He growled when she ran her fingernail over his denim-covered arousal again. “Tease,” he whispered against her cheek. Leaning over, he took her nipple in his mouth and sucked hard.

Who was the tease? Already she was thoroughly wet from his touch and yearning for much more. She pulled down his zipper and watched his erection spring free.

This time she wanted to touch him but fought the urge, fearing she’d send him over the edge too quickly and he’d send her away. Slow and easy. Slipping her hands around his waist, she pulled him against her body, sliding her leg between his. Again they rocked to the beat of the music.

She pressed her bare skin against his arousal, rubbing at a gentle pace, and his growl was more a moan this time. Still partially clad in his denims, he raised his leg and grazed her nub with the well-worn fabric covering his taut leg muscle. The soft material brushed against her supersensitive spot, exciting her further.

Her own muted growl erupted.

“Remind me,” he said, licking her cheek, “to thank Thompson for capturing my little red wolf so I had the chance to free her and make her mine.”

“I wasn’t happy to see you at the zoo, you know.”

He smiled. “The smell of you, ripe and ready for mating, nearly drove me insane. That poor wolf they tried to mate you with must have been truly agonized. I know I was.”

“My heart nearly stopped to see you there. Then I realized you’d only come to take me back to Volan.”

Devlyn moved his hands to her buttocks and lifted, pressing her harder against his arousal. She moaned as his leg massaged her more intensely.

“He’d ordered me to bring you back. But as soon as I saw you, I knew I couldn’t. Not to him, not as his mate, but as mine.”

She lifted a brow, amused. “You thought I’d agree? What if I hadn’t?”

He kissed her mouth, pressuring her to part her lips. When she leaned her head back and opened herself to him, he thrust his tongue into her mouth and squeezed her buttocks. Her hands stilled on his hips, her senses overwhelmed with his bold erotic moves. Barely able to stand, she trembled with excitement.

Her reaction to him spurred him on. His hands shifted to the small of her back and pressed her against his leg, strategically rocking between her legs to the music.

The increased tempo of the melody matched his more aggressive actions, stimulating her further. The crescendo drew her higher, toward the sun, the moon, and the planets in the far distant galaxy, to the stars that clung to the black velvet night, well beyond the earth and the gravity that held them captive. Her hand shifted to capture his leg and increased the pace.

“Ah, Bella,” he groaned.

She moaned his name.

A smile stirred on his lips, and he hugged her tightly.

The influx of the orgasm rippled through her like a never-ending tumultuous waterfall. She kissed his mouth with enthusiasm, loving him for bringing her to climax without concern for his own cravings. She desired to transport him to the top as well but hoped they could continue the action for much longer, ensuring that her plan to keep him from sending her to his cousin would succeed.

Yet, loving each other like this, whether they left her home or not, proved more important to her than anything now. He released her body and yanked off his jeans, his own mouth kissing her back, not wanting to part from her, she imagined, as she didn’t want to separate from him, not even for a second.

Bella’s moves against Devlyn’s body couldn’t have been any more erotic, and when she came with just the rubbing of his thigh against her nub, he nearly spilled his seed. Even now, he fumbled to ditch his jeans so that he could penetrate her slick, wet folds before he lost it.

She wasn’t just any lupus garou, but the best part of his life growing up. Fond memories of the good times of their youth still lingered in his mind, even now as he maneuvered Bella to the velour couch.

He tried to take it gradually, moving to the slower pace of the music again. He danced her toward the couch, his leg still deeply entrenched between hers, keeping her warm for the follow-up play.

Their hips swayed to the music, their greedy fingers exploring each other’s backs. The notion of moving her faded away. The only thing that concerned him now was filling her again.

“Bella, I want you like a wolf does.”

She nodded.

Did she feel the pull of the moon? Did she want to mate with him in the wild like a male wolf committed himself to a female? He could barely wait to breathe in the pine scent blowing in the breeze, mixed with the musky smell of her, or feel the cool air against their fur-covered skin, their noses touched in greeting, or tackle her in playful fun and then mate with her among the pine needles that carpeted the forest floor.

Climbing onto the couch on hands and knees, she wiggled her tight little butt suggestively and then grinned over her shoulder at him. He nearly laughed. Yeah, she was ready all right.

He ran his fingers between her firm buttocks and dipped them between her honeyed folds. Her body still shuddered from her orgasm, sending a streak of urgency into his overheated system. He leaned his pelvis against her smooth round bottom and pressed his erection into her channel, driving deeply, and then slowly pulled out.

Her breath nearly ceased when he reached underneath her and pressed his fingers against her abdomen, moving down to her curly hairs, and then her swollen nub. Stroking with renewed focus, he urged her to come again as he sought to give her pleasure. He thrust into her tight sheath, clutching him like a warm, wet, velvet glove.

He’d never imagined how good life could be with Bella at the center of it. The pack was important, but Bella was everything.

When he penetrated her deepest chasm, the music heightened the rhythm. Her pelvic muscles tightened. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the way she squeezed him tight, grasping him, as he pulled back, regaining her hold, when he thrust forward. The sensation heated his sweaty body and, with a final plunge, he released his seed. But his fingers still fondled her nub until her inner muscles shuddered, convulsing around him in orgasmic delight.

Turning her over, he lay down on top of her to feel her warm, soft body beneath him. Her eyes had darkened, and her body was glossy and lightly flushed. She was the most beautiful creature in the whole world, and all his. She felt so right to him, fitting perfectly against his body, moving in sync, every part of her exciting him beyond belief. But it wasn’t just the lovemaking that hooked him. It was everything about her... the way she acted so agreeable and yet so aggravating at the same time. The way she’d wanted him but denied her love for him, fearing for his safety. The way she’d lived in silent terror under Volan’s threat but never once told Devlyn, in an effort to keep him safe.

He’d wished he’d been stronger then, more able to protect her, more of a hero to her, but he couldn’t continue to regret the past. The future stretched out before them. Taking it one day at a time had to suffice for now. Although he wanted to take her away from here, safe from all the evils of the world, he couldn’t ruin the special moments they shared. Sleeping with her was as much a pleasure as any other moment he spent with her. Wrapping his arms around her for a few hours in blissful rest was the only plan he had for now.

Later, after they were well rested, he’d insist that she go to his cousin’s place.

She raked her fingers through his hair, no doubt tangled and a mess. Her lips turned up. Seductive minx.

“Let’s go to bed for a while, Bella.” His voice was still husky, but tired, too. He climbed off her, but before she could rise, he slipped his arms under her and lifted her from the couch.

“I could have walked, Devlyn. You must be worn out.”

He growled. “You’re talking to a gray, Bella.” She didn’t mean any insult, but the idea still gnawed at him that he hadn’t been able to best Volan yet. Any comment about his stamina remained a sore spot with him for now. He’d tried to remark with a lighthearted air, but Volan — damn him — angered him even more as the news of Bella’s past was revealed. He kissed her cheek and carried her into the bedroom. Before long, he was folded around her under the covers.

Bella snuggled with Devlyn, her head on his chest, listening to his steady breathing and heartbeat that lulled her toward sleep. One hand lightly stroked her back and the other touched her hair. She couldn’t have been any happier now that she rested with the lupus garou she’d always loved. Wild and single-minded when it came to pleasing her. On the other hand, she couldn’t deal with the cold truth that she’d killed Volan, and Devlyn would probably never forgive her. Or maybe knowing that Volan had tried to rape her as a juvenile would change his mind. She kissed his chest and then cuddled her cheek against it.

Living among the humans, she’d become only a shell of what she was. She gripped Devlyn tighter, not wanting to lose him again, ever, but feeling the ugly truth would come out sometime or another. He was bound to hear that someone had shot Volan outside the dance club. Oh, man, and Thompson would place Devlyn and her at the club. They had the biggest gripe against Volan.

The situation couldn’t get any worse. The police would consider Devlyn the most likely suspect.

Hell, he said he’d kill Volan himself, right in front of Thompson.

She could leave a note, explaining to the police and Devlyn that she was the one who killed Volan for his attempting to rape her. The best scenario would be if she left Devlyn, ran somewhere else, lived the miserable life of a loner — anything to keep the police from arresting her mate.

“What are you thinking about, Bella?” Devlyn whispered, dreamily, half asleep.

“About how much I miss the pack, of being with them, of running wild as the wolf with them. Being on my own hasn’t been the same. Running as a loner is... lonely, to say the least.”

“You felt you had no choice.” His fingers stroked her shoulder.

She nodded against his chest. “But... “

“What, Bella?” Already his voice sounded darker, more awake, wary.

“I think we need to make a stand, don’t you?”

She meant against the reds — then she would be history — but she realized at once she should have said it differently. She wasn’t used to playing alpha male games — let the male think he’s making up all of the important plays, agree sweetly like the good mate she should be, and then ensure somehow that she got her own way.