N. Walters - Alexandra's Legacy

James knew Joshua would protect Alex with his life. Furthermore, if he was Striker for the Wolf Creek pack he had the skill, intellect and muscle to do so. But any man or werewolf, no matter how skilled, could be brought down. There were rival werewolves searching for them. Not to mention bounty hunters were always a problem.

He pushed his foot down harder on the fuel pedal. James knew he’d soon have to stop for the night. The daylight was fading and he didn’t want to approach Wolf Creek after dark. At this point, there was no way of knowing who was friend and who was foe. He started scanning the sides of the road, searching for a place to pull over and wait out the long, cold night.

Joshua opened his eyes and stared at the dim light creeping in through the slim opening in the rocks. Dawn was breaking and he damn well deserved a medal for sainthood after the night he’d put in. Alex was draped across him, her body almost boneless. It had been an exquisite torture to hold her in his arms all night long.

A quick flick of a few buttons and two zippers, a quick roll to put her beneath him, and he could have been buried inside her moist, welcoming heat. The thought was enough to make even the strongest man sweat, knowing all that was his for the taking.

He knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her. Her sexual drive was heating up and was getting closer to its peak. He wanted her home safe within the confines of the compound and tucked into his bed when the time finally came to claim her.

Not that it would be easy. In spite of her claim that it was him she wanted, they’d still have to go through the ritual of allowing other males to state their case unless he wanted an all-out battle on his hands. Although the way he was feeling at the moment, a bloody brawl sounded like a good way to work off some of his tension.

Alex chose that moment to stretch before shifting around to find a comfortable spot. Joshua gritted his teeth and clamped his arm around her waist to keep her from squirming around on top of him. The throbbing of his cock matched the painful throbbing in his shoulder this morning. Although his shoulder wasn’t causing him near as much discomfort.

He looked down at her, but all he could see was the top of her head. She had her face buried against his chest and her arms tucked snugly around him. She was usually so vibrant and full of life when she was awake, it was strange to see her so still and restful. She was a tall woman, so it was easy to forget she was slender of build.

Joshua slid his fingers over the small of her back and then upward. She arched toward his fingers. “Mmm,” she moaned. “That feels nice.”

The hard points of her nipples were pressing against his chest. He could feel them through the thin fabric of her bra. It would be so easy to just ease her over onto her back, open her bra and spread the fabric apart, exposing her breasts for him to touch and taste. It was so tempting.

“We have to get going.” His voice sounded deep and raspy after a night of sleep. Of course, the fact he had a raging hard-on didn’t help either. He hated to disturb her, but he expected that today was going to be as bad, if not worse, than yesterday. They were closing in on the Wolf Creek pack territory and the males from the other packs, as well as the bounty hunters, would be getting desperate.

Alex raised her head and blinked at him like a sleepy owl, her eyes a pale silvery gray in the early morning light seeping into the cave. He loved her eyes. With their unusual color and thick, brown lashes, they were a sight to behold. And extremely expressive.

He loved to watch all her emotions flash through them. If eyes were the mirrors of the soul, then she had a beautiful one. Not that he had any doubts on that score. Not after the few days he’d spent with her. And what the hell was he doing waxing poetic over her eyes? They had to get going.

Still, he didn’t sit up and dislodge her. She’d had a hard day yesterday and deserved a few minutes to wake up on her own. It had nothing to do with how damn good she felt cradled against his body.

The bruise on her forehead was a lovely shade of purple and yellow this morning. He touched it gently with his fingers, probing carefully around the edges. “How do you feel?”

She closed her eyes and sighed. “Good. But then again, I haven’t moved yet.” She started to lever herself away from him, but that drove her hips into closer contact with his groin. He hissed out a breath and rolled, shifting her to the ground beside him.

“Sorry about that.” She ducked her head, but not before he caught a glimpse of the light blush covering her cheekbones.

“No problem.” He grunted as he sat up, his own muscles protesting. He swiveled his neck from side to side, feeling his bones crack as he climbed to his feet. The hard, cool ground had made his muscles stiff, so he raised his arms in the air, stretching them. He bent his elbows and let his hands fall behind his head when he clasped them behind his neck. It felt good to work the kinks out of his body. If he’d been alone, he would have changed into his wolf form last night and curled up in a corner of the cave, but that would have meant leaving Alex to lie by herself.

She seemed accepting enough of his wolf form when he was fighting, but he didn’t think she was ready to accept a wolf sleeping beside her at night. Or maybe it was him who wasn’t ready to test her. Either way, he wouldn’t have traded last night for anything. Having Alex lie so trustingly in his arms was something he wouldn’t soon forget.

He watched her as she rolled up onto her knees and then carefully placed one foot flat on the ground and pushed herself upward. She groaned and he could hear the slight crack of her bones as she rolled her neck and shoulders.

“Now how do you feel?” He lowered himself back to the ground, hauled on his boots and began to lace them.

“Like I was in an accident and then trekked through the woods all day yesterday.” She groaned again as she lowered herself back to the ground and reluctantly pulled her boots over to her.

“Wait.” Joshua grabbed what was left of his T-shirt and tore two long strips off the end. He scooted over in front of her and pulled her right foot into his lap, carefully removing her sock. Her foot was sore in several places. He knew she needed some healing salve and a few days of rest for her feet, but that couldn’t happen yet. Taking one of the strips, he carefully wrapped her foot and then tugged her sock back on. Then he did the same with her left foot, carefully inspecting it as well. One wasn’t any worse than the other. She could walk, but it wasn’t going to be fun.

When he was done, he helped her put her boots on, brushing her hands aside as he laced them up himself. He stood and then pulled her up beside him. “How does that feel?”

She took a few steps and smiled at him. “Better, thanks.” She glanced down at the remains of the shirt in his hand. “I don’t think there’s enough left for you to wear.” She bent down and hefted the jacket off the ground. “You should wear this.”

He shook his head. “You need it more.” He could already see the goose bumps on her arms. The morning was cool, but it would heat up as the day wore on. “Here.” He handed her the T-shirt. “There should be enough for you to wear. It will help keep you warm.” He took the jacket from her and held it while she slipped the remains of the shirt over her head.

It fell to just below her bra and was more of a crop-top than a shirt, but it was something. Shaking out the jacket, he held it while she slipped her arms inside. He didn’t miss the slight wince on her face as she moved. He knew the wound on her arm was sore, not to mention the fact that the muscles across her chest and shoulders were stiff from yesterday’s accident.