She owed him so much, and she inhaled deeply and released the breath. “If you hadn’t been there, if you hadn’t gotten there when you did...” She trailed off and shook her head as the images rolled through her mind. She fought for composure and continued, “He would have raped me.” She’d dried her tears once, but the admission of it made it real, the flood gates opening and spilling large, heavy tears ran down her cheeks as she sobbed.
Ava couldn’t believe how tender Caleb was, and he lifted her chin gently, raising one hand and brushing at her tears with the pad of his thumb. “It’s alright, Ava. You’re safe.” His voice was low and deep, reassuring, and Ava tried to let it soothe her. He continued, “No one is going to hurt you, Ava. I’m here to protect you now.” He emphasized his words as if he felt the need to hammer it into her brain.
As Caleb stood and began to rub her shoulders, she wondered about that, but his hands worked miracles, and she began to calm under his touch. She was glad when he moved away, her body buzzing at his nearness, but she also longed for his touch again.
Ava watched him move to the counter as he drew a glass from the cupboard and poured a shot of whiskey, handing it to her. “Drink this. I’ll be right back.”
She shot the whiskey, draining every last drop. When Caleb returned in a pair of hip-hugging jeans that left his chest bare, he was nearly as delicious as he had been moments ago. He reached for another glass, filled it for himself, and poured more into her empty one. She shot this one back, too, letting the liquid heat loosen her body a bit and bring her down from the rush of adrenaline the attack had caused. Of course, as she mellowed, the images that terrified her were replaced with those that tantalized – Caleb naked standing before her.
She glanced sideways at him. The jeans made no difference. His aura of power amplified his sexual attraction, and she couldn’t ignore it.
She pushed her glass toward him, saying drily, “One more.”
He smiled and poured, and Ava downed it with a sour expression, putting the glass down on the table and standing. She leaned against the fridge, losing her train of thought as the whiskey seeped into her blood and rushed to her brain. The room remained silent, and Ava knew Caleb watched her. She watched him, too, but neither spoke a word to break the spell cast over them in the shared moment.
And Ava wasn’t even sure what moment it was they shared at first. But Caleb stood, and her belly heated with something more than the liquor as his eyes bore holes in her. She flicked her eyes down cautiously as his hand moved toward her face, and he slid his palm along her cheek cupping her face. Closing her eyes, she nuzzled into it, letting the delicious scent he carried waft over her.
Her entire body tingled from his nearness and the unspoken mutual attraction she knew sizzled between them. Whatever action was taken now was crucial, and she raised her eyes to his, waiting to see what he would do as she watched him through her lashes.
His mouth came crashing onto hers, and her desire spun out of control. Cradling the back of Caleb’s head, she pulled him in deeper, swirling her tongue with his until she grew lightheaded with the sensation. Maybe it was partly the whiskey, but more likely, Caleb intoxicated her until she felt punch drunk. He intensified the kiss, tilting her head to the side so he could draw more deeply on her mouth, and Ava followed his lead, arching her back to press her body to his.
His teeth nibbled the corner of her mouth, guiding his lips from her jaw to her ear and down her throat. Ava accommodated her head back as she panted and gasped in her arousal.
Flicking his tongue against her earlobe, he whispered in her ear, “I wanted you so bad last night, I could taste you.”
Ava moaned, desire building inside as Caleb pushed his rigid body against hers. “God, I wanted you, too, Caleb,” she breathed, pulling his head up and crushing her lips to his with bruising force. She sucked his lower lip into her mouth and bit, tugging at it as he let out a low, menacing growl.
With both hands, he lifted her and pinned her against the fridge. Ava wrapped her legs around his waist, letting her hands explore the breadth of his shoulders. She needed his hard body against her. She needed his heavy hands on her skin. Tightening her hold on him with her legs, she forced him closer to her, letting her soft body mold to his.
He broke away, running his hands through her hair cascading around them both, and his eyes sparked. “You’re so beautiful.” His whisper was reverent and made Ava moan and shudder as she slid down the fridge, and she nearly cried out as he tore her shirt from her.
Caleb’s lips trailed down her neck, his hands creeping up her back to unlatch her bra. The satiny material fell from Ava’s chest, and his large hand cupped one full breast, his mouth circling the brown areola. Slowly, he licked and sucked, sending Ava’s body into overdrive. She arched into his hot, wet mouth, her skin tingling and her nipples hardening. She didn’t think she could ever get enough of him, her body floating and filled with some power she couldn’t explain as he ministered to her.
******
Caleb flicked his tongue at the chocolate buds of her nipples, drawing gently on them and then with more force. He soaked up Ava’s response, wanting to experience every ounce of her pleasure along with his. He didn’t want to just please her tonight. He wanted to know everything that would melt her in his arms and make her his forever.
Ava arched into him, and he reveled in the way she closed her eyes and gasped at the sensations he caused to roll through her. She raked through his hair with her long, thin fingers and licked her lower lip as she shoved one hand between their bodies, searching low to the outside of his pants. His eyes closed as she rubbed her palm against the length of his erection. “I want you, Caleb,” she hissed in his ear.
It was all the invitation he needed, and he took her by the hand and drew her toward his bedroom. He took Ava’s waist, laying her gently back on the bed, and her eyes locked on his. Glad to shed them again, he unzipped his jeans and let them fall to the floor, watching her lips part with the arousal he could smell on her. He bent and tore her shorts from her body, spreading her legs apart as he dipped his head down between her legs. He licked between her folds, and Ava moaned above him with pleasure.
Her aroma was heady, her taste sweet, and he used his tongue to probe inside her hot, wet opening. As he basked in the taste of her intimate lining, Ava gasped and squirmed, her hands fisting in the heavy comforter on his bed. He chuckled, the sound vibrating against her, and she let out a whimper. “You taste so good.” He spoke with his lips against her and felt her quiver. His mouth was coated in her moisture, his nose filled with her scent and his whole body tensed with want. He needed to be inside her, but he would stop at nothing to please her.
Unrelenting, Caleb slid a finger into her, slowly pumping in and out while he teased her folds with his tongue. Her hips bucked off the bed as he added a second finger inside, stroking faster, and her inner walls clamped around him in contractions as Ava cried out his name and shook. He found her orgasm delectable.
Chapter 10
Ava wasn’t a virgin, but there was something about his handling of her that made her feel completely inexperienced as he licked and fingered her. Blood rushed violently in her veins at Caleb’s skillful ministrations, and she came closer and closer to oblivion until she erupted, nearly flying off the bed as she shouted his name.
She couldn’t breathe, his tongue torturing her clit with repeated assaults as she jerked and convulsed with pleasure. And when he covered her engorged clit with his whole mouth and started to suck, she gasped and jerked her hips, the ecstasy overwhelming.
The first wave tapered off, but the slightest change in his rhythm caused a second explosion, and then a third, until her orgasms crashed on top of each other. Finally, mercifully, he stopped, only to crawl over her, hiking her leg up with his swollen and throbbing cock in his hand. He pushed inside the lush heat of her moist center, sliding with ease, and Ava moaned, fascinated by the way something as simple as his entry into her body could m
ake her feel like she would spontaneously combust.
She watched Caleb’s eyelids flutter as he leaned over her. “God, you’re so tight around me, so wet.” He grunted as he moved in and out of her. “It’s incredible.” Ava watched him shudder with pleasure, and even that brought her a small shockwave. She reveled in the sensation, thinking that they were made for each other. Lock and key couldn’t have fit more perfectly, and the easy pumping had her thrashing at the bed, unable to find an outlet for the intense pleasure. She believed to the depths of her soul that no other lover would ever be able to bring her to this pinnacle, and as Caleb moved faster and pounded harder into her flesh, she clawed at his back, breathing heavily, and gasped, “Jesus Christ, Caleb!” Her body vibrated from head to toe with revelry.
Each wave of pleasure threatened to drown her with its intense force, and she wondered how he could make her feel so utterly lost in him. Ava watched him, and even with his concentration and focus, he was obviously just as affected as she was. He thrust deep inside her with a low growl, and she arched her back, feeling greedy and wanting more of him. She would hungrily accept all he had to offer as she sensed his climax building.
His mouth crashed down on her breast again, taking a mouthful, and she drug her nails down his back, clawing at him wildly in throes of pleasure. He moved harder, his hips circling as he drove deeper and faster, stretching and taunting her inner walls with each motion. As she panted, her eyes locked with Caleb’s, and he lunged into her, their bodies flush together as she melted again like liquid metal in an inferno, and Caleb’s release came with one final shove. He moaned, his teeth clenched as he emptied his seed into her, and Ava watched the muscles in his arms and chest constrict as his body exploded and shook with the effort.
Caleb lay next to Ava on his bed as their breathing slowed, their bodies relaxed and all her tension released. He rolled his head to the side to look at her, seeing her hair tangled in a matted mess draped over his bicep. Her lips were swollen from his kisses, and her eyes were heavy and nearly closed in the afterglow of spent energy and sexual release.
Even in complete exhaustion, Ava was beyond beautiful. He stifled a yawn, denying his body the luxury of being tired, wanting just to lie here and stare at the incredible creature beside him. This time, the voice inside him whispered in a satisfied tone. Mine!
He toyed with a lock of her hair, using his fingertips to push it from her face tenderly as he lifted his head to kiss her eyebrows and then her lips. “You’re everything I imagined and more.”
She let out a long, sated groan, smiling and licking her parched lips. “My god, Caleb!” she croaked, opening one eye and peering at him playfully. “Obviously, I’ve never made love to a werewolf before. That was amazing!”
Caleb laughed heartily. He hadn’t expected that response. Ava giggled alongside him, and he lay back with a smile as Ava curled her body up to his. She nestled into the crook of his shoulder, laying her head on his chest, and his beast purred inside. Her body fit his like a glove, and he knew fate had brought them together, for reasons that she likely understood even less than he did. In time, they would figure that out, but for now, the intoxication would keep them interested until they felt like delving into something deeper. With renewed vigor, he rolled over, deciding that they could explore this aspect of what they had well into the night and maybe through dawn.
******
Sarah Bertrand sat up in bed, the drapes hanging above her bedroom window open as she gazed out it, wringing her hands and praying her daughter would come traipsing along the trail at any moment, or that she would see Kelly’s car pull into the driveway. With the vision Kelly had suffered, she’d been particularly concerned about Ava today, and the closing in of the darkness that surrounded their small town haunted Sarah.
She couldn’t protect her daughter if she had no idea where Ava was. The air held electricity as well, and it pinched the top of Sarah’s spine with a warning. Whatever danger awaited Ava, it was potent tonight, and if she wasn’t careful, the young girl would be ripe for the picking.
Of course, there were several reasonable explanations for the late hour with no sign of Ava, the most likely of which was that she’d decided to spend the night at Kelly’s house. She may have been invited to a party or even stayed late at the Coyote to have a drink or two with her coworkers. Ava was an adult, and Sarah held her to no obligatory phone call to discuss plans or whereabouts. But Ava had always respected her mother, and without the requirement, she had still called with any change of plans.
Something had happened to her, and Sarah fretted over it as she picked at a loose thread on her bed sheet, starting to unravel it. She only hoped that, wherever Ava had landed tonight, she had gotten there safely and trusted her intuition, trusting no one who might have poor intentions.
With a sigh, she settled deeper under the covers, watching for some sign of her daughter until she could no longer hold her eyes open, and she was overtaken by a fitful sleep.
Chapter 11
The morning sun glistened through the bedroom window, assaulting Ava’s sleepy eyes as she opened them. She stretched and rubbed at them, trying to adjust to the brightness in the room, which had been so dark earlier.
Ava rolled over and laid her hand on Caleb’s chest, marveling at the peace she found in the rise and fall of his chest with the shallow breathing of his slumber. She glanced at the clock on his nightstand and groaned. It was nearly seven in the morning. She would have to leave soon, knowing that, the moment her mother noticed she’d never come home last night, she’d be plagued with worry. Sarah knew her daughter well, and Ava had never been one to stay out all night without calling. Her mother seemed to be keeping a closer eye on her now that she’d returned, too, and Ava didn’t want to worry her unnecessarily.
Caleb let out a low rumble in his sleep and tightened his arm around her, his head turning to rest against her forehead. Ava couldn’t find a single memory of feeling so delicate and safe as her body relaxed into his.
She trailed her eyes over his chiseled chest and up to the broad expanse of his shoulders until they landed on his thick neck. From there, she followed the lines of his meticulously inked tattoo, understanding that it held a special significance to him and again wondering what that was. One day, she would ask him. Now, her thoughts raced through the night, lingering on the intimate moments of their lovemaking, of such a potent reaction she had to a man she’d met only twice. Ava had never taken a lover so quickly, being picky about men, but Caleb’s allure overwhelmed her.
She reconciled her willingness – and even eagerness – to share his bed with the reality of the incredible attraction that surpassed anything she’d ever felt in her life. She liked the thought of Caleb having a greater purpose in her life beyond sex, but she didn’t want to jump the gun. She willed herself to stay in the moment and not read into things that weren’t in plain, bold print. If Caleb was going to have a larger role in her life, that role would reveal itself in due time.
Ava was still staring at him when his eyes slowly opened and gazed back at her. “Good morning,” he said with a smile, his raspy voice still heavy with sleep. He wrapped both of his arms around her and pulled her down for a full, sensual kiss.
With his mouth covering hers, Ava felt like they devoured each other in their moment, the kiss signifying something deeper than the desire that still buzzed between them. He suckled at her bottom lip, and Ava let out a soft whimper in response. She enjoyed the way he savored her mouth, loved the feel of his probing tongue as it wrestled with hers. Her temperature rose, and though he’d only been awake for a few moments, Caleb already raised a response in her body.
From the mischievous grin on his face, Ava knew Caleb didn’t miss anything and was fully aware of the effect he had on her. But now, Ava reveled in the fact that it was mutual – she made his blood pump just as hard and fast. Beneath the sheets, his arousal presented itself in a stiff erection, and Ava surprisingly found herself ready for yet another
round of passionate lovemaking.
But Caleb pulled away and turned to face the other direction, leaving her with one last tender kiss before releasing his hold on her. Struggling for a sense of reality at the shift in mood, Ava pulled the pile of sheets tightly around her chest and leaned up against the headboard. Caleb seemed distracted but not upset or angry, and serenity settled over her being. As she watched his even breathing while he stared out the window into the sunlight, emotions flooded through her, and she considered just how differently things could have gone last night. On impulse, she ventured, “Thank you for last night, Caleb.”
He tilted his head to one side to look at her with a boyish grin. “You’re welcome. Thank you, too.”
But that wasn’t what she meant. “I’m talking about the field and...that man.”
******
Caleb’s thoughts darkened. He didn’t want her to think about that man or what almost happened. In fact, he wanted to erase every moment of last night prior to their lovemaking. And that brought on the idea that he didn’t want her thinking of other men at all, in any capacity. His need for Ava was definitely stronger than he’d given it credit for.
He rolled to his side and perched up on one arm for a clearer view of her face. Ava’s expression was serious, hesitant, and almost haunted. He wanted to wipe it away. “You’re welcome for that, too, Ava.” He searched her face, hoping she would understand what he wanted to tell her. After all, he’d never had to give this speech before, and it wasn’t something easy to explain. But he was driven to tell her, to express to her the vital need within him. The commitment he couldn’t ignore.
Taking a deep breath, he locked gazes with her and spoke as plainly as he could. “Ava, you should know that I’m here now to protect you. For as long as you still have a pulse, with blood pumping through your veins, I’m here for you. It’s my destiny now, and there is no turning away from it.” He knew his voice was low and husky with the emotion and intensity of his vow, and she looked at him in confusion.
Imprinted By The Alpha (BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (The Marked One - Book 1) Page 5