Page 19 of Rejected Wolf

He’d frozen, more like prey than the predator he was. His knuckles went white where he still gripped the glass. How much force could the glass take before it shattered?

“Did I say something wrong?” I asked weakly, caving in on myself. “I’m sorry, I know Rumpy isn’t the best choice. I thought it was… cute. Like you.” I cleared my throat and pinched my lips tight. Why did I have to talk so much? It always got me into trouble.

The silence went on for so long that I was convinced I would never get to know his name. Finally, he seemed to come to some kind of decision. He closed his eyes and said, “It’s Jude. And nothing about me is cute.”

“Jude,” I echoed breathlessly. He still wasn’t looking at me, staring down at the table like all the answers to life’s big questions were written on it. “It suits you.”

His bright green eyes flicked up to mine, just for one brief second, but that was all it took to catch a glimpse of the whole world behind them. I had this deep yearning tocrawl into his lap and just stare into his eyes for hours until I learned all his secrets.

Jude grunted and turned back to the stove to scoop the soup into a bowl. He was all grumpy and broody, and I never would’ve guessed I’d find closed-off sexy, but damn, it was doing it for me.

“Are we flirting? It feels like we’re flirting?” I teased, and though he didn’t look at me, I swore I saw the corner of his mouth twitch.

When he came back with my food and set it in front of me, he hovered next to me, waiting for me to pick up the spoon and taste it. It was hot enough to burn the tastebuds off my tongue, but I barely noticed, nodding and making a pleased sound so he knew I liked it. “Thank you. I can’t remember the last time someone cooked for me.”

Satisfied that his job was done, Jude lowered carefully into the chair next to me. He braced himself, as though expecting it to break. When his weight was settled, he blew out a breath. “This isn’t cooking,” he said. “It’s reheating.”

“Oh. I guess you’re right. Still, I appreciate it. I wasn’t even planning to eat this morning.”

That statement had his lip curling, revealing the tip of a sharp canine. “You have to take better care of yourself. First the river, then the food and the rent. Saving you from yourself is an impossible job.”

My mouth gaped open as I tried to absorb what he’d said so I could come up with a defense. “I mean, yes, almost drowning was admittedly not my best moment, but accidents happen. But—food? Rent? What are you even talking abou…” I trailed off as I started to connect the dots. I gasped and pointed an accusing finger at him. “You put food in my fridge! I knew I hadn’t bought that milk! But what did you mean about my rent? Did you talk to Al? Hang on, did you sleep in my bed? I thought I smelled you on my pillow.”

Jude grabbed my finger where I’d started poking him in the chest. From beneath his light beard and tan skin, I swore I saw him blush. “I couldn’t just leave you on your own. For all I knew, you were going to trip on the curb and fall into oncoming traffic. And it’s a good thing I did show up, because you had no food and you were about to get evicted. Did you know your landlord gave me this key? He didn’t even ask for my ID! What if he’d given it to some other stranger? It’s not safe for you here.”

“I’ve kept myself alive this long,” I grumbled, pouting.

He was still holding my finger, and I kind of hoped he would never let go. “Why aren’t you asking about the whole,” he gestured vaguely at himself, “wolf thing? Don’t you want to know all about it?”

An image from my nightmare flashed across my mind, the length to which Eric would go to find out what made Jude tick. I didn’t even hesitate before I shook my head. “I don’t care how it works.”

He scoffed, eyebrows jumping in the most adorable expression of disbelief. “You don’t care?”

I shook my head. “No, not a bit.

I watched as his brows furrowed, his lips tightened, and his eyes flashed as his confusion somehow turned to anger. His grip on me tightened, pulling me into him, and I had to scoot closer to the edge of my seat. “Why don’t you care?!” he snapped.

“I-I don’t know. From the very first moment I saw you, I just knew you were mine. Your wolf, it’s a part of you. Just like your beautiful green eyes or your muscly muscles.” I tried to smile reassuringly, but he just scowled harder. “I have so many questions, so much I want to know about you, but the how? Not one of them. If you want to tell me about your wolf, I would love to hear it, but it won’t stop me from… well, from loving you,” I admitted, shrugging bashfully as I inched closer. “I trust you, Jude.”

His eyes widened. “Well, you shouldn’t!” he roared, gripping the front of my shirt and jerking me forward the rest of the way, until my hands landed on his chest to keepfrom falling. “You can’t trust anyone! You don’t know me. You don’t know where I come from. What if I hurt you?”

“You won’t,” I whispered, and I knew with absolute certainty that it was true.

Jude let out a choked sob, his eyes glassy. “No,” he whispered back. “No, I won’t.”

With a final tug, he brought me into his arms. I barely had time to take a breath before his lips came crashing down on mine. This was no graceful peck on the lips. It was hungry, all bruising force and gnashing teeth, and I gave in with a deep moan.

Chapter 11

Jude

I hadn’t meant tokiss him. Hell, I hadn’t meant to come barging into his apartment in the first place, but I’d caught the scent of his sudden fear, pungent and acidic, all the way outside through his open window to where my wolf was bedding down behind the box hedge outside. From that stage on, everything that happened was outside of my control. I took my skin, threw on my clothes, and was upstairs using my new key in under three minutes, with no thought to what kind of excuse I would give him.

Now that I’d tasted him, though, there was no going back. He was mine, and I would just have to deal with the consequences.

I had no memory of how he got here, but Morgan had somehow ended up in my lap, straddling my hips. I gripped his ass in both hands, the back of his pants dampwith slick, and pulled him as close as he could get, until there was no space between us. There was no question that he wanted this; the evidence of his arousal was hard against me as I ground our cocks together, friction building.

No matter how hard I kissed him, it wasn’t enough. Every whimper and moan he bestowed me, I devoured them. I plunged my tongue into his mouth, desperate to taste every single inch of him, inside and out. Was this what I’d been missing all this time? It suddenly made sense why Tristan had enjoyed the company of so many men and women. This was…everything.

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