Page 38 of Crimson Moon Falling

“Oh god, you feel so good,” she breathed out. He thrust into her, deeper this time, and her neck arched up. “I love… feeling you move inside me.”

Conall bit her earlobe and thrust inside her. She wrapped a leg around his thigh and the other around his hip. When he reached in and stroked her clit, her body locked and her energy flared around them. She came long and hard, and when she stopped pulsing around him, he pulled out, grabbed her hips, and flipped her over, bringing her up to her knees. Pushing her shoulders into the bed, he drove into her from behind, his wolf urging him as he pistoned his hips.

When she wailed softly and pushed back, his rhythm broke, and he shoved himself deep inside. His knot swelled, locking them together and sending Riley into a second orgasm, right along with his.

Their bond flared between them as Conall folded over her, as if protecting her from the world. Their ragged breaths filled the room, and their mingled scent filled his nostrils.

He lowered Riley onto the bed and nestled her against his chest as their breathing evened. He traced lazy patterns on her bare shoulder, savoring their time together before they parted and the world intruded again.

She turned into him and brushed her lips across his collarbone. “Before I go cold again, I need to tell you something. I love you. No matter what happens with this implant, or Apex, or even my father. I want you to know.”

“I love you too, Mate.” He brushed sweaty strands from her cheek. Her words sounded almost like a goodbye, and his heart pulsed. Conall leaned in and gently kissed her forehead, then her cheeks. “I don’t give a fuck if you go cold sometimes. The implant, the Feds, your job—they can’t have you. You belong to me and my wolf. And I’m jealous of him because I think you like my animal better. Make sure you come back to us.”

Riley’s eyes glistened as she nodded.

After lunch, Conall stood at the door and watched Riley, his Betas, and the hellhounds drive away. Riley was quiet, and the warmth they’d reveled in was receding as her mind shifted back to her investigation and her father. He kept his hands in his pockets and struggled to quiet his wolf’s instinct to go after her.

Ash stood next to him. “Owen didn’t give Riley a hard time while she was here, and he’s been quiet and subdued.”

“Maybe he’s growing up after everything that happened over the past year.”

Ash hummed. “Maybe.”

They walked to Conall’s office. “Any issues with the Pack Run?”

Ash sat in the chair across from Conall’s desk. “Nothing besides Lexa. A few are in the barn still sleeping it off.”

“Is she still here?”

Ash’s mouth quirked. “No. She left early this morning, still licking her wounds. She won’t challenge Riley again.”

Conall’s jaw clenched. “She shouldn’t have tried it in the first place.”

“I agree, but it was interesting to see how Riley responded.” Ash’s lips twitched. “She growled at Lexa, and it was a possessive, angry growl. Nothing cold about it.” Riley’s reaction to Lexa had been visceral and immediate, her energy crackling with territorial anger.

Conall slowly grinned. “You’re right, and she laughed with Sahara.”

“Dr. Wharton’s theory appears solid.”

Conall ran his hand through his hair. “But now she’s heading back into an investigation where she’ll be using that intelligent, analytical mind of hers. Everything about the situation will reinforce the implant’s programming.”

“She’s fighting it.”

“I know she is. But they designed that thing specifically for her. It’s like a parasite that feeds on her natural tendencies. Her intelligence, her focus, her ability to compartmentalize.”

“She’s stronger than he anticipated.”

“You haven’t felt what I have through our bond. It’s like watching someone’s soul being slowly buried alive in ice.”

Ash’s gaze was steady. “It’s not going away. You know it will likely kill her if they try to remove it.”

“What are you trying to say? Spit it out.”

Ash’s expression remained calm. “She needs to find a way to incorporate it without losing herself. To find a middle path where she harnesses its analytical power without surrendering her humanity.”

“And if she can’t maintain it?”

“Then we keep doing exactly what we’re doing. Be her link and remind her who she is. That may never be exactly who she was before Roswell. That doesn’t mean she’s lost.”