Curse of the Alpha: Episodes 1 & 2: A Tarker’s Hollow Serial (6 page)

T
he audience shuffled
toward the exit.

Julian leaned forward, and Ainsley’s heartbeat sped as she realized he wanted to continue their conversation privately. But before he could take the first step in her direction, Carol Lotus strode over.

“Oh, Ainsley,” she wavered, “it was just like listening to your father. The way you talk about Tolstoy…”

“Thank you, Carol,” Ainsley said, trying to hide her disappointment at losing her moment alone with Julian.

“We all miss him so much.”

“Tolstoy?” Ainsley asked.

Carol looked confused for a moment, then realized Ainsley was making a joke and managed a weak smile.

Ainsley felt a pang of regret for the older woman. She had been close with Ainsley’s dad, and was obviously still dealing with the loss. Ainsley was just so tired of going through the same song and dance every time she talked to someone in town.

They all knew she hadn’t spoken to her parents in years. She hadn’t been there near the end. And bringing it up sometimes felt like they were just rubbing salt in the wound.

Seeing Carol reminded Ainsley that her parents were important to a lot of people, and many of them had their own reasons to grieve. It wasn’t always all about her. Ainsley made a note to not be such an insufferable bitch to people who cared about her.

Carol looked around surreptitiously. Ainsley followed her gaze. Julian was thumbing through his notes slowly at the podium as though he was looking for something. Or maybe he was biding his time, waiting for Ainsley? Her pulse quickened.

Carol cleared her throat and continued.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to see you, Ainsley. You know, I remember when your dad let you nap under that very podium when you had the flu. I gave you my cough drops and you said they tasted like candy.”

“Oh yes, and that little box with the wax paper was so fancy.” Ainsley laughed.

“Ainsley, we haven’t yet had the time, or frankly the heart, to clear out your father’s office.” She put a hand on Ainsley’s arm. “Would you be interested in looking through his things? I know there are some personal items. And maybe you’d like his copies of the classics?”

There was a lump in Ainsley’s throat. Of course she was overwhelmed with stuff to go through as it was, but the idea of spending time in her dad’s beloved office and being allowed to look through his books and notes was comforting. She managed to nod her head.

“I’m so glad, dear.” Carol patted her firmly on the shoulder. “Let me give you a ride home. My car is right out back and we can work out getting you a key to your father’s office.”

“Excuse me, Carol,” Julian interrupted smoothly. “Miss Connor and I were planning to go for a stroll after the talk. She brought up some ideas for my new book and I was hoping to hear more.”

“Oh dear,” Carol exclaimed. “I didn’t realize you had plans. Well, of course, Ainsley. We’ll find another time to chat and get you a key, dear.”

“Thank you, Carol,” Ainsley said, after throwing a dirty look at Julian behind Carol’s back. He just gazed back at her calmly with that insolent half-smile.

Carol gave her arm one last squeeze and headed out to the hallway to clear up paper cups and turn out lights, as she always did after campus talks. Ainsley turned to Julian.

“What was that about?” she whispered angrily.

He gave her a lazy smile, then closed the distance between them in a long stride. She could feel his breath on her neck and couldn’t make herself pull away, even though she thought she should want to.

“I’m sorry, Miss Connor,” he said in her ear. “Were you hoping to reminisce about cough drops, and go moon over your father’s books?”

Ainsley was speechless.

“That’s not why you came here. And it’s not where you want to go after, is it?”

“I…”

“Go ahead, smooth that skirt down again, and tell me that you want a ride home in Carol Lotus’s Volvo.”

His warm breath on her neck was shattering her concentration. He slid his hand down to the small of her back and led her to the podium. He touched a finger to her chest, just above the cleavage. Her skin tingled in response.

“Stay.”

He gathered his papers and neatly arranged them in his leather briefcase. He turned to her and snapped it shut.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go for a walk.”

Wordlessly, she tucked her hair behind her ear and followed him.

Carol waved at them enthusiastically from under the card table where she was gathering dropped paper cups.

“Do you need some help, Carol?” Ainsley asked, almost hopefully.

“Not a bit. I’m just about packed up here. You two enjoy your discussion.”

They continued down the hall toward the gigantic wooden doors.

A
insley stepped
through the door as Julian held it for her politely. A rush of fragrant, humid air met her.

They walked together in the moonlight. This was just what Ainsley had wanted. But she hadn’t pictured being the one off balance. Julian was clearly in control of the situation and it was exciting and a little scary at the same time.

Three street lamps winked in the velvety darkness, showing the path through the woods.

Little red riding hood went off through the woods to her grandmother’s house…

Only who was the wolf in this story?

Ainsley almost giggled. It would be very silly of her to be scared of being alone in the woods with a man.

Julian’s hand slid down between her shoulder blades to the small of her back again and she inadvertently shivered with pleasure.

“Are you cold?” he asked, letting his eyes trail slowly down her body.

Ainsley shook her head before she could think the better of it. She was never cold. That was one of the special things about being a wolf. She always ran hot. Of course now he knew her shiver was because of his stupid hand.

He smiled to himself and they continued to walk silently. They were nearing the thickest part of the trees.

She had a flash from her dream of Brian.

These very same trees.

One of them was the one he pinned her against in his passion. Somewhere nearby was where they found his body.

She shivered again, this time not from Julian’s touch, and pushed the thoughts out of her mind. She had spent a decade trying to forget that day. She was very good at it.

Julian began to trace tiny circles on her back with his thumb, drawing her attention back. Around, and around, until all she could think about was his touch and imagine it elsewhere. She stole a glance up at him.

His cold blue eyes locked with hers. She willed him to toss his briefcase to the ground, wrap his thin fingers around her shoulders, and pull her in for a kiss.

He didn’t.

Instead they walked on for a few more quiet minutes, his circling thumb creating an agony of anticipation. Ainsley was consoled when her wolf smelled Julian’s excitement rise and heard his heartbeat thunder.

At least she wasn’t the only one feeling this way.

They reached the fork between the path to town and the path to the house for visiting profs. She paused, knowing that they should part ways here.

Julian moved her firmly toward the path home.

“I’m coming home with you,” he said matter-of-factly.

Ainsley felt a tiny thrill of victory.

It was followed immediately by a stab of panic. The house was a mess of papers, and though it looked better after today’s work, she wasn’t about to entertain there. Plus there was something about taking a guy to her parents’ home at night. It felt all wrong.

She stopped walking.

“Julian, I’m sorry but we just met-”

“Please,” he whispered. “I’ve never met anyone like you. We’re so alike. I know you feel it too.”

His sudden sincerity was disarming. She looked up at him and he gazed back with a longing in his eyes that tugged at places inside her.

“Who else is staying at Thayer House?” she heard herself ask.

“Just me.”

“Let’s go there.”

An odd look flitted across his face for an instant. Before she could interpret it, he took her hand and marched her down the path to Thayer. She felt like an errant child being dragged out of a store. The idea of it made her want to giggle again. But Julian was so serious she knew it would only delay their progress. And Ainsley wasn’t sure she could handle a delay.

They flew up the mossy stone stairs of the old house. The overhang of the cedar shake roof made the stone cottage look like something out of a fairy tale.

My, grandma, what big eyes you have.

As she usually did in intense situations, Ainsley worried a little about holding her wolf. It wasn’t the wolf’s time, but this place seemed to be goading it, loosing it enough that it could poke out its snout and revel in the wealth of sounds and smells.

And Julian was luring it out – it was fascinated with him. More so than anyone else she’d been with.

What was so special about him?

J
ulian rattled
the key into the lock and flung open the door.

There was a large sitting room encircled by arched leaded glass windows. A low fire crackled in the fireplace. Soft oriental rugs carpeted the floor.

Julian dropped his briefcase and shut the door behind them. It was the first time he had broken physical contact with her since they’d left Scott Hall.

She stood in front of the fire, suddenly less sure she was making the right decision. When he turned back to her she felt nervous.

He smiled.

“Would you like a glass of wine?”

She shook her head shyly.

He stepped out of his shoes and slipped off his jacket, hanging it neatly on the hook by the door.

“A cup of tea?”

She shook her head again.

He unbuttoned the top button of his shirt and slowly pulled off his tie, hanging it on the hook over his jacket. Ainsley licked her lips and smoothed her dress over her hips.

“Then let’s get those shoes off,” he suggested, gesturing to the inglenook benches on each side of the fireplace.

Ainsley perched on one of the benches. Julian knelt at her feet and slipped off one sandal and then the other. His lips turned up in admiration and she wasn’t sure if it was because he recognized the expensive shoes or he liked being on his knees between her legs. She hoped it might be both. He placed the sandals carefully under the opposite bench.

Most guys would have thought it was cool to hurl her shoes across the room in passion. Or they might have carelessly put them on the threshold of the fireplace where she could either ruin the moment by moving them or spend the whole night with a nagging worry that they might end up on fire.

Before her nervous brain could find something else to think about, he turned back to her.

“Is that better?” he asked.

Ainsley nodded. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so quiet.

“Good girl.” He reached up and smoothed the fabric down over her thighs with a playful smile.

She stared wordlessly at his hands as they gently but firmly caressed her through the thin dress.

“So soft,” he mused. “No wonder you’re constantly smoothing your skirt down. I could do this all night.”

Waves of longing coursed through Ainsley. She wanted to tangle her fingers in his hair and pull him to her. She wanted to unbutton his shirt and lick his chest.

His hands never stopped their slow stroking, but her wolf could hear his pulse hammering and it pawed at the bars, claws scraping.

Ainsley closed her eyes and took a careful breath. Slow down, be careful. It shouldn’t be this hard so soon. The wolf drew back a little. Ainsley opened her eyes.

Julian had stopped stroking her thighs and was looking up at her.

“What’s wrong?”

Wasn’t that a terrific question?

Gee, Julian, I’m sorry. You’re making me so hot I can’t think straight but I can’t really let go because I might turn into a giant wolf and maul you.

“Nothing.”

“Ainsley, you’re a very sexy young woman.” His hands went back to her thighs. “And you’ll have to forgive me for trying to seduce you. Of course we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

But as he spoke, he slipped his hands under her dress and firmly pushed it up instead of down.

“It’s just that you seem to have cast a spell on me, and I’m helpless before you.”

His hands were on her bare skin now and he gently pressed her thighs apart. He knelt up and moved between her legs to look right into her eyes.

“Now, Ainsley, tell me. Do you want to go home?”

She licked her lips and he leaned forward slowly and brushed his own lips against them.

The effect was immediate. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she could feel his pulse reverberating through his kiss. She arched her back involuntarily and he wrapped his arms around her, cradling her as she moaned against his mouth.

In one smooth movement he stood with her in his arms. Then he carried her to the bedroom. He sat her gently on the coverlet at the edge of the bed.

He knelt again and turned her slightly, then slowly tugged down the zipper on the back of her dress. She could hear each tooth release. She heard the leaves whisper in the trees in the college woods and felt the warmth of each star in the window from their remote distances.

He turned her back to face him, then rolled the straps of her dress down. Dipping his hand into the bodice, he allowed his fingers to caress her cleavage as he eased the dress down just enough to reveal her lacy white push-up bra.

His intake of breath and the increase in his heartbeat told her that he liked what he saw.

“So lovely,” he murmured, brushing his lips across the tops of her breasts. Her nipples hardened instantly and she thrust herself forward.

“Greedy little girl,” he breathed. “Slow down.”

But he was already peeling down the cups to nuzzle her nipples. She gasped at the sudden pleasure as he circled one and then the other with his inquisitive tongue. With one hand between her shoulder blades he pressed her back toward him so that she arched into his mouth. With the other he held down her leg, his thumb circling maddeningly on her inner thigh.

She felt the white pain and pleasure of his teeth against one nipple and stifled a moan. He rewarded her by sucking her deep into his mouth. The taste of her seemed to overwhelm him, his hips jerked against the edge of the bed as he groaned into her breast, then turned to the other.

Her hands found their way into his hair at last and she clutched him to her and felt the delicious suction on her other nipple. Her hips began to buck in spite of her attempts at control, but he pressed her down insistently and she surrendered with a moan.

He pulled back to look at her and she could see his pupils dilate with desire. She could only imagine what she must look like, all wild hair, swollen lips, and stiff pink nipples pushed up over the bodice of her dress. She didn’t care. As long as he would just touch her again.

He stood them up, pulled her dress over her head, and folded and placed it on the bedside table. He turned to her and his eyes hungrily took in her curves. The bra pushed up her exposed breasts. Her white lace panties were the last bit of covering she had. And he was eyeing them.

Ainsley had always been shy about her body, but somehow she didn’t care tonight. She could tell by the way he was drinking in the sight of her that Julian was not disappointed.

“Beautiful girl…”

Her whole body responded with a wave of desire. As he took of his Breitling and unbuttoned his shirt, her wolf tilted up its head and howled in frustration. Ainsley caught her breath but managed to stay in the moment.

Julian was gorgeous. He had a ballet dancer’s physique- thin but powerful and lightly muscled. She stepped toward him and he froze as she traced her fingers across his chest and nuzzled his tiny nipples. When she caught one in her teeth and caressed the tip with her tongue he let his head fall backward in pleasure. Then he wrapped a hand in her hair and pulled her away.

“Easy,” he said, as he unbuckled his belt and let his pants drop to the floor, then pushed her into the bed on her back.

She lay back, praying for control, as her wolf threw itself at the bars, and Julian turned off the overhead light and removed his socks, underwear and shirt and placed all his clothing on the chair in the corner. He left on the lamp by the dresser.

In the dim backlight, his silhouette looked timeless and youthful. She could see his cheeks swell as he smiled down at her and she couldn’t help smiling back.

He fell to the bed, pushing her thighs apart and crawling up between them. He fed on her neck for a moment, then her mouth again, licking and sucking her tongue until she could barely breathe.

His hand found a breast and plumped and kneaded gently. She arched into him and he let the pad of his thumb graze her nipple. Again, her hips bucked up against him. She could feel the length of his hard cock against her belly. Her insides clenched pleasurably.

He pulled away from her mouth only to descend upon her breasts again. Ainsley bucked her hips against him urgently, growing impatient. He pulled back and smiled, then he drew a trail of light kisses lower, right to the edge of her lace panties.

He slid his hands under her hips and pulled her to his mouth. She could feel his breath through the soft cotton. She was so wet she was sure he could taste her through it.

“Oh my poor darling,” he whispered.

She bit her lip to stop herself from begging him for satisfaction.

He traced one long finger along her center and she was sure he could feel her open for him. He traced it again. And again. She could hardly contain herself. He dropped his head to mouth her through the fabric and she cried out frantically.

He cursed softly, hooked his fingers under the lace band and slid off the last vestige of her clothing. Ainsley lay beneath him panting. She didn’t know what he would do next and she didn’t care, so long as he touched her again right away.

Julian didn’t disappoint her. He pushed her thighs apart and studied her glistening pussy with ravenous eyes.

All the better to see you with, my dear.

One long finger traced a line down her and she could feel herself swelling and opening. He leaned forward, placed a hand on each thigh, and traced the same line with his tongue.

Ainsley lost track of her own sounds. Julian caressed her with his tongue softly and slowly. He moved to her clitoris until her moans grew desperate, then he abandoned it to slide up and down soothingly.

Ainsley tossed her hair against the pillows and tried to lift her hips up to meet his infuriating tongue. Her wolf was slavering and snapping behind the bars.

Suddenly she felt one long finger enter her. Her pussy clenched around it convulsively and she tried to move her hips again for friction. Again his arm across her hips thwarted her and she moaned in despair as he eased his finger in and out unhurriedly.

“Such a good girl, Ainsley,” he cooed approvingly. “Do you want to come for me now?”

“Yes!”

“I think we can arrange that,” he whispered.

Suddenly his mouth was on her again, suckling and tugging on her clit as his finger hooked a spot inside her she hadn’t felt before. The pleasure was blinding. Ainsley’s whole body went taut.

Please don’t stop, please don’t stop, please don’t stop.

She knew the moment before the orgasm took her that she was coming and nothing could prevent it. As the devastating convulsions wrapped her in their endless embrace she felt ecstasy and finally a woozy relief.

Before the last wave of pleasure had left her Julian was tracing a path of hot kisses up her chest and taking her mouth in his. She could taste herself on him. Just as she began to explore his mouth he pushed her legs apart impatiently and nudged the tip of his cock against her drenched opening.

She opened her eyes and saw he was looking at her with a desire that was almost pain. She tilted herself up to him and he eased himself into her with a groan.

Once inside her he held her still for a long moment, then drew himself slowly out. Ainsley cried out at the emptiness and he growled and pushed in and out of her with hard, fast strokes. Her pussy clamped down on him and he grit his teeth and rubbed his thumb against her clitoris.

Ainsley melted under him immediately again. He seemed to lose his resolve then and pounded into her mercilessly as she finished her second climax.

Just as she was coming down she felt him swell inside her.

“Ainsley,” he cried helplessly as he jetted and spurted inside her, grasping her hips and pushing himself in deep.

When he was finished, Julian stayed inside her and rolled her over on top of him.

“Thank you, Miss Connor,” he whispered. “That was almost as good as the Tolstoy debate.”

She giggled. He stroked her back gently with his fingers. They both sighed.

Ainsley wondered how she would get out of the sticky embrace and clean herself up without offending him.

Sex was lovely in the moment but if you thought too much about all the bodily fluids it was not very nice.

“You know,” he whispered. “I love cuddling but I’ll be happier when I have fresh linens for you to sleep in and I’m not so sweaty. Would you mind if I showered?”

Ainsley smiled a genuine smile.

“Me too,” she said. “Meet you back here in fifteen minutes?”

“It’s a date.”

She headed up to the second floor bathroom as he went to the first floor. By the time she was showered and back he had changed the sheets and had a fresh T-shirt laid out for her as well as a pair of Calvin Klein boxer briefs. She slipped into them and then into Julian’s arms. He wrapped a sheet around them.

For a long time she lay against his chest, listening to his heart beat lazily.

She was sure he didn’t actually expect her to stay the night. It was time to let him off the hook.

“Julian, this was lovely, but I should probably head back now. I have a long day tomorrow. I’m sure you do too.”

She waited for his weak argument, masking a secret relief. She didn’t get it.

“That is a dreadful and unthinkable idea. Ainsley Connor, go to sleep immediately.”

She was too tired to argue. She fell asleep with his hand softly grazing her back. Her last waking thought was to hope absently that she wouldn’t drool on his chest as she slept.