She instinctually rolled her hips against him and she could feel his erection through his jeans. She was more turned on than she’d ever been with another man, and judging by the hard lump between them, he felt similarly.
He pulled away again and a soft, needy moan escaped her lips. Warmth spread throughout her cheeks as he looked her in the eye. Had she crossed a line? Was her moaning weird?
But his eyes were hungry, like he wanted it as much as she did. “Are you sure you want to do this? This isn’t casual for me. I know it can be for humans.”
She didn’t know what he meant but didn’t care at the moment. “Yes, I want this.”
And then before her slow, aroused human brain could even register what was happening, he picked her up. She’d never been carried like that, like the groom carries the bride across the threshold in the old movies. She wasn’t exactly petite, but apparently this wolf shifter thing made him super strong.
She smiled into his neck, laying kisses along his whiskered jaw as he carried her to the bedroom. He was strong, gentle, and dominant, but he also made her feel safe and beautiful and coveted.
She wrapped her legs around his waist as he laid her down on the bed, pulling him down on top of her. He chuckled, then pulled her shirt over her head and expertly unclasped her bra. She gasped as the cool air hit her naked torso.
He lapped at one of her nipples while he cupped and massaged her other breast, then switched sides to give the other nipple attention. She ran her fingers through his hair, watching him covet her body. It was one of the most erotic things she’d ever experienced: watching a man practically worship her body, not expecting anything in return. He looked up and flashed her a devilish grin.
She reached under the hem of his tee shirt and ran her hand over his abs. He tensed his muscles under her touch and let out a little growl. Desperate to feel his bare chest against her own, she pulled his shirt over his head, stopping only for a second to look at him before she pulled him closer. He grinned, proud that she approved of his body, then continued his trail of kisses down her breasts, working his way down over her stomach.
He nibbled and sucked and kissed down past her belly button, and then she expected him to stop, but he didn’t. Her eyes flew open as her heart jumped in panic. “Wait!”
“What’s wrong?” he stopped immediately, concern etched over his face.
“I just… um, you don’t have to.”
He looked at her with furrowed brows and his head cocked to the side. “I know. I want to taste you.” And then he flashed her a wicked grin as he dipped his head back down between her thighs like there was nowhere else he’d rather be.
His tongue trailed her from top to bottom and a wave of pleasure washed over her like she’d never felt before. She’d never let Todd do this to her, but he’d never seemed to care to do it, anyway. Jason focused his on her clit with quick little laps of his tongue, alternated with long strokes, punctuated by gentle sucking. She moaned and he let out a little growl.
She was losing her mind in ecstasy. “You taste so damn good.” He said in a gravelly voice, smiling into her pussy.
As this magic man continued with his tongue, she felt an ache deep in her middle, her body and mind screaming for him to fill her emptiness. “Please, I need more…” she managed out between gasps and moans.
He slipped a finger in, then two, and started pumping rhythmically. She felt the pressure building. She was close.
“Stop, I’m going to come.”
She felt him grin, but he didn’t understand. She didn’t want to come like this.
“No, I want you inside me when I come.” She said, gently pushing his head away.
He stopped and stood up immediately, never taking his wild and hungry eyes off her body, and pulled his pants and boxers down in one swift motion. His dick was fully erect, large and swollen, with a drop of pre-cum already beading at the tip. He seemed impossibly large, and she honestly thought there was no way he’d fit.
He climbed on top of her, weight resting on his elbows on either side of her. He was a gentle, caring, sexy man, trying not to hurt her.
He kissed her, gently and softly on the lips and on her neck as she rubbed his dick with her hand. He closed his eyes and groaned.
He took his dick in his hand and rubbed it over her entrance. She closed her eyes and braced for the pain, but he was gentle and worked his way in slowly. First just the tip, then a little more each stroke. He worked his full length inside her and she relished in the feeling of him stretching her and filling her completely. She’d never felt so full. She’d never felt pleasure this before.
And then he was thrusting into her in steady, hard strokes. She couldn’t stop the needy sounds escaping from her mouth, so she buried her face in his neck as he pounded harder.
“Come for me, baby.” He said just as the waves of her pleasure peaked. Her body spasmed as she screamed out his name. He grabbed a handful of her hair as his thrusting became erratic and he lost control himself, spilling his seed into her.
And then they were both finished and completely exhausted. They lay there for a few moments, him still inside her, stroking her hair, both catching their breath. When he finally pulled out, she expected him to get up and leave, because that’s what other men did. But instead he snuggled her close to his side and rubbed his whiskered cheek against her forehead, loving her, taking care of her needs not only physically but emotionally, too.
She intertwined her legs with his as he pulled the covers over them and placed little kisses on her hairline, and then they drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 8
Addie stretched her legs and smiled when she remembered where she was. Jason was laying right behind her with his arm wrapped around her middle. He pulled her closer as she shifted to get more comfortable. She wiggled her butt against him and fought to suppress a giggle. Apparently, Jason was a sleep cuddler, and it was super cute.
She heard her phone vibrate from the bedside table and frowned. Oh, that must have been what woke her up. She ignored the notification, because truth be told, the only person she cared to talk to at this hour was laying right behind her. Eyes still shut and just on the edge of sleep, she listened to Jason’s soft snores, the hum of the refrigerator out in the kitchen, and the knocking of the ceiling fan. She grinned into the pillow, feeling happier than she had since… well, forever, probably.
The phone vibrated again, and this time Addie reached for it, if only to put it on silent so it wouldn’t wake Jason.
She squinted at the bright light of the screen and her heart dropped.
Hey babe, call me. I need to hear your voice.
Addie stared at the message for a minute, stomach in knots, trying to decide what to do.
Of course Todd would decide to text her after the amazing night she had with Jason. Of course he would somehow ruin the moment she was having in Jason’s arms.
She scrolled through her other notifications and saw that most of them were from Todd. He had commented on pretty much all her social media pages, including a few of the Instagram photos she’d posted from the barbecue.
Oh, so that’s why he was contacting her now. After months of no contact, he saw that she was having a good time without him and got jealous. She pursed her lips as Jason stirred behind her. He rubbed her thigh and sat up, leaning on his elbow. “Everything okay?” he asked groggily.
“Yeah,” she said, slipping out from under his arms and pulling the tee shirt he’d worn yesterday off the floor and over her head. It was comically oversized on her, but she didn’t have any pajamas here. “I’ll be right back, gotta use the restroom really quick.”
He rolled over and grunted in acknowledgement as Addie slipped out of the room. She walked out into the living room and through the kitchen, and then quietly slid the patio door open.
The wood of the porch was cool and damp under her feet. Addie took a steadying breath and looked around. The cabin site was still and silent and the stars shined brig
htly above.
The phone rung only once before he picked up.
“Addie, baby, where are you?”
His voice rang with false sweetness. His voice and those words would have soothed her soul just a few months ago, but now, it hit her ears with a wrongness that sent shivers up her spine.
“I’m in River’s Bend.” Addie replied coolly.
“I saw that, babe. But you belong up here in New York with me, not down in North Carolina.” Addie felt sick to her stomach. Had words like that ever worked on her? Had Todd always talked down to her like this? She scowled off into the woods. He was trying to manipulate her with sweet words, but it wasn’t working anymore. When Jason said sweet things, he actually meant it. He didn’t try to manipulate her feelings.
Todd paused, waiting for her to respond, and when she didn’t, she heard him sigh in frustration. “Babe, I need you to come home. I miss you. I made a mistake.”
She rolled her eyes. He probably expected her to feel relieved, or grateful, or maybe even hopeful. But really she was just annoyed. “And what about Julie?” she asked.
The line with silent again, and Addie smirked to herself. She could tell Todd hadn’t known she was aware of his little fling with his coworker. “She doesn’t mean anything to me, Ads. You’re the one.”
Addie leaned back on the porch railing, biting her lip and looking at the stars. She closed her eyes and, in that moment, she listened to the cicadas chirping in the background. The wind blowing through the trees. The smell of damp earth and pine. The crisp, cool air.
Those weren’t something she ever experienced in the city. If she went back to Todd, she’d probably never experience them again.
Never get to experience moments around a firepit with Jason.
Never wake up to a man snuggling her in his sleep, just because he loved her so much that he wanted to touch her, even when he wasn’t conscious.
She wondered if Todd could hear the cicadas—the nail in the coffin of their relationship — through the phone.
She swallowed hard. “Listen, Todd, maybe it’s time for us to move on for good.” She paused for a moment, feeling a little guilty over how blunt that sounded. She added more gently, “Maybe it’s a sign that we aren’t meant for each other if we keep breaking up and getting back together.”
“Is this about the other man you’ve been hanging out with?” Addie jumped at the anger in his voice. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. The abrupt change in his tone stunned her into silence. Heat flooded her cheeks as her heart started racing, rage dumping adrenaline into her system.
Well, there went that guilt she was feeling. He continued when she didn’t respond. “I saw him on Instagram. You’ve been spending a lot of time with some loser around town. You’re not doing a good job at hiding it. I’m willing to forgive you if you just come back.” He sounded smug, like he was winning at a game.
Other man? Seriously? There was no “other man” for her like there had been an “other woman” for Todd. There was Jason and only Jason. And she wasn’t hiding him. She wasn’t ashamed of him.
Todd had broken up with her, so she had moved to River’s Bend to move on. And she had moved on, and now her only regret was that she wasted so much mental energy on the past.
She pursed her lips and tried to gather all the patience she had. She didn’t want to be the one to lose her temper. Not with Jason sleeping just inside, and his pack mates presumably tucked away and sleeping in their cabins as well. “Listen, it’s over between us. I’m sorry.”
“Seriously? You’re dumping me for some stupid hillbilly?”
“I’m not dumping you, you dumped me two months ago!” she whisper-screamed.
“You stupid bitch! I--”
“What, did you get tired of Julie?” she said, cutting him off. “I’m your backup plan, and I’m tired of it. I deserve to be someone’s number one choice.” She was shaking with fury, and it was hard to keep the phone steady and up to her ear.
“You’ll never be someone’s first choice, Addie. You’re boring and predicable. You’re the backup, the safe option when the dream girl falls through. And if you think this new guy you’re seeing thinks differently, just know he doesn’t. He’ll get tired of you, and when that happens, you’ll crawl right back to me.”
He’ll get tired of you. Addie’s eyes stung with angry tears but she wasn’t about to let Todd know it. She took a second to compose herself.
“Bye Todd, have a nice life.” She hung up, fighting the urge to chuck her phone into the woods.
She stood there out on the porch for a minute, trying to get her emotions under control since she had to go back into the house with Jason. And as the adrenaline dump wore off, the source of her tears changed from anger to sadness.
Logically, she knew Todd had said those things because he wanted to hurt her. But still, insecurity nagged her, and she couldn’t completely push out the thought. That’s what two years of a toxic on-and-off again relationship had done to her. It made her question her self-worth, and she wouldn’t wish that on her worst enemy.
Her heart hurt thinking about the possibility that Jason might get tired of her and throw her away, just like Todd had.
Maybe she was boring. Maybe he’d get tired of her and move on to someone else.
Someone prettier. Smarter. Funnier. More everything.
He’ll get tired of you.
She was getting cold, so she wiped her tears away as best as she could, stood up and slowly slid the backdoor open and walked to the bedroom.
Jason was still lying in bed, in the same position in which she left him. She crawled back in bed slowly, trying not to disturb him. She hugged the edge of the bed and curled up into herself, staring at the wall, feeling like crap, and feeling disconnected from Jason.
Jason had confessed something huge to her last night. That had to mean something about his feelings for her. And then they’d made love, the best she’d ever had. That had to count for something too. But Todd’s words slithered around her heart and made her feel uncertain.
Jason might get tired of her. She might not be enough.
He stirred from behind her. “You’re back,” he whispered, scooting closer. “I was worried you left.”
“Nope, still here. You’re stuck with me at least until tomorrow morning.” She let out what she hoped was a convincingly light-hearted giggle. He couldn’t know what her words really meant.
He kissed the back of her neck and she thought she felt his lips form a frown.
“I want to be stuck with you way longer than that.” He landed even more soft kisses on the back of her neck and on her hair. Slowly, Addie relaxed.
She had no idea how long she laid there thinking about everything. Hours, maybe. She was sure Jason had fallen back asleep. Her own eyes eventually grew heavy, and she welcomed the relief sleep would give her from her own thoughts.
And as she drifted off, when she was barely at the edge of consciousness, she swore she heard Jason murmur something into her neck.
“I’ll never get tired of this.”
Chapter 9
Jason leaned against the door of Tanner’s old rusty pickup truck. Nothing could kill his mood today — not even breaking down on the side of the road — because of what he’d heard Addie say last night.
While Tanner and Rowan were stressing out about the truck, Jason was taking the unexpected free time to enjoy the sunshine and cloudless summer day.
Sure, part of him felt guilty that he’d overheard Addie’s phone conversation with Todd, but it wasn’t his fault, really. His shifter hearing meant that he heard every word even though she had stepped outside. He made a mental note to tell her about his better-than-human hearing so she would know in the future.
But damn, it felt good to hear her finally stick up for herself and ditch Todd for good.
The only thing to worry about was if Todd’s words had really hurt her. He’d sensed some insecurity when she’d crawled back into be
d, but he’d tried to make her feel better, and then he’d told her the truth: he’d never get tired of her. Hopefully she believed him.
It wouldn’t do to have her feeling insecure in their relationship. Things were finally falling into place for them, and now that Todd was completely out of the picture, they could focus on building a future together.
And then Jason was smiling again. He probably looked like a damn lovesick fool, but it didn’t matter. Today was a good day.
More curses from the front of the truck interrupted his daydreams of Addie.
Jason turned to watch, with amusement, Rowan and Tanner huddled under the open hood of the truck. Something about smoke, overheating engine, and radiators. Jason and Tanner weren’t really car guys, but Tanner still nodded along as Rowan explained what the problem was.
Though Tanner had owned his truck for ages, he didn’t have the first clue about how to do repairs. If it weren’t for Rowan and his god-like mechanic abilities, Tanner would have been forced to part with his beloved rusty deathtrap a long time ago.
“It looks like there’s a crack in that radiator hose, see?” Rowan said, pointing to something. Tanner nodded like he understood again, but the blank look on his face gave away his confusion. Jason swallowed his grin. Tanner was an open book.
“Is that a cheap fix?” Tanner asked, scratching his cheek.
Rowan shrugged. “Not too much, but I wouldn’t drive it until we get it fixed. We can take my car down to the auto parts store in town and get the part right now if you want.” Rowan’s silver Volvo sedan was parked a couple hundred feet behind them on the side of the road. He grinned at the irony of Rowan being a “car guy” yet driving a car whose previous owner was probably enjoying retirement.
Tanner gave Rowan and nod and scowl, because what other option did they have? They were broke and lucky that it was a cheap fix.
“I really appreciate it, Rowan. Give me a minute to lock up and we’ll try to get down to the store before it closes.”
“Sorry to break it to ya, but there’s no need to lock anything up, Tanner. Nobody wants this old beater.” Jason said through a wide grin.
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