Wandering Off the Path (4 page)

When his breathing had calmed, he pulled away from her slightly. Longing constricted his throat, his voice escaping rough and ferocious. “You seem to be enjoying your time with me.”

“It’s not that simple.”

Wolf growled in approval at her entrance into the one-sided conversation, nuzzling into her neck. Her face was still turned away from him. Her mind might still fight him, but her body had softened beneath his efforts.

“It’s not as simple as pleasure or not,” she continued without prompting. “There’s so many possibilities, pain, sadness… I don’t even know what else.”

He pressed a chain of kisses along the column of her neck, sucking and nipping until the muscles shivered beneath his ravenous lips. Abigail purred. The sound ripped through her, lusty and pleading, slamming him directly in the stomach like a fist. “Yes,” she groaned in agreement.

Without realising, he loosened his grasp upon her wrists at the zealous noise. If she wanted to pull away he wouldn’t stop her.

He might be a brute, more evil and darker than this innocent mouse would ever understand, but he wouldn’t force her. It must be her choice to advance to the next step.

Just as he’d anticipated, she didn’t try to pull away. She didn’t truly want to be free. Beneath the onslaught of his kisses, licks and nips, she submitted easily.

“I have no desire to hurt you.” He captured her earlobe with his teeth, pulling down gently. “If I wanted such a thing I could have taken you while we were alone on the path.”

Her wrists tensed in his hands as she curled her fingers into her palms. He tickled the sensitive skin below her ear with the tip of his tongue. Shivers danced across her skin beneath his touch.

He had no intention of taking anything from her she did not want to give. He wasn’t interested in depriving or demanding from her. He only wanted to satisfy that dark need in her eyes, feel her submit beneath his touch. “Nothing could be further from my aim.”

“You’re not the only one who might hurt me.”

He released a slow breath, understanding her reluctance. It wasn’t accepted for women to stray from the known. Tales of ladies who’d followed the wrong path only to find loneliness and despair at its end were preached to young girls. Scaring them with images of being renounced by their families to live as beggars, or selling themselves for what coin they could find. Or the far worse fate of being murdered by jealous lovers, betrayed husbands, or angry fathers after their indiscretions were unearthed.

They were only old wives’ tales. Abigail’s fate could never be so bleak. No one so beautiful, passionate or loving would suffer such an end. She’d find a man who would love her, indiscretions and all. Who would accept her, just as Wolf would, if given the chance to spend his days with a woman as worthy as she. He might be able to possess her for a night, but he’d never be good enough to be loved by someone as pure and sweet as Abigail.

“Far more could go amiss than I can even consider. And then what will I do? When all is lost? How will I continue after it’s all gone wrong?” Her tone was mournful, her words serious, but they still held the husky wisp of desire. As if she spoke them more to convince herself than him.

He traced the shell of her ear with the tip of his tongue before darting within, thrusting gently but deep into the thin canal. “Isn’t happiness worth the risk?”

Unable to withstand the sensuous torture any longer, Abigail yanked her hands in his grip. She had no answers for him, no more arguments. No more fight in her after this one stout movement.

Her wrists slipped free of Wolf’s grasp. She paused, surprised by the limited strength required to release them. The hesitation lasted only a moment before the lust overpowered her. She seized his hair, pulling his head from her body, severing the connection between them with a jerk.

His mouth fell open. His gaze travelled from her face down her frame, assessing her entire body. He made no move to convince her to remain, insisting that she make the choice to stay on the safe path, or to continue with him off the trail, towards the possibility of much more.

His tentative response illustrated his doubt that she wanted this tryst as much as he did. However, Abigail had already accepted the depth of her desire. She couldn’t go back to safety. Her quivering limbs and fogged mind wouldn’t let her. She might be sorry in the morning, but for this night she’d experience all he offered. At least then she’d have this one exhilarating memory to replay for the rest of her tame existence.

Pulling his head towards hers, she captured his lips. She devoured his mouth, his lips parting to allow her tongue entrance. She thrust into his mouth and moaned, tangling her fingers through his hair. She’d come this far, dared this much, she’d get her fill before turning back. No matter the cost.

She explored the warm cavern of his mouth, stroking the inside of his cheeks and teeth, delighting in the woodsy taste of him. His hands, now free from holding her, roamed her body. He discovered her rounded hips, caressing each of her curves with a conquering hold that made her dizzy.

Her breath grew shallow and ragged against his mouth as he slid his hands up her body. His palms covered the moderate swells of her breasts. The friction of her clothing against her nipples excited them into tight, aching points.

He thrust his thigh between her legs, stroking against the junction. Wetness wept from her sex as she moved and clutched Wolf in search of relief from the throbbing deep inside her. Her ultimate fulfilment was just out of reach, yet within Wolf’s power to bestow.

He drifted his fingers down her bodice, unlacing the fastenings with ease. He brushed each newly exposed inch of skin as he freed her from the confinement. She pushed closer, silently begging for more, pleading for him to move faster, to give her as much as he could for this one moment.

Needing no more encouragement from her, Wolf untied the knots constraining her breasts from his seeking palms. The fabric of her bodice rolled off her, dropping to the floor with a dull thud against the wooden planks. The scarlet folds of her skirt dropped in a puddle around her ankles. Stepping out of the garment, Abigail used her toe to nudge the fabric away.

The warmth and weight of her freed breasts within his grip registered an approving snarl. He kneaded the supple flesh. His rough palms stimulated her through the thin chemise. The gauzy fabric was all that separated her from Wolf’s true power. Pulling the linen tight across her chest, he dipped his head to torture one tight nipple. With his tongue and teeth, he created sensations across her skin unlike anything she’d experienced before. She ached for what she sensed he would give her, so close and still too far away.

He panted and pulled back from her, his fingers fumbling when he’d been in such control. He shut his eyes and took three long deep breaths, as if to regain his calm. The knowledge that she’d driven him to his breaking point shuddered down her body, followed quickly by anticipation of what he’d do when pushed beyond those limits.

Shaky yet determined, she dropped her hands to find the collar of her remaining item of clothing. Capturing his bottom lip to distract him, Abigail laboured at the bow holding the chemise around her, pulling hastily at the edges of the gathered linen. Slipping first one, then the other shoulder through the gapping neckline, she allowed the garment to drop into a pool of white, submersing her ankles.

“That’s much better,” he growled, and her chest tightened at his praise. With a wolfish grin, he dropped his mouth from hers to capture a now-naked nipple. His lips and tongue enveloped the shell-coloured circle. His teeth nipped the sensitive nerve endings and she screamed in surprised delight.

She reached out for Wolf, searching for a support from the intense sensation of his lips on her breast. She laced her fingers through the flecked shades of his hair. Her knuckles ached with the strength of her grasp, but not enough to release him. He sucked more of her breast into his excited mouth. His teeth scraped against the flesh before applying the same torment to the other.

She whimpered, louder than her previous moans, no longer attempting to stifle the sound. She instead focused on the need moving over her, starting where his lips teased her tender breasts and expanding to encompass her entire body.

She grabbed the smudged linen of Wolf’s shirt, pulling it from his breeches. She ached to feel his warm flesh. She yearned to trace the strong muscles of his back, the defined lines of his chest, to twirl around the hard, peaked nipples beneath the fabric. She fought back the craving to sweep her tongue across his skin, to taste its saltiness and feel his reaction, beneath its warm, moist brush.

Three strong jerks freed the shirt from the back of his pants, eliciting a howl from Wolf. Stepping back, he released her. A whine of disappointment rippled through her body—his warm naked flesh so close and yet so far from her touch.

With a growl, Wolf clutched her face in his hands. His harsh glare and fierce tone confused and frightened her. Even as he scared her, her inner muscles clenched and her heart raced.

“Do you want me?” He bumped his groin against her stomach. “Do you want all of me?”

She nodded, the surrounding silence humming with tension.

He tightened his grip on her face a fraction and a shiver skated down her body. She forced her muscles to semi-stillness, suppressing the burn rioting through her nerves, not wanting to betray the depth of her longing. “Yes,” she almost moaned when it was clear he wouldn’t release her until he’d heard the words.

“I’ll give you what you need.” He slid his thigh between hers, rising up to grind against the juncture of her legs.

She gasped at the sensation, unable to make any other sound. His movement stroked the sensitive bud between her legs, the engorged tissues throbbing with her accelerated pulse.

“But you must do as I wish.” He snaked his hands into her hair, massaging her scalp with a forceful, erotic motion. Abigail clamped her teeth together to keep another moan from escaping her throat.

“If you don’t…” He pulled her hair tight within his grasp, the tug on each strand sending quakes of pleasure between her legs and forcing her gaze up to meet his challenging stare. “You’ll be punished.”

He ground his leg against her harder, his breath tickling the skin beneath her ear. Her body moved against his of its own accord. Regardless of the consequences, whether he continued to pleasure her, or punished her by removing his hands from her entirely, she wasn’t capable of silently complying with his every command.

She combed her fingers through the smooth tresses at the base of his neck. Tugging, she untied the knot of twine containing his ponytail, releasing the mass about his shoulders. Freed, the thick hairs tickled her fingers and forearms as they slid across her skin.

A laugh bubbled in her at the sensation, but she gulped at his stern expression. Wolf leered at her with an intensity that shivered across her skin. Need was reflected within his golden gaze, along with a hard edge that called to something primal within her.

He grabbed her wrists, pulling her exploring hands from his body. Her skin prickled with goose bumps. His fierce gaze raked over her, following every inch of her flesh, appraising and approving.

He clasped her hips in his warm hands. Turning her, he positioned her rear towards him. She withdrew, trying to retreat far enough to rub her naked spine and rump against his warm body, but he maintained his distance. Abigail bit back a frustrated cry.

“Since you can’t seem to do what you’re told”—he pushed her towards the bed—“I’ll have to make you.”

Bumping against the edge, Abigail lost balance and fell to the mattress face down, cushioned by the pillows and blankets. She buried her head within the bedding, the rest of her body remaining exposed and still, unsure what was coming next.

Surrounded by the thick woollen blankets, she heard the click of Wolf’s belt buckle being unhooked. A hiss as the leather moved through the loops of his pants, releasing it from around his body. One leather end dropped to the floor with a soft thump.

She turned her head towards the sound, rising from the comforting escape of blankets to gauge his expression. Her body quaked, her muscles tightening in preparation for an attack. Would he use the belt against her? She’d seen others beaten with such instruments on her trips to market, children by their parents, masters upon their slaves. She’d never heard of men and women engaging in such acts in their bedchambers, but there was much that Wolf had shown her that she’d never known before. If Wolf wished to use the belt upon her, would she stop him? Would she enjoy it?

She twisted towards Wolf. His eyes blazed. The cocky smirk spread upon his lips put her at ease, though she couldn’t explain how. Whether it made sense or not, she trusted him. She’d enjoyed every touch he’d given her. He’d proven her desires were just as important as his own.

Despite her excitement, terror hummed through her as her body arched to meet his touch, acting on its own accord. The bared cheeks of her arse clenched, preparing for his caress.

Wolf stepped towards her. The belt hung down from his fist like a limp snake, ready and waiting for its prey. He shifted away from her naked bottom, moving towards the head of the bed where her arms lay twisted within the woollen blankets, clenched around the thick cloth. Grabbing one hand from its comforting hollow, he looped the belt around her wrist, securing it with a knot before reaching for the other.