Free The Scarred Heart (Wilde Creek#5) by R. E. Butler

of her breasts over the satin made his mouth water, and he was dying to tear it off her.  She was trembling all over, and he knew why – the scars on her torso were old but vivid.  He could almost hear her cries when she was struck, and it made his bear, once more, want to hunt down her uncle and destroy him piece by piece.
    “More,” he said, his voice a low rumble.  “I want to see all of my beautiful mate.”
    Her eyes darkened and a smile ghosted her lips.  Her fingertips played over the waistband of her jeans and she undid the button and zipper, never taking her eyes from his.  When they were on the floor, he reached for his own, but she took over, some of her trembling easing as she stripped him to his boxers and let his clothing land with hers.  Her white panties matched the bra, simple but lovely.
    He moved in close and kissed her, nibbling on her lower lip and wrapping his arms around her as she melted against him.  He undid her bra and stroked her back with both hands, feeling the ridges of scars under his fingers.  She stiffened immediately, but he sucked on her tongue and growled softly, never stopping the movement of his hands, and she relaxed by slow degrees until she was melting into him again.  Her hands traced his back as well, finding the scars of his battles and the pain that he’d endured.  It was only a shadow of her pain, though.  He’d had the ability to fight; sometimes he’d simply not been the best in a match.  The odds had been stacked against her from the beginning.
    Her nails grazed his shoulders and they parted long enough for her to let him pull her bra off.  Lifting her into his arms, he laid her gently on the bed and stretched out next to her.  Her skin pebbled with goosebumps as he laid one hand on her stomach and stroked her hair with the other.  He kissed her full lips, delving his tongue into her mouth, and then pressed his lips to her nose and each eyelid before kissing down her jaw to her ear.
    “You’re amazing, sweetheart,” he murmured.  She gripped his forearm, her nails digging in slightly, but she didn’t push his hand away as he slowly drew it up her stomach and cupped her breast.  Her nipple hardened under his thumb as he rubbed circles around it.  She wiggled on the bed, and he smiled to himself.  He liked that she was losing herself to pleasure, and that he was the first one to touch her, to see her, this way.
    He kissed down her throat to her shoulder and across her collarbone.  Then he leaned over her, pressing her nipple gently between his finger and thumb and tugging lightly.  He watched her face as her eyes opened; the amber had receded some, and he knew that she was getting more comfortable with him.  Her wolf was slowly stepping back because Kammie didn’t need her as much.
    Lowering his head, he released his hold on her nipple and pecked it briefly before slowly drawing it into his mouth.  It was firm against his tongue, tightening further as he sucked on it and rested his hand on her waist, kneading the soft flesh.  She inhaled deeply, her hands coming to rest on his shoulders as he left one nipple and moved to the other, licking and sucking it to tight perfection as she wiggled under him.
    He lifted slightly to look at her torso, and the scars that told a story of a ravaged child and a pack unwilling to help.  She tensed immediately when he began to trace one of them with his fingertip, but he stared into her eyes and let his finger memorize the shape and feel of it.  She relaxed slowly as he moved from scar to scar, touching them and then moving on.  He absolutely didn’t pity her.  He was sorry for what she’d endured, but she was the strongest female he’d ever met, and he was proud of her for the woman she’d become.
    He moved down her body slowly, kissing and touching his way to the edge of her panties.  He looked up and their eyes met, hers so full of raw emotion that he felt as if she were literally offering him her