Page 39 of Claimed by the Pack

14

Cheyenne

One Week Later

My heart was beating wildly,skipping beats here and there, and I could feel my panties, flooding with moisture.

Ridge and I had just gotten back to my apartment after our second date. He'd packed us a delicious picnic dinner and we'd eaten it under the stars on the beach.

He held my hand and we took a long walk, barefoot in the warm sand...and we talked, about everything. It was a wonderful night, the best I'd had in a very long time.

I expected him to make a move on me sexually, but he didn't. He promised me on our first date he would wait until I was ready, and as soon as I was, all I had to do was say the word.

With any other man who looked like Ridge, and made me feel the way he did, I would have ripped both our clothes off on that beach.

But I knew making love to Ridge would be different, in more ways than one. To him making love to me would be “mating,” a thing he expected us to do for life. As hard as it was...and it was hard, I had to resist my sexual urges until I was absolutely sure it was what I wanted...forever.

When we got backto my apartment, he walked me up to the door and then for the first time, we kissed. My heart was fluttering like it was trying to take flight and every nerve ending in my body felt alive and exposed.

Ridge put a big hand on the side of my face and brought his lips down to mine. His lips were so warm that they bordered on hot and his kiss was slow at first, just sliding his lips over mine. His tongue came out then and he licked my lips, outlined them with his saliva, before sliding it into the seam and tangling it up with my tongue.

He slid his along mine like he was tasting me and then he began to explore the rest of my mouth, and me his. The kiss grew from soft and sweet to hungry, desperate and erotic. The muscles of his chest were pressed into me and I could feel them ripple against my breasts.

My panties were filled with moisture.

I wanted him, so freaking badly...but God help me, I just wasn't sure that I wanted to commit to forever, at least not yet.

I was the one that pulled out of the kiss, gasping for breath. He was smiling down at me, his lips were red and swollen from our kiss and God I wanted more. I wanted to taste them again. I wanted to taste all of him. I put my palms against his chest to push him away but for a second I got caught up in the feel of it and I wondered what it would feel like in the flesh...the hot flesh.

I gained control of my senses at last and pushed against him.

He took a step back and smiled again. “I can wait for you, Love,” he said, “It's okay. I know we'll be together forever. I'll let you decide when that forever begins.”

Jesus, it wasn't bad enough how hot he was, or how strong, or that he'd just taken me on a dream date...now he sounded like a freaking poet. He was killing me.

“I want...” What did I want? I wanted him. I wanted him to rip off my clothes and ravage me and I wanted to do the same to him.

Ridge was nodding. “I know my beauty. When you're ready. I'll be here.” He kissed me on the tip of my nose then and said, “Go on inside before I lose my last shred of impulse control.”

I smiled up at him and he bent down and kissed my lips one last time before I went inside.

I stood there for a second with my back against the door, just trying to get my bearings and waiting for the world to stop spinning. When I felt strong enough,

I went toward my bedroom, practically floating down the hallway on the after effects of that kiss. It was only when I flipped on the light in my bedroom that I realized Gray hadn't come to the door to greet me. That was when I called to him, whistled, and began to frantically search the apartment.

I checked every place that he might be able to hide, twice, before I had to accept that he just wasn't there. I felt like I couldn't catch my breath.

Where could he have gone?

He was there when I left for my date. He'd lain in the center of the bed and watched me get ready. He seemed a little sulky and I felt bad for leaving him again since I'd only just gotten home from work.

I fed him a special treat...leftover steak that Brett and Myrna barbecued the night before, and then I gave him lots of hugs and kisses before I left. I knew I was too attached to him, but every day that went by I felt more like he was really mine than the day before.

I called Myrna, in a panic.

“Did you see Gray when you came home after work?”

“I didn't go home after work. Brett picked me up and we went straight to his place for dinner. It's his birthday, I've been here all night.”

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