Forgotten Wolf

19 There's Always Tomorrow

"I had you," I whisper in her ear. The lust in my voice sends shivers through her.

"Almost," she breathes out as she trails her hands up my chest. I rumble at the pleasure her touch brings me and brush my lips along her neck. She responds instantly, melting into me and exposing her neck to me fully. Slowly and deliberately, I plant kisses along her neck as a quiet moan slips past her lips. I let my teeth graze the sensitive junction where her neck meets the shoulder; the urge to mark her is so strong.

She moans louder as I lightly bite down, not hard enough to leave a mark but more than enough to excite. Her legs give out and my arms holding her tightly to me are the only thing keeping her up.

I shift my attention to her soft, luscious lips, taking them firmly with my own. Where our first kiss was soft and gentle, this one is more demanding and passionate. There's no hesitation this time either; she returns it right away. The pounding of my heart and her soft moans drown out the din of the rain as I lose myself in her embrace.

I nip at her bottom lip, asking for access. By the second bite, she lets me in and our tongues dart eagerly for a taste. Slowly, I become aware that Jace is trying to link me—the man's timing is becoming a real problem. Groaning, I hesitantly pull back.

'What?!' I demand.

'You guys ever planning on coming out of the rain? People are talking about coming out to find you; worried they can't get through to you, that something might have happened,' he trails off, but his amusement is clear.

'Tell them we were far out and are making our way back. Clear the spectators, we'll do the wrap up party tomorrow,' I dismiss.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, we need to get you out of the rain," I say, slowly releasing her once she regains her footing. A slight sigh is the only indication I needed to know she isn't ready for this to end yet, either.

I take her hand and lead her back in the direction of the pack house. Half way back, the chilly rain has Jess shivering, so I wrap an arm around her, drawing her tight to my warm side. Xavier, Sara, and Jude are all that remain to greet us at the starting point.

I catch Sara's attention, eager to get Jess back to the house and warmed up. "Restart at ten am tomorrow?" She nods and turns to the pack house, too.

A moment later, Jess is gone, wrapped up in a big hug from Jude. I see her whisper something to him that makes him grin. My jaw clenches. Every fiber of my being wants to rip him away from her, but I resist, knowing it will just upset her.

When they pull apart, I reach for her. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up and into some warm, dry clothes." She flashes me a sheepish smile, dropping her gaze as she takes my hand and follows me back to my room.

Before long, she's in the shower. I set out some clothes for her and head next door for a quick shower as well. By the time I get back, she's already changed and curled up on the couch fast asleep. When I bend down to scoop her up and take her to bed, her eyes flutter open.

"Hey," she whispers, half asleep. "Sorry, I didn't realize how tired I was until I sat down." Jess lets out a soft laugh and wipes the sleep out of her eyes.

"It's okay baby, go back to sleep. You've earned it," I say with a smile as I caress her cheek. She leans into my touch and I can't help but smile.

"Can we go down for dinner? I'm actually a bit hungry," she asks as a blush creeps across her cheeks.

"Of course. Whatever you want." I hold out a hand to help her up, that she takes it without hesitation, making me grin at our progress. As we make our way downstairs, the laughter and shouting from the kitchen echoes off the walls.

"She's like a freaking pit bull," Liam shouts, pointing at Sara. "I bashed her off a tree and she wouldn't budge." The room breaks out in another round of laughter as he groans while Sara basks in the moment.

Jace smirks, grey eyes locked on me as he side eyes me. "Oh, look who it is! If it's not the wee, evil pix herself."

"Thought I was an elf?" Jess teases, batting her lashes innocently.

"Please! Elves are benevolent little things. You, however, are nothing but trouble," he scoffs. All eyes are on his theatrics, waiting to see what caused the sudden change.

"This innocent-looking pix threw me off a freaking cliff," he says, clearly still worked up. All eyes snap to Jess, who is blushing wildly.

"Technically, you threw yourself," she says to a slack jawed Jace. "It was all your momentum. I just changed the direction a smidge," she giggles.

Cyrus is beaming with pride for our mate. 'She's perfect!'

I could not agree more.

"You and your technicalities," Xavier grumbles. "She used the same line on me when I tried to get her out of a tree."

"In all fairness, you were in the wrong tree," she pouts, earning laughs all around.

Dinner consists of more jokes and stories from today and some smack talk about tomorrow. Before long, I notice she's quiet and fighting to keep her fluttering lashes open.

"Come on," I whisper. "You're gonna fall down if you sit here much longer." She immediately gets up, waves good night, and follows me back upstairs.

Worn out Jess is even easier to handle than drunk Jess.

I laugh to myself at this realization.

She heads wordlessly to the bathroom as I take a seat on the bed, sitting up against the headboard. A moment later, she emerges and sleepily flops down, face first beside me. I reach over and pull the blankets up to cover her, and her breathing starts to drop into a regular rhythm as she quickly drifts off.

Do I get up and let her sleep, or will she mind me next to her?

I frown, not wanting to leave.

She did see me sitting here when she laid down, after all.

Between the kiss and how relaxed she's been with me, I can't help but think she's finally letting me in. I've wanted this for so long, wanted her... So I pull my t-shirt off and crawl carefully under the covers beside her, trying not to shift the bed too much. She sighs in her sleep and rolls to face me.

The day has been hard on her. Dark circles shadow her eyes, numerous scratches litter her arms, along with several faint bruises. Tomorrow will not be any easier.

Jace, Sara, and myself are highly competitive; the remaining matches will be intense and violent. With less than two hours to take both women out, we will have to be fast and ruthless. I don't like the idea of Jace taking Jess on; he's still riled up about going for a cliff-dive swim.

It would be all too easy for him to get caught up in the moment and hurt her.

It's safer to have him take care of Sara. Hopefully, when I catch Jess tomorrow, we can pick back up where we left off.

With that in mind, I drift off into a deep, dream-filled sleep.