Hungry Like a Wolf (Claws Clause 1)

Taking careful steps so that didn’t aggravate her tender ankle, Evangeline tried not to think about what happened the last time she took a leap of faith, either. The actual leap left her injured, easy prey for the alpha wolf that chased her.

Her hand closed on the doorknob. She tugged.

Maddox hadn’t locked her in.

Good.

Because this time? She wasn’t running from him.

She was going right to him.

Maddox should be sleeping.

Impossible.

He could hear Evangeline moving around in their old room so he knew she wasn’t sleeping, either. He picked up on the slide of the dresser drawer opening and let out a relieved huff. She’d at least listened to him when it came to the clothes being hers. She was finally changing out of the t-shirt and shorts she’d been wearing for days. He was glad that she was getting comfortable, and only hoped it didn’t mean that she was getting ready to leave after all.

Now if only he could’ve stayed in that room with her...

Just like Colt kept a spare room in his Bumptown house for when Maddox stayed over, Maddox’s home in Wolf’s Creek had a guest room for the times a packmate needed a bed for the night. He was lying in there now, grateful he had the foresight to put a king-sized bed in that room, too, but it didn’t matter how big the bed was when he had to sleep in it alone.

It was all his fault. What a fucking moron. After taking his time, trying to build up some kind of relationship with Evangeline, he shot it all to hell by showing her the marriage license and their wedding photo. And while it seemed like a good idea when he asked Colt to get the envelope together, his brother had warned him to take it slow.

Yeah. Slow. Slow as a rocketship, maybe.

He had to come up with a Plan C. Plan A was a colossal failure, Plan B was a train wreck. With Wright breathing down his neck, he needed to—

His body went rigid, his ears cocked toward the door. Was that a doorknob turning?

Shit. Evangeline was leaving him.

He’d gone to bed in his jeans because he was too lazy—and too frustrated—to change. He stripped off his shirt, then flopped on the bed. Good. That meant he didn’t have to stop to pull on clothes before he ran after her.

Maddox climbed out of his bed, only to slip back into it as noiselessly as possible when the knob to his door turned.

Evangeline eased the door inward, stepping inside of the room after a moment’s hesitation.

The shades were drawn, the lights off. A sliver of moonlight illuminated his mate enough to see that she had changed into a frilly, lacy white nightgown that revealed her curves and showed a mile of her long, lean legs. Her feet were bare and she tiptoed soundlessly into the room.

At first, he thought she was just checking to see if he was sleeping. He kept his eyes cracked open just enough that he could see her, but she didn’t know he was awake. Maddox watched what she was doing.

To his ever-loving surprised, Evangeline pulled the blanket back and slipped in next to him.

Maybe she was lonely, he thought. Or scared. He tried not to remember that, in all of the time since he took her with him, she hadn’t been able to fall asleep on her own: she was either dosed or she fell unconscious. Sleep never came easy to her. Maybe that was why—

Evangeline’s hand whispered toward him. “Maddox, you awake?”

He grunted. It could mean yes, or it could mean no.

“You said… you said I could.”

Maddox said a lot of things. With Evangeline’s scent drifting toward him, he felt cozy, relaxed, and so fucking happy just to have her near him. Then he breathed again, caught a hint of arousal on the still summer air, and nearly gave himself away.

No fucking way.

She didn’t mean—

Hesitant at first, then growing bolder, she started to run her finger up and down his length, teasing his cock, waking it up. It didn’t take much. One whiff of her scent—her wet, intoxicating scent—and he was so hard, it hurt.