Animal Rage

by Kathryn Thomas

  “Bel, stop.” Wes holds his hand up, still staring at her, watching her as if she is some rare creature he isn’t sure how to control.

  That’s when she gets an awful feeling. Perhaps she had read this all wrong. Perhaps she has said too much, exposed her feelings to someone who isn’t as sure of his own. She takes a step backwards, as if hedging towards the door, needing to be somewhere away from here, away from him where she could lick her wounds and pretend everything was okay.

  “I’m sorry, I thought...” She trails off, turning towards the door, ready to run out of that room as fast as she possibly could.

  “Wait, what are you doing?” Wesley’s hand on her shoulder makes her stop.

  Instantly she feels the warmth of his hand against her bare skin and her body responds to him immediately. It’s the first time he’s touched her since he walked out and the time apart hasn’t done anything to dampen the desire she feels for him. If anything, it’s made it even more potent.

  “Leaving. You said I should stop so...” She shrugs, not knowing what else to say, only knowing she feels like a prize idiot.

  “I told you to stop because you were saying all the things that should have come from me.” He reaches his hands up, framing both sides of his face. He wipes her tears away with his thumbs and continues to caress her cheeks.

  “But -” She starts to interrupt but he stops her mouth with his finger.

  “Let me say this. It’s about time I did. I should have told you so much earlier. I should have told you the first time I saw you because that’s when I knew.” He leans his head closer to hers so their lips are almost touching. “I’m the one who should have fought for what I wanted. I thought I was doing the right thing, leaving you behind. I thought I was doing the safe thing but really I was just being a coward.” He shakes his head but doesn’t let Isabel say that particular word is not one that she would ever use to describe him. “The idea of anything happening to you scared me so much I couldn’t cope. I knew I would never be able to live with the guilt. But what I hadn’t realized was I would never be able to live without you either.” Gently, he caresses her face and angles her head up so that she looks into his eyes. “I love you, Bel. My beautiful Isabel.”

  He closes the distance between them and the moment his lips touch hers, Isabel feels fireworks explode behind her eyes. It’s the sweetest kiss she’s ever had and she feels it all the way into her core. It feels like belonging, like coming home.

  All rational thought flies out of her head. She has no need for it right now; all she needs is Wesley and his mouth on hers, his hands on her body.

  “I want you.” He whispers the words against her lips when they both take a breath.

  “So take me.” She falls into him, inviting, willing, lifting her hands so he can pull her cami top over her head. Instantly his hands are on her breasts, stroking her hard nipples, making her moan against his mouth. He ducks his head down and kisses her left breast and then her right, taking his time to pay each one equal attention. He nuzzles her, his tongue flicking out and drawing lazy circles around her nipples, a pattern that she feels like he’s searing into her skin.

  Her pussy aches for him and she knows she’s never wanted any man as much as she wants Wesley in this moment. Her hands go to his waist, pushing up his shirt, wanting to feel his warm skin against hers. It’s more than a desire; it’s a desperate need. She feels like she might explode if she doesn’t get to have it.

  He discards his t-shirt by his side, bending down again to take her nipples into his mouth. Her back arches, as she thrusts her chest towards him, inviting him to taste her harder, deeper. He pulls on her right nipple, using his teeth to graze her, giving her exactly the right balance of pain and pleasure. It’s more than she thinks she can handle.

  Wesley grinds his erection against her hip, making no secret of exactly how much he wants her. Desperately, Isabel struggles with the buttons of his jeans, grabbing at them, needing to feel his desire for her, needing to feel his hard heaviness in her hand. Wesley lets his pants fall to the ground and Isabel is inordinately pleased when she realizes there are no boxer shorts to remove.

  She bites her lip, looking down as she strokes his hardness, her pussy aching with desire. Wesley follows her gaze, grinning at her wickedly and she knows he has no plans for this to be quick. He’s going to draw out her pleasure deliciously. His hands go to her hips, pushing down her shorts and, without a pause, his hand is there, in-between her thighs, where the heat feels like it’s going to burn her up from the inside out.

  His clever fingers dip into her wetness and she cries out as he starts to stroke her, first softly, patiently but quickly becoming insistent, touching her in exactly the way she needs. He finds her clit, his thumb alternately tracing circles around it and rubbing it hard. He keeps his thumb on her clit and enters her with one finger and then two, pushing her open, invading her. It’s too much, the pleasure overtakes her and her hips buck with the force of her orgasm, once, twice, three times. She cries out and has to hold on to his shoulders, feeling like her legs are in danger of giving out on her.

  Her legs are useless and Wesley picks her up, taking her to the bed and laying her out underneath him. His eyes devour her, taking every inch of her in as if he’s memorizing everything about her. “My beautiful Bel.” He shakes his head as if he doesn’t quite believe he’s here with her.

  Isabel lifts her hand up, pleading with him to take it, needing the feel of his skin against hers, the contact between them. He smiles wickedly at her and she feels the anticipation pooling between her legs again. His hands stroke her thighs, moving up to her hips, her flat belly, until he’s plucking at her nipples again, making her moan and wriggle underneath him.

  “Wes. Please.” Her voice is a moan and it’s enough to break his control. He lies on top of her, kissing her hard, his tongue exploring all the crevices and parts of her mouth, possessing her.

  One hand goes into his hair, the other slips between them, wrapping around his shaft and tugging him gently. She watches as his eyes widen in pleasure as she runs her thumb along the collection of nerve endings just under the tip of his cock and she feels it jump in her hand.

  “Bel.” Her name is a warning on his lips and she knows he’s telling her he’s not going to be able to hang on for much longer if she keeps doing what she’s doing. That’s just fine with her. She just wants to guide him to the hot, wet spot between her thighs, to somewhere that his hardness will do some good.

  Isabel guides him to her entrance and he watches her, his breathing labored now, as if he’s trying to hold onto the last shred of his control. She rubs him along her wet lips, moaning as he finds her clit and grinds his tip against it. The delicious pressure on her clit is enough to drive her wild; she can’t stand it anymore and helps him inside of her.

  Her name is a strangled cry on his lips as he enters her with one quick thrust, filling her up. He waits, pausing as her muscles adjust around him. She lifts her knees, bringing him even deeper inside of her.

  “Bel, you’re so tight. You’re so hot and tight.” His words come in ragged gasps as he thrusts into her, pulling almost all the way out of her until it’s just his tip left inside and then he plunges his hips against hers again, making her cry out as he fills her up.

  He picks up the pace and her hips match his rhythm, thrust for thrust. Isabel closes her eyes, becoming all feeling as one hand strokes her back lovingly as he holds her in place and the other finds its way down between them until he’s stroking her clit. The combination of his cock inside of her and his fingers massaging her clit is just too much. She’s so close she can almost taste it.

  “Let me see you, Bel. I need to see you.” Her eyes fly open at his words and she sees that his eyes are locked on her, his dark eyes intense and fiery with desire. “I’m so fucking close, Bel.”

  He thrusts into her again, hard and she cries out, riding the wave of the orgasm that she knows is about to shatter her into a million pieces
. Heat spreads out from between her thighs through her entire body. She calls out his name as the friction of his thrusting inside of her paralyzes her with pleasure. He pumps into her one final time, her name on his lips when he finds his own release, collapsing on top of her and nuzzling her neck, smelling her as if he just can’t get enough of her into his senses.

  Slowly, they both come back to Earth. Their breathing returns to some semblance of normal. Wesley kisses her softly, gently, sweetly on the lips before he moves onto his back, pulling her close next to him. She cuddles up beside him, finding her spot in his arms, as if she had never left.

  Isabel thinks back to her conversation with Mike. She gets a flash of pain as she remembers the raw emotion that played across his face as she told him she couldn’t be with him. He hadn’t been surprised. It wasn’t as if this was the first time she’d said the words, but it seemed to be the first time he’d believed them.

  Mike had said that once he’d seen her and Wesley together, “I had pretty much figured it was game over.” He’d smiled when he’d said the words but Isabel had seen the pain in his eyes and something else even more foreign to him: resignation. She had never known him to give up on anything, on anyone. He had never had to before. She had been the first. She had tried to tell herself she should want to be with someone like Mike, that she should forget about the guy she couldn’t have, the guy who made it abundantly clear that she wasn’t safe with him. But her heart had won out over her mind. And her heart told her she didn’t feel as safe anywhere as when she was in Wesley’s arms.

  “What are you thinking about?” Wesley’s voice, a whisper against her ear, makes her shiver, bringing her back into the here and now, in bed with him.

  She shrugs, not wanting to admit to Wesley that she was thinking about another man, no matter how innocent.

  “He’ll be all right, you know?” Wesley has yet again read her mind, as he is wont to do.

  “I know. I know. It’s just...It’s just I wish things could be how they were. I wish we could just be friends again, without any of the other crap getting in the way.” Isabel gestures vaguely to denote what ‘crap’ she’s talking about.

  “It’ll happen, Bel. Just give it some time. You’re not someone who’s easy to get over.” He kisses her lightly on the forehead. “You can trust me on that one.”

  She smiles slightly as he pulls her even closer against him, as if he’s worried she might escape, that he might wake up in the morning and find her gone.

  Isabel takes a deep breath, ready to ask the question that she knows she may not want to hear the answer to, but that she needs. “So what happens next?”

  “Next? You’re going to kill me, you know?” He slides his hand farther down her back, until he’s cupping her butt and she wriggles against him, knowing exactly what he’s talking about.

  “Come on, you’re not that old.” She rolls her eyes dramatically and is rewarded with a soft swat on the behind. She giggles again before she composes herself. “I’m serious, though. What happens tomorrow?”

  Wesley strokes the dark hair off of her face, cupping her chin between his fingers. “Let’s deal with tomorrow, tomorrow. For now, let’s just be together. Let’s just enjoy this.” His hand moves around to her belly diving deeper until he strokes the tight runway of curls in between her thighs.

  Before she loses the ability to think at all, one final thought goes through her head. Please don’t go. Please don’t leave again.

  CHAPTER 7

  “What do you mean you’re leaving again?” Isabel holds the sheets against her bare chest, feeling like she’s suffering from some pretty serious déjà vu.

  “It’s only for a little while, Bel. And it is the only way. It is the only way to keep the Dogs off of our backs for good.” He sits down heavily on the bed, taking her hands in his and holding them to his chest.

  “But I told you already; they haven’t bothered me since you left. I told you what the big Chief guy said. He said he’d leave me and mine alone if I gave you the message from him. I haven’t seen them in weeks.” Isabel spreads her hands open to make him see. “They’re not going to come near us anymore.” She sounds more certain of that than she feels.

  Wesley’s already shaking his head. “You haven’t seen them because they don’t want to be seen. As soon as I walked down the street I saw two guys watching the house.”

  “What? Where?” Isabel moves to stand up as if she’s going to look out the window and see them still standing there.

  “Isabel, trust me. They’re there. And they’ll be there until I do this last job.” Wesley takes hold of her shoulders, making her look at him, forcing her to hear him.

  “What job?” Her voice is dull, not wanting to hear this.

  Wesley sighs deeply. “I knew the Chief had come to see you.”

  “How did you know?” Isabel narrows her eyes at him.

  Wesley looks up at the ceiling in despair. “Do you ever not ask questions?”

  “Do you ever give straight answers?” Isabel plants her hands on her hips, forgetting she’s holding the sheet against her breasts and ends up giving him an eyeful.

  “If you do that again, I’m not sure I’ll be able to give any kind of answer at all.” He gives her a look that makes her shiver with want.

  But now isn’t the time for that. She shakes her head, giving him a pointed look that he can’t misinterpret.

  He sighs deeply, resignedly. “I guess I’m going to have to get used to you not taking no for an answer.”

  “You better believe it.” She doesn’t even try to make any kind of excuse. “So what do you mean you didn’t go far?”

  Wesley looks around cagily for a moment, as if he’s trying to figure out how to make his great escape. “I wanted to keep an eye on you, an eye on the house. I wanted to make sure the Dogs didn’t try anything again.”

  “So you’ve been watching me?” Isabel doesn’t even try to temper her tone of voice or make any bones about the fact that she’s mad, really mad.

  “No, I’ve been watching out for you. There’s a difference.” He gives her a withering look that she only finds more infuriating.

  “All this time, you’ve just been hanging around, skulking in the shadows?” Isabel throws her hands up, unable to believe what she’s hearing. All those days and nights when she was missing him like crazy, wondering where he was, hoping like hell he wasn’t getting into trouble, all that time he had been just a few steps away.

  “First of all, I don’t skulk.” He points a finger at her, which she just bats away.

  “Not funny, Wes.” She shoots him a warning look as she pulls her cami top over her head, needing not to be naked right now. There’s something about arguing naked that has a way of making you lose all credibility. “Do you have any idea what I was going through when I thought you’d disappeared, that I wasn’t going to get to see you again? And the whole time you were there; you could have just come out of the shadows at any point and said ‘hey, Isabel, so it turns out you don’t have to be sad and depressed for weeks on end because, guess what? I’ve been here the whole freakin’ time!’”

  Wesley carries on as if he hasn’t even heard her, or more like because he isn’t listening. “Secondly, I’m not going to apologize for it. Do you think it was easy for me to be so close to you, to see you walking down the street and not want to walk beside you? But I did it because I had to make sure that you would be all right. Whatever you want to believe about me, Bel, you have to believe I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I was just trying to protect you.”

  Isabel feels her levels of anger ratcheting down a notch, but she remains with her arms crossed, staring him down. “If you’ve been watching this place then how was it you didn’t know Mike only showed up yesterday?”

  Wesley smiles at her indulgently, shaking his head. “Is there ever a moment when that head of yours gets turned off?” He asks the question more to himself than to her. “I was only watching out for you the first week. Wh
en I saw the Chief talking to you, I knew I was going to have to come up with a different plan. I knew they weren’t just going to leave you around because I wasn’t around anymore. They would go through you to get to me and I couldn’t let that happen. I left because I didn’t want you to get any more involved in all this Devil Dogs shit. But it was too late. I should have realized that.”

  “Too late for what? Wes, you’re not making any sense.” She pulls her fingers through her hair in frustration.

  Wesley sighs deeply, as if he doesn’t really want to say what’s about to come out of his mouth, but he knows she won’t let it rest if he doesn’t. “The Dogs don’t just let you leave. It’s not like cancelling your gym membership. When you’re done, there are consequences.”

  “What kind of consequences?” Isabel feels her hands trembling and she shoves them underneath the bed covers so he doesn’t see.

  “The kind people like me enforce.” Wesley doesn’t go into any more detail than that and Isabel is secretly grateful for his tact.

  “So what do we have to do? Leave town? What’s the plan?” Isabel pulls on her shorts, standing up, ready for action. Whatever they have to do, she’ll find a way to do it. She’s made her decision; she wants to be with Wesley and she’s going to do whatever it takes to make sure they can be together.

  “If we leave town they’ll find us, Bel. These guys have people everywhere. They’re one of the biggest motorcycle gangs in the country. You can’t run from them.” Wesley looks at her seriously and Isabel is under no illusion that he’s telling the truth. “The only way to get them off of our backs for good, forever, was to promise to do one last job for them. After that, I’m out. Simple.” He shrugs his shoulders as if it were just that, when Isabel knows that it’s anything but.