Both men hadn’t taken more than three steps into the hall when Vittorio realised something was wrong. The woman’s scent was faint.
As though she’d already left the vicinity.
Shit!
Riley took off, running through the short hall. Vittorio started to follow Riley when it occurred to him both men would be too much manpower to take down one human female. Almost at the last moment, just before Riley would have ran out of the exit, he yelled, ”Remember she’s human. You can’t shift.”
The reminder pounded through Riley’s mind with every step he took. Remember she’s human. You can’t shift. You can’t shift, he thought as his quickly pumping legs ate up the space that separated him from the human female.
He darted around a corner, pulse pounding, and spotted her several feet away from him. He paused for a moment and simply took in the sight. The night sky was bright with the full, silvery moon. It shone down on Amelia silhouetting her lush figure to perfection.
As he looked at her an undeniable need rose within him. Riley felt his beast clawing to get next to her.
He took a single step forward—and landed on a twig. The sound of the branch snapping seemed absurdly loud on the quiet night air. Riley watched in irritation as Amelia jerked, looked over her shoulder and stared at him.
The moment their eyes connected he knew she was going to run.
He relished the moment.
Amelia stared at him for exactly four seconds before taking off, running as quickly as her short legs could carry her.
Instead of chasing after her immediately, Riley stood where he was and counted to twenty. He wanted to enjoy the chase. He wouldn’t be able to do that if it ended too soon. So he gave the little human enough time to put some distance between them.
Just to add some flavour to what had suddenly become a game.
Once the obligatory twenty seconds had passed, Riley began the chase. Adrenaline pumped thickly in his veins. Awareness prickled every inch of his skin. Every one of his sensory powers increased with each step he took. Though he didn’t shift, he was capable of allowing his wolf to come to the surface. With that, his senses became stronger.
She darted around another of the seemingly endless headstones, but Riley knew the chase was already over. She’d taken a wrong turn. Amelia would run for a few more feet and then find her exit blocked off by one of the plot’s larger mausoleums.
With careful steps he took the corner. As he rounded the curve heard the low, harsh sound of her frustrated curse. She’d run up against the mausoleum.
Riley knew the way the plots were placed in that region of the cemetery gave her only one way out...and he was standing in front of it. “Come out. Come out, where ever you are?” he called at the top of his lungs.
“Asshole,” he heard Amelia swear before she appeared several feet away from him. Her back was to him and she was gingerly trying to make her way past the mausoleum.
Riley had judged the female too quickly. The chase was not over.
Both of his eyebrows lifted in surprise at the sight of her hopping over one of the headstones of his forefathers. Apparently she’d discarded her shoes.
He growled at the sight of her naked feet on the hard ground. Even to his own ears the growl was dark and dangerous. Riley didn’t like the sight of the human running barefoot. She was going to hurt herself that way.
He wanted to protect her.
“Amelia,” he called softly. Or as softly as he could manage in his adrenaline fuelled state.
She stiffened for one second. That was the only indication Riley received, but it was more than enough to know she wasn’t going to stop running.
He didn’t know whether to be pleased or irritated when she took off, sprinting, running around headstones and barely avoiding the scattered branches on the ground. The human part of him knew he couldn’t spend the whole night chasing the woman around the cemetery. The beast relished the run.
Thankfully the man was smarter than the beast. Riley decided to increase his pace and stop playing with the woman. No longer could he extend the chase simply to satisfy his beast.
Rikard’s command thundered through his mind. He had to get the female back to the security room so he and Vittorio could figure out the real reason she’d come to their combined families’ burial plot.
Chest heaving, she darted past a nineteenth century sculpture of an angel. He saw her glance at the angel and grimace. She turned, glanced over her shoulder and caught his gaze.
Riley couldn’t help but smile.
She stumbled, obviously surprised by his actions. He pounced before she could correct herself.
Pure satisfaction radiated through him when his fingers closed around her upper arm. “Mine,” he rumbled as he lifted her off of her knees and into his arms. He knew both his words and his actions had taken her by surprise by the stillness of her body in his arms.
He was more shocked by the depth of his body’s reaction to her presence. He went hard all over.
Riley gritted his teeth and thought about the latest Super Bowl. When that didn’t calm his raging need, he thought of cold, uncomfortable ice. Unfortunately he imagined the woman in his hands was holding the ice in question and running it down his chest.
Damn!
He turned and headed back to the small building that housed the security room. Riley hadn’t taken more than five steps in its direction when she spoke. “You know I can walk, right?”
He ignored her. He knew it was best not to talk in his current condition.
“Look I know I’m not exactly trustworthy here, but I promise not to run anymore. So, will you put me down, please?”
Knowing the pixy in his arms wasn’t going to leave him alone, Riley decided to answer her. He shook his head and glanced at her feet. “No shoes.”
“Oh.” She was silent for a moment. “So you’re carrying me because I’m not wearing any shoes?”
“Yes.” He saw her roll her eyes to the heavens, but decided to ignore her actions.
“I could put my shoes back on.” She dangled the items in question to make her point.
Riley thought about it for a moment. It was very poor idea. The very image of her strapping on those “fuck me” platforms had his cock jerking in need.
He looked down at her. “No.”
She parted her beautiful lips, ready to argue with him. Riley felt himself being drawn to her. Slowly, he lowered his head as he lifted her higher against his chest. Her eyes widened as he descended. It was then he realised what he was about to do.
He lifted his head and almost whooped in joy when he saw the mausoleum. He indicated the building. “There’s no point in putting on your shoes since we’re almost there.”
It took her several moments to lift her gaze. It hadn’t escaped his notice that it had taken her a few seconds to process his words because she was staring hard at his mouth.
Riley almost groaned out loud. She was trying his patience, responding to the dangerous heat that simmered between them.
The moment his booted foot touched the bottom step that led to the building’s entrance, he released her, placing her softly on her feet. She swept a small hand through her fiery locks and smiled shyly at him. “Thank you.”
He watched her, trying to figure out what to say in response. “You’re welcome,” just didn’t seem to cut it in his mind. So he told her a truth wrapped in a lie. “You shouldn’t thank me. It’s my job to keep you safe and secure long enough to us to finish our investigation.”
She stiffened beside him in anger. He could smell the acrid emotion that suddenly drenched the air. Amelia was pissed off.
They both glanced up as a third person joined them on the steps. Vittorio peered at both of them, no doubt trying to figure out what had happened between them. “Welcome back, Ms. Amelia,” Vittorio murmured, took a single step forward and reached out for the woman. That was all it took to get Riley incensed. A low warning growl cut through the air, stilling Vittorio as
he took his second step. He lifted his head and glared hard at Riley.
He searched Riley’s gaze for a moment. “Get your…self under control,” he said through clenched teeth.
Nostrils flared, Riley took several breaths before finding the strength to speak to Vittorio. “I’m fine,” he murmured once he had his bestial nature under wraps.
Vittorio searched his face, looking for the lie in his statement. After a moment he nodded, satisfied that Riley really did have his wolf under control.
When Riley received Vittorio’s nod, he turned back to Amelia and grabbed her arm to pull her close to him.
Riley knew he needed to step away from Amelia, give his body time to adjust to the adrenaline pumping through his veins, but he couldn’t find the strength to leave her side. There was something about her that called to him, brought every bestial desire to the surface. And his human side was not strong enough to ignore the call.
“Riley?” Vittorio called softly as Riley dragged Amelia down the hall and to the tiny room where the security screens played.
“We need to search her,” Riley said in reply to the implicit question he heard in Vittorio’s tone. Vittorio wanted to know if Riley was capable of keeping his beast under control so as to not frighten the woman. The truth was Riley didn’t know if he could do that. He only thing he was certain about was the need to find out what she was hiding.
To conduct the strip search, he required Vittorio to be in the room. At least according to the corporate handbook.
He spun the woman around, desperate to get his hands off of her. His beast was running wild, clawing to get to the surface. With his animal nature flowing so hotly, Riley found both his senses and emotions were open.
Not good. Really not good.
There were so many—too many churning emotions running through Riley. The strongest one was need. It was relentless and base. And feeling Amelia’s supple skin beneath his fingertips was doing nothing to curb the hunger.
The only thing keeping him from losing his control was the knowledge Amelia felt the same hunger he did. Beneath her fear and irritation was the faint aroma of desire. And it was growing.
Becoming stronger every time he placed his hands on her.
He glanced over his shoulder as Vittorio entered the room. He closed the door behind him and locked it. No act had ever sounded so final.
Vittorio didn’t move from the door. He was waiting for something. Finally, Riley realised what it was. Vittorio was waiting to make sure Riley was ready to continue. He nodded his head in agreement, and Vittorio stepped to Amelia.
“Ma’am, we’re going to need you to talk to us. Tell us why you were sent here?”
She sighed. “I already told you. I was sent here to find—”
Riley cut her off. “Trust me, sweetheart. You don’t want the wolf’s cock. Something tells me you can’t handle it.”
Amelia’s face turned bright red, no doubt as a result of embarrassment and anger. She clearly knew which wolf’s cock he’d been talking about. And she didn’t like his implication one bit. She parted her lips, getting ready to give him a piece of her mind when Vittorio spoke.
“I know this is going to be a great inconvenience, Amelia, but we’re going to have to search your person,” Vittorio interjected.
Amelia jerked her attention away from Riley and smiled at Vittorio. The smile made Riley want to rip his best friend’s throat out. “I understand you have a job to do,” she said softly. She lifted her hands and spread them out, indicating her body. “As you can see I don’t have much to hide.”
“You might not have pockets, Amelia, but we all know you’ve got several places to hide things, dangerous things,” Riley murmured.
She stared at him numbly for several seconds, no doubt trying to process his words, trying to figure out if he really was implying what it sounded like he was implying.
And then her eyes tightened in rage and she took a step forward.
Vittorio swept forward, his handsome face moulded by concern, and intercepted her before Amelia could rail at him.
More the pity, Riley thought. He’d never seen anything hotter than Amelia, angry, getting ready to tear into him. He couldn’t help wondering if she was that passionate between the sheets.
Definitely! She would probably burn his cock the minute he slid into her.
Riley watched the two of them as Vittorio explained, in hushed voice, that they were required to search her to find out if she was hiding anything dangerous. She started to protest, but Vittorio firmly repeated it was required.
She didn’t like it one bit but she was resigned to the inevitable. The feeling was pretty much written on Amelia’s expressive face as she looked up at Vittorio.
“Amelia, if you would please stand here,” Vittorio said gesturing to the middle of the room.
Feet bare, Amelia strode across the room. The sight of her naked feet reminded Riley they had to search more than her person. He sought out her neglected shoes and basket. When he picked up the items the air in the room stilled. He turned to find Amelia staring at him in horror as a deep flush climbed up her face. A quick glance at Vittorio informed Riley the were-tiger was watching Amelia, waiting for something.
He held the basket out. “I’m going to begin by looking through this.”
Reluctantly, Amelia nodded her head in agreement.
Vittorio strode across the room to stand across from him. Together they reached into the basket and pulled out an item. The second Riley’s fingers closed around his target he knew he was in trouble. He lifted the item and stared at it in surprise. It was a large, dark purple glass dildo complete with surprisingly realistic veins.
A sputtered cough caught Riley’s attention and he glanced sharply at Vittorio to see the other man staring in surprise at the flavoured lubricant in his hand. As one they turned and looked back at Amelia. She was red faced with embarrassment, and slowly inching away from them.
He dropped the dildo, strode across the room and grabbed her. She stared up into his eyes with a mixture of anxiety, fear and desire. He basked in the last emotion, surprised she would feel that way towards him, especially after all they’d already gone through that night.
He lifted her hands and held them in his palms. He brushed his fingers over her wrists, taking notice of her rapid pulse. Then he lifted his other hand and ran it through the thick strands of her lustrous, auburn hair. She closed her eyes, moaned and tipped her head back when his fingertips brushed across her scalp. Riley gritted his teeth against the hard desire that filled him at the sound. Instead, he focused on straightening out the wavy strands until they fell around her shoulders. When he was satisfied, he removed his hand and returned it to her wrist. He lifted her arms until they were flush against the wall. Before she could figure what he was up to, he handcuffed Amelia to the light sconce above her head, grasped the pins that had fallen from her hair, and shoved them in his back pocket.
When Riley stepped away from her, he heard the low sound of Amelia’s angry growl. She’d just realised what he’d done.
Vittorio glanced from Amelia’s bound figure to Riley. He smiled at Riley before turning back to Amelia. “You have some very interesting things in your basket, but the item that caught my attention was this.” He held up a small rolled piece of paper.
Amelia stared at it silently. If Riley had to make a guess he would say the human had no idea what Vittorio was holding. So Riley asked the question he knew she wouldn’t. “What exactly is it?”
Vittorio held Amelia’s gaze when he answered. “It’s a map of the burial ground, complete with the names and titles of certain plot holders.”
Amelia jerked hard against her binding. Riley felt his stomach plummet before filling with unease. While he’d listened to Rickard’s decree that they search the female, he hadn’t believed they would find anything on her.
Already Vittorio had proved him wrong.
“What else are you hiding?” he growled, the disappointment an
d anger warring with the little common sense he knew should be at the forefront.
“I think it’s time for that search,” Vittorio said and strode across the room. Riley reached out and grabbed his friend’s thick arm when he was halfway to Amelia. A sense of possessiveness had flooded him at Vittorio’s words. Enough so, that he knew he couldn’t let his best friend and flat mate put his hands on her without his permission.
At the moment Riley was loath to give that.
One of Vittorio’s dark eyebrows lifted in question. Riley shook his head once. Vittorio’s jaw flexed ominously, but Riley refused to back down. For reasons he refused to examine he needed to be the man to search Amelia.
Vittorio’s gaze searched his. For a moment, Riley feared his friend wouldn’t let him take the lead as he desired with Amelia. More than that, Riley feared his own reaction to the denial.
Then Vittorio nodded his head, almost imperceptibly, and allowed Riley to be the Alpha where Amelia was concerned. His wolf howled in satisfaction.
He walked to Amelia, deeply feeling every step he took. When he reached her, he stood before her, simply looking down at her. She stared up at him, eyes wide, full lips parted, with the scent of hunger clinging to every inch of her voluptuous body.
“I’m going to search your hair now,” he whispered, needing to once again run his fingers through the dark strands. She nodded her head in agreement before closing her eyes. The minute her lashes rested against her cheeks, Riley missed the sight of her lovely gaze. “Open your eyes, Amelia.”
She did, but slowly, almost as though it was painful for her to raise her lids. Only when she was looking at him did Riley run both of his hands through her hair. He took particular time fingering her strands and kneading her scalp. “Oh God,” she sighed when he caressed a particular area near her nape.
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