“Human personalities. Pack dynamics are different.”
“So teach me.” She stepped closer, close enough that the intoxicating sweetness of her scent curled around his senses like smoke. “You want me to succeed? Then help me understand the rules I’m playing by. Don’t just protect me from your wolves—give me the tools to protect myself.”
His wolf surged forward at her proximity, growling approval at her spirit even as it demanded he close the remaining distance between them. He held himself rigid, every muscle locked against the urge to reach for her.
“That’s… reasonable.”
“I’m a reasonable person.”
“You’re a stubborn, argumentative person who doesn’t know when to back down.”
“Also true.” Her smile widened. “But I’m your stubborn, argumentative person now. At least professionally speaking.”
Mine.
The word echoed through him, primal and possessive. His wolf latched onto it with fierce satisfaction, already weaving fantasies of claiming and bonding and making the professionally speaking qualifier irrelevant.
He cleared his throat. “We should establish regular check-ins. Daily briefings on security status, threat assessments?—”
She rose on her toes and kissed him.
It was quick—a brief press of her lips against his, barely more than a peck—and she was already pulling back before his brain registered what had happened. Her cheeks flushed pink, her eyes bright with a mixture of gratitude and something warmer.
“Thank you,” she said. “For trusting me. I know that wasn’t easy for you.”
His control shattered.
His hand shot out, catching the back of her neck, hauling her against him before she could retreat. She made a small sound of surprise that transformed into a moan as his mouth claimed hers—not the desperate, overwhelming kiss of the night before, but something slower. More deliberate. More devastating.
He kissed her like he had all the time in the world. Like she was something to be savored rather than consumed. His lips moved against hers with patient intensity, coaxing her mouth open, drinking in her gasps and whimpers like they were the only sustenance he needed.
She melted into him. Her hands fisted in his shirt, pulling him closer, and the small, needy sound she made when his tongue stroked against hers nearly undid him completely. She tasted like coffee and defiance and everything he’d been denying himself for far too long.
His wolf howled in triumph.Ours. Finally ours.
He walked her backwards until her shoulders hit the wall, pinning her there with his body. She was so small against him—all delicate bones and soft curves—but she kissed him back with a ferocity that made his blood sing. Her fingers tangled in hishair, tugging sharply, and the spark of pain-pleasure sent fire racing down his spine.
“Adrian—” His name came out broken, breathless, as he dragged his mouth down her throat. Her pulse hammered against his lips, rabbit-fast, and the urge to bite—to mark—rose up with primal intensity.
He scraped his teeth across her skin, not quite breaking the surface, and felt her entire body shudder.
“God, that—” She couldn’t finish the sentence. Her head fell back against the wall, exposing more of her throat in a gesture of submission that his wolf recognized with fierce satisfaction. “Don’t stop.”
The loose neckline of her sweater had dipped dangerously low over her shoulder, revealing the soft swell of her breast and a teasing glimpse of a rosy nipple. He lowered his head and tasted her there, through the thin fabric. The taste of her, even through the barrier of her shirt, was like the purest spring water after a drought.
The full moon is tomorrow,some remote part of his brain warned.Your control is already slipping.But his wolf didn’t care. His wolf was in heaven. He was finally touching his mate, tasting her skin, hearing those soft, desperate sounds she made. He bit down, just a little, and she arched against his mouth with a shocked, needy whimper.
Still working that taut little peak with his mouth, his hand slid lower, dipping beneath her waistband and finding the sweet curve of her ass. He squeezed and she rocked against the hard ridge of his cock, a little sigh of pure need escaping her lips.He could feel the heat of her through their clothes, a desperate promise.
Her short nails clawed deliciously at his shoulders as his hand explored further, finding her hot, swollen clit, already slick with her desire. He circled the sensitive nub, and she cried out, a harsh, ragged sound that was the most beautiful music he had ever heard.
“Yes,” she gasped, her hips moving in frantic little circles. “Please, Adrian?—”
He dipped lower, fighting to work even one finger into her tiny entrance. She was so tight, so hot, and the way her body clenched around him made his vision blur. He stroked his thumb across her clit and her head fell back against the wall as shudders wracked her small frame. The scent of her arousal wrapped around him, making him feel light-headed with need.
He wanted to drop to his knees and put his mouth on her, to lick her until she screamed his name, to taste the proof of her desire. He wanted to lay her down on the floor and bury himself inside her until neither of them knew where one ended and the other began. The moon called to the beast inside him, demanding he claim her, mark her, make her irrevocably his.
But not here. Not now. Not like this.
