Claiming His Human Page 7

  Chapter Six

  Darius swallowed hard. It was obvious how close Holly was to her mother and how the loss of the male in their family still affected them both.

  “I would let him pin me and reassure him that my intentions are completely honorable, Daphne. Like I said, I knew from the minute I saw your daughter that she was the one for me.”

  Holly disentangled herself from her mother and if looks could kill he would be ten feet under, again, but her reaction wasn't his concern right now. He focused his attention on the frail old lady in the hospital bed. A deep inhale of her scent when he'd fluffed up her cushion had confirmed how ill she was, and what his bear had sensed from the minute he'd stepped into the room. Her mother’s heart was under considerable strain, and her skin, as well as her bones, were paper thin. Osteoporosis was a common enough condition for human females in particular. It made his bear even more impatient to be mated to Holly. His bite would ensure she was immune from that disease, as well as a host of others. Shifters had a much longer lifespan than humans, and as his mate, hers would match to his.

  If Holly didn't appreciate his answer, her mother certainly did, because her smile lit up the room.

  “I'm glad to hear that, son, because my Holly deserves a good man. Are you one of those?”

  Holly's lips set in a grim line, and she dropped her head. Darius sure wished she would look up so that he could read her expression more accurately. Her doubts he sensed loud and clear, and they made his bear restless.

  “I try to be, Daphne.”

  This time Holly snorted in response, and her mother frowned at her.

  “Do you not agree, my dear? Surely you wouldn't be with him if he wasn't a good man. I've brought you up to respect yourself, so…”

  “Yes, I would love to hear your opinion of me, too, Holly.” Darius knew his voice held the dark growl of his bear, but fuck him, her answer was important to him. So much rested on what she truly thought of him, after all.

  Instead of answering him Holly shook her head and turned the question around on him.

  “Why don't you tell my mother what you do for a living, Darius?”

  Daphne frowned and looked between them, and Darius suppressed a sigh of irritation.

  “I work in private security, and I think what Holly is trying to infer is that sometimes things get hairy, and I have to be rather hands on, shall we say.”

  Holly's strangled cough pissed his bear off no end. Oh, to get her home, and to show her what happened if she didn't buck up her attitude. Sadly none of that was likely anytime soon. His phone vibrated in his pocket with an incoming call, but he ignored it for now.

  “Well, I guess you would have to be. I'm sure you use only the force necessary to restrain. My Steve did that for a while when he left the army. Holly wouldn't remember because she was only little.”

  Sure enough, his girl frowned at her mother.

  “Why do I not know this? Did he do it for long?”

  “No, he didn't. Back then it was all rather rough and not controlled very well. He got badly hurt and decided to quit. That's why he left the army after all. Once we had you, he didn't want to risk his life anymore. His priorities had changed, see.” Her mother sighed and smiled at Darius. “Anyway, it's all a long time ago now.”

  “Papa was a train driver.” Holly's voice was full of hurt. “Why did he lie about that?”

  “He never lied to you, Holly. He just didn't think it was relevant enough to mention.” Her mum reached out to her, and after a moment’s hesitation Holly took her mother’s hand and offered her a wobbly smile.

  “It feels as though he did, Mummy. Why did he never tell me?”

  Daphne sighed, threw a knowing glance toward Darius, and shrugged.

  “Your father was in special ops, and that's all I'm allowed to say on that even after all this time. He saw in his words, ‘a lot of shit’, and he did his best to just try and forget it all. He wanted you to have as normal an upbringing as he could provide. So, we both agreed to never mention it. I only did so now, because I sense that Darius’s profession is something of a sticking point for you, and I’d hate for it to come between you two. Especially as he clearly cares a great deal for you.” Daphne smiled at Darius, and if she wasn't so damn fragile, he'd have enveloped her in a bear hug. Instead, he settled for smiling back at her and did his best to ignore his phone for the third time. Judging by the insistent way whoever was on the other end kept on ringing, it was important. He would have to give in and answer it soon, especially as he had that itch between his shoulder blades which warned of impending doom. Not yet, however. What was happening between mother and daughter was far more important.

  Holly’s shoulders slumped, and she shook her head.

  “Leave him out of this, Mummy. My objections have nothing to do with his job.”

  “Then what are they, my darling?” Her mother asked. “You can't pull the wool over my eyes. He clearly means something to you or you’d never have brought him with you, now would you?”

  Holly opened her mouth as though to argue that, but then seemed to think better of it. “Forget it, Mum. You wouldn't believe me if I did tell you. Besides, I'm more worried about your leg and this operation you need. Where is that damn doctor?”

  Right on cue, there was a knock on the door and a guy in theater scrubs stuck his head ‘round the corner.

  “Mrs. Trent, I'm so sorry for the delay. I got held up in the theater.” He stepped inside the room and held out his hand to Holly. “You must be Holly. Glad to meet you, my name is Paul Ingle, and I’m the head orthopedic surgeon here. As I'm sure you're aware your mother’s condition makes the operation and her recovery time slightly more complicated, but I can assure you that we'll take good care of her here.”

  Mr. Ingle turned his attention toward Darius.

  “I'm sorry the next part of this conversation is really for family, only, which I'm assuming you’re not, so would you mind waiting outside, please.”

  Darius’s bear roared his annoyance at this other male’s suggestion that he ought to be left alone with their mate. Daphne gasped, Holly rolled her eyes, and the no doubt eminent surgeon paled and took a step back.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Holly mumbled that expletive under her breath, but Darius heard it loud and clear anyway. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared her down until she dropped her gaze and red stained her cheekbones. That was more like it.

  His phone chose that moment to vibrate again, and fishing it out of his pocket, he glanced at it.

  Cole. Of course. This wouldn't be good news.

  “I do mind, but as it happens I need to take this phone call.” He smiled at Daphne and took his leave. The minute the door shut behind him, he answered the phone.

  “I'm here, man, what's so fucking urgent?”

  Cole’s annoyed growl vibrated down the phone line, and Darius sighed.

  “Sorry, boss, things are just a little fraught right now.”

  “Explain fraught, cuz. Have you claimed her yet?”

  Darius gripped the phone tighter, and his voice came out distorted as his bear clambered for supremacy.

  “No, that would just make things worse.”

  “Fuck, what's taking you so long, Darius? No, don't answer that. Let me guess, she's still too freaked out about the fact that you sprout fur, and gain several hundred pounds in the process.”

  Despite the situation, Darius had to smile at the exasperation behind his cousin’s words.

  “Something like that. She’s human, after all. Right now she has more pressing problems than me, however. Her mother had a bad fall and is in the hospital. That's why I didn't answer the phone straight away. I've just been turned out the room by the damn surgeon, so what's so urgent?”

  Cole’s amused snort made Darius flip him off silently.

  “Glad you find that so amusing, cuz.”

  “Just tell me you didn't rearrange his features in the process. I know what a hothead you can be, and yo
u're in enough fucking trouble as it is. Is her mum going to be okay?”

  Darius turned to stare at the shut door and sighed.

  “I hope so. From what I can gather from that conversation going on in that room right now, the op will be complicated, but the dick head surgeon seems pretty sure he can pull it off. Her mum will be laid up for a while, mind you.”

  “Well, that might be for the best in the long run. Look, cuz, there is no easy way to say this, but the council wants blood.”

  Darius swore softly, and Cole’s short laugh came through loud and clear.

  “Yes, I quite agree, but my hands are tied. There is only so much of my influence I can insert. The fact remains your little stunt broke countless rules, and not only was the wolf you killed the alpha of his pack, his cousin sits on the council. That fucker wants your head, not least because that damn goose you’ve been fooling around with in the past is singing like a fucking canary and trying to pin this whole thing on you. She has friends in high places, too, who are protecting her, of course. They want both you and your mate at the mansion to stand trial, and I have to tell you, Darius, this isn't looking good.”

  “No fucking way am I bringing her in. You know what they’ll do to her. I—”

  “I’m not expecting you to, Darius.” Cole interrupted him. “I've spoken to Emmi, and she's perfectly happy for your mate to come and stay at our house. The council is not going to argue that arrangement, as I'll be personally responsible for her, but you'll have to go in and soon. The sooner the better, before they track you down. It will look much better for you if you go in voluntarily, you know that.”

  Cole paused, and Darius shook his head in disgust. He knew his cousin was right and had done all he could do. He might be the head of the security team, but he was still bound by the laws of the council. Probably more so now that he was in charge than he had been before when he'd just been Cole Jackson the council enforcer, and something of a Lone Ranger.

  “Darius, are you still there?”

  “Yes, sorry, I am, but I can’t leave now. Can you buy me some more time, at least until her mum’s op is over?”

  Cole’s deep sigh spoke volumes.

  “I’ll try. Stay close to her and text me when you’re ready to leave. I’ll send the boys to take you both in in a secure van, via my house. Keeps you off the radar.”

  Darius pinched the bridge of his nose and nodded toward the surgeon who exited Daphne’s room just then. Seeing the man hurry away from him as though the hounds of hell were after him, did wonders for Darius’s bad mood. His bear grinned from ear to ear, and he willed the possessive animal to stand down. Cole was right. He couldn’t deck every man who as much as looked at his girl.

  “Fine, I’ll do whatever you need me to. Just give me this time with my mate. She hasn’t got anyone else to help her through this.”

  “Like I said, I’ll try my best. Good luck, cuz.”

  ****

  Holly held it together until the doors leading to the theater shut behind her mum’s gurney. That’s when the tears fell, and she stuffed her hand in her mouth to stop herself from making a noise. There were too many nurses milling about, and Holly hated making a spectacle of herself.

  She tried to run, to get away, but she should have known it was useless. All she achieved was to run head first into a far too familiar wall of muscle. Arms of steel lifted her off the ground and held her firm, and Holly took a deep inhale of his intoxicating scent. It did wonders at calming her down, which made absolutely no sense, but needing the lifeline he represented, she didn’t dare to analyze this, just clung on a like a limpet while Darius carried her away.

  When a door shut behind them, and she found herself draped over his lap, with his hand in her hair while he was murmuring soothing nonsense into her ear, Holly started to sob in earnest. It should have been mortally embarrassing, but she sensed nothing but quiet acceptance from the man holding her so tenderly it only made her cry harder.

  By the time she finally got herself back under control, his waistcoat was a whole shade darker than it had been, thanks to her waterworks.

  She ineffectively dabbed at it with her hands. Not that it achieved anything bar making her acutely aware of his hard muscles and the equally hard and rather impressive outline of his cock, which seemed determined to bore into her ass.

  Heat flooded her nether regions, her knickers grew damp, and she squirmed to hide her reaction to his nearness. Really that man was walking, talking Viagra to her libido, and she really couldn’t jump his bones in her mother’s hospital room, private as it was.

  A low rumble rose from Darius’s chest, which had to be the sexiest sound ever, coupled as it was with his deep inhale.

  “For the love of God, woman, it’s hard enough to keep my hands off of you, so stop wiggling that delectable ass, or I’ll give into my instincts to bend you over that bed and fuck you senseless right here and now.”

  He tipped her chin up as he spoke, his eyes the glowing yellow of his bear’s. Holly should have been horrified, yet his almost loss of control had the completely opposite effect on her. A rush of moisture coated her pussy lips, her clit clenched, and she barely suppressed her needy groan. Darius’s features tightened and grew more intense, as he ran his thumb over her bottom lip. The feel of that calloused pad across the sensitive flesh sent sparks of awareness along every one of her nerve endings, and she opened her mouth to his gentle insistence without any conscious effort. Darius slipped his free hand up her back to cup her nape, drawing her in closer. What possessed Holly she would never know, but she wrapped her tongue around his thumb and sucked. His cock jerked under her backside, and his growl trembled through her.

  “Fuck!”

  The expletive came out distorted, and a heady rush of feminine power made her bolder. Lord knew where this new, act now and damn the consequences Holly had come from. In this moment, she didn’t bloody care. All that mattered was relieving the ache in her pussy, and with that one goal in mind, she ran her hands up to his shoulders and getting off his lap straddled him.

  Darius’s eyes flashed from golden to brown and back again, and she lost herself in the intensity of his gaze.

  “Holly, what are you doing?” he asked. The gravelly timbre of his voice shot straight to every one of her erogenous zones, not least because his scent increased and wrapped her into a cocoon of his earthy, spicy presence.

  “I don’t know. I just want … please … I need.”

  A hiss escaped him when she lowered herself back down on his lap and ground her by now sodden crotch over his cock.

  Another one of those earth-shattering deep rumbles came from the man she was dry humping like some sort of wanton hussy, and in the next instant, his large fingers dug into her hips with enough force to leave bruises. Shivers of apprehension, or excitement, she wasn’t sure which raced down her spine.

  Darius lowered his head so that their foreheads touched. Their breaths mingled, and the world stood still, as she waited for him to move, to do something, anything.

  She couldn’t get her voice to work past the huge lump of emotion which clogged up her throat, so she simply breached the distance between them and pressed her lips against his. His groan rumbled through her, and then he took charge of the kiss. Just like before, their surroundings faded into the background, as he deepened the kiss, and she gave herself up to the myriad of sensations that immediately assaulted her. With his hands firmly clamped around her hips, she couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything but tug at the strands of his hair which had come loose from his ponytail. The action seemed to incite his bear, because he broke the kiss, and ran his nose along her neck, inhaling deeply.

  “Fuck, Holly, you better be sure, because all I want to do is push those panties away and bury myself deep inside your sweet cunt until you have no doubt who you belong to.”

  He yanked her up slightly while he traced one hand along her hip until he could cup her pussy.

  “So fucking wet for me, little on
e.”

  Incapable of uttering anything but incoherent moans, Holly rubbed herself against that hand.

  “Oh, yeah, I can smell your need. Tell me this pussy is mine. Ask me for my cock. I need to hear you say the words, my sweet.”

  His voice, full of heated promise, didn’t sound like him at all, more animal than human, and she responded to the almost desperate tones in kind.

  “Just fuck me already, will you?”

  A sharp tug on her hair brought tears to her eyes, and she whined her disappointment when he pulled back to study her. Try as she might she couldn’t close the distance between them.

  “Ask me nicely, girl, or I’ll stop this instant.”

  Holly’s flippant reply stuck in her throat when she properly looked at him because the determination edged in his hungry features told their own story. He meant what he’d said, and despite the massive erection tenting his suit trousers, which must cost him dearly, he would get up and leave her wanting. His thighs flexed under hers, and Holly swallowed hard when he released his grip on her hair and grasped her wrists instead. She was no match for his superior strength, even if she had tried to resist him, as he slowly pulled her hands away from him, and pinned them behind her back. The action thrust her breasts out at him, and her breathing sped up when his gaze slowly dipped lower until it rested on her straining cleavage. Her nipples pushed against the fabric of her lacy bra, hard little beacons of lust pointing straight at Darius, positively begging for his attention. Darius transferred both her wrists into one of his large hands and then slowly brought his free hand into view. His knuckles skimmed across the hypersensitive tips of her nipples, and Holly whimpered her need.

  A wicked grin flashed across his features, and he repeated the action several times until Holly was pretty sure she would self-combust if he didn’t do something else. Incomprehensible sounds spilled from her lips, and she couldn’t tear her gaze away from the sight of his large, tanned hand against her pale flesh.

  “Hmm, so beautifully responsive, my sweet. I bet you could come from this alone.”

  Holly gasped in fascination as one of his fingernails formed into a wicked-looking claw, and he used that lethally sharp appendage to run ever tightening circles around first one nipple and then the other until Holly thought she would scream. When he added another claw to lightly score her skin the pleasure pain acted like a livewire of electricity connected her clit to her boobs.