Chapter Seven

She could feel him all along her back. Strength and power radiated from him. Having him so close did strange things to her. Need coursed through her veins like never before. She should be ready to run, not ready to strip naked, and spread her legs for him. What was he doing to her?

“You’ve been running from me since I met you. At the coffee shop. The gallery.” His nose trailed down her neck. She couldn’t help but tilt her head to the side, granting him access to her throat. “The woods last night."

She turned abruptly in his arms. Glancing up, she whispered, “Are you going to hurt me?”

“Never. I would never hurt you.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“You’re my mate.”

Confused and aroused, she looked up at him. “Like a fated mate?”

He rubbed his thumb along that tempting, plump lower lip. “Like you were born for me.”

“What does that mean?”

His hand slid down, his thumb cradling her jaw, his big palm curled around her neck. “It means I’m here to protect you.”

“You don’t see me as a threat?”

His eyes narrowed. “Should I?”

She tried to shake her head, but his hold tightened. She should have felt scared, but it just turned her on more. “No, definitely not.”

“Good.” He inched closer. “Let’s get another thing straight right now. You’re not leaving. We’re going to talk this whole thing out, okay?”

His touch was so comforting, his words so soothing. After a long pause, she confessed, “I don’t really want to go.”

She finally felt like she belonged. This little town in Maine had crept into her soul and taken root. She wanted to stay, work on her art, and learn more about these people who were just like her. And maybe, just maybe, enjoy Drew.

“Stay with me.” He sucked in a deep breath. “We have a lot to talk about.”

But Alyssa didn’t want to talk. “Do we have to?”

He laughed. The air left his lungs and whooshed along her face. His breath was minty and clean, and his scent surrounded her. “We should. It’s not particularly what I really want to do, however.”

Her voice came out husky when she asked, “What do you really want to do?”

He treated her to a crooked little grin that would have melted her panties if they weren’t already a wicked mess. “You’re my mate, Alyssa. What do you think I want to do?”

For a moment, she thought about what she wanted and felt a blush rise on her skin.

His head lowered, his lips inches from hers. “What was that?”

“What was what?”

“That thought that had you go red?”

She swallowed. Her gaze locked on his blue eyes framed by thick lashes. Her mate. What did that entail? She was about to find out. Taking a risk, she replied, “I have all these questions, all these worries, and so much bottled up, but all I can think about is how badly I want to get my hands on your cock.”

For the briefest of seconds, his eyebrows rose, then heat flooded his gaze, his expression intensified, and he yanked her toward him.

Their lips collided as her arms twined around his neck. She opened to him, letting his tongue invade her mouth and dance with her own. He held her head still with one hand, angling her to his advantage. The other hand grasped her ass, pulling her closer.

Yes. God, yes.

This is what she’d needed since she first saw him in that coffee shop. She needed to be wrapped around him, to be beneath him. It was primal and powerful and awesome.

Groaning, she tried to get even closer, as though they could become one if she rubbed against him just right. He stepped toward her, forcing her backward until she hit the wall. He pulled back for a second, allowing them each a moment to catch their breaths. His gaze roamed rapidly over her face, and she wondered what he saw. Did he see a woman so needy she was willing to let a virtual stranger have his way with her when only moments before she was ready to bolt? Or had he really seen his mate, the woman made for him?

Well, if he was made for her, she certainly didn’t have any complaints. And if he belonged to her, then…

Reaching between them, she grasped his erection through his jeans and rubbed her palm against him.

His quick, indrawn breath told her he liked her bold move.

Seconds later, that firm hand pulled her toward him, and his mouth closed over hers again.

When he ripped himself away a second time, he took hold of her wrist and tugged her toward the bed. “Questions be damned. I need to be inside you.” He tossed a heated glance her way. “You need it too.”

Boy did she ever, but something nagged at her. “Wait!”

She considered it a good sign when he immediately stopped. He didn’t release her, but he paused and waited for her to speak.

“What does it mean?”

His brow furrowed.

She would likely seem like an ignorant fool, but she had no way of knowing what ‘mating’ involved. “If we have sex, what does that mean? You said we’re mates. If I let you have me now, does that somehow tie me to you?”

For a few moments, he was silent, his gaze intense, his thumb stroking over her skin until he finally spoke. “We should talk first.”

“Just tell me.”

He closed the distance between them. His chest brushed hers, and he took her hands, interlacing their fingers. “If I take you to bed now, no, it doesn’t bind you to me. But if I imprint on you, then yes, it does.”

“Imprint?”

“Yes.” He lifted their joined hands and squeezed her fingers. “The male imprints on his female, and a bond is formed. One that’s instinctual and powerful. It feels like you need me, right? You’re drawn to me?”

She nodded. “Since I first caught your scent. It was amazing and weird and—”

“Wonderful?” He supplied.

“Yes.”

“I felt all those things too. We’re meant to be together, and once I imprint on you, we’ll be bonded. Sort of like a marriage.”

“And this happens during sex?” Alyssa was trying to understand. She no longer felt threatened by Drew, but she was not ready to be united with him permanently. Mate or not, he was still a stranger.

“Yes, but only if I choose to imprint on you.” Releasing her hands, he pulled her even closer, his hands gliding down her back. “It’s not something I would force on you, but this needy feeling we’re both experiencing? We can ease that discomfort.” He tipped her face upward. “Let me make love to you, and then we’ll both be more interested in chatting rather than fucking.”

She was about to open her mouth with more concerns about imprinting when he interjected. “I swear I won’t imprint on you until I have your permission. I come from a modern family and a modern pack, and we value equality. I want you as my mate and partner, not a prisoner.”

“I still don’t know you.” The words were a whisper.

“I have a feeling there are many things you don’t know, but I promise you we’ll sort it all out.”

Answers should have been the most crucial thing to Alyssa. She’d been on her own for her entire life, and now that those answers were within reach, all her body wanted to do was collide with Drew’s. “This needy feeling, you can make it go away?”

“I can certainly lessen it. You need me.” He pressed his erection against her stomach. “You need this.”

Swallowing, she looked up. “Make me feel better.”

The concern in his gaze lessened, heat replacing it. “My pleasure.”

In one swift move, he lifted her into the air and carried her to the bed. He lowered her until she perched on the edge. She watched as his hands went to his belt and released the buckle, then the snap. She licked her lip.

“I love it when you look at me like that.”

It was a labor to tear her gaze away from his strong hands and up to his face. “Like what?”

His grin was seductive. “Like you want a bite.”

With the denim loose around his hips, he dragged his shirt up and over his head. Toned and tanned, his abs were superb. His brown nipples were tight, and his pecs looked firm.

“Because I do.” She shifted on the bed, her gaze consuming him. Bite, lick, nibble, whatever he’d allow.

“There were a lot of things about last night that disappointed me,” Drew told her. “But not getting to see you naked, standing in the snow, tops the list. Strip.”

Alyssa should have balked at the commanding tone, but another wave of liquid heat hit her panties. She yanked her sweater over her head and tossed it aside. Her tank top soon followed. She reached back for her bra fastenings and saw his penetrating stare.

It was so unlike the first time she stripped for a guy. This was for Drew, her mate. There would be no shame, no fear. Only heat and passion.

The bra hadn’t even hit the floor before he pounced. He flattened her onto the mattress, their legs dangling off the side as his mouth captured hers, their naked chests pressed together. The skin-on-skin contact felt heavenly and eased some of her burning need. If a simple touch relaxed her body, what would it be like when he was inside her?

Moving to his side, he palmed her breast. His gaze locked on hers when he told her how beautiful she was.

Flushing, Alyssa wasn’t sure how to describe her feelings for him. He was gorgeous. None of the men she’d been with had even a tenth of the raw sexuality that he did. His body, the way he carried himself, was so confident. Rather than butcher her thoughts with words, she reached out and stroked his cock through the briefs stretched thinly across his shaft.

His lids lowered, but still, he watched her, his gaze shifting from her face to her chest as he pinched one nipple between his fingers.

She gasped, her hand going still.

“Fuck, you’re hot,” he whispered before his head descended and captured that nipple in his mouth.

Arching into his warm heat, she clawed at the bed with one hand and gripped him harder with the other. “Too many clothes.”

With a pop, he released her nipple. “I agree. You’re wearing too many clothes.”

She giggled. “I meant you.”

He shoved his jeans down his legs and kicked them off in one swift move. Then he set about getting her out of her pants. He rolled the leggings down her thighs, knees, and calves, taking with them her soaked panties. The absence of material left her cold in the chilly apartment, but Alyssa knew she’d be on fire soon.

“Crawl into the middle of the bed.”

On her hands and knees, Alyssa complied, but she didn’t have time to turn and settle before Drew pulled her ass toward him. His bare chest came into contact with her back as he brushed her hair away from her shoulder. His lips kissed the tender spot where her neck met her shoulder, and instinctively she pushed back toward him, spreading her legs slightly.

Drew took the hint and cupped her mound. She hissed at the contact and rocked shamelessly against him. “Please.”

He inserted one long, thick finger into her passage and pumped in and out as she rode his hand. Groaning, Alyssa couldn’t stop the noises she uttered or the motions her body brazenly made. She wanted the sensations to last longer, but she was so primed, so ready for this man that in minutes, she was teetering on the edge of an orgasm. He pushed two fingers inside her. The lips on her skin opened, and he sucked as he fingered her, pushing her into a blissful release.

Her arms shook as her body erupted with pleasure, every cell lighting up, as she repeatedly whimpered, “Oh God, oh God.”

As her body calmed, she felt him line his erection up at her entrance, gliding his hard cock through her wetness. His teeth grazed her shoulder, and he stiffened.

“This is going to be harder than I thought.”

“What is?” Again, she was confused. She could feel how much he wanted her. She could scent it in the air.

“Not imprinting on you.” His body was tense. “My wolf wants to claim you as mine.”

Unsure how to respond, Alyssa was about to look over her shoulder when he suddenly flipped her over.

He brushed her hair out of her face. “This is better.”

Looking up into his hardened face, she wondered out loud. “Should I be worried?”

“No.” He settled his big body between her spread legs and angled his cock toward her opening. “I made you a promise. I’m going to make you feel so good.”

Reaching up, she cupped his stubble-covered jaw. “You already have.” It was more than just the afterglow of her recent orgasm that caused her to feel so good. Soon she’d have answers and maybe even a permanent home. “Let me make you feel good, too.”

“You already have. More than you know.”

Tender words for a tender moment. But she wanted the man who’d grasped her chin so firmly and tossed her about the bed as though he had every right to do so. She rubbed herself against him until it seemed he couldn’t take it anymore.

His mouth sought hers, and soon he was stretching her, filling her up as he slowly pushed inside her passage.

Moaning, they moved together on the bed, tongues twirling, bodies writhing, arching, thrusting. She felt alive, just as she had when she’d painted the Blood Moon. Hope blossomed in her chest, along with other feelings she didn’t want to examine too closely. Inside, her wolf brushed against her, happy, as she’d never felt before.

Home.

Mate.

Drew.

Maybe she could have all those things. The tension in her body built until she was once more on edge. Drew brought a hand between them and fingered her clit, rubbing the tight ball of nerves until she cried out. His mouth crashed down on hers, capturing her breath, and she moaned into the kiss as he emptied himself inside her.

For a moment, Alyssa worried about the lack of a condom, but as her body relaxed beneath his, she didn’t care. She held him tight, refusing to let him go until he’d finished pulsing, until his weight crushed her, and until their breathing slowed.

She lazily lay on the bed while Drew went to the bathroom for a cloth. He came back empty-handed. "What bag has your clothes?”

Alyssa lifted onto her elbows. It wasn’t until that moment she realized her bed was bare. They’d had sex on the stripped mattress. She pointed at the big green luggage bag. “That one.”

Drew returned with a blanket and her pillow, which he tossed on the bed before heading back to the bathroom with a small washcloth. When they were both clean, Drew sat on the corner of the bed. “Do you want to talk now?”

She shook her head. With a yawn, she pulled the blanket up over her body. “Too tired.”

It had been two sleepless nights, a lot of stress, followed by phenomenal sex. She was so exhausted that she barely registered Drew crawling beneath the blanket to spoon her.

Maybe it was stupid to trust him so much, but her body had deemed him a requirement, and her wolf was content with her decision to stay. She needed him. She only hoped he needed her just as much.