Savage Revenge (12 page)

If so, he’d fight. Even if it took the last of his energy, he’d fight.

If by some chance no one was there and Sage had left, well, then he’d eat again and leave. It didn’t matter that they’d just eaten, he’d need the fuel for later. Because if there was one thing this week on the run had taught him, it was that you didn’t know when and where your next meal would be. When you’d be able to sleep again without fearing discovery. Fearing for your safety.

Nathan shifted back to human and walked slowly up the steps of her porch, then opened the door to her house.

The sound of the sink running greeted him, and he swung his gaze to the kitchen.

Sage was immersed in washing dishes, and seemed completely unaware—or underwhelmed—by his return.

“I didn’t leave.”

Clearly she was aware of his return, even though she hadn’t turned around yet.

“I made up my mind on the mountain to help you, Nate, and I didn’t change it in the last hour because you got hit with the guilt stick.” She turned off the water and faced him.

The shifter population had quickly tossed him aside. They’d believed the absolute worst, and yet here was this woman who barely knew him, had been abducted by him, and she was giving him her trust. Was willing to believe in his innocence.

He was raw inside, so afraid to trust her, and yet he couldn’t afford not to.

“Why?” He gave a hard shrug and approached. “I don’t understand why you’re staying.”

She swallowed visibly and lifted one shoulder in dismissal. “I don’t know, honestly. I’m not sure I understand why either.”

He stopped in front of her, their bodies nearly touching as he placed his hands on the counter on both sides of her body. The position was so similar to this morning when they’d both lost control. When he’d kissed themselves both senseless.

“I didn’t ask you to leave me for just the obvious reasons, Sage.” He lowered his head, his lips hovering entirely too close to hers. “I want you.”

Her breath hitched and her gaze flew to his. Wariness reflected in her eyes.

“No. You wanted to control me, and you tried with seduction.”

“Initially, maybe.” He didn’t deny it, and touched the plumpness of one bottom lip with his thumb. “But I figured out pretty damn quick that I wanted you for real, not just to have your cooperation.”

“So what are you saying?” Her words dropped to a whisper. Awareness and hunger flashed in her eyes.

“What am I saying? I’d think it was pretty clear.” He gave a harsh laugh. She really wanted him to spell it out? He stepped closer, and without the sheet around his waist, she would see and feel exactly what she did to him.

“Every moment we’re together I’m losing more control over the urge to take you to bed. And if you let me stay, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”

Her little squeak of surprise turned into a moan, and he frowned. Sometimes his little romance novelist victim gave off the vibe that she didn’t have the first clue about sex.

But then her chin lifted and she met his gaze squarely.

“Maybe…” She licked her lips. “Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing?”

If he’d been somewhat hard before, his dick became granite at her words.

“Christ. Don’t say that.” He closed his eyes tight. “I didn’t follow you home last night planning on this attraction between us. Hell, had I known, I would’ve picked someone else, because this is only going to complicate things.”

“But it’s too late. You did pick me,” she said softly.

“You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. What you’re saying.”

“No really, I do.” Her laugh was a little high, indicating she knew how crazy it sounded. “And I can’t understand why I’m so drawn to you. Why I want this so much.” She punctuated the word by drawing her nails lightly down his naked chest. “But I do, Nate, and trust me, I know it’s completely illogical.”

“Completely.” He caught her wrist, pulled it to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the underside. “Tell me to leave you. Tell me, and I’m gone.”

“I can’t.” She gave another breathy groan. “Actually, I’m pretty close to begging you to take off my dress and—”

“Done. You’re done.” He growled, and without letting her finish that thought, he’d caught the neckline of her dress between his hands and tore it down the middle.

Chapter Eleven

Sage’s eyes rounded in shock and her cheeks went scarlet. “Oh my God. I didn’t think you’d actually
do
it. I was speaking rhetorically.”

“I told you once not to challenge me.” And then words abandoned him as he drank in the sight of her again.

She wore no bra or panties, and he pushed the fabric completely off her body, his blood pounding harder.

Fuck. Maybe he shouldn’t have done that, because the curves he hadn’t had time to appreciate on the mountain were suddenly exposed and available for his pleasure.

And she had plenty of curves. Round, heavy breasts that he immediately reached to cup. Her nipples were hard and he brushed a thumb over each one, smiling without humor at her whimper of pleasure.

He moved his hands to her narrow waist, then to the rounded hips that were the epitome of her feminine curves. God these things would be great to hold on to while he was driving into her from behind.

Every instinct inside him turned primal. The wolf inside him rose fiercely to the surface and demanded he take her. Here and now. Who needed preliminaries?

The last week had him existing in his animal side more than his human one. Right now he teetered on the brink of losing control. Taking her hard. Fast.

“Nate.” His name was part plea, part protest on her lips. “I want to do this, but you should know—”

“Trust me, sweetheart, I already know.” He slid his hands around to cup her ass, squeezing the soft globes before he lifted and carried her into the living room.

He was heading to the couch, and he barely made it there with her legs wrapped around his waist and his dick pressing up against her bottom.

Reaching his destination, he lowered her onto the leather and followed after her. His body covered hers and he used a knee to nudge her legs apart and settle between them.

Slow down. Must slow down
. He couldn’t take her this quickly, not without making sure she was prepared to take him. He wasn’t small, and if there was one thing he got right in life it was pleasuring and taking care of the woman he was with.

With his erection pressing against her belly, he forced his blood to slow. Focused his mind on her.

He took her mouth again. Tasting her with slow and thorough strokes.

She kissed him back, her tongue meeting his almost hesitatingly, then growing bolder. The little moans in her throat encouraged him, and when her hips began to rise against his, when she was all but squirming, he knew he needed to at least touch her. That she needed it as much as he did.

Reaching between them, he found the damp patch of curls between her legs. 

His dick responded at her readiness, twitching against the slight softness of her stomach.

Parting the folds, he slid a finger into her hot sheath.

Damn.
She was amazingly tight. She was going to feel even more amazing when he was inside her.

He penetrated her slowly, stretching her and warming her up.

When he added a second finger she stiffened and made a noise that almost sounded like one of discomfort rather than pleasure.

He lifted his head and stared down at her. “You okay, sweetheart? Want me to stop?”

“No.” She shook her head quickly, and her body clenched around his fingers.

He bit back a groan. Shit. Was she trying to make him lose it completely?

“Does this hurt?” He arched a brow, pressing his fingers deeper into her.

“No.” But he’d seen her slight wince.

“Okay, it’s a little uncomfortable, but it’s getting better, I promise.”

He frowned, pulling back slightly. “How long has it been since you’ve been with someone, Sage?”

She bit her lip and lowered her lashes. “That’s, um, what I was trying to tell you. I haven’t.”

“You haven’t?” he repeated. Not sure he’d understood the context of her words right. “Like you haven’t lately?”

“Like I haven’t ever.”

Her words were almost a whisper, and heavy with mortification.

No way
.

“You can’t be serious,” he finally muttered, and pulled his fingers reluctantly from her tight channel. But when her blush deepened, he muttered, “Christ, you’re serious.”

“I was trying to tell you a minute ago. I thought you had the right to know what you were getting into.” Unhappiness flickered in her eyes. “Literally. A virgin. I’m sorry, Nate.”

“
You’re
sorry?” He shook his head. She had to be at least twenty-five. “Are you saving yourself for your mate?”

It wasn’t completely uncommon. Many shifter women chose not to have sex until they were certain it would be with their mate.

“No. Not at all. I just haven’t dated a lot or had a lot of opportunity to.” She gave a bitter laugh. “Men don’t touch me. I have a very protective brother who keeps them away. He wants me to be mated first.”

“You realize you’re a grown woman, right? You can choose to have sex anytime you want, and with anyone.”

She gave a short laugh and mumbled something that sounded like
if only it were that easy
.

“What?”

“Nothing. You just…don’t know my brother.”

What the hell kind of relationship did they have where he had so much power over her?

“But look, you’re right. I know ultimately the choice is mine, and so I actually put it on my to-do list a little while ago,” she added quickly, brightening a little.

“You put what on your to-do list?”

“Lose the hymen.” She did the air quotes on the word hymen. “Well, technically I’m sure it’s gone, but you know what I mean.”

The blood roared in his ears and he clenched his jaw, trying to think that his dick was just inches away from helping her achieve that goal.

“It’s actually why I was with Leaf last night. I was going to seduce him.”

He froze, icy rage slicing through and cooling his heated blood. “
You
were going to seduce
him
? Going to give your virginity to a human?”

“It’s not as if I’d have been the first shifter to do that.” She gave a little shrug and met his gaze. “It’s just sex, right?”

“No—”

“I have needs, and I’m tired of taking them into my own hands. Literally.”

The rage that had exploded so quickly died just as suddenly as the image in his head changed. The idea of Sage touching herself was damn arousing.

She nibbled on her already swollen lip, and for a moment he was distracted. Wanted to lower his mouth and suck on the fleshy bottom lip himself.

“I mean, I write about sex, I figure I should actually try it out. Even if it’s bad, I can chalk it up to research. Right?”

Research? Damn. She was blowing his mind. She was a virgin who talked about sex as easily as a whorehouse madam would.

He should get off her. Put a little distance between them if they were going to have this conversation.

And yet he couldn’t help himself from reaching down to tuck a curl behind her ear.

“Don’t seduce the human, Sage.” The moment the command was out of his mouth, he wondered where it had come from.

“Leaf? I don’t know…” Her gaze slid from his. “I mean, I think I had a bit of a crush on him, but you were right. When he kissed me, I didn’t really feel much.”

“Because he wouldn’t know how to pleasure a woman if he had a video guide.”

She laughed at that and met his gaze again. There was excitement and heat dancing in her blue eyes.

“But you do, don’t you, Nate? This is actually kind of perfect. You’re a shifter, so I’m naturally more comfortable with you. Maybe you should be my first.”

Her words had him hardening even more, even as unease got in a small jab. Be Sage’s first? Hell yeah, he wanted that honor. It would be so easy to just lift her knees up, adjust himself, and sink into her wet heat.

But what kind of bastard would that make him? He would be lucky if he even came out of this whole thing alive. He couldn’t offer her forever, maybe not even tomorrow.

He shook his head. “I won’t mate with you, Sage.”

Her eyes went round. “Oh, whoa, I’m not asking you to. That would be crazy, we don’t even know each other.”

They were starting to get to know each other. Maybe a little too well.

“You seem to think you know me well enough to let me fuck you.”

Her pert little nose wrinkled. “Will you stop using that term, please? It’s kind of crude.”

“So is what I want to do to you.” To think he’d considered bending her over the kitchen counter and taking her there.

Going to hell, Larson, you’re absolutely going to hell
.

He’d never been with a virgin. Hell, even his fiancée—who’d been pretty lukewarm in bed the few times they’d slept together—had been experienced.

“Look, clearly you’re the one who needs to do some thinking now.” Sage cleared her throat. “Why don’t we cool things off and you can decide later?”

He arched a brow. “You can’t be serious.”

“Well, I mean, when you have a clear head. No pun intended.” She pushed at his chest and wiggled out from beneath him. “Let’s just keep our eyes on the prize—proving your innocence—and put the sex stuff on hold for today.”

A little dumbfounded that she’d taken control, he was tempted to drag her back to the couch and continue where they’d left off. But she was absolutely right. If he took her now, feeling so completely raw and barely leashed, he’d hurt her. Emotionally and physically.

If they had sex, and that was a big if, he would wait until he was a little more under control.

“Agreed.” The word nearly killed him, and he said it through clenched teeth. “I’m going to shower.”

“Didn’t you already take…?”

When he gave her a pointed look, she ducked her head and nodded.

“Oh. Right. Umm. Cold water is to the right. Just in case you forgot.”

He just barely restrained a snarled, grumpy response, before disappearing up the stairs.