Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 60604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 303(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 303(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
She cried out, fresh tears stinging her eyes, although the pleasure by far outweighed the pain.
In a single motion, he lifted her completely off his cock, flipped her onto her belly and pinned her down, straddling her legs. Another snarl reached her ears. He wrapped a fist in her hair, pulling her head back until she arched as he plowed deep into her channel. She felt like a virgin, stretched to the maximum, shocked by both the pain and the pleasure of it all.
Ben slammed into her, over and over again with an urgency and violence that stunned her. Even so, her body wanted all of it, wanted more of it, until she’d raised her voice in a continuous, keening cry.
Ben’s breath panted hot in her ear, his desperation for release evident in the way his hand tore the sheet beneath her, yanking even the mattress cover up with his effort to bury himself inside her.
He roared, his seed so hot she felt it, even through the condom.
And then a searing pain ripped through her shoulder, blinding her.
It was the salty smell of her tears that jerked him back to his full human form. Her blood was in his mouth, her scream ringing in his ears. He released the grip of his jaws and reared back off her, horrified.
Blood ran down her back, soaking the bed.
He shouted in alarm, his voice mingling with her sobs. Oh, no. His heart rate shot to arrhythmic levels, palms turned cold and sweaty. “Ashley?” he croaked, his voice hoarse.
She had scrambled up, crouched in a ball at the head of the bed, her eyes wide with terror. He reached for her and she flinched.
“Don’t touch me,” she cried. Her lips trembled, tears streamed down her face, mingling with her blood on her collarbone.
Oh, God. What had he done?
He stumbled back, his limbs cold. “Ashley…”
She cowered, holding her hand up, as if to ward him away.
Hot tears filled his own eyes. “Please,” he whispered, not even sure what he was begging for. Don’t hate me. Don’t be seriously hurt.
“Don’t,” she cried, pressing herself up against the wall as if she wanted to push herself right through it to get away from him.
“I won’t,” he said, a tear streaking his cheek as he backed up. “I won’t touch you. I won’t ever hurt you again.” He turned and ran, throwing open the door and shifting without changing his clothes, which caused them to rip at the seams and fall off as he raced away.
He gulped the cool morning air, ignoring the occasional joggers who looked terrified at seeing a huge wolf race by. He ran fast and hard, with no destination in mind. He followed a creek bed and ran through parks, killing a goose just for sport.
When he found himself at Zolla’s back door, he figured some better instinct must have crept in, and followed it inside. Bursting through the doggy door, he ran past where Melissa and Jeremy still lay on the fold-out couch. Zolla opened the bedroom door just as he reached it, probably hearing or smelling him.
He looked unsurprised by his arrival, as if he’d been waiting for him to appear. “It’s Jack,” he announced the moment Ben shifted to human form. Zolla pointed to his computer screen at the IP address listed. “Every one of Stone’s servers crashed fifteen minutes ago. Stone Gaming is completely down all over the world. I don’t know what his plan is, but I do know for certain that computer that logged in with your password thirty minutes ago is registered to Jack Laden. Here’s his address.”
Ben snatched the paper and memorized the address.
“Is that blood on your face?” Zolla asked, sniffing the air.
He tried to breathe and failed. “Yeah,” he managed to say. Knowing her sister was in the other room and would also hate him for what he’d done only increased his shame. “I marked her. It’s bad. Really bad. I need you to go to her.” It was a sign of his desperation that he would send another male to take care of his mate.
Zolla’s jaw dropped, but he thankfully didn’t comment. “Where?”
He gave him the name of the motel and the room number. “You’ll go now?”
“Of course. Where are you going?”
“To take care of Jack.”
“You shouldn’t go alone. Call Mark or wait for me.”
He shook his head. “No, I can handle him. You just make sure Ashley—” he swallowed. “Just go to her. Now.”
Zolla pulled on a Rockies cap. “I’m leaving.”
Ben shifted back to wolf form and followed Zolla out, taking off for the place he’d hidden his car Friday night. Using the hidden button to pop his trunk, he rummaged in the duffel bag for a pair of pants, shirt, and shoes. With the spare key, he started the car up and drove toward the address of Jack’s foothill residence. His mind was blank—or rather, held only clear focus of intent: eliminate Jack. After he dealt with him, he would open the box in which he’d stuffed his anguish over Ashley.