Tears sprang to her eyes, blurring the crackling flames as she stared into the fireplace. “Josh dragged me off, said there was a crazy guy paying all kinds of money for the girl rumored to run with wolves.”
Closing her eyes, she remembered rocks, a cold cave and the Skin handing her over to the man with ice-white hair.
“And then we came to a cave on the mountain, in the dark forest rumored to have mythical creatures. The forest where we found the missing young in the cabin. There was a wizard with white hair. He killed Josh, and I was glad, so glad.”
Frost coated her skin again, filled her from the inside. Arianna shuddered.
“The wizard chained me to a wall for weeks. I lost track of time. When I refused to eat, he hurt me. It burned like cold needles. Then he captured another creature.” Arianna spoke in a small voice. “A male Satyr.”
Kyle went very still.
“He kept him chained up. The wizard kept giving the Satyr something that made him wild and crazy. He kept having...”
A blush heated her face as she pantomimed an erection. “Two days later, it was a full moon, and I was in heat. The man released the Satyr, but I was still chained to the wall.”
The nightmare returned in a haze of red fury and terror. She’d never seen a naked male and the swollen, red penis frightened her as much as the hard lust tightening his face, and then the Satyr transformed. Two bone-white horns grew from his skull, as a furry pelt covered his long limbs. A thick beard covered his face.
His thick penis jutted up from his groin. Terrified, she’d watched him advance, a growl ripping from his throat, lust darkening his gaze.
“The Satyr transformed,” she whispered. “I couldn’t move, I was so scared when he started coming after me, wanting to do things to me. The bad man.”
Kyle closed his eyes, staccato breaths whistling through his clenched teeth. A minute later, he opened his eyes. “How did you get away?”
“The chain on the wall broke. It’s a blur after, except I remember an opening in the cave and I ran through it, down the mountain. Running from the bad man.”
Into the mountains, not stopping except to drink at streams. Running until she collapsed onto the ground, shivering violently. Terrified as the thunder crashed around her, cold rain pelting her naked body, she’d hidden in the recess of a hollowed tree and whimpered. And then Kyle had found her.
From that moment, he’d declared himself her guardian, vowing to keep her safe.
Kyle clasped her hands and stroked his thumbs slowly over her icy skin. Slowly, her stomach unknotted. Arianna seized his hands, her fingers pressed tight against cartilage and bone.
When the tears finally came, Kyle gathered her into his arms, murmuring soothing assurances. “You did it, little pint. You remembered. It’s okay to cry. Just let it out.”
Finally the tears slowed. He left and returned with a few paper napkins. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose. Then he pulled her against him, his hand stroking her sweat-dampened hair.
Regaining her composure, she buried her face into his shoulder. “What do we do now?”
Sighing, he gently nuzzled her neck, as if his wolf wanted to reassure her as well. “Sit tight, guard the young and wait for their folks. Safest place is here.”
Warm breath feathered over her chilled skin. For a few moments she rested against him, relishing the steady beating of his strong heart. Arianna closed her eyes and ran her fingers through his thick hair. She pressed against him, needing this connection between them.
His breathing hitched. She looked up and stroked her fingers over the slight bristles on his firm chin.
He regarded her with a solemn look. “When I saw you shift on the shed roof, you took several years off my life, Fluffy.”
“Fluffy.” She made a face. “Did you have to call me that? Wherever did you come up with that name?”
Kyle sat back, arousal darkening his gaze, his mouth unsmiling. “I like Fluffy. Nice and soft, warm... When I dream of making love to you, I dream of you lying on a soft, fluffy bed, your hair spread out over a soft, fluffy pillow as I take you.”
Desire thickened his voice. “Fuck the bed. The floor would suffice. Especially for starters.”
Flames crackled and snapped in the hearth, the woodsy scent curling in the air, wending through the musky scent of growing arousal. A hushed stillness came over Kyle, and she was certain he could hear her heart banging against her ribcage.
Arianna moistened her mouth, watching his lips part. “What else do you dream about with me?”
A vein jumped in his temple. “Long massages until you’re slick and ready to take me. Licking you all over, like melting ice cream. Hearing you scream my name as I taste you and make you come. And...”
His gaze flicked to her bottom. “Pouring warm oil over your oh, so perfect ass, and then dragging your sweet cheeks open and running my tongue—”
“Kyle!” Crimson ignited her cheeks.
“We are Lupine, Ari. A very sensual people.” He pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “Does it turn you on? All those things I’ve dreamed of doing to you?”
A short, jerky nod sufficed, because hell, she was too breathless for a reply.
Maybe this time, she could do it.
But as he drew closer, his savage expression made her fear flare, just as it had in his truck. She trusted him, but did she trust him enough to allow him into her untried body to slake his male lust? Feeling vulnerable and scared again, Arianna shrank back.
Kyle gave her a long, thoughtful look.
Disappointment and shame cinched together, twin chains roping around her body.
“I want to touch you. I’ve dreamed of touching you, kissing you,” she whispered. “But sex still scares me. Why do I enjoy it in wolf form but not in Skin form?”
“Your wolf is your protector. She’s confident of defending herself. In Skin form, you’re more defenseless.” He considered. “Have you ever dreamed about touching me?”
She nodded.
“Would you like to touch me now?”
CHAPTER 11
Touch him. It was so tempting, yet she feared unleashing his beast. Arianna moistened her mouth as Kyle closed his eyes. “C’mon, little pint. I promise not to move. I’m all yours. Explore your fantasies.”
Like a Skin approaching a fierce tiger under sedation, she inched closer. Eyes shut, he did not move, as promised. He smelled delicious, and his scent made her senses tingle, her blood hum in her veins.
She slid a hand over his, caressing bones and flesh, feeling the springy hairs feathering the back of his hand, the work-roughened knuckles. Arianna leaned into Kyle, nuzzling his neck and smelling his delicious scent. Kyle groaned as she kissed his throbbing pulse, her mouth trailing a line of kisses down to his collarbone. Salt and sweet, she thought in amazement. Arianna licked his collarbone, swirling her tongue around the knobby bone, sliding it along muscle and tendon.
An intoxicating scent of thick spice, as delectable as chocolate brownies, swirled in the air. His mating scent, she realized. It teased her body, stroking over her skin like a hand.
Frustrated, she pulled at the fabric barricading her from exploring more of his muscled body. “Take off your shirt.”
With a chuckle, he obliged.
Arianna’s mouth watered. His body was smooth, tanned skin rippling over thick muscles. A triangle of dark curls stretched between two small brown nipples, marching down past the muscles ridging his abdomen and vanishing into the waistband of his jeans. A few crescent-shaped scars nicked the perfection of his skin, and she ached at their sight, knowing they testified to the difficulty of his childhood.
One resembled a nasty bite mark.
Arianna touched the scar with her forefinger, feeling the slight dip where it curved inward, tracing the mark like a blind person reading Braille. Her fingertips trailed over the delightful hills and valleys of each abdominal muscle, then upward, snaking through his thick chest hair. Playfully she yanked at a coupl
e. Still, he did not move, just as promised.
Fierce hunger filled her as she gazed at the prominent bulge in his jeans. Not now. But soon, maybe, she’d find the courage to touch him there.
She sat back, hands in her lap.
Kyle regarded her with his steady gaze. “All good?”
She nodded.
“May I touch you now?”
Such a formal request, as if asking her to dance. Arianna squeezed her hands together.
He quietly regarded her with his steady gaze, then went upstairs. When he returned, he carried her fleece sweatshirt, sweatpants and a pair of her lacy mint green panties. “Put these on. I want you to feel comfortable with me.”
As she dressed, he fed more wood into the fire, not once sneaking a peek at her nudity. Then he joined her on the couch.
Her heart slammed against her rib cage. Would his beast charge forward again? What if he reverted to the savage sexual animal who’d pinned her down in the woods, only this time he did not control his lust? What was she inviting into her life?
This was Kyle, her friend, her guardian, the one who promised to keep her safe.
This was also the man whose beast turned him into a raging sexual animal.
Nails dug into her skin as she shrank back against the sofa. Kyle went to the cabinet, opened a drawer and fished through it. He withdrew a magazine and a pencil, closed the drawer, then set both on the coffee table.
“Keep a stack here, just in case you came to visit one day. I’m hungry. Going to make a small snack.”
Confused, she watched him vanish into the kitchen. She’d gotten him all hot and bothered and now he acted as if it didn’t matter? Arianna picked up the magazine and settled back against the sofa. It was a favorite, featuring music and song crossword puzzles. She started working on one.
Soon, the delicious smells of baking chocolate filtered through the air. Her nostrils twitched. Kyle knew she adored brownies. Bearing a plate piled with chocolate brownies, he returned to the living room and set the plate upon the coffee table before the sofa.
Arianna tried not to look as he ate one, strong throat muscles working as he swallowed. The tempting scent of chocolate made her mouth water as much as his delicious masculine scent of cold snow and pine. All the scents began to lick over her body in invisible tongues. Overwhelmed by the sensory overload, she set down the magazine.
“You’re trying to get me to relax.”
“Um-huh.”
“By giving me something to do and baking me brownies.”
“Mmmm. Maybe. Or maybe I had a yen for chocolate. I added a special ingredient.” Kyle dipped a finger into the soft frosting and slowly licked it off. She stared at his tongue lapping away the chocolate, and her imagination flared. She envisioned Kyle, smearing chocolate over her naked breast, then dragging his tongue over her nipple, making it harden. Then drawing a chocolate line down her belly, to her belly button, and then sliding his chocolate-laced finger between her slick, wet cleft and lowering his head to taste her...
Moisture dampened between her legs. Arianna squeezed her thighs together.
She picked up the magazine, but could not concentrate. Her skin felt stretched too tight, the loose clothing too restrictive. The pencil hovered over the page. Kyle swiped frosting off the brownie.
“Just a bite, Ari. Won’t hurt you,” he coaxed. “Open your mouth.”
She set down the magazine and pencil and did as he asked. The sweetness of chocolate slid past her lips, then pushed a little against her tongue. She swirled her tongue around his finger to get every bit of chocolate and moaned at the delicious taste. Sweet, sinful.
Gently, he pushed his finger in and out of her mouth, the green of his eyes quite intense. “Do you like it, Ari? Does it taste good?”
Moaning, she nodded. He had added something special to the frosting, and it was cranking up her arousal, making her feel pliant and open.
“I want it to be good for you,” he murmured. “Real good. Only I can give you the kind of pleasure you crave, chase away all your fears. Open yourself to your natural sensuality, Ari. You’re Lupine and the call to mate is strong.”
She sucked on his finger, desperate to get every last little bit of chocolate. Desperate to make this work and not capitulate to fear again.
“Do you want me inside you? I can make you feel so good inside as I slide in and out. Real slow?” He pulled his finger out in a leisurely pace.
“Or push inside you hard and fast?” Kyle jack hammered his finger in and out her mouth.
Now she was getting hotter, her body humming with pleasure. But he withdrew his finger. Disappointment speared her.
“More,” she whispered.
This time, he smeared chocolate over his lower lip. “Come and get it.”
Arianna pounced, eagerly licking his mouth. Kyle sat perfectly still as she closed her eyes, sucking at his lower lip. Not close enough. She climbed into his lap, straddling him, Arianna kissed him deeply, slipping her tongue past his lips. Kyle sat up, seized the back of her head with one strong hand and kissed her in return. His tongue began stroking hers.
He’d taken over, and she let him. Kyle was sexually dominant. It was his nature, the animal inside no one talked about. But his fingers grasping the back of her head were gently rubbing her scalp, making her feel tight and hot. Her nipples began to tingle and rub against the soft fleece of her sweatshirt.
Kyle pulled away. Unsmiling, he regarded her. “I need to touch you, Ari.”
Her breathing slightly ragged, she considered. “Only if you tell me what you put in those brownies.”
His fingers skimmed over the long slope of her neck. “A drop of peppermint.”
“That’s it?”
He pulled her close. “The peppermint is a special blend for shifters, a gift Tristan gave me long ago. For males, it tamps our arousal, allows us to take more control, exercise patience during a female’s first time when she might be shy or scared. For females, it awakens their natural sensuality and prepares her body for penetration.”
Arianna squirmed on the couch, need suddenly cranked to overdrive.
“That was only a drop?” She moaned as he nuzzled her neck with his warm, wet mouth.
“The full effect isn’t felt until you eat the brownie. You don’t need arousal, Ari, but I sure as hell need control when I’m around you.” He blew a warm breath against her skin. “I started taking the drops shortly after I got off your naked body back in the forest. If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t be a virgin right now.”
He slid a thumb down her now warm cheek. Another current of sexual awareness sparked, making her aching and needy. Arianna clutched her hands, twisting them in her lap as the intense feelings surged through her. Her skin felt stretched too tight over bone. Between her legs, her female flesh ached.
She rubbed herself all over him until they were both burning hot and needed to have nothing but skin between them. Golden firelight bathed Kyle, the crackling flames reflected in the burning intensity of his eyes. His gaze held her captive as his breath hitched.
“Damn, you are so beautiful,” he said hoarsely, lightly touching her throat. “So lovely. Have you ever touched yourself?”
Mortified, she jerked her gaze away.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Ari.”
She stole a peek at his wry expression.
“I do it all the time, imagining I’m with you. Except my fist is poor substitute for the real thing.”
“You do?” Arianna sighed as he lightly rubbed his thumb against her throat. “I tried, a couple of times in the shower. I... kept a picture of you in my mind and touched myself. But nothing happened.”
“Maybe you were too uptight. Need to relax, get comfortable.”
Hunger flared in his green gaze. He wanted her, badly, wanted to push her backward on the floor and mount her, doing those things he’d dreamed about. The space between her legs throbbed in pleasant anticipation as her mind screamed.
Kyle got
up and snapped off the lights, leaving the room dark but for the fire. He spread a fleece throw on the couch and patted it, inviting her to join him as he sat.
When she gathered the courage and sat next to him, he slid his hand down her throat, toward her breast. “Just relax, Ari. Think of the good times we’ve shared and know I’d never harm you.”
Don’t panic, don’t panic, it’s Kyle, it’s Kyle.
Drawing in a deep breath for courage, she did as he asked. The fleece sweatshirt provided a slim barrier of protection. When his palm cupped her breast, she felt momentary panic push aside intense arousal.
“Close your eyes, Ari. I’m not going to hurt you. Concentrate on the feelings. There’s only here and now, and us.”
Feelings. The slow, confident flick of his thumb across her taut nipple pushing against the fleece. Her breasts felt heavy and full as he squeezed and kneaded. Kyle was so gentle and every stroke of her skin made her ache for more.
“That’s it, sweetheart. Relax, just relax and enjoy it,” he murmured, stroking her nipple.
A minute later, she was much too warm; hell, she was hot. He reached for the hem of her sweatshirt and tugged upward, a question in his eyes.
At her nod, he pulled her shirt off and tossed it aside.
Self-consciousness vanished beneath his worshipping gaze. “So beautiful,” he said thickly. “So full and ripe and lovely.”
Kyle lowered his head to one breast and fastened his warm, wet mouth on her turgid nipple. Arianna squeaked as his tongue lazily swirled, then flicked back and forth. The pulsing between her legs intensified and wetness began to trickle out of her.
Then, as his mouth continued to suckle her, his fingers lazily skimmed the waistband of her sweatpants. He slid his hand into her pants, down to the thatch of hair covering her groin. Arianna stiffened and pushed his hand away.
The hunter was strong. If he wanted, he could easily overcome her, do as he pleased. But Kyle obeyed her silent request.
She focused on the sensation of his mouth suckling her and ground her hips against the couch. She needed more.
Pulling away, she stood, stripped off the pants, leaving on her panties and sat on the couch. Arianna slid her arms around his neck and kissed him. The kiss was clumsy, inexperienced, but he let her do as she pleased. He opened his mouth when her tongue pressed against his lips, leisurely swirling his tongue against hers.
Dark and Dangerous: Six-in-One Hot Paranormal Romances Page 22