Animal Attraction (7 page)

She let her hungry gaze run over his smooth, muscular chest and rock-hard abs. But as her gaze came to rest on the deep, jagged scars on his right shoulder, a frown creased her brow. She didn’t remember those being there when they’d made love earlier. Then again, the bedroom had been kind of dark. But surely she would have remembered feeling them, wouldn’t she?

She opened her mouth to ask Hunter about them, but he chose that moment to kiss her again, and as his tongue teased hers in the most delicious way imaginable, she forgot all about the scars on his shoulder. She could ask him about them later. He unbuttoned her jeans and pushed them down over her hips. Much later.

When they were both naked, Hunter took her hand and led her into the step-in shower. Grabbing the bar of soap, he lathered it slowly between his hands before placing it back on the shelf. A moment later, he was running his soapy hands all over her body. Eliza doubted that the places he seemed the most interested in were all that dirty, but she certainly wasn’t going to complain. On the contrary, she sighed with pleasure as he slid his hands up to cup her soap-covered breasts. He seemed quite fascinated with the way her nipples slipped through his fingers as he played with them, and she gasped as he tweaked the hard tips. He only smiled at her wickedly and gave them another playful squeeze before moving on to other parts of her body. The man was so unbelievably good at getting her hot and bothered.

Hunter lavished just as much attention on her bottom as he had given her breasts, turning her away from him and lathering her ass until it was completely covered in soap suds. While it was incredibly enjoyable, the soap bubbles tickled as they ran down her ass cheeks, and she couldn’t help but wiggle a little. That earned her a quick swat on the bottom, and she jumped in surprise. Not only did the smack send soap bubbles flying everywhere and make a very loud sound in the enclosed shower, but it also sent a surprisingly delicious shiver through her body.

At her startled expression, Hunter gave her a sexy grin. “I had to get the bubbles off somehow, didn’t I?”

“Most people would just have used the hand shower,” she teased.

He flashed her a grin. “True. But that wouldn’t nearly be as much fun,” he added, running his hand over her bottom. “Besides, you have a very spankable ass.”

She blinked at him over her shoulder, surprised by the words. “I do?”

Hunter chuckled. “You do. Didn’t anyone ever tell you that?”

She shook her head. “No,” she said. “But then again, no one’s ever spanked me before, either.”

“Should I stop?”

Eliza was silent for a moment as she considered his words. “Actually,” she said, “I think I kind of like it.”

Giving him a saucy little come-hither look, she turned around and arched her back, pushing out her ass in open invitation. Behind her, Hunter slid one arm around her waist to hold her steady, and Eliza felt her breath quicken in anticipation. But instead of bring his hand down on her bottom like she’d expected, he ran his soap-covered hand over her ass in a loving caress. She sighed, only to let out a startled, little gasp when she felt his hand come down on her right cheek a moment later. Then, before she even realized what he was doing, he lifted his hand and brought it down in several more quick spanks. He wasn’t spanking her all that hard, but her wet skin made it sting more than she’d thought it would, and she was surprised to discover that it was creating a delicious tingle between her legs.
Oooh, that’s nice.
Why hadn’t she’d ever asked a man to spank her before? Because she’d never been with a man as sexy as Hunter before.

As Hunter continued spanking her, he alternated from one cheek to the other, bringing his hand down in an easy rhythm that soon had her letting out little “ooohs,” and “aaahs,” and she almost groaned in disappointment when he stopped spanking her to pick up the hand shower and use it to rinse away the remaining soap. She did have to admit, the water felt extremely nice on her tingling ass cheeks, too.

Replacing the hand shower in its hook, Hunter stepped close to her, pressing his hard, muscular body up against hers, and she let her head fall back against his shoulder with a soft sigh of pleasure as he trailed hot kisses down her neck. She especially liked the way his hard cock pressed insistently against her tingling bottom. The spanking had definitely been fun, but this was even better.

Hunter slid his hand over her hip and up her stomach to cup her breast, his thumb and forefinger squeezing the turgid nipple he found there. Wrapping his other arm around her waist, he ran his hand down over her taut belly to the dark curls at the juncture of her thighs, and Eliza moaned as he gently found his way between her pussy lips to finger her throbbing clit. Reaching back, she placed her hand on his muscular thigh and began to slowly rotate her hips in time with his finger. The husky groan in her ear told her that Hunter approved of the way her ass was rubbing up against his hard cock.

Just when it seemed that he was going to bring her to orgasm with his finger, Hunter pulled his hand away from her clit and slid it up her stomach so that he was cupping her breasts with both hands. God, he was such a tease. Not that she was complaining, of course. What he was doing felt absolutely wonderful! And yet, there were so many sensations that it was difficult to concentrate on any one of them: his hands on her breasts, his hard cock grinding against her ass cheeks, his searing kisses on her neck. The combination was so intense she was almost dizzy from it.

Releasing a breast, Hunter slid his hand up to gently caress her neck, and she let out a sigh as his fingers traced small patterns along her extremely sensitive skin. She’d always known her neck was one of her erogenous zones, but this was absolutely heavenly, and she let out an even louder moan as his teasing fingers moved up to her mouth to lightly trace the outline of her lips. What he was doing felt so incredible she swore she could almost have an orgasm just from that. But just as her knees started to get weak, he pulled his teasing fingers away from her mouth and slowly slid them down between her breasts to the damp curls between her thighs. This time, instead of playing with her clit, he slipped his hand between her legs and slid his finger deep inside her wet pussy.

Eliza gasped, her pussy instinctively clenching around his finger as he moved it back and forth inside of her. He kept his movements slow at first, and then gradually picked up speed until she could feel herself starting to come. But once again, he backed off, sliding his finger out of her pussy before she could climax, and she groaned in frustration.

Refusing to let him continue his game any longer, Eliza reached down and covered his hand with her own, then positioned his fingers right over her clit and began to move them in just the way that she needed. Hunter quickly got the idea and began to make little circles round and around her clitoris with his finger. He started slowly, but then gradually began to rub faster and faster, and as his finger quickened on her clit, she couldn’t seem to focus on anything but what he was doing.

“That’s it, baby,” he whispered in her ear. “Come for me.”

There was something about the way he said the words that had her body immediately obeying the softly spoken command, and as the first waves of orgasm began to course through her, she cried out in pleasure. The sensations were so intense she thought she might actually faint from how fantastic it felt, and she was glad that Hunter had his arms around her.

“Don’t stop,” she begged. “Please don’t stop.”

Hunter didn’t. Instead, he continued to caress her clit until he’d wrung every last bit of pleasure from her. Only then did he stop. But instead of taking his hand away completely, he gently cupped her quivering mound.

Eliza leaned back against Hunter, her breath coming as fast as if she’d just run a sprint.

As the tremors of her orgasm slowly began to subside, Hunter slid his fingers deep inside her pussy again. “You’re so wet,” he said hoarsely. “I need to be inside you.”

His words sent a delicious tingle of anticipation through her pussy and Eliza could only let out a breathless, “Yes!” in reply.

Sliding his finger out of her pussy, Hunter grasped her hips. Giving them a little tug, he pulled her into the perfect position so that he could slide his cock into her from behind, and they both let out a long, deep groan of satisfaction as he sank himself inside her pussy as far as he could go. But rather than thrust in and out right away as she had expected him to do, he began grinding his hips in gentle circles. Eliza caught her lower lip between her teeth, her body shuddering at the feel of his cock pulsating inside her.

Abruptly, Hunter began to move, his cock gliding in and out of her wet pussy with almost agonizing slowness. He was going to drive her crazy like this.

“Harder!” she begged.

Hunter obeyed, the power of his thrusts pushing her up against the shower’s tiled wall, and she placed her hands against it so that she could push back. Still holding onto her with one hand, he slid the other up to her neck, gently tilting her head to the side so that he could kiss the curve of her shoulder. But as he began to pump even faster and harder, his kisses became more and more passionate until he was lightly nipping with his teeth as much as he was kissing. The feel of his teeth on the skin of her shoulder seemed to tap directly into her wild side, and she moaned at the erotic sensation.

Hunter was thrusting into her so hard now that he was almost lifting her off the floor of the shower, but still Eliza found herself wanting even more.

“Yes!” she cried. “Just like that! Harder! Fuck me harder!”

With an animalistic growl, he redoubled his efforts, forcing her up against the shower wall. She knew from the deep, husky groans he was making that his orgasm was only moments away, and she held her own back, wanting to come with him. Finally, she felt him explode inside of her with a release of cum so hot she swore she could feel it.

Eliza let herself go then, screaming out loudly as the climax started deep within her pussy to ripple throughout her body. As her screams echoed around and around the tiled shower, she prayed the feeling would never go away.

It was only after her orgasm had subsided that Eliza realized the water that had been spraying over them the whole time was getting cold. As Hunter leaned against her, she balanced on one leg and used the toes of her other foot to reach out and turn off the water.

Hunter chuckled in her ear. “Those are some talented toes you have there.”

She giggled, turning her head to the side to look over her shoulder at him. “If you think that was impressive, why don’t you take me to bed and I’ll show you what else I can do with them?”

In answer, Hunter lifted her up in his strong arms and stepped out of the shower. Realizing that he intended to head directly for the bedroom without stopping to dry off first, Eliza quickly reached out to snatch a towel from the rod as he carried her out of the room.
Men.

Chapter 5

It was almost noon by the time Hunter woke the next day. He didn’t usually stay in bed so late, but considering he and Eliza hadn’t gotten to sleep until dawn, it wasn’t that surprising. Beneath the blanket, his cock stirred at the thought of what he and Eliza had been doing all that time. Had he really only just met her the other day? Being with her felt so natural it seemed like they’d been together for years. He’d never met a woman who could arouse him so much just by being near. Or one with whom he felt such an immediate connection, both in bed and out.

The corner of his mouth edged up at the sight of Eliza sleeping beside him. She had snuggled closer in her sleep and was lying half on top of him, her arm flung possessively over his chest. Not wanting to wake her, but unable to resist touching her, he reached out and gently brushed her hair back from her face. She let out a soft sigh, but otherwise didn’t stir. She looked so small and vulnerable like that. He frowned suddenly as his mind replayed what else had happened last night.

Hunter really hadn’t wanted Eliza to go back to her hotel, but the opportunity to track the other werewolf had been too good to pass up. It had never occurred to him that she would follow him. His gut clenched at the thought of what might have happened to her if he hadn’t gotten there in time to stop the other were.
A minute or two later and…
But he had gotten there in time. That was all that mattered.

When he’d picked up the other were’s trail back at the house, he had followed in his human form to begin with, but then had changed once he’d gotten off the main road. Not only were all his senses even sharper when he was in wolf form, but he was faster, too. Besides, if he had been fortunate enough to catch up with the other were, he’d definitely wanted to be in wolf form.

Hunter hadn’t actually held out much hope that the other were would still be hanging around, but he’d figured it was worth a try. He had followed the meandering trail through the warehouse district, not surprised when it had taken him closer and closer to the forest’s edge. He had started to think he was probably going to end up losing the trail somewhere deep in the forest, most likely right beside a fresh set of vehicle tracks. It made sense that the other were would have changed back into human form and jumped into a car or truck to get away the moment the cops had arrived. But Hunter had been amazed when the trail had taken a sharp turn and headed back toward the warehouses again. Afraid the were had been going back for another attack, Hunter had quickened his pace. That was when he’d picked up another scent on the breeze, an extremely familiar one—Eliza!

Hunter had stood frozen for a moment, unable to believe what his wolf’s nose had been telling him. Eliza had said she was going back to the hotel. But he’d known his nose couldn’t be that wrong, which had meant that she had to be nearby. Terrified at what he might find, Hunter had taken off running at full speed.

When he had come out of the alley, the scene that had met his eyes had confirmed his worst fears. Eliza had been on the ground, a black were approaching her menacingly. Hunter hadn’t even hesitated, but had launched himself at the other wolf.

Hunter had known the moment they’d begun to fight that the other were had almost certainly been recently turned. He’d fought completely like an animal, without any trace of human intelligence. That didn’t make him any less dangerous, though, and it had taken all of Hunter’s efforts to back the creature away from Eliza.

Unfortunately, Hunter had been so preoccupied with her safety that the other were had gotten inside his defenses and torn into his right shoulder pretty good. The wound had hurt like hell, but backing down hadn’t been an option. Eliza would have been defenseless without Hunter there to protect her. So, he’d kept the pain under control long enough to fight off the other were.

Despite the pain, though, when the black wolf had headed for the forest, Hunter’s first instinct had been to go after him and finish it, but he hadn’t wanted to leave Eliza. He had desperately wanted to take her in his arms and assure her that she was safe, but that had obviously been impossible in wolf form. And since he couldn’t very well change back in front of her, he had tried to communicate his concern for her the best he could. But when he’d turned back to her, it had been to see fear in Eliza’s beautiful blue eyes, and it reminded him once again how different they were. It saddened him to think that he could never let her see that side of himself. That she could never know what he was.

So, instead of nuzzling her cheek with his wet nose like he’d wanted to, he had turned and loped off. He hadn’t left the area, but instead had shadowed Eliza back to her car, just to make sure she’d gotten there safely. Once she was on her way, he’d gone back to the spot where he had changed into a wolf earlier so he could transform back. Quickly putting on his clothes, he had then hurried back to his SUV and gotten out of there before anyone had seen his bloody shoulder.

But even after he’d arrived home, Hunter couldn’t seem to get the terrified look he’d seen on Eliza’s face out of his head. He’d known there would be no way he could sleep without knowing if she’d made it back to the hotel safely. He’d decided to go check on her and had just been pulling on his jeans when the doorbell had rung.

Looking at the beautiful woman next to him now, he felt so protective of her that it made his chest hurt to think about it. He couldn’t believe how fast she had gotten under his skin, but he could sure as hell get used to being with her.

Whoa, dude.
What the hell was he thinking? He was acting like he thought a relationship with her could actually go somewhere. Hunter shook his head at his own foolishness. If he’d thought that she had been scared when he’d stood in front of her in wolf form last night, it was nothing compared to how horrified she’d be if she found out he had been that wolf.

Of course, he didn’t have to worry about Eliza ever finding out what he was, because he could never tell her. Even if he thought she could handle the truth, there was no point to it. She would be going back to San Francisco soon. That fact brought with it a pang of disappointment, and he ruthlessly shoved it aside. There was no sense in dwelling on something that could never change. No woman could ever accept what he was; he’d learned that firsthand.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy Eliza’s company for as long as she was up in Alaska. He was just thinking about some of the sights he wanted to show her when he abruptly realized that he had a class scheduled to teach that afternoon; if he didn’t get going, he was going to be late. Reluctant to wake Eliza, who was still sleeping so sweetly beside him, he decided to just leave her a note telling her where he was going. But as he tried to slip quietly out of bed, she stirred, her eyes fluttering open to regard him sleepily.

Even half-asleep and with her long hair all tousled, she looked beautiful. Reaching out, he gently ran a finger down the curve of her cheek. “I didn’t mean to wake you up,” he said, the corner of his mouth edging up. “But I’ve got a class to teach this afternoon.”

She propped herself up an elbow as she brushed her hair back from her face. “What time is it?”

“A little after twelve,” he told her. “But stay and sleep some more. I know you’re tired.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” she asked.

“No, go ahead.” He grinned. “Though I don’t know how I’m going to concentrate on what the heck I’m teaching when all I’ll be thinking about is you lying here naked in my bed.”

Her cheeks colored at his words. “You could always play hooky,” she suggested, giving him a sexy smile as she reached out to lightly run her fingers down his stomach.

Hunter sucked in his breath as her hand traveled lower. “I wish I could, but I can’t,” he said. “Tell you what. Why don’t you come by tonight, say around six? I’ll be home by then.”

She leaned forward to trail kisses over his jaw. “I’d love to.”

It was taking all his willpower not to say the hell with work and spend the day in bed with Eliza. “Actually,” he said against her mouth, “you’d better make it closer to seven. I have to stop somewhere on the way home.”

“Seven, then,” Eliza agreed, before kissing him again.

Unable to stop himself, Hunter slid his hand in her hair and covered her mouth with his for a long moment before he finally lifted his head with a groan.

“Oh, the hell with it! We have time for a quickie.”

Eliza pulled him down between her wide-spread legs. “Quickies are my specialty,” she said before she let out a throaty laugh.

* * * *

Lying back on the pillows half an hour later, Eliza watched as Hunter dressed. With a body like his, he should walk around naked all the time. Then again, maybe not, she decided as she imagined the stir that would cause among his female students. Perhaps it would be best if he just paraded around the house like that in front of her.

Eliza’s brow furrowed suddenly as her gaze settled on the scars on his shoulder. Last night they had looked deeper, darker. But now they were barely noticeable in the afternoon sunlight streaming in through the window. She must have just imagined them. That was certainly possible; she had been more than a little freaked out after almost getting attacked by that wolf last night.

Dressed now in jeans and a button-up shirt, Hunter came back over to the bed and gave her a kiss. “Bacon and eggs are in the fridge if you’re hungry,” he said when he lifted his head. He gazed down at her for a moment, and then added, “I can’t wait until tonight.”

“Me, either,” she whispered against his mouth.

Eliza let out a sigh as she watched Hunter go. God, he couldn’t be more perfect. Of course, it was just her luck that he had to live all the way up here in Alaska. She was definitely going to miss him when she went back to San Francisco. She wondered if it would be possible to maintain a long-distance relationship with him after she went back home. Probably not; she’d heard those things never worked out. But she didn’t have to leave for a few more days yet, or at least, she hoped she wouldn’t. It all depended on her editor, of course, but she had a hunch that after last night’s wolf attack, he would want her to hang around Fairbanks for a little while longer.

As much as she would have liked to stay in bed, Eliza forced herself to get up. Deciding that a quick shower would be just the thing to get her moving, she padded into the bathroom and stepped into the huge, glass-enclosed stall. As she turned on the water, she had to admit that this morning’s shower wasn’t nearly as much fun as last night’s had been. The memory of Hunter running his soapy hands up and down her body was enough to make Eliza’s pussy tingle. And the spanking he’d given her—damn, that had been hot!

Turning off the water, she stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. As she gazed at her reflection in the mirror above the double sinks, she noticed the faint outline of teeth marks on her right shoulder. Another reminder of last night’s lovemaking. She smiled as she lightly ran her fingers over the marks. She’d been right; he really was an animal in bed!

Pulling on the jeans and shirt she’d worn the night before, Eliza ran a brush through her long hair before going downstairs. Realizing she was hungry, she decided to grab something to eat before heading back to the hotel. However, she passed on the bacon and eggs Hunter had mentioned in favor of peanut butter on whole wheat toast. The bread was a little old, but edible. Apparently, Hunter mustn’t believe in eating his recommended daily allowance of whole grains.

After she had finished eating, Eliza put the plates in the dishwasher and then took out her cell phone to call her editor. As she had hoped, Roger Brannick agreed with her about staying in Fairbanks. He had practically salivated when she told him that there had been a third attack and that she’d gotten a look at the body.

“Stay as long as you need to,” he’d told her. “It sounds like you’re really onto something. I knew I did the right thing in sending you up there.”

Thinking that she should probably tell Detective Newman about the two wolves she’d seen down near the warehouses, but wanting to change clothes first, Eliza went to the hotel before going to the police station. On the way, she called Andy to let him know that they would be staying in Fairbanks for a while longer. She also mentioned that she would need to use the car, if that was okay with him. The photographer had no problem with her keeping the car, saying that he’d been planning to take some pictures around town anyway. He was curious to know where she’d been spending her time, though. Eliza just shrugged and said that she was following up on a lead the professor had given her.

When she got to the police station, Detective Newman was out, but rather than risk missing him altogether, Eliza decided to simply wait for him to come back. Two hours later, however, she was beginning to rethink her decision. She was just about to give up on him and leave when he walked in the door.

“Ms. Bradley,” he said, looking her over. “I was surprised to see you last night.”

Eliza felt her face color. “Hunter…Dr. McCall said it would be okay if I tagged along,” she said, tucking her hair behind an ear.

“Did he?” Newman said. “So, what brings you here today?”

She sighed. “Well, actually, I don’t know quite how to explain it, but after I left the house where that man got attacked last night, I went down to the warehouses near there and well…I just about got attacked by a couple of wolves myself. Really big wolves.”