by Sara Kimball
Lincoln continued to pleasure her, the fingers inside curling and pressing while the stroked her, his thumb making her breath hitch. It wasn’t long before pleasure rippled through her veins. He kept stroking until her last shudder, and then pulled her forward. Spinning her, Alex realized the alcohol was almost worn off, as she hardly felt dizzy. She saw herself in a mirror on the wall, her face flushed, lips swollen from his kisses.
Pulling her stretchy pants down took him a moment, but he slid a foot between hers to spread her legs, then pressed against her, his tip sliding through her slick folds.
Through the open doorway, knocking could be heard down the hall. Then the voice of Jax calling softly, “Lincoln, you aren’t answering your phone, and I have some information for you about the mountain lion.” There was another knock. “Lincoln?”
He put his forehead down against her shoulder and groaned softly. “Fuck.” Pulling back, she heard him mutter, “Or not.” He helped her pull up her pants and then finished buckling his belt. “I’ll be back.” He kissed her softly and then dashed to the balcony, his gait eating up the distance quickly, but his footsteps making hardly a sound.
Waiting several moments, she heard his door open and then his voice, which was a little gruff. “Sorry. I was…busy. Let’s go.”
The alcohol was burned off now, and Alex looked up to the mirror in front of her. “I shouldn’t have done that.” She swallowed. Because even though she shouldn’t have done it, she still wanted to.
Nodding to her reflection, she muttered. “Now I just have to figure out how to turn him away when, or if, he comes back.”
///
Moira hiccupped again and faced Elizabeth, swaying on her feet slightly. “I think you owe me one for that. I managed to get her to drink most of it, but I still had to drink a lot.”
Elizabeth moved closer and helped her sit down. “Well, let’s hope it works at lowering her inhibitions.” She handed Moira a glass of water. “Thank you, dear. I know that you don’t drink much, and I appreciate you doing that.”
Moira chuckled. “Well, it’s not like she would have gotten plastered with you. Besides, it was fun. I like her.”
1891
Johnny, standing at the edge of the property, saw the man with the leather great coat coming down the drive on his horse. Racing to the barn, he met the man and helped him unload the saddle.
“Are you staying the night again, Uncle Frank?”
The man chuckled. “That’s the plan, if your ma will have me.”
“She will. She got dressed up all pretty and even took a bath. She made me take a bath too.” He helped to hang up the bridle, standing on a small stool to reach the hook outside the stall. Frank went and got some feed while Johnny continued. “I don’t like the soap. I miss the soap at my old home. It smelled like flowers. All the women used to use it and I got to take a bath after. They used to say I smelled dandy.”
Frank stilled, his head cocked to the side. He was silent a moment before asking, “Your mother tell you what kind of flowers the soap smelled like?”
Johnny grimaced, trying to remember. “Li…li something.”
“Lilacs?”
Johnny’s face lit up. “Yeah. I like that smell better. This one smells weird. And doesn’t make as good of bubbles.”
Frank’s eyes were squinted in anger, and he was looking at Johnny as if he was in trouble. “Did your ma and these women ever have menfolk over to visit?”
Johnny thought about it a minute, but didn’t want Frank to be mad. He enjoyed visits from the man, even if he got banished to the attic to sleep. “Yeah. But the women worked. My dad says they have to earn their keep. So I didn’t see them much. “
Frank muttered a curse and stormed his way into the house, slamming the door in Johnny’s face. Johnny sat outside on the steps as Frank began yelling, and then his blonde mother. And then there was smashing sounds and crying and lots of grunting.
He heard Frank yelling at her, “Whore, you whore. You were trying to trick me into marrying you. You aren’t good for anything but this.”
When they were done, Frank came back outside, tucking his shirt in his pants. He looked back in the house where Johnny’s blonde mother sat on the floor. “I’ll tell the boys in town. You’ll have some visitors once they get paid.”
Chapter 9
Jax and Lincoln stared at the monitor, and Jax slowed the speed down slightly. “See? It looks like a ball, and it came up and over the fence from this direction. I’ve sent a team out to poke around and see what they can find.”
Lincoln scratched his head. “The mountain lion chased a ball over our fence. I don’t think I’ve heard that one before.” Shaking his head, he sighed. “Hell. What is going on? First that prostitute, and now this.”
Jax shook his head as well. “I’ve been wracking my brain. Either this is just a series of random coincidences….but…”
He trailed off, and Lincoln looked at him intently. “I hear a military story coming along.”
Jax smiled faintly. “Right. Well, if I wanted to get in somewhere, but they had good security, I’d want to test it. See how fast they respond, how many respond, the more information the better.”
Lincoln’s brain was already catching up on Jax’s train of thought. “But you don’t want to do anything overt and be caught yourself, so you send in someone—or something—to test the defenses until you can come up with a plan.”
“Exactly.”
“In which case, go overkill if something odd happens again. But don’t just send the boys to whatever is going on, in case it’s a distraction. Make sure you send them out along all the borders and the gates just in case. Call in everybody, for the time being.”
“You got it.” Jax pulled out his phone and started making calls.
///
Problem dealt with, at least for the time being, Lincoln headed back to Alex’s room. His steps were quick and impatient, and he felt his excitement growing…along with another part of his anatomy. Only to be stymied by her locked door. Cursing, he released the handle and knocked softly.
A moment later the door was opened a smidge, Alex’s body blocking his access. “We shouldn’t. I shouldn’t. Sorry.”
She moved to shut the door and he tried to stop her, but was too late. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to ignore the ache below his belt and moved back to his room. It’s going to be a long night.
///
Alex was trying her best to avoid Lincoln the next morning, even going so far as to grab some toast and bacon from the dining area and eating it in the ballroom—or what had now become the gym. She was busy scribbling down the remainder of the exercises for today’s class. Some of the guards and other pack males were coming to her class that morning for conditioning and strength training. Then they were going to finish up with some light sparring so she could evaluate their levels of skill.
She was busy adding items to test the men on when a shadow fell across her. Looking up, it was hard not to stare into Lincoln’s silvery eyes, but she managed to pull her focus back to her paper. “Can I help you, Mr. Harcourt?”
He squatted next to her and gripped her chin with his strong fingers, turning her face to his once more. “It’s a little hard to be formal now, when just last night I was knuckle deep inside you, making you moan my name as you came.”
Alex could feel her body flushing, and was sure her cheeks were beet red. “It…We…” She cleared her throat and tried again. “I would like to keep our relationship professional from now on.”
Lincoln studied her face seriously, and then nodded. “Very well. I won’t do anything that you don’t want to do.” It felt slightly like a trap to Alex, that he was conceding so quickly, but after a minute of contemplation, she realized there was a loophole in his declaration. The fact that he wouldn’t do anything she didn’t want…meaning he thought he could get her to give in and ask him to be with her. Alex huffed and went back to work.
Shortly after her conver
sation with Lincoln, the men started arriving for class. It was a more somber, serious class than the previous day. She missed all the children’s voices and the cacophony of cheer they created. Alex pushed the thought aside and put the men to work immediately with conditioning. She started them off small, and then worked up to a hundred high kicks per leg. After some more stretching, they paired off to spar.
Moving through the groups of men, Alex helped to correct forms or offer suggestions that might give them better results. She was well received, and appreciated that the men were willing to listen to her without too much fuss. Finally, she could avoid it no longer, and worked her way over to Jax and Lincoln, who were in one of the corners. Their movements were quick and controlled, and Alex was able to tell that they had sparred together many a time before. She watched for a while, until another wolf interrupted. He was one of the guards, and took Jax away after whispering a few quick words in his ear.
Lincoln sidled up next to her, sweaty and delicious looking. “How about you take a break from teaching. Show me how it’s done?”
Alex chuckled and gave in, flowing smoothly into a ready stance and then attacking. They weren’t evenly matched, she could tell. But where he was stronger, she was faster and more flexible. The longer they fought with each other, the more fun she began having, and the faster she moved.
Avoiding her was becoming harder for him, and Alex knew she was wearing him out, so she kept pushing. If she could get him to where he was tired, she knew she could take him. Only, she made a mistake and ended up on her back, his hips wedged between her legs. His front was plastered against her own, his strong hands gripping her wrists and pinning them to the mat above her head. She could feel his chest working like a bellows as he inhaled quickly above her, and she felt some satisfaction in the fact that she had made him strive so hard for his win.
Lincoln’s smiling face was above her, and he shifted subtly, making her breath stutter in excitement. The soft scent of her arousal permeated the air and she saw his nostrils flare as he breathed it in. Along with the nostrils of the other wolves around them, watching.
Quickly, Alex conceded her defeat, standing and brushing him off of her in the process. “Thank you very much everyone. My boss, Tyler, will be here next week to continue. Keep up the good work.”
She patiently waited until most of the men had left, then slipped into her running shoes. She kept her breathing light and easy, but couldn’t help but be confronted by the smell of her own arousal over and over. She was sure it was lingering as she left the room. Embarrassment faded as she crept out the front door, and then made her way in a brisk jog down the drive, stretching her legs into a decently paced run.
It wasn’t quite the same as a run on four legs, but the time alone did allow her to concentrate on her swirling thoughts. She wanted Lincoln. It wasn’t something she doubted. Her body definitely craved his. But the doubts she had… What happens if Mitch, or Johnny even, finds me and causes problems for Lincoln, or his Pack? And what about if he’s just using me for sex and then he won’t want to see me again? An even more difficult thought struck her. What if he isn’t using me, but he wants more? What if he doesn’t want to let me go? She felt out of her depth, and she didn’t like the shaky feeling inside herself as she usually prided herself on knowing exactly what to do.
So instead of dwelling on her doubts, she went about tearing them apart. First off, Lincoln clearly isn’t interested in having me as his mate. Mates usually know by now, so he would have said. So I don’t have to worry about him wanting to keep me around. Secondly, so what if he’s just using me for sex and then he’ll be fine when I leave. I haven’t had sex that has been really enjoyable…but I did enjoy last night. It was the first time I’ve gotten off without helping myself. Maybe I should just give it a shot and see what happens. I’m planning to leave in four or five days anyway…and I know I can’t want more with him than a fling, so what’s the point of resisting?
Or maybe that’s the problem…that maybe I do want more with him. Is that why I’m trying to pull away so hard? She felt her breath hitch for a second, but then she resumed her normal pacing. I can’t have it anyway. Not with Johnny and Mitch hanging over my head. Logically, I know they will find me eventually, and I’ve been practicing defending myself. But maybe that’s my problem with Lincoln. I saw him and his men corral that mountain lion, work together to keep the kids safe, and then I watched as he showed everyone he was strong enough to take it out. Maybe…maybe I wish I had someone like that to help me with my brother. I didn’t stand a chance against them before, so I ran. But I can’t help but feel that if Lincoln did want me, he would help me when I needed…and then I wouldn’t have to fight alone, struggle alone. An insidious thought whispered through the back of her head, or be alone.
Maybe I should just let things happen. I already know I’ll have fun. And if it turns out to be nothing, then oh well, at least I had fun and some orgasms. And if it turns into something, then maybe Lincoln would be okay with helping me out with my brother.
Alex mulled it over as she reached the gate to the main road. She debated whether or not to turn back, but she didn’t feel worn out enough, so she slipped through and onto the road, determined to burn all the spinning thoughts in her head into embers.
Jogging on the shoulder, she plodded on.
///
Ryan Dayton studied the female figure running steadily down the side of the road, and ducked lower in his spot. The small beige car he had stolen was tucked neatly into the bushes, and a fine coating of dust kept the window glare to a minimum. Carefully, he pulled out the photo in his pocket. It was older, but the woman in front of him was definitely the one that the boss wanted.
Returning the photo, he pulled out his phone and called Oscar. When the other man answered he didn’t waste time on preamble. “She’s jogging right now. On the road.”
Oscar swore. “Out of the compound?” More swearing. “Fuck, I can’t believe we aren’t there. Go get her. But be careful not to be seen.”
Ryan grunted and hung up, starting the car.
///
Alex heard a car slowing down behind her, and moved further over on the shoulder. She kept on, but when the car kept slowing and didn’t pass her she glanced over her shoulder. A beige car with tinted windows began to pull over. She kept running, but kept her hearing focused on it, wondering what the driver was doing.
The driver’s door opened and she risked another glance back, just in time to hear another vehicle approaching. The driver’s door closed and the beige car moved on just as a large SUV rolled up next to her. This vehicle stopped in the road itself, and the passenger window rolled down to reveal Lincoln driving.
“If you want to run, I know someplace that’s prettier than the road.”
Alex hesitated a second, but then got in the car. He was silent, focused on driving, and Alex tried to remember her resolutions to go with the flow as she calmed her breathing down. The beige car was forgotten in his presence.
After a while, she began to feel a little awkward with all the silence. “Where are we going?”
“We are heading to Napa. We’ll have to drive through the city, but on the other side is Skyline Park. They have a trail that leads to Lake Marie. And even though it’s nice all year, it is particularly nice this time of year because everything is green and the flowers are blooming.”
Alex was a little surprised. “Oh. That does sound nice.”
His cocky, tilted to the side smile was back. “It is also a good trail to jog. At least for us. Long enough to be challenging but not so much that a very in-shape human couldn’t do it.”
“Sounds perfect.” This time, the silence in the car was comfortable. They drove through the town proper, and then on to the other side. Once Lincoln payed the day use fee, they parked in the small lot.
Lincoln pulled out a backpack, and they took off on the Lake Marie Trailhead at a mild jog. She enjoyed looking across at the waving grasses that coat
ed the hills, green and lush, flowers abounding. Small rabbits and birds were all over, and buzzing insects and bees were actively out and about in force.
About halfway to Lake Marie, they ran across the turn off for the Bay Leaf Trail, and Lincoln stopped. “I have some water in the bag if you want some.” He turned, showing her the bag and she pulled them out, handing him one and taking a sip of hers. Then they stowed the bottles again and continued on.
Lake Marie dam finally stretched straight and long on her left, a large mound of earth holding the water in. The Marie Creek Trail stretched across it, and Lake Marie crept the opposite direction, a dark grayish green color. The plant life was vibrant all around, and the breeze flew over the water and blew against her skin, cooling her.
“You were right. It is beautiful here.”
Lincoln stood next to her for a while, then grabbed her hand and pulled her down the sloped side of the damn, towards a stand of trees whose limbs hung low, touching the tops of the grass. Pulling off his backpack, he pulled out a blanket and laid it out, then sat and handed her a sandwich wrapped neatly in waxed paper.
Laughing, Alex sat next to him. “I see you had Jayce help you pack a lunch for us.”
His eyes crinkled as he took a bite. He chewed swiftly before speaking. “I figured you’d be hungry, and this is as good a place as any to eat.”
Smiling, she agreed, tucking into her food. When the paper was tucked back into the bag he laid down and looked up through the canopy of the tree to the blue sky beyond. Puffy white clouds were dancing their way from horizon to horizon. Alex tipped her head back, and then joined him in lying down. Her shoulder touched his gently.
“This place is one of the more beautiful places I’ve seen.”
“It is? Haven’t you travelled for work a bit? I would think there would be many other places that you’ve been that rival this.”