TWELVE
Will
I make my escape up the stairs and back into bed, and then I have to press my eyes closed and force myself to breathe slowly, careful to keep control of my form. Who am I kidding? I’ve got to keep control of the wolf who wants nothing more than to charge into Bella’s bed, bury myself between her thighs and sink my fangs deep into her throat.
Fuck!
Getting up, I wash my face over the bathroom sink, trying to wash the sweet taste of her mouth away. It’s no good, of course. Every one of my senses is screaming for more of her. More of her soft smooth skin. More of her sweet moans in my ears as I kiss her.
If she was a dream on the screen, having her in my home in real life is a nightmare when I can’t keep her forever.
I was a fool to invite her here. To invite her back here after the incident in the garden. I just can’t stop myself. Wherever there’s an opportunity to snatch a little more of her, I take it like the ravenous beast I am.
Inside me, my wolf howls at the injustice of being denied his mate. I scrub my hands over my face while my cock throbs against my belly, still refusing to subside.
God, she felt sweet in my arms. It’s been so long since I’ve kissed anyone that way. I haven’t wanted to. I could kiss Bella forever. Hold and touch and caress her body until she tells me to stop. Even then, I know I’d beg for more. That’s the beast. The monster.
She could never want me if she knew how impossible I am to sate.
Because it’s useless to resist, I slide my hand down my belly and into my boxers, grasping my aching cock. I smother a groan and stroke. The tip is so sensitive it feels like it will burst. My balls ache for release, drawing up into my body already.
Fuck! How am I this close?
It takes everything I have to focus on stroking up and down my shaft rather than charging into that guest room. But I do.
I won’t do that to Bella.
I can contain the beast.
The slick foreskin slips over my throbbing head and back again. I rub faster and faster. My breath is hot in my lungs. Sweat forms on the back of my neck where thick fur has sprouted. I don’t need a mirror to know my body is covered with fur and my teeth have sharpened.
I can see her straddle me, take my cock in her hand, and slide down over me.
I whimper as the phantom sensation brings my orgasm that much closer. I’m leaking now. A transparent bead of pre-cum slides from the head, slicking my movements, making them sound obscene. Bella can probably hear my grunting and panting from the other room.
I don’t care.
This is better than letting myself give in to the beast. Than taking what she hasn’t offered—the bite that will make her mine forever. That will make her a werewolf.
With a shout, I release a massive burst of fluid. It splatters up my belly and over my abs. It cools in a sticky mess while my chest heaves with ragged breaths. But I’m still not soft.
I wait, expecting it to soften, but it never does. Instead, my angry cock swells so much a slight bulge appears at the base, a hint of the huge knot that swells my cock when I’m in my beastly form.
Bollocks.
I’m so far gone for her that a simple kiss has done this to me.
I begin again, rubbing with greater desperation, knowing I might be here all night and never work this out of my system.
At this rate, I’ll be going to work tomorrow with her scent in my nostrils and a bulging erection the size of the Spire. Resigning myself to hours of torment, I twist my face into my pillow and try to bury the next shout.
I’m bleary eyed the next morning.
I think I’ve had about three hour’s sleep. Soft noises from the kitchen draw my attention and I groan as my cock realizes who must be making those sounds and tries feebly to come to life in response.
Cursing my body once again, I drag myself from the bed. It’s bright and sunny outside and the smells of Bella and coffee are coming from my kitchen. I must be dreaming.
She turns when I enter the kitchen. My mouth is instantly dry. She’s still wearing only my shirt. Of course, she is. She didn’t bring a change of clothes with her.
In the daylight, the way the hem skims the tops of her thighs is positively devilish. Coupled with her smile, I very nearly lose my cool. Again.
“Oh, hi! Good morning. I was just trying to figure out your coffee machine. I think I’ve got it now.” She offers me a cup. I take it, still too stunned and sleepy for words.
“You know what? I called my agent and told her to cancel my plans for today. I told her I was sick, and I wasn’t getting out of bed all day. I’m going to have the first whole day off I’ve had in months! What should we do with it?”
My mouth flaps open, but no sound comes out. “I...um...” She wants to spend it with me?
“Oh.” Bella’s face falls. “Do you need to open the shop? Would I be in the way? I could just come and help you sort stock, or tidy or something. Please?” She looks up at me and I swear her expression molds perfectly into an enchanting pout, which has some kind of magical effect on my brain.
“You want to come help in my shop?” I repeat, unable to get out more.
She nods. “Yes! I think that would be lovely. If you’ll let me.”
So it is that I find myself dressing an Oscar-winning actress in my old clothes and helping her pull an old cap down over her head. Ian chips in and lends her his sunglasses, and even though they’re too big on her face, she somehow manages to look like she’s been styled by a professional. I guess she could wear a paper bag over her head and look like that.
That would be a shame, though.
Thankfully, Ian goes off to lurk somewhere else and we have the shop to ourselves. As I unlock the door and lead her in, Bella breathes in deeply. “It smells good in here. All the books.”
I smile. I’ve always thought so, but I wasn’t sure if that was just my superhuman senses. “It does, doesn’t it?”
I don’t know what I was expecting. Whatever it was, it wasn’t the blissful and productive morning we spend. I restock the crime shelves with Bella’s help. She hides in the self-help section when an old lady comes in and buys a birthday present for a friend; also when I hold the door open for a young mother wrangling a pram and a toddler. She’d come in looking for The Very Hungry Caterpillar . I’m in such a good mood, I don’t even loose my smile when her son fondles all the books on the bottom shelf with his sticky chocolate coated fingers.
In fact, the shop is swamped with customers and I hardly get a chance to talk to Bella at all. Somehow that doesn’t dampen my enjoyment.
Her scent is present at the back of my consciousness, which shuts off the part of my brain normally worried about bills and bottom lines.
When I have finished serving the next customer, I look around.
Bella’s not in self-help, or the poetry section where she was browsing earlier.
I follow my nose to the back room and stop in the doorway. Bella is sitting on the floor beside a pile of old books. She has tied up her long hair and the back of her neck is on display. It takes me a moment to process anything else because Ian is standing far too close to her, leaning over her to show her how to glue the spines back to the pages.
A growl tears from my throat and I barge into the small room, scattering books and snatching the vampire by the throat. “Don’t even think about it,” I snarl, throwing him against the wall and holding him there.
His pale face turns paler than pale and he holds up his hands as if I’m holding a steak to his chest. “Hey, hey. I didn’t. I would never.”
I drop him. His thick black boots thud to the ground and he brushes himself off.
Of course, I haven’t hurt him. He’s undead. He doesn’t need to breathe.
He probably could have broken out of my hold if he’d wanted. But if he was human...
I shake myself a little. I’m not sure having Bella so close, and yet not having her, is good for me. Yet I can’t seem to say no and I can’t bear the thought of saying goodbye.
“Hey.” She lays her hand on my arm softly. I still jump. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah. Fine. Sorry, Ian.”
“Don’t worry about it.” The vampire gives me a grin and holds a thumb up to let me know he’s fine.
“Look how many books I repaired.” She holds up a stack. “I think I’m pretty good at it.” At this point, the cover falls off the one on top and we all laugh.
No harm done, I guess, in my panicked, overprotective episode. Besides, she can’t stay forever. This is stolen time, as it is. I might as well enjoy it while it lasts.
I try to put the incident out of my head, but the truth is I can’t. Nor can I stop thinking about the way I chased her down in the garden and nearly bit her.
The two things swirl around in my imagination all afternoon. Yet when Bella suggests we should go to the movies, I jump at the chance to spend more time with her.