A Wolf's Unbridled Lust Ch. 03

He needed to lie down.

He needed some fresh air.

He needed to talk to his father.

****

"Rafe..." Liesel murmured softly, her voice sounded frail and far away, like she was hearing it through someone else's ears.

Something cold dabbed against her forehead, and she felt the need to open her eyes but couldn't seem to remember how.

"Rafe." She whispered once more; panic colouring her voice as she felt the overwhelming tug of darkness pulling at her, threatening to drown her in its never ending midst. She swam against the current, using her last depleting bits of strength as she pushed fervently at the barrier holding her inside this gloom.

"I'm here sweetheart," a far-off voice murmured. The voice calmed her, it sounded like an angel. She felt her body relax slowly.

"Sleep..." the angel whispered, and she felt something warm caress her cheek.

Leaning in to the source of the warmth, a small sigh escaped her lips she let the darkness engulf her once more, knowing she was safe with this guardian angel protecting her.

****

Liesel's violet eyes fluttered open slowly to the dark room. She had no idea where she was, except that she was extremely comfortable, hungry, and there was a dull aching pain coming from her stomach and cheek.

"Hello?" she croaked, her voice sounding hoarse and rough from lack of use.

"Shhh," a calming voice chastised her, a withered looking woman scuttled out of the gloom towards her with a steaming bowl in one hand.

"How are you feeling, my dear?" the ancient looking woman asked her, her voice crackly and sounding just as withered as her appearance. She raised a cool cloth to Liesel's forehead, dabbing at the sweat that had gathered there.

"Um," Liesel stared up in bewilderment at the old woman sitting beside her, "Who are you? Where am I? And... and how did I get here?"

The woman tsked at Liesel as she tried to sit up, rewarding her with a sharp stabbing pain in her stomach and she winced softly.

"What happened to me?" she groaned as she reluctantly fell back against the cushions.

"You're safe," the elderly woman told her as she propped up a pile of pillows for Liesel to sit up against, "You were attacked. Do you remember anything?"

Liesel thought back on the last things she remembered... She had picked her brother up from the airport as promised and they'd gone for a coffee to pass the time. She'd told him to go wait in the car while she went to the bakery a few streets away, wanting to surprise her mum with a cheesecake, her favourite. She remembered laughing with Edouard as he teased her, and how alive she felt as she'd skipped down the empty alleyway, a shortcut to the bakery...

A pale, scrawny face loomed into her mind and she gasped in shock as recognition washed over her.

"What happened?!" she cried, her eyes wide and fearful as she stared imploringly at the old woman.

"You were stabbed," she told her impassively, as if these things happened every day, "If Raphael hadn't been there --"

"Raphael?!" she yelped, but the woman only silenced her with a glare.

"He brought you here and I've been healing you. You've been out for over 24 hours." The woman finished, cackling softly under her breath as though she found something about that amusing.

"Where is he?" Liesel asked softly, her cheeks burning from embarrassment as she recalled calling out Raphael's name through the darkness and being answered by an angel. Or so she'd thought. Obviously the beautiful voice she'd heard had been his. "Probably somewhere upstairs worrying about you, I had to twist his arm to let you have some space you know."

She felt her cheeks blush furiously as she looked down, biting her bottom lip. Clearly the only reason he would ever be worried about her was to get her out of his hair.

"Here you go, dear," the woman murmured gently, bringing up the crudely carved wooden bowl to Liesel's lips and helping her take small, tentative sips of the warm broth.

"And for the record," the old crone chuckled, "He cares about you much more than you know."

Startled, Liesel glanced up into the eyes of the woman. They were a strange misty-grey hue and sparkled ferociously with life from the light of the sea-wood fire beside them.

Liesel sputtered for something to say, her mouth hanging open as the woman sniggered knowingly.

"I'll go get him, shall I?" the elderly woman asked her.

As much as she didn't want to see Rafe at that particular moment, there was no point avoiding the inevitable. She sighed and nodded reluctantly.

"Wait," she called out to the woman as she neared the closed wooden door.

The crone turned slowly, her withered, wise face smirking subtly, "Yes?"

"Please tell me your name." Liesel whispered softly.

"Tanis," the woman cackled, "My name is Tanis, and welcome to the Black estate, Liesel DuBorque. We've all been quite keen to meet you."

As the woman left, Liesel had time to survey her surroundings. She was in an average sized room, with stone walls and no windows, leading her to believe that she was possibly underground. A massive fireplace burned brightly to her right with an ancient, wooden rocking chair sitting majestically beside it.

Behind her and embedded in the walls were shelves upon shelves of books and the occasional collection of glass jars and vials, their contents too far away to make out. A comfortable looking bed covered in fur rugs was propped up against the far wall, and a small table stood near to the middle of the room.

The green-blue glow of the fire made the room seem sinister and eerie, and she began to shiver softly, drawing the fur blankets around her tightly and wincing as the movement caused pain from her stomach.

She pulled back the covers far enough to see she was still wearing the same dress she'd gone out in that afternoon, except now it was tattered and covered in dirt and dried blood. Her hand gingerly ran across her stomach to the bandaged wound, prodding gently and wincing as pain shot through her. It wasn't as bad as she'd expected a stab wound to feel like at this point, and for that she was glad.

After a while, the growing murmur of deep voices had her pulling the covers up around her and peering nervously at the door. She wished she could at least pretend to be asleep to avoid the confrontation, but knew that eventually she'd have to see him and so stood her ground.

The door burst open and in strolled a smiling Biyen Black as he welcomed her loudly, "Liesel! How wonderful to see you!"

She smiled tentatively up at him as Raphael sauntered into the room, close on his father's heels and grinned down at her. She blushed and quickly pulled her eyes back to Biyen's warm expression.

"Though not under the circumstances of course," He added with a sly wink, "How are you, my dear?"

He'd crossed to a small wooden stool she hadn't noticed beside the table and sat down comfortably, while Raphael's broad, muscled frame leaned casually up against the doorway. Tanis had not yet returned.

"Better then I expected." She admitted, unable to control the soft smile spreading across her face from Biyen's elated presence.

"Ah, you must give thanks to our wonderful healer, Tanis! She performs miracles that woman does." He chuckled affectionately.

Liesel raised her eyes hesitantly to the man beside the door, he was smiling crookedly down at her, almost like he was trying to hold back laughter, but as soon as their eyes met his expression grew sober and a sexual tension so intense snapped between them like electricity.

After an awkward, long silence, Biyen looking from one to the other with a knowing smile pressing against his lips, he stood up suddenly.

"Well, I best be off. A lot of things to be done, people to see, stuff to do."

He smiled warmly down at Liesel, "Rest m'dear, Rafe and Tanis will take care of you. Don't worry about a thing."

He turned towards the door, clapping a hand on his son's shoulder and smiling broadly at him before leaving the two alone.

Liesel gulped nervously and stared down at the fur rugs, suddenly finding them particularly interesting.

She heard him move, just a whisper through the air, but didn't look up to see where he'd gone. She prayed he'd left her alone so she didn't have to go through this inevitable conversation, when suddenly he was right beside her, tilting her head back and kissing her feverishly.

She moaned softly in surprise, her hands reaching up of their own accord and tangling through his hair, pulling him down further as she kissed him, pouring all her lust for him into the moment.

He'd let lose a contented growl, pushing her back against the cushions and almost laying on top of her if he hadn't been propping himself up on one arm so as not to burden her with his weight. His lips travelled adoringly along her jaw line, delving his tongue into her ear and ripping a heated gasp from her lips.

"I thought I'd lost you." He murmured, passion burning in his voice between kisses as he nibbled on her ear lobe and ran his tongue down her neck.

She arched into his embrace as his lips found hers once more, curling his tongue around hers and sucking her into his mouth as he groaned in excitement. His hands slid beneath the many rugs shielding her body from view, hooking the bottom of her dress on the back of his wrist and hitching her dress up as his hands explored up her sides.

"Rafe." She moaned, gripping on to the back of his head, their lips intertwining, melding perfectly together as she pressed her body up against his in encouragement.

"As much as I do enjoy young love," Tanis's withered voice broke in with a soft chuckle, "She did just recover from a stab wound, Raphael. I'm thinking taking it slow, at least for a few hours, would be a good idea."

Raphael groaned in annoyance against Liesel's lips, his hand resting firmly behind her pale neck while his thumb brushed her jaw. He felt the rise in heat stain her cheeks a delectable pink hue.

"Tanis," he growled, although obviously not really angry with her, "You have the worst possible timing, have I ever mentioned that?"

She chuckled heartily once more, her cracked laughter straining from her chest.

Raphael pulled back apologetically, a crooked smile painted across his face as he grinned down at Liesel; she was blushing bright red in embarrassment.

He doesn't even seem to be effected by the moment, she thought angrily as she tugged down the hem of her dress, attempting to keep her erratic breathing even and steady.

"There's more to him then he lets on, don't have any doubt about that." Tanis laughed, winking cheekily at her.

Liesel glanced up in surprise, twice now it had seemed as though the ancient woman had been able to read her thoughts.

While Tanis was busying herself at the small table in the centre of the room, grinding some herbs into a mortar, Liesel peered up shyly at Raphael who was lounging comfortably beside her.

"Thankyou." She whispered softly, barely heard by even her own ears.

Something changed in his expression as she spoke, his features softening into a warm smile.

"For what?" he joked casually.

She smiled inwardly at that, rolling her eyes playfully.

"You know what. If you hadn't been there..." she trailed off, shivering at the thought of what could have been.

I was almost raped.

"But I was there," he murmured comfortingly, "And you're safe."

Her eyes sprung up suddenly, confusion coloured in her voice as she spoke, "Why were you there anyway?"

He looked startled for a second, like a deer caught in the headlights, before his expression turned playful and sarcastic once more. She wasn't fooled though, his eyes held their look of caution as he stared down at her.

"Same reason I was at the ball," he laughed loudly, winking at her, "Fate."

"I may look naïve Raphael, but I'm not!" she snapped at him, pulling away slightly as he reached out to stroke her cheek, "I want answers. What am I doing here?"

She hated the fact that he was keeping things from her, that everyone was keeping things from her. Did they think she was that stupid as to not ask questions and expect some answers?

He looked thoughtful for a few seconds, his mind of someplace else before he said to her, "How about we make a deal? I'll take you upstairs to my quarters, you can have a shower and I'll find you something else to wear, and then we can talk. Sound good?"

She stared down at her tattered, stained dress and grudgingly agreed. She could do with a shower and a change of clothes.

"Is it alright if I steal her from you, Tanis?" he joked, lifting himself up off of the floor and dusting off his jeans.

"Sure, sure," Tanis mumbled distractedly as she ground in more herbs, "By the morning she'll be as good as new."

Liesel looked up at the outstretched hand Raphael was offering her and she took it gingerly, careful to not upset the wound in her stomach as she stood up.

He carefully wound his arm around her waist as extra support, but she found she didn't really need it. If she didn't know any better, she wouldn't have thought that she was injured at all. Instead of declining Raphael's offer of assistance as she should have, she found the warmth he provided extremely comforting.

"Thankyou, Tanis." She said, smiling kindly at the old woman.

Tanis brushed her apology away with a wave of her hand, "Don't thank me, it was a pleasure. Now run along you kids, I've got work to do."

"Oh and Rafe," she said as an afterthought, stopping them as they reached the door, "Try and keep it in your pants, at least for a little while."

Her hysterical cackles faded into the stone walls as they made their way up the narrow stairs into the main house, Rafe was grinning from embarrassment as he supported Liesel tenderly with one arm.

"Thank God it's so late," he told her as they walked through the majestic and beautifully furnished room, "You would've been bombarded by half the community by now."

"Community?" she questioned as they made their way up a second set of stairs, this one far more elegant then the last as they neared the main compound of the house.

He coughed once before continuing, "Yeah, Black estate isn't just the one house. It's more like... a huge property that we share with a lot of other families."

"Like you rent out homes for them?"

"Something like that." He chuckled.

Liesel gasped softly as they entered the main chamber. It was enormous and beyond magnificent, completely furnished with elegant antiques and branching off into many other rooms. A grand fountain resided in the centre of the room, directly beneath an ancient yet beautifully cared for chandelier. A colossal staircase rose to the next level of the mansion a few metres behind the fountain, a rich red carpet covering the steps. The soft clack of Liesel's strappy heels echoed around the room as they walked across the marble floor.

"Wow." She murmured softly, staring up at the high ceiling. An incredible mural of demons covered in blood and gore converged in a sensational battle with huge, wolf-like creatures took up the entire expanse.

Rafe chuckled softly, tugging her gently up the stairs as she slowed down to stare in wonder at the master piece above their heads.

He laughed at her disgruntled expression due to his haste.

"I'll give you a tour of the place later." He promised her as they rose to the next level and turned down a richly decorated hallway.

That seemed to satisfy her because she followed him happily and without any complaint as they went through room after room, hallway after hallway up into the colossal mansion before they reached his own private and not-so-humble abode.

They entered into a spacious, comfortable-looking study. A huge mahogany desk stood to the far wall where stacks of files and papers stood waiting. The walls were lined with books of all kinds, the bookcases actually set into the walls. There was only one window, right behind the desk. A plush leather couch rested against the wall with a glass coffee table beside it. The moonlight shone through the wide window, setting the room aglow. There was no door leading out to the next room, just a large, intricately carved archway.

"Welcome to my quarters." Raphael laughed, taking in Liesel's appreciative expression and glowing with pride for his home.

He led her through the wonderfully furnished room into the next. This room was much larger then the last, white suede couches sat invitingly in front of the plasma screen TV. The room was decorated very modern cross eclectic, real-looking fur rugs were thrown over the two couches and a book case rested nearest to them beside a comfortable leather arm chair. Branching off to the left was a huge set of double-doors, the wall to the right sporting another carved archway.

Rafe pointed to the right, "Leads to the kitchen." he told her before escorting her towards the enormous wooden doors.

As Liesel neared the double-doors, she discovered elaborate artwork carved into the wood, not unlike the two archways. But this artwork exuded much more power; she could feel the crackle of energy through the air. And lined above the door, written in a language she'd never seen before was the most beautiful inscription she'd ever laid eyes upon.

"What does that mean?" she whispered, staring up at the masterpiece in awe.

"Gaur maethor voronwer nu gurth," he murmured, following her gaze, "There's no direct translation into English; it depicts loyalty even under death. It's the family crest in a way. Our motto." He finished, laughing softly before pulling the wide doors open and revealing what appeared to be his bedroom. The room was huge, and so stunningly furnished she was gaping embarrassingly.

Snapping her mouth shut she walked slowly into the room, surveying her surroundings. In the centre to the back of the room, resting against the far wall was a bed so massive she could barely comprehend why one person would need that much room. It was a four poster bed, the four wooden points towering high above the floor, carved in a fashion that resembled ivy and twisted wood. Gauzy white material hung from the roof of the bed, trailing down wispily and waving lazily in the slight wind let in by the open balcony doors to her right.

Furs and silk blankets were piled messily all over the bed, but the untidiness of the covers only added to its incredible allure. A huge fireplace rested snugly in the wall nearest to them; a lounging couch sitting before it, looking extremely inviting. To the left beside the fireplace, another huge carved archway, although this one carved from stone, led into a massive marble bathroom. A huge, stone spa bath was set into the floor in the middle of the room like a mini-pool, an ivory vanity counter to the right with a vast, gilt framed mirror imbedded in the wall. The bathroom sported ivory, stone and marble furnishing, with a toilet and large shower to the right. Beside the vanity counter another archway led seductively into an enormous wardrobe.

Liesel turned back into the exquisitely furnished bedroom, her eyes wide in wonder as she whistled long and low, staring up at another incredible mural painted across the ceiling, a chandelier hanging from the centre.

"Wow." She whispered, trailing her fingers along the fur covers of the bed and looking up at Rafe who still stood resting up against the doorway, a smug grin on his face at her reaction.

"I knew your family was wealthy but this... Are all the rooms like this?" she asked in awe.

Rafe chuckled softly, slowly walking towards her. She missed the heated, feral look in his eyes as he neared, her attention drawn to the wood carvings in the four posters of the bed, "Mostly," he told her, his hand clasping over hers against the wood, she looked up in surprise as he continued, "If you think this is magnificent, you should see my fathers."