It didn’t matter that the light was dim. As a wolf, she had excellent night vision and got a perfect view of the taut muscles of his chest and arms when he yanked his shirt over his head and tossed it onto the nearby chair. Then he toed off his sneakers. Each move was unhurried and deliberate.
She licked her lips in anticipation, but he kept his jeans on.
“Let’s lie down.”
Okay. Sure. She could do this.
Her insides were jittery. Excitement and a hint of fear made her clumsy as she tugged off her shoes and lay back on the bed. Her entire body was stiff. “I’m sorry,” she blurted. Could she be any more awkward?
He sprawled beside her and propped himself up on one arm so he was looking down at her. “I’m not.” He traced the pad of his thumb over her lips. The simple action made her nipples tighten.
“There’s no rush.” He pressed his mouth to hers. They barely touched and he was gone, leaving her wanting more. She raised her head, trying to continue the kiss, but he wasn’t done talking.
“If at any time you want to stop, just say the word.” His eyes reflected the dim light. “I never want to do anything you don’t want. I never want to frighten you.”
His sincerity and concern pushed back her anxiety. I trust him. More than any other male she’d ever known. “I want this.” There was both wonder and certainty in her voice.
She placed her hand in the center of his chest. His heartbeat was strong and steady. It had been silent not so long ago. Memories threatened to swamp her, but she pushed them back. This was their time, hers and Billy’s. And no one and nothing else would intrude.
She wouldn’t allow it.
She traced her fingers over the long red scars that marred his chest. They, along with the ones on his neck, would fade in time but not completely. He would always bear the marks of the brutal attack. They didn’t detract from his appeal. If anything, they added to it. They were a sign of his noble nature, of the way he tried to protect her.
She hooked her hand around the back of his neck and pulled him close. He came willingly.
****
Don’t rush things.
A tall order when she was right here, ready and more than willing. She was also nervous. Understandably so. They hadn’t known each other long, and their experience together hadn’t exactly been a bed of roses. She was here, in the midst of an unfamiliar pack, worried about her future. He was a port in the storm.
If he were a better man, he’d walk away and let her rest. But he not only craved the connection to her, he needed it.
The heat from her hand seeped into his skin, and then their lips were touching. The kiss was innocent, as far as kisses went, but the impact shook him all the way to his toes. She tasted so damn sweet. The small sound of pleasure she made had his cock as hard as steel.
He cupped her face and deepened the caress, making short, teasing forays with his tongue. She boldly met them and took the kiss up another notch.
On a groan, he rolled on top of her, supporting most of his weight with his forearms. With his hands planted firmly on the mattress, he was less likely to do something stupid, like tear her clothes off and plunge into her.
Slowly, he reminded himself.
But she wasn’t willing to let him pace things. No, she ran her hands over his bare chest and shoulders, teased his tongue with hers, and generally stole his good sense. He lost himself in the kiss, loving the heat and passion she possessed and gave so freely. His lungs were starved for air when he finally pulled away.
She was panting hard, her chest rising and falling rapidly. He sat back on his knees and reached for the hem of her sweater. “May I?”
Eyes wide but steady, she nodded.
He inched the sweater up, exposing a swath of skin, and released a small sound of pleasure that was mixed with pain when he uncovered a scar. She had also been injured in the attack. Not as badly as him, but Simon had hurt her.
She covered his hand with hers. “It’s okay. It’s already healed and will soon fade.”
It was anything but okay, but he wasn’t about to let Simon ruin this moment between them. “I’ll be careful. Don’t let me do anything that will hurt you.”
“I won’t. I promise. It’s not in you to hurt me.”
She got that right. He’d cut off his own hand first.
Taking control of the situation, she pulled the sweater up and off, tossing it onto the floor. She wasn’t wearing a bra. He couldn’t stop staring. He’d seen her naked in the woods, but this was different. They were no longer in a life-or-death situation. Or maybe they were. If he didn’t have her, he might die. She was quickly becoming his life.
“You are lovely.” He covered her breasts with his hands, loving the way her pert nipples stabbed the centers of his palms. The mounds were firm and full.
She skated her fingers up his sides. He jerked, making her grin. “You’re ticklish,” she said as she did it again.
He laughed and caught her hands in his, brought them to his mouth, and kissed the tip of each finger until she was breathless and no longer thinking about tickling him. “I am, but that’s not what I have in mind right now.” He slyly smiled. “Unless you’re ticklish.”
She shook her head much too quickly. “Nope. Not ticklish.”
“We’ll see about that. But later.” He leaned forward and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him down until he was lying on top of her, his chest pressing against her breasts.
Skin to skin. It was a familiar sensation. She had done the same thing in the woods. That had been to save his life. Now she could save his heart.
He left her lush mouth behind and placed a string of kisses along her jaw as he worked his way to her ear. Her fingernails dug into his biceps when he gently tugged on the tender lobe with his teeth. “Remember to stop me if I do anything you don’t like,” he reminded her.
“Don’t stop,” she whispered.
He kissed and nibbled his way down the slender column of her neck and across her collarbone, nuzzling the valley between her breasts before finally cupping one of the mounds in his hand and tracing the tender bud with his tongue.
She moaned and arched into his touch. His jeans got even tighter. He prayed he wouldn’t disgrace himself by coming before he finally got inside her.
****
Addie was burning up from the inside out, but it was a good kind of fire, one that cleansed away the past, the pain, and left nothing but pleasure in its wake. Billy was being so careful with her. She should tell him she was a virgin, but she was afraid he’d stop.
That was the last thing she wanted.
This was her choice. He was her choice.
She loved the way his muscles flexed beneath her hands. He was leaner in build than most wolves, but it was all solid strength. She loved the way he touched her as though she was precious and beautiful.
When he flicked his tongue over her nipple, she couldn’t suppress the small cry of pleasure that escaped her. She was trying to be careful, not sure if his room was soundproofed or who might be around.
But he was making that impossible.
He worked his way over to her other breast and sucked the tip into his mouth. She wrapped her legs around his flanks and rubbed her mound against his erection. They were both still wearing pants, but the friction was delicious.
“Fuck.” He reared back, his eyes glowing like blue fire, and grabbed the waistband of the leggings. Panting heavily, he paused.
“Don’t you dare stop.” This was no time for him to be noble. She ached with needing him.
With a quick grin, he peeled them down her legs and off. He took her underwear with them, leaving her bare. He stood long enough to shuck his jeans. She barely caught a glimpse of his muscled thighs and thick erection before he was back on top of her, making a place for himself between her spread thighs.
She sucked in a breath when his hot, hard cock pressed against her.
“Addie.” He said her
name like a prayer, like a plea. “I want to go slow.”
He looked tortured, as though he was failing her somehow. That was the last thing she wanted. “Next time,” she promised. Because she definitely wanted more than one time with him.
He nodded and fit the head of his shaft at her opening. She was wet, but this was also new to her. Unfamiliar emotions and sensations bombarded her as he pressed inward, stretching her.
Then he pushed deeper. She dug her nails into his shoulders, unable to contain her groan of pain. It was too much, but at the same time she wanted more.
“You’re so tight.” The cords of his neck were taut, and his jaw was as hard as a rock. “Has it been a long time for you?”
“Never.” She blurted out what she hadn’t told him before.
He stared down at her in disbelief. “Never? You’ve never had a lover?”
“When would I?” she snapped, feeling stupid for opening her mouth about it. “I live with my parents in a wolf pack. I’d be mated if I’d slept with anyone.”
He started to withdraw, but she wrapped her legs around his thighs. “No. You’re not stopping.” She hadn’t gone through this humiliation only to have him leave her now. She pulled him down and at the same time arched up. He sank deeper but still wasn’t quite all the way there.
“Please,” she pleaded.
He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers.
Did he feel like she was trying to trap him? “I don’t expect you to mate with me or anything,” she assured him. “I just want my first time to be with someone I chose.”
Chapter Ten
She’d never had a lover. It made perfect sense, considering her circumstance, but it was the last thing he’d expected to discover at such a critical time.
He didn’t want to hurt her, but if he stopped she might see it as rejection. And honestly, he didn’t want to stop. Not when his cock was being squeezed in the most perfect way in her heated depths.
When she’d said the word mate, he’d almost lost it. Until he realized she was saying the opposite of what he wanted to hear.
“Billy?” The uncertainty in her tone almost gutted him.
He forced himself to look directly at her, eye to eye. “I want you. Never doubt that. I just wish I’d known beforehand. I wouldn’t have rushed things.” He hadn’t even tasted her yet. Just the thought had his cock flexing and her gasping.
“I didn’t want to wait.”
He started to pull out, but she gripped his shoulders tighter. “I’m not leaving you,” he promised. He rocked back in, not going too deep. “We’re going to take our time a little.” Fine talk when his dick was threatening to explode.
She licked her lips and nodded. “Okay.”
He closed his eyes but couldn’t shut out the image of her tongue gliding over her plump lower lip.
He placed his hands on the mattress and began to rock, putting all his concentration into going slow. Each motion pushed him a bit deeper. She was softening around him, her inner muscles relaxing and letting him sink into her. After what seemed an eternity, he was fully seated inside her.
The base of his spine tingled. It was sheer perfection. He counted to ten five times before he finally opened his eyes. Hers were luminous with tears. Shit, were they good tears or bad ones?
Resting his weight on his forearms, he brushed a lock of hair away from her face. “How do you feel?” His cock was throbbing in time to his heartbeat, and his balls were trying to crawl into his body. He’d never worked so hard not to come.
“Amazing.” Her voice was breathy and sexy. “Filled by you.” The wonder in her tone made his heart thud harder. “I never knew it would be like this.”
“It wouldn’t. Not with anyone else.” The mere thought of her having sex with another man, sharing herself this way with someone else, was enough to make him crazy.
“Only you,” she assured him.
Fuck, he was being an idiot. This was no time to go all Neanderthal on her.
He rocked his hips, drawing a gasp from her. He loved the sound. Knowing he was running out of time, he lifted one of her thighs and pushed it upward, opening her even more to him.
This time when he rocked inward, he angled his pelvis so he pressed against her clit. Her eyes widened and she moaned. When he did it again, she arched into his touch, seeking it on her own.
“That’s it.” He wanted to say more, but words were lost to him. He thrust faster, desperately wanting her to come, to make her first time enjoyable.
She cried out his name and dug her nails into his shoulders. Her inner muscles tensed around him. Her wet warmth surrounded him.
He lost it. He shoved his arms beneath her back and curled his hands over her shoulders, thrusting once, twice. On the third one he came. His orgasm shot from his balls out the tip of his shaft. He clenched his jaw to keep from howling, a reaction he’d never had before, but then Addie was no normal woman.
He collapsed, managing to keep most of his weight off her, but he was still swollen and locked inside her. Not that he minded. He loved the ripples of her release running up and down the length of his shaft.
He’d just come, but he was nowhere near sated.
That was new, too.
She made a small sound, and he turned his attention to her. This was her first time. In a way, it was his, too. He’d slept with women before, but he’d been fully human then. Now he wasn’t.
He cupped her chin and tilted her face toward him. Her eyelids fluttered open, and then the corners of her mouth tilted up. She looked so damn sweet and pleased with herself, he had to kiss her.
“You should have told me,” he began and wished he’d kept his mouth shut when her smile disappeared.
“I figured you might stop if you knew.”
He ran a finger down the curve of her cheek, and she turned into his touch. “No, sweetheart, I wouldn’t have stopped, but I would have done things differently.”
“Oh.” She paused for a second. “What would you have done?”
His cock flexed inside her and she gasped. “I should pull out. Don’t want you to get sore.” He started to retreat but found he couldn’t. He was too swollen. “What the hell?”
She looked uncomfortable, and her cheeks flushed pink. “Ah, you’re not fully human now. It’s natural for you to swell at the base of your shaft.”
Well, hell. He knew that, knew about werewolf physiology, but he’d never thought about it in relation to himself. It was strange. Pleasurable, but strange. “You’re okay with it.”
She smiled and rested her palm on his chest. “I’m definitely okay with it.” She concentrated on gliding her hand around the scars. “I meant what I said. I don’t expect you to mate with me just because we slept together.”
He figured this was payback, karma for all his years of having one-night stands. Not that he could have done anything different considering his circumstances.
“Addie,” he began.
She put her hand over his mouth. “No. Don’t say anything. Not now.”
He lightly nipped the side of her hand until she pulled it away. “I need to say that you’re special to me. I want you to stay. I want to see where this goes between us.” He really wanted to demand she never leave, but he wasn’t stupid enough to say so out loud.
She smiled. “I’d like that, too.” Then her smile faded. “But I don’t think my pack will allow that.”
“You’re an adult,” he pointed out.
“I am, but if I leave the pack, I might never be allowed back.” What went unsaid was that she might not be allowed to see her folks again. “And then there’s Simon.”
Billy could actually smell her fear, and a low growl rumbled in his chest. She froze, like a deer caught in the headlights, and the acrid scent of her fear increased.
Jesus, he was being an ass. “I’m sorry.” He gritted his teeth and pulled out. He hated to be separated, wanted to make love to her again, but this wasn’t the time. The slow withdrawal
hurt, because he was still swollen, but he did it. He didn’t want her feeling trapped. “I’ve got all these new emotions and instincts.” And they were more overwhelming than he’d ever thought they could be.
She snuggled next to his side. “I never thought about that. I’m sorry, too.”
He heaved a sigh of relief and pulled her closer. “So we’re both sorry.” He kissed her forehead and continued. “It’s not safe for you to go home, not with Simon there.” The idea that another man would force her to mate with him was too much for him to ignore.
“It might not be safe for me here either.” She sighed and closed her eyes. “Maybe I’m being a coward, but I don’t want to think about it. Not yet.”
“You’re not a coward. You’re the bravest woman I’ve ever met.” She could have run and saved herself, but she’d chosen to stay and fight. Then she’d saved his life and made sure he got back to his family. Addie was one of a kind.
“Stay. For now,” he added before she could object. “Let me take care of you.” He ran his fingers up and down her spine.
“A day or two. Just until I figure things out.”
He would take what he could get. In the meantime, he planned to spend all his time and energy showing her what she’d gain if she stayed—a pack and a lover. He wanted to be her mate but figured it was best to take things slowly.
He shook his head and sighed. That hadn’t worked out well for him so far. There was something about her that shredded his control. Not that it was her fault. No, it was all his.
He had changed, and not just physically, but in a deep, fundamental way. He had to figure out just how deep the changes went and what they meant for him and his future.
“Addie,” he began but stopped. She was sound asleep. It wasn’t all due to his lovemaking, but he couldn’t help the way his chest puffed out or the sense of satisfaction that filled him.
He shook his head at his wayward thoughts and rolled out of bed, careful not to wake her. She looked so peaceful and sweet lying there. He liked seeing her in his bed. When he tucked the comforter around her, she made a small sound and snuggled deeper into the pillow instead of waking. He hated to leave her, but at least one member of his family would be nearby, even if they weren’t in the house.
Wolf in the Woods Page 11
