Page 29 of Entangled in the Woods
I let out a small yelp as Everett pushed me back against the building with his body. My nose was stuck between his pectoral muscles as we both breathed heavily against one another. He smelled like outside. Not the dirty, sweaty outside smell, but the smell of fresh air after it had rained. Like a spring day after all the snow had melted and warmer days were on the horizon.
His inhales expanded his body, pushing his chest into mine, pushing my back harder into the wall behind me. My hands at my sides felt the rough texture of the brick. I couldn’t move my arms with Everett pinned on top of me. He moved his upper body away from my head and grabbed my chin with his thumb and first finger.
Tilting my head to his, I looked into his golden eyes that I always seemed to get lost in. Right now, they looked desperate. They scanned my face frantically, attempting to read my feelings. His index finger hooked under my chin as his thumb grazed my bottom lip, slowly rubbing along its edges.
I hadn’t come here for another hookup, but at that moment, I wanted Everett to kiss me. Between my rapid breathing, being pinned to the wall, and the prickling feeling I was getting between my legs, I craved it. He might have just been an asshole to me, but since when did I do what my mind wanted?
I closed my top lip over Everett’s thumb, and a feral look flashed through his eyes. He took my permission and ran with it, slamming his lips into mine.
The kiss wasn’t gentle. It was hungry and searching. The shock of him coming at me with such force opened my mouth, and he took full advantage, running his tongue along my own. He tasted like a mixture of whiskey and mint, a strange combination that made me weak in the knees. His hand found the back of my head and his fingers weaved through my hair, protecting the back of my head from the wall behind me. I broke my hands free from the pressure of his hips and pulled them up to his chest.
Grabbing onto his shirt, I pulled his body closer to me, needing to feel more of his frame on mine. A growl from deep in his chest vibrated my hands. It made me even more frantic, tilting my head to the side to give him more access. I could feel the pulse between my legs spread up into the bottom of my stomach. I needed more pressure, more friction, more anything with Everett.
My lips felt naked as he pulled away abruptly. I let out a small whine of discomfort. Everett tucked his head into the space between my neck and shoulder. His body still pressed me against the wall as I clung to his shirt. I could feel his short, rapid breaths against my neck as he tried to catch his breath. He seemed just as needy and desperate as I felt.
He opened his mouth against my neck. Instead of the soft lips I was expecting, I felt the prick of his fangs touching the tender skin of my shoulder. The sensation was wildly carnal and made me gasp. My eyes flew open, and my breathing became even more rapid. He closed his mouth and nuzzled the side of my neck. I felt his large hands grab hold of my wrists, which had been trapped between our bodies. The grip was firm but not uncomfortable.
Everett’s low voice vibrated through my hands that were against his chest. “I knew it,” he growled.”
He pushed off me and stalked away from where I was standing. I was suddenly cold without his body heat. Trying to catch my breath, my mind reeled from what had just happened. I leaned back to steady myself.
What had he known? Had he kissed me as some sort of test? Was this a joke that one of his buddies had put him up to? There was no way he hadn’t felt what I had. That hadn’t been an ordinary drunken kiss from a cute guy at the bar. That had been…animalistic. Like we’d both craved each other’s touch and needed it to survive. The fangs that had once scared me were now intriguing. I felt my body pulse as I remembered the sensation of his teeth dragging along my neck. It had felt better than I’d imagined.
My fingers gently rubbed along the side of my neck where his fangs had touched. I wondered if there would be a mark there tomorrow. I made my way from my neck to touch my lips. They were puffy from the rough kiss. Looking around, I was thankful that I was alone and there was no one around to watch me recover from that.
Eventually I pulled myself together, getting into Leo’s truck and sliding next to Jenny on the bench seat. Luckily they seemed too occupied with each other to notice how flustered I was. We made it back to the cabin, and I said good night to them before I brushed my teeth and got into my pajamas. My head hit the pillow; glad I had made it to my own bed this Thursday.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
A rustling noiseoutside my window woke me up from the deep sleep I was in. I glanced at the clock next to my bed. It was three in the morning. What could have made that sound? There weren’t any trees close enough to the cabin to be rubbing against the outdoor walls of my room.
I pulled the covers up to my chin, curling myself into a ball. The sound met my ears again. This time it was closer. Listening carefully, I tried to hear over the loud heartbeats coming from my chest. It sounded almost like an animal sniffing around, foraging for something. The sniffs were loud enough that the animal was probably bigger than a possum. Maybe it was an overgrown raccoon looking for garbage. I would have to make sure our garbage containers had the strap adhered in the morning.
Rolling over, I tried to ignore the animal noises outside my window. A low growl met my ears and made my whole body stiffen up. After a couple minutes my heart rate lowered, as I hadn’t heard any more strange noises. The animal must have moved on.
I closed my eyes, trying to get myself back to sleep. The single drink I’d had tonight was no longer in my system, and it had leftmy mind racing about the kiss. It had been a good kiss. Better than good. It was probably the best kiss I’d had in my entire life. The memory of his overwhelming frame pushing against me and the light scratch of his fangs sent tingles from my stomach to between my legs.
I crossed my legs under the covers, trying to contain the feeling. He was an alpha. A leader in the pack and one of the strongest Lycans. The boldness he’d had to take what he’d wanted really outshined any of the physical aspects of the kiss. There was a part of me that enjoyed being the one he’d wanted, and being submissive to his wants was something that felt refreshing to me. Having to take care of myself and my parents for the last several years, it felt good to let go.
Rolling over in bed, I squeezed my legs together even tighter. Maybe I had been letting other people decide for me lately. I just hadn’t had the mental capacity to decide for myself after the last whirlwind of a month. Helping my parents, graduating college, and moving to a new part of the country had taken a lot out of me. Everett’s power was intriguing.
I rolled over again, changing positions once more. The cool pillow beneath my head changed my perspective like the flip of a coin. This was another mistake that could derail the plans I had for myself. Everett wasn’t just a cute guy from the bar—he was a Lycan. A mythical creature. The second shifter I had hooked up with in the last week.
Ugh, this was not what I had planned. Not only was Everett distracting me mentally, he was also distracting me physically as I lay in bed with so much pent-up sexual tension. I needed to get some rest before this weekend. My research was behind from having spent the last weekend at Camp. I would need to work through the weekend to catch up.
Whisper-listing all the plants I had cataloged in my notebook, I tried to distract myself from the hormones runningthrough my body. I made it about halfway through before my eyes got heavy and I fell into a restless sleep.
Later that morning,I woke up determined to get some research done. It was Friday, and that meant it was the second weekend of the tournament. The wards would be going up around noon. If I kept close to the cabin, within a couple miles, I could avoid them. I hoped.
The clock next to my bed said ten o’clock. Shit. I never slept in that late. This was Everett’s fault—if I hadn’t been up late trying to calm myself down from the kiss, I’d already be out in the forest. The last thing I wanted was to be trapped inside them again. This weekend I needed to get work done.
After packing my backpack with more collection containers and an extra stick of deodorant—just in case—I ran through the cabin and found Jenny typing on the couch.
“Why did you let me sleep so late?” I asked.
“Who wakes up early after drinking?”
There was no time for a big breakfast, although my stomach growled. I grabbed an apple off the basket on the counter.
