floor to the bathroom, her silky skin covered in a fine sheen of perspiration, her red hair in tangles as though she’d been well loved.
God, how he wanted to make her his mate for real.
He was a fool to have touched her, knowing how she turned him on, but even when he’d played with her when they were young, there was always the need to conquer her, to make her his own. Pacing across the room, he tried to get his wolf instincts under control, when instead he wanted to join her in the shower and lick and nip every inch of her delectable skin and penetrate her slick folds.
The shower ran for a short while and then shut off, and she walked out of the bathroom—the towel wrapped around her head, the rest of her naked, her rosy nipples extended, willing him to touch them with his tongue. He took a ragged breath and stalked toward the bathroom. “I’ll wash up.” A dip in the icy stream back home would cool him down nicely about now. He paused at the door, scowling at her while she slipped into bed. “Don’t leave, Bella.”
A sly smile curved her lips, stirring his libido all over again. “Why would I do that when you can relieve my… tension, so well?”
He growled. “Don’t mention it.”
“We didn’t mate,” she said softly, pulling the cover to her breast. “Don’t give it another thought.”
As if that could ever happen. He’d think of every stroke, every moan of ecstasy she’d made, the feel of her soft wet folds, her musky sweet scent, every bit of her forever. Just as he couldn’t get out of his mind the kiss he’d given her so long ago.
Not trusting her to stay put, he hesitated. She watched him, her expression curious as he pondered what to do. Then he gathered their discarded clothes that were piled on the floor. He didn’t think she’d try to run without them.
She cast him an annoyed look. He gave her a tight smile and hurried into the bathroom, leaving the door open. A quick shower with the curtain pulled aside would have to suffice, as he didn’t trust little Bella to not run off.
After he finished showering, he towel dried and then strode into the darkened room. His blood heated when he saw only pillows stacked together where she’d lain down.
He yanked the pillow away and stared at the vixen. Bella was sleeping soundly, as innocent as an angel.
Innocent, my ass. There was no innocence in the way she tasted, smelled, or felt.
He walked around to the other side of the bed and slid between the coarse bleached sheets. As soon as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her tight against his body, she hummed. “What took you so long? And why didn’t you make me move over for you this time, Devlyn?”
He grunted. “I thought you were asleep. Guess you were only pretending.”
“Nearly asleep,” she said, her voice soft, alluring, tempting him.
He ran his fingers through her silky, damp hair. “Why haven’t you found this human mate of yours yet?” He wasn’t sure what got into him to ask—maybe the annoyance he felt that she wanted one, maybe the concern she’d come close to finding one. But afterward he wondered if he should have brought the subject up or kept it buried, like so many other things he didn’t ever want to discuss with her.
She tensed in his arms. “Haven’t had the time. I have to be selective, you know. One chance for the mate of a lifetime.”
“You’ve had a lot of years to find one. You’re lucky we don’t age as fast as humans or you’d be dead and gone by now.”
“All the more reason to find the right one. Besides, because I haven’t been around our kind, this was the first wolf heat I’ve ever come into since I left the pack. Not sure why it happened this time, unless it’s my human age catching up with me. Haven’t had much of an urge to find a mate…until now.” She paused. “What about you? Why have you never mated?”
“Maybe I have.”
She grew quiet.
Maybe she wasn’t so determined to find a human for