Imprinted By The Alpha (BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (The Marked One - Book 1) (6 page)

Mine!
The inner voice screamed at him, and he took several deep, heavy breaths to calm the beast. It begged to go after the man and tear him limb from limb before ripping his throat out, but for whatever reason Caleb couldn’t comprehend, Ava hadn’t allowed it.

He couldn’t deny her.
Ever.

Now, he watched her, both hands shaking as she pressed them to her face to hide her tears. His first instinct was to lash out; no one should ever make Ava feel like this. He feared what would have happened if he hadn’t shown up. But as she finally lifted her gaze to look at him, the need he felt radiating from her swept over him, and he calmed, ready to do anything she asked of him.

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I
t took Ava a long time to make herself look at Caleb, and even longer for her eyes to touch his face, towering above her. He had to be at least six-two, she thought. Her gaze fell to his left arm, sleeved with swirling tribal tattoos from wrist to shoulder, the tails of which crawled over his collarbone and up the side of his neck. The inks were black and dark blues, and she wondered what they signified. But her eyes were pulled back to his wide shoulders and hard chest above ripped washboard abs.

And finally, she let herself look further as she accepted the fact he was fully nude. He seemed completely oblivious to her worshipful perusal of his form as he turned and grabbed a cloth from the kitchen drawer. It gave her a full view of the rippling muscles across his back and his taut round buttocks. His legs were long and sturdy, and it really drove home the power he held, as if his actions in the woods hadn’t already proven enough.

“Here.” His tone and touch were gentle as he knelt beside her and took her arm, lightly wiping away dirt and blood surrounding the affected area. He was so tender compared to the brute in the woods that it seemed impossible he was the same person. His care and the way he ministered to her made her trembling ease, but her mind still churned.

She owed him so much, and she inhaled deeply and released the breath. “If you hadn’t been there, if you hadn’t gotten there when you did...” She trailed off and shook her head as the images rolled through her mind. She fought for composure and continued, “He would have raped me.” She’d dried her tears once, but the admission of it made it real, the flood gates opening and spilling large, heavy tears ran down her cheeks as she sobbed.

Ava couldn’t believe how tender Caleb was, and he lifted her chin gently, raising one hand and brushing at her tears with the pad of his thumb. “It’s alright, Ava. You’re safe.” His voice was low and deep, reassuring, and Ava tried to let it soothe her. He continued, “No one is going to hurt you, Ava. I’m here to protect you now.” He emphasized his words as if he felt the need to hammer it into her brain.

As Caleb stood and began to rub her shoulders, she wondered about that, but his hands worked miracles, and she began to calm under his touch. She was glad when he moved away, her body buzzing at his nearness, but she also longed for his touch again.

Ava watched him move to the counter as he drew a glass from the cupboard and poured a shot of whiskey, handing it to her. “Drink this. I’ll be right back.”

She shot the whiskey, draining every last drop. When Caleb returned in a pair of hip-hugging jeans that left his chest bare, he was nearly as delicious as he had been moments ago. He reached for another glass, filled it for himself, and poured more into her empty one. She shot this one back, too, letting the liquid heat loosen her body a bit and bring her down from the rush of adrenaline the attack had caused. Of course, as she mellowed, the images that terrified her were replaced with those that tantalized – Caleb naked standing before her.

She glanced sideways at him. The jeans made no difference. His aura of power amplified his sexual attraction, and she couldn’t ignore it.

She pushed her glass toward him, saying drily, “One more.”

He smiled and poured, and Ava downed it with a sour expression, putting the glass down on the table and standing. She leaned against the fridge, losing her train of thought as the whiskey seeped into her blood and rushed to her brain. The room remained silent, and Ava knew Caleb watched her. She watched him, too, but neither spoke a word to break the spell cast over them in the shared moment.

And Ava wasn’t even sure what moment it was they shared at first. But Caleb stood, and her belly heated with something more than the liquor as his eyes bore holes in her. She flicked her eyes down cautiously as his hand moved toward her face, and he slid his palm along her cheek cupping her face. Closing her eyes, she nuzzled into it, letting the delicious scent he carried waft over her.

Her entire body tingled from his nearness and the unspoken mutual attraction she knew sizzled between them. Whatever action was taken now was crucial, and she raised her eyes to his, waiting to see what he would do as she watched him through her lashes.

His mouth came crashing onto hers, and her desire spun out of control. Cradling the back of Caleb’s head, she pulled him in deeper, swirling her tongue with his until she grew lightheaded with the sensation. Maybe it was partly the whiskey, but more likely, Caleb intoxicated her until she felt punch drunk. He intensified the kiss, tilting her head to the side so he could draw more deeply on her mouth, and Ava followed his lead, arching her back to press her body to his.

His teeth nibbled the corner of her mouth, guiding his lips from her jaw to her ear and down her throat. Ava accommodated her head back as she panted and gasped in her arousal.

Flicking his tongue against her earlobe, he whispered in her ear, “I wanted you so bad last night, I could taste you.”

Ava moaned, desire building inside as Caleb pushed his rigid body against hers. “God, I wanted you, too, Caleb,” she breathed, pulling his head up and crushing her lips to his with bruising force. She sucked his lower lip into her mouth and bit, tugging at it as he let out a low, menacing growl.

With both hands, he lifted her and pinned her against the fridge. Ava wrapped her legs around his waist, letting her hands explore the breadth of his shoulders. She needed his hard body against her. She needed his heavy hands on her skin. Tightening her hold on him with her legs, she forced him closer to her, letting her soft body mold to his.

He broke away, running his hands through her hair cascading around them both, and his eyes sparked. “You’re so beautiful.” His whisper was reverent and made Ava moan and shudder as she slid down the fridge, and she nearly cried out as he tore her shirt from her.

Caleb’s lips trailed down her neck, his hands creeping up her back to unlatch her bra. The satiny material fell from Ava’s chest, and his large hand cupped one full breast, his mouth circling the brown areola. Slowly, he licked and sucked, sending Ava’s body into overdrive. She arched into his hot, wet mouth, her skin tingling and her nipples hardening. She didn’t think she could ever get enough of him, her body floating and filled with some power she couldn’t explain as he ministered to her.

******

C
aleb flicked his tongue at the chocolate buds of her nipples, drawing gently on them and then with more force. He soaked up Ava’s response, wanting to experience every ounce of her pleasure along with his. He didn’t want to just please her tonight. He wanted to know everything that would melt her in his arms and make her his forever.

Ava arched into him, and he reveled in the way she closed her eyes and gasped at the sensations he caused to roll through her. She raked through his hair with her long, thin fingers and licked her lower lip as she shoved one hand between their bodies, searching low to the outside of his pants. His eyes closed as she rubbed her palm against the length of his erection. “I want you, Caleb,” she hissed in his ear.

It was all the invitation he needed, and he took her by the hand and drew her toward his bedroom. He took Ava’s waist, laying her gently back on the bed, and her eyes locked on his. Glad to shed them again, he unzipped his jeans and let them fall to the floor, watching her lips part with the arousal he could smell on her. He bent and tore her shorts from her body, spreading her legs apart as he dipped his head down between her legs. He licked between her folds, and Ava moaned above him with pleasure.

Her aroma was heady, her taste sweet, and he used his tongue to probe inside her hot, wet opening. As he basked in the taste of her intimate lining, Ava gasped and squirmed, her hands fisting in the heavy comforter on his bed. He chuckled, the sound vibrating against her, and she let out a whimper. “You taste so good.” He spoke with his lips against her and felt her quiver. His mouth was coated in her moisture, his nose filled with her scent and his whole body tensed with want. He needed to be inside her, but he would stop at nothing to please her.

Unrelenting, Caleb slid a finger into her, slowly pumping in and out while he teased her folds with his tongue. Her hips bucked off the bed as he added a second finger inside, stroking faster, and her inner walls clamped around him in contractions as Ava cried out his name and shook. He found her orgasm delectable.

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A
va wasn’t a virgin, but there was something about his handling of her that made her feel completely inexperienced as he licked and fingered her. Blood rushed violently in her veins at Caleb’s skillful ministrations, and she came closer and closer to oblivion until she erupted, nearly flying off the bed as she shouted his name.

She couldn’t breathe, his tongue torturing her clit with repeated assaults as she jerked and convulsed with pleasure. And when he covered her engorged clit with his whole mouth and started to suck, she gasped and jerked her hips, the ecstasy overwhelming.

The first wave tapered off, but the slightest change in his rhythm caused a second explosion, and then a third, until her orgasms crashed on top of each other. Finally, mercifully, he stopped, only to crawl over her, hiking her leg up with his swollen and throbbing cock in his hand. He pushed inside the lush heat of her moist center, sliding with ease, and Ava moaned, fascinated by the way something as simple as his entry into her body could make her feel like she would spontaneously combust.

She watched Caleb’s eyelids flutter as he leaned over her. “God, you’re so tight around me, so wet.” He grunted as he moved in and out of her. “It’s incredible.” Ava watched him shudder with pleasure, and even that brought her a small shockwave. She reveled in the sensation, thinking that they were made for each other. Lock and key couldn’t have fit more perfectly, and the easy pumping had her thrashing at the bed, unable to find an outlet for the intense pleasure. She believed to the depths of her soul that no other lover would ever be able to bring her to this pinnacle, and as Caleb moved faster and pounded harder into her flesh, she clawed at his back, breathing heavily, and gasped, “Jesus Christ, Caleb!” Her body vibrated from head to toe with revelry.

Each wave of pleasure threatened to drown her with its intense force, and she wondered how he could make her feel so utterly lost in him. Ava watched him, and even with his concentration and focus, he was obviously just as affected as she was. He thrust deep inside her with a low growl, and she arched her back, feeling greedy and wanting more of him. She would hungrily accept all he had to offer as she sensed his climax building.

His mouth crashed down on her breast again, taking a mouthful, and she drug her nails down his back, clawing at him wildly in throes of pleasure. He moved harder, his hips circling as he drove deeper and faster, stretching and taunting her inner walls with each motion. As she panted, her eyes locked with Caleb’s, and he lunged into her, their bodies flush together as she melted again like liquid metal in an inferno, and Caleb’s release came with one final shove. He moaned, his teeth clenched as he emptied his seed into her, and Ava watched the muscles in his arms and chest constrict as his body exploded and shook with the effort.

Caleb lay next to Ava on his bed as their breathing slowed, their bodies relaxed and all her tension released. He rolled his head to the side to look at her, seeing her hair tangled in a matted mess draped over his bicep. Her lips were swollen from his kisses, and her eyes were heavy and nearly closed in the afterglow of spent energy and sexual release.

Even in complete exhaustion, Ava was beyond beautiful. He stifled a yawn, denying his body the luxury of being tired, wanting just to lie here and stare at the incredible creature beside him. This time, the voice inside him whispered in a satisfied tone.
Mine!

He toyed with a lock of her hair, using his fingertips to push it from her face tenderly as he lifted his head to kiss her eyebrows and then her lips. “You’re everything I imagined and more.”

She let out a long, sated groan, smiling and licking her parched lips. “My god, Caleb!” she croaked, opening one eye and peering at him playfully. “Obviously, I’ve never made love to a werewolf before. That was amazing!”

Caleb laughed heartily. He hadn’t expected that response. Ava giggled alongside him, and he lay back with a smile as Ava curled her body up to his. She nestled into the crook of his shoulder, laying her head on his chest, and his beast purred inside. Her body fit his like a glove, and he knew fate had brought them together, for reasons that she likely understood even less than he did. In time, they would figure that out, but for now, the intoxication would keep them interested until they felt like delving into something deeper. With renewed vigor, he rolled over, deciding that they could explore this aspect of what they had well into the night and maybe through dawn.

******

S
arah Bertrand sat up in bed, the drapes hanging above her bedroom window open as she gazed out it, wringing her hands and praying her daughter would come traipsing along the trail at any moment, or that she would see Kelly’s car pull into the driveway. With the vision Kelly had suffered, she’d been particularly concerned about Ava today, and the closing in of the darkness that surrounded their small town haunted Sarah.