Months Later
I liked Vermont in the spring. The green fields, the yellow flowers, birdsong — it wasn’t usually my type of scene. I was partial to grime, chaos, and noise, and we could find that here too if we went to the right place. But Juniper needed the quiet, she needed the wide-open spaces. At least for now, I was trying to keep her away from anything too dreary.
A change of environment was good for her, at least that was what the therapist had said. I didn’t know much about psychiatry and all that, and Juniper had been hesitant as fuck about the whole thing — understandably, given her history with doctors. But Hana had insisted the woman was a good fit. I had to admit she was uniquely qualified to help Juniper.
Hana had claimed the woman’s soul years ago. If any therapist was prepared to deal with Juniper’s tangled history, it was this one.
The office was tucked down a quiet street, lined with trees. I never went far during Juniper’s appointments, so I waited in the alley just next door as I smoked.
I felt her coming before I saw her. Juniper’s presence had a way of vibrating over my whole being, the force of her nearly uncontainable, especially when she was emotional. She came down the office steps, peering around for me. It was still strange to see her walking around unarmed.
“How was it today?” She turned, smiling as she saw me. She walked over, and I stubbed out the joint so I could put my arms around her. “Your eyes are red, love.”
“Yeah, well…” She tried to sound hard, but she still sniffled. “I might have spent most of the appointment crying. Again,” she groaned. “Dr. Pierce says I bottle up my emotions too much. So I guess it’s…cathartic…or something.”
I chuckled at how disgusted she sounded. “You? Bottling your emotions? Shocking.” She glared up at me, and I nudged her chin playfully as I walked her a little further down the alley. “It’s good for you. It gives you an outlet to express yourself.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I didn’t punch any walls this time. That’s probably…good.”
“It’s a step in the right direction.” I paused, and turned her, pressing her back up against the wall. I trailed my claws along her neck, smiling when goosebumps prickled over her skin.
“Here?” she said softly. “It’s broad daylight!”
I shrugged. “I’ll hear anyone coming before they see us. I just want to give you another outlet, love. To express yourself.”
“To express myself, huh? Is that what you — ah — is that what you call it —” Her own gasping breaths cut her off. I had my hand slipped down her jeans, massaging over her clit. I loved the way her legs began to tremble. I loved pleasuring away her tension. I loved to feel her get wet on my fingers.
“Zane…” She wrapped her arms around my neck, nails clawing at my back beneath my shirt. Her arousal was slick on my fingers, and I slowly pushed one inside her, chuckling against her neck as her breath hitched.
“What is it, love?” I said. “Go on, use your words.”
She groaned, her nails digging into me a little harder as I added a second finger. “Feels so good…fuck…” Her legs tried to squeeze together, and I nudged my knee in between them to keep them apart.
“Mm, don’t bottle it up now,” I said, nipping at the tender skin of her throat, leaving my marks there for all to see. I’d never grow tired of that — marking her, anywhere and everywhere that I could. Just seeing that flash of my metal in her tongue as her lips parted made my cock throb against my jeans. “I want to hear those pretty sounds you make.”
I wasn’t satisfied just getting my fingers in her. I jerked down her pants, just low enough to give me access, and knelt so I could get my tongue on her.
“Oh…fuck!” Her nails scratched over my head, her hips moving eagerly against my mouth. I lifted her easily, letting her legs rest on my shoulders and holding her ass as her back rested against the wall. I pressed my tongue inside her, groaning as her muscles pulsed.
“Come for me, love,” I said it right up against her soft skin, savoring every drop of her hot arousal on my tongue. She stiffened, no longer holding back her desperate whimpers. They increased in volume and in need, and I squeezed her ass in my hands.
She cried out as her thighs squeezed around my head, her body shuddering with pleasure. I looked up at her from between her legs, grinning at her dazed face. “Just a little therapy after your therapy. To help you unwind.”
“Fucking…hell…” she gasped as I stood and set her on her feet. She had to lean against me a moment, but she lifted her head again as she rubbed her hand over my cock through the denim.
“My turn now,” she said, the look in her brown eyes absolutely devilish. I picked her up, tossing her over my shoulder as she shrieked.
“You can use your tongue in the car, love,” I said. “I’m a little too eager to get you home and do a hell of a lot more than just eat that sweet pussy of yours.”
She laughed, and I felt that was better than anything. Her joy, her safety, her freedom to live without fear — that was what I was after now. That was the hunt over which I obsessed. Her soul alone had never been enough; it never would be. I was always going to want more of her.
My own little wolf, with sharp teeth and stormy eyes. All shattered pieces and jagged edges that shone brighter than the sun. A soul as dark and strange as my own.
She was mine, and I was hers, for the rest of eternity.
