Desired by the Pack: Part One: A BBW Paranormal Romance by Emma Storm Read Free Book Online Page B

only reason I’m saying yes is there are two of you. If it was just you, you’d be gone.”
    By himself, Beck was too dangerous to her.
    Unfolding his long limbs, he stood and walked down the steps. He stopped so close, his chest grazed her breasts. Layers of clothing separated them but she still felt his heat.
    “Do I scare you, winter-wolf?” He rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip.
    “I told you--”
    “And I’m a man who knows where to go when I want information.”
    She went cold. “What did you do?”
    “Nothing not within my rights, which include a mating bond with you.” He drew his fingertip down her throat, then brought it back up. His knuckle lifted her chin, tilting her gaze to his. “Anders can see her. Did you know that?”
    The chaotic spin of her thoughts stumbled over his words. “Her?”
    “Your wolf. White like winter, the way I knew she would be.” His gaze probed her eyes, as if he expected to see the wolf in her pupils.
    Her pulse pounded in her ears. January jerked back and spun away from him. “You don’t know anything . If you did, you wouldn’t be here. I want you to leave.”
    Beck caught her before she managed to put any distance between them. Wrapping his arms around her, forearms locked beneath her breasts, he brushed his lips along the shell of her ear. “I want to know you. Let me.”
    The warm, entreating whisper rendered her knees as weak as her will. She sagged against him, wishing she deserved this strong, sheltering embrace all the time.
    “Let me stay tonight. Let me come to you again tomorrow.” He lifted one hand and spread his fingers over her throat, gentle but possessive. “Say yes.”
      “I don’t want you to know things about me.” She closed her eyes against the crisp white stars in the clear sky. Didn’t want him to know, but had to tell him. Since he probably wouldn’t want to hold her like this once he knew the truth, she stayed where she was for as long as she could have it.
    “I do have a wolf, but I lost her for a while. I…I gave her away. And when I finally got her back, she was broken. Maybe Anders can see her, but he’s probably the only one who ever will.”
    He gave no physical sign he’d heard her. After a moment, she released a ragged breath and broke away. “I’m going to eat. If you want to stay tonight…well, I want you, too. But I’ve come to terms with the things I can’t have, and you’re at the top of that list.”
    She jogged up the stairs and into the house, leaving Beck behind.
    The front rooms were dark but a light glowed at the end of the hall running down the middle of the first floor. January’s heart raced. She stopped at the foot of the staircase to remove her jacket and calm herself.
    “If you don’t come in here and eat, I’m going to come out and get you.” Cross emerged from the kitchen and crooked his fingers at her. “You’re going to need your strength tonight.”
    She bit her lip and started toward him, lured by the promise of food. Heat did make her ravenous, a problem she usually tried to counter by crash dieting in the days immediately following. After twelve hours of living off raw vegetables and hummus, her willpower crumbled in the face of a steak. By the time she reached him, she’d wrestled her emotions under an uncertain, thin control, and turned everything else over to her stomach.
    “Prime rib.” If Cross picked up on her turmoil, he gave no indication.
    “Mind reader, much? And where did you get that? Not in my freezer.” Her voice came out normal, casual. Relieved, she peeked at the steaks in progress. Twelve hour shifts and unpredictable schedules meant she and Prince either dined out or made do with staples from the frozen and canned aisles.
    “My telepathic abilities are limited to pack. I do have several sisters, though. I know how hormones and stomachs work.”
    Speaking of hormones. Hers didn’t seem to care about the wrenched, twisted state of her heart, or the fact her