Chapter 7
What She Really Wants
Braden ran with Eve all the way to the creek. He jumped into the rushing water and trudged up stream for almost a mile before crossing back. He took Eve to a cave on the far side of the mountain property—a place he often went when he wanted to be alone. Not many lycanosapiens knew about the place, and he had to keep her away from Tom.
He wasn’t afraid of Tom—not for himself—but he knew the others would let Ellis go soon, and Braden needed to get Eve as far away as possible. When the fight broke out, Tom had smashed his way across the table and held Braden down. Before they both shifted and while he had Braden pinned, Tom had whispered his plan to take Eve as his mate and that Braden was just another obstacle to kill.
The menace in Tom’s declaration had made Braden’s wolf accept the challenge offered. Unfortunately, Tom, as a police officer, was a trained fighter and had been winning… until he hit Eve. When she screamed, a surge of power, unlike anything Braden had ever experienced, rushed through his body. It made him strong and powerful, but it also lessened his ability to think and reason. If he could’ve gotten loose when the five tribesmen tackled him to the ground, he’d have killed everyone in the room to get to Eve.
In his hurry to keep her safe, he hadn’t even paid attention to her protests while he fireman carried her all the way to the small cavern. The interior dead-ended about twenty feet past the mouth. Billowing white curtains of flowstone lined the back wall and the temperature was always about ten degrees colder than the outside during the summer and ten degrees warmer in the winter.
Satisfied they hadn’t been followed, Braden put Eve down. Gazing at her very human body with ample curves in all the right places, his cock stiffened. In the fight, he’d lost his jeans, but his stretchy boxer briefs had survived. The soft cotton kept his shaft from springing at Eve like a divining rod. Her transformation to anthro-form—and Gods! What a glorious transformation it had been—had torn her shirt at the edges and popped a few of the front buttons. He could see her black bra, the top strap broken, contrasting against the pale creaminess of her breasts.
Originally, he’d planned to get Eve to safety then go find Tom to challenge him. Tom might very well kill Braden, but Braden had to try. Eve’s intense gaze stopped him in his tracks. Anger seeped from her every pore. She fisted her hands on her hips, and her lips pursed in a vexed pout.
Had Braden read the situation wrong? Was she angry he’d taken her from the camp? Of course she was! She’d already thought he was a Neanderthal who wanted to own her, and what did Braden do to show he wasn’t? He threw her over his shoulder—caveman style—and carried her off into the woods without her permission. How could he be so stupid? He’d only wanted to keep her safe.
“Eve.” He would explain his reasoning and make her understand. He’d done it for her, not for himself. Braden put his hand on her shoulder and she jerked away. He could smell her blood and saw the dark droplets dripping from her fists.
Had she gotten hurt in the fight? Changing to anthro-form should have healed any minor injuries. He grabbed her hand and held on tight before she could yank away.
“Let me go!” It had been the first words she’d said since he’d put her down.
“You’re bleeding.”
“I don’t give a flying monkey if I have sparks shooting from my elbows. Let. Me. Go.” When she yanked again, her hands opened, and Braden could see her nails had cut into her palms.
He released her. “I’m sorry.” Braden shook his head and turned his back to Eve. He couldn’t stand the look of animosity on her face. “I didn’t mean to just snatch you up. I know you don’t want me, but…”
Before he could finish, Eve shoved him from behind.
He stumbled forward, anger mixing with confusion as he turned back to Eve.
Her eyes had gone wolfish again. “If you ever let that other woman touch you again, Braden Jackson, I will end her and you.”
“What?”
“That blond.Lizzy!” Eve spit out the name as if it’d been a hot coal sitting on her tongue. She continued, taking finger waving to a whole new level. “Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.”
Braden felt a surge of hope edged by irritation. Hope because Eve was jealous, possessively so, but still irritated because she had some fucking nerve. “You don’t want me, Eve. You’ve already made that clear, but no one else is allowed to want me either.” He made it a question.
Eve’s eyes widened, and she couldn’t have looked more stricken if he’d actually slapped her across the face. “That’s not true.”
“Which part?” Before she could answer, he threw his hands in the air with a huff of frustration. “And to add insult to injury, you’re wearing a shirt covered in another man’s scent.” The last words came out as a snarl. He could feel his own wolf close to the surface as the blue in Eve’s irises returned. She exasperated him. He desperately wanted Eve, but he didn’t think he could take another rejection.
She ripped the shirt from her body, wadded it up, and ran to the cave entrance. With a scream of frustration, she chucked the bundle as far in to the woods as it would fly. She stalked back to Braden.
Braden gawked at Eve. “What are you…?”
She flung herself at him, throwing her legs around his waist, slanting her mouth over his, swallowing his question in a ferocious kiss.
Instantly, her touch made his cock completely hard. He parted his lips, opening his mouth to her probing exploration. Gods, he craved her salty-sweetness—a unique taste that was Eve’s and Eve’s alone. Clamping his mouth to hers, Braden darted his tongue between her lips, meeting her need with his own.
She rubbed against his erection until the sweet friction forced a moan from his lips. Her back arched, and Braden turned with her still latched around his waist, and pushed her against the cave wall. When the rough stone pressed into her back, she cried out.
Braden broke from the kiss, his brain too lust-addled. He could barely think, barely breathe. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he murmured against her neck.
She wrapped her arms and legs around him tighter and ground herself against him as she took his ear lobe between her teeth. The pain of her bite sent a surge of heat from her lips directly to his groin. If she kept it up, he’d lose control. “Stop. Eve.”
