The Werewolf’s Bride: The Pack Rules #1 by Michele Bardsley Read Free Book Online Page B

not, my sweet, I will take you. The words he’d spoken hours earlier echoed in my mind. I clutched at his shoulders, unable to stop the quaking of my own body.
    I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect now, though I knew from stories that the werewolves wasted no time in fully claiming their mates. Below the stadium there were the mating dens—honeymoon suites, if you will.
    We entered a long hallway lit by torches, and at the end of it was a huge wooden door. It looked medieval—striped with iron and carved with symbols. When we arrived, the door was unlocked and opened about an inch. Grey kicked at it and it swung open fully, revealing a luxurious suite worthy of a five-star hotel.
    He deposited me onto the decadent four-poster bed, dressed in burnished golds and dark greens. A mountain of pillows piled against the headboard and the bedding was divinely soft.
    My nerves had begun to fray. I knew he could smell my fear, my anxiety. I saw nothing within his expression that would offer me comfort. Certainly not the hungry fire that burned in his gaze. Was it possible to quench that lust? To satisfy him completely?
    “Are we not supposed to talk?” I asked.
    “The words I want to say will bruise those delicate virgin ears.” He went to the door, shutting it firmly, and engaging the bolt. He returned to the bed, but did not join me. Instead, he stood there watching. Assessing. I saw his nostrils flare and knew he was drawing in my scent. He fisted his hands and his broad shoulders bunched.
    “Take off your shoes,” he said, his voice nearly a growl “And your dress.”
    I scooted to the edge of the bed and slipped off my flats. I stood up, my bare feet sinking into the thick carpet. “I need help with the zipper,” I said.
    “The only way I will remove that dress is to tear it off. I have no patience for zippers.”
    I realized then how much his control was costing him. The urge to mate in werewolves was stronger than any primal drive inherent in humans. It was a wonder more brides weren’t injured on their wedding nights if they had to contend with such beastly fierceness.
    All the same, I was here. With him. So, I could be a mewling scaredy-cat, or I could suck it up and find strength to endure. Besides, I didn’t really want the dress—it was just one more reminder about Carolyn, about her life becoming mine.
    And it was my life now. I owned it.
    “Fine,” I said. “You want to rip it off from the front or the back?”
    “What?”
    I met his shocked gaze, and even though my heart felt like it would burst and I couldn’t quite breathe, I said, “Take it.” I swallowed the knot in my throat. “Take me.”
    He grabbed the front of the dress with one hand and yanked it downward. His strength was unbelievable. The material tore like tissue paper and fell onto the floor.
    I wore a simple white lace bra and matching panties. “I’m sorry it’s not…fancy.”
    He bared his teeth. “I will buy you anything you want. I will dress you in clothes worthy of my mate. But now, I want you naked.”
    His gaze became heavy-lidded and his breathing harsh. He pointed at the bra. “ Off. ”
    I don’t think I’ve taken off a piece of clothing that fast before. I went ahead and shucked off the underwear, too. I mean, I knew where this was headed, and I couldn’t stop it anymore than I could stop a train barreling down the tracks.
    His big hands settled on my hips, and he dragged me against him. “Arabelle, you are the most beautiful, most desirable woman I have ever known.”
    He leaned down and kissed me in a way that shocked me to my toes. His tongue split the seam of my lips and then dared to tangle with mine in a way that mimicked the most primal of connections. He cupped my head, his fingers threading into my hair as his other arm tightened around me. Grey continued the sensual assault that electrified every one of my nerve endings.
    The hard length of his erection pressed against my stomach.
    Awash in