A tremor ran through me as his name scraped across my lips – "Katarina." The sound was a rough whisper that felt like molten fire licking at my skin. I was already dissolving, a puddle of want threatening to overwhelm everything.
Rafe’s hands moved over me, pushing me back against the bed. Every inch of contact ignited a wildfire within, consuming me whole. In this moment, I craved him with a desperation that bordered on obsession. I wanted to drown in the heat of his touch, to lose myself in the raw, animalistic desire that pulsed between us.
I was acutely aware of the hard ridge of him pressing against my lower belly, and I bit down on my lip, tasting my own tremor. His dark eyes held a hunger that mirrored my own, a smoldering intensity that threatened to shatter my composure.
His mouth found the curve of my neck, teeth teasing the sensitive skin. A moan ripped from my throat as he found the spot that sent shivers spiraling down my spine. I could feel his body react to my own, his own pulse quickening in sync with mine.
He pressed harder, the weight of him a delicious burden, and slowly slid a hand down the front of my jeans, tracing a tingling path as he went.
“Say it, Katarina,” he rasped, his voice a low rumble against my ear.
I felt his hand stroking me, and I bit my lip harder, fighting to regain control. There was no denying the need that surged through me, the aching desire to surrender to him completely. He wanted to take me, to claim me, and I wanted to let him.
“Say what?” I asked, my voice strained, a fragile thread barely audible.
“You know what,” he said, his fingers tightening around my hip as he slid my shirt up, his mouth already claiming a breast. He sucked on my skin, the heat of his lips igniting a fresh wave of desire.
Another moan escaped my lips, and I could feel his smirk against my skin. He slid two fingers between my thighs, and my control shattered. The arguments I'd waged with myself, the fear that had gripped me – they all dissolved into nothing. I couldn’t remember why I’d tried to stay away, why I’d tried to resist. All I knew was that I didn't want him to stop. I wanted more. I wanted *everything*.
“Rafe, I’m–”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Katarina Reynolds had decided to run. She’d been stepped on her entire life, a forgotten shadow in the corner of her pack’s territory, and at eighteen, she finally decided there had to be something better out there. She packed a bag, whispered goodbye to her parents, and set out to find it.
But fate had a cruel twist in store. She’d stumbled onto the land of the Shadowed Pack, a territory steeped in legend and fear. The pack ruled by Rafe Granger, the most feared Alpha in history. At just twenty-one, he’d spilled more blood than most armies. Anyone who dared trespass on his land never lived to tell the tale.
Would Katarina face the same fate as the others? Or would things be different? Would she finally find a place to belong, or was she destined to repeat the same old story of heartbreak and loneliness?