Page 5

His hands tighten on my hips, guiding my movements against him. “I noticed. You always wear red when you plan to eviscerate us publicly. Like a warning sign.”

I’m surprised he noticed. “Red is a power color.”

“It’s your color.” His mouth finds my breast, and coherent thought becomes significantly more challenging. He sucks my sensitive nipple into his mouth, sending a shiver through my core.

We move together with increasing urgency, and all pretense of professional decorum is abandoned. His boxers join my bra on the floor, and soon, I’m sliding against him, slick with want.

Unable to wait any longer, I slide my panties to the side and sink down onto his thick hog.

The sensation is exquisite—a perfect fullness, a connection that transcends our biological differences.

We both gasp, frozen for a moment in mutual shock, at how right it feels.

The heat of his body against mine, the gasp of pleasure that escapes his mouth unbidden, it all drives me wild.

Then instinct takes over.

I move on him with increasing confidence, setting a rhythm that has him gripping my hips hard enough to bruise. His mouth finds mine. Our kisses grow messier, more desperate as the tension builds.

“Ruby,” he groans against my lips. “You feel incredible.”

I should have some snarky response, some witty retort to maintain emotional distance. Instead, I whimper his name as he hits a spot inside me that sends sparks shooting up my spine.

The wolf in me—the primal, untamed part—begins to surface. My movements become more aggressive, my nails digging into his shoulders. A growl builds in my throat, rumbling out as he matches my intensity, thrusting up to meet each downward motion.

“That’s it,” he encourages, seemingly unafraid of my predator side emerging. “Let go, Ruby. Let me see you.”

Something about his acceptance, his encouragement of the very part of me society demands I suppress, pushes me closer to the edge. My head falls back, exposing my throat in a display of trust no wolf gives lightly.

Percy understands the significance. His mouth finds my throat, but instead of a dominant bite, he places gentle kisses along the vulnerable line of my neck.

The tenderness nearly undoes me.

“Percy,” I gasp, trembling on the verge. “I’m close.”

“I’ve got you,” he urges, one hand sliding between us to circle my clit with surprising dexterity.

That’s all it takes.

I shatter around him, my body clenching as waves of pleasure crash over me. Percy follows moments later, his release triggering aftershocks of my own as he pulses inside me.

We cling to each other, both shaking, both stunned by the intensity of what just happened. His forehead rests against mine, our breath mingling as we struggle to return to reality.

His hands, now gentle on my back, tracing patterns in my skin. “You’re going to ruin me.”

I should climb off his lap, find my clothes, and restore some professional distance. Instead, I find myself curling against his chest, listening to his heart hammer against his ribs.

“The Wolfstone plans,” I murmur. “Were they real? Or just a line to get me into bed?”

His arms tighten around me. “See for yourself.” He gestures to the model we somehow managed not to destroy in our passion. “Everything I told you was true. I want to find a compromise, Ruby. One that respects what that land means to your people.”

I study his face, searching for deception and finding none. Just Percy—complicated, surprising Percy—looking at me with what appears to be genuine respect.

“Why?” I ask simply.

He’s quiet for a moment, his hand continuing its gentle exploration of my back. “Because some things are worth preserving,” he finally says. “Heritage. History. Connections that matter.”

I’m not sure if he’s talking about Wolfstone or something else entirely.

Maybe both.

We stay like that for a long time, my body curled against his, both of us suspended in a moment neither of us expected to find. Enemies on paper, something entirely different in reality.

Eventually, I stir. “I should probably go. I think I’ve overstayed my welcome.”

Percy wraps his arms around me, pulling me close. “Not when I’ve finally got my hands on you, Ruby Wolfhart.”

There’s a raw yearning in his voice that catches me off guard. “You have no idea how long I’ve dreamed of you.”

A rush of heat and disbelief knots low in my belly. “Me?” I blurt out, too stunned to filter the thought. “The wolf threatening to take down your empire?”

“The one who challenges me at every turn.”

The admission is startling… and oddly thrilling.

A part of me wants to deflect, to mock it the way I do everything else. But another part latches on, clinging to the weight of this moment. “And now that you have me?”

His grin is pure mischief. “Now I plan to ravage you all night long.”

He stands, lifting us both in one smooth motion, and for a second, the world tilts around me.

“Back to the bedroom?” he murmurs, pressing a kiss to my temple that feels almost too tender for someone who just said “ravage.”

“Yes,” I say, surprising myself. “I think we have more… negotiating to do.”