“You spilled,” Ellen murmured, softly, studying her.
Kim glanced at the floor. From white to red, she stammered, “I-I’ll get a…a mop.” She sucked in an unsteady breath. “Would you like one?” she asked Ellen. “Coffee, I mean?”
“No, thank you.” Ellen attempted a smile. Why was she scared of her? No, not scared. Kim was terrified. Maybe she could sense how badly her wolf didn’t like her. Still, Kim’s reaction puzzled Ellen’s wolf, too.
Kim nodded and crossed to the door, cast another glance over her shoulder, and pulled the door shut behind her.
Something in Kim’s eyes had the hair on the back of her neck pricking up, sending a shudder along her back. Did Kim know what Ellen was? Her wolf dismissed it. Hum
ans didn’t believe in monsters—they couldn’t wrap their brains around the truth unless they were given no choice. Why Ellen was reacting to the woman so strongly was a mystery, it was more than jealousy—it had to be. But her wolf wasn’t so sure. As simple, base, and primitive as the emotion was, Hollis brought out her territorial side. “She doesn’t like me,” she murmured, puzzled.
“I’ll fire her,” he said, never pausing in his work.
“You didn’t see that?” Ellen asked, frustrated.
“See what?” he asked, glancing at her after he’d pulled the catheter from her arm and released the tourniquet.
“The way she looked at us—at me.” Whether or not he could shift, his ability to shut out his wolf was beyond irritating at times. “Your wolf? Did he sense nothing? You must listen to him. Let him speak. He will have something to say.”
Hollis was distracted now, leaning in to run his nose along her temple. “Maybe she could tell how much sex we’d had?” He grinned at her, his green eyes sparking with passion. “Or how much more was in our future.” He eyed the desk. “Here works.”
Talk of Kim could wait. She laughed, shaking her head. “I thought you were worried about me.”
“I was. I am. Always.” His eyes were blazing now. “But I know how to make you feel better.”
Her heart thumped, making him smile broadly.
“I heard that,” he murmured, low and thick and so husky, her body tightened with want. His hand pressed against her chest. “My wolf is far too in tune with you and the way you and your body react. You can’t hide your reaction to me.”
“I’ve never tried,” she countered, loving the hunger in his gaze as it traveled along her neck. She grew more off-kilter and breathless with each passing second. “Hollis.”
He kissed her, softly at first, but somehow, she ended up in his lap. His lips clung to hers until he had her full attention. His hand slid along her thigh as his teeth nipped her collarbone. “You should wear skirts more often.” He growled, tugging at her cargo pants. “I can’t touch you the way I want to.”
“Where do you want to touch me?” she asked, arching into his touch.
“Here,” he said, running his fingers along the pants’ seam between her legs. “Inside of you.”
“Here?” she asked, looking up at him. “Dr. Robbins, we’re in your lab. Do you keep protection in your lab?”
“Since you became my mate, I have condoms everywhere. My pockets, my desk, my briefcase. Always ready for you.” His lips sealed with hers, his tongue sliding into her mouth and mimicking the deep, slow strokes of his invasion.
Her fingers tangled in the curls at the nape of his neck. Her teeth grazed his tongue before she sucked his tongue deep.
A low growl emanated from deep in his chest. “You make me crazy.”
She wasn’t sure what she loved more: his growl or his confession. Both held the promise of the wolf inside. She couldn’t wait to meet him.
Chapter Seventeen
Hollis’s reality changed daily. His wolf was to blame. So was Ellen.
His basic needs would not be neglected. Food tasted better. Smells richer. Walking made him long to run. But now his appetite for life was out of control. And sex—with Ellen—was an Olympic sport he was happily addicted to. He’d almost mapped every faded scar on her body with his lips. Nothing appeased him like the sounds she made, her scents, and the tight heat that sheathed him when he was deep inside of her. He was insatiable, craving her, hard for her minutes after he’d worn them both out. He couldn’t get enough of her. And he loved it.
Even now, surrounded by work he’d once spent countless hours obsessing over every tiny detail, his hunger won out. She was in his arms, the tug of her fingers in his hair was the only invitation he needed. Her lips clung to his, sucking his lower lip into her mouth and making him so hard it hurt.
His fingers fumbled with the waist of her pants, pushing them down and baring the firm curve of her ass.
“Not worried about a colleague walking in, Dr. Robbins?” she whispered against his lips.