And After That …
JUST LIKE ANIMALS
Werelock Evolution, Book 6
Bloody hell, I’d bitten her!
She spun around to face me, her hand clutching the side of her neck. Pink hit her cheeks the moment her startled eyes met mine, and she gasped. “Holy baby Jesus in a filthy fucking manger.”
Despite the seriousness of the situation, my lips twitched helplessly at her outburst. “I’m so sorry”—I cleared my throat to keep from laughing—“I don’t know what came over me, Bethany.”
“Raul. Wow. Wow, oh, wow.” She shook her head continuously, staring as if she couldn’t fathom that it was me. “Holy shit. Oh, my God. Oh, my Gawwwd. Wow. I didn’t know you were you … and you … didn’t know that I was me,” she explained it aloud to herself. “I mean—obviously. Because I never would’ve—and you never would’ve—I mean—we, we never would’ve …”
Damn. She was cute all flustered, gesticulating wildly with her hands as she rambled on.
“I’m sure what you experienced was a moment of shock. Panic? Exactly,” she confirmed to herself. “Panic. It was reflexive. Instinctual. A PTSD response. Yes.” She snapped her fingers as if she’d found the explanation for it all. “I read about how this happens to individuals who are orally fixated. I read it in a medical journal somewhere. I think. God, I don’t normally get myself off on strangers’ hands … in uh … ahhm … pub”—she trailed off as she watched me suck my fingers into my mouth, tasting her—“lic.”
Fuck me. That taste. Definitely not letting her go. I hummed and nodded. Her jaw fell open. I took advantage of the opportunity, pulling my fingers from my mouth and slipping them into hers before she could object. I used her moment of stunned inaction to lower my head closer to her shoulder and assess the damage I’d done to her neck, whispering, “You taste delicious, Bethy,” next to her ear on the way down.
I was no expert in mating bond bites by any stretch, but her neck didn’t appear to be as bad off as I’d initially feared when I’d tasted her blood in my mouth. Certainly not the way I imagined a mating bond bite would look. Huh. Maybe it hadn’t been deep enough to be damaging or significant? Somehow I felt disappointment at this rather than relief. I was sick.
I licked over her broken skin a few times, partially healing it with my saliva. Then I kissed the spot. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.” I pulled back to look at her. “You were just so hot. I got carried away.”
Her eyes were dazed, her pupils wide. Her lips had closed over my fingers. When her tongue moved tentatively against them, I feared I might bust a nut in my pants. I vowed that I would come in her mouth before the night was through.
“I’m afraid you’re going to have a hickey for a few days,” I advised.
Or a few weeks. Or maybe a lifetime? Best guess was one of the three.
Her hand reached up and lightly grasped my wrist. Slowly, she pulled my fingers from her mouth, giving them a timid, parting suck as they passed between her plump lips. I was absolutely coming in her mouth before the night was through.
“It’s late. I should go.”
Hell to the no. “Of course. I understand. But maybe you could buy me a drink first? So I don’t go home feeling cheap and used.”
Her eyes widened and she turned so red I thought she might pass out.
“Kidding, Bethy.” I held up both palms. “A joke to lighten the mood. But I am serious that we should have a drink and catch up a bit.”
She looked unsure. And entirely too sober all of the sudden. I couldn’t have her overthinking this.
“Look, if we try and ignore what just happened, it’ll only be more awkward the next time we run into each other, don’t you think?” I reasoned. “C’mon, we’re old friends. We can handle this like two responsible adults, can’t we?”
“Hi, Bethany’s friend,” a slurred female voice broke in, bringing too much perfume with her into our personal space. Great.
I endured introductions to several tipsy girlfriends. To my annoyance, Bethany introduced me as her “best friend’s brother” every time. It shouldn’t have bothered me. It’s what I was to her. It’s what I would always be to her.
Unless I’d bitten her too hard.
We got drinks and found a quieter spot tucked away from the dance floor. She was still flustered, but she put up a good front, plastered on a bright smile, and proceeded to catch me up on her life, confirming mostly facts that I already knew.
“So I’m finishing my residency, and I’ll be opening my own gynecology practice next year.”
“That’s amazing. Congratulations.” The reminder that she stuck her fingers inside of other women’s pussies for a living wasn’t helpful when I was still struggling to get my mind off of hers.
“I adopted a rescue puppy last week, I’m getting married in three months, and I just couldn’t be happier,” she concluded.
“Wonderful. Where’s the fiancé tonight?”
“Who?”
“Your fiancé.” My eyes slid to the giant princess cut diamond on her finger in indication.
“Oh!” Her eyes lit with understanding. “Oh, you mean Gregg? That fiancé?”
I frowned. Nodded. “There more than one?”
She broke into high-pitched, nervous laughter. “No, no, it’s just the one,” she confirmed, punching me playfully in the arm. “God, you were always so funny.” She sighed and took a sip of her drink. Then she took another sip that turned into a chug as she downed the remains of the glass.
“Gregg’s cheating on me,” she announced with the next release of air that escaped her. “Not that it’s an excuse for me using your hand to masturbate myself on a dance floor or anything.”
“I see.” They were the only words I managed as conflicting emotions and a million thoughts jumbled through me. How hard had I really bitten her? Could I get away with killing Gregg without upsetting her? Would I be able to resist biting her again if she continued to make reference to coming on my hand?
“It’s just—you were touching my breasts,” she continued in a rush. “And I’m really into nipple play, and your hands felt so good on me that I had this mad impulse to come on them. And I always preach that women should follow their sexual instincts. So I did. Would you excuse me a moment?” She didn’t wait for my reply before jumping up from her seat and bolting in the direction of the bathroom.
Jesus. She was the same Bethany I remembered. Adorably quirky. Strong-willed. Unconventional. Sexy as hell.
And I was fucking her tonight. Off-limits be damned.