She shuddered on top of him, her heart beating so hard he could feel it on his chest. The woman levered herself up, tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” Straddling him, she patted his chest, his stomach, his face. “I’m sorry.”
God, she was cute.
Her breasts glowed in the moonlight, and she was sitting smack on his cock.
Suddenly, he forgot all about his shoulder. “Why did you shift?”
“I couldn’t help the change.” She ran her palms down his arms, obviously searching for injuries. “I’m still regaining my strength from having the virus for so long, and sometimes I can’t hold the wolf form.”
His eyebrow lifted. “Maybe you should’ve told me that before we climbed rocks.”
“Um, yeah.” She bit her lip. “But I was having so much fun. You don’t like heights, anyway, so I wouldn’t have thought to tell you.”
“I don’t mind rocky hills when I’m in wolf form. But flying? Or climbing trees? Or, God forbid, high-rise buildings?
No way.” Then he waited for reality to hit her.
She finished patting him down and relaxed, her knees on either side of his hips. Straddling him. All movement stopped.
Her pretty brown eyes widened. A lovely pink flush rose from her breasts to her face.
Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating.
He expected her to scramble off him. To stutter. Instead, she tilted her head to the side and slowly, so damn slowly, flattened her palms against his chest. A low purr rumbled up from her abdomen.
A wolf who purred. His head might explode, she was so damn perfect.
She swallowed. “You’re naked.”
“So are you.”
She wiggled a little bit. Heat roared between his ears and down his spine. He grabbed her hips to hold her in place.
“Ah, don’t wiggle.”
Her blush strengthened to a red that had to burn. “Sorry.”
She didn’t look sorry. Heat lightened her brown eyes, and curiosity filled her expression. Wolves. Always curious.
She wasn’t the only one wondering.
He slid his palms up her flanks, ignoring the pull in his injured shoulder. It’d heal within minutes. Her skin was smooth and so damn soft. He remembered how soft. It had been hell leaving her in safety the last decade while he hunted the additional werewolves created during the war. He’d had a job to do, and he’d done it.
She ran her hands along his ribs, a small smile tilting her lips. “You’re so big.”
“Too big?”
“No. Just big.”
He outweighed her by a couple hundred pounds. When they’d dated before, she’d liked his size. Before she’d been taken and infected with a virus by their enemies. Did soldiers scare her now? Rage ripped through him, but he forced his anger down. “I won’t hurt you.”
She nodded, absorbed in watching her hands drive him crazy. “Why the one fang?”
“Huh?” His anger dissipated in a flash.
“The one fang mark on my butt. You have two fangs.”
Oh. “I had broken one off in a fight with a werewolf earlier that day. It took about a week to grow back.” Probably a good thing, too, or he would’ve marked her. Not that he wasn’t going to soon.
“Oh.” Her gaze met his, and she blinked. “Well, ah . . .”
She bit the inside of her lip and looked away.
“What, Maggie?” He tried to gentle his voice, but her tight little body on him had the words emerging guttural.
“I don’t remember how to do this,” she whispered, her gaze on his collarbone.
His heart flipped over. Jesus. She might as well cut it out and wear it for a hat. The little organ—and anything else he had—belonged to her. The sexy, cunning, pretty little wolf had a sweetness to her that shocked him, considering what she’d gone through. He wanted that sweetness to wrap around him and never let go.
His hold tightened. “Wanna learn?”
Chapter Four
Maggie’s grin flashed adorable dimples. “Yeah, I want to learn.” She tucked her chin. “But just because I like you, and I want fun. No marking, no mating, and no forever.” She sighed. “A bunch of my friends are now mated because the vampires never seem to understand that kind of thing.”
Neither did wolves. “I won’t push you tonight.” Tomorrow was fair game.
“Maybe I’ll push you.” She licked her lips.
There was the tough wolf he’d spent months chasing so long ago. Smart and tough. And so fragile his skin burned to protect her. He held no illusions about himself—he’d trained and worked as a killer for centuries. He’d rip apart anybody who dared threaten her. It wouldn’t be easy being his mate.
“Good thing you’re a strong wolf,” he mused.
She frowned. “Thanks?”
“You’re welcome.” He stamped down on impatience. No way would he scare her now. “I remember your body. Well.”
Her chin went up in challenge . . . and delight. “Prove it.”
“Well—” he drifted his hands over to cover her breasts, her hard nipples sending fire through his palms to his cock.
“You have very sensitive nipples.”
She hummed, her lids half-closing as she pressed into his hold.
“And—” he tugged both nipples with a pinch—“you like a bit of bite.”
She gasped, her eyes went wide, and she grabbed his wrists. More important, she dampened his cock. Yeah, she was getting wet.
He kept his hold firm and absolute. “Put your hands back down.” Doubt clouded her face. “Now.” His order held the tone of an Alpha this time.
She hesitated, and he pinched harder.
The slap of her hands on his chest echoed around the forest.
He allowed the wolf to dance under his skin. Her pupils dilated, and she got even wetter. Surprise, confusion, and raw need spun across her face like an emotional slide show.
She was perfect for him—now to prove it to her.
His hands flattened out, and he soothed the ache, feeling her soft moan against his groin. Then he rolled them over and changed their positions, his hands on her breasts, his body over hers as he pressed her into the soft leaves. Her nails bit into his shoulders.
He growled low. “Put your legs around my hips.”
Indecision filled her eyes. Then she spread her legs, bend-ing her knees, her thighs sliding against his. Sure, she’d challenge him . . . and soon. But she wasn’t there yet.
He settled more comfortably against her, stretching her hands above her head. “I want you open.”
A shudder wound through her. One palm cradled the other one above her head, scraping those pretty breasts against his chest. Her wide eyes watched him warily, her body vibrating with need. The demand to claim her, to take her, ripped through him with desperate claws. Keeping his face calm, he tamped down on lust. For now.
Female wolves were crazy dangerous. This one probably more than most—even more than she knew. He could match her. He could protect her. This was the first step in proving it to her. Again.
So he dropped his head to nuzzle her neck in the way of their people. She sighed, relaxing into the ground.
