A ruthless determination emanated from the man carrying her up the stairs, three at a time, as easily as though she weighed no more than a feather. His heartbeat thundered in her ear as erratically as her own and his arms tightened around her, when she wriggled closer into the warmth of his skin, not able to stop her instinctive need to lick his chest.

The scent and very essence of Ion exploded on her tongue. Need slamming into her, all thoughts of injuries fled her befuddled brain, when Ion pinned her against the wall, the minute they reached the safety of the bedroom.

He slid her down his naked body with infinite slowness and they groaned in unison when his rock-hard erection made brief contact with her groin on the way down. Marnie couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. She was locked in the prison of Ion’s arms, every cell in her body craving his touch. Her knees buckled when he sniffed her neck, inhaling deeply. One of his thighs, between her legs, stopped her descent and his wolf’s grumble vibrated through her, causing more moisture to seep through her soaked thong. He had to feel that! Heat rose in her cheeks, even as his cock seemed to grow bigger still, a hard shaft against her belly, setting her skin alight where it touched through the thin barrier of her summer dress.

Ion’s barely controlled growl in her ear was the most arousing sound she had ever heard. His delicious scent intensifying around her, she didn’t even try to stop the needy moan escaping on a shuddery breath of air.

“Ion, please.”

“What, little one?”

The rasp of his rough tongue along her sensitive neck stopped Marnie from being able to respond at all, as the friction his tongue created sent sparks of electricity dancing across her body. Every lick along her fevered skin pitched her arousal higher, until the whole world was centred on the next trail of friction along her jaw. Her hips moved of their own accord, grinding her core into Ion’s roughened thigh, until the iron grip of his hands on her hips stopped her.

“Easy, little one. This will be so much better if we go slowly. I want to taste every inch of you, drink your cream and make you come again and again against my tongue and then, only then, my sweet will you feel my cock so deep inside you, you will never want to leave me.”

The hands on her hips softened, as Marnie froze. Shivers of excitement or fear or both, she couldn’t be quite sure which, danced along her spine at the images those growled words created. Her hands clung to his shoulders and she lost herself in his predatory smile, when she risked a glance up at his face. The eyes of his wolf were looking down on her and he crowded her further against the wall. Her breasts flattened against his chest and his thigh moved sinuously against her core.

“So wet, my little one. Tell me, is this bounty all for me?”

A renewed surge of moisture was his answer and his eyes darkened further. She could feel his claws slowly dragging along her sides as his hands wandered to her neck and he pulled back slightly, one hand cupping her breast through the fabric of her dress, whilst his head lowered and Marnie’s eyes fluttered closed in anticipation of his invasion.

The gentleness of the kiss that followed took her breath away. Not the harsh invasion she had been expecting, but a tender seduction of lips and teeth, coaxing her to open on a sigh. Ion slipped into that moan, his tongue exploring every part of her mouth with agonising slowness, whilst his hand on her nipple rubbed and teased, every roll sending shards of pure pleasure between her thighs. Desperate to take the kiss deeper, her tongue sought his, but every time she tried he withdrew with a muttered growl, shaking his head and the hand on her breast stopped its intimate massage.

“I told you, we’re taking this slow, little one. I have no wish to hurt you.”

“You won’t hurt me, Ion. Please, I need you.”

Something hot and dangerous flashed across his face at her whispered plea, the grip on her tightening for an instant. He smiled, the fangs of his wolf clearly visible, and Marnie held her breath at the struggle she sensed in him. The hand on her breast gripped the front of her dress and with one quick flick of his sharp claws the dress ripped, exposing her to his hungry gaze from the waist down. She sucked in her tummy on a shuddered moan as those menacing claws ran a trail over the soft skin of her abdomen, skimming the top of her thong with a feather touch, before he withdrew his claws and his fingers dipped under the elastic. His thigh spread her wider, as his fingers hovered over her clit and he resumed the kiss, his raspy tongue duelling with hers, until she thought she was going to dissolve into a sodden mess of drool and need.

His breathing was as heavy as hers when he finally pulled back, his eyes glowing in the darkness of the room.

“What makes you so sure I won’t hurt you. You’re such a little thing. You have no idea what my wolf could do to you.”

Marnie couldn’t breathe under the intensity of his fevered gaze. Of course she knew what he could do. Had she not seen his wolf in action mere minutes ago, about to rip Lucas to shreds? Terror slammed into her anew, not at Ion’s wolf, but at what could have happened to him, and she bit her lip so hard she could taste her own blood.

Ion released her with a muffled curse, all traces of his wolf gone. The flash of pain she saw in his eyes, before he turned his back on her, sliced straight through her heart.

“Good, I knew you’d come to your senses.”