Authors: Olivia Arran
I kept my eyes squeezed shut.
“It’s done! Now everyone, please fuck off home,” Oliver growled, his voice loud over the cheering that was sweeping through the clearing.
Seemed like everyone had hated Bert nearly as much as me.
I still refused to open my eyes, half scared of what I would see, that it was only a dream and that Bert was really still alive.
The clearing fell silent, the only sound my ragged breathing in my ears.
“You can open your eyes now.” The suggestion was low and throaty, tugging at a place deep inside of me.
I squinted, just enough so I could make out that Oliver stood directly in front of me, his body returned to normal, thank God, and a suspicious-looking lump covered by a blanket was on the ground behind him.
“Is that—?” I started to ask, then stopped, feeling like an idiot. Of course it was. What I really meant to ask was
is he dead?
“He’s gone from your life,” Oliver replied, and I assumed he was either reading my face or he knew what I needed to hear.
I relaxed my eyes, quashing a shudder as I glanced at his chest. He was right, he looked to be healing, but he was still a stinking mess. And he had his jeans back on. Dammit!
Glancing down he chuckled. “I’ll clean up when we get back to the house.”
“We’re going straight back?” His words threw me. He obviously hadn’t understood what I had been saying.
His hand froze in its task of rubbing his discarded T-shirt over his chest, a gesture I had been enjoying, admiring the flex of his bicep and the sheen of freshly wiped muscle. “Unless…you don’t want to?” He sounded uncertain, and if I could have kicked myself, I would have.
I needed him to know he didn’t have to pussyfoot around me, that he should treat me like any other woman. That I was strong enough to take it, to take
him
.
I crossed my arms, deliberately tapping my foot as I raked my eyes over him, cataloging each part of him in slow, luxurious detail. “I said yes, didn’t I? What more of an invitation do you want?”
“But...but you also said you couldn’t bear to see me getting hurt?”
“They’re not mutually exclusive, you know. I can say yes
and
not want you to get hurt.”
Understanding dawned on his face, my words finally getting through.
“Come with me,” he said, grabbing my hand and tugging me toward the forest.
Laughing inside at his eagerness, I followed him willingly, nearly running into the back of him when he stopped all of a sudden.
“Um, uh, did you mean—?” he screwed his face up, obviously trying to search for the right words judging by the flush creeping up his neck.
Trailing a finger down his spine, I tucked it into his waistband, dragging him back against me. “Do you think I’m the kind of girl to just sleep with any man I have the hots for?”
He scowled, his eyes flashing silver.
“I hope that scowl is at the thought of me sleeping with another man…”
“It is. Just so you know, I think I might be a little bit possessive.”
I scraped my other hand down his back, this time smoothing my palm across his ass, squeezing. I didn’t know what had come over me! “Me too.”
I watched his throat move as he swallowed, his hands reaching back and fastening onto my hips. “Sweet Mother, you’re killing me, Ana,” he muttered, then dropped to his knees, spinning around to face me.
Grabbing my hand, he kissed the back of one, then the other. Sucking in a deep breath, he shook himself, as though he was bracing for something.
What was he doing?
“Ana, even though we’ve only just met I feel like I’ve known you forever. You’re everything I’ve ever looked for in a woman, from your spirit, to your compassion, to your tenacity. From the second I saw your ass, wriggling and swaying, I was smitten. A goner. I love you, and I always will. Would you do me the honor of being my mate?”
He was mouthing something silently.
I squinted, following the movement of his lips.
Please…say…yes…
over and over again.
There was
just one sticking point. “Even though I’m human?”
“I’m on my knees, aren’t I?”
At my blank look, he explained, “Shifters aren’t known for getting down on one knee and proposing. And don’t you dare tell any of the others about this. I’d never live it down.”
I giggled, the sound flying out of my mouth at his slightly peeved expression. I slapped a hand over my mouth. “What about Josh?”
“I will love him like he’s my own. It won’t be hard; he’s a great kid. Is that a yes then?”
I had never been so sure of anything before than I was now. “Yes.”
The words had barely left my mouth before he was on his feet, lifting me into his arms and kissing the breath out of me.
Moaning, I pressed closer, my arms stealing around his neck. “What now?” I gasped, as he nibbled at the corner of my mouth, his kisses hot and distracting to say the least.
“Now…the mating hunt,” he growled in my ear, tracing the delicate shell with his tongue.
My heart stuttered, fear flooding me, erasing all the delicious heat that had been building.
“I...I can’t.”
Oliver cursed under his breath, his face chagrined. “I wasn’t thinking.”
“It isn’t you! It’s just, it’s a little soon. After—”
He laid a single finger on my lips, silencing my next word. “No mating hunt.”
The crushing weight that had threatened to strangle me lifted at his immediate understanding, and the compassion I could see in his eyes.
But I didn’t want compassion, I wanted raw lust and hunger. I wanted him to devour me, like he had done before. To borrow one of his favorite words, fuck it, I didn’t want my past to influence our future together.
“We can still…mate, can’t we? It will still work, won’t it?”
“Oh, yes, it will still
work
.” He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.
“Not the chasing part then. Everything else.”
“
Everything?
”
I gulped. “Everything,” I echoed, wondering what the hell I had let myself in for, and praying that I could handle it. Could handle him. A tremor of excitement trickled down my spine as my thoughts zeroed in on a certain part of him, my core liquefying with need.
Screw handling him—I needed him.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Oliver
The second she had uttered the word
yes
I’d had a hard time not just laying her down on the ground and showing her exactly how grateful I actually was.
A really
hard
time. Literally. All the blood in my body had rushed south, my cock swelling inside my jeans to a point that it was almost unbearable.
It didn’t matter we were bending the rules by not having a hunt. We were making our own goddamn rules.
I set off at a swift pace, sprinting through the forest to a river I knew of, not so far away. I had to get this blood off me, then…
I looked down at her. She was curled in my arms, her breasts bouncing with every step I took, her lips parted in anticipation, her hair a riot of silky strands in the wind.
She was perfect. She was
mine.
My wolf reared up inside of me, having forgiven me for backing down earlier. He was starting to understand, his animal nature taking a little longer to catch on. We were moving away from the dark, toward the light—toward Ana.
He growled his approval, the sound trickling from my human mouth.
She shivered, snuggling closer, a small smile playing on her lips.
“What are you thinking?” I asked, jumping over a small log. We were nearly there.
“Just that I’m not scared. At all.”
“I should hope not!”
“I mean, even though you’re a wolf, and way stronger than me, it doesn’t frighten me. It makes me feel safe.”
“You will always be safe with me. I guarantee it.”
“I know,” she replied simply, and I fell head over heels for her again.
I slowed to a walk, reaching the edge of the river, then giving her no warning, waded straight in.
“Ungh!” she yelped, the cold water lapping over her thighs and licking at her chest.
“Don’t worry, you won’t need clothes for what we’re doing next.” I released my grip on her, steadying her until she found her balance. Scooping up large handfuls of water, I splashed them over my chest, scrubbing at the blood.
When her smaller hands joined mine, sweeping over my chest in a gentle dance, a strange fluttering welled in my stomach, growing with every caress, every stroke.
Then I was clean.
Resting my hands on her hips, I pulled her to me, our bodies meeting chest to chest, groin to groin. Her shirt was molded to her skin, transparent and teasing me with torturous glimpses of flesh. Urging her to lift her arms, I dragged it off, throwing it onto a nearby rock where it landed in a sodden heap.
Her nipples were dark and beaded through the damp lace of her bra, calling out for my attention. Lowering my head, I laved one erect nub with my tongue, curling and flicking, her scent caressing my senses, filling me. Moving to the other side, I nibbled and sucked, eking moans of desire from her lips, her back bending against my palm, her pussy hot through her jeans and pressing against my denim-clad cock.
We needed to get naked, and fast.
Sweeping her legs up and around my waist, I waded out of the river, beads of water streaming from us.
She leaned forward, her tongue tracing a path from my jaw, down my neck, her little teeth nibbling and biting, strands of her hair stroking across my chest in a silky, smooth tease.
“Hurry,” she moaned, her breath hot against my skin.
Laying her down on a patch of soft moss, I popped the button on her jeans, slowly dragging the sopping wet fabric down. Hands joining mine, she lifted her ass, wriggling her hips to speed the process, her breasts jiggling in a way that made me want to slice the clothes straight off and bury myself deep inside her. Tugging them off, I threw them to join her shirt, sitting back on my heels to admire the view.
She was captivating. Her dark hair was flung out around her, the ends curling from the water, strands sticking to luminescent skin. A delicate collarbone led my eye to full, generous breasts encased in white lace, her nipples hardening and begging for attention. Her stomach was softly rounded, her hips flaring in a way that was utterly feminine, her thighs soft and deliciously plump, the kind that made a man want to bury himself between them. White cotton covered her pussy, the fabric sheer and damp outlining her dark curls to perfection.
I need another taste.
Hooking my thumbs in her panties I dragged them down her thighs, inch by inch, revealing the most perfect pussy I had ever seen. Had ever tasted. Her scent flooded my nose, liquorice and roses—sweet and ripe and alluring, calling to me on the basest level.
“Oliver?” Her voice was hesitant, but not scared. It was the voice of a woman who wanted something but didn’t know how to ask.
“What would you like me to do?” I growled, her panties now by her ankles. I pulled them off. White cotton had never looked so good, but damn it, it looked even better off.
Her breathing sped up, her chest rising and falling as she gazed at me with large brown eyes.
I remained still, watching her, my eyes flicking over her body, feasting. “Tell me what you want, Ana, and I’ll give it to you.”
“I want you to kiss me.”
Crouching over her I crawled up her body, my chest dragging against her soft skin. It almost killed me but I didn’t stop on my journey. What the lady wanted, the lady got.
She shook her head, her cheeks pinking. “No, not that kind of kiss. Down
there.
” She whispered the last word, almost as if it were a confession.
Fuck yeah!
Not bothering to hide my smirk of triumph, I licked my way down across her stomach, nipping at the soft skin and tracing my tongue around her belly button. She squirmed below me, her hands coming to rest on my shoulders, clutching at me. I took a deep breath, my head swimming as the scent of her arousal surrounded me, drugging me.
Parting her damp curls, I wasted no time, licking deep and swirling my tongue around her sensitive nub, sucking it between my lips with a growl that had her back arching and her thighs trembling. Pushing her legs wider, I wedged them open with my shoulders, settling in to feast. Her taste flooded my mouth, tangy and sweet on my tongue.
I had to have more!
Diving deeper, I lapped and sucked, flicking and spearing, her gasps and moans telling me exactly what she wanted, and what she liked.
Her legs clenched around my head, her hips bucking beneath my mouth. Scraping her fingers through my hair, she dug her blunt nails into my scalp as she groaned, the sound low and feral as she came, her nectar coating my tongue.