by Jodi Redford
Her gaze stayed riveted on his hovering hand. “Sorry, I’m fresh out.”
“No, but you’ve got the next best thing. Saliva. Care to lick me?”
Jerking her head up, she met his wicked grin. The heat riding low in her pelvis burst into an inferno. She sank her teeth into her bottom lip to keep from groaning at the sensation—at his suggestion. Her attention dropped to his straining erection.
“Baby, I was referring to my hand. But if you’ve got a better place in mind, don’t let me dissuade you.”
How could she be both aroused and irritated at the same time? Oh yeah, it was Dante standing in front of her with the mother of all woodies. Enough said. He extended his hand, palm up, and she glared at it. “There’s no way I’m licking—”
“Ah, so you do prefer the other. Can’t say I blame ya.” He stepped closer, bobbing that magnificent erection, and she grabbed his hand. Her teeth scraped his palm, and she swore he trembled. Good, she didn’t like the idea of being the only one affected.
“Get it good and wet for me.”
Oh God. The bastard was killing her with his double entendres and husky voice. Closing her eyes, she swirled her tongue. For one taboo moment, she imagined it wasn’t rough calluses she glided over. She glanced at Dante from beneath her eyelashes. His face resembled a mask of barely restrained lust. Dark, hooded gaze and flared nostrils. Flush riding high on his cheekbones. The sight of him shouldn’t have provoked her clit to throb with need, but it did. Realizing she straddled dangerously close to the red zone, she dropped his hand and scooted backward. He snagged the hem of his T-shirt with his other hand and dragged it over his chest before whipping it off.
The saliva freely pooling in her mouth seconds ago instantly dried. If there was such a thing as a citation for outrageous abuse of gorgeousness, Dante Morgan would be swimming in them. Bronzed skin stretched over his wide, muscular shoulders and chest. A sprinkling of dark hair covered his firm pectorals and arrowed farther south, marching in a narrow line down his chiseled abs. For a werewolf, he was surprisingly light in the fur department. She’d always assumed they were…well…hairy. In or out of the wolf suit.
His hand moved to his cock, distracting her.
Hoo boy, here we go. She’d never actually seen a guy pleasure himself. The voyeuristic opportunity made her feel kind of dirty—in a good way. Which made her feel a teensy bit bad for giving him a hard time for spying on her. Did that make her a hypocrite? Not that she was going to make him stop. He obviously needed to do something to appease that bad boy. Yep, this was strictly her being beneficent.
Dante’s palm kissed over the swollen head of his cock, and a forbidden thrill fluttered in her belly. She glanced up and locked stares with him, nearly combusting from the hot intensity in his brown-and-gold-flecked irises.
“Watch me.” His gruff command drew her attention back to the thick shaft in his fist. She concentrated on the firm way he stroked his cock. Who said the Discovery Channel was the only place you could learn something new and interesting?
A small teardrop of fluid wept from the slit in the plum-shaped cap. Roving his fist upward, he mingled her saliva with the fluid. It was the hottest thing she’d ever seen.
“Baby, you like this? ’Cause I sure as hell liked watching you play with your pretty little sweet spot.”
Hearing his admission increased the ache between her thighs. She was tempted to relieve it right in front of him. Well, he had said he enjoyed watching her. But this wasn’t about mutual satisfaction—it was about making a point. “Will you quit talking and get the show on the road? It’s not like I’ve got all day.”
“You are one bossy broad.”
“Thanks for the compliment.” She leaned back in her seat and tapped her foot. Dante grinned at her silent challenge before getting down to business. Biting her bottom lip, she focused on the lazy, enticing drag of his fist. “You’re darn good at that.”
“That your way of asking if I beat off a lot?”
“Well, I did notice you have an inordinate amount of calluses on your palm.”
He chuckled the same instant the front door slammed. They both stared at each other. Before Dante could release his grip on his cock, Foster Morgan stormed into the kitchen.
“Why is that woman’s car…?” Foster’s irate voice trailed off. Shock held his craggy features immobilized.
Awkward. Lilly jerked to her feet, almost toppling her chair in the process. In direct contrast, Dante calmly dragged his pants up and tucked his dick away. He left his jeans unzipped—wise considering the state of his erection.
“Ever heard of knocking, old man?”
Fury flashed across Foster’s face. He stepped the rest of the way into the kitchen, his stocky frame rigid beneath his leather jacket. “What the hell is going on here?”
“Don’t believe that’s any of your business.” Dante reached for his flannel shirt and casually shrugged it on, effectively concealing his tented jeans.
Lilly observed the tense interplay between father and son, wondering how Dante could act so cool when she was about ready to leap out of her skin. Maybe it was some weird werewolf thing that they didn’t feel guilty at getting caught slapping the salami at the dining-room table.
She inched farther away from her seat. “Um, Dante, maybe we should finish this later.” Those coal-black brows of his lifted, and she coughed. “The conversation, I mean. Okay?” She glanced between the two males staring at her intently. “All righty then. I’ll just see myself out.”
Her boot heels barely touched the floor as she streaked toward the exit. At the last second she remembered her coat and grabbed it from the antler rack. Not wanting to waste precious time trying to struggle into the damn thing, she scrunched the coat over her shoulder and slipped outside. By the time she hopped into her Escape—boy, there’s an appropriate name—her teeth were chattering so hard from the cold, it sounded like a castanet troupe was practicing in her mouth.
“Great, now my body decides to lose the hot flashes.”
Dante turned his back on his father and stalked to the sink. Squirting a few drops of liquid soap into his palm, he nudged the faucet on. The entire time he was lathering up, he felt the heat of Foster’s scrutiny lasering into his skull.
“Do you have something going on with that woman?”
Swiping the dishrag from the counter, Dante dried his hands. “I’ll say it again—it’s none of your business.”
An angry sputter tumbled from Foster. “It damn well is. You’re my son. I won’t have you cavorting with loose women. Particularly a lynchat.” He spit out the last word as if it were rancid. “You’re the next head alpha in line. It’s high time you start acting like it.”
Dante pivoted, granting his father a narrow-eyed stare. “Why don’t we cut through the bullshit? What you really mean is I need to start obeying your demands and accept Anna Gifford’s mate-bond proposal.”
A spark of hope homesteaded Foster’s face. “Are you ready to consider it?”
Permanently shackle himself to that scheming wolf bitch? “Hell no.”
Foster stormed forward and pummeled his fist onto the island’s granite top. One precariously perched orange toppled from the bowl of fruit and rolled toward the counter’s beveled edge. “Do you have any idea the trouble I’ve gone to trying to make this match happen?”
“I never asked you to do any of it.” Dante grabbed the orange, his grip so fierce it was a miracle juice and pulp didn’t spray between his knuckles. “In fact, I distinctly recall plenty of times I’ve told you to knock it the hell off.”
“For once, think of someone other than yourself. The entire pack would benefit from this merger.”
The caged wolf inside Dante strained at its bindings. Tempting as it was to give his inner beast full rein, he tempered the urge. Didn’t stop him from flashing his incisors in warning though. “Don’t throw duty in my face, old man. I care more about the pack than you ever will. That’s why I’ll never allow
your unholy merger to take place. You and I both know the only ones benefitting from it would be you and the Giffords.”
It was no secret that Foster’s sole reason for wanting the merger was the nice chunk of change that Lewis Gifford was ready to dole out in exchange for sealing his place amongst the more powerful Morgan pack ranks. Unlike Dante, Foster didn’t feel any responsibility to honor the excommunication decree that Silas Morgan issued against Lewis and his brethren decades ago, after it was discovered that Lewis was engaged in shady business dealings that would reflect poorly upon the pack. Dante was prepared to do everything in his power to uphold his grandfather’s wishes and ensure that the Gifford’s seedy taint didn’t touch the pack again, but with each passing day, Foster pushed harder and harder to undermine Dante’s determination.
As if he’d read Dante’s mind, Foster gave a knowing smile. “You can only hold out so long. Sooner or later, you have to decide which is more important—your personal pride or the pack.” Calculation gleamed in Foster’s eyes. “I’m giving you exactly one week to meet your mate-bond requirement. If you don’t, I’m assigning a new head alpha.” Snapping up the collar of his jacket, he strode from the kitchen.
Dante waited until he heard the front door slam before he hurtled the orange. It cracked through the drywall behind the dining-room table. “Shit.” Thunking his elbows onto the island’s granite top, he buried his face in his hands. No matter how hard he tried to pretend otherwise, he could no longer ignore it—his balls were in the wringer.
Chapter Four
Swaddled within her three layers of clothing, Lilly stood on the uppermost step of the porch and gave the snowflakes pirouetting from the sky a wary eye. Sure, the stuff was pretty to look at—from inside a toasty warm cabin while she threw back some hot toddies. She started to inch backward, toward the doorway, but a phantom voice entered her head, mocking her. Wimp. What’s a little snow?
“Little? There’s got to be three freakin’ feet of the damn stuff out there.”
The phantom voice started clucking like a chicken.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake.” Ashamed over caving so easily to her inner bitch, Lilly snatched her cross-country skis from where they were leaning on the porch rail and stomped down the steps. She propped the poles against the door of her SUV and lined the skis up parallel to the vehicle. Giving the cabin behind her a final longing glance, she wedged the toe of her boot into the top binding on her right ski. The stubborn clip refused to lock in place. Grinding her teeth, she wiggled her foot, trying to force the boot into the binding. The ski slid out from beneath her, knocking her flat.
Dazed, she blinked against the snowflakes drifting onto her lashes. “This is a great sign. I’m not even on the stinking skis and already I’m falling on my ass.”
It was pretty damn ironic—and pathetic—that she possessed not one iota of the grace her species was supposed to be gifted with. Anchoring her boots into the thick snow, she inched her way upward and grasped the Escape’s door handle before hoisting into a standing position. Cautiously, she dragged her boot over to the left ski and clicked it into the bindings. She let go of the door and momentarily basked in her grand achievement. Until the skis crawled forward. Flailing her arms, she made a grab for the poles and managed to wrap her fingers around their straps before the momentum of the skis plowed her halfway down the drive.
Digging the spiked ends of the poles into the snow, she wobbled to an unsteady halt, the tips of the skis touching. “Oh God, I’m going to be the first known fatality caused by cross-country skis.” Despite the certainty of her dire prediction, she tightened her grip on the poles and set her chattering teeth in determination. As head events coordinator for the Lynchat Foundation, she needed firsthand experience with all the activities they’d have at their disposal if—no, when—Dante sold his property to the organization. Even if said activity killed her. Which in all likelihood it would.
Burrowing her chin deeper into the scarf tucked around the lower portion of her face, she unlocked her knees and hesitantly glided one ski forward. When she didn’t immediately topple over, she attempted the same maneuver with the other ski. Before she knew it she was shuffling along the winding driveway. “I don’t freakin’ believe it. I’m actually doing it!” Since no force on earth would convince her to let go of the pole for even a second, she settled for mentally pumping her fist in victory.
Rather than risk a collision with any vehicles she might encounter on the main street, she decided to chart a course along the perimeter of the property line. Forking away from the drive, she shush-shushed her way through the alley of pines. Other than the fact her nose resembled a block of ice and she no longer felt her butt, she was sort of enjoying the moment. Grinning, she lengthened her strides, injecting a little more oomph in her pace. Unfortunately, she didn’t count on the pitch of the terrain suddenly taking a steep, downhill slant.
The skis adopted a will of their own as they picked up speed. She grappled desperately with her poles, but the damn skis seemed determined to hurtle her to an imminent death. Horrified, she stared at the rapidly approaching drop-off for the ridge. In one last-ditch effort at self-preservation, she speared the poles into the snow. Apparently that was the wrong thing to do.
She took off like a rocket, her scream muffled by her scarf as she flew over the side of the ridge.
“What the fuck?” Lowering the volume on his radio, Dante frowned at the skis protruding from the snow-laden branches of the giant blue spruce bordering the Prescott’s land. He slowed his pickup and peered out the passenger window. When he caught a glimpse of a fur-lined silver hood buried in the dense greenery, he shook his head and shifted into park. He jumped from the cab of his truck and ambled to the base of the spruce. “How original. A cat stuck in a tree.”
“Go to hell.”
He tucked his thumbs in the rear pockets of his jeans and chuckled. “That any way to talk to the guy who’s gonna give you a hand out of there?”
“I don’t need your help, thank you very much.” The entire tree shook, dislodging its blanket of snow as Lilly attempted to extricate herself from the spruce’s tenacious grasp. Several seconds later, her frustrated growl pierced the frigid air. “Fine, I might require some assistance.”
He was damn tempted to hoot in laughter, but he didn’t relish getting a ski cracked upside his noggin for the trouble. “Hold tight. I’ll be right with you.”
“Not like I’m going anywhere,” she huffed.
Zipping his jacket, he returned to his truck and snatched a pair of leather work gloves from the toolbox he always kept in the bed of the pickup. Satisfied he was as protected from the spruce’s scratchy needles as he’d get, he strode to the tree. Peering through the foliage overhead, he assessed the situation.
Lilly appeared to be pinned close to the tree trunk by two branches crisscrossing behind her back, near her tailbone. The angle made it impossible for her to reach her skis, which left him with the task of removing them.
Locating a sturdy branch that would afford him extra height, he climbed upward and fumbled around with one hand until he knocked into the edge of the nearest ski. He smoothed his gloved hand across the slick fiberglass and bumped into Lilly’s boot. Working his fingers lower, he encountered the top binding and pried at the toe clip until it released. He wrenched the ski off, and it plummeted to the ground. Hugging the massive trunk of the tree with one arm for balance, he switched his focus to the other ski. Less than a minute later, it sailed down to join its mate.
He slid his palm up along Lilly’s inner thigh, and he swore she hissed. Not the mean, ornery kind of hiss that usually accompanied a swipe from a sharp-clawed feline. Nope, this sound made him think of slapping body parts and the ecstatic rake of fingernails down his back.
Ignoring the sudden thickening of his cock, he reached behind her leg and snapped off the thinner twigs that impeded him getting to her backside. He discovered the culprit keeping her snared in place. A broken section of branch h
ad poked through her bulky ski pants.
Concerned the sharp tree limb might have lodged into her skin, he pulled his glove off with his teeth and patted the back of her thigh, searching for the end of the branch. He located it—thankfully not embedded in Lilly’s flesh. “I’m gonna have to rip your pants a little more to get you freed.”
“Go ahead. Not like I plan to ever ski again in my lifetime anyway. Something all the trees in the neighborhood will be profoundly grateful for, I’m sure.”
Her dry statement earned his laugh, and she frowned at him. He tossed her a questioning look and continued grappling with the fabric bunched around the tree branch. “What?”
“Nothing. I’ve just never heard you laugh like that before. It actually makes you semi-pleasant.”
He twisted his mouth in a wry grin. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re flirting with me.”
She snorted. “Clearly all this cold air has killed off some of your brain cells.”
Probably. Too bad it was doing nothing to numb the persistent throbbing in his cock. Between the satiny flesh he glimpsed through the gaping hole in Lilly’s pants and the intoxicating aroma pouring off her in waves, his hormones were getting beat to hell.
Hormones. His fingers stalled in mid-rip. “You’re in heat.”
A sharp inhalation sounded above him, and he lifted his gaze to find Lilly staring at him with fire in her eyes. “I take it back. You’re not pleasant at all, you rude ass.”
“Christ, what’d I do now?”
“You’re not supposed to point out something intensely personal like that.”
He grunted. “You’ve got to be shittin’ me. We’ve seen each other masturbating, and your dander is up because I mentioned you’re in heat?”
She scrunched her nose in a manner he found oddly cute. Not that he’d tell her so. His luck, he’d probably earn her boot in his balls for the compliment.
“Would you like it if I went around pointing out every time you get an erection?”