by Lynn Crain
God, he almost had her undone. “What are you doing to me?”
“What do you want me to do to you?” he questioned and flipped her over to stare into her face. Reaching down, he placed his hands on either side of her head and pulled her up to meet him. Lips and tongues met forcefully, pulling and tasting and testing. Gently, he nipped at her bottom lip.
He felt so good up against her. Greedily, she put her hands under his T-shirt and felt the muscles. There was no way that she could have beat him no matter how hard she tried. Letting her hands roam up his chest, she plucked his nipples until they were hard, delighting in the sound he made.
“God, woman, you make me crazy.” Reaching for the collar of her shirt, he ripped it down the center, revealing her taut breasts.
“That’s not fair,” she whispered. “Take this off.” Cordelia tugged at his T-shirt until she pulled it over his head. He looked at her for a long moment, before leaning down to take her nipple in his mouth. She could see the bruises spreading across his cheeks and knew she must have some too. The original question of who he was floated into her mind, but at this very moment she didn’t give a damn.
He shoved his knee between her legs and pulled her tightly to him as he stood up. Pulling his arm more tight around her middle, she groaned with pleasure while he ground his thigh into her crotch. She had never walked this fine line between passion and hate or fear, thinking she would never have to because she had always had safe relationships. There was something definitely unsafe about this man if he made her throw all caution to the wind.
“Wrap your legs around me,” he whispered into her ear.
Putting her legs around his lean hips, she gasped as his dick tried hard to slide home but their clothes wouldn’t let it happen. Carrying her, he started down the hall, kissing her deeply. Slamming her into the wall, he groaned again.
“I don’t think I’m going to make it.” He slid his hand inside her pajama bottoms and down her butt. His hand gently caressed the sore flesh there and continued until touched her slick slit.
Grinding into his hand, she groaned. “Touch me there,” she whispered.
Almost immediately his fingers found her clit. “There?”
“There,” she purred and rotated her hips.
“You still have too many clothes on.” Gently, he lowered her to the hall carpet, and jerked on her pajama bottoms and tossed them away. “Spread your legs for me.”
She did as he asked and allowed him to look at her. Cordelia wasn’t ashamed of her body. She had curves and muscles in all the right places. He hovered over her for a moment more before he leaned down and dipped his tongue in her slit. She arched in remembered pleasure as the sensations threatened to overwhelm her
Soon, his fingers joined his tongue. One finger slid into her vagina, caressing her with vigor, each stroke sliding over her hot spot. Every movement elicited another moan from her as she ground her body into his face with abandon. Using his thumbs to open her to his touch, he began to rub her hard nub, her clit growing with each stroke. Yet, she still wanted more. She still needed more.
He licked her from top to bottom as he pumped his fingers in and out. He slipped a second finger into her cunt, dragging her wetness from her and rubbing it into the tight rosette of her ass. She would never know why that area of her body had become an erogenous zone but it was all she could do to keep herself thinking straight.
“Please…please…” she whispered feverishly. She was on the brink of the abyss.
As if sensing her distress, he chuckled, and she could feel it throughout her body. “But I like playing with you.”
Gasping heavily, she did her best to put a coherent thought together. “Either fuck me or get me off. I can’t stand you just hovering there.”
“That’s half the pleasure.”
Groaning, she pulled him even closer. She arched into him as his hot, wet tongue continued to lave her body in molten caresses. Just a little more, she thought. Sensation after sensation spread along her body like wildfire, each pull and tug bringing her ever closer to the edge. Soon he had her hips pumping up and down as he followed her every move.
Spreading her labia once more, he lavished her clit with bold swipes from his tongue and gently blew air on it. She arched up. Licking once more, he gently bit her and she went over the boundary into unrestrained ecstasy as she screamed. Her mind plunged into a myriad of colors as her body clenched and unclenched in ultimate pleasure, not wanting to return to earth.
Cordelia lay there spent. Never in her life had she ever felt this way. Vaguely, she wondered why she hadn’t morphed. But she was way too tired to try and figure it out at the moment.
“You never…” she began.
“Shush…there’s always next time.”
She looked into his eyes sleepily as he snuggled with her. “What makes you think there will be a next time? Why are you so nice to me? I tried to beat the shit out of you.”
He smiled then, and it was beautiful. “I don’t know. I do know I’m cold. I’m going to get a blanket.”
She shivered the moment he took his body heat away. “Hey, we can’t sleep in the hall.”
Warmth surrounded her as he put a blanket over her and spooned her backside with his body. “Sure we can. No one is coming to wake me up until at least noon. I think we’ll be safe.”
“I don’t even know your name.”
“Later. Rest now.”
She slowly drifted off to sleep as she snuggled closer to him.
Sometime later, she heard a soft scraping noise and came awake. Still snuggled under the blanket, she took quick stock of her trespasser. He really was a handsome man. Too bad his face now had bruises and small cuts everywhere.
Suddenly, the front door swung inward and she gasped in surprise. Surely it wasn’t noon already?
Staring up, she looked into the surprised face of her boss.
“Well, Cordelia, I can see you’ve met my son.”
Chapter Five
Connor sat uncomfortably in a cushy chair before his father’s desk. Glancing at Cordelia, he noticed that she too was a little worse for the wear from the tryst earlier this morning. When he had woken up this morning he had no intention of actually meeting anyone before the lunch date with his family. That had all changed the minute he accidentally snuck up on one Cordelia Sinclair.
He could tell the moment he got to the kitchen that her body was clenched in fear. A second later, he was clutching his nose after her tight fist connected with his face. That punch had been the first of many. Rubbing his left cheek, he realized that he had bit the inside sometime during the fight. And what a fight it was. Cordelia had held her own even when he had cleaned her clock, slamming his fist to the side of her head. Most men couldn’t have taken that.
He smiled, remembering Cordelia had and it really turned him on for some weird reason. He knew she had been frustrated when he wouldn’t screw her, but he wanted to show her pleasure before he took his own. He had planned to make that a leisurely taking but it was interrupted before he even had a chance to start. Sighing heavily, he glanced over at Cordelia again and tried to adjust himself. His body just wasn’t going to be quiet with her around.
“I don’t know what you’re sighing about.” Cordelia frowned at him.
“Really. Why don’t you just think about it for a moment?”
She looked at him briefly and licked her lips. She had a large bruise on the left side of her face extending to her eye, and a small cut on her lip. Still, he thought she was the sexiest woman alive with her dark hair and violet-blue eyes. Her body was firm in all the right places and soft in the ones that counted.
“Oh.”
“That’s all you have to say?” He looked at her fully and quirked an eyebrow.
“What do you want me to say, Mr. Langford? That I had the best sex ever even though your dick never touched my body except through clothes? Hell, we didn’t even do it really. No, you did me and I did nothing for you. I’ve jus
t probably lost the best job I’ve ever had.” She turned her head and looked forward, sighing deeply. “I need this job. Unlike some who are born to wealth, I have to work for a living.”
“First of all, I’m not Mr. Langford, the name’s Connor. Second, I don’t have any personal wealth at all, in case you hadn’t noticed. Third, I don’t even know what the hell I’m going to be doing to make sure I can support myself. It never came up when I arrived last night.”
She looked at her hands for a few moments. “I’m sorry. I know that you’ve just come home after being with the enemy. But your family is wealthy…very wealthy…I don’t think you’ll have to worry about anything ever again.”
Frustrated, he looked at her. He was going to have to try a different tact. “I suppose this is all my fault.”
Cordelia looked at him and leaned closer. “I don’t see how it can be anyone else’s since you snuck up on me.”
“Snuck up on you? Stealth is not one of my virtues. I doubt that I actually was that quiet.”
“There was no other reason for me to just hit you.”
“Sure there is. You smelled the Betas on me, and it scared you to death. I smelled your fear the moment I entered the kitchen.”
He watched as she swallowed hard. Yes…the Betas scared her something fierce. He was going to have to learn what reason she had to be that petrified of them. He wasn’t going to admit to her just yet that he had recognized her scent from somewhere else…somewhere he couldn’t quite place yet.
“I don’t get scared that easily. You could have introduced yourself. Or at least warned me you were there in the apartment or something.”
“I had no idea that anyone was in the apartment. So just how am I supposed to let you know I was there?”
“Well…” She shut her mouth. “There really isn’t any more to say.”
“Cordelia,” he began but stopped when the outer door opened and Charles Langford came in.
He eyed them both critically. “I trust you two had a good rest.”
“Sir, about what you saw…” Connor trailed off when he saw his father’s face.
“It’s none of my business and I really intend to keep it that way.”
Connor turned to Cordelia when he heard her sigh again. At least her job was safe for the moment.
Charles Langford sat at his desk and folded both hands on top of it.
“Still, I have a dilemma where you are concerned, Connor, and I think the both of you have just handed me a solution.”
“I guess I don’t understand the problem, sir.”
“Young man, you are not wise to the histories or the way this clan or firm works. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to personally train you as I’d hoped. However, there is one here who knows almost as much as I do about everything.” Charles’s gaze settled on Cordelia.
“Me?” She put her hand to her chest. “Oh, sir…Mr. Langford, I don’t think…I mean I just couldn’t…” She trailed off futilely and slumped back in her chair. “I don’t have a choice, do I?”
“Cordelia, you are my most trusted aide. True, my daughters are full-time employees of the firm, as are their spouses, but they only know their portion of things. And while I know they would love to train their brother, I just don’t think they have the proper perspective. You know a lot about everything, and since your deceased mate was the librarian I can only guess what you know about the histories.”
“I didn’t know you were married.” A feeling of dread spread through his body. Connor had never taken another man’s wife, that he knew of, and this was the one woman that made his blood boil.
She turned to Connor. “We didn’t get that far, if you remember.”
Charles brought his hand to his face as if to hide a smile before quickly returning it to the desk. “You can discuss things later. Right now I want to get this issue settled.”
“So, let me get this right, Mr. Langford. You want me to train your son in the ways of the Elite clan as well as teach him the histories. Is that correct?”
“That pretty well sums it up, Cordelia.”
“What is the timeline for this assignment?”
“As long as it takes.” Charles Langford moved to the front of his desk, sat on the edge and crossed his arms. “I know that you understand completely.”
“Yes, I believe I do.” She swallowed hard.
Connor watched the exchange between his father and the woman sitting next to him.
“I need to get a few things settled at home.” She got up slowly and headed for the door with a slight limp.
Connor followed her. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“You’re my new twenty-four/seven assignment. I need to inform my family and make arrangements for my son.”
“Son? I didn’t know you had a son. Can’t he come here?”
Cordelia closed her eyes and shook her head slightly. “This isn’t a place for my son, Connor. Here he can’t play outside nor is he necessarily safe from danger.”
“Danger? What kind of danger?”
She narrowed her eyes a little and glanced at Charles, who nodded slightly. “Earlier this year, a wolf came into my house and either attempted to kidnap my son or something -- I don’t know what -- but I could smell them.”
Connor blinked. That was where he had picked up her scent before. He looked at her with a haunted expression and immediately turned to his father. “Dad, we have to bring them here. All of them, right now.” The term just slid out of his mouth, and he could see his dad’s eyes light with joy before concern flashed across his face.
“What are you talking about, son?”
He took Cordelia by the upper arms, pulling her from the door. “Where is your son now?”
“Iain? He’s with my parents. Why do you ask?”
“Are you sure they are completely safe?” When she looked confused, he shook her a little. “Answer me, dammit!”
“Yes…yes…I’m sure. I talked to everyone about an hour ago.”
He turned to his father again. “Dad, it has to be now. Make the call and I’ll explain once you’re off the phone.”
Charles picked up the phone without hesitation and dialed. He quickly filled in whoever was on the other end and instructed them where to pick up both Cordelia’s parents and son. Once he hung up, he glared at Connor. “I’d like you now to explain to me why I just sent your sister’s mate Lucas to pick up Cordelia’s family.”
Connor gently pushed Cordelia back into her chair. “What do you remember about the night when your son was almost kidnapped -- or worse?”
“I was working late. My parents were over at my house and everyone was in bed. When I got home, Iain was asleep in the middle of the living room floor and his window had been forced open. I called Lucas right away and his team came to check it out.”
He was pacing now and he rubbed his hands together. “Think about it now. Really think about it; use all of your senses.”
She cocked her head in his direction. She took a whiff of his scent and tried to analyze it. “You.” She slowly began to rise.
“Sit back down, young lady,” Charles barked, his hackles raised. “We need to hear the rest of this, I’m sure.”
“Thanks, Dad, but I need to handle this.” Hunkering down in front of her chair, he tried to take her hand even though she kept pulling it away. “I didn’t know who was in that house when they told me to go into it. I was told that it was something Charles Langford’s most trusted aide prized dearly. Once I saw it was a little boy, I couldn’t complete the mission. I knew then that Rowan had completely lost his mind. His death was something I would never take part in.”
She looked at him long and hard. “But my parents were there. We all just thought that Iain had been sleepwalking or something.”
“He hadn’t. He was awake when I crawled through the window. He was the sweetest kid and I couldn’t understand why Rowan wanted him dead. But I do now.” He looked back at his father then stood. “If Rowan can’t a
ttack you personally, he’s going to get everyone around you. I don’t know who’s next or what the exact agenda might be, but I know it isn’t good.”
“Did you morph into a wolf while you were there?”
“Yes.” Connor saw disappointment written all over her face. “But it’s not what you think.”
“You have no idea what I’m thinking.” She scowled at him and looked ready to bolt.
“Look, they had knocked out your parents with something…I don’t know if it was in the takeout they had that night or whether it was a gas they pumped into their room but they were out cold. I knew if that boy found them, he would panic.”
“Connor, he would have had every right to panic.” Cordelia looked livid.
“That wasn’t the problem that night. They were waiting for me. I played with your son by showing him I could turn into a wolf. I explained to him that bad men had sent me and that I wasn’t going to harm him. Then I told him I had to put him asleep. I did it psychically so that there would be no repercussions.”
“I thought Clarity said they didn’t know you were psychic.”
He turned back to his father. “They didn’t and in all honesty, I had to experiment on Cordelia’s son that night. I really wasn’t sure it was even going to work. But I had to try because they wanted proof.”
“Proof?”
He turned back to her. “Proof. You know that small cut you found on his upper arm that night? The one where his pajama top was torn?”
“That was you?”
“That was me getting the only proof they would accept --blood” he said and swallowed hard. “It would have been so much worse if anyone had come with me. Actually, I never knew why they didn’t want your parents dead.”
Charles walked around his desk and sat heavily in his chair. “I do.”
Both Cordelia and Connor looked at him.
“What is it, Dad?”
“Mr. Langford, I don’t understand.”
“You both need to sit down so I can explain a little history here that isn’t in the books.” Charles sighed then, a long deep one. “Your parents were part of an experiment many years ago.”