Embracing the Wolf

“I want you all the time, Chante,” Adam said, pressing a kiss to my inner thigh while his he moved his hand slowly, his fingers teasing my center. “In every possible position. Pounding into you. Making you cry out for me.” The thrust of his fingers increased, punctuating each sentence. “Fuck, Anna, you’re so wet for me.” Then he did one of the sexiest things I’d ever seen. He withdrew his fingers from me, brought them to his lips, and sucked them into his mouth. He watched me as he licked my wetness from his fingertips, his gaze hungry and predatory.

“Turn over,” he ordered. Happy to oblige, I flipped onto my stomach, anxious for more. I felt the bed shift and then clothes hitting the floor. When he crawled back onto the bed, he slipped a strong arm under my stomach, lifting my behind into the air. My legs trembled. A sweet throb pulsed between my thighs, craving Adam’s fullness.

“Spread your legs for me, Chante.”

I lifted up, supporting myself with my hands while I spread my legs. I felt hair tickle my inner thigh, and then Adam was lying on his back, in between my legs. Curling his hands around my thighs, he tugged me down so that I was poised right over his mouth. I held my breath, realizing what he wanted me to do.

“Ride me, baby.”

I don’t know why, but my shyness kicked in right at the moment. I’d done virtually almost everything else with Adam, but the thought of riding his face gave me pause. What if I suffocated him? I could just see it now: Alpha female smothers her Chante between her thighs.

Adam noticed my hesitance and prodded me with a series of kisses, flicking his tongue. His hands gripped my behind, moving my hips back and forth while his mouth enticed me. It took exactly two seconds for my hips to move on their own accord. I stared down at Adam, thrusting myself against his mouth and devouring the ravenousness glint in his eyes. A delicious pressure built, tightening and pulsing with need. My movements became harder, faster. Moans slipped from my lips as I tiptoed the edge of ecstasy.

“Come for me, Chante.”

As if my body reacted to Adam’s command, the floodgates opened and my body was dizzy with the high of the orgasm shooting through my center. Adam’s tongue didn’t stop until my body slumped, exhausted. I smiled down at him—amazed at the way he was able to work my body into a pile of goo.

He rested his hands on either side of my waist and lifted, positioning me over his erection. I bent down and kissed him, needing to taste his lips, only to gasp when he thrust deep inside of me, pausing before repeating the process.

“You feel so fucking good wrapped around my cock,” he all but growled. Adam’s colorful language was new to me, and I was surprised to find how much it turned me on. He thrust his hips upward, driving faster and harder into my wetness. Bracing myself on his chest, I dug my nails into his skin.

Adam sat up, wrapping an arm around my waist to hold me in place. His mouth clamped around my breast, his tongue stroking my erect nipple. I worked my hips against his and moaned when his teeth worried my nipple. That delicious heat was building again, causing exciting tingles in my stomach. When Adam gripped my hips and moved them against his in hard pulls, that yummy heat spilled forward in yet another earth-shattering orgasm. I could feel Adam coming at the same time; the slight pulsing of his dick amplified my own pleasure.

Our movements slowed, and I rested my forehead against his as we caught our breaths. Adam guided his mouth to mine, kissing me slowly.

“I will never get used to how fucking good you feel, Chante.”

“You better not,” I teased.

Sounds echoed from the kitchen, alerting us that the house was starting to wake up. Outside my bedroom door, the world was waiting for us. Adam and I sighed in unison, both wishing we could stay wrapped around each other’s bodies instead of dealing with our responsibilities.

“We’ll pick this back up tonight,” Adam promised.

Chapter Seven

I’d just gotten into my truck when Anthony stepped out of the house. Our eyes met like two magnets pulled toward each other. My fingers tightened around the steering wheel in a death grip, and my wolf bristled inside of me. I still couldn’t believe he’d just popped up after what had happened. The sun played across his face, highlighting his blond hair and eyes. He started forward, and I fumbled to turn the key and start the truck. My hands trembled with my anger, and the keys fell from my hand to the floorboard. I reached between my legs, retrieved them, and let out a shriek when Anthony’s face appeared in my driver’s side window. This wasn’t Wade’s idea of “playing it cool”.

“Oh, hey,” I said, trying to pull off nonchalance. The slight bend in Anthony’s lips told me he wasn’t fooled.

“I heard you were going into town,” Anthony said. “Do you mind if I tag along? I need to pick something up.”

I could learn a thing or two about nonchalance from him. How could he stand in front of me and act like he hadn’t kidnapped me and watched as Eve abused me? His face was slack and free of emotion, but his eyes couldn’t shield the truth of our history together. Silence settled between us as I thought of what to do. On one hand, Adam would flip the hell out if he found out I was alone with his brother, but on the other, Wade wanted me to get close to him and find out the truth. I stared ahead, almost hoping one of the busy pack members would look in my direction, tell Adam, and I’d be saved from having to make the decision. When that didn’t happen, I turned toward Anthony and hesitated to speak. The answer was on the tip of my tongue, but my wolf was wary to voice it. Maggie’s comment about me being the downfall to everything Adam had worked for stuck in my head. If I agreed to take Anthony into town, it could be a ploy to try to kill me. The best way to take his brother down was through me, and he knew it. But how would I know if I didn’t try to get a vision? Maybe Anthony’s sights were set on Adam. I would never forgive myself if I could have prevented his death.

“All right,” I heard myself saying. Anthony smiled and walked around the front of the truck. I watched him in what seemed like slow motion. Had I really just agreed to be alone with him? I was already regretting it, and we hadn’t even left yet.

He hopped into the cab of the truck and said, “Thank you. I know being around me isn’t easy. That’s part of the reason why I wanted to come. I want to apologize for my behavior.”

I stuck the key into the ignition and turned it. I couldn’t respond, not yet. As I pulled out of the drive, Adam came bounding out of the house. I had one of two options: stop the truck so Adam could haul his brother out, or gun it and ignore the blast of fury radiating into my body through our bond. My eyes volleyed between Adam and Anthony until the decision made itself. I continued to drive, needing to hear what Anthony had to say. I gave Adam my best apologetic look and hoped like hell he would forgive me. I better not have just signed our death certificates.

“Anna!” Adam screamed.

I looked in the rearview mirror to find him standing at the end of the drive. I quickly tilted the mirror down and away from the look of hurt on his face.

“He’s a little protective of you, huh?” Anthony joked.

“For good reason,” I snapped. “You and Eve tried killing me just weeks ago.” Hearing myself say it aloud was like a smack in the face. Realization overwhelmed me. My heartbeat echoed in my eardrums. The truck slowed until we were just idling in the middle of the road.

“What am I doing?” I said to myself, looking over at Anthony. I hated—absolutely hated—that he looked so much like Adam.

“Get out,” I said through clenched teeth.

“Anna,” Anthony said, turning in his seat to face me. “I know what I did was horrendous. I’m not asking you to forget about it, but I want you to know that I am sorry, whether you believe it or not.”

“I don’t,” I said. “If you had any morals at all you wouldn’t have kidnapped me and watched while Eve beat the shit out of me.” I took a shaky breath. “You just … stood there. What kind of person does that?” I never thought I’d rejoice in someone’s death, but I was elated that Eve was gone. If she were buried on the mountain, I would have made a daily visit to spit on her grave. I know how horrible that sounds, and that we’re supposed to respect the dead, but Eve didn’t deserve my, or anyone else’s, respect. Countless families were affected by the murder of their loved ones, all because Eve had more than a few screws loose. And Anthony was right there by her side watching—maybe even joining in—while the humans were ripped apart by sharp teeth and claws. I’d felt the sheer pleasure of her kills through our bond. She not only enjoyed it, she craved it. It was unspeakable and made me sick to my stomach.

“Love makes you do crazy things,” Anthony said, now looking ahead. “I don’t know what it was about her, but whenever I was around her, I lost myself.” He looked over at me, his hazel eyes apologetic. “I came here to make amends, Anna. I don’t want to be that person anymore.”

I watched him warily. “A normal person—with a sane mind—couldn’t just stand by and allow those things to happen, Anthony. You may have loved her, but don’t for one second think I believe you didn’t enjoy killing as much as she did.”

Anthony was quiet for a long time. So much so that the muscles in my body were beginning to grow sore from readying myself in case he attacked. When he looked over at me again, his face had changed from pained to a stoic calm. He tilted his head to the side just an inch and studied me before he spoke.

“It wasn’t Adam who saved you.”

My mouth hung agape as I struggled for a response. “Yes, it was.” I remembered him rescuing me like it was yesterday. I’d been so depressed and hopeless that, when he bust down the door to my prison, I thought he was an angel. I still remembered burying my head against his chest while he carried me away from that hell and the chaos that was breaking out around us. He walked right out, never losing his grip on me.

“Not from Eve’s lair,” Anthony said. “From Eve finishing you off. It wasn’t Adam on the mountain that day; it was I. Eve would have killed you had I not stopped her.”