“Shit.” He stopped. Stopped the sucking and the rubbing and held still, pressed against her breast, her body.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry. This is wrong.” He was the experienced one here and she was the victim of the hormones rushing through her bloodstream.” He went to move away, but her fingers dug into his head and she rubbed her breasts against his face.
“Please. It’s not wrong, it’s so right.”
He shuddered with the effort, but he stepped away, loosening her fingers from his hair. She pushed toward him and he held her wrists again. This time to hold her back.
“Glenna,” he said. “Glenna, we need to stop.”
“Sam, I don’t want to stop.”
“You’re killing me.” He took a ragged breath. “It’s the change, Glenna, it’s just the change. It plays havoc with your instincts. Your adrenaline surges, your hormones surge. It pushes you to find a mate, reproduce.”
“No, that’s not it. I want you, I need you.” She bumped her hips out, tried to rub against him, but he held her wrists between them.
His wolf pushed him to take her. He needed a mate. Had to have a mate. This mate. “No.” He let her go and moved across the room. “It’s the hormones talking. It’s not us.” He’d choose the next mate. If there ever was another mate. He wouldn’t let his wolf do this to him. Not again.
Glenna followed him, stalking him across the room, her bare nipples shining with the moisture from his mouth. “Are you saying that I’m not attracted to you? That I don’t want to rip your clothes off and do you right here in the cockroach motel?”
Sam swallowed. Sweat beaded on his back and the room grew hot and close. “I’m saying that the change pushes you to the next step, finding a mate. The virus doesn’t care that you haven’t settled yet, that you don’t even know if you’ll be a shifter or dreamwalker or whatever. It only knows the best way to survive is to mate and reproduce. It stimulates the sex hormones and the pheromones so males will flock to you and protect you.” She was too close. He grabbed her by the wrists again. Inside, his wolf howled with success. They had her, they’d keep her. Sam shoved the desire to throw her across the bed and fuck her down so deep, he shook with the effort. “You should have stayed at the cabin where Lana could keep you away from me.”
It took every ounce of willpower to let her go and move away. Away from her parted lips, rosy nipples, and hungry eyes.
“Glenna, right now, it’s just you. But if we have sex we could start the fever inside of me. And I won’t do that.”
She frowned. “You don’t like me.” She flung herself back on the bed, leaning on her elbows and pushing her taut nipples up.
“No. I like you.” He ran a hand over his face. The urge to take her, to rub his body against hers was strong. “I just won’t follow the hormones and the fever anymore. All it gets me is trouble. And I don’t know if I can come back from it if it happens again.”
How could he explain to her all the complex issues she brought out in him? The desire for a mate. The drive to have sex with her, even though he knew it would start the chain reaction of the fever and then the Bite and the claim. And what if they reached that point and she rejected him? She didn’t even want to be pack, let alone mate for life with a shifter. If Serena, a woman of the pack, hadn’t wanted him, how could Glenna possibly want him?
No. No sex, no mating bond, no future.
“We need a plan.”
Glenna patted the bed next to her. “Come sit down here and we’ll make one.”
“You’re killing me, Glenna. I’ll stay here.” He hooked the straight back chair out from under the rickety desk and straddled it backwards. “Now, can you put your shirt on?”
She pouted and pulled her shirt on. She seemed to have calmed down, a little. At least she wasn’t chasing him across the room anymore. That, more than anything else, told him he was right. This was just the change. Not her. He ignored the crushing disappointment.
She didn’t really want him—he had to remember that. Had to remember it or he would go right over there and start something that could end his life as a human and end up with him wild in the woods forever.
Chapter Thirty-three
Glenna struggled to get her ragged breathing under control. This was crazy. She’d had sex with other men. Sex with her fiancé, but she’d never experienced this drive to strip off her clothes and just get skin to skin like she wanted to with Sam.
She wanted Sam’s wet mouth to suck on her aching nipples and give her some relief. Was it just the push of the disease?
She went suddenly cold.
She didn’t want to think this desire wasn’t hers. She pushed her longing for him back. Focus, she needed to focus. Sam was right. Planning had always saved her. They needed a plan. And that started with facts.
“So, you think the FBI ran us off the road? Why?”
“I forgot. You didn’t see them. They approached me at your sister’s place. I think your ex-fiancé called them.”
“I can’t believe it.” But the sad thing was, she could. She and Roger hadn’t had much, but at least she’d believed he cared for her on some level, or she would have never agreed to marry him. But not now.
“If they’d been watching the place they would have picked us up before I put you in the back of the truck. But they didn’t know where you were. The asshole definitely called after we left. They got there fast though, so they must have been close. Maybe they were watching the area.”
Her heart sank. “My place is around the corner.” She swallowed. “Was around the corner.” That life was gone, it was time she accept it.
“That explains it.”
She wrapped her arms around herself. “Do you think Roger will even tell Sarah he saw me? She’s my baby sister, Sam. God, he’s such a jerk.” The pity in his eyes was almost more than she could take. “The need for action had her off the bed and pacing the narrow space between the beds and the dresser. “We need to get her,” she said. “She should know he’s just using her, that he was just using me.”
“If he was just using you, why were you with him?”
“It made my grandmother happy.” How to explain how she’d had to grow up at a young age, become mother to her sister and perfection for her grandmother. He’d grown up in a happy family. How would he understand losing everything?
“So you won’t miss him?”
“Miss him?” She stopped pacing and looked at Sam. Big, rough, sexy Sam. Just the sight of him straddling the chair made her start thinking about sex again. He was nothing like Roger, selfish, sophisticated Roger.
“I don’t know.” She sank down on the bed. “I guess I’ll miss what I thought we had. He’d bring flowers and wine over to my house and we’d have dinner. He was perfect when we went out. He knew how to say the right thing to the right people.”
“Sounds perfect.” Sam leaned his chin on the back of the chair, dropped his eyes downward.
“It does, doesn’t it?” She shook her head. “But he wanted me to be perfect too. The perfect size, the perfect hostess. My hair was too wild, too red. I never wore quite the right thing; never fit what he thought I should be.”
She looked at herself in the mirror over the dresser. Shocking red roots growing out from underneath sedate auburn hair. The riotous Scottish curls that had taken her hours every day to tame for work. It had been years since she’d seen any of it like this. This Glenna—the one in the mirror with the wild eyes, and even wilder hair—was a stranger.
She touched her face: the freckles scattered across her nose, her slightly parted lips, even her eyebrows that lacked the darkening makeup. Who was she really? Had she ever been the Glenna that Roger had seen? Or was this one, the Glenna who pushed back for what she wanted, the real her?
“Too wild?” Sam stretched out his arm and took one of her wild tresses in his hand, rubbing it between his fingers. A deep shudder went through her. “Is that why you colored it?”
“
Yeah. My grandmother always hated it. Roger said it would look more refined if it was auburn. Actually he wanted brown, but Sarah talked me out of it.”
“I’m looking forward to it all being red. It suits you.” Sam brought the piece of hair up to his nose and inhaled.
Dampness rushed between her legs and her focus was now all on him. He was staring back at her. His eyes had narrowed and they held her pinned on the bed.
Hormones. Sam said it was all hormones. But God—what if it wasn’t? A deep shudder ran through her. His eyes widened and he dropped her hair, jerking his hand back.
She worked on taking deep, even breaths.
They’d lost track of the subject. She reached desperately for a thread. “So, someone followed us from Sarah’s?”
“Not the same guys. They were driving a car, not an SUV. I think they had someone else pick us up.”
“But why? There must be hundreds of people who’ve caught this disease. It’s been rampant in the media.
“The media lies. There are very few people who’ve caught it. The CDC has been trying to get a live specimen to study ever since they discovered the virus.”
“What do you mean?”
“They only discovered the virus by accident and we’ve managed to sabotage every effort they’ve made to really study it. They don’t know squat about it. What they know is based on the small samples they have in the labs and a few tall tales of werewolves.”
“But they aren’t stories.”
“No, but they don’t know that. They don’t have any proof. No pictures. And no one who has truly manifested the disease.”
“If they don’t know about the wolf part, then why is it called lycanthroism? Why the paranoia and stories about insanity in the media?”
“Someone saw us change. They got a blood sample. But they weren’t believed. We’ve made sure to mostly discredit them. We have people in high places.”
“So, we’re on the run from someone who wants to take a blood sample? They have my blood from the hospital.”
“No, Glenna. They want you. You’re the first live person they’ve found with the virus.”
“That can’t be true. We’ve heard about lots of cases. They’ve all died.”
“No. They made it all up. The CDC wants the public to be afraid, so they’ll call when someone tests positive. They want to study a live specimen. You.”
A deep cold settled in her bones. It had taken a series of hard shocks to get her here, but she finally believed him. She might have a predator uncoiling inside of her but the truth was—she was the prey.
Chapter Thirty-four
Serena settled down in her borrowed bed and checked her phone. Her roommate was already snoring away in the other twin bed. It had been a difficult night getting the Windy Gap refugees settled and she was so tired she could barely move. Gabe had called earlier and she couldn’t believe she’d missed talking to him. She hit call. The low rumble of his voice came over the phone.
“Hey, babe, I’m getting some shut eye. Hope you’re okay. I’ll try to call in the morning before I head out.” He sounded even more tired than she was. She’d have to wait to call him back. He needed every bit of sleep he could get.
Serena tucked herself under her covers and began her nightly ritual to settle herself for sleep and work. She realigned the flow of her inner energy, cleaned out the stresses of the day and asked for guidance. By the time she was finished, she was in the dreamscape.
Her entry point was a smooth clearing surrounded by a tall forest of green leafy trees and a small pond in the center. Dreamwalkers were trained to leave signs in their dreamscapes so they could easily connect with others. Serena had different clearings for different sections of her life and each clearing had a path for each person. She ran down Glenna’s path.
Not too far away, she found Glenna sleeping in a white gauzy nightgown on a four-poster bed. This area of the forest was a healthy bright green, with flowers and small birds chirping, but deeper in, away from the bed, it grew dark. Shadowy shapes lurked under grey misty branches, blending in as soon as she looked directly at them. And past that dark forest lay a wall that she and Glenna had built, brick by brick, over the two weeks it had taken to rescue Glenna from the PTSD.
Now the council wanted her to take the wall down.
She stepped softly to Glenna in the bed. When she found someone like this it meant they were approaching REM sleep. Glenna was on her way to the dream world. Serena would hold this space until she arrived.
Glenna stretched and sat up, blinking at Serena. “I haven’t seen you for a while.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Great. I feel...alive.” She stretched and smiled. “I feel like moving.” She jumped off the bed, took one look at her voluminous nightgown and frowned. Her clothing changed, became running clothes. A new path appeared, this one wide and smooth. “Let’s go.” Glenna was off and running at full speed.
Something was up. This rapid shift from sleeper to athlete was unusual. Serena shifted to her wolf and ran to catch up.
In the dreamscape her wolf gave her advantages, just like she would if they were able to manifest physically. But here, Serena had more than strength and sharp hunting skills. She had dream skills.
Now she could see Glenna’s aura, and it was red and orange and sparky. She’d never seen anything like it in an adult. But she had seen it in her training, when she’d done some work at one of the schools in Maine.
The change was coming. And it was coming fast.
If she messed with Glenna’s walls now, had her dealing with her attack while she was experiencing the adrenaline and mood swings brought on by the change, the results would be horrendous.
She didn’t know if Glenna could cope, or even if they’d be able to find the information the council wanted. Would she come out of it a functioning member of the pack? Would she become a feral wolf, never able to be human again? Or would she go insane?
Chapter Thirty-five
Sam couldn’t sleep.
He never slept in pants, but after realizing Glenna had taken hers off, he knew he’d better leave his on. Or he’d be one more step closer to sex with her. He turned over for what had to be the hundredth time and snuck a peak at Glenna curled on her side in the next bed. Her delicate facial bones illuminated by the light she’d insisted be left on in the bathroom. This was torture.
He could smell her sweet scent, hear her every movement, even her slow breaths. He flipped over again and debated taking a cold shower to relieve his ache.
Glenna moaned in her sleep. He couldn’t do this.
He got out of bed and headed for the shower. If the cold didn’t take care of it, he’d do it himself. There was no way he was going to be able to function with her in the morning and not give in if she turned on the seduction.
Glenna’s breathing quickened. “I won’t. I can’t!”
He stopped next to her bed. “Glenna?”
“Please, don’t!”
He knelt next to the bed. She was dreaming. And it looked like a bad nightmare.
Damn. He’d thought Serena had helped her though her fears. Maybe they were seeping back through because of the near accident.
“Glenna.” He touched her shoulder and she whimpered.
“Why? Why are you doing this?”
That was it. He wouldn’t let her get hurt in her dreams. “Glenna, wake up!” He shook her.
Her eyes opened, they were wide and unfocused. “No!” She pulled away.
“Glenna, it’s Sam.”
“Sam?” She blinked and shook her head.
“You’re having a nightmare.” He stroked tangled hair back from her damp brow. “Are you awake now?”
“Yes. I’m awake now.”
“Shh, you’re shaking.”
“Hold me.” Her voice sounded small, not the bold, confident Glenna he’d gotten used to. She touched his arm.
He couldn’t leave her like this, lost and vulnerable. She might not r
emember what had happened to her, but he’d seen the cuts and bruises she’d had in the hospital. “Damn.” He sighed and climbed up next to her on the bed. She crawled onto his lap, curling her long limbs up. He leaned against the headboard and wrapped her in his arms as tight as he could. “I’ve got you.”
She quivered in his arms, her nightmare rocking her body with aftershocks. He rubbed her back, soothing her as the shaking subsided. “Better now?”
She nodded.
“I’ll let you get back to sleep.” He moved to let her go.
She clutched him. “No. Please. Stay.”
He’d seen her panties rinsed out and hanging in the shower and knew the only thing between them were his jeans. He’d been aroused before, just trying to sleep in the next bed. Now he was rock hard, his cock an ache pressed against her backside.
“Glenna, I really should get back in my own bed.” He tried to move again, but she held on.
“Please, just until I get back to sleep.”
Her scent still carried the taste of fear, along with the increasing scent of female and pack. “Okay.” He’d keep his pants on and calm her down. Then he’d go to his cold shower.
He slid down to a more comfortable position and moved her to his side.
Her head cradled in the nook of his shoulder and her grip relaxed. “Mmmm, you feel nice.”
She nuzzled his chest.
He didn’t feel nice. He felt like flipping her on her back and tearing off her t-shirt. Maybe a shower wouldn’t have helped, but lying in bed with her half-naked, his cock inches away from her pussy—that was just stupid.
His fingers began stroking her back.
“Mmmm, that feels nice too.” Her bare leg crept up and over his. She rubbed her face on his chest and took a deep breath. “You smell nice.” Her leg rubbed up and down his thigh.
“Glenna, honey, you don’t understand what you’re doing.”
“I’m awake, Sam. I know what I’m doing.” Her long fingers trailed up and down his bare torso.
He swallowed. He should have kept his shirt on too.
Blood Enforcer (Wolf Enforcers Book 2) Page 16