CHAPTER NINE

 

He was tearing the throat out of a lost black sheep. Somehow it managed to bleat, even with its neck mostly severed. A second passed and the bleating morphed into the ring of his cell phone, pulling him from the first lupine dream he’d had in years.

The fresh and spicy scent of Simone coursed through his body as he eased her delicious weight off his chest. As she stirred, a little girlish moan escaped her and he considered crushing the phone just so he could taste her again.

When he checked the number, he almost went through with that thought.

“Hello, mother.”

“Son, we need you. Your father’s heart…please come over at once.”

“You’re at home?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be right there.”

He gazed down at the Hispanic hottie beside him, wishing more than anything he could stay. The craving he felt was bone deep, and even knowing his father was in danger couldn’t completely push aside the hunger. His cock was hard again, just from the softness of her skin, the scent of her hair. His guts ached, exactly the way they used to in puberty. Only this time, he knew, it wasn’t his balls calling for release. It was his wolf desperately trying to chew through. To take control of him, for just as long as it took.

“No.”

That was the danger he’d faced before, and he simply could not afford to go through it again. As much as he’d tried to deny it, his wolf was more than just part of him. They weren’t merely two sides of the same coin. They ran in each other’s veins. And if he let the wolf out then it would never truly release him again.

Addicts who quit and then relapsed always felt it the hardest.

He had to end it with Simone. Though it would sap every iota of joy from his life, the mere fact he was still sitting there, captive to her body and the sensations she awoke with him, was proof his wolf could not be trusted. He was supposed to be rushing to his father’s aid.

It was as painful as ripping out hairs, but he slid himself away from Simone and started dressing. Though he worked quietly, the newly formed bond between them struck again, and she stirred.

“Hey, handsome. What’s happening?”

“Medical emergency. My father.”

“Oh, no.” She pushed the blankets off her naked body and his damn wolf howled within. All those curves, blending to make the sweet shapely perfection of this woman. Every tiny movement sent new ripples through her flesh, like she was liquid. And every passing second made him more desperate to dive back into her.

He turned away before his wolf could betray his human side. “So I, uh…have to go.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“Please, Simone. Don’t push it.”

“Hey, someone needs to have your back. And so what if they don’t like me?”

He turned back, needing to ram his next point home like a nail. “They don’t like me. They hate you.”

The shock and pain on Simone’s face was a scar he would never heal from. To know his words had cut her so badly was simply the worst feeling he’d ever had. Bar none.

“How could they? And how could you just blurt that out?”

“Honestly, it’s not personal, Simone. They hate almost everyone. Only reason they don’t hate me is I’m their legacy.”

“Well, nobody tells me what to do. I’m still coming with you.”

Adam struggled for breath. His heart seemed to swell three sizes with the depth of his feelings for Simone. Her courage, her determination and her sheer bloody-minded tenacity. God, she’d be the perfect wolf.

While he was lost in her beauty, she slipped off the bed and pulled some clothes on. “All right, mister. Let’s go.”

“No.”

“A straight out no? You’re actually trying that on a Latina?”

“I actually am. This is wolf business, little one.”

She bristled before him, narrowing her eyes and loading her pointing finger to shoot him in the face with. “Don’t you shut me out, dog-breath. If we’re supposed to be fated mates and all that shit, then your damn parents need to get with the program.”

He made a show of crossing his arms, of shielding his heart from her. His wolf whined at him to take her, while his human strove desperately not to be cowed. “Listen. You don’t get to come into my life one day and then tell me how to run it the next. Understand?”

His heightened senses told him the slap was coming, but he let it land. He deserved that, and a thousand more. She landed another from the other side, her eyes brimming with tears.

“Bastardo!”

The pain in her heart was an agony in his soul, but there was nothing else he could do. If he enslaved himself to emotion he’d be entirely useless as a surgeon. All those years of education and training would amount to no more. He had to rely on all that clinical calm now. To excise this relationship before it took him over.

“Better you know that now than later, Simone.” He blocked the next slap, and she deflated before him, falling to her knees.

It wasn’t until he’d walked out of the room that he heard her start sobbing. And it took the greatest strength he’d ever known to stop from turning back and begging forgiveness.

 

* * * *

 

It would have been quicker to drive to his parents’ house, but without a car he had little choice. Besides, Adam didn’t trust himself behind the wheel. The way his vision kept blurring was more than a nuisance. It would be a hazard to everyone on the road. He tried to convince himself it was nothing more than the haze in the air from the distant brush fires.

Instead, he ran, drawing on the stamina of the beast within; the one his parents so yearned for him to embrace. Once again he was faced with the quandary of his own duality. Shift into wolf form and he’d make it there in no time, but always with the risk he’d be stuck that way. So he stayed with human form, even knowing it would take a few minutes more.

He arrived barely out of breath, and stormed inside. His mother greeted him in the hallway.

“You’re here. Thank goodness.”

“Where’s father?”

Oran called out from the living room. “In here, son.”

Adam raced up the hall and through the wide doorway. To find his father sitting in his favorite chair, a tumbler of gin and tonic in his hand and a pretty blonde standing beside him.

And he realized instantly what a fool he’d been. This was Jennifer all over again.

Magda spoke from behind. “Now, son. Don’t be angry.”

The moment she said that, anger was the only emotion he could feel. How could he have let them manipulate him so easily?

“Son,” said Oran. “This is Anthea. She’s from quite good stock. The Garrett clan. You know them? They’re a few counties away, but still worth knowing.”

Anthea herself smiled thinly at him. She showed no reaction to being talked about like a prize breeding sow. Nor did she appear to have any feelings for Adam at all. What was undeniable, though, was the way her scent simply drifted past him, without any effect.

He turned away from her to face his mother. “You morons.”

Magda caught her breath as though she’d never been so insulted in her life. A detail Adam knew only too well to be false, since he’d called them far worse before he left town last time.

Oran stood, his own anger vibrating through his body. “Adam. You will not speak to us that way. Especially in front of guests.”

“I will, actually. You do understand that just because you are wolf doesn’t mean you’re obligated to cry it, right?”

“We had to get you away from that…human.”

His anger instantly turned cold, and sat heavily in his chest. As it drizzled lower he could feel the other inside him. The first tingles of a shift creeping along the length of his bones, feeding on his rage. It was clear his parents could sense it as well, given the avarice in their eyes.

“Good, son,” Oran said, with a smile. “At least use your anger for something. Find your wolf.”

His mother stepped around in front of him again. “Release your true self. Mate with Anthea. Come home.”

It took all his strength simply to hold the shift in check. He couldn’t completely suppress it, but at least for the moment he could stop it going any further. The truth was, he desperately wanted to give it free reign, and doubted his ability to resist.

Suddenly the image of Simone flashed into his mind. The beauty of her naked body firstly, and the ache he felt knowing he’d just thrown that away any chance with her. But then he recalled the way she’d stood, and dressed, more than ready to come with him. Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, she’d been prepared to confront these fools he could barely believe he shared blood with. All for him.

His mate’s determination was all it took for him to regain his composure. To realize that, with her in his life—in his heart—there was nothing to fear from his wolf. She was the balance he’d always sought.

He closed his eyes and let Simone’s strength wash through him. If he was the luckiest man on earth then he might have a chance to win back her heart. But he had to leave right away.

Slowly, he opened his eyes again. “Anthea, it’s very nice to have almost met you, and I’m sorry you went to the trouble of coming here today. My leaving now is nothing to do with you.”

Before the girl could even get a word out, Adam spun on the spot and marched out. His mother followed, yapping her displeasure all the way, but he barely even registered a syllable of it. His one focus was getting back to Simone.

Before he lost her forever.

 

* * * *

 

She’d tried her hardest to follow him. When Adam ran out, she’d scrambled to her feet and followed as closely as she could. With those stupidly long legs of his, though, she had no chance. And she ended up barefoot and bawling, in the middle of a town she didn’t know at all.

“Miss Aquino?”

She palmed the tears from her cheeks and turned, finding Rose and Derrick Poulsen standing before her, arm in arm.

“What’s happened, darling?” Rose reached out and took Simone’s hand in both of hers.

“Your nephew is a…” She wanted to call him all kinds of names, but she’d fallen so damn hard for him the words just wouldn’t come. All she wanted was for him to come back. Just because she wasn’t a wolf didn’t mean she had no instincts, and the world had never felt more right than when she was in that man’s embrace.

“Oh, Adam. Well, that’s not so bad.” Rose let a sigh escape her. “We’ve been hearing reports of rogues, and I thought maybe one had…”

Derrick lightly touched Simone’s shoulder. “Come with us, please? Tell us everything over a hot coffee. Our treat.”

It was a short walk to the café, and they took a table on the sidewalk.

“So, Simone,” Rose began. “What seems to be the trouble?”

“Adam. It’s always Adam. My life was perfect and then he came along and tipped it upside down.”

Derrick patted the back of her hand, the same way her own father used to. “Dear, we’ve been speaking with our daughter and while, of course, it’s not directly our business, it sounds as though your life was a long way from perfect.”

“You’re right. It’s not your business.” She suddenly realized what she’d said. To the people who’d been kind enough to let her stay with them for the weekend. “Oh. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude. I’m just messed up.”

“It’s all right, Simone,” said Rose. “You must understand, Adam is the son we never had. I’m sure you’re aware by now that you are, without a doubt, his fated mate. Yes?”

“That’s what they tell me. Fat lot of good that does.”

Their coffees arrived, breaking through the conversation for a moment. Derrick took a sip of his and then turned to Simone again.

“Dear, I don’t know the detail here. But let me tell you what I do know. Adam is a man who’s still in pain. I take it you don’t yet know the details, but I assure you, he’s holding on to something very dark. And a lot of that is inextricably tied to my damn sister and her husband.”

“Yeah, well, that’s where he is right now. I mean, I get it. His father’s sick or something, and Adam’s a doctor. I get that he had to rush over there. But what he didn’t have to do was treat me like a piece of shit on his shoe.”

Derrick and his wife exchanged a look, and then Rose spoke.

“Darling, we’ve just come from their place. Oran is not sick in the slightest. Nor in need of any medical attention. In fact, he was busy lecturing that live-in student… oh, heck.”

Derrick bounced his fist on the table. “Those assholes. They’re at it again.”

Simone’s head spun at the rapid change in their mood. “What? What’s happened?”

“I fear my sister and her husband are playing their old games with Adam’s life. Trying to mate him with a wolf.”

“What? And he just ran off to do it?”

Rose shook her head. “Never, darling. You said he was called over to tend to his father?”

“That’s what he said. I was asleep when he took the call. If there even was a call.”

“Adam is the most honest man we know, darling. And even if he were capable of lying, you’re the last person on earth he’d try it with.”

Simone felt like upending the table in frustration. “Then what the hell is going on? What happened to him and Jennifer?”

Derrick sat back and shook his head. “I’m sorry, dear. I’m sure you’ve heard this plenty of times already but it’s not ours to tell. You’re really going to have to get that from Adam himself. Just promise me you won’t make any permanent decision until he opens up. Okay?”

“He never will.”

“He will, Simone, if you ask him. He’ll open up completely, if he knows what’s good for him.”

“Yeah? Well, he ran from me to be with his parents, so he clearly doesn’t know what’s good for him.”

Rose smiled, though there were a few icicles hanging from it. “You’re technically an orphan, darling? Leigh told us.”

“Yes. My parents were killed in a plane crash when I was seventeen.”

“And you’d give anything to see them again?”

“What does this have to—”

“Why do you think it should be any different for Adam? He’s lived the last four years of his life as though his parents were gone. If they’ve tricked him into believing his father truly is at death’s door, it’s no wonder he ran over there. Medicine is his calling in life, and those two have never supported it, let alone embraced it. He finally had the chance to show them he’s not the waste they’ve always told him he was.”

Simone glanced across the street, only to see the man himself, running back toward the Poulsens’ house. If anything, he was moving faster than when he’d left.

She made to yell out to him, but Rose grabbed her arm. “Not here, Simone. It needs to be done in private. Pin him down and get the truth. His truth.”

“He doesn’t deserve me.”

“Oh, he does, darling. But he still needs to earn you back.”

As Simone stood, Derrick called to her. “Remember what I said, Simone. Hear him out, and then decide. Please.”

The short walk back over to the Poulsens’ place did nothing to clear Simone’s head. Why the hell couldn’t this man be honest with her? He wanted her as much as she wanted him. She didn’t need any of those stupid fancy-pants wolf senses to know that. It had hung thick in the air like humidity every time they were within a hundred feet of each other. Yet there was no denying how hard he’d tried to push her away.

The house’s front door bore the brunt of her seething mood. She slammed it so forcefully behind her it probably deafened any wolves in the area.

She charged up the hall to Adam’s door and thumped everything she could against it, demanding he open up. First the door, then his heart.

“Hey, you big tool. Let me in.”

Adam had clearly moved in silence, like a damn wolf. The door came open just as she’d lined up a swift thump with the bulk of her hip, and she ended up landing on the floor right in front of him.

“Simone. I thought I’d lost you.”

She looked up, ready to rip him a new one, when she was silenced by the one thing she never expected. Tears on his cheeks.

As she regained her feet she pointed up into his face. “Yeah well, who says you haven’t, mister? I need to know everything. About Jennifer and your parents and… Just everything.”

He put his hands over his face. “I’ve tried so hard to put it in the past, Simone.”

“Bullshit. Whatever it is, you carry it around your neck in everything you do.” She pushed him backward, hoping to get him all riled up. It seemed to be the surest way to get him speaking honestly. “I know where you were, and what your stupid parents were cooking up. Don’t ask me how, I just know. Now, I’m not gonna make you choose between your parents and me, but it doesn’t sound like they feel the same way. I’m human. That’s not about to change, obviously. And if that’s a problem, then fuck you.”

“Take care, little one. Take great care.”

“Ha. I’m not about to start now, mister. This is it. Your last chance. I can see it’s burning a hole through you. You need to tell me everything. And I need you to open up to me, or I swear I’m gonna—”

Adam moved like the perfect predator, taking her mouth in his and subduing her in an instant. Cutting off her air, and the flow of blood to her brain. As his tongue swept across her lips she felt her head grow light and fluffy, while her body turned to hot fudge. He had his palm against her throat, his other hand cradling her head as he mashed his lips against hers, suckling at her like she was nectar.

She’d been so determined to draw out his pain. To truly know him. Now, with the taste of his mouth, the smell of his hair, the touch of his skin, suddenly Simone only existed through him, through the ways he filled her senses. Gravity failed her as he swept her up into his arms and slammed her back against the wall, driving from her the last iota of breath she’d managed to hold.

It took more strength than she’d ever known, but she broke the kiss and forced her way out of his embrace. “No, Adam. I can’t… it’s not fair.”

“What’s not fair?”

“I can’t help myself here. I am this close to sinking myself completely into you. One hundred percent. But you’re holding something back from me. And it might be small, but it’s clearly heavy. If we fuck again now, I’ll never be able to get over you.”

“I don’t want you to ever get over me. I need you like water.”

“Then you know what to do.”

 

* * * *

 

Adam looked out the bedroom window. The fires over the hill were kicking out a lot of smoke, but so far there hadn’t been any call to evacuate. Not that he’d mind a whole hell of a lot. It was hard enough to be back in Blue Creek, with all the memories it held for him. But to be surrounded by all these shifters as well was doing his head in.

And now this girl, this perfect temptation, was cutting at him like a fellow surgeon. Asking him to eviscerate himself of all his feelings and his faults. And God help him, she was right. He did want to. He needed to, in fact. He’d kept it pressed down so hard it had fermented. If anyone deserved to know his full story, it was Simone. For them to have their future, she needed to know his past.

Fated mates were so inconvenient.

He turned back to her, where she sat on the bed, gorgeous thick legs curled up beside her. She looked so feline it awoke his wolf once again and it took him an enormous effort to push it back down. Every time he was in her presence she tugged at his beastly side without apparently doing anything at all. The little minx.

He took a seat on the floor, lowering himself before her in veneration. “This is not an easy truth.”

“I know. Leigh and her parents all warned me. But I really need to know you.”

Adam nodded and studied his hands a moment. “All right, then.”

And as he spoke, he closed his eyes, traveling back in time. Revisiting the scents and the sounds much more than the sights. The rumble of thunder coming closer as Jennifer stripped off, racing ahead of him. The damp earth and humus filling his nostrils when that pretty smile lit up her face; the smile that only came when she was about to shift. Him falling to the ground, feet tangled in his jeans. The scents of a thousand prey animals firing into his brain.

Then the momentary pain and exquisite pleasure of shifting.

 

Jennifer ran ahead of him, her tail dancing and beckoning. He nipped at her, mock hunting until a prey animal might cross their paths.

Rain was coming. The smell was everywhere. Lighting and thunder filled the night, make everything more urgent. More fun.

A deer startled off to the right, and they turned in pursuit. These times were when they were at their best. Most compatible.

Jen flushed a doe from the bushes and they paced it, one either side. Hunting for fun, not for food. Wolf time was everything. Heaven.

Their hearts trilled as they run. He felt her pulse as hard as his own.

The rain hit so hard. Got harder. The world was nothing but scents. Rich soil, dead leaves, rabbits, water.

Rain started hitting them harder. Harder still. Lightning.

Jen took cover under a tree and he came in behind, pressing against her to take the rain. To shield his mate.

The wind blew harder, the storm grew fiercer. Lightning hit the tree above, thunder sounding at the same time. A branch fell, and before they could run, it landed.

Jen yelped, and even through his layers of wolf, Adam knew right away she was hurt badly.

He pulled at the branch, but even wolf jaws couldn’t move it, couldn’t break it. Jen shifted, her whimpers becoming screams. She should have stayed wolf. All the shift did was tear her belly to pieces as wolf turned to human.

Blood.

Jen’s blood.

All his world ran red.

She needed his mind. She needed his hands. He had to shift.

Shift.

Must shift.

There, it was almost in reach. Shift. Shift!

Jen’s breath slowed as her eyes drifted closed. He slowed his breathing, searching inside himself for the answer. For the man he had to be.

 

Adam came back to the present, to the house. To the woman before him. His fated mate.

Simone’s face was wet with tears. “What happened?”

Adam stared at his hands, studying them. Trying to ensure he’d never forget their form or their function. How he could have used those hands back then, to lift the branch. To staunch the blood, to carry her to safety.

He pressed his fingers to his mouth. The mouth he could have used to form the words. To tell her not to shift. To let her wolf take the pain. To let the branch block the flow of blood, rather than have it gouge away at her morphing body.

“She died. With my head on her chest, her eyes holding mine until she closed them forever. Her hand squeezing my paw, and me unable to squeeze back. Unable to shift back.”

Simone slipped off the bed and knelt before him, resting her head on his thigh.

“That day, I lost my love.”

“She must have been amazing.”

“You misunderstand. Jennifer was a wonderful woman, and an amazing friend. We were mated, true enough; but we never once felt anything for each other like what is right here…” He put his hand to his chest. “…between you and me.” Adam screwed up his face, but couldn’t stop tears from rising into his eyes. “My best friend died. But I lost so much more. She took with her all the love I’d ever had for my wolf. I knew then I couldn’t trust him.”

“But he’s part of you. Half of you.”

“And what happens the next time I’m stranded without hands, without words? Whose life will be ended then? Because it could be yours, Simone, and I will never stand for that.”

“Oh, baby.”

He tensed beneath her, unsure if he was truly ready for the weight of all this. For understanding and sympathy and—dare he believe it—love. She curled her arms around his calf and looked up into his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Adam. I didn’t know.” As if she could sense the turmoil inside him, she released her grip and stood. “I shouldn’t have pushed. I should have listened.”

Before he registered what was happening, she’d turned and walked away. But she didn’t even make it halfway across the room before he seized her arm and spun her back to face him.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Baby, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. The way people talked it was like you were just divorced or something.” She swallowed heavily before speaking again. “You have so much to deal with. I… I was thinking about myself, and what I want.” She tried to drag her arm away, but he wouldn’t release her.

“And what about what I want, Simone?” He grasped her other arm and pulled her against his hard chest.

“Wh-what do you want, Adam?”

He ran his hand up the side of her face, combing it through her hair on the way back down. Though he followed the movement with his eyes, he quickly turned his focus back to hers. “A week ago, there was only one answer to that. Right now, there is still only one answer.” He scooped her up into his arms. “But those two answers could not be any more different.”

The scent of tears all over her cheeks was both a rich temptation and a sharp knife. As he carried her to his bed, he kept his eyes locked on hers.

He knew he was lost in her. She was his life now. And through her, his wolf had awoken.

 

* * * *

 

“Little one, I know this is all so new to you. But if we’re to be fated mates, I’ll have to give you my mark.”

Simone couldn’t help wondering why he felt the need to leave a mark on her skin. But then she didn’t pretend to fully understand the workings of the wolf mind. Not yet, at least. “Is that like a tattoo?”

Adam’s smile sent hot fingers of desire through her. “Sure. Except without ink or gun. I use my teeth.”

“Mm. You’ve used those on me before. Me likey.”

He sobered quickly, putting his hands either side of her face. “Little one, this is not something to take lightly.”

“Look at me. There’s nothing light about me at all.”

He scanned her body down and back up, that crazy sexy smile of his letting her know just how much he adored every curve. “And thank goodness for that. I’d hate to think I might break you during sex.”

“Never. Only part of me you could break is my heart.”

He pierced her on those razor sharp silver eyes. “That will never happen. Once we mate, it’s for life.”

She jiggled her eyebrows and smiled. “Then come get me.”

Adam held her down, in that way that was so wonderful. That made her feel secure, rather than trapped. His beautiful eyes darkened for a moment as he scanned her naked body. Every freckle, every stretch mark, every dimple. She’d never been so proud of her body, because she’d never had anyone look at it the way he did. Not like she was perfect, but like she was everything.

“You’re mine, Simone. I can’t even try to deny it anymore. In all honesty, I knew it the moment I caught your scent.”

He wasn’t saying anything new, but there was a sense of ceremony about it. As if it was a spell and he had to say the words just the right way.

“I am yours, Adam. But only if you’re mine.”

“I am only yours, little one. But there’s the tiny matter of making it formal.” He curled his top lip up to reveal his teeth. And the way they’d grown just that little bit longer and sharper. “Remember, though, my bite will change you. No longer will you be alone. You’ll be with me. Part of me. And I will be part of you. And it’s not something frivolous like a marriage or a contract.”

She nodded. Words simply wouldn’t work at that moment.

“Little one, you’ll run with the wolves. With just one bite, you will be forever changed.”

“I’ve always been different. This will make me whole, Adam.”

He closed his eyes and simply breathed. “You will be my queen for all time.”

Simone held her breath for a few seconds. Truth be told, she’d ached for this very moment… but now it was right before her, she was thinking less about the ache she’d had, and more about the sting she’d get. “A–are you sure? I mean, do you need to?”

“My sweet thing… It’s not simply a matter of needing to. This is undeniable. This, my little one, is destiny.”

She swallowed her fear. “Will it hurt?”

“If you fight it, then yes. If you embrace it, then it won’t be pain so much as exhilaration.”

She reached down and curled both her hands around his thick cock. “If you have this monster inside me, I won’t feel anything but ecstasy. No matter what you do.”

Adam hissed and seized her mouth in a kiss that was as much hunger as lust. He slid his mouth across to her ear and spoke softly, his voice betraying the depth of his need. “Well, I guess that’s going to depend on exactly where I bite you… isn’t it?”

“I want it in my shoulder. So I can hide it or show it off, depending on how slutty I dress.”

“Then you’d better get on your hands and knees, little one.”

Though she really wasn’t bothered by her size, it still gave her a stupid tingle when he called her little. The fact his wolf strength meant he could lift her with one hand was just a bonus.

Simone curled her legs up and swung them past Adam’s face, rolling onto her belly and lying there for a moment, swaying her hips side to side.

“You keep that up and you’ll wear my mark on that perfect ass of yours.”

“Uh-uh.” She arched her back, raising her butt from the bed and presenting herself to her conqueror. Every thick-fleshed, juice-coated, desperate inch of herself.

Adam’s moan grew deeper and rougher, until it was his wolf growling through his human throat. When he snared her hips with his hands, the sharpness of his nails was clear, like they’d shifted a little closer to claws. Everything about his presence exhilarated her, and even more so when she could sense his beast just below the surface.

“Do it, Adam.” She glanced back up over her shoulder. “Go wild.”

He drove forward and filled her in a heartbeat, stretching her so hard, so quickly, that it was the most perfect blend of pain and pleasure. And if that was what his mark would feel like, then she was more ready than she’d believed. This was going to be absolute perfection.

“Your skin, little one, is immaculate.” Adam sounded trapped between man and beast. As if he was striving to keep the civilized human in control, while inevitably the wolf was gnawing his way out. It was the hottest thing she’d ever heard. And when he snared her hair in his fist and pulled her top half up off the bed, it brought her skin to life. She tingled from scalp to toes, not just from his touch, but from the way she could feel his eyes scouring every millimeter of her body.

With every drive of his hips he sent wild sensations clawing their way up her spine, until her head felt like a bird’s nest of pleasure. She was losing herself already, becoming in her mind nothing more than an extension of Adam. She was more at home here, in his bed, in his grip, than she’d been anywhere else in the world.

He released her hair and clawed both hands around her shoulders, his nails digging in to the skin and creating a whole new burn. As a little tease she lowered herself, squashing her tits onto the bed and wincing with delight as he gripped her harder. Like he thought she’d ever try to escape.

“Little one…” Adam rasped out the words. And then there was nothing but heavy panting and thick growling as he leaned down on her, angling that magnificent cock so it ground against her in the most perfect way. The weight of his body rested on his hands, flat on her shoulder blades, and breath became both a luxury and meaningless. Surely, while he ignited her pussy like that, she needed nothing else to live. No food, no water, no breath. Just Adam’s goddamn perfect cock.

The spiraling fingers of need within her belly picked up speed until they became a maelstrom, and as Adam punched his hips against her ass she saw a white light behind her eyes. His weight grew too much and it forced her knees to spread, her ass to drop. He stayed inside her as his body slammed down on her back.

And then, just as he jetted his hot fluid inside, her own orgasm drank at him, and scratched at her, and only then did she realize he had his teeth embedded in the flesh of her shoulder, deep and hard, sharp as hell. The pain was pleasure and the pleasure was the world.

Their bodies slowly came down from the pulsating high, and Adam slipped his teeth out of her shoulder, kissing and licking at the wound softly. When Simone spoke, she could barely find her own voice in the sultry, dry tone of her words.

“That was unbelievable.”

Adam kissed a path down her spine before nipping at her ass. He ran his stubbled cheek all the way back up her body, kissing and biting as he went. When he rolled down beside her he hooked her arm and dragged her with him until she landed, her head on his broad chest, her arm and leg spread across his body.

“And now you’re one of us, Simone. You can run with the wolves.”

His words warmed her like crazy. She had nothing she could say back, so she just smiled, even knowing he couldn’t see her face. She hadn’t ever been part of a family like these wolves. While the Gunnarssons had their issues, the Poulsens—who Adam clearly thought of as his real family—were fiercely loyal and more accepting than most. The fact they’d all accept her as if she, too, were a wolf, was crazy good. She sighed as she kissed his chest, letting sleep overtake her.