by Desiree Holt
Her blood bubbled and moisture flooded her panties. How was she supposed to resist the electricity flowing between them?
“Oh, Jesse.” She leaned her forehead on his hand.
“You think I’m the kind of man to fuck your brains out and then pretend it never happened? Certainly not with someone as special as you, sugar plum. You don’t know how badly I wanted to be back here the next day, beating down your door.” He stood up, taking her with him, and lifted her into his arms. “I need you, darlin’. I need your sweetness to wipe it all away. I felt like spitting nails because the job kept me away.”
What was she to do? She linked her arms around his neck and pressed soft kisses along his jawline as he carried her to her room.
“Let me undress you,” he pleaded. “I want to unwrap each inch of that soft, sweet body.”
“All right.” She was breathless, blood racing, nerves sparking.
He took his time removing each item of clothing, kissing every expanse of skin as he revealed it. When he unclasped her bra and slid the straps from her shoulders, his eyes flared at her hardened nipples and darkened areolas. He bent his head and took each nipple briefly into his mouth, laving it with his tongue.
“Gorgeous.” He removed his mouth and feasted his eyes on the now wet, rosy buds. “No, dazzling. Your breasts are a treasure.”
He knelt in front of her, running his tongue over the lace trim at the top of her thong, his hands grasping her ass to hold her in place. With his teeth, he drew the fabric slowly down to her ankles then tossed it to the side. He parted her labia and ran his tongue the length of her slit.
“Jesus, darlin’. You taste like sweet strawberries and cream.”
He lifted her and placed her on the bed with great care. His gaze never left her as he divested himself of his clothes. Reaching into his jeans pocket, he pulled out a handful of foil packets.
“I don’t like to run out,” he teased.
When he moved his hand to dump them on the nightstand, his eyes widened.
Her stomach fluttered.
Oh, shit!
She’d forgotten to put away her little toy.
“Well, well, well,” he drawled. “What have we here?” He picked it up and rolled it between his fingers. “Were you missing me that much, darlin’?”
“Listen, Jesse.” She sat up and tried to reach for it. “Let me explain.”
His grin was wicked. “I think this is all the explanation I need.” He dropped his eyes to his groin. “Look how hard you make me.”
She reached for the vibrator once more, flailing her hands. “Come on, give it to me.”
“Oh, darlin’, you can count on that.” He held it just out of her reach, eyes dancing with mischief. “You know, one of my fantasies has always been to use one of these on a woman. But, of course, it has to be the right woman.”
The thought of it excited her unbearably. Heat washed through her body as the image he drew flashed across her brain. She felt the liquid of her arousal flooding her cunt and dripping into the crevice of her ass.
“Yeah, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” His eyes raked her body. They paused on her hard nipples then drifted down to her pussy. “I can smell you from here, sugar plum. The sweetest perfume in the world.”
He was on the bed now, between her legs. Slowly, he kissed his way along the sensitive skin from her ankle to her thigh, up one leg and down the other. The kisses were like the beat of butterfly wings, soft and tantalizing. He paused in the process to taste her cunt again, his breath a mere teasing whisper as he licked the slick flesh.
It was all Alexa could do to hang onto her control. The fire he’d lit inside her was raging out of control. “Please,” she moaned, reaching for his head.
He raised up and circled her wrists with his fingers. “Please? Are you begging me? Oh, honey, before we’re done you’ll be begging long and loud.”
Her stomach muscles clenched in anticipation.
Still holding her wrists, he took his time licking at her navel. His tongue drew little circles in the tiny indentation. She never knew her belly button could be such an erogenous zone and she tried to urge him to feast at it more. He chuckled softly. Then he slicked his clever tongue through the narrow strip of soft curls on her mound, making her arch up to him again.
“Let’s see how close you are, sweet thing.” He released one wrist and slid two lean fingers into her hot channel, sucking in his breath as he felt her wetness. “God, you’re like a fountain. I love it.”
She whimpered when he withdrew his hand.
“I can’t wait to see this mouthwatering pussy when you come. All that pretty pink flesh clutching and quivering, your juices making it so slick and shiny.”
Alexa thought she could drown in his voice alone.
“All right, darlin’.” He bent her legs and spread them wide, planting her feet flat on the bed. “I want you to put your hands right on your pussy and open it wide for me. Come on, Alexa. Let me see all the way into that tempting treat.”
She was sure the hunger building inside her was the reason she didn’t feel the least self-conscious. Or maybe it was the hypnotic sound of Jesse’s voice, lulling her into a sensual daze. She only knew the eroticism of his words pushed her into a place she’d never been before, a place where her body was heated as well as her mind. She separated her outer lips, moving her legs farther apart. Heat flooded her even more at the look on his face.
“You hold it like that, darlin’,” he soothed, his voice not quite steady. “Do not move your hands at all, no matter what. You hear?”
“Yes.” She could barely get the word out.
He reached for the vibrator, and she heard him turn it on. Then it was pressed against her clit and her body arched. Last night’s solo episode paled in comparison to what was happening now. Her pussy felt as if a thousand live wires sparked inside her, and her hips began to thrust involuntarily.
Jesse leaned into her, making sure her legs were spread wide to give him access. One large, warm hand pressed on her stomach, holding her in place. He was relentless with the tiny instrument, running it over the tip of her clit then circling it around and around the hot nub. He seemed to know the moment when she reached the point of climax and backed off, doing it over and over again. Each time he took her a little higher.
“Beautiful,” he breathed. “Your cunt turns such a gorgeous shade of dark pink. All that cream runs out of that tight little opening. Oh, darlin’, I could come just from watching you.”
“Please,” she begged again.
“Please what?” he teased.
“Please put your fingers inside me. Let me feel you. I need you inside me.”
He shook his head. “Not this time. I want to see your pussy when you come. But how does this feel?”
He slid the vibrator an inch or so into her vagina and turned it on high. Alexa bucked as sensations cascaded through her straight to her womb. She wanted to squeeze her legs together, but the way he had her positioned made it impossible.
“Oh God.”
Her head fell back, and the muscles in her neck tautened as she strained for her climax. But he held that coveted peak just out of reach.
Finally, Jesse raised his eyes to hers. “Are you ready to come for me, Alexa?”
“Yes.” She almost screamed the word. “Yes, yes, yessss.”
“All right, then.”
He moved the vibrator back to her clit, pressed hard, and moved it back and forth against that already tormented erogenous knot. In seconds, her orgasm took her, crashing her over the peak, tumbling her into space, shaking her entire body. Every muscle seemed to clench and release.
When the spasms slowed to little tremors, she felt Jesse’s tongue lapping at her, gathering her juices into his mouth. The sensations he caused incited another tiny orgasm to sweep over her. As her cunt pulsed with renewed need, he sheathed himself and moved over her. With one swift movement, he thrust inside her, his hot shaft filling every inch of her
.
“Oh, God, Jesse.” She arched her hips up to meet him, tilting her pelvis to take him even deeper.
“Jesus, darlin’,” he rasped, “you’re gonna burn me alive.”
Then his hips moved, his cock stroking her. The muscles of her pussy rippled around him. Jesse claimed her mouth, his tongue probing the wet cavern as his penis was claiming her cunt. He tasted, ravaged, swept every inch of the soft, sensitive skin inside. Pressed the tip of his tongue to the roof of her mouth and stroked. Drank of her. Scorched her.
Alexa clutched at him, matching him thrust for thrust as the rhythm accelerated. It was like moving up a roller coaster, one click at a time, breathlessly anticipating that elusive precipice. Her body pleaded with him soundlessly, begged him with its movement. Finally, he increased his speed, harder, faster, pushing them both to the waiting crest.
And then they tumbled over it together, falling into space. Colors and sparks whirled around them as he pumped his seed into the condom and her greedy cunt sucked him in.
Alexa had no idea how long they lay there in the aftermath. Skin pressed against sweat-slicked skin, hearts thundered in matching rhythms. Eventually, labored breathing settled back into a more normal tempo.
Jesse shifted slightly, rolling to his side and taking Alexa with him. He cuddled her to his chest, his hand stroking her arm in an affectionate caress.
Alexa buried her head against him and wondered what the hell she was going to do now. She had to let him go, but it might just kill her.
Chapter Three
At last, the rain had stopped and sunshine escaped the prison of the dark clouds to bathe the wet landscape with its heat.
Alexa gave thanks for the break in the weather. The intense sexual activity had her body on edge and the desire to change plagued her constantly. Now that the weather was nicer, it was exhilarating to race through the trees. The stars formed a canopy overhead, and a soft breeze riffled her fur.
She kept her romps in the woods to the hours when Jesse wasn’t home, though, not daring to take any more chances. Fortunately her hours were flexible. No one cared if she did her work at 2:00 a.m. or 2:00 p.m. as long as she got the job done.
She had finished showering after a run three nights later when she heard a car door slam in the driveway next door. Then a strange voice drifted up through her open window.
“Come on, buddy, let me help you into the house.”
Hurrying to the side window in her bedroom, she strained to see through the dark. Her eyes picked out a tall, husky man who was walking Jesse slowly to his porch. He was broad and muscular, with dark hair worn nearly to his shoulders.
Fingers of apprehension danced in her stomach. She threw on shorts and T-shirt, grabbed her key, and raced next door. The front door was still open, and the man was trying to get Jesse onto the couch.
“What’s wrong?” She tried to keep the tremor out of her voice.
The man straightened and stared at her, a hard expression on his square-jawed face. “And you would be?”
“It’s okay, Charlie.” Jesse’s voice sounded like pebbles bouncing on concrete. “Alexa lives next door.”
“Maybe you can talk some sense into this jerk, then,” Charlie growled. “I tried getting him to make a quick trip to the ER, but he’s so fucking stubborn.”
“What happened?” Her heart thumped with anxiety.
Positioning herself on Jesse’s other side, she draped his arm over her shoulders. Together, she and Charlie managed to get him onto his couch, where he collapsed like a limp dishrag.
Charlie let out his breath with a whoosh.
“Couple of gang members thought it would be great fun to mix it up with a couple of cops. You know, earn their stripes, so to speak.” He held out his hand. “Charlie Aquino. This idiot’s partner, for my sins.”
Alexa shook hands with him. “My God, he looks like a truck fell on him.”
“Might as well have. Too Big Sheehan weighs close to four hundred pounds. He sat on your friend here and tried to beat the shit out of him.”
“Too Big Sheehan? Is that a real person?”
Charlie nodded. “Bang Bang’s right-hand man.”
“What names.” Alexa was talking more to keep herself calm than anything else. “Something special set them off tonight?”
Charlie’s laugh was unpleasant. “Yeah. Us being there. Maybe you know from Jesse that all-out warfare is right over the horizon. If anything was going to happen, this group would be the one to start it.”
“So, just the two of you went?” She was flabbergasted.
“No, the captain sent four others with us, but Too Big was on Jesse before anyone could stop him. One of the guys finally had to Taser him.” He unbuttoned Jesse’s shirt with careful fingers.
Alexa sucked in her breath. Jesse’s skin was viciously discolored and already swelling in a number of places.
“Let me get some ice and cold towels. He really should be checked for any broken bones, you know.” She stole one more quick look at Jesse. “And I think his nose is broken.”
“Yeah, well, good luck with getting him to a doctor. I’ll get his shirt off while you get the stuff.”
When Alexa came back into the living room, Charlie had Jesse stripped down to his boxers and lying flat with a pillow behind his neck. She placed a baggie with ice cubes under his nose and another one on his shoulder, which had already turned dark purple. She then made a second trip, hurrying back with a bowl of warm soapy water and a dish towel.
She looked up at Charlie. “I’ll be okay with him. Really. You must have someone at home waiting for you.”
He gave her a rueful grin. “I wish…. Just my empty bed.”
She smiled back at him. “Can’t do much about that but I can take care of this big lug myself. You go on and get some rest.”
Charlie reached into his wallet and pulled out a slightly battered card. “I don’t give this out too often. It has my home and cell numbers on it. Call if you need me, okay?”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
She made sure to lock the front door after he left. Then she washed the dirt and grime from Jesse’s body. He groaned when she touched his ribs but it wasn’t the sound a man would make if any bones were broken.
Okay, then. Just beaten to a pulp and a candidate for a wide assortment of bruises.
She rummaged in his medicine cabinet and found some peroxide, salve, bandages, and a bottle of aspirin. When she finished cleaning and bandaging his cuts, she washed the blood away from his nose. Not broken here either, she decided, but she put the ice back to keep down the swelling. Then she got a glass of water and managed to raise his head enough to get him to swallow three of the pills.
There didn’t seem to be any kind of throw or afghan in the living room. She found extra blankets folded at the foot of his bed and covered him with one of them. Satisfied she’d done all she could for the moment, she stretched out in his big arm chair with the ottoman, covering herself with the other blanket.
Well, Jesse, you sure got yourself into a pile of shit, didn’t you?
She could feel her wolf-self raging to emerge, ready to savage the people who’d attacked her mate.
Mate?
Holy shit. Get your mind back on track, Alexa. Great sex with this man doesn’t make him your mate. No way, no how. Regardless of what he thinks, one look at you when you change and you’ll be dead meat.
But she couldn’t bury her feelings for him deep enough. She had to face the fact she was in love with him. And that consumed her with the need to protect him.
Well, that was something she could take care of, if he insisted on jumping back into the boiling pot. Which, knowing Jesse, he was sure to do.
She didn’t know how long she sat watching him before she dozed off, only to be roused by the sound of a deep moan. Her eyes popped open to the sight of Jesse trying to lift himself from the couch.
She was next to him in a flash. “You can’t get up, Jesse. You’re in terr
ible shape.”
He’d knocked the bags of melting ice to the floor where they rested in tiny puddles. Now, he was working at pushing himself to his feet.
“Whatever you want, I’ll get it.” She tried to get him to lie back.
“Can you pee for me?” he ground out, his jaw clenched.
She almost laughed. “Well, no, I guess not. But let me help you to the bathroom.”
Balancing herself with strength she didn’t know she had, she helped him to the master bathroom. He leaned on the sink next to the commode and glared at her.
“Out. I can do this by myself.”
“But—”
“Out!” he roared, then groaned with the effort.
“Okay, okay. But yell or bang on the door or something when you’re finished.”
She leaned against the wall outside the bathroom, waiting until she heard the flush of the commode and the jiggling of the door handle. He was right there when she pushed the door open, body clenched with the effort to remain upright.
“I have to shower.” His breath was raspy when he spoke. “The hot water will be good for me. I hate to ask, but can you help me?”
“Jessie, I really think you need to see a doctor.”
He shook his head then moaned at the pain it generated. “Captain will put me on medical leave. I don’t need more than a couple of days. Then I’ll be good to go.”
“If you say so.” She was happy and relieved he hadn’t told her to go home. “All right, big guy. Let’s do this.”
The shower was an arduous process and an exercise in self-discipline for Alexa. The wolf inside her continued to rage at the punishment Jesse had taken. Meanwhile, her human hormones threatened to overtake her with every touch of her hand on his lean, hard, mouthwatering male body.
She stripped her clothes off first then got Jesse’s boxers off. Forcing herself not to be affected by the sight of him totally nude, she sat him on the little built-in seat. With the spray carefully directed to avoid pummeling him, she soaped him up as gently as she could.