Page 11 of Caught By the Wolf

She turned to Declan and smiled. “Thank you, again, Declan.”

The two wolves watched her go inside.

“The rain washed away most of the prints and scents.”

Roman nodded. “I figured as much.”

He knew that wouldn’t keep his brothers from searching. And he knew they would find the men. It would just take a little longer. The threat was still out there. Circling. Waiting. Pruitt had looked at him like a prize to be sold. He would not walk away from that kind of money. Or from the woman who had seen his face.

Glancing back at the open doorway, he saw Ella unpacking the box. She gave a little squeal when she took out a chocolate bar. He glanced at his brother. There were depths to Declan that even he didn’t know about.

“When are you going to tell her?” Declan asked.

“When I can’t resist it anymore.” It was the kind of admission a man usually kept for himself.

Declan looked out at the rain, unreadable as ever, then said, “Don’t beat yourself up about it, Roman. You deserve some happiness. You deserve her.” A pause, and something almost gentle came into his voice. “Don’t fuck it up.” Another pause, longer. “And watch the tree line. Whoever scouted this property knew exactly where our patrols run. That’s not luck. That’s homework. They’re still out there. Rain or no rain. They’ll come back for her.”

“I know.”

Declan nodded once and headed back down the steps into the rain. Roman carried the lingering weight of the conversation inside and shut the door on the cold.

“It’s letting up,” he said, as he joined her in the kitchen.

She turned, hope brightening her face. “Can we take a walk?”

“You need warmer clothes.” The air was damp and chilly despite the late summer timing. He retrieved a pair of his sweatpants from the bedroom. “Put these on. You’ll need them.”

“Are you sure they’ll fit?”

He frowned down at her, hands on hips. “What did you say?”

“Fit. I hope they fit me.”

“Why the hell would you think they wouldn’t?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because you have the body of a Greek god and I’m more like a pudgy cherub. You have a waist. I have hips.”

Roman growled, his fists clenched at his sides. He wanted to throw her over his shoulder and carry her to bed. Show her exactly what her hips did to him. Show her that every generous curve she thought was a flaw was the precise reason his cock had been hard since the second he scented her. “They’ll fit just fine.”

Her cheeks flushed, but she didn’t say anything else before walking to the bedroom to change.

They walked along the fence line that surrounded Roman’s house. The rain eased into a light drizzle. She talked while they walked and he realized she was doing it out of nervousness. He listened with half his attention, the rest of him aware of every shift in her scent and the sway of her hips in his clothes, and a third, colder part of him tracking the tree line the way he’d tracked it every day for six years, except now every shadow mattered twice as much. The men were still out there. He could feel it in the way the woods held their breath.

She stepped on a slick patch of mud, and her foot went out from under her. With a startled gasp, Ella pitched forward. Roman’s arms snapped around her, pulling her tight against his chest to keep her from falling. For a heartbeat they stood frozen like that. Her curves pressed flush to his hard body, her full breasts crushed against his chest, her wide hips fitting perfectly against him, her hands fisted in his shirt, their faces inches apart.

His control snapped. Not fully, but enough to make him do what he did next.

He kissed her.

He kissed like a starving man. Hard, deep, and ravenous. Because he was. He hadn’t had a woman in his arms since before his pack had torn itself apart. And now, now he didn’t know if he could survive without Ella next to him.

His mouth claimed hers with bruising intensity, tongue sliding past her lips without seeking permission. Thrusting deep and hard. Fucking her mouth the way he wanted to fuck her. Wet, messy, and demanding. He tasted coffee and chocolate and pure woman. Mated. The wolf howled in triumph.

Growling into her mouth, he backed her against the nearest sturdy tree. One big hand sliding down to grip a full, generous ass cheek, squeezing possessively while he ground his rock-hard cock against her belly so she could feel exactly what she did to him.

And what he wanted to do to her.

She moaned into his mouth, the sound vibrating straight through his chest as her hands fisted tighter in his shirt, pulling him even closer. Their tongues tangled, slick and desperate, teeth grazing lips in a kiss that was almost claiming, but not. He devoured her. Licking, sucking, biting at her lower lip. She rolled her hips desperately against him, and the feel of all that giving flesh made his cock throb so hard it hurt.