Forbidden Attraction (10 page)

“I’ll unwrap that for you. You go wash the blood off of you and I’ll find food.” His calm planning gave her an odd sense of comfort.

“I remember tearing my arm when I went over that cliff.” And feeling the earth go out underneath her. She’d been positive she would fall to her death. “Thank you for rescuing me.”

He didn’t answer but focused on her arm when he took it in both of his hands. His fingers were long, and his skin was dark brown against her pale white flesh. Coarse black hair started after his wrists and covered his forearm. But his biceps were bare, the brown skin smooth and free of scars. Either Nicolo hadn’t been in a lot of fights or his challengers seldom had a chance to get their claws out. His size and thick, dark body spoke of deadly power and invincible strength. Odd that she’d never smelled superiority from a male
lunewulf
. They were all her equals. Steve tried to play as if he was the boss, and in the end it simply annoyed the hell out of her. Maybe it was the challenge of a werewolf who might actually be greater than she was that turned her on.

“Does that hurt?”

She’d barely noticed that he’d completely unwrapped her arm, she’d been so busy drooling and analyzing him.

The only possible pain she could acknowledge at the moment grew from raw need that spread inside her. And that wasn’t pain but more like pressure that built and tingled inside her.

“I usually heal pretty quickly.” She turned her arm, studying the line going down from her shoulder almost to her elbow where she’d sliced herself open. The wound had closed up and simply left the area a bit tender. “The scar should fade quickly.”

When he growled, she looked up, surprised that something she said might have upset him.

“I don’t like thinking you put yourself in situations where you are hurt often.” He’d had his hands on her arm but turned her to face him, slowly moving his fingers over her shoulders. “Little bitch, are you too wild?”

“It’s a dangerous world out there. I’ve never once gone looking for trouble,” she told him, refusing to think that seeking him out would qualify. “But I’m not afraid to attack if trouble finds me.”

His hands were rough, calloused and creating sparks when he moved them from her shoulders to the sides of her face. He had the power to crush her skull, yet his fingers almost trembled when he tilted her face so that he stared down at her.

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“And will you attack me?” he whispered, his tone suddenly a hell of a lot huskier than it had been a minute ago.

Before she could tell him only if he wanted it rough, he crushed his mouth over hers, immediately demanding she open for him. His tongue prowled over her lips, then parted them, moving inside her with the confidence of an aggressor who never hesitated.

She stretched against him, going up on her tiptoes to deepen the kiss, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Ignoring the slight throb in her arm proved damned easy to do. The blanket wrapped around her slipped to her waist, and her breasts smashed against his chest. His coarse hair tickled her nipples, teasing them into hard pebbles.

He growled his approval and pressed his hands down her back, stopping when he reached her ass. Then, cupping her soft flesh, he spread her open while lifting her at the same time.

Vulnerable and exposed had never felt so good. Her fingers brushed against the straight black hair covering the back of his neck. She combed it with her fingers while her insides boiled with energy strong enough to call forth the change. Nicolo would be a damned hard werewolf to control—if she were able to take the relationship to that level.

That thought brought her pause and she turned her head, breaking the kiss.

“Damn wolf man,” she muttered, hating her thoughts for tainting the mood.

Silver laced his dark eyes when he stared down at her. His hair was tousled and his lips full and moist. He studied her for a moment as if entering her mind and knowing exactly what her thoughts were came as second nature to him. That stilled her even further. What if Nicolo was one of those Malta werewolves with special powers?

His hands were still on her ass, and with a quick movement, he pulled her blanket away from her. She chewed her lip, a mixture of nerves and excitement attacking her when she stood naked in front of him while he still had sweatpants on.

“Follow me.” He held on to the blanket, dragging it while he turned from her and headed out of the living room.

When he turned, she saw his cock thrust forward, as if leading the way. It pushed against his sweatpants, looking thick and powerful, creating a tent in his pants. He moved with ease, like he was unaware of his arousal, which she seriously doubted was the case. He moved silently and with an almost lazy stroll considering his size. She noted he was as comfortable with his sexuality as he was with her nudity.

Heidi, on the other hand, crossed her arms over her bare breasts and walked barefoot behind him, focusing on his hard ass. That and the back of his thighs, which she bet were hard as steel just like the rest of him. She licked her lips to keep from drooling when he pushed open a door next to a room that she guessed was his bedroom. Another room was on the other side of the hallway. There was a faint scent that led her to believe the room belonged to another werewolf. Was it Dimitri? His littermate and pack leader? If so, she prayed he didn’t return to his den anytime soon.

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Lorie O’Clare

“There’s no heat in here, but the water gets plenty hot.”

The cold floor under her feet confirmed his statement and she quickly stepped onto the small bathmat outside the tub while he bent over and turned the water on for her.

When he straightened and turned to face her, there was hardly enough space in the bathroom for the two of them.

Nicolo took her hand, pulling her arm from her chest, and turned it as he brought her palm to his mouth. He nibbled the sensitive flesh there, sending chills rushing over her with enough vengeance that she noticeably shivered. He took his time letting his gaze travel down her naked body while gently rubbing his tongue over the spot he’d just scraped with his teeth.

“Once you’re clean, I’ll feed you,” he told her, his breath torturing her hand.

“Sounds good to me.” And she had a feeling he knew what she was hungry for.

He let go of her hand and she had to remember to lower it. Nicolo moved closer to her, pushing her against the wall, and tweaked her nipple while his lips brushed over her forehead.

His subtle torture session about made her knees go out underneath her. “I love the way lust smells on you,” he told her, and then walked out of the bathroom, leaving her leaning against the wall for fear she’d fall over if she tried moving.

“Damn it,” she cursed, staring at the closed door. Earlier today she’d run, convincing herself that her lust for the werewolf wasn’t strong enough to risk their packs’ reactions. Now she wondered if they could possibly pull off getting to know each other without causing a war.

The shower felt better than she thought it would, but when she got out, all she had to cover herself with was the one towel hanging on the rack. She dried off, then wrapped it around her and pushed the door open. Immediately the smell of coffee and fried meat attacked her senses. She sniffed out the aromas and found Nicolo in the kitchen, sitting at a small table with two plates laid out. The appeal of the steak and coffee dimmed next to his naked, sexy torso. The werewolf looked like he ruled the world when he casually raised his gaze to meet hers.

“Come here,” he growled, barely moving his mouth.

His words were like a magnet. Heidi walked around the table, clutching her towel, until she couldn’t get any closer because of his long legs. Nicolo reached for her, his touch gentle but demanding. Long fingers wrapped around her uninjured arm and he pulled her to him.

Heidi straddled his legs, sitting on his lap facing him. He protectively kept her there with one hand stretched over her ass. With the other, he easily sliced into steak that bled red when he ran the knife through it. Then, stabbing the section of meat he’d cut, he lifted it to her mouth, the end of the blade barely poking through the meat.

The smell greeted her and her stomach growled eagerly. Although it was an audible sound, Nicolo’s expression didn’t change. He focused on her mouth, holding the knife 52

Forbidden Attraction

still when she put her teeth around the chunk of meet and slid it off the knife and into her mouth.

“Eat my kill,” he whispered, meeting her gaze for only a moment before looking down to slice more meat.

Damn. It tasted better than anything she’d eaten in ages. Her stomach twisted around the small morsel, nerves attacking her when he raised the next piece to her mouth. A werewolf offering his kill to an unmated bitch was one of the oldest courting rituals in the books. If there were books. Heidi’s hand sweated while she gripped her towel, the mixtures of smells rising between the two of them intertwining, adding to the confusion and excitement swimming in her mind.

No
lunewulf
had ever honored her by acting out their age-old traditions when it came to mating. The simple act showed his interest and made his intentions clear from this point further. Heidi’s accepting the meat, eating his kill, let him know she wished to be courted, to be pursued and mated. That is, if the two of them took the tradition seriously. Nicolo sure as hell didn’t look like he was joking.

“I’ve never tasted better meat,” she said after swallowing and watching him slice another piece and then stab it with the knife to bring it to her mouth. “You should try it.”

He slowly shook his head. “I killed this the other night while burning off energy after meeting you.” He held the steak to her lips and watched while she pulled it off with her teeth. “My kill is for you, Heidi. Honor me and accept what I offer you.”

“I will kill for you too.” She remembered the words from one of the stories told to her when she was a cub—the ancient tale of mating. Licking the meat juice from her lips, she shook her head, the moment getting too serious for her. “What are we doing, Nicolo?”

He cut more meat and their gazes locked when she accepted the bite.

“You defied your pack leader to see me. I’ve brought you to my den without either of our pack leaders’ consent. There is no denying our physical desire for each other.

What we’re doing now is admitting to it and agreeing to see what else might be between us.” His answer was so simple that she had no immediate response.

He fed her the entire steak, never once pausing from his task of slicing bite-sized pieces and offering them to her. Nicolo believed in tradition, in honor and the strength those beliefs brought to their kind. Why the hell did he have to be a breed her kind despised? He was a werewolf with honor, who would fight, kill and love with a passion most werewolves would never know. Nicolo was a rare breed, and one she wanted to know a hell of a lot better.

When he held her coffee and offered it to her, he didn’t press the cup to her lips. His expression remained solemn while he held it for her, waiting for her to take it. She balanced herself on his lap, one hand on the table and the other holding her towel in place. Either she let go of the table and hold his arm for balance or she let go of the towel.

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Lorie O’Clare

“Thank you,” she whispered, taking the coffee cup as she decided to do both.

Letting go of the table, she touched his arm. At the same time, she released the towel, feeling it slide down the top of her breasts while she took the cup. Watching him while she sipped, the smell of coffee and perfectly cooked meat faded when his lust filled the air between them. His gaze dropped quickly, silver streaks flashing in his dark eyes.

“I need to be inside you,” he growled.

Heidi almost choked on her coffee.

“When?” she asked, clearing her voice and then gulping more of the coffee before putting the cup on the table. The hot brew sloshed when she set it down. She trembled with excitement and nervousness.

“Are you full?” Nicolo took the towel and pulled it from her.

Once again, she was naked before him. Her nipples hardened quickly and her breasts swelled. Touching him now, resting her fingers over his arm, proved answer enough for him. He gripped her waist, lifting her until he could latch on to her nipple.

He sucked her in while a rumble tore through him.

“I’m not hungry for food anymore,” she managed to utter, arching into him while letting her head fall back. “Oh Nicolo, that feels so good.”

She braced her hands on his shoulders, holding on with everything she had. He moved his mouth from one breast to the other, humming his appreciation while his tongue swirled around her nipple and his teeth tortured her puckered flesh.

“Pull my cock out,” he said with his mouth full of breast.

Heidi moved her hands from his shoulder, obeying before she’d even given his request any thought.

Fucking Nicolo, a werewolf who’d already displayed signs of being strongly traditional, would be more than just casual sex. He’d made that clear, and she wanted it to be more. So much more. But how much time did they have? When would they have moments to learn each other’s thoughts? It wasn’t like they could go to dinner or run over the mountain together. If they were seen publicly together, their packs would attack and she would be shackled, or worse yet, shunned.

She hated shoving the morbid thoughts out of her mind. Heidi was a realist. Life wasn’t easy and she’d learned at a young age that fairy tales of gallant werewolves who would protect and honor her were just that. But damn it, Nicolo was everything she’d ever fantasized about. He was absolutely perfect.

Her fingers ran over the length of his shaft, and all concern over their actions or any meaning behind what they did faded completely.

Good fucking grief!

Nicolo was hung! She knew
lunewulfs
were a smaller breed than other werewolves, but holy fucking shit had she been deprived!

“Take it out,” he growled.

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