Page 10 of Brody
“So what exactly do you want from me now, Thornbern?”I demanded, my words vibrating with barely contained wrath.“Forgiveness?A second chance?What, did you think I’d weep with gratitude that the mighty wolf has deigned to explain himself after a quarter century of silence?”
My hands shook with the effort of not shredding the leather seats to ribbons.The urge to shift, to let my animal form tear into him with fang and claw, nearly overwhelmed my human control.I wanted to hurt him, physically, viscerally, wanted him to feel even a fraction of the pain that had hollowed me out and rebuilt me into someone harder, colder, someone who would never be vulnerable again.
“I want whatever you are willing to give me,” he replied huskily.
I laughed.The sound was so sharp it could have sliced through metal.“Nothing.That’s what you’ll get from me.”My tone dropped to a venomous whisper.“You want to know what I fantasized about for years after Kenya?Running into you again.Seeing recognition dawn in your expression right before I walked away without a word, letting you feel what it’s like to be discarded like garbage.”
I leaned forward, making sure he could see my face in the rearview, letting him see the raw, undiluted hatred I’d nursed like a precious child.“But that would require you to actually care.And we both know you don’t have that capacity, don’t we?”I paused.“But like you said, the Ridge is a small town, and we can’t avoid each other, especially when you’re a member of Quinn’s pack.So let’s keep it professional when we cross each other’s path.”
I had a job to do, save unmated males, and that was more important than this drama between us.
He is different, my animal half insisted, more vocal than she’d been in months.
Shut up, I snapped back internally.
“I’m determined to prove that I’m worthy of a second chance,” he replied, his stare finding mine in the mirror again.
“Wolf, I’m not interested in the bullshit you’re spouting,” I said.“So don’t fuck with me, or I’ll dig my claws into your ass.”
“I might enjoy a little claw-play with you,” he replied, his words dropping to a husky timbre that vibrated through the air between us.
Despite my fury, despite my absolute determination to hate him, my body betrayed me with humiliating eagerness.My nipples tightened against the cotton of my bra, the sudden friction making me bite back a gasp.Lust throbbed low in my belly, insistent and demanding, my core clenching with such intensity I had to press my thighs together to ease the ache.
I shifted against the leather seat, mortified by my reaction.His aroma intensified, as if his wolf could smell my arousal, which of course it could.The knowledge made my cheeks burn.I caught his stare in the rearview, pupils expanding as he inhaled deeply.
The SUV hit a pothole, jolting me forward.My laptop slid from my knees, and I lunged to catch it, slamming against the back of his seat in the process.My face ended up inches from his neck, his intoxicating essence flooding my senses like a drug.
“You okay back there?”he asked, his tone dropping to that dangerous register that made my core clench with unwanted heat.
“Fine,” I managed, but my words emerged breathy and foreign to my own ears.I couldn’t move, paralyzed by how desperately my body wanted to close those few inches between us, to press my lips against the strong column of his throat.
“Your heart’s racing,” he observed quietly.
“Because I nearly broke my thousand-dollar laptop,” I lied, finally forcing myself back into my seat.But the knowing look in his expression told me he wasn’t fooled.Shifters could smell arousal, and right now mine was probably filling the car like a fog.
He inhaled deeply, his chest expanding, and I watched his hands tense on the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white with the effort of restraint.“Maybe you should put on your seat belt,” he suggested, his speech strained.“For safety.”
Safety from accidents, yes.But also safety from what might happen if another bump in the road threw me against him again, if I ended up touching what my treacherous body so clearly wanted.
I looked away, biting the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood.Exactly how long had it been since I’d had sex?Seven months?My beast within stirred, stretching languidly beneath my skin.
No.Closer to a year, she corrected.
Shut it, I snapped back.No one asked you.
I’m just saying…she purred, flooding my mind with images so vivid I could almost feel them, his callused hands sliding up my inner thighs, leaving goose bumps in their wake.His teeth grazing that sensitive spot where neck meets shoulder, the claiming bite that should have been mine decades ago.His weight pressing me into cool sheets, muscles flexing beneath my desperate fingertips as he moved inside me, each thrust breaking me apart and remaking me into something new, something whole.The fantasy erupted through my consciousness with such force I couldn’t contain the gasp that escaped my lips.
Brody’s attention flicked to the rearview again, darkening as our gazes locked.He shifted in his seat, adjusting his position, and I caught the distinct aroma of his arousal mingling with mine in the enclosed space.The combination created something new and intoxicating that made my head swim.
I contemplated my survival rate if I opened the car door and tucked and rolled at sixty miles per hour.It seemed preferable to sitting here drowning in pheromones and unwanted desire for the rest of our ride.
CHAPTER4
ROZI
The vibe inside the SUV wasn’t as tense but far from companionable halfway through our ride.
He was an alpha asshole with a dominant air that made me want to put his ass in a choke hold.
