Page 64 of Seduced By the Werewolves

I get up to my feet, too, because I’m tired of letting other people intimidate me. All the anger that’s been festering inside me, that’s grown every time Mr. Bosley insulted me or demanded I defy my own moral compass for him, is sprouting to the surface.

“Don’t you get it? Whatever happens to him”—I jab a finger into Eli’s chest—“it’ll blow back on me, too!”

“Then we’ll protect you.” He lowers his head toward mine, speaking quieter. “I’ll always protect you, Tiff.”

It sends a shiver rolling across my skin. Eli inhales deeply, his nostrils flaring. He smells like sweat and pine trees, and it’s so intoxicating that it’s maddening. I put a hand on his chest and push him away, but he’s like a wall of bricks. Maybe his build is more slender than his brothers’, but Eli is still far taller and stronger than I am.

“Why?” I hold my ground, even though he’s so close to me—so, so close—and it’s filling my head with all sorts of thoughts I shouldn’t be entertaining. “You made it clear I don’t mean anything to you.”

The growl that comes out of him is most certainly not human.

“You mean everything to me,” he says in a low, rumbling voice.

I gape at him. “Then why?” I ask. “Why did you treat me like you couldn’t stand me?”

Eli’s eyes are wide, like he doesn’t understand the question. Then, with clear shame on his face, he looks down at his feet.

“I didn’t know what to do,” he finally answers. “When I saw how close you were with Quinn, how comfortable you already felt with him, I felt like I’d lost a race. Like my brothers already reached the finish line while I hadn’t even realized it started yet.”

“It’s not a competition,” I say, throwing my arms in the air. “There’s no race. You could have stayed when we all went on a date, you know. We could have gotten to know each other better. Instead, you’ve made me think I did something wrong all this time.”

Eli’s shoulders rise to his neck, and he keeps his eyes anywhere but mine. “It was too much pressure. I move at a different speed. And I thought that since I wasn’t like them, you wouldn’t be interested in me. I didn’t want to fall for you if you weren’t going to return my feelings.”

I shake my head, finally understanding. “So what are you saying? Do you like me, Eli?”

His mouth falls open. Then he snaps it closed and frowns deeply.

“Like doesn’t begin to describe it,” he says, almost dangerously. “I know who you are. I know what you are.”

All the hair on my skin stands on end. “And what’s that?” I ask, voice wavering.

“Mine. My mate.” He steps closer to me, lowering his head so his mouth drops to my ear. I don’t move a muscle as his breath tickles my cheek. “And a wolf protects his mate. From everything.”

Just the words make me twitch between the legs. Warmth is pooling in my belly at the low, seductive lilt of his voice. “You can’t protect me all the time.”

“Yes, I can.” The words come out in a rumbling growl that no longer sounds human. “Because when I drag you back to our den, we’ll all be there to make sure nothing happens to you.”

His mouth trails down from my ear to my throat, never once touching me, just gusting his breath across my skin. The sensation sends a sharp bite of pleasure rippling downward, and I squeeze my thighs together.

Eli sniffs the air and groans. “Is that right?” His hand drifts around my back, still hovering an inch away from my shirt. Then his fingers duck under my hair at the nape of my neck. “Am I turning you on, little rabbit?”

As if his words have taken on a life of their own, I feel my very blood pulsing in my veins. I want to tell him he can’t shut me up and end this conversation just by being sexy. I want to push him away and yell in his face. He has to fix this, somehow. But it’s like he’s put me in a trance.

“W-we shouldn’t be doing this,” I say, my voice unbearably weak. “Not while Mr. Bosley?—”

“Fuck Mr. Bosley.” He leans down and taunts me with another not-quite-kiss on my neck. “You and I have unfinished business, and that’s much more important to me. You’re all I’m thinking about right now.”

The only thing I can focus on is how much I need his mouth to finally taste my skin, how much I need his hands on other parts of me.

“I know what you want,” Eli murmurs. I can feel him changing, his claws tangling in my curls. “I can smell it on you.”

His nose grazes over my shoulder, and then he scrapes me there with his teeth. My back arches, my hips sliding back against his.

“Eli, there are people everywhere.”

But I don’t want him to stop, either. My heart is beating madly, as if I could run a mile. I want to kiss him and I want to flee at the same time. Eli is beautifully, wonderfully dangerous. He understands me, and he destroyed for me. I know now that no matter what, I’m safe as long as I’m with him.

“Is that it?” he asks. “You want to run and hide where no one can see you? Let out all that anxiety until I catch you and rip all your clothes off?”

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