She dug her nails into his arm, and his growl was unexpected. He lowered his mouth to her shoulder and clamped his teeth on her, almost deep enough to break the skin. Pleasure and pain, pleasure and pain, and oh! Her body shattered around his fingers, gripping him with each pulse of her release.
Aaron’s teeth bit down harder, but it was too much. “Ouch.”
Her man’s response to that tiny, pained sound was instant. With a muttered, “Shit,” he pulled away from her so fast he was on the other side of the room before she even registered that he’d moved.
He paced the back wall like a caged animal, his eyes blazing, his chest heaving, his cheeks flushed, and his bared teeth looking sharper than she remembered. The sound that emanated from him now drew gooseflesh up across her arms.
“It’s okay. It’s okay,” she told him, but really, she didn’t know what was happening.
“I almost bit you. I almost Turned you, Alana! It’s not okay!” He paced back along the wall and grabbed his hair like he wanted to scream. “We didn’t even have sex, and I wanted to bite you. I was careful, and my bear still wants to mark you. I can’t do this. I have to go.” He eyed his shirt on the floor beside her, but shook his head and bolted out of her house shirtless instead. “I’m sorry,” he choked out right before the slamming of the door.
Alana sat on her couch completely stunned and rubbed her aching shoulder. She could feel the indentations of Aaron’s teeth in her skin, and how terrifying that just millimeters deeper, and she would be Changing right now. Changing into a grizzly bear, like Aaron. She hadn’t thought about claiming marks. Sure, she’d known about them, known about the shifters’ instincts to mark their mates, but it hadn’t even crossed her mind as she’d fallen for Aaron. He’d taken up too much headspace. Maybe he was right. Maybe she was just as dangerous to him as he was to her because whatever was happening between them was bringing out Aaron’s feral side.
I’m going to be the one to hurt you.
She hadn’t really understood his fear until now. A bite would change the course of her entire life and bind her to him completely. It would take away her plans for her future, but even scarier, it would take away her humanity.
This growing obsession between her and Aaron had the potential to burn them both up.
Chapter Nine
Coward! Aaron hit the throttle on the straightaway, then slowed for the turn-in to Harper’s Mountains. He sprayed gravel as he took the corner too fast, but fuck it. He evened out again and blasted up the dirt road, through the open gate, and right past 1010. He flipped off the raven flying above him, then slammed on the brakes in front of his cabin.
Weston Novak stretched his wings wide, shifted gracefully into his human form, jogged a few steps on impact, and skidded to a stop beside Aaron. His eyes blazed with fury. “I fucking told you!”
“Back off!” Aaron shoved past him and escaped into his cabin, slamming the door behind him. Or at least he thought he escaped, but the door creaked open immediately and Aaron reminded himself to replace the broken lock the second he had a chance.
“Two dreams, and it’s not like I kept them to myself, Aaron!” Weston’s eyes were the color of rich earth, proof that he hadn’t managed to tuck his raven away completely. “You think I like this, Aaron? It fucking sucks!”
Aaron had been pacing the kitchen, hoping Weston would wear himself out, but nope. The Novak Raven was awesome at stripping people down.
“I want to go back to normal and not think about shit I can’t control, but I can’t. I hit the genetic tar-hole, and now I can’t stop seeing that woman’s face. This is your fuckin’ fault.”
“I’ve been trying to stay away from her—”
“Not hard enough. Two dreams, and this morning I had a vision in fucking broad daylight, Aaron. You’re making this worse. Her face with your color eyes, and this time she was crying, man. Tears streaming down both cheeks, looking completely terrified. You’re going to Turn her against her will and ruin her entire life. Leave her alone!”
“You don’t’ understand, Wes. You don’t. You haven’t felt the pull of the bond yet. A few days ago I would’ve been like, ‘all right, done. Leaving girls alone is easy.’ But Alana’s different.”
“How?”
“She’s…”
“Say it, Aaron!”
“She’s mine! She’s mine, okay! And don’t give me that look. Don’t roll your eyes like you’ve never seen this before. It happens. Maybe you’re jaded and don’t want a mate, and hell, maybe you can convince your raven your whole life that you’re better off alone. I wasn’t successful in doing that! Bear wants more.”
“But her? A human, Aaron?” Weston’s eyes softened, and he rubbed his hand over his short, dark hair. “You could’ve picked any other shifter.”
Aaron stared out the window and shook his head. “Weston, it’s not like you think. It’s not like you lay eyes on your mate and decide whether to walk away or not.”
“You’ll Turn her.”
“I won’t.”
Weston slammed his open palm on the countertop. “Dammit, Aaron. You aren’t listening. I’ve seen it clear as day. It won’t be on purpose either. It’ll be bloody and painful, and she’ll be terrified of you. Terrified of the bear you put inside of her.” A muscle twitched under his eye. “The best thing you could do for that woman is to let her go.”