A healing of the soul. A healing of the body. A benediction given and received in the most basic way possible.
When he lowered her to the couch, she went willingly, pushing at his clothing, wanting nothing between them. She didn’t care about tomorrow, or even the next minute. What she wanted now, was him. Just him. An exchange of caring and an expression of pleasure in the real world. Something tangible.
It didn’t have to mean forever. With him, she knew it couldn’t. He’d had his one chance at forever, and Tess had been taken from him. That made her incredibly sad, but she could at least offer comfort, and take a little for herself, at the same time. This beautiful man with the gentle dominant traits needed her, she believed, as much as she needed him, right now.
Decision made, she pushed at his shirt, glad when he broke their kiss long enough to tug the offending fabric over his head. He tossed it on the floor and went right back to kissing her. Only this time, his hands were busy removing her shirt and bra. She helped where she could. She wanted nothing more at this moment than to feel her skin against his. She wanted that connection and the sensations that would accompany it.
He freed her breasts, slipping her shirt down her arms, followed by her bra. When she would have pressed herself against him, he used his big hands to cup her breasts, bringing new sensations to her starved senses.
His mouth returned to hers, and time seemed to stand still as they kissed and kissed. Thought fled as his hands kept working on ridding them both of the fabric still between them. Before she knew what was happening, she was completely bare…and so was he.
Without thought, she opened for him, and he joined with her. Senses overwhelmed by his dominant, yet gentle possession, she gave up to the sensations and just let nature take its course. Joe was as potent as a force of nature, claiming her and giving back in equal measure. Her pleasure spiked, again and again, as he brought them both to the precipice multiple times before letting them both tumble over the edge into blissful oblivion.
Enid wasn’t sure of time or space as she floated on a cloud of desire. Then, she really did feel like she was floating as Joe’s strong arms cradled her, lifting her off the couch and carrying her as if she weighed no more than a feather. He found her bedroom without being told and lay her down on the wide bed. Enid was never more grateful that her little house had come equipped with a queen-sized bed. They both fit nicely, and when Joe started to make love to her all over again, Enid was more than ready to join him in the amazing pleasure he’d shown her.
Never before had Enid reached such heights, and she feared, now that she’d been with Joe, she would never know bliss like this with any other man. He’d ruined her for all others, but at the moment, she couldn’t seem to work up the energy to care. It was all she could do to keep up with the demands of his passion, but it was well worth the effort. He gave her more in those stolen hours, where words were unnecessary and all their communication was done skin-to-skin, than she had ever known.
She decided that, when the Mother of All had made this man, She had outdone herself. Joe was one in a million. Maybe, in a trillion. And, at least for tonight, he was all Enid’s. She was going to take what he offered and enjoy it. Tomorrow would take care of itself.
Chapter Five
Joe woke, confused. He was in a strange bed…with someone…
Enid. Sweet Mother of All. He’d had sex with Enid last night on the couch. Then, he’d taken her to bed, and they’d done it again. And again. And again.
What insane impulse had overtaken him? He hadn’t had sex since he’d lost his mate. Sure, there had been offers from well-meaning Packmates who weren’t looking for anything permanent, but he’d never taken anyone up on those offers. He’d thanked them kindly and sent them on their way. His heart—his body and soul—had been given to Tess long ago, and it hadn’t felt right to be with anyone else.
Why then, did this situation with Enid feel…not wrong? Not like he expected. He didn’t feel like he’d betrayed his mate’s memory. He just felt…at peace. For the first time in a very long time, he felt peace in his soul.
He had no idea how or why. By all rights, he should be suffering debilitating guilt, but as he lay there, listening to her soft breathing, he couldn’t find any guilt inside him. There was only confusion about what he had expected to feel if something like this ever happened and what he was really feeling. Though, to be honest, he wasn’t sure exactly what he was feeling at the moment, anyway, besides the overall confusion.
Not liking uncertainty, his inner wolf wanted action. Rising silently from the bed, Joe stalked out into the living room to find his clothing. He collected all the pieces of fabric and neatly folded Enid’s clothes, placing them on the arm of the couch with another touch of that confused feeling he couldn’t identify. He took his clothes with him into the powder room at the front of the small house and tidied up as best he could before dressing. There were things to do and people to talk to. A solid goal would help clear the fog from his mind and might help him find his feet again.
Also, there was the Alpha pair of this Pack to look after. As a senior Alpha, Joe felt a driving need to look after the younger pair, even though they hadn’t sworn allegiance to him yet. He wanted to show them the caliber of his care for those who chose to follow him, and that started now. He was in their territory. He had to prove he was an Alpha worthy of being followed if he wanted to attract this very young Pack to the Big Wolf fold.
When he came out of the powder room, he was surprised to find Enid already up and dressed, and waiting for him in the kitchen. She had eggs frying on the stove, and coffee was just starting to drip out of the coffee maker on the countertop.
“I’m going to the hospital right after breakfast,” she told him without even turning around. “You’re welcome to come with me.”
Joe paused in the doorway, thrown a bit by her matter-of-fact behavior. Had last night meant so little to her that she thought nothing of his presence? Or was she playing it cool because she was as confused as he was? He had no idea, and right now, he wasn’t going to question anything too closely.
“I’d appreciate the lift,” Joe told her, moving to take the two mugs off the countertop and fill them with steaming coffee for them both. He placed them on the table and went back to the counter to get silverware for them both. “Anything I can do to help with breakfast?” he asked politely.
“Get the condiments out of the fridge, if you want any. There’s also orange juice, if you’d like some,” she told him, plating up a heap of scrambled eggs. She added bacon to the pan and then brought the eggs over to the table. “Start on that while I let this cook. We hit the ground running in this outfit,” she quipped. “I want to get on the road to the hospital as soon as possible.”
That sounded right to Joe, so he didn’t argue. He’d built up quite an appetite the night before, so the eggs were welcome. Enid had given him a shifter-sized portion, making a plate for herself with considerably less. He appreciated her thoughtfulness. She really was a genuinely nice person. He supposed that came with the job. He’d rarely met a priestess who didn’t have a heart of gold at the base of her personality.
Some were tougher than others, of course. They were all individuals, with individual ideas about how to do things, but the overriding commonality was their dedication to the side of Light and the Goddess they served. Still, he’d never bedded a priestess before, so he couldn’t really be sure of anything where they were concerned.