He leaned forward and put his hands on my shoulders and pulled me close to him. My shivering stopped in an instant. His heat poured into me, setting off hummingbird wings against my heart. "What if I told you I want to make you my business?"
He didn't give me the chance to answer. At least, not with words. He tilted his head and pressed his lips against mine. I raised a fist, intending to what? Fight him off? Knock some sense into myself? But, as his lips feathered against mine, light at first, then sinking into me, drawing me down into the swirling light of his heated touch, my body gave him all the answers he needed.
Yes. Oh, God. Yes. I wanted him to make me his business. I wanted him to make me his. It went against everything I thought I was. Everything I was trying to do. I couldn't afford a diversion like Bas. But, my fingers betrayed me as I threaded them through his thick hair, pulling him down even closer. He hovered over me, his lips moving down the column of my throat. The blanket fell away. My drenched cotton t-shirt stuck to me like a second skin. There was nothing to it. My nipples strained against the wet fabric.
He whispered my name as he slid out of his own jacket and pulled me across his lap. I was on fire. Soaked in a different place now. His hands were everywhere, playing across my shoulder, sliding up the hem of my t-shirt. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think. A fire woke inside of me along with a powerful hunger. I wanted him.
God, this was wrong. Crazy. This wasn't me. I didn't just hook up with random guys on the side of the road. But, as Bas's fingers skittered along my flesh, reaching up over my rib cage and finding the slope of my breast, a flame lit within me brighter than anything I'd ever known. It felt so good, so right. I groaned as he ran the pad of his thumb across my taut nipple. I arched against him as he slid his other hand beneath my ass and lifted me.
He was smooth and strong, shifting his weight beneath me. In one fluid movement, he vaulted the front seat with me in his arms and we tumbled into the back seat of the cab. I ran my hands along the curve of his strong shoulders, felt the solid muscles of his back as he stretched along the length of me. When I finally came up for air, I cupped his face with one hand and looked at him. His eyes flashed bright blue with an animal light that sent heat spearing through me, settling in the juncture of my thighs. I felt myself arch my back and spread my legs. My sex pulsed with arousal as Bas kept one hand around my waist and the other slid under my back.
"Abby." His voice was raw with lust, and I knew he struggled to keep his wolf in check. A part of me wanted him to let it out, and I ached from it.
He wanted to say something else, the lines etched across his forehead showed some war he fought within himself. It was the wolf, but it was more. Realization slammed into me. He wanted permission. It wasn't enough that I moaned and writhed with lust beneath him. He needed the words.
Bas held back. It maddened me. Desire coursed through my veins, and it felt like I had my own beast within me fighting to come out. Whatever he'd done to me, I was ready to throw caution and reason out the window. But, as Bas shifted his weight and watched me, logic seeped in where lust had ruled.
"Wait," I gasped, struggling to bring myself to a sitting position. My heart thundered in my ears in time with the throbbing between my legs. God, I wanted to throw myself on top of him and straddle him like a wild thing myself. Bas shifted, helping me up.
His chest heaved and his hands trembled a little as he tried to collect himself. His jeans tented from his erection and it took everything in me not to reach across and free it.
"God. I'm sorry," he said, his voice still ragged as he tried to quell the tide of his own desire. "This wasn't part of the plan."
I pulled my shirt down and drew my knees to my chest, squeezing my legs together tight to try and drive away the pulsing need between them. I could barely think straight. But, this was a bad idea. If I threw myself at Bas, I wouldn't be able to take it back. I just met him. There was a conflict of interest. And, I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that fucking Bas would play directly into Dale's plans.
"What was the plan?"
The corner of Bas's luscious mouth twitched as he held back a devastating smile. "There wasn't one. I swear to God. I just saw you walking."
"Liar."
He reeled back as if I'd slapped him and trained his eyes on me. This time, he couldn't hold back the smile.
"What are you looking for, Miss Winslow?"
"I . . . uh. I just don't want to be used."
Bas's eyes widened and some of the color drained from his face.
"You aren't. Not by me. I promise you that. But, you need to look out for Dale Thorp and the congressman too."
My heart sank and a blush of anger rose in my cheeks. Not anger. Embarrassment. Maybe a little shame. There could be no question that Dale had sent me to Bas as some sort of gift. Two minutes ago, I had been willing to play right into his hands. As Bas looked at me with those piercing blue eyes and I could still feel the heat from his skin warming mine, I knew I might still be willing. From the moment he touched me, I craved the man like no other. It thrilled and terrified me. I needed to put some distance between us and fast before I did or said something I couldn't take back. The rain let up and I closed my fingers around the door handle, intending to step out.
"No!"
I froze. Bas touched my shoulder. "I'm serious about it not being safe for you to walk out there by yourself. I'll drive you anywhere you want to go."
Where I wanted to go was anywhere with him. But, I couldn't give in to that. Not now. Not when I wasn't sure what that said about me. As he sat there with fire in his eyes, I knew he'd never let me leave without making sure I was safe. It infuriated me and melted me all at once. In the span of a second, I made a choice.
"Fine. Take me home." I could have lied, had him take me to Kendra's, back to the library, anywhere but Oakwood. But, it felt important that he see me for who and what I was and where I came from. I wasn't ashamed. If he were, that would tell me everything I needed to know about him.
I moved back into the passenger seat and Bas got behind the wheel. I pointed the way and he drove me the last mile until we reached the rusted, rickety sign marking the entrance to Oakwood Park. I watched him closely. Bas kept his shoulders square and his eyes straight ahead.
"Turn right at the second stop sign and it's the last unit on the left. The one with the green shutters." The shutters that were half falling off, I could have added. But, I didn't. In another few seconds he'd see it all for himself.
He gave me a nod and drove down the street, sliding the car into park right in front of my mother's trailer. The lights were dim and the driveway was empty. She probably spent the night at Chad's house, her latest loser boyfriend.
"Home sweet home. How do you like it?" My tone came out harsher than I intended. I wanted to push him, shock him. Make him betray the judgment or pity I always got when people found out where I lived. He did none of those things. He gripped the wheel hard and turned to face me.
"Are you going to rip my face off if I tell you I want to see you again?"
I don't know why, but that was the last thing I expected him to say. It shocked me into laughter. "Is it all this?" I spread my hands and motioned toward the double wide.
He cocked his head when he looked at me, giving me an expression very much like a dog when he's confused by a sharp noise. A blush shot through me straight to my shoes.
"Why do you think it matters to me where you live?"
"It matters to everyone. Why do you think I'm working so hard to get out? I just don't have a choice right now until I get through law school. I'm saving up to get a place of my own. And believe it or not, it's quiet here most of the time. At least when my mom's out, which is often. So, I can't screw anything up. Not school. Not my internship. Nothing."
As soon as I said it, I realized how true it was. Just a few minutes ago, I'd been willing to let wild lust cloud my judgment and put everything I'd worked so hard for at risk. I couldn't let that happen again. No matter how much I wanted Bas to just throw his arms around me again and kiss away everything I'd just told him.
He nodded and tapped his thumb against the steering wheel. "Well, you're pretty amazing, Miss Winslow. The more time I spend with you, the clearer that becomes."