by Dannika Dark
I lowered my eyes. Lorenzo guided my hand to him and encouraged me to touch what I had once considered a weapon. His skin felt so smooth—like silk. I ran my finger around the ridge of his cock and he shuddered, causing a reaction that roused a curious smile on my face. It moved on its own.
My touch alone made this alpha weaken as I circled my finger around the tip. He leaned back on his hands and allowed me to consume his impressive body with my eyes, my hands, and my mouth.
I leaned forward and circled my tongue around one of his dark nipples until it hardened at the tip. Hearing this powerful alpha groan set me on fire, making me want to try more things to incite a reaction. Lorenzo had a defined body, with strong pecs and cords of muscle in his arms. He embodied the power of his spirit wolf.
My hands splayed across his chest and he stiffened, throwing his head back and sucking in a sharp breath. So many years had passed, and I’d thought myself ruined for any man. Now that I felt my own awakening, I realized something. Fox would never be stricken from my thoughts, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t feel pleasure, freedom, or love. Maybe each petal-soft kiss and gentle touch would replace the awfulness I had carried with me for so long. Fox had taken my confidence as a woman, and Lorenzo had restored it.
A sudden knock sounded at the door, and I froze in panic.
“Enzo, it’s meee,” a woman sang.
His lips peeled back and he bared his teeth. “Go away!”
“You’ve been locked up here for days. Is she in there with you?”
The locked doorknob jiggled.
Lorenzo summoned his alpha voice and it made me cringe. “Do as I say and go downstairs, or else I will pitch a tent in the woods for you to spend the night in.”
When her footsteps faded, I looked down and gasped.
His brows knitted. “What’s wrong?”
“It… it deflated.”
A boisterous laugh rolled out of him and he encased me in his arms, turning me onto my back. “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”
I blushed madly at my ignorance. I knew enough about men now to understand the mechanics behind an erection; I’d just never seen one with my own eyes. And he’d lost his arousal just from hearing another woman’s voice? I had to admit that turned me on most of all.
When I felt a long length of hardness resting against my thigh, I knew we were back to where we’d left off. He buried his face in the crook of my neck, kissing and nipping at my skin, giving me access to lick and nibble on his earlobe. The weight of him on top of me was exquisite.
“Mmm, I like your mouth on me,” he whispered, his voice warm and inviting.
“Is it okay for you this way?” I asked in a heated breath against his ear. “On my back, I mean.”
He lifted his head and shook back his tangled hair. “Let me show you how okay it is.”
I jumped a little when he placed the blunt head of his erection against my core and began rubbing in slow strokes. Within seconds, I had forgotten all my fears. I lifted my right leg higher against his side and pulled his long hair away from his face.
While he continued working me, I wound his hair into a thin braid. I wanted to see Lorenzo’s eyes, and I was afraid if his hair masked the gentleness in his face, I’d fall out of the moment.
He hit a spot that made me gasp and writhe.
“That felt good,” I said with a shallow breath.
He did it again. “That?”
Lorenzo rubbed himself a little higher, striking me like lightning with the most pleasuring effect. He did it repeatedly until I lifted my hips, all but demanding he bury himself inside me.
He kissed me on the mouth and then propped up on his left elbow. “Relax and let me take care of you, sweet Ivy. You’re safe in my bed—protected.”
With that, he slid himself inside and filled me up. Lorenzo groaned and his muscles trembled. Then he balanced his elbows on either side of me.
“The first time I saw you, I think you were stoned,” he said with amusement.
“I was. Jericho put something in the cupcakes.” I gasped when he slowly began rocking in and out.
“Then you asked me to make three wishes, do you remember?”
“A little,” I breathed more than said.
The fire crackled and a coil beneath the bed squeaked a complaint.
“One of those wishes was to see your hair out of that braid and spread across my bed.”
He began rocking harder, and goodness, I’d never felt so overwhelmed with carnal need. My short nails bit into his shoulders and he lifted his chin, moaning his approval.
I hissed and he stopped.
“Does this hurt?”
“A little,” I confessed. “But it’s okay.”
He rose off me. “No, it’s not okay. I won’t allow you to feel pain in my bed.” He moved to my left side and pushed at my hips. “Roll onto your good side and turn away from me.”
I did as he asked, facing his chair, and Lorenzo lifted my left leg and slid it over his thigh. The pressure vanished and—I gasped as he slid inside me from behind, slowly moving until our bodies were twined together. He cupped my breasts, rolling my nipples between his fingers as he thrust inside me from behind.
I tried to turn—I needed to see him. My heart raced. I couldn’t see his eyes and panic flooded my veins.
Lorenzo stopped and brushed my hair away from my face and whispered in my ear, “Settle down, here I am.” He propped himself up so that he was hovering over me.
He touched my jaw and turned my head so I was looking into his dark brown eyes. They were gentle, and that’s all I needed—just to see him. He kissed my shoulder and looked at me, eyes smoldering.
“It’s not my first time, Lorenzo.”
“Only when you give yourself willingly is it your first time.”
I curled my left arm around his neck and he leaned forward, slipping his tongue into my mouth.
This position required more effort on his part. His hair was damp and a sheen of sweat covered him. He tasted salty when I kissed his jaw.
Time melted away into an insignificant concept. When he finally broke rhythm and sat up on his knees, Lorenzo rolled me onto my back and wrapped my legs around his waist. He was patient in helping me find comfortable positions, and not once did he make me lie facedown or even turn away from him. He held my gaze as if I might disappear if he averted his eyes. When he put a pillow beneath my hips, everything escalated from there.
His hands stroked skillfully, touching my thighs as he thrust his hips against mine. The headboard slammed against the wall and heightened my arousal, as did every sound.
Lorenzo groaned and fell forward, his eyes dark with desire. Every muscle in his arms rippled—his strong pecs and tight abs as they all moved in rhythm. I felt overpowered by this alpha who looked at me with so much intensity it was as if my body turned into a flame.
“Look at me!” he commanded in his alpha voice.
The headboard continued knocking against the wall like knuckles rapping on a door.
When I looked up, I stared at the spirit of his animal gleaming back at me through his eyes. Power dripped from his ardent gaze and a fever came over me.
Then he stopped and lowered his head, taking my nipple into his mouth. “You taste like sweet nectar on my tongue,” he said, rolling his tongue in quick circles. When he moved to the other one and sucked hard, a spike of pleasure made me hiss.
With that quiet sound of approval, Lorenzo held himself up again, thrusting into me even faster than before. The headboard slammed against the wall, caught up in a violent storm of movement, as if our bodies were clashing tides.
“Touch yourself,” he said, his eyes wandering down as if he wanted to do everything but couldn’t. “Do it.”
His eyes followed the slow movement of my hand as I smoothed my fingers over my chest and then lower. I wasn’t sure where he wanted me to touch. So when my fingers reached my navel, his hips rocked faster and his eyes widened as if
he hadn’t expected that.
“Yes… There.”
My fingers sought the place where our bodies were joined, feeling the immense power and rhythm. Then I was lost. That tightly wound coil within me began to spring loose and I gripped the sheets, my breath quickening, my muscles clenching…
When I reached orgasm, it was whisper quiet. Just a sharp gasp and I covered my face with my arms, my mouth agape. It moved through me like white-hot lightning.
Nothing like the tumultuous sounds I’d heard in my pack growing up or while living within the Weston pack.
Or Lorenzo. When he reached climax, he lifted his head up like a wolf howling and released a thunderous shout.
I reached up and covered his mouth, quickly embarrassed by the boisterous noise. What must his pack be thinking? He sucked on my fingers and continued rocking against me until I loosened my grip, feeling another quake of pleasure move through me. When I made a small gasp and arched my back, Lorenzo roared again.
I tried to muffle his shouts with my hand but he tilted his head away, laughing this time. “You will not silence me, sweet Ivy. We are like a storm, you and I. Thunder and lightning.”
“Thunder Wolf, indeed,” I said with a short laugh.
Lorenzo howled and I yanked his neck so hard he collapsed on top of me. Our lips met in a molten kiss, and a few distant laughs erupted within the house along with a whistle. He broke away and rubbed noses with me.
“So what were your other two wishes?”
Understanding sparked in his eyes, and he shifted on his side, out of breath, swirling his finger around my naked flesh. “I seem to recall you saying something about planting those wishes in your heart and growing roots if I didn’t speak them aloud.”
“Well, that was very poetic of me. So, what were they?”
He chewed on his lip for a moment, touching the tip of my nipple. “I don’t want to say. Perhaps it’s bad luck.”
“Hmm, men only wish for three things.”
“And what is that?”
“Money, power, and sex. You got your third wish, but you already have the other two.”
Anger bled in his expression and his voice hardened. “My wish was not to bed you—not in the way that you put it.”
“You didn’t know me then. What else could it have been about?”
He sat up and I yelped when he accidentally pulled some of my hair. I tugged the silky strands and flipped them over my head. My hair wasn’t thick, so at least it wasn’t unmanageable, but it fell to my lower back and sometimes got in the way of things. After a while, it was just easier to braid it so it didn’t get caught in car doors.
Lorenzo shook his head and sat up. Most of his hair had come loose from the braid and he swept the tousled strands back. “I wanted to see your hair spread across my bed, but it doesn’t have the same meaning as you see it.” He shook his head. “Foolish thinking.” Lorenzo rested his chin on my left knee where I’d bent it. “How’s your leg?” he asked, wrapping his hands around the crease of my thigh and massaging.
“As good as it’s going to get.”
He smiled and kissed my knee. “You shouldn’t have any worries about it affecting your performance in the bedroom. That was very… satisfactory.”
I concealed my smile. “Well, thank you for that kind compliment, Mr. Church. I’ll be sure to leave a survey card on the table before I go. Tell me, was that woman outside the door the one I saved?”
“Rebecca. Yes.”
“And she’s your, uh…”
“She’s been in my bed,” he confided in a low voice.
I reached up and smoothed my hand over his bicep. “I don’t like her.”
He smiled broadly. “Of course you don’t, because now you’re in my bed. Look straight up in the mirror. No other woman compares to that exquisite creature.”
I’d hardly noticed the mirror, and come to think of it, neither had Lorenzo. We’d both been so consumed with each other—so engaged in direct eye contact—that neither of us had looked away.
“That’s not what I mean,” I continued. “I’m not jealous.”
He arched a single brow and I laughed, wiggling my knee until he sat up. Lorenzo curled his arm around my leg and studied me closely. “Then what is it?”
“I don’t know. I get a sense about people, and there’s something dark around her spirit. A coldness in her eyes. I don’t like the way she degrades your pack with her insensitive words—it’s disrespectful. Most of the men don’t seem to like her, or they simply put up with her. But she only has her sights on you. That kind of woman will tear down your empire. If you don’t choose her, she’ll retaliate. I saw it happen once with a neighboring pack when I lived at home. Everyone watched how Yvonne clung to Nathan—the Packmaster. But he chose another woman and kept Yvonne in the house. She tried to kill his life mate out of spite. That’s why I don’t believe there should be relationships within the pack outside of mated couples.”
“You’ve never wanted to take one of Austin’s brothers—”
“No!” My voice had gone ridiculously loud and I softened it. “No. They’re like my brothers; I don’t think of them that way. But imagine if I fell in love with one of them and he chose another woman. I’d have to live in the same house and watch them. It’s different with Rebecca. I don’t see love in that woman’s eyes. Only greed. She wants the power that mating a Packmaster can give her.”
“That’s to be expected with my position. Most Packmasters choose mates who will strengthen their pack.”
“And love?”
His eyes darkened and I felt his mood shift. “Love tore apart my uncle’s pack. It made him do things that shamed his family.”
“You are not your uncle. Do you know why the women in this pack aren’t having babies? Or do I need to tell you?”
Lorenzo dragged a brown blanket over my legs. I gratefully pulled it up to my breasts and he covered himself beneath it, still sitting beside me.
So I continued to enlighten him. “They live in fear. You have a strong pack, but you press your thumb too mightily on them. It’s an aggressive household and feels more like a military camp than a home. No woman wants to raise her child in this environment. Maybe they haven’t told their mates the reason, but I know. I can see it just as clearly as I can see the look of acknowledgment on your face. You know it to be true. Don’t shut me out. Let’s just have this one night where the both of us can be honest with each other. Tomorrow we’ll go our separate ways and our paths will move apart. Tonight I don’t want you to be Church, or Enzo, or whoever you think you need to be.” I placed my hand across his heart. “Just be him.”
He lifted my hand and kissed the palm.
Outside, the sound of wolves joined in song.
“Hmph,” he said with a subtle laugh, settling next to me and propping his head in his right hand.
“Do they normally shift all hours of the day and night?”
“No. My pack is singing for me. They’ve sung that song during celebrations, like when I bought this land, or the time I battled a foe and won. They must be mistaken. Perhaps they think we’ve defeated Fox’s men.”
Or maybe they thought Lorenzo had found a mate. I’d heard that song before too. That’s what my heart leapt to say, but I kept my thoughts to myself.
“And what do you think of a woman who falls into bed with a man so quickly?” I asked.
He paused as if choosing his words carefully. “I think she’s a woman who knows what she wants. Humans are the only ones coy about the pleasures of companionship. If you’re afraid of your pack judging you, then be ready for the wrath of Cole.”
“What do you mean?”
A low growl sounded in his chest and he shifted his body, settling in. “Cole wouldn’t care if you bedded a man; you’re a grown woman and that’s your business. What he would care about is finding out that man was me. We have a history that goes back many years.”
I drew in a deep breath and sighed. “Maybe it’s time to
leave the past behind.”
In the minutes that followed, we listened to the song of his pack. He tenderly stroked my hair, and that’s when I realized I was beginning to fall in love with Lorenzo. Not all the way—not all at once. Just a little bit. I used to think love was like falling into a swimming pool, but maybe it was as delicate and slow building as a drizzle that turned into a heavy rain. Right now it was drizzling.
I kissed his collarbone and traced my fingers over the crossbones of his dark tattoo, wondering how he really felt about us. Not how he felt about me, but how we seamlessly connected on a deeper level, beneath all the layers of ego and fear. Was he capable of love? How did I compare to his previous lovers? I wondered how dangerous it would be to open my heart to a man like him. I could end up like Rebecca, calling out to him from behind a closed door.
I scooted closer when Fox flitted through my mind.
“Is something wrong?” he asked, concerned.
Instead of answering, I curled into his chest and he wrapped his arms around me. I tried to imagine all those years ago, Lorenzo saving me from my inevitable fate. Of him yanking Fox off my back and challenging him—fighting for my honor. Why couldn’t someone have saved me? Why did that one ugly thing have to mark my otherwise uneventful life? And worse, the wreckage left behind of lives destroyed, as if the fates wanted to punish me for something that wasn’t my fault.
Or was it?
I shouldn’t have gone with him.
I should have obeyed my father and stayed home.
Lorenzo’s face appeared, and his eyes went glacial. He wiped away the onslaught of tears as memories assailed me. “Fox made the mistake of disrespecting you.” His voice grew softer, dangerous. “He won’t be making that mistake again. Cole needs to know why Fox is after you. I’ll have a talk with him. The rest of the pack won’t find out unless you want them to; Cole must respect the privacy of his packmates. He needs to take care of that vagrant, wannabe Packmaster lurking about in the woods. As long as he’s free, none of our women are safe.”