Venice Heat (15 page)

“I’m not going to be bullied!”

“I’m not used to a woman like you.
Goujou na.
”

“Let me guess. Stubborn?”

He made an affirmative sound, and she put her hands on her hips. “Well, get over it. I’m not one of those women who just fall in line with whatever her man tells her. I have a mind, and I’ve been taking care of myself a long time. So you can go fuck yourself if you don’t like it.”

She spun away on her heel, but he came up behind her and dragged her back. She kicked out at his leg, but she might as well have been fighting a brick wall for the reaction it got. Her foot throbbed, and the jarring pain raced up her calf. She cursed him some more.

“Get your hands off me.”

“Shae.”

“Don’t even speak my name. I’m done with you. I—”

“What do you think is going to happen when you get too angry tomorrow? Or when one of your people is killed or even hurt at the hands of one of the shifters? You have to wait until a full moon to change for the first time, and only with the help of one strong enough to lead you. Darryl and all the rest can change at will. They are the most vicious of the shifters, and they
will
kill your people. Look at what happened to you at the beach.”

Shae stopped struggling. “If I do it early, then I can put it behind me and…”

“And go insane.”

“How do you know that? I might be different. You said yourself you’re different from your family members. Maybe American wolf shifters aren’t like that.”

“Then why did Darryl agree to wait?”

Defeat slumped her shoulders. “What are you suggesting?”

He stroked her arms, and she did all she could not to let it excite her. She failed miserably. Her pussy clenched and moistened. If she could smell her want, he could as well. She shut her eyes, feeling herself sway toward him, but standing rigid so as not to allow her body to brush his. How could a woman want a man as bad as she wanted him? Even when Darryl controlled her desires and made her hot, it wasn’t like this.
Eiji
. Damn it all, she could chant his name. Why did she have to meet him? Why
him
? When he left…

A voice inside her head cried out,
“No!”
, and she wondered if it was her awakening wolf.

“Go somewhere safe with me. Wait it out. When it’s your time, I will guide you.”

To cover her weakness, Shae put a hand on her hip and tilted her head to the side. “How do you know you’re strong enough? I mean, after all, you’re just a rogue wolf, right?”

She didn’t expect him to change. One minute he stood in her bedroom fully dressed. The next he shifted in a smooth, almost magical transition. He bent forward so his hands touched the floor, and as he did, his composition melted and reshaped. Hair sprang from every pore while his clothes fell away. Shae’s jaw went slack at the huge white wolf standing before her. Pale gray eyes blinked at her, daring her to question his ability to handle his business. Any other time, she’d feel that familiar tightness in the pit of her stomach when she came face-to-face with a shifter, because these weren’t mere animals. They could reason like a human and were multiple times stronger than their animal counterparts. Eiji didn’t instill fear in her. She didn’t know if it was because she was now like him—or almost so—or if it was because of the man himself.

“You’re beautiful.” She dropped to her knees and found her head lower than his. “Damn, you’re huge.”

She scratched the spot just beneath his ear and nuzzled her face into his fur. Eiji bumped her away with his nose toward the suitcase, and she sighed.

“Fine. I’ll go.” She stood and began repacking her things. Could she set her family on Darryl and his people? They were more family now. Was it wrong, and what about Eiji?

“You have to call and tell them not to come.”

She jumped at Eiji’s voice just behind her, but she didn’t turn around because she hadn’t heard him put his clothes back on. If she saw his naked body, she’d jump him, and they would get nowhere tonight.

“I don’t know what I’m going to tell them, especially since I confirmed there are wolves here.”

“Think of something.”

She glared over her shoulder at the cold demand.

“We’re not going to be here. You can’t tell me you give a fuck about Darryl.”

Eiji slipped into his pants and pulled them over lean hips. Shae enjoyed the view of the solid abs with rippled muscle. “When the time is right, I will kill him. The others only if they get in my way, but that is between us, not the humans.”

She gaped at his calm statement.

“Your people
will
be hurt or killed, and that will hurt you. Call them.”

“Eiji—”

He left the room with her suitcase. She flipped him off and then called Joe. She might not like it, but Eiji was right. Her family had to be warned off for just a little while.

A short time later, they were on the road. The house Eiji drove her to was located in the Hollywood Hills. The steep drive up to the house was long and winding, and the first appearance of the place sparked excitement in her belly. This was more along the lines of what she was used to. A multilevel structure with smooth white stone walls on the outside, small palm trees brought out the Western design along with strategic backlighting. When she stepped inside, she found more opulence and design to coax away the stresses of the day. An entire back wall was made of glass, and beyond it, an area held relaxing furniture, a built-in hot tub, and an unobstructed view of the city.

“You’re renting this?” she asked Eiji.

His hand tightened on her suitcase handle, and his face reddened. “Izumi owned it. I rented one house and chose the other to live in.”

“You got the better one.”

He frowned. “Because it was taken first.”

She laughed. “Uh-huh. She must have been doing well for herself. I don’t blame old girl. I’m sure we can make do.”

Chapter Ten

Sometime in the night, Shae woke in a panic. She sat up breathing hard and threw her legs over the side of the bed. No sounds reached her in the house other than the distant traffic. Even that would have been muffled out for a human.

The opposite side of the bed stretched cold and unruffled. Eiji had shown her to this bedroom and chose another for himself. He gave no indication of wanting to share a bed with her, and she didn’t try to seduce him. Yet, fear had gripped her in her sleep, a terror that she heard Darryl calling her name. Now that she sat awake, nothing tugged on her conscience. No overwhelming need drove her to leave the house.

Padding barefoot, she left the room and walked out to the terrace. A cool breeze stirred her short curls and brought goose bumps to her legs beneath her nightie. She crossed her arms over her chest when her nipples peaked in the late-night air. A familiar scent stirred her senses. Fingers touched her belly from behind.

“You’re shaking. If you’re cold, come inside.”

Why did Eiji’s voice alone help her to deal with this mess of her life?

“I’m not cold.”

His lips touched the delicate spot behind her ear. “He is not here, and he won’t come.”

“I might—”

“No. I will protect you.”

“Eiji.” She faced him and pressed into his throat. “Can you stop me if he calls?”

“I can.”

She licked her lips and stared down at his chest. He smelled of soap, and his skin was warm, combatting the coolness of the night. She desperately wanted to believe him. What she wanted more was to trust herself, to know no one could make her do anything she didn’t want to, but Darryl had proven her wrong twice, and it had stolen her confidence. This wasn’t her, and it took everything inside not to crumble into a weeping idiot.

“What would it mean to become your mate?” she ventured.

Eiji went still.

“I mean, don’t get any ideas or anything. I’m just asking. Besides, I figure it’s a nonissue now that you know I’m—”

He put a finger over her lips, stemming the nervous flow of words. “When you are fully wolf, another wolf can imprint on you. That usually happens during sex.”

She jerked her gaze to his, and he squeezed her arms.

“It is deliberate and not accidental in the heat of passion.”

“Like a bite?”

“No.”

“What then?”

“You open yourself mentally, physically, spiritually to me, and I to you. We bond and become as one.”

“But Darryl…” A shudder passed through her. “Because he’s my maker, he can force me to open up to him, can’t he?”

“Yes.”

She pulled from his arms and moved away. He let her go. “Can you do that to me?”

“No.”

She squinted, trying to see deep into those dark eyes that grew pale when he changed. His wolf form seemed incongruent with his natural dark human looks. Still, it fit him too. Alone and aloof, a powerful animal that could unleash destruction yet chose to hold himself in control. Did he speak the truth? Could he force her just like Darryl? Maybe physically since he was a man. So many years she had depended on her strength and training, even on the people who had her back should she need them. In a short few weeks, two men had destroyed that illusion in their own way.

“Eiji, will you respect my decision, whatever it is, when I’m fully wolf?”

He watched her for a few long minutes, making her want to fidget, but she held her position as if his scrutiny meant nothing. “I will.”

She strolled over to the hot tub and flipped a few buttons. The water churned, and soon she felt the heat. Colored lights lit the depths, and she pulled her panties off and let them fall to the terrace floor. Afterward, she raised her nightie over her head and tossed it away as well. She climbed into the hot tub and settled down.

Eiji stood at the side, so close. She hadn’t heard him move, but the desire in his eyes radiated more than the water’s temperature.

“Join me?”

He stripped. Shae bit her lip taking in the sight of his chiseled body, the contours of his chest and abs, the power in his thighs. His cock jutted out, hard and ready. She had visions of riding it until she grew exhausted and dizzy. He climbed in and settled on the opposite side of the huge tub. When he held out a hand to her, she didn’t hesitate to take it and drift to him. Eiji sat on a ledge beneath the surface, and with strong hands, he lifted her to his lap.

“I was told not to touch you again,” he murmured. She parted her lips to comment, but his covered hers in a searing kiss. His tongue delved deep into her mouth, and she moaned. She arched her back when his hands came up to her breasts, and he pinched her taut nipples.

“Mm, Eiji.”

He caressed along her throat and nipped at her skin, too gentle to break the surface. He released one breast to explore between her legs. Slick with come, her folds parted as he drove two fingers inside. She whimpered his name once again.

“No one will keep you from me, except you. If you tell me no…”

“Don’t be crazy. You’re killing me, Eiji. I need your dick in me.”

He started at her harsh language, but she grinned and turned to face him. His hold allowed her to spread her legs and rear up. Like they were meant to be together, his cock eased into her pussy, and her walls clenched, inviting him to go all the way. She sank with slow relish.

“Eiji.”
I love you.

She gasped, and his grip intensified. He jerked her close to his chest and thumped his cock hard inside her. The scream of pleasure and sweet ache echoed over the Hollywood Hills. Eiji’s palms moved to her ass. He squeezed the two globes and thrust her forward. At the same time, he drove in. From gentle to rough in seconds, he pounded her poor pussy. She hung on to his shoulders, letting him take it all. Her thighs ached being forced so wide apart. Her pussy throbbed with its wonderful abuse. Eiji flattened her breasts and scraped her sensitive nipples over his chest, but with it her first orgasm rocketed throughout her body.

“Talk dirty to me, Eiji,” she pleaded. “Tell me you’re going to fuck me until I beg you to stop.”

His eyes widened, but he didn’t pause grinding into her.

“Say it.”

“Shae.” He covered her mouth and pushed his tongue between her lips. They sucked each other’s and moaned as they greedily went after more. She came, shaking and moaning. He slowed just a little, but his cock remained hard. He pulled out and drove in at a more relaxed pace. When she leaned back, eyelids drooping, he teased a nipple with the tip of his tongue. Tingles of desire began to grow in her again. He moved to the other nipple and sucked it harder. The pain made her squeal in delight. He kissed along the curve until he reached the underside of her breast, then moved to the valley between them. All at once, he thrust hard and filled her to capacity. Her head spun. She thought she might faint, but held on, arms encircling his neck.

Eiji raised her up with hands at her waist and forced her down. She shouted into the night. He repeated the action over and over. She rimmed a second climax, but didn’t fall over the edge. Her jaw grew slack. Even the ability to hold on to him lessened. All she had the strength to do was let him have his way.

He pulled out without warning, and she protested until he made her stand and flipped her around. She placed one knee on the shelf, and Eiji moved behind her and forced her to lean on the edge of the hot tub to keep her balance. He parted her ass cheeks and found his way down to her pussy. With a deliberate thrust, he drove in. A hand on either side of hers, he pounded hard and fast in and out. He kissed and nipped along her back, not missing a beat. And then his mouth was at her ear.

“I’m going to fuck you until you say it.”

Pleasure rolled over her being. “S-Say what?”

“Say, please stop,
Goshujin-sama
.”

Water splashed over the side of the hot tub as he took her with a violence and precision that satisfied them both. Eiji turned and sat down again, dragging her with him to his lap. His arms encircled her, and she rode his amazing cock until her hips ached and her thighs burned. She raised her chin to accept his kiss and welcomed his tongue as it twirled with hers. They moaned and moved in unison, and when she reached her umpteenth orgasm, Eiji reached his. The howl of the wolf filled the night, and she stared into his handsome face for long moments.