To Claim His Mate Page 6

  “Adam…please.” Just a little more pressure…

  When he covered that wonderful little bundle of nerves with his mouth and suckled while lightly flicking his tongue, she detonated. She bucked, crying out as a thousand lights erupted behind her closed eyes.

  Adam never stopped, just eased her through and began stoking the fire again. When she tugged his hair, unable to take any more, he came up, once again paying special attention to each of her painfully erect nipples before settling himself in the cradle of her thighs.

  After what he’d given her, Eva was more than ready to return the favor, so she reached for his jeans and clumsily popped the button free before dragging his zipper down.

  “Here, let me.” Adam stood and stripped off his pants in record time before coming back onto the bed.

  Lust burned through Evangeline like a drug, and she was high enough not to give a damn about modesty now. Adam was in front of her, and God, he was beautiful. The sight of his engorged shaft sent a thrill of trepidation zinging through her. The sheer size was just daunting. She was a fairly small girl, and he was a big boy.

  As he crawled onto the bed, she stopped his progress with a hand on his chest. “My turn.” With a wicked grin, she gave him a shove that put him on his back, though she had the distinct impression it was only because he allowed it.

  His cock stood tall and proud, and it should because…damn. When she reached out to stroke him, she moaned at the softness. Like satin over steel. After a moment a pearly bead formed on his mushroomed crest, and Eva licked her lips before swiping her tongue across the head to gather the droplet. She hummed at the earthy taste and swore she heard a muffled, “God help me.”

  Adam speared his fingers through her unruly curls, his breath exploding from his lungs as she took him into her mouth and withdrew to give a long slow tug on his furiously aroused flesh. When she gazed up the length of his body and met his eyes, she stilled.

  His normally pale blue eyes had turned to pools of liquid silver. He panted, his gaze wild with passion as she resumed her loving.

  “Fuck, Eva,” he groaned. His hips lifted from the bed as he thrust into her mouth in a desperate rhythm.

  Without warning, he grabbed her under her arms and pulled her up his body. He kissed her fiercely. “Your mouth is destructive,” he growled.

  Eva smiled down at him, but she was in agony. Her pussy ached to be filled, her clit throbbing. She straddled his waist and reached between their bodies to guide him to her weeping core. “Please, Adam… I need you…inside…”

  Her gentle plea shattered his control. Adam gripped her hips and surged upward, plunging into her silken heat all the way to the hilt.

  He stilled when she cried out, unsure if it was pleasure or pain as so many sensation swirled through his mind. “Did I hurt you?”

  She shook her head, digging her nails into his chest as she commanded him to move.

  “Christ, you’re so tight. So hot and tight you’re going to burn me alive,” he growled.

  She was close, and he knew it. Her tight little pussy massaged his cock with the prelude to her release. He ground his teeth in an effort not to blow then and there.

  Adam brought his hand around, pressing lightly, low on her belly, as he used his thumb to exert a gentle pressure on her throbbing clit and watched as that simple maneuver sent her screaming into orgasm.

  She cried out his name as he thrust twice more before plunging deep and spilling his release inside her snug channel. And then, they were both whisked away.

  He felt as if he were floating. He could feel confusion, awe and…love. It was brand new, still fragile, but there. He was touching her soul, feeling her emotions and was sure she could feel his, as well.

  “Do you feel that, Eva?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “That’s called the soul touch. What I was talking about when I mentioned soul mates. You are my mate, Eva,” he finished softly, prepared for her to flee.

  “It’s amazing,” she replied, shocking him by lying across his chest. “I can feel how happy this makes you.”

  “And I can feel your confusion. It’s all right. I wouldn’t expect you to jump into this since you weren’t exactly expecting it to happen.” Adam ran his fingers lightly through her hair. He really loved these curls.

  “I’m not scared. I really like you, Adam. You’ve quickly wormed your way into my heart, but I’m still too mixed up to work through everything.” She paused, chewing her bottom lip. “Were you expecting this?”

  “I’d hoped. I’m not going to lie. I’m happy it’s you. I’ve waited so long I’d begun to fear I’d never find that special person to complete my soul.” He sighed and hugged her tight. “We’ll take things slow. There’s so much I’ve got to explain to you, but not yet.” After laying a tender kiss at her temple, he regretfully pulled from her body. Adam quickly left the bed and fetched a warm washcloth from the bathroom before returning to gently clean a blushing Evangeline.

  “You don’t have to do this,” she admonished, trying to take the cloth from his hands.

  “I want to. Eva, I was serious when I told you I’d take care of you. Anything you need, I’ll do.” Adam was surprised to feel a surge of gratitude from her and hated that he would have to go out, even though it wouldn’t be for long. “I hate to leave you, but I need to take Storm and Lightning for a run before they get too antsy. Why don’t you take a nice bath and have some soup. It’s on the stove whenever you’re ready. I’ll be back as quick as I can, I promise.”

  “A hot bath sounds wonderful,” she moaned. “And if that heavenly scent is the soup then I’d better eat first or I won’t soak very long at all.”

  He chuckled.

  “Adam?” Her voice was unsure as she asked, “Would you mind sleeping with me tonight?”

  He felt her nervousness, her fear and guessed at her problem. “Who was hurting you in your dream?” She seemed startled, so he explained, “I tried waking you. You weren’t breathing, Eva, and it scared the shit out of me.”

  She sighed, looking resigned, and he hated it.

  “It was Shane. I had this crazy idea that if all he wanted was money, I’d give it to him and maybe that would work.”

  “But it didn’t.”

  “No, it didn’t. In my dream, he was deranged, demanding I marry him so he could have all the money.” She visibly shuddered, and Adam wrapped a blanket around her shoulders before pulling her into his arms again. “It was just a dream, thank God, but it felt so real.”

  “Dreams can feel real enough, especially if the people and events are part of your everyday life. You weren’t breathing so, in my book, that’s too real.” And something he hoped would never happen again.

  A scratch at the door brought a small laugh from Eva’s sweet lips. “They really are sweet.”

  Eva watched as Adam walked, naked and unashamed, to the door.

  “And they love you,” he pointed out. “Especially Storm.” He opened the door to allow the terrible twosome inside. Storm bounded onto the bed and curled up next to Eva, just waiting to be petted, while Lightning walked over and put his cold nose to Adam’s rear.

  “Hey!” Another nudge, and Eva giggled. “All right, all right.” He waved Lightning away before looking apologetically back at Eva. “I’d better go ahead and take them.”

  “Go on, I’m not going anywhere.” Storm made no attempt to leave the bed and no amount of calling would budge her. Eva laughed, “I guess I’ll have company after all.”

  Chapter Seven

  Eva donned her robe and, with a mug of soup in hand, retreated to the bedroom to gather some clothes for after her bath. Storm was like a little furry shadow, right by her side for every step she took.

  “So you gave up your run to stay here with me?” She chuckled when Storm looked up at her, tongue hanging out with an obvious doggy grin. “Well, we’ll have some girl time while the boys are out then.”

  A movement in the mirror over the dr
esser drew her attention to the window, and she saw that Adam and Lightning were at the edge of the woods. He wore only his jeans, his feet bare. At first, she thought he must have just meant to run around the open yard, but then he removed his pants, leaving him standing, nude, just at the tree line.

  She still felt his happiness in regard to their earlier discovery, but there was nervousness, too. Eva was alternately terrified and ecstatic. She had never expected to find someone as wonderful as Adam then to discover that she was his soul mate to boot? Not to mention the amazing bond they now shared. Perhaps, her luck was finally changing for the better.

  “Look at him, Storm. He’s just perfect. Good God, the man should just walk around naked all the time.”

  Storm huffed.

  As Eva continued to watch, Adam’s form blurred, darkening slightly, and when things finally came back into focus, a large wolf stood in his place.

  Freedom.

  That feeling immediately winged through her, and she watched the two canines take off into the trees as her shocked mind struggled to process what she’d just seen. Her mug slipped from her fingers and shattered on the floor, hot soup splattering her legs as a roaring in her ears told her she was in danger of passing out. Immediately, Eva sat down and put her head between her knees. That was amazing! He’d actually become a wolf! How was that even possible?

  When Eva finally calmed her breathing enough to raise her head again, she noted Storm facing the door with her fur standing on end.

  “Adam?” a female voice called. When Storm’s coat settled and her tail twitched, Eva relaxed marginally but didn’t answer.

  “Adam, I’m here for the girl. Are you here?” The voice was getting closer.

  Fear swamped her. Someone was here for her? Why? Nobody should be here for her. The sheriff had told her to stay here, in hiding, until Shane showed up again. She trembled as she crept into the closet and quietly searched for a weapon. Then another sound was heard.

  Running.

  “Stephanie, what the hell are you doing here?” It was Adam, and he sounded mad. “She’s scared shitless. Where is she? What did you do?” he demanded.

  * * * *

  “Me?” Stephanie pointed at herself, baffled, but Adam was more concerned with Eva. “I haven’t even seen her yet.”

  “Eva?” Adam called. “Come on out, baby. It’s just my sister-in-law.”

  “How do you know she’s scared?” Stephanie asked, following him into the bedroom.

  “Because I can feel it.” He rubbed his chest. “I can smell it, too,” he whispered as he followed the scent of her fear to the small closet in his room.

  “That’s wonderful! She’s such a tiny little thing, like a pixie. Did your wolf scare her?”

  “No, you did,” he grumbled as he opened the closet door. A wire hanger slapped his knuckles as he reached inside, and he snatched his hand back with a yelp. Stephanie dissolved into hysterical laughter.

  “I like her,” she gasped. “Hit him again, honey.”

  Adam narrowed his eyes. “Eva, what the hell?”

  “She said she’s here for me.” Her voice was so small he wasn’t even sure if Stephanie had heard her response. “I don’t want to go anywhere.”

  “Nobody is taking you anywhere, hon. This is my brother’s wife, Stephanie. She’s a physician’s assistant, the one who checked on you when I brought you here.”

  Silence.

  “Will you please come out?” He no longer detected fear, just wariness and a whole lot of confusion.

  “I saw you,” she replied.

  “Me?” Stephanie asked.

  “No. Adam. Outside.”

  “Shit,” he cursed. “Eva, please come out so I can try to explain. I hate to see you scared.”

  “I’m not. I just don’t think I can get up.” Her voice was a bit shaky, and Adam figured her nerves were probably shot after her dream then witnessing his change.

  “Can I help you? I’m going to open the door, so don’t smack me again,” he teased. Stephanie giggled. Eva sat on the floor against the wall with her knees tucked to her chest. He saw fine tremors running through her small frame, and his wolf howled in his mind, hating that she was upset in any way.

  “What are you? How did you do that?” Her voice sounded more curious than anything else, and Adam felt a spark of hope. “I think after everything, I deserve an explanation.” She was getting irritated now. He felt it and was glad. It was good to see some of her spunk coming back.

  Adam smiled down at her and asked, “Do you want it straight or the whole long, drawn-out explanation?”

  “Let’s start with the straight and see if the long-winded version is necessary.”

  Stephanie snorted again. “Oh, we’re gonna get along fine, honey. You give him hell while I dip into that soup.” She wiggled her fingers in a wave and flounced out of the room.

  “Leave me some!” Adam yelled after her. Her response was another laugh. “Please don’t join forces with that one.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “We’d have to lock up the two of you to keep the peace.”

  “Stop dodging my question, Adam. How did you turn into that huge wolf?”

  “I was born a werewolf.” There he’d said it. And he’d be damned, but he got no reaction from her. At least, not one he expected.

  “Well, that explains the growling.”

  He blinked back at her in shock.

  “Is that how you train the dogs so well?” she asked.

  “Y-yeah.”

  “You’re stuttering,” she pointed out, still looking remarkably calm.

  “You’re not freaking out.”

  “Why should I?”

  He just gaped at her.

  “Listen, I’m not as fragile as you might think. I know I’ve been rather depressed and distraught since meeting you, but I’m fine now. I won’t turn into some screaming, ranting drama queen because A: if you were going to hurt me, you would have done so by now, and B: I’m getting sick and tired of running from things I don’t understand. And besides, you’re my soul mate, Adam. How often do you think you get one of those?”

  “So… you’re not going to run screaming from my home and try to find silver bullets?”

  She laughed, “Not hardly.” Then she scrunched up her adorable little face and appeared to mull over something in her head. “I’m not a werewolf, but apparently, I’m your soul mate. Is that going to cause a problem?”

  “Not at all. We’re rare, so if all the mates were werewolves we’d be so inbred we’d have three eyes and six legs.” He smiled when her eyes got wide. “What? It was a joke.”

  Eva quickly counted days in her head, the mention of breeding reminding her of her own fertility cycle. Oh, hell. No condom and she should be close to ovulating. Damn! Well, no point in mentioning a problem until there was one. She’d know in about ten days. Right now, she had questions.

  “What will your family think? I’m not sure—”

  Adam placed his finger on her lips and gave her an utterly adorable crooked smile.

  “I’ve already told my mother I thought you could be my mate, and she’s practically foaming at the mouth to meet you.” He grimaced. “Okay, not the best analogy, but she’s really excited. In fact, she’s insisting that we have a barbeque to allow you to meet everyone.”

  “Are they all werewolves?”

  “No. Two of my brothers are mated to humans. Stephanie is human. Otherwise, she’d have known that I wasn’t in the house and she’d have found you without having to say a word.”

  Eva felt her eyes go round. “How?”

  “Our senses are heightened. Sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing. I felt your fear through our bond and came back to the house as quick as I could. I’ll always know what you’re feeling, and I’ll eventually be able to track you through the bond, too—mostly, because it’s stronger when we’re closer and weaker the farther apart we are.”

  “Well, now, that’s creepy.” Eva laughed despite herself. �
��This is all so strange but amazing. It’s like I’m living a storybook tale.”

  “So would that make me Prince Charming?” He waggled his brows, and she giggled.

  “Or the Big Bad Wolf.”

  He frowned, and that only made her laugh harder.

  “So what am I missing in here?” Stephanie leaned against the doorframe, and Eva got her first good look at the woman as she continued to nurse her cup of soup. She was several inches taller than Eva, but then who wasn’t, and her long auburn hair hung in heavy waves to the middle of her back. She had an athletic build, long and lean, like a dancer would, and her hazel eyes darted between them as she awaited her answer.

  “She called me the Big Bad Wolf,” Adam grumbled.

  “Well, it’s better than what I’d have called you.”

  “You realize this is my house, right?” he snarled.

  “Oh, don’t get your flea collar in a knot,” Stephanie shot back. Eva laughed, and Stephanie smiled. “At least, someone appreciates my sense of humor.”

  “How has Abraham not killed or at least maimed you yet?” Adam was still snarling, but Eva got the feeling they were playing with each other more than anything.

  “Because he loves me?” Stephanie adopted an innocent expression, complete with big doe eyes, and batted her lashes.

  Adam snorted. “Oh, go torture him for a while. As you can see, Eva’s fine, so go report to Mom, and I’ll see you on Sunday.” He made a shooing gesture with his hands before turning back to Evangeline.

  “I’ll see you on Sunday, Eva. We can plan a girls’ night.” Stephanie giggled. “The guys always panic a little when we get together.”

  “That’s because you usually get into trouble,” he mumbled.

  “Nah, we just drink and talk.”

  “About us,” he accused.

  “A little full of yourselves, aren’t you?”

  Adam rolled his eyes. “I thought you were leaving.”

  “All right, all right.” Stephanie made her way down the hall.