Wolf on a Leash

by Virginia Nelson

He’d never been the sort of man who found kissing interesting. It was a means to an end, a way to make a woman sigh and go a bit dazed, rather than something that pleased him much. But with her?

  His tongue thrust against hers, mimicking a motion he’d enjoy replicating with his cock, and she answered with equal fervor. Hiking her ass higher, dragging her to lean on the rough wood of the door, he pressed into her groin with his aching dick, and she writhed into his thrust. Her fingernails bit into his scalp, and he ate the quiet cry she managed as his nails dug into her ass cheeks.

  Soft. Her round ass was so soft under his touch when he squeezed roughly. The hellcat in his arms went wilder, bucking against him with a ravishing abandon.

  Without a thought to logic or being careful, he snagged the front of her bra and ripped the fabric off her. It shredded, the delicate red no match for the fire she’d ignited with her scent and the hushed sounds she made. Her eyes, when he considered her face hidden behind the damn leather wolf mask, had an almost unnatural glitter to them, but then she tugged him close for another kiss and his thoughts frayed.

  One-handed, he reached between them, yanking his jeans button free and zipper down in a single move. Due to the extensive testing done for membership, he knew she had a recent clean bill of health, but he should get a condom—

  “No,” she whispered. Cupping his face between her small hands, she shook her head. “I want to feel you. It is safe; I’m protected.”

  He should still resist, but the idea of sinking inside her seared him, awakening a new and unexpected kink. He wanted to feel her, too, all hot, wet and clenching like a glove around him. “You’re sure?”

  Her nod was followed by a nip of her white teeth against his shoulder. Usually, he’d spank a sub for daring to bite him. For some reason, Lupine’s bite left him growling, needing and wanting more. “Be cautious, little wolf. I’m still the one in charge.”

  Her gaze dropped, submissive bless her heart, and she panted, waiting. Without bothering to shed his pants, he destroyed her panties much like he’d discarded her bra. One firm grip bared her to his sight, and he battled a wave of unreasonable ferocity when the scent of her ardor met his nose. He had to get more of the scent, and he refused to wait.

  His plan to plunge inside her forgotten, he shoved her up the door and bent between her legs to nuzzle the scent with his face. Propping her thighs on his shoulders so his hands were free, he cupped her ass, his nails digging into the flesh to hold her open as he lapped at the flavor he’d dreamed about since the night before. She released a ragged cry when he slid his tongue inside her, fucking her with his mouth, seemed to reach inside him and awaken a beast. So, he pulled her ass away from the door before forcing her back with a thump. His lips closed over her hard, exposed clit.

  Another scream resonated from her throat, this one having the edge of a roar he’d heard echo in his mind a thousand times during the long day without her, and he smiled into her pussy. Yes, throbbing and clenching, plump and wet, her sex exposed her pleasure clear as the sounds still escaping her throat.

  Thinking of her throat made him imagine the sight of her on her knees, hands tied behind her, her crimson-red lips circled his aching dick. He wouldn’t last much longer, not with his imagination vivid as the tangy sweetness on his tongue, so he spread her legs farther and backed his face away from his feast long enough to plunge two fingers inside her, arching them up to find her G-spot.

  Her twisting, bucking hips showed him he’d found it. He settled down to drink from her orgasm. She shattered, and he licked up her cream as if it might sate the hunger overriding his good sense.

  After she’d come again, he lifted her away from the door before tossing her onto the bed. She bounced once, hair flying out and resembling a banner behind her, before her body melted boneless onto the mattress. “Want to use your safe word, little wolf, or are you still hungry for my touch?”

  She whimpered, spreading her legs and opening her arms to him in obvious welcome. When he still didn’t move, she arched her ass, marked with red from his clawing hold, to present her wet, glistening pussy to him, a gift he greedily accepted. “Please, I need—”

  He didn’t need directions; he knew what she needed. Grasping her knees, he yanked her to the edge of the bed and shoved inside her all in one move. Her scream throbbed through the room, and his eyes closed at the instant bliss of being buried to the hilt in her tempting little pussy. She was so wet. There was no resistance as their bodies merged. He gazed down at her heaving stomach, her jiggling titties, and her open mouth as she panted for him. “I know what you need, little wolf.”

  She didn’t disagree, using her hands fisted in the blanket to further arch her body against him and grind their hips together. Deciding she still had too much control, he lifted her higher, holding her ass as he withdrew and buried himself deep again. His balls tightened, threatening release, but he wouldn’t come until he’d shattered her again. He’d claim his little wolf….

  Her eyes met his and then closed. Her lip was caught between her teeth, and he lifted and shoved her down on his cock again, reveling in the bounce and then crushing of her tits against his chest. One-handed, he held her in place at the waist, so he could smack her sweet little ass with the other. Again, her hips ground against his and her eyes flashed open—yellow this time.

  “Lupine?” he managed, his dick so hard he thought he’d burst any second.

  “Yes,” she whispered. “Please, take me before I claim you.”

  Her words didn’t make sense, but he didn’t care. Releasing her, he lay her on the bed. She went with a whimper, seeming as unhappy as he at the separation, and he positioned her on her knees. He could thrust deeper if he wasn’t holding her, could unleash the untamed beast she’d created. “Keep your ass in the air for me, little wolf.”

  She obeyed, gurgling some compliant sound, before he settled into his rhythm and pounded into her while rubbing her clit with the flat of his hand.

  When he came, he swore he saw stars behind his eyes, and, resembling a kid with his first piece of ass, he collapsed on her, trying to remember how to breathe when he was done.

  Chapter Five

  Ryker wasn’t one for many words, so she wasn’t surprised when the Enforcer led her up the hill in silence. When she’d gotten his command to meet him, fear tinged the dewy happiness which shrouded her ever since the night before. A glance at the horizon confirmed as clearly as if she’d looked at her cell-phone display—night was coming, soon, and she didn’t want to be on a hill with Ryker.

  She’d prefer being home, preparing to meet him. She didn’t have to ask when she’d awakened alone, the scent of him wreathing her like a bouquet, to know he’d be back for her. The mutual nature of their attraction had been verified with his every move, his every touch, and the feel of his thick hardness buried deep inside her.

  Her skin flushed at the memory, and she cast a glance over her shoulder at Ryker to see if he scented her arousal. Typical dominant, he didn’t waste a single look her direction, no doubt disregarding her altogether. She was beneath notice, beneath importance, something proved during Magnum’s long and oblivious reign. The rage this knowledge brought further fueled her rebellion. Who was Ryker, of all Wolves, to call her to task, assuming he suspected she’d been cavorting—fucking the brains out of—a human? Everyone knew Ryker had marked a human then claimed her as his mate. He didn’t have any right—

  The hand clutching the nape of her neck left her yelping, head bowed in submission. Pain lanced from the grip, searing down her spine and dropping her to her knees with tears in her eyes. In seconds, she flopped, belly up, hoping to eliminate his dominance play with her obvious submission. Her eyes betrayed her resistance to his control over her, meeting his gaze while she lay exposed and helpless at his feet.

  “Not acceptable, little one.” His palm moved, lightly gripping the front of her neck so she just felt the bite of his nails. She read the nonverbal warning in his touch. If they’d be
en in Wolf form, he’d have bitten her neck, demanding her submission and acknowledgement of his dominion. As it was, his hand warned her he could snap her spine with a simple twist of his wrist. His eyes furthered his dominance display, since nothing human gazed out at her. Instead, his Wolf peered at her, daring her to challenge him.

  Dropping her eyelids, she went still, relaxing into the forest floor. She daren’t say a word, knowing the ground she stood on could shatter beneath her at any given moment. She’d made a mistake not bending to his will right away. She wasn’t always so careless, but her relationship with the human made her reckless. She felt important, something years of the broken pack hadn’t managed to do. If she played the submissive long enough, Ryker would soon bore with the lack of challenge and find better things to do with his day than harassing the weakest of the wolves.

  “Your scent is occluded. You’ve been doing things you didn’t ask permission to do, Patch.”

  She swallowed, or tried to—his hand, pressed on her throat, stopped her. He had to have known—then again, he’d asked if she was safe, not granted her permission to play.

  “We can’t protect you if you stray from the pack. Do you yield?”

  More words in a single conversation than she’d ever heard him speak, but if her nose wasn’t lying, his mate was nearby, and he wouldn’t risk the woman to a Wolf out of control. “I yield.”

  “Good.” Releasing her and standing, as if nothing transpired in the moments of tension before, Ryker looked off into the distance. Toward his human mate, the damn hypocrite. “There’s something you’ve been meaning to tell me.”

  Unable to get up, since he still towered over her, her Wolf scraped fur against her insides. Though the Wolf didn’t speak to her in words, she let it be known how much she hated being ill at ease with her family, her pack mates. As her gut twisted at the unnatural sensation, Patch hid her face with her hand in shame.

  “You broke the law if he knows about you.”

  The simple sentence had her uncurling, teeth snapping at the male before her. The law would have both of them paying a price for something neither of them controlled. She’d no more let Ryker near her mate than she’d willingly carve her own heart from her chest. Minotaur was hers.

  “The submissive pup has teeth after all.” Drew’s words alerted her to the presence of her Alpha before she scented him, distracted as she’d been by Ryker. Her head ducked automatically upon realizing he might have seen her blatant rebellion. Shit. If they both cornered her, she was in big trouble. To go from being the ignored one, a Wolf without anyone bothering to make her feel like pack, to having both the Alpha and Enforcer’s attention was a position she didn’t know how to handle.

  But little insurrections, those were her forte. Head bowed, belly still exposed, she half whispered the words, “Ryker has a human. You can’t punish me for breaking the law while allowing him to do so without repercussions.”

  Ryker’s laughter was a foreign sound, so shocking she canted her head to make sure his chest released the mirth.

  Drew scratched his chin, not looking happy. “I don’t know what you’re laughing about. We decided these issues were your problem, not mine.”

  The unusual laughter snapped off so fast, it was as if someone flipped a switch.

  Although Drew’s words suggested he wasn’t going to punish her infraction, he knelt before her, tugging her chin up until their eyes met. His Wolf gazed out, and hers shied away, long accepting herself unworthy of an alpha’s notice. “You’re part of my pack, Patch. I’m not Magnum.”

  She wriggled, wanting to free herself from his grip, but drawn to meet his eyes again. When she did and couldn’t hold the weight of his gaze, ties snapped into place, binding her in a way no rope could. The soul-deep sensation sizzled across her senses, and she felt something long remembered, perhaps gone for so long, she’d been a child when she felt it last.

  Pack.

  She was part of the pack, part of something bigger, and she could almost feel the threads of the other wolves connecting her, grounding her. Blinking away tears before they traced down her cheeks, she nuzzled into Drew’s hand. Alpha.

  Drew’s sigh was almost sad, but he tightened his fingers on her chin. “Yes, pack, Patch. You’re part of my pack. Yet, the human’s scent is all over you. Are you bringing him to the mountain and are we making room for more humans, or what are your plans?”

  Choice. He gave her family, pack, and choice all in one breath, and she was dizzy from the cascade of emotions. She’d never been offered choice before, not by anyone in the pack structure.

  “He’s mine.” The words swelled from deep inside her, the rumble in her tone proving her Wolf agreed with the two-word sentiment.

  “Then be sure he can keep our secrets and claim him.”

  Ryker’s words left her shaking. Could she?

  Drew snorted and stood. “Apparently, we’re collecting humans now.”

  ***

  She was late. He’d been sure she’d feel the draw to his side as strong as he felt drawn to her. Instead? The club had been open for hours, yet she still hadn’t arrived.

  Pacing in the forest outside the dungeon, pine needles crunching and releasing their pungent aroma with each step, Kennedy tried to tamp down the panic her absence seemed to awaken. He’d come home to escape nightmares and found he could dream of nothing but the sweetness of her scent and the abandon of her surrender.

  He’d come home to fight off his demons, to find space when the war left him feeling broken and like half a man. Instead, he’d found a woman who made him forget he had demons to battle and who made him long for nothing more than being with her. He didn’t feel like half a man, he felt like half a soul, torn in two, without her by his side.

  Worse, he didn’t just want to play with her in the club. He longed to rip off her mask, to find out who she was. To learn what made her laugh and smile and cry….

  To be the one to dry her tears and join her mirth.

  He wished for things he’d thought he would never be fit for, and he didn’t yet know her name. She left him craving, empty, too full of her to begin to worry about anything beyond the bond they shared.

  “Little wolf, where are you?” The almost plaintive tone of his own voice jarred him, but he couldn’t deny his chest felt as if he’d taken a round of fire right through his heart. Empty. Without her he felt almost empty, a hollowed-out husk who desired her to fill him up and make him whole.

  A branch snapped, and he swiveled his head as he tracked the sound. Something was in the forest with him.

  Not unusual, albeit startling. At night, many creatures came out to hunt and play, not just kinky bastards like himself. A moment of scanning the darkness revealed the shadow of a large dog about ten yards to his right.

  No, not a dog.

  A wolf. A beautiful gray creature with yellow eyes.

  The eyes staggered him, and when he should have run, should have looked for a way to defend himself, he fell to his knees instead. He opened his arms, helpless to try to defend himself when those eyes seemed to sear him to the bone.

  The eyes in the wolfish face were her eyes, his Lupine, his little wolf. Downwind, he caught a hint of her scent on the night breeze, enough to tickle his senses and make him more aware.

  Maybe it was the war—maybe he’d gone mad or something. Because what his nose and eyes told him made no sense. But then the creature moved, sliding out of the shadows and seeming to transform as he watched. In seconds—hours?—the shape became Lupine. It was as if her slim curves swallowed the wolf, or merged into a person in a way no horror movie ever captured. Her face, for once not masked, emblazoned itself into his memory, and something clicked in his brain.

  Mine.

  Regardless of what his logical thoughts on the matter might be, he knew one fact without a doubt. She was his. The sense of rightness that came with the thought meant whatever the truth was, it didn’t matter. She was his and he was hers. His hands shook as he took o
n the weight of knowing, and his whole life reframed around the single, most important, bit of information.

  “So, uh, I couldn’t think of another way to tell you, although I know there are less jarring ways to do a big secret reveal.” Seeming nervous, she paused a few feet away from where he still knelt. Far enough so he couldn’t touch her as moonlight bathed her shoulders and the weight of her breasts.

  “I think I’ve gone crazy. Some weird PTSD thing, maybe.” He couldn’t be less than honest with her. If she were to accept him, as he knew he accepted her, he had to let her know he was scarred inside, broken at his core. He might never be the man he’d been, but would love her anyway. He searched for words in his whirling brain as a man in a blizzard searched for home.

  She shook her head. “My name is Patch. I know, I’m not supposed to tell you. And I said I wouldn’t take off my mask, so I’m breaking our contract. But we’re not in the club, so….”

  She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, appearing to expect his censure.

  “Kennedy. Kennedy Laurie, returned home fresh from a tour of Afghanistan.” He swallowed. “I was a soldier.”

  Gnawing the ripe redness of her lips, she looked so fragile for a woman who, moments before, had walked on four legs as a deadly predator. He fought against the urge to pull her close, to offer comfort for whatever bothered her. To suck away the indents from her teeth on her gnawed on lower lip. To lay her on the ground and take her—hallucination be damned.

  “You were in the military, then? What branch?”

  Her question didn’t register as important. Not when he still tried to make sense of the illogical thing he’d witnessed. “I saw—”

  “I’m a Wolf. I’ve always been a Wolf, and I hope it doesn’t freak you out. Our kind…we find mates sometimes. We claim them. The sex between us is…uh, I’m having a hard time resisting claiming you, so we kind of have to have this talk now before I do something I can’t undo. It’s not fair, my need to claim you, since you’re human and all and don’t know what I’m talking about. You should have a choice, so….” She twisted her hair around her fingertip, didn’t meet his eyes. In turns, she covered her breasts then revealed them, wavering between standing up straight to face off with him and almost cowering within seconds, before she’d switch again. Her insecurity made something warm, something softer, sprout in his chest, and he clutched a fist against it as if to hold the growing emotion inside physically.