Ryker brings both of his hands up to my face, and he deepens the kiss. This kiss isn’t the tentative first kiss we shared last night. No, this one is full of need. And it’s not just Ryker who needs this, I’m right there with him. I hold on tightly to the front of his shirt at first before I release the material, and my hands slowly travel down to wrap around his waist.
With a deep growl, Ryker pushes us backward until I run into a nearby tree. I barely feel the bite of the rough bark against my skin. My head is spinning, and I’m fully consumed by his touch. This is the kind of kiss people swoon over in novels. It’s the kind of kiss people blush over in movies, and I can’t get enough of it.
Enough of him.
Ryker’s hands travel down my sides before grabbing right below my buttocks. “Wrap your legs around me,” he whispers against my mouth before hoisting me up. I immediately do what he says, my legs circling his waist and my ankles crossing at his lower back. “That’s better.”
Now that we are at the same height, the new angle allows him to deepen the kiss even more. My arms circle his neck, pulling him closer, but deep down, I know he will never be close enough, not until we are mated. My stomach flips at the thought of officially mating with Ryker, both with nerves and excitement at the possibility.
Ryker’s mouth leaves mine, and I whimper in protest, but then his lips trail soft kisses down my neck. He softly sucks on the spot where my neck and shoulder meet, and I shiver from the feeling. I move my head to the side to give him more access, and that’s when I feel it—the sharp sensation of teeth, no fangs, scraping against my skin.
It’s just like the electrical shock I’ve felt every time we’ve touched, but multiplied by a million. Jolts shoot from that spot all the way to my fingertips and down to my toes. I gasp in surprise and pull back from him.
“What is that?” I breathlessly ask.
“That’s where one day, I will mark you.” He swipes his tongue across my neck again, and I groan.
“Mark me?”
“It’s part of the mating ceremony,” he explains between kisses as he travels back up my neck and then to my chin. “I’ll bite you there, leaving a mark, so everyone knows you’re mine.”
“You’re going to bite me?” I gasp, shocked at the prospect of allowing someone to sink his teeth—fangs—into my skin.
“Yes, and you’ll do the same to me,” he casually adds before nipping at my bottom lip with his teeth. He leans back so I can see his face, and I suck in a breath.
“Your eyes are glowing gold,” I tell him. I saw them right before he shifted into his wolf form when the rogue wolf attacked in the clearing, but I haven’t seen them this close up, not while he’s still Ryker, a flesh and blood male.
“I know. They shifted when you first kissed me. I didn’t want to scare you, so I’ve been trying to keep my eyes closed.” He blinks a couple times, but the gold remains.
“Why would they scare me?” I reach up and circle my finger gently around his eye. “They’re beautiful, just how I dreamt they’d be.”
“I—” Ryker isn’t able to finish what he wants to say because the obnoxious sound of a phone ringing cuts him off. “Shit,” he growls before carefully lowering me to the ground.
My legs feel wobbly as I steady myself. Ryker puts the phone to his ear and snaps at the person on the other end, “What?”
I take a few steps away from him to give him some space while he’s on the phone. Running my fingers through my tangled mess of hair, I carefully remove the knots that are now there. I don’t need to walk back to the house and have everyone know I was just pushed up against a tree and making out with Ryker.
“Can’t someone else deal with it?” Ryker's voice is less harsh then it was when he first answered the phone, but there’s still a bite to it. “I’m busy…” he says glancing at me then back at the ground. “I’m with Pru right now, can’t someone else…Okay, fine. We’ll be back in a minute.”
“Was that your dad?” I ask him once his phone is back in his pocket.
“Yes. There was a rogue wolf spotted not far from here, and since I’m the resident rogue killer, my assistance was asked for.” He shoves his fingers through his thick hair, making it stand all over the place.
“You’re leaving?” I try to conceal my panic at the thought of him leaving me, but I already know I did a horrible job.
“I’m not going anywhere.” As he reaches for me and pulls me to his side, I go willingly. “Let’s go back to the house and see what’s going on.”
“I’ll be right back.” Ryker gives me a quick kiss on my forehead before disappearing into the house. His shoulders are tight as he walks away. I’ve noticed Elias and Ryker don’t have the closest relationship, and they both appear to feel uneasy around each other. I hope with Ryker back, they’ll be able to fix whatever the problem is.
Resisting the urge to follow Ryker into the house, I go sit in one of the loungers by the pool. I need a minute to sort through my thoughts and figure out how I’m feeling about all of this.
I’m more worried about Addison than I am about the whole wolf thing right now. Addison refused to do treatment because it was going to make her feel sicker than she does now, and the odds of it even working were small. She told me her priority has always been
