Chapter Seven
She knew she shouldn't–not only was the timing and situation all wrong, but everything that Joseph did told her that he was just one of those beefy jerks who thought he was better than anybody else. Well, almost everything… There was a tenderness to him occasionally that she hadn't been expected.
But, she didn't need another guy like that in her life. She didn't need somebody who would use her and leave her with a broken heart, an empty bank account, a pregnancy scare. Whatever it was, he would leave her. Just like all of the others did.
But the moment he kissed her, she forgot all of the reasons why she shouldn't want this. There was fire in his lips, a fire that sparked her blood and sent shivers down her spine. Ana seized his head, digging her fingers in his hair and thrust her hips forward, grinding against him.
Belatedly, she realized that it probably wasn't the best course of action… men like Joseph Baker, in her experience, liked to be the ones doing the seducing—
Holy Crap!
Her eagerness woke something in him and he answered hungrily, gripping her so tightly that he lifted her half an inch off the floor. He spread her thighs to either side of his body, bringing her injured leg up over his hip. Ana gasped into his mouth as he supported her with one hand and slipped the other under her shirt.
Ana's skin tightened. Joseph caressed her breast, tweaking the hardening nipple with one hand. He ground more firmly against her. She did her best to grind back against him, kissing his neck now, nipping at his collarbone.
"Tell me what you want," he whispered.
Joseph pushed her bra up to her chin and tugged her shirt out of the way, letting both feet back on the floor as he began kissing each breast in turn. Ana struggled to think as heat and pleasure coursed through her. She always did like it when men paid attention to the girls, and feeling his mouth on them in real life was so much better than the dream she'd had.
With one hand, he pulled her pants down to her knees. Another moan broke from her as he retook his position against her, brushing his lips against hers while he cupped her. She could already feel how ready she was as he eased a finger inside of her. Her muscles clenched, sucking him in deeper.
"Tell me what you want," he ordered again. "What you've always wanted and never done."
Thoughts and positions flitted through Ana's head. What did she want that she had gotten? All her previous boyfriends only did the same old plain vanilla sex. She was too heavy to do it standing, they said, or her butt was too big to do it from behind. It was only missionary for them, over before she even got started.
Blood rushed to her chest and face, heating those areas thoroughly, as Joseph slipped his finger in and out, his thumb moving lazy circles a little higher. She stared into his eyes; they were dark with lust, yet there was a pained look to them, too, a kind of desperation.
"From behind," she blurted. "Hard. Like animals."
He responded to her by lifting her from her feet. Pressing more open-mouthed kisses to her mouth neck and breasts, he carried her the few steps to the bed and threw her on. Ana bounced, unable to stop a thrilled giggle from erupting from her throat. This was really happening! Her heart was going so fast she thought she might have a heart attack.
Joseph seized her hips and flipped her onto her stomach in one fluid motion. Ana moaned, shaking her head.
"I need to help you first."
A deep, throaty chuckle that sounded nothing like Joseph answered her. "That won't be necessary. When you say hard, how hard do you want it?"
The sound of his zipper had Ana's mouth so dry she couldn't answer. All of the moisture in her body seemed to be concentrated between her thighs and she rose on her hands and knees, backing up to the edge of the bed. She met him and groaned. He was right–he didn't need any help getting ready for her.
"Ana?"
"I don't know. I've never done this before. I'll let you know." Ana twisted, grinding herself against him in desperation. She needed this so bad… if he wasn't inside her soon she might scream!
The first time he entered, it was so slow that she was almost in tears. At the same time, she recognized that it needed to be slow–he was so big that she stung a little, stretching to accommodate him. Ana chewed on her lip, desperately holding in her pleas for more. He pulled out–she moaned in protest–he pushed back in, faster this time. And faster, and faster, until her breasts were bouncing with each thrust. Ana braced herself against the bed, loving the feelings he could evoke in her.
"Is this good?" he grunted from behind her.
Something warm filled her chest. It wasn't the same sort of heat that was building in her stomach, making her feel full and tight, building to a point of snapping. It was something else… she loved that he was concerned about what she liked, what she wanted, not just his own pleasure.
"Yes!" she gasped, loving the feel of his hands, one gripping her thigh, the other tracing small circles on her back. "Joseph!"
His steady rhythm built her higher and higher until her arms were trembling with the exertion from keeping herself in place and she was crying out with every thrust, blind with the pleasure. Something snapped inside her and she went spinning over the edge, throwing her head back in a long howl. She collapsed onto the bed. Joseph went after her, his huge hands on either side of her, his body against hers but holding himself up just enough that he wasn't crushing her. He bit her shoulder, hard, then kissed it when she cried out.
Ana almost asked him to bite her again, she liked it so much, but she was panting and couldn't get the words out. They lay there together, half on the bed, bodies still joined. Ana's eyes slid shut. She was perfectly happy at this moment. Perfectly content. Satisfied.
Mated.
***
Ana woke the next morning feeling stiff but still glowing. It had definitely been too long since she last had sex!
Joseph wasn't in the bed. When Ana opened her eyes, she saw that he was writing on a piece of paper. She yawned, loudly, and he turned. There was a hesitant, regretful smile on his lips and Ana felt the euphoria that still held her from their night start to fade. He regretted sleeping with her. Already, she could see that he was going to leave–that was what he was planning right now!
"You were just going to leave me with a note?"
"I got a call from one of my contacts. I might have a lead on where Seth is being held."
Ana bolted out of bed. "I'm coming."
"Ana."
She ignored him, hunting for her clothes. Her heart was in her mouth. Seth. They could find him, save him. She knew he wasn't dead, she knew it! They would be able to find him and bring him back to where it was safe. And they would put the scum that kidnapped him behind bars, and everybody would see what sort of people these anti-shifters nuts really were.
Joseph crossed the room as she retrieved her pants and began stuffing a leg into them. He grasped her wrists, stopping her, and shook his head. "Ana, no. You are not going to come with me."
"Do I have to blackmail you again?"
"Go ahead and try. Your safety comes first. It has for a while now… I let them take Seth because I heard you scream."
"You–What?"
"I… I have been fighting my feelings for you, Ana." There was a look of deep regret in his eyes. "I'll explain everything, I promise I will, but I won't be able to save Seth if I think you're in danger. Trust me on this one. The best thing you can do is stay here. Stay safe. Give me something to come back for."
The earnestness in his eyes, coupled by the words she never thought she would hear him say left her speechless. Ana opened and closed her mouth, breathless as a fish, but somehow managed to make herself nod.
It would be dangerous for me to go with him. Whatever brings Seth back… and Joseph, too.
The detective kissed her; it was as wild as passionate as it had been the previous night, and then he was gone.
Ana sunk onto the bed, her mind reeling with everything that had happened. Her night with Joseph suddenly took on a completely different light… that feeling she had had, mated, like she was that one that he would be with forever. It had seemed ridiculous last night and she had brushed it off, but in the light of day she couldn't help but wonder if it was real. What if the feeling Joseph had been fighting wasn't just animal lust… but the urge to take her as his mate?
What would she do if it was? She’d only known him for a couple days, it was too early to say that she loved him. Wasn't it?
But was it determination to get Seth back that made her willing to risk her life and seek out the anti-shifter group, or was it because she began trembling from just the thought that she might never see Joseph again? Seth's mate was human, and she had told Ana that she knew the instant he did…
Ana believed in love at first sight, so wasn't it possible that love and lust were mixed into her reaction to him when she saw him for the first time?
She showered and dressed on autopilot, thoughts bouncing around in her brain. It was ridiculous to think that she would be his mate. She wasn't entirely certain what was real and what was myth when it came to that… it was one subject that Seth was rather tight-lipped about. But she did know it was more than sex. And that when a shifter mated, it was for life. She always thought she was a for-life kind of girl, but what if she wasn't? What if she thought she loved him right now, but when she got to know him better, she didn't?
I can't start worrying about futures I'm not sure will happen, she told herself firmly.
There was nothing to do in the hotel room and though she remembered Joseph's admonishment to stay where she was, her stomach growled. There was nothing wrong with going across the street for a croissant, was there? After the week she had, she deserved it. Maybe a donut, too.
She didn't see the white van pull up onto the street until it was right beside her. Before she could even process what was happening, two men dressed all in black jumped out. They seized her around the waist and lifted her from the ground.
Ana screamed as they forced her into the van. She grabbed the door, trying to stop them, but one of them hit her knuckles, making her release it. The door slid shut. The men forced her to the floor, her hands twisted behind her back. Something hard hit her head, and everything went black.