Page 29 of Auctioned Wolf Bride

I hesitated, then finally capitulated. “No. Not at all.”

He chuckled. “At least I’m not the only one, then.”

I froze. “What?”

He snorted. “Trust me, it’s been hard being this close to you for this long,” he growled. “Trust me when I say I’ve been struggling to be on my best behavior.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah. The whole physical attraction, thanks to the claiming bond, has been a real blast.”

“It wasn’t just the claiming bond, though, that’s made the whole thing infinitely harder,” he said. Those intense eyes stared into me. “I’ve been attracted to you from nearly the moment I met you.”

I blinked, my body stiffening. I began to feel warm all over. “You have?” I asked, though not without a bit of skepticism.

He tilted his head. “You really think I would have gone over to Rand’s all those times when I could have just called him?”

My heart jumped into my throat as his words swam in my head, circling, making my wolf stir. I tried to take them in at arm’s length, to hold them away from me. But it seemed that the harder I tried, the more those words consumed me.

“Even if I’m not your normal type?” I asked, my mouth dry.

He shrugged. “I can’t help it.” He gave a sly smirk. “And for some reason, you’ve always been immune to my charms.”

“Immune might not be the right word,” I admitted, my face heating. “More like I refused to let myself fall for them.”

His eyes sparked with interest, and he moved closer to me.

“Does that mean you’re attracted to me as well?” he asked. “Because all this time, I’ve gotten the sense you hated me.”

“Look at you.” I gestured up and down, though with how close he had gotten, it seemed impossible not to brush against him as I did. “You have to know the answer to that.”

He paused, inches from me. His hand went to my hip. I gave a sharp intake of breath as electricity rushed through me, a fire growing between my legs.

“Maybe,” he said. “But I want to hear you say it.”

I could barely breathe. All the air seemed to rush out of my lungs as I looked into his face. His blue eyes glittered, the longing there obvious.

“All right,” I said. “I’m attracted to you. I have been for ages. Who wouldn’t be?”

He grinned. “See? Was that so hard?”

He was close. Too close. All I could think about was how easy it would be to close the final gap, wonder what would happen if we did.

“This is a really bad idea,” I breathed, even as the yearning continued building inside me.

“Probably,” he agreed. His hand moved to my arm, caressing me as lust burned in his eyes, radiating off him. “But I’m game if you are.”

Every rational part of me screamed that this was a horrible idea, that I needed to stop this now and walk away.Except I was tired of being rational. After everything that had happened, what I wanted now was release, an escape.

I wanted Tannen.

“All right,” I said.

That was all he needed. With a snarl, he slammed his lips against mine. His fingers tangled themselves in my hair as he shoved me against the wall, pinning me in place. Pleasure raced through me, sparks flying as my mind went blank, reveling in the sensation of his lips on mine. Something I’d imagined for so long, a desire I had shoved back into the corners of my mind since I’d first met him.

One of his hands moved to my hip, slipping inside the hem of my shirt. When his fingers brushed bare skin, I stiffened. His hand vanished.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said, color rising to my cheeks. “I’m fine. It’s just… I’ve never… you know.” It took all my power not to look away out of sheer embarrassment.

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