Tuesday Teaser 7/23/19 Gina’s Wolf Part 48

What a long week it’s been and it’s only Tuesday! Working overtime again, which is nice on the paycheck but even just a few hours cuts into my writing time. Which is my way of excusing the shortness of this week’s teaser. Sorry! We’re almost done. I have a lot of re-writing to do, and this section will need to be smoothed out. I’m sure my editor will have lots and lots of suggestions for improvement.

Here you go:

He smiled at her, so handsome her heart turned over. “Good enough. You know, my mom and dad have these kinds of discussions and then they go into their room for the rest of the day.” His smile took on a heated curve. “Are we done discussing?”

An answering heat flared in her. “Yeah. I think we’ve discussed enough.”

He slid one arm between her back and the bed and pulled her so close she could feel his breath on her face. She tilted her head to touch her lips to his, but he pulled back.

“Actually,” he said, “there is one more thing I need to say.”

Gina suppressed a protest and waited with all the patience she could gather.

He leaned close again. “I love you,” he whispered, and covered her lips with his.

How could the heat of his mouth ease the stress-tense muscles in her neck and shoulders? And how did it replace that tension with a different kind of tension? He was magic. The warm honey of desire flowed through her, languorous at first, before becoming urgent. His lips caressed the arch of her throat, the corner of her jaw, the tender spot behind her ear.

Through the haze of desire, she became aware of drums. No, it was her pulse, sending flaring pain through her head. A whimper escaped her.

Cole lifted his head away and looked down at her. “You’re hurting.”

She almost reached to pull his head back down, but she couldn’t deny the pain. “A little,” she said. “My head.”

“I’m a bad mate.” Cole’s face showed rueful regret, but he brushed a smiling kiss over her nose before removing his arm and sitting back on the bed. “I’m rushing you. I should let you rest.”

She was cold without him embracing her. “Don’t go,” she blurted. “I was so afraid for you when my stepfather had you. I want to keep my eyes on you so I will know you are safe.”

“Move over a little.” He stood up and unbuttoned the shorts. Kicking them off his long legs, he slid into bed beside her. “I can hold you. That’s enough for now.”

He settled her on her side, her head billowed by his shoulder, her lips close to his throat. She could have laid like this for hours. His scent was soothing. She let the comfort of his presence wash over her. She was safe. He was safe. They were together again. After a while, her mind stirred with questions she tried to ignore. Loathe to give up the comfort of simply lying in her husband’s arms, she tried to ignore the questions. It was impossible.

“Cole? How did you get out of the cage? How did you find me?” She wet her lips. “What happened?”

His chest rose and fell in a sigh. “How much do you remember?”

She didn’t want to remember. “I was in the tent. My stepfather…” Her voice trailed off as a shudder of horror ran through her. “He was going to kill me. He really was.”

Cole soothed her with a gentle hand stroking her arm. “He can’t hurt you; he’s dead.”

“I know. My mom shot him to save me. And then Tanner― Oh, God.” She struggled to sit up, new horror icing her lips. “Tanner tried to kill her.” She caught an odd expression on his face. “Where is she? Is she okay?”

“Sh, sh, she’s okay.” He tried to get her to lie back down against him. “Everything will be fine. Tanner and Jon are dead. The Kansas-Missourians surrendered to Omaha. We won.”

“But what about my mother?” she demanded.

“She’s okay.” He finally gave up trying to make her lie down again and sat up too. Gina couldn’t decide if he was nervous or guilty or just hesitant. “Have you met Jay, my dad’s beta?”

Gina gripped his forearm. “What? Who cares? What does he have to do with my mom?”

Cole took a deep breath. “Well, see, Jay led the Pack to Omaha. When we–me and the others– carried you out of the camp and back to Omaha, we brought your mom with us. Jay met us on the road and, um, when he saw your mom, his wolf chose her for his mate.”