Hot, Hard & Howling

by Mari Freeman

  He tossed her phone onto the table next to her. “You dropped this.” He took his time looking her up and down. His gaze stirred her need more than she had anticipated. It was key she keep her cool for a little longer. His fists were balled tight against his thighs and she could see his pulse racing under the tanned skin of his neck. She swallowed her own racing desire and stood on the bench, knowing that the tight, white t-shirt and snug cut-off shorts were giving him a very good idea of her intentions.

  “Oh, thanks.” She took a step along the bench, accidentally kicking over the backpack lying next to her feet. The buff leather cuffs tumbled out. She never took her eyes off his as he watched them roll to the ground. His pupils narrowed, she heard the sharp intake of air followed by a guttural growl that made her tremble.

  She looked up over his shoulder. The moon had made its way over the tree line. She smiled at the silver smudge among the hazy overcast of late-summer heat.

  “You’re flirting with the moon, little one.” His voice was heavy, his body rigid, his eyes brighter and fixed on hers. “But you know that don’t you?”

  She turned away and started to pace the other direction, walking the bench like a balance beam, holding her arms out. She made it to the end and looked back at him over her shoulder. “You’d be amazed at what I know now, Trent.” With that, she winked. She saw his eyes widen.

  This was it. If he chased, he was hers. She needed to push his wolf and this was her chance. She’d spurred his protective nature with the phone call, the cuffs tempted the man—all she needed now was his wolf.

  She jumped to the ground. Her hiking boots made a thud that echoed in the night as she landed in a slight crouch to suggest her intention to run. She met his gaze once more and his nostrils flared, his eyes darting to the path on her right and back to her face, an acknowledgment of her intentions.

  He’d catch her. She had no doubt. What she needed was time to evade, to stir the wolf beyond Trent’s control. He opened his mouth to speak but Nell didn’t give him the chance to argue. She darted off toward the woods, pushing her legs hard to move, to run as fast as she could without calling her own Demon forward. Within fifty yards she felt his presence behind her. It wouldn’t be long. She hoped it was enough as she gave her last effort to sidestep him by turning sharply around a tree.

  His moves were fast and sure in the forest and he met her from the opposite side of the same tree. He bent forward, crashing into her, collapsing her over his shoulder with the impact. He straightened and started walking back to the playground.

  She tried to lift herself up but he bounced her to adjust his hold, making Nell flop down, her breasts pressed into his back. She decided to appreciate the muscles moving under his shirt, the heat that emanated from his back, and hold his sides with her hands. This was an E-ticket ride and she wanted to remember every detail. She’d waited a very long time for Trent Nicholas.

  He put her down on the bench, taking her hands in one of his as he reached for the cuffs and the backpack. He knelt in front of her, his eyes not making contact with hers as he worked to reverently wrap the supple leather around first one wrist then the other, latching the buckles together. Nell held her breath, her heart pounding from the run, brain swimming with the possibilities that lay before them. She wanted to say something, to get him to look at her, but she dared not break the moment.

  After rummaging through the bag and removing a length of rope, he tossed the pack unceremoniously aside. He stood, finally making eye contact, his steely gaze stern and unwavering. Nell started to squirm. The heat in that gaze could set fire to the picnic table. Years of pent-up desires were bubbling to the surface. She wanted, badly. His stare said she wasn’t alone, and now there was nothing between them but his reluctance. And, from the twitch of his lip, that reluctance was long gone as well.

  She closed her eyes to steady her nerves, to drag in a breath and give herself a quick reality check. Before her breath was complete he lifted her roughly to her feet. Her eyes flew open. Trent backed her to the sturdy, nearby swing set and tossed the rope over the top beam. She glanced from his ice-blue eyes to the rope above her head, heart skipping a beat and her pussy throbbing in anticipation of his dominance. She had placed her bet on the right number. Submitting would push Trent Nicholas over the edge and into her arms. Well, right this minute her arms were being tightly strung over her head, but she smiled at her own cleverness.

  After checking the knot of the rope that held Nell on her tiptoes, Trent grabbed her chin and tilted her head up. He was a good six inches taller than she. He leaned in and brushed his cheek against hers. She could feel his intake of breath against her skin. “Is this what you wanted, Nell?”

  His sleek black hair was tousled, leaving a thick lock to fall into his eyes. Nell whimpered at the deep, hoarse and outrageously sexy tone his voice had taken on. He dug his fingers into her hair and looked into her eyes. “Are you sure you’re ready for what moon lust brings?” His nostrils flared as she nodded her head. He held her gaze as he pulled her head farther back before leaning in to nuzzle his face between her breasts.

  Apparently unhappy with the fabric between them, he used his pocketknife to cut off her t-shirt. She wore nothing underneath. Cicadas serenaded in the heat of the mountain evening. Heaven. It was all Nell’s idea of heaven.

  “Yes, Trenton. Yes.” Nell’s words were little more than a whisper.

  Trent’s head jerked up and he stepped away as if she’d slapped him.

  “Trent?”

  He backed away about ten feet and stopped, shoved a shaking hand through his hair before abruptly turning and walking toward the trail.

  “Trenton Nicholas, you are not going to leave me like this!” She had meant it to be a very firm command, but as his form disappeared into the tree line, her tone changed to that of an uneasy question. “Trent?” Her arousal transformed to an immediate frustration born of an acute understanding of her situation. She was half-naked, cuffed and hanging from a swing set in a national forest. Great.

  She looked around, listened for him to come back, but all she heard was the diminishing sound of his pine-straw-muffled steps. “Damn it. Damn it. Motherfuc— Damn it.” She struggled against the bindings and against her Demon change. That’s all she needed.

  She concentrated and tried to focus her energy toward the rope holding her up on her toes. The muscles in her thighs and calves were starting to scream. She shifted uneasily from one leg to the other, finding no relief to the burning, as she used her power to try to break the rope.

  Nell concentrated hard and sent a small surge of power toward her wrists. She grumbled as the rope turned black in reaction to her magic, but didn’t break or even fray. Her wrists, on the other hand, felt like she’d banged them with a hammer.

  “Great plan, Nell! Push his wolf…yeah, that was just brilliant. Let’s face it, girl. The man does not want you.” She tried to adjust again. Giving up on being comfortable, Nell let herself sink into the bindings, stretching her arms for a moment instead of her legs.

  No. She was almost positive Trent wanted her as badly as she wanted him. Either way, she had to get out of this predicament before she could decide if it was Trent she’d misjudged, or her plan.

  Her shaky Demon power of telekinesis just wasn’t well directed enough to unbuckle the cuffs or untie or destroy the rope. She could try something less intricate, like breaking the top beam of the swing, but she couldn’t get out to the way of the bulky timber if she did manage to make it fall. More than likely she would make it explode and the heavy beam would come crashing on her head, catching her hair on fire.

  She looked down over her exposed breasts. “Just great, Nell. What if whoever tried to off you the other night is lurking around here?” She shook her head.

  After the attack, Nell had been badgered into taking turns staying at her sisters’ and Mi-Ma’s houses all week. It’d taken forever to convince Sonja and Trina that she needed some time alone. Now she was alone all right
. At least they would miss her in a little while and come looking for her. Maybe Sonja would have a vision of her stupid ass tied up in the playground.

  Nell jumped a she felt the presence of something behind her.

  “Would serve you right.” Trent’s voice was stern in her ear. Adrenaline poured through her body as Trent grabbed her hair from behind and bent her head back. “Don’t say anything, Demon. You understand me?”

  Nell nodded. She had no intention of speaking and ruining anything. He pulled her against his chest and Nell realized he had shed his shirt. The heat of his body, the strength of his grip and the rough hairs on his chest all strummed at her nerves and heated her to boiling.

  Using his free hand, he traced a line up her side, not being gentle. His touch was purposeful, his nails slightly scratching their way over each of her ribs. With her head tilted back, she could see his face as he watched the trail his fingers made over her skin. He was savoring the tiny reactions her muscles made to his rough touch, the goose bumps left behind. When the trail reached the base of her breast, he paused, tilting his head as if to consider his path. Nell held her breath as his hand flattened and his palm closed over her flesh. He squeezed and she felt her legs tremble from the pleasure of his touch and the strain of being on her toes for so long.

  Trent grunted and stopped the attention he was paying her breast. She tightened her muscles as he dug in his pocket and Nell heard the snap of the pocketknife again. He moved around her, working the knife expertly, and her shorts were shredded as fast as the t-shirt had been, leaving her hanging naked and facing his intense gaze.

  He swung one of the swings over the upper beam twice, studied the height for a moment then reached over and cut the rope that had been holding Nell to the beam. Trent took no time to soothe her weak and tingling arms before he bent her forward over the swing, resting her stomach on the thick rubber seat. With her hands still bound together, Nell tried to gain some sense of balance but she couldn’t find anything to hold on to. Her toes barely touched the ground, just as they had when she was upright. The position left her completely vulnerable, forced to let her body fall forward and do the best she could to balance with the toes of her boots and the swing seat.

  Trent held her hips as he lowered himself to a kneeling position behind her. With her head hanging forward, she could see his bent knees between her legs. He roughly pulled her cheeks apart and leaned in to run his pointed tongue from her throbbing clit to her ass and back with little gentleness.

  Nell gasped at the intensity of the unexpected sensation. The rough treatment of her ass checks was contradictory to the silky touch of his tongue as he lingered over her clit, teasing her until her legs trembled, leaving only her weight and Trent’s hands holding her in the seat. With tightly closed eyes, Nell concentrated on the wind howling through the tops of the pines, the smell of a distant campfire mixed with that of the damp, mossy ground and the feel of Trent’s skin against hers. She wanted to memorize the moment Trent Nicholas gave in, the moment she gave in.

  She felt him stand and heard the unmistakable sound of a zipper. She tried to look back but he grasped her shoulders, pushing her down, holding her in place. Leaning forward, he wrapped his bigger body over hers, nuzzled his face in the back of her hair—and gave a small growl as he buried himself balls-deep into her dripping pussy.

  “Trent!” Nell almost squealed.

  He pushed her forward, using the swing to move her body away from his, until just the tip of his cock was inside her. He was so hard and she could feel the ridge of his head pulling against her opening, then he yanked her back, reseating himself forcefully and wrenching a gasping moan from Nell.

  “Hush, baby.” Again he withdrew, pushing her forward before pulling her back, grunting and driving his cock into her depths.

  Arms dangling and unable to do more than hold her head up, Nell let herself experience complete surrender to Trent Nicholas. She was, for the moment anyway, his, completely and without question. His to do with as he pleased, and it was the most liberating feeling she had ever known. She tightened the muscles gripping his cock, to let him know she could still add to his pleasure, to show him she wanted this and would contribute to her surrender. He gripped her hips hard, let out a roaring growl and increased his speed. With each thrust of his cock Nell grunted uncontrollably, which seemed to become more guttural and animalistic as his arousal, and his pace, increased.

  Her orgasm built slowly, despite the grueling pace the Were had set. With each thrust he brought her closer. She tightened her muscles again to get the most from his efforts—and it hit. She tried to gain some footing to push back and hold him steady as she came.

  He stopped, holding her tight against his hips, buried deep. Trent let out a throaty moan as her pussy fluttered around his cock. “Nell, baby. Yes. Fuck. That’s good.”

  He held her against him, letting her savor her explosion for only a moment before he pulled out then grasped her by the shoulders, pulled her upright and turned her to face him. “So fucking sexy.” He kissed her hungrily, biting at her lips until she opened them. Nell was weak from her orgasm and overwhelmed by the feeling of being so needed. And he did need her. He may never admit it openly, but she felt it in every want-filled, hungry touch out here under the moon.

  His free hand moved up her back, pulling her against his body, and she could feel his jeans still at his knees. Trent’s tongue invaded her mouth, leaving no doubt that this man did everything with wicked intent. There would be precious few times the wolf was soft and sappy. No, her wolf was wild and untamed and that’s exactly what had always attracted her. He was man enough to match her, man enough to best her on occasion, and man enough to meet her strong Demon needs.

  Trent maneuvered them until he was sitting in the other swing, kicking off his jeans and boots in the process. He lifted Nell and sat her astride his lap, thighs between the chains and his waist. She watched silently as he unhooked the clips that bound her cuffs together and placed her hands on the chains. His gaze lingered over her wet and swollen pussy before moving up her body. He leaned in and took a nipple in his teeth, biting with just the right amount of force to make Nell tighten her grip on the chains and let her head fall back. The movement pushed her wet pussy against his still-hard cock. He released his tight bite on her nipple and teased the lingering sting with little flicks of his tongue.

  Nell was whimpering, wondering how long she could hold the chains and not grab his head and pull him closer, begging for more, more of his tongue, more of his attention. He moved to her other breast and repeated the torture, biting, teasing. She was writhing on his lap, pleading with louder and louder moans.

  Had this been any other man she would have grabbed him, steered the situation to her needs, her wants, and then likely felt empty and unsatisfied even after her completion. But this wasn’t any other man.

  When Nell was sure she could take no more of his teasing torment, Trent stopped and ran his hands over her back and kissed his way up to her ear. “What do you want, baby?”

  “You.”

  “More specific, little Demon.” He bit her neck, causing her head to fall back again, giving her the perfect view of the full moon.

  “Fuck me, Prime.”

  He chuckled and lifted her ass just enough to set her back on his cock. He lowered her slowly, giving her a chance to savor the feel of him stretching her. “I think,” he said as he leaned back, moving the swing forward, “we’ll do some easy swinging.” He shifted again and the swing changed direction.

  As Nell leaned back, the motion tilted her hips, opening her for even greater penetration. When the swing changed direction again and her body leaned forward, she squeezed her thighs, lifting her hips just slightly and giving him a slight withdrawal, not much, just a little. They rocked back and forth. As momentum swung them forward, her body shifted toward his, his cock thrusting deep inside her. Nell pressed herself down on him fully, pushing her hips into him. As the momentum stopped at the ba
ck end of the swing’s arch, Nell leaned her upper body back. His cock thrust inside her farther. She moaned.

  The gentle back-and-forth motion and the intense way the Were watched her body move as she pumped them back and forth, moving the swing in a steady motion, driving him in and out of her, was drawing another raging orgasm to the surface. His face no longer hid his emotions. The tight expression he usually wore was replaced by a look of serenity and acceptance. Nell leaned back farther, taking them higher. She was getting close, and if the tightening of his jaw was any indicator, he was as well.

  She clenched her legs around his sides, hooking her feet behind his back. The swing kept moving but lost its momentum as she ground down onto his engorged cock. Trent gripped her hips. “That’s it, Nell. Come for me, baby.”

  She tossed her had back again, looking for the moon as he howled and drove into her one last time, pushing them both over the edge and into bliss. Nell shouted his name to the moon as her orgasm rocked her.

  Hot, Hard & Howling

  Chapter Four

  Trent held the trembling Halfling in his arms. She fit there, with her head tucked under his chin, her wrists still wrapped in the cuffs and resting on his chest. He replayed the entire scene in his head. He’d been rougher with her than he had intended. Hell, when he turned around to come back and check on her, he had just intended to watch over her until she figured a way out the cuffs. He’d intended to leave Nell Ambercroft alone. But as he watched her struggle with the bindings, the way her body moved, and as he smelled the musky scent of her arousal, the forceful yearning of his wolf waylaid those intentions. He could no longer resist the woman who had tempted him for so long and he’d let the animal take her.

  Nell moaned and readjusted slightly, his soft cock sliding out of her, falling wet and warm between his thighs, pulling a pouting whimper and little moan from her. From the limpness of her body, he didn’t think she wanted to move. He wanted to enjoy the feel of her against his chest for as long as possible, so he held her, not letting her move from his lap.