Page 14 of Alien Huntsman (Alien Wolf Tales #2)

CHAPTER 14

K orrin stared down at Tessa, his breath coming in harsh pants. Her lips were swollen from his kisses, her eyes luminous in the cabin’s dim light. She was smiling up at him—a smile that reached deep inside him and made his chest ache, and her eyes were full of love.

“Fuck,” he growled, pressing his forehead against hers. His claws had extended, and he carefully kept them from digging into her soft skin

His beast paced within him, hungry and demanding. Take her. Make her ours. The urge to claim was overwhelming, a need he’d never experienced before. The scent of her desire drove him to the edge of madness.

“Tessa.” Her name came out ragged. “You don’t know what you’re asking for.”

She ran her fingers through his hair, sending shivers down his spine. “I think I do.”

“I won’t be gentle,” he warned, his voice rough with need. “Not the first time.”

“I don’t want gentle,” she whispered against his mouth.

The last threads of his restraint snapped. He lifted her, wrapping her legs around his waist, and carried her to the bed. She weighed nothing in his arms, this small human who’d somehow become his entire world.

He laid her down, hovering above her. Her dark curls spread across the pillow, her blue eyes trusting and wanting. She was so fucking beautiful it hurt to look at her.

“Are you sure?” he asked, giving her one last chance to turn back.

Instead of answering, she pulled him down to her, capturing his mouth with hers. Her hands slid under his shirt, exploring the ridged muscles of his back, tracing old scars with gentle fingers.

His claws dug into the mattress, ripping the fabric as he struggled to maintain control. Her body molded to his, soft curves pressed against hard planes, and his beast snarled with hunger. His fangs had descended, sharp and aching with the primal need to mark her as his. The urge to sink them into the soft curve where her neck met her shoulder was almost overwhelming. To taste her, to claim her as his mate forever.

Her eyes widened when his fangs emerged, but instead of fear, desire burned in her gaze. “Is that normal?”

He nodded, struggling to get his beast back under control.

“I—we—want to claim you.”

But even through the haze of desire, he knew that wasn’t his choice to make. Mating was permanent, irreversible. She had to choose it, understand what it meant to be bound to a Vultor.

“Okay,” she whispered, and his claws dug into the mattress again.

She didn’t know what he meant and, gods help him, he couldn’t find the words. Not now when she was so soft and warm beneath him, the scent of her arousal making his head spin.

“Later,” he growled, lowering his head to trail kisses down the column of her throat. “I’ll tell you everything later.”

His beast roared in approval as she arched beneath him, offering herself to him with complete trust. He’d never wanted anyone the way he wanted her—not just with his body, but with something deeper, more primal. More permanent.

He pushed the thought away, focusing instead on the softness of her skin under his fingertips as he traced the curve of her neck. She was still fully clothed, and his beast snarled in frustration.

“Too many clothes,” he muttered.

He lifted his hand, claws extended, but she gave a breathless laugh and reached for her button.

“My only dress, remember?”

As much as he wanted her, there was something intoxicating about watching her strip away her clothes, her eyes on his face the entire time.

“Fuck, you’re beautiful,” he growled as her chemise slid away, leaving her naked in his arms.

Pink flooded her cheeks but she didn’t look away.

“You make me feel that way.”

She held out her hand to him and he took it, pressing a kiss against her palm. When her fingers traced the curve of his jaw, then drifted lower, his breath caught in his throat. He couldn’t bear her touch. It was too tender, too sweet. Too intimate.

“Let me touch you,” she whispered, her fingers following the lines of his muscles.

He shook his head, but her touch sent waves of desire crashing through him.

“Not this time.”

He kissed her again, hard and deep, his tongue plunging into her mouth. She tasted like honey and summer, a sweetness he wanted to devour.

When her hand moved lower, he caught it. His grip tightened, holding her wrist gently but firmly.

“This isn’t going to be slow or gentle, Tessa. Do you understand that?”

Her blue eyes met his, and her expression was steady. “Yes. I want you, Korrin.”

His beast howled in triumph, a primal growl rumbling from deep within his chest.

“Then let me take you.”

Her consent was everything he needed. He let go of her wrist, his claws retracting so he could finally, fully touch her. His hand roamed her body, exploring every inch, committing her soft curves to memory.

She writhed beneath him, her soft whimpers and sighs filling his ears, urging him on. Her breasts were perfect in his hands, her nipples hardening as he stroked them with his thumb. When his mouth closed over one, her back arched, her fingers threading through his hair and holding him against her.

He could feel her arousal growing, the heat from her core calling to him like a siren song. But this time he didn’t listen. He would take her, claim her, but he would give her pleasure first.

Her cries grew louder as his fingers found the heat between her thighs. He explored her slick folds, learning the places that made her gasp, that made her hips arch off the bed.

“Gods, Tessa,” he muttered. “You’re so fucking wet.”

She didn’t respond, her eyes fluttering closed as his fingers stroked her. He could feel her approaching the edge, and his cock twitched, aching for release.

“Look at me.”

Her eyes opened, clouded with desire. Her fingers clutched the sheets, her body tensing.

“Korrin.” His name was a moan on her lips, and it nearly undid him.

He leaned down, pressing his lips to her ear, his fingers still stroking her.

“Come for me, Tessa.”

The command was soft, but his voice was deep, rumbling through her. With a cry, she shattered beneath him, her body shuddering.

He continued to stroke her, his lips caressing her neck, her shoulders, her collarbone, as her body came down from the peak. The sight of her faze, dazed with pleasure, made his beast purr contentedly despite the need roaring through his veins. He wanted more, needed more.

He slid down her body, leaving a trail of kisses until his head was between her legs. His fangs were aching, his cock hard and ready, but he wasn’t done with her yet.

When his tongue found her clit, her hands tangled in his hair. Her moans and gasps were the most erotic sounds he’d ever heard, and his cock twitched with anticipation.

Her legs wrapped around his shoulders, her heels digging into his back as her body tensed again. He could feel her approaching another peak, her body writhing beneath his mouth, his hands, his lips.

He tried to slip a finger inside her, but her body resisted and he groaned. She was so small, so tight, so… innocent.

That thought penetrated his lust enough got him to raise his head despite her protests.

“Are you untouched?” he demanded, and her cheeks grew even pinker.”

“I told you I wasn’t interested in anyone in the village.” She squirmed impatiently. “Don’t stop.”

Something powerful stirred inside him at the knowledge that he would be her first. And her only, if he had his way. But not tonight. He would have to prepare her first.

He dropped his head again, focusing on her clit as he slowly, carefully, worked one finger inside that narrow channel. She gasped, but her hips lifted off the bed.

“Korrin, please,” she moaned, her fingers tightening in his hair.

He worshipped her with his mouth until she gave another startled cry and quivered beneath him, milking his finger with tight little pulses. His own need was driving him wild, but he couldn’t take her yet. He slowed his strokes, soothing her with his tongue until her body relaxed.

She looked up at him, her eyes dazed and happy, then frowned.

“I don’t understand. You didn’t…”

“Not tonight, love. We have time,” he added when she started to protest, and a sudden smile lit her face.

“Time. I like the sound of that.”

So did he.

She curled against him, her breathing slowly returning to normal, her body warm and pliant in his arms. Despite the persistent ache in his cock, his beast purred in satisfaction, content in a way he’d never experienced before. She was safe. She was pleased. She was his.

Tomorrow he would worry about what came next. Tonight he would allow himself to relish this moment.

Unfortunately his worries returned in full force the next morning. He sought refuge in chopping wood, swinging the axe with more force than necessary, sending splinters flying as the log split cleanly in two. But the physical exertion did nothing to quiet his mind. All he could think about was Tessa—her scent still lingered on his skin, a constant reminder of what they’d shared.

He paused, wiping sweat from his brow, and caught her watching him from the cabin doorway. She smiled softly before turning back inside, not demanding anything from him. Not pushing for answers he wasn’t ready to give.

His beast rumbled with satisfaction. She was perfect. Patient. Understanding.

Dangerous.

He returned to his task, methodically splitting log after log, building a woodpile that would last them weeks. As if they had weeks. As if this fragile peace could somehow stretch into something permanent.

The memory of her taste flooded his senses—sweet and intoxicating. The softness of her skin beneath his hands. The way she’d whispered his name when she came apart. His claws extended involuntarily, scoring the wooden handle of the axe.

Inside, he could hear her humming as she prepared lunch, the pups yipping happily as they played at her feet. The domestic sounds pierced something in his chest, a longing he’d never acknowledged before.

He finally set down the axe and gathered an armful of split wood. As he approached the cabin, he caught her scent on the breeze and his beast stirred again, urging him to go to her, to claim her properly.

But he couldn’t. Not yet. Not until he figured out how to keep her safe.

She looked up when he entered, her smile warming him more effectively than any fire. She didn’t mention last night, just handed him a cup of water, her fingers brushing his deliberately. The simple touch sent heat racing through him.

“Dinner is almost ready,” she said, turning back to the pot bubbling on the back of the stove.

He ate hungrily, then stared down at his empty bowl, acutely aware of Tessa’s presence across the small table. The silence between them stretched, broken only by the crackling fire and the occasional scrape of spoon against wood. He’d barely tasted the food, his mind too full of her—of them—to focus.

He gathered their dishes, needing something to do with his hands that didn’t involve reaching for her. When he turned back from setting them in the wash basin, he found her on the floor, surrounded by the adyani pups. They tumbled over her lap, playfully nipping at her fingers as she laughed.

The sight twisted something in his chest—a sharp, sweet ache he couldn’t name. Her dark curls had escaped their braid, framing her face in wild tendrils. The firelight caught the curve of her cheek, the fullness of her lips. His beast rumbled with possessive satisfaction.

Something about the way she sat there, surrounded by the pups, looking so damned content—it reached into the darkest parts of him and soothed the jagged edges he’d carried for years.

She belonged here. The realization hit him with unexpected force. Not just in his cabin, but in his life.

His claws extended and retracted against his palms as he fought the urge to cross the room and pull her into his arms. Last night hadn’t been enough. Nothing would ever be enough where she was concerned. That was what terrified him.

He’d spent so long defining himself by his rage, by the blood on his hands, by the darkness that had consumed him after his mother’s death. The bounty hunter. The killer. The lone wolf who needed no one.

Yet watching Tessa now, laughing as one of the pups tumbled over her lap, he realized he wanted something he’d never allowed himself to want before. Her happiness. Her safety. Her light.

Could a male like him give her that? He’d been alone so long, carried so much darkness. The blood on his hands would never fully wash away. He’d been shaped by violence, molded by loss.

But when she looked up at him, her blue eyes reflecting the firelight, all his doubts seemed suddenly insignificant against the weight of his need for her. Her smile was knowing, confident in a way that made his blood heat.

“Are you going to keep avoiding me all night?” she asked, scratching behind a pup’s ears.

“I’m not avoiding you.” The lie fell flat even to his own ears.

She laughed, the sound light and teasing. “You spent the entire day chopping wood. We have enough to last through winter.” She tilted her head. “And you’ve barely said two words to me since breakfast.”

He crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. “The cabin needed wood.”

“The cabin needed about a quarter of what you chopped.” She scooped up a squirming pup, pressing a kiss to its fuzzy head. “If you regret last night, you could just say so.”

“I don’t,” he said roughly, honestly.

Her eyes softened, and she set the pup down gently. “Then why are you all the way over there?”