Mate for a King

Chapter Seven

One minute Lexi had been in a deep sleep, and the next, she found herself pulled out of bed and wrapped in a strong embrace. As she tried to figure out what the hell was going on, she pushed at the hard chest under her cheek, which only resulted in her being held tighter. She felt something sharp prick through her pajama top at both shoulders.

"Let go of me, Raed." Lexi didn't know how she knew the intruder was him, she just did. A part of her recognized the feel of his large body pressed to hers.

"Just give me a minute to calm down." His voice sounded strained, as if he only held on by a thread.

"What are you doing in my flat?" She shoved at his chest again. "You have no right to break in here in the middle of the night. I know I locked the door before I went to bed. If you damaged it, you'll be paying to have it repaired."

"Be still, Lexi. You aren't exactly helping here."

"Why should I be still? I didn't invite you to come over and rip me out of my bed while I'm asleep. Let go of me and get out." She managed to pull her head back far enough to look Raed in the face. Not that she could see much of it in the dark. That was also when she felt his erection pressed against her belly. She started to struggle. "Let.

Me. Go."

A low growl rose from Raed's throat. "I can't do that. You're mine. And I protect what is mine. You're in danger."

Lexi smacked him on the arm. "I'm not yours. And for your information, the only danger I can see is you. So, as you British say, sod off."

Raed took a deep breath. "I can see you aren't going to be reasonable about this.

You leave me no choice." He scooped her up in his arms and headed out of her bedroom.

"Put me down this instant, Raed."

When he didn't, she grabbed a fistful of his hair and gave a hard yank. Raed stopped in the middle of her living room, but he didn't put her down. He threaded one hand through the hair at the back of her head and brought his mouth down on hers. His kiss was by no means gentle. His lips were hard and possessive. Much to her utter shame, Lexi found herself responding. Her traitorous body melted against Raed as he shoved his tongue inside her mouth and thoroughly tasted her. She still felt angry at him, but it didn't stop her from growing wet. Her fingers tightened in his hair as she kissed him back with equal fervor.

With his lips still devouring hers, Raed crossed the room and slammed the open front door shut. He had her back up against it a split second later. He literally ripped her pajama bottoms off. Lexi bit his bottom lip as his fingernails, which felt a bit on the sharp side, ran down her thigh.

Raed lifted her legs around his waist then fumbled with the front of his jeans. He pushed them down only far enough to free his cock before he rammed into her, sheathing himself to the hilt. Lexi knew this would be no gentle lovemaking as Raed pumped into her hard and fast. The door at her back banged with each of his thrusts.

His kisses became harder and he used his teeth more than his tongue. Something wild burst to the surface inside Lexi. She squeezed her inner muscles around his hard shaft as she met his hips with her own. She pulled on his hair, ground her teeth against his mouth, all of which seemed to excite Raed even more.

His cock grew even harder as he continued to ram into her. He cupped her bottom, and Lexi felt her climax edge closer. His sharp nails dug into her flesh. She pulled away from his mouth and yanked his head to the side. Remembering how Raed had bitten her, Lexi dragged her tongue down his neck then bit him where his shoulder and neck met. He rammed into her faster, harder. When she felt his cock swell even more as his shaft pulsed deep inside her pussy, Lexi fell over the edge. She moaned against Raed's neck as wave after wave of pleasure surged through her. Her inner muscles clamped down on his cock in a tight fist.

The sounds of their harsh breathing filled the room. Raed remained thick inside her. He slowly sank down onto the floor with her straddled across his lap. Lexi moaned as she felt another jet of cum splash against her inner walls, causing them to contract.

She lifted her head and looked at Raed's face. In the darkness, his eyes looked different, but the lack of light made it hard for her to see why. She shifted on his lap and found his cock had swelled to the point where they were locked together. She also felt another splash of cum. "Raed? Are you still coming? Your cock . . . why is it swelled like that?"

He kissed her gently. "I promise to answer your questions in the morning. Just give me the rest of the night to make love to you. That's all I want. Just you, with nothing coming between us."

With Raed still lodged so deep inside her, Lexi knew she couldn't say no. When he touched her, her body went up in flames. They may have their differences, but when it came to sex, they were explosive. Each time they came together, the sex just got better and better.

She leaned her forehead against his and nodded. "I won't ask any more questions tonight, but come morning, all bets are off."

Raed kissed her again until he left her breathless. They sat on the living room floor until his cock finally softened enough so he could pull free. He then picked her up and carried her to the bed. He stripped naked and got in beside her. Raed then proceeded to make love to her again. When his cock became locked inside her as it had before, Lexi asked no questions. The strange sensation relaxed her, made her feel safe and secure. She cuddled against his chest and fell asleep.

The muffled sound of ringing brought Lexi awake early the next morning. Before she could nudge Raed, he jumped out of bed, scooped his jeans off the floor, reached inside the front pocket and pulled out his cell phone. As he answered it, she let her gaze run over his naked body. She had licked and kissed every inch of him during the night.

As she watched, his cock started to lengthen and harden.

Lexi brought her gaze up to find Raed's eyes filled with heat as he spoke. "I'll be there shortly. Tell the others not to touch anything." Raed snapped his phone shut then reached for his jeans again. "I have to go. Something came up at home."

She gave his erection a meaningful look as he shoved his cock inside his jeans.

"Are you sure you can't stay a little bit longer? It's still early. And you did promise to answer all my questions in the morning, which is now."

Raed pulled his shirt over his head and sat on the bed next to her. "I can't. You'll still get your answers, Lexi. They'll just have to wait a bit longer."

"You promise?"

"I promise." He leaned over and kissed her until her toes curled. Raed stood and looked down at her. "Call a locksmith to come and replace the lock on the flat's door.

You can tell your landlady I'll pay the bill."

"There you go again, ordering me about."

"Please? Is that better?"

Lexi chuckled. "I guess. I can see I'll have to work on your bossiness."

"I promise to work on it. I'll come back as soon as I sort things out at home."

"I'll be here waiting, but I hope it isn’t anything too serious."

"No, nothing that bad."

Raed gave her another quick kiss then he was gone. She heard the flat's door shut behind him. It was still early enough to roll over and go back to sleep if she wanted. She settled deeper into the covers, but sleep eluded her. Now she was awake, thoughts of Raed and the night they'd spent together wouldn't leave her head. Each time they had made love, Raed's cock had swelled to the point where he had become locked inside her. She may not have had too many lovers, but she knew the swelling was anything but normal. Then there were the animal-like growls he made. She had no idea what to make of them. But his touch left her coming back for more. Lexi stretched. Since she couldn't sleep, she decided to get up and take a shower. After she finished she would call the locksmith.

Thirty minutes later, she stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel. As she lifted her right arm to dry it, something on her back, high up near her shoulder, caught her eye in the bathroom mirror. She wiped the steam off then bent her shoulder toward her reflection to get a better look. An area about the size of her hand appeared to be bruised. She reached over her shoulder to touch the blackish marks, but they didn't hurt like she expected, even though the mark couldn't be anything else but a bruise. And she had a feeling she knew how she got it, too—when Raed had taken her against the door.

She'd always bruised easily. Not that she would be complaining any time soon about how she had gotten that particular mark.

As she dried the rest of her body and went back to her bedroom to get dressed, Lexi remembered how desperate Raed had been to have her. She smiled. The mark on her shoulder had been worth it.

"Who found him?" Raed asked.

He looked at the mangled body lying on the ground among a thick stand of trees at the rear of their property. Even though the man was in human form, his scent gave him away as a werewolf. Not only that, the scent told Raed this had been the werewolf who had been here the day before . . . the one who'd gone sniffing around Lexi's flat, as well. He couldn't say he felt sorry to see the bastard's dead carcass.

"I did," Brand said.

"And you didn't see anyone else?"

"Nope. Just him. He'd already been dead for a while."

Whoever dumped the body—presumably another werewolf—had taken measures not to leave traces. A slight acidic smell combined with the dead werewolf's scent irritated Raed's sensitive nose.

His brows drew together as he stared down at the body. "Why dump him here if he wasn't killed here? Seems like extra work to me."

"Maybe he's supposed to be some kind of message," Algar suggested.

"Maybe." He shoved the body with the toe of his shoe. "I found this bastard's scent outside Lexi's flat. Whoever did this saved me from having to hunt him down."

Dolf chuckled. "So that's why you didn't come home last night? Did you and Lexi make up?"

Garrick, who stood beside Dolf, elbowed him. "Of course they made up, and probably had sex for most of the night as well. Ow!" Garrick shouted when Raed smacked him in the back of the head. "Touchy, aren't we?" He ducked the second smack.

Raed gave Garrick a warning stare. "If we can keep on subject? Somehow this one found Lexi's flat. They're getting smarter, or just better organized. I don't like the thought of Lexi being alone. I'm going to bring her back here. This is where she belongs anyway."

Wolfric held up his hands. "Whoa. Hold up. What exactly do you mean by Lexi belongs here?"

Raed sighed. "I mean I'm not giving her up."

"You just can't keep the little American," Dolf said. "For one thing, you would have to tell her exactly what we are."

"That's what I intend to do."

Wolfric shook his head. "No. Are you crazy? You've known Lexi for how long?

You wouldn't even tell your wife. You went so far as to make it look as if you were aging before you faked your own death so you wouldn't have to tell her. Remember Sutton Hoo?"

"Lexi is nothing like my dead wife. She's stronger. She'll be able to handle what I am. And it doesn't matter how long I've known her, I want her at my side."

Brand snorted. "Won't work."

Raed turned to him. "Why?"

"She's mortal."

Raed hadn't had time to think that one through yet. Lexi's mortality was a bit of a problem, but it still didn't hold him back from wanting her as his own. Last night had shown him just how well they fitted together, at least in bed. His hunger for her seemed endless. She had somehow become as vital to him as the air he breathed, never straying far from his thoughts.

"Do you love her?" Algar asked.

Did he? He didn't know. He had loved his wife, but he had never been as attached to her as he was to Lexi. His wife had been the mother of his children, ran his household and had been good company. But she had never engendered this all-consuming need that pounded in his body whenever he was around Lexi.

"Honestly, I don't know," Raed answered. "All I know is I want her." He looked each of his men in the face before he continued. "Enough about my personal life. One of you call Tiw's fire to get rid of the body. Since they now know where we live, we're going to have to be extra vigilant. Starting tonight, while the others are out hunting, one of us will stay at the manor and patrol the grounds. I don't want any more surprises such as this. I'll take the first shift."

When his men nodded, Raed turned and headed back toward the manor. He heard the sound of god-fire consuming the body as Algar fell into step beside him. "Are you serious about telling Lexi about us?"

"Yes."

"You are my king; you know I would never gainsay you, but think carefully before you do this. You're asking a lot of her."

"I know, but I think Lexi can handle it."

"For your sake, I hope you're right."

Once she figured the bookstore would be open, Lexi went downstairs to talk to Charlotte. When she explained about the lock being damaged on the flat's door, her landlady's eyebrows rose in astonishment. Lexi quickly explained Raed would cover the cost to replace the door. To Charlotte's credit, she didn't ask how the lock had become damaged in the first place. She told Lexi she knew of a locksmith who made emergency calls and that he would have the matter attended to in a couple of hours.

Lexi thanked Charlotte and headed back up to the flat. Not sure when Raed would be able to return, she put on the kettle to make a pot of tea and sat down in the living room to wait for the water to boil. She picked up the book she had bought for her father and started to flip through the pages.

When she reached the section about the Sutton Hoo burial ship, a picture of a purse lid drew her attention. The kidney shaped lid, which would have at one time covered a leather pouch, had three geometric motifs running along the top with two stylized birds facing each other on the bottom center. The intricate metal cell work done in garnet, gold and blue attached to a sheet of horn was very ornamental. On either side of the birds was the exact same image Raed had tattooed on his left arm—two wolves with a man in between them. Had Raed picked that particular image for his tattoo because it was the design found with the items excavated from the tomb that was supposedly King Raedwald's?

Thinking Raed may have some interest in Sutton Hoo because of his tattoo, Lexi read some of the history about it. The burial ship hadn't been small, with oar-rests for forty oarsmen. The benches and mast had been removed from the central section, where they figured the body had been. Alongside had been a number of grave goods interred at the same time, amongst them a ceremonial helmet with a full face mask, shield fittings, spears, a sword, a sword-harness, silver bowls, spoons, shoulder clasps, a great buckle and the purse lid. Lexi didn't know much about these things, but the legend that King Raedwald of East Anglia had been buried with the ship rang true.

Lexi spent the next half hour reading about Sutton Hoo while she drank a second cup of tea. Lost in the history of the Anglo-Saxons, she jumped when a knock came on her door. She opened it to find the locksmith standing on the other side. After he gave the doorknob a cursory look, he assured her he would have it replaced in no time.

The locksmith had just finished when Raed arrived. He paid the man and took the extra key, promising to give it to Lexi's landlady. Once they were alone, he pulled Lexi into his arms and kissed her senseless.

Knowing where this would lead, Lexi ended the kiss. She shook her head. "Slow down there, buddy. You promised me answers."

"How about I make you a deal? You drop the extra key off with your landlady then come and spend the rest of the week with me at the manor. After that, we can take things from there. If you say yes, then I'll answer all your questions."

"You want me to stay at your place? I want answers as soon as we arrive. And that's bribery, by the way. You're also changing the terms of our original deal."

Raed kissed the tip of her nose. "You'll get your answers, I promise. I would feel better if I knew you weren't alone."

"I do live alone back in the States, you know. It's not as if I'm not used to being on my own."

"Just say yes, Lexi," Raed said with a groan. "Please. You're only here for a month. I find myself not wanting to waste any minute I can get with you."

Lexi felt the same way, but she wasn't ready to admit how she felt to Raed. "Since you asked so nicely, and didn't order me back to your place, my answer is yes. But, I'm driving there in my rental car so I can come and go when I please. I'm going to play the part of a tourist at some point, and I'm sure you don't want to follow me while I wander around; you've probably seen the sights a thousand times over."

"You have a deal, but I don't mind going sightseeing with you. I'll get to see them through your eyes. Maybe you will give me a different perspective of them."

Lexi chuckled. "My perspective may not be all it's cracked up to be. And I'm still taking my car."

Raed brushed his lips across hers before he turned her around and gave her a shove toward the bedroom. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go pack your clothes."

In a matter of minutes, Lexi threw a few belongings into the smallest suitcase she had brought with her from the States. Once she returned to the living room, Raed ushered her out of the flat. It only took her a minute to drop off the key to Charlotte at the bookstore. She knew moving in with Raed, even only for the rest of the week, seemed a bit rushed when it came to their relationship. But she had to go back to the States in less than a month, which didn't leave them much time. Hoping she wasn't about to make a mistake that would ruin what Raed and she had together, Lexi got into her rental car and followed his Mercedes-Benz back to his manor.