Desire gnawed on my libido.

Nero licked my neck, and a mewl rolled past my throat. It was impossible to resist the hunk who had only existed in my dreams before today, but now he promised to take me, and heavens, there was no going back. I had jumped onboard and was already taking charge.

I combed my fingers through his hair, pulling him closer. His hands wormed their way up my shirt, finding flesh. His electric touch left me tingling, begging for more. Where had this man been my whole life?

He towered over me, wearing a devilish grin, and tugged my vest and top over my head. The coldness washed across my breasts, my skin prickling with need.

I shivered, and he reached over, his hands scooping under my breasts, kneading them, his thumbs flicking my nipples. They tightened and hurt in the most exhilarating way. I wasn’t sure if anyone had ever exploded from being turned on too much, but I might have been the first. The apex between my legs burned like a volcano about to burst.

“Delicious. And all mine.” His voice deepened.

“Hmm.” I moaned.

He kneeled in front, capturing a nipple into his mouth, and my knees wobbled. His wet tongue flicked me fast, suckling on me. My insides trembled with the desperation to have Nero fill me.

“Little lamb, I will devour you and you’ll beg for more.”

I scanned my mind for a smartass response, but instead, a gasp escaped. Great, nothing there but a horny-induced brain.

Nero laughed, loud and thick, and the sparkle in his eyes made me believe he genuinely loved my answer. A trickle of excitement zipped down to the pits of my stomach, rocking me on the spot.

“Is that a threat or promise?” I purred, having found my voice.

“Ha, I adore when you let yourself go.” His fingers flipped open the buttons of my pants and dragged them and my underwear down my legs so fast, I almost lost my footing, but he held on to my hips, steadying me.

So I stepped out of my clothes, standing naked next to a hunk also nude. I chewed on my cheek.

“Something about you calls to my wolf,” he began. “No one’s ever done that. And I know you can sense it too.” He drew me closer, his warmth radiating across my body, his erection nestled against my stomach. “But I have one problem…” He chuckled. “Well, actually, I’ve got plenty, but right now, only one comes to mind.”

“A-And that is?” I held on to his thick arms as if they were tree trunks. Was he pushing me away after seeing how easy I was, and now he’d mock me and leave? Or was it he only wanted one thing from me… as insane as it sounded, I’d be fine were the latter his choice. An insatiable itch gripped my libido and unless I scratched it, I’d go mad. And who would know if I caved to a god of a wolf shifter…? Only I would. I’d carry those memories with me for eternity. It might ruin me for any other man, but if I did nothing, I’d kick myself. Damn, if I told Bee, she’d never let me hear the end of it if I didn’t let Nero take me.

I glanced up at Nero, adoring how he stared at me as if I were a slice of honeyed cake.

“Once I fuck you, I’m not sure I could ever leave you.” He ran a hand across my chin and his thumb rested on my lower lip. “In hunter tradition, once a wolf claims someone, they’re together for life.”

His admittance rocked through me. Sure, I was ready for a fun day of humping Nero, but now he was talking about mating. A life event. I wasn’t a shifter, so his rules wouldn’t apply to me, right?

He cupped my face and kissed me. “Are you sure you want to do this, little lamb?” he asked.

I licked my lips. “So this mating thing only happens when two people have…”

“Sex. But not just any couple joining… My inner wolf needs to have made a connection.”

As much as my logical mind tried to push forward and make sense of the situation, it was my horny-starved body that took over, thrumming with urgency. “I’m not from your world and I’m not a wolf, but it is weird that I feel as if we belong together. Like if you left me, I’d forget how to breathe. I don’t understand the mating thing or how it applies here, but for now, I want you. To have you keep your promise and forget the constant dread that has made its home in my heart. I’m tired of being scared and confused. But this”—I placed a palm to my chest and then his—“feels real.”

He pressed my knuckles to his lips while his other hand cupped my butt. “I love hearing those words from you. I can’t walk away from this moment either.”

“Then kiss me.” I lifted myself on tippy toes and grazed his mouth with mine. He returned the favor twofold, hungry and savage. Just this once, I yearned to follow my gut instinct, and the confirmation bellowed in my skull. “I give myself to you,” I purred.

His kisses intensified. He pressed me up against the wall, his hands roaming across my naked body. Need was such a small word, but right now it shuddered through my body.

Nero’s fingers slid to my waist, and he lifted me off my feet as if I weighed nothing. “Wrap those sexy legs around my neck and grab on to the rafter over your head.”

My heart raced as he lifted me higher above him. “What?” Nervous as hell, I was so turned on at having his face cocooned between my thighs. I grasped the wooden beam running across the ceiling.

“I’ve got you, little lamb.” He gripped my ass.

I could barely catch my breath as I hovered so high in the room, not sure how I felt about his acrobatic act. Was this how wolves did it? But the moment, his lips clasped my clit, I convulsed.

“Oh, h-hell, Nero.”

He gave an approving sound and flicked his tongue. I drifted on the skies, lost and consumed by the arousal owning me. His thumb thrummed against my clit, slowly, drawing out the orgasm rushing forward. His tongue penetrated me.

“Nero. Nero…” My entire body convulsed from pleasure. I belonged to him wholly.

I screamed, unable to hold back the intensity, the ecstasy. And Nero wasn’t letting go but sucking every drop. My privates throbbed, and he licked my entrance, consuming me. I wriggled, every muscle aching.

“That was incredible.” I labored the words.

“It’s only the beginning.” With his touch sliding to my waist, he shouldered one of my legs off him, followed by the other. “Let go; I’ve got you.”

And I did let go, as if all doubts and worries had escaped me. I slid down, our bodies rubbing against one another, and he held me until I reached him face to face. “Your taste is intoxicating.” He pulled my legs over his hips, and the tip of his hardness caressed my entrance. “I’m going to fuck you now, little lamb.”

“Heavens, yes. Please, I can’t wait too much longer.” I didn’t care who heard my screams because I had to have Nero inside me.

He laughed again, the sound stroking the length of my spine, leaving me wet with anticipation. I gripped his shoulders as he pushed into me. I groaned as his thickness widened me, consumed me.

He thrust faster, and I screamed. It hurt and I loved it. I rocked my hips, but he already pulled out and back in, slow at first, as if testing me.

His gaze never left mine, and his eyes drowned in elation.

With each quickened slam, I gasped for air. His slaps grew faster, harder, and I mewled for more. “Yes!”

I met each strike, needing him deeper, soaked beneath his passion. Unrelenting, he pounded into me, never easing, and I drowned beneath his desire, unsure where I started and he ended.

“Scream for me, little lamb,” he demanded.

And as if my body listened to his command, the sound flew past my throat, and the sensation tipped me over the edge. A second orgasm gripped me. I quivered, unable to stop, my eyes clasped tight as I let myself go, unable to believe such pleasure was even possible. I ached to remain on this high forever.

My walls clenched, squeezing him. Our bodies grew sweaty and scorching hot. He groaned with his own pleasure, pulsing within me.

I opened my eyes, smiling, but movement drew my attention from the hallway, and there stood Oryn in his black wolf form, staring at us, his lips curled over teeth.

“Shit!” I said, but Nero didn’t let go.

“Ignore him. He’s not himself at the moment.”

So many questions swirled on my thoughts, yet with Nero still buried deep within and a wolf staring on, my emotions tangled into a knot between hiding and begging Nero for more. At the same time, a sense of heightened energy poured through my veins, buzzing through me, leaving me ready to take on the world.

With a growl, the wolf retreated into the darkened hall and vanished.

“What’s his problem?” I asked.

Nero slid out of me before placing me on my feet. He planted a kiss on my head. “Oryn is facing challenges, and I’m giving him space.”

What did that mean? But after the most incredible experience, I was more worried I’d never see Nero again once I returned home. A sting settled beneath my breastbone. I stared down and noticed a white line of energy skipping over the tips of my fingertips.

“How are you doing that?” Nero asked, glancing down, but he tightened his arms around me, and I adored his protectiveness more than I imagined possible.

I refocused on my hand. “I’ve always had this ability to empower herbs with a touch, but the ability has never activated itself like this before.”

“I feel different,” Nero said. “As if I could run the entire length of the forest and lift this house on my own.”

“Me too… Well, not lifting a house or running. Never been a jogger, but I’d go three more rounds of sex.” I laughed and my cheeks burned up. Had I said that out loud?

Nero chuckled and pushed the hair off my cheek. “I don’t know what you’ve done to me, but if this is your ability, fuck, I want more.”

With a final kiss on my brow, he broke free and picked up my clothes, handing them to me. “The bathroom is across the hallway. Let me make you a cup of tea.”

With the clothes bunched up in my arms, I nodded, even though Nero had already turned toward the fireplace. So I spun and hurried over the cold floorboards. A quick look showed no sign of the wolf. I sprinted into the bathroom. The room had a real toilet with plumbing. Holy moly… they liked their creature comforts. In haste, I cleaned myself, got dressed, and stopped at the door, gripping the handle.

“Okay, what now?” I mumbled to myself, still floating on the heated excitement from having the most stupendous sex with a wolf shifter. And I wasn’t ready to walk away from him. Sure, I was still stuck in the house until I cured Dagen, and the dark wolf looked ready to bite my head off, but Nero was doing something to me and I ached for more.

Going home was a must, yet a tightness strangled my chest at the thought of walking away from Nero. But what was I supposed to do? How would something between us work? We’d cross the border to go out on dates? He was an alpha, and who knew where his jurisdiction lay. Miles away perhaps, as he’d said Oryn controlled the territory next to Terra.

Despite all the craziness in my head, the solution was to grill Nero, find out everything, then make a decision. Even convince him that I had to go home for herbs to heal Dagen. Maybe he ought to join me. But going back wasn’t safe for me with the priestess on the prowl, let along taking a wolf shifter into Terra. Heaviness settled in my stomach at how complicated everything was getting.

Since arriving, he’d fed me and brought me to two orgasms. Heavens, I wasn’t his prisoner. What were we doing?

Squaring my shoulders, I opened the door and marched into the kitchen, ready to follow through with my plan. But what I found was the door across the room wide open and sunshine pouring in. The woods spread outward. Greenery in bloom, sun glistening off the leaves.

Freedom.

Nero wasn’t anywhere in sight. Was he outdoors? I sprinted through the kitchen and burst outside, but the moment I rounded the corner of the wooden cabin, I came face to face with the black wolf—Oryn. The hair on his nape fuzzed and he unleashed a gravelly snarl.

A yelp fell from my throat, and I retreated, hitting the wall with my back, terror biting into my flesh, insisting this was where I’d die.