She wondered why she wasn’t self-conscious under his close scrutiny and decided his attitude had everything to do with it. She was willing to lie there and let him explore because his appreciation made her feel beautiful, cherished, and sensual. A girl could get used to that.
She wouldn’t let herself, though. He’d suspended his moral code on an extremely temporary basis. This blindingly erotic encounter would be brief and all the sweeter for that, probably.
As he continued mapping her body, he trailed his fingers down her thigh to her calf, which was as far as he could reach without changing position. Pausing, he lifted his head to look into her eyes. “Do you want to sleep?”
“No.” Reaching for him, she cupped his cheek and felt the slight bristle of his beard. “I can always sleep, but I won’t always have a chance to lie in this bed with you.”
Regret flashed in his eyes. “No, you won’t. That’s why I’m memorizing you.”
She brushed her thumb over his jaw. “Am I different from your Were lovers?” She understood that her novelty might be part of his fascination, but that was okay. If he allowed himself to have only one human sexual partner, she was happy to be his choice. “I mean, of course I’m different. I can’t become a wolf. But if you compare me with a female werewolf in human form, am I any different?”
“Yes,” he said without hesitation.
That surprised her. “How?”
“The biggest difference is your scent.” Capturing her hand, he turned his head so he could kiss her palm.
“Werewolves don’t like almond?”
He tickled her palm with his tongue. “This werewolf loves it. The smell of almonds will always remind me of you. It gets me hot. But that’s not what I meant.”
“Then do explain, Professor Wolf.”
“Okay.” Releasing her hand, he swung one leg over her h*ps and was soon braced above her on his forearms and knees. “But I can talk and kiss you at the same time.”
“Really? Now you’re a ventriloquist, too?”
“I meant I’d be butterfly kissing your body, not French-kissing your mouth.” Leaning forward, he started with her forehead. “Like this.” His lips brushed lightly over her brow.
“Nice.”
“And this.” He touched his lips to the end of her nose. “But I’m skipping that sexy mouth. You kiss like a p*rn star.”
She wasn’t sure whether to be insulted or not. “How do you know? Have you kissed one?”
He laughed. “No. Just watched the video.” He nuzzled her throat. “They give it their all, and so do you. If I let myself get involved with your mouth, I’ll never finish paying attention to the rest of you.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment, then.”
“I meant it to be.” He moved slowly across her shoulder and down her left arm, dropping kisses along the way.
It seemed innocent at first, but as her skin began to tingle, she realized how potent this seemingly low-impact caress could be. He was seducing her a millimeter at a time.
“The thing about werewolves,” he said as he moved to her other shoulder to give it the same treatment, “is that of the five senses, smell is our most acute. If a Were in human form walked into a room, you would never know. But I would by the scent.” His warm breath touched the places he’d moistened with his lips.
“Oh.” Now she was tingling and deliciously shivery, too. “Do males and females smell different?”
“Yes, but not a lot different.” He kissed the tips of her fingers and paused. “Plus each individual varies in scent. Humans, on the other hand, smell altogether different from Weres. And they have as many individual variations as werewolves do.”
When he paused, she expected him to move back up her body to her collarbone and work down from there. But instead he slipped to the end of the bed and began kissing her toes. “That tickles.”
“Then I’d better hold you still so you don’t kick me in the face.” He grasped both ankles as he took his time placing his mouth on her toes, her heels, and the arch of each foot. She’d never realized the arch of her foot was an erogenous zone. Judging from the zing of sensation between her thighs, the arch of her foot was prime sensual real estate.
“In other words,” he continued, “I have a very sensitive nose, and I know what I like. The almond scent is a nice touch, but your own special aroma, the one you don’t even realize you have, drives me crazy.” He began his journey from her ankles up her calf toward her knee.
Her breathing grew shallow. “Speaking of driving someone crazy, you’re having quite an effect with those little kisses, Jake.”
“I can tell.” He kissed the back of her knee and took a deep breath. “You smell more delicious by the second.”
“Are you going to eat me up?”
He laughed. “How did you guess?”
She knew what he meant and wasn’t frightened in the least. As he kissed his way along her inner thigh, his destination obvious, she trembled with anticipation. Chances were he’d be very good at what he was about to do. She was in for a treat.
Apparently, so was he. Until now she’d been kidding herself that he was no different from any guy she’d had sex with. Sure, he had a few more muscles and could carry her to bed without breaking a sweat, but that only meant he was in great shape, not that he was different.
Ah, but he was different. His senses were sharper than any human’s. Every physical experience he had would be enhanced as a result. It stood to reason that his sensual appetites would be highly developed to match his greater capacity for enjoyment.
Now she recognized him for what he was, a creature not of her kind. She felt it in the grip of his strong hands as he steadied her for his purposeful assault. She heard it in the rasp of his breathing, saw it in the fierce joy lighting his eyes before he dipped his head to take what he wanted.
She surrendered to pleasure that whispered of primitive cravings and untamed desire. At last she understood that with every moment in his embrace, she’d slip farther from the civilized world and deeper into the wild place that Jake called home. Although he appeared to be a man, beneath his muscled chest beat the heart of a wolf.
Chapter 14
Jake knew the exact moment when Rachel fully realized who and what he was. He saw it in her silver eyes right before he captured her in that most intimate of kisses. If he’d seen fear in her gaze, he would have released her.
But instead of fear, he saw excitement. She knew him as a werewolf, and she wanted him anyway. No, that was wrong. She didn’t want him in spite of his shape-shifting nature, but because of it. His wildness spoke to something wild in her, and she welcomed it, and him.
Her complete acceptance was more than he’d ever hoped for, and it meant he could give her so much more. He could call to that primitive part of her that longed to loosen the polite bonds of society. He could teach her to grasp the power of raw hunger instead. And he could start now.
Gone were the butterfly kisses. He thrust deep with his tongue, invading her most private spaces without giving her time to think or even to breathe. He applied relentless suction and she came in a heartbeat, arching off the bed and pressing herself against his mouth. Her panting cries filled the room.
He went deeper, pushed her harder, and she writhed on the bed in ecstasy. When she came again, she swore so colorfully, he laughed. The vibration of his laughter sent her spinning out of control again as she moaned and thrashed in his grip. He loved turning her inside out.
He bore down again as she gasped and begged for mercy. But he knew her now. She didn’t want mercy. She wanted one more cli**x, the kind that would leave her half-crazed with the majesty and wonder of it, the kind that stripped her down to the basics of what it meant to be a sexual animal.
Her skin was slippery with sweat and her breathing was no longer ladylike and prim. She dragged in air through her mouth and uttered cries that had no resemblance to speech. But they spoke to him.
Joy exploded within him at her willingness to shoot past the barriers and follow him to this place of uninhibited ecstasy. With a sound wrenched from the depths of her being, a sound more growl than groan, she surged over the precipice in one final, glorious orgasm.
Slowly he lowered her h*ps to the bed, but he stayed with her, savoring her juices, calming her with slow swipes of his tongue. She quivered as the aftershocks rippled through her body, and then she lay still. The room was quiet again except for the gentle sound of their breathing.
Jake matched the rhythm of his breath to hers and relished the sound of that. His cock, thick and hot, reminded him that she’d had multiple orgasms but he had not. He would wait. When he took her again, he wanted her eagerness. Even Rachel, as sensual as she had proven to be, wouldn’t be eager for him now.
He smiled as he replayed her unbridled response to his lovemaking. Because they had no future, he shouldn’t want to be the best lover she’d ever had. Unfortunately, he did want that.
But it was wrong to hope she’d compare him to every mere human she had sex with and find them lacking. He didn’t really wish her a life of sexual disappointment, did he? Well, no. Not exactly. But he wouldn’t mind if her future partners fell a little bit short.
The thought of her future partners made his c*ck twitch. He fought his instinctive urge to slide up her sweat-soaked body and stake his claim. But he had no claim. Not now, and not ever.
That depressing thought made his breathing fall out of sync with hers. He listened for her rhythm so he could match it again and realized she’d fallen asleep. Pillowing his head against her thigh, he breathed in her glorious fragrance, closed his eyes, and allowed his mind to relax into a dream.
In that dream, he and Rachel were the only beings on the planet. With nothing standing in their way, they were free to stay together for as long as they liked. The thought of that fantasy, impossible though it was, soothed him. He slept.
No telling how long he stayed asleep. He came instantly awake when she turned on her side and drew her thighs together, nearly smothering him. It would have been a decent way to go, but he wasn’t ready to check out of this life. Not tonight.
As he worked his way free of his satin prison, she moaned in her sleep but didn’t wake up. He pushed himself to a sitting position and gazed at her. She lay stretched out on her right side, her head supported on her outflung arm. Her left arm rested against her side, with her elbow bent and her fingers curled lightly over her breast.
The erotic pose aroused him with a jolt that made him suck in a breath. Whether his sharp gasp woke her, or a sixth sense told her she was being watched, she opened her eyes. After blinking once, she rolled to her stomach and buried her face against the sheet.
“Rachel?” Reaching out, he stroked her back. “You okay?”
Her voice was muffled by the sheet. “I’m feeling shy. I need a minute.”
“Ah.” He smiled and smoothed his hand over the curve of her sleek backside.
“Jake, I have never, ever behaved like that with anyone. I don’t know what came over me.”
“Don’t you?” She might be hiding, but she’d given him a great view of her tempting ass. His Were instincts teased him with an image of Rachel on her hands and knees, and his groin tightened painfully.
But he would never risk taking her from behind. It was the mating stance, and although mating required strong intention on both sides, he didn’t trust himself, or her, for that matter. They might begin with no such intention, but once they were locked together, intentions could change.
“Maybe I do know.”
“Sorry.” He slipped his hand between her thighs. “Can’t quite hear you.”
She lifted her head a fraction. “I said that maybe I do know what happened to me.”
“I think you do, too.” As her thighs relaxed, he explored with his fingers until he found the moist channel he’d given such prolonged attention to earlier.
“And it’s happening again.” Moving sensuously and deliberately, she pushed her h*ps up and back to give him better access. “I’ve become shameless, Jake.”
“Good.” His heart pounded with excitement as he moved his fingers in an easy rhythm. “Shame shouldn’t exist between us.”
“I want you again.” Her h*ps rose higher. “Even after all those cli**xes, I want more.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“Then take me, Jake.”
“I will.” He slipped his fingers free. “Roll over and let me—”
“No.” Her voice grew husky as she moved her h*ps in silent invitation. “I want you like this. Wolf-style.”
Dear God. This was his fault. His blood pounded in his ears. “You don’t know how much I want to, but I can’t.”
“Sure you can.” Her tone grew urgent. “Please, Jake. I want you so much.”
Leaning down, he kissed her rosy bottom, pushed his fingers into her heat, and began to stroke again. “Can’t,” he murmured.
“Jake.”
“Go with it, Rachel.”
“I’m so mad at you.” But her breathing quickened and her muscles clenched in spite of herself.
“I know.” Increasing the pressure and subtly changing the rhythm, he coaxed her toward the brink.
She swore softly in protest, but she let him take her there. He pushed her closer, his touch firm and sure, and was rewarded at last with her cry of release, a cry tinged with anger. He hoped she would forgive him.
As she gasped and trembled, he eased her onto her back, moved between her quivering thighs, and plunged into her. He pumped with deep, measured strokes, and she cli**xed again. Wrapping her legs around him, she held him tight and arched against him. Her second orgasm undulated over his aching cock, and he gritted his teeth to keep from coming. Now that he was here, he wanted to stay awhile.