Page 19

EMBER

T hough I was a werewolf, I couldn’t help but feel like a lamb under Drake’s predatory gaze.

I stood inside one of the bedrooms in the inn Drake had swept us away to after we’d left the club. The club…

I had accompanied my friends to the club, had downed a few drinks, and somehow found myself dancing with a handsome fae male. Though a part of me should’ve been appalled, I had relished every moment of it. The freedom, the joy. An exquisite distraction from the heartache Drake had caused.

Until said cause of my grief appeared on the dance floor, looming above me.

Snarling at my dance partner. I was moments away from slashing his face into ribbons when he whispered to me, purred in my ear—did sinful things to my body.

He had played me as skillfully as any instrument. And my body had sung for him.

Like my body was singing for Drake now, my folds slick with desire.

Why did I follow Drake to this inn? Yes, I indulged in a little bit of alcohol, but not nearly as much as he had. I'm not that unaware that I was led here without my knowledge.

Guilt churned in my core.

I knew why I had let him lead me here, why I was standing before him now.

I still loved him. And the realization that he was showing me all the attention I had ever wanted was a hard aphrodisiac to deny.

But now, looking at Drake, the glassiness in his eyes had kicked my conscience to the forefront.

I cannot go through with this, not like this.

“ Drake, we shouldn’t.” I squirmed, shooting a glance at the door.

I turned to Drake, watching as he prowled toward me.

The hard play in the muscles of his biceps taunted me.

The hard muscles rippled beneath the leather pants he wore.

His long hair whipped behind him like a dark waterfall flowing along his back.

Drake’s amethyst eyes glowed slightly in the dimness of the room—the only light provided was from a small lamp on the nightstand.

Drake let out a low, seductive chuckle that caressed my skin like dark velvet.

“Running away like a field mouse, are we?”

My jaw slackened. “Field mouse?!” My hair bristled at the verbal jab. My inner wolf snorted.

Drake drew even closer till he stopped a hair's breadth from me. The heat of his body wafted off of him, seeping into me and causing my toes to curl at his delicious heat.

“Yes, a field mouse runs away.” He raised his index finger and ran it lightly along my jaw. I shuddered as the breath escaped from my lungs in a ragged gasp. “And right now, you are definitely running from me.”

“I am leaving,” I corrected him. “Because you’re not in the right frame of mind for this.” I gestured with a hand between us.

Drake’s hand snaked around the nape of my neck. Then, in one smooth motion, he hauled me against his chest and dropped his head, his tongue stroking the hollow of my throat. A delightful quiver wracked my body. My hands shot out, gripping his muscular shoulders for purchase.

Drake lifted his head slightly, his warm breath fanning my ear as he said in a husky voice, “Does this feel like someone who doesn’t have all of their cognitive functions?

” His hands dropped to my hips, where he pulled me flush against him, and I felt the distinct bulge of his arousal.

My eyes popped wide. “Does it?” Drake asked again. He cocked his head slightly.

I licked my lips. “No,” I stammered. My thoughts only seemed to hone in on the sheer strength of his body—the masculinity of him. All other thoughts were a jumbled mass of sensory overload.

Drake chuckled again, lowering his head to press a kiss against the side of my neck.

Goose flesh erupted from the hot, open-mouthed kisses he administered along my throat.

I let my head fall back under the lull of his seduction.

Drake then paused. He drew back slightly till his eyes connected with mine.

“I will, however,” Drake said, “not lay with a female who is not willing.”

He looked pointedly at me. My tongue was glued to the roof of my mouth. I was unable to formulate words. I knew he was waiting for me to make the decision. Indecision warred inside my mind, battling with my love and desire for the male standing before me.

You can’t, Ember. You can’t.

My gaze dropped to his mouth, the firm, full bow-shape of his lips that called to me, my mouth flooding with moisture.

Just one kiss. Just one, I told myself. And I’ll be able to walk away from him. Forever.

I leaned forward, raising onto my toes to press a chaste kiss to his lips.

But Drake had other ideas. As soon as my lips made contact with his, the wet heat of his tongue pressed forward, sliding across my bottom lip, seeking entrance.

I gasped, and Drake seized the opportunity my open mouth presented.

His tongue thrust inside and stroked along my tongue in a sensual caress. Demonstrating exactly what he’d do to me in mere moments. All thoughts of resisting fled from my mind.

His hands found my waist, his fingers gently kneading my hips.

He’s soothing me , I thought in wonderment. Drake backed us up till the back of my knees hit the mattress. Then Drake guided me gently onto my back. He loomed above me, his massive weight bracketed by his forearms as he lay propped up on his elbows.

He began kissing along my jawline and blazing a trail down my throat to my collarbone, where he gently licked and nipped at the bone jutting beneath the skin.

A breathless moan escaped my lips. Then his leg shifted, his knee hitting my sex, pressing against the tiny nubbin of flesh at its center.

A sharp gasp tore through my throat, my back arching off the bed, and all colors around me fractured and grew dim as my eyelids fluttered closed for a moment.

Then they cracked back open. Drake hovered above me.

He drew back slightly, the glassiness in his eyes blinking out of existence for about a moment.

His eyes peered into mine, his gaze assessing, probing me, and I couldn’t help but feel like an outer shell completely exposed to him. I shrank a little into the mattress.

“This’ll be your first time,” Drake murmured. His eyes widened slightly, and a look of awe crossed his features as his hands splayed across my dress, stopping at my abdomen.

Then he reared back on his knees, his muscular thighs bracketing mine as he slowly tugged at the hem of my dress. I felt my whole body flush and grow heated as he discarded the dress on the floor. Leaving me in nothing more than my bra and panties. His lips parted, and a soft exhale blew forth.

“You’re so beautiful.” He whispered the words with reverence, his eyes trailing a path down my body as if he had discovered an ancient priceless artifact that was to be treasured. Warmth pooled in my belly, and I turned my gaze to the side, suddenly feeling shy.

I squirmed a little. “Don’t just kneel there staring,” I groused. I slid my gaze to him, peeking at him out of the corner of my eye. “You should undress too.”

Drake blinked as if that notion had been tucked into the recesses of his mind, only now coming to the forefront. A wicked grin curled over his lips.

“Aren’t we eager?” He said, a talon slicing out as he snapped my bra strap in half.

My mouth popped open and close as a retort hung on my tongue. “I-you, ugh, that was my favorite bra! ”

He chuckled darkly. “By the time I'm done with you, bras will be the last thing on your mind.”Drake grabbed the hem of his tunic, then pulled it over his head.

My mouth fell open at the sight of the sculpted muscles that played along his bronzed upper body.

The shadows in the room danced along his padded pecs and the rippling muscles and planes of his abs as solid as stone.

Immediately the male slipped his tongue into my mouth. I moaned against him, my fingers gripping his shoulders. I was vaguely aware of more material slicing before the kiss of air greeted my hardened nipples and my sex.

Then his fingers circled my clit. I writhed beneath him, practically mewling as he slid his finger along my slick folds before gliding into my hot core.

My hips bucked underneath him as my channel fought to pull him in deeper.

He slid his fingers in and out, picking up a rhythm that had my soul rising, peaking, cresting an edge.

His lips trailed lower to the mound of my breasts. I nearly ached for the feel of his lips on my nipples. Yet, his tongue skirted around the hardened nubs, circling them but never quite reaching.

My hands encircled his nape as I tried to drag his mouth to where I needed it. Another dark chuckle rumbled from his chest. Then, his lips found my right nipple. I threw my head back as an electrifying jolt danced along the mound where his tongue flicked and sucked me inside.

A graze of teeth followed, and blackened starbursts flashed into view. His fingers worked inside me, building up the raw ache in my core. It swelled and rose, soon becoming near unbearable.

“Drake,” I cried. “I-I can’t, I—” My lips quivered as another ripple of pleasure spiked even further .

“Come on, my sweet princess,” Drake purred, his warm breath fanning my swollen nipple. “Come for me.”

He sucked my left nipple into his mouth, and at the same moment, his finger hit a spot in me that sent a shockwave blasting through my veins.

A scream tore from my throat as my back bowed, my limbs trembling.

Drake worked me through my orgasm as he nuzzled my breast. The world around me fractured and shattered, a kaleidoscope of color bursting into my mind.

Warmth blazed through every cell in my body, leaving me heady inside.

Then the wave ebbed, the swell of pleasure falling, dragging me down back into reality with panting breaths. My chest heaved. My eyelids cracked open to find Drake watching me like I was something…someone precious.