Can't Touch This

by J. Hali Steele

  “Yeah, ahhh…shit yeah!” He pushed her from in front of him and sent a stream of cum along the same path as the stranger had. “Goddamn, Harlow, you own me, darlin’.” Catching his breath, he used a wad of towels to wipe his cock before drawing her against his chest. “Only yours.” He smothered her face with kisses, and when he nipped her neck, opening the same wound he had before, he shoved his hands between them and pulled her electrified buds until cream poured from her, wetting the seat of her underwear.

  Never had she come so quietly, so sweetly. “God, Castle,” she murmured, her face hidden against his chest.

  “Don’t ever hide your face from me.” Castle removed the clamps. “I’ll hold on to these.” He slipped them in his jacket pocket.

  “I never expected you would allow that.”

  “I came, darlin’, because I liked watching you pleasure him.” He used his palms to soothe her nipples.

  “Mmm, thank you.”

  “Harlow?”

  “Hmm?”

  “My company, Brigadier, bought Overnight Success.”

  She pulled from his arms and glared while she buttoned her shirt. “I guess you have more money than I thought.” Since Big Bear, they’d spent most evenings at her home and Harlow wasn’t quite sure why she hadn’t sought more information about his company. She told herself what she knew about Castle Briggs was as much as she could handle until the thing with Jeff was done, which her attorney assured her would be in another couple weeks. Lord knows Castle satisfied every fantasy she’d imagined, and then some. Recently, she felt that at times they were one person. Harlow smelled him before he turned a corner, or she’d know he was at the door before he knocked. He’d been patient as hell considering what he was. Her mind shifted to what they’d done tonight. The things he taught her about feeling alive and trusting another person bordered on unbelievable. Actually, Harlow was surprised he hadn’t pushed for more and assumed he, too, waited for her marriage to end before they moved forward. But there were days she’d felt if he had his way, she’d be sitting at home waiting for him instead of what seemed the other way around. “You inherited enough money to buy the company I work for?”

  “Brigadier is the parent company; it has a COO both here and abroad.” He shrugged and closed his slacks. “The place we stayed in Los Angeles is my flagship hotel, and the restaurant we ate in belongs to me.” Shrugging, he added, “My parents were content being wolves until they died. The money is mine.”

  “What?” Her mouth snapped shut and she studied him closely. Harlow had thought family money and a successful restaurant explained the pricey house in Big Bear. The rest of his time he spent in a small apartment behind The Moat where he maintained a nondescript office. “You drive a Harley for Christ sakes!”

  “Ride, darlin’.” Castle didn’t blink an eye. “And it was custom built for me.” He rested his hips against the sink. “I handle the majority of things from my office at The Moat. Jeremiah…”

  “Oh my God! She smacked her forehead. “Briggs, the hotel Brigadier. The woman in the shop, the man at the restaurant, they all know you. I feel so stupid.”

  “Harlow, don’t.”

  “LA, Jeremiah, that was a business meeting. The joke about… You really did have fucking beer flown in?”

  “Yes, but if I remember correctly, it wasn’t all business.”

  “You son of a bitch.” Before she realized her intention, Harlow’s hand connected with his jaw. “Why, why?” He stared at her, never moving or saying a word. “You promised you didn’t want to own me but that’s what you wanted all along isn’t it? Total control over me day and night.” She stepped back, wishing he’d deny it. “Say something, damn you.”

  “I keep every promise I make and I never promised you anything. I believe I said ‘I’m not trying to own you’.”

  “Stay away from me.”

  Harlow spun on her heels to leave but came to a halt. “I’ll send the outfit you bought to The Moat.”

  “Why the hell would I want it, Harli?”

  “You bastards always want to take something back.”

  Harlow left him standing in the restroom. She walked past Hatch, who eyed her suspiciously before following and trying to stop her in the lot.

  “If you touch me, I’ll scream.”

  “I’m going with you one way or the other. It’s your choice if it’s with dignity or not.”

  It was early yet and cars streamed in and out of the parking lot. “Does he own you too?”

  “Harlow, I’m coming with you. I’ll answer any questions you ask. If you have none, we’ll sit and stare at your walls, I don’t really give a shit, but I’m leaving with you.” As soon as he heard the lock click, he yanked the door open and dropped into her passenger seat.

  “Fuck you.”

  “Drive.” He sighed, settling in for the ride.

  She backed out and headed toward her apartment. “Don’t you have any balls?”

  “Jesus, woman, do you want to see them?”

  “Oooh!” She turned onto De Soto and floored her Lotus, plastering him back in the seat.

  “Killing us won’t help.”

  “Shut up.”

  Chapter Nine

  Thankfully, Harlow missed every red light and reached her complex quickly. The less time in Hatch’s company, the better. “I’m not taking your sorry ass home.”

  “Sweetheart, my wolf can run and make better time than this squirrelly little car of yours.”

  She enjoyed the fact his knees poked his chest. “You could have put the seat back.”

  “Shit.” He reached for the button and sent the seat flying backward as far as it would go.

  “You’re not the sharpest dog in the pack, are you?”

  “Goddamn you’ve got a sarcastic mouth.” Tires squealed when she turned in to her space and shifted into park before shutting the car off. Hatch opened the door and jumped out. “I don’t know what the fuck Castle thinks he’s going to do with you.”

  “I’m not his to do anything with.” She flounced to her door, unlocked it and tried to get in before he jammed a foot in the entrance and slammed it open, knocking Harlow off balance.

  He grabbed her forearm to stop her from landing on her backside. “All I need is for him to find a bruise on your ass caused by me.”

  “Afraid of the big bad wolf?”

  “Efuckingnough already!” He pushed her until her knees hit the back of the loveseat. “Sit down and shut the hell up.”

  He waltzed through the living room into her kitchen as if he owned it. When he returned, he carried two bottles of beer. “Put this in your mouth, don’t say a word and just listen, please.”

  After he plopped onto the sofa across from her, he put his head back, emitting a desolate sigh, and it wrenched her heart. Maybe she should listen to Hatch. After all, he wasn’t the one whose eyes she wanted to claw out. “I’m listening but nothing you say will change my mind.” Anger dissipated slowly, softening her words. “He lied to me, Hatch.”

  “Castle doesn’t lie.”

  “He played with words, he… Christ, I smell him everywhere.”

  “Harlow, if he walked through that door right now you’d do what he asked because… Wait, you smell him?”

  “Everywhere.”

  “Damn.”

  “What, Hatch?”

  “Touching the base of your spine imparted some of his essence into your body, and taking blood gives him an even stronger tie, aiding his ability to pretty much find you anywhere.” His eyes pierced her. “You’re more than connected to Cass—you’re his true mate.”

  She tilted her beer and took a long pull from the bottle. It had to be the bastard’s blood; it had done something to her. “Fucking blood,” she mumbled.

  “I missed that.”

  “Nothing, it’s nothing, and you’re so wise all of a sudden.”

  He leaned forward. “About this I am. I know he’d go from here to hell and back to find you if he wanted to.” He
shook his head. “Forget if ’cause Castle wants. Oh, he wants you more than life itself.” He took a chug from his beer. “There is no one else for him, but he is what he is, Harlow. Nothing will ever change that.”

  Pain and loss rested in his eyes. Hatch Grisom had lost someone, and hoping to gain time to get her thoughts in order, she asked, “Who was she?”

  “Fia Knight, shifter from a Canadian pack.” He settled back and closed his eyes. “They came through about five months ago, heading south to visit her maternal family. Castle wasn’t around.”

  “Where was he?”

  “A lengthy business trip. It culminated at his apartment in LA in the company of a…”

  “Woman.” Her face grew warm as resentment flushed her cheeks. She wondered if the woman was the reason for his fetish room. “He hasn’t traveled since I met him.”

  “Anywhere he goes now, you’ll be with him.” Hatch emptied his beer and stood. “Want another?”

  “How many residences are there?”

  “Here or abroad?” Hatch headed to the kitchen.

  “Damn, I hate him.” She meant exactly the opposite but she wasn’t going to give it any more space in her head right now. “Grab two.” Might as well step over every boundary she had set for herself. Like the no more than two alcoholic beverages in any night. She had consumed a gin and tonic at the bar and now she tilted the beer up, finishing her bottle. “What happened?” Talking about his problem kept Harlow’s at bay.

  He opened and handed her one of the bottles before sitting back down. “I fell in love in the midst of trying to run the pack while Cass was gone.” He smiled but it didn’t reach his brown eyes. “I’m not alpha material, Harli, I’m beta and I like it that way. Fia requires an alpha so I’ll never quite measure up.”

  “How do you know?” The shifter sitting in front of her was goddamn handsome with a to-die-for body. Hatch was funny and so freaking loyal, it tugged her heartstrings. Castle was lucky to have him. “This Fia fucked up, she made the wrong choice, and one day she’ll realize it.” Their conversation brought to mind how badly Harlow had chosen.

  “She traveled with her father, the alpha of their pack, but there was one beta destined to become alpha if he mates with Fia. Christ, I wanted to kick his ass from here to hell and back.”

  “Why?”

  “He screwed every female in sight, willing or not, and there was nothing I could do to stop him.” He grimaced. “The idea of him touching Fi makes me sick to my stomach.” He set his beer down and rubbed his face. “They’re overdue for coming back through here and having to see her, probably mated to him by now, will kill me.”

  “And if she’s not?”

  He shrugged. “I’m still not a leader, Harlow.”

  “What if something happened to Castle?”

  “Don’t even say shit like that because with no offspring, I’d be next in line and I’m not ready for that.”

  “Wouldn’t you know if she was your mate?”

  He put his head in his hands and mumbled, “I was too fucking afraid to touch her, too goddamn scared to get close enough to be sure.”

  “Good Lord, Hatch, you believe she is your mate?”

  He nodded. “Her delicious smell, Jesus, it penetrated my lungs and took a steadfast hold of my heart.” He groaned. “Fia’s different; her scent is so… It’s like…

  “When she returns, you’ll take her as you should have months ago.”

  Harlow spun to see Castle lounging against her doorjamb. “Hell, why didn’t I smell you coming?” She had occasionally and couldn’t understand how she’d missed it tonight.

  He grunted. “A few drinks and other distractions cloud the mind.”

  “Well, mine isn’t clouded enough to know I don’t want you in my home.”

  “You’re angry because I did something you don’t like.” He shut the door and walked into the room. He sat on the sofa beside Hatch. “Harlow, I need to have you beside me. It’s where a proper mate belongs.”

  “A proper mate!” He rubbed his face and looked as pathetic as Hatch did. Harlow had told him she would always be honest and nothing had changed. “I’ll never be held at your beck and call, Castle. I’m not even divorced.” She glanced at Hatch to see if he was listening and decided she didn’t give a damn. “I submit to you in the bedroom.”

  “You always will. Anywhere.”

  Ignoring what he’d said, she continued. “I love what you do to me behind closed doors.” She thought about the hallway in LA, the bathroom at the restaurant earlier. Castle was right; she’d give in to him anywhere. And enjoy it. Sighing, she closed her eyes, hoping to hide the truth behind their lids and garner more time before looking at him. Thinking of a day without Cass in her life twisted her stomach into knots. Damn, damn, damn! How dare he attempt to buy her. “You can’t buy me.”

  “I bought a company.” His eyes darkened. “You already belonged to me.”

  “Screw you.”

  “Harlow, darlin’, I don’t own you. What we have is more than that.”

  “Semantics, Cass. Explain more.”

  “Call it destiny, call it whatever you want. Voodoo, witchcraft, hell, I’ll even find a vampire to explain it to you. But know this—You. Are. Mine.”

  Hatch told her, Sikes Barnes told her the same thing in Big Bear. Lord, she didn’t even know why she was arguing because the idea of never seeing Castle, not having him touch her, not only caused her to feel ill, it made her gut-wrenchingly sad. Harlow went off on another tangent, well aware she’d give in because, oh shit, she needed him. “You can’t possibly tell me a female wolf wouldn’t come against her mate on behalf of her pups, or…or if you hurt her physically.”

  “But you’re not a wolf.” He grimaced. “And I’d never hurt you.”

  “But my ass, I’m no different. I’m a woman. When we have children, I’ll scratch your eyes out if you ever harm them.”

  He gazed at her and flashed that crooked grin that stole her heart every time. “When we have children?”

  “Damn you.” She had said when. “I don’t know why I said that.”

  “Yes you do.” He stood and moved to sit beside her. “I’ll sign the papers in a few days. Meet me halfway on this.”

  “What’s halfway?”

  “I make you chief operating officer, president, anything allowing you to work from home sometimes.”

  “You sure you aren’t a devil in wolf’s fur?”

  “I won’t let you go, Harlow, I can’t.”

  “You won’t interfere with how I run the company?”

  “I will. I have control issues, darlin’, what can I say?”

  “What you are is a domineering SOB.”

  “You love it.”

  “Not that it matters but now would be a good time to tell me what you’re worth and…”

  An alarm sounded outside. “That’s my car.” Running to the door, she snatched it open and looked into the eyes of her husband.

  “Hi, Harlow. Happy to see me?” A tow truck idled near her Lotus with lights blinking.

  Without turning, she knew Castle bristled behind her. The smell of his anger danced around her head and fear of what he could do brought bile to her mouth. “Cass…”

  He stepped in front of her. “Castle Briggs, I’m Harlow’s mate. What can I do for you, Mr. Hardison?”

  “She’s talked about me, huh? Mate? You don’t sound Australian.”

  “What. Do. You. Want?”

  “I came for my car. The bitch doesn’t deserve it.”

  The growl emanating from Cass’s throat made her step back.

  Castle turned to look at her. “Don’t ever be afraid of me.” He reached for Harlow’s hand and drew her to his side. “You’re all that’s keeping me from breaking his fucking neck, so don’t move.”

  The memory of the incident with the young shifter in Big Bear flashed to the forefront of her mind. Harlow didn’t want to see the man she’d lived with for years harmed, but she didn’t lov
e Jeff or want him in her life. “I’m not moving.” She rested her hand on Castle’s arm.

  He kissed her possessively before zeroing in on her soon-to-be ex. “Get the keys for Jeff, Harlow.”

  “What will I drive?”

  “Give him the goddamn keys.”

  Cass brooked no argument. She crossed the floor, grabbed her purse, and fished the keys out before tossing her bag on the table. Actually she was glad to shed this last part of her old life. Still, having no car to get around posed a problem she would have to deal with.

  Castle took a few steps forward and her spouse had sense enough to back away. Hatch walked past them all and disappeared around the tow truck. In a few moments, the driver backed into an empty space, turned the big vehicle, and sped from the lot without her car. The beta had his cell phone to his ear. What now? Done with his call, he deposited the phone in his jacket pocket, crossed the lot and slipped back into the apartment where he stood not far behind her and Cass.

  “See the black sports car over there?” Castle pointed to a low-slung European car far more expensive than a Lotus.

  “So what?” Jeff sounded pissed.

  Harlow eyed the car parked a few spaces from hers. She glanced at it, and back at Cass. “That’s yours?”

  “No.” He faced her. “It’s yours.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out the key ring. It held two keys. “The other key goes to the house which is where I hope you’ll be staying. I’m sure I can find something else in my garage to drive.”

  “Do you know how sick she is?” One corner of Jeff’s mouth lifted and, not for the first time, Harlow realized just what an asshole the man she had married was.

  “You bought that car for me when I was perfectly happy with my Jeep.” She wanted to smack the sneer from his face. “You held it over my head every damn time you didn’t get your way, but you couldn’t buy me, Jeff. I never asked you for anything, nor do I want any more of your money, which the divorce decree will prove.” She felt Castle’s eyes on her. “Take your car and get the hell away from me.”