by Grosso, Kym
She wasn’t sure if it was his commanding tone that set her on edge. Or perhaps it was the knowledge that his bare arousal lay directly underneath the towel around his waist, but Kalli’s entire body hummed in excitement when he grazed the back of her shirt with his strong body. There was no imagining the sexual tension; it threatened to set the room ablaze. Tristan was incredibly magnetic, and she felt like a box of paperclips that was about to explode; she’d be stuck to him all over. She’d spent so many years hiding her true identity, never getting close to anyone. The men at work had asked her on dates, but she’d conveniently thrown up her “professional morals” speech. She couldn’t let anyone into her bed, let alone her heart. But Tristan was larger than life in every way. Overnight, she’d become unraveled, and it was all because of him.
The alluring Alpha threatened to break down her carefully, hermetically sealed, stronger than steel emotional walls. The heat was just too much. And like any metal, given a high enough temperature, it would melt. She tried to concentrate. How was she going to collect herself? Needing to cool down, she looked for an escape. Setting the last clean dish in the rack, she turned off the water and slipped away past him.
Even as she squeezed by him, she knew it was because he’d let her go. She was practically shaking with arousal by the time she reached the corner to the hallway. She swore silently at the dampness between her legs. Tristan eyed her from the kitchen with a sly grin on his face. He knew. There was nothing she would get past him, except for maybe the secret that lay in her pill bottle.
“Ma lapin, I thought you were done running last night. You faced the wolf. Welcomed him.” He stalked toward her then stopped and placed his hand on the end of the island.
Kalli’s eyes caught his. Looking relaxed and confident, he was deliciously cool, like an ice cream cone on a warm summer day. Ready to be licked all over. She parted her lips, unconsciously moistening them in response. She knew that if he hadn’t smelled her wet arousal that he’d surely seen her nipples, which pressed through the thin fabric of his shirt.
“Last night.” She stopped midsentence as the memory flashed. Bared to him physically, emotionally. Welcoming him into her bed. He’d proved that he was trustworthy, revealing himself to her. Maybe it was time she gave him more of herself, as much as she was capable of, anyway. It might not be enough for him, but it was all she had.
He slowly moved toward her, sensing her internal struggle; the scent of her flooding his olfactory system, the sound of her quickening heartbeat assaulting his ears. But his little rabbit wasn’t afraid; she was sexually excited, wanting him, even if she couldn’t yet act on her feelings.
“Tristan,” she began as he came nearer. “Last night, I needed you. I guess I didn’t really know how much,” she confessed. “Your wolf was…he was…you were magnificent, so beautiful. But you need to know that I’ve never…I’ve never done anything like that before. It was so intimate. I’m…I’m trying to make this work. You saved me,” she whispered, hoping he could understand what she was trying to tell him. Intimacy had always seemed formidable for Kalli, if not unattainable….until last night. She shook her head in disappointment over her lack of articulation.
Her admission floored him. He’d felt it too, but he didn’t understand how hard it was for her to talk about how she felt until now. Granted, he barely knew her, but he wanted to know her. He wanted to know every single thing about her, inside and out.
It was all too much, her arousal, her words. He couldn’t hold back. In two strides, he had her backed against the wall. The wolf had the rabbit cornered yet again, except this time, she wasn’t running. This time, she looked up at him with sad dreamy eyes. Her mouth parted slightly and he struck.
Raking his fingers into her hair, he pulled her mouth to his, sucking, tasting. Kalli felt relieved when he made the first move, kissing her, allowing her to finally act on her passion. As he pushed his tongue into her mouth, she teased hers into his, reveling in the power of his kiss. She moaned, but refused to release him as her hands wrapped around his neck.
Tristan was drowning in her sweet mouth. Needing more, he reached under her knee, grinding his body into hers. His towel came undone, and his flesh met hers.
Kalli felt his rock-hard cock press against her bare belly as his towel fell and her shirt bunched up around her breasts. Lost in his embrace, her lips broke free of his for a mere second, enough time for her to moan his name: “Tristan.”
“Kalli,” he groaned in response, finding her mouth yet again. He planned to thoroughly kiss her until she knew what he wanted from her; everything.
She slid a hand down his strong chest, fingering each ab and then reached down to cup his firm ass. At her touch, he shoved her harder against the wall, letting his own hands wander until he found her soft breast. He pinched a pointed nipple, making her cry out in pleasure, and then bent his knees so that the tip of his shaft ran up and over her mound. As much as he’d like to fuck her up against the wall, and he was about a minute from doing so, he wanted her in his bed with her neck bared to him in submission. The first time he took her, it had to be. She needed to give all of herself to him, no secrets.
A ding from his private elevator alerted him that Logan was about to come into his home. He tore himself away from her lips, peppering her neck with small kisses. “Kalli,” he panted, trying to get her attention.
She was lost in ecstasy when she heard him call her name. Breathlessly, she dropped her leg as he released it from the crook of his arm. She instinctively pulled down the rim of the shirt which had been pushed clear up to her neck. She sighed, “Tristan.”
They each had an arm wrapped around each other, reluctant to let go. Gazing into each other’s eyes, registering the fireworks between them, a voice jarred them out of their erotic trance.
“Doesn’t take you long, Alpha,” Logan remarked. He wasn’t trying to be disrespectful, but was naturally skeptical about Dr. Williams. He’d seen her in his dreams, but still, he was unsure of her intentions.
Tristan growled. “Enough, Logan. Living room, now. Leave us,” he ordered over his shoulder, shielding Kalli from his beta’s view and never taking his eyes off hers. “The sketch artist will be here soon, as will Julie with some clothes. Why don’t you go relax in your room?”
Snapping out of it, Kalli realized what had almost just happened. It terrified her; making love to the Alpha, he’d tear her apart. But like a moth to a flame, she couldn’t resist.
“Yeah, okay,” was all she managed to say, slipping from his arms. She scurried down the hallway toward her room, needing to collect herself.
“Oh, and Kalli,” he called.
She stopped dead in her tracks but didn’t turn around. “Yes.”
“This isn’t over, not by a long shot. We’ll finish this later. I promise.”
Kalli didn’t respond, choosing to flee to the safety of her room. What was she going to say anyway? She had practically thrown herself at him in the hallway. And she knew as Alpha, he could have whatever he wanted, at least that is how it worked in the pack. But she wasn’t pack.
Chapter Nine
Tristan adjourned to his room and got dressed before talking to Logan, who was sitting on the couch reading the news on his tablet.
“Hey,” he greeted him as he went into his kitchen to get another cup of joe. The open layout of his condo was such that the kitchen, living room and family rooms were essentially one large, shared space. “Coffee?”
“No thanks,” Logan replied, not looking up.
“So, did you get my email? Give me the rundown.”
“Yeah, I’m running her clearances right now. Should have some info by this afternoon. Tony’s sending someone over to do the sketches within the hour. Meeting with Chandler is set up; two days from now. Neutral territory. Jersey. It’s all been arranged. And don’t forget the mayor’s charity ball is tomorrow night.”
“Anything else?” Tristan walked over and stared out the sliding glass doors.
<
br /> Logan set his tablet down on the coffee table and looked up. “Uh, yeah. Are we going to talk about what I just walked in on?”
“What’s to talk about?”
“Really? Okay, maybe the fact that we don’t know her story yet. Or that you just met her yesterday. Come on, Tris; tell me that you didn’t sleep with her.” Logan had to ask, considering the strong scent of arousal that had hit him when the elevator doors opened.
“Seriously, bro?” Tristan shrugged. “Okay, let’s go there. I questioned her, and yes, she’s concealing something. But I can also sense that she’s not dangerous nor did she set the fire. And no, I didn’t sleep with her. Well, technically, I did sleep with her, but if you are asking if we had sex, then no.” He wouldn’t lie to Logan, but Tristan knew it was just a matter of time before he’d make love to her. And he planned on doing it all night long.
“Good to be the Alpha, huh?” Logan joked.
“Yeah, something like that. What about it?”
“So let me get this straight. You, my friend, just slept with her last night as in lying in a bed, eyes closed, no hanky panky?”
“It wasn’t planned. Kind of just happened. I went wolf,” he admitted.
Logan raised an eyebrow at Tristan. “Okay.”
“She had a nightmare. She needed me. Come on, stop looking at me like that,” he replied with a small smile. He held his hands up in protest. “Look, I’m nothing if not a gentleman.”
“Yeah, okay, but do me a favor. Don’t jump in any deeper until we find out what’s going on with her. I know she’s important to you, but…” his voice trailed off. He was tempted to tell Tristan about the visions, but they were unclear. If he told him that he’d seen her, there was no telling how he’d react.
“I got this. She’s fine, really. And speaking of Kalli, we need to take her to the hospital today to tie up loose ends. I don’t want her out of my sight. She saw two wolves leave the club on the day of the fire. They could have seen her go in or have seen her leave with the snake. And I still can’t trust Alexandra to keep her fangs away from her. She was out of control yesterday. I’m sending a text to Kade so he can get a message to Devereoux. He needs to put the smack down on her, so she doesn’t decide to try to snatch Kalli again. The look on her face yesterday when we walked out…she’s one mean bitch.”
“You can say that again.” Logan shook his head. “I think that we should keep her out of Noir, too. I know she’ll be pissed but she crossed the line.”
“Agreed. But let’s put that one back on Devereoux. He made her, and he needs to deal with his own. I can’t have her going off when I’m in the middle of a territory war.”
“So, is there anything else that I need to know about Kalli?” Logan asked, just as she walked into the room wearing Tristan’s robe.
Tristan sucked a breath seeing her freshly showered, and hardened at the thought that she was completely naked underneath the black cotton terrycloth. He jumped to his feet, taking her hand, pulling her to his side. “Aw, chére. Sorry about the clothes. Listen, Julie will be up in a minute with something for you to wear. I promise.”
Kalli felt shy, barely dressed. She awkwardly tried to stand behind Tristan in an effort not to look at Logan. Another wolf. Fear swept through her.
Tristan immediately noticed Kalli’s apprehension and tried to reassure her. “Kalli, it’s okay. This is Logan, my beta. Do you remember him from yesterday?”
Her wide eyes met Logan’s, and she quickly averted her gaze. “I do remember seeing two men,” she responded fearfully.
Concerned she was displaying the submissive behavior of a wolf and that he’d recognize her as something other than human, she forced herself to meet his eyes and extended her hand. “Hi, my name is Dr. Williams, but please call me Kalli. I can’t thank you enough for coming to my rescue yesterday.” There, she’d done it. Inwardly she congratulated herself for acting so completely normal….human.
Logan shook her hand, watching her curiously. It was as if she’d switched from submissive to dominant within seconds. He looked over to Tristan, shooting him a knowing look and then back to Kalli. What the hell was that? He’d ask him later what was going on with her. Tristan had to have noticed it. Subtle, but the Alpha missed nothing.
“Hey, no problem. Just sorry you had the unfortunate experience of meeting Alexandra. I’d call her evil but that would be an understatement,” he told her.
“I will give her this; the mistress of Satan is true to her nature. Not that all vampires are bad people, but they definitely skate the line of morality. Alexandra is a predator and doesn’t care who knows it. I have a feeling, though, that will get her staked. She’s gotten worse over the past ten years,” Tristan commented.
“Without a doubt,” Logan agreed.
True to her nature. Kalli considered how she’d avoided her nature. Self-preservation had a tendency to drive one to do desperate things.
“Kalli is a veterinarian,” Tristan explained. “Which explains why she was at UVH. She rescued Eve.”
“Well, that’s a good thing. I’m not a huge fan of snakes, but the old gal has grown on me. Where is she?” Logan asked.
“She’s at the hospital. I have her in the observation area now. Such a beautiful snake, very calm, likes being held. She’s thriving.” Her eyes lit up as she talked about her patient. Anyone could see how passionate she was about her work. “If you want to send someone to get her, I’ll sign the release papers when I go in today. I know I’m going to have to take a leave until this mess is figured out, but there were a few severely dehydrated puppies that someone had left abandoned in a dumpster. I want to see how they’re doing. They might be ready to go to the shelter by now. I really don’t know how people can just abandon animals, abuse them. People can be cruel,” she remarked, thinking how humans could be every bit as evil as Alexandra. “I know my patients will be fine with the staff but I have to know how they’re doing…peace of mind and all. I know you’re not supposed to get attached, but sometimes, I just can’t help it.”
“That reminds me.” Logan walked over to the elevator and picked something up off the floor. “Here’s your purse. We got it out of your car. I’m afraid someone cut your tires. We’ll call in a tow for you and get it fixed up, don’t worry. Tristan here, tells me you’ll be spending time with us for a while, so sounds like you won’t need it.”
“Thanks, and um, thanks for my pills,” she coughed, remembering her desperation in the car. Rifling through her purse, she looked up. “You didn’t happen to find my work ID by any chance?” The sequence of events was blurry, but then she recalled taking her ID and keys with her and leaving everything else in the car.
Before Logan had a chance to speak, she answered her own question. “It must have fallen off when they took me. I left my stuff in the car. Just took my keys.”
“Hey, I know you’ve been through a lot, but I want you to know that we appreciate your help,” Logan offered.
“Well, to be honest, I’m still in considerable danger. Those wolves I saw could be after me…if they weren’t before, they will be once I do these sketches. And there’s the vampire; I know she didn’t give me up out of the goodness of her cold dark heart. Not happy about it, but I’ve got to lay low for a bit…if I want to live that is. And I do kind of like living. Pretty fond of it, actually,” she joked half-heartedly.
“Alive works for me, too. Seriously, though, we’ll keep you safe here. It’ll be all right,” Logan encouraged with a small smile.
Even though she’d initially been afraid of Logan, she soon found it was easy to talk to him. It didn’t hurt that he was good-looking either. Like Tristan, he was at least six four, well-built and charming, she thought to herself. His dark brown hair fell past his shoulders, but even with long hair, he somehow looked quite the all American guy.
Logan studied the fine doctor, cognizant of her easygoing personality. He could see why Tristan found her attractive, with her innocent face and baby blue eyes.
And that hair; the black curls were beginning to dry in shiny spirals, cascading over her shoulders. She seemed so vulnerable but at the same time, she exhibited strong tendencies. It was just yesterday she’d been passed out in the car, bitten and bloody. And today, although still bruised, she was conversing with them both as if she’d been around supernaturals her whole life.
Tristan watched his beta cautiously from across the room, as if he could hear Logan’s thoughts. Was he flirting with her? His wolf growled; mine. Oh hell no, Tristan thought. He was not claiming this woman as his own. He hadn’t even had sex with her. One night of sleeping with her, and his wolf was ready to take her? A human? Why did the wolf want her so? It was insane, yet the human side of him felt a sharp pain deep in his stomach as he watched Kalli flash Logan a smile. What was that? As Logan reached to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, Tristan heard himself growl.
Both Logan and Kalli stilled at the menacing warning. They both knew what it meant without hearing a single word spoken. Logan stared over at Tristan, surprised at the territorial admonition.
Tristan raked his hand through his hair, realizing what he’d just done. Like a common dog protecting his bone, he’d just snarled at them. Fuck. He couldn’t believe that he was even capable of such an intense reaction. Yet there was no denying the confusing emotions swirling inside his chest. Relieved to hear the elevator ringing, he silently strode over and punched in the security code.
Julie’s eyes darted from the Alpha to his beta and back again. She wasn’t sure what she’d just walked in on, but the tension seemed thick. Regardless, she had a job to do.