“Is your little midnight lovers’ stroll over so soon?”
The hot whisper in her ear breezed through the loose tendrils of her hair at her temple. In that instant, hot, unbidden desire raced through her body like a living being threatening to dominate her senses. Roth!
Annoyance laced with a healthy dose of anger mingled with her passion. This was so like him. Aiden, like the angel of mercy that he was, had taken the time to reassure her, placate her. But here was the avenging angel, sent seemingly from the very bowels of hell, scaring her out of her wits and arousing her far too quickly for her to control.
Stubbornly, knowing he expected an answer, she nodded. Thankfully his hand was still over her mouth and she had an excuse for not using the voice she knew would desert her.
His growl sent a shiver down her spine. “And did you enjoy it?”
Adamantly, accepting fully that she courted danger, she nodded again.
“Hoyden.” He inhaled deeply. “Do you know I should bend you over my knees for your mischief?”
The worst part was that she found even that idea stimulating. The feel of his large hands against the intimate flesh of her fanny sounded sinfully wicked. Very slowly, very expressly, she inclined her head.
His hiss was harsh and raw against the side of her neck. She leaned back as the simple touch turned to hot, openmouthed kisses. She arched into him as they became hungry nips and frantic nibbles.
Without warning, he spun her around. She caught a glint of dangerous light flickering in the depths of his whiskey-brown eyes before her gaze traveled to his lips. Full. Firm. Fulfilling. She knew this and needed it right now. As though hearing her blatant request, his mouth crushed down on hers brutally, sapping her breath along with her resistance in one foul sweep. Her mouth opened on a groan and welcomed his exploring tongue. Tienna’s mind dipped and swayed, but he mercifully kept her from melting to the ground into a puddle of soft pudding. His arms were bands of steel, ruthless, inescapable, and just what she craved.
Not wasting the advantage afforded her this time she drove her fingers into his hair. Thick, silky, wild. Her hands curled into fists, matching his animalistic cruelty, while still clinging on for the life he was both stealing from and giving to her. Had she just a moment ago believed Aiden would be enough for her? God, how many times am I going to be proven wrong?
* * * *
Roth sensed the slight tensing of her back beneath his binding grip. He was having none of it. He forced his will on her, greedily lapping at the honey offered in her mouth, not allowing her time to retreat.
The moment she had stepped through that opening he had been overcome with the overwhelming need to pounce on her. The look on her face certainly had driven him more than a little insane. He wanted to wipe that smug satisfaction off her face. He needed to drive every last memory of that kiss she had just shared. He had to eradicate his brother from her mind, her heart, permanently.
She did not melt into him. The flames within her were quick to ignite. It roared like a raging forest fire, and he stoked it mercilessly, rejoicing in the power of her response. She was soft, warm, and utterly female in his arms. But she was also heat, passion, and all woman. Tienna, my fire. She moved with him.
Her scent intoxicated him, driving every intention from his head except his need to possess her. He longed to dive into the warmth of her body and stake his claim on her heart, her soul. His hands explored the slender length of her back until he reached her decadently rounded ass. Without finesse, he squeezed the glorious orbs, lifting her and fitting her snuggly against his throbbing cock.
Her whimper fueled his engorged penis as he rubbed against her hot pussy, ruthlessly making her understand, accept what he had to offer. He was tight, so very filled with erratic energy he thought he would burst into flames. She fed him life beyond his wildest imagination. She was every adventure he had ever raced across the far reaches of the world in search of. And she was in his arms.
“It is my turn, brother.” He growled his warning as he felt an ominous presence stir hotly, unwelcome in his mind. “You chose to waste yours.” He accepted the full brunt of the anger Aiden lashed at him with smug satisfaction.
But he had not counted on Aiden’s rage encompassing Tienna as well. She hissed as though in pain and drew back, panting hard. Her hands in his hair must have pulled a few strands loose as she yanked them away to cover her ears. The anguish on her face made him annoyed and angry as hell. It also reminded him of what a complete heel he was.
Damnation. “Aiden does not play fair.” He tried to comfort her.
She drew away further, still struggling to get her breath back. “You do not play fair.”
Hell, yes! Why should he? She belonged to him, didn’t she? “I will not seek permission for what is mine.”
“You seek to conquer.” Her tone was accusing and not just a little furious.
All the pent-up frustration within Roth bubbled to the surface. “It is my nature. I am no poetry-spinning coxcomb who will lure you with pretty words and shiny trinkets.”
“You snatch like a dangerous bandit in the night.”
He stalked her even as she stepped back. “I take only what is mine.”
“You demand.”
“I secure what is by right owed to me. I bind it to me. I command your passion, and I shall have it.”
Tienna inhaled sharply. “You’re a beast.”
Finally, they were in agreement. “I am a beast. I will have you, Tienna. Harbor no delusions about that.”
“I don’t want you.” Her voice left her on a whisper.
Roth laughed. “Liar. Your mouth spews denial as freely as your body screams acceptance.” He let loose a low, rumbling growl, allowing the threatening sound to flow into her mind. “I will take you. I will possess your body until you scream your surrender. I will own your soul as you shatter in submission. You cannot resist, Tienna. You will not.”
“Stay away from me.” She threw her hands up as though they could possibly shield her. “I will choose freely, and I pick Aiden.”
Roth narrowed his eyes dangerously as he touched her hand. A single finger rested at the center of her dainty palm. “One caress. That’s all it would take. And you will succumb to me. He will never give you what you crave. You wish for more than a man, Tienna. You yearn for the beast. I am that beast.”
Her eyes widened in alarm. Her hand drew back as though she’d been singed. “No. You’re all wrong for me.”
Roth smiled cunningly. “And that is precisely why you want me.”
He watched her spin around and stomp inelegantly to the safety of her lands. He spoke into her mind, cruelly seductive, “I will eat you alive, Tienna. That’s what you crave.”
Before Aiden could make an appearance, he shifted and pawed the earth. He broke through the dense bushes just as his anguished howl rent the air. He lashed out at his brother. “I do not appreciate the disturbance.”
A hard, cold laugh drifted through Roth’s mouth before a deceptively smooth voice. “Just returning the favor.”
Chapter 4:
The Ultimatum
Tienna stared in panic as the last possible source of support in her home turned against her. She had awoken this morning having spent the night doing the same thing she’d done for past countless nights, tossing and turning with fevered dreams. But this morning there was no respite in the daylight hours. This dawn found her opening eyes to her mother who wore a scowl fierce enough to make her want to go back to her tortured dreamland.
“You court danger unwisely, daughter.” Lady Cynthia did not stand in one position, making it more difficult for Tienna to focus her groggy attention. “I simply cannot allow you to continue on this foolish path.”
Tienna pushed up on her pillows. “How did you know?”
“How else?” Her mother sniffed disdainfully.
Feeling like a little child who’d been caught with her hand fully submerged in the pasties tin, Tienna implored for underst
anding. “It is not as bad as it appears. There simply was no other way.”
“No other way?” Her mother chopped her hand through the air. “You cannot expect to go around sniffing the heels of both men and hope to escape unscathed.”
Tienna pursed her lips. It would be pointless to argue. She just wished she could have at least been extended a hearing. As her mother continued her diatribe, she turned her thoughts inward.
Everything had gone so sublimely last night, and then, as expected, Roth had arrived to upset the balance of the entire delicate equation, tipping the precarious scale once again. Hadn’t she, quite logically, made her mind up until his forced seduction? But the odious man had sent her newly discovered ecstasy spiraling into confusion. And he did not even have the courtesy to do so gently.
What is it about him that I find so enticing? He had mentioned she needed his beast. Perhaps he was right. Maybe her human persona was satisfied with just Aiden, finding him endearing and comfortable. But her beast raged for the danger and violent storm that came from Roth. The saint and the devil. What have I ever done to deserve such a fate?
“You are not even listening to me, are you?”
Her mother’s voice penetrated her thoughts. Opting for honesty, she shrugged. It was the wrong thing to do in an already volatile situation. Mayhap some of Roth’s daring tomfoolery was rubbing off on her and she simply attracted danger, like a tenacious heel-hugging Jack Russell, to herself.
“Well, ignore me all you want, but you will have to explain yourself to your father. He awaits you even as we speak. I thought I may be able to inject some sense into you, but seeing as I am failing by dismal proportions, perhaps it is best he deal with you.” For all the anger she had just displayed, Lady Cynthia dragged her feet to the door. As her hand fell on the handle, she turned and whispered. “I really had held such faith in you, Tienna. Just promise me you will be careful even though it is already too late.”
Tienna’s already ravaged heart sunk to the pit of her stomach. “I will be careful, Mother.” There was nothing she could do. She certainly could not offer her mother any further placating. She could not simply name one man when both had found a place in her heart, albeit one with all the subtlety of a bear attacking a beehive. She threw the covers off and stepped to the dressing room.
It was deserted. So this was to be her first punishment. Well, she could very well perform her ablutions herself. What was the removal of a maid compared to the loss of a man’s life? As much as her parents wanted her to, she could not simply toss a man aside. Discarding one would certainly mean his death. Even if he escaped the hunt of her father’s pack, he would never be safe against the mate she chose to stay with. No. The man she denied would be a man marked with a great, big, red target, and he would not survive long. And her fingertips would never lose the red tainting after drawing that marker.
Feeling rather proud at her efficient self-preparation, she made her way to her father’s study. She twirled the ends of her long rope of hair nervously. Her path cut straight across the hallway before the dining hall, but the wafting aromas did nothing to tempt any appetite in her. In fact she felt positively bilious. The footman at the door of her father’s study wore a large pair of eyes on a rather frozen expression. Things were not looking promising.
She entered as he scrambled in haste to allow her admittance and froze on the threshold. What on earth was going on here? The large room had been drastically diminished in size owing to the overwhelming number of occupants in it, a vast number of very large, angry occupants. “Father?” Her voice was a pathetic squeak as she scoured the male-dominated crowd for him.
“Enter.”
Tienna jumped at his thunderous roar. She swallowed down any further hope she had harbored. Not only was she not going to escape her father’s wrath with just a slap on the wrist, it appeared in all likelihood she was going to accept her punishment on a very public scale. Heat suffused the flush on her cheeks as all eyes tore into her. She now knew what a sacrificial lamb must feel like. And it took an enormous amount of strength not to bleat for mercy amongst this lot of wolves.
Finally having passed enough hard, heavy, manly bodies to satisfy a lifetime, she stood before the great oak desk. The giant on the other side was not seated. He towered behind the gleaming surface. His hands were folded in tight bands across his chest. Tienna could not diffuse the feeling that he stood thus so he would not strike her. The idea was preposterous of course. Her father had never struck her a single time in her life.
“The pack is taking over this matter. You are relieved of any responsibility with regards to the choosing of your mate.”
The words cut through her chest. A dark, unfamiliar, and yet wholly welcome feeling surged within her. Affront. “You cannot do that. It is I who shall have to live with the man after all.” She stopped short. While her father had been merciful about her punishments in the past, it appeared that time was just that, in the past. He looked livid enough to leap over the desk and tear her to pieces. Change tactics. “Please, Father, can we not speak privately?”
She scanned the hostile faces around her. Dressing in the height of fashion did nothing to disguise the unholy beast that resided within each of these gentlemen. They were her family pack, and right now they were very furious with her. She could hear the hum of their internal growling, and it was doing untold damage to her bravery. But at the same time, did that mean they should be privy to her personal affairs?
“They have every right to know what their futures entail.”
Apparently so. She sighed regretfully. She admitted she was afraid. But she had left her room fully intent on making her case heard, and nothing was going to change her resolve. It did not matter that every man here could smell her fear. It mattered less that none would aid her course. They were loyal to their leader, and she was heir only by default, entirely at her father’s discretion. Right now it appeared she had more chances of becoming a castoff than that happening.
“The stench of their beasts fills my house.”
The vehemence in her father’s voice made her draw back. The men closest to her sniffed in disgust. Yes, they were the highest ranked in society. And yes they were the most powerful wolves in all of England. But that did not give them the right to disrespect her. She had the blood of the very first werewolf from these shores flowing through her veins. And even though she may have been born a female, it did not lessen her hound strength or her pride in it. She was a blood Sterling, a pure wolf by birth, not a victim of a fatal bite with self-taught abilities, and it was about time they accepted it. “I carry their scent because they are my mates. I have tasted them, as is my right. In time I will choose who will become this pack’s future second-in-charge beside you, Father, who will lead us into the future when you no longer preside.”
The shift in the air was suddenly oppressive. Tienna refused to be threatened. Cowering was for lambs, and she was a predator. “This is my heritage as much as it is anyone else’s in this room. In truth, to be quite frank, it is more so. I will not allow the decision to be taken away from me.”
“Silence.” Her father leaned over the dark wood. “You will speak with respect.”
“I was not aware that I hadn’t. As far as I can see, it is I, blood-born heir to this title, who is facing disparagement. I demand every right that that prestigious title holds.”
Tienna stood tall, as much as she could in this overpowering, towering bunch, and straightened her shoulders stubbornly. So what if she could hear the grinding of fierce canines? They could bite her, but she was more than ready to bite back. Christian Hawthorne, Duke of Sterling, for the first time, gaped at her, speechless.
That was all the encouragement she needed. “I am no fool. I am fully aware of the responsibility I bear and the implications and repercussions my decision would have on each of you.” Her grandfather many generations removed had been the sole introduction of the werewolf trait in England. Every member of this elite pack, or rather t
heir ancestors, had been handpicked based on both their political power and brutal physical strength. While the other rivaling packs had been formed by some accidental or greedy fatal bite, she was sired by the one who held the pure blood. They should never forget that. She would not let them. “I shall see this matter dealt with anon.”
If she had expected that to be the end of things, she would have been disappointed. Fortunately, she knew enough about her father to know he was a fighter and never gave in. He was, after all, the sire of her blood. It was high time he was reminded of that fact, since what flowed through his veins also flowed through hers. “Before you interrupt, Father, I would like to reiterate that my decision shall be taken as final if you wish the continuation of our generation.” She ruthlessly went for the throat. “My supposed wish to procreate and supply the future generation of blood-born cubs is not a given. I could, for the sake of argument, decide I do not wish to marry at all.” Let him chew on that.
But Christian never chewed. He chomped, ground everything to fine dust, and spat out. “You wretch! I shall have you forced to the conjugal bed if need be.”
Tienna shrugged. Her courage was congealing. “But why bother with such unpleasantness when I clearly offer a more viable, humane solution?”
Her father’s hands pressed into his desk as he leaned forward. She imitated the move, staring right back at him even if it strained her neck to maintain eye contact with one who obviously towered over her. But as she stared into the depths of shimmering green, a mirror of her own, her family’s proud history flooded her.
They were the descendants of the greatest Sterling that had ever existed. So many generations back an adventurous man had commissioned a ship of his own and taken on the world as his destination. He had returned with a lot more than he had bargained for and, additionally, a crew marginally diminished. But the man had had foresight.
Lovers' Tussle Page 5