Primal Possession (25 page)

When he ripped open the foil packet, his hands shook slightly. She reached out to take it from him, wanting to feel his erection in her hands, but he shook his head. He didn’t say a word as he sheathed himself.

Her mouth fell open slightly as she looked at him completely naked. She barely had time to appreciate all that raw, masculine power and all those taut, toned muscles before he covered her again.

This time nothing separated them.

He pushed into her without pause. The action wasn’t hard but it wasn’t exactly gentle either. It was unsteady and what she wanted. Feeling that thick, hard length push deep inside her pulled a shaky groan from her. She couldn’t bite it back even if she wanted to.

She wrapped her legs around him tighter. Both of their movements were a little out of control and she’d probably be sore later, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was this moment. “Oh, God.” She wasn’t sure how thick the walls of the house were and at that moment she didn’t care if the entire ranch heard her. She’d never
been very vocal during sex, but right now she had to restrain herself from crying out louder.

As he moved in and out of her, her inner walls clenched tighter and tighter. Her entire body was primed. She was so close to release, she knew it wouldn’t be much longer until he gave her exactly what she was craving. When he reached between them and thumbed her clit, she let go. The stimulation was perfect. Her back arched and she gripped him harder. The orgasm tore through her with a wild intensity and she freely let the pleasure rip through her.

Liam nipped her neck as he continued thrusting. The scrape of his teeth over her skin only spurred her on. She felt as if she could break apart at that moment.

Still holding on to him, she leaned close so that her mouth was close to his ear. His breathing was erratic and she knew he was close, but she wanted to him to come right then. Needed him to experience what she was feeling.

“Come for me,” she whispered. The words drew a wild, raw cry from him.

He thrust into her again, this time harder and faster. He kept thrusting until he came. Shudders racked his body as his hips moved against hers until finally he stilled and buried his head in the crook of her neck. The only sound coming from him was his erratic breathing. He lightly nuzzled the sensitive area behind her ear, feathering her skin with soft kisses.

Stroking her fingers down his back, she kept her legs wrapped around him until he finally pushed up on his elbows. As he stared down at her, a shiver rolled through her at the heated look in his eyes. He still had that hungry look. And she knew she was the only thing on the menu.

Wordlessly he pulled out of her and instantly her entire body mourned it. She wanted to wrap her body around his and just hold him. But maybe that’s not the way he was hardwired. He was definitely more in touch with his animal side than most and he might not be into postcoital cuddling. The thought made her chest ache. She wanted to feel that closeness with him.

Her eyes widened when she realized what he was doing. He disposed of the condom before opening a new packet. She watched in fascination as he rolled another one on his already growing cock.

“What—”

He didn’t let her finish. Grabbing her hips, he hauled her toward him as he rolled onto his back. He continued pulling her until she straddled his hips. “I should have given you more foreplay, but we’ll go slower this time,” he murmured.

She smiled as he slid into her once again. His hips rolled up and her open body welcomed him easily. This time she was ready for him and she liked that he was letting her control the situation. There was nothing remotely painful about his strokes. Her body was slick with her own juices and heat. They fit like two puzzle pieces. Lifting up on her knees, she watched the hard lines of his face as she took him inside her again and again.

Without warning, something warm pricked her eyes. Tears? Leaning down, she kissed him, hoping he wouldn’t notice. He’d gotten under her skin fast and she cared so much about him it scared her more than anything ever had.

December stared at the huge, mangy beast. The red, glowing eyes had to belong to a demon. It was the only explanation for this creature. But where had it come from? The
thing didn’t seem to see her. It was looking past her, to the left.

She took a small step back. Her uncle’s farm wasn’t that big. If she could just make it to the barn, she’d be safe.

When it didn’t move, she took another step back. Her heart pounded wildly in her ears. So loud she was sure it could hear the sound. But the beast hadn’t moved.

She took another, bigger step. Then another. Almost home free now. She just needed to get to cover.

“December!” It was her younger brother, Brandon.

She didn’t turn around to see where the shout had come from. She already knew. Her brother was coming from the barn. Had no doubt seen her.

Why had he shouted? He mustn’t have seen the animal yet.

The animal turned its gaze on her now, all its attention honed and focused. It was so big and much taller than her on all fours.

She tried to scream but the sound lodged in her throat. All she could do was squeak out a “Help.”

“Run!” Her younger brother’s shout loosened the vise around her legs.

Turning, she sprinted back toward the barn. Her brother had a pitchfork in his hands, but he was too small. Bigger than her, but still no match for the animal.

“Brandon, run!” She swore she could feel the hot breath of the beast on her neck. She grabbed his arm, but he shrugged her off.

His gaze stayed fixed behind her. “Get Parker.”

“No, I—”

“Now!” He was only fifteen but at that moment he seemed a lot older.

She jumped into action. If she could get a weapon, she
could help him. As she ran through the barn doors, she turned and nearly fell over.

Brandon was on the ground, stabbing the animal, but he was no match for it. Its jaws were open wide—

“No!”

“December?” She opened her eyes to find Liam staring down at her. One of his big hands lay across her bare stomach as he looked at her, concern in every line on his face. She glanced around the room in confusion, then remembered where they were. Sunlight still streamed in through the wooden blinds. They’d only dozed for a little while if it was still daytime.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Reaching up, she wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead.

Liam’s dark eyes seemed to see right through her. “You sure?”

“I…had a nightmare.” She didn’t want to talk about it but knew she needed to. Liam needed to know about her past. She’d already jumped in feetfirst with this relationship or whatever was going on between them, so now it was time to come clean.

“About what?”

She didn’t want to tell him. Didn’t even like thinking about it. After her brother had been killed, Parker wouldn’t even say his name for the longest time. They’d moved to Fontana and it was almost like they’d swept the past and memories under the rug. Swallowing hard, she stared at a spot on Liam’s shoulder. “My brother.”

“Parker?”

She shook her head. “No. My younger brother, Brandon. He was…he died.” Liam’s grip tightened and she tensed against his hold. “He was killed by a shifter. He was trying to protect me. I was young but he was even
younger. And so brave.” Her voice cracked on the last word. She didn’t know what to say after that.

“Honey, I’m so sorry.” He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her so that she had no choice but to lean into him.

After seeing him in his shifted form, she knew he looked nothing like the crazed animal that had killed her brother, but thinking about it still hurt. Even though her breasts were pressed against his chest and his erection pushed insistently against her abdomen, there was nothing sexual about his hold. He was simply comforting her.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

No. “Maybe. Not really, but I miss him so much sometimes. It’s been almost eleven years. I feel like I should be over it.”

Liam snorted softly. “You should never have to get over losing family.”

Stupid tears sprang up but she ignored them. And thankfully Liam didn’t lessen his grip on her to wipe them away.

“I was friends with this girl Allison.
Best friends.
Shifters had come out to the world less than a decade before, but she’d only moved to town with her family—pack—a year before that. I didn’t know what she was at first, but I didn’t care. A lot of people at school treated her and her brothers differently, but we just clicked. I knew what it was like not to fit in, so maybe that’s why we became such fast friends.” She swallowed again, trying to push back the inevitable pain that came with talking about it.

“To make a long story short, one of her brothers got really heavy into drugs. Heroin, I think, but I don’t know. Doesn’t matter anyway. I guess he turned…feral…. Is that the right word?”

When he nodded, she continued. “I still don’t know
what happened, but he must have liked something about me or my scent, because he followed me home. We lived with my uncle at the time….” She trailed off as her thoughts took another turn. The man did not need to know her entire family history. She’d already opened up to him enough as it was. “Anyway, my brother died trying to save me from being attacked. It’s why Parker doesn’t like shifters.”

Liam stroked his hand down her back in a soothing gesture. “I’m surprised you even talked to me when you realized what I was,” he murmured.

She cupped the side of his face. It was only midafternoon and he already had stubble covering his jaw. “It was part of the reason I was freaked-out when we met, but I don’t want there to be any more secrets between us. I’m not ready to bond or mate or whatever it’s called, but I only want to be with you. I don’t want to date or see anyone else.” She figured if what they’d just shared didn’t make her intentions clear, telling him would.

“Can I kiss you?” His voice was low and sensual, and increased the ache between her thighs.

She slightly shook her head. “I can’t believe you’re asking.”

As he leaned forward, her phone rang. “Ignore it.”

She did. He invaded her mouth with his tongue and the hand that had been caressing her back cupped one of her breasts and gently squeezed. She moaned into his mouth when her cell rang again.

They both pulled back at the same time. He slid out of bed and grabbed her purse off the rocking chair in the corner of the room. After he handed it to her, she fished around until her fingers grasped her phone.

She paused when she saw the number. “It’s the police station…. Hello?”

“December. Thank God.” It was Parker.

She mouthed it to Liam, who nodded and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She didn’t want to get into anything with Liam so close. With his supersonic hearing she had no doubt he could hear every word her brother said.

“Why are you staying at the Armstrong ranch? I stopped by the store today and Kat said you’d been hurt.”

She cringed. Hopefully her friend hadn’t said anything else. “I’m not hurt. I just needed a day off.”

“Don’t lie to me. Why are you at their ranch?” The way he said “their” dripped with disdain.

She motioned to Liam that she wanted privacy and, without bothering to put on clothes, hurried to the attached bathroom. “What I do with my private life is my business. I like Liam. A lot. I know you don’t like it, but you’re going to have to get used to it. He’s already done so much for me—something you know. If you’d just give him a chance, you’d see he’s not like the shifter who killed—”

“Don’t fucking say his name,” he growled.

“Why not? He was our brother and he deserves to be remembered.”

Parker swore under his breath. “I know that. Why the hell are you staying at the ranch—and don’t give me a bullshit story about wanting a day off. Did something happen?”

She bit her bottom lip. She and Liam hadn’t talked about it, but neither of them had mentioned contacting the police. It was sort of like they had an unspoken agreement about the whole thing. The guy had worn gloves and the cops couldn’t do anything anyway. Mainly
she didn’t want to involve her brother because she knew he’d want to put her under lockdown and she’d rather stay with Liam. And strangely enough, she trusted Liam to figure out what was going on. “I already told you. I wanted to spend some time with Liam. A lot has happened in the past couple weeks and I needed a break.”

“So that’s it? You’re shutting me out over some shifter? A fucking stranger?”

“Don’t do this,” she begged.

“Do what? Make you choose? I won’t, little sister. Have your fun with him, but don’t come crying to me when he hurts you.” The phone line went dead.

Fighting back tears, she sagged against the counter. The tile floor was cold under her feet, but she barely felt it. An acute ache pushed at the middle of her chest with the force of sharp daggers. She’d known Parker would have a problem with her and Liam, but she hadn’t expected that vehement reaction. He’d always been there for her. The one person she could count on. But she couldn’t continue to live her life for him.

Staring blindly at the floor, she tried to catch her breath. Parker would get over this. He had to.

P
arker glared at his phone. As if that would do any good. What the hell was his sister thinking? He shouldn’t have been such an asshole, but she was being an idiot. He’d already fielded calls from a few citizens concerned about December’s association with the Armstrong pack. Not that he gave a shit about some small-town busybodies.

Anything could happen to her out on that ranch and he’d be helpless to stop it. Pushing back from his desk, he grabbed his hat and shoved his phone into his pocket. He was going to give them a visit right now. He and Liam could finally hash this thing out once and for all. While Parker appreciated all the help Liam had been giving him in watching December, it was time to draw some clear boundaries. He’d convince December to temporarily move in with him. Or maybe get her to take a vacation. Anything to get her away from here.