by Ruby Raine
They exchanged no words.
Charlie stepped through the door, closing it behind him. He grabbed the tequila bottle with his left hand and the woman’s waist with his right. After taking a swig from the bottle he set it down with a thud and smashed the woman against the wall. Breaths instantly thick and heavy. Three season’s worth of foreplay and waiting, for summer.
Too many clothes. They needed to come off. Now.
He gripped the neckline of her shirt and tore it down the middle. He stepped back enough to peel the shirt over his head as she shimmied out of what was left of the shirt, not quite making it when Charlie slammed her against the wall, her arms caught up in the shirtsleeves over her head. He stretched her upward filling in the curves of her body with his own. So perfect. So soft. So round in every right place.
His lips brushed against hers, holding back. So very ready, but even after their summers together, still not trusting this was safe.
“You know you can’t hurt me, Charlie.”
The only words he needed to hear. Reassurance that all was as it should be.
Regardless, it still wasn’t easy to give in all the way. He kept himself locked up, in check, away from females for fear he might hurt them, twenty-four seven. Letting go each summer when Nina arrived was always difficult. Like he had twenty doors that needed to be unlocked before he could proceed.
“Let go,” she encouraged again, her voice throaty. Needy. Her body writhing against him.
He growled, going in for another kiss, but stopped at the last second deciding to free her arms instead. His hands slid down her back and lifted her off the floor. Another couple of those metaphorical doors unlocked. And if he panted any heavier he was going to pass out.
Nina’s legs wrapped around him, pulling him closer. The desire in her eyes, her undulating body, pulled Charlie in like a drug he needed a hit of, his chest heaving with strained breaths.
His brain screamed to unlock the last damned door and let go.
Nina did the same, her voice a ragged whisper. She cupped his face in her hands, fingers warm and soft against the rough skin of his face, the hairs of which darkened thickly as she caressed him.
God. Such a simple thing. To be touched, intimately. Without fear of the consequences.
“Let go,” she said again. “You can’t hurt me.”
His bared teeth grazed across Nina’s luminescent skin, threatening to sink into her shoulder. “I can sure as hell try,” he growled out, control nearly lost to him.
“There’s my big bad wolf,” she uttered breathlessly.
A warm, golden glow started to emanate from a black ring Nina wore on her finger, spreading over her body like a protective shield. It extended out from her own body, ensnaring Charlie.
It spread a feeling of security over every inch of him.
The warmth willing him to surrender completely.
He let out a breathy snarl and before she could react, Charlie slid Nina up the wall throwing her legs around his shoulders. Nina let out a startled squeal, reached up, and grasped a wooden beam on the ceiling.
Control snapped. Teeth tore through the thin cotton separating her from his mouth. It fell away revealing the prize underneath. He shoved his mouth into her lusty flesh vibrating out a merciless growl that promised only ruthless pleasure even if she begged him to stop or claimed too much.
“Fucking Jesus.” She bucked, crying out. Her hands fell from the beam shoveling into his hair. He attacked relentlessly, sucking, growling, nipping at her core.
Nina’s body writhed against the wall and white-hot burn igniting. She screamed his name, hands fisting so tight she almost yanked hair out of his head. Her body convulsed, a series of breathy moans shooting into the air. Soaked satiated flesh quaked against his lips. Her mouthwatering lust bringing a snarl out of Charlie.
He pulled back, his breaths short and expectant. Her body slid down the wall until her face met his.
“Someone,” she breathed out heavily, “is a very pent up wolf.”
“You have no idea,” he growled.
She reached down, rubbing her hand against his shorts. “Let me down so I can taste you.” She licked her lips, excited at the thought.
“No.”
“So serious.”
“Tonight is about everything I’m going to do to you, Nina.”
“I can’t come up with an argument to that.”
“Good. Because you would lose.” He let her feet fall to the floor and slithered out of his shorts. He captured her hands attempting to touch him, and pinned her against the wall with a silver stare that warned not to try that again. She might be protected and unbreakable, but he was in control, not her.
She struggled against him, just a little. Taunting him with a possible escape, which only got a rise from the wolf. And a need to make her submit. He toyed with letting her go, the chase a thrilling vexation. Instead, he imprisoned her arms higher over her head, teeth grazing across her right breast threatening the peaked center with just a little pain. He found the other and did the same, Nina gasping. Jerking underneath his imprisoning grasp.
He found her mouth. With force. Taking. Rubbing the hungry part of him against her core. Fuck, she was a vortex of release calling him into her body. Begging for him to take her. Now.
Another growl vibrated against her neck. Teeth scratching across her skin. In fluid movement, he freed her arms, gripped her ass, and pulled her legs up around him and shoved in.
Lungs faltered.
Maybe he should have let her taste him. He was going to explode way too fast. The first drive had him nearly there. He pulled to the edge and thrust in again, pumping all his pent up angst into her.
“Give me everything,” Nina coaxed in a gust of hot breath. Her legs tightened around him. He drilled into her, harder. Faster. His hands gripping her ass, the wall behind them punished by the brunt of his thrusts.
Her luscious center tightened with each push, ripping across nerves, his breaths turning into fevered grunts each time he slammed her into the wall.
Teeth planted onto her skin. Sharp wolf fangs tried like hell to sink into the flesh on her shoulder. Nina’s head pressed into the wall a euphoric cry on her lips. Though blissfully painful, his bite did not penetrate her skin.
As he bit, hard, a flash of white flipped through his brain. Hair, lots of it. Eva’s... something about that woman was so very... biteable. The thought seeped into his mind, disappearing into the depths of memory.
All that mattered was the woman he was currently slamming against the wall with all the force his hips could make. A thrilling vibration rocketed through him, into her, the pressure building in a frenzy to the finish.
Charlie blew apart. Nina tightened around him, her nails digging into his back.
And then her grip on him relaxed, the pressure blown and the pot cooling to a simmer.
He released his teeth hold on Nina’s shoulder with a spent gushing of air. Exhales thick and heavy in the effort. His forehead came to a rest against hers.
Neither said anything.
Just caught their breaths.
Charlie backed them away from the wall, carrying her like she weighed nothing at all, landing his butt on a sofa which lined the opposite wall. Nina straddled him, her chest heaving in ragged satiation.
“I’ll say it again, Charlie Howard. You are one pent up wolf.”
“But tonight I’m your pent up wolf,” he returned wickedly. Something nudged between her thighs, hardening for a second round.
“I’m so screwed,” Nina gasped, wriggling herself against him.
“That’s the plan,” growled Charlie sinfully.
He definitely wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight.
EVA JORDAN JOGGED ON a pathway through the woods, her stark white hair bounced behind her in a loose ponytail. She grinned coolly, wondering how the Howard Witches would react to the not so subtle message she’d left them in White Pines National Park last night.
“It sh
ould get Charlie good and riled.” She hoped. Eva’s mouth turned up slightly. “No, it definitely will.”
She needed him to let his guard down so he would transform into a werewolf. If she didn’t succeed tonight, she’d have to wait another month until the next full moon to try again. She didn’t have that kind of time.
The sun was just rising, peeking over the densely grown forest that surrounded the path. The sun didn’t reach the ground though, giving it the appearance of being dusk.
Even with this dusk-like setting, Eva had no trouble seeing where she was going. She never missed a jutting root or rock, jumping over them with ease. Her gaze tightened suddenly, her head whipping abruptly as she ran, staring into the woods.
Something was running alongside her.
She ran faster.
Faster than a normal human should be able to run. Then again, she wasn’t completely human.
Whatever gave chase kept her pace.
Eva lunged into the woods without hesitation, landing on, and immobilizing her opponent in a single, smooth motion. Not even winded, she flipped over the body revealing a misshapen face. Upon seeing it, she rolled her eyes in annoyed apathy.
The man let loose a growl, baring his jagged teeth at her.
“Caleb,” she spoke dryly, releasing him.
He jumped up, his misshapen facial features changing as he did so. Thick hair on his face thinned and then vanished completely, his jagged teeth shortened, his mouth transformed into a beguiling smile.
“Hello, Eva,” he greeted.
“What the hell are you doing here? I told you not to come.”
“You have no control over me,” the man named Caleb retorted. “I am a bit sad you’re not happier to see me.”
“I’m on a job, idiot. You know I work alone.”
“Ah, heck. I got bored, hopped the ferry, and decided to look you up.”
“I don’t need your kind of trouble, Caleb. You should leave, now. The full moon’s tonight.”
“C’mon now. Don’t you want to have a little fun, like the old days?”
“No, jackass. I don’t! Did you not just hear me say, I’m on a fucking job?”
“What happened to you anyway? You used to be so much fun.” He performed what was supposed to be a sultry dance to lure her instantly into his arms.
“Give it up, Caleb.” Eva worked back to the path, returning to her run.
“You know, Eva, since you hooked back up with dear old daddy, you’re friggin’ boring. And kind of a bitch.”
“I am a bitch.” Queen bitch, come tonight.
Eva tried to ignore Caleb as she ran towards home, but he followed like an obedient dog begging for a belly rub. Another thought arose quite suddenly, a possible solution to a problem she had not worked out yet.
A hidden smile crossed her face, and she stopped abruptly. “You know what, Caleb? I changed my mind. I am in the mood for a little fun.” A devilish twinkle crept into her eyes.
Caleb returned her mischievous gaze with one of his own. “What did you have in mind, Eva baby?”
“Follow me and find out,” she enticed him wickedly.
MELINDA KNOCKED GENTLY on William Wakefield’s locked iron door in the basement of the Howard Mansion. “Can I get you anything?” She peeked through a grate in the door.
“No. Thank you, Melinda. It’s nearly over now.” He kept his gaze down, staring into the pages of a book.
The human blood he had drunk to help Emily just a day before still lingered in his body. Melinda knew William would not allow his self-made prison to be unlocked until he felt it was completely safe to do so.
Not that he wasn’t comfortable. He had created a mini version of his study in the cell, for when he needed to spend time inside.
She was just grateful she’d gotten some sleep last night. More importantly, dreamless sleep, both in the prophetic and steamy departments. Her head felt a tiny bit more on straight today. Worked-up-level down ever so slightly to, I might not explode any second, but it wouldn’t take much to get back there, level.
William sighed. So quietly, she could not hear him.
There’s that flutter, the one still plaguing his thoughts with its meaning.
“I’m heading out,” she told him. The uncertainty was obvious in her tone, and he imagined her body movements if he could see her.
“On your own?” He kept his gaze down.
“Yeah. Thought I’d grab a coffee. Maybe take in some sea air.”
“That’s good,” he encouraged. “Perhaps tomorrow, I will join you.”
“I’m always up for your company, William.”
That flutter drove out madly; he growled under his breath. Regret of the offer, instant. She would be fine going out on her own, and should be doing so more often. He wanted Melinda to spend more time with humans her own age. Actually, he needed her to.
Her infatuation with him was becoming difficult for him to handle, especially after indulging in human blood, which now dried up leaving him craving more. And Melinda’s smelled far too enticing. Even with many practiced years of being around humans, he dared not take any chances. At least not until he’d gotten to the bottom of this new, frustrating heart flutter of hers that drove him mad, and surfaced thoughts that were inappropriate for him to have toward any human, most of all, Melinda.
It was his duty to protect her. As he did with all Howards.
His thoughts were not those of the protecting kind.
“I’m leaving some animal blood for you, just in case you change your mind.” She slid the blood pack through the bars of his door and let it slide down to the floor.
He shot her a grateful nod, his eyes never leaving the book.
“Wish me luck,” she said uneasily.
William listened closely as she turned to leave. Her heart strummed and her breaths tightened. “You’ll do fine,” he called out, encouraging her. “I have complete faith in you, Melinda.”
“I just don’t have it in myself,” she muttered, realizing she’d said it aloud which meant William heard. She hastened away, not giving him a chance to reply.
He waited until the sound of her footsteps were out of earshot.
His gaze tore away from the book he gripped so tightly he’d nearly left indents in the hard cover. Solid black eyes burned toward the door of his cell.
Having Melinda so close sent his blood craving into overdrive.
He did not understand what had changed, why he suddenly found her blood so much more appealing than usual. Whenever he had human blood in any amount, there was a period of craving and withdrawal to suffer through.
More concerning, however, was if there had not been a locked iron door between them, he might not have kept his control. It took everything he had to remain calm and act as if everything was normal.
He’d lived over four hundred years and suddenly now, out of the blue, he was faced with something new. Something he had never experienced before. A feeling deep in his core he did not understand and could not put a name to.
Yes, Melinda spending time with others would be good for them both.
His hungry eyes peered longingly at the animal blood pack.
Before he could stop himself, he dragged his body across the floor ripping it open with his teeth and sucked it dry. He licked his lips, tearing it open wide enough to lap at the lining, needing every single drop.
William closed his eyes, relishing the thick slick coating his throat.
A horrified gurgle erupted from his lips.
Damn his vile need for blood! His lust for it!
He tossed the empty bag aside. Disgusted.
Blood would not, and could not, control him.
It was sustenance, simply that and nothing more.
The Howards trusted him. He could not do anything to break that trust.
They were his only connection to a human existence. Without them, he was nothing. Just a thing. A thing that had lived much longer than any thing should.
They g
ave him purpose. Without them, he had no reason to continue going on.
MELINDA LEFT THE MANSION, unsure where she was heading. The town already bustled with tourists. She stepped onto the cobblestone walkway, sucked in the salty sea air, and soon found herself at the Wicked Muddy Café. Grace, the gruff woman who owned the café stood behind the counter.
“Well looky here,” she reveled upon seeing Melinda enter. “Twice in one week. I might just have to start givin’ you the locals’ discount if this’n becomes a habit.”
The woman seemed in a good mood, so Melinda tried her best to make small talk.
“Good morning, Grace.” She was sure to emphasize that she remembered her name. “I think I do plan on visiting more often.” For some reason her voice sounded awkward as if talking to someone who could not understand her. Melinda forced a smile, but as she reached into her pocket for cash, she accidentally swiped a pyramid of coffee gift packs, which went flying all over the floor.
She sighed, shaking her head. “I can’t even get a stupid cup of coffee without,” she mumbled the rest under her breath, bending down to pick up the mess.
Grace came around the corner.
“Look now. Don’t worry none about it. Been tellin’ myself for days that was gonna happen. Shouldn’t a put’em so damn close to the register.”
Grace watched Melinda’s poor attempts at picking up the mug gift packs and replacing them, without success.
“Why don’t you let me handle that?” Grace urged after a moment.
Melinda handed her the boxed mug she held, taking an embarrassed huff.
“You okay there?”
Melinda hadn’t expected her question and wasn’t sure how to respond. Seeing she wasn’t going to, Grace continued.
“You know, I knew your parents. Good folk. Took real good care of the people on this Isle.” She winked, with special meaning.
Melinda cocked her head to the side, taken aback. It had not dawned on her that Grace was a long time local that new about the Isle’s supernatural side.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you knew them.”
Grace headed back behind the counter. “They helped me out on more than one occasion,” she admitted quietly.