“You’re not, though. You say you’ll contact him for an address. You say you’ll donate his clothes. You say you’ll get a storage unit because it’s not fair to just give away someone’s abandoned property.”
It hurt to be confronted with her own words. She couldn’t deny saying them. She couldn’t explain why she said one thing and never followed through. Derek’s face always seemed to float into her thoughts with a disapproving frown, and she simply allowed herself to be distracted with anything else. “I…” She trailed off.
“I need you to be all-in, Stella. I will take things as slow as you need to, but I need you to be committed to at least the idea of us.”
“When have I ever given you reason to doubt me? Again, I’m with you.”
“I’m not going to debate specific instances with you. The pack, and more importantly, I feel you aren’t—”
She rolled her eyes and caught his scowl. Her blood roiled. The pack always had some part of conversations. The wolf inside her snarled. Stella took a deep breath to calm herself. “This isn’t about the pack—”
“Everything is about the pack!” He roared.
She flinched. Her wolf whined and cowered at the anger of the alpha. He never shouted, even when trying to get the attention of his most rambunctious wolves.
He continued. “I’m the pack leader, Stella. They look to me for guidance. I make sure they’re cared for. I give them community. I owe them stability.”
“That’s all I am to you? Stability for others?” She growled. Her knuckles turned white with the grip she had on the counter. “I thought we were talking about us, but let’s go ahead and include the pack. Tiana wants me gone, and she’s got a pretty strong following.”
“Maybe part of that reason is because you hold yourself apart.” He snapped. “It’s all tied together, Stella. You won’t commit to me, and you won’t commit to the pack. It can’t go on like this forever. You need to choose. I need you to choose.”
“Xander.” Her voice sounded small. Pride stiffened her spine. “I’m not giving into ultimatums.”
“Ultimatums? That’s what you call getting rid of your cheating ex boyfriend’s winter coats? I’m tired of trying to compete with the memory of the ex!” He walked around the counter and stuck to the wall to keep as much space as possible between them.
Stella followed him into the bedroom. He started piling all his clothing onto the bed, then stuffing everything into a duffle bag. “What are you doing?”
“What does it look like? I’m done with this, Stella. I’ll go stay with a friend until the roadwork is done.”
Stella’s hackles rose. She followed Xander again as he walked out of the bedroom and toward the front door. “Tiana. You’re going to her place, aren’t you?”
The redhead disliked her from the beginning. Stella suspected she wanted to be more than Xander’s second. Sneers and glares were all she ever gave Stella, expect when Xander was looking. She maintained smug indifference in Xander’s presence.
He looked back at her briefly, then shrugged. “Does it really matter?”
The callousness shocked her. She followed Xander back into the living room. Her anger deflated and the wolf whined one final time before retreating. Hot tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. She didn’t know if she was more angry at Xander or herself.
Stella almost reached out when Xander opened the door. Her hand fell back when she saw who filled the doorway.
Derek stood holding a bouquet of daisies in one hand, and the other raised to knock on her door. He was thinner than she remembered. No, she thought, that was wrong. Leaner.
“You’re fucking kidding me.” Xander shook his head and roughly shoved past Derek. He was around the corner and darting down the stairs in moments.
“Am I interrupting something?” Derek asked.
Stella stopped looking after Xander and brought her attention back to Derek. She imagined she could still hear Xander’s faint footsteps.
“I guess I should have called,” Derek stated. He awkwardly brandished the bouquet in front of him. “I brought you daisies? Your favorite?”
Stella sighed and pressed fingertips to her forehead. She didn’t need this now, of all nights. “Why are you here, Derek?”
“I came to apologize. I don’t know if this is the conversation for old Mr. Tucker to hear, do you?” He nodded to the cracked opening two doors down.
“Evening, Mr. Tucker,” Stella called pleasantly and waved. To Derek, she said in a tight voice, “Come inside.”
She closed the door and settled her backside against it. It gave her time to study Derek as he walked in and slowly took in the changes. Changes mostly prompted by Xander, she grimaced. She’d moved furniture around, hung new curtains, and bought new accent pillows. None of the picture frames held Derek’s face. He picked up a frame holding a picture of a foggy, lonely road, then set it down. The frame had once held a picture of him giving her rabbit ears on a carnival ride.
He had grown leaner, she noticed again, and much more toned. He walked with a step that said he was sure of himself, not too unlike Xander’s gait. His hair used to match hers, but it had grown several shades darker in their time apart. She wondered if he dyed it.
He abandoned her, she reminded herself. He’d left her for someone else, and couldn’t even say it to her face. He hid behind unanswered emails and blocked social media profiles. He owed her some answers.
“So things didn’t work out with Muffy, I take it?” She crossed her arms under her full breasts.
“Her name is Allison, and we have gone our separate ways. She was actually just a friend helping me acclimate to my new surroundings, and I only met her after I left.”
“After? Where have you been?” Stella didn’t care if she sounded rude. The email from him stated he left her for the other woman. His story wasn’t adding up.
“I can’t tell you much, but what I can say is that it helped the country—”
She rolled her eyes. “Are you kidding me? You really expect me to fall for the old “it’s a matter of national security” trick? No way.”
Derek moved to the kitchen and opened the cabinet they once used for their irregular dishes and appliances. None of the vases were there. He opened the next cabinet door and found plates and bowls where their alcohol used to reside.
Exasperated, Stella followed him. He was leading her around the apartment like he was leading the conversation. She hoped it irked him when she reached around to open the next cabinet and pulled out a vase.
Their hands touched when he took the vase and settled the bouquet inside. The wolf rune appeared suddenly in her thoughts. She wanted to growl and threaten it away. The beast inside her stirred again.
“Stella. I’m sorry.”
The directness made her stop fussing. Derek didn’t accept responsibility lightly. He needed to get the last word in whenever they fought. He was driven by some need to be correct, even by the smallest of margins.
“I never should have left. I absolutely shouldn’t have done it in such a piggish way. You didn’t deserve that, and I’m sorry.”
In spite of herself, Stella’s anger started to melt away. Derek’s presence calmed her, almost like the relaxation of coming home to her own space after a vacation. The familiarity felt nice.
Derek continued. “I was hurting in an unimaginable way before I left. I was out of control. There was a darkness inside me that took hold whenever it chose, and made me different. Different, and dangerous. I couldn’t stand the thought of accidentally hurting you, not when I could prevent it, so I left.”
“And now? What’s changed, besides Muffy evidently kicking you to the curb. She sounds smart.” Stella picked at her nails and tried to pretend she didn’t care about his answer.
“I have myself under control now.”
His struggle sounded all too familiar to her last several months. She was just gaining some confidence in her abilities. She dropped her gaze from his face. How could she
expect him to be honest when she couldn’t offer the same back?
His voice hardened. “Now I’m back and I find you’ve moved on. How could you have that man living here, Stella? In our apartment? This was our place.”
Stella looked up. His tone demanded her attention. He sounded like Xander taking control of his pack’s attention. A fluttering started in her stomach. She liked the way he sounded.
“I think it stopped being ours when you willingly vacated,” she mumbled.
“It’s not his, either, from the look of things when I arrived.” Derek growled “I won’t have him upsetting you again.”
She could get used to the darker, harder Derek.
Derek’s eyes softened, and he crossed the narrow gulf between countertops. He gazed into her eyes for just a moment, almost as if checking to see his prey hadn’t spooked. He brushed hair away from her face, and his fingers lingered. He stepped closer. He lowered his head and brushed his lips gently against hers.
Her body responded before she could process what had happened. She should be shocked, should slap him away, but she couldn’t. The fight with Xander was desperate to be brushed from her mind. She locked her hands behind Derek’s neck and deepened the kiss.
She trailed one hand down his strong back, then back up and over large arms. He felt familiar, but still like a stranger. More was different than accounted for by bigger muscles. His waist narrowed, and she was positive she felt furrows at his pelvis forming a vee that hinted at an Adonis belt. She choked back a noise of appreciation.
He groaned and pulled her by the hips into him. Her mouth gave way under his, and their tongues touched. Her nipples tightened against the new pressure.
“I missed you so much, mon petit chou.” He said against her lips and neck. He kissed back along her jawline to taste her mouth once again.
High school French, where the class learned a common term of endearment translated to “my little cabbage.” French, where he first asked her on a date. Stella swooned. The memory shot straight to her core and a deep ache grew inside her.
Derek moved his hands up from her waist. He paused to squeeze her breasts through her shirt. One stayed to knead at her while the other moved to pull her tank top and bra straps off one shoulder. His lips brushed lightly against hers again, and he began a slow waterfall of kisses down her neck and over her collarbone. At her shoulder, he paused, then changed direction lower. He flicked his tongue down the front of her shirt, just barely missing her nipple.
Stella bit her lip to keep from making too much noise. An ache grew between her thighs while Derek continued his ministrations.
The hand teasing her breast through her shirt moved to her shoulder. The straps there were pulled down. Derek eased them to the floor, pulling Stella straddled across his lap. She could feel her panties dampening when pressed against his warm body. He reached for her shirt again, and pulled bra and shirt down to expose her breasts. His mouth moved to her nipples again, this time able to reach. He moved back and forth between them, switching between licking and caressing with his fingers until both stood hard.
Stella let out a sigh watching him. She loved the powerful feeling of being willingly imprisoned and serviced.
“I need you, Stella,” he said. He lifted them easily from their positions, and set her on her feet. He kept her turned to him, and she backed their way into the bedroom. He stopped her just before her knees hit the bed. He pulled her shirt over her head and let her solve the bra problem. His fingers had never gotten the hang of unsnapping her bra without looking at it.
She wiggled out of her shorts as quickly as possible. He had pulled his shirt off and made for the zipper on his shorts when she stopped him. She dropped to her knees and undid the belt and zipper. She worked both shorts and boxers over the large bulge of his cock. He seemed bigger than she remembered. The ache between her thighs grew at the thought of him easing her open.
Her teenage self squealed with delight at the Adonis belt Derek now sported. He ran track in high school, then college study ruined the delicate lifestyle balance necessary to keep the muscle definition. The well-defined ab muscles were back, along with a smattering of dark blond hair on his chest. She loved a man with muscles, and especially with the elusive pelvic vee.
She licked the skin lightly from the scruff of hair above his cock to the top of his obliques and kept her eyes on his face to see the reaction. His pupils grew large and darkened his eyes with desire. She licked back the way she came, still watching his face. He licked his lips, but stopped her before she could take him in her mouth.
He made her stand again. He stared at her, and her cheeks reddened. He devoured every inch of her, noticed every curve. His eyes touched her as thoroughly as his hands, and she adored the feeling of proud arousal it gave her. She was an offering for him to take.
Derek walked her back the last few steps fall on the bed. He joined her after one final feast with his eyes. He crouched over her, gently kneed her legs apart. “I missed you so much,” he murmured.
The tip of his cock touched her pussy, and she sighed. She tingled all over with anticipation. Dreadfully slowly, he eased inside her. She closed her eyes, and her teeth found her lower lip again. She’d missed the feel of him on top her. She’d missed him.
She opened her eyes to find him looking down tenderly at her. He began to move slowly in and out. The slow movement seemed to increase her sensitivity. Each thrust made dots dance in her vision, and her pussy wetter. She sighed at the top of each thrust.
He brought his lips down to hers for another passionate kiss. He lowered himself to his elbows. One hand buried itself in her hair, and the other found her breast. His fingers swirled around her nipple, teasing her, making the bud even tighter. He continued his slow, measured thrusts.
Derek moved faster, and Stella’s sighs became panting. Each thrust now bumped her clit and sent shocks through her body. Her muscles started to tighten inside her as the rhythm kept building and building, when Derek stopped.
He finished, pushing himself deeply in one final time. A disappointed sigh formed on her lips and quickly turned into a moan. Derek’s fingers found her clit and gently pinched. He let go at her jump, then switched motions. He rubbed her swollen clit until she felt like even her tongue was vibrating for release. Her legs clamped together as the orgasm hit her, sending waves of pleasure through her body. Derek rolled to her side and watched as she caught her breath.
“You’re more beautiful than I remember.”
She rolled her eyes and swatted at his arm. “Oh, stop!”
“No, I’m serious.” He laughed. “It’s like I’m seeing you for the first time. You’re gorgeous, Stella.”
Chapter Two
Stella woke early the next morning. For a new creature of the night, she’d turned into a morning person.
She rolled to the side to find Derek curled into himself as far from her as the bed would allow. He hated to be touched while sleeping. Body heat irritated him. Her heart ached briefly for Xander and the closeness of sleeping entwined.
Stella sat up and dropped her feet to the floor. Derek snored on, and she didn’t try to stay quiet. He slept next to train tracks during his early college years, and could sleep through anything.
Stella donned a silky, purple short robe hooked on the back of the bedroom door. The hem barely touched of mid-thighs. She left off any underwear and enjoyed the cool breeze that fluttered under her robe. A stray hair tie from her dresser top held a high and messy bun of blonde in place.
Quietly shutting Derek in the bedroom, Stella made her way to the kitchen. The lure of coffee called to her, and she needed to answer as surely as she needed to shift into a werewolf during the full moon.
The smell of brewing brought her back to her college years. High school graduation faded fast. She and Derek had miraculously been accepted at the same university. They survived the first year of on-campus living in their assigned dorms, and decided to make a go of it in their own off-cam
pus apartment. Stella didn’t have the financial support that Derek did, and found herself working at a local coffee shop to make ends meet. Derek would sometimes sit and study while she finished out late shifts, and they’d walk home together with pilfered smoothies.
Her growling stomach wasn’t satisfied with just a cup of coffee. Stella poured herself a new cup, and stared into the fridge. The many choices didn’t seem enough, and she frowned. She decided on bacon and eggs, and began preparing enough for herself and Derek.
Out with the new and in with the old. She hadn’t had time to think about Xander in the heat of the moment. Derek was the old, but in many ways was new, too. He would previously have insisted on bedroom sex and foreplay, for one. His hair and body were the same, but somehow different. Darker, harder. The Derek that left her had returned tempered in stronger stuff than before.
The bedroom door opened, and Derek emerged with messy hair and a slow smile. Frying bacon summoned him from miles away.
She glanced up from transferring a piece of bacon from the pan to drain on some paper towels. “Good morning.” She beamed at him.
He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He buried his face in her hair and let his hands roam over her body. She giggled, and leaned into him.
One slipped down her backside to grab her ass, but then he stopped. His body tensed against hers, and the playfulness ended abruptly. His hand cautiously continued up her robe to check if he had felt correctly.
“You don’t wear underwear now?” The disapproval in his voice made her cheeks flush.
“I don’t know what the problem is?” She didn’t understand his objections at first. She’d grown so comfortable with nakedness since her first moonlight shift that clothes seemed optional, especially in her own home. Her den shouldn’t be judged. And what man wouldn’t love his woman hot and available at any moment?
“You never did this before. I have a hard time believing you’re doing this without influence from him.”
Inferno Wolves: The Complete Tale: Werewolf Paranormal Romance Page 4