“Really?”
“Yeah… Really.”
“I’m surprised, Jayla.” He scratched the side of his face, frowning slightly as he contemplated her admission.
“Why?”
“I just assumed you were running from me.”
“Wow. Get over yourself. I finished for the day and decided to leave early. It’s been kind of a hectic day. And if you haven’t noticed, I’m trying to unpack my things and get settled into my apartment. Don’t flatter yourself thinking I have to run from you. I don’t run from you, Brad.”
“Of course not. Big bad Jayla Stanton never backs down.”
“No, never from spineless jerks.”
His nostrils flared in reaction to her. After a moment, the fire in his eyes simmered and a slow, sly grin spread across his lips. “I know your game.”
Her lips curled into a snarl. “Get out of my house.”
“Make me, Stanton.”
“Don’t tempt me, Dalton.”
Brad settled into the sofa and placed his clothes across the arm. Reaching down, he took off his shoes and socks, showing his intention of staying.
“You might as well leave, because nothing is going to happen between us. Don’t you dare think about touching me tonight. You hear me, Brad, or so help me.”
“I was thinking we could christen every room in your place. You know, celebrate your move. Congratulations, by the way. It warms my heart, knowing I’m going to be seeing you every day.”
Visions of running her hands over the hardness of his muscles made it almost impossible to keep her anger at his surprise visit plastered on her face. She could feel her resolve waning. Opting instead for a different course of action, she flipped her hair over her shoulder, stormed into her bedroom, and slammed the door. Plopping down on her bed, her smile of satisfaction began to fade. Sure she’d executed a flawless melodramatic exit, but she’d limited herself to her room and bathroom, giving Brad the rest of her house. This included the parts which housed the food, the TV, and her computer.
Disappointed she hadn’t thought through her dramatic choice and not ready to reemerge after her fantastic spectacle of storming out, she decided to take a shower and settle in for the night. She’d slip into her most comfy sweatpants and sweatshirt and read a few pages of Sense and Sensibility before bed. She wouldn’t even acknowledge Brad. Jayla smiled at the closed door. Come crawling to her house for sex. Ha. Not tonight, buddy.
On cue her cell phone rang. Grabbing it off the nightstand, she didn’t recognize the number showing on her Caller ID. Against her better judgment she answered.
“Hello?”
“Jayla, it’s me. Charles Porter.”
“Charles?” She almost dropped the phone. The last time they spoke was years ago in college. In fact, their last conversation wasn’t one she was eager to recall.
“Yes, I’m sure you’re pleasantly surprised to hear from me.”
“It’s…been a long time.”
“I agree. Let’s meet for dinner. Say in one hour.”
Jayla rolled her eyes in annoyance. The gall of this man. Like she was supposed to drop everything because he graced her with his call.
“No, I’m sorry. I’m busy.”
“Busy? You’re busy?”
Trying to keep the growl out of her voice, Jayla answered him through clenched teeth. “Yes, busy.”
“Oh. I have to say I didn’t anticipate you not meeting me tonight.” The disappointment was evident in his voice, and he sounded a bit panicked.
“Sorry, Charles.”
“Well, I won’t keep you. Another night, then. I’ll call you soon.” He hung up, leaving Jayla staring at the phone in utter disbelief.
She grimaced at the thought of Charles calling her again. He was the reason she’d sworn off wolves. They’d dated for a few months years ago while they were in college. Their short-lived romance still had Jayla feeling pangs of guilt over the failed relationship. Her father had seemed excited at the thought of Charles—the son of one of his best friends—being a potential mate for her.
When she was younger, every time Charles and his family got together with her family, the two of them were always encouraged to play together. In adolescence, it hadn’t bothered her at all. They’d played together well enough. But as Jayla became older, Charles’s mother became pushy, always demanding that her son seek Jayla out and be around her. Their time spent together grew to be awkward, always leaving Jayla feeling uncomfortable. During her high school years, the fact that they went to different schools had prevented them from seeing each other very often. Then the summer before her senior year, Jayla had overheard Charles’s mother discussing the two of them being mates. The probability had left Jayla shaken to her core. Why hadn’t she known Charles was her future? Was there something wrong with her wolf’s instincts?
After graduation, Jayla found out they were both going to the same college. She knew they were on a collision course, due to the persistence of his mother. She was terrified of the thought of being linked to him forever. They shared no chemistry, nothing in common, and not one iota of attraction flowed between the two of them.
But when he called her, she’d dutifully accepted his offer to take her out. And after the first dull date, she wasn’t sure what was more outrageous: the fact he kept asking her out or the fact she kept agreeing. Eventually Jayla couldn’t go along with the charade any longer, ending things with Charles and creating a small rift between the two families. His mother took it as a personal insult that Jayla broke things off with her son.
In hindsight, she could see just how naive she had been; she could see her parents had never put any pressure on her. She’d made a mess of things because she didn’t understand how her human side and wolf side would coexist. The thought of not being in control of her destiny scared her. And it taught her a valuable lesson, cementing her cynicism toward her inner animal. Even though that time her wolf hadn’t been in control of her love life, she vowed to never be in that situation. She’d be damned if she were going to be with a man because of her inner animal.
Now, after all these years, she’d come back home, and out of the blue Charles calls her, proclaiming an urgent need to talk to her. She wanted to call her sister and give her a piece of her mind. If Charles knew she’d resurfaced in Albuquerque, he’d found out from his mother. The most plausible way his mother found out was if Jayla’s mother told her, no doubt excitedly telling everyone that Jayla was back. That would mean Jasmine had spilled the beans. At least her family was giving her the space she’d asked for, but she knew time was running out.
Tossing her phone on the bed, she decided she wanted a nice calming shower. Moseying into the bathroom, she reached into the huge glass encasing and turned on the hot water. The three jets promised euphoria as soon as she positioned herself underneath. She peeled off her clothes and piled her hair on top of her head. Grabbing her shower cap, she made sure all her hair was tucked underneath. She opened the door and stepped into the now steaming water. Angling the jets to accommodate her small stature, Jayla closed her eyes as she tried to rinse away all tension from her body.
BRAD HEARD THE one-sided phone call between Jayla and some twit named Charles. He almost charged into her room and smashed her phone. The stabs of jealousy he experienced were so strong he’d been brought to his knees. If Jayla had come out of her bedroom, she would have found him doubled over on the floor, fighting the urge to shift.
Already on edge, Brad began salivating the moment he heard her shower turn on. He paced back and forth for a good five minutes before his wolf threatened to go absolutely berserk. Mental images of Jayla’s luscious, naked curves slickened with soap and water had his cock hard and ready to join the shower party. Then the thought of her lusting after the twit on the phone became the last straw before he lost his fight of staying out of her room.
Unable to stop himself, he tried opening her bedroom door and was relieved it wasn’t locked. He didn’t think she would appreciate him bre
aking down her door. He entered her room and walked into her bathroom, spying on her through the glass encasing.
“Who’s Charles?”
She jumped at the sound of his voice, whirling around to peer at him through the steamed-up glass.
“You have no shame.”
He walked over to the door, opened it, and she tried to cover her body, shielding herself from his gaze.
“Who’s Charles, Jayla?”
JAYLA BECAME EXASPERATED by his demanding tone. Unable to keep the annoyance out of her inflection she begrudgingly answered, “My…friend.”
“I don’t like him.”
“Too bad I don’t care what you think.”
His eyes changed as he focused on the ample cleavage spilling over her poor attempt to cover herself. Then his eyes darted to the top of her head. He stared at the contraption on top of it, at what must have looked to him like a large plastic bowl encasing her head.
“I like your hat. The pink and yellow polka dots are a cute touch.”
“It’s not a hat, you moron. It’s a shower cap. Do you even know what a shower cap is?”
“Pardon my mistake. I like your cap.”
“Shut up. I don’t want to get my hair wet. And you didn’t answer my question.” She let go of her breasts and reached up to pull her cap down farther onto her head, not caring anymore about covering herself.
“Cap or no cap, you’re still sexy.”
“I don’t want any compliments from you. I want you to get the hell out of my bathroom.”
“I think you want me in there with you.”
“You’re delusional.”
“Oh, and I just remembered. Don’t ever do that again.”
“Don’t do what?”
“Don’t tell me I can’t have you.”
“You better figure out a way to control your wolf, Dalton.”
“I just found out the woman I detest is my mate, and I’m struggling with urges and instincts I’ve never dealt with before from my wolf. I can choose not to accept you as my mate, but I can’t stop myself from needing to touch you. So you storm off and slam the door…fine. But don’t get naked, start the shower, and have the audacity for it not to occur to you I’m going to bust the door down to get to you.”
“You busted the door down?” Her eyes widened and her nipples constricted at the thought of Brad going caveman to get to her.
“No, but I would have.”
“You have some nerve.”
Brad’s gaze narrowed, and he raked his teeth across his bottom lip. “Busting down a door isn’t the point right now.”
“What’s the point?”
“The point is you’re naked and I want you.”
His bold claim affected her in a way which alarmed her. Satisfaction poured out of every cell of her body. Hating her reaction to him, she frowned, wanting to fight the need she felt for him. Taking a step back, she inadvertently pressed her back against the shower wall. The stream of hot water from the shower heads formed a makeshift barrier between the two of them.
Even though she retreated from him, she expected him to undress and join her. Instead his face hardened as their eyes held. She thought maybe he didn’t like her moving away from him. But she didn’t get too much time to ponder his mood as he stepped fully clothed into the shower. The water stream slowly soaked his shirt and jeans as he stood in front of her. He stared at her with such an intense gaze she wanted to slither onto the floor.
Where the hell did this sexy-ass wolf come from?
Placing a large palm against the wall, he bent down and nipped at her shoulder. The bite appealed to her wolf, and her mouth fell open on an intake of air. Reaching with his other hand, he tugged her shower cap off, tossing it to the far end of the shower. Her long, thick hair tumbled past her shoulders, only accentuating her allure, she presumed when his eyes darkened.
She opened her mouth to protest, but Brad’s unexpected kiss silenced her. He kept the kiss gentle, softly pressing his mouth against hers. Every time Jayla’s lips converged with his, he retreated until his mouth once again feathered lightly across her own. He kept backing up until she’d been coaxed away from the wall and stood underneath the shower jets with him. She hardly noticed the water spraying her until she felt him smile against her lips. Blinking up at him, she realized he’d managed to get her to come to him. She took offense to what she perceived to be smugness showing on his face.
“Damn you and your games, Brad.”
His grin left his lips as he reached for a strand of her hair and twirled it between his fingers. He said nothing for several long moments as his eyes bore into hers, challenging her anger.
Her hands trembled under the full weight of his stare. He scared her and excited her all at the same time. Perhaps sensing her conflicting emotions, he broke eye contact, reaching for one of her hands. Placing it over his heart, he covered her hand with his own, flattening it against his chest. Jayla could feel the quick, strong beats. His heart raced faster than hers. He would never admit it out loud, but she knew he was just as scared and excited. A volatile combination of emotions flowed through him.
Jayla could feel herself falling under his spell. Panicking, she knew she needed to break their connection. Thinking fast, Jayla said the first combative thing that came to mind. In hindsight, she would have picked a different topic to try to fight about. “I didn’t want to have to blow-dry my hair tonight. It takes forever. And here’s a newsflash, Brad. My hair isn’t naturally straight. I’m nothing like any other woman you’ve been with.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she instantly regretted them. She didn’t even know what she was saying. But she reasoned if they were arguing, maybe it would calm the hurricane of desire inside her.
Jayla’s declaration did exactly what she intended. Brad’s eyes flared with irritation at her implied jabs of his supposed inexperience with black women.
“Just for the record, I know what a shower cap is. And it’s not going to kill you to get your hair wet. It’s your choice to wear it in a style which takes hours. The ironic thing is, I bet your curls are sexier than hell on you. And you’re right, Jayla. You’re nothing like any of the other women I’ve been with. Everything about you is unique because you’re my mate. If you think trying to get me to argue with you about race is going to send me running with my tail between my legs, you obviously don’t know a damn thing about me. Stop assuming you’ve got me all figured out.”
Feeling ashamed she’d sunk to a new low, she tried to apologize. “I didn’t mean to imply… I just… We just…”
Brad yanked his shirt off. He ran his wet hands through his hair, and the simple motion caused his biceps and abs to ripple. Jayla knew she would never, ever, ever tire of seeing him naked. The man was a perfect specimen. Water trickled down the hard lines of his body, and Jayla wanted to lick every drop off his skin.
Snaking his arms around her waist, he turned her so her back faced the shower heads. She felt the hot water soaking her scalp, wetting her hair. Closing her eyes, she let her head fall back, enjoying the sensation. When his tongue traced a path from her collarbone to her chin, a sigh slipped out of her mouth. Brad rewarded her vocalization by sucking the elongated column of her neck. She repaid him with a longer, louder, drawn-out sigh.
He ran his hands up her wet arms, squeezing. “I plan on fulfilling every deviant thought I have concerning you, so get used to it.”
“I don’t have to get used to anything.”
Brad repositioned them so once again her back pressed against the tile. He cupped her mound as he bent his head toward her ear. Placing his mouth at her lobe, he nibbled on the sensitive flesh.
“I love how you keep fighting what we are. But like it or not,”—he slid one finger into her slick pussy—“this is mine. Whenever, wherever, however I want it, it’s mine.”
Jayla’s face twisted, but before she could say anything, Brad chuckled. Capturing her hand, he pressed it against the bulge in his jeans.
“Same goes for you, Jayla. This is yours. Whenever, wherever, however you want it, it’s yours. And I think deep down you like having power over me.”
She did like the fact she possessed power over him. It also scared the shit out of her that he possessed the same power over her.
He captured her mouth again, kissing all coherent thought from her mind and breath from her lungs. He kept his hands as busy as his mouth as he palmed her breast while coaxing her legs open and thrusting another finger inside her.
Her previously idle hands molded to his body. Pressing one hand to her breast, she helped him pluck at her hardened nipple. Pressing her other hand against her pussy, she urged his fingers deeper inside her.
A noise sounding like a cross between a growl and a moan came barreling out of his mouth as his kiss turned fervent. He nipped her lower lip, and Jayla gasped from the zing of pain. Using his tongue, Brad laved her bottom lip, stroking all the pain away.
He pulled his fingers from her core and raised them to his lips, then licked her cream. His eyes, already darkened by his desire, turned voracious.
“More.”
The one-word demand he barked out left Jayla whimpering. She shivered with need as Brad trailed down her body until he knelt in front of her. His tongue licked slowly downward as he lightly grazed his teeth against sensitive flesh. He turned off the water as he settled between her thighs.
Grabbing her ankle, he tugged, indicating he wanted her to lift it up. She let him guide her foot to a curved shelf in her shower. Not giving her a chance to warm up to his intimate touch, he moved her legs farther apart, then pushed his tongue into her warmth, tasting more of the cream he’d been sucking from his fingers. He grunted as the intimate contact of his mouth caused Jayla’s body to jolt violently as overwhelming sensation rolled through her.
“Oh, God. You can’t do that. I’ve never… No one has ever…” Her moan was loud, primal.
BRAD FROZE. HE lifted his head, needing to see the emotion displayed across her face. He was absolutely floored—no other man had ever touched her, kissed her, licked her, tasted her sweetness. Selfishness consumed him. He was more than pleased to be the first one, the only one to bring her the ultimate pleasure this way.
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