“And he won, because he’s the alpha.”
A deep chuckle that warmed her insides. “I won and threw him out. That’s when he asked me to join the pack he’d formed. Said he needed someone that strong and determined to control the males.”
She laughed, and he grinned. They talked and drank the wine. She told him about volunteering to teach reading to adults and taking a few online courses. He asked about the people at Comairise Energy.
“The company is small, and everyone is casual. They’re my friends. We’re all like family,” she told him.
Darius shook his head. “Don’t mistake business for your family, Sam. When it comes to money, they’ll cut you off at the knees every time.”
“They’re not like that. Ken promised me a promotion if I nailed this deal with you. He’s like an uncle.”
She didn’t care for his cynical expression. “An uncle who’d cut you out of the family will if he thought it would save him a dollar. Consider how much return on an investment you’re making with your time and energy with them. Ken told me at dinner that he’d just fired an employee for not putting in enough hours at the office.”
The firing had made her uneasy because Ralph often worked from home. But the official word was that Ralph had taken advantage of the situation. “They demand quality performance from their staff so they can give excellent service to their clients. It is business. And they’ve been good to me.”
“Not like pack, Sam. Nothing can replace the closeness and loyalty of pack.” Wineglass dangling from his fingertips, he gazed at the bay windows overlooking the ocean. “I learned that the hard way.”
When the bottle of wine was empty, Samantha glanced at the clock on the fireplace mantel, stunned to realize they’d talked for two hours straight. Like old times. Oh, how she’d missed this.
“We always talked to each other about everything.” She watched as he put the empty bottle on the bar and washed the glasses in the sink.
Darius dried his hands on a paper towel and joined her on the sofa. “Not everything. We never did talk about this…”
Cupping the back of her head, he drew her forward and kissed her. Every nerve raged with need. She wanted him, badly.
And then common sense kicked her, hard, and she pulled away.
This was Darius, the Lupine who seduced legions of women. They were both leaving tomorrow. Samantha didn’t want to be another notch in his bedpost. The look he gave her was so tender and languorous, she wanted to melt into his arms. Samantha steeled herself against it. He possessed the power to hurt her badly.
“Let’s do something else,” she suggested.
“What?”
“We could watch a video. Though the most entertaining ones I left in my apartment. They feature you with several women.”
Darius’ gaze turned wary. “What are you talking about, Sam?”
“The videos of you getting laid. Definitely popcorn worthy.”
“What videos?” His tone was dangerous and low, edged with anger. But she didn’t care.
“You enjoyed sex with other women.”
His mouth flattened. “How much did you pay this private detective to spy on me, Sam? Did you get your money’s worth?”
That hurt, but she pressed on. “I got an eyeful, and more. Movie of the week! More expensive than renting a porno flick for the night, but the positions were quite interesting. Never knew you could be so acrobatic, Darius.”
Nostrils flaring, he gritted his teeth so hard his jaw turned to steel. “I can be quite flexible. Let’s go to my bedroom right now and I’ll provide a little demonstration.”
“So I can be another conquest? No, thanks.”
Gone were the charm and the sexy smiles. He’d turned lethal as a honed dagger. “I marked you as my mate. It’s not the same. My affairs with other women meant nothing.”
“It was pure hell for me,” she whispered. “Do you realize how painful it is to see the man who promised to return for you, to bring you out of the hellhole you’ve been living in, making love to another woman?”
Do not admit vulnerability. But a shadow darkened his expression.
“Sam, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry you had to see that part of my life. All those times I had sex, and it was sex, nothing more, you kept coming to mind. The only way I could deal with the pain was by trying to forget you. But I never could. Never did. You were always there, your smile, your clear laughter. I missed you so much I wanted to die.”
“Right.”
Darius blinked, the shadow of guilt flickering in his eyes. “It’s a two-way street, Samantha.”
He’d never called her Samantha before. Ever. “You hired a Skin to find me, and you found me. You couldn’t have come to me and shown your face, asked for an explanation?”
A fist squeezed her heart. “I did.”
He stared, waiting.
“It was the hardest thing I’d ever done. When the detective told me you were staying at a resort in Glacier Park, I made up my mind. A resort was safe and public if you rejected me.”
He watched her, his shoulders tense. “I’d never reject you, Sam.”
“I flew to Montana and rented a car. Spent money at the hairdressers to put my hair up, sprayed on perfume I knew you’d recognize, put on my prettiest dress and I… I…”
Darius leaned forward. “You what?”
Humiliation crawled through her. “I sat in the lobby, working up the courage to knock on your hotel room door. Kept telling myself I could do this. And then the elevator doors opened and I saw you, with a beautiful, busty blonde I’d seen in one of the videos. You came closer to the fireplace where I sat, so close I could smell you, your scent so delicious and sharp, your hair all tousled and your smile so sexy and inviting…”
She fisted her hands. “You looked right at me, and then passed me by. Not even saying a word. You looked through me, Darius, as if I were a ghost.”
Blood drained from his face. Clearly shaken, he fell back against the sofa. “Fuck,” he said softly.
“I was invisible to you.”
Darius dragged a hand through his hair, and she looked at him. Really looked at him and saw him tremble.
Uncertainty filled her. If Darius truly had forgotten her and never wanted her again, why was he acting like this? Maybe her own insecurities had clouded her vision. Maybe he had formed his own layers of protection against the sharp hurt of losing her.
Searching his stunned expression, she realized the truth. “You saw me but didn’t recognize me. Because in your mind, I was dead.”
“You were a ghost,” he said quietly. “I did see you…and thought my mind was playing tricks. I even smelled your fragrance, but thought that was my imagination. After Ellen told me you’d died, I’d started to see you everywhere, because I wanted so much for you to be alive. I smelled you everywhere, heard your laughter each time I turned a corner. I saw you in town at the bar when I went there for a beer with the guys. I saw you at the grocery store, the airport, the city, hell, I even saw you at the goddamn rodeo, riding in the barrel racing competition.”
He drew in a deep breath. “That day you saw me with the blonde, hell, I can’t even remember her name… I’d sworn to never again let you haunt me. Later, when we returned to the hotel, I went back to the lobby. I checked with management to see if I was hallucinating again. But they had no record of you registering.”
Samantha’s heart wrenched painfully. “I never checked in. It was too painful, being that close to you and knowing you didn’t want me anymore.”
How well she’d remembered that day. Sometimes at night it played over and over in her mind like a horrible movie reel.
“Why did Maxim have to force you out?” A lump clogged her throat, but she refused to cry. If she cried now, she’d fall to pieces.
Darius sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, his touch soothing. “Maybe he figured eventually I’d try to kill him, or at the least, challenge his authority as alpha. He probably didn’t even
want you in his bed. Just wanted a reason to piss me off so I’d finally leave.”
Closing her eyes as he kneaded her tensed muscles, she thought about it. Darius was right. “Maxim is as stubborn as you are and if there is something he really wants, he doesn’t give up.”
“I do have that in common with the old bastard.” He ran a finger down her neck, to where the runes once marked her skin. “I am quite ruthless when it comes to pursuing something I want.”
She breathed in his scent, and her desire spiked. Sam opened her eyes and saw him gazing at her, all intent focus, sharp sensuality twined with tenderness.
“All those women I’ve had since I lost you, I’d have given them up in a heartbeat for one night with you.” Darius massaged the tight muscles on her neck. “I’d have given them up for one hour with you. Because they could never equal what you and I shared.”
“I missed you,” she confessed, her chest hollow with the memory she’d tried so hard to suppress. Tears burned her eyes. “I missed you so much, Darius.”
“Hey.” He bent his head, touching her forehead. “Don’t be so upset. C’mon, Sam. We’re here now, together. Let’s enjoy ourselves.”
She rubbed her eyes, trying to stem the tears, but they kept coming. He held her, stroking her hair and when she finally raised her head, Darius got up and fetched the roll of paper towels. As she blew her nose and wiped her face, he picked up the television remote.
“I think we need a little levity,” he murmured. “Something fun to get my beautiful Sam to smile again.”
“None of those gross horror movies you liked,” she warned him, her mouth quirking up a bit.
He raised a brow and gave her a teasing look. “Not even The Exorcist? Spinning heads and pea soup can be fun.”
He switched on the television, channel surfing as she tried to gather her lost composure. Darius landed on a movie channel and sat up.
“Look! Rear Window. It’s a Hitchcock movie marathon!”
Nostalgia flooded her. “Remember how we stayed up one night watching The Birds while everyone else was asleep? We ate popcorn until I thought my stomach would burst.”
“There’s no popcorn here, but I have fruit and mineral water in the mini fridge in my room.” Darius sprang off the couch and held out his hand. “C’mon.”
For a moment she hesitated. Alone with Darius in his bedroom…
And then she looked at his face, his dear, familiar face and remembered the good times they’d shared, this wolf who had given her so much of his life and made her life in Maxim’s pack more than bearable.
She placed her hand into his and they went upstairs.
With one hand, Darius tugged down the pretty ecru duvet on the king-sized bed. Samantha kicked off her shoes and stretched out on the bed. She found the remote and flicked on the wide-screen television mounted on the wall before the bed. He opened both sets of French doors, allowing in the cool Pacific breeze. Sam sighed with pleasure as the wind played over her body. She wriggled her hips, feeling suddenly sensual and free.
He went to the other room and returned with a plate filled with strawberries. He set it on the nightstand.
“You remembered my favorite snack!”
His boyish grin warmed her from the inside out. Darius fetched two glasses of sparkling water, set them down and joined her on the bed.
On the screen, James Stewart was peering out of his back window with a pair of binoculars. Sam ate several strawberries and stared at the screen as Darius put his arm around her shoulder. When Grace Kelly snuck into Thorwald’s apartment, she squealed and buried her head against Darius’ shoulder.
“I can’t watch.”
His deep chuckle vibrated in her ear. “Sweetheart, you’ve seen this movie 2,000 times.”
“Two thousand and one now. And I still can’t watch. Tell me when it’s over.”
Finally he nudged her. “You can look now. She’s safe.”
Sam lifted her head. She didn’t look at the screen, but at Darius. His scent flooded her nostrils and suddenly the space between her legs felt swollen with need. Desire surged within her, tightening her nipples and making her squirm.
Nostrils flaring, he looked down at her, his mouth parting, his gaze dark as midnight. A pulse jumped in his neck.
“Who cares what happens to Grace Kelly,” she breathed.
“Fuck Hitchcock,” he muttered in a deep voice, rough with passion.
Suddenly she craved the heat, the closeness of his body pressed against hers. She scented the testosterone rolling off him in waves.
Darius slid a hand up her nape, his touch assured and yet so gentle. Sam lifted her face. One kiss couldn’t hurt. Nothing more, nothing further. Her lips parted in invitation.
Something shuttered in his eyes.
His mouth descended on hers swiftly. Darius cradled her head as he kissed her. Desire flared like gasoline poured on a smoldering fire. She kissed him back, her feelings askew, lust making her limbs tremble.
Her mouth opened wide as she flicked her tongue over his. Sam clutched his wide shoulders as he thrust his tongue inside her mouth, stroking in an erotic caress. Taking, penetrating her mouth, mimicking what she knew he wanted to do with her body. Anticipation made her quiver as she imagined him laying her down and spreading her thighs apart with his hands. Then mounting her, driving deep inside her body and finally giving her what she’d craved all these long, lonely years.
Oh gods, she needed this so badly she shook with the craving. She’d been alone for so long, focusing on her career instead of her emotional needs. She was a lone wolf. No one had ever helped her, so she learned to go it alone. It was a direction she was happy to take. Or had been.
His breathing ragged, Darius pulled away. Muscles tensed in his body. His eyes locked onto her like a laser. She responded to the overwhelming masculinity, the space between her legs throbbing.
“I don’t know if I can control myself if I take you now,” he told her.
Sexual frustration made her snap. “I can handle it.”
Sam stared him down.
No chance to bite back the words. Darius cupped the back of her head and crushed his mouth against hers. It was no gentle, teasing kiss, but one of pure possession, staking his claim. His tongue boldly thrust past her lips as he slid a hand across her waist, drawing her closer. Sam moaned and clutched fistfuls of his shirt, sagging against him.
He kept at it, exquisite sensual torture that made her weak with longing, as if his next breath depended on her, indeed, his very life.
Catching her bottom lip playfully between his teeth, he gently nipped, then licked her lip slowly. Boldness overcame her as Sam cupped his erection, squeezed.
She opened her eyes, startled at his hot, intent look. It warned she’d pushed him too far.
“Right now,” he said. “I will have you. I won’t wait any longer. I’ve waited ten long years. Since the day I gave you my ring, I’ve wanted you.”
Giving in meant more than surrendering to his sexual dominance. It meant forging an even deeper physical link between them. Sex presented an intimacy she could not control, for Darius would trap her in the sensuality of Lupine wolves, tying her to him.
Sam summoned all her inner strength. “I can’t do this, Darius. Much as I want to, I can’t.”
His gaze glittered like lit sapphires, but the hands cupping her face were gentle. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
“This. Us. What we’re about to do. I’m here on business, and so are you, and besides, we can’t reclaim the past. It’s too late.”
Emotion tightened her throat as she admitted the truth. “I wish we could go back to the night when Maxim threw you out. Hell, I wish I’d had the courage to take your hand and leave with you. I’ve kept your ring all these years, even when I lost hope of you ever returning, because it reminded me of you. I’ve learned to accept and move on, and if it meant being alone,” she gulped down a quivering breath, “I learned to accept that as well.”
He went preternaturally still, searching her gaze. Finally he spoke. “You kept my ring?”
At her nod, he leaned his forehead against hers, and the warmth of his breath feathered over her cheeks. “Ah, Sam, my beautiful Sam. I’d give anything to return to the past, and not fuck up like I did. I should have taken you away long before my father threatened you. We could have struck out on our own. Sometimes at night, I’d lie in bed and feel this crushing regret, wishing I wouldn’t have been so damn arrogant with my father, because you paid the price.
“All these years I’ve been hiding behind this womanizing mask, never letting anyone close because you were the only one who held my heart. I’ve been surrounded by friends and pack, had many women in my bed, but I’ve been so damn alone. Sometimes I’d wake up at night, and look at the stars. I’d pretend you were there among them, looking down at me, and finally feel peaceful because you were with me, even if only for a few moments.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks. She wrapped her hands around his wrists. “Oh, Darius,” she said, her heart breaking all over again. “I missed you so much too, so much sometimes I thought I’d die. I’d go into the forest and remember the times we shared, and the memory hurt like someone squeezed my heart, but it helped because if I tried hard enough, I could see you there, smiling at me.”
“Don’t cry, sweetheart,” he whispered, wiping away her tears. “I’m here now, and I never want to leave you again.”
And then she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him again, never wanting him to leave, needing him at her side. If all they had was only this one night, then damn it, she’d take it.
She’d been walking alone too long, just like him.
As she kissed him, her mouth moving over his, Darius began tearing off his shirt. Then he pulled away, rolled off the bed and undressed and stood at the bedside naked. Sam stared at him. So solid and strong, his taut, athletic body with its broad chest, rippling muscles and long limbs dusted with dark hair. Her gaze dropped to his erect penis. She fumbled with her own clothing and when she was bare, he gave her no time to think, no time for regrets. He drew her into his arms again, kissing her mouth, her neck, her shoulder.
The Mating Rite (Big, Beautiful Werewolf) (Werewolves of Montana) Page 13