Page 18 of Alpha Wolf’s Nanny (Silvermist Wolves #2)

She didn’t know what had driven her to call the word to him.

Stay .

Perhaps it was the ferocious intensity on his face. Perhaps it was the clenching of his fists. Perhaps it was the way he looked at her like she was a puzzle he didn’t know how to solve.

Wordlessly, he sat down at the base of one of the trees, folding his arms over the vast expanse of his bare chest, the blanket tucked securely around his hips and riding up his powerful thighs as he stretched his long legs out in front of him.

Cassie swallowed, her throat dry.

With a long groan, Felix’s head fell backwards, the tension seeping from his face and shoulders.

Her stomach twisted with a stab of guilt. She had gone straight to accusations, to questioning his culture, to making assumptions. If she hadn't left the trails, then none of this would have happened.

“I’m sorry,” Cassie said, somewhat awkwardly, her feet shuffling in the earth. “For trespassing.”

“It’s okay,” Felix replied without looking up, “it’s not your fault.”

“I looked up the local public access rights,” she said. “I guess I only looked at…um…human sources.”

“I said it’s not your fault,” Felix’s eyes did crack open then, shifting over her. Even sitting, even mostly naked, he was still ridiculously intimidating. “It is the pack’s responsibility to mark our territory lines. My responsibility.”

“Still,” Cassie said, rubbing her arm, “I could have done more to check. I don’t know why I didn’t.”

“You’re human,” Felix said, “why would it have occurred to you?”

“I guess you’re right,” she said, her heart sinking, a strange sadness settling in the pit of her stomach.

His chin tilted imperceptibly, and then he let his head fall back against the tree.

For a moment, she stood, unsure what to say, what to do, but eventually she cautiously approached him, careful to keep her footfalls soft for reasons she couldn’t fully understand.

“You do heal quickly,” she said, unable to stop her eyes dropping to the fading red lines on his shoulders.

He huffed. “It takes a hell of a lot more than a scrap with a pack brother to actually injure me.”

She nodded, suddenly wishing she’d told him to leave. He didn’t seem happy, didn’t seem comfortable in her presence. Had he just stayed out of a sense of obligation? Making sure she didn’t trespass further?

“You can go if you like,” she said. “When I said stay, it wasn’t…that wasn’t…”

“No,” he replied, his voice gravelly and resolute. “I want to.”

She swallowed, suddenly nervous, fidgeting slightly.

His eyes cracked open. “You know, if you were already done with the marked trails, I could have shown you some other routes. I still can, if you would like.”

“You mean you’re not firing me?” she asked, her voice wry, but not quite dry enough to hide the anxiety lurking beneath.

His laugh was genuine, hearty, and straight from the belly. “No, Cassie, I’m not going to fire you. I knew when I hired you that there might be some cultural clashes.”

“Okay,” she said, a smile finally cracking over her face. “I’d like that. You showing me some hiking routes. Legal ones.”

“Then I will,” he said with a slight smile.

Cassie sat a little closer to the fire, hands curled around her mug for warmth, though she wasn’t sure if the flush in her cheeks came from the heat or from Felix sitting just across from her, bare-chested, relaxed in posture, but far from at ease.

He tilted his head, studying her.

“I meant what I said, you know,” he murmured, voice lower now, warm in a way that made her belly clench. “You’re not in trouble.”

She nodded slowly, then looked down into her tea. “It’s not just about getting into trouble. I didn’t…I didn’t like how it felt. Being pinned like that. It was…terrifying. I’m so sick of being scared.”

Felix stiffened visibly, the tendons in his neck tight, and she cursed herself. She’d long ago decided never to tell Felix about her past. Perhaps it was stupid, but she didn’t want him looking at her any differently. Judging her.

“Rick shouldn’t have touched you. He was wrong. And I’ll deal with him.”

“You already did,” she said, managing the faintest of smiles, “very thoroughly, from what I saw.”

That earned a half-smirk from him. “He’ll be licking his wounds for a while.”

Cassie took another sip, sneaking a glance at him over the rim. The firelight made shadows dance along the angles of his face, cheekbones sharp, jaw strong, eyes unreadable. And he was watching her now. Unapologetically.

“You really would’ve torn him apart,” she said, almost to herself.

“I would’ve,” Felix agreed, “and I don’t feel guilty about it.”

She looked at him again, this time more boldly. “Why? Why does it matter so much to you?”

He didn’t answer immediately. His eyes flicked toward the trees, the shadows beyond them. Then back to her.

“I don’t like seeing you hurt,” he said. Simply. Truthfully.

The silence that fell between them this time wasn’t tense. It was thick with something else. Something that made her breath slow, made her limbs feel heavier, warmer.

“Felix,” she said quietly, “I thought you said that this can’t happen.”

He leaned forward slightly, “What can’t?”

“You know what.”

A muscle in his jaw ticked. “You think I haven’t tried to stop it? Tried to ignore it?”

Cassie’s heartbeat quickened. She didn’t want to look away from him, didn’t want to lose this fragile, impossible moment between them. But her body was already on edge, buzzing with anticipation she wasn’t sure she had the strength to deny.

She drew in a shaky breath. “Then maybe we’re both idiots.”

That startled a small huff of laughter from him. He leaned back again, arms resting on his knees, head tilting back against the tree once more. But the heat in his gaze never left her.

“I’ve been called worse.”

Cassie tried not to smile. “Bet you have.”

The crackle of the fire filled the pause, and for a moment, it felt like the rest of the world had fallen away.

Felix shifted, his voice softer now. “When you asked me to stay, was that because you were afraid?”

She hesitated, then shook her head. “No. It was because I didn’t want you to go.”

Felix’s lips parted, just slightly. His eyes darkened in the firelight.

He stood slowly, the blanket slipping a little as he crossed to her side of the fire. He didn’t sit beside her, not quite, but close enough that she could feel the heat of him. Close enough that if she reached out just a little…

“I won’t touch you,” he said, voice rough, “unless you ask me to.”

Cassie didn’t move. “I thought you wanted to stop this. Ignore it,” she whispered.

He knelt before her, his hands hovering between them, reaching out but still so far away. “I do.”

“Then why are you—”

“Cassie,” he said, his voice gruff, almost pained, “staying away from you…it’s impossible. No matter which way I turn, what I do, or how I try to distract myself, nothing works. It’s killing me.”

She took his hands in her own, feeling their warm weight, the roughness of calluses. “I don’t want you to be in pain.”

His dark blue eyes seemed a glowing dark amber in the firelight. “I won’t take you,” he said, “not here in the woods, not after what’s happened tonight. But I want…I want…”

“Yes?” she prompted, leaning forward, her heart racing.

“You,” he said finally, “I want you.”

Cassie’s breath caught.

The world seemed to narrow until it was only him. Felix, kneeling before her, his voice rough with restraint and longing, his hands warm in hers. The forest around them hushed, the crackling fire dimming into the background as her heart thudded a slow, thunderous rhythm in her chest.

She didn’t speak. Didn’t need to.

Instead, she let her fingers trail slowly up his forearm, to his shoulder, skimming the curve of muscle until her palm rested lightly at the base of his neck. His eyes fluttered shut, just for a moment, like her touch undid something tight in him.

‘Cassie,’ he whispered again, her name a plea this time, a tremble at the edge of his restraint.

She didn’t wait for him to move.

She leaned in first.

Their lips met softly, tentative, tasting, questioning. His mouth was warm, his breath uneven, and he didn’t deepen the kiss until she leaned in again, surer this time. Then it changed.

His hands rose to cup her face, large and careful, cradling her like she was something fragile, something precious.

She pressed closer, sliding one hand up into his hair, threading her fingers through the thick dark strands, feeling the heat of his body, the barely restrained strength in every line of him.

He kissed her like he was drowning, like this moment was the only oxygen he had left. And Cassie…Cassie kissed him back with everything she had, with every moment of longing, every breath she’d held since arriving in Silvermist, every dream she hadn’t dared name.

He tasted of forest air and firelight, of something wild and unrelenting. When his thumb stroked her cheek, she melted into the touch, her body drawn forward by instinct, by need.

One of his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer, until she was all but folded into his lap.

The blanket fell slightly askew, but neither of them cared.

The kiss deepened, tongues tangling, breath stolen and shared.

She felt like she was spinning and anchored all at once, lost in the sensation of his mouth on hers.

He groaned into her mouth, and she felt her lower core clench with need, with anticipation.

With one, strong, fluid gesture, he grabbed her leg and wrapped it around his waist so that she was neatly straddling him.

She slid forward, her covered core making contact with the hardness of him jutting through the blanket, and the delicious friction made her see stars.

“You’re so beautiful,” he growled, nipping at her jawline, pressing kisses down her neck as he rocked upwards against her. “So fucking beautiful.”

Her cheeks were on fire with the praise, but she didn’t care. All she could focus on right now was the sensations his hands sparked as they traveled over her body, settling at the dip of her waist.

Shamelessly, she ground down against him, desperate for the pleasure he was willing to give her.

Every movement, every jolt sent sparks flying through her limbs as a familiar pressure built deep in her muscles.

The roughness of her clothes, the scratch of the blanket, all of these sensations did nothing but heighten the delicious agony of what they were doing.

His lips found hers again, dominating and powerful, claiming every inch of her mouth with powerful strokes of his tongue. She whimpered, falling forward into his chest, his arms around her all that kept her grounded.

With one particularly savage thrust, she couldn’t help but moan into his mouth, and his responding growl sent her even closer to the edge. She couldn’t believe they were here. Couldn’t believe they were doing this. But she didn’t want to stop.

Closer and closer, she reached out for her pleasure, desperate for release. Felix’s hips moved under hers in a maddening pattern, grinding up into her, playing her body like a violin.

And suddenly, the wave crashed. Pure pleasure exploded behind her eyes as she wailed out her orgasm, rocking against him, her fingers digging into the thick muscle of his shoulders.

He growled with masculine pride, grinning savagely as she collapsed against him, her breathing hitched and her limbs trembling.

She waited for him to move, to lay her down, to chase his own pleasure from her body. But the moment never came. He just breathed, ragged and heavy, his thumb stroking gently at her jaw.

“We should stop,” he whispered, his voice thick with barely-contained desire.

She looked up at him, heavy-lidded, her blood already beginning to sing for him to take her. “But—”

He captured her lips in a brutal kiss, but even through his lust, Cassie could feel the restraint in his muscles.

“We should stop,” he said again, leaning his forehead against hers, their breaths mingling in the cool night air. “If we go any further, I won’t be able to restrain myself.”

She bit her lip, a fresh wave of arousal coursing through her. “What if I don’t want you to restrain yourself?”

His eyes darkened, and his hands tightened around her waist. In them, she could feel all the danger and passion that simmered just beneath the surface, waiting to be unleashed.

“We stop,” he said, his voice final.

They sat like that for a long while, firelight flickering around them, breath mingling in the quiet space between. His fingers curled around hers again, gentle, grounding.

As her blood cooled, the sharp edge of her memory returned. The scrape on her collarbone ached dully beneath her shirt. Her heart beat too fast, not just with want, but with warning. She pulled back slowly, breathless, her forehead resting against his.

When he finally spoke, it was barely more than a murmur against her temple. “You undo me, Cassie. Every time.”

Her heart thudded. “You undo me, too.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Get some sleep.”

She glanced back at the tent, then to him with eyebrows raised in silent question.

He chuckled. “You’ll be taking the tent. I’ll sleep out here. There isn’t enough space in there for both of us.”

Cassie sighed in disappointment, but obeyed him, rising from his lap and turning to let him adjust himself.

As she retreated into the tent, skin still buzzing, head pounding, she heard a crack of bones and the rustle of fur. When she turned back, she couldn’t help the instinctive spike of anxiety at seeing the enormous wolf staring back at her.

“Goodnight, Felix,” she said, her throat dry.

He inclined his head and settled by the fire, tail flicking before curling around him.

She zipped the tent closed.