Teeth next. Gingerly, he seized a bit of flesh, applying just enough pressure to sting. She gasped, throwing her head back to bare more of her throat to him.
But then he froze, wavering between the desire to pull back or…
Give in.
And, damn it, she was tired of him holding back.Claim me.The thought was so fierce Loren wondered if she’d said it out loud. Those silver eyes flashed as if she had, darkening to a shade identical to the sky overhead.
He needed to claim. Bite. Mark. Tear.
“Please.” She slid her hand along the back of his neck, applying just enough pressure to let him know what she wanted. To make him…
Relent.
Suddenly, he surged, kissing her with the same ferocity she’d bitten him with. Her lips stung. Burned. It hurt. It felt…incredible. Adrenaline mixed with agony, feeding a giddy sense of triumph that she had pushed him to this. Driven him to this state.
Unhinged.
“Fuck.” He hissed the curse against her open mouth, rearing back on his knees. Before disappointment could even settle in, his hands came down to settle over her hips. Higher, raking up the material of her shirt with every inch traveled, until…
Her chest became bared to him, heaving with the tumult of emotions washing through her. Excitement. Alarm. Some fear. The logical voice in her brain warned that he could see her bruises—the ones left by Fred Connors that had yet to heal.
Before she could think to shield herself, he noticed them. Heavy-lidded, his eyes skimmed over each and every one before settling over her face. His jaw tightened as another sound rumbled from his chest. Not quite a growl. More like an acknowledgment.I see the damage done to you. You will explain.
She nodded, feeling her entire body heat. It pooled in familiar places that only ever seemed sensitive around him. Her nipples she could feel hardening while exposed to the air. Inside her belly. Between her legs.
That ache was the most pressing. She had a sudden urge to rub her thighs together just to ease it. The second she tried to, he cocked his head, and she stilled. It was a warning.Don’t.
Cautiously, one of his hands bridged the space between them, ghosting up her knee. As the contact registered, closing her legs became the furthest thing from her mind. She needed to spread them. Let him in. Let him…
“Bill!” The shout came from a distance, but sounded eerily familiar. A woman?
Loren froze. McGoven, however, was already on his feet, grabbing her wrist.
He barely managed to haul her upright before a breathless Sonia appeared through the gap in the trees. Judging from her frantic breathing, she’d run all the way here.
“Bill! Are you alright? I heard…” She trailed off, apparently realizing that McGoven—even as he swiped blood from his lip—wasn’t exactly in mortal peril. “Growling,” she finished awkwardly.
“It’s fine, Sonia,” McGoven grunted. “Go back. You too—” He didn’t even look in Loren’s direction. “I need to scout the perimeter.”
Sonia frowned. “Bill, wait. We still need to talk—”
“Later.” He darted into the woods without ever looking back.
“We’ll talk tonight, then,” Sonia called after him.
When the woman finally turned to her, Loren expected a barrage of questions.What were you two doing out here? Why was he bleeding? Why is your jacket crumpled on the ground near the porch?
But she didn’t. Loren couldn’t help feeling that Sonia knew damn well what she’d just interrupted. And she didn’t like it.
“It’s cold,” she said softly, turning back along the path. “Let’s get back.”
Loren followed, but she couldn’t stop herself from scanning the woods with every step, searching…
8
There weren’t many things that Eric would classify as reaching a level of requiring discretion from even his own Alpha. The short of it was, he didn’t trust Lukka. Not a fucking inch.
Loreck, being the leader of a pack bordering the bastard, needed to rely on a delicate balance of diplomacy and healthy skepticism. Eric, however, had no such limitations. He couldn’t get the words of the rogue from his head. Or the girl…