Her entire body was that beautiful olive color and her nipples were a slightly darker shade of brown. Right now they were rock hard and as she rose up on her knees, her breasts slightly swayed, driving him insane.

He clenched her hips tight as she moved up and down, over and over. There was no way he could take his eyes off her. It humbled him that she was here with him now. She clearly knew nothing about shifter life, but she’d made the decision to let him into her body and they hadn’t known each other that long. She was so beautiful it almost hurt him to watch her. Those dark corkscrew curls bounced with her every graceful movement. They were riotous and so at odds with the way her body seemed to flow over him.

He was so close to losing it but he refused to embarrass himself. Somehow he pulled one of his hands off her hip. Reaching between their bodies, he teased her clit. Unlike earlier, this time he used more pressure, rubbing her harder.

She let out a gasp and he felt her inner walls tighten around him each time he rubbed. Oh yeah, it wouldn’t be long before she came again.

She still watched him with those big brown eyes as she rode him. It didn’t matter that both their movements were becoming jerkier and less restrained, she never took her eyes off him. It was the hottest thing he’d ever experienced.

When her climax finally hit, he realized it was coming a split second before it happened. Her inner walls clenched convulsively around him and a rush of warmth spread over his cock as she threw her head back.

With that, he let go. Unable to restrain himself anymore, his hips pumped frantically as he thrust inside her. He felt almost possessed as he emptied himself inside her in hard, long thrusts until finally she collapsed on top of him.

Her curls spread over his chest as she laid her head on him. Stroking a hand down her spine, he rubbed her in a gentle, soothing rhythm until he realized she’d fallen asleep. The steady beat of her heart and soft breathing made him smile.

Wrapping his arms around her, he slowly turned their bodies and pulled out of her as he turned on his side. He kept her tucked close to his chest and shut his own eyes. He hadn’t been sleeping much the past week and he remembered how tired she’d looked earlier back at her house. Right now he felt so utterly content and peaceful and he knew it had everything to do with the woman in his arms.

Under normal circumstances he’d be out there hunting down those vampires but there was no way he was leaving this woman to anyone else’s care. Since he knew his pack mates were patrolling and he trusted his own senses to detect an intruder, he let sleep overtake him, too. Tomorrow he could worry about introducing her to pack life in general. Not to mention he planned to start his goal of convincing her they were mates. Considering she had almost zero background about their world he had a feeling he had his work cut out for him. Luckily, he was more than up to the task. Anything for Estrella.

Chapter 4

Estrella stirred as she felt warmth embracing her entire body. She moved and realized there was a big, callused hand draped across her stomach. The hold was light, but she knew Rainer wasn’t asleep. She could feel his heartbeat where his chest pressed against her back and his breathing wasn’t steady enough for slumber.

“You’re finally awake,” he murmured, his mouth right next to her ear. He gently nipped her earlobe, pulling it between his teeth. Shivers of pleasure danced across her skin.

He was definitely awake. His erection pressed insistently against her back, making her smile. Sunlight streamed in from the mouth of the cave, telling her it was still early morning. Stretching, she rubbed her butt against his hard cock. She giggled when he groaned in frustration.

Rainer rolled her so that she was on her back and he was propped up on one elbow looking down at her. He had what looked like a day’s worth of beard growth though he’d been fairly clean-shaven the night before. She bet he had to shave twice a day. Reaching up, she cupped his cheek and smiled. “You get to tell me something about yourself now. I should be mean and wait until you’re about to come and then force you, but I’m nicer than that.”

He grinned again and that boyish charm was back. Her heart rate tripled when he smiled like that. “Well, I hate avocados, too. I have three older brothers, I’m part of Knox’s pack—which you already know—and my parents died about three hundred years ago.” He swallowed hard, his grin dying. “They were murdered.”

“I’m sorry. I...understand what that’s like.” She hated that she did. “Do you mind if I ask what happened?” It was too personal and she knew she should be pulling back from him out of self-preservation—what chance did a wolf and jaguar have at a relationship?—but she wanted to know everything about Rainer.

His jaw ticked once but his pale gaze never strayed from hers. “They were killed by vampires because someone betrayed them.”

The way he said “someone” was odd, but she didn’t comment. His hand, which still rested on her belly, flexed once. “Tell me what happened to yours.”

She should have expected it since she’d asked him. The only person she’d ever told about that night was Sabrina. “I was five so it’s all a little fuzzy, but men broke into our house really early one morning.” Estrella shut her eyes, trying to banish the images but that only made it worse. “They must have been shifters, or maybe vampires—I didn’t know they even existed until now but I guess it’s possible—because they were so strong.” Her voice cracked on the last word as flashes of the blood soaked bedroom swam in her mind.

“Look at me,” Rainer said softly. When she opened her eyes, his expression was soft. “You don’t have to tell me the rest of it.”

She wanted to, though she wasn’t quite sure why. She needed someone else to know about that night. That she wasn’t crazy, despite what the cops had said. “My mom got me to safety. She broke a window and basically threw me outside. Told me to run. Screamed it at me actually.” Saying the words out loud felt so freeing. She’d never been able to tell her friend the rest of this story but she was going to tell Rainer. “My mom told me to run and hide in the human world. I knew I was different, I could turn into an animal after all, but I didn’t really comprehend what she meant. I knew what she meant by run, though. So I did. I shifted forms and then ran until...I heard my father scream. The sound was horrific so I turned back. When I got back to my house I looked in the living room window and saw my father dead on the floor.” He’d been decapitated, but Estrella couldn’t force herself to say the words. “I watched as one of them killed my mom with a long sword. Later the cops said only my father was dead and my mom was missing, but I know what I saw.” The damn memories were burned into her brain. She didn’t care what anyone said. Her mother hadn’t just disappeared. Maybe her killers had taken her body but she’d seen what they’d done to her.

She’d run until she’d felt as if her legs would fall off. Then she’d shifted back to her human form once she’d reached the heart of Miami. A police officer had found her wandering the streets naked and helped her.

Rainer tunneled his hands through her hair and pulled her so that her face was against his chest. He murmured soothing sounds as he stroked her back and told her not to cry. That’s when she realized she was. The last time she’d cried had been the night her parents died.

She swiped away the wetness on her cheeks, hating the way her chest ached and throat burned as she held back even more tears. What she’d just told him was definitely bad first-date etiquette. She’d pretty much broken every rule, but it was hard to care. Even if she’d admitted way too much about herself, she was glad he knew this about her. Finally, someone knew the truth. And not just someone, but Rainer. She could be herself in the bedroom with him so she might as well just put it all out there right now. He’d protected her last night and now he was comforting her.

“I’ll fucking kill them,” he murmured so low she almost didn’t hear him.

Startled, she pulled her head back to look at him. “What?”

“Whoever killed your parents, I’ll—”

She pressed a finger to his lips and shook her head. She’d buried her ghosts a long time ago and the thought of him putting himself in danger made her ache inside. “Rainer, no. I don’t know who they were. The cops had no leads and it happened over two decades ago. Just...no.”

He didn’t respond for a long moment. Instead he leaned forward and tentatively touched his lips to hers. His kisses were soft, exploratory and incredibly sweet.

She felt more raw and vulnerable than she ever had before and he was being perfect. As his tongue stroked against hers that same need she’d experienced last night was back but with more urgency. She felt so drawn to him on a primal level it scared her a little. Okay, a lot.

He rolled over so that his body covered hers. She loved the feel of all that muscle and strength over her. Spreading her hands along both his shoulders and arms, she dug her fingers into his biceps as he pushed up, slightly separating their bodies.

Instinctively, she arched her back, wanting to feel his chest brushing against her nipples. But he was just moving so she could fully wrap her legs around him. They hadn’t bothered getting dressed during the last few hours so there were no barriers between them.

As she spread her legs to accommodate him, he settled his cock right against her opening. But he didn’t enter her like she expected and needed.

Estrella tightened her legs around him, digging her heels into his butt as she tried to urge him forward, but he remained immobile, poised above her. She was wet and aching for him and he was clearly trying to drive her insane.

“There’s something you should know, Estrella.” She loved it when he said her name all deep and sexy like that. Before she could savor it, he continued. “I’m territorial, possessive and where you’re concerned I know I’ll be jealous. When I said I didn’t take lovers easily I meant it. I haven’t been with anyone in decades.”