by Gina Kincade
“No,” Anna argued. “If it were, you wouldn’t be scared like you are right now. You shouldn’t be giving him the time of day.”
“Oh?” she asked, her voice louder than she expected. “And do one of you have the guy that's going to take his place? Who wants me?”
Linc seemed to appear from nowhere at the side of the table. “I thought I already answered that question.” He sounded so angry, so violent, that Zoe cowered against Sarah.
He ground his teeth, his eyes boring into her, and the sensation of being pulled down as prey returned. It fled quickly when he stalked off.
“Holy shit, Zoe. I think he means it. Does he have a friend or something?” Anna turned her head to the side in an appraising gaze Zoe had seen before. She couldn't say she'd taken any time to look at Linc's ass. She'd gotten hooked on his golden-brown eyes and those curls of chest hair she saw the first time she met him.
Her hand went to her face. She'd been blushing before, but felt clammy now.
Sarah hugged her shoulders. “You have to do something.”
Chapter Six
Linc cursed himself on every stair he climbed, and he'd done the full six flights without breaking a sweat. He turned around and plowed down again. It was the only way to keep from erupting. Elliot was such a complete waste of breath. It was taking all Linc's concentration to not hunt him down and rip his throat out.
He reached the top flight again without really noticing he'd turned around. Now he was breathing heavily. What had come over him? He hadn't been like this since he was Wash's age. Normally he only got worked up like this the week before the moon. It was still two weeks away.
He pattered down and found Zoe standing at the bottom staring at him.
“I didn't mean to scare you,” he said.
She nodded but didn't speak. “I'd like to say you didn't, but you'd know I was lying.” She didn't meet his gaze, looking at her feet. “What did you mean to do?” she asked, looking up at him through lowered lashes.
Linc licked his lips. Kill your abusive boyfriend? Scare you into sanity? Mark my territory?
Where the fuck had that come from?
She took half a step back, really looking at him and blanching. His blood was still hot and he knew he couldn't have a decent conversation with her, not until he'd burned it off. He reached out and stroked her hair. “Will you be here later? Around four?” That was two hours away. He had a class, but there was no point in going now.
“I-I can be.”
“I'll look for you,” he said, lifting a hand to touch her cheek and wanting to touch her more. That territorial thing wasn't imagined. It wasn't anything he was familiar with either.
Her eyes were still wide, like a deer in the headlights, but she nodded.
Unable to resist, he seized her shoulders and landed a quick smack of a kiss on her lips before rushing past her and out the door.
Outside, he wanted to howl. He would love to find Elliot and rip him apart. If anything, that urge was stronger. He hadn't been a slave to the wolf like this since he first joined his uncle and grandfather at the full moon.
He jogged away from campus, heading down a trail toward the river. He could run until the murderous rage died down. It took a lot longer than he expected and when he circled back to find Zoe, he was still on edge. He slowed to a walk and pulled out his phone, dialing Franklin.
“Hey Linc.”
“Frank, did Celeste ever have an ex? Or someone coming on to her?”
“Well, yeah, she had all kinds of guys coming onto her. She's hot, you idiot.”
Linc shook his head. “Not like appreciative gazes, like touched her.”
Franklin's voice dropped and his words almost came out in a growl. “No. I wouldn't let anyone touch her.”
Linc closed his eyes, completely understanding Franklin's reaction. “There's a girl living in Aunt Norm's basement, and I'm just about ready to kill her boyfriend. How do you deal with that?”
“Damn,” he muttered, his tone lighter. “I don't know that I couldn't kill him. Are they happy together?”
Linc wound his way between buildings and through the quad. He wasn't quite ready to talk to Zoe yet, but talking to Franklin was definitely helping.
“Not a bit. He treats her like shit and she knows it.”
“So where's the problem? Eat him.” Franklin was way too flippant and Linc scoffed at his suggestion.
“Yeah, where can we hide the body?”
“Oh, we'll find a place. After all, what are cousins for?”
“You're an ass, you know that.”
“But you don't feel like killing him anymore, do you?”
Linc took a deep breath. “Less, but I still do.”
Zoe stood in front of him with a little smile on her lips, like she was amused by the bit of the conversation she had heard.
“I gotta go,” Linc said, hanging up on Franklin. “Hey.”
“Hey,” she said, holding his gaze longer than any time before. “I said I'd be here.”
Linc reached out and played with one of the curls resting on her shoulder. “You did. Thank you.”
“Are you toying with me?” she asked.
Linc frowned, confused. “What do you mean?”
She sighed and turned away. “I had boys do it in high school. They'd pretend they were interested to get me wound up and then laugh when I thought it was real.”
“Who did that?” Linc asked, his voice again a growl and his still-hot blood boiling again.
Zoe whirled to look at him. She wasn't terrified this time, just surprised. “It was years ago,” she tried to explain.
Linc had to get a hold of himself. “I don't care if it was a decade ago or yesterday, Zoe, no one should treat you badly.”
It took a second, but a smile crossed her lips. “That's what my friends keep telling me.”
He took hold of her upper arms, his possessiveness getting the better of him. “You should listen to them.”
She sighed, slumping. “Why would I? I mean, girls treat me nice enough, and some boys are friendly, but nobody wants me.”
How could he show her? Still holding her arms, he pulled her upright and kissed her again. It wasn't just a smack this time, but something tastier, something more intense. Something he was going to have to do again.
Zoe's eyes fluttered open as he broke the kiss. She searched his face and he hoped she found what she was looking for.
“I don't get it,” she murmured.
“Don't see Elliot this weekend. Come with me. We can go to a movie or out for coffee. Just stay away from him.”
She licked her lips and looked away. “I would like that, but I'm scared of what he'll do.”
Linc slid his arms around her back, hugging her instead of holding her. “Let me take care of him. Let me be something better for you.” She still deserved better than Linc, but he was a million times better than Elliot.
“I already have plans for Friday,” she said in a whisper.
“Why don't I come by on Saturday, afternoon?”
She nodded. “I'd like that.”
Chapter Seven
Zoe sat in a daze. Friday at Kelsie's had been fun. They'd played video games and she didn't think about either Linc or Elliot the entire night. However, with the morning light shining through the trees on the bench behind the house, she started to worry again.
Linc seemed sincere. And his kiss. She'd been reliving that ever since. She'd extrapolated it, too, feeling his lips on her throat and collarbone. She covered her blushing face as her mind wandered down that road again. His lips on her belly, her thighs, between her thighs....
She rubbed her thighs together and stood up, circling the bench dedicated to Ike Brown. She had to calm down before he arrived. He must know she was infatuated with him, but there was no reason to advertise the fact.
The autumn day was sunny and warm, probably one of the last ones before the snow came. Zoe closed her eyes to listen to the rustling leaves, and the
birds in the trees in the ravine behind the house.
When she opened them, Linc was standing a few feet away. She took a step back in surprise.
“I didn't want to interrupt,” he said with a smile. “You looked so happy.” He crossed the intervening space in two strides, his hand cupping her cheek and head. She was sure he was going to kiss her again.
He didn't. His eyes scoured her face and held her gaze when he finished. “I wish I could feel that serene. You looked...” He searched for the word. “Complete.”
She smiled and lowered her eyes. If he stared any more closely, he’d know exactly what she was thinking, what she’d been imagining a moment ago. He tipped her chin back up with his free hand.
“Please, don't be afraid to look at me.”
Her heart pounded in her chest and her stomach threatened to fly away with the birds and butterflies racing in it. “I-I'm not afraid.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I think you're lying.”
“No, I'm just not ready. Your eyes...” she trailed off and was compelled to touch him. Her hand rested on his face, his angular cheekbone, the stubble on his jaw. “It feels like you're going to eat me alive.”
She trembled when he growled at her. It wasn't angry, it was hungry, like he really would eat her.
“I could devour you,” he told her. His hands moved down, one on her lower back, the other lower. The butterflies turned into bats or birds; doubly fast and huge. “I would gobble you up like the big bad wolf.”
Her trembling intensified and her knees turned to jelly. A wolf. Hadn’t she imagined him pulling her down like prey? Unlike when Elliot was predatory, she wanted to succumb to Linc’s hunger. The fluttering moved lower, her insides seeming to shake apart for him. She was sure there was an unfamiliar dampness in her panties.
With another growl, he kissed her. His tongue was forceful this time, pressing into her lips and teeth. His hands kept her steady, embracing her rather than supporting. She slid in his hands when her knees finally gave up.
Linc's hands met on her behind, cupping and lifting while stepping forward. She managed to move her feet backward so he wasn't quite carrying her, and her legs bumped the bench. He eased her onto it and she sighed in relief.
She swallowed and watched his gaze follow her throat, her chest. Hers were frozen on his golden-brown eyes. He crouched, his palm resting on her chest over the thin jacket she wore. Surely he could feel her heart pounding against his hand.
He gave no sign of that and slid his hand down over Zoe's breast, cupping it gently. Then he moved over her belly and rested his hand on her thigh, his thumb digging in very slightly and stroking up. That turned the tingling wetness into her panties into a burning need.
A small keen made it through her clenched teeth.
She was immediately embarrassed. She had a boyfriend and didn't know Linc at all, but her resistance was gone. She let her knees fall open slightly and reached for him, unable to believe herself, unable to believe him. Could this hot hunk really want her? He didn’t seem to be backing off and she worried she wouldn’t be able to.
His response to her kiss was even more heated, and his hands continued to roam. When she hitched her leg, though, he broke off and backed up a bit.
“I can't, not like this. I want you, Zoe, but I want all of you, including the part he has. You have to get that back, get rid of him.”
“Elliot?” she asked.
Linc nodded, licking his lips. “Yes. If you don't get rid of him, I will and then you probably won't want anything to do with me.
Zoe scoffed at that. Getting rid of Elliot would be a blessing. Linc was right, though. It wasn't fair to him to have Elliot sniffing around.
“I can do it,” she promised. “Just don’t leave me after.” She was so hot, so needy, but somehow her tears managed to surface through that. “I don’t want to be alone again. It took so long to find Elliot.”
“I won’t leave you, Zoe. You won’t be lonely anymore.”
The heat of the moment resolved into a supportive hug, and she couldn’t tell if it was her clinging to Linc or him clinging to her.
Chapter Eight
The following Saturday morning, Elliot banged on her door, waking her. “Bitch! Get up here, bitch. Let me in.”
She groaned and covered her head with a pillow. She'd been in the middle of a spectacular dream about Linc. The pounding continued and she decided if she left it any longer, he'd wake Mrs. Brown and Wash. Groggy, she opened the door.
She immediately regretted it as Elliot pushed his way through. “You've been avoiding me,” he accused.
His eyes raked over her body, through the flimsy T-shirt she'd worn to bed. Her legs were completely exposed and she'd left off her panties in light of her fantasies. “But we can fix that now, can't we?”
Elliot moved past her and pulled her behind him instead of pushing her down the stairs. She still almost fell, but managed to stay on her feet.
“Elliot, I don't—”
He turned to face her, his face red. “You don't what?” he asked.
Zoe pressed her lips together and didn't answer.
He let out a breath and stroked her hair. “There, there, my bitch. You've kept me waiting, and you know I don't like that. Don't you want to make it up to me?” His hand slid down and slipped along the crack in her ass.
“Of course,” she said and sank to her knees. A blow job was infinitely preferable to the alternative.
“Oh, yeah, Zoe. You're good at that.”
She'd had to learn. He was quite unimpressed with her first efforts, but porn videos and practice had made her adept. Her jaw complained before he finally shot his load, but he was blissfully dozy afterwards. Needing a drink, she pushed open the bathroom door and Elliot followed. Glancing up, she found his reflection in the mirror.
He wasn't bad looking. He could stand to lose a few pounds, same as she. His hair was fine, and light, and already receding. He wasn't balding, not yet, but it was clear he would. When their eyes met in the mirror, it wasn't with love. He looked at her like something he prized. Like a fine bottle of wine or a sports car. Like his dog. She couldn’t meet his gaze.
“Elliot, I think—”
“There's a party next weekend. You're coming with me.” He moved to use the toilet and she wrinkled her nose.
“When?” she asked with a sigh.
“Saturday. Damn that was good, but I think I want something else.”
Zoe considered running into her room and closing the door. It probably wouldn't stop him for long.
“Come shower with me,” he said, wrapping his hands around her hips and pulling her back against him.
Her shoulders dropped, easing her defensive posture. “Sure.” He was still flaccid and should be for a while now.
She moved to pull off her tee, but he stopped her. Elliot's hands drifted up her sides, tugging the shirt off. He sat back on the toilet and pulled her to stand before him. Cupping one of her full breasts, he sucked her nipple into his mouth.
Zoe gasped and shrieked when his fingers tweaked the other. Her own hand slipped under, touching her hot skin.
“You have great breasts, bitch,” he said, slapping his free hand on her ass before suckling again.
Zoe's nose wrinkled, but she ignored the word and tickled her fingers on her slowly moistening sex.
Elliot's hand brushed hers. His mouth left her nipple. “Naughty bitch, touching yourself. Going to come for me?”
“Uh-huh,” she moaned, trying to reach. It wasn't a good angle and her girth got in the way. Eventually she just stopped.
“No?” he asked. “Maybe in here?” He started the shower. “A little soap,” he whispered in her ear as he stood.
She stepped into the water while he stripped down. The hot water eased away some of the pent up tension from her good dream, Elliot's attention, and her clumsy fingers. She sighed, letting go with her breath.
Elliot climbed in then and the tiny tub was quite full. He t
ook her hips and maneuvered around her into the water. “Move, bitch. I'm cold.”
Zoe stepped to the far end and picked up her shower gel and sponge.
“Here,” Elliot said, taking the sponge and sliding it across her chest and down her side. “Turn around,” he said, soaping her back. He swept the sponge under her belly and between her legs.
Zoe rose onto her toes, leaning into the tiled wall.
“Oh, yeah,” Elliot said, dropping the sponge and taking hold of her hips. The soap and water let him slide easily into her, and one hand came around to find her clit, something uncommon from him.
“Yes,” she moaned. “Please.” When was the last time she'd had a decent orgasm? She gyrated, rubbing herself on his fingers and cock until the soap frothed and ran down the inside of her thigh.
“Yes!” she shouted, squeezing down on Elliot. With a sigh, she leaned into the tiles, resting her cheek on them to cool down. Perhaps she was making a mistake. Maybe Elliot wasn't so bad.
“Yeah, bitch, now do it again.” She felt a glob of cold gel hit her ass just before he leaned heavily into her.
Her mind screamed to stop, but her mouth was frozen. He slid in much more easily than she had expected.
He pulled out to slam into her again. What had been just a spot of pain flared as he abraded it.
“Ow, Elliot.”
“Just hold on, Zoe.” He was throbbing and erupting without any more of the painful thrusts. She thanked God that he was two-pump chump. The tears that had only just formed fell hidden among the water dripping down her face.
Elliot turned her, easing past, until she faced the stream of water falling on her chest. He started scrubbing her hair and she smelled her shampoo. In her ear he whispered, “You were so fucking tight. We have to do that again.”
Zoe bit her tongue, but when they were out of the shower, dressed and eating breakfast, she knew she had to tell him.