Wolf

by Lagomarsino, Giulia

  “Oh. I’m sorry. So, why didn’t you follow in his footsteps?”

  “I uh…” I cleared my throat and picked up her foot. I grabbed the washcloth and gently started rubbing some cream I had picked up into the bottom of her foot. “I joined the military instead, because of the way he died.”

  I heard a sharp intake of breath, but I didn’t look up. I couldn’t look up.

  “How old are you?”

  “Thirty-six.”

  It was dead quiet in the room, but I knew she was doing the calculations. I knew she was putting it all together. I knew she wouldn’t be comfortable asking more questions. She was a sweet woman, a little naive, but I knew she cared. Even if I had been stalking her for the past few weeks. She wasn’t the type of woman to brush off everything I just said, but I also knew she didn’t want to push and ask about something so sensitive.

  “When the plane hit the first tower, he called my mom and told her what was happening. He wasn’t actually in the building. He was on his way to a meeting and he heard the plane hit the tower. He was just down the street. He knew that people were dying and he was never one to stand on the sidelines. He rushed into that building and tried to save lives. He was a real hero.”

  I felt her hand on my arm, but I couldn’t look at her right now. I was lost in memories of that day.

  “I was on my way to school. I lived at home with my parents and I had a late class that morning.” I stared at the wall of the tub as I thought back to that morning. “I kept hearing people talk about a plane and it crashing, but I just didn’t pay attention. I was too busy thinking about a test I had. And the school wasn’t that far from the towers. By the time I got to school, I finally realized what was happening. School was cancelled for the day, but I was too wrapped up in what was happening. I went to a pub and watched the news coverage for most of the day. I didn’t even think to call home or worry about my dad. It didn’t occur to me that he would be anywhere near there that day. And then I got home that night and my mom was in tears. She told me that my dad had gone in to help save people and she hadn’t heard from him since.”

  “Did she try to call you during the day?”

  “This was back when not everyone had a cell phone. He didn’t come home that night, but we were still praying that he would. He never did.”

  I shook off the memories from that day and continued to rub cream into her other foot. When I was finished, I wrapped her feet in gauze to keep the cream from rubbing off. I was about to gather up all the supplies and put them away when she stopped me by squeezing my arm. Part of me didn’t want to look up and see that sympathy in her eyes, but the other part of me needed to know if she understood me a little better now.

  It wasn’t that I was chasing just anything in life. It wasn’t just that she was beautiful and I wanted her to be mine. It was that my whole adult life I had been looking for the meaning of life, for something that justified everything that had happened to my family. But when I saw Reese, something just clicked inside me. It was like she was what I had actually been searching for since the day my dad died. I had thought I was looking for justice or redemption. But what I was really looking for was the person that would make my life whole. I was looking for someone that would make me feel like life was worth living. That I hadn’t lost everything, but actually gained something I didn’t know I even needed. Reese was life after all the bad.

  When I looked into her eyes, I saw caring, but I also saw strength and respect. It was what I needed from her. I needed a woman that would stand by me when the chips were down, but I also needed a woman that understood me and could help me through it all, and understand that I needed to do what I did as a way of honoring all those that lost their lives. That had been the turning point in my life, where my life was no longer my own. I lived for all of those that died, and fought for the freedom that they had lost the day they died.

  I picked Reese up and carried her back to the bed, lying her down on her back. I pulled back, but she stopped me, placing her hand on my cheek. My breath caught in my chest. This was the first time that she had made any attempt to initiate anything between us. Could it be that she was coming around?

  She pressed her lips to mine and I was a fucking goner. I kissed her back, shoving my tongue inside her mouth. Her arms wrapped around my back and she pulled me to her, her fingers digging into my back. I climbed on top of her and pressed her into the mattress. God, I couldn’t wait to be inside her. I pressed my cock against her and grinned against her mouth when she groaned. I knew she had been holding out on me.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Reese

  Oh God, what was I doing? I hadn’t decided if I was going to sleep with him yet when he walked in the room. But then he told me that story and I was practically melting in a puddle at his feet. Not because his story was sad, but because he showed me a side to him that wasn’t just a stalker. I saw how deeply he was hurt when his father died, but I also saw his strength of character. He was a good man, although slightly psychotic.

  When he carried me back to the bed, I just couldn’t help myself. I wanted to feel his lips on mine again. I wanted to know what it was like to have the weight of his body pressed against mine. And boy, did I find out. When his cock pressed against me, I thought I would explode.

  I wanted this man, but it didn’t make any sense. He didn’t fit into what I wanted in a man. He was cocky and arrogant. He proved that in the coffee shop when he took on those men like it was nothing. And maybe it was nothing to him, but he treated it so casually, like there was no way he could get hurt. It wasn’t something I wanted to deal with. I wanted a man who did have fear, because a man that had fear meant that he had something to lose. And I wanted to mean something to someone. I wanted the man I fell in love with to love me enough that he always thought about returning to me. It was one of the reasons I pushed Craig away after the coffee shop. He liked the danger.

  But I couldn’t think about that with his tongue in my mouth, kissing me like he was passionately in love with me. My hands started moving like they had a mind of their own. I felt his zipper and then I was yanking it down to get at his cock. I already knew it was big. I had felt it pressing against me. But I wanted to feel it in my hands. I wondered if he knew how to use it, how to drive me crazy. None of my previous lovers had been anything special in the sack.

  Suddenly, I was flipped on top of him, straddling his body. His hands moved to the hem of my shirt and started pushing the material up. I couldn’t take my eyes off his. He stared me down, his eyes drilling into me, daring me to stop him. But I didn’t want to. I was done fighting this for tonight. In the morning I would make my decision. I raised my hands over my head and allowed him to push the material up over my breasts. He sat up, kissing my breasts through the cups of my bra, biting at my nipples as he tore the shirt off of me. I threaded my fingers through his short hair, gripping at the strands every time he bit me. God, he was good at this.

  My bra came loose in the back and then he was yanking it off me. My heart was pounding out of control. This man dominated me in every way, yet put me in the position of control. I couldn’t take the wild sensations flowing through me or control how my body was so willingly handing itself over to him. I rolled back over, needing him to be fully in control. And he took it.

  My pants were yanked off me and then he was shoving his hard cock inside me. I wasn’t sure when the rest of the clothes had been shed, but they were long gone and he was pounding inside me. I gripped onto his shoulders, hanging on for the ride. I refused to look in his eyes. I knew he would draw me in and never let me go. But then he stopped and his fingers were under my chin, lifting it so that I would meet his eyes.

  “Look at me when I make love to you.”

  “This isn’t making love.”

  He smirked and bent down to kiss me, trailing his lips along my jaw and then nibbling on my ear. “Make no mistake, that is exactly what we are doing. And I’ll prove it to you over and over again until
you feel exactly what I feel.”

  I shuddered as his breath fanned across my ear. He nibbled at the lobe and then slowly pulled out of me and thrust back into me. I gasped and then he did it again, pulling out so slowly that I thought my heart would give out at the pace it was racing. He was setting my nerves on fire, lighting my whole body up, just to send me crashing into a massive wreck. And I knew it would end that way.

  My panting grew heavy and ragged the more he teased me. I thrust my hips up, needing to have him inside me, harder and faster. “Don’t you dare slow down,” I panted.

  He slid in so hard and fast that my body jerked backwards. I cried out and wrapped my hands around his neck, refusing to let him move away from me anymore.

  “Harder,” I pleaded. The rest was me trying not to black out from how hard he was fucking me. It was amazing and I never wanted it to end. But when my body started shaking and my legs squeezed together against my will, I knew I wouldn’t hold out anymore. I wrapped my legs around his waist and crushed him to me as I fell over the edge.

  My whole world went black for several minutes as I tried to recover from the best orgasm I had ever experienced. I was vaguely aware of his body pressed hard against mine, but the weight of him actually seemed to calm me. I found myself running my hand up and down his back as my racing heart started to calm. Who was I and what had I done with the woman that didn’t want to get involved with this man?

  He lifted his head from my chest and kissed me lightly on the lips. He looked sleepy and satisfied and I couldn’t help smiling back at him.

  “Tell me you’re not going to run.”

  I didn’t want to lie to him, but I didn’t know what the truth was either. So, I told him what I was feeling in that moment. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  He slid off me partially so that all his weight wasn’t on me, and then he closed his eyes as he drifted off to sleep. The weight of his arm was still draped across my belly, but it felt good. I couldn’t think right now, so I let myself drift off to sleep.

  I woke up a few hours later, hot from this big man draping himself across me. It felt suffocating, like I couldn’t escape. And that was how I actually felt about him. He was all-consuming. He made me want things that I shouldn’t. He made me want him. What was I doing? I needed to get out of here. As much as I wanted this man, as much as I thought deep down he was a good man, he had kidnapped me. Even if I believed that he had rescued me from another kidnapper, which just seemed highly unlikely, he had still followed me around for weeks when I asked him to leave me alone.

  And now I had gone and slept with him. I saw the way he was looking at me, like I was the air that he breathed. How was I supposed to walk away now? Would he ever believe that I didn’t want him?

  I shook my head and gently pried his arm off of me and slid out of the bed. This was why I had decided to sleep with him to begin with, or so I told myself. I knew that he wouldn’t let me go no matter what, so I decided to draw him in and make him comfortable, just like Brooke suggested. Well, I’d gotten my way. He was passed out beside me, and if I worked fast, I could get out of here before he ever realized I was gone.

  I quickly dressed, doing my best to be quiet, and dug out half the money out of his wallet. I wasn’t going to take all his money, but I needed a few hundred dollars to get home. I wanted to go kiss him goodbye for some reason, but I knew that was a risk I couldn’t take. I took the shoes and socks that he bought for me and carried them to the door with me. I just wanted to get out before he caught me.

  Carefully, I opened the door and closed it quietly behind me. As soon as the door clicked shut, I raced down the hall to the stairwell and quickly pulled on my shoes and socks. I was down the stairs and out on the dark streets in just under a minute. Looking both ways, I tried to figure out which way to go, but nothing stood out to me. I turned left and walked until I disappeared into the night.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Craig

  The first thing I noticed when I woke up to the bright sunlight was the fact that the bed was cold beside me. Way too cold for Reese to just have gone to take a shower. I sat up slightly, leaning on my elbow as I looked around the room. She had taken her clothes and the shoes and socks I had picked up for her, but left everything else behind.

  I flopped onto my back and stared up at the ceiling. How had I gotten it so wrong? I thought she felt the connection too, but then why did she bolt? Was she just using me all along? Was she just faking it and using our connection to get away?

  If it wasn’t for Cap calling and telling me that there was no threat, I would be worried sick about her being out there on her own. As it was, she wouldn’t get far on foot. We were too far from home. However, there were still plenty of ways that she could get into trouble. I needed to get her back. If she really didn’t want to be with me, then I suppose that I could be the bigger person and…I laughed to myself because there was no way I was letting her go. And she could think whatever she wanted. I saw the way she looked at me last night. She wanted me just as much as I wanted her. And it wasn’t just so she could lure me into some relaxed state so she could slip away. She wanted me because there was an undeniable connection between us. I just had to make her admit it.

  I flung the covers off and hopped out of bed. Turning on the shower, I whistled as I quickly cleaned up and got dressed. This was going to be a great day. I packed up the shit that I had brought with me while I dialed up Becky.

  “What do you want?” she snapped.

  “I need your help.”

  “Of course you do. Too bad. I’m busy.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that before.”

  “Hey, I am not just some….computer genius that you can use whenever you need something. I’m busy.”

  She hung up the phone and I chuckled. Becky could pretend all she wanted that she didn’t want to help me, but I knew better. I called her back.

  “I already told you that I’m not helping you.”

  “Technically, you didn’t say anything like that. You yelled at me and hung up on me. But I know that deep down you want to help me.”

  “Yeah? Why would you think that?”

  “Because it’s your job.”

  “You’re not on a job.”

  “Then I guess Cap didn’t fill you in on my little adventure last night,” I grinned, knowing I had the upper hand.

  “Actually, he did. He also informed me that there is no threat.”

  Shit. Well, that didn’t help me much.

  “Okay, listen, she ran out of here and I need to track her down. We’re hours away from Reed Security. Think of all the trouble she could get into.”

  “She’d probably welcome it if it meant getting away from you,” she snapped.

  “Wow. That’s harsh. I think you just hurt my feelings.”

  “Oh, please. It’s not like any of you guys actually have any. Face it, you’re all out for yourselves.”

  “That’s just a very brutal assessment of my feelings. I’ll have you know that I love Reese and there’s not a damn thing I wouldn’t do for her.”

  “How can you possibly love her? You’ve known her all of five minutes?”

  “Well, hell, I don’t know how, but I know what I feel is real. Have you ever walked into a room and talked with someone for just five minutes, but knew that that person was meant for you?”

  She was silent on the other end, probably because that was exactly how she felt about Coop, but she was too stubborn to admit it. Hell, I wasn’t saying it was love at first sight or anything like that, but that woman had me, balls and all, and there was no way I was letting her go.

  “That’s the way I feel about Reese and now she’s out there, wandering around someplace she doesn’t know, and I have to get her back.”

  “You know I have to tell Cap about this. He called the job off. He told you to come back.”

  “But you don’t have to listen to him. I have a plan and by the end of the weekend, she’ll be mine.”
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br />   “You’re not gonna do some kind of blood oath, are you?”

  “Just find out where the fuck she went,” I growled.

  “Fine, but you owe me big time, and believe me, I’ll be collecting when you least expect it.”