Heart of Stone - Book 2: Hearts Collide
Chapter 8 - Stone (Part 1)

She stank. There was no way of putting it nicely.

Stone had managed to ignore Dan’s smell in the bedroom the other day, where it was most potent, he could put up with it now.

It pissed him off that it was all over her—as if he had rubbed himself over every inch of her body.

Stone would like to rub his scent all over her. That evoked mental images far more tempting than the little bone he had to pick with Dan, even though it was because of Dan that he was there.

Gwen let it slip that Dan had said something suggestive to Aubree and it sent both Gwen and Stone into a fury. Stone had smashed his fist into a brick wall at the time, but he recovered. The wall, not so much.

He trusted Aubree not to have sexual relations with Dan at this time, but he couldn’t help the possessive jealousy from taking over him the moment Gwen’s mental barrier slipped and she started screaming in his head.

How could he not come over? He didn’t know what he’d do or say to Aubree, but that was beside the point.

And now, Aubree stood before him, peering up at him through lowered lashes and looking absolutely delicious. Even though her scent was tainted by Dan’s, he couldn’t help the cravings for her touch, her lips, and the feel of her soft skin under his fingertips.

She was going to drive him insane.

“She was wise to get you out of there when she did.” His voice was low and rough around the edges.

He reminded himself to stay back, to maintain control over himself. They were in a public place. There were humans coming and going everywhere. Surely, that was enough to keep himself in check.

Then the blood rushed to her face, turning her cheeks to a delightful pink, and he could feel his grip slipping.

“Are you checking up on me?” she countered. “Because if you think I’ll have sex with him, you don’t have to worry about it.”

There was that cheekiness he missed so much. It wasn’t helping him in his cause though. And he didn’t want to picture her mating with Dan. He stiffened at the mere thought of it and fought to push the mental image from his mind.

Too proud to admit that he was, indeed, “checking up” on her, he responded to the last part she said. “I’m not worried about it.”

Which was only half true.

Of course, she wasn’t buying it and raised her eyebrows. “Then why are you here?”

He swallowed, the corners of his lips betraying him as they perked upward. “Can’t I come to see you?”

If only it were that simple.

She squirmed a little under the intensity of his gaze. “What if we get caught?”

“He’s bound to replace out eventually.”

He didn’t want to pressure her into rushing things. It wasn’t as though he had time to spend with her anyway. He was no closer to replaceing Carina now than he had been a week ago. One of these days, she was bound to slip up, and when she did, they’d catch her for sure. Then, he could relax a little and enjoy his time with Aubree with one less thing to worry about.

Aubree stood there, twisting the hem of her shirt between her fingers. “I don’t want him to replace out that way.”

He hesitated, afraid to ask, but he pushed himself to put it out there. “When will you tell him?”

Her lips fluttered, her gaze still avoiding his, but he couldn’t tear his eyes off those plump red cherries. Her heartbeat was rather erratic. Was he making her nervous? Or did the subject of Dan make her nervous?

“Soon,” those red lips whispered.

He couldn’t take it any longer.

He closed the gap between them and caught her chin in his fingers and tipped it up. Her eyes widened when they met his, but he couldn’t help but turn his gaze back on those slightly parted lips. He’d been holding himself back from parting those lips and dipping his tongue between them. But right now, he wanted nothing more than to taste her. They stared back at him, inviting him in.

A guttural noise crept up his throat as her heartbeat thundered in his ears, frantic like a hummingbird’s, and he forced his eyes to meet hers again. “How soon?”

His voice was so husky and low, he felt the shiver ripple through her and he dropped her chin. With both hands, he clasped her shoulders as he slowly backed her into the nook in the wall.

As they slipped into the shadows, her breathing became laborious. “Soon.”

He pressed her gently against the wall, grazing his fingers over her shoulders, up her neck, and cupping her cheeks in his palms as he lowered his head, breathing her in as he hovered over her, feeling the heat rise off her. He could smell her desire pooling between her thighs, sticky and sweet, as her hands reached up and kneaded into his shirt. He stroked his thumb over her bottom lip. That provokingly plump cherry. He couldn’t contain himself because of it.

“Aubree.”

She moaned in response as his lips grasped hers. Her hands clenched tighter to his shirt as if holding onto it for dear life as she pressed her hips against him.

A grunt burst through him as he slipped back to suck on that bottom lip. She trembled and moaned long and needy into him as he sucked and nibbled on that scrumptious cherry. His tongue ran across it, which earned him his desired response.

Her breath hitched in her throat as her lips parted and her essence flooded over him.

He groaned.

She didn’t taste like Adelaide but he loved it all the same.

He should have held back. He knew he should. He vowed not to kiss her again until she was free to give herself to him. It was wrong to dishonor her in this way. He wanted to pull away—he should have pulled away—but he couldn’t. Not when her body and soul called out to him to claim her as he rightly should. It would complicate matters for her but at the same time, he had to assert himself and remind her who she belonged with.

Intoxicated, he struggled to be gentle as her hands reached up to grip his shoulders tightly. He ran his hands over her shoulders again and she gasped when they caressed her breasts. Instead of lingering on them, they continued their exploration south, feeling the graceful curve of her waist and out over her hips.

He wanted to rip her clothes off and erase all traces of Dan from her body.

She belonged with him—with his scent covering every inch of her flesh.

Panting, he drew away from her. His throat rumbled in disgust when he lowered his head to her shoulder and could smell Dan most prominently there.

He pressed his lips to the curve of her neck and could taste Dan’s saliva. His wolf reacted on instinct and he fought the urge to sink his teeth into the tender flesh.

Mine.

His growl rumbled forcefully up his throat as he released her hips, pressed his palms against the brick wall and spread his legs for greater stability. He took in one haggard breath after another as he resisted every fiber of his being that urged him to mark her, to take her right now against the wall and claim her soul forever.

He pulled back a little and ran his tongue over her neck, thereby erasing all traces of Dan.

She shuddered, heaving a little gasp, as her hands slid from his shoulders and trailed down across his chest. As if his chest wasn’t already burning with desire, her touch only fueled him more. His arms quivered with the compulsion to rip off the fabric binding her skin from his.

“Don’t keep me waiting long,” he managed to say in a husky whisper. “I don’t want him touching you.”