Flung back, Aubree's back struck the trunk of a small tree. Low, thin branches jabbed into her shoulders as the air whooshed out of her lungs. Her eyes flew open as she watched Stone disappear into the forest in the blink of an eye.
Her knees buckled under her and she slid to the ground, falling on her hands and knees on the dirt path.
What just happened? What the fuck just happened?
Her arms trembled to support her upper body as she gulped air into her lungs. The world was spinning around her and all she could hear was her pulse racing in her head.
Her thoughts whirled around as she tried to figure out what happened in that split second before Stone suddenly pushed her away and took off.
Did she lose herself in the moment or did he?
His words earlier struck her as she concentrated on getting enough air into her lungs and slowing her heart rate down. 'I don't want to rush what we have.'
Gingerly, she sat down on the ground and pressed her palms to her face. He wasn't the only one struggling with urges and she had encouraged the make-out session by teasing him and then initiating it in the first place.
But why push her away so forcefully? Why was he so adamant on taking things slow when clearly their desires were so strong? The way his voice grew husky, the heat of his skin, his breath on her face, his devouring lips, and the way he grabbed her, pulling her tightly against him as he grinded against her...
It was pure, hot torture.
Aubree could feel her temperature spiking up again thinking about it. The ache within her was still throbbing, needing to be filled. Needing him to deliver the sweet release from this madness.
"Fuck," she groaned.
This bond thingy was a pain in the ass.
She shook her head to try and rid herself of her hot and heavy thoughts of Stone. But she wanted it. And she couldn't help but tease him when he teased her right back.
The smells of the forest and the earth offered a distraction as they didn't combine to make the same musk that Stone had. After several deep breaths, she pulled herself up onto shaky legs. Something told her that Stone was still in the forest somewhere. She didn't know how she knew, but if it was one thing she'd figured out in the days to pass, it was not to question her intuition.
And her intuition told her that Stone was in there somewhere, and he needed her just as much as she needed him.
It didn't take her long to find his jacket lying on the ground. She picked it up and looked around. His T-shirt was hanging off a tree branch a few yards from there—off the path.
Her eyes widened with the realization that he left the path and went deeper into the forest.
"Stone?" she called out.
Holding her breath, she stepped off the path. Treading carefully forward, she called his name again as she pulled his shirt down from the tree.
There was a loud groan in response somewhere ahead.
Lying in a heap a few more feet away were his pants and his shoes had been kicked off in opposite directions.
The thought of him being nearby and naked made her knees give out and she stumbled forward. Her hands caught a tree branch and she held onto it as if it was the only thing that was preventing her from falling over.
"Stone?" She couldn't bring herself to raise her voice, but she could feel him nearby. He was close.
What if he changed into his lycan form?
She swallowed as fear suddenly gripped her.
She wasn't sure she was ready to see him in that form. What if he was scary? Was he in control in that form?
His raspy voice was weak and cut through her fears. "Aubree?"
Her heart pounded against her ribs.
Could a wolf talk?
She took another step forward and reached down to pick up his pants. The ground was getting softer here and the forest opened up to a pond a few yards ahead. She saw a human footprint in the muddy earth ahead, a yard away from the edge of the murky pond.
The pond was surrounded by the forest. A film of green scum—algae—lined the edges about two yards in thickness. Insects buzzed in swarms over the surface of the water, where she saw something bobbing in the middle of the pond.
She swallowed when she realized it was Stone's head partially submerged in the water. "Stone?"
He grunted but remained still.
Hesitantly, she took a step closer to the pond. "What are you—"
"Don't come closer, Aubree," he interrupted. His voice was hard and controlled, his eyes were closed and his face was turned up to the sky. "It's muddy."
She paused, mashing her lips together. "Um..."
"It's disgusting in here. But I need to cool off. It burns so much."
"Burns?" She didn't understand what he meant.
He heaved a sigh. "It's not your fault. You didn't know. But then, neither did I. It was an accident. And I'm sorry I hurt you. My deepest apologies."
She lowered her gaze, feeling self-conscious all of a sudden. She hadn't noticed after he pushed her away. She'd been too busy trying to calm herself down to notice the pain he inflicted on her hips.
She draped his clothes over one arm and reached down to tug her pants down a few inches over her hip with her thumb. Sure enough, there were red marks and the rub of the jeans hurt slightly.
He growled a curse under his breath. "I'm so angry with myself."
"It was an accident," she murmured. "I'm okay."
He growled some more.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"This shouldn't even be an issue. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did, but it burned so bad, I..." He growled. "I lost control and I hurt you. I am very regretful of that. Please forgive me."
"I forgive you, just tell me what happened," she said, almost in exasperation.
Groaning, he pulled himself up and the dirty, murky water cascaded over his bare shoulders.
She tried not to stare at his muscular chest but couldn't help herself.
He only rose midway up his chest and looked at his shoulder, where there was an inflamed red mark on his skin between the curve of his neck and the tip of his shoulder.
"You squeezed Adelaide's mark. I know you don't know what that means, but it's one of the most sensitive places on my body. If anyone else squeezed it like that, it would feel like a pinch, but you..." He rubbed his face. "I'm not explaining this right. Let me start over."
Sighing, he rubbed the back of his neck. "When lycans find their mates, they enter a brief courtship period before they accept each other. Once they accept each other, they then mark each other during their first mating. This is done by biting one another, usually in the shoulder because, well..." His face reddened as he lowered himself back under the water, enough to submerge his shoulders. "It might sound painful, and it is a little a first, but it's actually quite pleasurable."
Aubree's stomach flip-flopped at the word as her skin broke out in goosebumps with the mere thought of everything pleasurable she'd experienced with him.
"After that, the matebond is sealed and we are connected in multiple degrees—physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Because it is a visible mark, other lycans also acknowledge the fact that we have been mated... Kind of like the human institution of marriage and wedding rings."
He swallowed, avoiding her eyes. "It is a very pleasurable area when touched by the one who gave it. And only the one who gives the mark is the one whose touch can bring pleasure." He pursed his lips as his brows pulled together. "Which is why I lost control. For you see, when you squeezed it, you ignited a pleasurable feeling so intense, I..."
He groaned as he gripped his head in his hands. "I don't understand it!"
His frustration and confusion tugged on her heart. She wanted to reach out and comfort him, but when she took a step forward, the muddy earth squished under her shoes and Stone growled in warning.
"Aubree, I told you to stay back and I meant it."
She raised an eyebrow at the authoritative tone in his voice. His eyes tore through her, forcing her to look away. There was so much resentment within those deep blues, but she didn't feel the burn of the emotions directed at her. His eyes were a reflection of the pent-up emotions he had for himself.
"It wasn't your fault. I squeezed your mark, so I should be the one apologizing, not you."
Stone shook his head. "There's no need to apologize. You didn't know. I didn't know, for that matter."
"But you wouldn't have lost control if I hadn't squeezed it, right?"
"Aubree, drop it."
She put her free hand on her hip, the other arm still had his clothes draped over it. "No. You listen to me. You need to stop putting the blame on yourself. I was the one who started teasing you in the first place. I should have stopped before it got out of hand. I'm sorry, okay?"
He groaned and dipped his head back in the water so that only his face remained above the surface.
Huffing in irritation at his stubbornness, she looked around and found a relatively clean fallen log to sit on several yards to her left. She picked up his shoes with her free hand and took all his stuff over to the log, where she sat down and waited for him to cool off.
Birdsong filled the silence and she looked up to the treetops to watch the birds flitting happily and carefree from tree to tree. Their chirps and whistles broke the tension that fell upon them, and Aubree began to wonder how they were ever going to be intimate with each other if he continued to push her away.
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Dedicated to Crystaldevil13
*Copyright Jo Lee Hunt (Joflower) 2016*