‘From him’ hung in the air between them. Stella extricated herself from his arms and turned to face him. She realized how ridiculous she must look with the spatula still in one hand, and the other cocked on her hip. “I can make up my own mind about things, you know.”
He waved his hands in the air and turned around. “I have to get going to work, anyway. You changed the alarms, and I slept in.”
Stella sputtered. She didn’t know where to start, at the audacity to be angry with her for changing the alarms of someone who left her, or the irritation at something most men would find sexy. While she was still trying to form words, Derek slipped out of the apartment.
Sizzling made her turn back to the cooking before a fire alarm buzzed her neighbors in the surrounding units awake. She angrily bit into one of the shriveled pieces of bacon and considered her options.
She owed Derek nothing. As much as she identified with his excuse, and as much as she wanted to believe he didn’t leave her for someone else, he still left. She still felt abandoned. She still went through the mourning period following a breakup, and she still went through a traumatic attack and self-discovery. Alone. She had proved that she could survive without him.
The jealous alpha male shtick wasn’t wanted. She couldn’t stand the thought of someone telling her what she did wrong at every turn.
She wanted to have the Derek she remembered in her life. She wanted the Derek that would wait for her to finish working, and still goof around on their walks home. She wanted the Derek that would bring her a bouquet of flowers, even if the timing was off. She wanted romance, not control.
Though, she smiled to herself, a little domination in the bedroom wasn’t bad.
Still undecided on a course of action, Stella looked up at a knock on the door. She cinched the robe together tightly and went to answer another unexpected visitor.
Xander’s chest greeted her when she opened the door. Her eyes traveled up what felt like forever before she found his face towering above her. “So you’re back now, too.” She shrugged and opened the door wider. “Come on in.”
Xander lifted his nose and tested the air. The gesture still seemed strange to her. She had to consciously open herself up to her new senses. She admired how in sync Xander and his wolf were.
A frown furrowed his brow. She saw his eyes darken, and couldn’t tell if it was anger or desire behind them. He took a cautious step across the threshold, then another to step past her.
He was on her then, ferocious in his need. He backed her against her shutting door and forced it closed with the combined weight of their bodies. She gasped as he pinned her against the well and kneed open her legs to press his hips to hers. Her lips parted, but he cut off any objections with a hard kiss.
Stella’s hand balled up with fistfuls of his shirt. She tensed under him, then softened. Her body molded into his, and she could feel how much he wanted her. She wanted more. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He responded by lifting her, letting her wrap her legs around him. His hands cupped her ass, fingers digging into her when he couldn’t contain himself.
His mouth moved from hers and down her throat. A low moan escaped her lips as his teeth grazed the skin on her neck. He dragged his teeth along her collarbone and she writhed against him. He drove his straining cock into the juncture of her thighs, and she could feel her wetness on his jeans. She shuddered and arched her back at the rough fabric and insistent need growing inside her.
He shifted her, one hand spanning across her bottom to hold her to him. The other moved to the front and pushed aside the flimsy fabric of her robe. Another moan escaped her lips when his thumb flicked across her clit. She wanted him to rip her robe off and take her right there against the door, on the couch, bent over a counter. X-rated thoughts of their nights together flashed into memory.
“Don’t stop,” she begged. She knew it frayed the threads of his control when she pleaded with him. His muttered curse made her smile.
“Stella.” He growled her name, and pulled her close to him and away from the door. He hoisted her up further and wrapped her legs around his waist.
She loved when he carried and deposited her somewhere. Something inside her loved being a toy he carried around to fuck where he chose. Her nipples strained against the silky robe and her breasts threatened to spill out. She didn’t care.
She bounced once when he dropped her on the bed. His shirt was off and his jeans halfway down when she settled. She started to untie her robe when he stopped her.
“No. You’re mine to unwrap.”
His words sent a shiver down her spine. She wanted desperately to be his sexy present.
He dropped one knee on the bed, and leaned large and naked over her. His teeth caught her full, lower lip with a bite that was almost painful. The sting felt delicious, almost as good as the kisses he was trailing down her throat. She lifted her chin and presented her bare neck to him. She submitted to her alpha.
Xander’s hands roamed over her body. He kneaded at her breasts, teasing one nipple to a point before moving to the next. His mouth had reached her full mounds by then and he took a nipple between his teeth through her robe. The silk cooled his hot breath. Her breath came in pants and she tugged at his dark hair.
After what felt like an eternity, Xander’s hands found their way back between her thighs. He settled between and she could feel his hard cock pressing at her entrance. It drove her wild to know satisfaction was only a few inches away. She bit down on her lip to keep from screaming in frustration.
One finger parted her folds and pushed inside, followed by a second. Her head lolled back as he found her most sensitive spot just inside. He crooked his fingers and softly stroked her until her hips bucked against him. “Please,” she begged.
He slowly took his fingers from her. His teeth grasped at an end of the belt around her waist and he tugged the loose knot apart. His tongue dipped under the silk hem and he nosed open one side of her robe. He planted kisses and licks and small bites from her hip to her breast. Soft kisses were trailed around the fullest part while he carefully avoided the aching point of her nipple. He returned to her other hip, nosing the fabric away from her body while teasing her until she panted.
He pushed himself up on his hands and gazed down at her. A small, eager noise escaped him.
Stella pulled her legs up. Her swollen clit twitched at the pressure from the head of his cock resting at the entrance of her slick pussy.
All at once, Xander pushed himself inside her. The breath rushed out of her lungs. He pushed himself to the hilt and stopped.
Hooded eyes looked down at her. Maddeningly slowly he brought his mouth down on hers. The first touch of his tongue made her head swim. She clawed at his back, the comforter, his arms, trying to regain some semblance of control. Her wolf raged inside her, willing her to abandon herself to the primal nature of their mating. Stella whimpered under Xander’s consuming mouth.
Her hips bucked against him to rub into the carnal kiss, but he kept her pinned to the bed. She felt pressure building inside her and she wanted the release. She could control herself. She could lose herself to him without the wolf taking over. Her inner walls flexed against him when he finally began to move.
Stella wound her arms around Xander. Her hips responded to his movements and she met the rhythm he set. Her back arched under him as the pleasure built.
He brought his mouth down on hers again and she opened wide for him. Their tongues tangled together and she found herself nipping at his lips.
Xander groaned and pulled away from their violent kiss. He threw his head back with a howl. His back bowed and he looked like a wild wolf. His eyes glowed amber, and she thought she saw a hint of fangs resting on his bottom lip.
Every pulse of his cock, every tiny jerk that emptied him deep inside her, every beat of his heart worked to push her over the edge. Her legs wrapped around him again and her muscles contracted around him.
Lazy, wet kisses brought her back to earth. Xander plante
d his lips on her collarbone, in the soft dip at the base of her throat, and back up to her ears. He pulled himself out of her with a sigh, and plopped down beside her. He rubbed a thumb softly across her nipple. The pink flesh pebbled again under his touch. Even after all that, she felt a growing hollow in her stomach that could only be filled by him.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“Hm?” Her eyes fluttered open.
He reared up on an elbow to look down at her. “I was rough. I had to claim you. You’re mine, Stella.”
She rolled her eyes. He sounded like Derek. “I’m damn tired of men trying to claim me. Can I not be trusted to make my own choices?”
“I won’t share you with him. He hurt you so much. I can see it in your eyes even now.”
“I don’t know that I want to choose. I don’t know that I want either of you, actually.”
Xander rolled off the bed and angrily donned his clothes. “I don’t know why I came here.”
Stella huffed, and clutched a pillow close to her chest. She wasn’t going to take the pity bait. She watched Xander shooting glances her way to see if she’d stop him. She refused.
He hovered at the bedroom door. “You know where to find me,” he said finally.
Stella fell back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. A moment later, the front door opened and slammed closed on Xander.
Chapter Three
The next morning was no better. Stella woke groggy and exhausted. Her skin felt clammy, and it was hard to breathe with Derek curled tightly against her. She preferred it when he didn’t sleep-cuddle.
Derek had come home late after not returning her calls or texts all day. She was half asleep when he finally stumbled into bed and was relieved when he started snoring moments later.
She struggled out from his constricting arms and left him sleeping while she selected an outfit for the day. She opened her closet door and held up some choices in the full-length mirror hanging on the inside. Dark burgundy skinny jeans were selected to go with a loose grey top.
She locked the bathroom door behind her, not wanting to risk even a tiny invitation for shower sex. The vanilla Derek she knew would never go for it, but that had been months ago. She didn’t know if he had the same hang-ups.
She frowned at the pile of clothes sitting next to the clothes hamper. She knocked the large, dirty socks from the lid to the pile. She didn’t understand how, after years of living together, Derek still couldn’t manage to operate a hinge lid. He couldn’t even manage to consolidate everything to one pile.
The shower steamed the mirror in minutes, but she didn’t care. The scalding hot water felt good on her skin. She let the heat roll over her shoulders to relax the tense muscles there.
She lost track of time, but the walls were starting to weep when she pulled a fluffy towel around her body. She dressed in the muggy room before exiting. Derek still slept.
Stella busied herself with another breakfast. She made no attempt to keep the noise down. She dropped pans onto burners and let the fridge door loudly fall closed on its own.
Derek appeared after yet another forceful cabinet closure. He wiped at his eyes with his hands before running them through his hair. “Hey, sugar,” he said when he walked into her small kitchen.
“Could you not call me that? You know I hate it.” She didn’t stop her motions. She danced around his embrace to stuff the carton of eggs back into the fridge, rattling the glass bottles in the door when the door shut on its own again.
He pinned her down when she turned to flip the eggs sizzling in the pan. His arms snaked around her waist and he planted a kiss on her cheek. “You look wonderful this morning. So sexy. Isn’t it so much better leaving more to the imagination?”
His hands squeezed at her hips, and she had to admit his voice in her ear sent a pleasant shiver down her spine. Her anger was dripping away with every second her touched her. His body molded against hers and sent warmth flooding through her veins.
She shoved her hips back, and gasped when she met hard resistance at her most sensitive spot.
Derek took the noise as encouragement and skimmed his hands under her loose shirt. His fingers lightly tickled at her soft skin, making goose bumps appear down her arms. He teased across her chest and dipped fingers into the cups of her bra. The feather touches of his fingers pushed closer and closer to her tightening nipples.
A whine broke the silence. Derek nipped at her ear before pulling the garment down. He cupped her breasts and swirled thumbs over her aching nipples, stoking the growing fire in her belly.
Stella moved the eggs to a different burner and turned the hot dial to the off position. She turned in Derek’s arms and wrapped her own around his neck. It wasn’t enough.
She wiggled her fingers into the small space between them and popped the button on his slacks. She snaked the zipped down and found him bare underneath. His cock surged out, hot and hard with desire already.
The kitchen counters would never work. Their waists were shorter than the counters. The couch, though. She grinned wolfishly and led him into the living room. She could perch on the back of the couch and watch him drive into her.
She hopped onto the low back of the couch and met Derek’s mouth with hers before he could protest. Intimacy was something to be experienced everywhere in the house, not just the bedroom. She had argued that point over and over before resigning herself to designated sex zones.
She wasn’t in the mood to argue. She would have him in the living room, or not at all.
She lifted her arms over her head and pulled her shirt off. A reach around later and her bra fell to the floor. She silenced Derek’s oncoming objections with another kiss. She pushed her chest out and let hard nipples graze his shirt.
She took his silky length in her hand again and smiled through their kiss. He groaned at the touch, and again when she slowly stroked up and down his full length.
Breaking their kiss, Stella arched her back again. She leaned against one hand, but the other gently urged at the back of Derek’s neck. She wanted his mouth on her again.
Derek’s eyes flashed with something dark and crazed, but he bent his head to her breast. His warm tongue traced a tightening spiral around her throbbing nipple. After an eternity, he reached the center and licked hard. Her whimper turned into a sucked breath when his teeth bit at her skin.
She ripped his shirt open, sending the buttons scattering across the floor and ignoring his grunt of objection. She fanned her fingers across his chest. He was so smooth. She couldn’t bury her fingers in the small tuft of hair he sported. She moved her hands down his body and squeezed his hips. She wanted to watch his v-shaped muscles moving as he thrusted into her.
She lifted her own hips and let him peel her skinny jeans and panties over her ass and hips, down her thighs. She kicked them from her feet.
She wrapped her legs around Derek’s waist and pulled him closer. The air felt deliciously cool against her hot pussy. She didn’t care if she left a mark on his slacks.
“Stells,” Derek murmured into her neck.
“Now,” she told him. She pushed at his slacks. They fell off his frame easily and left them with nothing between their bodies.
Heat intensified as she guided him to crux of her legs. His breath came in ragged gasps as he slowly slid between her folds. Stella shivered. He was holding something back, something kept just out of reach to protect her.
She didn’t need protecting. She didn’t need gentle. She needed him.
She pulled him fully into her with her legs gripping him both with her legs and her slick pussy. His cock filled her at that angle, and she felt a throb up her spine. She hissed out a sharp breath, leg muscles trembling.
Derek plunged into her again.
She arched her back. Her naked breasts thrust upward and she grinned wildly at Derek’s inability to pick between watching her heaving breasts or their bodies coming together. His mouth came down on her nipples again. A moan escaped her lips and he
r eyes dropped closed as her control started to unravel.
Derek pulled her upright as he pulsed into her soft folds.
Derek took a step back and hitched his slacks back up. “That’s a nice way to start the day,” he said.
“You’re just leaving, like that?” She ached deep inside her. Her wolf whimpered at the lack of release.
“I have a meeting first thing, and I need to change now. Thanks for ripping my shirt, by the way.” He sounded anything but thankful.
Stella sighed and tugged her jeans back on. “I’m going to get some work done, myself.”
“Are you going to an office today, or will you be home in your pajamas again?”
She didn’t need to look at him to hear the sneer. He’d never thought much of remote work. It wasn’t real unless it was in a suffocating cubicle, she assumed. She didn’t give him a response. She passed by him to clean up in the bathroom, thinking ‘hypocrite’ the entire time. He had been so disappointed with her for a lack of underwear, yet he was fine to go commando. He could up and leave her with a lie of an explanation, but how dare she have a home office.
Stella didn’t like the emotional back and forth. She was angry at them both for behaving like jackasses and assuming they had claims on her. Derek claimed her by their shared history, Xander through their shapeshifting bond. She didn’t think either entitled them to boss her around.
Her anger chilled any guilt she felt, but it also stirred the wolf. It whined at being between the two men, and wanted her to make a choice – one, in particular.
Stella knew she wasn’t being rational, and would do nothing to satisfy her wolf at the moment. Her wolf made low, indignant growls on her behalf. Gathering her laptop bag and keys, Stella shot out of the apartment without another word to Derek.
Out of Moonlight
Inferno Wolves #3
Lyra Valentine
When Stella Carlson is confronted with the truth of Derek Shore’s betrayal, she turns to the only person she knows is powerful enough to help. Irresistible Xander Dante continues to draw Stella to him, even at the expense of his own ranking within the pack. Xander commands the Inferno Wolves, and they wade into battle against the cutthroat city werewolves in defense of Stella. Will Xander and Stella come together once again, or will Derek tear them and the pack apart forever?
Inferno Wolves: The Complete Tale: Werewolf Paranormal Romance Page 5