Chapter 15

SAMANTHA

~What am I doing?~

I’d never been the daring sort. Honestly. The only man who had ever seen me in my birthday suit was Travis, and that was more than five years ago.

It had felt right in the heat of the moment, but now, not two seconds later, standing stark naked in front of Emerick, I felt exposed and vulnerable.

I pushed my insecurities aside and locked eyes with him.

Emerick’s gaze was intense and smoldering as he took in every inch of me. I could see the raw desire etched on his face, and further evidence of it straining against his sweats.

Seeing the effect I had on him made my confidence surge again.

“Em? Are you just going to stand there?”

In a heartbeat, he was all over me, one hand gripping my ass, the other tangled in my hair. He kissed me with a desperation that took my breath away, like a man starved of oxygen.

I opened my mouth to him, and our tongues danced together. I pressed myself against him, a moan escaping my lips as my nipples grazed his rock-hard chest.

He scooped me up, and I instinctively wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me toward his bedroom. I continued to shower kisses down his neck, threading my fingers through his hair.

When we reached his bed, he set me down and started to pull off his shirt. I reached for the waistband of his pants.

“Damn, woman, you’re going to be the death of me,” Emerick groaned.

“I’ve waited five years for this,” I replied. “I don’t want to wait anymore.”

He froze. “Five years?”

I blushed and looked away, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

“Hey.” Emerick gently lifted my chin so I was looking at him and knelt before me. “I wasn’t judging you. I just didn’t realize.

“You’re a beautiful, amazing woman. I have no doubt men throw themselves at you, and I assumed you had taken your pick. You haven’t been with anyone since Travis?”

I shook my head. Then, gathering my courage, I decided to admit the rest. “I wasn’t with anyone before Travis either.”

Emerick’s face was unreadable. “Travis was the only man you have ever been with?”

I bit my lip and nodded, trying not to feel… I didn’t know. Ashamed?

There was nothing to be ashamed of, and I knew that. But sitting before this gorgeous man who I wanted more than anything at that moment, I couldn’t help but feel like I was somehow inadequate.

Emerick held my gaze without blinking. “Then I am honored that you would even consider making love with me, Sam. Because you have quickly become the most precious thing in my life.

“I have been racking my brain, trying to find a way to tell you that I am falling in love with you without coming off as a total creep.

“I know we met two days ago, but I feel more for you than I have felt for any woman in my life.”

When I looked into his eyes, I found sincerity and hope staring back at me. I felt tears forming and quickly tried to brush them away.

“I think I’m falling for you, too, Emerick,” I confessed.

With that, he captured my lips in his once again. This time, our kiss was slow and intimate, filled with all the emotion we had just expressed.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and let my body melt into his. Emerick stood and picked me up with him. His hands cupped my ass and cradled the back of my neck as he laid me down on his bed.

He kissed his way down my skin as he kneaded my breasts with his hands. I moaned and felt his cock harden on the other side of the clothing that still separated us.

I ground my hips against him and felt his sharp intake of breath when he took one of my nipples in his mouth. At the same time, his fingers found my clit, my eyes rolled back, and I moaned his name.

I grabbed him and brought his lips back to mine as his fingers continued their onslaught. After a moment, he broke the kiss and started trailing a path with his mouth down my abdomen.

When I realized what he was doing, I tried to protest, but Emerick silenced me.

“Do you really want me to stop? Because I want this, and I think you’ll enjoy it.”

I stared at him for a moment. No, I didn’t want him to stop. With that, I relaxed and submitted myself to him, letting him take full control.

He grinned, and then I felt his mouth against me. I arched my back and twisted my hands in the sheets.

Emerick picked up the pace, and I felt his fingers brush against my entrance. I whimpered as he inserted one, then another, and my walls clenched around him.

I lost myself in the ecstasy of the moment as I felt my release building. And a moment later, I broke apart against his mouth, and he growled his satisfaction.

Panting, I reached for him, and he found his way back up to me, his lips meeting mine. I could taste myself on him, and I felt more moisture pool between my legs.

He pressed his bulge against me, and I was frustrated to find he still had his sweats on. I tugged on his waistband, and he leaned back to kick them off.

Every long inch of him was absolutely perfect.

I licked my lips, staring at his cock, then wrapped my legs around him and felt him push at my entrance, stretching me slowly.

“Be gentle,” I whispered. “It’s, um, been a while.”

“Just relax, baby,” he said, his lips against my ear.

I got tingles at the feeling of his warm breath and obliged.

He sucked sharply as he slowly thrust to the hilt. I gasped at the pressure and worked to keep my body relaxed.

“God, you’re so fucking tight,” Emerick growled.

I moaned and felt him start to move. He found a rhythm—thrust to thrust—and I moved with him.

As he picked up the pace, he ground his hips so that he made contact with my clit every time. Once again, I felt my orgasm building and held on for dear life.

I exploded around him and saw stars, shouting his name. Emerick picked up the pace for a brief moment before I felt his warmth filling me.

“Fuck, Sam!” he shouted as he came.

We lay together, breathing raggedly, still connected for a long while. I started tracing circles on Emerick’s back with my fingertips.

“Mmm,” he murmured, “that feels good.”

“You feel good,” I whispered.

He turned and kissed my cheek before pulling out of me and lying on his side. I sighed at the absence of his girth as he propped himself up on his elbow to look at me inquisitively.

“What?” I asked.

“Honestly? I just keep waiting for you to disappear,” he said. “I don’t know how I’ve gotten so lucky to have such a beautiful woman in my bed.”

I laughed. “I bet you say that to all the pretty girls who end up here.”

His face turned serious. “Sam, I’ve never brought another woman here.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “That certainly wasn’t your first time.”

Now he laughed. “No, it wasn’t. But I’ve never brought a woman here—to my home.”

“To be fair, I only finished renovating this place three years ago, and before that, I had a condo near the pack house.

“I’ve been so busy with being the beta the last few years that I haven’t had time for a serious relationship. And I didn’t want to share my home with someone I wasn’t serious about.”

“So, just in the car then?” I joked.

“Sam, I’m being serious.”

“I know. Sorry. I’m deflecting.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, tracing circles up my arm.

“You said you’re afraid I’m going to disappear,” I said, staring at the ceiling. “I’m afraid that life is going to calm down eventually, and you’re going to want out.

“I’m a mother and the alpha, but I really haven’t had to devote time to those things since we’ve been together. The last couple of days have been a whirlwind, and emotions have run really high.

“But it won’t always be this way. What happens when everything is just…normal?”

Emerick didn’t answer right away, and he stopped rubbing my arm. I turned to look at him and found his brow furrowed.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “This probably isn’t a conversation you want to have right after our first time.”

“It’s not that,” he began. “I just…” He reset himself. “Sam, I’ve wanted you from the first moment I met you. That was when I still assumed Luke was the next alpha.

“When you shifted and showed us your power, I knew it would make things more difficult, but I promised myself that I would protect you from any threats.

“Not because I had to, but because the thought of anything happening to you, for whatever reason, even then, terrified me.

“And after our first night together, I knew what I felt for you was more than just infatuation, and I hoped I would get the chance to show you.”

He ran a hand down his face. “Then that fucking challenge was called, and I didn’t know what to do.

“I wanted to run back to the pack and hunt down anyone who’d dared to threaten you because I couldn’t stand the thought of you being hurt.

“Anything worse than that… I knew I would lose myself.” His voice became hoarse.

Emerick cleared his throat. “I finally understood why Christian did what he did after he lost Sarah. I had been so ~angry~ at him, and then, seeing you in that hospital bed, it all clicked.”

“And I knew then, I don’t ever want to be without you, Sam.

“You don’t have to make any decisions now, and I’m not asking you to tell me you feel the same way. I’m just asking you to give me a chance to prove to you every day how much I want to be with you.”

“I love you, Emerick.”

I slapped a hand over my mouth, shocked at my own words.

Emerick’s jaw dropped, and I could see the surprise on his face. I half expected him to retract everything he had just said, and I waited with bated breath for his response.

He suddenly pulled me in for a passionate, hungry kiss.

He broke away long enough to whisper against my ear, “I love you too,” and then his mouth was on mine once again.