by Jenna Leigh
“Goodnight, Mick.” Marcus smiled at his driver. “I won’t be needing you anymore.”
“Uh, yes, sir.” Mick raised his brow, puzzled, and then his face lit with understanding. “Oh, night.” He tipped his hat at her and grinned.
“Goodnight, Mick.” Lainie glared up at Marcus. If he was insinuating what she thought he was, he was gonna come up short as the saying went.
The light came on, making Lainie squint in the sudden brightness, barely able to make out the outline of a man standing in the doorway in a suit. Sheesh, he had a butler?
“Sir?”
“Hello, Allen.” Marcus took Lainie’s arm and led her up the wide stone steps, laughing. “Nothing went horribly wrong while I was gone I hope?”
“No, sir.” Allen looked like he thought she was something that had gone wrong. Thick black brows lowered over a pair of icy blue eyes as he stared at her silently. Somehow she doubted those wrinkles around them were laugh lines.
But she attempted to make friends. “My name’s Lainie, nice to meet you.” She held out her hand and smiled.
He hesitated before shaking her hand very gently. Did they all act this way? “You as well, miss.”
“Come into the living room. We’ll talk there.” Marcus led her toward a set of doors and somehow, Allen beat them there, opening the doors for them. “Thanks, we’ll call if we need anything.”
They both sounded so polite. There was something strange in the way Allen and the others acted, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. As she sat, it came to her; they acted like servants. No, the word she wanted was subservient, heavy on the sub. Ew, surely Marcus wasn’t one of those kinky spanker men. If so, she would have to end it before it began.
Although, maybe not. Lainie shook her head to clear her thoughts.
“What are you thinking?” His voice vibrated against the skin beneath her ear.
“Nothing!” she replied quickly, ignoring the heated flush that crept up her cheeks. Thank God, he couldn’t read her mind; she’d die right here on the spot.
When he accepted her answer she sighed with relief and looked around. The room seemed cavernous with a sunken fireplace set in the middle of the floor. A chimney rose up to the peaked ceiling, all but disappearing into the darkness. Large leather sofas and deep-seated chairs were clustered around the central fixture, making the room warm and inviting.
He pressed the button on a remote and panels on the far wall opened revealing a TV.
“This is nice.” Her eyes widened. “You’ve come up in the world, just a little.” His family had been well-off a decade ago, but she knew for a fact he’d made his company into something much more than it had ever been under the control of Samuel Bei.
“Software pays. Nerds rule.” Marcus grinned and flipped the stations until he found a music channel.
“You are so not a nerd, sweetie.” She laughed at him.
“Yes, I am. Beneath the wickedly handsome and debonair exterior, beats the heart of a true computer-loving nerd.”
“I hear ya, nerd muffin.” Was she flirting with him? Yes, she was. She did it rather well, if she did say so herself.
“Don’t believe me, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He sat back and put his arm behind her on the sofa. “How have the years treated you ?”
“I’ve been great. How about you?” The heat from his body radiated into her bones. He would be a lovely accessory on a cold winter night.
“Just fine, honey, but I don’t want to talk about me. I haven’t seen you since you were sixteen. Catch me up.” Without warning, he turned his head toward her and gave her that piercing stare again. “Starting with why you never called me again, how it is you’ve seen David and I haven’t and basically everything.” His hand cupped her shoulder and squeezed gently.
She bit her l cvfgy76ower lip. “Because David said it might be best not to. It was him I called the day when you and I almost…” She paused and blushed, unable to complete the sentence, but her stupid mistake still lived on in her memory.
Marcus finished for her. “When we acted like a couple of stupid kids and it got out of control?”
“Close enough. Anyway, David took me back to Joanna.”
“Joanna?” Marcus broke in on her story. “Not Joanna Michaels?”
“Yes, why?”
“Lainie, she is—” He closed his mouth.
“She is what?”
“Nothing, honey, keep talking.” He waited, but it was in vain. She sat with her arms folded, glaring at him. “What?”
“I refuse to tell you anything else until you tell me what the hell is up with you.”
“I’m not really sure what you mean.” But he did, she could tell just by looking at him.
“I’m kind of tired; can I go to my room now?” She stood, leaving him no choice; either he could get up and take her there, or let her wander around his house unescorted. She’d bet on the former because it was a sure thing.
Marcus stood with a sigh of defeat. “Fine, babe, let’s go to bed. I’m tired too.” She raised her brow at him but said nothing, just let him lead her toward the stairs in the main hall.
The silence lasted until he stopped outside the door to her room. “Here we are. I hope you find everything to your liking.” He retreated into formality, well aware she’d throw it right back in his face.
“Thank you.”
He was right, she sounded so calm and cool it made him grit his teeth. As Lupin, he needed the information but he didn’t want to force the issue. From her expression, he could tell he wasn’t getting anything else from her tonight. But he’d like to know if a man he’d thought dead for the past eight years wasn’t. He’d been alive all this time visiting with Lainie. The question was, who he was more jealous of—Lainie or David.
“Why so quiet?” She stood close enough that it seemed natural to just lean down and kiss her. He was surprised she didn’t pull away. Instead, she melted against him, putting her arms around his waist. He nudged her mouth open and tasted her. Her soft sigh was like sweet music in his ears.
He lifted her slightly, grinding his hips against her, desperate to get as close as possible. His fingers pulled at the hem of her skirt. She wore stockings, and the contrast between them and the silky skin of her thighs made his body tighten. He wanted her beneath him, screaming and begging.
Marcus pulled his mouth away from hers with a gasp. “Lainie, go in your room.” His voice shook. He looked down into her eyes, clouded with passion, and his control started to slip. “Go, right now. Lock the door.” He forced himself to step back.
She whirled to do as he asked and it took all he had not to grab her and pull her back. She risked a glance over her shoulder and whatever she saw in his face must have frightened her. “Goodnight, Marcus, sweet dreams.” She slammed the door and the click of the lock echoed in the silence of the hallway.
He’d picked this room for her for three very important reasons. One, it was on the second floor. Two, the door was thick and lined with steel, and three, the room was right next to his, with a connecting door, no less. Right now, he pressed his head against the wood that hid the steel core and sighed. “Sweet dreams to you too.”
When he inhaled, he could still smell her. He could also feel the change coming; he’d held his emotions in check too long. Quickly, he moved through the house, running by the time he reached the door to the gardens. He took off his jacket and then his tie followed, falling on the ground.
Soon, he stood naked in the moonlight, allowing it to bathe his skin. With a thought, he started to change. His hands curved into claws, fur black as the night appeared and he fell down on all fours, groaning slightly with the effort. The wolf shook himself and lifted his head to the sky with a long, low howl. It was good to be free again.
With one last look back to where he knew her room to be, he turned and ran into the warm desert night, howling his cares to the bright orb hanging low in the sky. The moon was almost full.
Marcus was the Lupin for a reason. He had the unique ability to control his change throughout the month. Only during the full moon did he actually need to and then only for a short time. Otherwise, he could shift into his wolf form at will.
One other had been able to do this—David Crow. Not only did his uncle have the ability to change into a wolf, but also a bear and an eagle. His uncle had been special. Or was had the right word now? According to Lainie he was alive and well and sending her Christmas cards.
Marcus growled and dug into the loose dirt with his claws, running up the small rise behind his house. He glanced back at it, glistening like a jewel in the dim light. She was inside his home now, what could be the greatest treasure of his life, or his greatest torment depending on his point of view. He’d changed his mind about that at least ten times today alone.
She messed with his equilibrium, and he wasn’t sure he liked that. But it was all balanced out by the fact that she made him feel alive again. He’d been holding his emotions in check for so long that he did it automatically. Now, however, he had the feeling she would break his control. He only hoped they both survived the experience.
Chapter Five
“Damn.” Lainie whistled softly, taking in the contents of the room. Dark rose rugs were scattered over the floors. A fireplace, smaller than the one downstairs, but made of the same stone, sat in the far right corner by the large sliding-glass window. A down comforter covered the bed in a shade slightly lighter than the rugs, with mountains of pillows ranging from blush pink to almost red, interspersed with a few green and ivory.
The green stripe on the chaise lounge and rugged stone on the floor and the fireplace broke up the color scheme, barely saving it from being too feminine.
Her bags sat on the small bench at the foot of the bed waiting to be unpacked. She was moving to do just that when a soft howl echoed in the distance. She hurried to peer out of the large glass doors that led onto the balcony outside her room.
Nothing but the cacti loomed in the darkness beneath the almost-full moon. With a shiver, she turned and went back to putting away her things. She didn’t have that much with her but Marcus had promised the rest of her things would arrive tomorrow.
She decided all her furnishings would fit into this room with no trouble at all. Not that she’d tell him that, it might give him ideas to move her here. The big idiot was as bossy as ever.
With a bored sigh, she decided to explore her immediate surroundings and went to the door she thought led to the bathroom. Instead, when she unlocked it, she found another room, as beautifully appointed as her own. Done in earthy browns and dark greens and blues, very masculine, and she knew just what man it belonged to. How convenient that it had a connecting door.
She gritted her teeth and tapped her foot on the floor. Someone wanted their midnight girl-snack close at hand. Had she seemed that easy? With a laugh, she decided she didn’t really care. Despite all his shortcomings, he still made her feel more alive than she had in years.
He also had the ability to make her angrier than she’d been in years too. His controlling attitude was one of the things she hadn’t missed at all. If he thought he could subdue her like his servants, he was setting himself up for disappointment.
Another howl echoed through the night. Lainie wrapped her arms around herself and wondered where Marcus was. She wouldn’t mind a little company right now. Wolves disturbed and fascinated her. They always captured her attention when they came on TV. Beautiful, strong and wild, they called to some level deep within her psyche, one she didn’t want to examine too closely. As she made her way through her teens and adulthood, she realized there were some subjects she shouldn’t dwell on too long. When she tried, she got sick to her stomach and suffered from what amounted to panic attacks. The sight of a wolf with its prey had the ability to make her feel numb with shock and heated with something else.
She hated feeling out of control, hated knowing she didn’t understand herself fully. In an age of self-analysis and getting in touch with your mind, she didn’t have access to a lot of her childhood memories.
David told her she blocked them because they were traumatic. Joanna said to try and force them would be even more so. Sometimes Lainie wondered why they’d always been against her remembering things. It was as if they were hiding important revelations from her. Marcus would hide things from her as well, “for her own good” of course. He’d feel he was protecting her from whatever would make her upset. She wasn’t a child any longer, nor was she fragile.
With that thought, she stalked to the remaining door and flung it open to reveal a richly appointed bathroom, also in shades of pink. “Ew, it’s like someone puked up Pepto in here.” On further inspection, it reminded her of a seashell. However, she would never admit that she liked anything pink, so she put that on her list of grievances. She wanted to have something against Marcus, something to keep her from just falling into his bed without the slightest resistance.
“Pink is my favorite color.” She sang to herself while running the large and yes, pink tub full of the hottest water she could stand. She wondered if she’d use it all up and force him to take a cold shower. Her mouth turned up in an evil grin at the thought. “I hope so, maybe that will cool him off.” She took off her clothes, tossing them at the hamper. She’d worry about washing things later. Tonight, she was too tired to do more than bathe and get into bed.
She lay back and stretched her legs out in the tub. This was much nicer than hers. She wouldn’t get used to it though, because she wasn’t staying. No matter how luxurious the accommodations, it was still a prison.
She scrubbed her hair with much more vigor than needed, then dunked her head beneath the surface to rinse. When she popped back up and opened her eyes, she got a bit of a shock. A huge black wolf stood in the doorway.
“Oh shit, oh shit,” she breathed.
In answer, the wolf licked his lips and walked even farther into the room.
“Ooh, no! Go away. Shoo!” She flicked her wet hands at him.
He flinched when the water hit him in the face and stopped, staring at her with a pair of glowing golden eyes. The contrast between his fur and eyes made his stare even more intense. He was the biggest wolf she’d ever seen. Not that she had seen all that many, come to think of it, not in real life, anyway. If they stood side by side, his shoulder would be level with her hip.
She wouldn’t be standing beside him, however, not by a freaking long shot. “I said to git!” she yelled.
Instead, he moved closer.
She squealed and slid back in the tub, promptly going under with a strangled yelp. After much splashing and screaming, she resurfaced and came face-to-face with him. “Urk?” she managed.
He sniffed her arm where it rested on the edge of the tub, and then licked it, gently.
She waited with her eyes squinted, expecting him to bite down on her bare flesh. When nothing happened, she chanced another glance at him.
He was grinning at her; there was no other word for it. His tongue lolled out and he panted.
“Oh. My. God!” she squealed. “Are you a freakin’ pet?”
He leaned forward, pushing his nose beneath her hand.
“I guess that’s a yes.” She giggled when he licked her wet fingers. “Are you the howler?” She reached out and scratched his ears.
With a sigh, he sat and put his muzzle on the side of the tub.
“This is so cool. Leave it to Marcus to have a wolf as a pet.” She stood and reached for the towel she’d left on the floor beside the tub.
“Back up, pretty puppy.” She pushed at him until he stepped out of her way.
He watched her as she dried off with one of the huge pink towels. “I’m glad you’re here. I was getting lonely.” She put her gown on and started out of the room.
“You want to sleep with me? If Marcus don’t like it, tough.” She turned off the lights and got into bed with him trailing her every step. The animal leapt onto the foot of the bed. She
grinned at him until he crawled up to put his head on the pillow beside hers. “Hey, down at the bottom.” She pointed but he ignored her. “Oh, fine.” It wasn’t as if she could move him anyway. He looked like he weighed a ton. “Goodnight, puppy.”
He barked and looked insulted.
“Well, sorry, I don’t know your name. Tomorrow I’ll ask Marcus. I won’t tell him that you slept in here with me. It will be our little secret.” She turned over so that she faced him.
She wondered how he got in until she saw that the door to the balcony hadn’t shut all the way. With another look at the huge canine lying between her and the door, she decided it didn’t matter. Anything that came in would have to go through him, and while he’d been nice to her, she had a feeling he’d go for the throat if he felt threatened.
Her eyes drifted closed and she smiled when he pressed his nose against her cheek, almost like a kiss. “Aw, how sweet.” Then she frowned. “Ew, dogs lick their butts, gross. No, no,” Lainie muttered, wrapping her arm around his neck. She pushed at him until he rested his head on her chest. “There, now, be still or get down.” And with that, she drifted off to sleep.
Marcus lay in his wolf form wondering if he would expire from the torment of it all. Instead of changing back to his human self, he’d leapt up on the balcony and pressed his nose to the glass. He’d been surprised that the door slid open but decided he may as well go in and check on her. The sounds of water splashing led him to the bathroom and once he saw her in there naked, there was no way he was going to let such an opportunity pass. He’d walked in and looked his fill. Lainie as an adult was a hell of a lot better than he remembered. When she’d screamed, he again thought of leaving.
When she’d slipped in the tub and he’d gone over to make sure she came back up. At least, this was what he told himself. In reality, he wanted to look at her up close.
She’d popped up and stared at him with those wide green eyes. There was fear there, but beneath it all, he sensed fascination. Who wouldn’t be? He was a wolf, anyone would love the opportunity to touch one if it was safe enough to do so. When he’d nudged her hand for a scratch, she’d complied.