Annie Nicholas: Hunting Colby

“You’re right.” He sat up against the headboard and patted the mattress in front of him. “All these hormones and then the shift made me less reasonable than a fourteen-year-old boy. I had to clear my head.”

My heart twisted every time I laid my eyes on him. I crossed my arms and tried to stare at anything but him sitting on my bed. “You don’t have the right to keep playing yo-yo with my heart. You should have more respect.” Part of me wished I’d never met him.

He made a soft noise. “You’re my trigger, Gwen.” His confession sent a jolt of electricity over my nerves. “When Cesio touched you, it triggered the image of you sitting in my kitchen while I combed your hair. Next thing I knew, I had shifted.” He patted the mattress once more. “Sit by me—please.”

My mouth went dry. “I have things to tell you. I mean, there have been developments in—”

“Red’s whereabouts?”

“Yeah…” I took a step closer to the bed. “How did you know?”

“I listened to your messages.”

I ground my teeth. “Why didn’t you call back?” This behavior had to be a human thing he’d picked up from his adopted parents, because it sure wasn’t shifter.

“I trusted you to take care of it.”

My mind went blank. “Really?” He had a terrible ability to disarm all my internal guards by saying the perfect thing at the right time.

The sheepish smile returned to his hard lips. “It wasn’t easy. I might have left wear marks on the carpet from pacing.”

I glanced at my feet and chuckled. “On this cheap stuff? I doubt the management will notice.” Kicking off my heels, I sighed with relief. I’d been dying to do that all night. I sat at the end of the bed and faced Colby. “You don’t know how much that means to me.”

“Tell me what you know.”

“I think Cesio has Red but I haven’t a clue where. What I need is intel.”

He leaned toward me. “We can hit his nest in daylight while they’re asleep. A strike force is a phone call away.”

I shook my head. “The old ones don’t need to rest during the day. Defenses are at maximum during daylight hours because they know their weaknesses. Cesio thinks we’re still blaming Alcide for Red’s disappearance. I think we should pay him an official call as Nosferatu representatives—he can’t deny us. And then we strike.” Cesio wouldn’t expect such a bold move. I considered calling Master Tane first but couldn’t risk him forbidding me. This way I could claim it a matter of misinterpretation of my position.

If we found Red and exposed an illegal breeding program then no one would care how we did it, but if Cesio was innocent my hide would decorate my Master’s floor.

“You want me to represent the Nosferatu? That’s ironic, isn’t it?” He grabbed my ankle and set my bare, sore foot on the bed. With firm strokes, he massaged my sole.

A noise of pleasure escaped my throat. “Not you. Mutt.” I closed my eyes as he dug his fingers deeper into the knot in my arch.

“I thought he and Mutt didn’t get along.”

“They don’t. He resents Mutt being chosen to become Nos over him.” It didn’t take a genius to figure that out. “He can’t risk killing him, not yet. It would draw too much attention. He’ll let Mutt inside as a representative of the Nosferatu council and us as his guards.”

“Just us?” He switched to my other foot.

“We can take three more. Five is an acceptable honor guard. We should wait a few hours after sunset and allow some of the nest’s populace to leave. There’ll be less casualties this way.”

He worked both his hands along my calves. “That gives us enough time then.”

My eyes shot open and met his. “For what?” Our noses almost touched, he’d drawn so close.

“To start off, I’m getting you out of Mutt’s clothes.” He made a face of disgust before pulling the large sweatshirt over my head. “You stink of him.” Tossing it to the floor, he began working on my pants.

“Whoa.” I couldn’t catch my breath. Was this it? Had he accepted me as his mate?

His green gaze trapped my attention, his focus so intent I couldn’t move as he ran his hands over my bare legs. The message in his eyes was clear.

Mine .

A shiver of anticipation ran through my limbs. I gripped the collar of his black T-shirt and tugged him to my mouth. The waiting, the hunting was over. I had him.

Mine.

Our lips met together in a clang of teeth and crush of flesh. Finally, the passion burning between us was unleashed. I heard the tear of cloth and felt Colby’s wandering hands caressing my stomach as he moved toward my chest.

I wrenched his shirt over his head, breaking our kiss for a second before his mouth found mine once more. All thoughts of Cesio and Red had vanished. The city no longer existed for me, only Colby and this room. Running my fingers in the tangled mess on his head, I clung to him.

He traced the lace of my bra, and a growl rolled in his throat. Gripping the edges of my bra, he snapped it open and pulled away from our kiss as he yanked the last scraps of clothing from my body except my panties. His gaze devoured me, like the first time I’d undressed in his apartment. It was a complete surrender to his shifter self, a complete surrender to me.

I straddled his lap as he leaned back to kneel on the mattress, still in his fucking jeans. The feel of his solid muscles moving under my hands was a touch of heaven. How many times had I fantasized about this moment? Yet those dreams faded in comparison to reality.

He rolled his hips, pressing the hard bulge in his pants against the apex of my thighs.

I sighed and threw my head back, allowing him to support my back with his hands. I loved the strength in him, not just physical but mental. He’d been a lone wolf from a young age and survived to grow into a good man. A protector of humans when they didn’t even know what hunted them in the night. It was time somebody embraced him to their heart and gave him sanctuary. That person would be me.

“You’re so beautiful.” He placed tender kisses along my neck, my collar bone, until he reached my breasts. With slow precision, he traced my areola with the tip of his tongue.

Beautiful? No one had ever referred to me as that. Fast, yes. Cunning, yes. Strong, yes. I wasn’t a Rose. I was built to fight and hunt, to snarl in my prey's face while I tore its throat out.

I set my hands over my breasts. “Don’t.”

Concern marked his face. “Don’t touch you?” His jaw tightened.

“No, don’t lie. I know who and what I am. Don’t give me false compliments. They just hurt.”

A small humorless laugh left his mouth before he pulled my hands from my body. “Haven’t you ever looked at yourself?” Lifting me in his arms, he carried me to the bathroom in front of the large mirror over the sink.

I hung my head so my long hair would cover my small breasts.

“Stop that.” Colby stood behind me and hissed the words in my ear while pulling my hair back over my shoulders. With his fingertips, he guided my chin up to meet his gaze in the mirror. “That is pure beauty. Never believe anything else.” He released his hold on me and ran his hands over the slight curve of my hips. “Sleek.” Traced the muscles of my upper thighs. “Strong.” He kissed the back of my neck and caressed my left breast. “Soft.”

“Wouldn’t you like me more if I had curves like…like Rose or Connie?” There, I said it, my worst fears and vulnerability. I didn’t care to be feminine—God knows those heels were the death of me—but for Colby I could try. I glanced at my reflection.

Lust filled his stare. “They’re weak. I would shatter their bodies and spirits, but not you.” He pressed against me, his fingers seeking the edges of my panties. “Sometimes I think you might break me instead.”