Caleb (44 page)

Reaching
out with his finger, he lengthened his talon and sliced through the tie on her
robe, baring the shallow valley between her pert breasts. They shivered with
her indrawn breath. Her big blue eyes widened suspiciously and excitedly at
once. The edge of violence that surrounded their lovemaking excited her. The
robe’s lapels parted before his hand’s descent, baring the white flesh of her
stomach. An intriguing trail of goose bumps sprang up in the wake of his touch.

He
bent. She gasped again. A fine sheen of sweat appeared on her skin,
tantalizingly sweet and lightly musky, a prelude to the deeper scent he knew
awaited him, lower. He lapped the first bead of sweat from the delicate valley.
“It would be a mistake, baby, to think I don’t always mean what I say.”

He
had her flipped and pinned with an arm across her back before the meaning sank
beneath the sensual haze. Her legs dangled over the edge of the bed, giving her
no leverage but plenty to him. The full curves of her rear pressed up and out
against the soft cotton of her robe. Allie had a very pretty ass. He stroked
the full curve or her right cheek, patting it lightly, smiling when she jumped
as if he’d landed a blow, her screech loud enough to wake the dead, assuming
they weren’t already wandering about.

“Don’t
you dare, Caleb Johnson.”

He
held back a smile and shook his head as tension shot up her spine. He was mad
as hell at her, but she could still make him smile. “Baby, I dare about
anything.”

“Not
this.”

Her muscles
quivered with the strain of pushing in vain against his grip. She really had
been shortchanged in the muscle department. A squeeze to her butt had her
squeaking and jumping again. “Yes, even this.”

He
hooked a talon on the neck of her robe. A woman sometimes had to test a man’s
strength to trust in it. “Next time I tell you to stay put, you’ll stay.”

“Is
that an order?”

“Yes.”

“Then
for sure you’re out of luck.”

There
was another screech as his talon tickled her nape. “This is my only robe!”

Her
ass waved as she tried to get away, too much lush temptation for a red-blooded
man to resist. He gave it a tweak. “Good.”

He
didn’t like her wearing clothes that showed the full curve of her hips, and the
soft fullness of her thighs, and the thin robe did both. Even over pajamas. She
was too pretty, and with her vampire allure, too tempting. “I don’t feel like
spending my days beating men off you with a stick.”

She
stopped struggling. Her hair fanned out as she looked over her shoulder, then
settled around her face in a silent cloud. “You think I’m that sexy?”

How
could she doubt it? “Oh yeah. And as soon as I get done paddling this sweet
ass, I’ll prove it to you.”

Her
head whipped around, her body shaking with the strain of holding the position.
There wasn’t an ounce of worry in her expression. “You wouldn’t hurt me to save
your life.”

He
did love the way her eyes glittered with shards of deeper blue when her
emotions were aroused. And the light flush on her cheeks only served to enhance
the effect. “Are you sure?”

He
sliced through the rest of the robe. It parted in two falls of white, revealing
her skin in a slow slide revealing her neck, the delicate line of her spine,
the nipped-in curve of her waist, the flare of her hips, the swell of her
buttocks . . . He replaced the material with his palm, raising his body
temperature so she felt it more.

“If
you keep cutting up my clothes, I’m going to have nothing to wear.”

“Naked
does have its appeal.”

“I
thought you were threatening me?”

He
was. He never wanted to repeat the moment when she’d been separated from him,
not knowing what they intended, unable to protect her from whatever was about
to happen, not knowing if she’d survived. He brought his hand up. “Brace
yourself.”

She
relaxed completely. The scent of soap and arousal rose with his hand. He
brought his arm down with every intention of blistering her ass, but at the
last minute he found himself pulling back the force, until all he delivered to
the smooth white flesh was a light pat. She laughed, and then hummed under her
breath. “This could be fun.”

He
shook his head, keeping his hand where it was, tucking it around the lush
curve, slipping the fingertips into the crease between the plump cheeks,
holding her still. “Does nothing put the fear of God into you?”

“The
thought of losing you.”

It
was one of those spontaneous admissions that could tear out a man’s heart. Or
make him crazy with joy.

He
patted her butt again. His granddaddy would turn over in his grave at Allie’s
willful nature, but Caleb didn’t really want her any other way. “Now you did
it.”

She
wiggled. “Did what?”

“Unleashed
the beast.”

Another
wiggle. “I like the beast.”

Yes,
she did. And so did he. He slid his hand under her stomach, turning her over.
Her hands opened in surrender. He caught them in his, pressing them into the
mattress beside her head as he braced himself on his forearms above her. “You
don’t leave a man much ammunition, Allie girl.”

“It’s
a natural talent.”

He
kissed her cheek. She wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, but now I’m feeling a little
cheated.”

“Why?”

“In
my day, if a woman put herself at risk, a man got to have his eighteen sixties
moment, fair and square.”

“At
the risk of repeating myself, it’s no longer ‘your day.’ ”

“Uh-huh.”
He kissed her other cheek, lingering for a bit. “But it did have its moments.”

“Charming
ones, I’m sure,” she said with a dry bit of sarcasm.

“It
was, actually.”

Roles
had been very clearly defined in his day. A woman waited on her man, deferred
to his wishes, at least in public, and pretty much let him run the show. And
men, well, at least the men he knew, cherished the women who filled their lives
with love, comfort, and all the other softness so devoid from the land around
them.

“I’ve
read about how charming it was. Men owned women and treated their ‘possessions’
any way they wanted. Beat them, abused them, cheated on them, and basically
behaved as complete asses if they wanted, without anyone having a say. Least of
all the poor women involved.”

He
shook his head. She’d read about it. Hard to believe what was vividly real to
him was dry history for her. She’d kept saying they thought differently, but
until this moment he’d never wrapped his mind around the depth of the chasm
between them. “I imagine each century has its share of assholes, but in the
majority of households, life was a partnership. It had to be. You depended on
each other for survival.”

The
doubt on her face didn’t lighten. He rested his forehead against hers, timing
his breaths so he breathed in as she breathed out, the tiny culmination of
taking her breath into his lungs, holding it safe until she needed the next one
before breathing out and giving it to her, calmed him. “Underneath all the
rules, a woman trusted her man to take care of her.”

“And
if he didn’t?”

“I
don’t know about back east, but where I come from, women were more precious
than gold. Any man caught abusing one would soon be short his woman and
probably his life.”

She
rolled her eyes. “Hard to believe, considering your constant threats to beat
me.”

“That’s
more a figure of speech than a real threat, and you know it.”

He
kissed her lips, smiling as they parted immediately. “You can’t keep doing what
you want all the time, Allie.”

She
tilted her head to the side “Why not? It works for me.”

“Your
doing what you wanted almost got you killed today.”

“It
seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“But
it wasn’t.”

Her
lips flattened and then pursed. The fight left her body in a drawn-out breath.
“No, it wasn’t.”

Thank
God, she could admit to mistakes. He touched her nose to his. “So maybe when it
comes to those situations, you could follow my orders?”

Her
nose pressed back as she wrinkled it. “Orders aren’t my thing.”

“Seeing
you raped or killed isn’t mine.” Dark anger surged through him as he remembered
the moment before all had gone black when Vincent had allowed him to see Allie
struggling for air as he’d slowly strangled her, cutting off the connection
before he’d known if she’d live or die. “So we’ve got to come up with a better
system.”

He
had to wait three seconds before Allie presented her compromise. “How about I
promise to try?”

Knowing
how impulsive she was, he figured that was about as good as he was going to
get. “I’ll take it.”

“But
no more threats of spanking.”

“I
promise, unless you’re hot for it, no spankings.” He tipped her head back,
letting desire thrum along the residual anger simmering in his blood, drowning
it in the fire of lust. “But now we’ve got a problem.”

She
swallowed, tipping her head back farther as he brushed his mouth along her
jawline. “We do?”

He
took the lobe of her ear between his lips. “My brothers are very eighteen
sixties.”

She
tilted her head into the caress. “So?”

“If
they don’t hear some screams soon, I’m going to go way down in their estimation
as a man who can’t handle his woman.”

“And
that matters to me how?” Her fingers wrapped around his forearms, tickling
along the hairs there, sensitizing his skin.

“A
man low on confidence isn’t much good in the bedroom.”

The
smile he loved showed in her eyes as her ankle curved behind his knee. Despite
the invitation in her body, he felt resistance, almost a reluctance, that
worried him. “We can’t have that.”

He
pressed his lips against her neck to the accelerated beat of her pulse. Her
body’s hunger and need summoned his. It vibrated on the same level as his own.
Separate yet the same. He slipped his thigh between hers, bringing her softness
closer to his hardness. So different from him, but so perfect for him. His
wife. His mate. “I thought you’d understand.”

Caleb
propped himself up on his elbow, still keeping her in place with his hand
behind her head. Allie’s smile broadened. Her lips parted. She was all
seduction and humor. Everything he’d ever wanted, and while he was admiring the
opulent display of her curves, she tilted her head back. Offered her throat,
her breasts, her body. Her deep blues eyes shimmered with gold lights that
beckoned his beast. Her smile reached deep into his body, to the depth of his
soul, caught on his lust, and dragged it forward as she took a deep breath and
held it, held him until . . .

She
screamed. Loud and long. Screamed as if Vincent had just shown up for a
rematch, as if snakes had appeared in her bed, as if everything vile she’d ever
dreaded had just landed between them. Son of a bitch. Caleb slapped his hand
over her mouth, cutting off the horrendous noise. Above the ridge of his palm,
her eyes sparkled with the light of amusement. He cautiously removed his hand.

“Was
that good enough?”

The
door burst open. His brothers spilled into the room, guns drawn and at the
ready. He shifted his body, blocking her nakedness from their view. “I think it
covered the job.” And then some. He felt each of his brother’s stares—Jared’s
censure, Jace’s amusement, Slade’s speculation.

“Jesus,
Caleb.” Jared sounded totally disgusted.

Jace
laughed. “Teaching the little woman her place?”

Unbelievably,
heat crept up his neck. “Something like that.”

He
felt Allie’s chuckle more than heard it.

“Well,
could you do it a little more quietly? Some of us are trying to have a
discussion.”

“I’ll
give it a try.”

“Before
you do, make her feed.”

He
cut Slade a glance. His serious face was set in sterner lines than usual. “Her
hunger makes us uncomfortable.”

“He’d
better just be talking about my stomach rumbling.”

Since
Allie couldn’t see the slight shake of Slade’s head, Caleb didn’t disillusion
her. “More than likely.” He jerked his chin in the direction of the door. “If
you could all excuse us?”

“I,
for one, am sure as shit not making promises, but I’ll give it a try,” Jared
grumbled as the brothers walked out, grabbing the doorknob and closing it on
his brothers’ backs and the curious faces of the weres.

As
the latch clicked, Allie wiggled beneath him. “I seriously think Jared needs a
girlfriend.”

“What
makes you say that?” He tucked his hand under her left thigh, coaxing it up and
out with gliding pressure. She caught on quickly enough, hooking her ankle
around his hip as her hands came around his shoulder. “He’s way too grumpy. He
needs someone to focus all that intensity on.”