Immediately she noticed the front porch was new. The fresh smell of wood still lingered as she climbed the steps, following him to the door. Pausing a moment, she turned around. What a peaceful view he would have sitting on his porch swing. Fresh cut grass led out to the quiet street, while tall, old trees shaded the area, offering a degree of privacy.
A sense of coming home washed over her, except this wasn’t her home. Rick touched her arm, and she turned, smelling curiosity around him while he watched her.
“Do you like it?”
“Yeah. It’s nice here.” And she liked the pleased look she saw wash over him at her words. What she thought mattered to him.
Unlocking the front door, he stepped to the side, allowing her to enter in front of him. A plain brown couch and two matching chairs were the main furniture in his living room. Everything was clean and in order, but simple. There were no pictures on the walls and plain, utilitarian pillows on the couch. The place lacked a woman’s touch.
“There’s no reason to be nervous.” He came up behind her, gripping her shoulders, then running his hands down her arms.
Electrical currents raced through her from his touch. “I think there are quite a few reasons to be nervous.”
Moving away from his grasp, she immediately missed his touch. Feeling cold where the heat from his hands had just been, she wrapped her arms around her waist.
His chuckle, a deep baritone, vibrating through her, confirmed her statement. She had willingly walked into this alpha male’s den, placing herself at his mercy, silently giving him permission to do what he would.
“Then maybe the first thing we need to do is focus on getting you to relax.”
His phone rang and he gave her an apologetic smile. “My home is your home. I’ll be right back.”
She watched him leave the room, enjoying the view of his broad shoulders, muscles so solid pressing against his shirt. Her attraction to him puzzled her, making her wonder if she had accepted his pack protection simply because she couldn’t fight her pack alone. Maybe she accepted it because she wanted to confront her pack with Rick by her side.
As she turned toward the window, two people walking outside caught her attention, and she watched them, following their path. They headed toward the bungalow next door. After a moment, she recognized the waitress from the diner, Rocky. And the man who had introduced himself to her earlier, Marty, sauntered easily by her side.
She knew Rick reentered the room without turning around. “They make a cute couple.”
“He better keep his paws off of her.” The protective growl couldn’t be missed in his tone.
“He’s a bad werewolf?” She looked over her shoulder, noting the firm set of his jaw line, the determined look on his face.
“One of the best werewolves I’ve ever met.” He glanced down at her for only a moment, then returned his attention to the couple outside. “She is just a pup though.”
“How old is she?” Rocky looked full-grown to her.
“She is only twenty-one.”
Elsa turned to face him. “And how old do you think I am?”
He hesitated, pulling his gaze from the window finally, and giving her his full attention. “How old are you?”
“I’m twenty-three.”
He pondered this for a minute, and then his expression hardened. “That is different.”
“What is different?” She didn’t think she liked what he might be implying. “Am I some woman of the world because I run alone? Does that make me brazen and experienced?”
“Did I say that?” She couldn’t read his emotions.
“Well, I’m sure not out on my own because my pack leader thinks I’m too young for a mate.”
“Okay.” He didn’t push her, and she wondered why. “Rocky is my cousin—all the den I have. I’m a bit protective of her.”
She nodded. “Just don’t try to control her. If Marty is a good werewolf, let her make her own decisions.”
“Is that why you are running?” He was reaching into the very depths of her soul. “Is someone trying to control you?”
More than you know, wolf man.
Chapter Seven
The firm set of Rick’s jaw added to the penetrating look that devoured her, stealing her breath. Elsa turned away, running her finger over the top of his television set while staring out a side window toward the small bungalow next door. His presence overwhelmed her, but focusing on something else did nothing to change the fact that he was right behind her.
“My pack has told me whom I will mate with.” She didn’t know how else to tell him, and prayed her simple answer would suffice.
Suddenly his body pressed against hers, those hard-corded muscles pressing against her backside. Lust swarmed around her. His scent mixed with hers. She loved the smell of domination and compassion mixed so solidly together. The desire to lean back and stretch her body against his distracted her thoughts.
“Isn’t that a bit old fashioned?”
“Yes.”
“But there is more.”
“It doesn’t matter now.” She tried to move around him.
“You are going to tell me what I want to know, moon princess.” He stopped her, taking her in his arms.
Her hands pressed against his chest, that powerful heat next to her palms feeding her with strength, and terrifying her all at the same time. Fire raced through her straight to her cunt. She looked up at him, his expression intense and dominating. The firmness of his jaw, his lips a determined line, gave her the impression he wouldn’t tolerate her hesitation for long. If she told him what he wanted to know, he could destroy her if he couldn’t be trusted. But she wanted to trust him. She realized that. The burden she carried weighed her down, running from town to town, living in her fur until a pack discovered her, then moving on. This wasn’t how she wanted to live.
“Trust me, Elsa.” His mouth lowered to hers.
She responded to his kiss, running her hands up his chest, gripping his shoulders, holding on while she opened to him. Her pussy throbbed with lust that bordered on pain. His tongue met hers in a dance of passion, sending her soaring to a level of desire that she wasn’t sure she could handle.
His mouth smoldered. Collapsing against him, she explored with her tongue, allowing him to do the same. Her insides cried to take this further, to learn what this werewolf could offer her.
Trust. He offered trust. Or so he said. Her brain fogged over, his kiss making it hard for her to think. His powerful hands ran down her back, stroking her, gripping her and pulling her closer to him.
“Rick. I…” she breathed against his lips.
“It’s okay, moon princess.” His mouth left hers, leaving her gasping, while he traced a moist trail to her neck with his tongue.
She didn’t think anything was okay. Her pussy throbbed, needing his attention, craving his touch. Her body burned, electricity shot through her everywhere he touched her. Her breasts swelled, aching, pressing against the hardness of his chest. He might request in soothing whispers that she trust him, but his actions demanded her trust.
He gripped her rear end, crushing her against him. The hardness of his cock pressed against her belly, sending her soaring.
“I want you.” He growled into the sensitive part of her neck, sending chills through her overheated body.
Lifting her, he moved to the couch. Cradling her on his lap, he buried his face in her breasts, his masculine scent drugging her. He tugged on her shirt, pulling it free from her jeans. The heat of his hand on her belly, and then sliding up until he caressed her breast, sent tremors through her body. She arched into the touch, wanting more, needing him to relieve the swelling ache within her.
He had her shirt pulled over her head before she realized he had the buttons undone. Cuddled in his lap, half-naked, she opened her eyes, focusing on his face, seeing the tormented look he wore.
“So beautiful.” His attention went to her breasts, fondling and caressing. Then his mouth rested on a
nipple, his tongue swirling it in his mouth. Sensations rippled through her straight to her cunt.
The moist heat swarmed through her, her pussy swelling, cum soaking her. She grabbed his head, pinning him to her breast, needing more of what he was offering.
“Damn. Rick.” She cried out while waves of lust rippled through her, her body no longer responding to anything but the need to be satisfied.
Molten lava rushed over her, flushing her with a heat she had never experienced before. His mouth moved to the other breast, nibbling and sucking, while his hand slipped down her body, resting at the top of her jeans.
She should stop him. But her mind no longer controlled her actions. The pressure building inside her needed his touch. She helped him unzip her jeans, lifted her hips so he could slide them down, exposing her pussy so that he could explore.
He lowered her, gently resting her head against the pillows of the couch while he removed her jeans. His fingers ran down her legs, fire racing over her wherever he touched.
“Every bit of you is gorgeous,” he whispered. “So beautiful.”
His fingers slid between the moist folds of her pussy, testing her, touching the source of her pain.
“Rick. Dear God.” She raised her hips, wanting more of him, knowing his touch would appease the incredible pounding that rushed through her.
Spreading her legs, she allowed him space to stroke her, spread her moistness over her entrance. And then he dipped a finger inside her, altering the pressure point within her. She could feel the roughness of his finger stroking the inner walls of her cunt. He satisfied one itch while creating another one all at the same time.
“You are so tight.” He sounded surprised.
It took more effort than she realized to open her eyes, watch his hooded expression while he focused on her pussy and the torment his finger applied to her.
“That feels…so good.” She couldn’t believe what he was doing to her.
Her insides tightened, while his finger probed deeper, moved faster, drawing pleasure and pain together while he fucked her. Her cum soaked his hand, clung to her inner thighs, filled the air around them with a rich, creamy aroma.
“Oh. God.” Her eyes drifted shut again while wave after wave of pleasure ripped through her.
She lifted her hips off of him, thrusting herself against his hand, aching for his finger to bury itself deeper inside her. Heat flushed through her, the orgasm tightening every muscle within her, the pressure breaking, a dam releasing fiery moisture.
Collapsing against his hand, his finger still buried deep inside her, she stared at him, his expression wild with predatory satisfaction.
“Rest, baby.” He slipped his finger out of her, leaving her satisfied and wanting more all at the same time. “You’ve just had your first lesson in trust.”
Chapter Eight
Rick stood in his bedroom doorway staring at Elsa. He hated to leave her. Never had a woman looked so adorable, given such an aura of defiance, and been so damned innocent.
“Damn.” More than anything, he wanted to fuck her.
He watched the rise and fall of her chest while she slept soundly in his bed. Cradling her in his arms on the couch had been the most happiness he’d experienced in a long time. But what he hadn’t expected, and still had a hard time believing, was that his moon princess was a virgin.
She’d given no indication. If anything, her wise to the world attitude indicated that she was far from a virgin. But her tough exterior was just that, an exterior shell covering a scared young woman, facing something she had yet to share with him.
“Sleep, moon princess.”
The phone rang downstairs. He backed out of his bedroom, enjoying the sight of his sexy blonde lying on his bed. The way she had fallen asleep in his arms, after exploding from his finger fucking, had been a blessing for both of them. Once he’d entered her, experienced how tight she was, felt the limits he could press inside her with his finger, he knew he wouldn’t allow her first time to be idle sex.
Grabbing the phone on the third ring, he half paid attention to the conversation, while his thoughts lingered on Elsa. He would have her virginity. He would have her. Regardless of her past, he saw in her a woman willing to fight, capable of taking on the world to get what she believed was right. The traits of a queen.
“No problem, Millie. We’ll get that leak patched right up for you.” He hung up the phone, and then picked it up again, dialing quickly. “Rocky. I need you to do me a favor. The young lady I had breakfast with is sleeping over here right now. I want you to keep an eye on the place. Let me know if anyone comes or goes from here. Understand?”
“Sure thing, Rick.” She said something to someone who was with her.
“Is Marty over there?”
“Yeah. He’s here.”
“Send him over. He and I have work to do.”
Several hours later, after fixing a leak in the roof of the bed and breakfast inn that Millie ran on the other side of town, Marty helped load the tools into his truck.
“So who is the blonde I saw you with?”
Rick couldn’t suppress his beast’s instincts to claim and protect what he had already decided would be his own. “She’s mine,” he growled, bristling at the cocky grin his young friend gave him.
“I don’t blame you a bit. She’s hot. But where did she come from?” Marty walked around to the passenger side of the truck, undaunted by Rick’s claim on Elsa.
“I don’t know yet.” And talking about it made him want to hurry home to continue with his interrogation.
“You don’t know. She’s running? Are you sure she isn’t in trouble?”
“Positive.” Rick grabbed the steering wheel, fighting the urge to yank it from the column. “And you’ll treat her with respect.”
“Of course.” One thing he would have to give Marty credit for, the werewolf always knew when to back down. The man wasn’t a coward, and made a damned good right hand man, his second in command, but he’d never challenged Rick. Damned good thing, too. Maybe Elsa was right. Maybe Marty wasn’t such a bad kid after all.
“Better pull in over here.” Marty pointed to the parking lot outside the local pool hall.
One glance at the gravel parking lot surrounding the old building and Rick understood why Marty wanted to stop. He turned into the lot, approaching a couple next to a large motorcycle.
“Well, hell.” Rick really didn’t care who Ramona Rothmeier spent her time with, but he recognized the werewolf with her. Ramona was part of Marty’s den. This wouldn’t be good. “That’s Ethan Masterson, pack leader out of Duluth. I wonder what he is doing up this way.”
Marty didn’t answer. But he didn’t have to. Rumors were out that Masterson’s pack was staking out Rick’s territory. Masterson’s pack needed hunting grounds. And the werewolf showed all the signs of trying to take over Rick’s territory. He was checking out the town, getting a feel for the size of Rick’s pack. Rick didn’t like the way any of this smelled.
Marty hopped out the second Rick pulled to a stop. “Get in the truck, Ramona. We’re taking you home.”
Rick didn’t see a need to get out but put his truck in park, ignoring the suggestive grin Ramona gave him. “Is the pack leader offering his queen bitch a ride home?”
“This is your queen bitch?” Masterson laughed, leaning forward on his bike, while the hog rumbled underneath him. “I feel for you, Bolton.”
Ramona spun around, looking like she would strike Masterson, but staggered and almost fell. Marty grabbed her and pulled her toward the truck.
“We need to talk about all that hunting land north of town, Bolton.” Masterson called out to him, while Rick watched Ramona attempt to climb into his truck. She was just about the last person he wanted sitting next to him.
“Nothing much to talk about.” Rick knew Masterson wanted rights for his pack to run through the bountiful countryside.
Marty climbed in next to Ramona, and Rick took off, ignoring the grin
Masterson gave him. Trouble brewed there, and he didn’t like it a bit. Masterson’s pack was a lot larger than his.
“Well if this isn’t my lucky day.” Ramona cuddled next to him, the stale smell of beer and perfume surrounding her turned his stomach. “Drop my little cousin off anywhere wolf man, and we’ll have some fun.”
“What the hell were you doing talking to that pack leader?” Rick didn’t mind a bit pushing Ramona into Marty.
Marty looked as repulsed as Rick felt as he grabbed Ramona’s wrists and pinned her, so that she couldn’t scoot across the seat into Rick again.
“You don’t acknowledge my rank. I might as well find someone who does.” She turned pouty, her tone assumed a whiny pitch that annoyed him even further.
“You show no respect for your pack. You run with any werewolf who is free that night. How dare you say I don’t acknowledge your rank.” Rick wanted to wring her neck for disgracing her den in front of a pack outsider. As much as he wished she didn’t hold rank of queen bitch, the woman had it by default. “You are the one who doesn’t care about the title of queen bitch.”
“It’s not my fault my sister died in that fire,” Ramona spit out. “But like it or not, Rick Bolton, that makes me your queen bitch unless I’m challenged.”
“That’s enough, Ramona.” Marty tugged on her wrists, trying to silence her.
“I know you loved my sister, but she is gone now.” Ramona wouldn’t stay quiet, and the memories she brought up made him eager to get her the hell out of his truck. “If you gave me half a chance, Rick, I would give you cubs, and make you happy.”
“You’d give any werewolf cubs,” Rick growled, turning hard onto the street where Marty and Ramona lived while she burst into giggles. “We all lost loved ones in the fire when they burned our pack out of our old homes. But you are going about rebuilding this pack the wrong way.”
He hit the brakes hard when they reached Marty’s home. Ramona slid forward against the dash. Marty hauled her out of the truck quickly, while she wagged one of her painted fingernails at Rick. “You remember, Rick Bolton. Pack law says I am your queen bitch. Don’t go thinking you can replace me now.”
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