Pale eyes skidded to mine. His lips parted, and I could almost see him cycling through potential responses, trying to find one that made him sound offended instead of so turned on he couldn’t see straight. As the struggle played out, a low growl rumbled in his throat. If I had to guess, he didn’t realize he was doing it. His control balanced on a tightrope—and he was close to losing his footing.
“We shouldn’t be in here,” he said finally, his voice like sandpaper. “I’m sure plenty of people have a key to that door.”
“No one will disturb us.” The ward I’d set on the outer door would keep humans away. One day, I’d tell him the ward was only possible because his wolf had bonded with mine. The intimate connection made it easier for me to control him. Without our bond, I could have never subdued his wolf while maintaining the ward.
He scowled. “I suppose you’re going to tell me you used some kind of werewolf magic to seal the door.”
“Exactly.” I removed my hat and ran a hand through my hair. “I can teach you how to set one, too.”
Blue eyes lingered on my hair before settling just south of my jaw. “Tempting, but I’m full on credit hours this semester. Maybe another time.”
Oh, he was a brat. Later, I could indulge his smart mouth. Right now, I had to make him understand the precariousness of his situation.
“Cute,” I said, “but my instruction isn’t optional.” In a blur of speed, I hopped off the desk and grasped his jaw. “Look at me.”
He gasped as he was forced to obey. Fear and anticipation flowed around him like electrical currents, each emotion feeding the other. His thick lashes fluttered, and his pouty mouth trembled. So damn tempting. The reservations my human side had about fucking a twenty-three-year-old didn’t bother my wolf in the slightest. The fact that Caleb’s wolf had instigated our connection made resisting him all but impossible.
And if I was honest with myself, I didn’t really want to resist him.
“Like I told you last night,” I said, “teaching is my gift. I mean that in both the werewolf sense and the human one. I have a master’s degree in education. I’ll help you control your wolf, but it’ll go a lot more smoothly if you cooperate. It’s up to you, Caleb. You can choose the easy way or the hard way. But whichever way you choose, you’re coming home with me tonight. No arguments. Is that clear?”
“I can’t,” he bit out, fear and anger flowing off him. But there was lust, too. It frazzled along our connection, cranking my own need higher. His irises began to glow as his wolf surfaced. A fourth emotion joined the turbulent sea in his eyes.
Challenge.
I moved my hand to his throat and squeezed. Not enough to restrict his air. Just enough to let him know I could. “I’m not giving you an option.”
Wood creaked as he gripped the chair’s armrests. His voice dropped an octave. “Let me go.”
“Also not an option.” The consequences would be more dire than he knew, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him. I tightened my grip. “Obey.”
His growl rumbled under my palm. The struggle between human and animal raged in his eyes, which flickered between submission and fury.
For a moment, humanity won. “My parents,” he said, his pulse thumping rapidly under my thumb. “They’re strict. If I leave home now, they won’t pay my tuition here.”
“I’ll work something out.”
“Like what?”
“We’ll worry about it later. You have time.”
His eyes lightened another shade. “That’s easy for you to say. This is my future we’re talking about.”
“Whatever future you had planned is over,” I said. “I’m sorry if I didn’t make that clear last night. You’ve been turned. You’re immortal now, although you can still be killed if you’re injured badly enough. It’s a cool superpower, but it has some downsides. For example, at some point very soon, your wolf is going to overwhelm your human intellect and force your shift. If that happens when I’m not around, you could lose control and expose us to the human world. Worse, you could get stuck on four legs, your human half buried so deep you’ll never get it back. So you’re going to come home with me and do as you’re told.”
“Get your hands off me,” he growled, his speech garbled as his beast tried to take over.
I tightened my grip on his throat. “You don’t give the orders between us. And if you run from me again, baby, I’ll make sure you can’t sit comfortably for a week.”
He snapped.
I was ready for him.
In a blink, I had him around the desk and bent over it, his flushed face against Welch’s big monthly planner. The paper crinkled as I worked Caleb’s jeans open and shoved them to his ankles.
“I went easy on you last night,” I said, pushing his underwear down. “I won’t make that mistake again.” I stepped back. “Get up.”
He came off the desk and rounded on me, rage snapping in his wolf-blue eyes. “You?—”
