Primal Quest Read online

  Caidi had just found the heights of another peak when he found his release and before she could even begin to descend from the height, another orgasm had her, lifting her to a new, higher peak where even the slight chill of the air, the brush of his hot breath across the shell of her ear sent tingles racing through her entire body.

  She couldn’t think, couldn’t form even one coherent word. Her entire body was shaking. Sensation swept over her lifting her higher than she had ever been. Everything within her blazed with tingling, sharp pleasure and she could do no more than moan against his shoulder and hold tight to him as the shudders racked her body.

  Raven gripped her buttocks, drawing her against him, ripping another shaking moan out of Caidi. He hugged her to him and carried her to the bed. Holding her with one hand, he used the other to tug her bunched dress over her head and toss it toward one of the corners. He lowered them both onto the bed without separating from her. He watched with undisguised masculine approval as her eyes closed and she shook as he slowly withdrew from her. Wanting to feel all of her against his skin, he undressed. He sprawled beside her and waited for the ecstasy flooding her to recede, for her to be able to focus on something other than the fierce rush of ecstasy.

  * * * * *

  When Caidi could think beyond the pleasure that he had given her, when the raging fire of passion subsided, Caidi remembered that she had been angry with him. She turned to Raven and narrowed her eyes at him as she saw the smile curving his lips. Sneaky, arrogant male.

  “I am still angry with you. This changes nothing about that.” Caidi tried to roll away from him, to get off the bed. He kept her in place by the simple method of placing his hand on her chest. It may have been one hand, but she wouldn’t win any struggle to remove it and sliding out from under it would only make him hold her more closely to him.

  “I’m not angry with you.” Raven leaned over her and nibbled at her lips, contentment and satisfaction rolling off him. He drew back for a moment to look at her in a very serious manner. “Thank you for guarding my life, my chalie.”

  Caidi blinked, stunned and touched by his admission. Never had she expected him to thank her for what she had done, especially after he had made her apologize for it.

  “I might be extremely stubborn and insist that you follow the rules of Shadatai life even when you don’t like them, but I’m not blind or ignorant.” A small smile lifted the corners of his mouth at her obvious amazement. “I knew that you were protecting me when you did it, but that didn’t change the horror at the possible consequences or how angry the risk you took made me.”

  Caidi didn’t know what to say to that admission. He was very stubborn, but she doubted that he needed to hear it. She had thought that he couldn’t see that she had been protecting him. Sometimes, he focused on one thing and she had thought that this was one of those times. She still objected to him saying that she had been at risk. There had been no real danger.

  “How long have you known that I loved you?” Raven kept his tone light but watched her closely.

  The question startled Caidi and she stared and gaped at him in astonishment. How did he know that she knew he loved her?

  “Well, how long?” Raven prompted with a stern look on his face and a demandingly arched brow.

  “Umm, yes, well,” Caidi began and swallowed, nervous flutters tearing through her stomach. She hadn’t wanted it to be like this. “I knew that you loved me before we started the journey to Askara, before I was taken by the Bavaok. I don’t remember exactly when or what day I realized that you loved me, that was the highlight of that day and it took me a little while to get used to it, to be secure in it.”

  “Did you ever stop to think that there was something that you should be telling me since you knew of my love?” Raven leaned over her and frowned as he looked into her eyes.

  “I didn’t want to pressure you into saying something and there was so much going on in both of our lives at that time.” Caidi shifted beneath that intense gaze. The pressure for him to respond in kind was the very reason why she had remained silent about her feelings. “What I felt for you was always plain in my thoughts. You couldn’t miss it. I knew that you were aware of it.”

  “Did you not think that I might perhaps want to hear what you felt, to know that you accepted me, and loved me as I am, a stubborn, irritating warrior who sometimes has the ability to enrage you as no one else could?”

  Caidi blushed at his description of himself. She had thought something like that about him only a few days ago. She had been angry with him and hadn’t been aware that he was with her in that moment. “I thought that when you were sure of your feelings for me that you would tell me of them. I wanted you to want to tell me of your love.”

  “Why do you think I should have told you first?” Raven raised his brows. Damn, she was a stubborn woman.

  “I didn’t want you to say the words simply because you thought that that was what I needed or wanted to hear. I wanted you to say them because those words were the only way to describe your feelings for me.” Caidi grimaced.

  Raven leaned back as he thought about her words, but a moment later, he took her chin in his hand and turned her face so that she was looking into his eyes. His hands stayed where they were, one on her shoulder and one on her chin, so that she couldn’t turn away from him. “I want you. I need you. You can cause me no end of aggravation and worry with some of your stunts.”

  “I haven’t pulled any stunts since I was very young.” Caidi thumped her hands against his shoulder.

  “Sometimes you make me angrier than I have ever before been, but the one thing that won’t change is that I love you. How could I not love you? You have given me more than I ever thought that I wanted or needed.” Raven brushed a kiss across her cheek.

  Caidi’s eyes suddenly became misty. “I have?”

  “I have a home, a true pack to guard and soon I will have a cub to train, to watch over and to love because he or she will be part of both of us. I think we need a boy or two first, my chalie, because if we have a daughter and she is like you, I will need his help to watch over her.” Raven’s thumb grazed over her lips.

  Caidi laughed at his last words. She didn’t even feel inclined to defend her ability to take care of herself. She smiled. Her love and joy shone bright on her face and she threw her arms around his neck in a fierce hug. “You know that I love you. You have known for days. So why didn’t you tell me that you love me?”

  “I didn’t tell you of my love, because I wanted to hear the words from your own lips without prompting, but you are a stubborn and illogical woman, my beautiful reha. You actually believed that I wouldn’t know that the feelings I have for you are love. You thought that I wouldn’t think about what I felt.” Raven drew his hand down to her breast.

  Caidi had no idea what he meant by that last statement. “I wanted you to say it freely, without being pressured to respond to my declaration.”

  “It impressed me greatly that you had accomplished with relative ease what few others would have dared to contemplate. It didn’t take long after you finally returned home that I realized that I loved you more than life.” Raven changed the subject temporarily. He fully intended to get back to it.

  “You just didn’t like being tricked.” Caidi emphasized her point by poking her forefinger into his chest.

  “I know what lust and possessiveness feels like and I know what feels right, but if we are going to talk about people who are slow to realize that they love someone, we need to talk about you. I knew that I would love you while I was in that bedroom still fuming over the way you had slipped away from the tavern. I began to plot in earnest. I knew that if you were capable of organizing the drugging of a tavern, also of drugging me, and slipping away untouched, you would soon have a piece of my heart,” Raven chuckled, remembering his fury and determination to catch her.

  Caidi’s eyes widened as she realized how he knew that she knew of his love. “You were listening to us talk in th
e kitchen!”

  “Of course I listened.” Raven’s eyes shone and there wasn’t a trace of apology or regret in his pleased expression. “I know that sometimes women will tell other women things that they aren’t ready to tell their men.”

  “Even cubs know that eavesdropping is rude.”

  “When I arrived and no one noticed me at the door, I thought it might be a good opportunity to see if you would admit to anything interesting. Indeed, I was interested in hearing you tell them that you knew of my love for you. That boast was a surprise, because I didn’t think that you knew that I loved you.” His eyes laughed down at her.

  “You are horrible.” Caidi frowned at him with mock fierceness and slapped at his arm. “I suppose you aren’t the only sneaky man who will stand out of sight and listen as we talk, hoping to hear something interesting. I will have to tell everyone to be more watchful.”

  “Ah, I think you should keep this knowledge to yourself, my chalie.” Raven ran his fingers down her ribs, tickling her.

  Caidi laughed. “No, there is no way you can convince me to keep this to myself. I must warn the other women.” She teasingly rushed to her feet and scampered toward the door.

  “No, no, no, you will keep this to yourself. I know a way to make you keep this within this room.” He hauled her back onto the bed.

  “Do you think that I am so intimidated by you, my chalon?” Caidi knelt on the bed and gave him her best taunting smile. “I do much as I want in this Taivain. Everyone knows you pamper me endlessly.”

  Raven nodded in agreement. “That is because you are my chalie, my one mate. You will keep silent about sneaky men. I am the Achan and I will have my way in this.”

  “Do you think so?” Caidi pretended to inch toward the edge of the bed.

  He dove, caught her around the hips and tumbled her onto the soft mattress. Caidi laughed and threw her arms around him. Their laughter mingled as they wrestled and rolled across the bed.

  “I know so.” Raven rolled her beneath him.

  About the Author

  Rebecca Airies has always loved to read. Futuristic, the classics, mystery or horror, the genre doesn’t matter as long as the stories capture her interest and take her on an adventure. She soon discovered a love for writing and characters just waiting to tell their stories. Since that time, writing has become an obsession.

  Rebecca lives in the heart of Texas. She loves the outdoors, growing things, and working on crafts when she’s not lost in the worlds of her characters. Please feel free to write and tell her what you think; she’d love to hear from you.

  Rebecca welcomes mail from readers. You can write to her c/o Ellora’s Cave Publishing at 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.

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