Wolf's Call (Wolves Next Door #2) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,37

my eyes run across her body even as I climbed off the couch and offered her a hand. "I don't mean that in a bad way, either. I'm saying you're a lot like Ashley."

"Because my mother always had a hairbrush in her purse and wasn't afraid to use it as a weapon," she joked. When I offered my hand, she let me pull her to her feet. "Both of my parents were of Mexican descent, so we spent a lot of time learning how to not make problems so no one would ask for our papers."

"You were undocumented?"

She shook her head. "I was born here. My parents too. It's just that if you don't have a green card, then it's hard to prove you don't need one. Our IDs had to be fake, and things like that. And a few of the towns had some gang issues, so yeah." She followed me toward the stairs. "I, um, was also one of the shy kids. A nerd, basically, but not the kind that made straight As."

"Did not see that coming," I admitted.

But we both fell silent as we reached the second floor. The line of bedrooms were all dark, but the sounds were just a little too quiet. I was pretty sure all of the guys were listening, and I did not need their shit tomorrow. Instead, I led her to my room and invited her in. When Elena stepped through the door, I closed it behind us, wishing - for once - that I had a lock.

"I didn't expect it to be so clean," she teased.

"That's a wolf thing," I explained. "The scents are more intense after the change, and dirty laundry?" I shook my head. "Yeah." My eyes jumped to the bedside table where I had my own stash of condoms. "Why do I always feel like my brain's taken a vacation when you're around?"

She stepped toward me, both of her hands finding my chest. "Happy birthday, Seth."

Then she kissed me. Those words were her way of saying she wanted this. They also convinced me that she was just as nervous as I was. Something about that helped. My hand slid into the hair over her ear, and I kissed a little harder, taking advantage as soon as her lips parted. She tasted like sharp wine and smelled like sugar. That was her shampoo, and I liked it as much as Lane did.

Beneath all of that was something else. The musk of arousal. The scent was faint, but detectable - and all for me. My tongue explored her mouth, taking control, and she melted into my arms. Elena was so gentle. So feminine and soft and beautiful. I could feel her full breasts against my chest, her leg sliding up the outside of my calf, and the way her head was tilted back to surrender completely. Every protective urge inside me roared to life.

She was mine. Ours, true, but for this one night, she was going to be just mine. My mouth moved to her jaw, and my hands slid down her body. Those curves were amazing. When I found the bottom of her shirt, my fingers slipped inside and moved back up, teasing the skin of her stomach. The smallest breath of a sound escaped her lips and I drank it in, needing just a little more.

So I lifted, and she made no move to stop me. Fuck, I was already hard, but I wanted to see her. I wanted every inch of her bare before me, splayed in my bed for my pleasure. I leaned back to pull her shirt over her head, but a growl came out as I sought her mouth again. I could tease her breasts and get another moan, but not yet. First, I wanted to see her.

Piece by piece, I worked her out of her clothes, and Elena made no move to stop me. As she freed her legs from her panties, I yanked my own shirt over my head, and then grabbed her again, guiding her to the bed. Her mouth found my neck. Mine was on her shoulder, but I was watching where we were going, right up until I eased her bare body onto the mattress, following her down just to lean over her, one arm holding me up.

"Don't let me push you," I breathed, glancing down at the woman beneath me. "Please don't be here unless you want to."

But her fingers were toying with the ink across my