Dawn's Path: Completed Work

Lance claimed Angel's surrender. Her mouth was a lush oasis from which he drank deeply. Her body, the heat of it, burned hotter than the sun. Her scent enveloped him. She smelled of rogue, of blood and death, of the city, and of her past. Desire seeped from her pores, rolling over him in waves. Her lips quivered against his. Her tongue ran down the length of his extended fangs, teasing him with the exquisite torture of unfulfilled pleasure. The man in him longed to claim, to dominate her in every way possible. And he had every intention of doing so.

They had forever to make love slowly and sweetly. To take their time exploring all the ways they could pleasure each other. He'd been patient for far too long. He'd pushed her hard, forcing her past the boundaries of her limits to discover the woman beneath. Forced her to confront the past she hid behind. This woman beneath, soft and so pliant beneath his hands, belonged to him. She touched him in a way no other woman had. And perhaps, in that, she'd slid him free from the masks he wore as well. And stretching her out on the bed, stripping her down, his eyes roaming the naked skin, he found her not craving pain, but the pleasure only he could give her.

Bursts of pleasure exploded through Angel's body as Lance pierced her with the ripe head of his cock and plunged inside. He'd wasted no time with a preamble. Towering over her, whispering words of promise and of love, he thrust in and out of her core. She'd never realized how well he hid behind the mask of his control or how difficult it had been for him to drop the façade and let her see the man beneath. Lance was a man of pride and substance. Letting go did not come easily for him. And in bringing her to the point, riding her with wild abandon, basking in pleasure of skin slipping and sliding, pounding against skin, she saw him as he truly was. He'd held back too. And in this havoc of urgency and desire, he freed not only her but himself as well.

Angel lifted her chin and bore her neck. They'd sacrificed everything they thought they were for each other. He'd forced her to confront herself. And she'd done the same to him. They'd established hard limits. Lines never to be crossed. The orgasm, his, hers, the combined force of their shared pleasure, sent them careening toward a point from which there was no return. And neither one of them had any intention of straying toward the razor's edge of the precipice that had almost torn them apart ever again. Lance's fangs seared her to the core, fusing her to him as he pierced her skin and drank as desperately and urgently as he'd fucked.

Lance came and shuddered in the wake of Angel's orgasm. Her tight walls gripping and milking him as she spiraled along with him in pleasure. Her blood was sweet and rich, lingering on the tip of his tongue. He hardened at the soft whisper of her lips brushing against his neck and the sharp sting of her fangs nipping into his flesh. She drank from him, her body writhing from the sheer ecstasy of the surge of pleasure she took and he gave, from the act.

Fused as one in body and soul, he bucked his hips, stroking his length from ripe tip to base, enjoying every inch of the joining and the pleasure it gave. Plunging deeper, pushing harder, the sound of joining flesh, the musky scent of sex, and sweet taste of blood, he rocketed inside of her. Searing her with his come. Bathing himself in the hot wash of her orgasm as it flowed from her core. Each one of them possessing and surrendering to the other, they gave and took.

No words, no ceremony could ever adequately sum up the depth of their commitment to one another. They were one in every way that counted. And although Lance was certain, his wedding day would come and this woman, this angel beneath him was to be his bride. He sensed she wasn't quite ready for marriage. And that was ok. He wasn't quite ready to share her with the world just yet. Snuggling her tightly against his body, he took his time, sampling, tasting, stroking, and simply reveling in the wonder that was his Angel.

Angel was boneless, floating in a sea of contentment and belonging, basking in the afterglow of a very thorough loving. They could not hide from the world in his bedroom forever. There was simply too much at stake. She'd managed to call off Marcus temporarily. But, she doubted he'd give her too much leeway if she didn't carry through with her end of things. Lance was insatiable. Stroking his fingertips over the curve of her back and letting them wander further south to cup and trace a path of swirling circles across her rear. Stretching his hand to let his fingers trail lower into the heat of her slickness. Teasing her hips wider with the rasp of his thumbnail across the sensitive skin. He lazily dipped his fingers into her liquid center, ratcheting her sated sex drive to an intolerable ache.

The need to give in was tempting. And perhaps, that was his goal. To delay the inevitable return to the real world, just a little while longer. He was very good with his hands and even better with the fingers he plunged and stroked in and out of her wet core. The moisture coating his fingertips and the insides of her thighs was a mix of their come. And damn, wasn't that erotic in its own special way. Angel arched her back, lifting her hips as his thumb snaked up to tease her clit with agonizingly slow brushes of flesh against flesh. Her nipples puckered and throbbed with the need to be played with. Even the brush of the sheets was too much to endure. He slid onto his knees and blew a stream of hot breath down her spine, leaving her tingling and writhing with arousal.

Angel fell into a rhythm against the thrust of his fingers and the pulse of his hand pounding against her depths. Lance chuckled in a way that was purely male and dominant possession. On his knees behind her, he eased his fingers in and out, circling her entrance. And when she least expected the movement, plunging in deep to hit that special spot that left her gasping and so willing. He continued his play. Planting a soft kiss on her left butt cheek, he spread her wide with his fingers and continued to seduce with his tongue. Lance didn't have to order her to come or give his permission. The orgasm burst through her of its own accord. And there would have been no holding it back.

Lance loved the sound of Angel's sweet moans. Her pleasure was every bit as much his. Her orgasm slicked his fingers. She'd been thinking too much. Hovered on the verge of returning to the weary world of duty. And he'd not been ready to share her. His seduction had been complete and very, very thorough. The taste of her, of their lovemaking lingered on the tip of his tongue. And it was heady, almost intoxicating stuff. His cock ached with the need to claim her. Take her from behind and banish all thoughts of anything or anyone but him and the pleasure he gave her from her mind forever.

His fingers trailed over the crisscross hash marks of the scars littering her back. Tracing each and every one of them. What she'd gone through had molded her. Made her into this magnificently beautiful woman on her knees before him. She was damaged. But, his angel would never break. She was stronger than she knew, strong enough to survive the very pits of hell. He wanted to give her paradise. But, he'd have to settle for showing her heaven on earth. Sliding into her, groaning with the sheer pleasure of her walls gripping him, he wrapped his hand around her hip and held her to tightly against him as he seated his cock inside of her. "You are mine."

Angel felt the heat of Lance's passion and of his possession consume her. His words were a collar around her neck, a band of gold around her finger, and a vow never to be broken. Pleasure so intense she restrained tears of joy ripped through her with each piercing thrust of his cock. Yes, she was his. And he was hers.

That was the one thing about being a vampire. There was no statute of limitations on life or love. They were truly beings with eternity well within their grasp. The word burst free from her lips as the orgasm he'd been relentlessly driving her toward exploded into a rainbow of dizzying colors and pleasure. "Forever, Lance, forever."

Chapter 56

Dane listened as the Great Father, rather Drew, as he now preferred to be called, recanted his encounter with Tala. Dane nodded at the appropriate times and appeared as if he were in deep thought. Wisely keeping his grin hidden beneath a pensive mask. When the Great Father...Drew... spoke of the woman, his eyes shone with an inner light and his facial expression softened. The man wasn't a leader when he spoke of her. Rather, a man on the verge of falling in love. Poor bastard didn't know what was about smack him in between the eyes like a ton of bricks.

Drew tensed, ready to wipe that smirk off Dane's face with his fist. The two of them had been together too long to hide things from one another. And Dane obviously suspected a hell of a lot more than his botched attempt at cool stoicism suggested. Smart ass. The paramilitary haircut, bristled to sharp points on the end, the lethal coldness of his dark eyes, and hard edginess about him gave Dane the look of a man not to be trifled with. And most of the time Dane earned his reputation. Chris, his wife, kept the worst of the male's temper on a very short leash. And thankfully, Dane was a bit slower to anger. She sat perched on the edge of the desk, listening in on their conversation with rapt, although amused, fascination.

"Werewolves huh?" Dane asked. And, given Drew's irritation, immediately regretted the comment. The man had insisted that the pint-sized female wrapping him around her little finger was not a werewolf. Well if not, then exactly what was she? Too bad he'd forced Thomas to cease his testing. A few samples from the woman might be able to tell them more about her origins than Drew's vague, evasive answers sure as hell had. Basically, he'd come into the office demanding results. Hard to do when Dane wasn't exactly certain he bought her story with the same conviction the Great Father...Drew... seemed to have. There was something his leader was hiding. And he was hiding it well beneath a thin veil of non-answers.

Chris perched on the edge of her husband's desk listening in rapt fascination to Drew's retelling of the tale. It made perfect sense to her. Vampires existed. Why not werewolves? Anna had always accused her of being a sucker for a hard luck story. And perhaps, she was. Her heart went out to the girl and to her family. Everyone had lost something in the Prophet's death. And these poor people were on the verge of losing everything.

She sensed the tensions rising between her husband and Drew. These men and their legendary tempers had broken more lamps, furniture, glassware, baubles, pool sticks, and defenseless household appliances faster than she could replace them. But, these two men in particular would demolish the entire place if they ever truly came to blows. Sending out waves of calm. A talent her unwitting husband frequently accused her of. She softened the intensity of their building rage. "Of course, we'll come up with something."

Drew liked Chris. At least, she was willing to listen before she went on the defensive and questioned his every motive. Now, if she could only do the impossible and accomplish the same with that husband of hers, he might be able to bring the pack...his pack, apparently...home. "Do you have a place in mind for them?"

"Well, nothing big enough to house a family as large as the one you mentioned. And you said they had to live above ground, keeping such an influx of new faces in a town of this size is going to be almost impossible to ... OW!" he exclaimed as he jerked away from Chris's hard pinch on his bicep. The woman had a mean assed very painful 'mom' pinch. And she had the technique of trapping just the right amount of skin between her thumb and index finger down pat.

Drew really liked Chris now more than ever. He winked and stifled a triumphant grin as Dane rubbed at the bruise blossoming on his right upper arm. The woman had gotten him with a pinch, exactly in the meaty part, on the soft underside of his arm, where it hurt the most. And, in doing so, completely shut the man down. Flipping a cascade of soft, sable colored curls over her shoulder she returned his grin with a warm smile that reached the depths of her sapphire blue eyes, lighting them with mischievous warmth.

"While it is true that there is no place currently available to suit their needs. That doesn't mean with a little creativity and a lot of hard work we can't build one. We have the resources to do so at our fingertips. I mean, look what we did with this place. Anna is an architect, after all. And while we all appreciate the aroma of her garlic chicken," she said with a snicker. "Why not put her skills to good use and let her do what she does best?"

Dane gave it some thought and the best he could come up with was the old grounds where the compound, burned out by Kore and Kiros's rogue army, had once stood. The land and the memories of what had happened there had been avoided long enough. The acreage, neglected ever since the ruins had been cleared away, and the space, little more than a tangle of weeds and spindly saplings, was remote enough to avoid the eyes of curious onlookers. And perhaps, it was better this way, to make something new and full of life out of a place of ashes and death.

So many times, Chris saw what he did not. And he was not about to discredit her instincts about such things now. The brothers needed victories and not another series of defeats and failures. Building would be faster and simpler than scouting out a place suitable for their needs. Nestled on all four sides by miles of woods, thickly populated with deer and wildlife, the land would be the perfect home for Tala and her kin. And what was even better, as Anna had discovered in her many spelunking tours through the mineshafts and network of underground caverns she had yet to develop into usable space. A tunnel, carved deep below ground by the hands of men over a century ago, ended at the far edge of the site. The compound could easily be made easily accessible with little effort. And that could come in handy for everyone. If things, as they far too often did, went to shit. "I think my wife is onto something."

"Whatever it is, make it quick. I want Tala and her family settled into their new home as soon as possible." Drew practically barked the order. He hadn't intended it to sound so harsh. And it wasn't Tala's urgency that had him on edge as much as it was the thought of having her so close to him. The idea of it excited him as much as it agitated him. He had to remind himself that she was off limits and as unattainable as the stars in the sky. It was simple necessity that brought her here and forced her to seek him out. He was supposed to be the great leader of a people he barely understood. And now, more than ever before, with the burdens of two worlds solely on his shoulders, he felt his back begin to buckle under the combined weight of them both.

Tala smiled as her father picked up the phone. Just hearing the deep rasp of his bass voice on the other end was a welcome relief. Grant had yet to make his play for the pack. And that was just as well, once she delivered her news. Any attempt on his part to steal control away from her father would fail. The pack didn't want Grant as their Master. And when they learned that the Great White Wolf was preparing a home for them, fulfilling his promise and that they had not been abandoned as so many of the pack feared. They wouldn't stand aside and do nothing. If Grant chose this particular moment to strike, it wouldn't go well for him. The pack would kill him to protect her father. "Dad."

Nash smiled at the sound of his only daughter's voice. He'd been terribly worried about her. And given the tone of relief as she said his name, he hadn't worried for nothing. "How is the Great White Wolf?"

Tala chuckled at her father's question. If he only knew how hard it had been to make contact with this illusive male. He wouldn't bother posing the question. No one knew how well the man that had inherited the Great White Wolf's spirit would receive the news. It hadn't gone well. But, she would not tell her father a thing about that. What mattered in the end was that Drew had listened to her. And he was finally beginning to accept what and who he was. "Well enough, I suppose."

She had to force him to shift forms before her father brought the rest of the pack here. There was little she could hide from her father. And usually, she didn't try. Even through the distance that separated them. The man would sniff out her lie. She kept the details to a minimum, instead focusing on the only question burning in her mind. "How is Grant?"

Nash mimicked Tala's chuckle. Not quite mastering the feminine lilt in her voice. "Well enough, I suppose." God, how he missed her, more than words could ever convey. In her thirty-five years on the planet, they'd never been away from each other more than a day. It had been weeks. She sounded good. Happy. And still for how well she claimed things were going, he could detect the hint of reservation in her voice, as she could likewise probably detect the same in his. Grant was not a male to take direction or to heed warning. So far though, he'd managed to keep Grant in his place. For how much longer, he was unsure. The male was hungry for conquest and for Nash's only daughter. And the two drives made for a dangerous mix. He had not fought in a long time. And he did not look forward to killing the male. But, to protect his pack and his daughter, he would do a hell of a lot more than kill to keep them safe. "You have good news I take it?"

"I still need time to tie up a few loose ends, but yes," Tala answered. The one loose end that dangled like a noose over her head was one of her own making. She wasn't lying to her father. But, she wasn't telling the absolute truth either. Drew had yet to fully embrace his wolf. And her pack would not blindly follow a man who was at odds with himself and not at absolute peace with his two halves. She needed to force him become one with the wolf. And there was only one way to do that. He had to shift. But, for all he was or was not. She had to confess what was on her mind to her father. "Dad, he's everything you said he would be."

"Ah." Nash nodded in understanding although Tala couldn't see the gesture. His daughter had fallen and she had fallen hard. She didn't realize the impact of her words or how speaking them would change her future. She was the daughter of an alpha. And that was not a position to be taken lightly. The pack had certain expectations of her. Albeit the Great White Wolf was the most revered of their race, the father of them all. His status was one of sacrifice. Grant might crush her spirit. But, the Great White Wolf would irrevocably break her heart. "Tala, please be careful with him. Guard yourself well."

"I will." She ended the call with a quick 'I love you' and placed the handset back on the receiver. Confused by her father's sudden worry and unsolicited advice, she paced the bedroom. She'd been about to go out when she thought to call him first. With the call placed, she had nothing to do but wait for Drew to return. Her wolf despised the confinement of four walls. And Tala didn't care for it much either. The two of them needed to feel the fresh air blowing against her cheeks. And a nice long walk might put her father's curious warning into perspective.

Tala had no trouble finding the exit. Her wolf was like that, sensing the way out. After a quick wave at the security camera, she had even less difficulty getting outside. Fresh air was better than the stuffy confines of the underground lair. Her wolf wanted to run. Revel in the freedom. But, Tala stubbornly refused to let her out just yet. She wanted time to collect her thoughts first.