Chapter 66 Three's the Charm
Lyra didn’t stop.
Her body shook violently as she clung to him, a broken sound tearing from her throat while the taste of his blood seemed to pull her deeper into something feral and uncontrollable.
She moaned wildly as her fingers dug into his jacket, her knees nearly giving out beneath her.
“Lyra!” Ryker grunted, grabbing her shoulders and wrenching her away from his neck.
She cried out, stumbling back, her lips stained red, her chest heaving like she’d run for miles.
Ryker pressed his palm hard against the wound, swearing under his breath. Blood slid between his fingers.
“Damn it,” he hissed. “What did you do?”
She looked guilty for a second, then looked down. “I’m sorry.”
Ryker was stunned beyond words, grabbing the pierced skin and looking for a way to stop the bleeding.
“I can fix it,” she sobbed, panic flooding her voice. “Please, Ryker, let me heal it. I didn’t mean to—”
He held her back when she lunged for him again. “Stop. Don’t come closer.”
At his words, she gasped, shocked that he’d stop her from coming to him.
“We don’t know what your bite does. I don’t know if it’s lethal,” he added.
She barely heard him.
Her eyes burned, her pupils still red as she twisted free of his hold and climbed onto his back with inhuman strength.
Before he could react, her mouth was against his neck again, but this time she wasn’t biting.
Her lips brushed the wound softly, kissing him in the most tender manner.
Her tongue followed, slowly circling the incision she’d made.
Ryker sucked in a sharp breath, his entire body locking in shock. A soft moan slipped from him before he could stop it.
Goodness, it was the best feeling in the world. Her tongue against his flesh, making him hard in places he didn’t want to be.
It wasn’t strange for werewolves to bite their mates in passion. But the problem was that only males did. Females never did.
And yet here she was, trembling against him, sucking on his neck and kissing it all at once. Her body pressed closer, her heat flush against his back.
He should have pushed her away. He didn’t. He was too caught up in the moment himself.
When she finally pulled back, she dropped down his back, staring straight at him.
Ryker lifted his hand to his neck and, shockingly, the wound was gone.
Not even a scar remained.
He stared at his fingers, then at her. “How?”
Lyra didn’t answer. She stood there shaking, her arms wrapped around herself, eyes wide with fear.
She was still shaking with the sudden fever, and he could smell her arousal.
Oh, the Moon Goddess was making this harder than he wanted. How could he just stand there and watch her burning for his touch and do nothing about it?
“Hey,” he said softly, taking a step toward her. “Come here.”
She retreated instead, her head shaking violently. “No.”
His chest tightened. “Why?”
“You’re afraid of me,” she whispered.
He blinked. “What? No. Lyra, I’m not afraid of you. I’m just confused. I don’t know what you’re capable of yet.”
Her laugh came out broken. “That’s worse.”
“Just let me hold you, please.”
“That’s making it worse. I want the heat to stop. I’m burning!” she cried out. Then she turned and ran straight into the lake.
“Lyra!” Ryker shouted.
She didn’t slow.
She plunged into the water, fully clothed, disappearing beneath the surface.
Ryker froze as steam began to rise, the water around her steaming faintly.
“What the hell…” he breathed.
She really was burning up.
Without another thought, Ryker kicked off his boots and dove in after her.
The cold hit him hard, but when he reached her and wrapped his arms around her, it was like holding coals.
She clung to him instantly, burying her face against his chest.
“I just want it to stop,” she cried weakly. “I can’t control it. I’m so hot, Ryker. It hurts.”
He pulled her closer, treading water with effort. “Hey. Look at me.”
She shook her head, tears dissolving into the lake.
“This isn’t just a fever,” he said gently. “It’s your heat. Water won’t stop it.”
Her hands fisted in his shirt. “Please. I’m begging you. Make it stop.”
Her voice broke something in him. Ryker cursed softly under his breath and tightened his hold on her. “You trust me?”
“Yes,” she whispered instantly.
That was all it took.
He pressed his lips against hers, kissing her with all the passion he was trying so hard to contain.
He reached down, his hands pushing her lacy panties to the side as he dipped two fingers, parting her folds.
Lyra gasped, crying out in pleasure as he penetrated her with both fingers, pumping methodically, holding her neck as he deepened the kiss.
She was in cloud nine, barely conscious of her own body as he held her, pumping hard until she began to beg him, crying out his name.
“Please, I beg you, Ryker!” she cried out.
But he held back, kissing her neck instead and pulling a wet nipple into his mouth. “Shhhh… I’ll make you cum, and it will help,” he promised.
But she didn’t just want to cum. She wanted him buried deep within her as he climaxed with her too.
“Ryker, just do it.”
“Look at me,” he ordered, and she did, her eyes staring right into his. “I’m gonna make you cum now, and you’ll be okay.”
He added a third finger, and this time she couldn’t take it anymore.
“Cum for me, baby girl,” he growled, and that was all it took.
Lyra shook, crying out into the forest as colors exploded behind her eyes.
“Breathe with me,” he murmured when he noticed she was gasping. “Slow. Just like that.”
She followed, clinging to his voice, to his presence, to the familiar scent that had always been her safe place.
The heat slowly eased. It wasn’t totally gone, but at least she could think straight again.
When her body finally sagged against him, exhausted, he held her to his chest, pressing a kiss on her forehead.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered. “I always have.”
He carried her from the lake, cradling her like something precious and fragile, laying her gently beside his bike. He dried her as best he could, dressed her in the clothes she’d left behind, and then cleared his throat as he handed her the keys.
“Thank you,” she whispered, and he simply nodded.
“What about you?” she asked, looking at the bulge of his erection.
“Don’t worry about me,” he replied in a husky voice. “Let’s go home, Lyra.”
She nodded silently.
Ryker waited until she mounted her bike and rode off before starting his own engine, following close behind.