01 Taming the Wolf - Anna Avery (20 page)

“What do you want, Anna?” Adam’s head tilted to the side and he watched me through thick lashes. His mouth was slightly upturned, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“What do you mean?” I hated how small my voice sounded. Now that I needed the strength of my werewolf, the bitch was cowering somewhere within me. I needed that extra helping of sass only she provided. Without her I was weak and vulnerable.

“If you weren’t going to die tomorrow, what would you want out of life?” Adam asked again, his fingers trailing down to the buttons on his shirt. One by one he popped them open until ridges of muscle were displayed.

My eyes stared at the small portion of exposed flesh as I answered. “I don’t know.” It was as honest of answer I could give him. Before I became werewolf, I didn’t have a future mapped out. I worked my job, paid my bills, and lived one day at a time. I learned when my parents died that the future could be short. What was the point in planning for something that may not come?

“Well that’s just not true, is it?” Adam said, taking a few steps closer. “You’re not the type to settle down behind a white picket fence and taxi rug-rats to soccer matches. So tell me, what type are you? What do you crave from life?”

I drew my eyes up and met his, they held a challenge I wasn’t getting. A fire burned behind those sapphires and heated me from the inside out. I felt more alive as something stirred between me and Adam.

“I haven’t figured it out yet,” I responded, standing up straighter. At the moment, I was longing for the man in front of me. My lethargic body had been awakened by his sexuality. Without thinking, I licked my lips and watched him through hooded eyelids.

Adam slipped his flannel shirt over his broad shoulders slowly and then tossed it onto the bed. The sight of him in the flesh was breathtaking. I couldn’t keep my eyes from roaming over every square inch that showed. A trail of sandy brown hair went from his abdomen and below his pants. His jeans hung low on his hips, revealing the sexiest “V” I’d ever seen. Adam’s skin was sun-kissed and golden, the light reflecting off of it. I crossed my arms over my chest and dug my nails into my palms. Giving into Adam would not change anything. I couldn’t allow myself to fall victim to the fantasies I once had of the two of us being together. I’d promised him I’d give him tonight, but it wouldn’t change what tomorrow would bring.

With slow, smooth steps, Adam stepped even closer. His hand reached out, and his fingers curled under the strap of my messenger bag. As he drew the purse away, he set it on the floor. A split second of panic pounded through me as I worried he’d find out what was in the bag and that I’d stolen it from him. That moment was quickly squashed when his attention was focused back on me. With his pointer finger, he tilted my chin up and leaned forward. He hovered in front of my mouth, his lips teasing mine.

“Since you don’t seem to know what you want, let me enlighten you,” Adam said, his breath caressing my face.

I swallowed hard and tried to remain calm. So many times I’d been this close to him and rejected what we both wanted. Tonight I wasn’t sure I’d have the strength to deny the one thing I craved from life, the one thing I wouldn’t admit to him. He was the one thing I wanted.

“You want adventure,” Adam began, pressing a soft kiss to my eager lips. “You want a life full of excitement.” His mouth trailed down my neck, goose bumps broke out along my skin. “You want spontaneity.” He ran his hands down the side of my stomach, his fingers gripping the hem of my tank top. My chest rose and fell in anticipation and nervousness. A smirk lifted his lips as he tugged my shirt over my head. I could see my breasts rising and falling as my breathing picked up.

Adam walked around me, my head swiveling to watch him. He was the sexiest predator and I would willingly be his prey. With one hand he brushed my blonde hair to the side and kissed up the length of my neck. “You want passion.” While I was distracted by the sensation of his delectable kisses, he unclasped my bra. Drawling the straps over my shoulders, he let it fall to the floor. My hands instinctively went up to cover myself.

Being like this with Adam was so much different than it had been with Sawyer. With Sawyer it had just been sex, but with Adam I had stronger feelings. I felt as nervous as a virgin on her wedding night. Adam’s eyes devoured me and left me breathless. Here was a man who wanted to claim my body, his sheer presence consumed me. Out of all the men I’d met, Adam was the only one who could make me forget myself.

As he walked around me, he spoke with authority. “Tonight you’ll be mine, Anna. No more scurrying away. No more teasing. No more talk of me and Eve. Tonight it’s you and me. Tonight…I’ll make you moan for me.”

I was practically moaning already. His dominance was a major turn on. I loved a man who knew what he wanted and took it—so long as the woman was willing—and believe me, I was willing.

Adam stood in front of me. I couldn’t speak as I watched him stake out my body. Slowly, he knelt in front of me, his hands resting on my hips, his fingers indenting my flesh. His mouth enclosed around the button on my shorts. Somehow he managed to unfasten them, his teeth clasping the zipper and finishing the job. I knew my mouth was hanging open as I watched him slide them down my legs, but I couldn’t help it. I was a raging ball of hormones. Even my wolf perked up. She sent a wave of want through my body so intense I about tackled Adam to the floor. The only thing that held me back was how nervous I was. Adam was going to be a game changer. Good thing I wouldn’t be around after tomorrow night, otherwise I’d become a slave for him. After I got a taste of my alpha, I’d be his mistress without so much as an argument.
Eve who?

I shook away the thoughts. We only had tonight and that was all that mattered. I no longer needed to worry about becoming a mistress or being treated as an unequal. Tonight was about me and Adam, nothing else mattered in this tiny cabin. The outside world’s problems would be waiting for me tomorrow.

“Your body is torturous,” Adam said.

I scrunched my face in confusion. “Torturous?” That didn’t sound good. I looked down at myself. My breasts were a nice size and my stomach was flat. I even had a nice tan. I thought I looked pretty damn hot.

“Hmm,” Adam confirmed. “It has taunted my dreams these past months. Its beauty always on display, but just out of reach. It’s a lethal, beautiful thing.”

I laughed nervously. How was I supposed to respond to that? I said the first thing that came into my head, “Thanks,” and then regretted it. Heat rushed to my cheeks and Adam smirked again.

He hooked his fingers over my underwear and trailed them down my legs, and the heat in my cheeks grew hotter. What in the hell was wrong with me? I’d only been with two men in my entire life, but I hadn’t been this shy with Sawyer. I decided that Adam threatened my commitment phobia—he scared me. Adam was the first man I could see myself in a relationship with. That was stupid though. I’d be dead tomorrow. Still, it did nothing to ease my nerves or the shyness that overtook me.

“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” I began and then yelped when something hot and moist delved between my legs. Looking down, Adam’s face was buried between my thighs as his tongue lapped at my folds. His hand gripped my ankle and raised my leg to settle on his shoulder. I collapsed against the wall, thankful it was there to hold me up as my body went limp. In that moment, I didn’t care about what was right and wrong, my shyness, or the fact that we crossed the line and were now freefalling. My fingers gripped his head and my hips arched so he had a clear entrance to the spot that burned for him. His tongue flicked out, circled, and penetrated me until I wasn’t sure I could hold myself up any longer. My moans filled the small space and my heartbeat echoed in my eardrums as I lost myself in the pleasure.

My eyes snapped open when Adam slung my other leg over his shoulder, his hands cupping my behind while never ceasing his exploration of my body. I was completely helpless, pinned between the wall and his muscular body. I’d never experienced this level of pleasure from oral sex. I didn’t even know it was possible. It was a whole other level of intimacy that left me choking on my words and my bones flimsy. The pressure built and built, his tongue darting faster and faster until waves of ecstasy tore through my body, leaving me dizzy and smiling like a fool. My head lolled back as aftershocks vibrated through my body.

When Adam lowered me, his lips found mine in an instant. Taking myself on his lips ignited my possessiveness.
Mine
. The word flitted through my mind, and against my better judgment, I liked the way it sounded. Just for the night I would pretend he
was
mine, that we were just another couple taking advantage of being alone together. I held onto the fantasy with a vengeance and felt more like myself. No longer was I shy or self-conscious. I would claim the beautiful man in front of me as much as he had claimed me.

Adam broke the kiss and licked his lips. My eyes tracked the motion. Oh how talented that tongue was. “You taste so good,” he whispered. “I could savor you all night.”

My body shivered in response. Wrapping an arm around his neck, I tugged him closer and reclaimed his mouth, my breasts pressing against his chest. My nipples were hard nubs, and the sensation of our skin touching was an erotic caress. I raked my fingernails down his chest to where I could unbutton his jeans. Slipping my hand inside, I cupped the growing bulge, and he moaned against my mouth. Stepping back, Adam grabbed my hand and escorted me across the room. Taking a blanket from the bed, he spread it out onto the floor. Kneeling down, he offered a hand to me and I took it. I lay on the floor, Adam between my legs and gripped the blanket in my hand. This was it, the moment I’d been avoiding, but wanting so much. Adam’s blond hair hung forward as he leaned over me, the light reflected in it like liquid gold. His eyes pierced to my very core and trapped me in their gaze. I was powerless against this man, and I didn’t care.

Adam kissed my knee and then stood up. He shimmied out of his jeans and boxer briefs, discarding them off to the side. A smile spread across my lips as I got a good look at what I was in for. I quivered in anticipation. As Adam lowered back to the blanket, he positioned himself between my legs. My chest rose and fell rapidly as he pressed kisses to my stomach. Making his way up, he suckled on my breast, his tongue flicking my excited nipple. A moan that sounded like a growl vibrated through my throat. My fingers intertwined in his hair, and I arched my back when his teeth clamped down softly around the sensitive flesh. Sliding up my body, Adam claimed my mouth, his hand softly caressing my hair.

“God, you’re beautiful,” he whispered, and rocked his hips forward. I choked on my moans as he buried himself within me. He filled me so completely it was as if he’d been made just for me. A strange calm replaced my anxiety. We locked eyes as he withdrew slowly and then drove forward again and again. After a ten minutes, or it could have been an hour, Adam’s arms slid underneath my body and brought me forward so I straddled him. As he sat up, I wrapped my legs around his waist and moved my hips in rhythm with his hands on my backside. I arched my back and hung my head as I rode out the waves of pleasure. Adam’s mouth found my nipple again, his hot breath like a seductive caress. Adam lay down, and I braced myself on his strong, muscular chest, my nails digging into his flesh. As I rode him, he propped himself up on his elbows, his hand slipping around my neck as he brought me forward to claim my mouth again. Spams of desire shot through my legs, and they trembled with the aftershocks.

“Mine,” I breathed as I stared down at Adam. His eyes glowed an eerie mixture of blue and gold, and I knew something strange was happening. My body felt powerful and complete, like I’d been traveling a long and winding road and finally found my destination. My weary journey was over, and I’d found my place. I cupped Adam’s face, leaned down slowly, and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. His expression was just as confused as I felt.

“Anna,” he breathed.

“I know. I feel it too,” I told him, my eyes blurring with tears. I felt so silly crying, but an overwhelming joy penetrated the very core of me. In all of my twenty-three years of life, I hadn’t felt lost, but somehow, now, I felt as if I was found. The sheer completeness of my heart was overpowering.

“What is it? What happened?” Adam asked, sitting up. His eyes shot wide as he stared at me.

What answers could I give him? Looking over my shoulder, I eyed my messenger bag sitting by the front door. I stood up and retrieved my bag. As I walked back to Adam, I hesitated. Would he be pissed that I’d taken the book? Or would the myth about wolves finding their chantes freak him out? He watched me expectantly, his eyes volleying between my face and the bag. He brushed a strand of hair out of his face and something red caught my gaze.

“What is that?” I nodded towards his palm.

“Wha—?” Adam’s words cut off when he turned his hand over and looked at the raised pink scar visible on his palm. Bending down, I reached for his hand and examined the mark. It was in the shape of circle, about two inches in diameter. Inside was what looked like a four leaf clover. The longer I looked at it, the more I noticed how much a four leaf clover’s leaves look like hearts. In middle of the clover design was an infinity symbol. I quickly looked at my own hands, and sure enough, the exact same mark was on my left palm. Adam had been quiet, so I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. He stared at my hand and then at his in awe.

“I’m sorry,” I said, not sure why I was apologizing. Maybe because he looked really freaked out. My high of feeling complete and blissful fell quickly as I worried what his reaction would be. I had a sneaking suspicion of what the markings meant, and surprisingly, it didn’t scare me.

“What’s going on, Anna?”

I retrieved the book from my bag and held it out to him.

Adam’s brows scrunched as he looked at the book. “How’d you get this?”

“The night of the hunt, I backtracked and took it. I needed answers.” I kept Elle out of it, she didn’t need Adam pissed at her.