Page 38 of Wolf Desired
“It’s why I’ll never be an alpha, despite being in the alpha line. I make decisions too fast, assume things I shouldn’t. But I trust my instincts and my wolf when he’s not caught up in the throes of this madness. He’s never led me wrong.”
She took in the surrounding woods. The landscape had changed color overnight practically, gold leaves coating the ground. In the distance, she spotted an orange or red tree here and there, but those were the outliers. Like her. “All of this is a lot to process, Tiernan. There’s so much I don’t know about shifters.”
That cocky grin of his surfaced. “Just ask me anything you want, my sweet Artemis. I’ll do anything for you.”
She believed him. Lord help her, she was considering this, all because the guy was the most genuine, caring person she’d ever met.
“Are you sure about this? About me?” she asked, the words tumbling out of her mouth without thinking about what she was saying.
“This is more than my wolf wanting you. I want you. The moment I saw you that first day, I couldn’t take my eyes off of you.”
She remembered feeling the same about him. He’d made her laugh more than once. It had helped her deal with the stress of Graves singling her out.
“That’s when I realized my wolf had quieted for the first time in weeks. It’s like we both knew at the same time that you were right for us. Except I wasn’t ready to accept it. I knew you were human, and that we needed a chance to get to know one another first.”
The thought of being with him, a shifter, didn’t scare her as much as it should. She’d become comfortable around the shifters, Tiernan, Maddox, and Rafe especially. But Tiernan had a quality she hadn’t seen in anyone, shifter or human, in a long time. A genuine concern for her. And he valued honesty, as did she. Unfortunately, she couldn’t be honest with him, despite how much she wanted to. There was too much at stake.
“We better get back to the others. They’ll wonder where we are,” she said, finding it easier to avoid the topic than say anything until she had a chance to think. Away from Tiernan.
“Rafe knows we’re here.” Tiernan’s hand traced along her jaw as his mouth neared her ear.
Tiernan didn’t realize she’d been watching Rafe, imagining him touching her. In place or in addition to Tiernan? Hell, she wasn’t sure, and with Tiernan’s hand moving down her neck as he sucked on her earlobe, she wasn’t going to be able to think clearly. Every time he touched her, she found herself touching him back, getting bolder. Wanting more with the shifter.
“He’s been watching us. I’m betting he’s jealous of me.”
She laughed. “Rafe jealous? Hardly. He can’t stand me. Or any of the humans here.”
“You really don’t know how beautiful, how desirable you are, do you?”
The way Tiernan looked at her made her feel beautiful. “I’m just a woman, Tiernan. Ahumanwoman. You may not have an issue with that, but Rafe does. And this program doesn’t encourage trust like it’s supposed to, does it?”
“Like you using a code name? It doesn’t exactly scream trust, Artemis.”
“Maddox was using a code name too.”
“I don’t care about him or his reason. Just you.”
“I have to use a codename. My family wouldn’t approve of my being here.” She skirted the full truth as she ran her hand over his back, enjoying the feel of those muscles. Tiernan was leaner than Maddox and Rafe, but still powerfully built. Knowing he’d protect her, that she really could trust him with her safety, gave her a heady feeling. No wonder she felt empowered around him. But giving him her name? That would change everything.
“I’ll learn your name eventually,” he said, pressing his chest against hers. “Like I’ll learn the rest of you.” His voice gained a seductive depth that made her want to rub herself up and down all over him.
She placed her hands on his chest where she’d be less likely to let her hands roam down his torso and get to learn him just as he intended to learn her. What if her past was a deal breaker?
“I’d like to tell you, but—”
“It’s okay,” he said, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. “For now, I know all I need.”
“And what is that?”
“That you’re giving me a chance.”
He made everything sound so easy. Maybe it was. “You have low-standards if that’s all it takes to get you interested, Tiernan,” she snickered.
“Oh, I’mveryinterested.” He leaned in and captured her mouth again, burying her laugh and any doubt she had that he was quite serious about her.
The taste of him exploded on her tongue, more potent than earlier. Perhaps it was because she’d stopped worrying about getting involved with a shifter. Tiernan no longer came across as a shifter. Just a man, a man who wanted her.
But not necessarily for the right reasons. Or what she had considered the right reasons.
