I think by now his lips had met every inch of available skin from my collarbone up. I sighed as his mouth made another circuit around my face, tasting and teasing my lips every time he passed them.
“God, you taste incredible,” he murmured against my heated skin, sending extra bolts of electricity straight to my core. That secret place that had been subtly rubbing against his hard abdomen for the past several minutes. I groaned in response, clutching at the hands that still held my own.
He gathered my wrists in one hand, using the other to stroke my side, from my shoulder to my knee. Every time he passed by my hip, he’d stop to cup and squeeze my bottom, pulling me closer. And each time he inched me closer, I hoped for more.
More skin.
More touching.
More friction.
More Abraham.
Unfortunately, reality was seeping back into the haze of lust I’d been lost in. My wet hair had soaked through the thin t-shirt I wore, causing my skin to pebble, sending a shiver down my spine.
Abraham stopped his exploration of my body and pulled back. He eyed me critically for a few seconds before lowering me to the ground. “Shit,” he muttered. He retrieved the blanket that had fallen off me at some point and wrapped it tight around my shoulders.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, still a little breathless.
He scooped me into his arms and walked us back to the ATV. “I’m an idiot. You’re still cold. I should be getting you home, not ravaging you against a pine tree while you freeze.”
His eyebrows were drawn, full mouth tight in anger. I reached out a finger to soothe the angry lines across his face. “I liked the ravaging though.”
I was rewarded with a small quirk of his lips.
“There will be more ravaging, but first I need to get you home, and warm, before you get sick.”
My belly clenched at his words. “Promise?” I asked, my voice soft. Brave, and yet still unsure.
Abraham growled deep in his chest, eyes flashing bright. My bottom hit the 4-wheeler’s seat hard before Abraham used one hand to tangle in my hair and pull my head back. His lips were on mine in the next instant, hard and demanding, hot and wet, and I moaned into his mouth.
Tongues dueled and teeth nipped as we lost all the progress toward sanity we’d just made. My fingers gripped his neck, pulling him down toward me as his free hand wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer.
A few long minutes later, and we had to come up for air. As we both struggled to regain our composure, Abraham used the hand in my hair to tilt my face up.
His eyes were bright and wild, shooting a bolt of desire through my body, and I squeezed my legs together.
“Promise.” His voice was deep, and gravelly, and I had to stop myself from dragging his lips to mine again. We wouldn’t get anywhere if one of us didn’t have some self restraint.
I couldn’t form words at the moment, so I simply nodded, causing his lips to tip up into a grin. He gathered the rest of our stuff while I gathered my senses, and soon he was on the seat in front of me, driving us back toward his lodge.
Unlike last time, I wasn’t afraid to get close to him, wrapping my arms tight around his waist, and resting my cheek against his back. He took one hand off the handlebars, and grasped mine, sliding his fingers between my own, and holding it the rest of the way back.
When we got to the lodge, Abraham took the hand he was still holding, and used it to help me off the quad. He brought it to his lips and placed a small kiss against my knuckles. Even after our steamy time back at his lake, he still had the power to make my cheeks warm.
We walked up the stairs in silence, my hand still in his until we made it to my door. Abraham spun me around, pressed me against the wall, and kissed me like it was the first time.
He finally pulled away and placed a gentle kiss on the tip of my nose. “I need to get some work done, and you need to take a hot shower.” He eyed the borrowed clothes barely clinging to my frame, his eyes heating. “And as much as I fucking love seeing you in my clothes, you should change into something dry.”
The f-bomb falling from his full lips shot a lightning bolt of heat straight to my core.
With a mock-salute, I said, “Yes, sir.”
His smile widened, and he pulled me against his chest. “I like it when you do what I say,” he growled in my ear, causing goosebumps to break out across my skin.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and stood on my tiptoes so I could reach his ear. “Oh, yeah?”
His arms tightened around my waist, another growl rumbling deep in his chest. “Yeah.”
I nipped his earlobe, following it with a swipe of my tongue, smiling as I felt his body quake almost imperceptibly. “Well, don’t get used to it.”
He froze for a fraction of a moment before tipping his head back, and laughing loudly. I pulled back and watched, enraptured and dazzled by this beautiful man. He placed a kiss on my lips that I think was supposed to be a peck, but quickly turned into something more.
A throat clearing nearby caught my attention first.
“Abey?” A cross voice asked.
I reluctantly pulled from Abraham’s arms and peeked over his shoulder. A very annoyed looking Beatrice stood in front of his office door, arms folded across her chest. Her dark blue eyes narrowed at me before turning their fiery light toward Abraham.
The man in my arms sighed. “Yes, Bea?”
“Don’t we have a meeting scheduled now?”
He sighed again, his forehead connecting with mine. “Yep.” The word popped out of his mouth. “Go on in, I’ll be right there.”
The angry woman huffed, but did as he asked.
Abraham’s lips found mine again, and I let myself get lost for a few moments before pulling away. He had other ideas. As I struggled to drag a breath into my lungs, he continued to place soft kisses on my cheek.
“Don’t you need to go?” I gasped as he nibbled on the shell of my ear.
“Mmm hmm,” he mumbled, his nose skimming along my throat, and down to the collar of my shirt.
“You probably should then. I don’t want her coming back out here.”
He sucked on a small patch of my neck and sighed again. “I suppose you’re right, but I’d rather stay here and kiss you. Have I told you how delicious you taste?” His tongue made swirling patterns across my collarbone.
“Aah,” I gasped. “You might have mentioned it,” I breathed. “But, really, I don’t want Beatrice to hate me any more than she already does.”
He stopped his assault on my neck and met my gaze. “Bea doesn’t hate you.”
I rolled my eyes. “She definitely does.”
He shook his head, tucking a lock of wet hair behind my ear. “It’s not you she doesn’t like, it’s change.”
I frowned. “What’s changed? Don’t you get new pack members all the time? Did she throw this kind of fit when Wyatt and Wesley joined?” I asked, hand on my cocked hip.
Why was I getting this special treatment from her?
His eyes shuttered, and he looked away. “Everything’s changed, El. You just don’t know it yet,” he answered cryptically.
Before I could ask what the hell that meant, he placed a swift kiss on my forehead, and took a few steps back. “Family dinner at six all right?”
I nodded, thoughts swirling rapidly inside me. He must have noticed my turmoil because he stepped back to place another kiss on my head. “Don’t worry, everything’s fine. Great in fact.” His mouth spread into a brilliant smile I couldn't help but reciprocate. “We’ll talk more later. Go get warmed up.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, master.”
“It’s ‘alpha’,” he responded with a cheeky grin.
I scoffed, causing him to laugh as he opened his office door, and disappeared behind it. But, I did as he asked, and took a steaming hot shower. Although after that afternoon with Abraham, a cold shower might have been more fitting.
As soon as I finished drying my hair, there was a k
nock on my door. I skipped over to answer it and found Evey with a wide mischievous grin on her face. I rolled my eyes, but opened the door for her to come in.
“TELL ME EVERYTHING!” she yelled, making me wince. It was then I remembered I’d left my earplugs in my wet jeans. I wondered if they’d made it out of the lake or not. “Sorry, sorry!” Evey whisper yelled.
I wiggled a finger in one of my ringing ears, but waved her off. “It’s fine. I need to get used to not wearing those things, anyway.”
“But seriously, tell me everything!” She commanded and bounced over to sit on my bed.
“Well–”
“WHY THE HELL IS SHE COMING?” A loud voice shouted from across the hall. I didn’t mean to, but without the water running or my hairdryer on, it was too easy to hear their conversation.
“You know why,” Abraham’s voice was low, and serious.
“No, I don’t! I don’t get what the big deal is about this little human or what’s so special about her! You know she won’t make it past her first shift anyway, so why are you getting so attached to her?!”
My heart simultaneously sank and raced, Evey’s eyes widening in fear. Heat spread across my face. I shouldn’t be listening to this conversation. But, I couldn’t help it. I was new to this werewolf hearing thing and didn’t know how to turn it off.
“She will make it,” Abraham responded, voice colder than I’d ever heard it.
“She won’t! Bitten wolves never make it! You know that! When’s the last time you knew one who did, huh? We all need to stop kidding ourselves. Elizabeth won’t be around much longer, and you need to accept that!”
A gasp flew from my mouth.
Bitten wolves don’t make it past their first shift.
Mine was three weeks away.
I only had three weeks to live.
My eyes sought Evey’s, hoping I’d see denial, but all I saw was sad acceptance.
I’m going to die.
“THAT’S ENOUGH, BEATRICE!”
While they fought, my insides twisted, my gut emptying out, my heart stopping completely.
I’m going to die.
The door across the hall opened, and slammed violently, causing both of us to jump. Evey slid off the bed and approached me cautiously.
I couldn’t face her, the sympathy in her eyes would break me, and I needed to stay strong right now. Needed to build those walls back up and hide behind them.
“She’s wrong, Ellie. You’re gonna’ make it. We all know you are.”
I shook my head, hair flying around my face, and obscuring my pain. “Is what she said true?” I whispered. “Do bitten wolves not make it past their first shift?”
“It’s different with you, Ellie.”
“Answer my question.”
“It’s not that simple. You’re not like the others–”
“I SAID ANSWER MY QUESTION!” My ears rang with my rage, but I didn’t care.
Evey shrank away, and part of me felt terrible. But, the other part? That part screamed BETRAYAL.
“You knew,” I said, my voice even and quiet.
“Ellie, listen–”
“You all knew.”
“It’s not like that, Elizabeth. Hear me out.”
“You all let me believe I was just going through a few changes, and everything would be all right.” My voice was getting louder, my breaths harsher. “Not a single one of you thought it was important enough to tell me I wouldn’t live through this change? That this would be my last month alive?!”
Images, and thoughts flashed through my head rapidly.
My future.
My career.
My apartment.
My cat.
My parents, even.
I’d lose it all.
“I thought you were my friend, Evey. I thought I could trust you.”
She clasped her hands in front of her, eyes swimming behind tears. “I am your friend, Ellie, you can trust me. Abey asked us not to tell you, and we all agreed you had so much else to deal with, you didn’t need this on top of everything else.”
“Abraham told you not to tell me?” I asked, my voice dropping to a pitch I didn’t recognize.
This was his fault.
She held her hands up in surrender. “He thought he was doin’ the right thing for you. And I agreed with him. It’s not the same with you. Beatrice is just bein’ bitter. We all know you’re gonna’ make it.”
Her words fell around me like petals off a withered flower, dead and useless.
I’m going to die.
My breaths were coming harsher, and louder, and I think I was hyperventilating.
I’m going to die.
Evey reached out, and grasped my shoulders, but I shook her off. I didn’t want her to touch me. Didn’t even want to be in the same room as her.
“I trusted you,” I told her again, my voice breaking with emotion.
Her sadness slipped out the corner of her sorrowful blue eyes, but I looked away. I couldn’t see her pain. Couldn’t process it. Couldn’t add it to the rest of what I was feeling.
I’m going to die.
That’s all that mattered. I had three weeks left to live, and I hadn’t done enough living in the time I’d had.
As my lungs fought for oxygen, I stacked the bricks back up in my mind, reinforced them with mortar and painted them black. No one would get through them again. I was an idiot for ever letting them down to begin with.
I knew better than to let people in like I have these past couple weeks.
Especially men.
Especially men who looked like Abraham.
Especially men like Abraham who were clearly looking for one thing only. Weren’t they all? Didn’t they all just think about their own satisfaction, casualties be damned?
Well that was all over.
I would never allow these walls to come down for another person. Never again open a window, or door, or make a special exception for anyone again.
And with a humorless laugh, I realized I only had to keep that promise to myself for another three weeks. After that, none of this would matter.
Chapter 30
“I’ll leave you alone, then,” Evey murmured from near the door.
I’d spent the last five minutes ignoring her and packing my things. I was not staying here. Not with these people who’d all looked me in the eye and lied. Well, I suppose they hadn’t outright lied. But a lie by omission was still a lie. Intricacies like that were what I’d built my career on.
I continued to ignore her, and finally she sighed, and retreated from the room. My nose stung with unshed tears, but I held them at bay. I really thought I’d found a friend in Evey. Someone I could confide in and be myself with. Someone I could trust.
But, that clearly wasn’t the case.
“SHE WHAT?!”
I cringed as Abraham’s voice bellowed from across the hall. The crash of his chair hitting the floor preceded the slam of his door, and the abrupt opening of mine.
“Elizabeth, what the hell is going on?” he demanded, his voice too loud, too harsh.
I ignored him too.
Instead, I continued to pack my clothes, and double check the drawers for any stray belonging of mine. I would not be coming back here. If I was going to die on the next full moon, I might as well do it in the comfort of my own home.
“Elizabeth,” his voice was softer, and held a note of desperation.
But, I continued to ignore him.
I walked into the en suite bathroom and collected my toiletries. When I came back out, I found Abraham unpacking my suitcase.
With a growl I stalked over and poked him in the back. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Oh, so you can talk?” he muttered as he continued to pull things from my bag.
I stormed around the other side of the bed and began tossing my clothes back in. “Of course I can talk, you jackass, I just don’t want to talk to you.”
He released a large breath
and ran a hand down his face. “Elizabeth, let me explain.”
“You had a whole week to explain this to me Abraham, and you chose not to.”
He sighed again. “Please, El, just hear me out.”
I finally met his sorrowful eyes and straightened my spine. I couldn’t let him wear me down. He’d done this, not me. “Tell me something, Abraham: did you know bitten wolves don’t make it past their first shift?”
His throat bobbed, jaw pulsing. “Yes.”
I tossed my toiletries in my suitcase and slammed it closed. “That’s all I need to know.”
Abraham pulled my suitcase to his side of the bed, and out of my reach. “That’s not all you need to know. That’s not even the half of it. If you’ll just give me a minute to explain–”
“No!” I stomped over to his side and ripped my bag out of his hands. Zipping the suitcase closed in record time, I slammed it onto the floor, and faced him, my eyes narrowed. “You had every opportunity to tell me the truth, and you chose not to. Why, Abraham? So you could take advantage of a walking dead girl? So you could get your way with me while I was still alive and kicking?”
His eyes widened in horror. “No! That’s not it at all.” He growled again and rubbed both hands down his face. “Is that what I’ve done? Have I taken advantage of you? Made you do things you didn’t want to do? Pushed you too far?”
No. He hadn’t.
But still.
“No. I haven’t. I’ve been nothing but patient with you. Because I... I like you, El. I like you a lot. And, I never wanted you to regret anything that happened between us. I wanted it to be at your pace. Everything I’ve done has been for you.”
“You lied to me for me? That’s a new one,” I scoffed.
“Of course it was for you!” he yelled, making me wince in pain. His shoulders drooped in resignation. His next words were softer. “All of it was for you, El. And, I was going to tell you, I just thought you should have some time to get used to the idea of becoming a werewolf before having to deal with anything else.”
“But, I’m not going to be a werewolf, Abraham! I won’t live that long! And, what gave you the idea that it was your job to decide what I could, and couldn’t handle?”
Shift (Southern Werewolves Book 1) Page 23