by Ava Benton
She dropped my hand and stroked my cheek instead. “I could’ve gotten you killed. What’s wrong with me? Why would I put you in danger like that?”
“You weren’t thinking. You didn’t do anything on purpose. Stop blaming yourself.” I turned my face to the side to brush my lips against her fingers.
What was I doing? What I had wanted to do since I met her. I was giving into what sat between us since the second I laid eyes on her. It was natural, leaning in a little more until our faces were only inches apart.
What was unnatural was trying to convince myself that I didn’t want her. I curled my hand around the back of her head and sank my fingers into her soft, blonde hair and knew that I had wanted to do that, too.
Her breath was hot and sweet, and I closed the distance between us, covering her mouth with mine before either of us had to time to talk ourselves out of it. Her lips were firm and full, and I was sorry I had ever kissed her because I would never be able to get enough.
She leaned into me and locked her arms around my neck.
My hands found her back and pulled her closer until her body was crushed up against mine.
She growled in the back of her throat, which made my cock stir and thicken. I thrust my hips toward her, and she growled again as I thrust my tongue into her mouth.
Inside was even sweeter than her lips, and I swirled and probed and explored while my hands explored her body through the thin shirt she wore.
“Drew…” she sighed, when I kissed my way down her throat.
Her pulse raced out of control under my lips.
I licked that pulsing, throbbing spot and she whispered my name again. Her fingers curled into claws and raked across my shoulders before tangling in my hair.
I heard footsteps. There went that.
“Shit,” I snarled, pulling myself away from her even though my entire body begged to pull her closer, under me, to press her into the bed or the floor or anything around and take her again and again.
I jumped up and went to the other side of the room, combing my fingers through my hair just before the door opened and my family poured in, along with Lance.
I looked over my shoulder and registered the dirt under their nails, on their shoes.
Dad’s face was unreadable.
“What happened?” I asked.
“The body was there—alone.” He went to the bathroom and washed his hands.
“ID?”
“None. Now, what are the odds of that?” Roan asked in a disgusted tone.
“You think somebody went back and stripped him of it?” I turned, arms folded, glad my cock had gone down.
Even so, I was probably flushed. A quick glance at Nia told me she was, but that could be chalked up to emotion after her close call.
“Could be. Or they went out without it, just in case. They didn’t want us to know who they are.” Slate shook his head, muttering curses under his breath.
“What does this mean?” Nia asked, looking around.
“It means they were pros. This wasn’t a nighttime hunting trip,” Dad said as he came back out, wiping his hands on a towel. “Not dressed the way this guy was, either. All in black, with a ski mask in his back pocket. And that hardware wasn’t your standard issue hunting rifle, either. More like military-grade.”
Nia started shaking.
I went to her before I had time to think about what the rest of them would think about it.
She leaned against me when I put an arm around her.
“So they found us,” I said.
“Looks that way. We need to move, fast. Before dawn.”
Lance nodded firmly. “I’ll spread the word. I doubt anybody will be able to do much sleeping tonight, anyway.”
I watched with a sinking heart as he left.
“What about the girls?” I asked. “They just got here.”
“And they knew the time would come when they had to leave,” Roan said, shrugging. “We’ll talk to them.”
“I’ll come with you.” Dad looked at me one more time before he left. “By the way. Good work out there, son.”
It was the craziest thing in the world, the way something swelled in my chest when he said it. I was a grown man. I didn’t need Daddy’s approval. Even so, it felt good.
I had a sudden thought just before he closed the door. “What about the other one? The second guy? Could you track his footprints?”
He craned his neck until he could see around the door. “Yeah. We tracked him.” His words fell heavy on my ears.
I didn’t need any more explanation than that.
9
Nia
“They killed that other guy?” I asked when we were alone again.
It was all such a nightmare. So much violence. The memory of blood spraying everywhere. It was warm when it landed on my fur.
“Yeah. It sounds that way.” His arm tightened around my body.
He was so strong. I couldn’t forget the way he’d torn that man’s throat out. Like it was nothing, like it was easy.
I had done the same thing, but only to other animals. Not to a person. Even so, I didn’t think he would ever hurt me that way. He had only done it because he wanted to save me from them. That was a huge, heavy difference. Almost too heavy to make sense of in my head. It was all a blur.
“I thought there was no danger here. I’m such an idiot.”
“You’re not,” he murmured with his mouth close to my ear. “You’re the least idiotic person I know.”
“That almost sounds like a compliment.” I managed to laugh softly even though my mind had already shattered into a million pieces. I had been so close to dying…
“It almost was,” he murmured with a chuckle. “So I need you to not do anything idiotic ever again.”
“You just said I wasn’t an idiot,” I frowned.
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do idiotic things. I might have to punish you for it.”
My stomach did a slow tumble as telltale heat sparked between my legs. Just like that, we were back where we left off before we had been interrupted. “Oh? How would you punish me?”
It was like he knew just what I needed. Him. I needed him.
After being so terrified, I needed his warmth and his strength and his hands on my body as he pulled me from the couch and led me to the bed.
He lifted my arms above my head and slid his hands along my body, taking his shirt with them.
It wasn’t like he had never seen me naked before—still, my body flushed as his eyes took me in.
“Lie down,” he growled, and he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor.
He watched me, jaw clenched, eyes half-closed as I positioned myself.
My heart raced, my head spun. What was he doing?
He answered my silent question by lowering himself over me and pressing his mouth to mine.
I curled my fingers in his hair, holding him close, my entire body responding at once. I gripped his shoulders and tried to pull him closer while I hooked a leg over his and tried to pull it between mine.
He broke the kiss, smiling. “No. That’s not how this is going to go.”
“What?” I whispered, breathless, as my hand slid between us to stroke his growing erection.
He pushed my hand away with a growl. “No. I already told you. That’s not how this is going to go.”
I froze. “What do you mean?”
A slow, wicked smile spread across his face. “You’re not going to rush me, and you’re not going to be in control. I’m going to teach you a lesson about being smart and listening to instructions before you get yourself or somebody else killed. Understood?”
I frowned. Was he still playing? “Just how do you plan on doing that?” I asked, suspicious.
“You’ll see. Do you trust me?”
“It depends…”
He chuckled before kissing the tip of my nose. “Nothing freaky. I promise.”
“Oh, really? Gee, now I’m dis
appointed.”
We both laughed.
“Seriously. Do you trust me?”
“You know I do,” I whispered, and I meant it with all my heart.
“Good. So you’ll stop trying to grab my cock,” he muttered, moving my hand away again, “and you’ll let me control what happens next. In case you didn’t know, I like to be in control.”
“I had no idea,” I muttered, rolling my eyes.
He chuckled. “Yeah, but I think you’ll like this, if you let yourself.”
“What do you have in mind?” My heart raced faster than ever.
“I want you to beg me for it by the time I’m finished playing with you,” he growled, as his lips brushed against my throat and made my skin tingle.
He kissed me softly, his tongue lingering, before continuing. “I want you to be sure you’ll die if you don’t have my cock inside you. I want you to whimper my name. I want you to scream when you come for me…”
My head rolled helplessly from side to side as his words sank in.
Knowing that he wanted me so badly… that he wanted me to want him… that he only wanted to give me pleasure…
I moaned and writhed, my body responding before my brain could process everything that was happening. That was a good thing.
I told myself to stop thinking and give myself over to the sensation.
He chuckled, and his breath was hot against my skin. Even so, goose bumps rose up.
“You’re so sweet,” he muttered before closing his lips over my nipple.
I groaned, arching my back, forcing myself up into his mouth.
He sucked gently, then tugged harder.
I gasped, arching more sharply, and he took my tender flesh between his teeth. “Oh, yes!” I moaned, desperate for more. “Please.”
He rewarded me with a flick of his tongue, and I saw stars behind my closed eyelids.
It was all so much more than I had ever felt before. Stronger, more intense, more primal and urgent and real. Wetness slicked my inner thighs, wetter than I had ever gotten, and one of his hands slid between my legs when I opened them a little.
“I can smell you… you smell so good…” There was desperation in his voice, enough to make me whimper in response.
He parted my legs further, lowering himself between them, and I gasped at the size of his body. It was one thing to see it but another to feel him between my legs, muscles bulging everywhere. He kept moving further down along me until his mouth was over my navel.
I gasped when his tongue swirled inside, then barely had time to recover before he was moving down to my aching pussy.
I opened my eyes in time to see him close his as he took a deep breath of me.
He growled louder than ever before lowering his head and running his mouth along my slick lips.
My fingers found the back of his head as shock waves ran through me from head to toe even at the slightest touch.
His hair was thick, and my fingers tangled it in as I tried desperately to bring him closer to the center of my heat.
“What do you want me to do?” he rasped, his mouth millimeters from my skin.
I sputtered, torn between feeling embarrassed and knowing I would die if he didn’t let me come. “Lick me,” I begged in a soft whisper. “Please, let me come.”
“That’s a good start,” he chuckled darkly before giving me what I craved.
His tongue parted my lips and slid along inside until it found my clit and swirled around it in slow, sensuous circles. It was enough to make me claw, beg, plead, rolling my hips in time with his tongue, riding his face as he tormented me with just enough pleasure to make me ride on the edge between agony and ecstasy.
“Please, Drew! Please… more…” My voice was a broken cry, pathetic and raspy as I begged. Just a little more pressure…
He pressed harder, and my hips shot off the bed as I finally went over the edge into ecstasy.
It went on and on, like waves in the lake, rippling out until they covered the surface of the water. I felt it rippling through me until I relaxed, sinking into the bed with a sigh.
He didn’t stop. His hands roamed my body, touching and caressing and exploring. The curve of my hip, the swell of my butt, the bend of my knee. His mouth brushed against whatever he touched, his breathing harsh and fast, and when I looked down between us I saw his thick erection standing proud, straining.
I didn’t know when he had lost his shorts—probably when I was half out of my mind with pleasure—but my eyes widened when I saw what kept prodding my hip.
I reached for it, but he slapped my hand away.
“No fair,” he breathed, and his breath tickled the skin of my shoulder before his teeth bit down just enough to hurt.
I hissed, but pleasure quickly replaced the brief flash of pain. “That’s what you get for being a bad girl,” he growled.
“Bad?” I whispered.
“Trying to make me lose control.” He kissed my chest, moving down to my breasts for a second time. I closed my eyes and accepted his kisses.
“What’s so bad about that?” I whispered, then groaned when he flicked my nipples again. How he was holding himself back, I didn’t know. I felt him straining and twitching against my leg and deliberately brushed against him.
“I want this to be about you,” he whispered back, stroking me as he kissed. Tension started building again deep in my core, and I welcomed it. My hands found his shoulders and kneaded his firm muscles.
“I want you,” I whimpered, touching everything I could reach, trying to pull him up so I could kiss him while he slid inside me. “Please, Drew. I want you.”
“That doesn’t sound convincing enough,” he teased, even though the twitching of his cock against my thigh told me he was enjoying himself.
“I need you. Please, give it to me,” I begged.
I needed nothing else in the world more than I needed him at that moment. I needed us to be one. I needed to watch and hear and feel him lost control inside me. I needed to know he could let go—that I could drive him to let go.
He looked like he wanted to keep teasing, but he also looked like he was ready to explode.
“I would normally keep punishing you,” he grunted, lowering himself between my open legs, “but I’m going to die if I don’t come soon.”
“I hope it’s not too soon.” I grinned just as he was about to enter me.
He pulled back, frowning.
“Don’t push your luck,” he warned with a wicked smile. “I can hold off if I need to.”
“No, no, please. Don’t. I need you, now.” I closed my legs around his hips and tried to draw him closer.
He chuckled, but it was a sharp chuckle edged with desire.
I gasped when he pressed forward, stunned by how thick he was. He stretched me, filled me, made me clench tight around him as another orgasm built and crested out of nowhere. I clutched him, shaking, gasping his name. All I heard was what sounded like a chuckle against my ear as he pushed forward again. He was proud of himself.
I let it all go as he rode me, taking everything he had to give and giving everything I had. I moved with him, matching his strokes, scratching and biting and kissing and licking, whispering, urging him on, digging my nails into his ass as he drove harder and harder. “Yes! I love it!” I whispered, breathless.
“So good… so good…” he grunted, staring down at me. I stared back up at him, drowning in him. I had never felt so connected to another person—locked in body and spirit. I barely knew where I ended and he started, and that was scary and crazy and wonderful all at once. It was almost bigger and better than the sweet heat building up in me again, threatening to consume me.
He gritted his teeth and groaned, moving faster, reaching his finish, and I let myself go with him.
“Yes… like that… come for me…” I begged, my own pleasure building with every strong, sure thrust until I shrieked every time our bodies slammed together.
He let out a cross between a whimpe
r and a roar as he came, throwing his head back, going still for a moment before letting his head fall forward. He smiled a little before moving off me, landing on his stomach by my side.
I was exhausted, elated. My body hummed with pleasure as little aftershocks raced through me. I was tired, too, that sort of sweet exhaustion that comes over a person when they had the best sex ever.
He laced his fingers with mine after a while, and I smiled, half-asleep.
We were really together. Nothing would break us apart as long as we were determined to stay together.
A knock at the door stirred me from my stupor.
“God damn it,” Drew groaned, covering his face with his hand. “I can’t believe it.”
“Who could it be?” I whispered groggily.
“I can imagine.” He raised his voice. “What’s up?”
“It’s Dad,” Carter said, keeping his voice just low enough that only we could hear him. “He’s freaking out. Might want to leave tonight. You need to come.”
He was out of bed before Carter finished speaking.
Just like that, our perfect moment was over.
10
Drew
Dad paced back and forth until I was sure he would wear a hole in the cabin floor.
“I wish I knew who to believe,” he muttered.
Deep frown lines creased his forehead and reminded me of the way he had looked after Mom’s accident. He had done a lot of pacing then, too. And a lot of frowning. A lot of hand-wringing and half-whispered threats into the phone when he thought I was asleep and couldn’t hear.
I didn’t understand it back then, but knowing what I did after he told us what happened to her made everything clear.
He was probably talking to his brother on the phone all those times, telling him what he wanted to do to the people who had killed her. How he wanted to make them pay.
“I don’t know what to do.” He looked at all of us, one at a time. “For the first time in a long time, I don’t know what to do. What would you do in my shoes?”
We all looked to Roan, more out of habit than anything else.
