Forbidden Attraction (24 page)

Bruno waved his hand in the air, sighing heavily. “Leading a pack in anger will only spawn more anger. That will dilute our line faster than any other breed could.”

He didn’t look at her, and when she glanced at Nicolo, he’d clasped his hands behind his back, standing tall and looking like a proud, strong werewolf. His expression wasn’t readable, but she got the impression he had a lot of respect for the older werewolf. She had no clue who he was.

“It’s time to let go of the pain from your past, Dimitri,” Bruno said in a quiet tone.

“Lead our werewolves with pride and honor. Don’t howl over the small stuff and always sniff your way toward the larger picture.”

He turned toward the door and both Dimitri and Nicolo jumped, moving to his side and opening the door for him when he reached it.

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“The Americans and
lunewulfs
will work with you. Show them your strength, not your weaknesses.” Bruno put his hand on Dimitri’s arm. “You’ll be a great leader, Dimitri. Now that your anger is gone, you will see things so much clearer.”

Bruno walked out the door, and Dimitri and Nicolo blocked her view of the outside as they stared into the growing darkness.

“Son of a bitch,” Dimitri muttered, looking down as he scrubbed his hair with his hand.

“Have you seen him since we’ve been here?” Nicolo asked, reaching around his littermate and closing the door.

Dimitri shook his head, smelling confused.

“Me either.” Nicolo finally turned and looked at Heidi, the torment in his expression creating a lump in her gut. He held his hand out to her and she moved to his side. “Acknowledge the mating,” he told Dimitri quietly.

Dimitri took his time looking up, and then glanced from one of them to the other as if he didn’t quite understand what Nicolo had just said.

“We’ll leave and find a pack that will take us in if you don’t.”

Dimitri stared at him, the two werewolves no more than a foot away from each other. She felt the strain in her neck looking up at the two of them. They stared at each other, both so deadly, although at the moment turmoil and pain washed over their expressions.

“You aren’t waiting until spring to build your own den. And for the safety of your bitch, you might consider claiming some of the land higher up on the mountain.”

Dimitri opened the door and walked out of his den, not bothering to close it behind him.

Heidi stood, watching Dimitri’s backside as he strolled into the woods. She didn’t dare breathe. Suddenly, the overwhelming scent of Nicolo hit her. Victory. Satisfaction and his rich, musky scent of desire attacked her senses.

Slowly Nicolo closed the door.

“Who was that old werewolf?” she asked.

Nicolo didn’t turn around. “Our old pack leader.”

“You had a pack leader here before Dimitri?”

“No.” He turned around slowly, his hooded gaze looking tormented. “He was our pack leader on Malta. When our pack burned, he died with his mate.”

“But,” she stammered, shaking her head. “Obviously he didn’t die. Maybe the rest of your den lives too.”

“No.” He shook his head. “They all died. I know it for a fact. We spread their ashes.”

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“What are you saying?” She remembered not being able to smell the old werewolf, but that could have been because of the hostile feelings clogging the room. “You can’t mean that he is a ghost.”

“Before Erin mated, she swore she saw Renee, our old queen bitch. I didn’t believe her, since Dimitri and I found their carcasses and spread their ashes into the ocean. We spread the ashes of our sire and our mother and other littermates too. Dimitri still carries a lot of hatred from that time. It’s what you smell on him. But I now owe my youngest littermate an apology for doubting her when I didn’t smell a lie.”

“Are you saying we just saw a ghost?”

“I’m not sure.” He stared into her eyes, something softening inside him, opening up to her while he shared with her thoughts she doubted he’d voice to any other werewolf.

“I believe the gift has levels to its power that you and I may never understand.”

“Oh.”

“Heidi,” he whispered, his voice scraping over her flesh with its husky tone.

She looked up at him—at the slow swelling of his lower lip, at his tousled black hair that fell straight around his dark gaze—and she shivered. But not from cold. Warmth spread over her. Her heart pattered in her chest so quickly she could barely catch her breath. Never had he looked so damned good.

“Will you be my mate?” he asked.

She exhaled quickly, coughing and then placing her palm against his hard chest.

The steady beat of his heart turned the warmth inside her to scalding heat. She shook her head, unable to stop her grin and fighting a sudden fit of giggles that seemed rather inappropriate at the moment. Nicolo looked so serious.

“Don’t you think it’s a little late to ask me that?” she asked.

“No. It’s never too late. I won’t have you feeling trapped or forced into something simply because you have nowhere to go at the moment.” He grabbed her arms, squeezing just a bit. “It won’t be easy being mated to me.”

“Life isn’t always easy, Nicolo. We both know that.” She stroked his chin and frowned at the bruising there, barely visible against his dark skin. “Come with me. You need ice on that.”

Her large werewolf let her lead him like a pup and sat obediently when she pulled out one of the kitchen chairs. She grabbed a slab of frozen meat from his freezer and tilted his head, applying it carefully to the swelling.

“I don’t want you to take me as a mate because you know I’m denless.” She watched his dark eyes, got lost in them, stared into them as they smoldered like rich, dark chocolate coming to a boil. “I’ve been without a pack before and I made it through that.”

Nicolo grabbed her wrist, pulling it to his mouth and then scraping his teeth over the sensitive flesh. She almost fell onto his lap. Her knees went weak while a steady beat began between her legs that matched the thud of her heart.

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“I want you, Heidi. Not some other bitch, but you. Please be my mate.” Long black lashes hooded his dark eyes, and he slowly kissed the spot he’d just nibbled.

“What if your pack shuns you?” she asked.

“That won’t happen.”

“You know they’ll hate you for taking a
lunewulf
bitch.”

“Those who do will suffer.”

“No. I don’t want more fighting in your pack because of me.”

“I will always fight for you, little bitch. Always.” He raised his gaze, still holding her wrist to his mouth so that his lips brushed over her skin when he spoke. “And if you say yes, then this is your pack too.”

“Yes,” she whispered. “You knew it was yes.”

“I needed to hear it,” he told her honestly. “Just as I need to know why you would take me as a mate.”

“Why?”

“Do you love me?”

Now her legs did go weak. She crumpled onto his lap and he quickly wrapped his arms around her, holding her firmly against his warm body. She adjusted herself as best she could, all too aware of how hard his cock was underneath her and how long and thick it felt against the side of her leg.

“Yes,” she said, suddenly nervous. There would always be honesty between them, and she knew more than anything that she’d never felt for another werewolf what she felt for Nicolo. “I really do think that I love you.”

“Damned good thing,” he growled.

She put the slab of meat on the table and cupped his face, then gently kissed him.

The metallic taste of blood lingered in his mouth. She ran her tongue over his teeth, feeling their still slightly lengthened shape. Her tummy twisted, raw desire unleashing inside her. When his cock jerked between them, her pussy swelled. More than anything, she needed him inside her, but there was more to say, more she needed to hear.

He bit her lip, and a low rumble escaped him, making his body vibrate against hers.

“Nicolo,” she cried out, breaking the kiss and wrapping her arms around his neck.

She held him while resting her forehead against his. In just a minute, she’d gather her wits about her. With her every breath she inhaled his rich scent, which made it damned hard to think straight.

“What about you?” she whispered, her voice sounding ragged.

“What about me?” he asked.

She hated how controlled he sounded—so in charge of his thoughts and emotions while hers raced around in her head like a pack of pups, out of control and with no direction.

“How do you feel about me?”

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“I love your free spirit and the way you smell right after I’ve fucked you,” he whispered. “And when you’re angry and your blonde hair turns white, you are an incredible sight. I love how you fought for me and fought for your happiness. But little bitch, you stole my heart the day you told me you ran into Valle without an escort because you wanted to be with me. You fought for me. And you’ve won. Every inch of me is yours.”

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Nicolo stood, lifting Heidi into his arms. She barely weighed a thing, but she displayed a decent amount of strength when she twisted and then easily wrapped her legs around his waist.

He cupped her ass, instantly tortured by how smooth and soft it was. “Our lovemaking in the past has already mated us. Even now, I smell my scent coming from your pores.”

She lifted her head, holding on to his neck and hoisting herself up his body so her face was close to his. “I think you better mate with me again, just to be sure.”

He had to look like shit. When he grinned, his swollen lip stretched, feeling like it stuck out half a mile. She didn’t seem fazed by his appearance though. Her blue eyes glowed, so sensual and beautiful. The slightest shade of silver bordered them, adding to how erotic she looked.

Once he had her in his own bedroom, he kicked the door shut with his boot and then carried her to his bed. She slid down his body, landing on the bed on all fours. But quickly she rose to her knees, reaching for his jeans and undoing them.

“I want to undress you,” she told him. “Stand still and don’t move.”

“You are in charge now?”

She gave him a mischievous look. “Think you can handle it?”

He growled, unwilling to show her how much she tortured him when her fingers scraped over his skin. She didn’t waste any time. But Nicolo had no problem with her excitement. No matter that they had the rest of their lives together, her desire to have him, and now, suited him just fine.

He heard the wind pick up outside, listened while branches rustled together and focused on whether any werewolves came near. They wouldn’t be disturbed. He’d make sure of it. For the rest of the night, and quite possibly for part of tomorrow, he and Heidi would stay in his room and enjoy every inch of each other’s bodies.

Heidi tugged his jeans down to his thighs. She almost ripped his boxers with her nails. They scraped over his skin, scratching him and setting his blood on fire. It rushed through him, increasing in speed and draining almost completely into his cock.

“Little bitch, keep it up and it will be you who might not be able to handle it.”

She moved off the bed as if she were already in her fur, crawling and moving with an agility an average human wouldn’t have easily pulled off. On her knees, she pushed—hard—shoving him toward the bed.

“Sit, wolf man.” She looked up at him with extended teeth and blue eyes laced with silver. “Let me take off your boots.”

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Nicolo sat on the edge of his bed and shoved his pants and boxers to his knees. He wrapped his fingers around his cock, and his touch felt rough—too rough when he ached for her hot body wrapped around him instead.

“Hurry up with that,” he demanded, keeping his tone fierce.

Heidi slapped his leg and then leaned forward and bit his knee. “Talk to me like that and see how far it gets you,” she growled.

Her playfulness almost made him laugh. He grabbed her hair, pulling her head back before she could tear through his bunched-up jeans.

“You don’t want this inside you?” he teased, rubbing his fingers up and down his cock.

“Can you smell how soaked my pussy is?” she asked, looking down and pulling off his second boot.

“Then you’d think you’d want to hurry so you could have it.”

He let go of her hair when she straightened, leaning over him. She ran a finger along the length of his shaft and his entire body spasmed.

“I can have it whenever I want, wherever I want and however I want,” she whispered, continuing to torture him with one finger while she held on to his shoulder and stared him in the eye with a mischievous glint. “Unless all of a sudden there are rules.”

“When, how and where do you want it, little bitch?”

She smiled slowly, straightening and then dragging her sweater over her head. She dropped it to the floor and then slid the straps of her bra off her shoulders. When she twisted it around and unhooked it, his gaze locked on her small, perky breasts. Heidi’s nipples were so hard that his mouth watered. His cock jerked, doing a little dance of its own to steal her attention.

She ran her tongue over her lips, looking as if she might leap onto it at any moment, but instead she undid her jeans and kicked her boots off before sliding the denim down her slender, creamy white legs.

“I want it now,” she told him, and slowly ran her hand over her breast, watching him while she stroked herself. “And I want the best you can deliver.”

“And where, my sweet bitch. Tell me where you want it.”

Her fingers moved over her pussy, and she’d never smelled more ripe, more ready and eager for him.

“Everywhere,” she whispered, biting her lower lip. “Here. Now.”

“Come here.”

She climbed onto him, moving like a bitch who owned the world and everything in it. Nicolo fell back on the bed, reaching for her, but she grabbed his wrists. Her small hands barely wrapped around him, but the smoothness of her touch, her determination when she pushed his arms over his head and pinned his wrists together, ignited flames inside him.