I force my bear down, pushing him back into the darkest corners of myself. He fights me every inch, howling with rage and desperation, but I’m stronger. Barely.
My hands are shaking. My whole body is shaking. I’m harder than I’ve ever been in my life, my dick straining against my pants, throbbing with a need so intense it borders on pain.
I have to stop her.
I move down the hallway on legs that don’t feel like mine. The guest room door is open. She’s inside, throwing things into her bag with jerky, furious movements. Still in the towel. Still wet. Still smelling like everything I’ve ever wanted and didn’t know I was waiting for.
“Imani.”
My voice comes out wrecked. Hoarse and desperate and nothing like the cold tone I used before.
She doesn’t turn around. “Get away from me.”
“Please.” The word scrapes out of my throat. “I need you to stay.”
“Fuck you.”
“Imani—“
“I said fuck you.” She jerks the zipper closed and finally turns to face me. Her eyes are red-rimmed, her cheeks still damp with tears I put there. “You want me gone? Fine. I’m gone. You’ll never have to see my face again.”
“That’s not—“ I take a step toward her. “I was wrong. What I said, I didn’t mean?—“
“Don’t.” She holds up a hand, stopping me in my tracks. “Don’t you dare. You meant every word. You’ve been looking for an excuse to kick me out since I got here, and you found one. Congratulations. Now get out of my way.”
She pushes past me, her shoulder brushing my bare chest.
The contact jolts through me like a live wire. My bear howls. My dick twitches. I have to close my eyes and breathe through the overwhelming need to grab her, pin her against the wall, bury my face in her neck and inhale until I drown in her scent.
When I open my eyes, she’s disappeared into the guest room again. I hear drawers opening and closing. She’s getting dressed.
I should look away. I should give her privacy.
I can’t move.
She drops the towel.
I see everything. The length of her body. The round fullness of her ass. The dimples at the small of her back. She pulls on underwear, then pants, then a sweater, covering all that gorgeous brown skin inch by inch.
My bear is going insane. Clawing, snarling, demanding I stop her. Demanding I claim her right now, consequences be damned.
I dig my claws into my palms until blood wells up. The pain helps. Barely.
She grabs her bag and pushes past me again, heading for the front door.
“Imani, stop.” I follow her through the living room. “The storm is too bad. You can’t drive in this.”
“Watch me.”
“Your car won’t make it down the mountain. You’ll get stuck, or worse?—“
“Then I’ll freeze to death.” She yanks open the front door, and a gust of snow-filled wind blasts into the cabin. “At least I won’t have to spend another minute with you.”
She’s outside before I can stop her.
The wind cuts like a knife, but I barely feel it. All I can feel is the mate bond demanding I bring her back, protect her, never let her out of my sight again.
I follow her into the storm.
