N. Walters - Legacy Found

She needed some space, time to think. The past two days had been crazy.

A long, hot bath had eased some of her aches. A simple meal of soup and fresh bread had done the rest. Her headache was down to a manageable level and her stomach was settled.

A good night’s sleep was exactly what she needed.

Problem was, her mind wouldn’t stop working. She kept replaying the conversation with her brothers over and over in her head and matching what they’d told her to faint memories of her own.

Her body also ached. Her skin was so sensitive she hadn’t been able to bring herself to pull on her old dress as a nightgown. Instead, she decided to sleep naked. But even the sheets were proving too much for her to bear.

Sighing, she rolled over onto her side and stared out the window. She liked that the windows were low enough for her to see the woods beyond. She’d spent too many years unable to see anything at night, locked in a windowless room and shackled to the floor.

The mattress was firm, but comfortable. The sheets fresh. She didn’t take those things for granted. Not after decades of sleeping on a thin pallet on the floor. She should have been asleep two seconds after her head hit the pillow.

Instead, she was lying here thinking. Maybe she should count sheep.

There was no sound, more of a stirring in the air. She didn’t hear him, but she could smell him. Shelley turned onto her back and stared at the door, willing it to open.

The handle turned and James was there. “Can’t sleep?”

She sat up in bed, tugging the covers around her. “No.”

Without hesitation, James closed the door, walked to the bed and sat on the corner of the mattress. His nearness set her on edge, made every cell in her body sit up and take notice.

“Want to talk about it?”

Did she want to talk? No. She was tired of talking. Tired of thinking. What she wanted was something to take her mind off everything that had happened. She knew she couldn’t run from her problems. That she would have to deal with them in the morning. But she wanted a break. God knows she deserved one.

“No.”

James placed his hand on her leg. Granted, the blankets covered her, but she could still feel his touch through them, and it branded her.

“What do you want?” His voice was low, seductive. He ran his hand up and down her leg, the action both soothing and arousing.

Her body was responding to his nearness. It remembered the pleasure he’d given her last night and longed for a repeat performance. Her breasts felt swollen and tight and she knew her nipples were puckered. Her belly quivered and she was wet between her thighs.

Shelley pressed her legs together to try to ease the throbbing ache in her sex. It didn’t work.

James’s nostrils quivered and she knew he could smell her arousal. She couldn’t hide her reaction to him. Yet, he made no move to press her for more. His hand continued to stroke up and down her leg from thigh to calf.

“Shelley?”

She closed her eyes briefly and gathered her courage. If life had taught her one thing, it was to take advantage of the good things that came her way because they were fleeting. James was one of those good things. She’d never met a male she’d wanted before. She wasn’t in heat, wasn’t being forced. She simply wanted him.

What a treasure it would be to be able to touch him the way he’d touched her last night. To feel his hard muscles beneath her hand. To discover what gave him pleasure and what made him gasp.

She still had no idea where her future might lead her. But she knew she couldn’t stay here. She might not know her brothers, but there was no way she was going to remain here and perhaps bring the wrath of the hunters down on them.

Seeing Steve Macmillan had been a sharp reminder that her life was not her own. She’d spend the rest of her years looking over her shoulder.

No, she couldn’t stay. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t take some good memories with her. Ones that would have to last a lifetime.

Shelley might not have much experience with life, but she knew she’d never meet another male like James. Never feel the way he made her feel. What was between them was special. She’d never forgive herself if she didn’t reach out and experience the magic between them.

She licked her lips. “I don’t know if I’m ready to go all the way.” She felt stupid saying it, but knew James understood.

His hand paused on her leg. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.” He stood and she was afraid he was leaving.

She held out her hand. “No, you don’t understand.”

James took her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing her palm. “What do you want, Shelley? Tell me, and if I can do it, it’s yours.”

Taking the final plunge, she blurted, “I want to touch you.”

James wasn’t certain he’d heard Shelley correctly. “You want to touch me?”

She nodded and his cock immediately sprang to attention. He narrowed his gaze, studying her. Shelley had been through a lot today. Discovering she had a family, brothers who loved her, had shaken her. James still couldn’t believe she was Rachel Striker. He barely remembered her. She’d been little more than a baby when he’d left the pack and set out on his own all those years ago.

As much as he wanted Shelley, he didn’t want to take advantage of her. “Are you sure?”

“Only if you want me too.” She nibbled on her bottom lip, looking uncertain and uncomfortable. He hadn’t meant to make her feel that way. He wanted her to feel free to ask for what she wanted in bed. That’s what a relationship was all about.

James rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip. Her tongue touched his skin, making his scalp tighten. “I’d love for you to touch me.” His voice was thick with need.

He stood, pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside. Taking his time, he shucked his jeans, glad he was already barefoot so he didn’t have to worry about boots and socks. Naked and aroused, he stood before her, letting her look her fill.

His cock was jutting toward her. The thick shaft pulsed as blood pumped to it. The mushroom-shaped head was red and moist.

Her eyes widened and her lips parted. He thought he might come then and there.

Then Shelley reached out her hand and touched him.

He clenched his teeth together but was unable to keep in the hiss of pleasure as she stroked her fingers up and down his shaft from base to tip.

“Your skin is so soft. Like velvet.” He could hear the arousal in her voice and it kicked up his own another notch.

Standing next to the bed not touching her was one of the hardest things he’d ever done. But it was exciting too. Her eyes devoured him, her body shifting, as if yearning to be closer.

The night air was cool against his heated flesh, but where she touched him, he was on fire.

“So hard underneath.” Shelley wrapped her fingers around him and stroked his erection.

He growled, loving the way her hand felt on his cock. The fact that she wanted to touch him, was doing so of her own accord, almost pushed him over the edge.

And when her thumb rubbed over the bulbous head, collecting and spreading the clear liquid that seeped from the tip, James had to take a step back.

Shelley gave him a questioning look. “I’m close to the edge,” he warned her. She was making a mockery of his usual cool control that he was known for.

Not giving her too much time to think about what he was doing, he stretched out on the bed beside her and rolled onto his back. He stacked his hand behind his head and laced his fingers together to keep from touching her. “Go ahead.” This was what she wanted, so this was what he’d give her, not matter what it cost him. “Touch me.”