by Multiple
“Tell me why this is safe.” Jason settled into the pool behind her. “I feel like the proverbial sitting duck out here and we can't see where they are.” His tone held no fear, only genuine concern.
Ming turned to look at him, noted his rigid stance and tight-set jaw. Combat mode if she ever saw it. She had to close her eyes and take in a breath before answering him. The take charge protector vibe coming off him seriously taunted her already overheated libido.
“I have eyes in the sky, remember?” She grinned as he stared at her, eyebrow cocked as if to question whether a few birds were enough of a defense shield.
“We're in a hole on a little strip of land in the middle of a lake, Ming. Even if the hawks warn us something is coming, we're defenseless here. There're ten wolves out there. We have a shot at picking them off.”
“They're innocent animals!”
“Innocent animals? They're hunting us—me—down!”
“Don't speak so loud!” Ming banked down her surge of anger long enough to listen. According to the hawks, the wolves hadn't heard Jason's outburst. They'd gotten lucky.
“The wolves can't smell us in here,” she explained slowly, calmly, trying to bring down the sudden tension flaring between them. “They can, however, hear us, so please don't raise your voice. They’re innocent. Animals defend their territory, generally not harming humans unless provoked, but those wolves are also familiars for Weres. We’re being tracked because they've been given an order by a more powerful predator. It's not their fault so, unless necessary, I'd prefer we don't harm them.”
Jason shook his head, obviously not feeling the same way. “So are we supposed to stand in this pool until our skin wrinkles up?”
“You can sit on the rock ledge. The water isn't what's saving us now. It's the fact we're down-wind. As long as they don't hear us, they'll give up soon and move on. Our worry is whether they relay the point where they lost us to the Weres.”
“And then the Weres will find us here?” He pulled himself onto the rock ledge, the muscles in his arms flexing with the movement.
“Most likely. I have a group of hawks watching out for them while another group searches for a new hiding space. If it even looks like the Weres are heading this way, we're out of here.”
Blue-tinged light filtered through the rock walls of their hidey-hole, highlighting the sharp angles of Jason's face. Heat suffused Ming's body, the approach of the full moon making proximity with a male nearly unbearable.
And Jason was more than just a male. He was her destined mate, and she'd already enjoyed his body once in the dream realm. Her body ached to experience that pleasure again.
“Are you all right?”
She blinked, realizing she’d been splashing herself with water to cool down, and felt the heat of a blush creep into her face. “I'm fine.”
“You going to stand in the water all night?”
“It's cooler in the water.”
“We're in the North Carolina mountains at night and you need to be cooler? You're going to catch a cold, or worse.”
“Trust me, it's better I stay over here.”
“Yeah, well, if you keep drenching yourself in water, making that shirt stick to you like a second skin, don't blame me if I can't stay over here.”
She sucked in a breath as she took in the sight of him, leaning his back against the wall of their hiding spot. His body tense with restrained desire, his pupils dilated as his warm gaze caressed her intimately. If he had any qualms about her turning furry from time to time they didn't seem to bother him now.
“Jason.”
“I know.” He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall. “Wrong time, wrong place. Hell, Ming. I might not even survive this moon whatever.”
“Moon phase. And you will survive. I'll see to it my pack doesn't harm you.” Even if I have to die to get you out of here.
He stared at her, a humorless grin on his lips. “I've come to accept the fact that bad things happen to me, no matter what I do.”
Ming's heart constricted as sadness filled her mate's eyes, momentarily tamping down her desire.
“What happened to you, Jason? How did you end up in prison?”
A spark of anger coursed through his green eyes but quickly disappeared, followed by molten heat. He sank down into the water, stepping before her. “Does it matter? I'm out now.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. Her breath caught in her throat as he dipped his head to the hollow of her neck, but she recognized the maneuver for what it was.
“Why do you avoid answering me? This isn't the first time I've asked the question.”
“There are so many more pleasurable things we could be doing instead of answering questions.” He accentuated the statement by running his tongue up the side of her neck, and catching her earlobe between his lips.
Ming gasped, the near-arrival of the full moon heightened her senses. The light touch of Jason's mouth on her ear caused a million little flutterings in her womb, but she forced herself to resist him.
She wanted him more than she wanted to breathe, but he was hiding something from her. She wouldn't allow him to make love to her only to avoid answering a question. “Tell me!”
She shoved him away, all of her will power spent on the move. “I've told you my secret. I've shown you what I am. Now tell me the truth, Jason. What were you arrested for?”
He narrowed his eyes, clearly aggravated, and stepped back. “Fine. You want to know why I was in prison, what I was arrested for?”
“Yes.”
“Murder. I killed a man with my bare hands, Ming. I'm a murderer.”
Chapter Four
“You killed in self defense.”
Jason stared at the petite, dark-haired beauty before him and struggled not to laugh. Almost funny, the intensity in her eyes as she gazed back at him, searching his expression for an agreement to her statement. In fact, the determination in her tone, the stark unconditional belief, the unbreakable faith inflicted in that beautiful husky voice…it would have been hysterical if not for the fact that her high opinion of him touched him in places where he didn't think he could feel anything anymore. Places he didn't want to feel.
“Jason?”
He tossed around the idea of lying to her, hated the thought of seeing her look at him in shame, but he despised lies. It was because of lies he'd never known his real father, because of lies he'd believed it was safe to leave his mother with his stepfather.
“It wasn't self defense, Ming. I killed a man, plain and simple, beat him until his body was beyond repair. I understand if you're disgusted by that. Hell, I'm disgusted by it, and I'm the one who did it.”
“I'm sure you had reason.”
“Hell yeah, I had reason, there's a reason for everything. Having a reason doesn't make doing something right.”
Sadness entered her eyes as her full lips turned down at the corners. Great. A moment ago he could have sworn he'd smelled arousal coming off her in waves. She'd been rinsing her body with water as though it were a raging inferno. Now...he'd turned her ice cold. Wonderful.
“Jason—”
“Save it, Ming.” Ugh, the disappointment in her tone, laced with the slightest touch of pity, sucker-punched him in the gut. Why hadn't he just lied? “Validation for my actions from ten years ago doesn't really matter now.”
“You should talk about it.”
“You should drop it.”
Her eyes watered as her face fell. He'd hurt her. Fantastic. All she wanted to do was understand him, probably try to help him. It wasn't her fault he was too damaged for repair. “Ming—”
“Your wounds!”
He opened his eyes at Ming's cry and found her a breath away, touching his chest lightly with her fingertips. Fresh, red blood seeped through his light gray T-shirt.
“You probably caused further damage by climbing up the rocks, or while we ran. I should ha
ve tended to these sooner.”
Geez, did he hear guilt in her tone? “I'm not a little kid, Ming. My injuries aren't your responsibility to fix.”
“You helped me.”
“I extracted a bullet from your side. You did the rest. I'll be fine.”
“Let me help you.”
He laughed and made a show of scanning the small hideaway. “Where's the medical kit? We don't even have band-aids, and I can't shift form to instantly repair myself like you did.” He gently removed her hands from his chest, her light touch over-stimulating nerve endings he'd never before realized he had. “They'll scab over and heal in due time.”
“They're too deep,” she argued, “and they'll continue to reopen until you bleed to death. Let me help you.”
“Fine,” he threw his hands in the air. “Knock yourself out.”
“Close your eyes.”
His eyes remained open, but narrowed. “Why?”
Ming bit her lip and grabbed the hem of his T-shirt. He helped her to get the material over his head and watched her take a deep breath as she studied his injured chest. Her tongue briefly darted out to wet her lips before she met his gaze. “Please.”
Her request so soft-spoken, so delicate and pleading, he threw caution to the wind and did as she requested. She was a Werewolf, and his gut told him something highly unusual was about to happen but common sense took leave. He had to have faith in his instincts, and instinct told him this little beauty would never raise a hand, or a paw, to hurt him.
Something soft and wet touched his chest and he opened his eyes in surprise. He looked down and saw Ming's dark head close to his body. Her head slowly moved to the side and her silky tongue rolled over his skin, cleaning the blood from the places where claws had sunk into his chest. Was she preparing to eat him?
He started to jerk back, but froze when he noticed the skin her tongue had recently touched began to knit back together. She was healing him with her saliva. Oblivious to his close attention, she continued to work, gliding her wet, pink tongue along each claw mark, cleaning away the blood to mend what was left behind.
It was disgusting.
Yet, as her head dipped lower and her tongue teased his abdomen, his body filled with heat. His groin throbbed painfully. He'd never been more aroused.
She reached the end of the last claw mark, her face low enough on him she had no choice but to notice the erection straining against his wet jeans. She licked the last injured piece of flesh, pulled that delicate little tongue back into her mouth and looked up, her eyes widening as she jumped back.
“You weren't supposed to watch!” Her pale cheeks turned a warm shade of pink and she averted her gaze. “I know it looks gross, but my saliva—”
He grabbed her gently rounded hips and pulled her tight to his body. Jason ground his erection against her while his mouth brutally assaulted hers, his hungry tongue forcing her lips to open to his invasion. The feat wasn't hard at all as a gasp opened her mouth wide, giving him easy access.
He tasted his own blood in her mouth and despite knowing what the coppery-tasting substance altering her saliva was, he drank greedily, the strangeness of her flavor increasing his need for her.
He drank his fill and lowered his head, gently nipping at her jaw and neck as he moved his mouth down her body. A frustrated growl erupted from his throat as his mouth met with fabric, and her rib-knit sweater was quickly ripped away from her body to reveal two perfectly round mounds encased in a thin scrap of white material. A sports bra. The material was thin enough for him to see two dusky-colored circles in the glow of the pale moonlight filling their little sanctuary. He pulled one into his mouth through the fabric, suckled the little nub until Ming cried out. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders, breaking through skin, and he wondered if she'd heal those marks, too.
The thought fueled his fevered desire, and he quickly removed the sports bra from Ming's perfectly sculpted body. Her breasts fell free, and he licked his suddenly dry lips, thinking of all the things he could do with those creamy pale globes.
Ming crushed her mouth to his, pressing her breasts against his chest. The hardened peaks of her nipples brushed his skin, lighting a fire so hot he felt as though his entire body would ignite if he suffered the teasing any longer.
He detached his lips from hers, filling them with the breast he hadn't sampled yet. She moaned as he licked the underside of one mound while gently tweaking the tip of the other one with his shaking fingers. His entire body shook, his restraint dangerously low. He needed to be inside her. Now.
She reached down and unsnapped his jeans. The pressure of his erection sent the zipper sliding down, and he sprang free, large and proud. And more than ready.
He tugged at the snap of her jeans, his shaking fingers fumbling with the small button before she unfastened them herself. Jason picked her up and gasped as she wrapped her legs around his waist. The contact stole the air from his lungs.
“Let's find a dry spot, shall we?” He carried her the short distance to a large rock and pressed her back against it. She gasped, and he winced knowing he'd hurt her delicate skin.
“Sorry, darlin'.” He lowered her to the ground and turned her around. “Grab hold of the rock.”
He pulled down her jeans and the little scrap of lacy, blue material blocking him from carnal paradise. Her ass was perfect, high, round and full. He grabbed a handful and roughly kneaded, sucking in air.
Ming moaned, arching her back to further press her rear against his hands. Jason bent down and traced the length of her spine with his tongue, loving the way she trembled from the sensation.
“You want this, right?” He reached the nape of her neck. He'd die if she said no, but he had to have permission first.
Ming widened her stance and turned her head to look back at him, her eyes burning red. “I'll kill you with my own claws if you stop now.”
He swallowed hard, the ferocity in her voice and the lethal glow in her eyes nearly caused him to burst. This was the baddest woman he'd ever met.
“Hold on tight.” He jerked his jeans down in one motion and smoothly entered her wet and ready body from behind. He ground his teeth together as he sank inside her, every inch of tight skin gripping his shaft, making it harder for him not to explode then and there. But that couldn't happen, not until he made her howl.
“Damn, woman, you feel so good,” he said between clenched teeth as he moved back and forth inside her, struggling to remain gentle. He realized he was doggy-styling a wolf and almost laughed, but the pleasure coursing through his body made laughter impossible at that second. This was serious.
Ming pressed her ass against him, urging him deeper. “Don't be gentle with me, Jason. I can take it.”
Oh, hell yeah. He grabbed her shoulders and rammed in hard, growling low in his throat as a thousand sensations spread from his shaft to the rest of his body. He pounded, and she pressed against him, taking every thrust with ease, panting in satisfaction.
His body shook with pleasure, his vision clouded as euphoria settled in. He couldn't last much longer. Reaching around, he grabbed her breasts in his hands and played with the hard peaks until she started breathing so fast and hard, he feared she'd hyperventilate.
Jason lowered his hand down her tight, firm abdomen until he reached the tiny little nub where his body currently filled her and teased the sensitive outer side with his fingers until she screamed her release.
Satisfied he'd taken care of her, he allowed himself to let go and explode. Blinding color shot through his head as a million rays of pleasure burst inside his body, and he heard an earth-shaking howl. But for the life of him, he couldn't tell if it was him or her.
He collapsed against her, his jaw resting on her sweat-soaked shoulder blade as his seed poured into her. He waited until the pumping stopped and slowly withdrew. He barely managed the task of pulling his jeans back up before kissing her shoulder, and pulling her around to face him.
/> Her breasts were proud and firm, her eyes glazed with satisfaction as they resumed their natural amber color. He had to close his own eyes to keep from starting all over again.
Jason heard the sound of her zipper being raised and the low rustle of fabric against skin. Then her soft fingers trailed the side of his face. He opened his eyes and found her standing in fastened jeans, her beautiful breasts bound by the sports bra. She smiled at him, looking like the cat that got the cream, not a wolf. Still, he knew he'd been rough.
He pressed a soft kiss to her plump lips and tucked her long hair behind a small, delicate ear. “Are you all right, baby?”
Baby? Shit! “Oh, hell, Ming. Tell me you're on birth control!”
She frowned, her eyes lost the look of utter contentment they'd held a second before. “That would defeat the purpose of the moon cycle, Jason.”
He blinked, then stared at her, wondering what the hell she was talking about. “The moon cycle? I don't give a damn about the moon cycle, Ming! I can't have a kid!”
She winced as if struck, and guilt wracked his conscience, dragging him out of the near-nirvana state he'd been in. But it didn't matter if she was in heat and her pack number was low. He couldn't give her a baby.
“Is that all you're going to do? Ask me about birth control?” Her lower lip actually trembled. “Don't you want to…say something?”
“Say something?” He stared at her, took in the trembling lip and watery eyes. What the hell was going on inside her head? He was worried about an unplanned pregnancy and she wanted…what? Poetry? “I don't know how your pack does things, but in my world babies are huge responsibilities. And if we just made one, we're screwed! I'm a damned ex-convict, Ming! How am I supposed to provide for a baby? I haven't even been out for—”
How long had he been out? He thought hard, trying to remember. He remembered the dank, musty-smelling cell he'd spent ten years in, remembered the prison fights and the nasty food. The despair and hopelessness that scented the air along with sweat and urine. When the hell had he escaped that? How did he get here?
