“So what’s on the agenda for the rest of the day?” Seth’s question disturbed the quiet they had shared since returning from their run. They both sat in Adirondack chairs on the deck, sipping coffee. The run back to the cabin had burned off some of their meal but they were both too full to do much more than sit around.
“Well, I was thinking that we should extend our little vacation until tomorrow.” Emily turned to watch his reaction to her words. “You’ve changed a lot since we arrived yesterday. Your senses are stronger, your allergies seem to be gone, you’re acting more the shifter and less the human. I think another day would benefit you greatly. We can go for another run later, or tomorrow morning if you want.”
“I could stay another day. That’s the joy of working for yourself, right?” His voice was noncommittal but he reeked of excitement and the ever-present hint of arousal.
She couldn’t help laughing. “You know I can smell your emotions, right?”
He grinned at her and she almost didn’t swallow the gasp fast enough. Gone was the boyish grin of yesterday. In its place was a confident, sexy smile that looked more predatory and less innocent. What had she woken in this male?
He nodded. “I know. I just didn’t want to jump up and down shouting like a little kid. So, we stay ‘til tomorrow.”
“All right,” she agreed. With the decision made, she looked out over the railing, staring into the woods. She didn’t want to admit the uneasiness she felt around him, but with the changes in him came changes to her feelings about him. Long gone were the protective emotions. In their place were compulsions she just couldn’t give in to. No matter how cute he was, she just couldn’t take a mate after only a few days. What if the changes regressed and he went back to being a weak male? She shuddered at the thought.
His voice broke the silence again. “How do I read emotions like you do?”
She sighed. He wasn’t going to let her sit in quiet. “Some of it’s instinctive, some of it comes with practice.”
“According to my nose you’re scared? No, that’s not quite it…but you aren’t happy either.” He scrunched his face in concentration and she couldn’t help but laugh at his antics.
“Sorry, that’s one area I’m not helping with. You want to learn emotions by smell, go hang out in the mall or something.” She waved away his argument. If she wanted to walk away from this weekend with her sanity intact she needed to be able to keep some of her thoughts to herself. “You’ll learn much more if you’re immersed in people’s scents. You can watch their interactions and decipher their emotions from there.”
“Fine. Don’t help.” He sighed with mock irritation. “How about a movie, then? I seem to have way too much nervous energy at the moment and sitting here is making me twitch.”
Emily studied him for a moment, watching his legs bounce, then gave in. “Okay, go pick something. You’re the guest here so I’ll give you first dibs on what we watch.”
* * * * *
“Okay, I have to admit that I usually hate Godzilla movies, but this was fun.” Emily grinned as she picked the last few pieces of popcorn from her hair. They’d started tossing popcorn to each other as a game to see who was the best at catching the kernels. That had dissolved into throwing handfuls at each other each time someone said “Godzilla”. The floor was covered, the couch was covered, they each had popcorn down their shirts and she suspected she even had some down her pants.
She couldn’t think of another time she’d so much fun. Seth’s sense of humor was similar to hers. He was a fan of talking through a movie, making snide comments or suggestions on how to better kill people. His comments were witty and intelligent even when he was being snarky. She hadn’t laughed so hard in…well, ever. Even now she couldn’t get the smile off her face.
She was busy pulling popcorn from her hair and didn’t notice his stealthy approach until another set of fingers was wound through her hair, pulling her slowly toward his body. She had barely avoided his advances throughout the movie. She had wanted to kiss him but knew that kissing on the couch would lead to much more, and she knew that “more” was a bad idea. She looked up into his face and was surprised by the determination there.
“I figured out one scent that’s been driving me nuts since this morning.” His voice was deep and compelling. He leaned down and buried his nose in her neck. His breath was hot as he whispered, “You’re hot for me, Emily Prescott. I can smell your need from here. You’ve been wet for me most of the day, haven’t you?”
She struggled to back away from him and was astounded when he growled at her. No one growled at her, ever. She stopped moving and pressed her hands against his chest, pushing slowly but with all her strength. The look of amazement that crossed his face when she finally had a few inches between their bodies was priceless, but she wasn’t amused. She was pissed.
“You will back the fuck off right now, Seth.” She pushed enough Alpha power at him to make him listen. She didn’t want to totally break his spirit but he’d overstepped the clear line she’d marked in the sand. Light touching, joking around, trying to get a kiss…okay. Discussing her rampant sexual need for him? Definitely not okay.
“Holy crap. Sorry, Em. I don’t know what got into me. Your scent is just driving me to distraction, not that this is in any way your fault.” She could actually see him get a grip on his mind and begin to stumble all over himself trying to get away from her. Oh hell—now she’d made him feel bad. Freaking shifters. Freaking males.
“Look, no worries. I should feel lucky you’re as gentlemanly as you are.” She could feel a blush pinking her cheeks. Well, lovely. Now he had her blushing.
“Why do you fight it so hard? I mean, I know I want you. You obviously want me. Am I so unappealing that you don’t want me touching you?”
“No, Seth. No. It’s nothing like that.” She rubbed her forehead and tried to deal with the surreal conversation they were going to have. “Do you know how mates are created in the shifter world?”
“Not really. I know my parents were mated.”
“Okay. True mates—not just married couples—are created by a ritual during sex. Each party has to bite the other at the time of orgasm and if they are meant to be mated a bond is formed. A really strong, unbreakable bond. Supposedly it has something to do with genetics and antibodies, or something like that. I haven’t really paid too much attention to the discussions about it.” She watched him closely, looking for understanding to flicker in his eyes. “It’s permanent and completely binding. No one can break it. Well, no one alive can. The only way to sever the bond is through death. The connection is intimate and psychic. You know when I was in your head yesterday? Picture that all the time. Some can learn to shut it off for a while, but it’s a mental connection with your mate that you have for your entire life.”
“Okay, but that doesn’t explain the Alpha push to keep me from kissing you.”
“Well, maybe you don’t feel it. My wolf, and to some extent myself, have feelings for you that go way beyond a casual fuck. She wants to mark you, to leave our bite mark on your skin. That’s not a casual thought to a wolf. She’s ready to make you our mate. I’m not interested in a mate—don’t want one and definitely don’t need one.” The venom coating those last words hung between them.
His dark eyes were so intent on her face that she had to look away. Would he see her fears of a future with a male who didn’t love her for her but only for her power? Would he push her to really stop him this time? She dreaded using her powers on him but she couldn’t let them get naked together. She only had so much self-control.
“What are you really scared of?” His question was whispered so low that she wasn’t sure he’d actually said anything until he lifted her face with a finger under her chin. She wanted to fall into his eyes, drown in them. He asked again. “Emily, what are you really afraid of?”
“I’m strong both mentally and physically. I can’t be with someone weaker than I am—I just can’t. My wolf demands that
my mate be stronger than I am, or able to overpower me. If we ended up mated we’d both be unhappy every day of our lives. I can’t do that to you, or to me.”
“So if I keep from biting you and you keep you from biting me, we can do a little kissing?”
“Is that all you really want to do? Kiss? Because let me tell you it’s taking every bit of self-control I have to keep my hands from ripping your clothes off. I want you bad, Seth. I don’t think I can keep it to just kissing.”
A silly smile spread across his lips. “You wanna get me nekkid?”
She laughed. Leave it to him to lighten the mood. “Yes. I want to get you nekkid. Then, if I had my way, I’d lick every inch of your skin, or maybe kiss it all. I’d definitely be doing something sinful to all of you, anyway.”
He closed his eyes and groaned. “Jeezus. Really? You have to tell me about the licking and the kissing after you tell me I can’t be near you? Are you trying to kill me?”
“No more than I’m trying to kill myself. Look, maybe we need to expend our energy in safer ways. Want to go for a run? I could work some hand-to-hand training with you out in the yard?” She desperately needed to get out of the living room and away from him and his sexy smile.
“No more running. I’ve run more in two days than I have in years,” he complained. “Why don’t we tussle in the yard while you tell me all the ways you want to violate me?”
She smirked. “You’ll be too busy getting dumped on your ass to hear me talking, but if that’s what you want to do I’m all for it.”
She breathed a sigh of relief that they had a plan and it didn’t involve them being cozy. She would’ve preferred a good hard run to burn off the sexual energy but fighting would do the same. She just hoped she didn’t hurt him too badly.
Chapter Ten
“What do you mean you want prizes if you beat me? You aren’t four. Internal motivation, wolf boy—use it.” Emily’s voice had risen almost to screaming level. Seth couldn’t help but find it funny. He’d proposed an incentive program for their mock-fighting. He wanted to claim a kiss for each hit he connected, although she didn’t know that was the prize he was going to claim. She wanted nothing to do with it either way. Perhaps she knew the devious plan he had to get the kisses he wanted, or perhaps she just couldn’t give in to the idea of someone besting her. He tried to hide the snicker but from the look of menace on her face he didn’t do a good job.
“I mean exactly what I said. You’ve told me repeatedly how weak I am, so it would be a way to motivate me. If I score a hit, then I get to claim a prize. What are you afraid of, hmm? Afraid I’ll win too many rounds and wound your little Alpha pride?” He knew he was playing with fire. Goading her with the equivalent of calling her a chicken was really stupid, but he couldn’t seem to stop the words from pouring from his mouth.
“Fine, you want incentives? You can have them. But you have to take me down to the ground for it to count as a win in your column. No rewards unless I’m on the ground.”
“All right, fair enough. If I get you on the ground, then I win that round.” Seth knew she would come at him hard and fast, after the way he’d pissed her off. He hoped he could remember his martial arts training well enough at least not to get killed. He’d taken multiple forms of defense training and karate until a few years ago. It had helped to channel his aggression when he was younger.
Warily, he watched her circle him. He let her do the stalking, concentrating more on watching for her strike than worrying about following her around the clearing. He didn’t see the first move coming. She struck like a viper, knocking him down on his ass with a quick foot-sweep and a shove to his chest. His breath whooshed out of his lungs. He sat there stunned for a moment before climbing to his feet again. This wasn’t going to be pretty unless he could get a jump on her attacks.
She grinned but it wasn’t friendly. She flashed a lot of teeth from under her curled lips. Menace bled off her in waves. She moved again, this time running straight at him, not bothering to cover up the move. He sidestepped her just in time and spun to find her fist in his chest. Fuck. His ass met the ground again.
“Come on. I know you can do better. You saw me coming that time. Fight back.” She grunted and raced at him just as he stood.
On instinct he threw an elbow at her blurred body and connected with something. She skidded away from him and rubbed her upper arm. The smile on her face was one of pride. She nodded and raced at him again. This time he knew where to attack. He braced his body and just before she rammed into him he sidestepped and swept her feet. She landed hard on the ground, flat on her back. She blinked rapidly before she glanced at him.
He couldn’t believe he’d done it. Before she could get up and run away, he knelt beside her. He grabbed her shoulders and brought her up to a sitting position. “You’re on the ground. Point to me.”
He moved fast, swooping down on her mouth. She gasped in surprise and he took full advantage by swiping his tongue against hers. He didn’t want a soft kiss—he wanted to ravage her mouth and force her to feel what he did. He pushed one hand into her hair, holding her mouth against his. He wrapped his other arm around her back, pressing her against his chest. He knew he had her when she softened against him and started to kiss him back.
He loosened his hold on her hair and rubbed along her jaw with his thumb as he deliberately ran his tongue along her teeth. He stroked over her slightly elongated canines before lightly suckling her tongue. He released her mouth only after she tangled her tongue with his and gave him a breathy moan. Two light kisses on her parted lips ended this round. He leaned back from her but kept his hands wrapped around her.
“Wow.” She breathed out the single word before slowly opening her eyes. He tried not to grin but couldn’t keep it off his face. He slowly released her and sat back on his heels.
“Want to go again?” He winked at her. She still looked dazed and it did his pride good to see that he affected her so much with just a kiss.
She shook her head and his heart slid into his gut. He’d pushed her too hard. Shit.
Then she looked up with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Oh, buddy, you aren’t getting away with that without a fight. Let’s go.”
Emily jumped up and backed away, flashing teeth as she waited for him to stand. Seth braced himself for another grueling onslaught. Irritation flowed off her in waves. He just hoped the kiss had been worth it in the end.
She couldn’t believe he’d kissed her like that, or that she’d loved every minute of it. She was wet and wanting. When he’d stroked her canines she’d almost come without him touching any other part of her body. She’d no idea that her teeth were an erogenous zone, but holy hell, she’d felt each flick of his tongue shooting sensations to her pussy. How she was supposed to concentrate enough to fight with him, she didn’t know, but she had to put him back in his place. The look of smugness that still sat on his face needed to be wiped off.
One more deep breath hissed through her teeth before she attacked. Her only goal was to take him down before he could get her again. She needed to reestablish her dominance in this little tryst. With as much speed as she could gather in the small clearing, she rushed him, jumping over him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling him over backward into a tumbling fall. She hit the ground and released him so she could roll with the fall. When her feet hit the ground she sprang up and away, turning to find Seth on his back, blinking quickly and wheezing. She grinned.
With a swagger that any cowboy would be proud of, she hooked her thumbs into the loops on her jeans and approached the downed male. He still was blinking fast, confusion clouding his eyes. She knelt to look into his face and almost felt bad for the pain she could see pinching around his mouth. “How was that, wolf boy?”
“Hell, I think you broke me. How’d you do that jumping thing? It was like watching one of those Chinese kung fu movies.” His voice was unsteady but his sense of humor was still shining through.
She laughed and
chucked him lightly on the shoulder. “That, my friend, is a move that one of my uncles taught me. He’s a black belt in something or other and was really into teaching me unique attack skills a few years ago.”
He struggled to sit up. “Well, give me a minute and we can go again.”
“Don’t I get a reward?” Before he could move or respond, she leaned into his space and grinned. She couldn’t pass up the chance to kiss him again. Her lips were still tingling from the last encounter. Somewhere in the logical part of her brain she knew this was a bad idea, but she didn’t care. With her blood rushing in her ears and adrenaline raising her heart rate, she wanted to feel his body against hers again. Her wolf was howling with triumph in her head.
He closed the distance between their lips but she took full control of the kiss. She threaded her fingers around the back of his neck, pulling him in to her lips. Her tongue flicked along his bottom lip, teasing until he opened for her. A low growl vibrated in her chest. The predator was out and wanted this male with a need greater than anything she could remember. She sucked his lip between her teeth and bit lightly, nibbling across his mouth. The moan that escaped his throat was swallowed by her insistent mouth.
It wasn’t enough. She straddled his lap and pressed her chest against his. Her hands skimmed down his back as she devoured his mouth. His shirt clung to his body and she reveled in the feel of hard muscle under her hands. Their tongues twined, sliding across each other. The imagery those sensual glides inspired had her grinding her pelvis against his. She could feel him pushing his erection against her, increasing the friction between their bodies. His cock was hard and hot against her pussy. Her internal temperature was rising and a light sheen of sweat glued her clothes to her body.
When the thought of marking him was pushed to the forefront of her addled brain by her traitorous wolf, she gasped and tumbled off his lap. It was as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped inside her head. Fuck. She’d been fully molesting him and minutes away from stripping them both. Her canines were extended and she knew her eyes had partially shifted. Her body screamed at her to get naked and jump him. Her wolf concurred. Fighting her instincts was painful. She backed away from him, breathing heavily. She hung her head as she tried to get a grip on her wayward wolf and her heated hormones.
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