Skimming her coat off her shoulders, he tossed it aside, then undid the buttons on her shirt. As much as he wanted to tear them open, he forced himself to work slowly, revealing her creamy skin a little bit at a time. As he got his first glimpse of the mouthwatering curves of her bra-covered breasts, he had to remind himself he was in control of this, not his inner hybrid. He was going to take his time and enjoy the moment. But when her sexy belly button came into view, he had no choice but to say to hell with that.
With a groan, he dropped to his knees in front of her and buried his face in her taut tummy, kissing, licking, and nipping every square inch of exposed skin, especially that delightful belly button. He’d never realized that particular part of a woman’s body did it for him, but clearly hers did. He was so turned on, he had to fight to keep his fangs from coming out as he traced the outline of her navel with his tongue.
He forced himself to focus on pleasing Zarina, letting his senses tune in to the quivering of her muscles, the rapid beating of her heart, the surge and flow of the pheromones her body was pumping out as he teased her. There was no denying she was enjoying it. Her body was practically singing with excitement. She even buried her hands in his hair, holding him close and silently begging him to continue. Well, she wasn’t all that silent. In fact, she let out a few moans loud enough for anyone walking by outside to hear. But if she didn’t care, he sure as hell didn’t. At this moment, they were the only two people in the world.
As he dipped his tongue in her belly button, he carefully worked open her belt, then popped the top button of her jeans. The scent that hit him then was so intoxicating, it was a battle to stay in control and not give in to the animalistic urge to rip them off her.
He pulled back, taking a second to push his inner beast further down into the recesses of his mind, then slowly popped the remaining buttons of her jeans, kissing each small section of skin that his efforts exposed. When his mouth reached the top edge of her panties—and his human mind was this close to taking a backseat to what his hybrid half wanted—he stood and scooped Zarina into his arms, carrying her over to the cabin’s small bed. It wasn’t the king-sized one he would have preferred, but it would definitely do for now. Then again, at that moment, the cabin’s floor would have worked just as well.
That image in mind, he set her gently down on the bed. Face flushed and lips parted, she propped herself up on her elbows and tracked the movements of his fingers as he unbuttoned his shirt. She looked so damn gorgeous lying there with her shirt hanging open and her jeans undone enough to show off her panties. This was going to be the most incredible night of his life, he could feel it.
Tossing his shirt on the chest at the foot of the bed, he slowly eased himself onto the bed with her. Zarina must have figured out he was being extra careful not to put too much of his weight on her, because she frowned.
“Don’t you dare treat me like I’m made of glass,” she chided. “You aren’t going to hurt me, I promise.”
Before he could say anything one way or the other, she grasped his shoulders, then pulled him down on top of her and kissed the hell out of him. When she spread her legs, he automatically settled between them. His erection was so hard, it hurt, but nothing had ever felt so right in his life. Even when the tips of his fangs slipped out unbidden, he knew this was where he was supposed to be.
He had just reached down between their bodies to unbuckle his belt when he heard shouting somewhere outside, accompanied by the thump of feet hitting the ground fast and hard. He ignored the sounds, telling himself it wasn’t important, that being here with Zarina was the only thing that mattered.
“Tanner!” Spencer called even as he pounded on the door. “We just got a call over the radio from the camp south of Pyramid Mountain. They’re under attack and need our help.”
Shit.
Tanner dragged his mouth away from Zarina’s and lifted his head to find her looking up at him wide-eyed. He hesitated. If there was trouble, the last thing he wanted was to be separated from her.
“Tanner, let’s go!” Spencer said, banging on the door again. “The camp up there is smaller than ours and doesn’t have nearly the kind of firepower we do.”
“Go,” Zarina said softly. “They need you. I’ll be okay here.”
Even though he knew she was right, he still didn’t move. The prepper camp north of them was nearly defenseless. Shit. He rolled off the bed and grabbed his shirt.
“Stay here and bar the door behind me when I leave,” he ordered as he shrugged into it and buttoned it up.
He was at the door in two strides, ready to leave, when the beast inside forced him to turn back and look at Zarina. She was still lying where he’d left her, looking so damn beautiful, the thought of leaving her made his chest ache. But he had to go.
Cursing silently, he crossed the room and dropped to a knee beside the bed, leaning forward to kiss her hard. “I’ll be as fast as I can, but I need to know you’ll be smart and stay safe. Don’t open the door for anyone but me.”
She nodded, her eyes taking on a fierce glint. “You be careful, too. These people were able to grab one hybrid already.
