Every set of eyes turned in his direction. Of course they would want him to confirm what Wren had said. He’d hoped she wouldn’t make such a big deal about it.
He nodded. “Yes, she is. We found out something earlier.” Ryder went on to explain what had happened in his dream and how Wren had managed to get inside it and manipulate it.
“Way to go, Wren,” Eryn said. “None of us would be able to help Ryder like that.” She smiled at him. “I’m glad you two have found something to bring you closer.”
Ryder decided not to remark on that last comment. Eryn had been pushing him to take Wren up on her offer of a relationship for a while now. Wachei’s mate had come to the conclusion that he and Wren would be perfect together. So now Eryn liked to give hints whenever she could in that regard.
“Tonight is only a test to see if Wren can do it again,” Ryder said.
“Well, let us know what happens,” Edensaw said as he guided Cassidy out of the room.
Everyone else left as well. Wren took a few steps to the entrance, then stopped to look over her shoulder at him when he didn’t follow. “Are you coming or not?”
“Yes, but it’s too early for me to sleep. I usually stay up late.”
“We can watch TV until you’re ready. It’s early for me as well.”
Ryder walked past Wren and headed for the stairs to the upper level. She followed him. He opened his bedroom door and allowed her to step inside ahead of him before he closed it behind them. He made a point of not locking it. He wasn’t going to give her any ideas.
Chapter Three
Wren looked around the room before she sat on the bed. Ryder remained by the door, watching her. She had noticed he hadn’t locked it after he’d closed it. She knew he’d done that to make sure she didn’t get the wrong ideas. Well, she did have other ideas that could lead to those wrong ones. If she was lucky.
She bounced on the bed. “Comfy. Are you going to join me or are you going to stand there all night?”
Ryder slowly crossed the space between them and sat on the other side of the mattress as close to the edge as he could get without actually falling off. He picked up the remote from the bedside table and turned the TV on.
Wren decided now would not be a good time to push things. She’d let Ryder get more comfortable with her being there, then she’d see how receptive he’d be to her. The night was still early. A lot could happen before morning, if he finally relented and let her closer.
It took far longer than Wren had anticipated for Ryder to relax. An hour must have gone by before he leaned back against the headboard with a pillow at his back instead of sitting ramrod straight. She gave him even more time, then by slow degrees put her plan of attack into action.
In the first phase, Wren slowly shifted closer to Ryder by a half inch every few minutes. She kept that up until she was way over on his side and her thigh and shoulder were against his. He stiffened at the initial contact but did nothing to shoo her away. Instead he kept his gaze focused on the television. So far so good.
She sat like that for the next half hour. The second phase involved a lot more touching. This she wasn’t sure if Ryder would balk at right away. Wren hoped not. She wanted to break down some of his barriers, and there was a chance she wouldn’t get another opportunity like this if she couldn’t get into his dream again.
Wren slouched down and leaned to the side so her head rested against Ryder’s shoulder. She forced a yawn as if she were starting to get sleepy. He didn’t pull away, so she took it to the next level.
She put her hand on his thigh. Ryder sucked in a sharp breath, which was his only reaction. Wren didn’t stop there. She rubbed the hard muscle under her palm, following it from above his kneecap to the bottom of his hip. It twitched at her ministrations.
Wren’s heart beat a little faster as she continued to stroke Ryder. God, she wanted him. Too many times she’d made herself come, imagining it was him who touched her, brought her to climax. She’d go crazy if she didn’t get his hands on her soon.
She changed the direction of her stroking so she massaged across Ryder’s leg, angling toward his inner thigh. Wren kept that motion up as she rubbed higher, moving in closer to his crotch.
Ryder croaked, “Wren, what are you doing?”
She tilted her head back to look at him. “What does it look like? I’m massaging your leg. Since you didn’t seem too thrilled with the idea of me rubbing your back, I decided to do this instead.”
“Stop it.”
“Why? I’m not hurting you.” She stroked a bit higher.
A pained-sounding groan escaped Ryder. “No, but I really wish you’d stop.”
“I don’t want to.”
Wren rolled to her side, using her other hand to continue her massage. She looked down at the front of Ryder’s jeans and saw the bulge there was definitely bigger than it had been before. She nibbled her bottom lip and gently ran her fingers across it. Yup, he had an erection hiding in his pants.
Ryder grabbed her wrist, stopping her movements. “Wren,” he said, his voice strained and gruff. “Stop.”
She met his gaze without trying to pull free of his grasp. Why would she? Her fingers were still touching his cock. “You like me doing this. I can see that for myself.” She glanced down at his crotch. “Plus, I like it. Just being here like this with you is making me wet.”
The last words had barely left Wren’s mouth when she found herself flat on her back with Ryder on top of her. His lips were on hers, kissing her as if he’d waited a lifetime to do so. His tongue stroked hers as he moaned from deep inside his chest.
Wren lifted her arms and took two handfuls of Ryder’s long hair, curling her fingers into it, as she kissed him back just as hungrily. A wolf’s growl pushed out of her as her arousal increased. This was how she’d wanted him, wild, not holding anything back. Now she had the answer she’d sought. Ryder did want her as much as she did him. He’d been holding back for some reason.
She sucked on his tongue as she lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist. She rubbed her jean-clad pussy against his equally jean-clad cock. It set the simmering fire inside her to full flame. She dropped her hands from his hair and grabbed Ryder by his butt, holding him exactly where she wanted his erection. Wetness leaked into her panties.
Ryder roughly threw himself away from her so he lay on his back, breathing hard. He swore under his breath. Wren rolled toward him and placed her hand on his chest. His heart thumped at a rapid pace under her palm. Not to be put off yet, she caressed her way lower on his body, but he caught her wrist before she reached his cock.
He met her gaze. “I can’t.”
Wren growled with frustration. “Why are you fighting it? You no longer can deny you want me.”
Ryder blew out a breath. “You don’t understand. I can’t.”
“Then explain it to me.”
“I didn’t want to, but I don’t think I have any choice in the matter since you won’t stop. I can’t have sex with you, or any other woman. To gain my full powers I must remain celibate until I have them. The first shaman to the wolf brothers, my ancestor, made that very clear in one of the visions he sent me. If I don’t, I can’t come into them.”
“Shit.” Wren pulled out of Ryder’s grasp and flopped onto her back. “So the man I’ve desperately craved for months on end I can’t have.”
Ryder chuckled but there wasn’t any real humor in the sound. “You have no idea what I’ve been going through. Sometimes I have a hard time thinking about anything but you.”
Wren rolled to her side and propped herself up on her bent arm so she looked down at Ryder. “You should have told me sooner. Now I have even more reason to help you get your full powers. Once you have them I can screw your brains out.”
He laughed, this time for real. “Are you always this frank?”
She shrugged. “Yes. A trait I got from my mother. She always said what was on her mind.”
Ryder met her gaze, his expressi
on growing serious. “I can’t promise you anything, Wren. Even after I have my full powers.”
“I can’t accept that. There shouldn’t be anything holding you back once it happens. Your need to remain celibate will be no more.”
“I…won’t know what I’ll become in the end. I could very well no longer be myself. It could change me irrevocably.”
Wren shook her head. “I won’t believe that. Yes, you could be different, but you won’t completely lose yourself.”
“Do you know that for a fact?”
She had a decision to make. She could either give an answer that was only partially right or tell Ryder the full truth. Wren decided on the latter. “I did ‘see’ something of your future. You become more powerful.”
“But? I know there’s more.”
“There was a darkness about you.” That was something Wren hadn’t understood when she’d first seen that bit of Ryder’s future, and still didn’t. How could he be dark when he was one of the good guys?
“See?” Ryder asked. “That’s why I can’t make you any promises.” He reached up and gently caressed her cheek. “Please, Wren, don’t take this any further than we’ve already gone.” He dropped his hand. “Let’s go to sleep.”
Knowing there was no use arguing with him now, Wren nodded. She stood next to the bed and yanked her shirt off over her head.
A strangled moan escaped Ryder. “Why are you taking your clothes off?” He’d pushed himself to a sitting position, facing her.
“I’m not going to sleep in my t-shirt and jeans.” She undid her pants and shucked them as well. “So I’ll do it in my bra and panties.”
Ryder’s gaze ran over her body, heating with each second that passed. “What about pajamas? I know you own some because I’ve seen you in them.”
“I don’t feel like going downstairs to get any.” Plus, this way Ryder got to see exactly what he was missing out on. She might have decided not to push him right now, but that didn’t mean she’d stop enticing him.
“Are you trying to torture me? After everything I told you? Seeing you like that isn’t helping with my control.”
Instead of answering Ryder, Wren pulled back the covers on her side of the bed and slipped under them. She fixed the pillow the way she liked it, then looked at him expectantly.
Ryder mumbled something under his breath about stubborn women before he got off the bed and crossed over to his dresser. He took out a pair of pajama bottoms, then walked out of the room. Wren heard the bathroom door shut a few seconds after. It only took him a couple minutes to return, the sleepwear in place of his jeans. He also had taken off his t-shirt, leaving his upper body bare.
Wren wondered who was tempting whom now. She couldn’t take her gaze off Ryder’s chest as he walked by to put his jeans in the laundry hamper in the corner of the room. It was hairless and had well-defined pecs. Looking lower, she saw his abs were equally defined, showcasing a six-pack. Ryder might not be as bulky as the sentinels, but he was muscular enough to make her mouth water.
Ryder turned off the TV and lights before he headed for the bed. He reached out his hands, feeling for the sheets, then climbed in next to her. Being a werewolf, she had no problem seeing in the dark. She could see as if it were daylight.
Once Ryder was settled, Wren rolled toward him, tangled her legs with his, her hand on his chest and her head on his pillow next to his.
That lasted all of two minutes before Ryder said, “This isn’t going to work. There is no way I’ll be able to fall asleep with you practically on top of me.”
Wren sighed. She rolled to her back but took his hand, linking their fingers together. “Better? I have to touch you to be able to get into your dream.” Since the main goal of tonight was to see if she could do that, Ryder had to fall asleep first. There was no point making it so he couldn’t.
He nodded. “Mostly. Good night, Wren.”
“Good night, Ryder.”
Wren closed her eyes, not worried about the outcome of tonight. She was more than sure she’d be inside Ryder’s dreams once more. Even when she was asleep she was positive she’d be pulled into it because she continued to touch him. When she was, she’d be more than ready to fight the dark wolves that stalked the man she wanted more than anything to be hers.
* * * * *
Ryder had no idea how long he’d been asleep when the same bad dream he always had played through his mind. The landscape was skewed from reality as he walked through a thick forest. Once he reached the small clearing, the growls of the four dark wolves sounded around him as they slunk out of the trees, their lips pulled back in snarls.
He turned in a circle to find he was hemmed in from all sides, all avenues of escape cut off. The enemy stalked forward, closing in around him. Ryder searched the area. Would Wren be able to show up and take out the dark wolves?
A sigh of relief slipped past Ryder’s lips as Wren suddenly appeared behind two of the dark wolves. Her body blurred and shimmered as she took on her hybrid dire wolf form. It hadn’t been a fluke the first time. Her being in his dream again proved that not to be the case.
Once more, Wren took out the enemy one by one until they had all disappeared. She walked up to Ryder, then rubbed her lupine head along his fingers. He obliged her and petted her with long strokes from her forehead all the way down to her back. It was the first time he’d actually touched her when she was a wolf.
After another minute, Wren shifted to her human form. She smiled. “I told you it would work. Even sleeping I was pulled into your dream.” She lifted her hand. “As long as I touch you somewhere on your body, I’ll be here for you.”
“Now I should be able to get more sleep.”
Wren stepped closer, lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck. “I think I can do a little more here than just take out some dark wolves.”
She put a hand on the back of his neck and brought his mouth down to hers. She kissed him with the same passion she’d done earlier. It caused Ryder’s blood to heat and rush to his cock, making him hard.
Before he got too worked up, Ryder pulled his mouth off Wren’s. “We have to stop.”
Wren shook her head. “No, we don’t. This is your dream, remember? What takes place here isn’t real. It’s all inside your head. So if we were to make love it wouldn’t count. In reality, you wouldn’t have gone against your need to remain celibate.”
Ryder thought over what Wren had said. It was true. This was his dream, all inside his mind. In the real world, both of them were fast asleep on his bed, doing nothing. Whatever he did in here with her wouldn’t count. He wouldn’t be putting his full powers at risk.
Arousal surged through his body as he put his arms around Wren and tugged her closer, his hard cock pressed against her lower belly. This time he was the one to initiate their kiss. He swept his tongue along her lips until she let him in, then stroked it along hers.
Wren pressed her body harder against his as she moaned into Ryder’s mouth. The sound was on the verge of a wolf’s growl. Because he was part of a werewolf pack, even though he wasn’t one, the sound was far from unordinary for Ryder. If anything, it showed how much he was getting to her, and he liked it. He wanted to hear it. The noise cranked up his arousal more.
Their kiss heated up. For once Ryder didn’t feel as if he had to hold anything back. He didn’t have to stop. He could do whatever he wanted to Wren for as long as his dream lasted. There were no worries of what the repercussions would be.
Ryder took Wren down to the thick grass under their feet and stretched out at her side as he lay on his. The smell of the wildflowers that dotted the clearing filled his nose. Now that the dark wolves were gone the scenery had lost its menacing appearance. The sun shone high and bright in the clear blue sky.
He kissed Wren once more, then dragged his lips down the side of her neck. He licked and nipped her soft skin. He palmed her breast through her shirt and squeezed the soft mound.
Wren shifted restlessly. “More,”
she said breathlessly. “I want to feel your hands all over me with no barriers.”
“Yes,” he replied, his voice sounding husky.
Ryder reached for the bottom of Wren’s shirt, but she stopped him. “This is your dream. You can manipulate it any way you want.”
He smiled, understanding exactly what she meant. Ryder thought of them both naked, and in the blink of an eye, they were. He propped himself up on his bent arm and ran his gaze down Wren’s body. It was slim and toned, and curvy in all the right places. Her breasts were more than a handful, tipped with rosy-pink nipples. He bent his head over her and flicked a taut bud with the tip of his tongue. She lifted her chest toward him on a quiet moan.
Ryder sucked a nipple into his mouth as he ran his hand down Wren’s body. He stroked her flat stomach before inching his way lower to the spot between her legs he longed to explore.
It was his turn to moan when he encountered how wet she was for him. He dipped a digit inside her pussy, then stroked her clit. Wren spread her legs wider, her hips lifting in offering. Ryder switched to her other breast and stroked one, then two fingers inside her. He went as far as he could go before he slid them back out only to repeat the motion.
As he continued to play with her pussy, Wren reached between them and fisted his cock. She pumped her hand all the way up to the head and down to the base of his shaft. Ryder rocked his hips, pushing his length tighter into her grip. He grew harder, his cock throbbing in time with his rapid heartbeat.
Ryder couldn’t wait to bury himself in Wren’s hot, wet body, but he’d thought of making her come with his mouth too many times to deny himself that pleasure. He gently pulled away from her hold and kissed a trail from the center of her breasts down to her mound. He slid between her spread thighs, pushing them farther apart the lower he went.
In line with her pussy, Ryder pulled his fingers out of her and licked her from bottom to top. He groaned at the taste of her passion on his tongue. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to get enough of her. He’d denied himself for so long.
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