Zoe shook her head. “It happened during the
summer. So I guess… in July it’ll be two years. John helped me
through the beginning, but --” She hesitated and looked away as
nervousness skittered through her. “The last time this happened, he
tried to deal with it, but everything got weird afterwards. He
broke it off a few months later, and I’ve sorta been… alone. With
the werewolf stuff, I mean.”
Connor’s fingers tightened around hers.
“That sucks. No wonder you didn’t know things would get this
bad.”
“
I didn’t. I just --” She met his
eyes again. “It was different this time. I mean, I was so much
worse off, but I already feel a lot better. I still want to climb
in your lap and do crazy naughty things… but I can sort of think.
It took almost three
days
last time before I got this calm. Was it because I
was so new at it?”
He gave her a smug grin. “A man’s just got
to know how to handle a woman like you, that’s all.”
Zoe quirked an eyebrow. “A woman like
me?”
“
Mmm. You’re no shrinking violet,
that’s for damn sure.” His wine glass hit the linen-draped cart
with a
thump
. “You’re strong. Powerful.”
It sounded so absurd that she laughed. “I’m
a systems administrator who could stand to lose a few pounds.
Strong and powerful aren’t the first adjectives that spring to
mind.”
He shrugged again. “And I design
electronic security systems. It’s not about your human self. It’s
about the wolf. Who
she
is.”
Her heart had started to beat
faster, and she had no idea why. “You can tell who she is?
I
can barely tell who
she is.”
He stroked the back of her hand. “You can’t
feel her? Think about your ex. What did she tell you about
him?”
Weak.
The word came unbidden, and tumbled
from her lips before she even realized she’d spoken. “Weak.” Zoe
blinked. “Except he wasn’t. I mean, not physically.”
“
Physical size or shape
doesn’t matter,” he observed. “It’s about the magic.”
Zoe reached out with her foot and nudged the
cart aside. The wheels squeaked slightly, filling the suddenly
tense silence between them. He sat in the chair across from her,
tousled and shirtless and gorgeous, and she smiled as she slipped
across the intervening space and dropped into his lap. “You don’t
feel weak.”
“
Not now that I’ve eaten,”
he teased, sliding one hand under his shirt and over her
skin.
She slid her hands over the warm skin of his
shoulders and up until they tangled in his hair. “So let’s make the
best of this room before we leave. I don’t have a closet full of
sex toys or a gigantic Jacuzzi tub.”
“
You don’t?” he asked in
mock horror as he rose and carried her to the bed. “Well, then,
this is never going to work.”
“
I’ll buy some.” She
dragged her tongue up the side of his neck until it tickled against
his earlobe. “As soon as we’re done violating each other, I’ll go
home and order sex toys in bulk. As long as you’ll come over and
use them with me.”
“
We’ll see.” Connor dropped
her on the bed and reached for the button on his pants.
It was a sharp reminder, even if
she doubted he’d meant it to be. As hot as it would be to watch him
peel his pants off, Zoe squeezed her eyes shut and reached above
her head to curl her hands around the headboard. She was getting
ahead of herself, letting the wolf’s pleasure in a strong mate
override her human sense. They weren’t dating, weren’t involved.
She didn’t even know his last
name
.
And it was possible his invitation to head
back to his place really had been entirely about saving her a few
bucks, and not some sort of subtle hint that he wanted more from
her than another few hours of lusty, insatiable sex.
So have the sex. Get what you need, get off,
and don’t get attached.
Connor watched Zoe close her eyes and grip
the headboard. He took advantage of the moment to lift her leg and
bite the back of her knee, enjoying the way she shuddered under his
hands.
So take her home.
He managed to avoid
wincing, but barely. He was eager --
too
eager -- to get to know her, to get her out of
there.
To see her again.
He felt a jolt in his chest. Zoe was sexy as
hell, which pleased him. But she was also strong, something that
drew the wolf in him like a lodestone. The challenge she presented
was irresistible. He needed to test himself against her, to see if
he could satisfy her desires. If he could, then he deserved the
reward of her pleasure.
“
I’m going to see what’s in
that cabinet,” he whispered against her skin, then stepped back.
“Any requests?”
Her heart pounded in her chest so loudly it
seemed to fill the room. “Surprise me.”
He grasped the brass knobs and pulled open
the lacquered cabinet. Shelf after shelf was stocked full of tubs
and bottles, silicone, glass, and leather. He held up one ridged
glass dildo from the selection. “What do you think?”
Her eyes drifted open, then went wide. Her
tongue darted out over her lower lip in what he was starting to
recognize as a nervous gesture. “I–I’m not exactly an expert
--”
He smothered a laugh. “Neither am I,
sweetheart.” He replaced the dildo and chose a slightly smaller
vibrator in a garish shade of purple. “This one?”
She nodded, still a little wide-eyed.
“
Where are you going to let
me put it?” Connor brandished a small, sleek bottle of lube and
tried not to smile when her eyes got even bigger.
He watched her as he returned to the bed,
intrigued by how clearly her feelings showed on her face.
Nervousness fought excitement, but excitement won when he stopped
next to her and grinned down at her. When she spoke, her voice had
gone husky. “I think maybe you can put it anywhere you damn well
want.”
“
Careful what you offer…”
He took a deep breath and turned on the vibrator as he sat beside
her. He used the tip of it to nudge the hem of the shirt up. Heat
blazed through him when she shivered and moaned.
And it wasn’t nearly as arousing as what she
did next. Her eyes rolled back and one hand released the headboard,
dropping to clutch at his thigh. “I trust you.”
“
Yeah?” He brushed the
vibrator over her nipple, then trailed it down her body in a
sinuous motion. “I might take you up on it.” The purple silicone
drifted past the damp curls at the juncture of her
thighs.
Her fingers dug into his leg. A tiny whimper
escaped her, choked and needy, and she shifted her legs apart,
opening herself to him. “I trust you,” she whispered again. “But
the last time I made that offer, I was tied up and so crazy from
the mating shit that I barely remember it. So be gentle.”
“
Shh.” He cupped his hand
over her cheek and leaned down to kiss her. “Wouldn’t have it any
other way, baby.” He shifted the vibrator until the tip slipped
just inside her entrance. “Not so bad, right?”
Her hips pushed up a little, and she turned
her head to bite the heel of his palm. “Not bad at all. Also hardly
virgin territory, as you should know.”
“
Mmm, I know.” He arched an
eyebrow and gave her the most licentious look he could muster. “Now
I just have to decide where to put my cock…”
“
Oh --” Her mouth fell
open. “Oh, Jesus, Connor --” She took a ragged breath and slid her
legs apart farther. “Anything. Anywhere. I need you so bad
--”
He nudged the vibrator, pushing it deeper,
until it was buried in her pussy. A few tiny thrusts had her
shaking and whimpering, and he took her hand and laid it over the
hilt of the vibrator. “Here.”
“
What?” Glazed blue eyes
found his, and her lips curled into a wicked smile. “You want a
show? Or did you figure out where you want your cock?”
“
Both.” Connor stood and
unzipped his pants, dropping them to the floor. “Come here.” He
wrapped his hands under her thighs and tugged her over to the edge
of the bed.
She was still partly tangled in his shirt,
which had hitched up just high enough to reveal the underside of
her breasts. She lifted one leg and braced her foot against the
edge of the bed, and the action gave him a perfect view of that
damned purple vibrator as she worked it slowly in and out of her
pussy.
Blood pounded in his ears, and he almost
trembled with the desire to lean down and mark her as his. “Sure
you’re going to be all right with this?” he asked, reaching for the
small bottle of lubricant.
She moaned in response and tangled her free
hand in the sheets above her head. “Not as good as you --”
“
Just wait, baby.” Connor
poured some of the slippery liquid in his hand and slicked it over
his cock. He warmed another palmful and massaged it slowly around
her ass. “Okay?”
“
Too slow --” Her gaze
found his and she dug her teeth into her lower lip for a second.
“God, I’m gonna come, Connor. I want you inside me.”
The desperation in her voice made his cock
jump in his hand. He bumped the head of his shaft against her ass,
then started to slowly push inside.
She was impossibly tight, and breathing
erratically before he managed to work the head of his cock past the
tight ring of muscle. “W-wait --”
He froze as she pulled the vibrator away
with a soft moan. “Too much,” she explained in a ragged whisper.
Her other hand slipped down her body and between her legs, and she
moved her fingers over her clit. “When you’re inside -- you c-can
put it --”
The rest of her words dissolved
into a low moan as she pushed against him, drawing him a tiny bit
deeper. “Yes --
fuck
--”
“
Yes
.” Connor fought not to thrust
against her, his body throbbing. Watching Zoe, so hungry for him,
short-circuited his control. He pushed deeper, his fingers digging
into her thighs. “Zoe --”
“
I’m okay --” Her voice was
high and breathless, but she rocked up with another of those
choked, hungry noises when he worked his way deeper. Every rock of
his hips brought a gasp or groan from her, and he started to worry
that watching her would be too much, that he’d lose it and come
before he got to sink all of the way into her body.
Finally,
finally
, he thrust one last time and his
hips bumped against her ass. Zoe moaned and opened her eyes,
staring at him with a glazed, desperate expression. “Connor
--”
He closed his eyes and stayed still for
several moments. He whispered her name again, and his hand covered
hers, his fingertips slipping against hers, teasing her clit.
“Come, Zoe.”
She whimpered, and he felt her other hand
bump against his. She pressed the vibrator into his hand with
another soft moan. “Do it.”
Connor gritted his teeth and lifted her hips
with one hand. He had to pull away a little to thrust the toy into
her, and her wriggling nearly undid him. “Hold still, baby… Just
for a second.”
“
C-can’t --” Her head dug back
into the pillows, and she cried out, one hand clenching at the
quilt as her entire body shook. “Oh, fuck -- fuck,
fuck
Connor, I’m going to
-- I’m going --”
Her ass quivered around him, and
he managed one short thrust before his world went white with
pleasure, searing and maddening. “
Christ
, Zoe --” He bent over her, his hips jerking
against hers, and closed his teeth on her neck with a hoarse
shout.
She just kept coming, her body shaking apart
under him as she raked her nails down his back and screamed his
name. He rode her orgasm for a moment, his face pressed into her
neck, then pushed himself up with a groan.
Tiny waves of pleasure still pulsed through
him, and he could feel the vibrator through the thin wall between
it and his cock. Zoe shuddered, still whimpering and moaning. He
turned it off quickly, then stroked her belly as he eased it out of
her. “Okay?”
Her head lolled to the side and her eyes
drifted shut. “Never thought I’d say this… but I think I don’t need
any more orgasms for a while…”
Exhaustion and afterglow combined to make
him dizzy. “I know what you mean.” He slowly, carefully, pulled his
body free of hers and flopped down on the bed beside her. “How’s
she doing? The wolf, I mean.”