“Good morning.” Ben smiled at her.
Teri didn’t return the favor. She had too much suspicion on her face to do much else than look at him. She did repeat his greeting, but there was nothing good about it.
“Why is it so quiet?”
Ben was impressed that she noticed it right off the bat. It was quiet with so many of his men gone. There were a few off in the trees close by, but she shouldn’t be able to hear them. The lack of hearing was good. Ben wasn’t joking about all of the attacks they’d had and the many that he still thought would happen. Since his people had what everyone wanted, it was their job to keep it safe. When he took the job of Alpha, it was with a heavy heart. Ben knew what he had to look forward to.
“I sent much of the party up ahead of us. I thought that we could use some time together.”
Teri nodded, sinking deeper in against him. Ben knew that she was cold, her body shivered. They had to get up and get moving, but it looked like she didn’t want to. Ben liked to believe that it meant he could make his move. The conversation he had with Mark was still fresh in his mind and before he could stop himself, Ben was pulling her toward him for a kiss. It was gentle at first, but Teri responded so quickly and beautifully. Ben thought for a minute that she was just as down as he was. He had her flipped onto her back and underneath him in seconds. Teri kissed him for another moment or two, and then she must have realized what was happening because she pushed him back. Ben didn’t want to go anywhere. He was exactly where he wanted to be. He just needed to pull her in, just like Mark had said. He started to but stopped. Teri wasn’t ready. She was more scared than curious and excited. He’d never been with an innocent woman before. He didn’t know that it would be so hard. It wasn’t the response that worked for him.
“Sorry,” Ben mumbled, trying to come up with words. He wasn’t too sorry, he’d done what he wanted to, but there was nothing else that he could do about it. He wanted her so damn badly. He wanted also to claim her and make it clear to everyone who saw her, that she was his and his only.
Teri waved him off, said it was fine. She wasn’t looking at him, barely looked his way before getting up and putting on the cape he’d given her. Even when she was trying to get away from him, she was still surrounding herself with his things. Ben was sure that it was a sign, he was looking for signs wherever he went. It all led back to Teri, but his patience was running thin.
“You ready to go?”
Ben was not, but he agreed. He didn’t really have anything else he could say. He knew that he’d made it awkward. He didn’t want to, but that was what happened.
He got up and agreed, watching her eyes widen as she stared at his chest. Ben may have pushed it a bit too far, but maybe not. It at least got her looking at him. She was interested now, and Ben liked the way it made him feel to see her desire. They were almost there. Almost his.
Chapter 14
Teri
They didn’t shift into their wolves to travel. For a while, the two of them walked as humans. It was slower going, but Ben didn’t seem to be in such a rush to get home. She wasn’t in a rush to go to a place that was even colder than she was right then. Teri knew it was going to get colder, but she didn’t have to like it.
When they were close to a small town, music could be heard through the bluffs above them. Teri liked the tune; she never could stop herself from moving and humming to songs. It was the happiest time when she was dancing, so when Ben asked her if she wanted to dance out of the blue, Teri went with it. She couldn’t see the desire in his eyes, or maybe she wasn’t looking. She was focused on that, while Ben was not. He seemed to be focused on something else altogether.
He pulled her up against him fairly quickly, and Teri’s breath was knocked out of her. She couldn’t believe how badly she needed and wanted him. It was torture. She could feel his hard muscles and her mind was running into all of the naughty things she would like to do to him. He was her husband after all. Right?
Like on cue of her deciding that she wanted a kiss, Ben leaned down and captured her lips in his. It was the sort of feeling that ran through her whole body, and it felt so good that she couldn’t stop herself from being more involved. It was killing her, and she was quickly kissing him back. Teri was picked up and he spun her around as they kissed. Teri felt like a princess in that moment. She couldn’t help how badly she was shaking with desire.
Ben took things further. He seemed very good at knowing the perfect time. Teri remembered that he had told her that he could tell that she was ready and exactly when. Teri wondered if she was ready again. She sure the hell felt like it and that feeling intensified when he started grinding against her. Teri’s nerves were shot. She melted against him and Ben deepened the kiss. Teri was lost in his arms and willing to do anything to continue the feelings that he gave her. He was addictive.
Once his mouth left hers and started down on her neck, Teri could hear the sounds she was making. Her breath was coming out in short bursts, and she whimpered when he moved back for even a second. She never wanted him to go anywhere and that was made clear. Ben tugged at her clothes making bare skin appear for his hungry mouth.
Teri tried to keep it together, but soon her hips were rising desperately in the air, trying to rub up against something. Ben did his best to help her along, rubbing and grinding, licking and sucking, but it wasn’t enough. Teri was simply holding on, her body on the cusp of something wonderful. When his hand finally pressed on the delicate skin between her legs, Teri came blindly. It was a release she wasn’t expecting, but desperately needed. Her thighs closed around his hand, and he was moving back after a few moments.
Ben’s eyes were alight as they kissed again. This time, his body was lined up perfectly with her own. Teri whimpered with the touch and Ben proceeded to take clothes off of her. She made a sound of surprise when he tossed her pants aside. They both hissed when they heard a voice. It was Mark from the trees. Teri started to cover up and Ben growled his discontent.
“What!?”
“There are several enemies behind you, about twenty minutes back. We need to keep moving and faster than humans.”
Ben didn’t want to hear it. He had decided that he wanted her then and there. Teri saw the hesitation in his eyes, like he was trying to figure out if he would be able to get something done before they were upon them. Teri was afraid. She wasn’t used to such threats of violence, which was likely what made Ben finally relent.
“Come on, let’s get out of here. I don’t want something to happen to you.”
Teri thanked him. She thought for a minute that she was going to be in the middle of something that she wasn’t ready for. Her mind was still on what had almost happened, what had happened. It wasn’t something that they were going to be able to walk away from, she could just feel it. He would want to get back to it quickly and while her mind was coming back online, Teri knew that she was going to have to keep her distance. She had almost given up everything, just because he made her feel good. Teri was disgusted; she thought that her resolve would be better than that. It hadn’t been good at all.
***
They shifted and left. Teri followed Ben and though she was tired when they stopped for the night, it was exhilarating when he went to her and kissed her. They were sort of alone, enough though she didn’t think of others around, so when he kissed her, Teri kissed him back with fervor. She was sure that there was something wrong with what was going on, but she couldn’t help it. She needed him and he’d left her on the verge of something earlier.
It was Ben that put distance between them. It was dark and there was no one around. She wanted to know what was going on, and why he was refusing her after going on about how much they needed to be together. Why didn’t he want her then?
“There is too much going on for me to be distracted.”
