Shattered

by Kele Moon

  She closed her eyes as both her soul and body screamed, God, yes.

  Desmon pushed the sleeve of her dress down her arm, exposing her shoulder, and then licked her bare skin with another low growl. It seemed he couldn’t resist tasting her. She never agreed to his offer, but she also didn’t stop him as Desmon started pressing hot, wet kisses against the curve of her neck, her shoulders, her nape. He forced the other sleeve of her dress down her arm like a man used to being in charge, taking what he wanted without apology, and it left her wound so tight that she stopped caring about what it meant to want a powerful man.

  She just enjoyed it.

  He kept kissing her hypersensitive skin, and she leaned forward, holding on to the freezer to keep herself steady. She was so wet, it was disconcerting knowing Desmon could smell the lust coming off her, but he didn’t seem to mind. In fact, it was obvious he loved it as he traced one hand up her bare thigh, underneath her dress. Her breath caught when his touch trailed between her legs. He ran his thumb along the line of her pussy, teasing her through the thin cotton of her underwear.

  Amber moaned and gave up lying to herself about this.

  She dropped her head down, surrendering completely, and something about the action affected Desmon. He snarled, this time a low rumble of possessiveness as he slipped his hand inside her panties and felt for himself how turned-on she was.

  He circled a finger over her clit. The shock of pleasure was electric, and she gasped. Then she reached behind her and pulled the band out of Desmon’s hair. She fisted the silky strands rather than beg, holding his face in the curve of her neck as she spread her legs in a silent plea to get her off.

  Desmon took the invitation and started touching her, soft and teasing, leaving Amber sweaty and weak-kneed while he traced small circles over her clit. He took her right to the edge as she gasped and moaned without shame, but then stopped before she could climax. Instead, his touch moved lower, down the line of her pussy, making her push her hips forward in invitation.

  God, she wanted him. She was practically vibrating with the need to feel his hard, thick cock inside her.

  She could feel his arousal against her lower back, and she knew he was hurting, too, so she gasped, “In me, Des.”

  “Not yet.” He pressed a kiss against her nape. “You’ll come harder if we let it build. You’ve been so stressed. Even if you won’t say it, I can sense it. You need a slow release, and you know I won’t be able to go slow once I’m in you again. Wolf’s too close to the surface. It’ll be better if you’re relaxed, and I like hearing you. It’s calming to me, knowing you’re getting off on my fingers.”

  She moaned at the image his words created, but still she reminded him, “We’re outside, and I know your people have really good hearing. They’ll know what we’re doing.”

  “Even better,” Desmon said in that rough voice of his.

  “That’s an alpha wolf thing, I can tell.”

  “Yes, it is.” He licked her neck, letting her feel the sharp points of his teeth that had grown long. “Be happy that’s the worse of it.”

  “Why?” she pressed, even as he started circling her clit again with his fingers, making her breathless once more. She tossed her head back against his shoulder and pulled his hair because she couldn’t help herself. “Tell me why, Des. What do you want to do to me right now?”

  “I want to bite you,” Desmon growled. “I want to taste you and fuck you and own you.” He nipped at the soft spot at the base of her neck, letting her feel his deadly teeth once more. “And I want you to own me, too.”

  Something about the way he said made the pleasure burn brighter.

  “Is this a mate thing? Is that part of it?” she rasped when he started rubbing her clit quicker, with just the right amount pressure to leave her gasping. “You want me to bite you? Like a wolf?”

  “Fuck, yes,” he groaned.

  She wanted to at least find a way to think clearly, but her thoughts splintered under the pleasure.

  “Don’t stop this time,” she pleaded, as everything in her fought for the orgasm. “God, Des, I need this.”

  He didn’t stop.

  He let the bliss build and build, until finally Amber cried out. She would’ve lost her footing if Desmon didn’t tighten his other arm around her, leaving her surrounded by him. His strong arms. The spicy, wholly masculine scent that always clung to him. His warm breath against her neck that made her skin tingle as the ecstasy pulsed through her entire body. All the while, Desmon touched her, dragging out the climax for what seemed like forever.

  She was embarrassingly weak in the aftermath, but she let him hold her rather than fight it. It left her feeling peaceful, which made her truly recognize the constant stress-coaster her life had been since she was a child. As foreign as it was to her, it was still nice to surrender, to let him be strong for her. For once, to feel safe and protected.

  Desmon brushed Amber’s hair off her sweaty neck and pressed soft kisses against her nape. She felt the hard outline of his cock against her lower back, but when Desmon let out a low, rumbly growl, she heard his contentment, too.

  He needed to hold her as much as she needed to let him.

  She could feel the soft points of his wolf teeth as he trailed his lips over to the curve of her neck. He nipped at the tender spot with another low groan. The longing coming off him was so potent she could almost taste it, and she reached back to caress his thigh through the fine material of his slacks. It reminded her how split Desmon’s life really was. Man and beast, pain and power. Amber knew Desmon’s life was all about his pack. All work, all the time. He didn’t take much for himself—except this.

  How much could one little bite really hurt?

  “Just a taste?” she asked him softly. “It won’t do anything? You won’t change me or mate me?”

  “You’d have to drink from me to change over completely, and more than just a taste. It takes a lot of blood to transform a human. A few drops can’t do more than put you into heat for the night, the way it did before. As for the other, I’d have to be partially shifted and inside you to mate you, Ams. Then, if I bit you, you’d be mine.” The longing was blatant in his voice. “If I bit you with my fangs, it’d just be a tease. You wouldn’t change over. You wouldn’t be tied to me. You can walk away when it’s over.” He licked her neck and groaned once more. “But I still like the tease. Fuck, you smell good. I bet you taste even better.”

  She wasn’t sure if teasing him was more cruelty than anything, but still she said, “Do it.”

  And his low growl made the risk more than worth it as a fine sheen of desire danced over her skin. Instead of biting her, he licked her neck again. At the same time, he palmed her breast, making her moan from the fresh surge of desire that blossomed so easily for him.

  Desmon kept kissing her neck as he ran his hand lower, over her hip, before his touch slipped beneath the lining of her panties once more. Instead of rubbing her clit, he pushed one thick finger deep inside her.

  She gasped from the rush of pleasure. She was still so sensitive from the first orgasm, this was almost too much, but she gave into it anyway. She dropped her head and pushed her hips against his hand as he started stroking her deep. When he pushed in a second finger, she was lost, dripping wet, gasping, right on the edge of coming again in an embarrassingly short amount of time.

  She reached behind and fisted his hair once more, holding his face in the curve of her neck, because as insane as it was, she wanted him to bite her. She was wound tight, waiting to feel the sting of his teeth piecing her flesh. The sharp edge of danger from Desmon made it hotter.

  This wasn’t the kind teen she’d fallen in love with all those years ago, this was a powerful, deadly werewolf who didn’t just run in the pack—he led it.

  Desmon kept touching her instead of biting, fucking Amber with his fingers until her entire body was shaking with the need to come. He growled—low and possessive.

  That was her only warning.


  Surprisingly, she barely noticed the tear of delicate flesh giving way to his razor—sharp canines. The tidal wave of ecstasy made it impossible. The rush was so all encompassing, she screamed under the force of it. He kept pushing his fingers in her over and over again as her pussy clenched to the pulse of her powerful orgasm.

  Never in her life had she felt something even remotely close to that.

  Every stress melted away.

  All her fears evaporated.

  The tiny voice in the back of her mind disappeared; the one that always reminded her she wasn’t good enough to love. The same one that told her they all left eventually, anyone she trusted would betray her. Her mother. Her stepfather. Her ex-husband. Desmon. Maybe even her sisters, even if they didn’t want to—they would turn their backs on Amber.

  Right then, it all felt like a lie, because it was almost as though she could feel the love from Desmon. The possessiveness. The overwhelming need to keep her close and protected, it was like ambrosia to Amber, because she’d never felt safe. Maybe a few times when she was a teenager, spending time with Desmon in the woods, but those memories were all clouded now under the weight of betrayal.

  Or maybe not.

  It felt pure again.

  She didn’t want to trust that it was truly him she was feeling under the pulses of pleasure and emotion crashing over her—but what if it was?

  What if there was a person in this world who wouldn’t hurt her?

  The first thing she noticed when it started to wane was the rough brush of Desmon’s tongue against her neck. She realized he was licking the injury the way a dog would. It should have been strange, but it wasn’t. It still felt like she was sensing him, the real Desmon beneath the suit and scary alpha wolf exterior. She could feel his insecurities, too, knowing the world had hurt him worse than even she’d endured, and Amber got the impression she was the only one he let see it.

  For the first time, she felt the tenderness of the wound as he kept licking it, but she didn’t care. She caressed his hair, and then slid her hand to his nape, wanting to both soothe him and keep him close at the same time.

  “Des…” she whispered, but found she didn’t have words for what she’d just experienced.

  “No one’s going to harm you, Ams. Not while I’m around.” There was still a low growl to his voice, that carnal possessiveness obviously at the forefront. “I killed the last man who hurt you. Never forget that. It was your face in my mind when I finally ended Albert.”

  He was obviously feeling Amber as strongly as she felt him. He had somehow managed to taste all her fears, despite how deeply she sensed his need to shield her from them.

  “I believe you,” she choked, still overwhelmed with the emotion because trust didn’t come easily to her.

  “I would never hurt you.” His breath was warm against her skin, and he licked her neck once more. “I was protecting you that night. I couldn’t let Albert hurt you just to keep you for myself. I’d be alone forever before I risked your life.”

  And wolves weren’t like humans.

  They mated forever.

  He wasn’t able to move on the way she had tried to do.

  Not that it had worked out any better for Amber.

  She was still pondering it when Desmon suddenly stiffened behind her.

  She craned her neck, seeing that he was looking toward the open sliding-glass door on the porch. Once again, he reminded her of a dog, tense and on alert, ready to attack the mailman or whatever poor individual was walking up the driveway, not knowing this house was guarded by a very territorial canine.

  Desmon snarled, sounding scary in a way she had never heard from him before. Then he took off, running so quickly it was almost impossible for her mind to accept it.

  No human could move that fast.

  From the other room, she heard, “Fuck!” but it was shouted in the same type of low, inhuman voice.

  Amber followed Desmon without fully thinking it through. If she were smart, she would’ve run the other way, knowing another werewolf had entered the house without permission.

  Desmon obviously thought he was a threat.

  She was still recovering from feeling him, and she knew he wasn’t fully rational right now. All that hurt and betrayal was still looming between them, making him feel as vulnerable as she was.

  She followed the echo of growls—and blinked at what she saw in the living room.

  Jazz was in the corner next to the bookshelf, holding up his hands, white hair showing on his open palms. His face was partially transformed, too, likely on instinct, even though he was still clearly more human than Desmon.

  “It’s windy today. There’s a lot of dust, and you know I’m not the best scenter to begin with,” Jazz was explaining evenly, but his voice was completely inhuman. “I didn’t smell it until I walked in. I’m not challenging you for her. I thought Jason would need help with the freezer. I didn’t even know you were here. I walked in blind.”

  Desmon took another menacing step toward his best friend. Amber stared at him from behind, noticing that his broad shoulders were incredibly tense underneath his suit. The hands clenched at his sides were hairy like Jazz’s, and she could only imagine what his face looked like.

  Desmon growled again, and something about the threat must’ve rubbed Jazz the wrong way.

  Amber remembered that he was an alpha wolf, too.

  Jazz growled back, showing off canines that had grown long and dangerous. “Fine! Wanna fight me? Bring it!”

  She screamed when Desmon jumped at him.

  Jazz was obviously expecting it, because he dodged to the side so quickly, Desmon crashed into the wall. She didn’t realize how dangerous their claws were until Jazz slashed at him, ripping Desmon’s beautiful suit, and seriously pissing him off in the process.

  Desmon snarled and fought back, grabbing Jazz’s upper arm with one hand and lashing out with the other. There was suddenly blood everywhere as the two alpha wolves crashed into the coffee table. Neither one of them fully transformed into their wolf forms, probably because they were dressed, but it still reminded her of watching a vicious dog fight, with growls, snarls and the flash of deadly teeth.

  It was hard to tell who was winning until Desmon pinned Jazz down and sank his teeth into Jazz’s biceps in a completely different way than he’d bitten Amber. She covered her mouth with both hands to stop herself from screaming again when she saw the spray of blood after Desmon tore he teeth away, obviously trying to cause as much injury as possible.

  It was hard to tell, but Jazz sounded as shocked as Amber when he growled and grabbed the wound on his arm. When he lifted his hand, looking at the blood dripping off his fingers, his light eyes were wide, as though he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

  She wasn’t sure how werewolves called uncle when the fight got too intense, but she was certain backhanding Desmon so hard that his head snapped to the side wasn’t the wisest move on Jazz’s part.

  Desmon was completely unfazed by a blow that would probably kill a human. He just snarled again, flashing his teeth menacingly, and Amber was terrified the next bite would be to Jazz’s jugular.

  It wasn’t as if Desmon hadn’t killed an alpha wolf before.

  “Stop it!” she shouted at the top of her lungs.

  “Nah, kill me instead!” Jazz growled back at Desmon, showing off his teeth in the same threatening manner. “Kill me, big wolf! You want to kill your best friend? Do it! I dare you!”

  Apparently, Jazz’s survival skills sucked—badly.

  “Desmon!” Amber’s voice cracked with a fear she couldn’t hide. “Please stop hurting him!”

  Desmon turned to her, his pupils so dilated and wolfish she could barely see the rim of bright blue. His face was hairy and transformed. Blood still dripped off his lips.

  So very different from the man who was touching her a few minutes ago, he looked like the thing horror movies were made of—but something changed in his gaze as he studied her. His p
upils went back to normal, making him seem more human. Desmon crawled off Jazz and stood while studying her.

  Jazz slid back and ended up in the corner of the living room again. He touched the open, gushing wound on his arm, and looked at his hand once more.

  “You were going to kill me.” The hair on Jazz’s face started to recede. He went from primal to something else before their eyes as he whispered, “What if I’d been someone else?”

  “He wouldn’t have killed you.” Amber winced, because the horror on Jazz’s face was terrifying. She grabbed Desmon’s hand and pulled him closer to her, farther away from Jazz. Then she stepped in front of him, using herself as a human barrier between the two alpha wolves. “You just had bad timing. He was feeling a little possessive because of what we were doing.”

  “A little possessive?” Jazz repeated, giving her a look of disbelief. “Any other wolf but me, and he would’ve ripped out their throat without meaning too. I’m not trying to be a dick, but you two need to mate. He’s a hazard to our pack while you remain unmated.”

  “Jazz.” Desmon’s voice sounded less inhuman, a little saner, with the thread of guilt already finding its way past the insanity. “I know this was my mistake. I bit her. I still had her blood on my tongue when you walked in. I let the wolf get the better of me, but I won’t let you make her feel forced into mating.”

  “You’ve mourned her all this time.” Jazz looked to Amber. “Did he confess that yet? Has he told you that he’s never recovered from losing you? He would be a good mate to you, Amber.”

  “I understand what you’re saying…but I’m human. I need some time, Jazz.” Amber felt tears sting her eyes. “You don’t know how hard it is for me to trust. Everyone I’ve ever trusted has betrayed me.”

  “I didn’t betray you.” Desmon’s voice was still inhuman, low with insult.

  “I know.” Amber turned back to him, and tears rolled down her cheeks against her will as she looked up at him. His face was mostly human now, but his eyes were still wolf-like. “I do know, Desmon. I understand you were protecting me. I shouldn’t have left, but I did, and I let my ex-husband hurt me and destroy my self-esteem in the process. You have no idea how cruel he was.”