Ren’s [POV]
I sighed as I finished breakfast and avoided Caleb’s steady gaze, our routine so normal now that I should be relaxed. I mean, everything was great, and I was happier than I’d ever been. After the night we talked and agreed to be friends who have sex, well, things were good. Caleb and I lived together, we had sex, we slept together, and even shared showers, which were…
Blowing out a breath to suppress a moan of lust, I grinned at the thought of Caleb, showers, and the sexy times we’d had so far. He was the perfect man, male, as he insisted I call him, and I wasn’t just saying that. Yes, he was surly and moody, and a lot of the time, I found myself yelling at him when I wanted to talk, and he clammed up. But he was also really sweet at times, super kinky, and he took care of me.
Which was the problem and not the problem at the same time. I liked it, I liked it too much, and so, despite my agreement and the happiness I felt, I was also miserable.
Maybe try not loving the man.
Would you shut up? No one wants your opinion unless it’s constructive. Besides, you keep purring and being weird around him. You love him too.
Yeah, but I’m mostly into the sex, and Wolfy, while she’s all about the sex. And breeding. And those gross things animals think about.
Please shut up, I groaned, sliding plates onto the table while Caleb grumbled and stared holes into me.
“You okay, sugar?” he asked, making me shiver because he called me the sweetest things.
“Fine. Why?” I squeaked, blushing guiltily and scuttling around to get coffee and juice and buy time before I had to sit down.
Just don’t love him!
Easy for you to say. You’re not the one with feelings. I have feelings, and it isn’t easy to suppress them when he’s so…
Yummy.
“Babe, come and sit. Jesus, you look like you’re about to combust. Are you about to bleed again?” he rasped, his eyes turning a deep brown on one side and a soft blue on the other.
I snorted, a nervous giggle spilling out, and shook my head.
“No, you horn dog.” I huffed, still mortified and turned on by the last memory of my bleeding and the things Caleb did. “We are not doing that again!”
“Yeah, we are and don’t you deny it. You liked it.” He grinned, his eyes sparkling when I blushed harder and flopped into my seat with a moan.
Yeah, I liked it. What kind of woman wouldn’t like it when her man pinned her down and licked her like he was starving? All while sharing something so intimate I couldn’t compute it without my heart quaking. Caleb loved my body, everything about my body, and had zero boundaries. The man walked into the bathroom and took a seat in the tub to talk while I was going number two.
“It’s embarrassing and weird. People”
“You don’t understand shifters, and you don’t either, thanks to your old pack. Here, we do things the right way, and any male worth his salt takes care of his girl when she’s in pain. Plus, it’s hot as hell and makes my cock pound. So get that out of your head, sugar. We’re doing it again. And again.” He purred, smiling when I sighed dreamily and grinned.
Wanting to stay in this bubble where happiness existed, I ignored the warnings my mind was screaming at me. The trouble was, I was hopelessly, deeply, stupidly letting myself fall for Caleb Chase.
And the reality was that it was foolish. Falling in love with a man who has outright told me he doesn’t want to love again was asking for heartbreak.
Caleb’s [POV]
I was tired as hell as I unlocked the door and tiptoed into the silent house, glad to be home, glad I’d made some headway on the Joe Carver case, and so ready to see Ren, I stopped for a minute to take a breath.
Sniffing, I dragged air deep into my lungs and groaned gratefully when I didn’t scent her heat. I’d left last week, just as I was scenting that seductive, potent time coming because I knew, deep down, I knew, I wouldn’t be able to pull out again. The last time we’d had heat sex, it took every scrap of control to pull out and not paint her womb with my seed, and my animals liked that so little they’d snarled.
Now, every time I scented her heat, I left, and when I came home, I was reminded just how much I didn’t like leaving. Sighing because that wasn’t something I wanted to think about, I locked up, checked the house again, and rushed upstairs to the bedroom, where Ren was fast asleep on her back.
I smiled when I saw how she was stretched out in nothing but panties and a tank top so thin that I could see her powder-pink nipples. Fuck, I’d missed her, and my cock wasn’t far behind as I shucked my clothes, tossed them towards the laundry basket, and slid onto the bed between her spread legs.
Once I got comfortable, I slowly slid her panties off, being careful not to wake her, and then licked deep, groaning when her scent and taste filled my senses. I loved this, loved the intimacy of this and the way Ren writhed awake as I built her to orgasm slowly.
She got wet as she gasped and stretched awake, and when she tensed, her hands going to my hair as I sucked harder, I took her climax with a growl of satisfaction.
“Oh God, I missed you.” She sighed, smiling dreamily when I lunged up towards her and kissed her while lining up to thrust home.
Home. That was what I thought when I was seated deep and felt her quiver around me.
“Missed you too, sweetness. You were good? Did you go to the clinic and let Trey take care of you?” I asked, my body moving inside her slowly so I could savor the pull and gentle grip as I built her gently.
“He’s so…oh yes, there, right there!” she gasped when I changed the angle and hit a spot deep inside that clenched and made me moan with her. “He’s bossy and means!”
I smiled, enjoying the hell out of her gasps and the way she clutched my ass, trying to force me to speed up. These moments were my favorite. I enjoyed the rough, dirty, sometimes frantic sex, but these slow, easy, tender moments were what I loved most. Leaning in, I smooched her lips, giving her my tenderness and the care I had for her. Even if I couldn’t love Ren, I did care. So deeply, I sometimes quaked when I thought about the future and if she’d still be here.
“Only when you don’t listen.” I chuckled, gritting my teeth when she tightened, and I felt her body get slicker with approaching climax.
“Only when…oh God, Caleb, you need to go faster. Please!” Ren whined, reaching down to rub between her legs.
And just like that, I lost the easy and tender. Her openness and the way she writhed while her eyes turned an electric blue set me off, and I was soon pumping hard and growling, my face buried in her neck to muffle the sounds I couldn’t contain.
“Fuck.” I snarled, my balls growing so hard and tight I felt like I was about to shatter. “Ren, baby. You have to come.” I groaned, reaching down to help her rub herself.
“Oh, shit!” She moaned, clutching at me and turning her face to-
I snarled, coming so hard it felt like I was flying apart when the pain hit me. It was intense, but more than that, the feel of Ren’s teeth sinking into my shoulder turned an already epic climax into a nuclear detonation. Stiffening and releasing so hard I nearly passed out.
I felt her orgasm with me, the tight clench going on forever before we both fell still, and I pulled back, my body stiff with denial. Only, it was a denial I couldn’t hold onto when Ren licked her lips and gave me a look so filled with hope I knew it was true.
“Did you just fucking bite me?” I croaked, wanting so badly for it not to be true, even as I pulled away and stumbled back, my back slamming into the wall.
“Caleb, I’m, I’m sorry. I didn’t…mean, I didn’t…” she choked, tears filling her eyes while raged and betrayal filled me.
“You just bit me!” I roared, emotions swirling within and turning my shaky peace to dust.
“I didn’t mean to. I couldn’t help it, though. I, I love you and, and I tried not to, but I couldn’t stop her anymore. She knows!” Ren yelled, tears streaming as she sat up and pleaded with me.
“What? I don’t…”
“My wolf. She knows. Knows we’re…fated.” Ren rasped, her chin quivering when I shook my head sharply.
“No.”
“Yes! I didn’t…I tried to ignore it, Caleb; I did. At first, I was, I thought it was just love, and I was okay not saying anything because I knew…but then it happened. She… just said it one day, and it’s been so hard. So hard not to tell you. I wouldn’t have told you if…but she wouldn’t let it go. We’re fated.” She cried, her face crumpling when I shook my head and snarled, the denial a silent assault that made her jerk back and sobs louder.
“No!” I yelled, turning to stumble out to the sound of Ren’s cries and my roars of denial.
Fuck no.
Wolf.