“Please—” her whispered entreaty became an agonized gasp of pure sensation as he penetrated the entrance to her burning core.
Jacob groaned at her ear. She felt his finger filling her, pushing inside her, hard and hot. She was trembling, her knees weakening, her breathing loud and rough in the silence of the room. Oh God, it was better than she had ever thought it could be. Hotter, more intense, searing her from the inside out. Oh hell, control. Where was her control?
“Mine,” he growled at her ear, his tongue laving the lobe with a slow, sensual sweep. “My woman. My mate.”
The words penetrated her dazed senses slowly as his hand moved from her soaking flesh to push at her loose pants.
“No.” She shook her head in dazed rejection, denying his claim. If he claimed her now, took her, she knew she would never survive another desertion.
“Yes,” he snarled at her ear, ignoring her weak attempts to keep him from lowering the material over her hips.
He was claiming her. Taking her over. Anger surged through her once again. She couldn’t allow him to do this. If she let him claim her now, she would never escape the hold he thought he should have on her.
“Stop.” Gathering her strength, Faith pushed away from him roughly, fighting not just Jacob and his lust, but herself as well.
Moving jerkily, her flesh protesting loudly at the separation from Jacob’s body, Faith quickly put several feet between them, watching him closely. He looked intent, dangerous. Brooding sensuality stamped his features, giving him a dark, erotically dangerous look. That look speared through her womb, causing it to clench almost painfully.
“Faith, you are mine,” he breathed in roughly. “You know this—”
“I belong to no one, Jacob.” Amazement and anger surged through her. “You cannot just decree this, you and Wolfe, after six years, stinking of other women, and claim your rights as a mate. I will not allow it.”
She shook her head, unwilling or perhaps unable to understand his assurance he could just take her.
“You want me as well, Faith. You cannot deny it,” he began to advance on her, his body tense, ready to spring.
Breathing hard, Faith watched him warily. If he touched her again, if he drew her to him, she would not be able to resist him further.
“Jacob, I will not be forced into this,” she told him furiously. “You cannot order me to your bed, and I will not allow you to try.”
Jacob moved closer, his intent to seduce her into giving into him was reflected in the brilliance of his pale blue eyes.
“You want me, Faith, just as much as I want you,” he growled. “I have suffered six years waiting for you to mature—”
“Oh, poor Jacob,” she snapped out as she backed away from him, ignoring the fuming look on his face. “Why, he’s just f**ked his way through the world waiting on poor little Faith to grow up. Well, news flash, Big Boy, Faith grew up a long time ago. Without you, or your help.”
For a second, astonishment flashed in his eyes.
“Faith, I left for your sake,” he argued, irritation cording the muscles of his shoulders.
“For my sake?” she questioned him furiously. “Did I ask you to leave, Jacob?”
“You were too young.”
“You don’t know that,” she bit out. “And how was Wolfe to know that? You and your damned know-it-all attitude. It wasn’t up to you to decide if I was ready to have sex. Well, tell you what Jacob. I was ready six years ago. I’m not ready to f**k you now.”
That lie was a whopper. She sent up a quick, fervent hope for forgiveness. Some lies were just too damned big not to.
“Your body says differently.” He began to advance on her again.
Faith didn’t back up from him. She wasn’t going to run from him. She wasn’t afraid of him, and she would be damned if she would lie beneath him, the stink of old lust still clinging to his body.
“My body does not control me now, Jacob,” she fired back. “You do not control me. You had best figure that out now.”
Jacob reached out to touch her. Faith smacked his hand away immediately. She couldn’t afford the lust firing through her to blaze further. Jacob’s lips tilted in a half grin as the lids lowered over his brilliant eyes.
“Will you fight me now?” Amusement laced his voice. “I can take you, Faith. You know I can.”
“You can try,” she told him softly as she relaxed her muscles, preparing herself for his next move.
“I’ll mount you as I take you down, Mate,” he promised her. “You won’t get away.”
“Go for it,” she whispered with a smile.
Adrenaline surged through her. Fiery, blazing lust pulsed in her cunt. Her eyes narrowed on him, her body preparing for him.
He wouldn’t be ready for her. She knew he wouldn’t be. When he moved, it was a smooth flex of muscle, his arm circling around her waist. Faith ducked under the arm, hooking her ankle around his in a lightning move that pushed the foot off balance as she pushed her body into his back and delivered a quick, hard push to the opposite shoulder and moved quickly out of the way.
“Shit.” He fell. She knew he would.
Flipping around, she watched as he came to his feet, his eyes narrowing on her, his big body graceful and dangerous as he prepared his retaliation.
“Good move,” he complimented her. “I’ll remember it.”
She tilted her head mockingly in acceptance of the compliment.
“You should have run when you had the chance,” he warned her, the soft growl in his voice making her heart rate pick up with excitement. “Because when I get hold of you, Faith, I’m going to make you pay for that little maneuver.”
“Rape is a dirty word, Jacob,” she jeered. “I told you ‘no’, and I meant it.”
He paused, suddenly seeming uncertain. “You want me, Faith.”
“My body is reacting to you,” she corrected heatedly. “You are my biological mate, Jacob. Not my lover, not my love or my friend. And I refuse your claim to me. You left, lived your life and gained your experience as you saw fit. I believe it is now my turn to live my life as I see fit. I demand you release me.”
Chapter Six
Shock held Jacob immobile. She sounded serious, furious. He shook his head in instant denial. Release her? It had been the one thing he had never considered in all the years they had spent apart. Jacob realized then that he had always hoped she would forgive him for hurting her, it had never occurred to him that she would be angry that he had given her time to get over the violence of the act.