Wolf Spell: Shifters Bewitched #1 by Tasha Black (i am malala young readers edition .TXT) 📕

he crawled up beside me and pulled me to his chest again.

I was still shaking.

His body was rigid beside mine, every muscle bulging.

“Are we? Does that mean…?” I gasped.

“No,” he said firmly.

Impossibly, I was already shivering with need all over again. I couldn’t imagine how he must feel.

I slid my hand down his chest, stroked those rigid abs on my way to his cock.

His hand locked around my wrist before I found what I wanted.

“Do you want me to claim you, Bella?” His voice was dark with unsatisfied desire.

“I just want to help you, like you helped me,” I whimpered.

“No,” he said firmly, through a clenched jaw. “I would lose control.”

He let go of me and stood, offering me his hand.

“Take off that silly dress and get into bed,” he told me.

I stood, gazing up at those unfathomable lightning blue eyes.

He blinked and then the air around him blurred slightly.

A moment later, I was having a staring contest with a massive wolf.

I couldn’t help smiling in wonder, even as I resented him for ending the conversation so abruptly.

I reached my hand out to stroke the soft fur.

The wolf nudged me toward the bed, and I undressed quickly and slid between the sheets.

A moment later the mattress groaned as the beast leapt up beside me and curled his furry body around mine.

I meant to stay awake, to try to understand what spell must have been cast on me to make me so wild with lust that I had almost given in tonight.

But I was deep in a dreamless sleep before I could think about it.

24

Luke

I awoke with her arms around me, the wolf shifting out of consciousness swiftly, as if he might trick me into claiming her in my first bright moments back in my own form.

Bella was soft and fragrant, and the temptation was great. As I tried to slip away from her, she snuggled herself closer, maddening me with her warm thigh wrapped around my hip, her breast pressed to my ribcage.

But I was determined not to claim her. I had one more night. And I was going to make her beg to be mine.

No you’re not, the voice in the back of my head whispered.

And maybe it was right. My intention last night had been to show her how much she wanted me, and not allow her to taste satisfaction.

But in the moment, all I wanted was to please her. I had turned the tables on myself, all for the love of a human girl.

You don’t love her. This is a mate bond.

But I did care for Bella, I realized. This was why I hadn’t been able to deny her relief last night.

Maybe it was why I was so determined not to try to rush her into anything, even though I knew I needed her more than I needed my next breath.

She was wise for her years, kind and thoughtful.

I wanted her to choose me freely. I wanted her to choose to be mine forever.

I decided to shower while she was still sleeping. I stripped quickly and stepped under the spray, hoping the refreshing blast would bring me back to my senses.

But the pounding of the hot water only reminded me of touching her last night, and the wolf howled in my chest to go back to her, crawl into bed, and claim her.

Soon, I promised him.

But a part of me was concerned that the real answer could be never.

Bella’s obstinance was one of the things I was growing to love about her, but it might prove to be our undoing.

25

Bella

I awoke alone at dawn in a strange room.

Before I could remember where I was, the sound of a door opening had me leaping up out of bed. The fact that I didn’t seem to be wearing any clothes started to bring back some memories of the night before.

“Bella.”

Luke’s voice was low and growly. He stood naked in the doorway of the bathroom, beads of water sliding down his beautiful, bare body. His blue eyes blazed.

“I-I…” I stammered stupidly.

“We have to get you back to school,” he said, ripping his eyes from mine.

My brain returned reluctantly to its post. I remembered last night, and why I shouldn’t be standing naked by his bed, ogling him.

“Sorry,” I said. “I was just a little disoriented.”

I grabbed my bra and dress from the floor and hurriedly put them on, grateful that he had taken the time to undo my buttons instead of just ripping them off.

My panties had suffered a more violent fate. I picked up the pieces, but they were hopelessly shredded.

“Sorry,” he said. “Do you, uh, want to borrow something of mine?”

I looked at him. He was as big as a mountain. There was no piece of his clothing that would fit me.

“I’ll just go commando until I get back to school,” I said, shrugging. The dress was almost to the floor anyway. It’s not like anyone would know.

“Go commando?” he repeated, one eyebrow arched.

“It means to be dressed but without underwear,” I explained. “You haven’t heard that phrase?”

“No,” he said. “What does underwear have to do with the military?”

“I’m not actually sure,” I admitted.

He frowned. “I don’t like you going commando,” he said.

“Why not?” I asked. I didn’t like it either, but only because it was embarrassing.

“I don’t want other males to scent you,” he said.

“You can… scent me?” I asked. “Because I don’t have underwear?”

“I can scent you anyway,” he told me with a wicked half smile.

He turned and headed for the kitchen before I could react.

I found myself smiling. He could be kind of a funny guy, for all the drama of this mate bond business.

And God, he was good in bed. He would make such a great boyfriend.

Get it together, girl. You’re not looking for a boyfriend. You’re trying to find a way to stay at school. Focus.

But I wasn’t going to focus.

He was only a few steps away and I was already jogging to catch up, as if the tiniest