Read Lone Wolf's Captive (novella) for Free Online Page B

wolf reared up, but not because he sensed a threat. No, he wanted to run with his mate, wanted to play. He tamped down the urge and stood his ground as she padded towards him, head down, teeth bared. Then she charged, lifting up on her hind legs, her paws hitting his chest with force.
    He let her take him down, knocking him on his ass. She crowded over him. Cool wooden floor boards at his back, while warm, silky fur pressed into his chest. He kept his arms at his side, when all he wanted to do was bury his fingers in the dense, golden mass. In that moment, he knew if she didn’t believe him, if she chose to go back to her pack, he would hunt her down and kidnap her all over again. He couldn’t be separated from her again.
    Never again.
    Her jaw hovered above his throat and he could sense her confusion. She’d expected him to resist. Another low growl rumbled from her chest, challenging him, calling to his wolf. Did she truly think he could fight her?
    He clenched his fists in an effort to keep from touching her. “My family never fought for me, Laney. They turned their backs on me without a backward glance. And honestly, I never believed I was good enough…not for you. Why would a female like you choose a waste of space like me? You had your father, your pack,” he rasped.
    Her father had known that and had used his weakness against him.
    He hadn’t submitted to anyone since the day Anthony kicked his ass out, battered and broken. He vowed he never would again, but this was different. He belonged to Laney. She owned him, body and soul. The woman didn’t need to tear his throat out to destroy him. It was as easy as walking out that door. So lifting his chin, he bared his throat to her, relinquishing his power and giving himself to her in every way he knew how.
    She lurched back, growling, but it lacked conviction this time.
    “Do your worst, Sugar. I won’t fight you.”
    She leaned in, fangs an inch from the vulnerable artery there. Slowly, carefully, he lifted his arm and buried his fingers in her soft fur, stroking gently. Her body trembled beneath his hand, and she howled, an agonised sound that broke his heart all over again. Then the thick mass disappeared, replaced with smooth, naked, female flesh. The heat of her skin scorched his chest and stomach and he resented the denim denying him full body contact.
    Her hollow gaze found his. “Fletch?” The reality of what he’d told her dimmed her amber eyes, pain turning them liquid. But she knew. Deep down she knew it was the truth.
    “It’s going to be all right, baby.”
    Her long, slender fingers threaded through his hair and she buried her face against his neck. “I need you to tell me everything.”
    Being like this felt so damn good. He didn’t want to talk anymore, didn’t want to hurt her more than he already had. “You want to go in the bedroom? It’s not very comfortable on the floor.”
    She gritted her teeth. “So help me if you don’t start talking…”
    “Okay.” He let his hands smooth over her bare skin, trying to soothe her, all the while ordering his dick to stand down. Yeah, like that was going to happen with his woman naked and back in his arms. He reached out and grabbed a t-shirt off the floor. “Put this on.”
    No way could he get through this with her like that. She pulled it over her head, and before it had the chance to settle around her hips, he tugged her back down and folded her tight against his body.
    Telling her the truth meant a bond would be destroyed that could never be repaired. But then her father had obliterated that bond when he planned to sell her to the pack with the fattest bank account.
    He didn’t have any trouble returning to that time in his mind and he let the words flow. “I was escorted off pack land with no money and nowhere to go. I couldn’t bring myself to leave, despite your father’s threats. So I lived in the forest just beyond the border for weeks.” He cupped her face, and she let him.