Wolf Rising (SWAT: Special Wolf Alpha Team #8)

by Paige Tyler

  Jayden was hers now.

  And she was his.

  “Stay,” he ordered again, his voice more growl than words now. “Just like that.”

  She craned her neck, trying to keep her eyes on him as he touched a switch on the wall that dimmed the lights, then came back to the bed. Her breath caught in her throat when she felt his hand on her right hip, the sound turning into a low growl as he tugged her ass higher. If that wasn’t sexy enough, the moment he had her hips right where he wanted, Jayden slid his strong hand along the center of her back, firmly pushing her down until her breasts and face were pressed down into the blanket-covered mattress. The position was so damn hot, she felt her pussy clench up at the mere thought of Jayden taking her this way.

  He was like an animal.

  Selena heard the tearing of the condom’s foil package moments before she felt him grip her hip, then the head of his cock nudging at her wet opening. She gasped in pleasure, but the sound soon turned into a loud moan as he eased inside her.

  That was when she realized how large Jayden really was. She worried for a moment he wouldn’t fit. He did, of course, but his size had her gasping for air and grinding her forehead into the bed.

  He moved slowly and carefully at first, his hands on her hips holding her firmly and controlling the pace. He must have realized she was ready for more, because he thrust harder, touching her in places that had never been touched before, making lightning skip and race through her whole body.

  “Don’t stop,” she growled.

  Her voice was so twisted with passion and need, she barely recognized it.

  Who’s the animal now?

  His hips slammed into her, driving him even deeper. The sensations became nearly overwhelming, and all Selena could do was bury her face into the blankets and scream as the second orgasm of the night approached at the speed and intensity of a freight train. Her hands tore at the coverlet, her fingernails digging into the material as she shoved back against Jayden, urging him to go faster, to thrust harder, to make her come all over him.

  When Selena’s climax hit, she bit down on the blanket to keep from losing her mind. Between her teeth and nails, she knew she was probably tearing the bed to shreds. She was exploding from the inside out, bliss starting right where he drove into her over and over, then spreading out like wildfire. Her body shook and spasmed, her legs barely holding her up, and she knew she would have collapsed already if it wasn’t for Jayden’s strong hands on her hips holding her steady and yanking her back against him.

  As her climax ebbed, she realized Jayden hadn’t come yet. She managed to unlock her teeth from the blanket, absently noting that she really had ripped the material apart with her teeth somehow. She ignored that mystery for the moment as she twisted her face to the side.

  “Come with me,” she whispered.

  She wanted—needed—for him to experience the same pleasure he’d just given her. But getting even those few words out was harder than it should have been. It was like her throat barely knew how to form any sounds other than those screams…and growls.

  But Jayden apparently wasn’t close to coming yet, at least not in this position. One moment, he was thrusting into her hard, his hips smacking up against her tender ass like he was spanking her, and the next, he slid out and flipped her over on her back, moving her into the center of the bed.

  She had no time to even think about complaining before he moved between her legs and plunged right back in. Her legs wrapped around his waist instinctively, yanking him closer as her ankles locked together and refused to let him go.

  “Harder,” she commanded in his ear as she buried her face against his neck and bit down.

  What he was doing felt so good that biting him seemed like a natural response to her now—as bizarre as that seemed.

  The tremors inside her core started again, even though she couldn’t imagine how she could possibly come again so soon. But there was no mistake. Having Jayden inside her like this, his weight pressing her into the mattress as he thrust, was like nothing she’d ever felt before. He could make her come as many times as he wanted.

  She squeezed her legs around his waist tighter, urging him on, growling and nipping at his neck and shoulders. That’s when she felt Jayden start to move faster, his breath against her skin becoming more ragged. He was close, too.

  “Come with me,” she murmured, the words urgent…begging.

  He pumped into her, making her cry out in pleasure, pushing her closer and closer to that precipice. Selena tried to hold back, desperate to share this amazing experience with him this time. He must have somehow realized what she was trying to do, because he weaved a hand in her hair, yanked her head back to bare her throat…and bit her. Probably not as hard as she’d bitten him, but hard enough.

  She exploded again.

  Seconds later, she felt Jayden stiffen and explode with her.

  It shouldn’t have been possible, but this climax felt even more intense than the first two. She clamped her legs around him more tightly, then dug her nails into his back as hard as she could and sank her teeth into the thick muscles of his shoulder, tasting blood as she screamed through the most powerful orgasm she could ever imagine surviving.

  Selena had no idea how long the orgasm lasted, but she vaguely remembered being on top of him for at least a few seconds of it. But finally, no matter how perfect it felt, the climax began to ebb and fade. She might have faded with it a bit, lying there on her back with his warm body pressed to hers, her eyes closed, and her breathing deep and steady.

  “That was the most amazing night of my life,” she whispered.

  Her voice came out a little slurred, like her mouth had forgotten how to form words. Then she tasted the salty metallic taste that was becoming way too familiar, and she worried she’d bitten him too hard. She was about to sit up so she could check when she felt movement on the bed. Then Jayden was between her legs again, his mouth moving down from her breasts, along her abs, then lower.

  Her breath caught. There was no way he could be doing what she thought he was going to do.

  “Who said this amazing night is over?” he murmured.

  Before she could say anything, his tongue flicked out to touch that most sensitive place on her body, making her throw her head back and growl again.

  Chapter 13

  Brooks woke up to the sensation of sunlight beating on his face, the annoying little beams sneaking under his eyelids and reminding him that he’d overslept. He turned his face away from the light, groaning as he tugged Selena a little closer.

  Moving didn’t help much, since the reflective material he’d installed around the inside of the skylights had been designed to light up almost every part of the building, even at this time of the morning. He’d done it on purpose so the windowless building wouldn’t feel like a cave. Since he rarely, if ever, slept much past sunrise, it had never been a problem. But now, after the night he’d had with Selena, maybe he’d need to install automatic shades of some kind. Because he sure as hell wasn’t ready to get up.

  He shifted slightly so he could look down at Selena where she slept peacefully on his chest. She was so beautiful, it almost hurt to look at her. A few stray hairs had fallen across her cheek, and he absently reached to brush them back behind her ear. He traced his finger gently along her jaw and down her graceful neck, then back up to the corner of her sweet, captivating mouth.

  The longer he gazed at her, the stronger the feeling in his chest became. He was in love with Selena. He’d accepted that she was The One for him, but those were words that barely carried any meaning for him. It was like saying she was an Aries. What he felt now was real, powerful, and all consuming. He finally understood what it had been like for the other guys in the Pack who’d found their soul mates. Selena had stolen his heart in the span of four days. And he was completely fine with the idea that she was never going to give it back.

  All this would have been a lot easier if he’d figured out a way to tell he
r that she was a werewolf already. He’d secretly been hoping he’d have a little more time to find the perfect way to tell her, but after last night, delaying any longer wasn’t an option. The completely shredded bed, the bite marks marring the perfect skin of her neck and shoulders, the scratches and welts that covered his chest and back, and the dried blood was all stuff that would need to be explained. There would be no avoiding the truth.

  Brooks only hoped he’d be able to say the right thing when the moment came. For both of their sakes. It wasn’t the kind of thing he could figure out how to explain by rehearsing in front of the bathroom mirror.

  He sat up a bit, keeping Selena tucked comfortably against his chest as he leaned against the headboard. He felt the twinge of pain as he moved, reminding him of how wild she’d been last night. He smiled, reliving some of the more vivid moments.

  While he’d never gotten a chance to see her eyes glow, because Selena had a habit of shoving her face into the bed or the crook of his neck when she orgasmed, there was no doubt in his mind she’d shifted several times last night. Her claws had come out in a big way, and she’d used him like her own personal scratching post.

  Those claws of hers were damn long—and damn sharp.

  When he’d first learned Selena was a werewolf, he’d assumed she’d be a beta. He wasn’t sure why he thought that, other than because she was so petite and angelic looking. But after seeing her claws, it was obvious she was an alpha. No beta he’d ever met had claws that long.

  Then there were the fangs and the blatant aggression. Betas didn’t have canines an inch long, and he was pretty sure they didn’t throw guys Brooks’s size around like a play toy while in the midst of orgasm. Selena had given as good as she’d gotten last night. While she was much smaller than he was, she was just as strong and tough.

  Selena stirred in his arms, her eyes drifting open and fluttering a few times. She lifted her head, pushing her long hair back from her face with her hand. Her gaze came to rest on him, and she smiled.

  “Hey, there,” she murmured, running her fingers up his arm to his bicep, lingering on the barbed wire tattoo encircling it.

  “Morning, baby.”

  His breath caught as her warm thigh glided along his, making a tremor of excitement run through him. Selena must have felt it, too, because she laughed softly.

  “Didn’t get enough last night?” she teased.

  He grinned down at her even as he told his cock to behave. They had other stuff to do this morning besides make love.

  “Did you?” he asked.

  “I guess not.” Her lips curved. “Though I have to admit some parts of last night are a little hazy, which I blame completely on you, by the way.”

  “Yeah?” He lifted a brow. “How’s that?”

  “It’s hard enough remembering details after a half dozen normal orgasms,” she said. “But after what you did to me last night, I’m lucky to remember any of it. I didn’t do anything to embarrass myself, did I?”

  He shook his head. “Not a chance. You rocked my world a few times.”

  That answer must have satisfied her, because she sat up a little straighter, her hand moving down his abs to his slowly stiffening cock. He might have told it to behave, but it wasn’t listening.

  As Selena’s eyes traveled in that same direction, she caught sight of a set of four parallel scratches that ran left to right across his body from just under his pec to his hip flexor. She’d given him these particular gouges rather early on in the evening, so they were almost healed up completely already.

  Selena shot upright on the bed, her eyes wide.

  Brooks cursed silently as he heard her heart rate kick into high gear. “Relax,” he murmured, holding up his hands.

  She might have done just that, if it wasn’t for the bite marks along his neck and shoulders. Unlike the scratches on his chest, some of the bite wounds were from later in the evening, so they were fresh and probably kind of scary looking.

  She freaked, jerking away and scrambling all the way across the bed until she was close to falling off the side. He held up his hands again, trying to calm her with the gesture. It didn’t work. Her heart hammered even faster. Her eyes were starting to glow a little, too.

  “Selena, I need you to calm down,” he said, keeping his voice low and as soothing as he could make it. “I know this is all crazy, but I can explain everything. If you just give me a chance.”

  She shook her head. “There’s no explanation for this. I bit you. I hurt you.”

  He shook his head in return. “Yeah, you bit me. But you didn’t hurt me. I can promise you that. Last night was the most amazing night of my life. There’s nothing you did that won’t be healed up by tomorrow.”

  “Jayden!” she said in a loud voice, like she was trying to shock some sense into him. “Those wounds in your neck are deep. They’ll probably need stitches. Don’t tell me they don’t hurt.”

  He took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh as he sat up higher against the headboard. “You don’t want me to tell you they don’t hurt? Then I suppose I should ask you the same question. Anything hurting on you at the moment?”

  Selena looked confused for all of ten seconds before slowly looking down at her own body. She gasped, climbing completely off the bed this time. Her eyes widened to saucers as she caught sight of the light scratches tracing her shoulders, abs, hips, and thighs. They weren’t anywhere near as deep as the ones she’d put on him, but they were there, and Brooks could see her trying to understand how she hadn’t noticed them until now.

  Then she lifted her hand to her neck and felt the bite marks. Her face went pale. “You bit me?” she asked, her voice filled with disbelief. “Bad enough to leave open wounds?”

  He nodded. “We both got a little crazy last night. I get the feeling it’s always going to be like that for us. But like me, every mark on you will fade by tomorrow and be completely gone in a few days.”

  She looked down at her body—her beautiful, sexy, smoking, passion-marked body—then looked at him in confusion. “What are you talking about? I look like I’ve been in a fight with a rabid mongoose. It will take weeks for all this to heal up. These marks on my neck will probably never go away.”

  He sighed again and moved across the bed until he was sitting on the side of it. This was going about as badly as he could have imagined. But on the not-really-bright side, it wasn’t like he had to worry about dealing with a hard-on anymore. It was completely gone.

  Selena took a few steps back but stopped when she realized he wasn’t going to come after her. He couldn’t miss the way her eyes darted around his place until she positively ID’d the location of her dress, bra, and shoes.

  “I’d hoped I’d be able to find a better way to tell you this, but that option is off the table now,” Brooks said. “So I’m just going to dump it all on you and pray you’re able to deal with it. But you have to promise to stay calm and let me get it all out.”

  She took a step closer to her dress, her eyes never leaving him. “You’re starting to scare me a little. I’ve never heard you babble like this.”

  He was babbling? He’d hadn’t done that since he was five. Then again, he’d never had to deal with a situation like this before. Bad guys with guns were simple compared to this.

  “When Pablo shot at you in your classroom, it started a genetic change in your body.” Damn, he wished Gage—or even Cooper—were here to tell him what to say. But in their absence, he went with his gut. And his gut told him that Selena wasn’t the kind of woman who liked to beat around the bush. “That’s why you’ve probably been experiencing some strange stuff that doesn’t make a lot of sense to you. Like being able to smell things you shouldn’t or hearing conversations when there’s no way in hell you possibly could. You’ve also probably found yourself getting upset, emotional, and even angry for no reason.”

  She stared at him, the confusion in her eyes painful to see. “How can you possibly know all that?”

  The u
rgency of the question was displayed more in the tension on her face than in her words. It made him wonder what kind of crap she’d been dealing with over the past few days that he didn’t know about.

  “Because I went through the same confusing time after I lived through my own incredibly painful and traumatic episode in Gulfport,” he explained. “I couldn’t control my emotions, I smelled my neighbors baking weed four blocks away from where I lived, and I overheard my beat partner telling the shift sergeant he thought I was having a nervous breakdown. Which was probably what it looked like from the outside. Of course, I happened to hear that particular conversation from the far side of a pistol qualification range, which obviously shouldn’t have been possible.”

  Selena didn’t say anything. Instead, she stood there naked and vulnerable. He wanted to take her in his arms and hold her. But he couldn’t. Not yet. There was more that needed to be said.

  “This genetic change is also why you bit me on our first date and again last night,” he added. “Part of it is because you’ve just started the process, but the biggest part is that you haven’t gained control over your body yet. Your fangs and claws are going to pop out whenever you get angry—or aroused—until you gain control.”

  He was about to follow up with a promise to help her gain that control. To be there with her through the whole thing and then some. But he didn’t get the chance.

  “Fangs and claws?” she growled. “What the hell are you talking about? You make it sound like I’m turning into some kind of monster.”

  Damn, he was doing a crappy job explaining this.

  “You’re not turning into a monster,” he said quickly. “But you are getting claws and fangs. They’re part of the package when you become a werewolf.”

  Selena stared at him, her expression unreadable. Bending over, she picked up her dress and yanked it over her head, ignoring her bra completely as tears filled her eyes. Brooks stood up to follow, knowing he was blowing this. She either didn’t believe him, or she thought he was insane. Both were equally bad.