“You either ate Deke, or… you are Deke.”
The wolf chuffs and jerks its head like it’s nodding.
But no. That’s impossible. “You better not have eaten Deke,” I laugh-cry, semi-hysterical. “He’s my boyfriend, and I really like him.” I lift the branch, fully prepared to avenge my lover.
The wolf drops to its belly and crawls forward in supplication.
“D-deke?” It’s so ridiculous, so impossible, and yet… those green eyes. I’ve definitely seen them before. Now I understand why they glowed in the dark.
The wolf gets up and trots behind some bushes. A low growling sound makes tingles rise on my skin, and then Deke, my giant, muscled boyfriend rises from the wolf’s hiding place.
I stagger backwards because my legs are confused. Fight or flight? Run or hug Deke?
I settle for licking my lips. “You're a wolf,” I state the obvious. The impossible.
Deke hesitates, like he’s not sure if he should approach. “Don’t be afraid,” he murmurs, hands open. Deke prowls out from the brush. Without the bushes between us, I realize something else.
My lips twitch. “Um, you're naked.” Except for the dog tags. Those glint on his impressive chest, drawing the eye to the cut rows of his abs, then down, following his happy trail to…
Okay. So evidence suggests he and the wolf did not switch places. That they are, in fact, one and the same.
“You’re a…” I can’t say it. It’s too insane.
He nods. “That’s my darkest secret.”
I drag my eyes back up to his face. It’s hard. There’s so much of him for my eyes to feast on. “Okay.”
His brows shoot up. “Okay? Is that all you’re going to say?”
“What should I say? Did you expect me to run screaming?”
He shrugs. “Pretty much.”
“Well I’m not. I’m not sure I can run, actually. Excuse me.” I drop down onto a large rock because my legs stop working.
Deke squats slowly, tucking his entire body into a crouch, so our eyes are still level. His movements are eerily fluid. Like the wolf’s.
“You’re a wolf,” I repeat.
He nods.
I reach out and touch his wolf tattoo. “Oh my God.” I pass a shaking hand over my face. I have this insane urge to laugh. “Oh my God. This is your secret.”
He’s motionless, waiting. Waiting for me to pass judgement or tell him to leave or something. Just waiting.
“You’re a wolf,” I say wonderingly and touch his face. He closes his eyes and turns his head, so I’m stroking back his hair. Petting him. “Deke,” I whisper.
“Sadie,” he groans into my palm. He nips at my skin.
And then I wrap my arms around him and kiss him. He kisses me back. I surge over him, bearing him down to his shins, so I can straddle his waist. “Is this okay? Am I hurting you?”
“No,” he says between rough kisses. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Before I can ask what he means, he’s got his hand down the back of my leggings. I groan as he cups me from behind, his fingers seeking my heat.
It’s the work of a second for me to kick off my boots and wriggle and tug them off. He’s already naked, all six feet plus of him.
“I don’t have a condom, Sadie-girl.” He looks pained.
“Oh.” Nope, I do not accept clam-jam this time. “You could pull out?”
“Deal.” His biceps bulge as he picks me up by the waist and lowers me over his dick. He’s unbelievably strong. Now I know why it was so simple for him to just pick me up and carry me off whenever he had the urge.
Deke lifts and lowers me over his cock, slowly at first, then working up to a bounce. My breasts rise and fall with the momentum, and I feel porn-star sexy. It’s delicious. I’m screwing a werewolf. Under the open sky.
It’s perfect.
His stubble scrapes my face as we kiss. I cry out as all the danger and adrenaline and threat roll into some primal feeling, an epic orgasm to celebrate the way I faced the wolf and survived. I’m alive.
Deke groans his eyes changing to green. “I can’t,” he mutters. I catch the glint of wolf-teeth in his mouth. “I can’t.”
Can’t what? I want to ask but he’s still bouncing me, pushing me towards another climax. This time, when I break, he curses, lifts me off him, and pumps his cock to release onto the soft earth. His breath blows harsh against my jacket, and as he comes, he slashes his lip with a sharp tooth, sending blood dripping down his chin.
Deke
“Fuck, I’m sorry,” I apologize, even though we’d agreed I would pull out. Still, it felt disrespectful. Disappointing.
Unnatural.
Fate wants us to mate.
That’s the thought that flits through my head, and this time the idea goes beyond just marking Sadie as mine. It goes to our future. To living together. Making pups. Raising a family. Everything Sadie said she wanted, I crave to give her. I want it, too. The whole package.