Page 28 of The Wolf in My Tavern

“I just need a quick word with Ada,” I say, wishing my cheeks did not betray me by glowing like a fucking beacon.

“Go on then,” Betsy says. “I’ll cover for you, lass.”

I have her out the back, in front of the small barn beside the stable, and pinned against the wall in a flash. My hands are shaking as they settle on her hips.

“Callum?” There is confusion in her eyes but a smile on her lips.

The noise from the patrons is muted but still seeps out. “I can’t fucking wait,” I say before I toss her over my shoulder.

She gasps and giggles. Gods, that sound does it for me. I fucking love her giggles.

I bet that shifter bastard doesn’t make her giggle like I do. I know he wants to make a move. Well, fuck him. He can get in the fucking queue, can’t he? I had her first, and I’m going to remind her why she is with me.

I stalk into the barn, toss her down on the nearest bale of hay, and then I’m on her with my fingers in her hair, holding her still as my mouth slants over hers.

“I need to get you off, Ada. And I need it to be fast.”

She moans. Fucking moans for me, and only me.

My lips are against her throat, sucking against her soft flesh. Gods, why do I suffer this near-overwhelming urge to bite?

I need her taste on my lips, her moans filling my ears. Moving down with purposeful intent, I have her skirts up and my hands inside her panties, finding her already wet.

Why is she already wet when I have barely started? Was it being around the shifter? A deep rumble emanates from my chest, somewhere between a growl and a purr. She moans and fists my hair, dragging my lips back to hers.

I kiss her, fucking her drenched pussy with my fingers and wishing it was my cock. “Come for me, Ada. Right now.”

She does, and I swallow up the sounds as she gushes around my fingers.

But once is not enough. A distinct tearing sound follows as I rip her panties out of the way, slide down her body, and bury my nose against her pussy. Her scent fills me, soothing me, calming the raging beast that brings yet more growls to my lips. I eat her out, smothering myself in her scent.

I lose myself in her and the blinding need to stake my claim.

She comes for me again, and then once more.

“Callum!” Her weak grasp on my hair and the pleading note in her voice finally rouse me from the stupor, and I lift my head, dazed.

My heart rate surges as guilt and panic crash through me with the fear that I have been too rough, that I have hurt her.

Her smile eases my worries some, and when she strokes her hand down my cheek they are reduced even more.

Then she giggles.

“I’m sorry,” I say, helping her to straighten out her skirts and adjusting my painful erection with a grimace. “It has been a long two days since I saw you.”

Her smile widens, and she sits up, reaching for my pants.

I close my hand over her, stilling her fingers. “Not tonight, lass.”

She pouts prettily.

I kiss her to take the sting of my rejection away before taking her hand and helping her back to her feet.

The truth is, I do not trust myself to get my cock out, even for the promise of her lips. A monster is rising inside me, a latent part of me I don’t recognize. I promised myself I would give her time.

But that is a promise that is proving ever harder to keep.

Chapter Eleven

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