Some of events of that night were hazy. Others in full vivid Technicolor, seared on his brain, never to be forgotten. Some of their captors ran screaming, “Los Diablos Lobos,” devil wolves. Others rained a hail of gunfire to no avail. In the end, they accomplished their mission, though in the end it would take DNA testing to tell which bone belonged to which terrorist.
His stomach lurched as he remembered how he’d killed, tearing men apart with his bare, clawed hands, blood running a river down his muzzle and chest as he fed on their remains.
Von placed her hands on his chest and pushed to a seated position, straddling his hips. Then she leaned forward and planted her hand beside his head, getting right in his face. “Whatever you did to survive, no matter how brutal, I’m glad. I’m sure they deserved it.”
She was reading him, feeling his guilt. He shook his head, negating her words.
“Yes.”
“You don’t understand.”
She sat straight and crossed her arms over her chest. “Then explain it to me.”
“The whole thing should have never fucking happened,” he exploded. “I knew something was off. I felt it here.” He punched his chest with his fist. “I should have aborted the mission. Because I didn’t follow my instincts, six good soldiers died. Six men. My men.”
Sean blinked rapidly to combat the sting of tears in his eyes, and when that wasn’t effective enough, threw his forearm over his face.
Von pushed it out the way and gathered his head to her breasts, murmuring comforting words. Sean grabbed her in a bear hug and let it all out with no fear that she’d think him less a man for expressing his grief at what happened. She rained kisses all over his hair and neck, any place her mouth could reach. Then she held him while he cried.
When the storm eased, he rolled them over until he was on top and nudged her legs apart. As he settled his hips in her cradle, he kissed her deeply, his tongue in her mouth. Then he kissed each eyelid, the tip of her nose, each cheek, and her chin before returning to her lips. “Thank you for listening.”
She placed her hand on his cheek, an intense look of love on her face. “Always.”
They stared at each other for a long moment. Then, “A werewolf, huh?”
Sean allowed a smile to escape. “Yeah.”
“You really expect me to believe that?”
“You will, come the first full moon.”
She arched one eyebrow. “You’re saying you only change with the moon?”
“Then, or when in the grip of extreme emotion, then our wolf half comes to the forefront,” he explained.
Von’s gazed searched his face. “You really believe that you’re a werewolf, don’t you?”
He shrugged. “It’s the truth.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but if what you’re saying is true, why doesn’t the military have you locked up in some scientist’s lab, studying you?”
Sean laughed at her suspicious nature. “Because, they already know about Lycans. I’m told they have units full of them. One of which I’ll be joining if I decide to re-enlist.”
Diverted from the topic at hand, Von asked, “You’re thinking of coming out?”
Straight-faced, he told her, “That depends on you.”
“On me? How so?”
He placed his forearms on either side of her head and leaned in close. “I love you, Von, and want you to be my wife. If you won’t leave with me, I’ll stay here with you. Either way, I won’t leave your side.”
“Sean...” Her gaze bounced around the room, looking everywhere but at him.
“Hush, I know you’re not ready to hear this, but I want you to know I’m not playing any games. I’m in this for the long haul. I love you and I believe you love me, too. I know we belong together. I’ll give you the time you need to figure it out,” he promised.
He kissed her mouth closed. “Now it’s late, or early, depending upon your perspective, and we’ve had a long tiring day. Let’s get some rest before I forget you’re totally new at this loving business and take you again.”
She glanced down their bodies to his erection that lay on her mound. “Well, maybe once more wouldn’t hurt.”
Sean groaned and shook his head, then kissed her hard on the lips. “I’ve created a monster.” He shifted to lie on her right and reached for the light.
Von’s hand landed on his stomach and moved lower as the room went dark. “Are you sure?” she asked, her voice temptation itself.
Capturing it, he used her arm to turn her around so he could spoon her body. When she wriggled her ass against his cock, he popped her on the butt. “Behave, woman.”
She giggled but settled down. Soon the sound of her steady, deep even breaths filled the room. Sean pulled her closer, marveling once again at what a fool Hooch was to let someone as precious as this woman get away. Hooch’s loss was his gain, and unlike Hooch, Sean recognized the treasure he held and there was no way he was letting her go.
He vowed it to the heavens as he followed her into sleep.
Chapter Ten
Von woke totally surrounded by a hard male body. Sean’s chin rested on her head. Her head lay on his arm. His body snuggled against her back. His other arm was thrown over her waist and curled between her breasts, holding her close, his muscular leg entangled between hers. There would be no easing out of bed without his knowledge.
The side of her face where Derrick hit her throbbed and she had a mild headache because of it. Her bladder needed to be emptied and she ached in places she didn’t know she had muscles due to the sexual excesses of last night. Yet Von had never been more content or fulfilled than she was at this moment.
The guilt she expected to feel was missing. Instead she felt a connection with Sean that made the love she’d felt for Derrick seem childish in comparison. Pastor Derrick always warned the women to be careful who they joined their bodies with. He said that sex was more than scratching an itch. That when a man and woman engaged in sexual intercourse, along with a physical joining came a spiritual one as well. That’s where the term soul ties came from.
Is this what she was feeling with Sean, a soul tie? She finally understood what the bible meant when it said, “and the two shall become one.” She could feel Sean in the depths of her soul, as though they were no longer two separate beings but one individual.
Her mind argued what she was feeling was wrong. That going straight from Derrick’s arms to Sean’s was too much like her mother, Nookie, going from man to man with barely a break in between. She’d spent most of her life listening to that voice, making decisions on the basis of not wanting to be like her mother.
For the first time, Von took a good look at her life, not through the eyes of the child she’d been, but through the eyes of the woman she’d become.
She was twenty-four, almost twenty-five years old. She’d finished high school without getting pregnant, graduating in the top five of her class. She’d also finished four years of college with honors, earned her degree and had a job in her field of study making good money. She had her own apartment, her own car, and paid her own bills. Granted she’d had help in the beginning, but now she earned enough to have a nice little cushion in savings. She was well respected by family, friends, and colleagues. The only person in her life expecting Von to mess up and become like her mother was Von herself. It was time to stop.
She was no longer Nookies’ poor, little neglected daughter that everyone had to look out for because her momma was too sorry. With the help of God, family and friends, Von had made something of her life. Risen above her welfare and ’hood beginnings. She’d made it the right way. The legal way, she thought with a smile.