Hunger of the Heart (Wolves of Ravenwillow Book 1) Read online

  “Eric…I need you.” She breathed out, lustfully breathless as his lips trailed a path away from her lips to her chin, down her swan throat. His lips were loving, teasing, punishing, giving her everything and yet it wasn’t enough.

  Her womb clenched, her body tightly twisted, squeezing in demand to be filled. Filled with Eric, the way only he could.

  “Please…” She begged with an edge of need as his hands left their caressing position at the back of her thighs, roaming upward to her throbbing breasts; tugging and teasing her nipples through the soft fabric of her silk blouse and bra.

  Bending down further, Eric latched onto one of her hard nipples, pulling it into the hot, cavern of his mouth. His tongue circled and fluttered against the tempting bud in between his strong suckling pulls at her breast.

  “Eric, I need you, now.” Her words came out between heavy pants. She was so turned on right now, if he looked at her at certain way and she’d explode.

  Slowly releasing the swollen nipple, he raised his head, his breath coming out in heavy pants. “Don’t say that. I’m holding on by a thread as it is. I’m not going to take you like an over eager teenager. Whenever I’m around you my control goes right out the window.”

  “What part of I need you, are you not getting? This is what you wanted, right?”

  “Right here?” he questioned with a raised eyebrow.

  “Right here, right now. Hurry, I can’t stand it anymore.” She answered hastily, panting heavily.

  Eric made no move to comply with her demand, burying his face in between her neck and shoulder; he planted small, chaste kisses as he went. He didn’t dare take her right here in the middle of a dark parking lot against the side of a rough building. She already mistrusted him enough as it was; no matter how much he’d want to. Rebecca began to desperately grind her wet mound against his hidden cock in search of relief, almost undoing his good intentions.

  The sound of a car door slamming was like a bucket of cold water being thrown over her heated body. What was she doing? She usually had more control over herself than this. What was wrong with her? Just a moment ago this was the man that beat up a guy for just dancing with her. Granted; it was leading to more than just dancing, but that didn’t mean he was right in what he did, did it? For God’s sake; he was a werewolf. For all she knew he was just as dangerous as the man that had attacked her all those years ago and here she was dry humping him? She must be insane—clinical-deranged-out of her mind-insane!

  “Let me go.” She whispered, pushing away from him. She had to get away from him before she made a big mistake.

  “Why?” He mumbled as he kissed and sucked at the soft skin below her ear lobe. Rebecca was thinking too much again and when that happened; she fled. This time, he wasn’t letting her run, this time she wasn’t going to run from him.

  “You weren’t complaining a moment ago.” He pointed out, thrusting his covered cock up against her pulsing clit; a satisfied smile curved on his face when she emitted a small, breathless moan.

  Digging her nails into his shoulders, she glared at him, her teeth clenching in anger. “I’m drunk, Eric.” She latched onto the excuse like a lifeline. She wasn’t necessarily drunk in the way she implied. But whether it was Eric’s kisses and his hands on her or the one drink she’d had inside, she was left feeling dizzy and highly aroused all at once.

  Part of her didn’t want Eric to put her down on her feet, but she was silently grateful when his expression changed from teasing to concern. Lowering her to her feet, Eric held onto her arms as she found her footing on her shaking legs. Once she was in no danger of falling, he transferred his grip to her wrist and began pulling her back toward his black hummer. Shaking her head, Rebecca weakly beat against Eric’s tugging arm

  “What the hell are you doing now?”

  Coming to a stop beside the passenger door, Eric pulled out his keys to press a button on a small keypad. With a low beeping, the door unlocked. Shoving his keys away, he jerked the large door open before tugging her further.

  Letting go of her wrist, Eric took a step back from her, his hand motioning toward the hummer. “Get in.” he said roughly.

  Taking unsteady step back, Rebecca groaned and rubbed at her head. How was she ever going to get away from him? “No. I’m not going anywhere with you.” She stated, stubbornly shaking her head.

  Dropping his arm behind her like a road block when she would have turned away, Eric stepped closer to her. His expression told her that he wasn’t in the mood to listen to her. “Get the fuck in the car.” He whispered firmly.

  She shook her head. A faint smirk played upon her lips. “You want to talk about my language? I’m not inebriated, Eric. I can take myself home. I don’t need your help.” Shoving at him to make him move out of her way didn’t do her any good but pissed her off when he simply watched her.

  “I know that.” he slowly bit out. “But I am not going to worry about you getting into an accident because you are being too stubborn. Now; get in that damn seat and buckle up before I do it for you.”

  For a moment, Rebecca paused. He wouldn’t really do that, would he? “You can’t do that.” she argued with disbelief.

  Without another word, Eric made good on his threat. Crowding into her space, he bent down; his strong arms scooped her up like she was no more than a child’s doll. Before she could release the cry of outrage that swelled in her throat, Eric had dumped her roughly on the high passenger seat. When she attempted to push out of the seat, she gasped when Eric laid a heavy hand over the swell of her breast, pinning her back against the seat as he jerked the seat belt over her. Making sure she was buckled in, Eric stepped back, slamming the door shut before striding around to his side.

  Once he settled in the driver’s seat, the close proximity between them had her mouth going dry and her heart thundering painfully in her chest. It would appear she’d pushed Eric too far this time. She just worried what price she’d be paying in the end.

  * ~ * ~ *

  So much for my grand plan…

  Rebecca slouched in her seat with a fallen look. With a faint pout, her arms crossed over chest as she looked over at Eric. His face was set in stone, his expression dark. She knew it was her fault, not that she fully understood why. What right did he have to be so upset with her? She was nothing to him.

  He knew she was human and if her past experience with his kind was any clue; they hated humans. Damon was the one of a few shifters that she felt safe around. She didn’t feel safe around Eric. She felt hunted and constantly pursued, but at the same time she felt a pull between them, a pull that she was firm on fighting.

  Bossy flea brains!

  She glared at him, taking notice of how his fingers gripped the steering so tightly that his knuckles turned white. She had no doubt he could have crushed the black leather covered steel without much effort. Would he turn that same strength on her once he knew her secret?

  Abruptly, Eric’s breath huffed out between his lips with a near snarl. “Stop glaring at me.”

  Startled, Rebecca turned to face the window so quickly she nearly knocked her forehead against the glass. She watched as they turned away from the main street and down a dark, curved road. The road was bracketed by tall pine trees as they made their way around the high incline. Brow knitting with confusion, Rebecca slowly looked away from her window to face the windshield. Where was he taking her? One thing was for certain, he had no intention of taking her to her apartment.

  “Where are we going?” she asked hesitantly, before casting him a fleeting glance.

  Eric sat stiff in his seat, his eyes glued on the dark road ahead and as he maneuvered the hummer around the sharp turns. His lips were pressed in their usual thin line, attesting that he wasn’t in the best of moods for a chit-chat.

  Much to her surprise, he replied. “I’m taking you back to my house tonight.”

  Rebecca didn’t know what she should say first. Why was he taking her back to his home? Why was he taking some
dark road that she’d never seen before? And why in all that was holy was he acting angry with her? She shook her head before slamming it back against the seat with frustration. Squeezing her eyes closed she was beginning to regret her earlier actions –or at least she regretted that he’d caught her.

  “I’m not going to your house, Eric. Take me back.” she ordered with a surprisingly firm tone.

  He didn’t reply. Opening her eyes, she looked back over at him. He looked as if she hadn’t even said a word. Perhaps he didn’t hear her? “Did you hear me? Do I need to speak louder for you?” she bit out sarcastically.

  The corner of his lips curled slightly. “I have perfect hearing, Rebecca.”

  “Then take me back.” again, he didn’t respond. His cold shoulder routine was really getting old. “Are you listening to me?”

  “Yes. I’m just not replying to you.”

  “Why not?”

  “Cause I am sick to death of fighting with you. As I said earlier, we are going to have a long, drawn out discussion about us and I won’t let you run and hide from it anymore.”

  She rolled her eyes at his explanation. This again? She was really getting sick of repeating herself to him over and over. She wasn’t a playing-hard-to-get girl, she was a not-interested; good-bye girl. Why couldn’t he simply understand that?

  Before she could toss her rehearsed retort at him, Eric glanced at her before speaking once more. “How much did you drink tonight?”

  “What do you care?” she bit out turning away from him.

  “I care because you aren’t going to use that excuse that you are drunk on me again.”

  Sighing, she tossed her hands up in the air. “I had one drink. Aside from a bit of a buzz; I am fine.”

  “Good. Once we get at my house, I’ll get you some coffee and food and then we’re going to talk about your actions tonight.”

  Her actions? What was she? A child?

  “Can’t you see how ridiculous you are acting?” she scoffed.

  Out of nowhere, Eric jerked sharply on the steering wheel, pulling the hummer off of the dark road and into a flat dirt patch. At the abrupt movement, Rebecca pressed herself against her seat, her eyes going wide with shock. Dropping his hands from the wheel, Eric turned to glare at her. Maybe glare was too mild of a term for the way he looked at her now. If it were possible his look could have fried her on the spot.

  I’ve really stepped in it this time, Rebecca thought.

  Holding up a finger at her while the rest of his hand clenched tightly, Eric bit out. “What was ridiculous was your stupid stunt tonight. There is nothing ridiculous about what I am feeling right now. There certainly wouldn’t have been anything ridiculous about what happened in the bar if I hadn’t had control over myself.”

  She shook her head at him. “Cut the ego-macho bull shit.”

  “You’re getting quite a mouth on you, Rebecca.” He mused with a scowl. “What happened to the woman that was too afraid to look at me? Let alone argue with me just months ago?”

  Rebecca clenched her hands into fists in her lap to prevent herself from giving in to the urge to attack him. “She finally realized what a prick you are. You’re just acting this way because I want nothing to do with you. Well, damn your stupid ego! I want nothing to do with you—get over it. You and I both know that you wouldn’t have actually attacked Josh over me.”

  Pressing his lips into a hard line, Eric regarded her with a hard look. He seemed to be breaking down what she’d said to him before he would choose whether to say anything to her or not. With a shift of hard muscle, his arm lifted toward her. She flinched back out of fear of what he was. Seeing her reaction, he paused before his hand gripped her flowing locks, pulling her close to him. Her hands flew out, pressing against his hard chest in attempt to ward him off.

  Her arms trembled as despite her effort to hold him away from her, Eric pulled her face closer to his. With just a few inches separating their lips, he smirked down at her with some sort of victory.

  “As you’ve said before, you don’t know me and you certainly don’t know what I am or am not capable of doing when it comes to you. Don’t tempt fate with me any more than you already have.” He warned. Taking in her wide eyed look, his smirk widened. “Fear?” he scoffed with amusement. “Good. I won’t tolerate what happened tonight again.” without kissing her as she’d been preparing herself for; half scared and half thrilled, Rebecca found his hands falling away from her. Turning away from her, Eric pulled the hummer back onto the dark road without a further word.

  Her stubbornness may have been made of iron against his words, but the look she’d just seen in his eyes left her shivering with fear. Trying to wipe the memory of Eric’s hands and mouth on her would never be good enough to free her from what was between them.

  She was left with only one choice now. She would have to leave.

  11

  With a heavy sigh, Rebecca forced herself to remain sitting on the couch as Eric spoke softly to Sarah as he escorted his mother to the door. It wasn’t hard to miss the look that had crossed Sarah’s aged face as she watched Eric towing Rebecca inside that house like she was a disobedient child. Sarah had eyed her short skirt and seducing makeup with confusion. It was only after she noticed Eric’s possessive hand clutching over Rebecca’s that Sarah’s look of confusion quickly changed to disapproval.

  That makes two of us.

  When Sarah’s lips had parted to question Eric’s actions, but when Eric gave her a quelling look, she remained silent. After tugging her through the dining room and into the dark living room, Eric wiped at a nearby light switch. Rebecca blinked as the living room was suddenly flooded with light. Loosening his hold on her hand, he led her to the couch.

  “Sit down.” He grumbled while gently pushing her onto the worn cushion.

  Glaring at his tone, she jerked her hand free from his grasp before taking her time to settle onto the seat. From her seat she could hear the hushed voices of Eric and Sarah in the next room. Though she couldn’t discern what was being said, she suspected that they must be discussing her. When Sarah had first approached her about becoming Emma and Travis’s nanny, she’d firmly told Rebecca that her son was not a man that she could get involved with. With her current appearance, with no doubt; Sarah must think she was attempting to move herself into Eric’s bed.

  Quite the opposite, Rebecca was desperately trying to stay away from him, not that he was making it easy. If she couldn’t fight this intense attraction she had for Eric, she would have to force herself to leave and find a new home. The thought was painful. But then so would death if Eric discovered her secret.

  Without even hearing a creaking floor board, Rebecca glanced up to see Eric regarding her with a calculating expression. Jumping with fright, she pressed a hand to her racing heart. Sharpening her gaze at him, she sniped. “You should wear a bell.” As before in the hummer, he didn’t respond. Instead he merely looked at her. After a moment, his nose twitched slightly. The innocent twitch suddenly turned to a full on nose curl with a look of distaste.

  Sighing heavily, he approached her. “Come with me.” It wasn’t a request, nor where his words spoken gently. With Eric everything he said to her always seemed to be like he was ordering his dog to follow him. That reference had her frowning with anger.

  “Stop ordering me around.” She bit out between clenched teeth. Again the jerk didn’t respond, instead he took possession of her hand once more and tugged her to her feet. Forcibly, he tugged her across the room to the stairs before leading her upward.

  “Eric, what do you think you are doing?” she practically hissed out as they reached the top of the landing. She found herself glancing toward the twin’s bedroom with apprehension. She didn’t want them to see her like this. She still had time to get away from him before this went any further. “Eric—” before she could say another word to him, she abruptly found herself being tugged through the dark doorway of his bed room. Her mouth with dry and her stomach cle
nched. She highly doubted his intention was to take her to his room to talk.

  Navigating through the dark room without difficulty, Eric pulled her with him into the connecting master bathroom. His hand angrily swiping against the wall until his hand hit the light switch. Allowing her to jerk her hand from his possession, Eric motioned to the glass enclosed shower stall. “Get cleaned up.”

  Had she heard him right? This night was going from bad to very, very dangerous right before her eyes. “W-Why?” for a moment he seemed to struggle with his answer before settling to wave a frustrated hand at her.

  “I will not be able to talk to you like this.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like a temptress attempting to lure a male to her.” taking a breath, he released it with a moan of appreciation. “And you tempt me very much, Rebecca.”

  “It was never meant to tempt you.” She bit out in anger. Instantly his eyes went hard at her words. She couldn’t help her instinct to retreat from him until her back was pressed firmly against the bare wall beside the sink as he moved further into her personal space. When would she learn to just shut up?

  “It should have been.” Allowing his gaze to travel down the length of her, his jaw clenched tightly. “I’ll find you some clothes of mine to wear for the time being, but I plan on burning those clothes so that no other will ever see you in it again.” he stated with a menacing tone.

  Why was he acting so…possessive? It made no sense to her. Anger and jealousy she understood coming from Eric, but this possessiveness that he was showing scared her. If she blindly followed his orders, she would be discovered. She’d been lucky to wear a blouse that covered her scars but combined with the short skirt had given her a sexy appeal. If Eric saw her scars—he would know what had caused them. In a flash her fists shot to the smooth labels of her blouse, her fingers clenched in the material as if to hold it in place against his eyes.