Better Mate Than Never (New Adult Werewolf Romance) (3 page)

Chapter Five

The drive
back to Paige’s house was absolutely silent and tension-filled. Caleb searched
his mind desperately, trying to think of what to say that would dissipate the
evil glares she was still sending his way, but he couldn’t think of anything
that would ease her mind or make her feel better.

To be fair,
he completely deserved every bit of it and he knew it. He had no right to move
in on her the way he did and expect to be able to walk right back out of her
life with no consequence. He had known that…the risks, yet he couldn’t control
his desire for her and it had nearly killed her. She had every right to be
furious with him.

He pulled
into the driveway, then immediately killed the engine. They sat for a moment, before
he turned to face her.

“Paige, I’m
sorry.”

Crack! His
head snapped to the side from the force of her hard, cold slap. He shook his
head, then caught her second slap before it could connect to his face once more.

“Let go of
me!” she cried, tugging her hand free as though his touch was burning her. “You
are such an asshole! Do you really think a simple apology is enough for what
you’ve done to me all these years.”

“I—all
these
years
?” he replied, confused. “Paige, you’ve only been back in
town for a year, and during that time I’ve hardly seen you. What are you
talking about?”
Watching her from the rooftop at night didn’t count, dammit.

“No. No, no,
no. You put a wall up between us during our freshman year of high school when
you knew how I felt about you. You’ve deliberately been distant for years,
Caleb, all the while going hot and cold. I’m done with this…with you.” She
wrenched open the passenger’s side door, then slammed it shut as she stalked
into the house.

Caleb was
stunned for only a moment; then he was out of the car and following her inside.
“Are you serious, Paige? I had no idea you felt that way for me.”

She whirled
around to face him, jabbing a manicured fingernail into his chest. Despite the
situation, or perhaps because of it, heat flooded through his veins as he
remembered how she’d raked her nails down his back last night. “If it was just
that, if it was just the way you’d shut me out that day in the park, I could
have handled that. But I never forgot the smoldering looks you gave me whenever
you thought I wasn’t looking, or the way your eyes would flare whenever you saw
me holding hands with another guy. And it drove me crazy because whenever I
looked at you directly your eyes were always so cold, and I couldn’t figure out
whether or not I was just imagining it all or if you had feelings for me but
were…but were afraid to show them!”

“I’m afraid
of nothing,” Caleb replied gruffly, his eyes lit up with fire.

“And then,
after all those years of keeping your distance from me, you waltz back into my
house, give me the greatest pleasure I’ve ever known, making me feel all sorts
of things that a woman shouldn’t have to feel and then leave without so much as
a goodbye.” Tears shimmered in her green eyes now. “I don’t know why you think
I deserve this, but I don’t. My heart isn’t your plaything, Caleb.”

“Do you think
I don’t know that?” He wanted to wipe away the tears that had trickled down her
cheeks, but he knew that she wouldn’t welcome his touch right now. “And do you
have any idea how hard it was for me to stay away from you all of these years?
The reason I looked at you that way was because every time we crossed paths, I
could scent your desire for me. It was torture, knowing that you wanted me just
as much as I wanted you, and being unable to touch you. And then seeing you
with those other guys… it’s a small wonder
I
didn’t lose
my
sanity.”

Paige’s eyes
had gone wide. “You… you can smell arousal? What do you mean?” Her cheeks
colored.

Caleb’s eyes
flared gold as he stepped forward, reducing the space between their bodies down
to a scant inch. “Yes…I can smell it on you right now.”

“That’s
ridiculous.” Her pupils dilated as she took a step back. “I’m angry, not
desirous of you.”

“You’re pissed
and
desirous.” He backed her up against the wall, boxing her in with his
arms. “A very potent and dangerous combination.” He dipped his head into the
crook of her neck and inhaled. “Don’t you know what you do to me, Paige? Don’t
you know how you make me burn right down to my very core?”

He felt her
shudder beneath him, and knew he would find her wet if he slipped his hand up down
her pants, between her legs. “You… you have no right to expect me to let you
back into my bed again.”

Caleb lifted
his head so she could see the pain in his eyes. “I know that. But you make it
damn hard for a man to keep away from you. Don’t forget, you’re the one who
approached me at the courthouse. You opened this door.”

“Well then
why the hell didn’t you just walk away like you always do, instead of stepping
through that door, Caleb?”

“Because I’ve
never been able to deny you anything you’ve asked for directly, and you know
it.” He backed away, then turned before he gave into the urge to kiss her.
“I’ll be on the couch tonight if you need me. Get some sleep.”

He stalked
off to the living room, knowing this was going to be a
very
long night,
after all.

*

Paige didn’t
get a lot of sleep that night. Between the attack, the revelation that the man
she’d lusted after for years could change into a werewolf—
lycan
,
she corrected herself—and the fact that said man was sleeping downstairs
on her couch in order to guard her…to protect her from danger left her mind
whirling. She alternated between being hurt, confused, angry, and simply exhausted.

The one thing
her mind kept coming back to was the intense pain in his eyes.
I’ve never
been able to deny you anything
, he’d told her. How ironic. So, if she’d
simply come straight out and asked him to kiss her, he would have done it.

So much time
lost…

When she
headed for the kitchen the next morning, still dressed in pajama’s, she was
greeted by the sizzle of frying bacon and the heavenly aroma of freshly brewed
coffee. Standing in the doorway, she watched as Caleb deftly flipped pancakes,
wearing nothing but a pair of jeans. Desire flared instantly in her lower
belly, and she bit her bottom lip. How could he look so good so early in the
morning?

“Good
morning,” he said, without turning around. “I’ve already poured you a cup.” He
gestured to the steaming mug waiting on the counter for her.

She took it
wordlessly, not trusting herself to speak until she’d gotten some caffeine into
her system. After a few sips, she cleared her throat. “You’re a brave man,
frying bacon without a shirt.”

He gave her a
nonplussed look. “I think I’ll be okay,” he replied with a chuckle.

Paige raised
her eyebrows. “Do lycans feel no pain?”

“I’ve always
had a high tolerance to pain, but yes, we can feel pain. We just heal much
faster.”

They sat
together at the kitchen table, and Paige watched Caleb pile his plate high with
bacon, eggs and pancakes. She took a few of each herself, and decided to give
herself a few moments of silence to enjoy the food before she spoke.

“Caleb,” she
finally said, “you don’t have to follow me around all day. I know you’ve got a
business to run and other things to deal with. I’ll be fine. Really.” And she
would never get anything done if he was constantly in her presence.

“Wasn’t
planning on it,” he said after swallowing a mouthful of eggs. “I’ll have a
detail posted on you during the day. Two men—or rather, two
shifters—one who will remain by your side at all times, the other who
will be on the lookout and canvassing the area.”

“Seems like
you’ve got it all figured out.” Why was she hurt by the idea that he was
entrusting her safety to someone else? She’d just said she didn’t want him to
have to give up his life for her safety.

“I had plenty
of time to think about it last night when I was guarding you.”

She stared at
him—not a single shadow under his eye. “You don’t look like someone who
stayed up all night.”

He smiled a
little. “I’ll be here every night with you.” His expression darkened, as if it
was the last thing he’d rather do.

“No need to
trouble yourself,” she said bitterly.

He arched an
eyebrow. “Your life is in danger. It’s where I need to be.”

“I can tell
you’d rather be anywhere else, so why bother?” She lifted her chin. “I’m sure
one of your employees can handle the job.”

Caleb slammed
a fist down onto the table. A web of cracks spread like wildfire across the
surface as he leaned across the table so their faces were inches away. “The
only thing that would drive me even more insane than spending the night here,
surrounded by your scent, your need, is the thought of leaving another shifter
alone with you. Even one of my own.”

That
shouldn’t have made her feel good. It really shouldn’t have. “I see. You must
really have to make some tough choices,” she cooed.

He fisted his
hand around the front of her shirt and pulled her forward, chair and all.

“I forgot how
stubborn you could be, woman.”

“And you’re
constantly reminding me how much of an insufferable bastard you are.”

With a snarl,
he crushed his mouth against hers. Need flooded through her, white hot and
powerful, surging through her blood, through the very marrow of her bones. With
a little snarl of her own, she vaulted into his lap and fisted her hands in his
hair. The chair crashed to the floor, and she heard the snap of wood against
tile as she shoved her tongue inside his mouth, but she didn’t care. There was
only him, and the powerful storm they created together as they rolled across
the cold floor.

“Naked. Now,”
Caleb growled, ripping her pajama top down the front. He latched onto her
breast, suckling hard, one leg jammed between her legs. She rubbed herself
shameless against his thigh, clutching his head to her, and came. His dark
chuckle sent shivers down her spine as he yanked her pajama bottoms off, and
then he was inside her, filling her, simultaneously quenching and stoking the
fires of her need.

She led him
upstairs to her bedroom, closing the door behind them. As soon as she did, he
pushed her up against the wall and kissed her, sending her head spinning. His
spicy scent surrounded her, the taste of spice and cinnamon filled her as he
slid his tongue inside her mouth. She sucked on it, drawing a groan from him,
and he responded by sliding his hands around to cup her curvy ass.

It didn’t
take him long to find the sensitive spot right in the middle of her back. A
shiver went through her as she realized how vulnerable she’d made
herself—she was standing in the room naked, her body plain for him to see
in the bright morning light. No amount of confidence and strutting could hide
the fact that she was curvy. She held her breath, waiting for him to say
something, or for his expression to change but all she saw was pure raw hunger,
and it both excited and frightened her. He began kissing a trail down the
column of her throat. His teeth nipped into the skin below her collarbone as she
clutched his shoulders, and it wasn’t long before his mouth was on her breast,
her nipple deep in his mouth.

“God yes,”
she moaned as he suckled her breast, then tugged on the nipple with her teeth.

“You like
that?” he asked, pulling his head back to look up into her face. His blue eyes
glittered dangerously. “How about this?” He dipped his hand between her legs,
his fingers expertly finding her clit. Her thighs stiffened as she cried out,
her pussy throbbing beneath his touch. Her fingers dug hard enough into his
shoulders to leave marks, but he didn’t complain; rather he seemed to enjoy it.
When he slid his fingers inside her, expertly rubbing against her g-spot, she
exploded, crying out incoherently. He took advantage of her vulnerability by
positioning her in such a way that he could quickly replace his fingers with
this thick, steely cock.

“Caleb!” She
couldn’t think, could barely form any words at the sensation of his hot cock
working its way inside of her. He pulsed back and forth, turning her into a
quivering mass of need. Before long she was bucking her hips against his,
driving herself closer to the edge. He gripped her ass in his hands, moving her
up and down, urging her on to another climax, and she cried his name again as
he continued his onslaught.

“You feel so
good,” he growled into her ear, his teeth nipping at her earlobe before pushing
his cock deeper into her. “I want to feel every inch inside of you…as deep as I
can go.”

Paige could
only cry out, her pleads lost in the fury of growls, groans and breathless
panting that echoed throughout the bedroom.  Their bodies melded together,
sweat coating their skin, taking them further into a feverish pitch before
diving into deeper chords of hollow, grunting animalistic passion.

With urgency,
he spread her legs wider, his hands now gripping the underside of her knees,
gripping her tender flesh in his fists, kneading her calves, her ankles before
running them underneath her ass.  His broad, strong chest whipped against
her breasts, heaving above her, hovering merely inches away before crashing
down onto her in exhaustion. Yet he continued on, unwilling to end the blissful
intensity that he felt buried deep inside of her wet, blistering hot mound.

“I want to
ride you,” she groaned, suddenly finding her voice.

He let her
push him back onto the bed, and watched, eyes glittering, as she climbed on top
of him. She didn’t allow herself to think, knowing that if she did she would
show her hesitancy, her lack of experience. Straddling him, she cupped his face
and kissed him long and slow, tenderly molding her naked body to his. She could
feel his muscles flexing against her bare skin, feel his heart pounding against
her chest, his erection pressing against the inside of her thigh. She was now
in control and it was her tempo, her lead in this wild, passionate dance and he
must follow.