by Kym Grosso
Without warning, two large vampires came up behind Léopold. They flashed their exposed fangs at Wynter, and she wondered if they did it on purpose for intimidation. Or maybe they were getting ready to feed? She backed up as far as her chair would let her.
Unfazed by their presence, Léopold blithely introduced the two vampires. “Pardon my manners. These are two of Kade’s men. Étienne and Xavier.”
Étienne, a young blonde vampire, appeared to be in his mid-twenties, and he gave Wynter a cool smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Not wanting to be impolite, she managed to return the smile. She glanced over to the older, exceptionally well-built vampire, Xavier. It appeared to Wynter that perhaps Logan knew the vampire, as he acknowledged him with a handshake.
“Go feed. I still have business here with the Alpha,” Léopold ordered with a wave of his hand. The vampires were gone from sight within mere seconds. “Now, where was I? Oui, our meeting. So I understand there was a scuffle of sorts. Something about vampires? I admit, it doesn’t sound unusual, but how can I be of service?”
“As much as I’d like to speak with Kade, if he’s left you in charge, then I’m afraid I must bring this matter to your attention,” Logan began, his low tone emanating anger. “Last night, we were in a local shifter bar off Decatur when four vampires attacked Wynter.”
Léopold frowned. He liked the pretty doctor very much and wouldn’t want anything to happen to her, not to mention that he and Jax were old friends.
“I’ll get to the short of it. Wynter was held captive by her employer and told us that this organization’s been using vamps as guards. They did a number on her. Bites, feedings. The usual,” Logan told him with a tick in his jaw. His eyebrows furrowed in anger at the thought of what they’d done to her. “She escaped and on her way out, we fought and ended up staking a few of them. Now, I’m sure you know how this works. Under normal circumstances, we’d hold the offenders and turn them over to Kade. But last night, I had no choice.”
“Oui, I understand,” Léopold replied, skimming his finger over the rim of a glass that was sitting on the table. His voice held an edge of rage, yet his demeanor was controlled. “This is not acceptable…at all.”
“So that brings me to you. First of all, it’s likely this operation is still here in the city. But my immediate concern is Wynter’s safety. She was doing work for them, and they’ll probably be back for her. It’d be nice if we knew whether the vampires belong to Kade.”
“I can assure you that all in Kade’s line are well accounted for. So either these vampires were from outside the city,” Léopold paused as if in deep thought, “Or someone in Kade’s line is making children without reporting it, which as you know would be a great offense. One that generally ends in death. Now that you’ve brought this to my attention, I’ll certainly look into it.”
“You should also be aware that Jax is coming to New Orleans. He was delayed due to the snow, but he’ll be here soon. At that time, I expect we’ll have more information,” Logan hedged. He didn’t wish to reveal that Wynter hadn’t told him everything. And frankly, even if she had, he wasn’t sure that he’d share it with Devereoux. Yes, he was grateful for his assistance but at the end of the day, he didn’t trust him.
“I see. We’re finished, no?” Léopold’s dark mood seemed to transform back into a playful tone.
“We’re finished,” Logan confirmed, noticing that Wynter still appeared unresponsive. He wanted to take her home as soon as possible and force her to tell him exactly what she’d been doing in New Orleans. And he wanted every last detail, no more half-truths.
“A dance then, pet? Come, it’s been too long,” Léopold asked innocently, raising an eyebrow at Wynter. Sensing her hesitation, he glanced over to Logan, requesting permission. “Would you allow it, Alpha?”
Logan’s gut churned at the thought of any other man putting his hands on Wynter. But was he going to refuse the bastard whose help he needed? He considered it. After all, Wynter knew Devereoux and didn’t seem at all afraid of him. If anything, she was overly friendly with the guy; she hadn’t outright said no to the dance. With an air of nonchalance, he glanced at Wynter who looked like a deer in the headlights. He wondered, was she attracted to Léopold? How well did they know each other? A flare of jealousy flamed, but he quickly reined in his feelings.
Fuck, she was driving him crazy. He’d specifically told her earlier that they didn’t belong to each other and then when pressed by Léopold, he’d done a one eighty and publicly announced that she was his. Even though he’d said she belonged to him to protect her, his heart was starting to wish she really was. And his cock, well, his cock had already claimed her.
Putting his ego aside, Logan decided he’d allow one dance. One dance. That’s all he could handle. And Léopold had better keep his damn hands to himself.
“Wynter, a dance?” Logan asked, stifling the jealousy that tightened in his chest.
Wynter gave Logan a surprised look. Dance with Léopold? A vampire? Her gut told her no, but her mind told her she was being silly. No matter what she’d just seen him do in the club, it had just been sex. He hadn’t at all showed a proclivity for violence. Moreover, he was an acquaintance of Jax’s.
“You’ll be safe. Remember, you belong to me,” he stated with confidence, his eyes pinned on Devereoux’s.
“I…um…of course…yes,” she accepted, not wanting to insult Léopold. Even though she was nervous, he’d been enormously supportive of her department at the university. But as she rose to take Léopold’s hand, she wished it was Logan who’d asked her to dance.
Chapter Ten
As soon as she hit the dance floor, Wynter instantly regretted leaving Logan’s side. The smell of blood, sweat and sex permeated the room. A sea of undulating bodies, in various states of dress, danced all around her. The separation felt unnatural and panic set in; she should never have accepted this dance.
Wynter gasped as Léopold pulled her tightly against him. She frantically swiveled her neck, in search of Logan. Léopold spun their bodies in a circle, and she caught a glimpse of Logan staring at her. She visibly relaxed at the sight of him. Léopold abruptly slowed his movement. With his lips inches from her ear, he spoke softly to her, all too intimate for Wynter’s comfort.
“Quite a mess you’ve gotten yourself into, I see. Now tell me, my sweet doctor. Why did you lie to the Alpha? Ma chère, tis not wise,” he advised.
“I haven’t lied. You must understand, Monsieur, I’ve got to follow protocol. Jax is my Alpha,” she explained breathlessly, surprised at herself for revealing that much to Léopold.
“Ah, but you have lied. You may have made your home with Jax at one time, but I can assure you that you now belong to Logan,” he lectured, although satisfied with her candor. Léopold pressed his nose to her neck and sniffed. Wynter flinched. He laughed and spun her once again. “And your scent…it didn’t seem possible, even to one as old as me, but you are indeed wolf. I must admit that I’m not sure whether to congratulate you or apologize for this unusual development.”
“The Alpha, he’s very much a bachelor. It may just be a passing fancy. It doesn’t matter, though. I can’t belong to him….he’s just protecting me. As for being wolf, they did something to me. I’m not convinced that it’s permanent. I haven’t shifted,” Wynter found herself confessing to the vampire despite the way he intruded on her sense of privacy.
There was something compelling about Léopold. The first time she’d met him, he’d seemed like a good-hearted man, such a generous donor. He’d taken great interest in her projects. But tonight, he kept her off kilter, she suspected on purpose, wondering what he’d do next. The way he’d smelled her skin and then laughed at her reaction was disturbing, yet he spoke to her as a man who cared about her future. It both intrigued and frightened her.
“Even on the clearest night, we sometimes cannot see the stars that shine most brightly. If you refuse to imagine the possibilities, the constellations will go unnoticed. Rele
ase yourself from these bindings. Your Alpha, he yearns for you, but does not know who you are to him,” Léopold observed. How ironic it was that two hearts could meet and not know they were mates. He’d seen it many times and always found it tragic how cruel and wonderful fate could be.
“Yearning and loving are two different things. I’m not sure what I am to him. He feels responsibility because he rescued me,” she speculated, engaged in the curious banter with Léopold. “Besides, the past few weeks I’ve lost sight of who I am, I’m afraid.”
“Ah oui, nasty bunch, who captured you. Sounds dreadful. I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am for what happened. But you are due for a rebirth, no? You will listen to me. Your destiny is with the Alpha. You must not fight this, pet. Some things are meant to be.”
“You’re a romantic?” she stated in surprise.
“Sometimes yes. Sometimes no. I prefer to think of myself as a realist. For as long as I’ve lived, there are some things that are even beyond my control.”
Wynter said nothing as she caught sight of Logan shoving Dimitri’s arm away, as if he’d been holding him back. Her breath caught as she saw him approaching with a feral look in his eyes. What the hell?
“Your Alpha comes for you, no? His possessive nature cannot accept another’s hands on you as an unmarked wolf. You like experiments, do you not?” Léopold noted, jovially placing a kiss to her shoulder. He was enjoying this all too much, but he’d prove his point, nonetheless.
“Is this a test?” she snapped, trying to retreat. What was he doing kissing her like that? Her heart beat wildly at the sight of Logan coming straight at him.
“You feel it too, don’t you? Your wolf. She craves him,” he whispered into her ear, pulling her close against his body. He stopped dancing, holding her still, and continued. “And he cannot resist the demands of his beast.”
Wynter recoiled at the intimacy Léopold forced upon her. His warm breath on her neck sent chills down her spine. As he turned his head down to look at her, she noticed his fangs had descended. Vampire. On the verge of hysteria, her stomach rolled. Shocked and disoriented, she stumbled backwards as he released her from his hold. The music spun in her mind. Léopold stood chuckling, then bowed toward her, bending one arm behind his back and extending his other hand toward her, as if he were some sort of medieval royalty. A scream bubbled in her throat yet she was unable to make a sound.
Before she knew what was happening, Logan embraced her. Wynter eagerly wrapped herself around her Alpha. The realization of what Léopold had been saying slammed into her consciousness. Logan was her Alpha. She wasn’t sure how she’d known the creature existed, but in her mind’s eye, her wolf released a tortured cry. Logan’s scent enveloped her being, and both her human and animal psyche accepted the safety of his presence.
“Logan.” Wynter reached for the words but they fell from her grasp. She needed to tell him everything about Emma, the contagion and God help her, how she felt about him. Relief and lust swept through her as he pressed her into his chest.
“Never again,” he promised. Against his better judgment he’d let her dance with Léopold. But the second Léopold had touched her, his wolf maniacally clawed to emerge. The need to mark Wynter overwhelmed him. It wasn’t prudent or logical, he knew. They’d only known each other a day. He hadn’t even made love to her yet. None of it made any sense but his wolf needed this woman. Logan had to have her now. Publicly. To claim her.
“Don’t let me go,” she begged. Dancing with Léopold had driven whatever animal instincts she had to the surface. It felt wrong, terribly wrong. And now that she had Logan in her arms again, she wasn’t going to waste another second of her life being afraid. Logan was her Alpha. She would tell him everything and beg for Jax’s forgiveness later.
“I’m taking you now, Wynter. Please don’t deny me,” he growled.
“But we need to talk… I’ve got to tell you…” The music blared a pounding erotic beat, and she felt his hard length press against her belly. She tried to fight the desire, to be the sensible person she’d always been. The old Wynter would have left the club. Yet, no longer the person she once was, all she wanted was him, more than anyone she’d met in her life. She craved her lips on his skin, wrapped around his cock. Submitting to both her own cravings and his wishes, she’d give it all to him without question.
“Talk later. Let’s go in there. Now,” he instructed, pulling her toward a sofa that was somewhat concealed behind red, translucent ceiling-to-floor fringe.
Tugging her into the small alcove, Logan couldn’t wait any longer. Driven by the flicker of excitement he saw within her eyes, he knew she wanted this every bit as much as he did. Raking his fingers into her hair, he kissed her. A hungry desperate kiss. He pushed his tongue into her warm mouth, sucking and tasting, incited by the wild intensity with which she returned his kiss.
Aroused beyond reason, Wynter greedily ran her hands all over Logan’s body, grasping the front of his shirt and yanking it out of his pants. She moaned loudly, running her palms up his bared ripped abdomen. Her pussy ached with need; she wanted him in her now. As if he sensed her thought, Logan cupped her bottom, lifting her up so she could wrap her legs around him. Writhing her pelvis up against his rock hard erection, she gasped in pleasure as tendrils of her release built.
Standing, Logan continued to plunder her mouth while unzipping the back of her dress. Pulling down one sleeve, he exposed her breast which was every bit as spectacular as he’d remembered from the pool. No bra? She was a little wild after all. He tore his mouth from hers and captured a nipple with his lips. Like a starved man, he laved it into a firm little point, letting his teeth graze the tip. “Your breasts, oh Goddess, they’re so delicious,” he groaned.
“Take me,” she breathed as he placed her onto her back on the sofa.
Logan fell to his knees before her, never breaking eye contact. Roughly, he pushed up her dress. She heard a rip and realized he’d taken her panties. Wynter felt him push her knees wide open, his lips on her inner thigh. With Logan’s head between her legs, she briefly considered her surroundings. The tassels provided a false sense of privacy as she noticed Dimitri across the room. Was he watching them? Barely cognizant of where she was, her beast took over, uncaring of who saw them. The animal in her wanted them all to see, to know he was hers. For the first time in her life, she tossed all preconceived ideas about what was right and wrong when it came to sex. Any last doubts disappeared as Logan’s tongue swept through the seam of her wet folds. The only thing that mattered was him. Rocking her hips upward, she sought out his mouth on her pussy. She plowed her fingers into his hair, pulling him into her.
Logan slid two fingers down between her labia, surrounding her clit. Squeezing them together gently, her tiny nub protruded, and he lightly flicked his tongue over and around it. Humming into her flesh, he laughed a little when she pushed up at him, tugging his hair. Oh yeah, his little wolf was lovin’ this, and he couldn’t get enough of her essence. He lifted his head slightly to watch her reaction and he licked over her lips.
“You taste so good, sweetheart.”
“Please,” she moaned, needing more contact.
“That’s it. Tell me, Wyn.” His fingers slid through her wetness and teased at her entrance.
“I need…I need. Fuck me. Please.”
Logan laughed, slowly pressing two long fingers into her wet tight pussy. Pushing them in and out, gradually increasing the pressure and rhythm, he watched as she ground her hips in tandem.
Wynter opened her heavy-lidded eyes, focusing as he pumped his fingers into her. He smiled at her right before he pulled them out all the way and slid a digit into his mouth, tasting her. Slowly he withdrew it from his lips and plunged his fingers back into her. Her body arched as she cried out in ecstasy. Never in her life had anyone driven her to such delightful insanity.
“That’s it baby, fuck my hand,” he encouraged. Needing more of her sweet pussy, he crushed his lips against her clit.
He made love to her with his mouth, flicking his tongue over her swollen pearl. As he sucked hard, drawing it into his mouth, she began to shudder beneath him.
Between his fingers and his warm lips, Wynter’s body was set on fire. Sensations of pleasure and pain rocked her into climax as Logan latched onto her sensitive flesh. She screamed his name over and over, thrashing her head from side to side. Every inch of her skin tingled. But he gave her no reprieve.
Within seconds, he’d withdrawn his mouth, rose up over her and took her mouth to his. Tasting herself on his wet lips drove her further into the erotic madness. His fingers continued to press in and out of her, hurling her into a second orgasm.
“Logan,” she cried into his lips.
Pressing his forehead to hers, Logan pulled away. Fuck, he’d really lost his shit. Her honeyed cream still lingered on his lips, and he struggled to resist his true desire. He wanted to thrust his cock deep into her hot sheath, expecting it would be the best sex of his life. But goddammit, he had done this to her in the club. It was so not how he envisioned making love to her the first time. He needed to get her home now, in his bed.
The cell phone buzzed in his pocket, but he ignored it. Cupping her cheek, he gently pulled down her dress so that she was no longer exposed.
“Home…let’s go home,” he suggested in a restrained voice.
Wynter simply nodded, tugging at her dress. What the fuck did she just do? Oh that’s right, she’d just let the Alpha of New Orleans go down on her in a club, while others watched. Okay, not the brightest idea she ever had but as she straightened her clothes, she realized she didn’t care, not even one little bit. The only thing on her mind was getting back to his house as soon as possible so they could make love all night long.
Logan closed his eyes, and adjusted his rock hard dick. Damn, he hurt. But there was no amount of pain that would drive him to have sex with her in this place. He’d temporarily lost control, giving into the temptation. And she’d tasted damn sweet. But what surprised him most was how amazingly open and sensitive she’d been to his touch. He couldn’t wait to get her home.