Desire Unchained

And she’d die knowing she should have taken a risk for once in her life.

Shade’s fingers slipped between them, stroking her core over the wet fabric of her panties. “Well?”

“Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”

A low, sensual rumble came from deep in his throat as he kissed her. Not a proper kiss, but a lick across her lips and then a deep, hot meeting of tongues that had her panting and clinging to his jacket as if she would never let him go.

The rip of fabric registered in her ears, alongside the hum of passing vehicles, the laughter of someone on the sidewalk. None of it mattered, not even the flutter of her panties against her legs as they fell to the pavement.

God, this was crazy. Sex with a stranger in an alley. In the middle of the day.

A moment of clarity punched through her sexual haze as he unzipped his pants. She stopped him with a firm grasp on his wrist. “Why me?” she rasped. “There were other women in there, prettier, sexier—”

“I sensed your need.”

It was a strange answer, but then he was pushing against her entrance despite her restraining grip, and she didn’t care why this whirlwind had happened. Instinct took over, and she wrapped her legs around his waist and groaned as he eased the tip of his erection inside.

“Oh, man,” he breathed. “You’re so tight.” He pulled back a little, and then pushed inside again, just the head. The mild stretching sensation eased into a shimmer of pleasure as the crown of his penis worked the ring of nerves at her entrance.

“Wow.” She arched her back, and he slid his forearm behind her, cushioning her spine. “More. I want more.”

As though he’d been waiting for permission, he thrust deep, destroying her pleasure with a wave of pain. He froze, his expression tight. “You okay?”

“Fine,” she managed, as the pain faded. “It’s just been a long time.” Years, in fact. She’d lost her virginity her senior year of high school to a boy who swore he loved her, but two days later he’d loved someone else in the same way.

“You should have told me,” he growled. “I could have been gentler.”

“Just finish it,” she said, and with a harsh curse, he started moving inside her.

There was no slow buildup like she’d expected. No mildly pleasant stirring of sensation. No gradual warming.

There was an instant shattering, an explosion that would have had her screaming if he hadn’t slapped a hand over her mouth. His powerful thrusts rammed her into the building but she didn’t care, couldn’t care, because she was coming again and he was shuddering, moaning, jerking in a powerful release.

When they could both breathe again, she lowered herself to her feet and he pulled out, tucking himself swiftly back into his pants. Warm, tingly fluid dripped down her leg, blasting her back to reality.

“Oh, my God. You didn’t use a condom.”

“I’m sterile, and I’m not a carrier for diseases.”

“Still—”

He silenced her with a kiss. When he drew back, she felt dazed. He took her hand and led her toward the shop’s rear entrance. Just before she reached the door, a flash of lightning sizzled through her veins.

“Oh!” She gasped as another orgasm rocked her body. Shade held her through it, his massive body taking the impact of her spasms.

“That’s going to happen a couple more times. You might want to hide out in an office or break room for a few.” He waited until she was steady on her feet, and then sauntered off. At the corner, he glanced back over his shoulder. “By the way, I drive a Harley.”

Frowning, she stepped inside the building. Aspic grinned. “So? What kind of bike did he have?”

Runa laughed. “A Harley. He had a Harley.”

Shade had contacted her later, and they’d dated for a few weeks. Then her brother’s medical condition worsened. Shade had come to her house, spent a few minutes with Arik, and within days her brother had made a full recovery.

It was only days after that that she’d been attacked by the werewolf, and Arik had taken her to the R-XR for lifesaving care.

The secret military installation had been a shock—she’d thought her brother was regular Army, just another soldier. But he’d been working for the R-XR for years, along with a select group of about a hundred others, some active duty, some civilians. And a handful were even wargs—military members who had survived attacks and been snatched out of their regular units to work for R-XR.