Page 27 of Pack Baby for the Silver Foxes

Mary held absolutely still as he held his hand careful against her cheek. He brushed his thumb over the sweat at her temple, and his scent changed, restraint fraying at the edges. Blackberry, rain, whiskey, and that answering violet he couldn’t hide now.

“If we do this,” he said, “we go slowly until your body tells us otherwise.”

Mary swallowed. “My body is currently shouting at you to go fast.”

“Then we’ll listen carefully.”

“You must be deaf,” she murmured.

I pressed my mouth to her shoulder through the robe, not skin yet. Fabric first. A warning. A question.

She arched back into me. “Lincoln.”

My name in her mouth nearly finished me. “I’m here.”

“Touch me properly.”

Hudson’s eyes met mine over her shoulder. He nodded.

I slid the robe from her shoulders.

The black dress beneath was thin and soft, clinging to her fevered skin. She had no bra on, and the sight of her made my mouth go dry. Full breasts, heavy and tender under the fabric, nipples tight enough to show through. Her shoulders tried to curl in, even while heat made her press back against me.

I put my hands on her waist, nowhere near her chest. “You’re beautiful,” I said.

She made a noise of disbelief.

“No,” I said near her ear. “All of you. Not pieces. Not the parts idiots stare at because they don’t know what else to do with themselves. All of you.”

“I’m too fat.”

“You’re perfect,” I whispered.

Her breath hitched.

Hudson bent and kissed her. Mary surged into it with a hungry sound, one hand fisting in his shirt. Hudson caught her jaw, steadied her, and gave her the pressure she was asking for without letting the heat take the reins entirely. His control was a beautiful thing to watch. He kissed her like he had already decided she was ours.

I kissed the side of her neck. Not where I wanted to bite. A lower, safer place. Her pulse pattered under my mouth. I licked her skin, until I felt the tender place where a claiming bite would sit and only kept my teeth away from it by force of will.

Mary shivered.

“You can,” she whispered.

I stilled.

Hudson broke the kiss at once. “Can what?”

Her eyes were dazed, but she was there. “Bite me.”

The word went through me like a blade.

I rested my forehead against her shoulder. “Not tonight.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re in heat and in pain, and as much as I want it. I’d never do that.”

“Oh. You don’t like me.” Her voice sounded so young.