Cowboy in Wolf's Clothing

by Kait Ballenger

  Had Belle been a braver person, she might have asked, but she didn’t dare. This man was off-limits for her in so many ways. Instead, she reached toward his scar, running her fingers gently over the surface. Inches away, she felt the steady thrum of his heart.

  “It’s healed,” she whispered.

  Her fingertips brushed against the warmth of his skin, and he growled.

  Her hand lingered against his bare flesh. Colt’s eyes blazed the gold of his wolf’s. Fierce, powerful, and hungry.

  “I…” She didn’t know what to say.

  The tension between them heightened with each passing second. Belle felt her own eyes flash to the golden of her wolf’s as the fresh scent of sandalwood and soap on his skin overpowered her senses. She wanted him, plain and simple.

  Gently, she eased away, fleeing toward the safety of the door. She felt his eyes follow her as she went. Nerves and indecision churned in her stomach. Once again, she felt like the timid woman she’d always been. The way she’d been before she met him. Unable to form words in the face of a stranger, at least when she wasn’t donning her lab coat. Escaping from the Wild Eight had changed her, forced her to harden.

  But this cowboy was quickly becoming more than a stranger to her, and she found she didn’t want to go back to the tender woman she’d been before, the one who’d allowed countless other wolves to hurt her, take advantage of her. She wanted to be the kind of woman who took her destiny into her own hands, who made her own decisions, who didn’t define herself by what she should or shouldn’t do.

  By what was forbidden to her.

  Steadying herself with her grip on the doorknob, Belle inhaled a deep breath.

  “Colt,” she said without turning to look at him.

  “Yes, sweetheart,” he drawled.

  “When we were in the forest, you said you thought it would be good between us?”

  His tone lowered. “I did.”

  “And do you still think that?”

  “Yes, Belle.” His voice was graveled, growing strained. “I know it would be good between us. Better than good.”

  She nodded even as her hands shook. She swallowed, hard.

  “I do, too.” She sighed. “One night never hurt anything.”

  The aroused growl that rumbled behind her was all the confirmation she needed.

  Chapter 8

  Colt prowled toward Belle, crossing the cabin in three quick strides. Her back was turned toward him, and he knew she hadn’t prepared for his onslaught. He caught her shoulders in his hands, and she stilled beneath his touch, bracing a hand against the door for support.

  Slowly, his hands slid over her, one resting on the delicate skin of her neck and the other cupping the side of one breast. She inhaled a sharp breath, and he eased her closer. The full curve of her ass pushed against the throbbing erection behind the fly of his jeans, and he growled, low and deep.

  His words were a fevered whisper against her ear. “I want you, Belle Beaumont. I’ve wanted you from the moment I laid eyes on you, naked and about to steal my horse.”

  She opened her mouth to protest, but her words caught on a gasp as his canines brushed against the delicate skin of her throat. He caressed her breast, massaging and kneading until the hardened peak of her nipple pressed through her shirt.

  Slowly, the hand at her neck descended lower. He felt the warmth rising in her, saw the flush on her neck, the way her breathing quickened.

  As his hand reached the soft curve of her navel, the pads of his fingertips, rough from years of work on the ranch, grazed the bare skin beneath the waistband of her jeans. A wave of her scent flooded him, and he smelled her arousal, felt the eager beat of her pulse.

  He eased his hand beneath the waistband of her jeans just above her mons. He wanted to feel her, touch her. But he needed to be certain.

  “Just say the word, Belle. Say the word, and I’ll stop,” he whispered. He wanted her, but he needed to hear she wanted this, too.

  “Please…” she panted. She gripped his hand, urging it lower. “Please don’t stop.”

  Colt growled. That was all the encouragement he needed. He pushed his hand further down, cupping her soft mound in his hand as his fingertips parted her, quickly locating her clit at the apex.

  She pushed into his hand, grinding that sweet bead against his fingertips as he rubbed her.

  “That’s it, baby,” he purred.

  A wicked grin crossed his lips as she ground against him, releasing a throaty moan at the rhythm he created against her cunt. Her breathing quickened, turning into hot and heavy panting as her pleasure grew with each stroke. From the way her back arched and her breasts tightened, he knew she was close. He dipped his fingers lower, probing the wet, tender flesh. She was practically dripping for him.

  He couldn’t take it anymore.

  He intended to make her come so hard, she forgot her damn name.

  Releasing her, Colt spun Belle to face him. He popped open the button of her jeans, wrenching them down to her knees, before she kicked off her cowgirl boots. Gripping her by the waist, he lifted her into his arms, one hand supporting the weight of her bare ass as he pressed her against the doorframe. She straddled him, open and splayed. He pushed his other hand between her legs, his fingers slipping inside her with ease. She cried out, pushing and rubbing against him as she rode his hand.

  “Come for me, Belle,” he growled against her neck. “Come for me, baby.”

  He located the spot deep inside he knew would drive her wild and rubbed—hard. She seized, coming apart in his arms on a wave of pleasure. She cried out, but he caught the sound with his lips, claiming her kiss in the way he’d wanted to from the start.

  She was like sugar on his tongue. All delicious, sinful indulgence and longing. She tasted like everything he wanted. And everything he could never have…

  Temptation personified.

  For a moment, that was all he knew. The taste of her lips, the feel of her against him. He lost himself in her.

  As they tasted each other, a fire lit between them, heated and electric. The force of their desire was so strong, it was damn near magnetic. The length of his hardened cock strained against the fly of his jeans. As she straddled him, the hardened bulge rubbed against her center, pushing against that sweet spot between her legs. She groaned against him, the very moan he’d been fantasizing about earlier.

  He wanted her naked and bare beneath him again. This time, he wouldn’t let her go. Not by a long shot. He’d take his time until she was begging for release.

  Still kissing her, he carried her into the bedroom. He refused to pull his lips from hers, even when he lowered her on top of the bed.

  The mattress released a moaning creak. They were all hands, each desperate and hungry for more. He tore her clothes until she was nude.

  Releasing her lips from his, he used his mouth to explore, leaving a trail of kisses down the slender curve of her neck until he reached the swell of her breasts. He cupped one in his hand, pushing it upward. He sucked that little cherry of a nipple in his mouth, and she cried out. He swirled his tongue around the taut peak, teasing until he tugged it gently between his teeth. He paid equal attention to her other breast, fingering her other nipple in kind. She writhed beneath him, squirming and arching her back at the feel of his tongue against her.

  When he released her, he trailed his mouth lower, pausing to kiss the curves of her hip bones before he spread her legs open wide before him and laid a single kiss at the top of her mound.

  She gasped and pushed up onto her elbows, closing her legs slightly. “What are you doing?” Her eyes were wide with what he interpreted to be more wonder than fear.

  He ran both hands over her ankles, up the length of her legs to settle on her thighs. “I was planning to eat that wet, hot cunt of yours.” The words were vulgar, and he knew it. A soldier’s lingo, b
ut he wanted to see her reaction.

  She sucked in a small gasp of air.

  He arched an eyebrow. “You’re not a virgin, are you?”

  At his question, she laughed. The curls of her hair bounced slightly. “No. Definitely not, but I’ve never had a partner who was willing to…” She left the sentence hanging there.

  “Who was willing to eat your pussy?”

  “Yes,” she said, slightly more breathless than she’d started. “My first few times, I was too nervous to ask, but with my last partner…he said he wouldn’t like the taste and the…”

  “Scent?” Colt finished for her.

  A deep blush filled her cheeks, but he saw the glossy sheen in those entrancing hazel eyes as she said it.

  He didn’t know what prompted him to ask his next question, but he did. “Belle, has anyone ever made you come before? Aside from me just now?”

  She gave a small shake of her head. “Until now, I’ve always finished myself,” she whispered.

  Anger filled him. The thought of any other man with her was maddening enough, but whoever the fucker was who’d been with her before, who’d put that look of shame in her eyes about her own body and failed to pleasure her? Colt could have gutted the man with his blade without blinking.

  He didn’t care if it took all night. Whatever he did, he wouldn’t leave this cabin until she came multiple times.

  Slowly, he eased her thighs open, and she melted into his touch. She was wet, glistening for him. He leaned in, brushing the soft skin of her folds with the tip of his nose. “The smell of you makes my mouth water.” He dipped a finger inside her, gathering her sweet nectar and licking it from his finger. “The taste of you makes my cock stiff.” His eyes flashed to his wolf’s, and he smiled a sinful grin at her. “And I plan to make you come so hard, you forget your own name.”

  * * *

  Belle shivered as Colt ran a hand down over her thighs. She was nude, spread wide before him, but he was still fully clothed. His gaze blazed a trail of heat through her as he admired her. As if she were a breathtaking sight down there.

  And the lights were still on…

  He could see every detail of her in full color. It should have mortified her, but she couldn’t bring herself to look away. He seemed entranced by her, as if she were a moving work of art meant for him to touch, feel, taste. The surge of power that thrummed through her in response was addictive. He was going slowly, which she knew was solely for her pleasure; she’d felt how ready he was. He idly ran his fingers between the lips of her pussy. The movement was so casual yet intimate that she felt the build of arousal rising in her chest again. He touched her as if she were his, as if there were no restrictions between them and he found pleasure in every part of her.

  It’d never been like this with any other man.

  She trembled as his forefinger and thumb lazily parted her lower lips.

  “Haven’t you already done that?” she asked, her voice breathy and full of need in a way she didn’t recognize. “Made me…” She couldn’t bring herself to end the sentence. Even naked and open before him like this, she couldn’t form the words.

  “Come?” He dipped a finger inside her entrance, wetting the digit as he caressed her.

  A blush warmed her cheeks. She’d never been very good at talking dirty. Thanks to all her medical training, she’d never been able to move beyond anatomically correct terms in the bedroom. If she was honest, she’d always lacked the confidence. Talking dirty felt unbearably naughty.

  But the orgasm he’d given her had been mind-blowing. She hadn’t thought she was capable of that kind of pleasure, especially not with a partner, and she wanted to ask for it, to tell him what she wanted.

  Though something told her a man like Colt already knew exactly what she wanted…

  She inhaled a shaky breath. Lord, the way he played with her. She rolled her hips, easing into his touch, and he let out a low growl.

  “I have,” he answered. “But that won’t be the last time.”

  She tensed, unsure how to tell him that she wasn’t sure she could.

  He must have caught on to what she was thinking, because a naughty smile curled his lips. “It’s possible, Belle. With a partner who knows what he’s doing, it can be that good. I promise you.”

  “And you’re a man who knows what he’s doing?” Her voice sounded disembodied, throaty, sexy.

  He chuckled. “You’ve said yourself I’ve had my share of experience.” A wicked grin crossed his lips. “I said it would be good between us.”

  “Better than good,” she corrected.

  “There’s that sexy little minx you keep hidden.” His grin widened.

  Capturing the bead of her clit between his fingers, he gently rolled the sensitive flesh in a sensual circle that caused her back to arch and her legs to shake. She moaned. With him touching her like that, she had no doubt that he’d deliver on his promise.

  She felt her arousal building, barreling toward another peak.

  “Surrender to me, Belle,” he whispered, his voice a dark temptation that vibrated through her.

  “I thought I had,” she teased. She could barely pant out the words.

  He dipped his fingers inside her, touching that spot that had made her wild only minutes ago. Her whole body seized with growing anticipation. She bucked her hips against his hand, pushing him deeper.

  The deep-golden color of his wolf eyes flared. “If it were up to me, sassy-mouthed she-wolves would be properly punished.” He smoothed his palm over her bare backside in a teasing promise.

  Lord, did she want to give this man everything he wanted and more.

  “Those are my terms, Belle. One night of complete surrender.”

  Slowly, she nodded, and the spark in his eyes roared into a heated fire. As if he’d been waiting for her further consent, he gently gripped the outer lips of her pussy, pushing them together as he rolled her clit beneath. The indirect contact was just what she needed after the sensitivity of her first climax, and her muscles tightened until she reached her breaking point.

  She shattered in his arms all over again. Her second orgasm was somehow more powerful than the first. Waves of pleasure rolled through her, drowning her in ecstasy until she saw spots in front of her gaze. The sensation raked her whole body, leaving her breathless.

  Colt grinned from between her thighs, his smile equal parts satisfaction and I-told-you-so. She gave a playful growl in response, and his grin widened.

  Stripping off his shirt, Colt pulled the top sheet off the bed, twisting it into a series of knots. He prowled toward her, his movements every bit those of the feral wild animal she knew him to be.

  “What are you doing?” she breathed. A thrill of excitement rose in her.

  The grin that crossed his lips was downright delectable, and he ran a hand through his hair, leaving a ruffled, delicious mess in his wake. “You thought I was kidding about surrendering?” That wicked grin widened, and he caught her left wrist in his hand with ease. His touch was firm yet gentle, belying all the strength she knew he possessed.

  “I warned you I’m a control freak.” Something dark flared in his eyes, and it stirred something deep in her womb.

  “Clearly.” She eased toward the headboard, but he refused to loosen his grip. He captured her chin in his other hand, forcing her to look at him.

  “Do you trust me, Belle?” The words were a gentle purr that wrapped around her. She’d never thought her lady parts were capable of quivering before, but beneath Colt’s heated gaze, they did. And he’d already made her orgasm—twice.

  “Yes,” she breathed. Despite the sinful promise in his eyes, she trusted this man without question.

  “Good.” He looped the knotted sheet around the headboard, circling the other end around her wrist. He gently gripped the other within his hands, moving so fast, he seemed t
o be a blur. In seconds, she was tied to the bed. The placement of the tied sheet allowed her just enough room to wiggle, but not enough to escape him. Not that she wanted to.

  He dipped his head down, drawing the taut peak of her nipple between his teeth as he licked and sucked. She moaned, arching into him, until he released her.

  He licked his lips. “As I was touching your wet, hot cunt, I was memorizing, testing your responses, figuring out what gave you pleasure.”

  She could barely comprehend what he was saying. Not with her head so clouded with desire.

  He blew on the puckered wet flesh of her nipple, and the sensation sent a delicious chill through her. “I approach sex the same way I approach war, Belle. They’re both an art of strategy, endurance, and patience.”

  “You weren’t kidding about being a control freak,” she teased.

  His smile was dark and painfully sexy. “What you need is someone to make you recognize the power you hold, how sexy you can be while still in control.”

  She wasn’t certain where he was going with this. Ducking down to her breast again, he tugged gently at the skin with his teeth, and the ache between her thighs deepened. She wanted him inside her—now.

  When he released her, his words were a hungry, devilish purr. “I’m not going to do a damn thing to you, Belle.” He grinned. “Not unless you tell me to.”

  * * *

  “What?” Belle’s eyes grew wide, and she surged forward against the ties.

  Colt had no doubt that if she’d been untied, she would have throttled him. It took every ounce of his strength and control to move this slowly, to ease her into it, but he needed this to be good for her. He wanted to take her rough and hard right now, pumping into her until the bed frame banged against the wall, but this was about her, not him.

  “That’s so unfair,” she breathed. Her hazel eyes narrowed into a glare as she shook her head at him. “You have to realize I have a hard time talking about…about that.”

  That was the whole point. Belle needed to push her boundaries. He’d seen that in her from the very first time they’d met in the clearing. She didn’t care much for rules, especially the ones he set. It was what had drawn him to her from the start.