“Do werewolves have allergies?” Celeste wondered as Grant started pulling his clothing on.
“Shut up, that’s what.” Grant looked away. “Me and my boy are going to go field-dress some rabbits.”
Mandy and Truman joined them for dinner, and afterwards, Mandy said, “Hey, I know some cool self-defense moves I want to teach you, so you can be even more bad-ass. Axe! Bad-axe!” she added, as Celeste shot her a look.
“There’s no such thing as bad-axe, and I know what an ass is,” Jeffrey informed her. “It’s what you poop out of. And it’s what you call someone when they act stupid. And also, I know that you really just want to leave my mommy and daddy alone so they can kiss each other.” He stuck his finger in his mouth and pretended to barf.
“You’re not wrong,” Mandy said. “But also I can show you how to make a grown man cry. We can practice on Truman.” She grinned fiercely.
Jeffrey nodded, looking very eager. Truman groaned. “The things I do for lust,” he mouthed at Grant and Celeste, but he followed Mandy and Jeffrey as they walked off.
Grant and Celeste headed back to their suite.
“Mandy is a good friend,” Celeste said. “She’s also hiding something big. But I feel like I can trust her.” She walked over to the window, pulled aside the curtain, and looked out. Jeffrey and Mandy were in a grassy area, pummeling Truman. “Poor guy.”
Grant walked up behind her. “He’s a big boy, he can take it. By the way, you were brilliant,” he said, wrapping his arms around Celeste.
She leaned in to his broad chest and his arms tightened. Despite the attempted kidnapping and the lingering threat to Jeffrey, it felt like the safest place in the world. The steady beating of his heart lulled her, and she felt as though she could stay there forever, secure in his strong arms.
“Thank you for giving me such a lovely evening with my boy. We both needed that.”
He kissed her neck. The sensation of his lips on her skin sent tingles racing through her, making her shiver and press a little closer to him. Until he went on.
“I should say, our boy. And there you go, tensing up again.”
She turned around and looked up at him. “What do you want from me, Grant?” Her voice trembled.
He cupped her chin in his hand. “What do you think I want? I want you to stay with us. I want you to be his mother. I want you to be my mate.”
Her breath caught in her throat. “You barely know me.”
“I know you’re brave and beautiful and wonderful. I know that my wolf recognized you as my mate the first time I ever saw you.” He kissed her lips softly. “But what do you want?”
“I want…” She blinked back tears. “I want Jeffrey to be happy and safe and to know that he’s loved. I want to be there to see him grow up. I want…you. I do, Grant, but I’m terrified. I leave for a living. It’s what I do.”
“I know. And I’m not asking you for a commitment right now. But can you at least agree that you’ll consider what I’m asking of you?”
“Ye-yes.” She sniffled. “Now my nose is red and my eyes are watery.”
“You are beautiful to me.” He scooped her up in his arms. “I’ll show you.”
Chapter Twelve
By the time they reached the bed, her sadness and worry had gone – or at least been locked away in a steel box somewhere at the back of her mind. She was entirely focused on Grant. His lips. His eyes. His unique scent and the growly timbre of his voice that made her hot and bothered and stupid. This beautiful man who wanted to make her his. And maybe that could never be, but she was his right here and right now. And she was going to show him with her body how much she wanted him.
This time she undressed herself, tearing at her clothes, unable to wait to feel his hands on her naked flesh again. Grant was quicker, though. She was down to her panties when he joined her on the bed, stark naked and sporting an enormous erection. It was thick and ruddy, the tip already beaded with pearly precum, and she wanted desperately to taste it, but Grant had other ideas. He growled playfully and grabbed the scrap of fabric, tearing the panties away from her body. The fabric parted with a ripping sound, and Celeste gave a shocked laugh.
“Caveman!” she accused him.
He responded by tumbling her back onto the bed and kissing her ravenously. “I’ll buy you more panties,” he gasped urgently against her mouth before kissing her again. “All the panties you want.”
Celeste ran her fingers down his back, enjoying the sensation of the muscles moving under her touch as he growled again and kissed the side of her neck, grazing her skin with his sharp teeth, his hands full of her breasts and his cock nudging her hip. His urgency was a potent aphrodisiac, making her core clench with desire. It was incredibly erotic that he wanted her so badly.
She wondered if she could come just from kissing and touching his naked body, but she wasn’t going to find out – she wanted him inside her too badly for that. She felt restless and impatient and like she’d die if he didn’t fuck her right now.
She pressed her fingertips into the firm muscles of his ass, giving a little growl of her own, then Grant rolled her onto her stomach, drawing her hair to one side so he could kiss the nape of her neck and trace his tongue down the line of her spine. She moaned at the sensation of his mouth traveling down her back, and caught her breath when he sank his teeth into the globe of her ass.
He slid his arm under her belly and drew her back so she was on all fours, presenting to him like a bitch in heat, which was just the way she felt, like she couldn’t get enough of him.
