scattered clouds were painted in stunning orange hues. Through the window it looked like anything was possible.
Too bad reality was setting in.
Closing my eyes, I tried to push it away. I breathed in Adam’s now-familiar scent and relished how good his body felt against mine. Finding myself snuggled in his arms was a much better way to wake up than alone in another new hotel. I could get used to opening my eyes and seeing his smile.
But reality pushed right back, reminding me that I’d have to leave soon. Maybe even sooner than expected if Adam’s brother had his way. Plus, if Sebastian was right and Nero sent someone else to finish his mission, I’d be putting Adam and his family in danger. If I ran, Sebastian would follow me, leaving Reno far behind. The mystery of the Nero Organization, my birth parents, and how I fit into the puzzle could be solved on the road. No need to drag Adam through the mess. He had a life here. I had… A laptop and a duffel bag full of clothes and toiletries.
When I started to slide out from under Adam’s arm, he pulled me in closer, nuzzling his chin into my hair.
“Good morning.”
The bed squeaked as I shifted and rolled around to face him. “How come you didn’t tell me about Aren when I was looking at those pictures? You had to know I saw his college graduation photo over there.”
His eyes opened fully and met mine. “You cut right to the chase.”
“I’ve been awake for a little while thinking.”
“I see that.” He kissed my forehead and drew back. “I should have told you.”
“But you didn’t. He’s a huge part of your life. How could you leave out something important like that?”
“I didn’t think you’d ever meet him.” He shrugged a little. “It didn’t seem important.”
I pulled away and sat up. “So all the talk of not wanting me to leave was bullshit.” My heart was breaking inside, so it was all I could do to keep the tears at bay. I hoped some righteous anger might help me stay strong.
“No, it’s not bullshit. I don’t want you to leave. Now you’ve met my brother, and you heard what he said. The Pack is always going to see you as a potential threat because you’re a jaguar. In my head, I didn’t think you would ever meet them, so I didn’t think I needed to tell you about them.”
“You say you don’t want me to leave, but if I stayed you were never going to let me into your life. I thought I could handle being your dark little secret, but you made me feel…” I got up and went over to the window. Staring down at the people holding hands, walking on either side of the street made the ache in my heart pulse. “You made me feel like I deserve more.”
Even though Adam was still in the room, I felt completely alone.
I heard the bed squeak as he got up. I swiped a stray tear from my cheek. I didn’t want him to see me cry.
He stood behind me. The heat of his bare chest teased me through the back of my thin cotton tee. His voice was just above a whisper. “I am so sorry I hurt you, Lana. I know I’m not handling any of this very well.”
I turned on him, dipping into my well of self-pity and anger, and lashed out. “Any of what, Adam? What exactly do we have anyway? I don’t even know why you’re here. We both know there’s an attraction, but we also know I can’t stay. I never should have stayed even a second day. I’m such an idiot.”
He kissed me then, hard. My body betrayed me, pressing against his chest. My fingers slid up into the back of his hair as our tongues tangled with urgent passion. When he finally pulled back, we were breathless and my lips felt hot and sore. He rested his forehead against mine.
“I love you, Lana,” he whispered.
“Is that what you say to all the girls who threaten to walk away before you’re ready to let them?”
A muscle in his cheek jumped, but he didn’t pull back or raise his voice. “I’ve never said those words to another woman.”
I stared into his eyes, searching for any sign of deception, but all I saw was Adam. No masks, no false promises, no defenses. My eyes welled with tears as I reached up to cup his cheek. “How can we ever make this work?”
He turned his head and kissed my palm. “One day at a time.”
“I don’t want to take you away from your family, Adam. I know how horrible it is to go through life without them.”
“Do you love me?” he asked.
My heart screamed yes, but in my head I could hear Sebastian’s voice telling me about the Nero Organization’s experiments with werewolves, how they suffered away from their Pack. I started to look away, but he caught my chin and forced me to look up at him.
“You think too much. Just tell me how you feel.”
He made it sound so simple. But nothing about this was simple.
Panic rose in my throat. My instincts, learned from hard lessons in abandonment, threatened to strangle me. My head was screaming to run while I still could. But I didn’t want to run. I stared into his eyes, this man who knew all the secrets I struggled to hide from the world. He’d never seen me as damaged goods, and when I was around him, for the first time in my life I didn’t feel broken.
“Yes. I love you, too,” I whispered. “But that doesn’t change the fact that we have no future.”
His mouth curved into a sexy, dangerous smile that made my pulse quicken. “We make our own future.”
Adam scooped me up into his arms so fast that I gasped. He kissed me, making his way back to the bed. He laid me down on the cool sheets, and I hummed against his lips, enjoying his slow, lingering kisses. Finally he pulled back.
Without a word, he stood up and unbuttoned his jeans. I watched him take off his pants and wet my lips as he moved to the foot of the bed. Every muscle of his body looked chiseled and strong. A faint shadow covered his jaw, and the intensity in his stare made my skin burn.
He leaned down and kissed just above my knee before looking up at me. I felt his hands stroke along my legs until his thumbs caught the waistband of my lace underwear. I couldn’t take my eyes away from his hungry stare. My hips rose up off the bed slightly as he slid the lace panties down and tossed them aside.
His hands caressed my calves, kneading the muscles, drawing a moan from my lips as he moved his attentions upward. He pressed lingering kisses up my thighs, pushing my legs apart, and I opened myself to his attentions. I reached down with one hand, my fingers getting lost in his hair as he kissed along my inner thigh, his hot breath teasing my yearning skin. When his fingers brushed along my curls, my body writhed with desire. Without taking his eyes off of mine, he slid his finger deep inside of me.
I moaned, working my hips as his fingers teased and stroked until my heart was racing. Adam growled against me, giving my aching core a long, slow lick. I cried out his name as he grasped my hips and pulled me even closer. He brought my legs up over his shoulders, feeding on me until I couldn’t catch my breath. When his tongue moved inside of me, he brought his fingers up to rub insistently at my sensitive nub until my hips rocked against his lips.
I shuddered, gasping his name as my body exploded, every muscle contracting and writhing with pleasure. He lowered my body to the bed and licked his lips as he moved up over me. I could feel the tip of him pressed against me, but he didn’t enter me. My hips tilted, hungering to feel him inside of me.
“I want you,” I moaned.
He leaned down and kissed me long and slow. I could taste myself on his tongue, and the territorial animal in me clawed to the surface as my nails gripped into his back. I never wanted him to touch another woman, and no other man would ever touch me. It was a carnal, primal pledge from a part of me I never knew existed.
Adam growled against my lips. “You’re mine.”
He plunged into me, filling me to the core of my being. His hands kneaded my breasts, teasing my nipples through the thin cotton of my T-shirt until my back arched under him. Adam pushed my shirt up and bent to take my nipple into his mouth. He looked up at me from under his brow as I watched his mouth on my skin. His hips rocked into me harder and faster as he sucked at my breast. Slowly, he drew back, his hand cupping me as he licked slowly across my hardened nipple. My body writhed, and he smiled, claiming my lips with his.
