Hidden Heart (Dark Wing Series Book 1) Page 12

  Duncan moved over to her chair, next to her feet. Her heart rate changed. He had the same effect on her as she did on him.

  “Let me massage it a little. Maybe I can loosen it up.”

  “Uh, I’m not sure that will be a good idea.”

  “You can tell me to stop if you like.” Duncan put his hands on either side of her knee and began to massage it with his fingertips. He sent the mate healing bond to her. The tingle slipped out of his hands as his energy sank into her skin. Just as he remembered his parents doing to each other.

  Not that he had ever tried to heal anyone before, so he wasn’t sure that it was working. The touch of her skin made him wild with desire. How long could he send the healing to her without combusting into a sexual frenzy? Every touch made him higher. His wolf pushed at him. Mate. Mate. More. He closed his eyes and focused on Aurora instead of his own needs. She whispered his name. His eyes flew open, and he stopped touching her.

  “Oh, that was heavenly. Thank you. Maybe I should get a massage.”

  A growl came from him before he could stop it. The thought of someone else touching her made him want to shift. She jumped.

  “Sorry.” He tried a casual smile, but the stern expression on her face told him it didn’t come off that way. “Why go through the hassle of scheduling an appointment and waiting for it?” He wiggled his fingers at her. “I am more than happy to oblige right now.”

  “Uh, I …” She paused. He could see the struggle to go on, so he reached out and rubbed her ankle this time, sending the mate healing bond to her. This time he held her gaze until she closed her eyes. “You seem to know what you're doing. It’s fantastic.”

  “Well, it’s settled, then. I’ll be your masseur.” He scooped her up from the chair and headed for the elevator.

  “Wait! My crutches.” Aurora reached for them.

  “I’ll send Gunnar up for them later.”

  “Please, I want them now. What if someone takes them?”

  He looked down at her in his arms—so right in his arms. Yes, he had picked her up once or twice before, and it had always soothed his aching stomach and made his nose bleed at the same time. The stupid alpha waves, protecting her. He bent down, and she picked them up. Aurora held them with her right hand behind his back.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  “Shouldn’t I be saying that?” Her breath caressed his neck. Her heart beat next to his.

  He never wanted to set her down. “No, thank you for letting me carry you. I would hate to undo all of my work on your knee.”

  “Well, I guess it’s all about you, then. You’re welcome.” Aurora laughed, and her head rubbed up against his chest. It expanded with joy. The walk to their rooms didn’t take long with her in his arms.

  Duncan bent his legs so Aurora could unlock her door with her orange wristband. He opened the door. He listened, but neither his brothers nor his cousin were in the room next door. He put Aurora down gingerly by the bathroom door. Her navy bikini hung on the shower rod. “Put your bikini on, and it will be easier to massage you.”

  “Duncan.” Her eyes were wide and her breathing shallow.

  “Yes.” He stood an arm’s length away from her with her in the doorway to the bathroom.

  “I don’t need your pity.” She closed the door to the bathroom.

  Pity, shit. She still had no clue. “Rory, put your bathing suit on, so I can give you a massage.”

  A sigh came through the door, and each movement of her undressing echoed. The bikini slid off the shower rod, and he shivered. Thank fuck. He tried to calm himself down. This was still about healing his mate. He wanted her to understand how important she was and for her to explode with pleasure. Then he would explain about them being mates. Carefully, he moved the towel animal—a large cat, or was it a bear?—to the dresser next to the towel wolf that Aurora had preserved. He pulled down the covers, and the stench of Gunnar from when he rolled around on her bed hit him.

  Aurora hopped out of the bathroom. “Why are you making that face? You don’t have to massage me. It’s amazing how much better I feel from the little you did on deck.”

  Her hair was down now and framed her face. She wore the white fluffy robe over her bathing suit. Her bathing suit wasn’t visible under the robe, which engulfed her more than a puffy winter coat.

  Duncan sat on the bed and his face twisted in horror.

  “What?” Aurora whispered.

  “Oh, the face—it stinks of Gunnar from when he jumped on your bed. I’m surprised you can’t smell it.”

  “Advantages of being human, I guess.” Aurora shrugged her shoulders.

  “Okay, let’s see if we can make that leg any better.” He dramatically motioned to the bed, hoping to break some tension. She smirked. That was a start. But then she looked down at her feet and walked to the edge of the bed.

  “Okay, Miss Berry. I must see that leg. Robe off.” He tried an official doctor-sounding voice, and Aurora rewarded him with another laugh.

  “You sound like Tad.”

  He nodded. “Good, I was going for pompous know-it-all asshole.” She laughed again but didn’t move.

  “Aurora, you need to take the robe off.”

  “Um, okay. I hope you don’t think it’s weird, but my swimsuit was still wet, and my underwear and bra are bigger than the bikini anyway, so …” Her voice trailed off.

  He turned sideways to hide the bulge in his pants.

  “I don’t want you to think I’m hitting on you because I’m not. I just don’t have a dry suit.”

  “No, no, that makes sense. Smart thinking of you. I remember what you said before.” He turned away for a moment. He had to shut his mouth before he blabbered and drooled on her. “Alright, then, drop the robe, and up on the bed with you.”

  She took the robe off and put it on the chair next to the bed, then lay on the bed face down.

  He froze. Her ivory skin yelled out for him with her cream-colored lace and orange flowered underwear.

  “Don’t make fun of my underwear,” came her muffled voice from the bed.

  “Never.” He gulped. He didn’t move. Mate, his wolf stated. He blew a breath out. He would tell her, soon.

  21

  The Touch

  Duncan’s hand moved to the back of her knees. His light touch left her skin on fire.

  Fingers pressed circles on the back of her legs. She should have lain on her back so he would continue the fantastic touch on her knee. But then she would have had to gaze at him. It was magical, like a thousand rays of light hitting her leg. He lifted her leg and continued down towards her ankle; he massaged each of her toes before moving back up towards her knee. His strong hands massaged her knee until it tricked her brain into believing that she was no longer injured. Duncan massaged her thigh too. Her breath changed to shallow pants.

  “You ready to roll over, Rory?”

  She muttered something that he must have taken as a yes, because the next thing she knew, she was lying on her back. With the lights off, she could only make out an outline of him leaning over the edge of the bed. The bed dipped as he settled back down, and his hands returned to her. But this time he had a hand on each of her knees, the good one and the one that crashed into the wall. There was no pain in either now. She was sober, but her head swam and everything tingled. Her head rolled back, her jaw pointed at the ceiling, her neck exposed to the wolf at the end of her bed. His hands slipped off her knees and up her thigh a little. His husky voice gave a low chuckle. Had she really spread her legs farther apart? Her entire core was on fire. His hands edged upward, leaving a trail of need.

  He pushed her thighs apart a little. The sensation over her was so strong that she would have done anything at that moment to have him continue. She needed him. His fingers circled upward, leaving a trail of euphoria behind them. The pillow her feet rested on left with a gentle tug as Duncan moved up the bed, her legs on either side of him. His hands moved upward, and she lifted herself into his motion.
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br />   “You smell good, Rory.” The words tickled her skin, his breath hot on her thighs. His breath heated the skin above her panties. “These are pretty, and so are you.” His finger skimmed underneath the elastic of her waistband. She wanted to come apart. In one swift motion, she lifted herself off the bed and pushed her underwear down until it collided with Duncan's body. He chuckled. He would be the undoing of her, a brief flash of thought pushed into her consciousness. What was she doing? But then Duncan’s breath hit her waist, and his lips scorched kisses, each one lower than the last. She lifted her body to reach him. His tongue swirled on her skin, each kiss a little closer to where she wanted it the most. His hand parted her, and his tongue found her clit. He sucked it in. Her hands found his hair, and she ran her fingers through it.

  The intensity and speed of the orgasm hit her. Duncan didn’t stop but continued to kiss her belly as her aftershocks settled. Aurora’s eyes flew open. After what just happened, she would have thought she would want to sleep for a decade, but the lust inside her throbbed. She sat up and unabashedly straddled Duncan on the end of the bed. Her fingers fumbled with the buttons on his dress shirt. Finally, the light blue shirt fluttered to the ground. Aurora pulled on his undershirt and Duncan yanked it over his head, ripping the collar. Aurora’s wet core pressed against Duncan’s dress pants while her bra rubbed his now-hard naked chest. He pressed kisses down her neck, and Aurora turned her head to give him better access. He licked the hollow of her collarbone before cradling her back to the bed. He caged her with his body and arms and hovered over her. She felt wanted and secure.

  He claimed her lips, and she tasted herself on him. It made her want to taste him. She reached for his belt, but he grabbed both of her wrists and pinned them above her head with one hand. He pressed her hands into the bed while kissing her and drove the kiss deeper. She lifted her hips to his and ground into him. The tension in her body soared. He smiled into their kiss.

  “No one has to know.” She regretted it as soon as she said it. The intensity in his hazel eyes pinned her in place. His wolf glowed in them. With a kick, he stood next to the bed, her hands still pinned. “I … I am sorry. Wait, Duncan, I didn’t mean … yes, I did.”

  He sat down next to her and released her hands. “No, everyone will know. And it’s okay that you figure it out more slowly. We will talk about it in the morning.” He kissed her wrist where he had held it to the bed. “I’ll see you in the morning. Rory, I love you.”

  He picked his shirt up off the floor. He didn’t use the adjoining door; rather, he went out the door to the hall. She pulled the sheet up around her naked body that called to him. What the heck—no, hell—what the hell was going on? She could hear Duncan enter the room next door.

  “Keep the door locked, Rory,” he called through the door.

  “Duncan?” she called out. He loved her? What?

  “Keep it locked. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Oh, no you don’t.” She grabbed the robe from the floor and stomped to the adjoining door. She put her hand on the door to rip it open when she realized that not only did her knee not hurt anymore, but all the bruising around her ankle had disappeared. How could that be? How could Duncan have healed her? And then it clicked. She thought about her life. Duncan in every scene, standing behind Spencer. He made things better without being asked. And without calling attention to it. This wasn’t some pity sex. What was it? She unlocked the adjoining door to the guy's room and yanked it open. But his door was locked.

  “Duncan, open the door.”

  “Rory, I will see you in the morning.”

  “Open this door.” She pounded on the door with her palm, to no avail.

  22

  Puzzle pieces

  Doctor Cottage stared at Aurora’s leg. She pushed and prodded at the ankle and knee. “So you haven’t done treatments for it? Nothing out of the ordinary? No bites from anyone?” she said with a half laugh.

  Aurora sat up. Bitten? Did that happen here? “No. No one bit me.” She squinted at the doctor. “I didn’t use the crutches to come to the infirmary, even.”

  “I see. It’s healed.”

  “Healing, you mean?”

  “No. I said healed. I can’t find anything wrong at all, just a healed bone.” Dr. Cottage looked towards the hall. She held the new x-ray next to the old one.

  “Are you okay?” Aurora said.

  “Yes, um, and did Mr. Larsen bring you down here today? Well yes, Duncan missed his check-up this morning. But that’s typical. He can’t leave the ship without me clearing him. Did you come on board with him?”

  “Yes, him, his brothers, and Tad, too.”

  “Right.” The doctor’s face twitched. She stared at Aurora’s leg for a long time.

  “Dr. Cottage, is there anything else?”

  Dr. Cottage twisted a loose piece of her hair. “Yes. You aren’t a shifter, are you?”

  “No, human.”

  “Not mated to a shifter?”

  “No. Why?”

  “The only time I’ve seen healing like this in a shifter is mate’s bond healing.”

  Aurora sank down to the chair, both of her legs weak.

  “Oh.”

  “You said that Tad came with you?”

  “Yes, he’s in the waiting room.”

  “Anna, can you please get Tad from the waiting room?”

  Nurse Smithfield appeared in the doorway, her scrubs patterned with the Kunyon Ball logo from the Philly Originals. Her smile flashed at Dr. Cottage. “Now that’s the best thing you’ve said in the last 24 hours.”

  “Not for me, for Ms. Berry.”

  “Whatever you say, honey. Don’t forget I can tell a lie when I smell one.”

  Aurora held her stomach. Duncan. He rubbed her knee. It healed. How dense was she that she didn’t realize it last night? And she told him that what happened in her cabin would be a secret. What the hell? Why didn’t he say anything? He knew it but didn’t do anything about it.

  “Shit, Princess, are you okay?”

  Aurora’s vision blurred. Her hand shook slightly.

  “What’s going on?” Tad turned to the doctor, then sank to the ground so he was face to face with Aurora. “Oh,” he said.

  “Duncan.”

  Tad nodded at her.

  Doctor cottage cocked her head at Tad and Aurora. “I’ll leave you alone.” And she backed out of the room. Tad watched the door close all the way and sighed.

  Aurora wanted to tell her to stop, not to go. With her in the room, she didn’t have to face the truth. The attention would be on the doctor and Tad. Aurora’s breath shook. “How… how? How did he not tell me, Tad?” Her head spun.

  “Ah, Princess. Spencer’s alpha vibes had you on lockdown from the moment he saw you.”

  “Why, Tad? Why would Spencer do that? Do that to me? To his brother?”

  Tad took her hand in his. “He didn’t mean to. Spencer wouldn’t hurt you on purpose. My guess is his wolf was so young it understood how important you are to the pack. He just misread it. You were both young.”

  Aurora’s eyes were red. But no tears fell out of them. With a sniffle of her nose, her tears dried, and rage bubbled up. “Where is he?”

  “Duncan? I’m not sure. He got up before I did.”

  “No, Spencer.”

  “I’m not sure. Breakfast?”

  “There’s a few things I want to say to him.”

  Aurora stood up and marched out of the exam room.

  “I bet you do.” Tad watched her leave the room without her crutches.

  * * *

  He was on board this ship somewhere. Debarking for the excursions didn’t start for another half an hour. When Lauren told Aurora her cabin number, she wished she had paid more attention. She remembered deck five, and it ended with an eight. So there was a lot of apologizing at the wrong room until the knock where Michele’s face peeked through the chain.

  “Hey, Michele. I am sorry to bother you. I was wondering. W
ell, how is Lauren?”

  “Lauren. Is asleep. Finally. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want to see you.”

  “I … I didn’t know. How could I have known?”

  “That’s what Lauren said as she cried herself to sleep. But I don’t buy it for a second. You understand what’s going on. You’re not fooling me. I don’t care if you're bound. You could tell, if you’re who Lauren says you are. Are you?”

  “What are you talking about?” Aurora didn’t understand what Michele was going on about. But they had been up all night.

  “Right? Okay then.” Michele started to close the door.

  “Wait. Have you seen Spencer?”

  “Are you kidding me? You want to see Spencer? Are you …? Oh, I can’t even.” Michele paused, her face glowing in front of the dark room, and then she calmed. “No. I haven’t seen Spencer.”

  “I just have something I need to say to him.” Aurora wasn’t sure what the expression on Michele’s face meant.

  “You’ll have to get in line. But I’ll tell him.” Michele closed the door with a firm click. If they weren’t ‘that table’ before, they were now.

  She searched the restaurants and the gym, but it was near the time for debarking. If she didn’t find him in the next five minutes, he might be off the ship for the day. And what she wanted to say to him would not keep for the next ten hours until he returned. Or if he made Lauren cry, maybe he wasn’t planning on coming back on board. Oh, she was going to have it out with him. He would pay for his actions. All of them. And after she found him, she was going to find Duncan and have a few words with him, too. Why didn’t he tell her last night? Instead of leaving her in her room by herself?

  He wasn’t in the garden dining room for the massive breakfasts buffet. On the odd shot, she pulled the door open to the Bjorn bar across the hall. There he was. Okay, be cool. He looked like he hadn’t slept; he had a large coffee cup in hand. The red-haired bartender behind the bar motioned to Spencer.