“I’m not a vampire. You don’t need to invite me in.” Her breathing sounded fast and shallow—he hoped it was arousal and not that she was having allergy issues.
“No, but this way it’s not breaking and entering.”
“Mmm.” She inhaled deeply, and moaned softly on the exhale.
“I can get you a key,” he said, purposefully rubbing his lips on the soft skin below her ear.
Her palms slid across his chest and around his neck. She had such long, delicate fingers.
“Plus, if you get here early enough, we can brush our teeth together.” The visual of such domesticity elicited something beyond sexual arousal—it sounded pretty damn good. It sounded like what he’d wanted for a long time. Only it involved her actually sticking around longer than their sparring sessions.
He tipped backward, and they stared at each other for a long moment. The heat between them should have tripped the fire alarms.
Her fingers pulled at his neck, trying to get his mouth to hers, but he wasn’t rushing this. Some things were worth taking your time. Plus, he just liked to see her get frustrated. When he saw her eyes narrow, he dipped his head, bringing his mouth within inches of hers—a scant breath from her soft, lush lips he’d wanted to sample for hours that had dragged like days.
Closing those inches, he stole a short kiss that was more a nip of that gorgeous full lower lip of hers. Whimpering, she stood on her tiptoes and dragged his mouth to hers. He’d intended to go slowly—he’d pulled on pajamas on the off chance she dropped by. They’d need layers between them, especially since she’d arrive without a stitch on her.
From the first brush of their lips, they were a wildfire raging out of control. Her mouth opened beneath his immediately—no chaste kisses for Vanessa. She sucked his tongue into the wet warmth of her mouth and her moan caught in his. She sucked, and bit, and those moans made his heart pound, and his brain get bypassed.
He pulled back with every intention of slowing down. They were into day two of their relationship—if you counted the time she was a wolf, and she wasn’t counting that time. They needed to get to know each other. He shouldn’t screw around with a local who he wasn’t sure would stick around when they had clothes back on. Vanessa leaned in and buried her nose in his neck and inhaled deeply.
“Dane, don’t stop. Don’t stop.”
He didn’t want to. Ever. But… Vanessa yanked his shirt off him and then leaned forward and licked a line from his breastbone to his collarbone and he almost said, “Good intentions be damned.” Then her fingers went to the hem of the shirt she was wearing, and he pulled her tight against him. While it felt pretty much perfect having her curves pressed against him, it also prevented her from removing more clothes. “Vanessa, I think we should slow down.”
Okay, that was a lie—he didn’t think that. He’d planned that and sometimes he liked to follow the plan to prove he was in control, but he definitely didn’t think that. Only an insane man would want that when faced with a luscious blonde wearing only his T-shirt.
She moaned. “No.”
“No?” he asked on a laugh. He hadn’t expected her to come out and say that…or for her to be frantically pressing kisses on his skin as her hands roamed, killing his resistance.
“I don’t think I can. You could have been anyone yesterday, but today you’re not anyone,” she murmured, nearly incoherently. “And he said I could have you. And I haven’t had anyone for this whole time…and…hell, you smell good.”
It was hearing the vague “he” that doused his lust enough that he grabbed her arms and held her away from him. When she continued to push toward him, he picked her up and set her on the dresser. “Whoa. Vanessa.” No acknowledgment he’d said her name. “Vanessa, we need to slow down.” And he needed to find out who this “he” was who had said she could have him. She could have him—nearly any way and anywhere, but as far as Dane was concerned, the only “he” allowed to tell her that was in this room right now.
“No…no…no…” She pushed against the dresser and his hands.
He let go of one of her arms and pressed his palm against her forehead. “Are you feeling okay? You feel warm.”
“Hot,” she agreed and turned her mouth to kiss his wrist before biting it with her teeth.
While it wasn’t painful, he jumped in surprise nonetheless. “I don’t think you’re feeling well.”
She groaned—deeply, and with obvious aggravation. “Males! You play coy and they get all interested. You get interested and they’re not.” Then she used her free hand to pull his wrist back to her mouth.
He didn’t want to agree with her words because it wasn’t that—it was that this wasn’t…her. Vanessa was confident, and she was coy. This was fevered and intense and, ow, not gentle. She hadn’t been this aggressive in the time he’d known her—other than when she’d confronted that black wolf in front of his place. It was like he’d inadvertently unleashed the wolf—it was like she was in heat.
Wait.
He grabbed her face and forced her gaze to his. “Vanessa, are you in heat? You said something about that.”
She couldn’t seem to focus or catch her breath. Finally, she said breathlessly, “It doesn’t matter.”
Uhh, actually, it did.
“How long does it last?”
She growled—growled—like he was dealing with the wolf and not her. “I don’t care how long you last.”
He rolled his eyes. Yeah. Tender. They weren’t doing this. Pulling her off the dresser, he flipped her around, grabbed her around the waist, and dragged her into the bathroom. Flicking the water in the shower to as frigidly cold as it went, he waited to make sure it was near ice cubes dropping from the showerhead before he pulled both of them under the spray.
She screamed. And it wasn’t in ecstasy. Though hopefully, if her little wolf friends were outside, they’d assume that.
…
She rounded on him in the dark shower stall and punched him in the chest. “You…you…you…” As soon as her muscles unfroze, she’d kill him and then she’d leave…and then she’d come back and kill him again. She kept punching him. She’d never been more angry or humiliated. That had been the definition of throwing yourself at someone—and he’d dumped her in a cold shower. Well, sure, she was so out of her mind with lust that she stopped processing anything shortly after they’d started kissing, but…
Her senses started to return.
Oh…she’d really thrown herself at him.
Oh…she’d just…and he’d just… She stopped punching him and pushed out of his arms and against the shower wall. She’d just… No…no…no… Even with the frigid spray beating down on her, she dropped to the floor and hugged her knees to her chest and buried her face in her arms. She’d just gone all crazed and…nooooo… As soon as she could get out of here, she would. She’d run and run and never stop running. She could outrun this. Maybe.
The shower shut off above her, and Dane crouched in front of her. “Vanessa?”
“Just go away,” she mumbled into her arms. This definitely one-upped the time she’d attacked Jordan. No wonder he had run off. It wasn’t the allergy meds—it was her. She was this mad animal—all instinct and blind, crazed lust. Her ovaries had been calling the shots with a “hello sailor” and a “let’s not waste time with foreplay—how about oneplay?”
So pathetic.
She’d pulled Dane’s shirt off and licked him—which was fine and good when they were both into it, and it was all consensual, but she’d been mauling him. And he’d been holding her off, and so not into it. He’d probably end up with bite marks on his arms. Holy freak, she’d been gnawing on him practically. Talk about making a guy feel like a piece of meat…
Maybe she’d be able to face him in a decade. Or so.
“Vanessa?”
“Go away!” She’d never wanted to die from embarrassment like this. This wasn’t her. She was badass. She didn’t care what anyone—especially not a human—thought
of her. Only…this was Dane, and he wasn’t any old human, and she’d thrown herself at him, and he’d tossed her back into the water—the cold, arctic water.
If he had any kindness in him, he’d leave without needing to hash out how horribly awkward that must’ve been.
If she shifted, she might be able to crawl out the window…and never crawl back in. Well, this at least answered if he felt the scent-match as she did.
No. Not so much. Even dripping, freezing wet, her brain was shivering out a “mine?” stubbornly.
No. Definitely not mine.
And she’d come here—she’d crawled through a pet door, past that damn cat who’d hissed at her and feinted at her, like an evil sentry. She should have scurried back home. Anywhere that Lucifer guarded could only be hell.
This felt a lot like hell.
He was still there, crouched in front of her.
Absolutely silent.
And not moving.
Vanessa glanced up, and he grabbed her face, cradling her head with his hands, and pressed his mouth to hers. His lips were cold, and frigid water dripped down his face from his hair, but his mouth and tongue were warm. Mmm. All the cold parts of her jumped from thirty-fricken-two degrees to maybe thirty-three or thirty-four. She let him be the aggressor—let his tongue tangle in her mouth. Let his teeth bite her lower lip softly before he sucked on it soothingly. When he pulled back, his breath still making her lips tingle, she murmured—from warm lips—“Well, I think that’s what they call a mixed message.”
He laughed and dropped down beside her and sat with his back against the shower wall. “No, I just wanted to make sure you knew who you were kissing earlier. I’m not sure you did for a while there.”
“I did!” She had. She’d known it was Dane somewhere in that fog of lust.
“Well, I didn’t. You weren’t acting like yourself—and while I realize my acquaintance with you is somewhat limited, you felt like you were running a fever.”
She probably was. Her temperature skyrocketed from the hormone rush and then her skin flushed from being so turned on. She’d probably gone from a pale white to a healthy glowing “let me tear your clothes off” pink.
Beside her, Dane shuddered as a shiver ran down his spine. He tipped his head back and took in a deep breath. He was out of breath—she’d been pretty frantic, and he must have been desperate to stop her. He’d dragged them into a cold shower to get her off him. It was like they were dogs, and he’d taken the hose to them.
To her.
To get away from her.
Nice.
This would never work. She was passionate and, yes, a little crazed. If he tossed her into a cold shower when she showed some initiative, well, they’d have a very cold relationship—at least on her end.
He shivered.
She shivered.
“I’m sorry,” she said. This sucked. She needed to get out of here—to run hard and fast and hope that she outran her hormones.
He turned to her, leaned over, and kissed her lips softly before brushing kisses across her cheek and temple. When he returned to her mouth, she breathed a sigh against his lips before kissing him back. Her mouth might be back up to temperature with all the friction he was providing. He tasted like heaven. Cinnamon and Dane. She could smell his toothpaste on the counter. From now on, cinnamon bears were going to have her running a fever and searching for Dane and a flat surface.
Mmm. Maybe this could work. It was really working right now. Her body was humming and warming up…and these shivers were definitely not from being cold.
He pulled back after biting her lower lip softly. There was a night-light in the bathroom, but she could see him without it, and his smile made her smile.
“How long are you in heat?”
Annnnd the smile dropped off her lips.
Vanessa pulled back and pushed farther into the corner. It was one thing for Jordan to mention it offhand, but something about Dane saying it—it sounded dirty and like she was a creature incapable of controlling her primal urges. Okay, maybe for a moment there, that wasn’t a bad description of her capabilities, but it was really none of his business. And the more he knew, the more he might reveal accidentally, and then Jordan would kill him. So playing dumb on this wasn’t just her being scared—it was logical.
In point of fact… “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He groaned. “Fine. I’ll Google it and take a guess.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Google it?”
“Yes. If you’re not going to volunteer the information…”
“Oh, there’ll be no more volunteering much of anything…so it’s a moot point.”
“Yes, there will. Because you find me as irresistible as I find you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, yes, you’re having a terrible time resisting me.” He’d tossed her into a cold shower. She hugged her knees tighter to her chest.
Tipping his head back, he laughed. “Which is why I’m in here too. Another few seconds and we’d have blazed through each other so fast neither of us would remember anything other than a blur of sex. You do remember snarling at me that you didn’t care how long I lasted, right?”
She swallowed. Vaguely. It sounded like less-than-ideal pillow talk.
She chewed on her lower lip.
He was out of breath, and he had dragged them both under the cold shower.
Maybe he didn’t hate her.
“What do you say we get out of these wet clothes”—he slid a look her way—“separately, put on some dry ones, and go sleep for a few more hours? I don’t know what time receptionists go in to work after they’ve had big receptionist emergencies, but I’ve got work in a few hours, and I need more sleep.”
“You’re letting me stay?”
His grin made her heart start to pound again. “Of course. I told you that you can come over whenever you want.” He stood and reached a hand out to help her up. “Now, this house key I’m going to give you—can it be silver or will that light your skin on fire?”
She crossed her arms.
Chapter Five
Despite her flipping him off when he’d asked about it, he still felt a little weird leaving the key in her hand. The silver bullet and werewolf myth had to come from somewhere, after all. Or maybe it didn’t, and apparently, they were going to go through this relationship with her pretending he was losing his mind because she wasn’t admitting she was…whatever she was despite the overwhelming amount of evidence. Not that the key was actually silver, but no sense taking any chances. For all he knew she was allergic to metal.
He’d thought about leaving the key on the bedside table, but after that cold shower, she’d been trying to keep her distance, even if she’d responded to his kisses. As soon as she’d fallen asleep—which necessitated him putting in earplugs again—Vanessa scooted over to his side and became a second skin. In fact, he’d put a few more layers on so he wouldn’t need to take a cold shower every hour.
And he hadn’t slept after that.
At all.
Eventually, he’d gotten up and dressed there in the room—confident that her snoring would alert him if she woke. So it was convenient in that way. After he’d located his spare key, he’d pressed it into her hand and curled her fingers around it. Then he’d leaned over and kissed her good-bye…on her forehead…because she slept with her mouth hanging open.
The level of attraction he felt for her was astounding considering he hadn’t felt this way about Kaylee on her best days—when she had spent hours on her hair and makeup and wore a backless black dress that was too short and too tight. He felt twice that level of lust for Vanessa when she was snoring and snarling and he felt fifty times that when she was irate and glaring at him.
True to his word, he looked it up on the internet. Wolves were in heat for a “few weeks.” If that corresponded to whatever Vanessa was, he might have three weeks of total celibacy because even kissing her set off a nuclear meltdown when they weren’t on
the verge of hypothermia, and the shower solution hadn’t pissed her off—he liked her in a temper—it’d hurt her and made her self-conscious which, in turn, made him feel like an ass.
Plus, even freezing couldn’t seem to chill out his response to her, and his shower stall didn’t strike him as the best location to prove to someone you valued her as a potential soul mate.
So, they’d be dating like a couple from the mid eighteen hundreds. Next week, he might hold her hand as they sat on a front porch swing. They’d keep it more platonic until she was through this, because he sure as hell wasn’t going to be some guy scratching an itch whom she only vaguely remembered as being on two legs instead of four.
He’d sleep on the couch if she stopped by his house at night—and hopefully, the key said he wouldn’t mind that.
As he was driving to meet with Sammy, he was meant to be looking for any sign of the missing woman. Travis had kept his word, and they’d been brought into the investigation to help look for her. He should be concentrating on the mystery of the abandoned car and its missing driver. Instead, all his focus was straight ahead as his thoughts centered solely on the gorgeous female he’d left in his bed. She’d been so soft and warm, and she’d crawled all over him in her sleep.
Yeah, the couch. It’d have to be the couch from now on.
When he arrived, it actually surprised him; he looked around to make sure he was in the right place because this should have taken him twenty minutes to get to where the abandoned car had been, and he’d just left Vanessa. Crap. Hopefully this was a lack of sleep thing and not a being with Vanessa thing.
He parked beside Sammy’s Jeep and got out. The other ranger was crouched on the opposite side of the ditch near the tree line. She was older than him by a few years and single, and a few of the locals joked that she was looking to cougar him. If she was, it was a very slow approach, and obviously wouldn’t work now.
Past My Defenses (Taming the Pack series) (Entangled Ignite) Page 7