Page 20 of Rising Reign (The Wolves of Crescent Creek #3)

WREN

My gaze stayed fixed on Ender’s eyes as my heart raced, and my nipples pebbled in the cool afternoon air. I watched as those amber depths shifted and changed. Gold sparked in them as his pupils dilated.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ender’s fingers tighten around the bottle of whiskey and the arm of the chair. I felt the battle brewing within him as fur rippled over his forearms. “Walk. Away,” he growled.

I jutted out my chin. “No.”

I was done with these games. We needed something to break the cycle we were in. Moments of understanding followed quickly by a panicked retreat. We’d never move forward if stepping out was always followed by stepping back. And this was the only thing I could think of to break through.

Reckless? Yes. Dangerous? Quite possibly .

But I didn’t give a damn. Because the way Ender was holding himself back from me was killing me slowly.

“Wren,” he rasped. “My restraint is fraying.”

“Good.” I kicked off one shoe and then the other.

“Wren,” Ender ground out in warning.

My fingers hooked in the band of my leggings, ignoring the tone in his voice. I slowly slid the spandex down my legs and kicked it off to the side. As I straightened, my confidence swelled. Because the rest of the guys had given me that. And more, I’d given it to myself.

My scarred skin was evidence of my strength and all I’d survived. My toned muscles were proof of all the work I’d put into building my strength so I’d be ready to fight. And I knew my eyes shone with need—a desire I was no longer hiding.

Ender could deal with it, or he could run.

“Kitten,” he growled.

I didn’t move.

He leaned forward in his chair, his hands hovering over my legs but not making contact. And then he scented the air as if memorizing the smell. “I don’t deserve to touch this skin.”

“Maybe, maybe not. But I want you to either way.”

A low, rumbling sound emanated from Ender’s chest, and his fingertips skated over my thighs. He closed his eyes and groaned. “Like warm silk, marked with your battle victories. I feel how strong you are. How fierce.”

I shivered but didn’t move.

Ender’s fingers tracked higher. “Every line is a story your body tells.” He opened his eyes and looked up into mine. “A story I’d give anything to know, and even more to ease.”

Pressure built behind my eyes. I could take angry Ender. I could even take cruel Ender. But gentle Ender? That would kill me.

I lifted my hands as I moved in closer, sinking them into the hair piled on Ender’s head in a knot. I gripped it hard, fascinated by how his eyes sparked as I did .

“Kitten,” he growled.

“You promised me something.”

More golden sparks danced across Ender’s eyes. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”

“Don’t I?” I challenged. One hand tangled deeper in his hair, pulling tighter as my other grazed the shaved side of his head with my nails.

He let out a low snarl. “You want to play?”

“Yes,” I breathed.

Ender moved so fast I didn’t have a chance to brace. He cupped me at the apex of my thighs, hauling me closer to him. My back arched, pressing me into him, seeking more contact and friction.

“My little kitten’s a greedy girl,” he all but purred as I ground against his hand.

My mouth fell open, heat building between my legs.

And then his fingers parted me.

I sucked in a breath as two slid inside. I steadied myself on Ender’s shoulder with one hand, my other still in his hair.

“Bend over,” Ender ordered. “Give me one of those pretty nipples. I’ve been dying to know what you taste like.”

My body obeyed before my mind had a chance to process the command. Maybe it was my wolf taking over, or maybe it was my nerve endings dying for more of Ender’s touch. I didn’t care. I simply wanted to give myself to whatever this was between us.

Ender’s lips closed around the bud, pulling it deep into his mouth. My back arched, and a moan slipped free. Ender’s tongue swirled around the hard peak, pulling it tauter as his fingers mirrored the motion inside me.

“Give me more,” he growled around my nipple. “Let me stretch you so you’re ready for me to truly take you. Soak my hand and come on my fingers.”

My body moved like an instrument, and he was the conductor. Building crescendos and easing decrescendos. Every time I got close, Ender sensed it and backed off.

It was my turn to let out a growl as the swirl of his fingers slowed. I gripped his hair tighter, pulling him back from my breast, my eyes flashing to wolf.

Ender let out a low chuckle. “Need something?”

“Yes,” I ground out.

“Tell me,” he challenged.

“Make me come.”

A smile tugged at his lips. “My fucking pleasure.”

Ender’s fingers swirled wider as they thrust in and out. The stretch was almost painful but not quite. My legs began to tremble, and my eyes fluttered closed.

“Don’t,” he snapped. “Eyes on me. I don’t want to lose a second of that turquoise. Need to see how they darken when you shatter.”

My walls fluttered around his fingers as he pumped them in and out of me.

“That’s my girl, my vicious kitten. Show me how beautifully you come for me. Show me you’re ready to take me.”

His words sent me over the edge, the orgasm crashing into me. I struggled to stay on my feet as wave after wave hit me, struggled to keep my eyes on Ender, but his wonder held me captive. His reverence.

He led me through every last peak and valley until he pulled his fingers from me. Then he stood, forcing me back a step but never losing my eyes before licking his fingers clean. It was then that his eyes closed. “Everything I dreamed of.”

Ender’s eyes were pure gold when they reopened. Pure fire. Pure need. “Hands on the chair, Kitten.”

A shiver racked my body, but I was already moving, bending and gripping the chair resting against the tree.

I heard the sound of a zipper. Shuffling. Every part of me stood at attention .

“Look at my beautiful kitten. Ass on display. Pussy dripping. Last chance. Want to run, Kitten?”

My mouth went dry as a new rush of wetness flooded my thighs. “Not running anywhere.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he growled.

And he was right. There was no warning. No easing in with Ender. He gripped my hips and took. Slamming into me so hard my eyes watered.

But it was him . And that made it beautiful.

Raw, feral need. As if Ender were bleeding out every tortured moment that had shored up between us. He took and released, over and over. The sheer power of all he was had my legs trembling and walls fluttering.

“Not yet,” Ender snarled. He fisted his hand in my hair, pulling it tight and forcing me to hold on, to fight back the final crest.

He thrust in, impossibly deeper, hitting a spot that had tears springing free. “Let go,” he ordered.

And I did.

The force of the orgasm had my vision tunneling and darkness threatening to overtake me, but I fought it back, just like I fought for Ender to let me in.

I gave as good as I got, meeting him thrust for thrust as he came.

He released so deep inside me that it only sent me tumbling anew.

But I wanted it all. Everything he had to give.

His thrusts started to slow, his breathing becoming ragged as one last wave hit me—so much pleasure it was almost painful now.

I fought to stay standing. As if he sensed it, Ender wrapped an arm around my stomach and pulled me upright.

I felt his chest heave against my back, his dick still twitching inside me as I struggled to catch my breath.

For the first time, I felt like I’d gotten the real Ender. No holding back. No walls. Simply him.

As he slid from my body, I winced, the pain at the loss of him, the tender aftermath of what we’d shared. Ender stiffened. “I’m sorry. I?— ”

I whirled on him. “Don’t you dare. I wanted this. I gave as good as I got, so pull your head out of your ass and stop pushing me away.”

One corner of Ender’s mouth kicked up. “Okay.”

“Okay?” I parroted, shock racing through me.

“Okay, Kitten.” He brushed his lips across mine. And then he pulled his T-shirt over his head and put it on me, gently sliding one arm through one sleeve and then the other.

I watched as he pulled his pants back on and slid his feet into his shoes, then he brushed the hair out of my face and tucked it behind my ear. He kissed me again. “I’m going to be so bad at this,” he warned.

“Better than not trying at all,” I whispered.

“I hope you’re right.”

A throat cleared, and we both whirled to find Brix grinning at us. “I’m going to take it that this means you two are starting to figure your shit out?”