At the thought, my hips arched. The small amount of friction had my hands shooting up to his sides to steady myself, again. Or to stop myself. I wasn’t sure, my mind was spinning.
“Jesus,” Alex moaned out. “You smell so fucking good.”
Smell? The odd statement registered but disappeared as his fingers tightened even more. The stinging pain brought my mouth open and I tried to hold in the whimper. It was quickly cut off by his lips crushing into mine. And fool that I was, I broke ever single rule and kissed him back.
Pressure increased against my pussy, only to disappear for the smallest moment. Continually he moved against me, building me up as I fought to breathe from the heat of our bodies. At the rotation of his hips, I felt just how wet I was. The friction caused my legs to jolt and I moaned loudly into his mouth.
“Fuck, Erin.”
His cheek pressed against mine as he turned me to face outward. Teeth grazed along my throat, tugging and sucking along my sensitive skin. I couldn’t stop from clawing into his sides. I was trying anything I could to bring him closer.
One of his hands moved from my head and his arm wrapped underneath my neck, pulling me closer to him as his tongue ran the length to my ear lobe. His exhale was loud and my body tingled as I rocked against him, applying pressure to my clit.
“You don’t know what I’d do to taste more of you. I want—”
One minute I was waiting for him to continue, the next, cold air put my lungs into a shock and Alex was gone. I batted the blanket off the side of my face and barely caught the blur of his movement as he jumped over the railing of the lookout. My eyes weren’t adjusting correctly in the sudden light. As I scrambled to my feet, growls were so loud they had me racing for the edge.
“Go! Get out of here!”
Alex was nowhere to be seen. I ran to the small opening where we climbed up, only witnessing wolves standing below, staring to the side. Was he crazy? The man must have lost his fucking mind.
“You heard me. Go!”
The roar that followed was so deep that all thoughts vanished. The terror the sound instilled within didn’t touch my fear of the animals below. I had never heard anything like it before and that’s what scared me the most. The tone was almost like a frequency of its own. One a person shouldn’t have been able to hear out loud.
A small yelp sounded and some of the wolves closest to the trees began to disappear into the trees. Others backed away, slowly. They were skittish, baring their teeth as their hair stood on end. In amazement, one by one they were beginning to leave, growling as they disappeared into the darkness.
“Hurry down, Erin. They’re not going to back off for long. You’re going to get out your gun and run. I’ll be right behind you.”
Puffs of smoke from his breath appeared in the opening and I knew not to think too much over what was going to happen. If I did, fear would keep me frozen in place. I had to go. Now.
I went to step down, pausing at my shoes. I could run almost just as fast in heels as I could in sneakers, but not through a forest. Not even close. I’d be asking for some sort of accident if I attempted to flee wearing them.
“Erin.”
My name was ground out, full of impatience. I kicked off the heels, pulling out my weapon as I began the decent. I immediately noticed fog had crept in during our time up there. It was hard to see more than a few feet. I tried not to think of it as hands locked around my waist, pulling me off the make-shift ladder. The moment my feet hit the ground, I didn’t wait for his order. Survival from the wolves … possibly from him …. had me sprinting in the direction in which we came.
All of my past troubles and pain surfaced as the threat appeared from all sides. The wolves felt so near that I could almost imagine they were mere feet away, racing along the trail, hiding in the fog as Alex and I tried to escape. Hell, his presence was so engulfing behind me that I felt if I slowed down, he’d run right over me.
Foliage scraped the bottom of my feet, tearing into my stockings as I slid down the steep embankment. Pain shot through my palm as I fought not to fall, but I hardly felt it as I gained balance and continued my flight through the thick, dark haze. Within the forest, it was like running with the blanket back over my head. Branches were visible only seconds before they clawed into my face and hair.
“Faster, Erin!”
Had I thought I was pushing it as hard as I could? The command in Alex’s voice sent me forward with a speed I never knew I had. His concern screamed of nightmares to come, and I didn’t have to wait long before movement to my right confirmed my biggest fears. They were all around us, running and keeping pace. Growling and high pitched sounds had my chest heaving for additional oxygen. I was taking in so much that it felt like I wasn’t receiving any at all. Cramping overwhelmed my lungs and just when I thought they would explode from their hard work, color appeared through the fog and weight crashed into my side, sending me flying. A scream began to break from my throat, choked off as my body crashed into the hard trunk of a tree. Air was gone, taken from my body at the brute force in which I’d hit. But I didn’t get to process my flight for long. Just as I was faced with razor sharp teeth going for my throat, the wolf who intended to attack me was gone, thrown across the path.
Alex scooped me in his arms, taking off with such speed that it was as though my weight meant nothing. I held around his neck tightly, noticing there was no pounding of his footsteps. The movement of his rhythm was fluid, only breaking the smoothness when he let go of my legs long enough to knock another wolf out of the way. Their attacks were becoming more persistent. Almost desperate as we neared the hazy glow from Alex’s yard.
“My gun!” The realization had me shifting my body in frantic movements, but I knew I’d dropped it when the wolf had ran into me. My eyes closed for the briefest moment, but I dismissed it immediately. I’d get it tomorrow. I wasn’t risking Alex’s or my life for a weapon. It wasn’t worth it.
Illumination engulfed us as we broke into the clearing next to Alex’s shed. Panic hit hard as he slid to a stop and turned us around. Wolves were lining along the property line, but they didn’t step into his space. They just stood there, making fierce sounds and snapping in our direction.
I glanced up at Alex, more disturbed by him than by the animals who were threatening our lives. His eyes appeared lighter, almost a color my mind couldn’t even define. Was it a trick of the light? There was a hardness, some sort of challenging spark deep in his stare. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was goading them. I didn’t have to wait long before I was proven right.
“I want you to go get in your car and drive to your cabin. You said your gun was out there?” He paused as I gazed up at him, too shocked to answer. “Don’t get out of your car when you get there. Wait for me. I’ll be there shortly, and then I’ll escort you inside.”
“Absolutely not,” I finally managed. “Have you lost your fucking mind? You can’t go back into those woods. Forget the gun, let’s go in your house.”
Alex eased me down, grabbing my bicep and maneuvering me behind him. “Ass in the car right now, Erin. Don’t make me tell you again. If you don’t start walking, I’ll put you in there myself. ”
One of the wolves stuck his head past the line and my feet were already moving back on their own accord. Alex took a step to the side, clearly ready to do anything necessary. The protection he displayed over me, a complete stranger, had the fear subsiding and changing into something different. Something ... I couldn’t help but like.
Faster, I moved back. When my hand touched the handle, I jerked the door open, diving inside and reaching for my purse. My eyes darted up to the review mirror and my fingers stopped fumbling for the key as I realized Alex was already gone—back into the forest. My heart stopped. If something happened to him, it would be all of my fault. Jesus, what the hell had we been thinking, going into the woods at night? Never again. This place was out of control. It wasn’t normal.
My fingers connected with the k
eys and I jerked them out, shoving them into the ignition. Instead of driving away, I turned the car around to face the woods. The high beams gave me a view through the denseness of trees, but the fog made it hard to see anything.
“Oh, Jesus.” A tear rolled down my cheek and I furiously wiped it away as guilt nearly crippled me. What if he died? What if something happened like with Martin? I didn’t know this man. Not really, but there was some sort of spark between us. And now what if he died because he felt the need to go back and get my gun? A stupid gun!
I shouldn’t have come. Questions about my case, or an attraction, wasn’t worth causing the loss of someone’s life. Martin had gone to the store for me that day. If he hadn’t been there, he wouldn’t have been killed. Bad things always revolved around me. When was I going to learn to keep to myself? If I just stayed away from people, no one else would get hurt. I paused as my thoughts reminded me of Alex. He was the same way with isolating himself, and the only reason I could see him going back into those woods was because of his lack of care over whether something happened to him. I softened immediately, feeling myself pull to him even more.
Minutes passed, and with them, more tears. Each second my brain convinced myself of the worst possible outcome and I couldn’t bear it. The longer he was gone, the more I wanted him back. No, the more I wanted him for myself. Even though I didn’t know him, I couldn’t help but think that maybe I should. That maybe, we were one and the same.
The phone rested in my trembling hands and I pushed the buttons knowing that everything was over with. My career was history. A family was going to mourn the loss of their son, and his death was on me. God, he was finally going to mend their relationship and now he’d never be able to… And I’d never get to know him. This was all my fault.
A sob escaped and wiped my nose on the back of my sleeve. Just as my eyes came up, the phone dropped from my hand. The top half of Alex’s body was unclothed and splattered with blood. Red smears covered his cheeks. The sight left me speechless. I wasn’t sure what to think or even how to let the possibilities of what happened play out in my head. In the moment, I didn’t want to. He was alive, and I wanted see for myself—up close.
Chapter 12
Alex
The exhilaration coursing through my veins was out of this world. The taste of blood in my mouth combined with the wolves I’d just fought made me feel alive. And dangerous. I wanted to keep going. I wanted to be one with my beast, longer. If what remained of the pack hadn’t scattered with their tails between their legs, I would have gotten to. But they knew better. Although I hadn’t transitioned into wolf form completely, my creature had been every bit in the forefront as I’d torn them to shreds with my bare hands and teeth. Fuck, I wanted more. I wanted…
Light filled the interior of the car as I pulled the door open and climbed in. Erin’s arousal perfumed the air and one look at her was enough to paint the world red. I could have conquered a million packs merely with her need of me. It unleashed the monster inside, twisting him into some voracious fiend. My wolf looked at her like a poor man greedy for gold. He wanted his prize. His reward for obliterating what had been a threat to her.
“Drive.”
The raspy word had her hands pausing mid-way to touch me. I had no intention of starting this here in her car. My focus was on one thing only, and soon she’d find out. There was no stopping me now. The blood of killers were inside of me, mingling with my own. Even if I wanted to stop my intentions, the direction of the night was already set in stone. Humanity was all but gone.
The high beams cut through the trees as she turned the car around and headed in the direction of her home. With as much as she kept turning to look at me, I couldn’t return her stare. My sight was too keen. That only meant one thing—wolf eyes. She’d see the difference in not only the color, but the shape of my pupil if she stared at me long enough. It wasn’t quite like a human’s. Not circular, but oval. Smaller. The size allowed me to see in the darkest night, not to mention the slightest change in my surroundings. I was the ultimate hunter. Nothing would escape me if I put my mind to it. Tonight, it’d be here, with her. Whether I killed her or not wasn’t even on my mind. Sex. Her taste. It ruled me in the moment.
The gun made a thud as I placed it in the cup holder. Erin glanced down at it, but continued to study me. A water sat in the other cup holder and I grabbed it, taking deep gulps as I counted the rise and fall of her chest from my peripheral.
“What happened back there? How did you…?”
The car dipped as the elevation dropped the slightest amount. Her cabin wasn’t far ahead. I cleared my throat, trying to push the thickness of my wolf back enough to talk.
“I got your gun back.”
She paused. “I know that, but how? There were so many of them. How are you alive right now?”
I licked my lips feeling excitement spark at her pulling up to park. “Death doesn’t scare me, nor do the ones who try to bring it.” I glanced in her direction, but turned away just as fast. “The wolves here share the same mentality. They have a respect for what they can’t kill. I’ve battled this pack for years. Although … I’ve never seen them act so aggressive. It’s you,” I said, taking her in for a few seconds. “You’ve somehow caught their attention and until they tire of their game or they kill you, they’ll continue.”
Erin’s scent grew stronger, peaking in different directions as her emotions changed. It almost made me want to smile. It was ecstasy for my bad side, but I was far from done.
“Don’t fear, though,” I said, turning and wrapping my hand around the back of her neck to bring her to me. “I already told you I wouldn’t let them hurt you. You believe me, don’t you?”
A ragged breath brushed against my lips, increasing my eagerness. My eyes closed and I put my forehead against hers. We were so close, and she belonged to me.
“Yes.”
My lips brushed hers. “Good. Let’s get you inside.”
I broke away, pushing the door open. Erin grabbed her gun and climbed out, heading toward the house. I scanned the area around us and then moved in close, zeroing in on her movements. The moment she unlocked the door, I swept her in, shutting it behind us. I had her crashing into my body before she could so much as prepare. My lips connected with hers hungrily and I gripped her ass, heading toward her room at a fast pace.
There was a moment of hesitation on her part, but I felt her surrender as I broke through her threshold. The mattress bounced under our weight and I grabbed her wrists, pinning her arms down from trying to flatten against my chest. My mouth moved down to her neck and I sucked the soft skin in hard, becoming intoxicated with her taste the moment it registered on my tongue.
“Wait,” she moaned.
One of my hands let go and I yanked at the front of her blouse sending buttons popping free. Her words were unimportant in my impatience. My suction eased and I made a path with my tongue down to her chest, squeezing her breast as my teeth teasingly bit into the plump flesh.
“Oh, God.” Her head lifted to watch, but fell back as she arched against the pressure I applied against her pussy. She smelled so sweet in her passion. So unbelievably so, that it was mind-altering. I could feel myself disappearing all over again. All I was beginning to experience was what my actions were bringing. No thoughts were breaking through. She controlled every single one with her essence. The more it perfumed the room, the more it drove me.
Lower, I moved, holding tighter to her wrist as she began to rock in earnest. Her need was mine and we were both caught in a moment that I prayed would never end—a moment I was going to make sure wouldn’t.
I grabbed the blouse, shredding it in half. Erin, blinked rapidly, but wasn’t able to say a single thing before I had her arms in my hold. I spun her on her stomach, tightening one of the lengths around her wrists before moving the other piece of silk to fit in her opened mouth. She was about to abject, ready to shut this down. Her small thrash and energy told me so, but I wasn’t
going to let her push me away. Not now.
“I bet you taste sweeter than you smell.” I fisted the tie, spinning her to lie on her back again. Panicked eyes stared up at me, conflicted, but I couldn’t look at her. Not only because my wolf was still there, but because I couldn’t face morality at the moment. The old me would have been appalled at my behavior, but the new me wasn’t going to contemplate right or wrong. She still wanted me to a degree and I was about to have her on fire, crying for more.
Sounds left her as I began kissing and sucking down her stomach. In hard tugs, I unfastened her slacks and lowered the zipper. As the fabric arched through the air and hit the floor behind me, my whole body locked up. Liquid fire scorched the inside of my nose and throat and my knees collapsed to the floor, bringing my face even with her white cotton panties. I was gone, done for, at the intensity of the scent I had killed for.
My hands locked around her hips, pulling her ass to the edge of the mattress. When my tongue flattened over the surface of her inner thigh and began to work its way toward the lining of her panties, Erin thrashed. It contrasted with the way her heel stopped on my back and began to push me forward. Her internal battles may have been raging, but I could sense her urging me on. Besides … stopping now wasn’t going to happen. I was so close to what I was yearning for.
The tips of my fingers pushed into her lower stomach as I moved in the rest of the way. My lips opened and I placed my mouth over where her clit was, sucking through the panties to make her even wetter. A loud moan muffled against the gag and I lowered enough to push right over her opening. The hint of my prize had my wolf pounding my insides in victory.
WOLF (Wolf River Book 1) Page 10
