Tameka's Smile (10 page)

“This time?” Lulu asked, eyebrow arched.

“Long story,” he muttered as he walked around to the driver’s side.

“Bet it’s a good one, too.” Lulu chuckled. “You tell Tameka not to worry about the shop. Tomorrow’s soon enough to start.

You go handle business.”

Another muffled shriek sounded from the car, then thumps as she kicked the door.

Chad slid his mirrored shades onto his grim looking face, opened the door and got inside.

As he backed out of the parking space, Lulu remarked, “It’s a good thing that cage is between them. Meka would tear him apart if she could reach him.”

Kiesha crossed her arms over her chest and nibbled her lip.

“Are you sure she’ll be okay, Alex? Maybe we should stop him.

He’s such a loner. What do we really know about him?”

“Kiesha, you know we can’t interfere with the bonding process. Besides, Chad Wilson is a good man who’s been alone for far too long. That woman is the best thing that could have happened to him. She’s his One. He’d die before letting anyone, including himself, hurt her.”

* * * *

Tameka couldn’t believe she’d been reduced to shrieking 63

TAMEKA’S SMILE

like a banshee. What was it about this man that he always brought out the worst in her? If her former patients could see her now, they’d think she was the one in need of a shrink.

She took as deep, calming breath. What was it she always told her patients? Don’t give away your power. You can’t control other people’s actions, but you can control how you respond to them. It was time to take her own advice. “Chad, uncuff me and turn me loose. Do you know how many laws you’re breaking?

Kidnapping is the least of them. Just take me back to the shop and we’ll forget this ever happened.” She spoke clearly and precisely.

He ignored her.

Tameka immediately lost some of her hard earned composure. Damn, she hated being ignored. Yell at her, cuss at her, hell, even spit at her—she didn’t care, as long as she got some type of acknowledgement.

He slowed, turned a corner, and she fell over onto her side.

She didn’t have the energy to struggle back into a seated position again. “You can’t keep me handcuffed forever. Eventually, you’ll have to let me go, and when you do…” She left the rest of her threat open as she contemplated all of the things she could do to get even. And to think, she’d been so caring and sympathetic with him last night. This was her reward?

She closed her eyes and silently counted to ten. She wasn’t going to beg the man to talk to her. She’d said what she had to say and now she was done with it. Done with him. Yeah, the sex was great and all, but she didn’t need the hassle.

Besides, there was something not quite right about Chad.

All of her warning signals were going off. She’d counseled numerous women against getting involved with men just like him. Possessive men who latched on to women quickly, who thought they owned them. Men who just moved in and took over.

The women she’d counseled always came to her bewildered, not knowing how or when the men had taken over their lives, but suddenly he was in control and she couldn’t breathe unless he gave the say so.
Not me, sister
. You’d better believe she was getting out if this now. The blinders were off.

Great sex did not a relationship make.
It had been kind of nice
while it lasted, though
.

64

ZENA WYNN

Tameka had no idea where they were or where they were headed. They hadn’t traveled far before Chad turned off onto what must have been a dirt road. She could tell by all the ruts and bumps they went over. Couldn’t have been more than an overgrown path from the way bushes scraped the sides of the car.

Where the hell was he taking her
? It was enough to make her struggle to sit up.

They traveled for another ten minutes before coming to a stop in front of one of those little hunting cabins her grandmother had told her about.

* * * *

Chad ignored his fuming mate while he pondered Alex’s words. There was still a lot he didn’t understand about this true mate business, but his mind latched onto one thing and one thing only: with each exchange of body fluids, Tameka came closer to accepting him as mate. If that’s what it took to keep his woman, he’d flood her system with his DNA and speed up the process.

Before today was over, she’d know to whom she belonged.

Body fluid meant semen, but also meant saliva. He could only produce so much sperm at a time, but he had an endless supply of spit. He just needed to get it into her, and he knew just how to do it.

He got out and opened the rear door. Reaching in, he unlocked the handcuffs and rubbed the skin around her wrists, before helping her out of the cruiser.

“Where are we?”

“My place.” His wolf was agitated at the underlying coldness in her tone. He could smell her anger. She’d just have to get over it. There was no room for hostility in his plans.

“Why are we here? Take me back to the shop. Better yet, take me home,” she demanded.

“I need to talk with you privately. If you still want to go home when we’re finished, I’ll take you then.” He hoped she would consent. Either way, he was keeping her with him until he was ready to let her go, which might be never. He kept his face neutral, as though the decision were up to her.

She debated for a long period of time before sighing.

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TAMEKA’S SMILE

“Fine.”

He opened the door. She stalked inside, glanced around—

perhaps looking for a place to sit, then went and sat on the shelf in front of the fireplace, arms crossed over her chest.

Looking around, he wondered what she thought. With the exception of the bathroom, his cabin was one big room, dominated by the king sized pedestal bed in the middle of the room. There was a massive fireplace along one wall. The tiny kitchenette in one corner held a small fridge, microwave, and island counter/bar that doubled as his table. It had wood floors, wood paneling, and exposed wood beams in the ceiling. It was just what it looked like, a hunting lodge. Off the back was a mudroom that doubled as his closet.

“You wanted to talk. So talk.”

Her words caused him to focus on the task at hand.

Underneath her obvious anger, he could smell uncertainty and wariness. Both man and beast were angered that she could possibly fear him when he’d give his life for hers. He went and knelt before her. She drew back a bit, a movement so slight he wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t been watching her so intently.

“I’m sorry.” He stated it baldly.

“For what?” she asked guardedly.

His mate was a suspicious creature. He committed that to memory for future dealings. “That my actions upset you.” Her eyes narrowed and her hands went to her hips. “So, you’re not remorseful for what you did. You’re just sorry it made me mad.”

Challenged, his wolf demanded he dominate. He caged her in with his hands and leaned forward, smiling inwardly when she refused to move. “I am who I am. I won’t apologize for my actions, just how they made you feel. I wouldn’t deliberately do anything to hurt or scare you. My actions today did both, and for that I sincerely apologize. I want you to know that you’re safe with me.”

She met him stare for stare and he felt his wolf move behind his eyes. She blinked, then lowered her gaze and looked away.

His wolf was satisfied by her submission.

“I’m a wolf. There are a lot of things I do you won’t understand. Hell, I don’t always understand, but I’ve learned to 66

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accept.”

Tameka rolled her eyes. “Not that werewolf thing again. If that’s what you want to discuss, I’m out of here.”

“Okay. Marry me.”

“What!” She looked shocked, and not in a good way.

“Hear me out. I was raised in foster care, so I’m not really sure how this family stuff works. I have money. I can take care of you. In the service I lived in base housing, and spent all my time working. Same here. This house belongs to the pack. I work a lot of hours and only come here to rest.” When he paused to gather his words, she jumped in. “You can’t want to marry me. You barely know me.” She no longer smelled angry, just confused.

“I know that I’ve never wanted a woman the way that I want you. I know that my wolf recognizes you as his mate. I know I’ll take care of you and any children we may have, and I’ll be faithful. You may have to school me from time to time because I have no experience with this family thing. Hell, I’ve never had a relationship so I’m bound to screw up occasionally, but I’ll always give you my best,” he finished earnestly.

She held up her hand. “Wait. You’ve never had a girlfriend, lover…
anything
?”

“No.”

“How old are you?” She looked concerned. Maybe he shouldn’t have confessed that last bit.

“Thirty-two.”

She shook her head. “I know you’re no virgin. You’re too good a lover for me to believe that.”

His cock, already standing at attention, leapt in his pants at her praise and he moved closer, crowding her against the wall.

“I’ve had women, but those were nothing more than a series of sexual encounters.”

Tameka held out a hand and pressed it against his chest, holding him off, then snatched it back. “Slow your roll. We’re talking. Don’t get sidetracked.”

He sank back onto his heels, still watching her intently.

She shook her head. “Why me?”

“You’re my mate.”

She rubbed her hand over her face, then sighed. “This is 67

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crazy. We’ve only known each other four days. There’s no way I can make a decision like that.”

“Remember I asked.” That was all the warning he gave.

He lunged up, snagged her by the nape, and dragged her to his mouth. He devoured her, shoving his tongue deep into her mouth, remembering what Alex said about the exchange of body fluids. Like tinder to a lit match, Tameka went up in flames, just like he anticipated. She reached up and grabbed him by the hair, then tackled him to the floor. The scent of animal lust rose sharply into the air.

Chad waited until she was out of control, clawing at his clothes to get to the skin beneath before he made his move. He flipped her onto her back, the soft faux fur rug cushioning her landing. In an economy of motion, he stripped her out of her t-shirt and bra, then did the same with her shoes, leggings and panties. When she was naked, he dove back in for another kiss.

“Chad, take this off.” She tugged at his shirt. “I need to touch you.”

“Not yet,” he muttered against her mouth. If he stripped, he’d lose focus. Had to stick to his plan.

She opened her mouth to protest and he kissed her again. If she could still think, she wasn’t aroused enough. He slid a hand between their bodies and slid his fingers into her sheath and crooked them, looking for her trigger. He knew he’d found it when she jerked like she’d been jolted by a live wire. A few strokes and she came screaming, all over his hand.

While she was deep in the throes of her orgasm, Chad allowed his incisors to elongate and bite her deep on the tendon of her right shoulder, drawing blood. He packed the wound with his saliva, knowing from the previous times he’d bitten her this would heal just as quickly. Keeping her arousal peaked with his stroking fingers, he did the same thing to her left shoulder when she exploded again.

Allowing her a moment to catch her breath, he nibbled and bit a path down to her breasts, breaking the skin but being sure to heal each wound with a moist swipe of the tongue.

“What are you doing to me?” she gasped.

“Loving you.”

“By biting me?” she panted.

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He thought fast. “Kama Sutra. Biting increases your arousal
and
your pleasure.”

“
Increases
…? Oh God, you’re trying to kill me,” she moaned.

Chad smiled as he licked a path around her left breast, then engulfed the whole thing in his mouth. He alternated between suckling deeply and placing stinging bites around the nipple. To distract Tameka from what he was about to do, he lightly stroked her clit.

She arched wildly beneath him, clutching his head to her breast and pumping her hips. Her breath came in gasps and pants before hitching slightly. “You…I need…” she muttered incoherently.

…to accept me as mate
, he finished for her in his mind.

After he finished today, that would no longer be an issue. He switched to her neglected breast, still flicking her clit, keeping her body on the edge of an orgasm. Each small bite of pain only pushed her arousal higher. He could hear her heart pounding in her chest.

When he thought she’d had enough, he pinched her clit, and at the same time bit down hard on her breast, leaving a perfect ring of bloody teeth marks. He packed the wound with his saliva until it began to heal before his eyes. If filling her with his DNA is what it took for her to accept him, he’d make sure she got a mouth full of the stuff.

While she recovered, he rose and ripped off his uniform.

His cock stood out straight and heavy from his body. He massaged his scrotum, ready to empty this load into her waiting channel and prepare her for the next. Dropping to his knees before her, he spread her thighs wide and dragged her up his legs until their pelvises met. With one hand he positioned his pulsing erection at her entrance, then slid home.