by Kate Douglas
Not when so many secrets still existed between them.
Luc’s secrets.
He kissed her again. Tia met him, lips parted and inviting, tongue sweeping across his. He suckled at her tongue and then thrust his own into her mouth. She sighed and opened for him, hinting at what she could do with lips and teeth and tongue.
Luc’s cock ached, pulsing against the restraining zipper in his jeans. His balls drew up tight between his legs.
Tia whimpered against his throat. “Luc. I can’t…I…My body is burning, Luc. I’m burning up.”
Oh, God. She wasn’t the only one.
Luc trailed kisses from her lips to the deep dimple in her cheek. He feathered tiny kisses along Tia’s throat, licking the dark purple mark where he’d nipped her earlier. Something in the back of his mind cheered, some part that recognized his mark on her, a sign any other male Chanku would read as No Trespassing.
She knew he’d marked her, yet she hadn’t said a word. Hadn’t accused him of something so crass as leaving a love bite for all the world to see.
Now she begged him. Luc’s heart pounded in his chest, his cock surged harder against his tight denim jeans and he swallowed a low, feral growl.
He wouldn’t do what she expected, but he could do what she wanted. What she so obviously needed. Luc slipped his fingers along the column of her throat. Her blood pulsed, a rapid tempo fluttering against his fingertips. He kissed the throbbing pulse. Tia tilted her chin higher, giving him access.
Unwittingly baring her throat to him in an age-old gesture of submission.
The wolf in Luc rejoiced. He licked the mark he’d left, circling it slowly with his tongue, and then moved lower, kissing his way across her sharply defined collarbone, following the curve of her shoulders. His fingers slipped beneath the damp towel and traced the tender flesh where her right breast swelled from her rib cage. Tia moaned, arched her back, and thrust her chest forward.
Slowly tugging the towel away from her perfect breasts, Luc kissed his way down the length of Tia’s body until he knelt in front of her, his hands planted firmly on her sleek hips, his mouth pressed to the smooth flesh just below her navel.
He butted at her belly button with his nose until she giggled, and then Luc raised his head. She watched him through heavy-lidded eyes. Her parted lips were moist as though she’d just run her tongue across them, her nostrils slightly flared.
Her tongue peeked out between her lips for just a moment. Soft and pink. Moist. As moist, as soft, as pink as the feast waiting for him between her thighs. Luc kissed her smooth mons, then leaned close and found her sweet honey with his tongue.
Tia feared her knees might buckle. Blindly she reached for Luc, grabbed his shoulders and buried her fingers in the soft cotton knit of his sweater. He nudged her thighs with his chin, spreading her legs wide, licking the crease between thigh and groin. He moved higher. His mouth left a burning trail along her rib cage as his tongue and lips discovered each ridge and hollow.
He found her navel and swirled inside with the tip of his tongue. Tia whimpered, the sound vibrating somewhere deep in her throat. She closed her eyes against the pleasure, even though she wanted to watch him, to capture the image of his dark hair sliding over her belly, his strong arms supporting her thighs, his beautiful mouth making her body sing.
She couldn’t. Her eyes fluttered shut with the exquisite sensations Luc created, the damp trail from his kisses cooled by his breath, the clasp of his strong hands squeezing her buttocks, supporting her. He’d so easily found the perfect rhythm between mouth and hands, teeth and tongue.
Tiny nips and lush licks across her belly. Kisses over her freshly shaved mons, the brush of his smooth chin against her greedy, desperate clit. She thrust her hips forward and he followed her lead, dipping his head to tongue between her moist labia.
Tia cried out, a choked scream that ended in a moaning sigh as Luc turned his attention to her clit and the hidden depths between her legs. She felt the rush of hot cream against her inner thighs, the tension building deep inside her womb. The moist sounds of his lips and tongue, wet, impossibly lush sounds made her tremble even more as Luc feasted on her.
His fingers tightened on her buttocks. Luc held her close to his mouth, practically lifting her off the floor as he worked wonders with his mouth. His tongue snaked in and out of her cunt, long strokes that ended with the very tip invading the tiny hood around her clit.
Each time she tensed, well aware too much pressure could bring pain as well as pleasure. Each time Luc took her to the edge, then soothed her with his lips, sucking lightly on the tiny bundle of nerves and laving it with his tongue.
Once, twice, again…the same sweeping pressure, the anticipation of pain, the gentle, perfect caress before repeating the process.
His hands followed their own agenda. Luc’s fingers searched and then pressed between her cheeks, slipping from vagina to ass, probing deeper, harder, pressing steadily against her tightly muscled anus, rubbing her fluids back and forth, softening her, readying her body for one more intimate invasion.
Crying now, her fingers twisted in his softly knit sweater, she mewled like a lost pup. Overwhelmed by sensation, Tia reached for something beyond, something barely imagined and not understood until now.
She reached for Luc. Felt his mind just as his tongue jabbed sharply into her slick pussy, felt his love as his forefinger breached her bottom. Like a bolt of lightning, sensation upon sensation rocked her world as knowledge filled her soul. Tia’s cries cut off. She screamed, a long, low, drawn-out howl of pure, unadulterated pleasure, and then fell forward as Luc sat back on his heels to catch her. They tumbled gently to the floor.
Time paused. Tia’s heart fluttered. Her mind blossomed with unanswered questions, unexpected sensations.
The first thing she heard, past the sound of her own labored breathing, was Luc’s bark of triumphant laughter. Sprawled on his back on the living room floor, he held Tia against his chest. Her legs were spread wide, her breasts pressed against his chest and thick tangles of her damp hair covered part of his face.
Luc’s left hand caressed her back. The fingers of his right hand swept slowly up and down the crease between her legs. Bathed in her slick fluids, he trailed back and forth from clit to ass, bringing her back, holding her on the edge of yet another climax.
Her body hummed, still aroused and needy, but her thoughts spun wildly out of control. She forced herself beyond the unbelievably erotic decadence of lying naked across Luc’s fully clothed body, wriggled enough to free her arms from beneath her own weight and pressed down on the floor on either side of Luc’s shoulders. Raising up, reluctantly lifting her breasts away from his hard chest, she glared at him.
“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?”
His fingers never broke rhythm. “Why? Don’t you like it?” She felt his chest rumble with another deep chuckle as his fingers slipped deep inside her pliant, needy vagina.
For some odd reason his comment irritated the hell out of her.
“That’s not the point. What happened?”
He laughed out loud this time. “I gave you one hell of an orgasm—at least that’s what it looks like from this vantage point.”
“You gave me something more, Luc.”
He frowned. The sweep of his fingers between her legs stilled. “What are you talking about?”
“I saw something, right before I came. Something I can’t explain. I saw me, through your eyes.” She rolled away from Luc’s suddenly loose grasp and sat beside him, legs folded Indian fashion. Luc raised up on his elbows and studied her. His hair was mussed, his lips swollen and glistening from his feast, but his eyes glittered, intent and watchful.
His amber eyes. Beautiful, golden eyes, just like the wolf of her dreams.
Tia shoved her mussed hair back over her shoulders and glared at him. None of this made sense. It had to make sense, or she’d think she was going nuts. “Explain this…. I was licking between my own l
egs. I felt my labia against my own tongue, tasted my own juices. At the same time, I was aware of the granddaddy of all hard-ons. I was in your head, Luc. Don’t deny it. How the hell did that happen? And why, when I was in your head, did I feel like I was…” She looked away and locked her teeth together to keep her chin from trembling. “I was something else. Something not altogether human. Can you explain that, Luc? Tell me I’m not imagining what happened. Either that or I’ll know I’m going crazy. Tell me.”
Chapter 5
Shit. He hadn’t expected that, not so soon, not in human form and especially not without the supplement. Hadn’t even considered it. Luc glanced at his watch and then back at Tia. She looked indignant, angry, a little confused, and so gloriously sexy Luc was afraid he’d shoot his load right there in his pants.
If he didn’t find release soon, it might happen anyway. His cock twitched with Tia’s comment, but his erection didn’t subside. Unfortunately, they were running late for dinner. The graphic image of Ulrich impatiently pacing while he waited for his daughter was all it took to bring Luc’s raging libido somewhat under control.
“Well?” Tia glared at him, though the effect wasn’t nearly as ferocious as it could have been, not with her sitting there with her knees spread wide, her crossed ankles barely covering her glistening pussy and her glorious breasts staring straight at him, the nipples still stiff and distended from her orgasm.
Luc licked the taste of Tia from his lips. He swallowed and looked away and then shifted into a sitting position across from her. He rubbed his hand across his mouth and jaw, aware that his face was still damp and shining from her fluids.
She watched him, waiting. Luc wasn’t quite ready to meet her intense gaze, so he studied his hands instead and tried to ignore the erection that obviously had no intention of completely subsiding, visions of Ulrich or not.
Luc cleared his throat, buying time, but there really was no way out of this discussion, at least no honorable way, so he clasped his hands together in his lap and decided to start at the beginning.
“A little background, okay? Bear with me. When I was a kid, I had amazing dreams. They were so real, I’d wake up, expecting my arms and legs would be covered with coarse, black fur.” He looked up, caught Tia’s gaze. “I used to dream I was a wolf. The dreams were so real, so much a part of my childhood, they set me apart from the other kids. Actually changed my perception of myself.”
Tia’s soft gasp made him smile and he wondered what her dreams were like. “As I got older, every time I thought of the dreams, I’d get so damned horny I couldn’t think straight. I remember masturbating from the time I was a kid, and I was sexually active with any willing partners I could find from the time I hit puberty. I didn’t care if they were male or female or multiples of either, so long as they eased that needy itch I had. The odd thing, though: No matter how good the sex was, it was never enough. There was always something missing.”
He laughed, a short bark of sound that sounded strangled in his own ears. As vivid as the memories were, they were mostly unpleasant and far from easy to speak of out loud. “I was a total fuck-up, constantly searching for pleasure but never finding true satisfaction, and I didn’t care who I hurt along the way.”
A soft hand touched his knee. Luc felt Tia’s heat even through the heavy denim jeans. “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand. Luc, where are you going with this? I want to know what happened tonight…to me.”
He smiled and shook his head, but he didn’t look up. Instead he concentrated on the spot where her palm had briefly lingered. “There’s a reason for the whole pathetic tale. Be patient. I’m getting there.” He glanced up and grinned at her, but there were so many questions in Tia’s eyes, he had to look away.
“I joined the marines right out of high school. Boot camp was wonderful. For the first time in my life, I had somewhere to direct all that sexual energy.” This time when Luc raised his head and grinned at Tia, she smiled back. He had the feeling she was beginning to understand exactly how he’d felt.
“I was a damned good marine. My unit went to Granada in 1983. The invasion was short and bloody, but for the first time I felt as though I belonged somewhere. I wasn’t just part of a military unit. I was part of a pack. It even had its hierarchy—alpha, beta, omega.”
Now Tia watched him intently. Her lips were parted, her eyes narrowed. He was inordinately pleased to see that she ran her hands up and down her forearms in what might have been a nervous habit.
Or something much, much more.
“Another thing that sort of set me apart.” He watched her hands rubbing, scratching up and down her arms. “Beginning when I was a kid, around the time I hit puberty, actually, sometimes I’d feel like my bones wanted to crawl out of my skin. It was worse when I dreamed. I’d wake up in the morning with bloody streaks on my arms where I’d clawed at my skin, sort of like what you’re doing now.”
Tia’s gaze flashed to her arms. She hadn’t drawn blood, but there were raw, dark red streaks along the tops of her arms. She covered them with her hands. When she looked back at Luc, her lips trembled.
“I didn’t like the politics in the military, so when my tour of duty was up I joined the San Francisco Police Department. That’s where I met your father. He’s the one who finally made everything clear for me.”
Luc stood up and reached out for Tia. Confusion darkened her eyes, but she took his hand. “Look, I hate to keep your dad waiting, and we’re running late. We can continue this conversation on the way over.”
“But Luc, I…” She blinked, caught off guard by his abrupt change in conversation. Frowning, Tia grabbed his hand with both of hers as if she could force him to say more.
He leaned over and kissed her on the tip of the nose. So much rested on what he said to her, how he said it. Luc took a deep breath, let it out, then brushed his hand over her tangled hair. “Go get dressed. Just be thinking about something else—something really important. Those bedtime stories your mom used to tell you, the stories about the Chanku? Sweetie, I hate to rock your world, but they’re not make-believe. They’re real. Now get ready. We’re running late.”
They’re not make-believe? Now what the hell did Luc mean by that? Tia ripped the brush through her snarled hair with one hand and aimed the hair drier with the other. Her body trembled, but she wasn’t sure if it was the aftereffect of her orgasm or her absolute fury with Luc for leaving her hanging with more questions than answers.
I was sexually active with any willing partners I could find from the time I hit puberty. I didn’t care if they were male or female partners or multiples of either. He’d thrown out that line as if it was no big deal he’d screwed another guy—or guys, or had group sex.
Well, damnit. She sure as hell wasn’t going to criticize him. Tia’d been just as active, only she’d always felt guilty and wondered what was wrong with her after an evening of sex with multiple partners. Her longtime affair with Shannon Murphy had left her wondering if she was lesbian or straight.
Damn. Tia hoped Shannon was okay, hoped she was managing without Tia. They’d been a team for so long, even when things weren’t going all that well. An old memory of Shannon floated through her mind and Tia paused to smile at her reflection. When they’d headed off to Briarwood, they’d called themselves the M&M girls…. Melts in your mouth…or in your hand.
Of course, no one had any idea the reference was to anything other than Mason and Murphy.
Even so, Shannon’s mouth between her legs had never had the same explosive effect as Luc’s. Tia pictured Shannon, her long, auburn hair draped over Tia’s belly, her lips and chin wet with Tia’s fluids. Thinking of Shannon’s mouth on her almost always turned Tia from cold to hot in a heartbeat.
Right now it paled beside the image of Luc in bed with another man. She saw him lying back while a nameless, faceless man sucked his cock, and then wondered if Luc ever took the bottom position in anal sex.
No, she thought. Not Lucien Stone. He’d be on t
op. An alpha male all the way.
Or alpha wolf.
It was all too easy to see Luc as a wolf. Her wolf, the one who haunted her dreams. As the familiar image materialized in her mind, Tia’s body reacted with a gush of hot cream between her legs. She dropped the hair drier and grabbed the tile counter for balance. The drier swung just above the linoleum floor, hanging by the cord, hot air blowing against her calves.
Damn him!
Ripping the plug out of the wall, Tia wound the cord around the drier before stuffing it in an empty drawer. Her hair snapped and crackled with static electricity, so she twisted it into a messy knot at the back of her head, stuck in a decorated chopstick to hold it in place, and then dug through her makeup kit for a lipstick. Holding the dark plum tip to her lips, Tia stared at the reflection of her shaking fingers in the mirror. Hell. There was no way she’d get that color where it belonged.
She stared at the thick lipstick case and knew exactly where she’d like to shove it about now.
They’re not make-believe.
Her mother’s soft voice echoed in Tia’s mind. Camille Mason had drawn the stories of her mythical Chanku so clearly, Tia had believed.
If what Luc said were true, she had every reason to believe. But it couldn’t be. Shape-shifting was impossible. Physically impossible. Genetically impossible. Psychologically impossible.
It was the only explanation.
Damn his eyes!
Eyes that looked remarkably like the wolf in Tia’s dreams…Tia’s father’s…like her mother’s…like her own.
Moving as if her arms and legs were only partially connected, Tia pulled her formfitting, raspberry-red halter-top dress over her head and slipped on a pair of matching high-heeled sandals.
She raised her chin and stared for a long moment at her reflection in the mirror. Luc’s love bite stood out plain as day. She’d thought of covering it with makeup, but then decided she’d rather see Luc explain it to her father.
Running her hands down her sides, Tia smoothed out the sleek, stretchy satin. She wasn’t wearing a bra and she’d skipped wearing panties as well. This dress showed everything, right down to her puckered nipples.