Furnace: A Fated Mate Romance Read online

  Lex took another step forward.

  The alpha gave one last snarl, then reluctantly dropped his head and turned it to the side, exposing his neck as he backed away, his mate and remaining son already heading back down the mountain at a quick lope.

  Lex snarled and flicked his head after the retreating pair. The alpha spun and raced after them. When he got to them the trio picked up speed and disappeared into the forest shortly thereafter, angling hard to the east, headed out of Lex’s hills. He made a mental note to track them after he got Petal back to safety. Not because he feared they might come back, but because he wanted to know what—or who—had urged them to enter his territory in the first place.

  He stood like that, lips pulled back, eyes wide and scanning slowly from left to right for several long minutes, giving the wolves plenty of time to head on out. Then, with one long last look behind him at where Petal had disappeared back up the hill, he darted forward, wishing not for the first time that he didn’t have to strip every time he changed. But the transformation never applied to clothes, which meant that if he wanted to show up dressed, he needed to go get his clothes first, then go get Petal.

  After all, showing up naked might just freak her out even more. She was going to be stressed enough; a naked giant trying to hold her and soothe her probably wasn’t the best thing for her just then. He reached the log, still lamenting the fact that he had to leave her alone, changed, donned his clothes, and raced back up the hill in human form as fast as he could.

  Petal needed him, and by all that was powerful he was going to show up.

  13. Return to the Cave

  Petal

  She didn’t know where she was. All that was clear was that she was alone and at the mercy of whoever found her first. Her feet hurt and she was tired of running. Her outfit was ruined, her hair an absolute tangled mess. At least she hadn’t been wearing some of her favorite shoes, opting to have left them at home. Small miracles, though maybe the wolf would have choked on the heels.

  She had found another set of rocks, making her way up onto them, hoping against hope they were too steep for the wolves to reach her when they came back. There was no doubt in her mind. It might be the pack, or it might be the lone hunter who had driven them off, perhaps in hopes of taking her down himself. But there was no doubt in her mind that she was going to die on this mountain, mauled to death by a beast she hadn’t realized still existed this far south.

  “Petal?”

  The word had barely reached her ears before she slid down the rocks and launched herself at the owner of the smooth tenor.

  “Lex!” she shouted with relief as his strong arms swept her out of midair, one of them around her back, the other under her legs, holding her tight to him.

  “Hi,” he said softly. “Are you all right?”

  “No,” she said fearfully, looking behind him. “We need to go. Now.”

  “What, why?”

  “There are wolves around here, Lex. Huge ones. They tried to eat me once already, but then another wolf came in and fought them off, ‘cause he wanted to have me all to himself. I’m sure he wanted to eat me.”

  Lex stumbled and started to make what sounded like choking noises for several moments. Petal slipped from his arms and pounded him on the back until he waved that he was all right.

  “I’m fine,” he croaked a second later, managing to stand upright. His face was still a little red.

  If the situation had been different, Petal would have sworn he’d been trying to cover up laughter. But perhaps he was just realizing how dire things really were, with the wolves and the fact that they were lost.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, starting to cry, and hating herself for it. She’d managed to avoid doing that all this time, only to lose it now, when Lex finally returned.

  “Sorry for what?” He pulled her tight to his chest.

  “Leaving the cave. Getting us lost. Attracting the wolves. For forcing myself on you.”

  Lex jerked again, but she was too busy sobbing into his shoulder to really notice.

  “You didn’t do that,” he assured her. “Trust me. We’re fine. Yes, you should have stayed in the cave like I told you. But we’re not lost, and I don’t think the wolves will be a problem anymore.” There was a long pause. “And you definitely didn’t force yourself on me. I can promise you that.”

  She sniffled, trying to slow her breathing so she could get it under control. “What do you mean we’re not lost?”

  “Exactly what I said. We’re not lost.”

  “But…”

  “Petal, it’s fine,” he said, squeezing her tightly. “I’m here now, and we can head back up to the cave. Help should be here in a few hours. We’ll be back in Surrey by nightfall. This I promise.”

  “Really?” Relief bubbled in her as she looked up at Lex.

  “Really.”

  “Oh thank goodness.” Her knees trembled slightly and he reached forward and swept her back into his arms with casual ease.

  Muscles in his arms stood out, feeling like solid iron under his clothing as she marveled at his strength. She’d never really noticed just how strong he was before. But now with firsthand experience, she felt like she was truly seeing Lex for the first time. Without her “corporate executive blinders.” Petal was recognizing him as a true human being, and a pretty amazing one at that.

  But her fear didn’t dissipate instantly.

  “What about the wolves?”

  She watched his lips quirk, curling slightly upward before he killed the look entirely. “I think we’ll be okay. Especially once we reach the cave and get back inside. They won’t come after us if they smell fire.”

  “Okay.” Petal took him at his word as he guided them up the hill, seeming to know exactly where they were headed. “You’re good at finding your way up here,” she remarked after a bit, still safely ensconced in his arms.

  “Thanks. I’ve been living up in these hills since I was a pup. You get used to it eventually; your brain just starts to know where to go.”

  Petal thought about pushing him further. It was obvious he wasn’t telling her the entire truth, that he was holding some sort of knowledge back from her. He’d saved her, however, and if her savior wanted to keep a few secrets to himself, then who was she to judge?

  “A pup? What are you, a dog?” Something came to her. “Wolves have pups too, don’t they? Are you like them? A wolf pup?” she teased.

  Lex laughed. “Yeah, something like that.”

  “You know, one of those wolves, the lone male who fought the others…he gave me a really weird look after he killed the first one.”

  “How did you know it was a male?” His face was etched with confusion.

  Petal smirked. “Uh, I looked between his legs? It was fairly obvious. I was terrified, but not blind.”

  Lex stumbled, fell forward, spun, and came to an abrupt halt with his back against a boulder, Petal shaking in his arms from the sudden movement.

  “Are you okay?” she asked. “Maybe I should walk.”

  Without waiting for permission she jumped out of his hands.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled.

  Petal was shocked to see his cheeks were red with embarrassment. It was an uneven slope. There was nothing to be ashamed about slipping on some loose rocks. What the hell had gotten into Lex anyway? Did he have a problem with the fact that male wolves had junk, and that this one’s had been rather noticeable and prominent, even to her terrified eyes?

  “It’s okay. But pull yourself together! Let’s get back to the cave.”

  “Right.” He stood up straight and started to walk uphill, waiting for her to come alongside him.

  The rest of the walk was done in silence, but every so often she caught Lex shaking his head, as if having an argument with himself that he disagreed about. What an odd person. Still, she’d learned a lot about him, his personality, and his skills over the past two days. He was a formidable person, someone she was very glad to have met. While
she wasn’t keen on getting into incidents like this one, if Petal had to do it again, she would choose Lex to be there with her.

  “After you,” he said as they reached a familiar-looking spot on the hillside.

  It was different without the snow, but she saw the cave opening anyway. Petal started forward, then stopped fifteen feet or so from the entrance, looking around and then down at the ground. “Is it safe?”

  Lex came up alongside her, listened to her question and then nodded, proceeding ahead to check out the cave.

  Moments later his voice echoed up through the opening. “All clear.”

  She scurried inside, ducking low. The rock walls which had felt so threatening earlier in the day now wrapped around her like a safety blanket. Petal wanted to cry again, but she couldn’t. Not this time. She found the flat spot and laid out the blanket before stretching herself out over it, ignoring the unevenness of the floor.

  Her brain was just about to announce that it was the comfiest thing she’d felt in hours, until Lex joined her, his body providing a warm and soft pillow next to her. Before she knew it, Petal was resting her head on his chest, one strong arm draped over her shoulder and down her back to hold her close, while the other reached up to gently stroke the mass of unruly hair from her face.

  Petal lay still, unsure of how to react. The sudden closeness between them was not something she’d seen coming, nor had she expected it from him. After all, she was the corporate bitch that had essentially gotten him into this situation in the first place. She knew enough about his woodsman skills now to know that Lex could have probably made it back to Surrey within hours of the storm, if he hadn’t been burdened down by her.

  Why would he show any interest in her? The answer was: he wasn’t. This was just a way to help her relax, to come down from the adrenaline high after her encounter with the wolves. That was what made the most sense. It was purely a calming tactic, designed to get her to fall asleep as soon as possible.

  The thing was, Petal wasn’t tired at all.

  14. Life Reaffirmation

  Petal

  “You know,” she said aloud, letting her mind wander freely, speak as it would and dictate the conversation naturally, without any self-imposed rigidity behind it.

  Lex grunted softly before speaking. “I know a few things. Not what you were trying to say, but I mean, I took basic arithmetic in school.”

  What a ridiculous statement. She giggled. “Did you now? So if I tell you that Johnny had three apples, and I ate two of them, you’d be able to tell me how many he had left?”

  “Of course. Not that the questions were ever that simple. You forgot the fees paid to the lunch bully, his own personal stash of apples that he grew in the backyard, and of course him sharing with the pretty girl. All of which resulted in him losing all his apples.”

  Petal snorted. It was true, those stupid questions always had ridiculous parts to them.

  “And if you ask real nice like,” he continued softly, “I can even do the multiplication tables.”

  “No,” she gasped. “You don’t say?”

  “Scout’s promise.” He held up his free hand, middle finger bent over his index.

  She frowned. “I…umm, I don’t think that’s the Scout’s promise,” she said at last, struggling to contain her laughter.

  Lex stared at his hand for a moment. “Well, that would explain a lot.”

  Now she laughed. His sense of humor was so oddball, yet somehow she was always smiling or laughing at it. Maybe it just went to show that she was a bit of a goof herself? Petal wasn’t sure, but she wasn’t about to complain over it either.

  Finally she shook her head and inhaled, calming the giggles for the moment. “What I was going to say was thank you.” Her head tilted up so she could look him in the eyes.

  “For what? I don’t have any apples.”

  “Oh for…” She elbowed him, not bothering to hold back. “For saving my life, you jerk.”

  “Ah. That.” Lex fell surprisingly quiet, as if he were made uncomfortable by her thanks. “Don’t mention it,” he said at last.

  “Well, I just did.” Her voice had dropped to a hoarse whisper.

  Lex’s hand stopped caressing her face. It had long ago removed all the hair, but she had been content to let him continue under the guise that he was just keeping her face clear. It felt nice, his long fingers dragging gently across her skin and hair. Every now and then a tingle shivered down her spine when he found a good spot.

  “Anyone would have done the same thing.”

  “Maybe,” she agreed. “But that goes the same for thanking you. Whether or not you went out of your way to do it, it was still a nice thing to do, and something that I’m appreciative about.”

  Lex shrugged, remaining silent. After a moment she reached up and manually started moving his hand across her forehead again. He caught on immediately and started to stroke her once more as she lay on his chest. Petal, meanwhile, dragged the fingertip of her left hand up and down his chest, pressing just hard enough for him to feel it through his work uniform.

  There was no response from Lex, either verbal or physical to her touch. Unsure of whether she’d made the right move or not, Petal looked up at him and gasped. His eyes were bright, the fire reflecting a wildness in them that she’d never seen before. The full weight of his gaze was fixated on them, and the fire gave them a yellow tinge unlike anything else. There was something feral about that moment, something wild and untamed.

  “You don’t have to do this,” Lex said, his voice a silky growl that made one thing incredibly clear.

  He wanted this. Wanted her. But he wasn’t willing to move forward if she didn’t want it. Not that he was unwilling, but Petal had to want it as badly as he did.

  “I’m a thirty-seven-year-old grown woman,” she replied dryly. “We’re not fresh out of college and still filled with youthful hormones. I know full well what I’m doing, and what I want. So the only question that remains is what are you going to do about it?”

  Just like that the ball was back in his court, tossed over the net and awaiting his response. Petal wasn’t sure what she’d expected to happen. Maybe he’d lean in and kiss her. Maybe he’d decide not to. But the wild abandon with which he attacked her was not on the list.

  A triumphant growl filled the little cave, echoing off the walls as Lex rolled on top of her, pinning her to the ground. He kept his weight off of her, but there was no doubt that she was trapped and at his mercy. Excitement at that prospect shot through her system. Not fear, not hesitation or uncertainty. But a genuine thrill that surged out from between her legs.

  She wanted to be his. To surrender herself completely and utterly to his will, no matter what it may be. Petal found she trusted him completely, knowing that he only had her best interests in mind. It was a powerful sensation, not something she’d ever encountered with past bedmates. She’d experimented a bit, and having a large male on top of her with her hands pinned to the ground was not a first.

  But the desire to submit, to give complete and full control to Lex was new.

  He leaned down and nuzzled her face to the side, opting to kiss her neck first. Petal gasped at the fire of his lips as they seared her skin. It felt like he was branding her with his kisses, claiming her as his own by marking his territory.

  “Oh Lex,” she gasped and moaned, her back arching while she struggled playfully in his grasp. “I want you so badly.”

  His only response was yet another animal-like growl filled with untamed passion. The fire made its way from her collarbone up the sensitive skin of her neck. Lex nipped at it several times, just hard enough to sting, not hard enough to leave marks. Then he proceeded to kiss and lick each one better. It was driving her wild, and he hadn’t even kissed her properly yet!

  That all changed a moment later, as he followed her collarbone to her cheek, before pulling back just enough to look into her eyes.

  “You are mine,” he proclaimed.

  “
I’m yours,” she agreed. “Take me.”

  His lips covered hers, and Petal became lost in the moment, caught up entirely in everything Lex. His touch, his kiss, his sex, the way he tasted, the way he smelled like leather and freshly cut wood. The way he crossed her arms above her head and held them there with one hand gripping both wrists, holding them to the ground. His other hand slid up her shirt, encountering the softness of her skin where it had come untucked.

  “You’re so warm,” she gasped, feeling almost lightheaded as wave after wave of heat pounded into her body.

  Wordlessly, Lex’s free hand started to undo her buttons. First the vest, which was almost completely shredded anyway. Then he went to work one at a time on her button-up shirt. Each one that came free exposed her skin to his touch and to his gaze. She watched his eyes as they widened with arousal as her black bra was finally bared for him to see, along with much of the skin of her chest and stomach.

  “Sit up,” he commanded.

  Petal did as she was told once he let go of her hands, sitting up and allowing him to undress her. For someone so obviously aroused and strong, his touch was as light as a feather. He never squeezed too hard or used his strength to hurt her. It was all smooth and easy, like it was just sort of meant to happen. Petal had no other explanation. Everything just worked.

  In seconds she was naked from the waist up. The day was still cool, even with the sun and the fire. All of a sudden she was glad for the warmth as a breeze made its way in from the entrance. Her breasts reacted most, the tips hardening immediately.

  Lex grinned at that and took one into his mouth. The combination of hot and cold was amazing. She moaned and held his head to her breasts as he sucked and licked them, alternating between one and the other.

  Her fingers meanwhile started undressing him, finding the seams of his uniform and undoing them until he was forced to stop his attentions and strip out of it, leaving him in just his boxers.

  “How did I suddenly became more naked than you?” he complained happily.