Falling For a Hybrid (3 page)

She picked up the instructions and quickly skimmed through them. “Well, this looks like a huge pain in the ass. You might regret volunteering to put it together.”

“Here, let me see it,” Torger said as he reached for what she held.

As Rikki passed the paperwork to Torger, their fingers touched. A shot of awareness surged through her, making thoughts of what he’d be like in bed fill her mind. This time, her pussy throbbed with arousal and wetness pooled deep inside it.

She gave herself a mental shake. She had to stop thinking about sex with Torger. He was there to put her computer desk together. Once he finished that, then she could test the waters.

Torger shook his head. “It’s not that bad.” He lifted his gaze to hers. “It’ll be a little time consuming.”

“If you say so. I’ll assist when you need an extra pair of hands, but other than that, you’ll be the builder.”

“Okay,” he said with a chuckle.

As Torger set to work on the assembly, Rikki sat on the floor and watched. She found her gaze drawn to his muscular arms. His t-shirt pulled snuggly against his upper body as he reached for pieces of the table. When he tightened a screw, his muscles flexed, which made them even more noticeable. She’d dated guys who’d worked out, but none of them had been as built as Torger.

They spent the next half hour slowly getting the desk together. As Rikki had predicted, it turned out to be a huge pain. At one point, Torger swore at it as he reread the instructions for the fourth time. The poor guy looked as if he were ready to throw it out the window, and she wouldn’t blame him.

Finally, Torger tightened the last screw, then set the desk upright. “Finished. Where would you like it?” he asked as he stood.

Rikki stood as well. “Just up against the wall there will be fine.” He shifted it in to place. “Thanks. I think I’m going to owe you something else since you paid for our dinner.”

Torger stepped closer and looked into her eyes. “What would you say about paying me back with a kiss?”

She sucked in a sharp breath as her body went in to arousal mode. It took everything in her not to throw herself into Torger’s arms and devour his mouth. She was that keyed up. Instead, she silently nodded.

*

Torger had done his best to ignore Rikki’s enticing scent as he’d worked on assembling her computer desk. It’d been impossible. It filled his nose with every breath he took, going straight to his head. He’d found it hard to concentrate on the task he was doing. His cock was hard and ached. All he wanted to do was drag her into his arms and show his mate what her closeness did to him.

Having Rikki say she owed him something else for the work he’d done, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to ask for a kiss. He wanted, no, needed, that small contact—badly. It’d test the waters to see if she was willing to accept him in that way. Not that the scent of her arousal hadn’t already told him that.

At her nod, Torger put his arms around her and tugged her closer until they were chest to chest. The scent of Rikki’s arousal became stronger. Her nipples pebbled beneath her shirt, brushing against him with each rapid breath she took. His erection strained against the front of his jeans. He had to resist the urge to growl like the wolf he was with need. His vampire side wanted to sink its fangs into her neck, preferably while they had sex.

He lowered his head and took her mouth with his. Torger brushed his lips along her plump ones until a soft moan escaped Rikki. That was all the encouragement he needed to deepen the kiss. He increased the pressure as he pushed his tongue inside. It was his turn to moan at the taste of her.

Rikki lifted her hands and placed them on the tops his shoulders as she rubbed against his hard cock. Torger held her tighter, angling his mouth for a better fit along hers. He plunged his tongue in and out like he wanted to do with his shaft inside her pussy.

He shifted his hands from her waist to her bottom. He held it as he ground against her. His blood heated, and the urge to take her rode him hard. Torger picked Rikki up without breaking contact with her lips, then carried her over to the couch. He sat on it as he positioned her so she straddled his lap.

She rode his cock through his jeans as she sucked on his tongue. He held her hips, lifting his to match her strokes. He cupped the back of her head and dragged his lips from her mouth to her jawline. He left a line of wet kisses before he reached the side of her neck. His fangs extended at the feel of her rapid pulse beating against his mouth. He couldn’t stop himself from dragging the sharp points along her delicate skin. She sucked in a deep breath and quivered.

It took more self-control than he liked not to bite Rikki. Thinking it was best not to see how far he could go without doing it, Torger left her neck and nuzzled between her full breasts as he cupped them. She arched her back, pushing the mounds toward him.

He couldn’t hold back a quiet growl. He grabbed the bottom of her shirt and lifted it to her chin. Her bra did up in the front. He undid the clasp, then pushed the cups to the sides, baring her breasts to his sight. Her rosy-pink nipples were taut, begging him to suck on them. Who was he to deny them? He bent his head and swirled his tongue around one tight peak before he sucked it into his mouth.

Torger switched to her other nipple, giving it the same attention. Rikki panted, and her movements grew jerky. His cock throbbed in time with his rapidly beating heart. He could almost feel her moist walls closing around his length as he sank inside her pussy over and over again until they both cried out in ecstasy. It’d be so easy to take off their jeans and do what was so vivid in his mind. The only thing holding him back was the fact it’d put them that much closer to his werewolf side claiming her.

He released her nipple and looked up at her. Rikki had her eyes closed and her mouth was slightly open as she breathed at a fast rate. Her checks were flushed with arousal. God, she was beautiful. Torger cupped her face and ran the pad of his thumb along her bottom lip that was swollen from his earlier kisses. She opened her eyes that were filled with desire and met his gaze.

“Why did you stop?” Rikki asked in a husky voice.

“I think we should slow things down a bit. You had a big move today. I bet it wore you out since you did most of it yourself. When I take you to bed, I want you well rested. There wouldn’t be much sleeping going on. Plus, I don’t want you to have the idea that I’m only interested in a one-night stand.”

Rikki smiled. “You’re right. The move is going to catch up with me soon and I’m going to crash.” She leaned down and brushed her lips against his before straightening. “I’m glad you don’t want only one night. I don’t do those. And I’m going to hold you to the no sleeping part.”

“We’ll wait until you’re unpacked and organized. That way you’ll have a chance to get to know me better.”

“I guess that means I’ll be seeing more of you?”

“Of course. Try to get rid of me.”

Torger swallowed back a groan of disappointment as Rikki did her bra up and then tugged the front of her t-shirt down. He might not want to have sex with her right then, but he liked looking at her body. He couldn’t wait to strip her completely naked and learn every inch of her soft skin with his lips and tongue.

Rikki slid off his lap to sit beside him. “You want to watch some TV with me? The cable is hooked up since it’s included in my rent. I’d offer you a beer, but I haven’t gone to the store yet so I don’t have any.”

He put his arm around her shoulders and tucked her up against his side. “TV sounds good. And that’s fine about the beer.”

They watched television for a couple hours before, as Rikki had predicted, she fell asleep with her head on his chest as she snuggled against him. She didn’t even wake up when he lifted her into his arms and then carried her to her room. He pulled back the covers on the bed and tucked her in.

Torger watched her sleep for a few minutes, then headed to the apartment door. He turned the lock on the knob before he closed it behind him. As he walked down the flight of stairs to the street, he smiled. Having his mate in his arms had felt more than right. He couldn’t wait to get her into bed and see how passionate she could be.

Chapter Three

Rikki slowly came awake and stretched. As her hand hit the pillow next to her, she realized she was in her bed. She had no recollection of getting into it. The last thing she remembered she’d been with…

She threw back the covers, sat up and looked down at herself. She wore the same clothes she’d worn yesterday. Crap. She must have fallen asleep on Torger, and he being the nice guy he was, had put her to bed. Rikki was surprised she hadn’t woken up when he had. She normally didn’t sleep that deeply. The move had to have tired her out more than she’d thought.

Now that she was awake, Rikki figured now would be a good time to have a shower. She slid off the bed, then went in search of the box where she’d packed her towels. She was going to have to make a concerted effort to get everything unpacked today. Even though she’d shared her former place, she’d still had stuff in a storage locker. She’d moved all of it when she came to Lemmon. It’d been a fair amount, even without furniture being included. She had to wonder if she had a bit of a hoarder in her.

After finding a towel, her toothbrush, toothpaste and a comb, Rikki brushed her teeth, then showered. As she dressed, she figured before she got into the unpacking she should do some grocery shopping. She had the leftover Chinese food for lunch, but nothing to make for dinner.

The one nice thing about living on the main street of a small town was the fact most of the local businesses could be found there. The grocery store was only a block away. She could have walked there, but since she needed to do a big shopping, it’d be easier to drive instead of having to carry all the bags home.

Rikki left her apartment, then went to the back of the building before she got into her car. Less than a minute later, she drove into the parking lot of the grocery store. It’d be considered small for a big city, but it was the only one the town had.

She walked through the store’s entrance, then grabbed one of the shopping carts at the front. Rikki headed to the fresh produce section. She hadn’t made a list of what she had to buy since she basically needed everything.

She’d reached the end of the produce when she caught a quick glance of a blond-haired man, who she thought could be Torger. He’d been tall enough and had the same build. Rikki hurried after him.

“Torger,” she called.

The man turned toward her. He smiled. He definitely wasn’t Torger, but he had very similar looks. Plus, now that she really looked at him, his hair was a lot longer.

He came closer. “I think you mistook me for my brother.” He smiled again. “I’m Brolach. And I’m thinking you must be Rikki.”

Rikki grinned and nodded. “Yes, I am. I take it Torger told you about me.”

“He did. I understand you moved to Lemmon yesterday.”

“Yes. Torger was nice enough to help lug some of my boxes up to my apartment.”

“He said he had. Since you live across the street from my wife’s family’s coffee shop, where we work, I expect we’ll be seeing each other often.”

“The chances are pretty good,” Rikki said with a grin. “I’ve already planned to go there for lunch sometime.”

“If you hang around Torger long enough, you’ll be going to the shop quite a bit. He, my sister and our close friend, Cameron, stop by for coffees and donuts almost every day.”

“So that’s how Torger saw I was moving all by myself. He had to have been there.”

Brolach smiled. “Yes. I should let you finish your shopping. I look forward to seeing you again, Rikki.”

“Thanks. And me too.”

Rikki watched Brolach walk away and chuckled to herself. Well, that was one way of meeting a family member of a guy she hoped to have a relationship with. And Torger’s brother definitely wasn’t hard on the eyes.

She continued her shopping, then went to the check-out. Rikki couldn’t help but cringe a little when the cashier told her what her total came out to be. At least she was stocked up for a while.

After she loaded the shopping bags into the trunk of her car, she headed to her apartment. As she parked behind the building, she wished there was a back entrance to her place. It would have made it a bit easier to get the groceries upstairs. She ended up making three trips. Her back and legs screamed at her. The move had made her sore, and carrying bags up the stairs was just more of the same.

She put the groceries away, then ate some of the Chinese food since it was pretty close to lunchtime. After getting rid of the empty containers, Rikki set to work unpacking dishes, cutlery, glasses and mugs. She washed each one before putting them into the cupboards and drawers.

Rikki moved on to the living room. She didn’t have many things to unpack for that room, except for setting up her work “office,” which was basically her desktop computer and printer. Once she did that, she checked her emails.

As usual, getting on the computer led to her doing more than checking if anyone had emailed her. She went to her favorite social media site, and the time slipped away. It was as if she’d blinked and a half an hour had gone by. Rikki forced herself away from her desk and then went to the bedroom to finish the rest of the unpacking. She had a new editing project she should start the next day.

She’d just finished putting the last of the towels and bedding into the linen closet when someone knocked on the apartment door. Rikki went to answer it. After she pulled it open, she smiled. Torger stood on the other side.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” he replied. “I thought I’d see how the unpacking was going. Plus, Brolach told me he saw you earlier at the grocery store.”

“Come on in.” Rikki stepped back so Torger could come inside. Once he did, she shut the door behind him. “I finished the unpacking just as you knocked. And yeah, I met Brolach. We didn’t talk for very long, but he seemed nice. I have to say good looks run in your family.”

Torger put his arms around her and tugged her up against his chest. “I’m glad you think so.”