Rhyannon Byrd - Primal Instinct 04 (36 page)

And though she’d never truly realized it until that
moment, it had become blindingly clear that she was both.

Virginia

Wednesday

WHATEVER OLIVIA HAD BEEN expecting when Aiden’s
friends caught up to them, it was still a shock to her system when they came
face-to-face on Tuesday afternoon. She’d never seen so many gorgeous, massive
men in one place at one time, and the women were not only beautiful, but as
easy to get along with as Morgan. In all, there were seven newcomers to their
group. Ian Buchanan and his fiancée, Molly, along with Ian’s brother, Riley,
and his fiancée, Hope. Then there was their sister, Saige, and her fiancé, Michael
Quinn, as well as a young British archaeologist named Jamison Haley. A quiet,
twenty-something near her own age, with golden hair and an easy smile, Jamison
seemed as human as Olivia. But he wasn’t. According to Noah, Kierland had been
forced to bite Jamison in order to save his life after he’d been tortured by
the Casus, turning the Brit from a man to a Lycan. Amazingly, Jamison seemed to
have taken to his new preternatural existence as if he’d been born to it, and
Olivia had been fascinated by their conversations.

And Jamie, the little flirt, simply adored him,
following Jamison wherever he went.

Wanting to spend as little time in the air as
possible, they planned to fly out from Maine, and so they were now headed
toward the East Coast. Though they could have split up, traveling in smaller
groups, they’d opted for the old adage “safety in numbers,” not knowing what to
expect during their time on the road. After the attack on Ravenswing, everyone
had worried that the Death-Walkers would find them again, but so far there’d
been no sign of the creatures…or the Casus. Still, they moved as if they had
something nipping at their heels, fully aware that danger was more than likely
closing in, hard and fast.

It was Wednesday now, and they’d spent the morning
traveling northeast through Virginia until they’d finally stopped at a wooded
parkland to stretch their legs for a bit, while Kellan and Noah drove into the
nearest town to buy everyone some lunch. Jamie was playing a game of catch with
Jamison, and Aiden was on his cell phone, trying to sort out where they could
pick up Jamie’s medication, so Olivia settled herself against the weathered
trunk of a maple tree and tried to read for a bit. But instead of focusing on
the story, her mind kept wandering back to Aiden.

With the frantic pace they’d set, traveling through
most of the night, only stopping at a hotel near dawn so that everyone could
sleep for a few hours and grab showers, she and Aiden hadn’t had a chance to
snag any alone time together. They’d managed to steal a few hurried, desperate
kisses—but it hadn’t been nearly enough. She was starved for his touch. For the
weight of his body covering her, holding her down. Her emotions might have been
in chaos, but her body knew exactly what it wanted.

Problem was, her heart did, as well.

And it was definitely a problem. Despite his wicked
smiles and the occasional teasing comment, she could see a tightness around
Aiden’s eyes that was more than just his worry for their safety, and she
suspected he was having doubts about their relationship or affair or whatever
you wanted to call it. He seemed to be keeping a careful kind of emotional
distance between them…one that was knotting her insides, setting her on edge.

So much fear churned inside her, and so much hope, the
combination making her head spin. Winning his heart wouldn’t be easy, but as
she’d lain in bed on Monday night, Olivia had realized that for the first time
in her life, she was determined to try…to actually fight for what she wanted.
She had let Chris go without a second thought. But she wasn’t prepared to give
up so easily on Aiden.

It awed her, the strength it had taken for him to
survive what he’d gone through as a child and not let it warp his heart and his
soul, turning him into something as vile as the monsters who’d abused him.
Instead, he was one of the good guys. A knight in shining armor, bad boy though
he might be. But she liked his rough edges. They were the perfect contrast to
her nervous, stammering shyness, blasting through her defenses. She couldn’t
say no to him, and she didn’t even want to try.

And so that tender shoot of hope inside her had
bloomed, opening up, expanding until it filled every cell of her body.
Anticipation thrummed through her veins, while her heart felt hot…sticky, soft
in her chest, her pulse racing with nervous excitement as she thought about the
topic she planned to bring up the next time she and Aiden were alone.

Last night, when Molly had noticed her stealing
glances at the faint bite marks healing on the side of her throat, she’d
offered to answer her questions. Olivia knew enough about the Merrick to
understand that Ian needed to take blood in order to feed the primal aspects of
his nature, but she’d been curious about how it felt…and Molly’s answer had made
her more curious than ever.

Looking up from the pages of her book, she searched
for Aiden and found him leaning against the front of his truck, talking to
Quinn, his powerful arms crossed over his chest, while the wind whipped at the
long, caramel-colored strands of his hair. She studied the sensual shape of his
mouth, and couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like if he were to ever
bite her. Sink his fangs into her. Was that something he even wanted? Could it
be one of the things he’d been fighting?

As if he could feel the force of her gaze on him, he
looked her way, a hard, predatory wave of sexual aggression radiating from his
body when he caught her staring. His mouth moved as he said something to Quinn,
and then he was walking across the grass, heading straight for her. Whatever
he’d seen on her face, it had awakened his own primal instincts, his amber eyes
already smoldering with a warm, erotic glow, burning with heat.

By the time he reached her, she’d set her book on the
ground and moved to her feet. Aiden grabbed her hand, and immediately started
pulling her deeper into the trees. Riley and Morgan were running a perimeter on
the area, so she knew they were safe, but she still worried that Jamie might
need her, even as her body melted at the idea of being alone with him. Of
stealing a few more of his dark, devastating kisses.

“We should stay close to the others,” she burst out,
breathless with excitement. “I’m sure Jamison’s going to get tired of playing
catch with Jamie and come looking for me.”

“I doubt it,” he murmured, suddenly stopping and
crowding her against the wide trunk of a massive oak tree, “considering Jamie’s
already got him wrapped around her little finger, just like Noah and Kell. And
Molly and Ian have headed over to join them.” His deep-grooved grin was
unbearably beautiful. “Ian said something about it being good practice, since
he and Mols want to start having kids as soon as possible.”

She was shivering when he leaned down to press a hot
kiss against the edge of her jaw. Then stammering when he suddenly reached for
the top button on her jeans and flicked it undone. “What are you d-doing?” she
gasped, gripping his thick, powerful wrist. “Your friends could come walking
over here looking for us!” She sounded so scandalized, Aiden couldn’t help but
smile, his chest shaking with a low bark of husky laughter.

“Do you know how much I love it when you go into
teacher mode?” he rumbled, bracing his hands against the rough bark on either
side of her shoulders, caging her in. “Is that kinky, Liv? You get all puckered
up, like you want to lecture me about my spelling or my alphabet, and I go as
hard as a rock.” He leaned close, burying his nose against the side of her
throat, and she tilted her head to give him better access as he kissed his way
up to her ear. “I can hear it now, you using that prim little voice to tell me
to ride you harder…to give you more. I’ll refuse, saying you’re too small…too
tight, and then you’ll dig your nails into my ass, pulling me deeper, fighting
me until I lose it and end up giving you every hard, hungry inch.”

She breathed out his name on a soft, trembling sigh.
“We can’t,” she moaned, shaking her head, though he could see how badly she
wanted to give in.

“Hmm. Then maybe I’ll just drop to my knees, rip your
clothes away and lick you until you’re melting all over my face, screaming my
name at the top of your lungs.” He reached between her legs, rubbing his
fingers against her tender, swollen flesh, her jeans a frustrating barrier that
he wanted out of his way. “I think you need my tongue right here, Liv. Just
licking you. Lapping at these sweet, juicy folds.”

She gave a soft laugh, pressing her hands against his
chest as she said, “You’re obsessed with oral sex, aren’t you?”

“Can’t help it,” he drawled, rubbing the base of his
palm against the top of her mound. “I’m a cat, Liv. We like to lick things that
taste good.”

She moaned, her face flushing with color as she closed
her eyes and tilted her head back against the tree.

“No one’s going to come over here,” he promised her.
“I made sure of it.”

He knew he had her when she opened her eyes, grabbed
the sides of his face and pulled him down until she could nip at his bottom
lip. “God, I love your mouth.” No stutter. No hesitation. Just smooth, languid
words, thick with desire. “You taste so good.”

“Not nearly as good as you,” he growled, tugging again
at the buttons on her jeans. “I want to make love to you, Liv. You okay with
that?”

“Where?” she gasped, that single word shivering with
excitement.

“Out here. Where I can see the sun shining on your
skin. Where I can see every beautiful detail and know that it’s mine to touch.
To taste.”

Aiden had never said anything like that to a woman
before, but the strange, possessive words were true. The cracks in his
composure were getting deeper, and infinitely more dangerous. Desperation
filled him, pushed at him, because he knew their time together was coming to an
end…that it was slipping away from him with each moment that went by.

Determined to make the most of it while he still
could, he held her face in his hands, clutching at her like a lifeline. “Tell
me something, Liv.”

“What?”

“Anything,” he whispered against her mouth, rubbing
his lips against the petal-like softness of her own. “Everything. I want to
know all your dark, dirty little secrets.” And I want you to tell me that this
is about more than just getting laid.

Wow. Another whoa moment, right there. One he hadn’t
even known was coming.

“That works both ways you know.” She pushed against
his chest until she could stare up into his eyes, daring him to look away. “I
spill, then you have to spill, too.”

He dropped his hands to his sides, a wry smile tipping
the corner of his mouth. “I’ve spilled a lot, Liv. Enough to say I’m surprised
as hell that you’re still here.”

Lowering her gaze, she walked a few feet away and
braced her hands against a low-hanging branch. “You still have secrets,” she
murmured, staring straight ahead. “Things you haven’t told me.”

“Well, here’s one of them,” he said in a playful
rumble, moving up behind her. “I absolutely love your ass.”

Her head fell forward a little, and she gave a soft,
feminine snort of laughter. “You’re insane, Aiden.”

“Well, yeah, that’s probably a given,” he drawled,
running his big hands over her round, beautiful backside. “But I know what I’m
talking about. And you, Liv, have one seriously gorgeous ass.”

She laughed again, saying, “Chris thought it was fat.”

“Yeah? Well, Chris was a blind jackass.”

“I caught him having sex with one of the other
teachers,” she suddenly blurted, her hands tightening against the branch. “They
were in her classroom. After school.”

“Huh. Sounds like he was a dumb ass, as well. Wasting
time on another woman when he had you.” Reaching around her front, Aiden pushed
his hand into her loosened jeans, under the elastic waistband of her panties,
seeking out the slick, moist heat of her sex.

“You know what I think?” he said, loving the way her
breath caught with a sexy little catch when he pushed two thick fingers up
inside her. “I think your perfect ass scared him. Made him feel inferior. He
knew he wasn’t man enough to claim something so beautiful. And you are
beautiful, Liv. We’re talking white-hot, head-spinningly gorgeous.”

She made a small, hungry sound and he kissed her
shoulder, the smooth column of her throat. “I’ll tell you something,” he
whispered in her ear. She tried to turn around, but Aiden stopped her, wrapping
his free arm around her middle, holding her against him, his fingers still
buried deep in her body, while he waited for her to soften around him. “You’re
the only woman I’ve ever gone down on since I got away from Mueller.”

“That’s…not possible.” Quiet, shivery words, full of
shocked surprise.

Nuzzling through the heavy silk of her hair, Aiden
pressed a low, embarrassed laugh against the downy softness of her nape. “It’s
true.”

“But you’re a cat. You…you t-told me cats like to lick
things.”

“I told you that cats like to lick things that taste
good. And that would be you, Liv. They made me do it at Mueller’s when they
wanted me aggressive, because it whips the animal into a frenzy. And since I
escaped, I’ve never wanted to do that to a woman again. Until I found you.”