Force of Nature Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 4) (41 page)
Read Force of Nature Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 4) Online
Authors: Kathi S. Barton
“I’m not going to last. I thought that if I left my pants on I’d be able to pleasure you before I took what I wanted from you. But all I can think of is fucking you. Hard, fast, and claiming you.” Her moan had him looking up from his vantage point of her soaking pussy. “Do you want me to take you, Alexis?”
When she stepped back he growled, but as soon as she turned and dropped to her knees in front of him, Gordon yanked at his jeans and tore the zipper and snap out. Her giggle had him smile.
“You won’t think it is so funny to tease a wolf when you can’t walk for a few hours.” She leaned over onto her hands and presented him with her ass. “Alexis, I’m so sorry.”
His cock leapt when he grabbed her hips. The heavy cream at the tip of his cock was nothing to the juices streaming down her thighs despite the lace. Tearing away the thong, the only thing keeping him from his goal, he fisted his cock and slammed into her.
Her climax screamed from her. When she begged him for more he leaned over her and took her hard. Stroke for stroke she met him; each thrust forward was met with a push back from her. When she tightened around his cock again, her walls milking him hard, he felt his own climax pulling from deep within him.
“Come in me, Gordon. Please, fill me with your seed and give me your child.” Gordon knew she was in heat, he’d known for days it was close. “Please,” she begged again before she threw back her head and howled out her release.
His wolf grabbed him and he felt the small shift hurtle through him. Canines dropped and he knew she was going to hurt, but he couldn’t stop it any more than he could stop breathing. Nuzzling her shoulder, he licked the area between her neck and shoulder and bit her. Deep and hard, he sank his teeth as his climax hit him. As he held her still, claiming and marking her as his, he knew that they had created a child, their child, there in the dark woods.
Phil knew as soon as he was shown into the house that something had changed. It took him a few minutes to figure out what it was. There was laughter. Not just from one or two, but the whole house seemed to be in on a great joke. When he entered the kitchen, a place he knew that they spent most of their time, he stood watching them for a minute.
Sis was sitting on Gordon’s lap. She looked so comfortable there he wondered if she was beginning to trust him more. She had a slice of apple in her hand and Phil watched as Gordon sliced another off the large, red apple in his own hand. Smiling, she took the offered piece as she popped the last one in her mouth.
Tim was sitting next to them. He was grinning, a big grin that showed that in the past week he’d managed to lose one of his front teeth. He too was enjoying an apple, only his was already on his plate sliced up. He leaned to his brother Jake and whispered in his ear. The other child laughed and stole a slice off his brother’s plate.
Jake didn’t say much when Phil had first come around. He seemed a great kid, but he knew from CJ that he possessed a very high IQ and had been tested recently. The results weren’t back yet, but Phil was willing to bet that the kid was nearing genius status. Phil had found the kid reading encyclopedias on more than one occasion. He couldn’t wait to tell Gordon he’d told him so.
Darcy was staring at him when he looked at her. Her smile was soft and reached her eyes. She’d changed the most. Everything about her showed her good health and well being. Phil had heard from Connor, Gordon’s twin, that she’d talked more about the night her mother was killed. She had opened up to him, he said, because he’d let her see that a wolf could shift and not hurt. Phil thought she was a little in love with the wolf and hoped that Connor took a care where she was concerned.
“You should come in and join us.” Phil looked over at Alexis when she spoke. “We have plenty of fruit to go around and there is homemade ice cream for later if you’d like to stay.”
“I picked the berries all by myself,” Tim chimed in. “Well, Jake and Darcy helped a little, but I did the…what did you call it, Gordon?”
“Toting. You did the toting. A real man totes his bounty home while the others gather. It’s a good wolf who can provide for his family.” Phil laughed when Alexis hit him. “Okay, it’s a good wolf who can let his mate provide for him.”
“Have a seat, Phil. I’ll get you a plate so you can have something too.” Alexis started to stand when Gordon beat her to it. The look between them made him look deeper into the woman and he was surprised by what he found.
“Congratulations are in order, I guess.” Alexis flushed and Gordon puffed out his chest. “Would you like to know what it is?”
He could tell almost from conception what the sex of a baby would be. It was another of those odd quirks he got being a half-breed. He grinned at the two of them when she shook her head no and Gordon yes. Phil decided to hold off until they got more into their lives.
“Uncle Phil, did you know that Aunt Alexis and Gordon are gonna adapted us? We’re not gonna be wolves, but we are going to be….” Sis looked confused for a second then brightened before she continued. “We’re going to be a force to reckon with.”
“I’m sure you already are, pumpkin,” he told her. “And I believe you mean ‘adopt’ not ‘adapted.’” She nodded and continued eating.
Gordon came back with a glass and a jug of tea. He set the empty plate in front of him before going back to his seat and picking up Sis. Looking around the table Phil thought of the things he had to tell them and the things that he needed answers for. First, though, he filled his plate with leftovers.
“You might as well spill it. Some of us have work to do.” He looked up at Gordon as the kids left the room. “They have to clean their rooms and you look ready to bust. Say it.”
“Okay. First and foremost, where is Holly? I need her. If she wants to bail on me, then I want to know. My family wants me to come back to Europe with them to live. I can’t…I don’t want to make Holly do this if she doesn’t want to.”
He held his breath while Alexis and Gordon looked at each other for several seconds. He could have looked into her mind, but decided not to. He wasn’t sure what he’d find and was surer he didn’t want to know.
“She’s in New York. I don’t know where other than the fancy hotel I told you about. Last time we heard from her she was buying something for a company. What, I don’t know, but that’s where she was as of last week.” Gordon looked at Alexis again before continuing. “You need to claim her whether she wants it or not. She’s your mate and that alone can do strange and sometimes terrible things to you if you don’t claim each other.”
“She doesn’t sound like she’s going to be easy, Phil,” Alexis said with a huge grin. “I’ve never met her, but I’m pretty sure she comes by her last name naturally. I would say the ‘take and conquer’ approach is the best way for her.”
“You don’t care that she’ll be pissed?” Phil was surprised by their shaking heads. “And if I tell her it was your idea, are you going to have to go into witness protection until she calms down?”
Gordon stood up and started gathering plates. “Not if you do it right, we won’t.”
Kathi Barton, author of the bestselling series Force of Nature, lives in Nashport, Ohio with her husband Paul. In addition to writing full time Kathi likes to spend time with her eight grandkids, three children and three children-in-laws. She writes to relax and have fun.
Her muse, a cross between Jimmy Stewart and Hugh Jackman brings them to life for her readers in a way that has them coming back time and again for more. Her favorite genre is paranormal romance with a great deal of spice. You can visit Kathi on line and drop her an email if you’d like. She loves hearing from her fans.
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Follow Kathi on her blog:
http://kathisbartonauthor.blogspot.com/
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, organizations, or person, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
World Castle Publishing, LLC
Pensacola, Florida
Copyright © Kathi S. Barton 2012
ISBN: 9781938961335
First Edition World Castle Publishing, LLC October 1, 2012
Second Edition World Castle Publishing, LLC October 20, 2013
http://www.worldcastlepublishing.com
Licensing Notes
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.
Cover: Karen Fuller
Photos: Shutterstock
Editor: Brieanna Robertson
Phil stood outside the hotel room for several minutes before he could work up the nerve to knock. She was going to be upset; more than that, she was going to be pissed at her brother too. He moved to the door, and had raised his hand to knock when it was jerked open…and there she stood.
Phil Campbell would never be able to see her without his breath catching. She was beautiful, yes, but it was more than that. Her body, her scent, called to him. He needed her, needed her with every bone, every cell…hell, every part of his body. She was his mate, his other half, and they both knew it. And her standing there fresh from what he assumed was a shower, with her bath robe on, made him think that her brother had the right idea in telling Phil to just claim her.
Holly Force was a werewolf. Her sister-in-law CJ, who was now married to the pack’s alpha and Holly’s brother, Austin, had been his good friend long before he’d met the entire family. Phil had known about Holly, but had never thought to approach her as his mate because she was a wolf and he a vampire. But a long talk with her brother had made him realize that if he didn’t claim her he’d never be happy.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Before he could answer her, there was a small ding behind him, signaling the elevator coming to a stop on this floor. Turning to see who got off, he nearly lost his balance when he was suddenly jerked inside the room and the door was closed behind them.
She had him pressed against the wall and her hand over his mouth before he could begin to understand that she was hiding him. Her breath on his neck when she leaned in and whispered in his ear to be quiet nearly made him whimper, and he did reach out and wrap his hand around her waist, bringing her flush against him.
“Don’t,” was all she said before he heard someone coming down the hallway. When the person stopped at the door, Phil ran his tongue down Holly’s throat to the pulse that was beating fast, and took in as much of her scent as he could.
“Tell them to go away,” Phil told her in a whisper when the person knocked. “Tell them you’re busy and that you’ll talk to them later.” He nipped at her earlobe, cupped her ass in his hand, and rocked into her before he scraped his teeth along the vein.
“I can’t. Christ, don’t do that.” In a louder voice, she spoke to who he thought was on the other side of the door. “I’m running just a little behind, darling, just give me—” Her moan broke free and he had to smile.
Phil didn’t care what she thought she was going to do; she wasn’t leaving this room until they at least talked. But with her body pressed against his and his cock hard as stone, he figured it would be hours before they even spoke if he had anything to do with it. He turned her so that she was backed against the wall and he cupped her breast in his hand.
“I want to taste you, Holly. I want to make love to you right here and anywhere else that—”
“I can’t, damn it.” She pulled away and he let her; he would never force anyone. “Don’t move. I have to try and salvage this or I’ll be…damn it, how the hell did you find me anyway?”
Her voice was low, low enough that unless the person on the other side was a supernatural, he’d not hear a word. Phil was just about to tell her that he was there because he needed her when the person on the other side spoke for the first time.
“Come on, Heather. I know you’re still a mite pissed at me about last night, but you said that you’d give me another go. I’ll not touch you like that again. You have my word on it as a gentleman.” Phil looked from her to the door. With a raised brow he started to the door, but was pressed back against the wall with a knife to his throat.
“Don’t move or so help me, I’ll end you.” He didn’t move. Not because he was afraid she’d do it, but because he didn’t want to hurt her. She was strong, yes…all weres were…but he was stronger and much bigger than her. She might hurt him, but in the end, he knew that he could take her if need be. And he was counting on the fact that, as his mate, she really couldn’t do much more than push him around.
Moving the blade from his throat without taking his eyes from hers, he glanced at the door then back at her again. “Finish this with him then we talk. I’m your mate and you won’t be going anywhere with him.”
“I will go where I want, when I want, and if you think that will ever change because you think you’re my mate then you’re stupider than the guy at the door.” She moved away and toward the door without another word. The door opened, and the chain still in place kept him from seeing the stupid person on the other side. But his voice, his scent, wasn’t anything Phil would ever forget.
“There you are,” the man said, relief in his voice. “I thought we had a date tonight. I got reservations at the hotel dining room. Come on out and let’s eat a hardy dinner. I have plans tonight.”
Phil walked up beside Holly, not revealing himself to the man at the door. He could touch her all he wanted and he did so. Cupping her breast that was hidden from view, Phil leaned down and nuzzled it with his mouth. Her fingers lacing in his hair was all the warning he got before she yanked his head up hard.
“Oh, baby, you have to let me get a few things figured out. You’re a mite early.” She looked over at Phil and he could see the hatred in her eyes. Whether for him or the man on the other side, he wasn’t sure, but it didn’t stop him from taking advantage of her distraction.
The kiss was brief and left him wanting more. He was about to take another nibble of her lower lip when she brought her heel down on his foot. Staggering back, he decided that if she wanted to play, then he would play too.
Taking her wrist into his hand, he pulled it to his mouth. He licked the rapid beating pulse before he scraped his fangs over the sensitive area and drew blood. He knew that this was wrong, but he wanted her in the worst way and tasting her would give him an advantage. But before he could taste the warmth that trickled from her tiny wound, she jerked free and punched him in the nose.
“Heather? Are you all right? What’s going on?” Phil had his hand over his nose and mouth, trying to stop the flow of blood, when he realized that the man was calling her Heather and not Holly. He pulled her as close as he could and put his mouth to her ear.
“Who is this and what the hell does he want with you? He isn’t here to see you as a were or he’d know who you were. What the fuck is going on?” She lifted his chin up as he finished speaking. She looked pissed, but this time he could tell that it was with the man on the other side of the door.
“I can’t come out tonight. I have to pack up. I told you that this morning. But if you want to get a drink at the bar…just give me ten minutes, sugar, and I’ll be right down.” The man on the other side cursed. “It’s the best I can do. You had an opportunity last evening, but you went and screwed that up all on you—”
“Come on, Heather. I need to see you. I’ve got something to tell you, something that I just gotta tell somebody or I’m gonna bust.” The man leaned against the door and had Phil ready to attack, but Holly stopped him with a squeeze of her hand on his shoulder and a small shake of her head. “Please, honey. Just one more chance?”
“All right. Dinner and nothing more. I do have to catch a plane in the morning and I have to get my beauty rest.” She smiled at the man at the door before starting to close it. “I’ll meet you in the bar in ten minutes.”
“You don’t need any more beauty sleep, darling, but I’ll behave. I promise. I’ll be waiting for you. You might wanna change your mind about leaving me after you hear what I have to tell you.” His voice seemed to move away from the door and Phil knew it when he heard the ding again. “See you in ten then.”
Phil waited until he heard the elevator move down the shaft before he thought about what he wanted to say to her. He had wanted to do this calmly, but that wasn’t even an option right now. Looking over at Holly when she started pulling things out of a suitcase, Phil grabbed her and threw her on the bed.
~~~
She didn’t need this right now. Not tonight anyway. She looked up at the handsome man laying over her and wanted so badly to claim him, to have him bite her. She fisted her hand at her side before she gave in to the fact that she wanted to touch him, run her fingers through his hair, and kiss him.
“I have to get ready. I have nine minutes to meet him downstairs for—” His mouth covered hers and she opened up before she could think that she shouldn’t.
Christ, the man could kiss. His mouth fit over hers like it was made to be there…which she supposed, in the grand scheme of things, it was. When his hand slid up her thigh, she moaned and gripped the blanket beneath her.
“I want you. Now. I want to sink my cock deep inside of you and not stop until neither of us can move.” He rocked into her soft flesh and she moaned again. “Holly, please say yes. Please tell me that you want me as much as I want you.”
She did, that was the problem. But getting to the hotel bar was more important. At least to her job it was. She took advantage of his moving mouth and tried to reason with him. But the moment he moved the robe from her breast and suckled on her nipple, she couldn’t have told him her name if he’d asked.
“Phil, please? I have to talk to you. I have to—holy Christ.” He bit her. Not enough to be really painful, but enough for her to want more. She grabbed his hair again and pulled him up. “Stop that right now. I have to go. You’ve no idea what you’ve stepped into, and I don’t have time to explain right now.”
He lifted his body up, but all that did was press his hard cock harder into her pussy. She tried to be pissed, but she knew he could smell her, smell that she was aroused. He grinned down at her and she knew a moment of pure love, but pushed it away. She couldn’t love him, not now.
“I have to go to the bar and meet that man. I don’t have a choice.” She tried to shove him off her, but all he did was lean down and kiss her again. She nearly gave in again. It was getting harder by the second. “You don’t understand. I don’t—”
“You have a choice. Everyone does. Yours is to either stay here with me and let me make love to you all night long, or I go down to the bar and drain the bastard.” He grinned again. “That second choice has a great deal of appeal to me right now.”
She shoved him harder and he rolled off her. She was sure it was because he allowed her to, not because she was stronger than him. He watched her rise and she flushed when she saw how much of her body he’d exposed. She glared at him as she grabbed up her pants again.
“You’re a pain in the ass.” She moved toward the bathroom as she continued. “I have to go. If you don’t…Phil, what are you doing here?” That thought had just occurred to her. How had he found her, and who the hell else knew where she was? When he got up and sauntered toward her, she knew that she wasn’t going to like his answer. When he kissed her lightly on the mouth and walked toward the suitcase that now lay on the floor, she watched him, waiting.
“Who is this guy and why is he calling you Heather? I’m guessing that he doesn’t know you’re a were either, does he?” She shook her head at his question, knowing she couldn’t lie to him. “And last night, he tried something that pissed you off enough that you’d leave the chain on the door to speak to him because why…you don’t trust that he won’t try it again?”
She nodded this time before answering. “He backed me against the wall and tried to take more than I was willing to give. Well, that’s not true. He tried to take everything. And before you ask, no, I didn’t do anything wolf-like on his ass. I simply pushed him away.”
“No, you didn’t,” he said laughingly. “You did do something. No man comes begging at a woman’s door for forgiveness if she only pushed him away.” He walked to her, slipped his hand under the robe, and cupped her breast. “What did you do to him, love? Tell me the truth and I won’t go down there and take his throat out with my bare hands.”
She swallowed hard. He’d made it sound like he was going to the corner for a loaf of bread. And she knew that if she didn’t answer him or didn’t tell him what she’d actually done to him, he’d do just what he said.
“I punched him in the mouth, then I kicked his balls up around his eyes.” She licked her lips when he moved his mouth closer to hers. “I…are you going to kiss me, Phil?”
“Do you want me to?” She nodded. “Then no. If we both are willing then you aren’t leaving this room. And the sooner you get this guy taken care of, the sooner you can explain to me why he’s so important and why he doesn’t know your name.”
Holly took a step back, then another. She moved to the bathroom and only stopped when he said her name. Just managing to catch the pants she’d had in her hand before another piece of material came toward her, she looked up at him when he cleared his throat.
“You now have less than five minutes. I would hurry if I were you, and if you come out of there with something that I don’t think is covering enough of you, you won’t leave even then.”
She closed the door but didn’t lock it. She wasn’t sure if she wanted him to come in and take her or if she thought it didn’t matter. He’d come in if he wanted, and no lock would stop him. She leaned against the counter and looked at herself. Christ, she looked like she’d been rolling in a bed with a man, and had that almost satisfied look on her face. She pulled the shirt, a heavy sweater she could see now, over her head with a smile. Phil talking from the other side of the door made her faster in fixing her hair.
“Who is he?” he asked her. “And why should I not follow you down to the bar and make sure that he behaves himself?”
