Abandoned and Unseen (Branded Packs #2)(51)

His black gaze blazed over her face. “We’ll figure something out.”

She lifted her hands to press them against his chest. It was so tempting to give in to his urgings. To simply believe that they could somehow be together.

But she’d spent a lifetime learning that fate was rarely kind.

Nicole shook her head in denial. “It’s not possible.”

“Anything is possible.” He bent his head and covered her mouth with a tempestuous kiss that stole her breath. He tasted of bear and male desire. A heady combination that made her entire body clench with an aching hunger. “Believe in me.”

She was far from convinced that he could perform a miracle, but he kissed her again, and she forgot to care. Instead, she lifted her arms to circle his neck, her lips parting in silent invitation.

Distantly, she was aware that Tucker’s Pack mates were up and about as they started the day, but she ignored the sounds that filtered through the window.

She wanted Tucker.

Even after a night of passion, she still ached to be in his arms.

“I have waited for you, my sweet,” he rasped against her lips. “Without even knowing what was missing from my life.”

Treacherous warmth flooded her heart. Dear Lord, how many nights had she cried herself to sleep because of the aching hollowness that haunted her? It’d been more than the loss of Bowe, although that was deep and seemingly bottomless. It was also the knowledge that the bed beside her was empty.

To the world, she had offered the fierce image of a mother consumed by her need for revenge. But inside…

Inside she had hidden the wounds that never healed.

Not until Tucker, a tiny voice whispered.

He was an unexpected gift that she intended to treasure. Even after she was forced to walk away.

She thrust aside the pain that sliced through her heart.

She wasn’t going to think about the loneliness of her future or the unbearable loss in her past. For now, she would accept the pleasure Tucker offered.

Nicole’s heart raced as his tongue slipped into her mouth. Arching against the hardness of his chest, she shoved her fingers into the thick satin of his hair.

She loved the feel of the white-gold strands.

Rolling on top of her, he groaned. Her wolf should have been outraged by the sense of being pinned. Tucker was not only twice her size, but he was a lethal predator who could rip out her throat before she could blink. Instead, she relished the feeling of being pressed into the mattress and the rough scrape of his hair against her skin.

Last night had been a gentle seduction. Today there was a raw craving that refused to be denied.

“Nicole…” He spread heated kisses over her face, his hands outlining the curve of her hips. “Tell me if I’m too rough.”

“You won’t hurt me,” she assured him in a voice thick with need. “I’m tougher than I look.”

A growl rumbled in his chest, his mouth trailing down her throat and over the upper curve of her breasts. Nicole’s toes curled, her wolf thoroughly approving of the ferocious hunger.

In response, his hands moved to cup her breasts so he could ravage them with his lips and tongue and just a hint of fang.

Nicole cried out in pleasure, her legs parting so he could settle between them. The blunt tip of his arousal pressed against her inner thigh. She trembled, craving the feeling of him deep inside of her.

“Now, Tucker,” she ordered.

He gave a chuffing laugh. “Patience,” he admonished, his mouth trailing over the soft swell of her stomach. His hands slipped beneath her hips so he could lift her to an easier angle for his seeking mouth.

“Yes,” she breathed, trembling beneath the onslaught of sensations.

He was wicked, skilled, and decadently beautiful.

And all hers.

How was she supposed to resist?

A soft moan was ripped from her throat as Tucker nibbled on the flesh of her inner thigh, his hands holding her still as she squirmed in pleasure.

His lips stroked ever higher, at last finding the very heart of her desire. She closed her eyes in appreciation, her fingers threading through his hair as he stroked his tongue across her clit.

Her pulse pounded and her soft pants filled the air. Her orgasm loomed as he continued his sensual attack. Over and over he teased the tiny nub, obviously enjoying her muffled groans.

At last she tugged at his hair, hovering perilously close to the edge of pure bliss.

“Now, Tucker,” she begged, her voice barely recognizable.

His head lifted to meet her dazed gaze, his bear close to the surface.

“I could become addicted to your taste, my sweet.”

“I need you,” she whispered.

“Yes.”

Surging upward, he entered her with one smooth thrust.

Nicole sucked in a sharp breath, her hands sliding down the rigid muscles of his back as he set a swift, relentless pace that had them both soaring toward a shattering climax.

****

Tucker stepped into Rios’s cabin, impatiently raking back his still-damp hair.

He hadn’t wanted to leave the warm shower he’d been sharing with Nicole, but she’d made it clear that her patience was at an end. Either she got the list of employees from Rios, or she was headed back to the SAU facility.

It’d taken nearly a half hour of fast-talking to convince her to finish her shower while he went in search of the information. And even then he understood the clock was ticking.