Chapter Six
“The Man’s Not Human”
In the split second before Bryon kissed her, two concerns had crossed his mind: The first concern was that this woman was human, and getting intimate with her might only make his problems worse.
The second was that they still hadn’t made it out of the woods. It was already afternoon. By now, they should’ve gotten back to Green Sanctuary. The last thing they needed now was to get distracted by each other’s bodies.
In the split second before Bryon kissed her, he decided that neither concern was relevant.
He captured her lips with his, kissing her long and hard, and a groan rose in his throat. Her lips were a little dry, but warm and soft, just as he’d imagined. For the briefest of moments, Miranda stiffened against him, as though unsure whether to pull away or reciprocate his actions.
Then she was kissing him back, parting her lips so that he could explore her mouth with his tongue.
She sighed against him, leaning in closer, her breath caressing his face.
Bryon cupped her cheek, caressing her skin with his thumb, feeling his body awaken by the second as he continued to claim her mouth.
A moan dragged from her lips, and he felt her hand on his thigh.
His cock immediately pulsed with excitement, his heart pounding in his chest, like he’d just sprinted through the woods.
His fingers traveled into her hair, then down the curve of her spine, until his hand was on the small of her back.
He wasted no time wrapping his arm around her, pulling her closer toward him.
She swung a leg over him, straddling his thighs.
Another groan escaped Bryon’s lips. In this new position, his cock was nestled perfectly against her bottom. He throbbed harder against her, wanting nothing more than to rip her pajamas off her and ease himself into her.
“We shouldn’t be doing this, Bryon,” she muttered into the kiss.
He couldn’t disagree with that. Making out with Miranda went against all reason, as far as he was concerned.
It was bad enough that this human knew what he was, but this?
This was a line he’d never crossed before—or, at least, not since he’d fled from Phoenix all those years ago.
Not to mention anything—or anyone—could sneak up on them while they were distracted.
But as much as his common sense screamed at him to break the kiss, to let go of her like he had the first time, he couldn’t quite bring himself to. Miranda didn’t seem interested in stopping either. She kissed him back, matching his fervor.
“Bryon...oh Bryon.” She threw her head back, and he instantly attacked her neck, planting kisses against the base of her throat. His hand slid further downward, and he cupped a buttock, kneading it; at the same time, he reached between their bodies, giving her breast a squeeze.
She ground against his cock, moaning her pleasure and gripping his shoulders for support. Excitement raced through Bryon’s body like a bolt of electricity. He brushed his thumb across her breasts, one after the other, feeling her nipples spring to attention through her pajama top.
“God,” she breathed. “I’ve never felt this way before.”
Her words almost sent his heart into overdrive.
Bryon kissed her throat once again, loving the feel of her skin.
She was wonderfully soft against him, her body responding to his every touch.
She ground against him some more, and it immediately dawned on him that his bathrobe had fallen completely open.
Right now, the only thing between his aching cock and her core were the pajama bottoms she had on.
Surely, she wasn’t wearing any underwear.
The mere thought of that sent a tingle racing up his cock.
“Fuck,” he muttered against her skin. “You feel so...”
He gave her breasts another squeeze, loving the way her grip tightened.
Between her moans and the way she ground her butt against him, he was damn near on the verge of exploding with need, but he managed to hold himself together, instead letting his hand travel slowly down her torso until he reached the waistband of her pajama bottoms.
Miranda made no move to stop him. Good.
A tremble of anticipation filled his fingers as he slipped them past the waistband. Sure enough, she had no panties on. Christ. She was soaking wet, and as he encountered her clit, stroking her with his fingers, she rocked against his hand.
“Oh, yes,” she panted. “That feels so good, Bryon.”
He maintained his pace, loving the way she responded to his touch.
The thought of divesting her of all of her clothing slithered into his mind more than once, but he held himself back, focusing on the pleasure he gave her.
Her soft moans carried into his ears, sending throb after throb into his groin.
She went wilder against him, rocking her hips in time with his thrusts, and the image of her nude and riding him came to the forefront of his mind. Before he knew it, he’d slid his fingers into her, one after the other, filling her in mere seconds.
Her eyes widened, and she let out a gasp. “Oh!”
Bryon blinked at her in concern. “Am I hurting you?”
She shook her head so vigorously it was a miracle it didn’t roll off her shoulders.
Grinning to himself, Bryon began pumping his fingers into her, reveling in her gasps and moans.
She continued to rock against him, her inner walls contracting around his fingers.
Her thighs trembled, and he knew her orgasm was near.
When it came, she clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from crying out, her entire body shuddering with the force of her release. Bryon continued to pump into her, loving the way her eyes widened with ecstasy.
By the time her tremors ceased, she was panting hard, looking as though she’d just been clubbed over the head.
Then, suddenly, a dangerous glint filled her eyes.
She ground against Bryon’s erection, forcing him to withdraw his fingers.
Before Bryon knew what was happening, she’d reached between them, curling her fingers around him.
It was his turn to gasp. Damn.
Her eyes shone even brighter. Without more than a second’s hesitation, she began stroking his cock, running her fingers gently up and down his shaft.
Bryon almost closed his eyes as the sensations swept through him.
Miranda kept her gaze on him, her eyes hazy with desire.
Bryon felt himself grow even harder, aching in her hand.
If she kept that up, he was going to explode. Which wouldn’t be so terrible, except...
Stifling a moan of pleasure, he reached out and began undoing the buttons of her pajama top, breaking her hold on him in the process. Miranda seemed to catch on, and assisted him, and Bryon felt his pulse race with anticipation.
He’d just bared her breasts and was reaching to fondle them when a searing pain filled his foot.
***
Up until Bryon cried out, Miranda had been lost in another world, reveling in the pleasures of his soft kisses and warm touch. Then, quicker than it had begun, it ended, snapping her back to reality with a jolt. She rose to her feet, her eyes widening in alarm.
“What’s going on?” she wanted to know.
Bryon’s face was tight with pain. It took Miranda all of two seconds to realize it must have come from his injured foot.
Had it gotten worse already? Her heart pounding in her ribcage, she dropped to her knees to examine it.
The sash she’d used as a bandage was dirty from all the walking Bryon had done, but there didn’t seem to be anything different.
Miranda wondered if she should uncover the wound.
Probably a bad idea, said a voice in her mind.
“I’m fine.” Bryon’s voice forced her to look up at him. He shook his head. “Don’t worry about me. We should probably just keep moving.”
That, he was correct about. Right now, they should be on the move, trying to find a way out of these woods. Definitely not what they’d been doing a minute ago. Miranda resisted the urge to kick herself. What the hell had gotten into her?
She lowered her gaze from his face and found her answer. Bryon was still very much aroused; his erection pointed right at her, throbbing by the second. She gulped. He was what had gotten into her. He’d kissed her, and she’d momentarily lost all sense of self-preservation.
She bit her lip as she stared at his cock, feeling a twinge of disappointment.
If he hadn’t cried out, she would be riding him for all she was worth.
Miranda quickly brushed the thought aside.
No, it was definitely a good thing they’d pulled apart when they had and she’d come to her senses.
Sure, making out with him had felt amazing, but what if they’d gotten attacked?
She shuddered at the thought of some other wild animal creeping up behind them.
Or worse, Jerry.
“Okay.” She cleared her throat, looking away. “I think I’ve gotten all the rest I need. I want to get out of here before things get any worse.” Or she ended up doing something she might regret.
In the corner of her vision, she saw Bryon pull the bathrobe around his body, covering up his erection, and almost let out a sigh of relief.
She turned to face him again, helping him to his feet, and they continued in the direction they’d been heading, neither of them saying a word about what had just happened between them.
And for good reason: it shouldn’t have happened.
That was a dumb risk you took there, Miranda, she scolded herself, frowning up ahead. I can’t believe you let your guard down like that.
She couldn’t believe how easily she’d given in to Bryon’s kiss either.
God, how could she have been so easy? And what were the odds it wouldn’t happen again?
Her insides fluttered slightly. If Bryon tried to kiss her again, there was no guarantee that she’d be able to resist him.
And from the look of things, they were both going to be in these woods for a while.
She swallowed, feeling a ball of heat in the depths of her belly.
Her lips and neck still tingled from his kisses, and all she had to do was slip her fingers between her thighs to feel the pool he’d left there.
She bit her lip, remembering the feel of his fingers on her, guiding her to climax, the feel of his erection against her...
No wonder she’d practically thrown all caution to the wind.
No one had ever made her feel so good before—certainly not Jerry.
Whether it was the fact that they were in the woods or that she was on the run from her ex, she wasn’t entirely sure, but making out with Bryon had been exhilarating, to say the least. She certainly hadn’t seen that coming.
And the size of him...
She fought the immediate urge to glance at his crotch, keeping her gaze straight ahead.
The man’s not human, remember? she chided herself. And you just went and let him kiss you like that.
That was right. Bryon was some kind of werewolf—no, that wasn’t what he’d called himself.
A shifter. He was a supernatural creature, something that shouldn’t ordinarily exist. She’d barely understood or accepted what he was, much less the fact that there were many more like him all over the world.
Getting intimate with him should’ve been the last thing on her mind.
It was a good thing they’d ended that when they had. They had bigger things to worry about.
At least, she did.