Two
“Release me and I’l show you just how sweet I can be.”
Her vixen’s smile was both assured and deadly. Gabriel stared at the woman, completely fascinated. Sheer determination radiated off her like a vibrant neon sign. The human packed a hel uva punch. His jaw smarted like a son of a bitch, and though his cracked rib might already be mending itself, he’d be sore for at least a half hour. Good thing his werewolf body healed quickly. He had her pinned for now, but he was pretty damned sure she was only resting up. The thought of going another round with her wound him up so tight, his gut knotted in anticipation. He’d never run across anyone with her gumption and strength of wil . A human worthy of his respect? Damn, that shocked him. Humans were tolerated and kept at a distance: a creed he’d lived by for two and a half decades. Chin-length, wavy black hair framed the woman’s round face, but he couldn’t stop staring at her plump, ful lips. He wanted to suck on the pouty bottom one, to nip at the round ful ness and discover what those luscious lips felt like against his. Black eyebrows were currently elevated over vivid green eyes and a slight I-can’t-wait-’tilyou-let-me up-from-here smirk tilted her lips. Oh, yeah…she wasn’t done. Not by a long shot.
In those heated few seconds, while her arousing scent, ful of adrenaline and seductive feminine notes, wrecked havoc on his wolf senses, two things slammed through his mind in rapid succession: He didn’t care if she did turn out to be a burglar. And he wanted her. The wanting didn’t surprise him. He’d always fol owed his primal instincts with the women in his Lupreda wolf pack. If the woman were wil ing he’d have a go in the sack, on the floor, in the woods. Wherever. He was always game. Sex was one way to relieve his natural aggression. But this wanting wasn’t based on scratching a lustful itch. The need tearing him up inside was relentless and powerful. This “must have her now” sensation—clawing at his chest and pushing the air from his lungs—felt deeper, harder and more intense than he’d ever experienced for another woman. It wasn’t just sexual. It was essential. Maybe his mind was playing tricks. It wasn’t freakin’ possible! A human? He inhaled her scent once more, but the unyielding fierceness scrabbling inside his chest grew painful y stronger. Then his canines began to tingle, pressing against his gums, preparing to descend. Ready to mark.
Gabriel couldn’t believe it. This surprising human had just stolen his confirmed bachelorhood. The woman lying under him could soothe the restlessness that had him leaving his pack and coming to the city more and more often, seeking as much work as he could handle. Ever since the Lupreda wolf pack’s alpha, Landon, had mated, Gabriel had felt out of sorts and more aggressive than usual. In the past, he never would’ve shifted to his werewolf form—his musk form—outside of the Shawangunks, but he couldn’t hold back tonight. Seeing Abby in the woods, in the middle of the ice storm, had surprised him. And now he was staring at his Lupreda mate and he didn’t even know her name.
But a human? “What’s your name?” he asked, a low growl rumbling along the edge of his words.
She raised her chin and narrowed her gaze. “You first.”
He managed a half smile through the emotional shock battering his body. There had to be some other explanation why a human would affect him this way. “Gabriel Hawthorne. Home security instal er at your service.”
“Instal er?” Confusion filtered across her expression. “Why didn’t Kaitlyn tel me you would be here?”
“Landon sent me. And you are?” He asked, rubbing his thumbs across the pulse points along her wrists. Her skin was so soft. The thrum of her blood racing faster under his touch only ramped his desire. Would this human woman accept him as her mate? Even though his mind stil wrestled with the idea of a human as his
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