Her pulse had begun to slow and she was finally breathing normal again. Denim dragged one leg up to her chest. "So back then when we were hanging out you weren't a Were yet?"
He shook his head. "I didn't change until after I turned thirteen."
All she could say was, "Oh."
There was a long silence. She had so many questions she didn't know where to begin. She felt like Alice when she'd landed in Wonderland and maybe even like that kid who went through the wardrobe and met the lion and the witch. It was so unreal Denim new she had to be dreaming, so she pinched herself. "Ouch!" Nope, she wasn't dreaming.
"What did you do that for?"
Tossing hands into the air, Denim cried, "I'm having a hard time believing this is real!"
"It's real." Jax released a long sigh. "You have to promise not to tell anyone."
"Why's that?" she asked curiously.
His gaze suddenly turned dark and focused as he replied, "Because it would be dangerous for Weres if humans found out."
"Us?" she chirped. "Aidan and Chayton are werewolves too?"
"Shit," Jax mumbled under his breath, then dragged his fingers through his shoulder-length hair. "Look Denim, you can't tell anyone. We just can't afford a security breach."
"Who would believe me?" Denim said with a snort, then released a long shaky breath. "Relax, your secret is safe with me."
His shoulders relaxed slightly. "My family has lived here for generations. If anyone found out about our pack it would be detrimental to us and to all the other Weres."
"You mean to tell me there are more of you? No freaking way!"
A lot more than you'd ever imagine, living right under your nose.
"Are you serious?" The situation was getting crazier by the second.
He frowned. "About what?"
"What you just said. A lot more than you would ever imagine, living right under your nose."
"I didn't say that!" he cried incredulously. "Well, I was thinking that, but I didn't say it."
Now it was Denim turn to look confused. "Well you would have had to. How else would I have known you said it?"
Can she read my mind?
"What? No. Of course I can't read your mind."
"You just did."
She gasped and stared at him a long moment. "Say something else … I mean … think of something else. I need to watch your lips."
You are so beautiful.
Her mouth formed an O. His lips hadn't moved and unless he was one hell of a ventriloquist Jax was right. She had read his mind. That would explain the voice she kept hearing. "There's no way I can hear your thoughts."
"I was just thinking about how beautiful you were."
The discovery stunned her. She felt strange, the blood rushing through her veins. "This can't be happening."
"Sweetheart, I'm afraid it's real," he growled in a kind of fury. "You have the ability to hear my thoughts. You know how many centuries have passed since a Were found a woman who could hear him even when he wasn't in human form?"
"I heard you while I was watching you from the treehouse. You said, I know you're there watching me."
He grinned. "You're good."
There was no way this was happening. It was crazy. She was reading his thoughts, but she figured it was no crazier than discovering Jax was a werewolf.
Her eyes shifted down between his thighs. His cock was resting in a bed of golden hair. Denim swallowed. "Could you please put on your clothes?" She spat and there was no denying the frustration in her voice. She hadn't had sex in months, so the sight of him had her thinking of all kinds of things they could be doing right about now.
Jax inclined his head with unaffected modesty. "I left my clothes back there."
"Then go get them." She gave him a dismissive wave.
"Oh no! How about we go together?" Jax rose and held out a hand. Oh, the things she could do with a naked man in the forest. Denim brushed aside the ridiculous thought. It didn't matter how sexy Jax was. The last thing she wanted in a boyfriend was someone who was warm and furry.
Denim allowed Jax to drag her up onto her feet, then she fell into step beside him as they headed back to get his clothes. "Do you always run around naked?" she asked, breaking the silence.
He shook his head, "Usually I undress at home and then shift before coming outside, but I was out on the grounds and I smelled trouble."
"Smelled trouble. Really?"
Their eyes met and held in the shadowy darkness. "Weres have a strong sense of smell."
"How strong?" she asked, with a pointed look.
"You were easy to track. I just followed your scent."
Denim chuckled nervously. "My scent? You make it sound like you're a dog or something."
He looked down at the ground, smiled and said, "I am … sorta."
Suddenly, she stopped walking and faced him. "What did you mean by smelling trouble?"
"It's a personal matter I've been dealing with and I thought trouble had tried to sneak up on me."
"And instead I was peeking at you from the treehouse." She couldn't take her eyes off Jax, and apparently the feeling was mutual. His eyes were dark and intense, heating the blood in her veins.
"I knew you were there long before I heard you scream. And once I joined you in the forest I followed your scent."
Denim tossed her hands in the air and stormed off. "You keep talking about the way I smell!" It was insane. First his brother was sniffing her, then Jax, and now she was walking around the forest with a naked werewolf man.
Jax chuckled as he fell into step beside her. "Like I said before, you smell wonderful."
She looked over at him and said, "Like what?"
A rueful smile touched his lips. "I can't explain it, but you know how you can smell Madeline's Donut Shop blocks away? Well it's like that only much more intense. The other day I smelled you in the parking lot long before I stepped into the diner."
Why was it she found the way he was talking about her so arousing?
"I can even smell the cream that just slid down inside your panties."
Denim gasped, turned and just stared at him, and then her eyes traveled down to his beautiful penis jutting as her tongue slipped from between her lips. His response had set off a sweet, pulsing throb between her legs.
Jax moved closer as he spoke, "I've been trying to fight everything I feel for you, but after tonight, I don't think I want to fight it anymore."
Her breath caught. "Fight what?"
"The way my body craves you every single time I'm around you. It's been like this since that summer, only I was too young at the time to understand."
And now he was a handsome and virile man.
Jax closed the distance between them and Denim stood there waiting anxiously for him to drag her into his arms again.
She tilted her chin upward and met him halfway. The moment their lips touched, she felt it. Fireworks, heating her blood until every part of her pulsed with delight. Denim's nipples tightened against him, and despite every intention to pull away she found herself arching even closer.
There was nothing gentle about the kiss. Instead it was hard and intense, escalating her own hunger. When he pushed his tongue inside, a whisper of a sigh escaped her lips. His hands glided down the center of her back, along her narrow hips, and rested at her ass, where he squeezed and lifted her off her feet, bringing her closer to his hardened flesh.
He groaned against her mouth. She sighed, wrapped her arms around him and leaned closer, meeting each swirl of his tongue with one of her own. Jax kissed her mouth with power thrusts that were slow and controlled and downright confident. With each sweep of his tongue, she felt her control slip, and the moist intimate area between her thighs pulse with need so intense moans slipped from her throat. Oh, it had been a long time since a man had made her feel this way. His mouth was delicious and persuasive and Denim gulped greedily at his lips. Her nipples tightened and moisture settled between her thighs.
His hard body against hers had her own on fire, and she found her hands doing what they were itching to do. She allowed them to slide across his chest, over his broad shoulders and down his solid back, stopping at his firm backside, then she squeezed. Wow! His ass was tight and perfect.
Jax lifted his head slightly, then gazed down at her with heavy lids half covering those big, beautiful golden eyes of his. Their hearts were thumping, breathing ragged, and lips moist. "I don't think I've ever wanted a woman as bad as I want to make love to you," Jax confessed, as he lowered her feet onto the ground.
Slowly, Denim drew back and narrowed her gaze, her internal temperature kicking up another degree. Jax was the most beautiful creature she had ever met. And now the most frightening. Denim forced herself to step away, she had to. Or she was going to reach down and start stroking the erection throbbing against her leg. After that, there would be no turning back. "I can't think straight around you." Especially when you're standing beside a gorgeous naked man.