Page 69 of Wild Games
It’s not really breaking and entering, I reason to myself, as I step into her private space. She’s my mate. I’m just making sure she’s safe.
Breathing deeply, I growl in pleasure as her intoxicating scent fills my lungs. The urge to find her and mate isn’t getting easier to deal with; it’s getting worse. Staying away from her tonight will be impossible. My wolf is practically giddy at the thought of seeing hers. I already know she’s going to be magnificent.
With the need to be close to her nowhere close to being sated, and an ethical line already crossed, I move further inside.
Her space is organized chaos. Books on magic, law journals and scribbled on sheets of paper litter the coffee table, pages marked with colored tabs. A half-empty coffee mug sits by the sink, with a lipstick smudge still on the rim.
Her jacket hangs over a kitchen chair, and I pick it up without thinking. The leather smells like her, and the weight of her knife pulls down one side. I press it to my face and breathe deeply. It’s a poor substitute for the real thing, but I’ll take what I can get.
“Planning to steal that too?” She stands in the doorway, silhouetted by moonlight. “A scarf is one thing...”
Dressed casually in tight black leggings that show every curve and a dark tank top that leaves her arms bare, she looks morebeautiful than ever. Her shoes dangle from one hand as she watches me carefully.
“I was just...” I set the jacket down where I got it and close my eyes. She knows exactly what I was doing, so there’s no point in lying. “I needed… you.”
I can’t explain it, just that without seeing her, without being close, I don’t feel like myself. Not my old self, who was always anxious and on edge, but the newer, happier version of me I’ve gotten used to having around.
“It’s okay, Jax.” She steps inside, closing the door with her hip as she sets her shoes down. “I could feel your presence through...” She gestures between us, acknowledging the pull that we have yet to cement into an official bond. “And it’s nice to see you here.”
I rake a hand through my hair, probably making it look even wilder than it did before. My eyes are already glowing, and it’s a battle to stay on this side of the room. Just being this close to her is a test of my willpower.
I’m so screwed.
“You came to say you’re not going.” She pads barefoot across the wooden floor. “I can see it on your face.”
No anger. No guilt trip. Just a quiet acceptance that makes me deeply unsettled. She was expecting me to disappoint her?
“Raven will be there. He’ll push and prod, and well, my wolf, he’ll…”
My eyes land on a shiny gold chain, resting inside a jewelry box on the table. It’s his. I don’t even need her to tell me that. And she was still wearing it the day she arrived.
“We can handle it together.” She stops in front of me, hands on hips, close enough that I can feel her body heat. That I could reach out and grab her. “That’s what…” She frowns, throwing her hands up in the air, not sure what to call us, “friends do.”
Friends. Not mates. And I have nobody to blame but myself.
“You don’t understand what it’s like.” I grip the back of the chair, knuckles white. The wood creaks under my hands. “My wolf and me... I want things. Want todothings. To you. With you. And a pack run is not the time or place to test the limits of my control.”
She tilts her head as if she doesn’t have a clue what I’m talking about. “What do you think I don’t understand?”
I groan. “There’s nothingfriendlyabout what my wolf will do if he gets you alone out there.”
To prove his point, my wolf sends me a barrage of images. Camille pressed against a tree, her skin-tight leggings yanked down to her knees, while I bury my face and then my cock between her thighs.
“What do you want to do?” The question is quiet, but I hear the challenge underneath. She’s not going to let me dance around this. “Do you want to… bite me?”
With a frustrated growl, I step nearer, dipping my head to inhale her scent straight from the skin of her neck, from the exact spot where her mark would go. It’s heavenly and does nothing to quell the need inside me.
“Yes, I want to mark you.” The words tumble out, too honest, too raw, while my lips brush against her delicate skin as I speak. “Fuck, Camille. That’s just the bare minimum he’ll accept.”
She moans in delight, not moving lest she scare me off.
“Then? What else?”
With a wild growl, I march her backward until her back hits the wall, and I’m looming over her, hips pressed to hers, fingers tangling in her hair.
“I want to claim you in front of everyone. Want to take you into the woods, shove you onto your knees and...” I cut myself off, jaw clenching so hard, my teeth ache. This woman is my mate. These desires just show me how fucked up my wolf is.There’s nothing respectful about the things I want to do to her body.
Shaking my head, I mutter, “There’s something wrong with me.”