“They’ll be mixed,” she said, sounding as if they might be regarded the same way she had been.

He hated the way that some of her family had treated her, but he would prove that he and his family were different.

He scooped her up in his arms and set her gently on the bed. “You, me, and one whole pack of wolves will adore them.”

Chapter 21

Tom had planned to make love to Elizabeth in the living room on the sofa by the warm fire. He’d never expected his cousin to be confined right where she had rested—and suffering from an injury, too.

He wanted to see every inch of her when he made love to her this time, instead of being buried in the blankets. But the bedroom was too cold.

Then again… His gaze skimmed over her in the pale blue sweats as she smiled up at him, took his sweater in her hands, fisted them around the soft wool fabric, and drew him close.

“Hmm, Elizabeth.” Already his blood heated and the room seemed a lot warmer. Even so, he didn’t want her chilled like she’d been yesterday. He slipped his hands up her sweatshirt and caressed her breasts, his mouth moving over hers—soft, pliable, appealing—as she kissed him back.

He moved her slowly backward toward the bed, the covers still thrown aside from earlier in the afternoon. When her legs bumped into the mattress, she smiled. He rubbed her nipples with his thumbs, his mouth still fused to hers. She let go of his sweater and tugged to pull it up.

He quickly shucked his sweater, jeans, socks, and then boxers. Watching her as she slid into bed wearing the sweats, he yanked all the blankets over her. At least the sheets were flannel for this time of year and softer and warmer than cotton. Her eyes feasted on his body, and her interest made his body come to life.

“Hot,” she said, focusing on his erect cock, her mouth and eyes smiling.

“And getting hotter.” He pulled the covers aside so he could join her. He yanked them over him and reached down to pull off her sweatpants, their mouths again kissing. He struggled to keep his mouth on hers, not wanting to break contact as he tried to yank her pants down. She finished the move by kicking them away, burying them in the sheets.

She ran her tongue across his lips as he slid his hand underneath the sweatshirt and cupped a breast again. He loved how her breasts were soft and cushiony and sized just right for his mouth and hands.

Her leg slid over the side of his, her heel brushing the back of his calf. A frisson of heat shot through him as he slipped his hand down her soft skin until he reached the curly hair between her legs. And stopped.

Her mouth suckled on his lower lip, and he groaned with ardent need. He claimed her, his fingers stroking her wet, ready flesh, his mouth nipping her lips with a gentle teasing. She attempted to take off the sweatshirt. He would have helped, but he was busily stroking her and making her writhe with pleasure. The sweatshirt rested above her breasts when she came, his mouth covering hers to muffle the cry of ecstasy.

She smelled divine, sex personified.

He climbed over her, between her, not entering her yet but pulling off the sweatshirt. He feasted his eyes on her breasts and then set his mouth on one—sucking hard and caressing the other at the same time with his hand.

Her fingernails raked through his hair and scalp, tightening on strands of his hair as her nipples became taut, sensitive peaks. He rubbed her mound with his erection, and she bent her knees and spread her legs, inviting him to enter.

Not yet.

The urgency throbbed within him to take her, to finish this, to fulfill the wolf’s need, the primal urge to claim, but he wanted it to last.

She didn’t make that easy as he kissed her again, and she inserted her tongue and stroked the insides of his mouth. His other head took charge, his cock pushing between her wet, slick folds, burrowing deeper until he couldn’t go any farther.

She reached up and flicked her fingernails over his taut nipples, and he let out an inhuman growl. She smiled. He kissed her again, licking and tangling his tongue with hers until he was close to the edge, trying to hang on, suspended, and then he came, striking it rich as the firestorm hit.

He hadn’t needed to dream about this to know she was the one for him. He couldn’t imagine suffering the dreams and waking to find she wasn’t with him.

He collapsed on top of her and she laughed. “I love you, you tired old wolf.”

He grinned at her but didn’t make any attempt to move off her after what she’d called him.

“You’re heavy.”

“You’re sexy. And I claim you for my own, forever and ever,” he said very seriously.

“Good, because I’m not letting you go.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “You’re still heavy.”

He laughed and moved off her, then pulled her against him. “You’re beautiful,” he said, stroking her hair.

“You are, too. I didn’t know gray wolves could be that big.”

He chuckled. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Tom. I didn’t think I ever could love a wolf or another man, whatever kind he was.” She cuddled against him, the two of them buried under the covers, snuggling.

He caressed her shoulder, loving just being able to touch her in this way. To lie together. To be together.

He had planned to sleep, but he couldn’t just yet, wanting to know more about her brother if she wasn’t too tired. He needed to know what he and his pack were up against when it came to her family. “Do you mind telling me more about your half brother?”