He nodded at the ladder leading to the sleeping loft. Lola followed his gaze with a sinking heart. She had always been a problem sleeper. No matter tired she was, she couldn’t imagine she’d fall asleep in the middle of the day with the sun shining.
"Let me grab you something to sleep in," he said as he stood. "And you can use the bathroom first."
After freshening up, she put on the t-shirt and sweatpants Phelan had given her to sleep in with a wince. They were clearly his. The shirt was so large it hung almost to her knees. She rolled down the waist of the pants, and rolled up the legs at her feet, but they still sagged on her. Tomorrow, they’d have to find her some clothes. She couldn’t keep wearing the same clothes she’d arrived in.
With her hobo bag slung over her shoulder, she climbed the ladder to the loft. There sat a large platform bed in the middle of the room, upon which a mound of comforters was spread. It looked soft and inviting and her body relaxed at the sight.
When she closed the trap door behind her, the room was plunged into darkness and she realized the sleeping loft had no windows, which might make it possible to fall asleep in the middle of the day. She sat on the edge of the bed and felt inside her hobo for her smartphone. She hadn’t had time to check on her bank account, she realized, and hadn’t even thought about it. Well, it wouldn’t make sense to try to do it now; she could easily check on it in the morning. She extracted her satin bonnet, glad she always kept a spare in her bag for the random times she caught a nap away from home. She tucked her hair into the bonnet, then tied it around her head.
As she snuggled under the covers, she wondered where Phelan would sleep. There was only one bed in the loft, so she supposed he’d sleep either in the spare room downstairs at the back of the cabin, or on the sectional in the great room.
Just as her eyes drifted closed, the trap door opened and light streamed in from downstairs. Phelan’s wide shoulders cleared the top of the loft ladder, blocking the light like an eclipse. They say if you speak of the devil, he will appear. She had only a moment to process this when the trap door closed and the room went dark again. Footsteps shuffled across the wood plank floors, then the other side of the bed dipped. She felt a tug on the comforter as the arrogant wolf got himself settled.
“Wha- what are you doing?” she sputtered, her voice tinged with outrage.
“Going to bed," he said with a heavy sigh. In the dark, his deep voice practically vibrated in the air. "What do you think I’m doing?”
“You- you cannot sleep in this bed!” she huffed. Who did he think he was, anyway?
“This is my cabin," he said calmly. "This is my bed.”
For some reason, his reasonable tone instantly drove her around the bend.
“I don’t care!” She grabbed her bag and felt for the trap door in the dark. She would sleep on the couch.
Her progress was halted by the vise-like grip of his large hand gripping her by the elbow.
“Hey!” she barked in outrage, attempting to wriggle away from him. How the hell could he possibly see her in the dark?
The answer, of course, was obvious. Everyone knew wolves have very good eyesight, even in low light.
“I’m going downstairs,” she yelled.
“No, you’re not," he said firmly. "I don’t want you running away again.”
“But I told you I wasn’t going to run again,” she wailed, putting aside the fact that she had already decided to run at the earliest opportunity.
“Yeah," he said sarcastically. "And I’m supposed to believe you?”
She found his disembodied voice in the dark to be highly irritating in the current circumstances. Then another horrifying thought occurred to her.
“Are you even wearing pajamas?” she squeaked.
“I don’t wear anything to bed.” He sounded pretty pissed off himself.
She gasped. Her mind went back to their first encounter by the Glide station, and the memory of his large, bobbing cock. That thought made her stop struggling for a moment.
“But today is your lucky day," he continued. "I'm wearing underwear. You don't have to worry about me jumping your bones in your sleep.”
This firm declaration made her question why she was so resistant to the idea. Her shoulders sagged in defeat. She was tired. Even if she didn’t sleep, she could still rest. He said he would keep his hands to himself. And she could handle herself, even if he tried to grope her. Not that she was completely opposed to the idea
“Fine,” she reluctantly agreed. "I guess we'll share a bed. But what's in the room downstairs? I thought that was another bedroom."
"It was," he said. "But my parents turned it into an office. Believe me, this is the only bed in the cabin."
She dropped her bag and got into bed. There were enough comforters and blankets that they could each roll up into their own, like a pair of burritos on a combo plate. This wouldn’t be so bad.
“Why is it so dark up here?” she asked into the darkness.
“This is where my parents sent the kids to sleep. It was their way of making sure we didn’t get into trouble when were supposed to be going to sleep.
She made herself comfortable and tried to remember the last time she had slept in a bed with someone else, and she couldn’t. In all of her foster homes, the state required each child placed with a family to have their own bed. And Lola didn’t do boyfriends, even her hookups hadn’t involved any sleeping over. This was the first time she could remember ever sleeping with anyone else. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it.
“Good night, Lola.” He sounded wistful.
“It’s not nighttime,” she answered.
He sighed again. “Close enough.”
She rolled her eyes in the dark, even though he couldn’t see her.
“Good night, Phelan.”
She was sure she wouldn't sleep a wink. But the heat of his body crept through her pile of blankets and she found herself relaxing.
She scooted closer to him and let his heat surround her.
Chapter 15
Helen Castellano’s feet pounded the non-slip belt of her treadmill at a steady pace. She was eighty-three years old, but looked no older than thirty-five, and liked to keep in shape.
Even with her stellar demi genetics, she liked her morning exercise to keep herself in peak condition. She never missed a workout. Every morning before work, she ran on her treadmill.
Helen was driven to succeed. As a child, she watched her mother fight to keep her position, even though she had only one child from her concubine union to Vulcan. Helen’s mother had pushed her to succeed and use all her capabilities as a demi. Most demis tended not to take full advantage of their superior breeding.
Most demis were content to work for Pantheon the minimum number of years required to retire with a handsome pension. Helen had a plan, one formed the day she started at Pantheon. To make it come to fruition, she worked far beyond the nominal retirement age. She'd been there long enough to plan for the company’s success far into the future.
A future that would soon arrive, thanks to her vision, planning, and drive. She smiled in satisfaction. She only needed to clear this last hurdle and deliver the last bride to her off-planet buyers. Sweat gathered on her upper lip and dripped between her breasts.
“Time remaining.” She gave a verbal command, and her Omni reported that she had seventeen minutes left of her workout. Her breathing remained steady, her heart ticked like a metronome, and she kept going.
She received an alert on her closed-system Omni. She continued running on her treadmill, not breaking her stride. She always finished her workouts, and there was no circumstance in which she would stop without finishing.
The Omni warbled again, and this time Helen issued another verbal command.
“Status.”
Her Omni was set to report at regular intervals so she could check the status of her search. Every time, there had been nothing to report. Since she had no idea where Dolores Black would have been take
n, she had no choice but to set a wide search parameter. She expected again there would be nothing to report.
“Dolores Black has been located.”
Helen stumbled on the treadmill before collecting herself and switching the machine off. Breathing heavily from exertion, she used a small hand towel to dab at the sweat dripping from her face. Her heart rate, usually so steady, spiked with excitement. She dismounted and gave another verbal command.
“Repeat status.”
“Dolores Black has been located.”
Helen was not given to emotional displays, but on hearing this report, she broke into a genuine smile.
“Report location,” she managed to get out, her throat thick with excitement.
“31.8024 degrees north, 97.0917 degrees west.”
“Well, that’s helpful,” Helen muttered to herself.
The Omni misunderstood Helen’s mutterings as a directive, and politely asked for clarification.
“Please repeat command.”
“Report town or city nearest to coordinates,” she snapped.
“The nearest municipality to coordinates is Perdition, Texas.”
Her smile abruptly faded, the excitement at learning the location of her subject dampened by the reality of Dolores Black’s location. In Perdition, Dolores Black was untouchable.
After the Prometheus Incident and subsequent shifter rebellion, Pantheon had been compelled to strike the treaty with the North American packs. The packs were given partitions of land to live on outside of the human-run reservations.
Pack towns like Perdition were autonomous entities. No representative of Pantheon was allowed to set foot in any North American pack town. Ever. She couldn’t waltz in there and demand they hand over Dolores. She also couldn’t send anyone to Perdition to extract her. She ground her teeth in anger. The most she could do was send her drones to hover near the town and send her updates.
What to do, what to do?
Helen tapped her fingers on her leg as she thought, barely noticing the sweat from her workout still dripping down her body.
Helen mulled the problem over as she showered and got ready for work. Who did she know in Perdition? She ticked through the mental list of her contacts.
Before she left for the office, she checked her clutch of changeling eggs, then secured the portable cold room to keep them hidden and in stasis. No one would dare ever enter her private quarters. Still, it made sense not to take any chances.
It wasn't until she was in her office and surrounded by the trappings of her powerful position that she was able to think clearly. She knew exactly who to go to for help.
She engaged her secure Omni and called the Dallas Police Department.
Chapter 16
Phelan 's hands were full of the round, firm globes of Lola’s ass. Pleasure sizzled through his body as she ground her mound into his groin, the fabric of her panties a frustrating barrier. She leaned forward until her mouth was inches from his, close enough that their breaths mingled.
He thrust hard against her, desperate for friction, enjoying the sensation of her ass cheeks undulating under his hands as she rubbed her pussy over his engorged dick. She leaned back, and her taut nipples tempted him, dark as chocolate chips against her mahogany skin. He released her ass and cupped her breasts, marveling at how their skin contrasted. She wore only a pair of snow-white cotton panties. He was completely naked, the mossy ground cool against the bare skin of his back.
She moved on top of him in a sensual dance. She rubbed her fabric clad pussy up and down his shaft, teasing him. Her hair stood out like a black cloud around her head and bare shoulders. She looked down at him as she moved, her pretty pink lips parted, eyes glazed with desire.
He tweaked her nipples and she arched her back and moaned. He could tell it was making her hot and the sensation was intense for her. He moved one hand to her back and pulled her body closer to his.
“Let me take care of you, baby,” he said, and in one swift motion had her underneath him, supporting himself on his forearms to avoid crushing her.
His hips moved on their own, matching the rolling rhythm she had used on him. His body was so hard it was painful, and his heart yearned to be joined with hers in the mating dance. He needed to be inside his mate, but he also wanted to savor the experience of being with her, of getting lost in her depths.
She lay on the green mossy grass and he marveled at how breathtaking she was. He couldn't stop his hands from roaming over her perfect curves. Her eyes were filled with passion and the natural setting framed her face and hair. She was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen.
Her lips moved, but no words came out, only moans of pleasure. Her eyes were pleading and she writhed underneath him as he rubbed his body against hers.
Unable to wait any longer, he sank into her hot wetness, sliding into her in long, languid strokes. He made love to her in the impossibly green, soft grass. He felt the tension building with each stroke. He wanted her to go with him and reached between their bodies, touching her core.
She looked at him, her eyes blind with desire. He knew she wanted to be taken. She wanted to be claimed.
“Baby,” he said as he kissed her neck. He was awash in her body, consumed with pleasure.
He continued to slide in and out of her while stroking her body. She moaned and bit her bottom lip. Her back arched as she screamed out in ecstasy. He grabbed her by the hips and plunged into her again, reveling in her blinding heat. The milking tug of her pussy on his cock was his undoing, and he pounded into her with abandon. Her pussy contracted around him and she screamed his name.
“Phelan!”
He made a strangled moan in his throat. He wanted her to finish—and finish big—before he spent himself inside her.
“Phelan!”
He groaned, about to tumble over the edge and into his orgasm.
“Phelan!”
His whole body went stiff as he came, holding her tightly as he pulsed into her.
Phelan shuddered as he came back to himself. He drew in a deep breath and confusion came over him. He didn't smell any of the scents from the woods. He smelled the cabin. He flexed his hands and felt sheets, not mossy ground.
They were no longer in the woods. He was in the cabin outside of Perdition, with Lola. He blinked and met her gaze. She looked as confused as he felt. Her eyebrows drew together and she chewed her lip. His eyes slid over her face, taking in her smooth brown skin, the flawless planes of her face.
Her body was pulled in tight next to his.
“Uh, hi.” She swallowed and gave him a little wave and a tight smile.
With a sinking sensation, he realized he had just had a wet dream while in bed with this woman. Did she know? He had “finished” in his sleep—did he do the same in the waking world?
A slight shift of his legs revealed a still-raging erection and, thank the gods, dry underwear. She was wrapped in one of his mother’s quilts and he was on top of her, caging her body with his. He had completely shed his blanket and his legs were splayed to either side of her cocooned legs.
Horrified, he rolled off her and onto his back.
She must think I’m some kind of freak.
He forced himself to look at her, and searched her eyes to gauge her reaction. She met his gaze without flinching. Their eyes held for a few moments, then hers went to his crotch and his massive morning wood/wet dream boner.
Yeah, not awkward at all.
He expected her to skitter away from him like a crab evading a predator. Instead, she looked at him, eyes to groin, and back again. Her pupils dilated as he watched, and she caught her breath.
“It’s okay," she said with a wan smile. “I work in a brothel.”
His mind conjured images of drunken men pawing his scantily clad fated mate. His erection promptly deflated. Other than a slight twitch of her lips, she had no reaction. Probably best to leave that alone, lest he make the situation even more embarrassing.
“So,” she
began. “When can I go home?”
“Soon,” he lied smoothly. Never, he told himself.
The truth was, he had no earthly idea when they’d be going back. It had not even been a full two days since she’d been attacked, and already she wanted to leave? She was still in danger. They didn't know who was after her, or why. Until they figured it out, she wasn't safe. Plus, he needed more time to woo her and to convince her of his suitability as her mate.
She gave him an appraising look, as if to assess what was really going on in his mind.
"Well," she said with a raised eyebrow, "If I'm not going home today, I need some things."
"Like what?" he asked, trying to figure out what she would need.
"Like clothes, toothbrush." She waved her hand in the air. "Necessities. Lady things."
“I need a run this morning.” Boy, did he ever. The way she looked at him with her big, brown eyes would have his nature rising again in no time flat. “We can go into town after that.”
She nodded in agreement. “Okay.”
He disengaged from the warmth of the bed reluctantly. He glanced back at her once he was on his feet.
She gazed up at him, looking cute in his t-shirt. Cute, but suspiciously compliant.
“Do I need to remind you not to leave the cabin?” he asked warily.
She shook her head, eyes wide. “Of course not.”
Yes, she seemed willing to listen to reason, and stay in the cabin. Still, he wouldn’t stray too far during his run. Just in case.
“Don’t leave the cabin.”
Chapter 17
Lola watched her fake fiancé disappear over the edge of the trap door to make his way down the ladder. She wanted to see his wolf again so, consumed with curiosity, she crawled across the bed and peered out the loft door.
She heard rustling, but she couldn’t see him. Holding the waistband of Phelan’s sweatpants with one hand, she held onto the ladder with the other and made her way down. Once on the ground floor, both her eyes and her mouth widened at the sight of him. He had stripped naked and was standing at the open front door, his back to her.
The Wolf's Concubine Page 9