There was no controlling it now. Jonah was at the mercy of his wolf, and gripped Lyla’s hips as he buried his mouth against the nape of her neck. She moaned in ecstasy as he tasted her; she was even better than he had hoped. The air became thick with the scent of her desire, intoxicating Jonah to the point of no return.
He growled and lifted her light body, carrying her wildly through the small house until he reached her bedroom. Lyla squealed softly when he threw her onto the bed, tearing her gown off and leaving her panting in her bra and panties on the bed. The moonlight hit her body, illuminating her skin and making her look like an ethereal princess; a girl made wild by nature and tamed only by the fruition of her desires.
A primal longing consumed him as the wolf took charge; the one and only time in his life he had fully allowed for this to happen. Desire flooded his loins, leaving his member throbbing as he climbed on the bed over Lyla, his eyes greedily roaming the delicate curves of her soft body. She trembled beneath him as he gently unclasped her bra and dropped his mouth over one of her pink nipples.
Lyla arched her back with a gasp and Jonah’s cock responded with a hard thrust, satisfying neither of them through the thin fabric of Lyla’s panties. He rid her of them quickly and resumed his sampling of her breasts, his mouth roaming them freely as her body writhed beneath him.
Jonah watched the perfect shape of her lips as she uttered a moan of pleasure before submerging himself completely and perfectly inside her. A shocked cry of ecstasy escaped her lips, making him harder than he had ever been in his life as his member was enveloped by the heat of her body. Jonah thrust fervently inside of her, desperate to give the wolf the release it had been waiting for all this time, and to take Lyla to the ledge of a pleasure she had never yet experienced.
She moaned again, gripping Jonah’s broad back as he worked his body against her, every thrust sending him to new heights of ecstasy. He growled as Lyla’s legs wrapped around him, inviting him to enter her deeper now. He accepted the invitation and soon, he could feel her nearing her climax.
He knew he should be responsible. But the wolf was in control now. As soon as Lyla’s body began to shudder around him, contracting around his cock and milking it as she experienced a long, powerful orgasm, Jonah’s climax came with a sudden swiftness that shocked them both. Lyla shouted in pure bliss as the wolf prompted Jonah to empty himself inside her with a long, explosive climax. He thrust until he had emptied himself inside her completely, extending her orgasm far beyond his own, and held her tightly, still inside her, as they both fell into a deep sleep.
***
Jonah awoke with a start. How was it possible that he had allowed himself to fall asleep like this? It was careless. Sure, he was exhausted from fighting with the bear shifter, and from other things, but that was no excuse. He was a SEAL. It was his job to be alert at all times.
He gazed at Lyla who was lying beside him, her chest rising and falling lightly under the sheet as she dreamed. She was feeling better, happier, and sleeping with less worries on her shoulders since the attack, but somehow, his worries seemed to be just beginning. The bear shifters were obviously planning something, and he had killed the hybrid before he had the chance to question it. The only thing that had mattered in the moment was making sure Lyla was safe, at all costs.
That in itself was troubling. He was already jeopardizing his mission for her. Nichols would probably tell him he had just done what he needed to do to neutralize the threat, but Jonah knew better than that. He was allowing Lyla to become a liability. He had to get out of there.
She barely stirred when he got up from the bed. For a moment, he glanced around the room for something to wear before realizing he had nothing on when he came into the house. He let himself out quietly and swiftly shifted into his wolf form. The night air was cool around his body as he ran back home the way they had come. He was unpleasantly surprised to find that the bear hybrid’s body was missing from the road. Either someone had found him and alerted the council, or the hybrid’s buddies had taken responsibility for the corpse and disposed of it in their own way.
Jonah’s hackles rose at the thought, but there was nothing he could do about it now. It was too late to follow the scent, so all he could really do was make a note of it and check the area. He found nothing out of the ordinary and decided to get back to the house before it was too late. Betsy would probably be in bed by then, even if she had made the pie he was craving that night. But she was just like he was when it came to sleeping, and after a little wolf nap, they would both wake up around the same time and enjoy the pie together.
When he arrived back at the house, Jonah let himself in and jogged up to his bedroom where he grabbed a change of clothes and then hopped in the shower. As much as he hated to, he had to wash the scent of Lyla off his body. As incredible as their night together had been, it was just going to serve as a distraction. Right now, he needed to keep his head in the game or he was going to risk his life and the lives of those he cared about the most.
When he’d finished with his shower, he walked outside, onto the back porch, and dialed the number for Gregors.
“What do you want, Lucas?”
Jonah grinned. It was obvious he had woken up his commanding officer.
“I have a report. Something…strange happened tonight.”
“Strange? Strange how?”
Jonah grimaced, remembering with a twinge of guilt just how hard it had been to hide the fact that he was more knowledgeable about the shifters in Stonybrooke than he had let on at first.
But once she had revealed who her grandfather was, it was all beginning to make more sense. According to his Intel, her grandfather had left Stonybrooke after accusing the Council of corruption. He’d suspected an infiltration by bear sympathizers, and even went so far as to say they had managed to get themselves onto the council. How, though, he had never been able to prove, and so he had been ostracized.
“We’re dealing with something more sinister than originally suspected. The bear shifters are not only using the Serah Stone to increase their strength using a ritual in the mines, but there are hybrids in Stonybrooke that are nearly impossible to detect until they shift.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Gregors grumbled. Jonah could picture the familiar annoyance on his commander’s face. He would have smiled if the whole situation hadn’t been so damn complicated.
“I don’t know how it all ties together yet, but something is going on.”
“How did you find this hybrid? What was it doing?”
Gregors was beginning to sound fully awake now, and Jonah could tell his mind was reeling a mile a minute as he began to contemplate the situation. It was comforting to know Gregors would do his best to make sure that Jonah’s men were safe, under any circumstances.
“It was attacking a girl, my sister’s friend. Her grandfather is Zed Winston. He was driven out for suspecting a conspiracy within the council. Infiltration of the bear shifters, perhaps on to the hybrids. They had him removed from Stonybrooke unceremoniously, and now that his granddaughter is back in town, I’m afraid…”
“You think they’re going to use her.”
Jonah swallowed hard. Many of the more horrific of ancient bear rituals involved a human sacrifice. They had failed to abduct Lyla that night, but who was to keep them from trying again.
“Yes. I’m concerned she is going to be the sacrifice for the ritual.”
“I’m having Nichols and three other men search the mines tomorrow. During that time, I want you in charge of guarding this girl. At all costs. Make sure nobody knows you’re there. Not even the girl herself. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Jonah said.
Gregors hung up and Jonah let out a long, deep sigh. How was it that everything managed to get so complicated so quickly? But it was no matter. He would protect Lyla from the hybrids. As if his life depended on it.