Page 33 of Wolf's Claimed Mate
He was still a human, watching me with…
No, that couldn’t be true.
He seemed almost in awe. This wasn’t just desire but something more. Something that hurts to look at. I snarled, took a step back. Conall relaxed, and I tried, even through my leopard’s eyes, not to look at his body in its entirety. I’d tried not noticing before but it was useless.
Not knowing how else to deal with my feelings, I put enough space between us that felt safe.
And then I launched myself at him, paws outstretched, aiming for his breakable human skin. Just before I could reach, Conall shifted on a leap, easy as anything, without thought. Soon, a light brown wolf towered over me, stalking me. My teeth bared, I slunk back.
Conall pressed low and then sprung, leaping right over my whole body, and tore off into the woods, kicking up leaves and stray twigs behind him. I gave a yowl of displeasure at being left behind and caught sight of his tail streaming behind him as he disappeared.
***
The woods whizzed past me, branches breaking beneath my paws, leaves fluttering in my wake as I thundered through. Every sound, sight, and smell attacked my senses blissfully in a way I always loved. There was the rough bark of the trees as I darted around them, the crunch of the leaves, the whisper of a bubbling lake nearby.
The earth was crisp and strong-smelling, the winter frost coating the tips and edges, and yet I didn’t feel cold, at least not yet.
Conall’s scent drifted to me on the wind from somewhere to my left, out of sight. I wanted to catch up. I could sense that he wasn’t ahead of me, but I wanted to match him, pace for pace, overtake him when he least expected it.
So I climbed. I dug my claws into the tree trunk, shimmying my way up the nearest tree precariously. They were perfect for climbing, and I knew I had this grappling advantage over Conall. I gave a loud mewl into the air, letting the sound carry until I heard the whisper of paws in the distance stop.
I lunged, tree to tree, gripping onto branches and tree trunks, until the brown wolf came back into my eyesight. Conall turned, his nostrils flaring as he scented me, not able to see me. Did he not think to look up?
I could hear his growl sash as he searched for me, unable to find me.
I leaped soundlessly to the tree he hulked next to. With a spring, I dived from the tree, my legs and paws outstretched, and gave a loud cry as I tackled him to the floor. My victory was short-lived. Conall had me flipped, his wolf’s body massive and pure bulk. His maw snapped in my face, and I bared my teeth. Teeth and claws swiped and clashed, and soon, I bucked him off, swiftly slipping out from beneath his huge form and raced deeper into the woods. I forgot why we were out here, what his original goal was for.
All I could scent were his pheromones and how I couldn’t stop thinking about him stating he’d had sex as a wolf. I knew wolves knotted; Jackson had warned me about that. It had been part of my fear of us eventually having sex.
Of course, thanks to the discovered contract, I knew why he’d not resisted my wishes to wait.
I raced ahead and neared a river. I overlooked the bank, slowing enough that I felt a warm body tackle me from behind with a vicious snarl. We tumbled over and over, sliding down the riverbank, until we hit the shore. Part of me was elated at this, the playful growling and yapping, the swiping claws and playful attack. We half-rolled, and the icy water shocked me into shifting.
I sprawled on the marshy shore, my eyes on the huge wolf before me. One of Conall’s paws was bigger than my head, and I swallowed, realizing I was naked and completely at his mercy if he chose not to shift.
Conall bounced, claws digging into the ground around my shoulders. I felt so small andweakunder his form, but I gazed up into the green eyes that remained so humanlike, reminding me that it was Conall in there.
Without him talking, I could picture the man in the wolf’s skin. I could pretend I wasn’t attracted to another wolf, which had gotten me shunned out of my family home. I reached up, stroking my knuckles down the side of his face. His eyes closed, and a low rumble started in his throat.
I closed my eyes, grasping fur between my fingers.
But soon, that feeling slipped away and when I opened my eyes, Conall was a human again. His eyes gazed into mine. My legs parted, accepting his body’s warmth, his closeness, and, for once, I didn’t fight the urge to be close to him.
I wanted him. Since the diner kiss, since the Starlight dinner, since breakfast, since every ignored text message and attempt of working things out, and every denial of anything being between us.
I’d spent months denying it. One night of rejecting him had led to so much messiness and confusion and now it was building inside of me. My resistance was a damn, blocking my desire, and I was ready to break the fucking wall down and let the desire explode.
With a snarl, I grabbed a fistful of his hair, and pulled him down to kiss me.
This wasn’t the slow deliberation of the diner kiss from that morning. It was the clashing, passionate kind, like the night in my apartment when I’d asked him to leave, when I’d walked away, trembling with desire and anxiety.
Now, my mouth parted and Conall’s breath came harshly, as he worked his mouth over mine, his tongue pushing into my mouth. He pushed me down, into the riverbank, and I didn’t care that I was getting soaked, or that there was no protective barrier to cover me. I didn’t want to be covered. I wanted him to feel me, to know exactly what he did to me.
Our noises were groans and grunts, harsh pants, as we fought to get hold of each other enough. His hand cupped my face in a tight grip, and I moaned at the submissive urges rising through me.
My good girl.
How did I even ask for that?
