Starting Over(Hart of Seattle)

Chapter Eleven



Much later, Von stood naked before the mirror, arms raised, brushing her long hair. An equally naked Sean stood behind her, his rampant cock riding the small of her back as he nibbled one of the many passion marks on her neck. The stroke of his tongue on the small bruise sent fire streaking through her formerly sated body and she shuddered.
“Stop that! Haven’t you had enough?”
“Of you?” He palmed her breasts and toyed with the nipples. “Never.”
Insatiable. That’s Sean, and all that male potency was focused on her. The thought was enough to make her lightheaded. To take her mind off her reaction to him, which would land her right back in bed, she studied their images in the mirror.
Sean, with his tan, wasn’t too much lighter than her caramel colored complexion. The skin on his hands was almost darker than her pale breasts. While Von wasn’t racist, as a black woman raised in the deep south she never dreamed she’d end up with a white lover.
Suddenly, Von lowered her arms and leaned closer to the glass, noting all the small discolorations on her body. Bite marks, every single last one of them. Some were mere pricks. Others, like the ones on her shoulder tendon, were deeper and darker. She could see the clear imprint of teeth.
Von had a vague memory of Sean clamping down on her shoulder and the resulting orgasm that had rocked through her system with his action. She planted her hands on the dresser and tilted her head to the side, her face mere inches from the mirror.
“What’s wrong?”
“I look like a chew toy.” Her gaze traveled from her neck to her shoulders. There were small puncture wounds around her areoles and one love mark on the side of her right breast. Her left arm had a small bruise on the bicep and so did her right forearm. Although, now that she thought about it, Von did that one herself when she’d bitten it to keep from screaming.
She realized Sean had gone still as a statue behind her, his gaze locked on her body, his expression unreadable. Von wagged her behind until Sean’s erection was snuggled between her butt cheeks. “Hey!”
He raised his eyes to meet hers in the mirror.
“I like it that you went all primal on me.”
A slow smile crept across his face until it reached his eyes. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“In that case...” While he resumed plucking her left nipple with his right hand, he sent his left creeping down her stomach.
Von caught it at her navel. “No.”
Sean arched his left eyebrow. “No?”
“That’s right. You promised me breakfast hours ago and now it’s time for lunch.” She glanced around him at the clock. “Past time.”
He sighed and stopped trying to free his hand from her grip. “Get dressed and I’ll take you out.”
Von shook her head. “Not with this face you’re not. We both look like poster children for domes...” she trailed off. “What happened to your face?”

The skin between his eyebrows scrunched. “What?”
She turned, sure her eyes were deceiving her. Von grabbed Sean’s chin to hold his head still and went up on tiptoe. “It’s gone,” she said, eyes wide, shaking her head. “Last night your nose was swollen and you had the makings of a shiner over your left eye. Today it’s gone.”
She looked up to find him watching her closely. “I told you, Lycans heal fast.”
Von shook her head again, denying his words, but her gaze didn’t leave his features. “It’s not possible. Your face should look like mine. Worse.”
Sean held her by the waist. “Every word I spoke was the truth.”
“There has to be some other explanation,” she murmured, almost to herself. “Men can’t turn into wolves.” That, Von simply couldn’t allow herself to believe.
“Okay,” Sean said with a shrug. “What?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I was in a lot of pain and my eyesight wasn’t the best.” But she sounded doubtful, even to her own ears.
“There’s a full moon in three weeks. You’ll believe me then.”
He sounded so sure, Von found her confidence shaken. Could Lycans be real?
He cupped her jaw. “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. I know how tough it is. If I hadn’t seen it myself, had it happen to me, I wouldn’t believe either. We have plenty of time for you to get used to the idea.” He dropped a kiss on her lips. “Get dressed and I’ll meet you in the kitchen.” Sean crossed over to the bed, scooped up his pants, and left the room.
Von walked on trembling legs and sank onto the mattress. She knew full well how battered Sean’s face had been last night after spending most of the night viewing it from one angle or another. Before they finally fell asleep, they had darkened, the way bruises do. This morning when Sean confronted Derrick, had the discoloration been there?
Von didn’t know. She’d been more aware of his bare chest and barely leashed anger than anything else.
Coming from the kitchen she could hear sounds of cabinets snapping closed as Sean hunted the items he needed. What if he wasn’t suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome as she’d believed? What if everything he told her turned out to be true?
Troubled, Von pulled out an old pair of jeans and a well-washed, faded t-shirt, her usual lazy day attire. When had the bruises faded? During the night while they slept? In the morning while making love? Or minutes ago when they shared a shower and Sean introduced her to the perilous joys of making love on a semi-slippery surface?
She pulled on a satin thong and bra set in a ruby color, then tugged on her pants, which were so loose at the waist, she debated on putting on a belt. In the end, she decided against wearing anything that would slow down her ability to get naked in seconds. Sean’s lovemaking was addictive and though her stomach was currently running the show, as soon as her appetite was appeased, another, more unquenchable one would rear its head.
As her t-shirt settled into place around her hips, she tossed her ponytail over her shoulder and joined Sean in the kitchen. He’d found her pancake mix and had bacon sizzling in one pan and flapjacks browning in a skillet. On the counter sat a bowl containing raw eggs, seasoned and ready to be scrambled.
“You need any help?”
Sean’s glance encompassed her from head-to-toe. “You could have left off the bra.”
Von felt her face flushing and awkwardly crossed her arms over her chest. “Maybe next time I will.”
“In answer to your question, I have it. Stay here and keep me company.”
Von leaned against the countertop and rubbed her pointed toe along the seams in the tile.
“Something on your mind?”
She looked up from the floor to find Sean’s attention focused on the food. “Yes, no, sort of.” Way to sound decisive, Von. She sighed to herself.
“You can talk to me.”
Grabbing her courage with both hands, she said, “Tell me, again, about what happened to you? You know, the part about being a...”
“Lycan?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.”
This time Von listened, really listened, without any preconceived notions getting in the way. When he finished, she asked, “So you’re saying it’s a virus? One that only infects men?”
“That’s the way it was explained to me.”
“And because you survived the process, you turn into a werewolf when the moon is full?”
Sean took the time to put the bacon on a plate and toss the excess grease from the pan before answering. “According to Spook, the full change comes during a full moon, and in varying degrees at other times like when my life is threatened, I seriously lose my temper, or...” he glanced up from scrambling the eggs to pin her with a look, “...when making love to my mate.”
Von felt her heart rate increase. “Mate?” She’d read enough paranormal romances to know what a werewolf meant when he said the word mate.
“Yes.” He turned his attention back to the stove and poured the mixture into the pan where it instantly sizzled and bubbled.
To clarify she asked, “As in life-mate, forever and ever, the only woman for you?”
Sean finished cooking the eggs and set the pan to the side, then came to her and framed her face with his hands. “As in ‘till death do we part,” forever and always, just me and you,” he confirmed.
“Oh.” She couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“By Lycan standards, we’re already married.” He ran his finger along the mark on her shoulder as he stared into her eyes.
Von swallowed hard.
“I know this is a lot to adjust to, but I love you and you love me. Everything else is just semantics.”
She nodded.
“I’m not going anywhere. I have two months of leave coming to me and I’m staying right here with you. We’ll take our time, let you get used to the idea of you and me together. Okay?” He looked and sounded so sure, so serious, but in his eyes Von could see a hint of nervousness.
Von took a deep breath, held it and let it out. “In that case, maybe you should stay here with me.”
Sean’s eyes widened and he sucked in a sharp breath. “Are you sure? What about your church, your beliefs?”
She shrugged one shoulder, trying to appear unconcerned. “You said we were already married.”
He closed the gap between them and kissed her hard. “Let’s eat before the food gets cold. Go to the table and have a seat. I’ll serve you.”
Was that a yes? Did she really want him living with her for the next two months?
As she went to the dining table and sat, Von wasn’t sure, but she’d made the offer and she wouldn’t retract it.
Sean set the plate with pancakes, another with bacon, and a bowl of scrambled eggs on the table and went back into the kitchen. When he returned he had two plates, two glasses, and silverware. Another trip produced a bottle of chilled apple juice.
He sat and waited while she said grace before they both dug in. They were halfway through before he spoke again. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want to overwhelm you. How about I bring a few of my things here and we take it day by day. Neither one of us have ever had a live-in lover. I don’t want to lose you by pushing too hard, by asking for more than you’re ready to give.”
“You didn’t ask. I offered.”
“Un-huh, and you’re already regretting it, aren’t you?”

She tried to hold his gaze but couldn’t. Sighing, she admitted, “Yeah, maybe. I want to be that woman who wouldn’t think twice about having the man she loves stay with her, but...”
“You’re not, and I love that about you. That you’re not casual about any of this.” He reached across the table and captured her free hand in his. “You love me. We’re together. For now, that’s enough. It’s more than I hoped for when I arrived. Dreamed of? Yes, but expected to happen, no. Not really.”
Perversely, even as Von acknowledged that Sean was right and his moving in would be more than her battered conscience could handle, she was still disappointed. Was it love that made her want to see his face first thing in the morning, last thing at night, and every second in between? If so, why had she never felt this way about Derrick?
Maybe it was the sex component. The newness of it, the overwhelming desire to have her body joined to Sean’s every time he looked at her, or smiled in a certain way. Maybe it was the sound of his voice or the way he made her feel that everything she said or did was his top priority. That he was happy only when she was.
“Thank you.”
He gave her a crooked grin. “For what?”
“For knowing me better than I know myself. For accepting me the way that I am.”
Sean brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingertips. “The way you accept me?”
Von didn’t even have to think about it. “Yes.”
His gaze swept down her body. “Even if I’m sometimes more animal than human?”
At that she tugged her hand loose and rose, crossing around to his side of the table to straddled his lap. Sean pushed his chair back to give her more room. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she got in his face. “You listen to me. You are still you. I don’t care what happened...I take that back. I do care, but only because it allowed you to get out of that hellhole alive and in one piece. Losing you would have killed something in me.”
She leaned her forehead against his. “I was so scared. It killed me not being able to ask Derrick if he knew or had heard anything. I should have known my feelings were more than those of a friend.”
Sean pulled the band out of her hair and ran his fingers through the strands, then cradled her scalp with both hands. “I know, or at least I hoped. If the worst happened, you would have known. I have you listed as the one to notify, and everything I own—”
Von kissed him to shut him up. She didn’t want to think about death and Sean, not in the same sentence. The kiss turned desperate, greedy. Sean stood with her in his arms and she wrapped her arms and legs around him and held on tight.
“The bedroom,” he muttered as soon as he broke for air.
“The couch is closer.” Von rained kisses all over his face.
Sean staggered the few steps necessary and dropped with her onto the sofa. They tugged and shoved, ripped and pulled until all the good parts were accessible. Then Sean was over her, driving into her. She arched up to meet each heavy, frantic thrust.
Murmurs of “More,” “Just like that,” and “God, you feel so good” filled the atmosphere, along with gasps, cries, and heavy breathing. Then Von strangled a cry and Sean let out a deep groan and stiffened above her as her orgasm triggered his.
He collapsed on top of her.
“That was...” she panted.
“Explosive,” he finished for her, still gasping for air.
After they’d both calmed somewhat, he said, “I must be crushing you,” and tried to move.
Von held him tight. “No, don’t move. I like you right where you are.”
“Here?” He thrust his hips and his semi-erect cock dragged against sensitive nerve endings, causing her to groan.
“Yes,” she hissed.
Sean kissed her earlobe and laid his head alongside hers. “We’d be more comfortable in bed.”
“The bedroom is way over there.” She made a lazy gesture with her arm in the direction of her room.
“Hmm, there is that.” He nibbled on her earlobe and she shivered.
“And, I can’t feel my legs.” Not to mention she didn’t have the energy to stand, never mind walk.
“That might be circulation. Your jeans are tangled around your thighs.”
Von thought about that for a moment. “And my panties?”
Sean raised his head, and then dropped it back down. “Under the coffee table, ripped. I’ll buy you another pair.”
Von imagined how they must look. Sean had only pushed his pants and underwear down far enough to free his cock. Her t-shirt was shoved up under her armpits, the front clasp of her bra was open, and the waistband of her pants was tight above her knees.
The first snicker caught her by surprise. She managed to suppress the rest but her body shook with the effort. Sean lifted onto one elbow and peered at her. “Are you laughing?”
She nodded. Anything more would have her losing control.
“Dare I ask?”
The giggles broke free. “Us,” she managed to get out between chuckles.
He smiled, sharing the joke. “We do look a mess, don’t we?”
“Yes,” she agreed, nodding.
Sean pushed back onto his knees. “You want the rest of your food?”
Eyeing his rapidly hardening penis, Von lightly trailed her fingernail down the shaft, still shiny wet with their combined juices. “I’m no longer hungry,” she licked her lips, “for food.”
“Sit up.”
As soon as she complied, he had her shirt and bra off. Then he went to work on her pants and his. When they were both naked, he pulled her off the sofa and towed her behind him toward the bedroom.
“You think we’ll ever get enough of this?” she asked, watching the flex and ripples of the glutes in his butt.
“God, I hope not,” he fervently replied.
“Me, too.”
The bedroom door closed firmly behind them as they fell on each other again.