N. Walters - Finding Chrissten

He got as far as the door when she called his name. He turned his head and studied the beautiful picture she made standing in the middle of his living room. Her long hair was free of all restraint. Like liquid gold, it flowed over her shoulders, framing a face that made his heart ache.

“Why? Why do you want to mate with me?” She linked her hands together in front of her as though she didn’t quite know what to do with them. “I’ve had a lot of things done to me and they weren’t pretty.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” Fury bubbled up inside him. Everyone responsible for her ordeal was dead, but that didn’t still his anger at what they’d done to her. They beaten her, experimented on her, raped her, but they hadn’t broken her luminous spirit. If anything, what she’d gone through had only served to make her stronger, like steel tempered in fire.

She shrugged and picked at the ends of her top, not meeting his gaze. “Doesn’t change what happened. I’ve got a ton of emotional baggage to deal with, a brother who is human and a twin who figures he’s the boss of me.”

Hank slowly walked back to her, drawn by the sadness radiating from her. He caught the bottom of her chin with the edge of his hand and raised it until her eyes met his. The color was so pure it was almost startling. He didn’t think he’d ever get used to them. They were so expressive, so vivid. They truly were the mirrors to her soul.

“I’m here to help you deal with the trauma. We can get you outside help if you need it. There are people who specialize in counseling women who have gone through similar traumas.” He rubbed his thumb over her jaw line. “I like Craig. Human or not, he’s a good guy. As for Quinn…” Hank shrugged. “He can be a pain in the ass at times, but he loves you more than life itself. He gave up almost two years of his life, infiltrated a group of paranormal bounty hunters and faced purist werewolves who would have killed him in a split second. And he did it in order to find you. I respect him for that.”

She caught his hand in hers, stilling the motion. “But how do you feel about me? Really?”

He turned his hand so he was holding hers and lowered it until it was over his heart. “You’re the reason my heart beats, the reason I was born. I know that in my soul. We were meant to be together. I love you, Chrissten. I didn’t want to say it before because I didn’t want you to feel pressured to return that love if you didn’t feel it.” He tried to lighten the mood. “Plus, I’m a guy. We try not to say things like that unless we absolutely have to.”

Her expression was solemn and he felt his entire life slipping away from him.

“That’s unfortunate,” she began. His heart cracked and began to splinter. “Because I’m the kind of women who needs to hear it a lot.”

He looked at her, trying to figure out if she was saying what he thought she was saying. She nodded at him and smiled. “Oh, Hank. I’ve loved you from the first moment I saw you. I just didn’t know what it was I was feeling. I finally admitted it to myself when I thought you were going to die in front of me.”

Hank yanked her into his arms and held on so tight he knew he had to be hurting her, but she didn’t complain or try to pull away. No, his Chrissten just pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around him. He buried his face in her shoulder, trying to control the explosion of emotion inside him. His eyes burned with unshed tears and his muscular body quivered.

Chrissten loved him.

It didn’t matter what happened from here on, if they moved away or stayed in the city. As long as they were together he was happy.

He pulled back. “You’ll let me stay with you.”

She nodded. “Yes.” Her hand snaked around the back of his neck and she yanked him toward her. Their lips met and he tasted the promise, the passion on them. He devoured her, tasting and taking, savoring and giving. She fit against him perfectly, as if they’d been made for one another. And Hank truly believed they had been.

Chrissten was shaking, her knees weak as Hank continued to kiss her like there was no tomorrow. For the first time in a long while, she felt like there was a tomorrow, a future to look forward to.

Hank loved her. She let the words roll around in her mind and warm her heart. Hank loved her . When he’d listed his faults and started to leave she’d wondered if he’d truly meant what he’d said about wanting to be with her. She’d found the courage to ask the one question she had to know the answer to. And he’d answered even though it made him vulnerable to her.

He’d put his heart on the line and told her he loved her.

Chrissten’s wolf howled and the deep cavern of doubt inside her began to close. She knew she’d have emotional problems in the future. She’d have to come to terms with the kidnapping and the abuse she’d suffered.

She’d shoved the memories aside since her rescue, refusing to think about them, instead focusing all her attention on getting strong and killing Brian. Now that the threat was gone, she had no choice but to face her horrible past. It was time to deal with it and put it behind her. Hank and her family would help her. Every day she was feeling stronger and more able to cope.

She wasn’t foolish enough to think it would be easy, but she wasn’t a quitter. With her family’s help and Hank beside her, she knew she could deal with whatever came her way.

Hank’s lips left hers, started down the line of her jaw and continued over her neck. Thoughts of tomorrow slipped away as heat exploded in her core, expanding like a wave over her entire body. All the emotional turmoil churning inside her was rapidly being channeled into physical need.

A blast of heat ran from his lips to her breasts and down between her thighs. She wanted Hank. Wanted to seal their pact of love with the physical act.

“The bedroom.” She gasped when he traced his tongue over the sensitive whorl of her ear and raised goose bumps on her neck. His breath was warm and moist against her skin.

“Your wish is my command.” He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. It was an ugly room, plain and utilitarian like the rest of the apartment. But it was strangely beginning to feel like home to her. Was it because she’d spent so much time here? Because it belonged to Hank? Was where he lived?

Or maybe it was the man himself. Maybe Hank represented home to her. In his arms she’d found love and a sense of safety and belonging. It was a precious gift, one she’d treasure for the rest of her life.

He set her on her feet beside the bed and started to undress her. She went to work on his shirt, tugging the hem from his jeans and pulling it upward. The broad expanse of muscular chest distracted her and she contented herself with running her hands over it.

Hank had her bra undone in the blink of an eye and cupped her breasts in his hands. “We have to let go of one another to get our clothes off,” he reminded her. His breathing became faster with each passing second.

“On the count of three. One. Two.” She didn’t get to three. Hank pulled back and yanked his shirt over his head, kicked off his sneakers and went to work on his jeans. She watched, spellbound as his magnificent body was revealed.

“You’re not getting undressed,” he reminded her. She shook herself out of her sensual stupor and hurriedly pulled off her top and bra. As she kicked off her shoes, she admired the jut of his erection coming up from its nest of dark blond curls. Hank was so male. So perfect.

“I can see I’m going to have to help you.” Hank unbuttoned her jeans and stripped them down her legs, taking her panties at the same time. “Lift,” he ordered and she lifted her right foot, then her left. He removed her clothing and socks, leaving her naked before him.