No more. She couldn't take any more. Her vision darkened as she edged toward unconsciousness. She barely felt it when, with a window rattling roar, Hugh rammed in to the hilt and held himself there as his seed pumped inside to her waiting womb. His back was arched, his head thrown to the ceiling.
Already hovering on the edge of unconsciousness, she shuddered as her body climaxed again, milking the seed from his body. Thank God it was a small one this time. She didn't think her heart could have handled another violent one.
Hugh took a deep, shuddering breath and pulled his beast back inside. This was not the time for his mate to find out what he was. He closed his eyes and willed his claws to retract and waited for his teeth to change back to normal. He'd never lost control like that before. Yes, he liked his sex a little rough. Most shifters did, but he'd never lost control of his beast and partially shifted while making love. He never thought it would happen to him, even though he knew that any strong emotion brought his beast to the surface. In the past, he'd always exerted tremendous control over his emotions, and therefore his beast. Mary Elizabeth blew his control to hell and back.
Once he knew his beast was back in its cage and all signs of it were gone, he looked at his mate. While he had been regaining control, she'd fallen asleep with his cock still embedded inside. His passion had been too much for her. He needed to remember that his mate was human, and therefore fragile.
He was still hard; ready for round two. It appeared, however, that his mate was going to need some time to recover from round one. His moan barely covered the sucking sound her body made as he pulled slowly out of her snug sheath. She fit him to perfection and he hated to give it up, even temporarily. Hugh looked down, wanting to see what he was feeling.
His heart pounded hard in his chest when he saw the blood. It was smeared on his cock. Her inner thighs and pubic hair were full of blood and other body fluids. He gently settled her body onto the bed and went into the bathroom for a washcloth. He did not want Mary Elizabeth seeing this. He wet the cloth and returned to room, cleaning her gently but thoroughly. She barely stirred during the entire process.
Hugh moved her further up on the mattress, and checked to see if there was any blood on the covers. There wasn't. Good. She was sure to freak if there was and she saw it. Returning to the bathroom, he quickly washed off before leaving and turned off the light. He walked through the rest of the apartment, making sure everything was locked and lights off. Noticing the phone was still unplugged, he debated with himself for all of one second before deciding to leave it that way. Last of all, he lowered the heat on the thermostat. With him lying beside her, Mary Elizabeth wouldn't need as much heat.
Coming back into the room, he crossed over to his sleeping mate. She'd rolled to her side and curled into a ball. Lifting her up into his arms, he pulled the covers back before laying her back down. She murmured something that he didn't catch and curled back into a ball. He climbed into bed beside her and pulled her into his arms.
"Hugh,” she mumbled sleepily and wrapped herself around him. H reached out and turned off the lamp. As he drifted off to sleep, he made a vow to himself. Never again would he lose control and hurt his mate as he had tonight.
Chapter Thirteen
Shannon prepared for bed, the sleeping pill she ingested making her movements sluggish. Today, she'd accomplished a lot. Home Depot was delivering her supplies tomorrow. She had to pay extra for the Sunday delivery but it was worth it.
In the store, she ran into a human who'd worked for her brother a few years back. He still did the occasional odd job and agreed to be at the house when the supplies arrived. All in all, she couldn't complain about the way that her day went.
Her shower made her even sleepier. She dried off half-heartedly and dropped the towel on the floor. She'd pick it up tomorrow. Yawning so wide that she heard her jaw crack, she cut off the light and dragged herself into bed. She fell into a deep, dreamless sleep the minute her head hit the pillow, unaware of the presence that entered her room and stood watching her.
Nikolai materialized next to the bed of the she-wolf he'd rescued, after scanning first to make sure she was asleep. What started as fascination was quickly becoming an obsession. It was becoming more and more difficult to stay away from his wolf.
Just the mere thought her essence was enough to cause his fangs to throb in his mouth. He wanted to devour her. He wanted to gorge himself in her feminine cream, and then satiate himself with her blood.
With each visit, he pushed the limits of his control. Merging deeply with her mind, he would psychically stroke and caress her body, arousing her mercilessly. He couldn't seem to help himself. Every time she was close to the edge, her wolf took control, she started to shift and he had to leave. While the blood bond he'd formed with her gave him some control over her mind, he couldn't control her beast. It was too strong.
At the end of the bed, Nikolai used his mind to pull down the bed sheet, baring her naked body to his view. Though he'd examined her thoroughly many times before, he still could not determine what it was about her that fascinated him so. She was small, like a red-haired pixie and short like one too. He doubted she'd come to his breastbone when standing.
There was something different about her tonight. Something wrong. He expanded his senses until he found the source of the problem. There was a faint metallic scent of medicine emanating from her body. With their mental link engaged, he searched deep. Whatever she took, it didn't hinder his ability to connect with her subconscious mind, but it rendered her beast defenseless.
Her beast was helpless. A wicked smile crossed Nikolai's face. Her beast sensed him and tried to stir, but the medication was too powerful. It knew he was there but couldn't do a thing about it. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he took advantage of the opportunity she had unknowingly provided him with.
Using phantom fingers, he gently stroked the brow of her eye, gliding his hand down her cheek to finger her lips. Her full lips parted beneath his touch, inviting him to come inside. He ignored her invitation in favor of stroking his fingers elsewhere.
His fingers ghosted down her neck, causing her to arch her neck in response. Goosebumps pebbled her flesh. He continued his exploration to her generously shaped breasts. Her flesh cried out to him, demanding that he cease with the mind games and touch her flesh to flesh. For a second, he considered giving into the temptation to take her while she was helpless. His code of honor would not allow him to do so. Abandoning the thought, he went back to touching her using nothing more than his eyes and his mind.
He toyed with her breasts, causing her nipples to pucker. Using his mind, he gave her the sensation of mouths suckling on her breasts. Playing her body like a master musician, he touched her simultaneous all over. Mouths suckled on her nipples and between her legs while phantom fingers stroked and caressed all over her body. He kept a firm grip on her mind, having no fear that she would awaken and catch him toying with her.
Her body began to undulate. Her legs spread wider apart as her fingers gripped the sheet. Her heartbeat raced, causing the blood to rush through her veins. The heat of her excitement caused her blood to cry out to him, begging him to taste it.