Heart of Stone - Book 2: Hearts Collide

Stone was on his knees when she pledged herself to him. Perhaps she didn’t understand the weight or the significance of her words, but hearing them broke down his remaining barriers.

He no longer had to hide. She had accepted the part of him that scared her the most.

Lifting her up into his arms, he carried her out of the forest, across the grassy property to the pack house, and straight up the stairs to their room.

Seeing as they were both covered head-to-toe in dirt and sewer water, he started the shower and she began to strip.

Unable to help himself, he stared at her as she stood before him, peeling the clothes from her body. He watched the light and shadows play across every dip and curve of her creamy flesh as she moved tantalizingly slow.

She was his light, and he would be her shadow. He would follow her to the ends of the Earth and protect her from being snuffed out.

Her eyes studied his face as he took her in and once she was completely naked, she allowed her own to roam down his body. His skin tingled at the heat of her stare and he closed his eyes, allowing the sensation to envelop him and didn’t open them until he felt her gaze back on his face.

Goddess, Aubree was a wonder. How she existed, he had no idea, but he would cherish every inch of her body and every minute she lived.

Stepping toward him, she reached up to touch his cheek with a flourish of heat that went straight to his groin. Her gorgeous hazels burned into his with a mixture of desire and devotion.

“What are you thinking?” she asked.

He reached back behind her head and lifted it up to meet her delectable lips for a tender kiss. Pulling away, he cradled her face in the palms of his hands before pressing his forehead to hers and inhaling her scent.

“How precious you are. How undeserving I am of you. How I don’t want to spoil this moment. I want...”

Her heart fluttered as he trailed off, trying to find the courage to speak his mind as his own pounded within.

He wanted to do everything to her and with her. Give her the best he had to offer and relish everything she gave back in return.

She was his and he was hers, and he damn well wanted to claim her and seal their souls if he could.

Taking his hands in hers, she stepped back, urging him into the glass-enclosed shower with her. The water cascaded over her head as he followed her in, her eyes holding his and closing them only to blink back water droplets.

“What do you want?” She released his hands and pressed her palms to his chest.

Against the hammering of his heart, her desire swept through him making him groan. He brushed his fingers through her hair under the stream of water. Her eyes closed as a series of tingles rippled between their flesh.

“You,” he stated. “I want you.”

“Then take me,” she whispered.

Erratic heartbeats pulsed.

If it weren’t for the cleansing water running down over her, he might have lost control from the scent of her arousal alone.

Reaching for his sandalwood scented bar of soap, he inhaled and exhaled the steam rising up between them, clouding his senses, save but touch and the need to taste her skin.

Lathering his palms, he said in a husky voice, “I shall... after my hands cleanse your body.”

Her breath caught in her throat before she slowly released it as his foamy hands caressed over her shoulders.

The heat of the shower on their flushed flesh only fueled the burning energy within them. It took every ounce of control to contain his urge to push her up against the tiled wall and thrust deeply into her.

Goddess, this was pure unadulterated torture—especially when she moaned his name, he almost came undone. His nails and canines elongated, but he caught himself and tore himself away to lather more soap on his hands.

Panting through his mouth, he gently massaged her silky flesh, covering her in a thin film of sandalwood scented foam before she pulled him against her, and clasped his lips with hers.

She was losing control as she rubbed her wet soapy body against his, igniting the inferno within, and he was loving it. Loving the delicious sensations that zinged over his skin. Loving the hunger that pushed her over the edge for him—his body, his touch, his unquenchable desires that only she could fulfill.

“Take me now,” she begged between heavy breaths as she grasped his thick, hardened length in her hand.

Goddess!

The bar of soap slipped from his hands. An explosion of pleasure shot up his core as he grunted and pushed her against the wall. Bracing himself with both hands planted firmly against the cool, misty tiles, he struggled to get air into his lungs as Aubree wrapped a leg around him and pulled him closer. Her slick folds kissed his swollen maleness in her hand, parting lips for him to enter.

Good Goddess in all Her merciful glory!

Grabbing her hand wrapped around him, he panted. “Condom.”

“My purse...” her lips whispered against his. “There’s one in my purse... It won’t fit you though.”

“I have some,” he struggled to say as he pried her hand off him and pressed it to his cheek.

He needed to calm them down enough to get out of the shower and put on a condom. He couldn’t risk her life. Mating wasn’t worth it if he couldn’t gaze in those brown and green jewels in the future.

“Look at me,” he said. “What color are my eyes?”

Blinking, her once glazed-over, lust-filled hazels sharpened upon meeting his. “Royal blue, but they’re lightening now.”

The windows to the soul...

“Of course,” he said. “Our souls wish to unite. They will force us to give up control of our bodies to do so. But our eyes... They’re the windows. We can maintain control as long as we maintain eye-contact.”

He could already feel himself relaxing as he rubbed his thumb over hers. “What color are they now?”

“Normal,” she answered. “Sky blue.”

Swallowing, he released her hand and allowed both of his to softly roam down her shoulders and over her breasts. Unconsciously, she closed her eyes, basking in the pleasurable caress, but he caught her chin with his thumb, the action catching her by surprise. Her eyes shot open and he caught her gaze with his once more.

“Eyes on mine,” he said. “It may prove to be the only way for me to control myself.” He trailed his thumb across her jaw, making her shiver. “And I can’t afford to lose control now.”

She released a shaky breath before he captured her lips with his, closing his eyes and savoring the texture, the taste, and the desire that surged between them.

Goddess! How he needed her, wanted her, as his entire body ached with the longing in his soul to connect with hers.

Sweet anguish.

Prying himself away, he opened his eyes a split second before her and she looked right back at him with a flicker of lust. Drawing her face in his hands again, he held her gaze as his heart squeezed and a smile tugged on his lips.

Her ruhi—heart and soul—was so beautiful.

“Do you know how much I love you?” he whispered.

Her smile was beautiful, spread from ear to ear, and warmth akin to joy shaded her cheeks. “I love you more,” she said with a hint of playfulness.

The corners of his eyes pinched. “Not possible, Röslein.”

The soap had all been washed away from the gentle stream of the shower as his lips embraced hers. The love within her ruhi spread through him. He wanted to savor it, but it quickly grew demanding and needy.

Wrenching himself away, he gazed into her eyes once more to regain control.

He turned the shower off before stepping out of their steam-enclosure and grabbed a towel. When he turned around, she was standing there, dripping wet, and so gorgeous that she took his breath away.

A rumble of desire rose up his throat. He swallowed it down as she blushed, lowering her head while peering up at him through thick lashes.

Wrapping her up in the towel, he rubbed her back and shoulders, fighting the urge to break eye-contact and pluck those slightly parted cherry-red lips. Brushing his fingers through her wet hair, the moment she closed her eyes, he nibbled on that bottom cherry, drawing a moan to seep out of her.

The towel fell to the floor before he lifted her up in his arms. She wrapped her legs around his torso and her arms around his neck as her eyes remained locked on his and he carried her to the bed.

Setting her down on the edge, he kissed her deeply before fishing out one of the boxes of condoms he’d stashed under the bed. Taking out the strand of silver foil, he ripped each packet from the others. He set a handful of them down on the nightstand at the head of the bed and put the rest back in the box, keeping one in his hands.

Not knowing how exactly these little rubber things were supposed to fit over his substantial maleness, he ripped into the packet and accidentally ripped the condom.

He stared at it while Aubree fell back on the bed and howled in laughter. “This isn’t going to work,” he mumbled, “and I bought ten boxes of this sh—”

“Give me one,” Aubree interrupted through fits of giggles.

His face flushed with warmth as she hauled herself up from the bed. Handing her one, she tore into it with ease and withdrew it. Grasping his maleness with her other hand, she stroked him up and down before pinching the tip of the condom and rolling it over his length.

Goddess, it felt odd. Wrong. He didn’t want it coming between them, but he knew he had to put up with it. He had to protect her and this was the only way he knew how.

She made it look effortless like she had done it dozens of times.

He immediately pushed out all thoughts of her delicate hands slipping rubbers on other males with a rough growl.

She was his now. She would want no one but him for the rest of her life. No one’s touch would ignite the fire within her like his would. No one would be able to touch and caress her body the way he would. No one would be able to fill her heart with all the pleasures and joys that life could give the way he would.

Bending down, he claimed her lips as his fingers tangled in her wet hair, sending electrical currents to tingle through them. She moaned as his tongue met hers as another growl rumbled up his throat. This one of pleasure. Of hunger. Of proliferated need.

Fire flared up his core as he eased her down on the bed. Without the cleansing effect of the shower, her scent flooded over him, sticky and sweet with desire.

Releasing her, his lips throbbing for more, he panted as he gazed down at her body beneath him. Her flesh was glistening, a single bead of water hanging off the edge of a puckered nipple, begging him to lap it up with his tongue.

Absolutely fucking delicious.

Fisting the bedsheets, he struggled to regain control.

Reaching up, her hand cupped his cheek, drawing his ravenous eyes to hers. Concern flickered behind her wanton hazels. “Stone?”

He growled in response, his attention flicking to the sweet spot between the curve of her neck and collarbone.

Applying firm, but gentle pressure, she drew his line of vision back to hers.

Swallowing, he forced himself to look back at her, allowing himself to relax and regain control over himself once more.

“We don’t have to do this,” she said after he regained control. “You said, you wanted to wait until after we met with the Spirit Walker—”

“No,” he cut her off. “Forget about him. What’s he going to do for us? He can’t change what we are. He can’t change the fact that I want you with every fiber of my being. That I want to sink my teeth into your flesh and join our souls as our bodies scream out at the height of ecstasy. That I want to see you bear our pups and watch them grow up to be strong, brave, and beautiful individuals like their mother. I want you, and I need you right now.”

Clasping his face in both of her palms, she pulled him down to catch his mouth with hers.

The fires of Hell couldn’t possibly burn as hot as the passion that surged between the demands within their souls.

“Aubree,” he rasped, pressing his forehead to hers.

The call of her soul drew all the air from his lungs. Likewise, her chest was heaving with effort, her hot breath washing over him in waves.

“My beautiful Röslein,” he whispered, gazing into her gemstone eyes and sweeping his thumb across her cheek again, as if she were a work of art made of the finest glass.

The light of her ruhi lit up under his fingers. A light, a sensation, one that only he could experience because it came from him, from his touch, his gaze upon her flesh—his ruhi bringing hers to light.

Her face blossomed under his caress. Lips curled up. Forehead smoothed of creases. Eyebrows relaxed as eyelids fluttered closed. Her pleasure swept over him, dragging him deeper into the depths of her soul.

Kissing her tenderly before moving down her neck, sharp spikes of delight shot through him as she gasped. Her blood pulsed within her veins under the tender flesh, drawing a deep rumble to creep up from his gut. The beast within him swept his tongue over the sweet spot, drawing a whimper from her—a thrill that made her body quiver.

“Stone,” she moaned.

Her hands gripped his head, pushing him up and away from her shoulder. Chest heaving, her breaths blowing on his face, she caught his eyes with hers.

“Navy blue,” she said, slipping her hands down to cup his chin. “Come back to me, Love.”

Her scent was intoxicating and desire squeezed his throat, but he couldn’t tear himself away from the hold she had on his eyes.

Coming around to his senses, he began to breathe through his mouth again. His mind swirled with what she said, grasping at it with joy seizing his heart.

His fingers traced over an eyebrow. A simple sweeping caress over her temple as he held her eyes with his. “Did you call me, Love?”

Smiling up at him, she lured him down for a soft kiss. “Yes,” she whispered, “because you are my love.”

His ruhi burst into flames within, filling his body with the sweetest emotions as he dipped his head back down for another embrace of her lips. “Always. I will always come back to you.”

Holding gazes, their hands traced blindly over the curves and ripples of each other’s bodies, breaking their connection for only a second when particularly sensual spots were caressed. She trailed her fingers over his thick length as his fingers brushed against the lips of her core.

Groaning, he lost himself for a second, only to feel her hands on his cheeks, her eyes locking onto his and grounding him again. He grunted as his muscles twitched, his hard-on aching for release, his mouth starving for the feast that was before him of carnal, physical, bodily desire.

“Here,” he rasped. “I’m here.”

Dammit, I’m not ready for this. Closing his eyes, he inhaled through his mouth before opening them again. Fuck it.

He grasped her mouth again as he plunged two fingers into her hot, slick, and wanting core. Gasping out in surprise, she clenched down on him before finding his mouth again.

Goddess, she was so tight. He was going to hurt her if he wasn’t careful.

Tearing away with a groan, he reached into the drawer of the nightstand and took out the dagger he’d given to her a few days ago. She held her hand out without hesitation and he pricked her finger, inhaling the smell of her blood before smearing it on the sweet spots on both shoulders.

“I’m sorry,” he said, kissing her gently. “I don’t have as much control as I’d hoped.”

Her eyes held understanding before they closed and her lips seized his.

Lungs burned with the fire within. There wasn’t enough air to share.

Pulling away, he nipped lightly on her breasts, swirling his tongue around her little peaks before taking them into his mouth. Panting, she writhed beneath him, arching her back to give him more of herself.

Gasping his name, she tangled her fingers in his hair and hauled him back up to face her. Her hazels studied his for a moment before crushing his lips with hers.

He slipped two fingers into her again, pushing them in and pulling them out slowly as she moaned. He held her hooded gaze as he worked to loosen her muscles, pushing and pulling, in and out with ease and care, not trying to bring her to a climax, but to open her up more.

“Stone, please.” Her voice a breathy whisper.

Grinning, he loved the way she begged.

Lowering himself to her shoulder, he inhaled the smell of her blood before positioning himself at her entrance, her lips pulsing, pleading, waiting for him.

“Forgive me if this hurts,” he whispered, kissing her jaw before his lips found hers.

Supporting his weight on one hand, he used the other to guide the head of his maleness into her sweet, moist embrace. She inhaled sharply at the same time he did, holding their breaths as he slowly eased himself deeper. He stopped when he felt a twinge of pain within her. He’d gone far enough for her to adjust to his size.

She exhaled, slow and steady.

He followed her lead. This was all her right now. He’d take his cues based on her emotions, her demands. He had to focus on her in order to restrain himself.

Even then, he couldn’t help the growl bubbling up from within. It didn’t feel the same. The condom was blocking the feel of her, the sensation of her. Perhaps that was for the best? It might prove to help him keep his beast in line.

Still... Damn condom!

Her eyes held his, still touching his face, making sure he was all there.

He was.

“You’re holding back on me,” she stated.

A smirk tugged at his lips. “Are you ready for all of me now?”

Nodding, she rubbed the tip of her nose against his. His heart swelled at the nuzzle.

He pushed the last couple of inches in, watching her eyes roll back and close as her mouth opened in a small “o” shape.

He took this opportunity to capture her lips with his again. Kissing her lovingly, using the language of his mouth and tongue to tell her how much she meant to him as he waited for her discomfort to pass.

Pulling away to inhale the smell of her blood again, she said, “You’re going to tear me apart.”

He nipped playfully at her earlobe. “Not today, Röslein.”

Goosebumps broke out on her flesh with each caress of his hot breath as he pulled out slightly, only to push back in as he grasped a nipple in his mouth. Her breast heaved into his mouth as she gasped.

She fisted his hair as his tongue flicked over her pebbled nipples. Her moans clouding his mind with the delicious sensations he was inflicting upon her.

Lifting his head up with both hands, she groaned as she held his eyes. “Stay. Stay.”

Her breathlessness nearly did him in if not for the firm hold of her hazel gems.

He had hardly noticed that his control was slipping. He was simply indulging in the feel of her body, the taste of her flesh, the smell of her desire rolling over him as the seas of sensual rapture crashed over and dragged him down in its strong undercurrent of ecstasy.

His thumb brushed over her plump lips before stealing a kiss. So tender. So grateful for her control in the moment that could have easily gone astray.

Furrowing his brows, he pulled away to refill his lungs and press his forehead to hers. His heart ached at the thought of hurting her.

Her fingers brushed through his hair. “It’s okay, Love. I’m okay.”

He swallowed. “I could never forgive myself if I—”

Catching his lips with hers, she pushed his fears back with the strength of her ruhi as she pushed her hips against his. Urging him, pleading with him to continue and relinquish the pent-up desires within.

He released her mouth as he gently thrust into her, filling his lungs with air as she likewise gasped at the pleasure rocking her hips.

“I love you,” he whispered to her eyes.

They smiled back at him. “I love you too.”

With utmost care, he caressed her lips as he supported his weight on one bent elbow, while the other trailed across her soft flesh as he slowly drew himself in and out of her.

Every time he drew away from her lips to gaze into her eyes and catch his breath, her ruhi rushed over him as she clenched down on him.

Sweat beaded his skin and trickled down his spine as he rocked her gently back and forth. Agonizingly slow. Sweet, tender bliss flourished within. Building up. Intensifying.

Coming undone, Aubree arched her back, wrapped her legs around his hips, and pulled him closer as she clenched down on him. She was panting, digging her fingernails into his back. She was on the brink. Her control was slipping through her grasp as her need for him consumed her.

Likewise, his control was slipping too.

Grunting, he gripped the wooden headboard tightly in his hands as he thrust hard and deep into her, careening her over the edge as he thrust harder again and again.

His canines sank into his bicep as she cried out his name, her pleasure swirling around his in a whirlpool of ecstasy, drowning them both and leaving them gasping for air.

His release shook him as his nails extended, digging into the wood and causing it to crack.

She touched his cheek as he shuddered with aftershocks. Loving warmth spread through him as he released his arm and licked the wound.

Collapsing on her, save for his elbows propping him up for support, he gazed into her hooded eyes as her lungs continued to heave with the need for more air.

Goddess, she was incredible.

Kissing her tenderly, he pressed his body flush against hers until their breathing slowed.

He pulled out and removed the soiled condom with a grimace. He flung it at the wastebasket before reaching for another foil wrapper on the nightstand.