He was in her dream. He’d tried to stay away but hadn’t been able to help himself. Lycans were able to visit their destined mates in their dreams once they’d found them, and that fact had proved too much of a temptation to resist. Brent chased Rindy through the trees as she laughed. She moved graceful as a doe. He caught her and tumbled them both to the soft leaves under the shade; he rolled her under him, and her eyes shined up at him full of trust. Oh, if she could only look at him that way while she was awake.
“Rindy, let me kiss you, love.”
She wound her arms around his neck and drew him to her. Their lips met in a kiss born of passion and desperation that had been denied for far too long. He tangled his tongue with hers, and she moaned his name. It was like music to his ears and heart. He cupped her breast in his palm and kneaded it.
All the while his cock grew hard, straining to be freed, begging to be buried deep inside her hot sheath. He skimmed his hand over her hip, across her flat belly, and under the waist of her jeans.
He growled when his fingers nestled in the soft curls that protected the prize he sought. She rotated her hips, nudging him lower, and he slid inside her. She cried out as a storm built inside him, demanding to be freed to unleash its fury, demanding he claim her. His canines grew, and he nipped at the delicate skin between her shoulder and neck while she rode his hand. His need beat at him, heated his skin so hot he thought he’d go up in flames. He reached down and freed his cock from his jeans, but just as he yanked hers to her knees and settled between her thighs, she disappeared.
Brent jerked upright in bed. He was covered in sweat. He’d been so close to having her, and his cock throbbed and ached in protest. He took a deep, calming breath. She had awakened thus ending the dream. His acute hearing—ten times better than a human’s—picked up the rustling sounds of her moving about the house. He should let her be, but he yearned to see her, just to look at her to make sure she hadn’t been just a dream and was really here. The cold water he splashed on his face and chest before he went to find her did little to cool his need for her.
His breath caught in his throat when he saw Rindy sitting in the hot tub.
She appeared to be naked. The back of her head rested on the lip of the tub, and her eyes were closed. Her creamy skin was pink from the heat, and he licked his lips as he watched random snowflakes fall onto her and melt. He slid the glass door open without making a sound, and hooked his thumbs in his boxers. They slid down his legs to the deck seconds before he stepped into the water, the sound of the rumbling jets masking his arrival.
Brent sat across from her. His fingers itched to trail over the slim line of her throat, and down to cup the small breast that had fit so perfectly in his hand. It wasn’t long before she opened her eyes, and let out a startled squeal.
“Brent!” She dipped lower into the water and glared at him.
“I couldn’t sleep. I was having a dream, and it ended before I wanted it to.”
She gulped. “I couldn’t sleep either.”
He scooted closer to her. “Were you dreaming, too, Rindy?”
“Stop it.” Her face turned from a light pink to deep scarlet.
He trailed a finger down her cheek. “Why? I know you can feel this pull between us. I’m not the only one.”
“It doesn’t matter.
He tipped her chin up. “It matters very much to me.”
“I can’t do this.” She started to get out of the tub, but quickly sank back under the water when she no doubt remembered she was naked.
“Turn around.” She demanded.
He shook his head. “No.”
She closed her eyes for a moment. “I can’t do this. I get so confused around you. You make me crazy.”
He inched closer to her. “Why does that have to be a bad thing? You make me crazy, too. The difference is, I like it when you make me crazy.”
She started to speak, but he placed one finger over her lips.
“Kiss me. Please. Just kiss me.”
He thought she’d refuse, but after several minutes of looking back and forth from the stairs that led out of the tub to him, she scooted closer. His breath caught in his throat when she pushed her fingers through his damp hair. His temperature rose to the point that he thought the water in the tub would start boiling at any moment. He dipped his head toward her and claimed her lips before she could change her mind.
She wound her arms around his neck, and he wrapped his around her waist and pulled her tight up against him. Her hot, wet body was pressed up against his. His cock hardened and hurt worse than when he’d awoken from the dream. He growled low in his throat and kissed her with the pent-up passion he’d been denied for years. He leaned back against the wall of the tub, pulling her with him. Her thighs rested across his, and he cupped her ass in his hands, plastering her tightly against him as he ravished her mouth.
“Rindy, I have to have you. You make me burn. I can think of nothing but being inside you.”
“Oh, Brent.” She kissed him and retreated. “I’m scared. I feel so hot and achy. I don’t understand the feelings I’m having. I’ve never had them before.”
He eased his fingers over one smooth thigh, and rested his palm over her mound. “Is this where you ache?”
She bit her bottom lip and nodded. He guided her hand to his cock, and she gasped. “I ache in the same place for you. Let me show you how we can ease the ache together.”
Passion burned in her eyes, but so did doubt and fear.
“I promise I won’t hurt you. Trust me, Rindy. Please, I’m begging you.”
She chewed her bottom lip and frowned. “I don’t understand why you affect me so. We’ve just met, yet I feel as if I’ve known you for a long time.”
“I feel the same way. I swear I will make it good for you.” He kissed her neck, and she wiggled closer to him, tilting her head to give him better access.
“Brent, I feel so strange. When you touch me, it’s as if my skin is heating from the inside out. I feel restless.” She leaned back and moaned as he continued nibbling on her sensitive skin.
“I know.” The taste of her was driving him wild. “But I also know what will make you feel better.”
He trailed his tongue along her shoulder, down her chest, and swirled it around a nipple that barely peeked above the water. The pink tip hardened against him, and he bit down gently on it before laving it.
She rested her head on his shoulder and strained toward his touch.
“Show me, Brent.”
Her whispered words shot through him and straight to his groin, and he wasted no time taking her mouth in a demanding kiss. He dipped his tongue deep, tangling it with hers. Her scent and taste flowed through him, his cells drinking her in as if they were dying of thirst and she were a cool, clear stream. He’d be hers until the day his heart beat its last thump. She kissed him back, and her sighs and moans drove him wild. He needed her with a ferocity that awed him, but he wanted to take it slow for her. He ran his hands over her thighs, spread them wide, and pulled her over him so she straddled his lap.
His cock nudged at her heat, but he held back, and his body quivered with the effort. He wanted to make this good for her. “Tell me your heart and body call for me as mine do for you.” He whispered the words against her ear.
“I feel as if a might shatter into a million pieces at any moment.” She groaned.
She leaned back over his arm when he trailed his mouth over the column of her throat down her chest, and settled on her breast once again. She bucked wildly when he sucked her deep into his mouth. He rolled her nipple around his tongue and nipped at it gently, her cries urging him on. He ran his hand down her side, over her belly, and down farther until his thumb rested on her clit, where it drew lazy circles around the small nub.
“Brent! Please. I need, I need—Oh!”
Her body quivered. She was so close. He spread her wide with his fingers and sank into her. When he hit a barrier, a mixture of lust, awe, and fierce protectiveness swamped him. He took a slow, deep breath and flexed his hips once, breaking through. A growl rumbled low in his chest. He was buried to his balls in her, and he clenched his teeth to hold still after she sobbed.
He held her close and kissed her cheek. “It’s okay. It won’t hurt any more. Trust me, love.”
Her muscles clenched so tightly around him he thought she might strangle him. It was heaven. He shook with the effort it took to stay still to allow her the time to adjust to his size. Although the pain he’d caused her had been unavoidable, he hated hurting her. Her fingers clutched at his shoulders, and she pressed her face against his chest.
He rubbed her back. “Relax, Rindy.”
He tilted her chin up and took her mouth in a slow, lazy kiss. Within moments, her tongue tangled with his and the kiss turned aggressive, demanding.
Her inner muscles relaxed, and he withdrew slowly from her before burying himself once again. He sucked in a sharp breath when she panted and tilted her hips to accommodate him. “That’s it, love.”
He took her mouth again, and she kissed him while he pumped into her, panting with every thrust, meeting each drive of his hips. He increased his strokes until she bounced on him in perfect rhythm, her breasts swaying against his chest with their movements. Her muscles tightened around him once again, and he reached between them to massage her clit.
“Brent!”
“Don’t fight it. Just go with it. Let go, Rindy. Let go.”
She cried out as her orgasm shot through her and him both. His balls tightened, and his cock hardened even more, stretching her tighter around him. He growled, gave one last thrust, and joined her in ecstasy. His seed pumped into her with each spasm of his release, and he held her close while she clung to him, whispering words of praise in her ear. His heart sang in joy.
Her whole body felt weak as she lay against him. She straddled Brent’s hips, and he was still inside her. She’d never been with a man. She’d never met a man she’d wanted to sleep with before now. His long fingers stroked her back, and the water in the hot tub bubbled over them. She’d been dreaming of him earlier, of him touching her. When she’d awoken, she’d been restless.
“Brent, we shouldn’t have done this.”
He hugged her to him. “Why?”
“Because you have a mate out there somewhere. I feel like the other woman at this very moment.”
“Rindy, I have to tell you something.” He rubbed her arms.
“What?” She had a sinking feeling he was about to say something life-changing, possibly life-shattering.
“You are my mate. That is why I’ve been following you. I didn’t tell you because I wanted you to give me a chance, get to know me for who I was instead of what you thought I was.”
She tried to stand, but he wrapped his fingers around her waist, keeping her anchored to him. “No. Don’t say that. It can’t be true.”
“It is true. You and I are destined to be together.”
“How can you be sure?”
“I told you that your scent calls to my kind, but what I didn’t say was that you also have another scent. That scent can only be detected by your mate.
Me. I know, without a doubt, that you are my mate.”
She shook her head. Tears pooled in her eyes. She thought back to the things he’d said and done since they met. Why hadn’t she figured it out? All the signs had been there. His protectiveness, the way he’d told her he’d never leave her. She’d been so sidetracked by everything that had been going on since she’d met Brent, she’d failed to see it. He’d done all but said the words to her.
“Listen to me. Please.” His whispered plea froze her.
“You lied to me.” Yes, she should have figured it out, but she still felt betrayed and hurt.
“No. I didn’t. I just didn’t tell you everything because I knew you would run. You know it’s the truth. You would have never come to Michigan with me, and I would have been forced to chase after you.”
He was right. Had he told her that she was his mate back in Atlanta, she would have run. This could not be happening to her. She couldn’t deny that she was starting to care for Brent, but he was a werewolf. She knew deep down he was a good guy, but her mind had trouble differentiating the man she’d just made love to from the monsters that had killed her family.
“I don’t want to be with you just because we are fated to be together.
What about love?”
“Don’t you get it? I do love you. Fate cannot force love. It may be able to force us together, but it cannot dictate my feelings or yours for that matter. But I do love you. I think I’ve loved you from the moment I was born.” He cupped her cheek. “I’ve dreamed of you, longed for you, prayed for you, and when I finally found you, I knew there could never have been a more perfect woman than you created for me.”
“This is too much, too fast. I can’t deal with all of this right now.” She tried to leave once again, but he stopped her.
“There’s more. I want to change you. I want you to be like me. Lycans live much, much longer than humans. I don’t want to have to watch you die.”
“You want to make me into a monster?” As soon as the words left her mouth, she wished she could take them back. She’d hurt him.
He let her go and slid out of her body. The instant he left her, she missed him. How could she feel that way when he’d betrayed her?
“I’m not a monster, and neither would you be. I’ve told you before, there are good and bad lycans, just like humans. I consider myself one of the good guys. I love you, and I hope that one day, you can love me back enough to want to be with me as much as I want to be with you. But you have to know that I cannot ever let you go. You are a part of me now, Rindy.” He gave a ragged sigh and leaned back against the wall of the tub.
“I don’t know if I can ever become like you. And, as for the love, I cannot lie. I do care for you, but I’m frightened, I’m tired, and I’m angry that you didn’t tell me all of this. I feel betrayed, Brent. I need some time to think.” And she still wanted him, but she couldn’t be with him until she figured all of this out.
He nodded, and she hurried out of the tub, grabbed her clothes, and ran back to her room. What was she going to do? She liked this place. She liked spending time with Brent. She liked feeling safe. She liked not running. But the thought of becoming a werewolf scared her to death. Would he try to turn her even if she refused? She couldn’t do it. She would feel as if she were betraying her mother and sister by becoming the same thing that had killed them.
She had to get out of here.