Page 38 of Heroes & Hitmen (Windy City Wolfpack #1)

I feel the slap of her words, but they don’t sting the way she probably wants them to.

I’m still high from the run, from the rush, from the sight of her wolf so fierce and golden and perfect.

I want to laugh. I want to yell at the top of my lungs.

I want to throw her down and fuck her senseless right here on the forest floor.

Instead, I reach out to grab ahold of her arm, yanking her in close. “It was just a couple of dumb kids,” I say, steady and reassuring. “We’re fine .”

Miley tries to jerk away, but I don’t let go. Her pulse hammers beneath my fingers, matching mine beat for beat.

She lifts her chin to glare up at me, cheeks flushed, breathing hard.

“You’re unbelievable. You just…. just…” She huffs, hands balling into fists as she struggles for words.

“You make everything a game, but there are real consequences. If Alpha hears that someone saw two wolves and nobody reported it, he’ll sweep the entire fucking city trying to find out who it was. What then ?”

She’s shaking now, so furious that her whole body trembles, but I don’t interrupt. I just let her rant, knowing damn well this isn’t just about a couple of hikers in the woods anymore.

Miley’s not one for pointless dramatics. This is her fear coming through– for the time we’ve got left, for the plan we’ve concocted, for what happens after.

That last one’s the kicker. Because if she’s this spun out, it means she actually gives a shit about what happens to me once she’s gone.

“We shouldn’t have come here,” she spits, kicking at the ground. “Not in broad daylight, when it’s open to the public.” Her voice still has bite, but the fire in her eyes is fading, banked by exhaustion and the weight of what-ifs.

“You’re hot when you’re mad,” I remark, because it’s true.

“You’re an asshole,” she snaps, shaking her head exasperatedly. “You’re going to get yourself killed someday.”

I lean in, closing the space between us until she has to crane her neck to maintain eye contact. “Maybe,” I agree. “But not today.”

She frowns and tries to step around me, but I block her path. I’m taller, stronger, and I’ve got way fewer fucks to give about personal space.

“ Move ,” she growls.

“Not until you at least admit you had a good time out there.”

She bares her teeth, and for a second, I’m sure she’s going to deck me. Instead, she heaves a long-suffering sigh, shaking her head again. “Why do you keep pushing?” she groans. “What do you even want from me?”

“Everything,” I answer without hesitation. “But every time you start to let me in, you bolt the second it gets real. Why?”

She falters, averting her gaze. “Don’t turn this around on me.”

I reach out to brush a strand of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear.

“It’s not a trick question, sweetheart,” I say, tipping her chin up and forcing her to meet my eyes.

“I want you. All of you. The part that sometimes laughs at my jokes, the part that tries to boss me around. Even the part that gets so fucking mad she could rip my throat out.”

She looks away, but I don’t miss the way her breath catches. “I can’t,” she rasps. “I can’t be what you want.”

My hands slide down to her waist, holding her there. “Yeah, you can,” I murmur. “You already are.”

“No, I’m not,” she grits out, eyes flashing with something I can’t quite read as they snap up to meet mine. “I’m not open like you. I don’t know how to…”

I cut her off with a kiss before she can say another word to tear herself down.

Her body goes rigid with surprise, but then she melts.

Her lips part, tongue chasing mine. Her hands fist in my shirt, dragging me closer like she needs the contact just to stay upright.

Then, just as suddenly, she shoves me away, stumbling back.

We stare at each other, breath ragged, every nerve stretched to the breaking point.

“Why do you even care?” she demands, voice raw. “You got what you wanted. We’re already fucking. So why do you keep trying to push?”

I step in again, close enough for her to feel the low growl vibrating in my chest. “Because I care about you, Miley. And you care, too. You don’t want to, but you care so much it fucking kills you. You think I don’t see that?”

The words hit her like a punch. She actually rocks back on her heels, like I’ve taken a swing at her instead of just stating the obvious, eyes wide like I’ve cracked her armor straight down the middle.

Then she looks away, swallowing hard. “You don’t know anything about me.”

I scoff a laugh, stepping forward. She backs up instinctively, but there’s a tree blocking her path– and as soon as her back meets the bark, I crowd her in against it, bracing my hands on either side of her head.

“I know enough,” I growl, eyes locked on hers. “I know you’re not afraid of anything except actually needing someone. I know you’d do anything for the people you love, even if it means getting caught in a shitstorm. I know you do everything by the book, but deep down, you hate it.”

She presses her lips together, blinking rapidly, but I see the truth in her eyes.

“You think caring is a weakness, but it’s not,” I murmur, lowering a hand to wrap loosely around her throat, stroking my thumb against her pulse point. “It’s what makes you powerful.”

Her breath stutters, heartbeat jumping beneath the pad of my thumb. “You just think you’ve got it all figured out, don’t you?” she scoffs.

“Not all, but I pay attention,” I reply, lips breaking into a grin. “You study textbooks, I study you .”

She rolls her eyes. “You’re a pain in the ass.”

I lean in, brushing my lips over her cheek. “Maybe, but I’m your pain in the ass.”

She turns her head with a sharp, irritated snarl– not away from me, but to me. Her mouth crashes into mine like it’s the only way she can shut me up. Or maybe she’s just trying to drown out all the noise in her own head. Either way, her kiss is fierce, and I answer with my whole damn body.

I press her tighter against the tree, hands sliding beneath her shirt, the heat of her skin bleeding into my palms. I kiss her like she’s mine, because right now, in this moment, she is.

It escalates fast. Miley claws at my shirt desperately, nails dragging down my back as I yank it off overhead.

Then I strip hers away in a flourish of movement, yanking her jeans down to her knees and shoving a hand between her legs.

She’s already wet for me, and when I slide my fingers inside, she moans into my mouth, hips bucking against my hand.

“I know you like this,” I growl, nipping her lower lip. “You like when I take control. Your head might not trust me, but your body does.”

She makes a little grunt of objection, but it dissolves into a moan as my thumb circles her clit, fingers pumping in and out.

Her hand fumbles with my waistband, snaking beneath it and wrapping around my girth.

A shudder runs through me as her fingers tighten and she starts to pump me in her fist, my own fingers working faster between her legs.

We break apart just long enough to kick our bottoms the rest of the way off, then I grab her by the backs of her thighs and lift her into my arms. She wraps her legs around my waist, fingers sinking into my hair as our mouths crash together again.

Pressing her back against the tree, I line up and thrust inside, her tight pussy swallowing every inch as I slam home.

Her body clenches around me as she sucks in a choked gasp, hands slamming down onto my shoulders and fingernails digging in. Her hips buck as I start pounding into her, chasing every thrust. We fuck like we’re still running– hard, fast, reckless. Savage and animalistic.

Miley’s teeth scrape the edge of my jaw and she bites down hard, clawing at my back. Like I said, she’s hot when she’s mad.

“That’s it, baby,” I growl in her ear, relishing the shot of pain. “So fucking fierce. Mine .”

She cries out as she comes undone around me, her entire body tensing then breaking on a shudder. I shove in deep as I roar out my own release, completely lost in the heat of her, in the crash of euphoria that has me coming so hard I see stars.

Miley sags against me as her climax ebbs, arms wound around my neck and forehead pressed to my shoulder. I hold her there, hands gripping her hips, dick still buried inside her.

She suddenly laughs, but she’s still so breathless that it comes out as a weird hiccupy sound. “This is so fucked up,” she mutters.

“Yeah,” I agree, kissing her neck. “But it works.”

She chokes on another laugh, then looks up at me, eyes shining. “Don’t let go yet,” she whispers.

I don’t.

We stay pressed together for a few more minutes, heartbeats slowing as we come back into ourselves. I’d stay like that forever if we could, but Miley eventually disentangles herself and drops to her feet, the two of us fumbling to get dressed again.

“We’re a disaster,” she mumbles as she brushes dirt from the front of her blouse.

I yank my shorts up, then lean in to kiss her one last time. “Best disaster you’ll ever have, babe.”