Werewolf in Seattle: A Wild About You Novel (25 page)

Her sigh of pleasure was all he needed to guide her toward the bed and tumble with her onto the snowy comforter. There he began to enjoy her breasts in earnest now that he didn’t have to lean down to reach them. When he took her nipple in his mouth, she arched upward. She was learning fast.

He meant to fondle her, kiss her all over, and perhaps give her a nice orgasm in the process. But damn if he didn’t soon find his cock buried to the hilt.

Gazing down at her, he apologized. “I didn’t mean to do this.”

Her mouth curved up. “It seems your wee man has a mind of his own.”

“And when he’s in charge of things, I have no mind at all. But you must tell me if this hurts.” He eased out and back in again. His breath hissed out at the splendor of it.

“Am I hurting you?”

“No. That was pure delight you heard. But I asked you first. Did that hurt?”

She grasped his buttocks. “No, and you’ll have to stop treating me like a china doll, Colin. I’m a full-fledged sexual being now, and I want everything I can get.” Lifting up both legs, she wrapped them around his waist and pulled him in tight. “Like that, Your Lairdness.”

The pleasure was so intense it brought a low growl from deep in his throat. “You test me, lass.”

“I mean to. I want the full treatment. And forget about the football stats. Just go for it.”

As if he could help himself. She’d mastered the art of clenching her muscles to massage his cock, and that alone would have roused him to action, without her taunts. But the combination was irresistible. His thrusts grew in speed and intensity, and she rose to meet him each and every time.

“Yes,” she murmured. “That’s what I want, Colin. Yes!”

He forgot that she’d been a virgin a mere twenty-four hours ago. He forgot to be careful, to go slow, to make sure she was all right. Her panting cries drove him on. He tried to wait for her, but an orgasm roared through him without warning, and as he plunged forward, shuddering in reaction, she came, her spasms milking even more pleasure from his trembling body.

When it was over, he rolled to his side, bringing her with him. He might have used her unmercifully to satisfy his lust, but he wouldn’t crush her afterward. A part of his fevered brain was still working.

As sanity returned, he drew back and gently combed the hair from her eyes. “That was wrong.”

“No, that was
right
.” She took a long, shaky breath. “At last you loved me without holding back. I needed to know what that was like, Colin.”

“If I hurt you, I—”

“I’m not hurt, not in the least. I feel glorious.” She narrowed her eyes. “Were there football stats involved?”

“No.” He caressed her smooth hip. “I wanted you too much. I wanted to come inside you, and I didn’t care about anything else. That’s not the sign of a considerate lover.”

“It’s the sign of a lover who’s abandoned himself to the glory of it all. That’s what I wanted, at least once. Even if it never happens again, I had that mad, impetuous… ” She leaned over and whispered a four-letter word in his ear.

He laughed. “Aye. You did get that, all right. And I have to admit the smell of old books could have been part of it. You might want to consider a sideline, creating a special perfume for guests who share our strange obsession.”

“It’s an idea. Unique.”

“And now, my sweet temptress, we really should order up dinner.”

“All right.” She glanced down at their entwined bodies. “But are we going to answer the door like this?”

“That would be awkward. I’ve never tried to walk with my cock buried in someone’s—”

“I meant
naked.
” She pinched his bottom.

“Oh, well, probably not. We’ll put on the bathrobes. A suite like this always has bathrobes.”

“True.” She drew in a breath. “Hold on, brilliant idea coming. Whittier House needs bathrobes!”

“Absolutely. Fluffy, white terry cloth bathrobes.”

“With
Whittier House
embroidered on the pocket, and… we need an emblem of some kind.”

“Crossed thistles. List the bathrobes for sale in the brochure, in case someone wants to take one home, and you can explain there about crossed thistles being a mainstay of Scottish lore.”

“Colin, the inn is going to be so wonderful.”

He looked into her eyes, alight with the excitement of the venture. “It is.”

“Can you come back for opening weekend?”

His heart twisted. So many duties awaited him at Glenbarra. She had no idea how many. “I don’t know, Luna. But I’ll try.”

She nodded, and seemed willing to drop the subject. He was relieved to let it drop, because he didn’t want her to get her hopes up only to have them dashed if he couldn’t make it. When he changed the subject to ordering dinner, she participated with enthusiasm.

He suggested haggis, but since neither of them would eat it after it arrived, they nixed the idea as being too wasteful. Finally they settled on fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches because it was so ridiculous that it might look new and trendy. Plus it would serve as both dinner and dessert.

“Order six,” Luna said when Colin picked up the phone on the bedside table. “I’m hungry.”

“Then I’ll order ten, because I’m starving to death.”

“You should have said something!”

“While you’re rubbing
Eau de Literature
on your plump breasts and inviting me to roll around with you on that big bed? I’m not a fool, Luna. Priorities.”

“Well, the good thing about fried peanut butter sandwiches is that they’ll be ready quick.”

“What kind of bread?”

“Plain old white. Wait, they’ll probably have to send out for it. Take whatever they have. We could carry this so far that we faint from lack of food.”

“Let’s see what they have to say for themselves.” Colin thoroughly enjoyed the reaction he got from the room service operator when he made the request. He hung up and glanced over at Luna. “We’re causing a mild panic, but they understand we’re very hungry and will have something up to us in fifteen minutes.”

Luna climbed out of bed. “Then maybe we should locate those bathrobes.”

“I’ll go. You can stay the way you are. It suits you.” He hated to see such a lovely sight hidden away in a bulky terry robe.

“Do you realize I have never been naked in front of another person? That I remember, anyway. I’m sure I was naked in front of my mother when I was little, but once I was at the age when I understood we should wear clothes, I was fanatic about it.”

He gazed at her. “Thank you for trusting me enough to be naked with me.”

“You seem to enjoy it so much, I don’t have the heart to cover up.”

“
I do enjoy it. That’s why I’m going to put on the robe and you’re going to stay here, adorning the big bed.”

“That’s something else that always scared me about shifting, and why I haven’t done much of it, once I learned to control it. You have to be naked to start with, or you rip your clothes, and I never had clothes to spare. And then you have to run the risk of being naked again to shift back.”

“Aye.” He wished she’d brought this up after their dinner had been delivered so that he wasn’t listening for a knock on the door with one ear. “So you haven’t shifted much?”

She shook her head. “It scares me. I don’t know what to do once I become a werewolf. Sometimes I’ve gone into the woods, and it’s freeing to run, but… I’ve been
alone. It’s not really so great to run through the woods alone. Maybe a male feels differently, but I was always a little afraid.”

“You were right to be cautious.” He couldn’t imagine being a young female Were trying to figure things out on her own. “You didn’t have a pack to protect you.”

“I realized early on that was a disadvantage, but I didn’t know how to hook up with a pack.” She shrugged. “I didn’t know much of anything, except what I could find in books and on the Internet, and those aren’t particularly reliable resources.”

“No. They’re liable to scare you more than help you.”

She nodded. “That’s what happened. I became scared and nervous about my Were heritage. I was hoping maybe my father would help me, but… ”

He cursed the family issues that pulled him home. There was so much more he could share with Luna, so much more she needed to know. He’d do the best he could, but he was afraid if he delayed his trip too long, Duncan would grow impatient and tell Molly everything.

“What about Geraldine and the staff at Whittier House?” he asked. “They all seem supportive.”

“They are, but after Henry died, Geraldine lost all interest in shifting. You can probably understand.”

Colin sighed. “I can. The three of us used to go for night runs, but Henry was the leader on those trips. Geraldine was bloody independent in her human body, but she let Henry be in charge when they shifted. I’m sure she missed him terribly.”

“She did. I got the impression that when Henry was alive, the staff would sometimes be invited on the nightly runs, too. But when Geraldine gave it up, the staff didn’t feel right going without her. Dulcie suggested it a few times since I’ve been there, but she didn’t get any takers.”

Colin began to get a picture, and it was heartbreaking.
Not only had Luna denied her sexual side, she’d also denied her wolf nature. “How long has it been since you shifted?”

She glanced away, as if trying to remember.

“That long?”

“I’m afraid so. I’ll bet it’s been at least two years.”

“Do you want to try it tonight? With me?”

She stared at him. “In this penthouse?”

“Why not? You can shift, get used to the sensation for an hour or so, and then shift back if you decide it’s time to use the Jacuzzi again or read some
Lady Chatterley.”

A knock sounded at the outside door.

“That’ll be our fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches.” Colin opened a closet and pulled out the hotel bathrobe he knew would be in there. “Think about my suggestion. I’ll be here to help. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I know.” She gazed at him. “You’re a blessing, Colin MacDowell.”

And a curse, he thought as he went to answer the door.

Luna thought about Colin’s suggestion as they ate fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches on the floor in the living room next to the window. Gazing out at the lights of the harbor, she felt only a squiggle of uneasiness, even though they sat right beside the glass.

Colin had helped her to grow in so many ways. He’d encouraged her to find her sexual self, and she realized that her werewolf self, while technically functioning, was dormant. Without a pack, without encouragement from other Weres, she’d allowed that side of her to languish.

She’d paid a price for that, too. Sometimes she’d have the overwhelming urge to shift, and repressing it cost her in lost sleep and a troubled mind. But if she didn’t feel safe to embrace her other side, then she wasn’t going to risk it. Colin created a safety net, one that would be available for only a short time.

Licking her fingers, she glanced at the empty plate of sandwiches. “What did you think?”

He laughed. “I was hungry enough to eat anything, probably even haggis.”

“These take some getting used to. My mother used to fix them for me.”

“In that case, lass, I’m glad you ordered them. It’s good to remember those things, and I got to try something unusual. But my next dinner will include a rare steak. It’s more suited to a werewolf’s constitution.”

“I totally understand.” She admired him for eating the sandwiches without complaint. “And I’ll join you in that steak dinner.”

“Excellent.” He gazed at her, an unspoken question in his eyes.

She knew without asking that he was waiting for her decision. Her heart rate picked up. “You’ll shift too, right?”

“I will, after you do. I’ve had a lot of practice, so I’m reasonably quick.”

“I’ve had very little practice, and so I’m excruciatingly slow.” She made a face. “You will get sick of waiting for me to manage it.”

“I won’t.”

“Also, I don’t think it’s a very attractive process.”

He smiled. “It’s like birth, Luna. That’s a wee bit weird, too, but we celebrate it every time it happens. Shifting should be like that for us. A rebirth.”

“I hadn’t thought of it that way. It’s always been awkward and… shameful.”

“Ah, no. Never shameful. It’s a gift to be able to shift into a completely different sort of being, with totally different abilities, yet have our mind retain both sets of experiences. Have you experienced telepathy?”

“Like when I can hear thoughts from other Weres? Only a couple of times, by accident. Shifting alone doesn’t lend itself to that.”

“Mm.” His tone was rich with sympathetic understanding. “You’d love that part, if you get a chance to do
it with someone you know, like me. Are you willing to try?”

She wiped her hands on a cloth napkin and put it on her empty plate. “Yes, I am.” She glanced around the living room. They’d left most of the lights off so they could enjoy the sparkling view below.

She spotted a dark corner. “I’d like a little privacy. You may think it’s like birth and needs to be celebrated, and someday maybe I’ll have that attitude, but I don’t yet.”

“Whatever makes you feel comfortable.” He gathered the dishes from their meal. “I’ll put these on the bar and sit here waiting for you. Have you ever watched someone else shift?”

“No.” Her heart raced at the thought, which was both scary and fascinating.

“Would you like to watch me do it?”

She hesitated. “If you don’t mind.”

“I’d be honored if I’m the first Were you’ve ever seen shift. As a teenager, we were always watching each other. It was like a game, so I’m not shy about it. But if you didn’t grow up like that, it might take you some time to lose that shyness.”

“I can’t even begin to say how much I envy your upbringing. Envy is a terrible emotion, but I’m feeling it now. I want the childhood you had.”

“But the childhood you had created the amazing and talented Were that you are.” He stood and offered her his hand.

She allowed him to help her up and draw her into his arms. There was nothing sexual in his embrace, and for that she was grateful. She wrapped her arms around his solid warmth and held on.