Midnight Wolves

Chapter Seventeen: Crumbs

She wasn't sure how it had happened. One minute he'd been staring at her in a stunned silence, and the next he'd taken three long strides across the distance between them and had cupped her cheek with one hand, the other sliding to the back of her head, his lips crashing against hers in a desperate kiss that stole her restraint.

Assuming she'd ever had any.

There was something about him that intrigued her wolf, that made her want to stay beside him, that made her want him.

Their wolves both flashed in and out, teeth and lips clashing, catching, until a coppery taste filled her mouth. One hand kept her head secured to his, the other dipped to her waist, dragging her against him. Her arms snaked around his neck, clinging onto his shoulders as his muscles flexed beneath her touch.

Her mind was spinning out on control, emptying beneath his touch. She shouldn't be doing this, right? Yet she was entirely powerless and her wolf wasn't helping - urging her to hold him closer, to maybe claim him as her own.

He made a small noise of approval as her tongue darted across his bottom lip and they deepened the kiss. They stumbled backwards blindly. Her knees hitting the arm of the sofa was the only warning she got before they were falling, but his arms formed a cage around her, stopping her from taking the brunt of the impact as they settled into the sofa cushions, his hands roaming as he trailed her jaw and down her neck, a mixture of lips, teeth and tongue, that had her toes curling.

She wanted skin, her hands pushing beneath his shirt. They parted just long enough for her to yank the shirt over his head, he did the same to her. She wasn't wearing a bra, having lost it outside when she'd transformed during the fight a few days before. He hovered over her, one leg each side of her hips as he stared down at her.

She blushed and went to cover herself, when his wolf lunged to the surface and grabbed her wrists, pinning them gently against the sofa beside her. He continued staring at her, and she looked away.

"Beautiful," he whispered, before he leant down and kissed her once. He moved lower, lips tracing her neck, the valley of her breasts, until she felt his tongue flick out and catch her nipple. She bucked beneath him and he chuckled as he released her hands to massage her breasts, apparently no longer interested in anything else in the world other than her - than them.

She could have happily stayed like that for hours, need building and pooling in her core as he covered her torso in heated touches.

As his hands reached for her jeans, however, she froze. He sensed the change and looked up at her, his eyes glazed with lust but slowly sobering as he caught the slight hint of fear hidden behind her lust.

"We don't need to," he whispered, hands moving away from her jeans and skimming up her sides.

She gave him a weak smile. "If you don't mind, I-I can't right now." Not without thinking of Grant hovering over her. Not without thinking of her moonmate. This was the most she'd allowed anyone to touch her since the day her moonmate tried to claim her. And she thought she'd been doing so well until...until the flash of Grant's face smiling down at her.

"Looks like it's my lucky night, little wolf."

Callie shuddered and pushed Midnight off of her. He hit the floor hard, but she didn't care as she ran to the bathroom and threw up as her stomach roiled at the thought of him. By the time she'd rinsed her mouth and come back out into the living room, he was busy cleaning her coffee cup and the pan she'd used. Her top was sat on the edge of the sofa.

She pulled it over her head and sighed. "I'm sorry, I just-"

He turned to face her, letting the pan sink below the bubbles. "You never need to explain yourself to me. I'll be more than grateful for whatever you'll give me. I'll never take more than you'll give." He closed the space between them, watching her closely for any signs of panic. Satisfied he found none, he smiled again. "And I will take whatever crumbs you want to throw my way," he said, his voice husky as he leant down and kissed her softly, before turning back to the washing up.

She stood there, her heart pounding in her chest the only thing she could hear.