, clamping down hard on the tears that wanted to fall. What was wrong with her? Her emotions were like a rollercoaster, up and down and just all over the place. No matter what she did, she couldn’t seem to get control over them or her wolf.
She swallowed hard when Jeremiah lifted his head, and she found herself staring into a pair of intent, dark eyes fringed with a pair of the longest lashes she’d ever seen on a man. Dark brown hair with lighter brown highlights, a strong nose, hard lips, a jaw made of granite. Rikki’s wolf whimpered in the back of her mind as his scent enveloped her, flowing through her. She felt her fangs drop, and a shudder ran through her. Mine!
“Hey,” he said gruffly, his gaze tracing over her face.
Rikki closed her eyes, her breath coming in small pants as she fought the urge to sink her teeth deep into the flesh on his shoulder. Her body felt feverish; she trembled at the feel of his skin against hers. All over. They were naked, and she was on fire. Her nipples beaded up, and a moan slipped free when he moved, his hard cock pressing into her thigh.
“Rikki, look at me.”
Hell, no. He was not ordering her around. She gave him what he wanted, but only partly. Opening her eyes, she glared at him and snapped, “You left me, Jeremiah Black! Not only that, but you knew we were mates years ago and did absolutely nothing about it. You don’t have the right to tell me what to do now.”
His eyes softened, and he lowered his head, rubbing his cheek over hers. “I’m sorry, baby. I should have said something, but I didn’t think you were ready for me.”
“Why do you think you get to decide what I’m ready for and when?” she growled, shoving at his huge chest, biting back a groan at the feel of his coarse chest hair on the palms of her hands. Why did she like that so much? “Get off me, you big oaf!”
“Rikki, I’m sorry.”
“You should be!”
She tried to shove him off her again, but when he didn’t budge, she began to struggle beneath him. The brush of his skin against hers had her wanting things she shouldn’t, and that just made her angry. Yes, he was her mate, but he had left her, dammit!
“Baby, you need to stop,” Jeremiah growled, groaning into her neck. “I swear, my cock is fucking hard as hell right now. You keep moving like that, I’m going to come all over like a damn teenager.”
Rikki gasped at the dark edge of desire in Jeremiah’s tone, arching up into him before she could stop herself. He was so hard all over; his chest, his abs, his hips, his thighs, and yes, that long, thick cock pressing into her. She could feel all of him, and she wanted it. All. Too bad that was impossible. She needed some answers first.
Gritting her teeth, Rikki nudged her knee in between his legs, tangled her ankles with his, and shoved hard at his chest while pushing with her legs. She heard his grunt of surprise when she flipped him over onto his back, and then she was scrambling to her feet, moving quickly away from him. “You don’t have the right to touch me, either,” she snarled, finding her clothes and quickly yanking them on, wincing when her hand brushed against the cut on her side. “As a matter of fact, you have no rights to me whatsoever.”
She heard him moving, but refused to look in his direction until she was fully dressed. She needed some kind of armor between them, and right now, all she had were the thin pieces of threads covering her body. Finally, when she glanced over at him, she found him dressed in the jogging pants Steele had brought him, along with a tight, black tee shirt that accented the hard muscles on his chest. It would seem Steele had brought him more than just pants. Rikki wasn’t sure if it was a blessing or not. Silently, he held out the bandage to her, obviously smart enough to know when to stay back.
“Baby…”
“Stop calling me that,” she snapped, snatching it from him, her hands going to her hips as she glared at him. “If I was your anything, you would have been here these past five months when I was lying in a hospital bed after I almost died!”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” he snarled, taking a step closer to her, his eyes darkening in anger. “What do you mean, you almost died?”
By the look on his face, she could tell Jeremiah had no idea what happened to her back in January. She almost softened to him… almost. Until she thought about the fact that if he had bothered to check in on her just once, he would have known. “In all this time, you haven’t even made a phone call to see how I’m doing, Jeremiah? I thought that’s what mates did? Love, cherish, protect. I’ve seen the way the White River Wolves are with their mates. The way my team members are. And you couldn’t even pick up a phone to call?”
“Dammit, Rikki. I was protecting you! The General’s men don’t mess around. If I placed a call and they traced it back to you, what do you think would have happened? One phone call could have gotten both of us killed.”
She knew he was right, but what about before then? He’d known she was his for years, ever since they first met when he was giving them missions, but not once had he said anything to her. He’d kept her in the dark about their mating, and when she found out, he still didn’t follow through with anything. Instead, he just disappeared. Shaking her head in frustration, she ripped open the bandage, slid up her shirt, and slapped it on, hissing in pain.
“Rikki.” Her name was a whisper on his lips as Jeremiah slowly closed the distance between them. Clenching her teeth together, she glared at him, wanting his touch, but also wanting to push him away. Reaching out, he traced his fingers down her face before cupping her cheek in the palm of his hand. “I know you don’t understand why I did what I did, and maybe you never will. I would like the chance to explain, though. Give me that at least.”
One of the tears she’d held in for so long slipped out, sliding down her cheek onto his hand.
“Ah, baby, please don’t cry.”
A shudder ran through her when he leaned in and kissed the tear away.
“You are everything to me, Rikki Diamond. My heart, world. You own me. If you want me to get out, I will. Right now. This minute. I’ll fight the fight from here with you.”
Rikki’s heart skipped a beat, and she stared into his dark eyes, hope becoming a small light in her chest. “You will?”
“Yeah,” he promised gruffly. “Don’t you know? I would do anything for you.”
Jeremiah lowered his head toward hers, and Rikki gasped when their lips met. Her hands went to his chest, clutching tightly to his shirt as her whole body began to tremble. She felt his tongue touch the seam of her mouth, and she opened, letting him slip inside. He groaned, his tongue thrusting past her lips to find and tangle with her own. That fire was back, racing through her veins. Her breath came in short pants, a moan crawling up her throat. His arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her into him, flush against his body. His hard cock against her stomach, and she wondered what it would feel like to have it inside of her. She’d only had sex once in her life. It had left a lot to be desired. But the way Jeremiah made her feel, she knew it wouldn’t be the same with him. She wanted to find out so bad, but they had a lot they needed to get through before she could. That didn’t mean she couldn’t play some now, though.
Sliding her hands up his chest, she sank them into his thick hair, loving the texture against her skin. She froze, suddenly realizing she wasn’t wearing her gloves. The ones she wore all of the time to keep the whispers from past, present, and future away. But, there was nothing, when there should have been. Nothing from the clothes Jeremiah was wearing, nor from his skin or hair. Nothing. She didn’t understand it, but she reveled in it. Normally, she was unable to touch anything without getting some sort of reading off of it. Now, she was putting her hands all over her mate, and it was heaven.
“Fuck, Rikki, I’ve missed you so much.”
The growled words against her mouth pulled her from her haze of desire. She’d missed him, too. Even in her coma, she had somehow known he wasn’t there. Felt it. She was so lost and alone, struggling to find her way back to the land of the living. Rikki remembered everything, and it hurt.
As if sensing her change of mood, Jeremiah gave her one last small kiss and then rested his cheek against hers. “We have lot to talk about.”
“Yes.”
“Promise me, you will give me a chance to explain everything. I’ve waited too long for you to lose you now.”
Rikki sighed, trying to let go of some of the anger she had bottled up. It was tearing her up inside, and affecting not only her, but everyone around her. Shame filled her at the thought of what she’d done to her brothers. She’d drawn blood, and that was unacceptable. She had a lot to apologize for. She would be a hypocrite not to listen to Jeremiah after everything she’d done on her end.
“We need to meet with the team now,” she whispered, stepping back from him.
“After?”
Rikki hesitated before nodding. “After.”