Wild Invitation

wolf would with a man who’d dared take her for granted; she could have no idea of the violent response she’d incited in him. And if he had his way, she never would. Cooper didn’t want his nightmares to shadow the life he intended to build with her.
    “Hello, Grace.” He leaned against the doorjamb, doing nothing to hide his appraisal of her beautiful body. When her nipples pushed against the well-washed fabric of her tee as her breath hitched, he realized she wasn’t wearing a bra, and self-control became one hell of a test. “I left my bag here the other day.”
    “What?” Pulse thudding in her throat, she swallowed. “Oh, yes, I put it right here.” She went to get it, paused, turned back. “You did it on purpose.”
    Smile deepening, he let his gaze linger on her lips. “Did I?”
    Chest rising and falling in an increasingly rapid rhythm, she swallowed. “You’re being pushy.” It was a husky accusation.
    He shrugged, his wolf prowling to the surface of his mind. “It’s who I am, you know that.” His gentleness with her hadn’t been feigned—he adored coaxing and petting Grace, but she needed to see and accept this side of him, too. He’d intended to ease her into it, but she’d changed his plans with her rebellion, aroused the primal core of his nature. “Your fault, you know.”
    Her hand clenched on the edge of the door. “Mine?”
    “You did challenge me tonight.” In her own way. “You know how wolf males react to a private challenge from a female.”
    Her cheeks colored that pretty color he wanted to lick up from every inch of her skin. “It wasn’t a challenge.”
    “Don’t be a liar now.” A slow tease. “I got the message.” He straightened from his leaning position to brace his hands on the top of the doorway, blocking her from the view of those in the corridor. This woman was his. He didn’t want to share. Not tonight. “Invite me in, bad girl.”
    “If you got the message,” she murmured, standing firm, “you know I’m a little mad at you.”
    Strong, sexy, beautiful woman.
“I think I can coax you out of a little mad.” Dropping one hand, letting her see it so she wouldn’t startle, he ran a finger over her cheek. “All you need to do is open the door a fraction wider.”
    Grace shivered…and stepped back. Not bothering to see if they had an audience, he walked inside, and this time, he shut the door. But rather than blocking the exit, he shifted to lean against the wall beside her bed, the shoji screen sitting neatly folded in the opposite corner, and crooked a finger. “You know you want to.”
    Rather than scowling at his arrogance as he’d expected, Grace frowned, her eyes looking into his for a single, compelling instant. “Cooper, what’s wrong?” she said, and he wondered what he’d betrayed, what she’d seen. “There’s—”
    Not giving her a chance to continue, he reached back and pulled off his T-shirt. Her gasp was a stroke to his ego, but he wanted more than that. Needed more than that, the irrational fear that had gripped him by the throat having left raw edges in its wake that hurt with every breath.
    Dropping the T-shirt to the floor, he prowled across the space that separated them, hotly conscious of the way she watched him, her arousal an erotic musk in the air.
    Thank God.
    It was a heartfelt thought, because the fact was, his body was more than a bit beat up, had a number of scars—even changeling-quick healing couldn’t fix everything. Added to that, he was a big man. Big enough to intimidate—which was the response he caught a faint hint of in Grace’s eyes just as he reached her.
    “Touch me,” he said, stripping his need bare. “I promise I won’t touch you in return until you ask.” Make no demands that might force her wolf to react with throat-baring submission, savaging the fragile trust that had grown between them.
    “That’s not fair on you.” Quiet words, her eyes continuing to eat him up in a way that had his cock at rigid attention.
    “I’ll never complain if you have your hands…or your mouth, on any part of my body.” He might go insane, but it would be a glorious madness.
    Her breasts caught his attention as she sucked in a breath, her nipples tight peaks against her T-shirt. Mouth watering, he put his hands behind his back and locked his arms by gripping one of his wrists with his other hand. “I,” he murmured, “give you permission to punish me for my behavior tonight.”
    “It