Magical wolf town comple.., p.22
Magical Wolf Town Complete Series, page 22
It’s so clear now.
She’s right, there is something more between us. But can I follow it? Can I allow myself to taste it? Can I trust her enough to dive in?
Paula holds my gaze and steps closer, her tongue darting to her lips as if I’m not enthralled with her already. Her voice is deep and full of meaning when she says, “Are you gonna do anything about it?”
It’s a request, an invitation in every inch of her being—from her parted lips to the warmth of her hand on mine—and I can hear the wolf’s whine inside me as I surge forward and kiss her.
Chapter 8 - Paula
I gasp as soon as Gray’s lips press against mine, the sudden embrace of his arms around me making me freeze in surprise. My mind goes blank—but my body instinctively responds to his closeness. Before I know it, I’m kissing him back, closing my eyes and surrendering to the deepest urges inside of me. My body has been craving this since I stepped into his room, or maybe even earlier, since our first touch, our first kiss in this exact place.
But unlike that first kiss we shared, this time I can feel that Gray has lost his cool demeanor, passion pouring into every movement of his lips. It’s so sweet, so intoxicating to feel his true desire for the first time. His hands brush my hips, my back, looping around my waist to pull me closer, and I can’t help but whine, leaning in and wrapping my arms around him.
We kiss, and kiss, and kiss without a care in the world until my mind spins with desire and the last gulp of air leaves my lungs. I pull back with a gasp, tilting my head back, reveling in the feeling of his strong body against me—and Gray lets out a pleased, rumbling sound and lowers his lips to my neck.
“You aren’t gonna run away, are you?” he asks with a husky voice, kissing the line of my throat while his hands slip under my shirt. Does he mean…Oh. I chuckle, remembering the last time we kissed, and take off my glasses to place them on the bedside table.
“Give me all you have, and I’ll think about it,” I whisper. When Gray looks up at me, I wink at him with a smirk—and like a mirror, he grins as well, moving forward to kiss me again.
God, I love that. I love that fire running through every touch—the warmth of his hands on me is addicting. There is something more between us, and the pull between us is so clear now, so natural that I don’t hesitate to dive deeper and completely give myself to him. I slip my hands under his white t-shirt, hungrily exploring the muscles of his back and the lines of his shoulders until the shirt is nothing but a layer between our bodies at this point. My own shirt is barely decent as Gray’s hands rise to my ribs and shoulders, his fingers hooking my bra.
“Off?” Gray whispers into my neck and pushes my shirt higher, leaving a trail of greedy kisses on my neck and shoulders, making me melt into him just from the soft touches of his lips. Damn, how is he so…
“Off,” I confirm with a breathy note and grasp the hem of his t-shirt, pulling at it without a hint of patience.
We throw away our clothes in a hurry, and while I take off my panties Gray’s hands are already on my body, holding onto my waist and pulling me onto his lap. Our lips find each other blindly, and while I kiss him feverishly, Gray presses my body even closer to his, greedy hands sliding down my waist, the small of my back, and further, between my legs. His erection is hot and solid against my front, and the sensation makes me dizzy with want.
“Ah, Gray!” I gasp out loud and push my head back, a moan trembling on my pursed lips when his hand slips further between my legs and his fingers finally reach inside of me. I’m already filled with desire and pleasure, and Gray growls from the wet sound of my body taking him in, nuzzling and nipping my shoulder.
I tremble all over from the confident, sharp movements of his fingers, closing my eyes and whining mindlessly as my body clenches around him, asking for more. One of my hands clutches his shoulder while the other is already touching Gray, rubbing him where our bodies are flush against each other, pulling little groans from him with every movement. Our bodies buck into each other’s hands, and I feel the string of pleasure pulling tighter from within as Gray’s fingers reach even deeper places that make me moan.
“That’s it, baby,” he murmurs into my ear, playing with my earlobe while his other hand rubs me from the front. “Come on, want you to feel good…Yeah, baby, like that.”
I can’t help but quiver from the sound of his husky voice, his lips on my ear sending goosebumps down my spine, and my hips start moving faster, sharper, chasing the sizzling wave of pleasure. I let go of his erection and cling to his shoulders, pushing myself closer to him, squeezing his waist tight with my knees. A string of moans and whimpers bubbles in my throat, and I choke on them as my throat seizes in the burst of orgasm, my moans stuttering in rhythm with my hips, shuddering in the waves of ecstasy.
“Damn.” This is all I manage to whisper, leaning on Gray and trying to catch my breath, before he puts a hand on the back of my head and guides my lips to his.
“You don’t think we’re finished, do you?” he murmurs into my breath, and I swallow and close the distance between us, kissing him hungrily.
I have to get back to the office, I have to find a place for Hank—but the temptation of pleasure is too strong. My body is hot and meek in Gray’s arms, and when he pushes me back onto his bed, I follow without a hint of resistance. All I can think of is how badly I want to feel him inside me. Even though my legs are still trembling slightly, I push them apart, allowing him to settle in between. My body isn’t ready to come down from the high, and when Gray leans forward to kiss me, I raise my knees and wrap my legs around him.
“Give me more, baby,” I whisper and look up at him, imitating his voice with a smirk. Gray’s eyes are dark green, deep and so focused on me that I’d blush if my whole body wasn’t on fire already. He presses a kiss to my lips but nips them in a slight reprimand, a grin growing on his lips while he lines himself up and thrusts in.
The slide is smooth and perfect, sending a hot shiver through my body, and I shut my eyes tighter, arching on the bed and pushing my head against the pillow. A moan scratches my throat, but I can’t help it—the pressure of pleasure is too much for me to keep quiet. My body accepts him, opens up for him, so Gray doesn’t hold back with his thrusts, holding me down and reaching deeper with every movement of his hips.
Pleasure runs through my veins like a bolt of lightning, my skin flaring with every thrust as Gray reaches the deepest corners of my being. I revel in every movement, gasping and whimpering for more, writhing whenever he pauses and sighing with pleasure as soon as he picks up again. I want the waves of pleasure to carry me further, but the orgasm inevitably builds up like a tidal wave. It’s even stronger this time, pushing me to the highest point and allowing me to linger there, my mind blank with the pure overflow of sensations.
I can’t even hear my own moans and sharp gasps that sound like hiccups—the rush of blood in my veins and Gray’s groans and growls are filling my ears. I squeeze him tighter, pulling closer, and his pace stutters. He frantically pushes deeper and deeper, groaning louder, until the pleasure takes over him, and he surges forward and bites the pillow under my head, coming with a guttural sound.
We both slow down and go still for a moment, giving our bodies time to come down from the high of our pleasure, before Gray releases a sharp breath and rolls onto his side next to me. The bed is narrow, and his hot skin is still pressed to mine, his heavy sighs touching my sweaty skin while I find myself struggling to catch my breath. My eyes are closed, and I still see sparkles behind my eyelids. God, what was that?
“So what do you think?” Gray’s voice is deep and cracking, but somehow, that makes it only more attractive. His hand brushes my stomach, and I crack an eye open to squint at him with a questioning hum. “Are you gonna run away?”
Ah, that one. I chuckle and close my eyes again, fidgeting to get comfortable next to him. “Unless you decide to hit me with that lamp,” I mutter and blindly gesture in the direction of the bedside lamp next to him. I hear Gray chuckle, but he goes quiet for a few seconds afterward.
“Does it really work like that?” When he raises his voice again, it’s surprisingly serious, and I open my eyes to look at him properly.
“What?”
“Your abilities.”
I quirk an eyebrow, ignoring the grim frown on his face as he says it, and ask, “What, do you want to try?” It sounds almost mocking. But at the same time, Gray offers his shoulder for me to rest my head on, and I snuggle closer into his embrace.
“No, I’m just curious. I’ve never met a…witch like you.” The word audibly stumbles on his tongue, refusing to leave his mouth as if it’s a profanity. Maybe it is for him? I hum—and only then do I blink, and it dawns on me.
“Wait.” I rise up on my elbow to look at him with a frown. “Do you mean there are others?”
Gray meets my eyes only for a moment, his gaze lingering on my face, my lips. Then he looks away and a frown distorts his features. “Of course,” he says impassively, and it doesn’t sound like he’s happy about it. “There are other witches in Raywald too.”
“Are you serious?” I immediately perk up and almost sit up on the bed, only Gray’s arm around my shoulders keeping me by his side. He hums in agreement, looking somewhere to the side, but his frown is even deeper now, thoughtful in a way. What is he thinking about?
I shift on the bed to face him properly and ask quietly, allowing my finger to trace the line of his jaw. “Are they bad?”
“No.”
Does he think he sounds convincing? For some reason, I don’t feel like teasing him again. I chew my lips for a moment, looking for words. “Why are you so…I don’t know. When I told you about my visions, you completely lost it.” I look up at him, still hoping to catch his gaze. “Didn’t you figure it out earlier?”
Gray hums, still looking to the side. “I had an idea.”
“Is that why you were acting so weirdly?”
I feel his body tense up as soon as I say it, even the jaw under my finger going still. Gray says nothing for a moment, but I look at him expectantly, and he finally gives up. “Yeah.”
“But why? If witches aren’t bad, then—”
“Some witches aren’t bad,” he immediately corrects me with a voice so low I immediately bite my lips, his hold on my shoulder turning tighter. “But it doesn’t make it easier to trust all of you.”
Are there so many of us? What’s his problem? I raise my eyebrows and stare at Gray. “What are you talking about?”
But he avoids my gaze and fidgets as if looking for a way out of the conversation. “It’s a long story.”
“Well, I care enough to listen to it whole.”
Too honest? Maybe. But I’m not gonna let it go now that we’re finally talking about it. I want to know why he can’t stand me, why he told me to stay away from him, why he’s been so aggressive all this time. I do like him, and I want to see a way to get around his prejudice or whatever it is that holds him back.
But Gray says nothing for almost a whole minute, and I start to think that he’s doing it on purpose. Have I crossed the line? Is he gonna kick me out again? But when I’m about to apologize and get up, Gray takes a deep breath—and my full attention turns back to him. He glances at me from the corner of his eye and squeezes my shoulder.
“If you’re really curious,” he murmurs as if apologizing for the upcoming story, and I nod. I am.
He nods too, and finally gathers himself to start. “So a few years ago, there was a girl. You know, wolves usually live in settlements, far from people, right? But there was a town near our settlement, and I didn’t really like it—but Owen and Abel did. So anyway, one time, they talked me into going to a party with them. There were humans everywhere, so I hated it at first—until I met Hailey.” Gray chuckles, but I can hear a bitter note in it.
“I fell in love in an instant as if she was the first girl in my life—and in a way, she was. I’d never been close to humans, but with her…” He shakes his head, his unfocused gaze deep in his memories. “She smiled at me, touched me a couple of times, and I was smitten. Maybe even put under a spell, I don’t know.”
I tilt my head, unable to hide my surprise, and Gray glances at me, pausing.
“Is it possible?”
He huffs and shrugs, looking away again. “Who knows? Witches have all kinds of talents.”
If her talent was anything close to my own, I doubt that Hailey could charm him so quickly. But at the same time, what do I know? I just found out there are other witches in the world a few minutes ago, so I bite my lip to keep quiet and look at Gray, waiting for him to continue.
“We spent a few days getting to know each other better, and I was awkward as hell—but she didn’t mind. She was very sweet, I have to give her credit,” he adds with a scoff, and the resentment in his voice is so clear that I feel a wave of goosebumps. “Anyway, after some time, her parents went out of town, and Hailey asked me to come over. One thing led to another, and I stayed the night with her.”
Was it his first time having sex? I don’t ask, but I’m pretty sure that I’m right. His frown speaks for itself. Besides, why would it matter if it was anything else? But Gray doesn’t hear my thoughts. His frown grows deeper, the tension in his muscles even clearer now, and I have to wait a bit longer for him to continue.
“In the morning, I felt so light when I left her—but by the time I reached my pack, I was already weak. An hour later, I could barely stand on my feet. I told our healers, and they said I caught something from the humans and told me to rest. But the next day, my parents were sick as well, and my little sister was barely breathing.”
I hold my breath without a sound, my heart pounding in my ears. What is he talking about? Can this be real? But Gray’s voice turns low and the look in his eyes is detached as if he’s trying to keep his emotions behind a mask of calm.
“It took us a long time, way too long to understand that it was a curse. She poisoned me, you know?” Gray even glances at me with a joyless chuckle, but I don’t smile back anymore. “Hailey. She wanted to get back at Owen for dumping her a month earlier. There was some kind of poison in her skin, and when she pressed her palms to my back, my wolf soaked it up.”
He pauses and breathes out, the exhale shaky from the hidden feelings, and I reach for his hand. Maybe it’s not what he needs right now, but that’s all the consolation I can offer—and Gray doesn’t pull back. He allows our fingers to entwine, but his voice remains as low and grim as before.
“One night, she did it in only one night—but it took me and my parents weeks to heal. My—My sister didn’t survive. She was only four years old. Even her wolf spirit was still too young to understand what was happening.” Gray shakes his head, and I can feel a quiver running through his body. “They only told me when I came back to my senses, and it was already too late. It was too late to say that I was sorry—that it was my fault.”
“It wasn’t,” I protest, holding onto him tightly, staring with intention. He has to understand, he has to—
“It was,” Gray repeats without a glance my way, his vision too deep in his memories. “Of course it was. Owen warned me that she was a witch, but I didn’t listen. What did it matter? Who would poison a person they love?” He chuckles in disbelief and shakes his head. “No, it was my fault. I trusted a witch, and I got punished for it.”
I open my mouth, looking for the words to say, for anything that would soothe him—but Gray doesn’t want it and pulls his hand out of my grip. Before I have time to catch up with the change in him, Gray has already sat up and is reaching for his pants, still avoiding my eyes.
“Do you need a shower?”
I don’t respond. I barely even hear his voice through the rush of blood in my ears. My mind can’t think about anything but the smudged, pale traces of two palms running down the middle of Gray’s back. It looks like marks left after a burn, and I feel cold rising from within when I think about it. Who could do this to him?
How on earth can I erase it from his memories?
Chapter 9 - Gray
Am I escaping Paula like a coward? Maybe. But it’s too hard to face her right now when all my memories from the past are pouring back into the present. When I first saw Hailey, when I felt that pull in my heart, when I knew she was the one—and when I woke up in sweat and vomit in the healers’ cabin, surrounded by the light of candles and the smell of herbs.
I can barely remember my sister’s voice now.
My throat clenches around a sick feeling, and I lean on the sink, staring down until drops of water from my hair blur my vision. The marks on my back are itchy as if the wolf spirit suddenly wants to scratch them off my skin. They will remain there forever, the scars from Hailey’s curse.
I take a deep breath and look up at myself in the mirror. Why do I keep thinking about this? Paula is still in the room, waiting for me, and I shake off the memories and go back to her—and okay, maybe she isn’t waiting for me at all.
“Are you leaving?” I ask in surprise, halting on the doorstep of the bathroom. As it turns out, Paula has already gotten dressed and is fixing her hair by the window. As soon as I walk in, she turns to me with an apologetic smile and a shrug.
“Yeah, the office is open while I’m here. Wouldn’t want Hank to barge in without—”
As soon as I hear the stupid name, I tense up and the wolf’s displeasure rises in my throat with a low rumble. It doesn’t seem to impress Paula though. She only chuckles with a teasing glint in her eyes, her voice almost cooing as she murmurs, “Oh, I didn’t mean to upset the beast.”
Paula does her best to show her usual self, but I can sense that something is off. It’s almost as if she’s nervous to be in my presence, and the thought makes me frown. Is it because of my past? Is she gonna avoid me now? It feels wrong, because I do want to spend more time with Paula—but I can’t help the wolf’s tension. It’s cautious again, reminding me about the marks on my back that remind me of the last time I trusted a witch.
