He stopped abruptly, leaning my back against a tree. My legs were wrapped snugly around his waist, hands clinging to his shoulders.
My heart thundered in my ears, and when his mouth came over that same spot on my neck, my stomach flipped.
Teeth grazed my sensitive skin, and suddenly I couldn’t feel the cold. I was on fire, heat radiating from where he sucked at my neck all the way to the place between my legs, where I could feel him hard through his jeans.
He rolled his hips lightly, sucking and nibbling my neck. I held my breath, trying to resist the pleasure blooming in my core.
If I let this go further, it wouldn’t be a hookup. Another part of our ruse.
It wouldn’t be pretending anymore—not for me.
I didn’t want that. I wanted Rhett so desperately I was trembling, but not like this.
The cold seeped back into me, and Rhett seemed to notice. He eased his mouth from my neck, lips brushing lightly over the bruised skin.
“Now no one can doubt you’re mine.”
Our eyes locked, his blazing gold. It felt real.
It felt real, and I was panicking.
Rhett sighed, his expression tight. “I’m sorry. I don’t usually lose control like that.”
He set me down, my feet dropping deep into the snow. Then he ripped his shirt over his head, placing it on the ground for me to stand on.
A flush of feverish heat burned through me again at the sight of his toned stomach. I didn’t take myself for a girl to swoon over broad shoulders and rock-hard abs, but here I was ready to climb him like a tree.
With those glowing eyes, Rhett’s amiable smile took on a wicked edge. “My wolf needs out. It won’t take long.”
Hiswolfneeded out. He said it casually, like he needed to take his dog for a walk.
Except his dog was a massive predator that lived inside him. Turned into him? I didn’t even know.
“Okay, I’ll just go wait—" I swiveled my head, realizing I couldn’t go wait anywhere unless he brought me back to the house. I had no idea where we were. I could hardly see him in front of me.
He wasn’t so invisible in the dark that I didn’t see his hands working the button on his jeans. Then he was yanking them down, handing them to me like this was the most normal thing in the world.
I gaped, averting my eyes at the last second as his briefs joined the bundle of clothes in my arms.
Rhett fell to his knees, skin shimmering and blurring. His shoulders pinched together, his arms lengthening.
It happened so fast, my mind couldn’t make sense of it.
The wolf before me was a beautiful brown color, the perfect match for Rhett’s hair. His eyes had the same glow, flecks of brown swimming in a pool of molten gold. They burned into me, and the sensation in my chest went crazy.
Or maybe that was my heart, pounding out of my ribs as a wolf twice my size zipped through the snow to pounce on me.
Chapter 7
Rhett
Angiesplutteredbeneathme.I was aware of her fear, the scent of it coating my tongue, but I couldn’t make sense of it.
Well,Icould make sense of it just fine. There was a wolf sitting on her. What woman wouldn’t be panicking?
My wolf didn’t get the memo, his tongue lolling playfully as he crushed her into the snow.
With a squeal, Angie shoved him, gaining enough space to return to her feet.
