Wolf’s Honor: Caedmon Wolves Book Six (10 page)

“
I
haven’t had
a home-cooked meal like that in months,” Connor said, folding his linen napkin on the table and sitting back in his chair.

“I thought you were just very hungry,” she said, looking from the empty plate and serving bowls to the content smile on his face. After all, the man had gobbled down three T-bone steaks and two large helpings of scalloped potatoes.

“That was so delicious, I’m thinking I want you to make it for dinner again tomorrow night.”

“I’ll make something else I think you might like. You didn’t strike me as the sort of man to eat a lot,” she replied. “There’s not an ounce of fat on you.”

“I burn a lot of energy. I’m working to sustain both my human and wolf body. I can eat three or four servings in one sitting if I’m hungry enough at the time. Depends on what I did that day.”

“Makes sense. When I saw your wolf the other night he was twice as big as the dog.”

“That’s because I’m not an ordinary wolf. My weight carries over when I shift. Most months, that ranges anywhere from two hundred to two hundred and ten pounds.”

"Well, you won't get my weight.
Ever.
So don't even ask," she teased.

His eyes sparkled as he admired her from across the table. "You're the perfect size for me."

Antonia's cheeks heated thinking about how much attention he was paying to her. She'd never been one to call this much attention to herself, but suddenly she wanted it and was unsure how to react to it at the same time.

He sat up and leaned forward across the small table. Placing his elbows on the table, he reached out and stroked the underside of her chin. “Thank you, by the way.”

“I enjoy cooking,” she said. “It keeps me busy and it keeps my mind off certain things.”

“What else do you like to do in your free time?”

“I go to school and study. That’s about it.”

“What are you studying?”

“I’m attending the tech college in the city and studying to become a paralegal. I got a late start since I was out of high school for a year.”

“Well, all that matters is that you did start. It’s important to pursue what you want, after all, you did say we only have one life, right?”

“Yeah.” She smiled and then motioned to the cake on the saucer. “You barely touched the pound cake. Don’t you eat sweets?”

“Yes.”

His reply came with a deep baritone to his voice. His sexiness affected her so badly that she felt the vibrations push across the space between them. She crossed her legs under the table. Her bare foot accidentally touched his leg.

When she looked up, there was a Cheshire cat grin on his face. “I eat sweets and I love pound cake,” he told her.

Antonia picked up on the innuendo and dropped her gaze. “You aren’t very shy.”

She cut the cake into a small piece, but before she could lift her fork, Connor did it for her. He directed the pound cake between his lips.

“I’m not shy because I know what I like.” He led the fork back down to the table and then grabbed her hand. This time, he led her to stand directly in front of him.

He pressed the fingertips of her right hand to his lips and kissed them. “You’re perfect for me.”

“I am?”

“Yes. We have our whole lives ahead of us, and now that I’ve found you, I plan to spend the rest of it learning everything about you. I thought this day would never come, the day when I’d get to meet my mate in the flesh. All that I’d perceived before about how it’s impossible to be so infatuated with someone at first sight was wrong. If you’ll have me, Antonia, I am yours.”

“I don’t really know what to say.”

No man had ever spilled his desires and emotions like that before. Actually, no man she’d ever returned the same mutual feelings toward had ever revealed his intentions to her, at all. Now, she realized that she’d never favored any man as much as she favored Connor Maxim - the man and the wolf.

“You don’t have to say anything.” He pressed his forehead to her belly.

“Yes, I’ll have you.” She gasped when he kissed her navel through the fabric.

“I don’t want to rush this. I don’t want to move too fast with you, but you are so damn beautiful and irresistible, I’m thinking that the gods are testing my limits. I can’t fucking think straight.”

Antonia could tell he was sincere. Despite his sun-kissed complexion, his face darkened with what was the anxious emotional reaction to her that he just couldn’t hide.

Another loud ring came from the corner of the room near his laptop.

“Shit,” he exclaimed.

Antonia bent down and kissed his sexy lips. “I definitely want you thinking straight.” She broke their connection and began picking up the dishes from the table. “I only interrupted you to serve you supper. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

A
ntonia tiptoed
out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her waist. Connor’s voice floating under the door told her that he must have still been in the kitchen working at his computer.

She pulled out the top drawer of his chest to see what else she could find to wear inside. She was impressed that the clothes were neat and folded in the drawers and sorted by type.

She picked out sweatpants that looked like they were small enough for her and tried them on. Within seconds of pulling the drawstring tight, they slid right back down her legs.

She was far from skin and bones, even though her eating habits and lack of time had steered her toward quick fast food and diner meals. What little exercise she got was spent walking back and forth from the bus station to wherever she needed to be at the time. She was proud to sport whatever womanly curves she had, but even this hourglass figure couldn’t hold up Connor’s big clothes.

Antonia sighed and wrapped the towel back around her body.

“Connor,” she called out into the hallway.

When there was no answer, she moved out into the hall and looked into the living room. He wasn’t seated on the couch or at the kitchen table. The boots that he meticulously took off each time he entered the ranch were gone. There was a set of keys and wallet near a table in the entryway so she knew he hadn’t gone far.

Just as she was about to turn to go back into the bedroom, she spotted a picture of herself flashing on the computer screen.

Panic rose up into her throat as she approached the coffee table and peered down at the tablet. It was her picture all right, and there was more than one of them.

One from two years ago and another picture so old she couldn’t even recall when or where it had been taken. She was younger in the second picture, probably about sixteen or seventeen.

Shame washed over her as she looked at the mug shot from the first picture. She remembered that day like it was yesterday. It had been her first real arrest. An arrest she couldn’t talk herself out of like the others.

Someone must have set Andrew up because the police had raided their apartment. They were both arrested and taken into police custody. The only reason she was let go was because Andrew had pleaded guilty and swore to the police that she had nothing to do with it. But she’d known all along that he'd committed a crime to get the suitcase of cash to tide them over for a few months. She’d even counted the money and paid bills with it. She had been just as guilty as he was.

She swallowed the lump down her throat as her eyes shifted over the message that contained a list of petty crimes, misdemeanors, and minor offenses she’d been convicted of during her juvenile years and the outcome: five counts of petty theft, two cases of simple assault, two counts of aiding and abetting, two counts of trespassing, and one count of accessory to manslaughter which had later been dropped.

Bile rose in her throat and she tore her attention from the computer. She didn’t want to remember anymore. That life was behind her now. She had new goals, new responsibilities, and better morals.

Suddenly, the door swung open and Connor stood in the entryway. His hair was wind-tousled and his chest heaved slightly as though he'd been running. The first thing his eyes landed on was her standing near the laptop with the towel clutched to her body.

“You went behind my back to find dirt on me.” Her voice trembled as she spoke.

He closed the door shut behind him, slipped off his boots, and approached her.

By that time, she was clear across the room, but he closed the distance between them with his long strides anyway.

“Let me explain. The search wasn’t meant to find dirt on you. I need all the clues I can get about where the box may have come from.”

“That’s bullshit,” she said. “What does my mugshot have to do with the box?”

“Please, Antonia. Nothing in your files will ever steer me away from you.
Ever.
”

“Why couldn’t you just ask me?” Her grip squeezed the knot in the towel as anger climbed within her.

“I want to ask you so much right now, and what you did to keep a roof over your head in the past is only the tip of the iceberg,” he said.

He reached out in an attempt to touch her.

She backed away, hitting the wall behind her in the process. “No, I told you before that I’m no good for you. Now you see the evidence and I hope you understand that.”

“That’s far from the truth. I don’t care about your rap sheet. All I care about now is your safety.”

He stalked toward her like she was small prey and pressed his palm against the wall near her head. “If I were in your situation, I would have done the same thing. We’re not that different. I protect people for a living. My firm is known for it. That means I do anything and everything to keep them safe. I don’t commit crimes for no reason, but I have been known to commit them. But there is one difference: I can sweep my evidence under a rug because of my connections.”

“Like the truck you jacked back in the city to get us here?” she asked.

“Yes, like that,” he replied. “And like the men I laid out to save you.”

Antonia couldn’t help admiring his mouth as he spoke or thinking about the way his lips had felt on her when he’d kissed her. She tugged at the bottom corner of her lip with her teeth.

He brought his large calloused fingers up and traced the top of the towel, stroking the tops of her breasts. The hand she used to hold the towel tightly to her was in his way, and he pushed it aside, leading it downward.

Knots of desire twisted in her belly. Warmth heated her center despite the cold draft drifting against her legs.

“I smell your arousal,” he whispered, pressing his lips gently to hers. “You’re sweet, and the scent of it is driving me crazy thinking about how much I want this sexy body of yours underneath me.”

She licked her lips. “I kind of have a boyfriend.” The words slipped past her lips, but he needed to know the truth. No more lies.

His brows quirked upward. “Kind of?”

“Yeah, I’ve been dating this guy…”

He silenced her with a kiss. “Guess what? You’re not dating
this guy
anymore. You’re mine.”

His manhood pressed against her belly. It felt incredibly large and hard. She couldn’t resist and slid a hand between them to test its length. The moment it pulsed within her palm through his pants, she knew she wanted him.

He moaned.
“Antonia.”

“What a big dick you have,” she whispered.

“The better to please you with, my dear.”

He tugged at the knot in the towel and the cloth fell from her body to land in a heap at their feet.

Antonia was completely bared to Connor, and he perused her body with his gaze and glided his fingers against her flesh like a sculpture.

“Perfect,” he muttered and then bent his head and pulled one of her nipples between his lips.

She let her weight fall back against the wall and slid her fingers through his unruly hair for more support. He tugged on her breasts until they were ripe and traced her areolas with his tongue until they were hard and sensitive.

More moisture pooled between her thighs and she guided his head from one breast to the other, enjoying the most attention they had ever gotten in her lifetime.

He caught her off guard and scooped her up so that she was cradled in his arms.

The door to the bedroom had slid closed and he kicked it open.

He rushed her over to the bed and threw her down on it. “Damn, Antonia, your pussy looks so good,” he said, glancing down between her legs as she sat up with her legs slightly spread on the bed.

The t-shirt came off first, revealing the steely hard chest that she knew existed. He was devoid of hair except for a trail in the same dirty blond hue as his head that descending into his pants. He unbuckled his belt and jerked it from the loops, causing the leather to make a snap in the air. He tossed it on the floor next to the shirt. Next came his bottoms, and before she knew it, he had torn off his clothes in a matter of seconds.

The moment his dick sprang free, her center clenched and her clitoris throbbed with immediate need. Connor’s cock was a work of art. Long, hard, and fully erect like some sex god from another planet. She wanted to reach down and stroke herself to orgasm so badly it hurt. Most definitely on nights when she was alone in her bed, she would remember how good Connor looked while she played with her pussy, but not tonight. No matter how surreal it felt to her, this man was standing here in the flesh offering to fuck her.

He grabbed his shaft, cupped the head, and then stroked downward all the way to the base near his balls. He grinned as he studied her reaction.

Her eyes widened and a small cry escaped her lips when a strong pulse rocked her clitoris.

“Oh, my God,” she exclaimed.

She bit at her bottom lip and dug her nails into the plush mattress.

“I promise I’ll be thorough. Have no fear. If I make you scream loud enough, the gods may save you,” he told her.

The animal inside of him had returned. His eyes dark and feral.

He crawled up onto the California King bed just like a ravenous wolf would stalk its prey before pouncing. His muscles flexed as he came closer.

He teased her relentlessly, using his lips and tongue to caress her skin as he rose above her. Except for her needy center, not an inch of her body was neglected.

Finally, he covered her body with his and pressed his mouth to hers. She kissed him back, sliding her hands against the flat of his abs.

By this time, she was begging for him to take her, but he had other ideas.

He spread her thighs wide and lapped at her swollen clit. Waves of pleasure tumbled over her body as she submitted completely to Connor.

He pleased her thoroughly with his mouth, cupping her ass in both hands and taking what he wanted. He plunged his greedy tongue into her over and over again, alternating between her center and her clit.

Within minutes, her orgasm spread through her like a fast-moving poison and her body shook beneath its onslaught.

When he rose to kiss her again, his heavy erection rubbed against her belly.

“Do you have condoms big enough for that?” she asked.

“No. You aren't fertile today. I don’t carry diseases and I don’t catch them.”

“I just have never done it without one, but I’m clean, too,” she said.

“Yes, I know. My wolf can detect that, as well. Let’s not talk about that. From this night forward, your pleasure is the only thing that matters.”

Antonia wrapped her legs around his waist and wound her fingers in his hair. She’d come to love the feel of the soft strands.

He entered her at the same time he took her mouth. Almost a year had passed since she’d done anything like this, and her sheath was tight against him. He cursed against her lips and rocked his hips back and forth, easing deep into her.

She was in heaven as he stroked her up toward another climax, but as the tension grew, his thrusts became deeper and harder until she was floating on cloud nine.

Screams tore through her lips as he speared her relentlessly, holding her thighs back against her chest and tilting his thrusts for better friction.

Sweat beaded Connor’s forehead and chest while all of his concentration was steered toward maintaining his consistent rhythm and precise strokes against her clit. She came undone again underneath him.

Antonia wondered how he’d managed to last longer than a few minutes, but at this point, it didn’t matter how. She didn’t want to leave his arms.

He switched positions, folding himself back into a sitting position and bringing her to sit on top.

Grabbing her waist, he led her hips into a rhythm until she was ready to take over. She moved, in tune with her body’s responses, and he willingly acquiesced all control to her. That didn’t stop him from playing her body like a fiddle.

He sucked her nipples into his mouth, alternating between the two and cupping her breasts so he could flick his tongue quickly over the surface.

His moans deepened and his balls tightened. She knew that he was close to orgasm. The gratifying expression on his face sent her over the age once more, and this time, he joined her in climax.

He came inside of her; full streams of cum burned her insides and invaded her senses like a drug. She closed her eyes and let the feeling take her away. The blackness she saw behind her eyelids gave way to light as a vision unfolded before her.

The first person she saw in the vision was Connor, fishing at the river’s edge. His hair was a cut shorter and his back was slightly turned to her, but there was no mistaking that this was him.

She saw herself seated on a quilt under a tree, but the sunshine still rained down on her through the open branches. Nearby, two wolf puppies played on the grass, nipping at each other and knocking one another to the ground. One of them paused mid-wrestle to glance at her. The pup had the same eyes as Connor.

The puppies shifted, and two little boys with bouncy cappuccino-colored hair emerged through a beam of sunlight. She felt a smile spread across her lips as her boys came to her.

All of a sudden, Antonia was knocked back into a present state of mind. That was when she realized that their climax had dissipated.

They fell into a heap on the sheets and Connor embraced her lovingly.

Antonia tried to blink back the fatigue taking over her so she could regroup and decode what she had just seen, but it was no use.

No gods had come to save her that night. When all was said and done, she was fully satiated and renewed with the determination to fulfill her purpose. From that point on, Antonia knew there was no going back. Not after that vision.

She snuggled up closer to Connor. “I was coming to tell you that I’m gonna need to get my clothes from my apartment sooner or later. Sooner rather than later since I can’t walk around here naked.”

He kissed her lightly near the temple and tightened his grip at her waist. “No, you don’t,” he said and then yawned. “I want you just like this.”

Antonia sighed, the tension left her body, and she settled back onto the pillow. She was too tired, both mind and body, to protest.