Desire Unleashed (2 page)

Completely naked.

Curvy and gorgeous, the petite she-wolf made his cock ache, all he had to do was look at her. Beads of water rolled down her voluptuous body, tracking from her neck to between her breasts all the way down to the juncture between her legs.

Exactly where he’d like to bury his face, then his cock. The dark strip of hair covering her mound was perfectly trimmed. His erection jerked as he stared at her and he found it impossible to control his lust.

He knew she wasn’t aware of him or she wouldn’t be so free with herself. Most of the pack was unabashed about their nudity—himself included—but around him Caro was different. Shy even. Thankfully the wind was blowing toward him or she’d have known he was there.

She’d probably gone for a run in wolf form then decided to take a dip in the ocean. She ran her hands back through her wet hair and squeezed it, wringing the salt water from it.

As she did, she glanced in his direction. Her dark eyes widened and she immediately covered her breasts.

Not that it mattered. He’d seen the perky mounds and those hard, light brown nipples already. That image wouldn’t be leaving his mind any time soon.

“Do you mind?” she practically shouted, her cheeks tinged bright red.

Grinning, he shook his head and strode toward her.

“No, I don’t mind.”

“Damn it, Ethan. Turn around.
Now
,” she said through gritted teeth.

Shaking his head, he turned toward the back of her house. In the big windows that took up a lot of space he saw her in the reflection anyway. Grinning to himself, he watched as she grabbed a towel from one of the wooden lounge chairs and wrapped it around her body.

“I’m decent now.” When he faced her again, her cheeks were still red. “What are you doing here so early?

I thought I’d have time to get in a run before… ” She trailed off and nervously cleared her throat. And that’s when he noticed it.

Lust.

It emanated off her in subtle waves. Like a fresh spring rain it rolled over him, bathing him in its purity.

He shrugged as if seeing her naked were an everyday occurrence, despite how his cock was wedged against his suddenly too-tight zipper. His inner wolf howled and clawed at his insides. The primitive part of him wanted to draw her towel away and visually feast on everything she’d just covered up. “It’s no big deal, Caro. You’ve seen me naked before too.” It had been in a medical capacity but still, she’d seen all of him.

“Well that’s different,” she muttered and broke his gaze. “Come on. I need to get changed and you need to wipe that smirk off your face.”

But he didn’t. He couldn’t.

Seeing her off kilter like this brought out all his animal urges. Maybe tonight was the night when she finally admitted they were meant to be more than just friends. “You want me to start the popcorn while you get changed?”

“Yeah.” She mumbled something else as she opened the French doors leading to her living room. Then she hurried across the room and disappeared down one of the hallways.

Ethan blew out a breath and headed for the kitchen.

Yep. Tonight was it. He’d make sure of it.

*

Caro hated that her face was still bright red when she made it to the privacy of her bathroom. After a long day she’d needed a run in her wolf form but she hadn’t expected Ethan to show up early.

Around him she was always off kilter. Still, she couldn’t seem to stay away from the young wolf. Sure, he was thirty in human years but he’d only recently been turned into a shifter and she didn’t want to get tangled up with someone who could just as easily change their mind about her once they’d slept together.

She’d been through that with another shifter before and didn’t want to go through that kind of pain again.

With Ethan, however, she was really tempted to throw all her rules out the window. The past six months she’d gotten used to the ritual of hanging out with him on Friday nights. She was afraid to get too comfortable because she knew he’d likely meet someone soon and that would be the end of things between them. He was simply grateful she’d saved his life. That was all. She couldn’t take advantage of his gratitude because in the end, they’d both get hurt. He’d meet his mate and she’d be alone. Again.

Shaking her head at herself, she jumped in the shower and washed the salt water out of her hair. After cleaning off and changing into jeans and a T-shirt, she found Ethan in the living room lounging on the couch.

It was hard to quell the jump of desire inside her when she spotted him. His long, muscular legs were stretched out casually and his broad shoulders and muscular arms pulled impossibly tight against the shirt he wore. He worked as a carpenter with his mentor Adam and all those long hours he put in showed. What she wouldn’t give to let him wrap those arms around her just once.

When he saw her, he set his beer down and stood.

The predatory gaze he raked over her body made her shiver. She couldn’t be sure but it felt as if he were imagining her naked again. “I didn’t make the popcorn because I wasn’t sure how long you’d be.”

“Okay, we can make it now. I need a glass of wine anyway.” Maybe several. Glancing away from him and his heated stare, she hurried toward the kitchen. For some reason she was sure he was staring at her butt as she walked. She hated that she liked the thought of that.

A lot.

We are just friends
, she reminded herself.

As she poured herself a glass of wine, acting like his friend was the last thing on her mind. She spared a glance at him as he grabbed a bag of popcorn from one of her cabinets. He looked so comfortable in her kitchen. So right. As if he belonged.

Knowing she shouldn’t stare, she did anyway. His hands had always fascinated her. So strong, rugged and calloused. Even though he was a big, muscular guy, his fingers were long and lean. The fantasy of what it would feel like for him to push them inside her, to stroke and tease her to orgasm— She jerked her gaze up when she realized he was looking at her strangely.

His blue eyes darkened as he assessed her face. As if he could read her mind. Her innermost thoughts.

Shit.
She’d been so caught up in her fantasies she hadn’t been controlling her desire so he could probably scent it on her. S
he
could scent it and even untrained as he was, she had no doubt it was knocking him over right now.

“How was your day?” She tried to make the question casual, hoping he’d ignore her scent, but he didn’t bite.

“Fine. But I think it’s about to get more interesting.”

He moved away from the counter and microwave and lithely moved across the tiled floor toward her.

She could barely hear his movements but she couldn’t tear her gaze from him. The man moved like a lethal jungle animal. As though he was stalking something.

Her.

She was his prey.

And she found she didn’t mind all that much. Or at all really. Her panties dampened so much it was embarrassing. All he had to do was train those blue eyes on her and she felt lost. “Interesting?” she squeaked out.

“You want me.” He said it so boldly her first instinct was to deny it.

But she didn’t bother. He’d know she was lying.

Even as she tried, she couldn’t hide the lust she desperately wanted to cover. “So?”

“So… what are we going to do about it?”

“You’re my friend, Ethan.”

“Fuck being friends. I’ve never wanted
just
that from you. You
know
that,” he growled.

“It’s all I can offer,” she whispered. She might fantasize about him but panic started to thrum through her. This would end badly. She just knew it. Once he found his mate—and she doubted she was it—he’d be gone. Probably sooner.

“Bullshit.” Ethan closed the distance between them until he stood inches from her. She was petite so he had to look down at her.

He didn’t want her to feel as if he was towering over her intentionally but he liked the thought of dominating her in the bedroom. He couldn’t count how many times he’d fantasized about it.

Reaching out, he grasped her hips and pulled her tight against him. His cock pressed firmly against her belly. “You feel what you do to me? Anytime I’m near you,
this
happens.”

Her dark eyes flashed once as she nodded. She placed her hands on his chest as if she were going to push him back. But she didn’t. She just held perfectly still, as if she couldn’t make up her mind what she wanted to do.

When she didn’t say anything else, he threw all caution out the window and took a chance. She either rejected him or she didn’t.

He crushed his mouth over hers, catching her moan.

For a moment her delicate hands pushed at him and he knew she was battling herself. Some demons were wreaking havoc inside her and if he knew what they were he’d try to ease them. Show her that he was different from whatever asshole who’d hurt her in the past. He couldn’t be sure but he guessed someone had or she wouldn’t be so hesitant to give them a shot. But he couldn’t force her so he waited and teasingly stroked his tongue against hers. After what felt like an eternity, her hands slid up and grasped his shoulders. No longer was she pushing him away.

Her fingers dug into him so tight that if he’d been only human, she’d have definitely left bruises. She was nervous. He could feel the tension humming through her entire body and in the way she gripped him as if her life depended on it.

His heart squeezed. What was she so afraid of?

Definitely not him. He needed to soothe whatever fears she had but what the fuck did he know about that? He’d been a soldier. He didn’t know shit about real relationships. Sex, yes. Relationships, no.

Caro deserved better than him, but right now he didn’t care. He was a selfish bastard and she was finally giving him a chance. He might not know the right things to say but he’d figure it out.

All he knew was that they weren’t stopping at kissing tonight. He planned to make love to her half a dozen times before the night was through. When she woke up tomorrow morning, she’d feel him on her. In her. Her skin would be permeated with his scent.

Hopefully she’d realize they belonged together.

Cradling her closer, he ran his hands through her thick hair and cupped the back of her head in a dominating but gentle grip. He wanted her to know he wasn’t going anywhere. Whatever she was afraid of, they could work out.

The longer he held her, the hotter his body grew and the stronger the scent of her desire grew. The sweet scent curled around him, making him dizzy with need.

Right now he needed to touch and mark her.

Releasing her head, he slid his hands to the bottom of her T-shirt and began tugging it up. She froze and stopped kissing him.

“What are you doing?”

She sounded nervous and he desperately wanted to soothe her. If she wasn’t ready he’d stop but he knew she was. She just had to get past whatever issue was holding her back. “I’ve already seen you naked once today. I want to savor it this time.”

Her cheeks reddened and when she hesitated, he leaned forward and raked his teeth over her neck before nibbling on one of her earlobes. “You’re fucking perfect, Caro. Let me see you.” He inwardly cringed at his language but as he spoke, she relaxed.

“If you undress me, I get to see you too,” she finally murmured.

It was obvious she was still nervous but the fewer clothes they both had on, the better. Without pause, he stripped off his shirt.

Something totally primitive stirred inside him as she stared at his bare chest. Thanks to his stint in the military, he had his fair share of scars but she didn’t seem to care.

Her gaze tracked over him with undisguised lust. She’d never looked at him like that and it made him shudder that she did now.

Before he could take off her top, she leaned forward and kissed his chest. Lightly, she traced her tongue over one of his nipples then tweaked it with her teeth.

He trembled at the feel of her mouth on him and though he wanted her to keep going, he wanted her bare to him even more. Seeing her naked earlier had been a tease of what he’d been missing out on. The need to see and lick those light brown nipples made him ache all over.

In seconds, he tore off her shirt and bra. Tossing them on the floor, he reached for her again. Her eyes were heated as she stared at him. Whatever had been holding her back before, she was ready to take the next step. This time he didn’t bother with the pretense of being gentle.

He reached around her and clutched on to her gorgeous ass. Then he hoisted her up so that she had to wrap her legs around him. Even with clothes on, he could feel her heat. All he could think about was burying himself inside her sweet pussy. The faster they got to her bed, the better.

As she sucked and teased his tongue, he headed for her bedroom. He’d never actually been in there but he knew how to find it.

He just followed her sweet scent. The farther he moved down the hallway, the stronger it got.

When she arched her back, rubbing her breasts against him and practically purring in delight, he tripped and lost his balance. It happened so fast but he managed to throw out a hand and take most of the brunt of the fall.