Page 21 of A Shifter Disaster Thanksgiving

“Is there a better way?” she asked.

“In my world,” he told her, “or at least in Pine Gap, we men simply ask for what we want. We do not kneel.”

“How macho,” she said with a smirk. “What happens if a woman refuses?”

“That does not happen.”

“It happened with me,” she pointed out. “And then you threatened to imprison me.”

He laughed again. “You are an exception. Besides, I needed to have you as my wife.”

“Why, so that you could show me off to your brother?”

In the silence that passed between them, Diane could read his guilt and new she had hit upon the truth. She tried to look offended, but it didn’t last. “What was that all about? Why use me to try to piss off your brother?”

“I had to get his attention. He continues to dismiss me, insisting that my concerns are trivial. I can’t have that. Our father is dead.”

“Well, I don’t think it worked,” she said. “Didn’t look like he cared about your new wife back there. So what’s going to happen now?”

He looked her in the eyes. “You are still my wife.”

She averted her gaze, focusing instead on the doorway. “A wife according to your will, not mine.”

“A wife, all the same.”

Diane made a tiny noise in her throat. “You can’t just keep demanding—”

“I have, so far. And I have another demand to make.”

“What’s that?”

A reply formed on Sylvester’s lips, but he never uttered the words. Instead, he drew closer to her, drinking in the sight of her creamy-white, slender form on the bed. For the next few seconds, they simply stared at each other, a silent question in Diane’s eyes as she searched his face. Her lips parted slightly, and Sylvester felt his self-control begin to crumble. He had only a moment to debate the saneness of what he was about to do before he drew her toward him and kissed her.

Sylvester felt her body tense up underneath him, but only for a second before she relaxed, sighing into his mouth. She did not object to his sudden advance, but kissed him back passionately, her hand cupping his cheek. Her lips were cracked from the cold, but neither of them seemed to care. Sylvester traced his thumb along her jawline, delighting in the softness of her skin.

She tugged lightly on his lower lip with her teeth, and he felt a flicker of excitement. His arousal already straining against the front of his trousers, he stretched his hard body over hers. Almost immediately, Diane wrapped her legs around him so that her body was aligned with his. He pulsated greedily between her thighs, the urge to rip their clothes off and rock together until they exploded, filling him like hot air from a forge.

He let his hand drop to her arm, caressing her skin, and his fingers trailed upward, coming to rest between them. He fondled her breasts one after the other, stroking her nipples with his thumb, and she sighed against him, causing his arousal to grow even more.

Oh, what he wouldn’t give to see her naked body underneath him right now.

It wasn’t until he began to peel her top off that the reality of their situation smacked him in the face. He froze suddenly, then pulled away from Diane. She sat up, blinking at him, confusion written all over her face.

“Is something wrong?” she asked him.

Beside bewilderment, he thought he could detect disappointment in her eyes.

But despite the wild hunger, the lust battering away at his self-control, despite his need to satisfy his burning desires, he would not go on. Not right now. Diane was right. She was only his wife because he’d demanded it of her, not because she had wanted it. But she wasn’t someone he could make use of at his convenience. If he had a shred of respect for this woman, he would not continue to kiss her, much less try to bed her, no matter how hard his erection strained against his trousers.

“Nothing,” he told her. “You should get some sleep now.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but before she could get a word out, he climbed out of bed and left the bedroom.

He would sleep in front of the fireplace tonight. It was as far away as he could get from her without leaving the cabin. Hopefully, he would be able to make it through the night without getting consumed by the powerful desire that had overcome him.

Chapter Nine

A Walk Through Pine Gap

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