Free Found in Flames by Desconhecido

and grinded his hips hard into hers before retreating to do it all again. Every time he filled her, she thought for sure she would explode, but he never quite allowed it. Over and over again he thrust into her, all the while sucking the air from her lungs and stroking her tongue sensually.
    Then he dragged his teeth over her tongue before breaking the kiss, braced his weight evenly on both elbows, and drove himself home again. She exploded the moment his hips began to roll, crying out breathlessly and digging her nails into his skin lest she literally fall apart. Luka growled next to her ear as his own release took him and he leaned more heavily into her as his hips slowed.
    Joella was still breathing heavily when their bodies finally stilled. Her vision was still half white and blurry. She felt weightless. “Wow,” she gasped thoughtlessly. Never in her life would she have thought she’d be taken quite so… powerfully.
    Luka rumbled something, but she couldn’t quite make it out. He followed it up by trailing light, surprisingly gentle kisses up the side of her throat until he found her lips. The kiss that followed was slow and sensual, less demanding but no less intoxicating. Then he retreated, disentangling from her body in order to roll them both over. Him on his back and her sprawled on his chest.
    “Luka,” she started, not entirely sure what she actually intended to say.
    “ Shh ,” he interrupted, tangling one hand in her hair. “Rest, Ella. We can talk later.”
    Rest. Yeah, she could go for that. It’d been a long, stressful day and now that her body was thoroughly sated, the fatigue was hitting her hard. Rest would be good.
    ****
    Luka took his time with his rounds the next morning. He could barely focus past falling asleep with Joella sprawled across his body on that hillside. He’d been hard for the woman since he first caught a whiff of her scent, it was true, but he hadn’t expected to come that hard when he finally got her alone. His instincts had taken complete control and he’d damned near claimed her as his mate without her permission. And the very fact that ‘without her permission’ was his larger concern terrified him. Since when had he even decided he wanted a mate?
    He really wasn’t sure. He just knew that when he’d found her and Michelle’s pup being cornered by Char he’d nearly lost it. Then he found out about the mountain lion. So many ways she could have died while he’d been away, chasing false leads no less. There really was no excuse for that. Except that her fate really shouldn’t have concerned him as much as it did. He’d never bothered to care for a human before.
    The whole damned situation confused him. All he really knew at this point was that protecting Joella was incredibly important. She was his. At least for now.
    “Alpha,” Chad called, pulling Luka’s focus back to the moment. The younger wolf was coming up from the edge of the territory, the line he’d been patrolling during the night.
    Luka arched a brow at him, staying silent. He expected Chad would want to head off straight away.
    Inclining his head as a show of respect, Chad said, “The twins just departed for their hunt. I haven’t caught any traces of the lion’s scent, I don’t think it’s come back. Also … I suspect Max will want to stay and defend the pack today instead of come hunting with us.”
    Not a word about the chase…. That was a good thing, but it honestly surprised him. Instead of voicing that, however, Luka replied, “Good. And you’re probably right. We’ll be another nose short today. Go get some rest. I’ll send Lew to wake you when the meal’s ready.”
    Chad nodded and moved away to do as he’d been told.
    Luka stayed still for a moment, reflecting on the aspect of their situation he hadn’t really given thought to yet. With Justin gone, he had no Beta. And while it was true a wolf pack could function without a Beta, it was just as true that a pack couldn’t