Page 16 of The Wolf’s Appetite (The Lycans #8)
AISLING
T he fire in the hearth cracked softly, casting gold and amber light across the walls of the chamber I’d been led to by one of the staff. It felt strange being here as a guest and not an employee.
I’d just pulled my cardigan tighter around me when I felt it—that hum in the air, like static crawling across my skin. He was near. Lennox.
Seconds later, a knock came on the other side of the door.
It wasn’t gentle. It was a firm, commanding sound that sent a pulse straight between my legs.
Gods, he made all rational thoughts leave my brain until all I could think about was stripping bare and finishing what we started back in my cottage.
I crossed the room and opened the door—and there he was.
Lennox stood on the other side, his aura powerful, like a storm barely being held back by the gods themselves.
I couldn’t help but admire his body, at how masculine he was, at how the very male part of him called out the very feminine side of me.
His shoulders were broad, his eyes wild and untamed as his chest rose with the breath you take before a decision that changes everything.
Neither of us said a word, but we didn’t need spoken words when the chemistry consumed both of us.
I still had my hand on the doorknob as I stepped aside, silently letting him in, knowing exactly what I wanted from this Lycan male.
He stepped inside, and I shut the door instantly, as if my body automatically knew it needed privacy for what we were about to do. I was wet… gods, I was so wet my panties were drenched.
Lennox turned to face me, inhaling deeply and growling like a feral beast. I knew he could smell me. I knew he was aware how ready I was.
I clicked the door shut behind him, and the moment it closed, the walls felt too small to contain the heat growing between us.
“Ye were all I could think about,” he said, voice low and guttural, his gaze never leaving mine. “There are dangers all around, but all I wanted was ye. All I could think about was making sure ye were safe and keeping ye close. ”
My breath caught. I didn’t know how I would reply, but talking about the witch hadn’t been it. “I saw Magdalena,” I whispered, realizing I needed to speak the truth before it burned a hole through my chest. Lennox needed to know. “She told me things… about ye. About yer wolf.”
For a second, I didn’t think Lennox even heard me. He was growling, his nostrils flaring, and he kept scenting me, but then my words sank in and he went still.
I just kept going, knowing this was more important than all the other things I wanted to do… all the very sexual things I wanted Lennox to do to me.
“She said she muted yer wolf,” I whispered, swallowing roughly. “On purpose. Tae help ye heal. To give ye time to survive long enough tae find the one thing that could bring yer wolf back.” I swallowed, heart hammering.
“That one thing,” he murmured to himself, his intense stare trained on me like he already knew the answer.
“Yes, me.”
His nostrils flared. His hands clenched at his sides.
I kept going, feeling our bond grow because telling him would answer so many questions.
“She said I’m the one who stirs the bond.
That I’m what yer wolf needed. But he hasn’t recognized me as yer mate,” I whispered.
“ And mine hasn’t recognized ye, either.
But the feelings, the pull—Lennox, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever known. ”
A beat passed. Then another.
And then he crossed the room in two long strides and grabbed my cheeks in his hands, his gaze frantic as he searched my face.
“It makes sense,” he rasped. “Gods, Aisling… it makes too much sense.”
He crushed his mouth to mine, and I shattered.
There was no gentleness, no tentative brush of lips. His kiss was raw and consuming, the kind that burned down every wall I’d ever built. His tongue swept into my mouth, demanding, claiming, branding .
I whimpered against him, melting as his hands slid from my face to my waist, pulling me tight against the heat of his body.
He walked me backward until my spine met the stone wall, never breaking the kiss. His hands gripped my hips, fingers digging in like he wanted to mark me.
And I wanted that. I wanted his teeth and claws to mark me irrevocably.
I gasped as one hand slid down, cupping me between the legs through the thin fabric of my pants. Lennox growled, low and rough, as he no doubt felt the wet heat of my pussy.
“Fook,” he muttered against my throat. “Ye’re soaked. ”
“Lennox,” I breathed, clinging to his shoulders. I knew what I needed tonight. I knew where I wanted him to be.
His fingers pressed more firmly against me, teasing, stroking—dragging a moan from my throat I couldn’t hide.
“I canna stop,” he said, voice ragged. “Even without my wolf… I canna stop this.”
“Good,” I breathed, and he groaned, his entire body so hard and tense.
And then I was the one breaking the kiss and pushing my pants and panties down. I smelled my musky arousal, my face heating because Lennox’s nostrils flared as he took in that same scent.
“My wee mate,” he growled to himself, and I could have cried for how powerful that last word was.
He was in front of me once more, tearing at my shirt until I stood before him nude and aching. He stared at every inch of my body with hungry eyes.
He cursed again, leaning his forehead against mine. “I’ve been waiting an eternity for ye.”
I clutched at him, needing more. Needing everything.
He groaned and lifted me, my legs wrapping around his hips as he carried me across the room.
I felt how hard he was for me, his erection thick and throbbing and all for me.
He set me in the center of the bed like I was something precious and breakable, but the heat in his gaze promised I’d be treated like anything but.
But I didn’t want sweet and gentle. I wanted to be torn apart in the best way by this Lycan male.
By my mate.
I wanted to be the reason his wolf came back. Even if it destroyed me.