Filed to story: The Wolf Prince’s Fated Love
It was frustrating and arousing, and if he’d been in the hall, I wasn’t sure if I’d have leapt on him or snarled at him for daring to smell so freaking delicious.
As if I’d conjured him with the thought, he stepped out of his bedroom a few doors down the hall. He had a towel in hand, rubbing his hair halfheartedly as he scanned the nearly empty space. He was shirtless in sweatpants, and the sight of all those rippling muscles nearly did me in.
Leaping on him is definitely the winner. I’m so damn horny, I could cry.
When he spotted me standing there like a bump on a log, he froze.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey,” I said back, trying to keep my tone cool and unbothered. I was supremely bothered, but it wasn’t his damn business. I forced my legs into motion, as if I hadn’t been rooted to the spot just from his scent lingering.
It was a mistake. Because to get to the kitchen, I had to walk past him. And do you know what the only thing better than his scent tantalizing me in the hallway was? A fresh hit of it when he was freshly showered and standing less than two feet away.
My mouth watered and my knees locked up before I could walk past.
“Everything… okay?” he asked, both eyebrows lifted as he stared at me.
What was I supposed to tell him?
Sorry, couldn’t keep walking, I’m trying not to hump your leg right now?
Absolutely not.
“Fine, just a cramp,” I lied through my teeth, doing my best to keep my breathing shallow. What I didn’t expect was for him to leap into action.
“Where is it? Calf? Shoulder?” He stepped forward, concern etching his face as he scanned me, like he would be able to identify the misbehaving muscle with sheer will alone.
“Umm, calf?” I whispered, completely making it up. I had no choice but to double down on my fib, even as he stepped closer and I had to look away.
“Put your hand on the wall.”
I obeyed without thought, as if he’d woven me into some spell, watching as he dropped to his knees in a fluid motion.
“Which leg?”
I lifted one, holding my breath as he gripped my foot in one hand, letting the other come up to cup the back of my calf.
“Shit,” I whispered, letting my head fall back as his gentle touch wrecked what little was left of my self-control.
“Does that hurt?” he asked as he kneaded the not-at-all-cramping muscle and flexed my foot to work out the knot.
I couldn’t answer. He had stolen my words, and all that escaped was a breathy moan. He felt too good, my wolf was pushing my control, and I was so damn wet, my arousal was going to be rolling down my inner thighs if he didn’t stop touching me.
But as soon as he heard my moan, he froze, shoulders tight. “Too hard? I can go softer.” He eased up on the pressure, searching my face with every stroke.
Something about the sight of him there, on his knees for me yet again, bulldozed the barriers I’d been hanging onto so desperately. For protection. To keep my heart intact as I did this impossible thing the Goddess had charged me with.
All those objections, those staunch defenses, felt suddenly hazy and overblown. Why was I keeping him at arm’s length?
Why was I fighting fate so hard?
“That’s better, thank you.” I finally managed to choke out coherent words, and he set my foot down, but didn’t take his hand off my calf. The warm, calloused heat of his palm was fueling all kinds of sexy ideas, but I couldn’t go there, not now.
So, I did what I do best and blurted the first unrelated thing that popped into my head. “I need french fries.
Need them. I’m going to see if I can get someone to drive me into the village to get some. There’s got to be a bar still open, and fried potatoes are bar food, no matter what part of the world you’re in.”
His lips quirked up into a half smile. “Pregnancy craving? Does that mean the nausea is fading?”
“Pretty much gone now, so I’m moving on to eating all the things. Like that caterpillar in the kids’ book.”
He mouthed the word caterpillar, but didn’t comment on the reference. “The drivers can’t go out with any of the pack females without approval from Kane or the head of security.”
I was just relieved we were talking about something safe and distracting from my intense need for the man I was trying to keep at arm’s length.
“I don’t think you understand. If I have to, I’ll walk my ass to town, because I need french fries like I need oxygen, and the chef in this castle has all these ideas about only feeding me superfood until I pop. But I need salty, greasy goodness, okay? Pregnancy cravings?-“
“Are nothing to take lightly,” he interrupted me, standing with a single, fluid movement.
That was how a predator moved, and my wolf liked it. She liked it too much.
“Which is why I’m offering to drive you myself. Will you let me take you into town?” He offered his hand, palm up and unassuming, and waited for me to decide.
Damn, so much for distractions. Spending the whole evening alone with him in town was risky.
I raked my hands through my hair, probably making it stick up like a crazy person, then made a rash decision. I slid my hand into his, locked eyes, and said, “Take me to town, prince.”
His grin was devilish, and it had me wanting to lean into the desires instead of away as he tugged me down the hallway, not giving me the chance to change my mind.
It felt reckless as we ran out the front door-the only time I hadn’t seen Cristian guarding it, which meant he did sleep sometimes
-and down the steps, not stopping until we hit the row of black SUVs always at the ready off to the side of the castle. I was oddly breathless, though I exercised much harder every single day. It was all him; the pull between us.