Sassy Ever After_Secret Sass Page 15

  Behind her, she heard the sound of footsteps, and she whirled around. She met Leon's solid chest and buried her head against his hard muscles. Leon wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tight, breathing into her hair. Victoria released a shaky, sad sigh.

  "My mother," Victoria groaned. "This is my fault."

  "None of this is your fault." Leon squeezed her even tighter. "Like with my brother, some things just happen."

  Victoria pulled away and stared into Leon's intense gaze, realizing how hard it must have been for him to say those words to her. Shuddering, she wrapped her arms around his chest again. That was when she heard the sound of thudding from upstairs, and she sucked in air.

  "Did you hear that?" Victoria asked.

  "Yes." Leon's stare lingered on the ceiling. "Let's go see what it was."

  Nodding, Victoria leapt forward with Leon on her tail. She raced for the stairs and took them two at a time, even though with every step her legs and sides felt as if they had been lit aflame. When she reached the top floor, she saw a strange man in the hallway she didn’t recognize. He had an auburn beard, a balding head, and chestnut eyes.

  "So it was you who was yelling," the man said. "We have some very sick people here. They need their rest. Hoodlums. What do you want?"

  "Who are you?" she asked.

  "I'm the town doctor," the man said. "Who are you and why are you here?"

  "Doctor." Her heart felt as if it had been filled with a cup of joy. "Dawson's alive? What about my mother, Cecile?"

  The doctor's eyes filled with shock. "You're Cecile's daughter?"

  Ignoring the question, she repeated, "Is Cecile alive?"

  "Yes." The doctor stepped away from the door. "She is in her room. She is sick, but alive."

  With a cry of joy, Victoria ran for the door, pushed past the doctor as if he was a ghost, and then turned the handle of the door. When she entered the room, she skidded to a stop and let out a groan of horror. Her mother lay on a white bed to the right. She appeared thinner than Victoria had ever seen her, her face was black, blue, and red, and her breath left her mouth in tiny gasps. Only one of her eyes was opened, but it focused on Victoria.

  In the bed next to Cecile's lay Dawson. He was also black, blue, and thin, and his hands were clenched in front of him.

  "Mother," Victoria cried. "Dawson."

  Victoria leapt at her mother, kneeled, and gripped her sweaty hands. Her mother groaned and turned her head a fraction to peer at her through her one remaining good eye. Victoria leaned down and kissed her mother's hands, wishing she could kiss away the hurt. The threshold groaned as Leon stepped into the room.

  "Mother, I am so sorry," Victoria shuddered. "Sir William got to you. He hurt you. Oh, God."

  Her mother groaned. "I’m just so glad you're all right, my precious baby girl."

  "I'm all right." She squeezed her mother's hands harder in relief. "I am more than all right."

  Then she balanced her head on the bed and sighed in relief as her mother petted her red hair in affection.

  As Leon gazed upon Victoria who lay partially on top of her mother with shaking shoulders, he felt out of place in the room. He leaned against the wall, his heart pounding, and pretended he wasn't there. That wasn't hard. He had been pretending as much for years with the townspeople of Harlow. There wasn't much difference now.

  Unfortunately, Victoria's mother croaked, "Who is the man I see?"

  Victoria, battered and injured, but still beautiful, grinned at him. "Mother, I know you are injured, but this is Leon, the man I want to spend the rest of my life with."

  The words caused his heart to beat harder because now that Victoria knew he was a werewolf and had proven to him that she could withstand the full moons, forever was possible. And he loved her for it.

  When Victoria extended her hand to him, offering him a place in her world and in her family, he stepped over to her and took it. His palm against her own felt right.

  Chapter Eleven

  Victoria lay on her good side, wheezing, as she stared at the wall with the lamp burning, trying to digest what had happened to her during the last couple of weeks. Her mother was all right but badly injured, Leon slept in an alternate room in Dawson's household, and Sir William was dead. As she lay still, she felt rising anger at what Sir William had done to her mother. She never before thought she would be happy about the death of another person, but as she lay there gripping the bedspread, she discovered that she was.

  But at least my mother is still alive. She rolled onto her back and winced. The doctor had informed her that she had a broken bone in her side. Her leg appeared to be healing, despite the rough treatment, for which she was grateful.

  As she lay there, trying to fall asleep but finding herself unable to, she heard the sound of a soft knock on her door. She sat up, her heart pounding, and automatically thought of Sir William and her mother's face.

  "H...hello?" she said nervously.

  "Victoria, it's Leon," Leon said. "I am sorry to disturb you at such a late hour. I saw your light on and…"

  He didn't finish his sentence but she did not need him to. After the incident with Sir William, discovering Leon's true self, and everything that had happened with her mother, she and Leon had not had time to talk about anything.

  "Come in, Leon." Victoria sat up and winced as fire burned her side. "Please."

  The door squeaked as Leon opened the door and stepped inside. When their eyes locked, Leon smiled at her, and his eyes sparkled even in the dim light of the lamp. She moved to get up, but he held out his hands to her, palm up, and shook his head. He walked over to her bed, sat down beside her, and grabbed her hand. She sighed and then leaned her head against his shoulder.

  "You all right?" Leon asked.

  "I am now that you're here." She shut her eyes. "I haven't been able to sleep at all as of late."

  "Are you sure that isn’t because of me? Because of what you saw me become?" His voice was pinched with pain. "I killed someone again. He may have been evil, but the fact that I devoured someone makes my heart grow ill."

  "He was trying to kill me." She opened her eyes and turned her head to stare at him. "Without you, he may have succeeded. You saved my life. It was self-defense. And as for you as a beast…How did that happen?"

  Leon stared at the bedspread and released a shaky sigh. "Are you sure you wish to hear it?"

  "Of course. I asked, didn't I?"

  Once again, Leon sighed, and Victoria could see from the exhaustion in his eyes how hard the conversation was on him.

  "Years and years ago, right after my parents died, I began hunting a lot to get over my pain. My father and I were really close, and the idea that I would never see him again oftentimes filled me with sadness." His jaw clenched. "On my way back to Harlow, I saw a massive black wolf tear apart a sheep which I knew belonged to one of the nearby townspeople. I went after the wolf with my bow and arrow. It was an unintelligent action. I expected the wolf to run, like most wolves run from humans."

  "But it wasn't a regular wolf," Victoria summarized in awe.

  "No, it wasn't," Leon sighed. "It was a wolf, like me, on a full moon. The creature glared at me with eyes of blood. I swear my life flashed before my eyes. It charged at me, snarling and growling. I put up my arm to defend myself, and the wolf sunk his fangs into my arm."

  Victoria thought of what Leon had appeared like when he transformed – the black fur as strong as armor, his glowing red eyes, and of course, the fangs which were as thick as her thumbs but twice as long. She shuddered. It was hard to imagine a way to get rid of any creature that size.

  "How did you get away?" she asked, awed.

  "Luck. Sheer luck." Leon shrugged. "The man who owned the sheep went after it. Under normal circumstances, a werewolf wouldn't have run, but he had one thing which frightened it away, a torch with fire at the end of it. It ran away from the fire in its unintelligent state, and I was dragged back to the town where my arm was bandaged and heal
ed."

  "And they never found out who the werewolf was?" Victoria gasped.

  "No." Leon frowned. "He never reappeared. Everybody thought I was bitten by a regular wolf. But then, things changed…"

  Though Victoria longed to speak more, she saw the pain in his eyes and realized that probing him would be bad. She could learn about his troubled past little by little over the course of their lives together. Smiling, she nudged his arm and puffed out her cheeks, making a squirrel face which had oftentimes entertained her mother. He took one look at her expression and chuckled, shaking his head.

  "You are a strange woman." Leon threw back his head and smiled. "I tell you I was bitten by a monster and now am one myself, and this is your reaction."

  "I am not a strange woman at all." Grabbing Leon's hand, Victoria drew it to her pounding heart. "I am a woman in love, and a woman in love doesn't abandon the man she cares about, no matter what he is."

  "Then I am a lucky man." Leon's expression sobered.

  "Don't you ever deny it." She poked him in the chest. "And you’d better not push me away again. You hear me?"

  "I won't." He clutched her chest. "Not ever."

  "Good."

  In the darkness, she could see that Leon's face was once again intense and hungry. She leaned forward, pressed her hand against his cheek, and felt his hot breath against the palm of her hand. The two of them stared into one another's eyes for a moment, and Victoria swore she could fall into his soul if she kept it up long enough.

  "I love you, Victoria," Leon whispered.

  "I love you too, Leon."

  Before Victoria could blink or prepare herself, Leon's lips came crashing down upon hers, hot, needy, and wanting. His hands gripped her hair, tangling in her wild curls. The fierceness with which he kissed her caused her broken side to ache, but she didn't mind. She pressed against him, shoving her tongue into his mouth and enjoying the flavor of the wine they had shared that still lingered on his breath. The two of them pulled away a moment later, panting.

  As Victoria stared Leon in the eye, she had the urge to touch as much of him as possible. After all, just days ago she had thought she would never get to have him again. She reached forward, seized his shirt, and yanked it up. Leon raised his arms and Victoria pulled the shirt over his head and tossed it to the side of the bed. In his nakedness by the light of the lantern, she reached forward and touched the scar upon his forearm with a new sense of understanding. That scar, with the tender red skin, had caused Leon so much trouble in his life. It was the start of so much agony.

  She took Leon's arm, drew it up to her lips, and kissed the red skin tenderly. Leon sighed and gently caressed her cheek, as she did this. Once she pulled away, Leon locked eyes with her and gently pushed her onto the bed so that she was lying on her back. As he overcame her and kissed the crook of her neck and then wandered down to her chest, she shuddered with want as a bead of sweat trickled down her forehead. As she shivered in pleasure as Leon devoured her skin, she ran her hands down his strong, muscular back and thought about how his muscles and bones had torn that night and the pained wails he had released into the night.

  "Does it hurt?" she whispered.

  Leon stilled above her. "What?"

  "When you change into the beast, does it hurt?" she asked.

  For a second she thought that Leon would not respond, but then he nodded against her neck. "It's a bit like having your entire body lit on fire."

  "I’m so sorry." She gripped harder to his back. "I’m so sorry you have had to endure such pain on your own for so many years."

  When Leon pulled back and stared her in the face, she saw the want, hunger, and passion in his eyes increase tenfold. His lips crashed down upon hers in lust and never-ending hunger. A groan left his mouth as he once again tangled his hand in her hair.

  Victoria's words were what Leon had wanted to hear for so long, though he had not realized it. The fact that she had said them, the fact that she knew him so well already, and she understood exactly what he needed to hear, took his breath away. He knew he would be a foolish man not to beg her to spend the rest of her life with him. He had already spent all of his idiocy pushing her away to begin with, when he should have accepted her into his life with open arms.

  "Victoria, Victoria, Victoria," Leon groaned against her mouth as he pulled away. "I love you."

  It was a test of wills not to give in to intense passion and rip the clothing from her body. Grumbling, Leon began to yank at the strings of her dress, and he finally got them untied after a minute of grumbling, while Victoria stared on with a smirk on her face. He pulled the two sides of her corset apart and finally he once again saw the gorgeous pale breasts which had driven him to carnal madness a week ago. Had it truly been only a week since he had touched them? It felt much longer than that. Every second he spent not touching Victoria was a second wasted.

  With a groan of want, Leon leaned down and took her nipple into his mouth, rolling it over his tongue. Her skin tasted so sweet. He wondered how that was even possible. As he licked and lathered Victoria's aroused nipple with his tongue, Victoria arched her back and moaned in such want that he almost came far too early and soiled his night pants.

  "Oh, Victoria," he whispered against her breast as he fondled her other nipple with his hand.

  He continued to tease Victoria's nipple with his mouth as he rolled the other one between his index and middle finger. Judging by her groan, her shudder, and the soft whimpers she released, Victoria enjoyed receiving the attention as much as he loved giving it. With a grunt of pleasure, Leon glanced up over her sweaty, heaving breasts and locked eyes with her. Victoria stared back at him with her glowing lily pad green eyes.

  Though Victoria did not break his gaze, she sat up and grabbed the bottom of the corset and pulled it farther apart. She then lifted the corset over her head, exposing the fragile bones of her rib cage, and tossed it over the side of the bed. With a whimper of pain – from her side or leg, he guessed – she slid out of her dress and pulled it over her hips and tossed it over the side of the bed. She stared at Leon with the intensity of a burning wildfire.

  "Are you sure this is all right?" Leon reached forward and caressed her cheek. "You are in a lot of pain, and I…"

  Victoria tangled her hand in his hair and covered his mouth with her own, driving her tongue into his mouth. When she pulled away a moment later, a sly grin was on her face.

  "I guess that means you are all right," he said sheepishly.

  "Yes." She ran her hands down his sweaty chest and leaned forward and began to kiss his toned muscles. "I want you, Leon. I need you."

  The words sent a shot of pleasure straight to his groin. He needed and wanted her, too. Stopping now would have been so painful for him it would have been worse than a thousand kicks to his groin.

  Victoria pushed all of his concerns to the side as she lathered his chest with her hot tongue and covered his pecs with butterfly kisses which made him shiver. With a groan, he rolled over onto his back as she straddled him and kissed down to where his pants were. She seized the waistband of his pants and began to pull them off. His cock sprung free, eager and hard.

  With a groan, Leon propped himself up onto his elbows as he watched Victoria's expression. As Victoria took in his cock, her eyes widened as if this was the first time she had seen it, and she licked her lips as if hungry. She pulled his pants all the way down his legs, tossed them to the side, and then crawled back up to his cock and continued to stare at his fist-sized balls and plump, veiny shaft as if it was the most attractive thing in the entire world.

  Victoria lowered her mouth over the top of his cock and devoured the whole shaft. A gasp of pleasure left Leon as he watched himself disappear into her hot, wet cave. Pressure built in his balls and he knew he could no longer watch Victoria's red lips devour him lest he come early. With a grunt, he threw back his head and draped his arm over his eyes, immersed in the sensation of tingling in his shaft and building heat in his balls
.

  Just as he was certain that he was going to explode, Victoria pulled off of him and cool air hit his cock. As Leon groaned, trying to get his bearings, Victoria fastened her hand around the base and began to pump his cock hard, fast, and rough. The sudden pressure and friction caused his hips to arch, and his dick threatened to explode all over her fat, aroused breasts which jiggled sublimely with each movement she made.

  I’m going to come. I am. But he didn't want it to end like this. He wanted to be inside her, driving his cock into her body with each pump of his hips.

  "Stop," he groaned.

  Victoria released him, a wicked grin on his face.

  Breathing heavy, he blinked and tried to maintain his composure. He had been so close, and his cock protested his request to make Victoria stop. But he was a strong enough man to maintain himself.

  Victoria had never felt closer to Leon before. That was why she had been so overeager to watch pleasure fill his face as he came. She pressed her hand against his pelvis, feeling his muscles tremble, and couldn't help but smile at the hungry expression he Leon wore as he panted and breathed deeply.

  Leon sat up so fast that Victoria gasped in shock. He flipped her over so that she was on her back again. Though his quick, forceful movement caused a little pain to fill her side and leg, she was all right with that because she was together with him.

  Leon moved over her breasts again. He rolled her nipple between his teeth and let out an excited sigh against the fat of her breast. He kissed his way down along her hips and with a groan of pleasure, he seized the waistband of her undershorts and tugged them all the way down her shapely legs. When he returned to hover over her cunt, she let out an excited sigh. As she squirmed, she could tell that she was wet because she could hear her pussy lips squelch.

  As Victoria shuddered and spread her legs wide, Leon moved his fingers between her legs and pulled apart the lips of her pussy with his fingers. Before she had time to prepare herself mentally, Leon shoved into her with his index finger. She groaned as pleasure filled her from the shock, but she was so wet already that his sudden insertion only brought pleasurable feelings to her. With a groan, she arched her back, eager for more of Leon.