Page 28 of Protector

He pauses. “If that’s what you think I did.”

No. That’s what I know he did.

“Forget it.”

“Mm. Okay. I’d rather snuggle than argue with you anyway. If you’re going to bite my head off, at least I have you skin-to-skin while you did it.” And, punctuating his surprisingly light-hearted comment, he uses his shifter strength to pull me against him again.

Actually, he used a little more force than before. My back arches, my ass slamming into his dick so quickly, the entire fucking thing seems to be nestled in my cheeks.

I gasp.

He growls.

I can’t help myself. It’s such a ridiculous situation that, if I don’t laugh now, I might start cursing up a storm at how quickly my fate has changed. “You know, you made that sound at the creek earlier. I thought you were pissed at me.”

It’s not the only time he has, and I’ve clocked it as half possessive, half pissed whenever he does it.

“I was,” he says bluntly. “You were sleeping naked by the creek where anyone could’ve seen you.”

And? “I’m a predator, hotshot. Even if they tried to catch me off-guard, I think I could’ve handled them. I’m two-for-two with witches, yeah?”

I had to say it. What happened with the witches… that just proves my point. I’m not the one who went down when the spells were flying. For Luna’s sake, my wolf is too vicious to go down until I’m dead.

But she’s still got a protector streak a mile wide. Usually, I only take care of those that the Luna tells me to. Lorelei is the only exception, though I’ve recently added Fallon to the list; my duty to her and Jolie is complete, but if anyone fucks with her, they have to go through me first. The way she insisted on shielding Tristan and doing anything to keep him safe while he was too vulnerable to do so himself?

My wolf wanted to protect him—because my wolf still looks at his and sees her mate.

“I’m not worried about that. I know what happened at the Coven House. How you tore out Remy Gauther’s throat… do you know how long I’ve wanted to do that? All the decades of listening to him run his mouth, but I couldn’t do shit about it because Lucas insisted on an uneasy truce with the witches until the curse was broken? And you did it, easy as that.”

Something happens. Tristan moves, taking his cock with him, and I figure he just caught on to the fact that, with the right angle, he could easily mount me—and I probably would’ve let him.

His skin slides across the cave floor. I hear it, but I have no idea where he’s going until one warm hand settles on my thigh. That’s not all he does, either.

Tristan nuzzles my hip with his nose before slowly, slowly using his grip to ease me onto my back.

I start to protest, but my words dies a quick death when he whispers into the cave, “When I scented the echoes of his blood on you, if I’d have been in my human form, I’d have creamed my pants.”

Really? I never would’ve guessed it. In fact, when the golden wolf with the slight limp formed one point of a triangle with his Alpha and his packmate, the only thing I remember is the possessive yet judgemental sound he made before he yipped at me.

“You growled,” I remind him, panting in anticipation.

In anticipation for what? No clue. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t sense something in the air apart from mildew.

“Of course I did. Ellie’s cloak didn’t cover much. I could see everything.”

“What?” Planting my hand on his forehead—though it’s still so dark, my palm mashes into his nose—I push him away from me. “Did my naked body offend the Beta’s sensibilities that bad?”

The edge of my palm is suddenly damp. Damp and hot.

I yelp. “Did you just lick my hand?”

“I want to know your taste. Since you tried to stop me, I took what I could get.”

My taste? “Most people start with a kiss, you know. If you really want to know what I taste like.”

I’m being bitchy. I can’t help it. This is such an about-face for the Beta, and though I’m guarding my heart a lot better than my pussy right now by not asking him about that, he has to remember that he does know what I taste like.

We had our first frantic kiss by the creek right before he rejected me for the first time.

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