Chapter Nineteen #2
The hinges squeaked as Edmond eased the door closed, sliding the bolt on the inside of the door home with a decisive thunk.
She spun around, her eyes a little wild and her nostrils flaring.
Her wolf did not like being confined. No wolf did.
His own prowled uneasily in his mind. Edmond had control of his wolf.
Isobella had yet to learn that skill. He braced himself in front of the door, waiting.
She wouldn’t be the first wolf to lose control.
The deep gouges in the back of the door bore testament to that.
A shiver rippled through her, and her musky scent filled the room. L’enfer. It coated his tongue and made him long to reach for her. Snatch her up, and…
Edmond crossed his arms, tucking his hands away.
Isobella shut her eyes, her hands clenching and unclenching at her sides. She was so beautiful it made his heart ache. Her dark lashes fluttering against her cheeks, those full lips begging to be kissed. He took a step forward.
The crack of a bone in her spine and dark fur sprouting across the bridge of her nose halted him. What was he doing? She was struggling to keep her wolf in check, and he was thinking with his cock. He was not being fair to Isobella. Or Aubert.
He locked his knees and reined in his impulses.
For a brief moment she hovered on the brink of a shift. Then her wolf receded, and her shoulders relaxed.
She opened her eyes. “Sorry. My wolf, it…” She gestured to the room and the door. “It’s not keen on being in this room, but I get why we’re here.” Her gaze flicked to the door, then back to him. “Shall we begin?”
Edmond unfolded his arms and shook out his shoulders, trying to release some of his tension. “I want you to know, whatever happens, you are safe here, Bella. I will be here with you, talking you through it.”
“All right.” She swallowed, her smile a little nervous. “Yes. Thank you.”
“Do not fear if you lose control, if your wolf takes over. I expect it to. It happens to all newly turned wolves.”
“What if…” She wrung her hands. “What if I hurt you?”
Their mate was so sweet. “Chaton, you might have claws, but you are but a hair’s breadth taller than my shoulder. I can take anything you can give me.” Anything? He wanted everything.
She bit her lush bottom lip. “Are you sure?”
Injury wise, yes, but if she kept at her lip the way she was…
Could she not hear the pounding of his heart, scent his arousal?
If she did, she either did not understand what it meant, or she did not care to acknowledge it.
“Do your best. I will heal.” If she drew blood as she had with Aubert that first time, he would not be able to contain his pride.
She wet her lips, and he almost growled.
He wanted to force his wolf down, deep, so deep it might not see the light of day for a sennight or more, but it would not go.
It was as entranced with her as he was. So unlike the women of the court and their studied smiles, their faux coyness as they simpered and fluttered their eyelashes.
She was destroying him, unaware of how captivating she was.
“All right.” She clasped her hands together and rocked back and forward on her toes. “How do we start this? Do I just…”
“First…” Edmond dragged in a deep breath, releasing it slowly. This was going to test him. More than any battle he had ever fought in. “First, you must remove your clothes.”
She gave a nervous laugh. “Oh. Yes, of course.” Isobella unlaced the stays of her dress.
Edmond’s eyebrows shot up. She did not question it?
“I can remain clothed or…or…if it would make you feel more comfortable, I can…I can…” Fates save him.
He sounded like a blithering fool with no less than half a wit to his brains.
“I can also undress.” Edmond focused on a point over Isobella’s shoulder.
The Fates have mercy on him should he glimpse her removing her embroidered gown.
It hit the floor with a swish of material.
His body quivered, every muscle taut and held in place by sheer will.
He breathed in through his nose, then wished he had not.
Her underdress dropped to the floor, and Edmond’s breeches pulled tight across his cock.
Swallowing became difficult. Should she wish him to remove his clothing, he would not be able to hide what she did to him.
It was neither prudent nor safe to turn his back on her.
Her chemise hit the floor. “Whatever you think is best.”
Unbidden, his gaze dipped.
The Fates give me strength.
Untying her glorious curls from the braids wrapped around her head, she was unaware of his regard.
And merde, though his conscience begged him to shut his eyes, to turn away, he could not help but stare.
At her warm skin he was desperate to touch.
At her lithe thighs and the curve of her hips he longed to trace.
His mouth watered at the thought of tasting her.
Of sucking her dark nipples into his mouth.
Of dipping lower, licking her skin down to her navel. Lower still.
Isobella finished untying her braids, and Edmond snapped his eyes shut.
But she was there, on the backs of his eyelids.
A goddess with golden skin and dark curls.
He wanted her with everything he had. Merde.
How would he walk away if she chose Aubert?
The pull, the desire, had not been this strong with Sabine.
The thought of Sabine pulled him back from the brink and cleared his mind.
Enough so he could do what they were here to do.
Train her. “I will remain clothed.” It was the only option, for if he were naked, not even the Christian God smiting him from above would stop him from scooping her up into his arms and having her beneath him, clenching around his painfully hard cock.
“If need be, I will shift.” His words were gruff.
It was a surprise he could speak at all.
She nodded. “I’m ready when you are.”
Even her voice sent fingers of desire racing across his skin.
His clothing itched—too constricting. He resisted the urge to rip it off.
Drawing on years of discipline, Edmond focused on the task at hand and opened his eyes, fixing his attention on Isobella’s face.
“We are going to let your wolf out now. You will ask her to come forward. Try to hold on to your center, that place inside you that is Isobella. She will come out fast. Try to slow her down.”
Concern flickered in Isobella’s dark eyes.
“Do not fear if you cannot. I have you. I will always have you.”
Would he? Not if she chose Aubert.