He pulled away. A slow smile spread across his face while he fingered the edge of her nightgown. “I’m going to rip this.”
She barely had time to grin back at him before he kept his promise and her nightgown fell to the tile in wet shreds. As he held her in place, he claimed her breast with his mouth. He ran his tongue over her breast, and she melted into him.
Her nipples hardened, and she pushed her chest against him. He flicked his tongue over her nipples, then slowed to swirl over them. Her breath caught. Hoisting her into position, he held her steady as she unbuckled his belt. She stripped his jeans out of the way, and they hit the floor as he positioned himself outside her entrance, agonizingly close to claiming her.
“All I want is to pleasure you,” he groaned. “I’ll make you mine right now, if that’s what you want. But only if you want me.”
There was something vulnerable in his voice, almost a plea, and she knew he was remembering the time at Shane’s when she’d pushed him away. It had been a misunderstanding, a miscommunication, but he didn’t know that. And rather than take her now while she was wet and ready and already wrapped around him, he still stopped to ask. Was it any wonder she’d fallen so hard for this man?
“Frankie?”
She wanted to tell him she was already his, tell him that he had been at the center of her thoughts since his body lay flush against hers in the alley, but all she could do was nod.
He sheathed himself inside her in one stroke, and she cried out. He rocked—slow thrusts that left her begging for more. He was a gift from the heavens. Running her hands over his shoulders, she quivered, barely holding herself together.
Warmth pulsed through her body. He slowed down, then worked his way from slow movements into a steady pace that caressed her deeply, thoroughly. She buried her hands in his wet hair.
“I want to make love to you,” he whispered, abruptly stopping. He looked around the shower, frowning. “Can I take you to the bedroom?”
She kissed him hard, and apparently that was the only response he needed. He lifted her against his chest and carried her from the shower. Pulling a single towel off the rack, he stumbled out of the bathroom as he held her in his arms, exploring her tongue with his own. When he reached the edge of her bed, he lowered her until she stood in front of him. His eyes roamed over the curves of her body, and though she knew she should have been cold, her skin burned hot from his gaze.
He ran the towel over her shoulders in slow circular motions. He was gentle and strong as he dried her off. She sighed as he reached her breasts, kneading them through the fabric. He knelt and kissed his way down her body to her navel, until his cheek rested just above her mons. He caressed the insides of her thighs before he ran his tongue over her pink slit. He kissed her there, exploring and exposing her every weakness, lavishing her with attention over and over again. When her legs could no longer support her, he followed her onto the bed, smiling as if he’d been the one to receive all the pleasure.
She reached for him, urging him to join their bodies together.
He hesitated for a moment, then settled atop her and buried his face against her neck.
“Jace,” she panted as he thrust into her.
He drew back, and their eyes locked.
Frankie watched as his irises slowly transitioned from emerald to liquid gold—the gold of a wolf’s eyes. Her heart jumped, and an invisible pull tugged at every inch of her being. She knew she was being ridiculous, but she couldn’t help thinking that he’d been her destined mate from the moment she’d first seen him.
“I love you, Jace.” The words slipped out before she could stop herself.
A blazing fire lit his eyes. He pounded into her at a fevered pace. In a blast of sweet warmth, he found his release, sending her over the edge until she found her own. She moaned as she rode him through her climax. Without a word, he covered her mouth with his lips and kissed her hard.
JACE’S STOMACH FLIPPED. Bile burned at the back of his throat, but it wasn’t from the alcohol. He pulled away from their kiss and buried his head in the crook of Frankie’s neck. His heart pounded, each beat hard and sharp, like the blow of an ice pick.
Love? She loved him?
He opened his mouth several times in an attempt to say he felt the same way, but the words refused to emerge.
Trying to push the thought from his mind, he focused on making love to her. He couldn’t wait to slip inside her and find sweet release again.
Making love? Did he love her?
He gritted his teeth. Shit. He couldn’t escape the truth.
She wrapped her legs around him and squirmed until they rolled across the bed and she ended up on top. Straddling his hips, she pushed her chest against his and pecked kisses across his face, first his mouth and nose, then his cheeks and forehead—sweet, playful kisses that sent chills down his spine and a steady ache through his heart.
Was this it? He cared for Frankie, but was this what it was like to love someone? His only point of reference was his mother, but the experience didn’t transfer. How could he know, if he’d never been in love before?
Sure, he’d had loads of women, enough to give a few rock stars a run for their money, but he’d never been close to any of them, never felt the need for ongoing companionship. The only companions he ever had in his pathetic life were his Mateba, his Marlboros and the bottle. What a fucking fabulous existence.
Frankie pulled away from their embrace. Her gorgeous ebony hair fell into her face and danced around her shoulders. He licked his lips. Damn, he was hooked. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on, and there she was, watching him with that dark, doe-eyed stare.
But she was a werewolf—the embodiment of everything he’d hated about his childhood, everything he hated about himself.
“Jace, what’s wrong?”
He swallowed down the lump lodged in his esophagus. How could he tell her that he wasn’t sure if he loved her? He wracked his brain for the first thing that came to mind, the only other problem scratching inside his skull. “What if I fuck up tomorrow? I can’t afford to lose the fight, but I can’t shift worth shit and we both know it. One paw. What good is that?”
She gave a short laugh. “My, what a way with words you have. You’ve got a mouth worse than a whole crew of sailors.”
“Unless my mouth is dirty enough that I can bite Alejandro and give him an infectious disease that kills within minutes, it will get me absolutely nowhere.” A smile crept across his face. “Except maybe between your legs, of course.”
She laughed and shoved at his shoulders. “How can you expect me to think you’re seriously worried when you come up with things like that?”
“Whoever said smart-asses can’t be worried?” He reached out and ran his hand over the feminine curve of her hips. At the feel of his touch, she let out a long sigh.
When he finished feeling her silky skin beneath his fingertips, he rested his hands on her spine. She leaned down next to his face and licked her way across his mouth, laughingly avoiding his attempts to turn her teasing into a kiss.
His dick jerked, and he groaned at the electricity pulsing through his body. He rolled her over so that he lay on top again, and she squealed in excitement. Damn, this was more intimate than he’d planned for. He leaned in to kiss her, but she placed her hand on his cheek and stopped him.
“Don’t worry about tomorrow. Even at your worst—” she eyed him up and down “—even when you’re intoxicated and horny, and feeling as if you’re entitled to show up on the doorstep of any helpless female you choose...in my opinion—” she ran her hands down his chest “—you’re still the strongest man I know.”
