Page 8 of The Artsy Girl’s Guide to Mating with a Werewolf (Mate Hunted #2)

seven

GRAHAM

I couldn’t take my eyes off Stella.

I’d been worried about getting attached.

Attached was now an understatement.

Obsessed was a more accurate description of the way I felt.

Stella hadn’t so much as flinched when I put her in my bed. Furball always slept next to me, so the sheets smelled like both of us.

I’d been too worried about making her uncomfortable to put one of my shirts on her, so I just tugged the blankets over her chest. She rolled onto her stomach almost as soon as I stepped away, taking the blankets with her and putting her bare back on display.

It was almost as compelling as her tits were.

My wolf didn’t want her out of my sight, so I left the bedroom door open wide and dragged the couch into the walkway so I could sit there and still see her.

She was so fucking gorgeous.

And she was mine. Officially. My mate.

That was insane.

Even more insane than the fact that she put on the stupid pajama pants I’d given her.

She probably just didn’t want to be completely naked around me, which was fine. I shouldn’t let myself think too much of it. I still didn’t know Stella. Just Furball.

Anyway.

It was the middle of the day, so I wasn’t tired enough to sleep.

After about five minutes on the couch, I was forced to accept that I couldn’t just sit there and stare at her like a creep, so I moved to the kitchen.

As long as I was careful about my positioning, I could make something and still see her.

She wouldn’t be as hungry as a brand-new werewolf was after the mate hunt ended, but she would need food.

I made a huge batch of fettuccine alfredo with a heavy helping of chicken and loaded it all onto a plate before waking her up.

She ate in a daze, and I tried like hell not to stare at her tits.

It didn’t work.

They were fucking gorgeous too.

She was asleep as soon as the food was gone, and I felt slightly more at ease afterward.

Sitting back down on the couch, I managed to doze a little.

“What the hell are you doing?” Stella’s groggy voice roused me from sleep.

Or aroused me from it.

Then again, I’d been hard long before I drifted off.

“Uhhh…” I managed, blinking heavy eyes as I took her in.

The woman was still dressed in nothing but a pair of pajama pants with s’mores on them.

Her hand was on her hip, her dark blonde hair was a mess, and she looked almost as irritated as she was exhausted.

Her breasts were on complete display, small and perky and looking almost as fucking delicious as she smelled.

Finally, I jerked my eyes off them.

What was I doing?

What had I done wrong?

“Sleeping,” I finally offered.

I didn’t know what else I could have screwed up while we were both asleep.

Stella gestured to the couch. “I noticed. Why are you sleeping on the couch, Graham?”

It was the first time she’d used my name. I liked it.

“To be respectful?” I suggested.

She stared at me for a long moment before shaking her head. “No. Get in the bed.” She gestured behind her.

Her tits bounced slightly with the movement.

I was staring at them again.

Shit.

I forced my gaze back to hers. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Come on.” She waved me toward the bedroom.

I followed her back to the bed, still not completely sold on her being sure that she wanted me there.

She could’ve been sleepwalking or something.

It took an extreme amount of effort not to stare at her nipples again when she plopped down on the mattress.

She captured my hand and tugged me closer until I was sitting on the edge. “You look like you’re in pain.”

When she scooted toward the middle of the bed, she pulled me along with her, until I was firmly on the furniture and under the blankets along with her.

“Finally,” she mumbled.

I stared up at the ceiling for a moment, not sure exactly how to respond.

“Never shared a bed with your ex?” she asked me.

“Nope.” I paused. “Did you?”

“Nah. It was only a few hours after he bit me when he hit me. He was tired from the hunt, but my wolf and I weren’t going to stick around and see how much more damage he could do when he wasn’t exhausted.”

My chest squeezed. “Fuck. I’m sorry.”

“It’s in the past. About eight years ago now. His pack helped me get away after my wolf rejected him, so it wasn’t all bad. They were decent.”

“Do you still talk to them?”

“No. A clean break seemed best for all of us. Someone in town had to kill him when he lost his mind a few hours later. They were all sad, while I was relieved. It was…messy. Dark, too.”

“I can imagine.”

Stella yawned widely.

It took everything I had not to look over at her again.

“How long were you with Carly?” she asked.

“Not long. My wolf only hunted for about a week. I was young, and she seemed enthusiastic about having a mate. Never mentioned that she’d only ever been interested in women. I guess she thought fate’s interference might change that.”

“Oof.”

“Yeah. I stayed with her for a few days after my wolf bit her, but it was clear to both of us that she wasn’t interested in me.”

“She wore a shirt, huh?”

“Yeah.” I grinned at Stella’s clear attempt to lift my mood by referring to her own partial nudity. My mood was already lifted. I wanted her and our bond too much to dwell on the past.

“What was the rejection like?” Her bluntness was refreshing.

“Painful. The pity in her eyes pissed me off enough to maintain my grip on sanity.”

“I can’t imagine you angry.”

I chuckled. “I feel anger. It just doesn’t control me.”

“That sounds pretty ideal.”

“I guess.”

“Did you sleep with her?”

I glanced over at Stella and found her playing with the ends of her hair. Her eyelids were heavy, but she was still solidly awake.

“Does it matter if I did?”

“Of course not. I was with human guys before my ex. I was just curious.”

She wanted to know if I was a virgin.

And maybe, what my experience had been.

The answer wasn’t a good one.

“We were together twice. She thought it would help with her attraction to me somehow. Neither time ended well.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It was bad for her, not me.”

“Having sex with someone you knew didn’t want you would mess with anyone’s mind.”

I wasn’t sure how she’d realized that so quickly. I’d thought I would have to explain it at some point. Apologize for being awkward about intimacy. Ask her to be patient with me.

“Is that why you keep looking away from my tits?” she asked.

I blinked. “I was being respectful.”

“You can respect me by looking when you feel like it. I like feeling like you’re attracted to me.”

Feeling like I was attracted to her?

“I am attracted to you.”

“I know. The erection gave you away. Though I guess technically it could be morning wood.”

“It’s not.” I looked over at her, and for the first time, didn’t force myself not to stare at her tits.

“Here.” She captured my hand and dragged it to her chest, placing it over one of her breasts. She was clearly giving me permission to touch her.

I squeezed lightly, and could’ve come from the feel of her alone.

When I dragged my thumb over her nipple, her breath caught. “Don’t start anything unless you’re willing to finish it, Teddy Graham.”

Oh.

Fuck.

I dragged my thumb over her nipple again, and her hips arched lightly.

She wanted me to touch her.

Shit.

Stella pushed my hand toward the apex of her thighs.

After a beat of hesitation, I slipped it beneath the waistband of her sweats. When my fingers brushed the slick heat there, I had to clench my jaw not to lose control just like that.

There wasn’t exactly an opportunity for jerking off when a female wolf was hunting you, watching you day and night. It had been too damn long.

“You’re so fucking wet.” The words came out a growl.

“Almost like the sexiest man I’ve ever seen is half-naked in bed with me,” she murmured back.

I dragged my fingers around her clit, and her hips rocked with the motion.

Her hand landed low on my abdomen, and I bit back a curse as my lower half clenched. When her fingers slid into my pants and wrapped around my cock, stroking lightly, I couldn’t stop myself from swearing. And pressing her clit harder than I meant to.

“Stell...”

“Don’t stop.”

I wasn’t stupid enough to ignore her, forcing my fingers to resume the motion.

I was rougher than I meant to be, but her soft moans of pleasure told me she didn’t have a problem with it.

It wasn’t long before she grabbed my arm, holding my hand in place as she came with a quiet cry.

I lost control with her fingers wrapped around me, my climax more intense than ever before.

Our eyes were locked as we caught our breath together, chests rising and falling hard.

“You should sleep,” I finally said, my voice low and ragged.

My hand wasn’t going anywhere unless she moved it.

“You should take your pants off.”

A growl rumbled my chest. “Don’t tease me, woman.”

“I’m not.” She released my cock, and I could’ve groaned at the loss of her touch.

My gaze followed her movements as she slipped her pants down her thighs, my hand still between those perfect legs.

The blankets rustled as she moved them, revealing the rest of her body.

I couldn’t stop myself from moving my hand away from her core so I could take her in.

She was stunning.

Wet, slick, and mine.

“Are you going to fuck me or not?” The sass in her voice made me throb.

“I want to.”

“But…” She waited for me to finish the sentence.

“I don’t want to mess this up.” My fingers dragged over her clit again, and her eyes all but rolled back as she tilted her hips to give me better access. “I can pleasure you again just like this.”

“I want your cock.”

I had to grit my teeth against the urge to wrap my hand around my erection myself and jerk off to her words alone.

“Lay on your back, Teddy Graham.”

Something about the nickname coming from her lips drove me fucking crazy.

I rolled over—and nearly came again when Stella slipped a leg over my hips and straddled me. My own hands were shoving my pants down before I made the conscious choice to take them off.

I wanted her, badly.

Needed her.

“You good?” she asked, her gaze meeting mine for a moment before it dipped to my mouth.

She was still exhausted. It was written all over her face. But her eyes were bright with excitement, her face flushed too.

“Yeah.” I slipped my hand around the back of her neck and dragged her face toward mine so I could capture her mouth.

Her lips were soft.

Warm.

Wet.

This woman was everything I hadn’t let myself want for so many years… and she was mine.