Lusting A Wolf

chapter 11

Liesel felt like she had barely slept before she was woken by a rough wet tongue scraping against her cheek. Startled she flinched and jumped back, eyes wide as they took in the massive wolf curled up on the wooden floorboards before realisation caught up with her.

Hesitant and unsure, Liesel edged forward and nudged the backs of her knuckles against the wolf's head. "Rafe?"

Half a second of thick chunks of fur stripping from his body and some agonising cracks of bone and muscle later, Rafe stood naked before her with a diffident smile curling his lips.

"Boo?" He softly chuckled, a weak attempt to make her smile.

She did anyway, peering down at her hands in her lap. "Is there a reason you woke me so early? The sun isn't even up yet."

"We are in the middle of a garden Liesel, a garden that's open to my family. I'd really rather they didn't happen upon us sleeping here. Trust me, neither of us would hear the end of it for weeks." He whispered as he pulled on his jeans and stood, reaching a hand down to help her up. He hadn't even bothered to zip up his pants so they hung loosely on his tapered hips.

"Of course," She laughed, "Thanks for being err, considerate. I think we both know we need to talk..."

It annoyed her that this was the second time in two days she'd spoken those words, to practically a stranger no less. That and it was a fierce internal battle to keep her eyes from straying, but she continued to hold her head high as she strode over to where he'd tossed his shirt and passed it to him to put on, innocently averting her eyes.

"I know. I'm not intentionally trying to pressure you Liesel... I never intended for this to happen, it just... did, and now that it has I wouldn't wish it any other way. We need each other. Can't you see that?" His dark eyes were staring imploringly into hers, in such an intense way it gave her chills.

"I... It's not about needing each other Raphael." She groaned, raking her hand through her hair as she turned her back to him and walked to the railings, her footsteps creating soft, hollow thumps against the wood. "You... You're all... You're not human. You're not a man, you're a wolf."

"Thank you for pointing that out, I had no idea." He replied dryly from behind her, "Yes I am part wolf. But I am also part human. Look at me Liesel."

She reluctantly turned to him, his muscled form bathed in moonlight.

"Do I look like anything but a man to you?" He whispered. She'd never seen anyone look so broken before, his eyes pleading silently with hers. She realised now she'd cut deep with the 'you're not a man' remark, something she hadn't meant to do.

"No..."

"Then please," He stepped forward, tilting her head up so she was captured by his eyes and gathering her hands in his. "Stay here, with me. At least for a day or two. You could be happy here Liesel... I can make you happy."

"I don't... You're... I need some time alone. I need to go home... Please just let me think. I need to call my brother... I have to go." She whispered, eyes brimming with unshed tears. Liesel wasn't sure how to deal with the tirade of emotions boiling beneath the surface. She didn't know how she should feel. All she knew was that she needed a few days alone to wrap her head around all of this. It was just too much... Only two days ago she'd been a single city woman, worrying about things like work and money and her social life. Now she was bombarded by all these foreign feelings and had been thrown into a world of chaos and the supernatural. Werewolves? Really? Was this some twisted dream or did all this actually happen? All Liesel knew was that she had to get out of there and think.