Page 21 of Refuge
“Okay, that may have been a little bit of my alpha coming out. I see the way he looks at you, Leeza, and I don’t like it.” His growl rumbled against her breasts, bringing her nipples to tight, sensitive points.
“The only thing you have to worry about is how I look at him and believe me, there is nothing there. I can’t help it if a man looks at me in a certain way, so I shouldn’t be penalized for that.” She noticed he had quickly looked down at her breasts and knew he’d felt her nipples harden. Her core tingled, but she was going to stay strong until she was confident he understood her feelings.
His eyes came up to meet hers. “I can’t change who I am, but I promise to do my best to control myself when it comes to being overbearing.” He peered back down at her breasts before glancing up at her. “Fair enough?”
She nodded, believing him, but she sensed there would be battles ahead. At least he knew her feelings and was acknowledging he needed to work on it. “Fair enough,” she agreed.
“Good, because I’m having one hell of a hard time focusing on our conversation at the moment.” He leaned down and kissed her hard, then lifted his lips from hers.
He touched her face with one hand, his finger tracing the scar on the side of her cheek while holding her against him with the other. Their bodies floated, their feet lazily kicking to keep them up above the water.
“Don’t.” She reached up and moved his hand from her face.
“Honey, I’m going to touch every inch of you.” Cole pulled his hand away and touched her scar again. “This is a part of you. Stop giving it power.”
“It’s ugly, and every time you look at it, you seem angry,” she replied honestly. She actually couldn’t believe she’d forgotten about it until she felt his touch against the marred skin. But in a way, his words were right. Trying to hide it gave it power over her, yet she couldn’t seem to help it. She wasn’t overly vain, but the scar bothered her. Now she wondered if it was because she knew it bothered Cole.
“It does make me angry, but it’s what the scar represents, about what happened to you, and that I couldn’t protect you. That’s my demon, not yours. You are beautiful and should not be ashamed of this scar. It shows your courage, Leeza.” Cole’s words hit her hard, and her tears mingled with the pond water on her face. “I’m so fucking proud of you and what you did. I just haven’t been able to put it into words because as I said, my own demons….”
She grabbed him around the neck and hugged him tightly, his words meaning so much to her. She knew then and there that she wanted him more than she had ever wanted anything. She would deal with his dominant ways when she had to, but for now, at this moment, she wanted him.
The decision to wrap her legs around him was easy. She felt his hardness against her core.
“Are you sure you want this, Leeza?” His voice was rough as he growled the words at her. “Because once I have you, I’m never letting go.”
“I’ve never wanted anything more,” Leeza whispered against his lips.
The kiss was long and sweet. Cole had maneuvered so he had footing. “You are my mate, Leeza.”
Reaching between them, she took his hardness in her hand and slowly lowered herself on him. “I know,” she responded as she moved up and down, loving his groan of pleasure. “And you are mine.”
Chapter 11
Cole lay next to Leeza watching her sleep. By the time they got back to the sanctuary, it had been late, but that didn’t stop them from continuing their lovemaking for another few hours. Her tent was small compared to his, but they made do. He damn sure needed to get them a place, and quick.
His eyes roamed her face, landing on the scar. She was right. Every time he looked at it, his anger roared to life, but it didn’t take away from her beauty. That scar was a testament to his failure to keep her safe. He needed to work on that though as his anger affected her.
Soon everyone would be up, and the camp would be a hive activity. With her tent being central, he didn’t want to cause her embarrassment by popping out with everyone looking on. He had done his best to keep things quiet, had actually had to put his hand over her mouth to smother her scream at one point. A smile played across his lips at the memory. He didn’t give a fuck what anyone thought, but he did care about her feelings.
Slowly, he picked up strands of her hair and rubbed it between his fingers. The softness comforted him, which was strange, but it did. Jesus, he was turning into one of those touchy-feely guys, and if he started spouting poetry, he was going straight to Eric to have him kick his ass.
A grin curved his lips at his thoughts until he heard someone whispering Leeza’s name outside the tent. It was female, which was a damn good thing. To even think a male was outside her tent threatened to send him over the edge.
“Hey,” he whispered, giving her shoulder a little shake. “Leeza.”
“Hmmm.” The noise she made was like a purr, and his dick hardened. She stretched as her eyes slowly opened to look directly at him. He couldn’t take his eyes off her breasts that peeked out from the cover. She looped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, and he was more than ready to start the day buried deep inside her.
“Leeza.” The tent shook as the whisper grew a little louder.
Jerking upright and out of his arms, Leeza frowned. “Yeah?”
“It’s Sherry. You told me to meet you here at six thirty,” Sherry replied, her voice still low. “It’s six thirty.”
“Crap!” Leeza grabbed her phone and squinted at it. “My alarm didn’t go off.”
“You can always start tomorrow.” Cole kept his voice just above a whisper as he gave her a wink. Reaching out, he ran his fingers over her hard nipple.
Leeza moaned, leaning into his hand, but then snapped back. “Stop it!” she whispered with a hiss, making him chuckle. “Hold on, Sherry. I’ll be right there. My alarm didn’t go off.”