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Howl

Page 5

by Juppenlatz, Silke


  “Thanks.” She blew her nose and avoided his gaze. “I should go home. I’m a mess, and my father has probably organized a search party by now.”

  “Call him. Tell him you’re safe.”

  Lucia smiled sadly. “I feel safe. Here. With you. I think you’re the only one who didn’t lie to me.” She looked for a place to put the tissues, and he took them from her hand and dropped them beside the armchair. “They lied to me. All of them. All my life.” Tears gathered again. “Don’t I deserve the truth?”

  Zalin cupped her chin and lifted it to kiss her gently, without pressure. He wanted to take things further, but held back. She needed reassurance and comfort, not some guy savaging her while she was vulnerable. “Don’t think about it if it hurts you.”

  “I can’t not think about it.” Lucia stared at the floor, plucking a fresh tissue to pieces, scattering the shredded fluff all over his sweater. “She’s my mother.”

  Whoa. He’d expected many explanations, but not this one. “What?”

  “Angela is my mother.”

  While it explained why Angela had reacted the way she had, it still made little sense to him. Why had she stayed here all this time, when her daughter was a mere ten miles away? “Consider me slightly confused. I thought you said your mother died?”

  “That’s what they told me.” She lifted her gaze to his. “My father lied to me for seventeen years. And my mother knew where I was all along, and never once came to see me.”

  Zalin wasn’t so sure about the last part. They avoided going into town, and he suspected the reason the Masterton ranch was off limits, was to keep Angela from seeing a daughter Gothrim had no part in. She couldn’t have known Tiffy was on the ranch, so why had Angela been in the barn? It bugged him. If Masterton hadn’t been the one to tie her up, then who would?

  Tiffy. Damn, the kid was Lucia’s half-sister. If Angela had indeed tracked her down, and Tiffy had a fight with her, it might explain why Angela had ended up cable-tied on the floor. She’d never do anything to hurt Tiffy. It still didn’t explain why Masterton had allowed Tiffy to stay there, unless he knew who she was. “Do you think your father knew Angela was still around?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to think.” Lucia tugged on his sweater. “You should take this off before it shrinks.”

  Heat shot up his spine. There wouldn’t be any shrinking. Rather the opposite. Zalin pulled the sweater off, holding her gaze. Lucia sighed at the sight of his t-shirt.

  “This too, just in case.”

  The words were barely out of her mouth by the time the cotton landed on the floor. Zalin had trouble keeping his breathing steady. Lucia rubbed her hands down his chest and smiled.

  “What are you doing?” He hardly recognized his own voice and didn’t dare move, in case it scared her off. Her hands on him were pure heaven.

  “I’m trying to seduce you.” She shot him an impish smile. “What did you think I was doing?”

  Think? She actually believed he could hold a single thought other than getting inside her in his head? Zalin made a conscious effort to calm his body down, but it took supreme effort to shift his attention from the throbbing heat in his groin to what she said. “You’re upset. I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret tomorrow.”

  Lucia splayed her hands on his pectorals. “I won’t.”

  She licked her lips and the sight of it almost wiped out Zalin’s brain. Having her on his lap made him want to push up against her, and it took every ounce of self control he possessed to stop himself. Even so her weight provided enough pressure to send a shudder through him. Watching her watch him, seeing the absolute awe in her gaze, made him even more desperate to have her. Keep her. Forever, if she let him. He couldn’t recall a single time where someone had looked at him with such rapt and unabashed pleasure.

  “You are so beautiful.” Lucia stroked him, bent down and licked his nipple. “I thought you were hot, in town, but damn...this beats just about anything I imagined.”

  The feel of wet heat drove him even closer to the edge. Words had no meaning. He needed her naked. Now. Right now. Nothing less would do. Zalin’s hands trembled and he cursed when he couldn’t get the buttons on her shirt undone. Lucia chuckled and stripped the shirt herself, and he buried his face against her pert breasts, making her shiver.

  So perfect. So soft. He inhaled, loving the clean, fresh scent of her even more than he had back in town. Zalin commanded his last functioning brain cells to help him get her into his bed. Now. Right now. Any longer, and he’d fall on her like a starving beast in the middle of his living room. He got up, lifted her into his arms, and carried her to the bedroom. The touch of skin on skin, her breasts pressed against his chest, had his libido going into overdrive. Lucia kissed his neck and licked his ear, then bit it lightly.

  Zalin shouldered the door open and a few more steps brought him to the bed. The second he had her on the mattress, he stripped both of them with single-minded determination. There was no room for any other thought.

  “Zalin, make me forget,” she whispered, sliding her hands all over him. “Touch me. Please.”

  Yeah, he would, but not before he could trust himself with her. She needed gentle, not rough, and he wanted to show her he wasn’t a mindless animal. Even kissing her was too much right now, and once inside her–Zalin froze.

  “What?” Alarm flickered in her eyes.

  “I can’t.” Realization hit like a sledgehammer in his gut. There was a box of condoms in the nightstand. It had been there, untouched, for at least two years. He’d never thought of replacing it.

  “Why not?” Lucia’s hand wrapped around his erection and his eyes rolled back in his head. “You want to.”

  Zalin closed his hand around hers, making her stroke him. Just once, and everything sharpened to pinpoint clarity. He moaned, wanting to die, right there, with her hand on him. His heart threatened to bash through his ribcage, it beat so hard. In a last ditch effort to hang on to his sanity, he reached over and dragged the box out of the drawer. “Please tell me they are not out of date.”

  “Out of– What?” Lucia grabbed the box and he could hear her pull it open. “When did you get them?”

  “A year and a half, maybe two years ago.” The look of surprise on her face made him smile.

  She studied the foil packet she’d pulled out and sighed. “They’re expired.”

  Zalin let his head drop on the pillow and groaned. “Kill me now.”

  Lucia started to laugh and crawled on top of him. “You’re a lucky man. I won’t have to.”

  “That’s what you think.”

  She pressed a kiss to his chin. “I’ll be right back.”

  Chapter 8

  Where the hell was she going? He lifted himself onto his elbows, catching a glimpse of her naked rear as she dashed out of the door. Damn, she was cute. Tomorrow he’d replace that box, come hell or high water. Footsteps drew close and Lucia sashayed back into the room, pausing at the door. He drank in the sight of her, slender, yet curvy, her breasts a good handful. He ached to find out just how well his hands fit, how the dusky tips tasted. She threw something, hitting him square in the chest.

  Zalin stared at the new condom packet and picked it up.

  “Mine are still okay. Although I admit finding a guy whose condoms expired isn’t exactly the reason I carry some.” She climbed back on the bed, and stretched out right beside him. “Two years, huh?”

  He shook his head.

  “Oh.”

  “Four, baby. It’s been at least four years.” Zalin kissed her, dragging her up until she straddled him. “I won’t last. And I’m desperate to get inside you. If you want to stop, tell me now, because I guarantee you it’ll be rough.”

  “Stop? I just brought you a condom so you wouldn’t have to.” Lucia tweaked his nipple and he yelped. “I want to forget. I don’t want to think about what happened and rough sounds like a good way to accomplish it.”

&n
bsp; Zalin stroked his hands down her naked back, molding her rear, the curve where her ass met her thigh. She shivered and pressed a kiss to his chest. Her words brought doubt. It sounded as if she thought of him as some kind of living sex toy. “Is that all you want me for? To forget?”

  Lucia lifted her head and studied him. Her fingers traced his cheekbones, his mouth. “No. You don’t deserve being used like that.” She shimmied down a little and rested her chin on his chest. “I should probably tell you...I’m a tiny bit in love with you.” A grin spread across her mouth. “But I’m a lot in lust with you.”

  “In lust, huh.” His gut tightened. She’d said the L word. It should scare him. Commitment wasn’t his strong side and he’d only let her down, but right now... It felt right, as if it was meant to be, and he couldn’t imagine being with anyone else.

  She chuckled. “Yeah. Definitely.”

  Zalin groaned when she wriggled, and lifted his hips to show her just how much in lust he was. “I’m...” A lot in love with you. He caught his breath, shocked to discover his feelings for her went far deeper than mere gratitude. Hell. He’d even thought the L word himself. Zalin exhaled slowly, stunned. “Damn. When did that happen?”

  “When did what happen?”

  He ignored the question. The thought of being in love with her brought more doubt. She had no idea what she let herself in for. He’d been there before, and he didn’t want a repeat. Zalin couldn’t bear if she discarded him because he was a wolf. “My...other side doesn’t bother you?”

  “A little.” She pressed her fingers to his lips. “I don’t know. I really don’t know. Nor do I want to think about this right now, okay?”

  Zalin nibbled her fingers. “It’s part of me. It won’t go away, just because you’d like it to.”

  “I know, Zalin. I saw, but it hasn’t sunk in yet. Let me get used to it.”

  He’d come down from his initial rush. Not completely, but enough to form clear thoughts. Which, all things considered, wasn’t what he wanted. Not while this hot little firecracker was on top, naked and accessible. Could she get used to his wolf side? Or would she denounce him some day and leave?

  “I don’t think this is a good idea.” He cupped her cheek and stroked it with his thumb. “Not because I don’t want to.” Hell no, he wanted, most definitely. “I don’t know you. You don’t know me. And you’re upset.”

  Lucia stared at him, her mouth slack. “You get me in here, you practically tear my clothes off, and get all rattled because your condom supply is out of date. So I fix the problem, and now you tell me you’re not interested?” She thumped him on the chest. “What the hell is wrong with you? No wonder you haven’t got laid in four years, if that’s your normal approach!”

  He winced. So what if he was picky? Zalin rolled over with her. “Any other woman, when I’m so turned on I can’t think straight, would be under me now.” He grinned down at her. “With me inside her.”

  Lucia bit his bicep. “I am under you, in case you didn’t notice.”

  “Yes. And I’m so hard for you, backing off is the last thing I want to debate with you.” Zalin kissed her, deeply, tasting her, playing with her tongue until she arched up against him, needy and gasping. He lifted his head. “Yeah, that’s how I feel. It makes no difference. If you run off tomorrow… I’d rather not go there.”

  “Zalin... please...” Lucia raked her fingers down his back, clawing, her nails leaving painful scratches. “Please.”

  “My wolf doesn’t matter to you right now, does it? You’ve forgotten all about what I am.”

  “I don’t care what you are. I never have.” She kissed his chest. “Yes, I got freaked out. So would you, if roles were reversed. Can you blame me?”

  No, he couldn’t. He wanted to trust her so badly, wanted to make love to her and lose himself in her. Lucia licked his nipple, one hand clenched his butt and he could feel the damp heat so close, so damned enticingly close, to his cock. One small move and– Zalin clenched his teeth. He’d never hold out. It had been too long, and he wanted her too much to really care right now. She would get what she wanted, they both knew it. “You’ll have second thoughts tomorrow. You’ll think about it and–”

  “Shut up, Zalin.” Her hand reached between them, wrapped around his cock and slid all the way down to the base. “Just shut up.”

  An intense spasm of pure pleasure bowed his spine, and the unexpected caress made him want to howl. It was too much. He pulled her hand away and thrust forward, sinking into hot, wet heaven. His brain ceased to function and her hoarse cry shattered any reluctance he might have held on to. He pumped his hips, sinking deeper inside with every thrust, kissing her until they were both out of breath. She was so tight, so hot, and he couldn’t get enough of her.

  She writhed beneath him; little sounds of pleasure spurred him on, driving harder and faster into her, every thrust increased the sensation of tight, wet heat. She clenched around him, her muscles squeezing and massaging until he couldn’t stand it anymore. Zalin reared back and clamped his hands on her hips to hold her still, his teeth clenched to stave off orgasm. “Wait. Oh God, Lucia, don’t move.”

  Zalin didn’t want to pull out, not even for a second. He did, the need to protect her stronger than anything else. She took the packet from him and he clenched his teeth. Her hands trembled as much as his. And dammit, she took her time, touching, caressing, driving him mad. Having her take care of protection turned him on more than he’d anticipated. He shuddered, watching her inspect her handiwork, and he thought he’d never seen anything as sexy in his entire life.

  Lucia reached for him, her hands clutching his shoulders, drawing him down to kiss him as he sank back inside her.

  “Thank you.” Her eyes shone with such love and passion, it humbled him.

  The short interruption had allowed him to regain some semblance of control, despite wanting her even more now. Instead of the hard, fast, selfish ride he’d given her, he went slow, savoring every move, every sigh he drew from her.

  Lucia moved with him, demanding and bossy at times, pliant and seductive at others. They played, touched, and he couldn’t believe the kind of woman he had in his bed. She was innocence and decadence rolled into one. He loved every second, every inch of her. Zalin watched her lower lip tremble. She threw her head back and arched her hips to take even more of him while she cried out, clawing his back in desperation. One roll of his hip tipped her over the edge, her arms around him while she screamed his name.

  The sight of her pleasure, the clenching muscles milking his cock were too much. He joined her, roaring, before a hot wave of ecstasy took his breath away.

  Chapter 9

  Lucia lay in his arms, still shuddering from time to time, her head pillowed by his shoulder. Zalin stroked her arm, ran his finger along her collarbone before kissing his way up her neck to her mouth. She smiled and kissed him back.

  “You look very pleased with yourself,” he rumbled.

  “Mhm. I don’t ever want to move.” She studied his face, noted the contented look in his eyes. “Something tells me you don’t want to move either.”

  “Not particularly.” Zalin chuckled.

  She waggled her index finger at him. “If you ever stall like that again, I’m going to kick your butt so hard, you won’t be able to grow a tail anymore.”

  Zalin laughed out loud.

  “I mean it!”

  He kissed her and grinned. “I’m sure you do.”

  She rubbed her hand down his torso, delighting when he shuddered beneath her touch. A deep sigh lifted his chest and she smiled. “You have no idea how beautiful you are, do you? And I’m not talking just about your body.” Lucia let her gaze roam over him. “Though I admit it’s pretty damned spectacular.”

  “Spectacular, hm? Keep talking. I like where this is going.”

  “Yeah.” She rapped her knuckles against his skull. “Straight to your head.”

  Zalin lifted a brow at her. “That’s not where it’s going
.”

  “I’m out of condoms, so it better not be going there.”

  He nuzzled her neck. “You know, wolf pups are cute. They like to play and stuff. Are you sure you wouldn’t like some? We could get started on them right away.”

  Lucia hoped he was joking, but she wasn’t sure. It sobered her mood. What would happen if they stayed together, if children ever came into the picture? “Zalin, how...how does it work?”

  “Well, you seemed to know how it worked last time. I don’t see why I have to explain the birds and the bees to you. Although, I never did understand why it’s birds and bees. Shouldn’t it be bees and flowers? After all–” He broke off, frowning at her. “You weren’t talking about sex, were you?”

  “What will happen if I ever become pregnant?” Lucia clamped her teeth into her lower lip, staring at him.

  “You mean with me, or in general? I’m afraid you lost me somewhere along the line.” He cuddled her closer. “But if you’re asking if I’d stand by you, then it’s an unequivocal yes.”

  His answer surprised her. “You would?”

  “Of course I would.” Zalin shot her an offended look. “Did I give you the impression I wouldn’t?”

  No. But then, she didn’t know him well enough to judge how he’d react. Hearing he’d stick around warmed her heart. “It wasn’t really what I was getting at. Nice to know, though.”

  She could see when he twigged her meaning. His brow furrowed. “I said puppies.”

  Lucia nodded. “You also said sometimes it skips a generation. What if I have the gene too? Will my kids be werewolves?”

  “Most likely.” He looked away. “Sometimes it skips two generations. The third...yeah. It’ll be a wolf. Usually a damned strong one.”

  “You’re a third-generation wolf?” It sounded like it, and having seen him in action with Gothrim made her suspect Zalin could take the Alpha.

  Zalin nodded. “My mother had the gene, but it had skipped her mother too. My father was a pureblood. He didn’t tell her what he was until I was born. Or maybe she found out some other way, I don’t know.”

 

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