At One's Pleasure (3 page)

They had
been walking for a good half hour when they finally walked out of the trees to
the sight of a lone beach house.  Unlike the hotel with all its marble and
luxury, the house was a simple whitewashed wood structure that looked at home
beside the ocean.  It was two stories with a wrap-around porch and a large deck
on the second story facing out to sea.  Windows were open to catch the sea
breezes off the water. 

In Becca’s
estimation, it was perfect.  The hotel had seemed so lavish and over the top
that it made Becca feel like a stranger in a strange land.  As if she couldn't
afford to use the drinking fountains.  This was more like a home in the best
possible way.

It was even
better inside with an airy open floor plan with whitewashed pine floors and
muted green and blue walls.  There was a sand colored leather sectional that
looked like a party of fifteen could lounge across it watching the 64” flat
screen mounted on the wall above the fireplace.  There was a knotty rug in
light ocean hues in front of it and large floor pillows stacked to the side. 

Beyond that
was a gourmet kitchen with a beautiful marble island of large drawers.  The
cabinets were all antiqued and whitewashed and the marble countertops were
veined with greens and sandy browns.  It separated the rooms with leather bar
stools on the side closest to the dining table.  There was a walk in pantry
with an etched glass door. 

The table
itself was worth a second look.  One large plank of wood that looked like it
had been around since the dark ages.  It sat 12 easily and must have weighed a
solid ton.  The chairs were all in matching wood with soft leather cushions. 
They were definitely big enough for men to sit comfortably, even this man. 

There was a
half bathroom and mudroom off the kitchen where someone had hung fishing poles
and scuba gear.  Down a short hall off the living area was a library with wall
to ceiling books behind glass, and a guest room, both sporting double French
doors that led out to the wrap-around porch with views of the island. 

On the sea
side of the house an entire wall of the great room was glass windows that could
be pushed aside to allow the back deck to become part of the living space.  And
right down the steps was the white sandy beaches and the azure blue of the
Caribbean Sea.  To the side of the back deck was a large covered Jacuzzi tub. 
There was an outdoor shower close and two towels were fluttering on the porch
rails beside it.  A second set of stairs led from the porch to the second floor
deck that extended the full length of the house.

Griffin
pointed all this out while he led Becca through to the downstairs bathroom.  He
handed her an oversized white towel out of the linen closet.  “Shower first,
then get in the Jacuzzi and soak.  It’ll help your sore muscles and relax you. 
I’ll take the top off for you.”

“Where will
you be while I soak?”

He studied
her careful face.  “I’ll be around.”

She
swallowed noticeably.  “I’d rather just go back to my room at the hotel.  I
need my things.”

“I’ll have
Jacob and Linc bring your things later.”

She looked
aghast at his retreating back.  “I’m not staying here.”

He turned so
quickly she gasped.  His eyes shifted from mocha to wolf gold.

“Do not. 
Push me.”  His voice was gritty with control.  “Take the shower, soak in the
tub.  Do you understand?”

She licked
overly dry lips.  “Yes.”

His eyes
were on her newly moistened lips.  “Fuck.”  Then he was gone.  Becca took the
shower, grateful for soap and privacy.  She used nearly the whole bar of soap
that smelled like sunshine and lathered like a dream.  She scrubbed until she
was soft and scrubbed all over and still smelled Jacob on her skin.  Or maybe
she was just going completely insane.  She washed and conditioned her hair and
was not surprised it ended up feeling like silk. 

If this was
the same thing they used at the hotel, she was so stealing all the
complimentary bath stuff she could get her hands on.  She turned off the water,
that was amazingly still hot, and wrung out her hair.  She would have liked to
pin it back but she would have to be content to rest it on the side of the
Jacuzzi.  No pins.  The towel was Egyptian cotton and big enough to wrap her
tight from ankle to armpit.

The floor
was warm tile and felt smooth against her bare feet when she walked across to
the door.  She had the urge to make a run for it but when she looked out the
door and saw Griffin in the kitchen she quickly ducked the other way.  She went
out the mudroom and after making sure she was alone she dropped the towel and
climbed in. 

It smelled
faintly sulfuric, definitely preferable to chlorine, which always dried her
out.  Between the heat and the jets, it soothed stressed muscles and relaxed
her enough that she was almost asleep when Griffin walked out on the porch and
placed a robe just within reach on a deck chair.

“Hungry?” 
He had showered too.  He was shirtless and the jeans rode low on the hips
seeming to frame all the defined muscles of his torso and an impressive
six-pack.  It took her a minute but she was finally able to blink and look
away, feeling overly warm and uncomfortable with it.  But he was dressed.  That
was good right?

She licked
her lips and tried to act like this was all normal.  “A little.”  A lot
actually, but she didn’t want to get out just yet, certainly not with him
standing there.

“Come into
the kitchen and we’ll eat.”

“All right.”

 He turned
and walked back into the house and Becca could breathe again.  She made sure he
was gone and then dried off with the towel and pulled on the robe.  She felt a
hundred times better for being clean and fully covered.  She hung the towel
over the rail and twisted her hair at back of her head, as much as she could
without a clip. 

She walked
around to where the porch lead directly into the kitchen and saw that Griffin
had two place settings ready at the giant table.  He held out her chair for her
and she sat, holding the robe closed at the thighs.  He tucked in her chair
then stood behind her with his head tucked down close to her long enough that
her skin prickled in warning.  She didn’t make any sudden moves but it was
worrisome.  Eventually he unclasped his hands from the chair and stepped back. 
He sat down and looked at her, his face carefully blank. 

She looked
down at her plate and saw that he had made steak.  That was it, no salad, no
veggies, no potatoes, just a big juicy steak.  Talk about a cliché.  “You are
kidding right?”

“You don’t
like steak?”

“Sure, but
what about the rest of the food pyramid?”

“Ah, sorry,
we are basically carnivores.  I will make a note to get some other food in the
house.”

“Don’t worry
about it,” Becca said, figuring she wouldn’t be around long enough for it to be
an issue.  “This actually looks really good.  About three meals worth but it
will hit the spot.”  They ate in silence, neither wanting to chance a change in
the easy atmosphere.  When Becca had managed to finish most of the steak, she
sat back and looked in amazement at what she had consumed.  “I guess I was
hungry.”

“You were
right,” he said unexpectedly.  His voice that gravely half wolf sound.  “You
aren’t bound.”

Her smile
was quick and unexpected.  “So, it’s good right?  No mark means I can go home.”

He had to
blink at the way her smile lit up her whole face.  She went from pretty to
beautiful when she smiled.  Griffin cleared his abruptly constricted throat. 
He had to force his eyes to the bite on her shoulder.  It was clear and fading
pink against the white robe and pale skin.  “You’re bite is almost healed.”

She placed
her hand over it.  “Yeah, I think the minerals you put in your hot tub did the
trick because I feel really good.”

“Even with a
long shower and soak, it’s been less than two hours.  You’re healing too fast
to be unmarked.”

She lost her
smile.  “But you just said I wasn’t.”

“I said you
weren’t bound.  I didn’t know it was possible, you are marked but not bound.”

“What does
that even mean?”

“It means
you’re one of us.  You were born with wolf shapeshifter genes but they were
dormant.  Now they’re awake.  You will heal quicker, age slower, and be faster
and stronger than a normal human.  You will also have a higher metabolism so
you’ll need to eat more to maintain weight and have a hotter core temperature.”

“Oka-ay, that
all sounds...  not so bad.  What am I missing?”  Then she dropped the fork she
had just picked up.  “Linc said I wouldn’t change.”

“You will
not be able to shift.”

“So, I can still
go home.” 

“You will
need the touch of other wolves.  We are not solitary people.”

“I have
family, friends.” 

“You will
need the touch of pack.”

“You live
alone.”

“No.  I do
not.”

She pushed
her plate away because she was tempted to keep eating and that would only seem
to prove him right.  “I don’t feel any different.”  But that wasn’t exactly
true.  She felt energized.  She was feeling no pain, no muscle ache and whereas,
before she ate she had been nearly falling asleep, now she felt like she could
run a marathon.

He lifted
his chin and sniffed the air.  “I smell it rising.”  She swallowed looking
around for an escape route.  As energized as she felt she could probably sprint
all the way back to the airstrip.

Then she
smelled something delicious, something wild and earthy.  A door opened up
inside her, and this time something was there to get out.  “I want to go home
now,” she whispered, even as her breasts ached and her pussy wept.  She had
thought she felt lust before with Jacob, but with Griffin’s scent and power
pouring over her all she could do was grab the sides of her chair and try to
keep herself together.   

He kicked
his chair back and stood, leaning over her so that he could catch her scent
with every hard breath he took.  “You are home.”

She closed
her eyes and tried not to breath.  “You said I wasn’t bound.”

He yanked
her out of her chair and up into his arms so that he held her cradled against
his chest.  “You will be.”

She opened
her eyes to see his naked shoulder.  The scent was coming off him in waves and
each one sent her careening further from rational thought.  She growled.  By
the time they were halfway up the stairs she couldn’t take it anymore. 
Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she bit down deep on his neck so he
bled into her mouth.  It was sweet and hot, and it hit her veins like a Molotov
cocktail.

They almost
fell down the stairs, with Griffin crashing into the wall to keep them
upright.  He groaned and then put on a burst of speed so that they were in the
bedroom before he turned and slammed her against the wall.  Her robe opened and
he lifted her latching onto a swollen nipple.  She screamed, pulling him closer
by the hair and wrapping her legs around his waist.  The robe was no barrier
but his jeans had to be ripped away before he could slam her down on his cock,
embedding himself to the hilt.  She screamed again, but it was not pain, or at
least not only pain.

He bit down
on her breast while she clawed at his back.  The smell of their blood mixed
with the scent of wolf sent her over the edge.  She clamped down on him even as
he was slamming her against the wall with each thrust.  The pleasure went on
and on.

At one
point, she would have sworn he came but he kept pounding, still hard, knocking
her against the wall bringing her to climax again.  Then when she thought she
would die from the pleasure he took her to the floor and turned her to her
knees.  Clamping down on her already marked shoulder, he held her down while he
thrust back in and pounded his possession into her sweat-slicked skin. 

She had lost
count of her climaxes when he yanked her face up by the hair so that they were
cheek to cheek as he thrust into her from behind.

“Who do you
serve?”  His voice was more wolf than man; she could barely make out the words. 
But they made her angry.

She
struggled to get away, growling and snapping like the wolf taking shape inside
her.  He yanked her hair back further baring her vulnerable nape and thrust
hard and fast inside her.

“Who do you
serve?”

“No one!”

He knocked
her knees out from under her and took her to the floor.  She lay under him
unable to move.  His power crashed down on her and she felt weighted down by
both it and his body.  “Who do you serve?”

The pressure
to yield brought tears to her eyes and a sob to her lips but something inside
her refused to allow her to give in.  “No one, damn it!”

He pulled
nearly all the way out of her and thrust back in hard his mouth against her
cheek so that she could feel the vibration of his growl everywhere.  “You will
give me what is mine.”  He snarled, his teeth elongating, she felt him shifting
on top of her and inside her he grew even longer and thicker so that he pounded
her cervix with each continued thrust.  Another orgasm grew around the pain
until she was writhing and shuddering her release. 

He pulled
out and yanked her back to her knees.  She felt pressure at her ass.  A
warning.  “Who do you serve?”  She could feel fur rubbing up and down her back
and thighs.  He was suddenly twice as heavy against her and in this form his
beast scent was overwhelming.  She did not want his monster werewolf cock up
her ass; she really didn’t, but there was something in her that refused to
submit.  She needed him to master her, to prove that he was worthy to be
Alpha.  She knew, instinctively, if he couldn’t master her, it would be his
blood she bathed in, not his scent.