Her heart was pounding in her chest, her ears. When had she become baby to him? She’d be lying if she said she didn’t love the sound of it.

Fingers curling into his back, she clung tight as his tongue laved at her lips then claimed them. His kiss was hard, demanding. He cornered her body against the wall, and his tongue shot into her mouth mimicking a primitive action that she wanted inside her where she was wet and painfully empty.

Somehow she managed to drag her mouth from his to rain kisses along his hard jaw and neck. His pulse leapt under her lips and she smiled faintly. The predator inside her relished his heat, his scent, his blood. She licked his pulse then bit over his skin. He growled a deep, pleasured sound and tightened his grip on her ass.

She continued her torture on the other side of his neck. God, he smelled so good. She licked at him like a kitten with milk as she ran her hands over the strong muscles of his back. This man was everything that was strong and masculine in the world, and her beast was whimpering inside.

Cool air on her ass brought her mind swerving hard back to reality. He’d managed to unbutton her pants and shove them down to her thighs, and she hadn’t even realized it. Now he groaned deep in his throat as he cupped, squeezed, and massaged the rounded globes of her ass.

“Ahh, baby. You’re fucking perfect.”

The first skin on skin contact was too much. She moaned high in her throat and panted as her mind tried to process all the sensations at once. He took advantage of her situation and dove down to clasp on her hard nipple through her shirt. His clever lips tugged and pulled on her, creating an answering lick of heat between her legs.

It was too good. Way too good.

His fingers curled around the bottom of her cheeks and teased the wet cream of her through her panties.

“Jacks,” she pleaded.

“I know baby, I know. I’ll take care of it.”

Those words sent her common sense slamming back into her. Control. She couldn’t lose control.

Growling with the beast in her throat, she grabbed him by the hair and yanked him back from her breast. When he looked up at her with startled passion on his face, she kicked out one of his legs and fell with him as they tumbled to the ground.

She didn’t waste any time but climbed over him, resting her aching core over the hard length of his cock. They both groaned and fought for each other like wild animals. If she wasn’t absolutely certain she’d bet he was a lykaen. No human had passion like this, could make her beast whimper for him.

Their mouths caught and fought against each other with tongues and teeth as she caught the hem of his shirt and started to tear it up. She had to know what he looked like finally.

Was he smooth, coiled with muscle, or hard and hairy? Her stomach clenched and she yanked up his shirt, pulled her mouth away to see a patch of dark skin dusted lightly with black hair.

A loud banging shattered her lust like an explosion. She pulled back so quickly from him she fell on her ass and skidded away, jerking up her pants and frantically looking down at her shirt where a wet spot was formed over her nipple. She looked from him, disheveled and sexy as hell on the floor--his cock tenting his cargos, his shirt rucked up to his tight stomach, his cheeks flushed with pleasure, back to the door in a double take.

Vera winced at the nasty snarl on Jackson’s face.

“I’m coming,” she hollered. She didn’t have time to find a new shirt so she was sure to keep her breast hidden behind the door before she opened it. As she turned the door handle, she heard Jacks mutter behind her, yeah, you would have been coming too. Her body tightened at the sound of his gruff, sex-laced voice. Checking herself one more time, she took a deep breath and opened the door.

Dmetri scowled at her. Oh, shit. His nostrils flared and she knew he smelled everything in that moment--the lust, her body’s response, Jackson’s desire. There was no hiding it. So she licked her lips and plastered on a false smile, something she was always good at.

“May I help you, Dmetri?” His eyes held such anger, such raw emotion that she had to bite her cheek to keep from smacking him. Or of at least screaming in his face that he was the one that broke up with her. Well, all you got was one shot, buddy.

“I just came to bring you this. Your favorite, if I recall.” Vera saw the bottle of wine in his hand wrapped with a red ribbon tied into a bow around the neck of it. It was her favorite wine.

“Yes, um, thank you.” She took the bottle and was about to close the door when he spoke.

He sniffed the air again and tilted his head to the side. “Are you...breeding?” Her jaw clenched so hard and fast it was wonder she didn’t snap a damn muscle.

“No, I’m not breeding.” He pulled back and scowled.

“So then you’re willing...with the human?” Her mouth opened and closed. She wasn’t sure what the hell was going on with her and the human, but there was nothing wrong with him.

Leaning forward, she let her eyes drop to a flirty mask. “Oh yeah, he makes me feel...” She bit her lip, fluttered her hand over her neck and down her stomach, and then stopped with her hand a scant inch above her still aching pussy. “Wild and delicious.”

He took a step back and scowled. She whispered a goodbye and shut the door.

# # #

When she spun around the silly smile on her face faltered to a stop. Jacks was standing much closer than she realized. His arms were crossed across his big chest, and she knew he was angry about something, yet all she could seem to focus on was how big his biceps were when he did that.

“Are you ready to tell me about the two of you yet?”

She licked her lips and slowly brought her eyes back up to his face. A good-looking face too with dark, rounded eyebrows and lashes framed a pair of beautiful— albeit angry — blue eyes.

“Nope,” she said and skirted around him to grab a glass off the side table. She unscrewed the bottle of wine and sniffed the contents. Her favorite expensive goodness—she signed heavily and downed the first glass. She was glad for Dmetri’s interruption; it was a sign for sure.

“Better take it easy with that stuff,” Jacks warned.

Rolling her eyes, Vera pressed her fingers to her lips to keep from laughing and poured another glass. The dark red liquid was her favorite color and it tasted like sweet cherries and earth. She tossed back another two glasses and was finally starting to feel warm again.

“Why don’t you tell me about yourself,” Vera asked and perched herself, and her bottle of wine, in the windowsill. She’d always wanted a window like this. It was big enough for her to curl up in and look outside. She once thought she’d be living here and using this very same window to read and gaze out at the night. Bitter memories. Old thoughts. She took another swig, this time straight from the bottle.

“I don’t have anything to say.” She lolled her heavy head to the side to look at him.

“Of course you do, we all do,” she said in a duh voice. She lifted the bottle, waved it towards him, and nearly spilled some.

Jacks shook his head at her and took a seat in a high-backed chair across the room. Vera pouted at the distance. She almost laughed at how out of place he looked. He looked so uncomfortable, and he glanced at the bedroom door as if wishing for an escape. How cute the human was.

“Tell me about your family.” She didn’t think it was possible, but his body stiffened even further.

“No,” he said curtly. O-kay.

“Tell me about how you met my brother.” He sighed and looked at her, then her bottle of half-empty wine and shook his head miserably.

“I joined the marines when I was 18. Couldn’t wait to get the hell out of there. It was better at first then at home but not for long. I met Rome my second year in. I was in a hurry and already pissed off because I’d had a fight with my bunkmate earlier. We had a confrontation, and when it was done...well, you know the rest.”