Feral Instincts (The Feral Series) (22 page)

“Ava…”
Teagan groaned.
Dam it! Anyone but her.
She was the last person he had
expected to see at his door tonight. Seeing her standing there he could feel
the power of his beast surge within his chest.

Ava
quickly tried to recover from her surprise and calm her racing heart enough to
think clearly again. Neither of these two things was ever easy for her to do
around Teagan. “Um… Hi Teagan. Can I come in for a minute? I’d like to talk to
you.”

“I
don’t think that’s a good idea Ava.” Teagan loomed over her with one hand
braced on the doorway, blocking her from coming in.

Ava
just stood, gaping at him for a moment. Was he honestly not going to let her
in? Well, she had come this far. Did he have any idea how hard it had been to
come to his door tonight? She was going to see this through.

Before
he could close the door on her, Ava ducked under his arm and shot past him,
making it through his doorway. Fortunately she had the element of surprise on
her side and he didn’t even think to stop her. Defiantly turning to face him
she crossed her arms over her chest and dared him to kick her out. Again.

Teagan
just shook his head at her and closed his door. “What do you think you are
doing?” He sounded angry and annoyed. This was not starting out well.

“I
said I wanted to talk to you.” Ava stood her ground and tried to look
confident.

Teagan
slumped down in the chair next to his dresser and poured himself another drink.
If Ava wanted to talk he was going to need it. Dam it! He had tried to talk to
her but she had been avoiding him. Now
,
tonight of all nights, she wants
to talk! Wasn’t that just like a woman.

Throw
her out!
She is in danger. You are too close to the edge
and you know it.
As soon as the thought entered his mind his beast rose to
the surface. His inner voice was quickly silenced. He was tired of listening to
his more responsible half, his beast wanted her here, she wasn’t going
anywhere.

Oblivious
to the danger she was in, Ava suddenly caught Teagan’s scent. It seemed wilder
tonight, more woodsy, mixed with something else. Alcohol, and lots of it. She
had been so preoccupied with worrying about what she was going to say to him
she hadn’t notice before now.

“Are
you drunk?” Ava blurted out.

“Yep.”

“That’s
all you have to say is, yep!”

“Look,
I didn’t exactly invite you in here in the first place. You wanted to talk, so
talk already.” Teagan glowered at her through bleary eyes and took another
drink.

“Fine.”
Ava took a deep breath and pushed on. Maybe he would be more receptive to what
she had to say if he was drunk anyway. “I want to talk to you about what
happened the other morning.”

Ava
jumped a little when Teagan slammed his empty glass down and stood up abruptly
to move in front of her. “Not that, talk about something else.” This was not a
good time to talk about the morning he had almost bonded her to him, especially
not after seeing her bite on Joseph today. Just the thought of that bite mark
had him seeing red. Just below his skin, he could feel the beast began to pace.

“Look,
I know it was foolish to leave this hanging between us. We should have talked
about this sooner and I’m sorry. I don’t want to leave things this way. Teagan,
I want to know what happened. Why did you kick me out? Did I do something
wrong?”

Did
she do something wrong? Was she serious?
“Is that what you
thought?” He had expected her fear and her anger at how rough he had been with
her, but not this.

Ava
was suddenly unsure of herself and even though she was beginning to feel
embarrassed she bravely pushed on. “Well, you were so mad at me. I thought
maybe I did something wrong.” God, if she had enough blood in her system for a
proper blush she would be glowing red by now. “Is it… um… because I’m a
vampire?”

Teagan
looked at her incredulously. “Because you’re a vampire? Ava…” Teagan scrubbed
his hand over his face in frustration. Memories of her from that morning washed
over him and his body was quick to respond. She had been perfect and her body
had been so responsive. Even wanting her as much as he did, somehow he had
still found the strength to send her away. Why he had done it, he was having a
hard time remembering right now but at the time it had seemed important. Teagan
tried to focus, fighting the effects of the alcohol. Dam it, alcohol usually
calmed him but tonight for some reason it had only managed to fuel his anger.

“Teagan,
I don’t understand.” Teagan ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

“I
sent you away because I was losing control. I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Teagan…
I …” Ava didn’t know what to think. All she knew for sure was that he would
never hurt her. Being this close to him again, she ached for him to touch her.
Seeing his frustration, she instinctively wanted to reach out to soothe him.

“Dam
it Ava, I want you too much. Don’t you understand?” It was taking everything he
had to keep from grabbing her and picking up where he had left off the other
morning. Gods he wanted her even more now, if that was possible. Being unable
to touch her these last few days had driven him crazy.

Seeing
the tension in Teagan’s chiseled face, Ava knew she was standing on the edge of
the cliff with her toes hanging off. It was time to take control of her own
destiny. Did she dare make the jump? She could see the tension and barely
restrained power in every move he made. This was no ordinary man she was
dealing with here. There would be no turning back this time.

“Teagan…”
Come on. I can do this. No regrets.
Taking a deep breath, Ava bravely
took the last two steps that would bring her directly in front of him. Placing
her hand on his chest, she could feel the muscle under her hand tense beneath
her touch. Moving in closer, she leaned up towards his cheek and spoke softly
into his ear. “I want you too.”

Teagan’s
whole body went rigid at her whispered words, his breath freezing in his chest.
Standing on her toes, Ava softly rubbed her lips against Teagan’s firm mouth in
a slow, sensuous caress. Ava gasped as Teagan’s arms suddenly wrapped tightly
around her body and his lips came crashing down on hers in a punishing kiss. It
was as though a dam had broken and the thin walls of his restraint came
tumbling down. Closing her eyes Ava gave herself over to the sensations
coursing through her body. Her small frame seemed to melt into Teagan’s larger
one.

Sliding
his hand up her back Teagan cupped the back of her head, fisting her silken
curls in his hand. With a low groan he savored the way her curves fit against
him so perfectly. “Gods Ava, I…” Inhaling her warm vanilla scent, Teagan
suddenly froze, every muscle in his body tensing.
Joseph
. A low growl
began to rumble from deep inside his chest. Another male’s scent was on his
female.
MINE!
The beast inside of him threw its head back with a roar.
She
had fed from him. Had she also welcomed his touch?  
Rage slammed
trough his body as images of Ava lying naked in Joseph’s arms pounded through
his mind.

Did
she dare to come to me tonight with her lover’s scent still clinging to her?
Had she been playing the innocent while giving herself to Joseph all along?
Well, no more. He had tried to do the right thing. He had kept his distance for
her. He had given her a chance to run from him but here she was, in his arms.
There would be no second chances. After tonight she would know who she belonged
to.

Ava
hesitated at the sudden tension in Teagan’s body. His grip on her hair bordered
on painful. Confused at the sudden change, she looked into his eyes and was
alarmed to see that they had begun to glow. Instinctively trying to calm him
she gently rubbed her palm against the light stubble on his cheek. “Teagan?”

With
a snarl of his fully extended fangs, Teagan swept Ava into his arms and carried
her to his large bed, roughly depositing her on top of the cool sheets. He was
out of control and he didn’t care thanks to the bottle of Jack his buddy Daniel
had left him.

Ava
could feel her courage rapidly deserting her and for just a moment she
considered making a run for it. She just wasn’t experienced enough to handle
this kind of hunger
.
One look in his eyes though and she froze. She knew
this look, he
wanted
her to run. Standing there next to the bed he was
every bit of the predator. He was just waiting for her to make her move. Still
frozen with indecision Ava watched as he grabbed the hem of his t-shirt as he
pulled it off over his head.

Mesmerized,
Ava stared at the powerful display of muscles across his chest and stomach.
He
can’t be real.
With a gulp she realized he wasn’t stopping with the shirt
and had started to unbuckle his jeans. “Remove your clothing.” His voice had
almost become a growl.

“Wa…
what?” Ava stammered. She realized he watched her closely, ready to chase her
if she tried to run, hoping that she would. If he was trying to scare her he
was doing a dam good job. She didn’t know why he had suddenly become so
aggressive but deep down she believed that he would never truly hurt her. She
wasn’t running.

With
a look of determination, Ava rose to her knees and began to slide her arms out
of the sleeves of her lavender sweater. Teagan’s hands stilled on his own
clothing while he watched her begin to undress.

Lifting
the hem of her sweater, she pulled it over her head and tossed it to the floor
with a triumphant look in her eyes. Next she slid her ballet flats off and
unbuttoned her jeans. Leaning back on the bed she wiggled out of her jeans and
tossed them next to her sweater. Okay so it wasn’t the sexiest strip tease any
one had ever done but she had done it.

Losing
some of her bravado, Ava dared a glance up at Teagan from under her ebony curls
to judge his reaction.

He
had expected her to give up this game she was playing and run. His wolf wanted
to chase her, bring her back kicking and screaming and force her submission.
Instead, she had called his bluff, and she was amazing. Her creamy skin lay in
sharp contrast to her black lacy bra and the scrap of lace covering her sex.
His beast wanted to pounce on her but he was curious to see how long her moment
of bravery would last. “You are not done yet.” He growled at her.

With
a gulp Ava could feel her cheeks turn a pale pink. She wouldn’t back down
though. She wanted to be with him. For her there was no turning back. Teagan
watched in fascination as her slender arms reached around her back to unhook
the black lace. Letting the straps slide off her shoulders Ava took a deep
breath and then the black bra came to rest on the floor next to her sweater.

The
sight of Ava spread before him on his bed was one that Teagan was sure would be
forever burned into his memory. She sat before him with her legs curled around
to one side, supporting herself on one graceful arm with the other laying
across her hip. She was so beautiful, her full breasts tipped in rosy peaks,
creamy skin and lush curves. She refused to meet his eyes now and her lowered
gaze was submissive. His beast approved.

Hearing
him removing his jeans, Ava couldn’t help but glance his way in curiosity. The
parts of him she had seen so far were so beautiful, she was curious to see the
rest of him. He made quick work of the rest of his cloths and Ava was certainly
not disappointed with the view. He was like looking at a greek god and she was
fascinated with his body. Teagan felt her eyes on him and bit back a grin, she
wasn’t as shy as she wanted him to believe.

Lying
next to her on the bed, Teagan pulled her flush against him, groaning at the
feeling of finally having her bare skin pressed against his own. Instinctively,
Ava curled into him trying to get closer. His skin was so deliciously hot and
it warmed her everywhere he touched her.

Claiming
her lips, Teagan ground his mouth against hers in a kiss meant to possess,
meant to punish. His hands were free to roam over her exposed skin now and he
took full advantage. Ava gasped in pleasure as his rough palm grazed over her
sensitive nipple. Abandoning her now swollen lips his mouth moved to her
breast, finding the sensitive peak. Skillfully he alternated between sucking
and rolling his tongue across the rosy tip. Running her fingers through his
hair, Ava clasped him to her. New and amazing sensations rolled through her
body and seemed to pool at her core making her gasp.

Lifting
his head from her breast, Teagan looked into her passion filled eyes. Her blue
eyes had turned silver and one tinny fang now bit down on her full lower lip.
Teagan growled at the sight of her losing control. “Looks like my little
vampire has come out to play.”

Glancing
down at the black lace fabric that still rode across her hips he extended one
black claw. Ava held her breath as he slowly trailed it down the slim column of
her neck, across the swell of her breast in an alarming move. Ava tensed just
as Teagan had wanted, fearing that razor sharp claw might sink into her
unprotected skin at any moment. Down across the tender skin of her ribcage it
drug and over the curve of her hip until it snagging the side of her panties.
With the flick of his finger he tore the lace from her and tossed it to the
floor.