Page 12

He turned and advanced on her—a wolf on the prowl. His two steps had her shuffling back in four. When she bumped into the solid wood of the door, Chanin planted his palms against it and caged her in. His powerful body stood close, but he didn’t let them touch.

Nervous, she licked her lips.

She didn’t miss how his gaze tracked the slight movement of her tongue.

He inhaled low and deep, causing his big chest to swell and come close to brushing against her breasts.

Her nipples, because they were drawn so tight, they made distinct points in her shirt.

She could feel his heat coming off his skin and caressing her through the fabric.

When his eyes rose to meet hers, she found herself lost in his smoldering light blue gaze.

“Chanin...” her voice sounded weak to her ears.

“Do you know what will happen tonight between us, Morlie?”

She may be a novice, but even someone sightless could read the sexual tension between them. She swallowed. “Yes.”

“What?”

Morlie tipped her head to the side. Does he need me to state the obvious?

“Tell me, beautiful,” he confirmed as if he could read her thoughts.

Her heart fluttered at hearing he thought she was pretty.

After being sick for so long and living among dragon-shifters who may have given her more than an appreciative or come-hither glance, none ever complimented her.

Making her always feel that the red-blooded dragons were either simply curious about sex with a human or were just willing to use her if she wanted to scratch an itch.

Neither reason made her want to give them an opportunity.

However, the Alpha wolf made her feel differently. Not only with his words but also with how he protected and introduced her to his pack members. He treated her as if she were his. And she wanted to belong to someone and have someone belong to her.

“Sex.” She cleared her throat. “We are going to have sex.”

“No.” He shook his head. Chanin lowered his head until his lips were close to her ear, his breath fluttering over the shell of her ear as she spoke. “If I just wanted to fuck you, little bunny, I could’ve done that in the woods when you came to me.”

The rich mahogany of his dark, earthy spice enveloped and weakened her knees.

She wanted to argue that she hadn’t been running to him, just running.

However, she knew that the thought was a lie.

She may not have known in her mind that Chanin was out there, but instinctually or maybe because of her mark, she felt him close.

And just like now, his closeness drew her like a lizard to the sun, and she wanted to bask in the heat of their attraction.

“Then what?”

He reached up and captured one of her short curls and tugged it.

The sharp pull smarted, but it shocked her that the small amount of pain sparked in her tight nipples and her clit.

Morlie was stunned by the response of her body and the thought of Chanin fisting her hair as he did nefarious things to her.

She bit the inside of her lip to arrest the moan welling up her throat.

“We will mate .” There was some distance between them as he moved back to look at her again. “Now that I’ve claimed you before my pack.”

Claimed, not introduced . The difference of the two words wasn’t lost on her.

“How?”

A single brow slowly rose toward his blond hairline as a wicked grin curled his wide, dusky, rose-colored lips. Kissable lips.

“Only in the most delicious of ways.”

‘Ways.’ Plural.

“Will it hurt?” her voice held the same tremble that rocked her body. She wanted him, but she would be a fool not to recognize the trepidation that tightened her rapid-beating heart.

“Which part? My cock stretching your tight virgin walls or my claiming bite?”

He’ll have to bite me? She recalled the moment she met him at the preternatural council meeting and the feel of his tooth piercing her skin. It had shocked her and burned for some time after, even if she didn’t know what indeed happened until she saw the small hole above her white tattoo mark.

“I guess both.” She pressed her palms to the door, hoping to draw some of its solid strength.

“Sometimes you need a little pain to enjoy the pleasure that follows.” There went the tug of her hair again. “And I promise I’ll make it good for you after.”

She yearned for him. Morlie wanted to know the truth that lay in his words. Not wanting to wait any longer, she tipped her head back and offered her mouth to him.

Chanin’s growl split the air, making her toes curl in her shoes. But he stepped back, releasing her hair this time. He placed more than a foot of space between them. “Not yet. I must shower first. I don’t want anything between us when I claim you. And especially not the fucking blood of a traitor.”

A traitor. She understood more about what possibly had been urgent enough for Chanin to leave her. However, she would have plenty of time to ask him later.

He held his hand out to her. “Come with me, little bunny. I’d like you to bathe me.”

Morlie stepped away from the door and let him take her hand.

She’d never washed a man before, but she desired a reason to put her hands on Chanin and learn his body.

When they had been out in the woods, he’d controlled their time and kept her from touching him the way he touched her. It seemed this time would be different.

As they headed through the living room and kitchen toward the hallway to the primary bedroom, eager shivers danced over her spine. There was fear, but being in Chanin’s arms would be another way she really lived her life.

Yes, she missed her sister and being around her, and she would call Kai one day soon. But not until she was confident in her place here.

It was dark when they walked into the room, unlike the front part of the house. She couldn’t see anything. She may have tripped or run into something had Chanin not led her.

Finally, he paused and flicked a switch.

Light filled the space and illuminated the gray and black pattern with gold splashed here and there within the décor.

The area was clean, but like the rest of the house, this space declared a man lived there.

There was nothing soft or feminine about fixtures, towels, or tile.

He stroked his thumb over the back of her hand.

She stared at him. Unsure why he delayed.

“Chanin?”

“There’s one more thing I need you to know, mate.”

Anxious, she tapped the outside of her thigh with the fingers of her free hand and waited.

“After I claim you, you will change.” He held her gaze.

She stared into his eyes, trying to read the message in his words and ensure she fully comprehended them. “Change...as in—”

“Becoming Lupine.” He pulled her in and cupped her cheek, the heat of his hand sinking into her skin. “A claimed mate. My she-wolf.”

Her breathing picked up as she stood close and stared at his towering frame.

“If I could take that pain away from you, I would. It is something you can’t avoid.” He bent his head forward but didn’t touch her more than he already was, ensuring he kept the taint off her. “But I’ll be with you the whole time. You’ll not be alone.”

“Will it happen immediately?” Her body shook inside, but she hoped it wasn’t evident to Chanin.

He shook his head. “No. But within the first twenty-four hours after the bite.”

“I understand.” She didn’t want him to see her as weak or think she couldn’t handle his life or stand at his side. Especially after what happened with Minsi. “I’m ready for you to be my Alpha, mate.”

~YH~

“Undress me, little bunny.” Chanin took Morlie’s hands and placed them on the fastening of his jeans.

He stared into her lovely, innocent brown eyes in the bright glow of the bathroom lights.

There was a hint of green in them and still only a few amber flakes.

He couldn’t wait to see them go completely amber.

Morlie’s lids stretched wide, and he saw how she held her shoulders back, using all her effort to be brave and confident.

She had shown that she wasn't a wilting violet by everything she had been through with him over twenty-four hours. Hell, just how she’d gotten back on her feet after Minsi’s jealous attack gave him pride.

His mate was a fighter. She would need that to survive among his pack. They ate weakness for breakfast.

However, right now, he didn’t need her fighting, not him, not her emotions, and not the powerful sexual pull between them.

Tonight, he’d take her beyond anything she’d ever experienced.

He knew she was a virgin and had felt her incredible tightness around his finger.

Because of that, he would take it slow to start, for as long as he could.

Her fingers shook as they gripped his waistband.

They were shaking so badly that she struggled to undo the button.

His jeans were so worn the metal could slip out with a simple finger flick.

However, Morlie seemed to have trouble concentrating, twisting, or pushing the button with her thumb and kept tugging the two sides outward.

Even with her head bowed as she stared at her hands, the frustrated wrinkle of her brow was noticeable.

He covered her hands with his and squeezed.

She glanced up at him, her eyes clouded with concern. Morlie was getting herself worked up.

“Relax. Breathe,” he instructed.

Morlie frowned at his words, then inhaled. The strong tremors in her hands calmed some.

Still keeping his hands with hers, he assisted her in releasing his button.

She smiled at him and then let out a small giggle. “I feel like a dolt. All thumbs.”

“You’re fine.” He ran his hands up her arms and down again to warm and steady her. “All you have to do tonight is feel and follow my lead. Okay?”

“Okay.” She nodded, her short, soft coils brushed over the center of his chest as she leaned closer to him.

“Now, finish taking my clothes off.”

Without further encouragement, Morlie grabbed the tiny metal tab and began to drag it lower.