Chapter Ten

Henry sat stone still in his leather chair behind his desk. His resignation letter to the president of the university was half completed on the computer screen. He locked his gaze on the door. He couldn’t leave his office no matter how hard he tried. The thought that Cort and Rock might be out there among the shelves murdering his patrons terrified him. He mustered the courage to race home at the close of day. If he weren’t the boss, he would have been fired days ago.

Henry and Delilah begged him to return to camp with them after the funeral. It killed him to say no. He wanted to hold them, kiss them, be part of the family. He couldn’t walk away from his position. Although at the moment, that was exactly what he wanted to do.

His breath caught in his throat as the air in front of him shivered and rippled. He dug his heels into the carpet beneath his desk to push away and escape. He didn’t get far before Cort and Rock appeared.

“Hello, Mister Hakimi.” Cort smiled slowly. The whole thing nearly made Henry shit his pants. “We’ve come to see if you have reconsidered our offer.”

“Hell, no.” Henry took a deep breath to try to steady his stampeding heart. “I have no idea why you guys are interested in me. I’m a librarian. But there is no way in hell I’m going to partner with you.”

Rock shook his head as he chuckled. “You would refuse eternal life, Mister Hakimi?”

“Eternal life without the man and woman I love? You bet your ass I refuse it.”

“We would graciously grant Miss Cavanaugh the same gift.”

“But not Sam Hallow. Like I said before, the three of us are a package deal.”

Cort stepped closer. The simple motion was enough to make Henry try to climb his chair. “Mister Hakimi. We’ve been patient with you. But our patience only goes so far. Right now we can promise Miss Cavanaugh will live forever. But tomorrow that deal may be off the table. She is human. To us, she is a pawn.”

“What does that mean?”

“We need you to join us. We also need the amulet that the Hallows currently possess. You can actually give us both items. We know how much you care for the thrice eldest Hallow. Samuel, isn’t it? You love him, so you wouldn’t want to see him suffer. Losing someone he cares for can do that. The poor werewolf lost his mortal aunts.”

Henry frowned. “How did you know that?”

The grin Cort gave him was pure evil. “Imagine the pain he would go through if he lost a friend. Or perhaps the woman he loved. Then, of course, he will be in our cage in two weeks. Horrible accidents have happened during a fight.”

Henry couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t swallow. The terror paralyzed him. At least he hoped it was terror.

Rock’s smile grew as big as Cort’s. “The clock is running out, Mister Hakimi. We look forward to working with you.”

They disappeared the same way they had appeared before with the ripple of clear air in their wake. He sat in the quiet for several long moments. He couldn’t stop trembling. He burst out of the chair and raced from his office. He didn’t bother to stop to give closing instructions to his staff. They knew what to do. He needed to get to his family. He was desperate for the protection of his werewolf.

Henry slid behind the steering wheel, slamming the driver’s door behind him. His knuckles turned ghostly white as he clenched the wheel in a death grip. Was he in any shape to drive? Not really.

He glanced out of the passenger side window and bit back a scream. He could have sworn he saw Cort and Rock standing there in their black suits smiling at him. Or was it illusion?

Henry flipped the ignition and threw it in reverse. It didn’t matter if he was too shaky to drive. He needed to go now. He laid a trail of rubber as he peeled out of the parking lot and sped down the street.

»»•««

Delilah sashayed around the living room of the cabin, lighting candles as she went. She hadn’t been home for a day, and she and Sam had already fallen into a routine. It was natural as if it had been that way for years. There was a piece missing. She could feel it in her soul. Hopefully, Henry would come to his senses soon.

Despite not getting any sleep after his change, Sam dressed in his fight shorts and headed into the family building to train. She dozed for an hour or two and then woke up bored. She had research to do, research that affected them all, and no way to do it.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Eve and Meg were standing on the tiny deck with little Ruby in Meg’s arms. They invited her to the kitchen to bake cookies. Delilah was in no way a homebody who did something like that. She couldn’t remember the last time she made cookies. Still, it was something to do. She shut the cabin door and followed them.

The afternoon flew by in the kitchen. They talked. They took turns with Ruby. They were able to lighten Momma’s mood when the older woman joined them. It wasn’t long before she was chatting and baking along with them.

When the warm afternoon sun sank in the sky, they cleaned up their mess and started dinner. Both Meg and Eve directed her to make a piece of salmon and vegetables for Sam while they made tater tot casserole for the rest of them.

Delilah was pleasantly shocked to find a chair waiting for her at the table beside her mate. She gave Sam a quick hug and kiss as she settled in her place. The fact he was drenched in sweat didn’t bother her. They both looked confused at the empty chair on the other side of him.

Micah gave them a slight smile and answered them. “Henry. We might not trust the Heka, but he’s still your mate. Josiah figures he’ll be with us soon. He should have a place to eat.”

The conversation flowed as they ate. When the food was gone, Sam kissed her goodbye and wandered back to the gym with three of his brothers. The other three, Delilah guessed the youngest three, helped clean up. Once everything was put away, Delilah said her goodbyes to the Hallow women and made her way back to the cabin.

She blew out the match in her hand and tossed it in the fireplace. She turned as the door opened to greet Samuel with a big smile. His beamed just as brightly.

“Hey, honey. I’m home,” he greeted.

“Good,” she replied. “I missed you. There are cookies in the kitchenette. I know you can’t have them, but Momma insisted I take some.”

“Momma has a hard time understanding our weight cuts.”

She shrugged. “I don’t get them, either. Why are you trying to lose weight?”

Samuel slipped his phone from his bag and then tossed the bag on the floor. He scrolled across the screen with his thumb. A soft, sultry melody began to play. He set the cell on the coffee table and then gathered her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around him as they started to sway.

He kissed her and then continued. “We fighters are separated into weight classes. It keeps the fights fair. A heavier fighter can use his weight against his opponent. The classes are strawweight, flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight, heavyweight, and super heavyweight. Your werewolf, Dee, is a heavyweight. I have to be two hundred and sixty-five pounds on the dot when I step on the scale in two weeks. I get a pound leeway, but I’d rather be on the money.”

Delilah nearly lost every word he said. Her mind, her heart, and her soul were caught up in the way his body pressed against hers. He spun her away and then dipped her. She barely caught her breath by the time he tugged her against him again.

“Wow. Nice dance moves, Mister Hallow,” she commented.

“Thank you. It came in handy when I was looking for someone to fuck. It’s better now that I have two people to love. Although dancing with Henry gets awkward.”

Delilah smiled. “I can imagine. So how close are you to weight?”

“A couple pounds. I can cut those easily in two weeks. You can be proud of me, mama.”

She frowned. “Mama? What do you know?”

“It was a term of endearment. Nothing more. What’s got you bent out of joint?”

She smiled again and shook her head. “Nothing. I’m being silly.”

He softly kissed her. “All right. I can deal with silly.”

They slow danced. The soft music was the only sound in the cabin. Delilah sighed. She could feel Sam’s heartbeat against her palm that he pressed to his chest. The warmth of his skin consumed her. He peppered her face with butterfly kisses. And she was fully aware of his rock hard cock pressed against her.

“Sam?” she asked softly.

“Yeah, beautiful.”

“Every time we had sex it was quick wham-bam. It was for gratification, right?”

“Not necessarily. Where are you going with this?”

“I mean, I’ve never had a truly intimate moment with a man. I’ve never…” Her voice died in her throat. She felt her cheeks burn like they were on fire. She didn’t need what she was thinking about. She didn’t need anything from any man. She was legendary.

Except he wasn’t a man. He was a werewolf. And she needed it in the worst way.

Samuel combed his fingers through her auburn curls and then pressed his forehead against hers. “What is it, Dee? Talk to me.”

Her voice was just a breath. “Make love to me. Don’t fuck me. Make love. I want to feel you in my soul.”

“I’m not already there?”

“You are. But you know…”

“I know.” He parted her mouth with his, his tongue searching for hers to tangle with. She felt their breath mingle together, with each inhale and exhale taken at the same time. She braced her hands against his chest as she surrendered to him. She felt him tremble at her touch.

He let her go and then slowly unbuttoned her blouse. He tugged it down her arms as he feasted on the curve of her breasts. She murmured words she couldn’t understand herself.

He stood straight and gazed at her. “I want to worship you.”

“Why?”

“Because you are a goddess.”

“I am not, Sam.”

He flicked the clasp of her bra apart and slid it down her arms. Then he sank to his knees at her feet. “You are to me.”

He unfastened her shorts and pushed them and her underwear to the floor. His kisses started at her feet. He slowly licked a trail up her calf past her knee and across her inner thigh. He pressed a soft peck at the vee of her legs before he continued kissing her hips and rib cage. He stopped at her breasts. He nipped at a pink bud before sucking it into his mouth. She cradled his head in her hands as she moaned. In his arms, at this moment, she felt like a goddess. She whimpered when he let go to lavish her other breast with the same attention.

Suddenly he rose to his feet and scooped her into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist. She didn’t remember the trip to the bedroom. His caress, his sweet lips on hers, the feel of him erect and pressed tight against her distracted her until her ass hit the soft comforter of his bed.

She licked her lips as she watched him undress. Her eyes studied the swirls of ink embedded in his skin. He grinned at her as he tossed his shirt on the floor. He was taking his time. And he had to know it was killing her.

When he was finished, he stretched out over her and kissed her. Delilah arched against him and wrapped her legs around his hips. She sighed as she felt the tip of him nudge inside her. “Please, Sam.”

Samuel pushed her legs apart and backed away. He never let go of her. He pushed her knees farther apart. “Not yet.”

He crawled down the bed and lowered his body. He ran his tongue up one thigh and then down the other. She shuddered when he passed the sensitive flesh between. He returned to the spot, kissing and teasing her clit with his teeth. She gripped the sheets in her fists when he slipped a large finger inside her. After a couple of strong thrusts, a second finger joined the first.

She thrashed her head on the pillow as she tried to match his pace. It was only moments before she cried out his name as she bucked hard against his hand, his assault pushing her over the edge. The fiery rush that washed over her made her light-headed. She felt weight on her. He was buried deep inside her as she came down from her orgasm.

Samuel laced his fingers with hers and pinned her hands to the sides of her head. His dark brown gaze locked with hers as he drove farther and farther inside her. She couldn’t pull away from his stare, but she didn’t want to. She could see his every emotion in the depths. She was always told the eyes were the windows to the soul. She wondered how many lovers got to see Samuel Hallow’s.

His eyelashes fluttered as he groaned. His grip on her hands tightened. She wrapped her legs around his hips again and rocked against his to match him. By the smile he gave her, he must have enjoyed it.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured.

“Sam,” she whispered in protest.

“So fucking beautiful. The most beautiful woman to grace this planet. And you’re in my bed. And I’m buried to the hilt inside you. Fuck.”

He broke his gaze away from her and then kissed a path along her cheek and chin. He scooped her breast into his palm and kissed the nub before he suckled it. She clenched her thighs tightly around him as another surge of pleasure blazed through her. She cried out as the ecstasy singed every nerve. Nothing she ever experienced felt like that.

Delilah’s eyes fluttered open. Sam stared at her again. He grasped her hands and pinned them to her pillow once more. His strokes were harder, stronger, and deliberate. She watched his brows crease, and his eyes slid closed. He grunted with each stroke. “Delilah.”

Despite his hold, she lifted her head to brush her lips against his. “Come for me, Sam. Fill me. I’m yours forever.”

He threw his head back as he roared. She felt him throb inside her. It set of one more mind-blowing quake through her. She clenched him tightly as he let go of her hands to clench her hips. It took a long time for his body to slow. She held him close to her until they did.

Samuel buried his face in the curve of her neck and hugged her to him. “Delilah, I love you. I love you so much. I need you. Never go.”

She caressed his hair as she kissed the side of his face. They were bound together for eternity by whatever mystical pull possessed them. She had no choice but to stay. She knew that wasn’t what he meant. He felt for her what she felt for him. She would die without him. “Never will. You and Henry are my home. I belong here.”

He lifted his head. “Your career. You’ve worked so hard to get where you are.”

She touched his cheek. “Sam, you are far more important to me than my career. I’m done with archaeology. I have something far more important to do. I need to be your mate.”

He turned his face into her palm and kissed it. “You are so precious to me.”

She sighed at his touch. They both started at the slam of the front door. Samuel growled as he glared at the bedroom door. “I’m going to kill whichever of my fucking brothers did that.” He kissed her as he carefully pulled free of her. He climbed off the bed and scooped up his shorts. He pulled them on and stormed out the door. Delilah scurried off the bed, tugging the sheet with her. She wrapped it around and tucked it securely as she took off after him. She wrapped her hand around his before she looked up at the offender.

Henry barricaded the door closed with his body. He panted heavily. His skin was pale. He took off his glasses to rub his eyes. Instead of slipping them back on, they fell out of his fingers onto the hardwood floor.

Delilah looked up at Sam as she loosened her grip on his hand. He loved Henry with a love she had never seen before. It was a love she envied. Before she could let go, he tightened his hold on her.

Henry took a deep breath. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you both. It’s just that…” He let go a ragged breath. “Sam, I should have come to you sooner. Those guys, Rock and Cort, the ones that killed my assistant. They’ve come back. Twice. They want me to join their side. I don’t know why. They promised to give Delilah and me eternal life. When they wouldn’t give you the same thing, I turned them down. Both times. They then threatened to kill Delilah. And you in the cage. I think they killed your aunts. I am so scared. I’ve never been this scared in my life. What do they want from me? Who the fuck am I?” He looked away and swallowed back a sob.

Sam glanced at Delilah before he led her across the room. He let her go to pull Henry into his arms. A second later Henry held her tightly to him in a one-arm death grip. She wrapped him snugly in her embrace.

Sam lifted Henry’s chin and stared into his eyes. “You are staying here. Period. I can’t protect you in Duluth. I can protect you here. The three of us are stronger together. Why can’t you see that?”

“Your family hates me.”

“They don’t. They don’t trust the Heka. I can’t say I do, either. If you stay here, they will get to know you, and they will love you.”

Delilah smiled at Henry as she tenderly rubbed his arm. “We need to find out what your connection to the Heka is. I’ll ask Eve to help me with a genealogy search on your family.”

Henry’s gaze flickered from Samuel to Delilah, even with Sam’s hold on his chin. “But the drive to Duluth. It’s six hours round trip at least.”

“Quit your fucking job, Henry,” Samuel answered. “We’ll find one around here. There’s a library near Littlefoot’s house. Fuck, what is it going to take to get you to stay here with me? Don’t you see that I need you?”

Henry’s stare grew intense. “Marry me.”

“What the fuck did you say?”

Henry took a breath. “Marry me. Be my husband.”

Samuel’s mouth gaped open and then closed. It gaped open and closed again. “I don’t know what to say. How?”

“Simple. We go to the courthouse. We find a justice.”

“There are three of us, Henry. I love you. I love Delilah. So we get married and leave her in the cold?”

“No. I can go to her father and ask for her hand. I’ll woo her with flowers and wine and whatever it takes to get her to say yes.”

Delilah glared. “I’m not that easy.”

Henry returned her glare and then looked at Samuel. “You, Sam Hallow, are a different story. You’re so tough and masculine. Can you admit to having a husband? You wouldn’t admit to me being your boyfriend for over a year.”

“I was wrong to do that,” Sam replied.

“It’s history now. So what’s your answer?”

Sam cupped his hand behind Henry’s neck to draw him closer. His other arm wrapped around Delilah, pulling her between the two men. The air snapped with electricity. The intensity was terrifying. “Henry, I will be your husband. And Delilah will be my wife. I don’t care what it takes.” He leaned in and kissed him. “I will marry you.”

Then Samuel leaned down and pressed a kiss to Delilah’s lips. “Marry me.” He glanced at Henry and then back to her. “Marry us.”

She looked at Henry and back to Samuel. She felt slighted a little. Henry never said he wanted to marry her, just Sam. But she could feel him shake against her skin. His eyes were still wide with fear. And her other lover stared at her in a way that made her melt inside. She hoped he still looked at her like that when they were all old and gray. She lifted herself on her tiptoes and kissed Samuel. “Yes, I will marry you. I’ll marry you both. I don’t know how, but we’ll figure it out.”

She took Samuel’s hand in one of hers. She took Henry’s with her other and smiled at both of them. “Let’s go to bed.”

They followed without a word. Delilah let them go once they made it to the bedroom. She dug in her bag for a pair of pajamas and slipped them on. Then she crawled on the bed and waved Henry to come to her. He didn’t bother to get undressed. He didn’t even kick off his shoes. He climbed in next to her and laid his head on her shoulder. She cradled him to her, softly whispering to him as she smoothed her fingers through his hair. She smiled as she felt the bed shift. Samuel returned her smile as he curled up to Henry and laid a protective arm over both his mates.

Samuel and Delilah gazed at each other as they soothed their mate. It took over an hour for Henry to stop trembling. Once he did, though, he fell asleep. Samuel sat up long enough to slip Henry’s shoes off his feet and quietly set them on the floor. He tugged the comforter over the three of them and then gently kissed his mates good night. Delilah pressed a kiss to Henry’s forehead before she drifted to sleep safe in the arms of her lovers.