A love that only a very select few people experience, but one that everyone desires. Gideon, has been a special ambassador to the Royal Lycan Family for over 200 years. Living a fast paced life without commitment other than to himself and the crown, he has given up on a mate and love entirely. Gideon stumbles into the life of a young woman who instantly changes his life forever. Lyla, at only 22 years old, is being pushed by her family to marry another man and start a family of her own. However, love comes fastest and hardest for those not searching for it…
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Shannan Penisione
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Keep scrolling to read a steamy chapter of this unforgettably explosive romance or download the app to read the full uncensored version now
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CHAPTER 18
POV: LAYLA
I know he is trying to go slow, but the intense need to bond is making it almost impossible for us to hold back. We’re clawing at each other, trying desperately to get closer.
The need for him is pulsing through me. This pull is stronger than both of us.
“Take me,” I growl.
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His eyes are dark and wild as he takes my hands in his. He pins them to the mattress above our heads, entwining our fingers together.
“Layla!” he roars before he plunges himself inside me and something in me comes alive. The harder he thrusts into me, the more powerful it becomes.
He roars a second time and I feel his teeth and canines piercing the tender skin of my shoulder.
I’m suddenly overcome by the same need and instinct, so I do the same. I sink my teeth and canines into his shoulder.
The heat of his bite scorches my skin as it travels all over my body, seeping through my skin, rushing through my bloodstream down to every follicle of my hair.
My whole body goes up into flames of unbearable ecstasy. Pain and pleasure.
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I’m deaf and blind to everything else except for the awareness of him inside me. I feel him in my bones, my blood, in my consciousness, and in every pore of my being.
I feel completely shattered, then come back together again, piece by piece. I’m the same but different.
Sparkly white lights dance behind my eyelids as I release his shoulder from my jaw and give in to the exhaustion and fade into oblivion.
I’m floating in a warm blissfulness. I’ve never felt so content and safe.
Am I dead yet?
I deep chuckle and a voice says, “You are still alive, my sweet,” which makes me open my eyes.
His beautiful golden-yellow eyes, filled with amusement, are gazing back at me.
He’s pulled a sheet over the both of us. He has a hand resting on my bare stomach and one of his legs is thrown over my legs. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay,” I say without thinking. But then I pause and frown.
Am I okay? “Something feels different.”
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“It’s probably your lycan awakening in you for the first time. You’ll feel it more when your emotion is high.”
Wow, I’m a lycan.
It’s hard to wrap my mind around that.
“We can feel each other’s emotions too now,” he explains. When I look at him in bemusement, he continues, “You can’t feel it now because I chose not to share it at the moment.
“You’re going through so many changes, I don’t want to overwhelm you. You’ll be changing more every day. Already, I can see the changes in you,” he informs me.
“My mark.” My hand instantly goes to my shoulder. I trace the scar of his bite mark. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“It healed while you’re resting.” He twists his body a bit to show me his shoulder.
There’s a dark bite mark on it. The skin is a bit raised, forming a scar. It’s MY bite mark. His lips curl up into a smug smile.
Oh my God! I can’t believe I did that!
I lightly touch the mark on his shoulder, then I touch my teeth. They feel normal to me. “How long was I out?” I ask him.
“Only about half an hour,” he answers, lifting me up to lie on top of him.
“That’s it? It felt longer than that,” I tell him, trying to ignore the feel of his warm, hard body underneath me.
Only a thin sheet between us. My skin tingles all over. “So, did you sleep or were you awake the whole time?”
“I must have passed out for ten minutes or so…the next twenty minutes I spent staring at my erasthai.”
“What. Like a pervert?” I ask him, smiling. Did I drool or snore when I was sleeping? I fight the urge to run my hand down my chin.
“I can’t help it. You are so beautiful,” he whispers. The way he’s looking at me is making me blush.
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“It’s probably your lycan awakening in you for the first time. You’ll feel it more when your emotion is high.”
Wow, I’m a lycan.
It’s hard to wrap my mind around that.
“We can feel each other’s emotions too now,” he explains. When I look at him in bemusement, he continues, “You can’t feel it now because I chose not to share it at the moment.
“You’re going through so many changes, I don’t want to overwhelm you. You’ll be changing more every day. Already, I can see the changes in you,” he informs me.
“My mark.” My hand instantly goes to my shoulder. I trace the scar of his bite mark. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“It healed while you’re resting.” He twists his body a bit to show me his shoulder.
There’s a dark bite mark on it. The skin is a bit raised, forming a scar. It’s MY bite mark. His lips curl up into a smug smile.
Oh my God! I can’t believe I did that!
I lightly touch the mark on his shoulder, then I touch my teeth. They feel normal to me. “How long was I out?” I ask him.
“Only about half an hour,” he answers, lifting me up to lie on top of him.
“That’s it? It felt longer than that,” I tell him, trying to ignore the feel of his warm, hard body underneath me.
Only a thin sheet between us. My skin tingles all over. “So, did you sleep or were you awake the whole time?”
“I must have passed out for ten minutes or so…the next twenty minutes I spent staring at my erasthai.”
“What. Like a pervert?” I ask him, smiling. Did I drool or snore when I was sleeping? I fight the urge to run my hand down my chin.
“I can’t help it. You are so beautiful,” he whispers. The way he’s looking at me is making me blush.
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“Uh…my hair is crazy wild when I get up in the morning,” I say, then I feel like kicking myself in the mouth. I should have just said thank you. I’m always bad at receiving compliments.
“I love your hair,” he replies, wrapping a curly lock around his index finger. I can feel it.
He’s not just saying it, he really does love my hair…and everything else about me. It amazes me that this beautiful lycan feels that way about me.
How did I get so lucky?
“I guess love really is blind,” I comment cheekily and the low rumble of his laughter makes my stomach flutter in response.
“You just don’t see what others see. I like that you don’t know how gorgeous you are.”
“Now I can add delusional to the list, right after blind,” I tell him.
He tugs the lock of my hair playfully.
For a while, we just lie there, staring at each other. I could look at him all day and all night and never get tired of it. “Where did you go last night?” I ask him quietly.
“I went hunting,” he answers easily.
“What were you hunting?”
“Helen,” he replies.
“Oh.” I sort of thought that he’d gone after Helen, but I didn’t expect him to sound so casual about it. “Did you get her?”
“No,” he says with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. “She’s gone into hiding.”
The sinister smile tugging at his lips could draw blood. It’s a reminder to me how dangerous he is…
Wait, I’m a lycan now. Am I dangerous too?
“But I’ve set a trap,” he adds.
“You’re not going to kill her, are you?” I ask him.
“I don’t know. Should I?” he asks me.
Oh, is it up to me?
I run a finger over his chest as I mull it over. His heartbeat and his breathing become faster as I spread my fingers out to explore further. He really does have a magnificent body.
Even better than any man I’ve seen in magazines or in my pack…and I’ve seen plenty.
He’s all hard muscle, yet soft silky skin everywhere. Fascinating. I want to explore every inch of him with my hands and my mouth.
His hand comes up to cover my fingers before they travel any lower. I bring my eyes back up to his face.
What are we talking about, again? Oh, yes…
“Surely what she did to me doesn’t warrant a death sentence, does it? I mean, she did frighten me and threaten my life, but I’m still here.” But then again, I’m not even going to weep crocodile tears if she dies tomorrow. Right now I’m feeling…ambivalent.
“Sweetheart, we had an agreement and she broke it. She knew better than to mess with me and what’s mine.
“She shouldn’t have even looked at you the wrong way, let alone threatened your life. She knew there would be consequences. I protect what’s mine.”
I like it when he calls me his. He makes me feel protected and loved. I’ve always imagined what it feels like to have a mate. This is far better than in my wildest imagination. He’s just better…so much better.
I sense something shifts in his mind and he asks, “Now, are you ready to tell me what you were doing, walking alone on a deserted road outside the pack’s territory the other night?”
I sigh. I guess I can’t avoid this topic forever. “Would you believe me if I said I was taking an evening stroll?” At least I can try.
He just lifts his perfect, thick eyebrow and waits for me to tell the truth.
“I had a fight with my parents,” I admit finally. I lower my eyelids, unable to endure his penetrating gaze.
He makes me want to spill my whole life story and my whole truth to him. “They meant well. I mean, I know they love me and only want what’s best for me, but I’m an adult now.
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“All my life, I was a good daughter. Even when my brother and sister rebelled, I did everything my parents expected of me. Even if I argued with them at first, I always, always gave in to them in the end.
“The first time I truly defied them was when I moved out of their house and the pack territory to go to college. That felt like a huge win for me.
“But every weekend, I have to go back there, and they try their best to persuade me to move back. They’re so used to dictating my life, they don’t know when or how to back off.
“I think because I was born without a wolf, they’re convinced that I’m weak and need to be looked after. It’s a huge power struggle. It’s one thing after another.
“Last time, it was my father’s health. He said he was dying or something so I moved back for a month. This time they wanted me to mate with someone of their choosing.
“The mating ceremony is this weekend, and we got into a huge fight over it. I don’t know what it’s going to be next.
“It’s exhausting. I’m tired of it. I mean, this is my life. Why can’t they see that I’m not a little kid anymore?”
I can feel his body stiffen underneath me before he says, “Wait, back up. Back up! What was that again?”
I lift my head to look at him. “Uh…why can’t they see that I’m not a kid anymore?”
“No, before that.” He’s growling now.
I scrunch my eyebrows, trying to think back. What did I say to make him so mad? My chest burns and I recognize his fury.
Suddenly I realize what I just said. Uh-oh…I didn’t mean to tell him about Kofi like that. I can’t believe becoming a lycan didn’t cure my broken brain-to-mouth filter.
He flips us and in a blink, I’m on my back with him on top of me.
Hard, glittering dark eyes are staring down at me. “You’re supposed to mate with someone else this weekend? Why didn’t I know about this, Layla?”
I look at his taut face before saying, “Because I wasn’t going to let that happen? I can’t imagine being mated to anyone else but you.”I feel the flame turn to ember. His anger lessens.
Gideon continues.
“As I said before, I can’t let them dictate my life anymore. It’s time for me to grow up and take charge. That’s why we had that huge fight and I ended up on that road the other night.”
His fingers curl around my throat while his other arm tightens around my waist.
His voice is fierce. “What kind of loving parents let their daughter walk alone on a lonely road dark at night like that? I’d burn the whole pack to the ground if anything happened to you.”
“Gideon.” I bring my hand to his stubbly cheek and he leans into my touch. “I think my parents thought I’d cave in like I always do and were waiting for me to crawl back to them that night.”
I run another hand through his silky bronze hair and he closes his eyes. “No matter what, I love them, Gideon. I love my family. I don’t want them hurt.”
His eyelids flutter open and golden-yellow eyes are staring down at me. “I promise I won’t hurt them, but I hate the way they treated you,” he says.
“You are important to me and so are they. I really wish you could get along with them…somehow. Someday.”
“For you, I will do anything,” he replies.
I smile up at him. “Promise?”
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“I promise. I’ll do anything to make you smile like that.” He runs his finger over my bottom lip.
It tingles from his touch.
“You don’t have to worry about anything, baby. I’ll take care of you.”
“Okay,” I say breathlessly. “Do you have to go to work today?” The thought of being away from him even just for a few hours is unbearable for me right now.
I want him to be in bed with me like this forever.
He leans down to kiss the corner of my mouth. “No. No more meetings or any more dealings. My work here in L.A. is done,” he announces and my heart sinks.
He’s leaving?
He lifts his head up. “Sweetheart, I’m here just for you. You’re my mate. I’m not going anywhere without you. When I leave, you’re coming with me.”
“Oh…” I try to think as he kisses my neck. The pleasurable thrums of electricity work their way from where his lips are touching me to every part of my body.
He told me before that his work takes him all around the world. I’m excited and a bit nervous at the same time.
“Where are we going next?”
“I’m supposed to be in Lisbon now,” he says, but I don’t think he’s paying much attention to our conversation anymore.
He’s nibbling and sucking and licking along my jaw. “But maybe we go to Madrid…”
His fingers graze my skin as he slides the thin sheet down my hips. “Now tell me about your family’s Pack.”
I struggle to think as his warm lips find that spot below my ear. “Nech’i Tekula is a good pack. The alpha’s new but fair,” I tell him.
Mmm…my eyelids flutter close.
“Tell me about that prick your parents chose for you,” he growls before his mouth possessively clamps on my neck like he wants to mark me again.
“Let’s not talk about him,” I suggest, arching my head back, grinding my hips against his hard length.
“Anything to make you happy, my sweet.” I feel his hunger for me spike up as his lips stretch into a smile against my skin. “Your wish is my command.”
We end up spending all day in bed.
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