Adrian couldn’t help staring at Darcy.

She was naked, just as he’d imagined all these times.

He’d led her up the stairs to the master bedroom. And then sat on the bed, watching. Waiting.

The next move was up to her.

Darcy hadn’t hesitated. She stripped off all her clothing, letting it puddle on the thick cream carpet.

Adrian strolled over to her, fisted his hand in her long, dark hair, and tipped her head back.

“You,” he said through grated teeth, “are enough to drive a sane male to insanity.”

Her little, sexy pout turned into a smile.

He breathed in her luscious scent, and it shot through his body like an intoxicating drug. Damn, he loved this…his body tightened with arousal.

The smile vanished. “Don’t hurt me, Adrian. Not like the others did.”

Then he looked closer. Anger bloomed hot and hard as he saw fear pooling in her eyes.

No one hurt females in his pack. Females were revered, protected and cherished. Adrian felt ready to deal with whoever injured her.

“Who threatened you?” he demanded.

Darcy shook her head. “No one.”

“Then why are you afraid?” Adrian released her. Had to find out. “Are you afraid of me?”

“I’m not afraid of you.” She tilted up her round chin. “I’m afraid of this, what’s between us. I’m afraid of this intensity between us. I’ve never felt this way before. I don’t want to fall in love with you. But I fear I am.”

He brought his face close and said softly, “I want you, sweetheart.”

“Wanting isn’t the same as needing,” she whispered.

“Who hurt you?” he asked again, this time in a gentler tone.

Darcy’s green gaze flicked away. “Did I ever tell you about my family?”

At his head shake, she bit her plump lower lip. “When I was sixteen, I elected to serve the goddess with my skills. I wanted to fight evil. But my parents, and my brother and sister, protested. I had a choice. I could pursue that path, independently, and leave them for good. Or reject it and they’d welcome me back.”

Understanding filled him. “You left them. Because you knew it was the right decision to make.”

Darcy blinked hard, as if fighting tears. “I learned to forgive them, but damn, when someone you loved deeply abandons you, it’s the worst pain in the world.”

He cupped her beautiful face and pressed a gentle kiss on the side of her mouth. “I could kick their asses for doing that, Darce. I will not hurt you, sweet.”

Long, dark lashes feathered her cheeks as she closed her eyes. He inhaled deeply, drawing her delicious scent into his body. He could almost taste her beneath his tongue, warm and wet. The smell of sex. A throbbing began in his loins, reminding him of how he’d reacted in the past.

Adrian’s jaw clenched. The need for Darcy was burning, his body tight, and his cock painfully thick and hard. Never before had he craved release so badly. Not like this, the crazed, mindless frenzy to mate driving him blind with lust. He could barely think.

Inside, the wolf howled for release. Passion drove it to the surface.

“If we do this, there’s no going back,” she whispered.

“I don’t want to go back, only forward. You’re all I ever wanted, sweet. If you want, then I’ll beg. Want me to lose my pride?” Adrian asked. “I’ll do it. For you, I’ll do it.”

Darcy spread her palms wide, revealing her pale breasts tipped with raspberry nipples. “No. Don’t beg, Adrian. It would ruin you. I won’t play those kind of games with you. I know what games you were forced into with Lars when you lived with his pack.”

That was a game of survival. This was a different kind of survival.

He watched her nipples grow hard as pearls. He had to touch her. Couldn’t help himself.

“And I’ll do anything to save my pack. Anything to have you, Darcy.” He slid a palm over her cheek, feeling warmth beneath his fingertips. “I need a mate. I need an heir.”

Darcy was the only one he wanted. It wasn’t her body, lush and lovely as it was. It was her spirit and life burning bright as the hot sun in the sharp blue sky. He was the moon, sultry and filled with secrets. Darcy was light and warmth. He needed her heat to counter the coldness inside him.

Balance, he thought. Life’s about balance.

Darcy never surrendered. No, she’d go down fighting, tooth and claw. A hint of the passion she’d display in bed.

---

Stunned disbelief shot through her. Was she really listening to his rough, deep voice telling her how much he wanted her in his bed? Darcy closed her eyes. Naughty fantasies she’d abandoned resurfaced. She was naked, lying beneath him in that big bed. Sweat glistened on his brow, his eyes darkened in fierce concentration as he pushed into her body, his flesh slapping against hers as they made love.

It was sex. Just sex.

He swept her up into his strong arms.

For a wild moment, she thought he would toss her onto the big bed. Instead, with the toe of one boot, Adrian pushed open the bathroom door. He elbowed aside glass doors and stepped inside a shower the size of a walk-in closet. Very gently, he set her down on the seat.

The slow rasp of a zipper caught her attention. Adrian shrugged out of his jeans, tugged the mulberry sweater over his head. He stood before her, nude, his chest broad, dusted with dark hair. A scar slashed across the thick muscles of his right shoulder. She knew it was from Lars, when the alpha had punished him for some infraction.

He was leanly muscled, six feet of lethal wolf in a man’s strong body. Darcy’s breath hitched.

“The shower? Seriously?” she asked.

“Indulge me in a favorite fantasy I’ve had for ten long years,” he murmured.

Adrian stepped into the shower. One arm locked around her middle as he stood behind her and twisted the knobs. Warm water cascaded over her body. Darcy flinched, sagging against him as he murmured assurances. He pushed a hand through her hair, his touch oddly soothing.

Adrian reached for the soap and began washing her. His touch was gentle as he slid the bar down her belly. Delicious warmth stole over her body. Darcy closed her eyes.

“I can’t give you what you want, Adrian. I’m a Changeling Shifter, and you’re a Lupine who needs to father an heir with another Lupine.”

Water beat against her overly sensitive skin. A slow glide of soap over her midsection. She felt his big body grow taut as he stroked the bar back and forth.

“You have shifter blood. You can mother my children.”

“Your people would never accept such a child.” Darcy couldn’t do this. Not with Adrian. Too much was between them. And if he knew her true origins, would he feel the same?

“They would accept whoever I chose as my mate. They already admire and like you, Darcy. They need an heir. I need you, Darcy. I want you.” His voice became rough with desire. “You belong in my bed.”

“I belong to myself.”

“Yes, you do. And that’s what draws me to you. Your independence. Your fire.” He set down the soap. Cupping her chin in one hand, he forced her to turn. “Your passion.”

Adrian took her mouth.

His lips were firm and commanding as he kissed her. His scent of pine and spice filled her senses, sent the Other inside her whining with excitement, ready to mate. Adrian coaxed her lips apart and plunged his tongue inside. Sexual need made her body soft, pliant and willing. She craved him like a drug.

A drug she knew would destroy her but could not resist. Darcy turned into the kiss, tasting him, her mouth moving against his.

His mouth was on her skin now, lips lightly tasting the droplets on her shoulder. Darcy’s breasts tingled.

“Maybe this isn’t a good idea. You don’t really know me.” Darcy wriggled, trying to free herself, but he held her tight against him.

“I know you, Darcy. I know what you need,” he said softly. “I can scent your arousal.”

Adrian stroked the bar of soap up and lathered one breast. He trailed a finger lazily over a pebbling nipple. She ached for his touch. Moisture gathered between her legs, her body betraying her.

She threw her head back in a small moan as he thumbed her nipple, flicking it expertly.

“Give in,” he murmured. “Let it go, Darcy. Let it go.”

“Oh gods.”

The pleasure built higher and higher, her body growing tight and hot. No longer was she cold—she was fire, molten fire with the heat at her core intensifying…

His erection prodded at her backside. It grew thicker and longer. His strokes grew harder, more intent. The arousal becoming painful and urgent. Soon…he’d lose control.

Adrian growled deep in his throat. “Fuck,” he grated out, the roughness of his voice turning guttural. “Have to have you. Now. “

She felt open, wanting, craving him as much as before. A hank of wet, black hair hung over his brow. His dark gaze burned into her. He caught her finger, brought it to his mouth and gave it a long, slow lick. Adrian inhaled deeply, drawing her scent into his lungs. Desire pulled her forward as he slowly licked her finger.

“I need you, Darcy. Only you.”

The husky timbre of his voice caressed every inch of her body. She needed to touch him, longed to press her palms against his muscled chest. Stroke his skin and hear his rumble of pleasure.

Adrian pulled her closer. With a groan, he kissed her and then deepened the kiss, his tongue thrusting urgently into her mouth as if he were drawing air from her lungs. Drawing out her life and fueling his own.

Every cell burst with energy, the craving for connection and bonding sparked by his desperate need. Desire made her heart pound and her body soft and pliant for him.

Adrian slid a hand down and cupped her sex possessively.

He slid a long finger into her, and she cried out. Darcy pumped her hips against his teasing strokes, as his caresses became more urgent and frantic.

“Come for me, Darcy,” he whispered. “Look at me. I want to watch you come for me.”

Her eyes flew open. She saw his face, ruthless with lust and intent. He stroked harder, and she clung to him. His finger stroked her wet core, sliding back and forth. The pleasure built higher and higher, cresting over her as a shuddering cry wrung from her throat.

The swirls of darkness vanished from his eyes. The chiseled angles of his face did not soften but hardened with purpose.

He brought his fingers to his mouth, slowly licked them. “My mouth on you. What you felt is nothing compared to the pleasure I’ll bring you.”

Desire became a hot, throbbing need singing through her body. She could smell her own arousal, feel her body’s natural glow pulse like an aura, harmonizing with the natural cycle of life.

Her breasts tingled at the smoldering look he gave her. Adrian ran his hands over her arms, slid them down to her hips. “I know what your body is telling me.” He pulled her close, pressing her against his narrow hips, the long ridge of his erection. “You want me, Darcy, just as I want you. No other lover can make you feel like I can.”

Adrian bent his head, breathed in her scent, and then nuzzled her neck. His lips feathered over her skin, coaxing a shiver of pure pleasure. He swirled his tongue over her sensitive skin, found her earlobe and caught it between his teeth. Darcy suppressed an excited whimper. Sex with this wolf would prove dangerous. He’d consume her in flames.

“Trying to prove you always make your mark?”

He pulled back, his gaze glittering with savage hunger.

“No. But I always do mark what is mine. You’re mine, Darcy. What I claim, I keep, and I don’t let anyone else near.”

They left the shower and tumbled together to the bed. She felt the silkiness of the hair on his thighs as he settled a leg over her hip, pinning her to the bed. She slid her hands around his neck. His gaze darkened.

“I might lose control, if I take you. I may get savage. Out of control. You make me wild, Darcy.”

“You won’t hurt me, Adrian. I trust you.”

Maybe it was the word trust. Or her own burning need as she gazed into his eyes. But she saw something ease in him.

His wolf clawed to the surface. Eyes glowed amber, edging out the dark chocolate irises. Adrian took her mouth in a kiss.

He did not sample or savor. It was a claiming.

Nudging her hips open, he settled between them. His cock slid between her legs, tunneling through the wetness of her core. Bliss. He closed his eyes, savoring the sensation, her small cries of pleasure sweet music to his ears.

He could spend the next century with Darcy in his arms, Darcy’s scent stamped on his skin.

She was courage and light and filled the empty spaces inside him with life. For too long he’d remained in emotional darkness. Darcy eased it away with her warm, wet lips feathering over his body, the absolute trust shining in her eyes.

She trusted him not to lose control. He’d turn on himself before hurting her.

Outside the cabin the storm blew, snow billowing and pushing against the thick windows. Darcy felt the instinctive pull toward him, her body surging with sexual energy. Adrian’s mouth was rough and possessive, yet his hands stroked over her quivering skin with such tenderness. He looked fierce and wild, but his touch was gentle and cherishing. A masculine fragrance of spice and pine engulfed her, Adrian’s very male scent stamping into her skin to mark her. Rough calluses on his palms rubbed over her sensitive skin.

Moans filled the air. She naturally arched into his touch as he slid a palm over her hip and tunneled through the silky curls between her legs. Teasing, he slid a long finger inside her, coaxing out moisture to prepare her for his entry. He was breathing heavily, color flooding his face, his expression fierce, yet she sensed he leashed the primitive wildness inside him.

Her skin felt stretched tight over bone. She’d suspected making love with Adrian would be consuming but never knew it could be this powerful. This earthy and raw. He rubbed his body over hers in sensual, teasing strokes, a small smile playing about his mouth. This playful side of him was the Adrian she’d known, the Adrian who’d laughed and chased her until they’d both tumbled, breathless and panting, into the meadow, the sweet smell of grass as sharp as their desire.

She could do a little playing of her own. With a small growl, she flipped and then straddled him, her hands pinning down his broad shoulders.

Surprise flared on his face. Then he grinned. “Think you can keep me here?”

“I’m stronger than I look.”

“Maybe. Or not. This isn’t my natural position, sweetheart. I’m always on top.”

With effortless grace, he sat up, hooked her about the waist and rolled over, reversing their positions.

Darcy quivered, breathless with need. It became a hot, stabbing force, erasing everything but the desire to have this man inside her.

His smile dropped, his features becoming taut and dangerous. She sensed the power inside him, felt him tense.

“Do it,” she told him.

Obeying, he thrust hard and fast into her, pounding into her, claiming every inch of her body and her spirit. With a cry, she climaxed again. And then he threw back his head, joining her, roaring his pleasure.

A few minutes later, he raised his head from the pillow, gaze gleaming. “Again.”

Limbs quivering, heart pounding, she went into his arms.

Their harsh cries tore into the air, long into the night.