Page 43 of Captive Wilderness
This shared dreaming thing went both ways after all.
When she realized there was no danger, she dropped her hands, then pushed her hair away from her face. “What’s wrong?”
Nothing. Everything. I tried to force the images out of my mind but couldn’t. She’d been in heat. Loud music played in a club where everyone was dancing. She’d found a guy. Her hands were all over him. His hands were all over her. They were grinding in the middle of the dance floor, her butt in his groin, where everyone could see. He’d lifted her skirt, exposing the bare flesh of her ass…
Another growl ripped through me.
Her eyes widened. “Oh.”
It wasn’t the only memory of hers I’d dreamed about, but it was what woke me. I ran a hand over my head, and she watched me with a wary expression. “You dreamed one of my memories, didn’t you?”
Pressing my lips together, I nodded once.
“I was afraid of that.” She gathered the quilt to her chest, covering herself. Her lips parted like she wanted to say something else, then she snapped her mouth closed.
I’d heard of shared dreaming before, but it was rare. Most mated couples didn’t experience this. It was especially rare since we weren’t the same kind of shifters. Unheard of, really.
And I knew I shouldn’t be getting jealous of someone in her past. That dude was long gone, but it didn’t stop the possessive feeling that overcame me. It made me want to haul her underneath me, to make her pant and moan to make sure she knew we belonged to each other.
When I’d been inside her head, in her memories, I understood it was a regular pattern with her. Every time she went in heat, she’d search for a guy who would look like he could satisfy her for a few days. Sometimes they did. Sometimes they’d disappoint. But whatever happened, she’d do it again the next time with a different guy. She never had long-term boyfriends, never wanted to be tied down.
She was like her mother in that way, or so she thought.
I’d loved experiencing her other memories, even the ones that were sad. They allowed me to get to know her better, let me see how her mind worked. There’d been moments with her sister, ones full of affection, others tinged in jealousy. Her mother and sister both loved the whole camping, hiking, wilderness thing. Brooke often felt like the oddball. As a result, she’d gravitated toward the other things her mother liked: the makeup, the shopping, the partying.
There’d been memories of her running through the forest as a bobcat, pure joy racing through her. It was something I’d never experienced, never remembered because of my blackouts. When Brooke shifted, her needs changed, but her mind remained intact. Living that from her point of view had been amazing.
But the dream about her hooking up with a random guy…
How many times would I be forced to dream about her curtailing her heat with someone else? I’d felt her desire, the burning need between her legs. The exhibitionist aspect of their dance had only fueled her lust. She hadn’t cared who’d seen her ass in that moment. I dug my fingers into the covers at my hips, processing this new challenge.
Brooke studied me. After a while, her expression softened. “You’re working really hard not to tear something in half, aren’t you?”
I didn’t answer while attempting to release my stranglehold on the covers.
She swallowed. “What’s in the past is in the past.”
I nodded once. I knew this, understood it deep inside, but it didn’t chase away the possessiveness threatening to break free from my chest.
The quilt fell, her nipples pebbling in the cool air. “I’d like to go dancing,” she murmured.
Another growl rippled through me, and she grabbed my hand.
“With you,” she said, lifting my hand to her breast. “I’d like to go dancing with you sometime.”
My palm settled on her warm skin, and her fingers tightened on mine, making me squeeze her breast. But the image of her dancing at a club, of everyone staring at her, wouldn’t quit.
“It wouldn’t matter if anyone was watching me,” she said, moving slowly like she would with a skittish animal. Her knee lifted, sliding over my abdomen until she straddled me. “I’d only be looking at you.”
The hot space between her thighs settled over my hardening cock. Without breaking eye contact, she grabbed my other hand.
“I think you’d like to watch me dance.” Her eyes lit with both mischief and heat as she settled my hand on her other breast. “I’d only be dancing for you.”
Teasing her nipples with my palms, a vision of her moving slowly to music filled my head. Her hips gyrated, her head thrown back. But there would be others there watching. Another growl emerged from deep inside me. I didn’t want to share her with anyone else.
“It wouldn’t matter who was there.” She rolled her hips, moisture coating my hard cock. Her breath hitched when I pinched her nipples. “As soon as you felt like punching someone,” she purred, “you could take me out back and fuck me in the alley.”
I thrust upward.
