Pack Ruin (The Splintered Bond #3)

28. Second Kiss

28

Second Kiss

FLOR

W e sat in silence for a moment, while I tried to process everything he’d said. Callaway had tortured Luke, and me, to keep us apart. The whole Hunt had been to force me into mating with anyone besides him. Luke had saved my life when I was a baby. Had loved me since he was a little boy. He’d waited for me, tried to protect me.

It was just like Iris had said, how I hadn’t been alone for all those years during the Hunt. I’d had protection I never knew about.A broken pack, silently guarding me as best they could. A broken mate, bound by commands not to step in and protect me.

Now, Luke shifted restlessly at my side, until finally I let out a sigh. “That rat bastard Callaway. What an absolute toadfucking piece of dogshit. I wish you’d killed him in the ring.”

Luke hummed. “I should have. If I had, none of this would be happening.”

I wasn’t sure I believed that. The whole mess with the Council and Finnick’s parents taking control had been brewing for a hell of a lot longer than this summer. “So he didn’t want his adopted Heir mating his daughter.” I snorted. “It is pretty damned Southern, when you think of it, brother. ” Somewhere down in the tunnel, Glen sniggered.

Luke groaned. “Please don’t ever call me that again.”

“I promise.” I bumped against his side, trying not to think about how good he felt. “So, rain’s wet, toast lands butter side down, and Callaway was an asshole. No shockers yet.”

“ Is an asshole. I’m almost certain he’s alive somewhere.”

“He’s still the Alpha?”

“Yes. I can sense his connection, but it feels like a spiderweb. There’s no discomfort when I talk to you now. I think whatever Grigor did unraveled most of his hold… What are you doing?”

I had twisted around, remembering what I’d done to Luke with my steak knife. “Checking on that damned stab wound I gave you. Grigor wasn’t lying; I can make it better by touching it. I did it when I stabbed Glen—” I reached for his abdomen, or at least I thought that’s where I was aiming. He was hunched over, though, and instead of pressing my hand to his stomach, my fingers landed a little too far south, on his dick.

His hard dick. It was smooth, and warm. I must have been possessed by some sort of demon for a second, because instead of letting go, I wrapped my hand around it and gave it a quick squeeze. Like a nice-ta-meetcha handshake on his private parts.

“Flor?” His voice was strained. “That’s not where you hurt me.”

I let go quickly, even more glad the tunnel was pitch black. “Ah, sorry. I won’t—I mean, I didn’t mean to…” I was just about to crawl down the same tunnel Glen had gone into, curl up and find some nice place to die of embarrassment, when Luke’s hand circled my arm.

“I didn’t mean I wanted you to let go.”

My mind stopped working for a few seconds, a white noise replacing all my thoughts. “But you said?—”

“I meant I didn’t want to mate with you under duress. I’m not going to exchange mating bites in a filthy tunnel, for one thing. And definitely not because you feel sorry for me.”

“I mean, it’s medicinal,” I half-joked. “If it makes you stronger…”

“The thought of you being willing to give me another chance, after all the times I failed you, gives me as much strength as I’ll need.” He pulled me closer, until I was sitting on his lap, that very firm erection pressing against one of my thighs. “Anyway, I think the skin-to-skin contact was doing the job. Why don’t we just…”

“Make out?” I smiled into the darkness.

“Yeah. Make out,” he agreed, then drew me close, his lips finding mine instinctively.

The only other time he’d kissed me had been my last day at Southern. Our first kiss had felt like a prayer. This one felt like a sin.

It was all heat and need, passion and desire in the darkness. His lips owned mine, his tongue plundering my mouth. I writhed, my core tightening quickly as the scorched caramel scent of him, the feel of him, erased every other thought from my mind.

My chest ached; my body burned. My wolf howled softly, almost purring. “Luke,” I gasped into his mouth. It felt like we were vibrating together, two strings plucked almost at the same time, a silent harmony being played.

“My heart,” he breathed back, kissing me even more passionately. “My Flor.”

His body may have gotten weaker, but his grip on my waist was firm and strong. The short beard that had grown on his face rasped against my neck as he lavished kisses down each side, one hand gliding from my waist to circle my throat gently.

My own hands were on his shoulders, then his back, the skin there warm but slightly rough, as if he had mud or something stuck to him in patches. I moved them to his nape, tugging slightly at the hair that had grown longer over the months. It was surprisingly soft and thick, and I inhaled deeply, dragging his warm, sweet scent inside my lungs.

“I dreamed of this,” he murmured, before his head dropped lower. He pushed the thin t-shirt I was wearing up, and lifted me slightly to draw one of my tight peaks into his mouth. “The taste of you. The feel of you.”

He moved to my other breast, one hand holding me around my waist, the other dropping to my thigh. His fingers slid up my leg, under my shorts, moving them aside. Or trying to. He couldn’t quite get his hand turned the right way to?—

“Fuck it,” I swore aloud. I pushed him away momentarily, then wriggled free of my clothing, tossing it all to one side. As soon as I was naked, Luke’s hands were on me again, drawing me back onto his lap.

“Perfect. You’re perfect, Flor.” He kissed me again, his hands on my arms, until I opened my thighs and guided his fingers back to the bare skin of my stomach, glad for the darkness. Not because I was ashamed, but because I wasn’t.

I was overcome. This was everything I’d dreamed about in my darkest days, the fantasy that had given me just enough distraction to keep from falling into despair. This kiss. This moment.

Luke settled one hand between my legs, tracing uncertain lines around the tops of my thighs, finally reaching my opening, sliding through the wetness. Staying there.

“Um,” I murmured, not sure how to tell him what I needed. “A little?—”

“Oh, right,” he whispered, his fingers inching closer to the right spot until I cried out.

“Yes! That’s it…”

“Good,” he murmured. “Tell me what you like. Show me how to please you.”

Something in his voice made me understand that he had never done this before. My heart pounded as I slid a hand down to cover his, my fingers alongside his, and I showed him how to trace circles, widening the pattern, keeping the pressure even, until I had to bury my face in his arm to muffle the shout of pleasure that wanted to fly from my throat.

He kept moving his hand, more gently, as I spiraled back down, until I panted out a request for him to stop. He pressed kisses to my hair while I recovered, the humming between us still resonating in my head.

“That was good?” he asked.

“So good.” I shifted to one side, his erection still rock hard on my thigh. “But you?—”

“Can wait,” he said. “Otherwise, I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep my wolf from claiming you.”

“Um, well, I could…” I slid off his lap and took his length in my hand, leaning over to lap at the sticky tip.

“Flor!”

I stifled a giggle. I’d shocked him.

I shocked him a bit more when I took the end of him in my mouth, sucking, and snaked one hand under his balls to cup him.

“I won’t… last long,” he whispered.

Not if I do it right, I thought, but didn’t stop what I was doing. I wanted to feel him come apart under my hands and lips, on my tongue. It only took a minute before he was groaning softly, my mouth filling with his warm salt.

“That was… magnificent,” he managed to say.

“First time in a storm drain?” I teased, wiping my lips on the front of my now-filthy shirt.

“First time ever,” he admitted. “When your wolf meets their mate at ten years old, there’s really no settling for less.”

“I think my wolf wants to meet yours.” I set one hand on my chest, over my scar. “I haven’t shifted again, not since I was here. But now, it feels like she’s close. Like I’m almost ready to?—”

Suddenly, Luke’s hand landed over my mouth. “Listen.”

The distant noises from outside had diminished, but the voices of two males approaching were clear, panting along with running footsteps. “...heard Torran called them already. He said to make up the rooms.”

“Shit. When will they be here?”

“No telling. I’ll wake up some of the females. You let the others know that…”

They were too far away to hear, but it was clear. We had to get out of here, now. Luke handed me my clothing, and I dressed quickly.

A moment later, a shadow fell across the tunnel opening. I knew without asking that it was Grigor.His eyes sparked red in the darkness as he lifted the round cover away, that unnatural stillness a blanket around us as we stepped out into the night. “The fence is heavily guarded.” His whisper sounded strained, like he was in pain. “We must go. I’ll try to conceal us. There is a place we can hide until…” He staggered, and Glen caught him.

The scent of blood and silver in the air had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. There was no time to ask what was wrong, not a second to spare, as he poured all of his power into creating a cloak to conceal us as we crept down an alley, across a secluded stretch of packland, and to the back door of a house.

Glen tried the handle. It was locked, and he let out a soft curse. I didn’t hesitate. I leaned down, felt under a rock, and dug out a mud-encrusted metal key.

Then I opened the door, tears coursing down my face when I stepped inside and took a deep breath.

The house still smelled like Del.