Page 33 of Run Free

When I removed her shirt and bra and lowered my mouth to her breasts, she jumped like I’d just struck her with electrical current and moaned. The little noises of appreciation she made as I explored her body filled me with desire. Knowing no one had ever touched her in that way was intoxicating. I knew the doubts would come and go, but in that moment, she was mine, only mine, and I was the only one who would ever experience this level of intimacy with my one and only precious angel.

As I stretched and prepared her body with my hand and tongue, she shook and splintered in my arms. I had to bite back the urge to claim her as I had the first time. She deserved better than that. Confident she was ready for me, I worked my way back up her body, kissing her as I entered her slowly, giving her time to adjust to the intrusion.

We paused, fully connected as one, as I stared down at her. I didn’t know what love was supposed to feel like, but even though she’d not used the words, I felt loved when she looked at me that way. It was the look that made me want to do anything to keep this woman happy.

I kissed her again, overwhelmed by the moment, as we began to move as one. It didn’t take long until she was crying out my name. My body shook, trying to hold back and wait for her. We came hard as one. I had never felt closer to anyone in my entire life as I did in that moment with Clara beneath me while covered in a light sheen of sweat and blushing all over.

She didn’t speak, but her breathing started leveling out to a soft cadence that lulled us both to sleep.

I awoke the next morning to Dave banging on the door. Clara was still sound asleep, even with the noise. I climbed out of bed and threw on some boxers, carefully pulling the blanket up to cover her before opening the door.

“Hey, what’s all the commotion?”

“Clara up yet?” he asked.

“No, she’s still sleeping.” He hid back a grin. “What?” I demanded.

“Nothing.” He shrugged. “She’s a really light sleeper. You must have worn her out some kind of good if she’s still that out of it.”

I couldn’t stop the proud smile that grew across my face, but refrained from answering.

“Look, Jacob’s here and wants to talk to her, so if you could be so kind as to release her from your spell, and get her butt back to work, I’d appreciate it,” he teased.

I looked back into the room at the clock on her wall. “We aren’t even supposed to convene for another hour,” I grumbled.

“That’s your job, not hers. The boss doesn’t get to sleep in,” he reminded.

“I’m awake,” Clara called out in a sleepy voice. “Where’s the fire this time?” she asked.

“Jacob’s here. Needs to speak with you about Rick,” Dave hollered back, not bothering to even try to look around me. My defensive stand at the door, blocking my mate from view, clearly spoke volumes to him.

Clara groaned. “Give me fifteen minutes.”

Dave nodded, and I closed the door.

As she got out of bed, I struggled to keep my hands off her naked body. She knew it, too. The little minx brushed against me every chance she got. Sure the room was small, but it wasn’t that small. She was doing it on purpose and driving me crazy. I loved it.

“You’re going to be very late if you keep doing that,” I warned her with no threat in my voice.

“Doing what?” she feigned innocently, unconvincingly when the blush spread from her cheeks to her chest.

“Clara,” I warned again.

She huffed. “Fine. I’m getting dressed. If it was just Dave I’d say screw it and call in laid, but this is Jacob.”

I nearly choked. “Did you really just say you’d ‘call in laid’?”

She laughed, and then stood on her tippy toes to press her lips against mine. “See you later,” she said before turning to leave. I growled in approval as I watched her walk away. She shook her ass for me just before the door closed.

I didn’t stick around long. Chelsea was already up and having breakfast anyway, so it worked well. We caught up and came up with a plan to tackle the elephants. Clara had given us forty-eight hours, so of course I wanted it done in only one day. With our schedule and the team in place, it was doable, too.

Chelsea had the team starting in another hour, which gave me time to check things out and get ready. My wolf was agitated by Clara’s absence. I hadn’t met Jacob before, though he had been mentioned by several people around the zoo. I knew who he was but wanted to size up the man myself.

I went over the list again, trying to stay busy and not think about it.

Relief flooded me when Clara returned. Dave and the man I assumed was Jacob were with her.

“You’ve done a great job here, Clara, and I couldn’t be prouder,” the stranger gushed. “Don’t worry about Rick. I’ll personally be handling that.”

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