Chapter Four

Raina

I felt a pounding in my veins as I hauled ass toward the woods that butted against the parking lot. There was no time to spare. I could have headed toward my car. I might even have made it, but what would be the fun in that? For the first time since I’d returned to my hometown, I felt alive. I shouldn’t want Bastion James. He was arrogant and cocky and everything I hated about alpha males. But I wanted him more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life.

I’d just stripped to the skin when I heard the howl behind me. Bastion was coming for me, which meant soon, I’d be coming for him. With a leap, I shifted and took off at a fast sprint. I felt him behind me, glimpsed the massive wolf in my peripheral, but he seemed content to let me lead him on the merry chase. Maybe, it was because we both knew how this would end. With him inside me.

I wasn’t sure why my father had led me to believe what he had. I knew the moment Bastion looked at me he was the only man for me. I’d seen ownership in his gaze. Just to be sure, I’d taunted him with the idea of one of his group claiming me, and my man had nearly lost it. Any doubt in my heart had vanished then. That didn’t mean I’d easily give him what he wanted. No. Any man who wanted to be my mate would fucking work for it.

He had me when we hit the clearing, and honestly, I was tired of running. We circled each other. Every time I feinted in one direction, he was there, blocking my escape. I snarled at him, growling and flashing my teeth. He sat back on his haunches, just as arrogant in his wolf skin as in his human form.

I challenged him, growling and snapping, lunging for him, but Bastion didn’t move. He watched me, but I got the impression it was more to make sure I didn’t do anything to hurt myself rather than any concern for his own wellbeing. I’d say it pissed me off, but I’d be lying. I didn’t want a man I could control. I wanted one who’d keep my on my toes, one who’d challenge and push me to be a better woman. A man capable of protecting and defending me if the need ever arose. To be brutally honest, I needed a man who could dominate me, but only at times I chose. Bastion fit the bill on all those needs.

Finally, I sat on my haunches, staring at him. Simultaneously, we shifted, rising to our feet unabashedly naked. The heat of his stare singed over my skin, setting off an explosion of fire deep within me. I burned with need, ached with desire.

My gaze roamed over him. Dark hair hung about his broad shoulders. His dark eyes were almost black with lust. His chest and shoulders rippled with muscle, a dark smattering of hair there making me want to stroke my fingers through it, following the trail that led down to the ridged muscles of his abdomen and farther to the jutting virility of his arousal. I licked my lips and watched as a drop of pre-cum blossomed on the head of his cock. I wanted to touch him, to taste him.

“Kneel.”

“You first,” I snapped back.

“Will everything be a fight with you?”

“Yes. No. It depends.” He had me flustered with that question.

He stepped into me, his cock painting along my belly as our bodies brushed. “Good thing I’ve always enjoyed a fight.”

That was my only warning before he wrapped his fingers in my hair and jerked me to him. His mouth ravaged mine, and I gave as good as I got. No, I took. I climbed him like a tree, wrapping my arms and legs around him. His cock was long and thick, and I rubbed wantonly against him, grinding my sex along his shaft.

Bastion pulled from my kiss, and I bit down hard on his neck in retaliation.

“Fuck,” he grunted, moving one hand from my ass to touch the mark I’d made. Blood smeared his finger, and I leaned in and sucked it into my mouth before he moved it away.

“We’re getting to that. Foreplay first,” I growled, leaning in to lick his neck.

“Should it worry me that drawing blood is your idea of foreplay?”

“I didn’t take you for a man who worries about much,” I countered.

The next thing I knew, we were rolling on the ground. I could have been docile, spread my legs eagerly and let him take me. We both knew where we were headed, and we were equally eager to get there. But I needed more first. I needed him…unleashed. I wanted all of him, and I’d do what it took to force him to let go. So we crashed together, me going wild and him doing what he could to keep me from getting hurt. I rubbed against him, enticing and playing then pushing him away. I growled and nipped, scratching my nails over his skin.

He kissed me again, plundering my mouth and owning every inch of it, and I stilled beneath him. He took advantage of my temporary lack of motion and cuffed my wrists with his hand, lifting them over my head.

“My turn,” he muttered as he grazed my throat with his teeth.

I tried to move away, but he easily caged me, one massive thigh lifting and pinning my legs. I realized just how much he’d allowed. His erection pressed along my hip, hot and hard, and I couldn’t wait to feel it inside me. I thrashed under him, and the scrape of his teeth turned into a hard nip.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he warned, his tongue soothing over the stinging spot.

“Hurt me good,” I urged, lifting my head and biting his chest.

He roared, and I swear I felt the leash keeping him in check snap. He was all over me. Teeth and tongue on my nipples. One hand still tethered my hands while the other stole between my thighs and zeroed in on my clit. He sucked one nipple deep, and I arched upward, forcing more of my breast into his mouth.

“Take me,” I moaned, and he thrust two fingers inside me. I lifted my knee, pulling my leg up in hopes of a deeper penetration. I was hot and horny and so ready for more.

Bastion moved his hips, and the head of his cock butted against my opening. The tip pressed into me, and I caught my breath at the sensations it created. He lifted his head, his gaze snagging mine. The intensity in his eyes made it impossible to look away. He rocked his hips, and more of his length filled me. I caught my breath. I felt speared by him, filled, yet I knew there was still more of his cock to take inside.

He finally released my hands, reaching down to loop his arms under my knees and spread me wider. He lifted to his knees and dropped his hands to the ground, pressing my knees toward my shoulders and forcing his cock deeper