He pulled off the main road just long enough to fuck her against the hood of his car. His nails bit into her ass as he bent her over and lifted her skirt. Hard, hot metal pressed into her chest through the dress. The thick, pounding shaft entered her from behind and she surrendered to him as he expertly brought her to climax.
The New Jersey landscape drew the eye, especially when they reached the shoreline. Peeks of the Atlantic Ocean from the roadway captured her attention. The smell of cool, salty air swept through the rolled-down windows of the rental car—a small sedan with tan interior and leather seats that stuck uncomfortably to the backs of her legs. To her surprise, James had bought not only pajamas for her but dresses as well. The loose material hung around her frame in a one-size-fits-all sort of way. The tiny flower print was very feminine and unlike anything she owned in her closet. Her tastes generally leaned toward jeans, tank tops and a sizable collection of rock band t-shirts.
At first, James held pleasant conversation, talking about everything from his favorite music to his many travels. He’d been to every country in the world at least once. She loved listening to his voice, the way his eyes lit up when he spoke, how his hands lifted from the steering wheel to emphasize the meaning. He often looked her in the eye, glancing at her as he drove.
Her obvious desire and affection for him became a true liking the more lucid her thoughts became. The man was funny, smart, if not a little serious at times, but she imagined the nature of his job—hunting bad people just like a federal marshal or police detective—might make him overly somber.
As they drove, a worry line developed between his eyes, causing him to look less and less at her and more at the distant road. Signs for Atlantic City were everywhere and by evening, they were pulling into the bright city.
“How will you find her here?” Claudia asked, looking around at the tall hotels and numerous casinos. Signs along the streets boasted gourmet food, fishing, golf, water sports, top-notch entertainment, full-service spas, endless shopping and every casino game known to man. How would they ever find one person in such a big city?
James didn’t answer but instead grabbed his phone. Pushing a couple of buttons, he held it to his ear. “Yeah, we’re here. Just pulled into town.”
Claudia tried to hear the other side of the conversation without being obvious.
“Ian’s made it? Is Ceana with him? Great.” James glanced at her. Claudia kept her eyes forward, pretending to look at the passing sights. “I agree she should stay with Natasha.”
“This is no place for a woman. I requested the king send someone to stay with your charge but he is insistent you’re the only one to help her,” a voice answered. The words were faint as if on the other side of a tunnel but the more Claudia concentrated, the more she could understand. Her hearing had become better than before. The man on the phone continued, “The truth is he hasn’t told the others about her and the family has been sworn to secrecy until it can be determined whether or not her first full moon will kill her.”
Claudia gasped to hear her fate talked about so casually. Her eyes rounded, instantly giving away that she’d been eavesdropping.
“Damn it, Roark,” James swore.
“Shit, she can hear me? Why didn’t you say so? I figured you were in a secure area if you called me about this,” Roark answered.
“Apparently her hearing is better than I’d realized. She’s developing quickly.” James looked at her briefly before watching the road.
“That’s good, right? Um, Claudia, that’s good. I was just being dramatic. Sorry about what I said. Really, there isn’t anything to worry about,” Roark said, still talking to his brother but aware she could hear him.
“That’s all…” Her whisper trailed off.
“Don’t panic,” James said to her, his voice strained. Then he addressed his brother. “I told her of our kind and of her imminent turning with the first full moon.”
“You told her everything?” She couldn’t be sure but Roark sounded skeptical. “Can she link yet?”
“Link?” Claudia asked.
“Where is Meghan, Roark?” James’ hard voice was curt. He didn’t answer her.
“Lavette Spa and Casino. It’s the newest hotel along the Boardwalk. Just look for the pink glow lighting up the building. You can’t miss it,” Roark said. “I’ve already booked you a suite next to mine and Ian and Randall are bunking with me. Just ask the front desk for a key.”
“Thanks, I’ll be there soon.” James hung up the phone.
Claudia swallowed nervously. All the appeal of the surrounding buildings paled in comparison to what she’d just heard. Somehow she’d believed that everything would be fine, that James would protect her. Strange, since she didn’t really know him for all that long. But to hear Roark talk about her death made it all the more real. Nerves tightened her gut as the gravity of her situation bore down on her. She might only have a little over a week to live. And if she did survive, what then? Eternity as a wolf, craving blood and sex?
The sex part won’t be so bad. She glanced at James, the beginning of her smile fading into a frown. But what if he was only with her because he thought she was dying?
“Claudia,” James began.
“I know you said the full moon was the final test, but what are the odds that I’ll make it?” Claudia shivered. She imagined this was much like when someone heard they might have only a few days to live. Her nose began to burn with unshed tears. Maybe it wasn’t as much of a risk as she feared.
“Only a very few make it through the shift. It is why we don’t try to turn humans. There is no way of telling which of you will make the change or why those that do can survive it.” James’ hand lifted as if he wanted to reach for her. “I didn’t tell you of the odds because I didn’t want you to worry.”
“What else haven’t you told me?” she asked.
“Nothing that couldn’t be explained after your transformation. Things that would only burden your thoughts before it was necessary to do so.”
“Ow!” Claudia grabbed her temple.
“What?”
“I don’t know. This shooting pain in my head.” She took a deep breath, suddenly nauseous. “Do you smell fish?”
“We are by the sea,” he said.
“No, not that, like cooking fish.” She closed her eyes tight. “And laughter. Glasses are tinkling like someone’s toasting champagne. You can’t hear that?”
“Do you see anything?” James probed.
“No, just sounds.” Claudia opened her eyes. “Why? What is it?”
“Meghan is definitely close. Since you were bitten by her, you are connected to her. I didn’t know it would happen so soon but, perhaps because of your psychic heritage, it is occurring sooner.” He gave her an expectant look. “Can you find her? Did you detect her saying anything? Feel where she was or what she was thinking? Do you think she detected you?” There was desperation in his eyes when he questioned her.
“I don’t know. It happened too fast.” Claudia took deep breaths. “I think this counts as something you should have told me.”
Despite all of what James might feel for her as a lover, perhaps even as a friend, she was a means to capturing his prey—a prey that had eluded him so far. That was the real reason she was with him. Her connection to Meghan would help him find the killer.
“Here’s the hotel.” James turned the car up a wide drive. “We’ll pick up our keys and get you into the suite. Maybe you’ll pick up more details there.”
“I need a drink,” Claudia said, never having uttered those words in her life. But, if ever she was going to start consuming alcohol, now seemed like a great time. She pressed against her throbbing temple. “A really big one.”
* * * * *
The newly built Lavette Spa and Casino had every state-of-the-art comfort possible in a hotel, from a health club and Olympic-sized pool to steam baths and tanning beds. Grand chandeliers, their sparkling crystals glittering like stars, lined the gold-
crested ceilings. Lights sparkled over the floor, dancing on the ornate Italianate marble like tiny fairies.
Costumed dancers and uniformed staff assimilated in the building like fine-tuned entities, there to smile and serve. Claudia couldn’t muster much of a smile to greet them in return and kept her eyes on the valet’s back as he pushed their meager luggage toward the hotel’s elevator.
“Would the lady like me to arrange a spa treatment for her?” the valet asked, his tone even and polite.
“No,” Claudia said, even as James answered in kind. “No.”
The valet chuckled. The elevator stopped on the forty-third floor before opening. “Mr. O’Connell, I’ve been instructed to inform you that your brothers are in the adjoining suite. You can reach them through the private-door access.” The valet opened a wide door, allowing them entry into the suite.
“This room is expensive, isn’t it?” James said under his breath. “Trust Roark to pick it. I hope he knows he’s paying.”
Claudia briefly thought about offering to pay for some of the cost but kept her mouth shut. She didn’t want to think about money at a time like this.
“The suites offer the best accommodations in the city,” the valet answered. “Room service is open all night, as are the eight restaurants found on the main level. The spa is on level three.”
“Thank you.” James slipped the valet a folded bill, tipping him. “But we don’t want to be disturbed. At all.”
“Very good, Mr. O’Connell,” the valet answered, grinning knowingly.
When they were alone, Claudia walked into the center of the large suite. Creams and chocolate browns covered every surface that wasn’t wood. Over one thousand square feet, the suite had a furnished bar, couches and big-screen television, all set before floor-to-ceiling glass doors. Crossing over to them, she pushed the doors open and stepped out on the balcony. Ocean-scented air accosted her senses and she took a deep, steadying breath. Evening had turned to night during check-in and now she was surrounded by the stars and sounds of the waves below.
“I’m sorry you heard Roark’s words. He didn’t mean to sound so harsh about the shift.” James joined her, standing close as he leaned against the metal railing next to her. He put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I need you to try to sense Meghan again.”
“I don’t know if I can.” Claudia swallowed nervously. She wasn’t sure she wanted to.
“You must try. Your connection might be our best shot at finding her before she harms anyone else.”
“Is this why you kept me with you?” Claudia knew enough from her mother to know what to do to encourage visions, but she wanted answers first. “Is this why you were nice to me? To get me to sense your runaway?”
“I was nice to you because I want to be.” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, sighing heavily. “I’ll admit, the idea did cross my mind about you being able to help us, but I would have helped you either way.”
“Because it’s your duty to do so?”
“Yes,” he cleared his throat, “and no.”
Her breath coming in hard rasps, she licked her lips, longing to kiss him. This time she hadn’t eaten and she knew what she was feeling was of her own doing—not protein or some changing. She wanted him for him, needed him, desired him. Her stomach tightened and cream flooded her pussy with a disarming suddenness. Heat infused her cheeks and neck, curling a haphazard path over her entire body.
As if he could sense what she felt, he came to her. “Come inside the room.”
She did, following him in. His hand caressed her flushed cheek. She closed her eyes tight, not moving as his fingers ran down the length of her throat. Her heart beat wildly, in hard, heavy thumps against her chest.
Claudia bit her lip as James began to undress her and didn’t let it go for a long time. The feel of material sliding off her body was erotic in itself. His harsh breathing joined hers as he teased her flesh by denying it his fingers. When she stood naked, she still hadn’t opened her eyes. She couldn’t. The feelings were too much, swirling inside her. If she looked, she might profess a love he didn’t want or need to hear about. There was so much to be done first. Meghan had to be stopped. She had to face her first full moon. And then there was the small fear that he might not feel as deeply for her as she felt for him. She hated the insecurity but she couldn’t suppress it. She’d never wanted anyone so much and the mere thought that he might not feel the same tore at her chest.
“Look at me,” James said, his tone low.
How could she not obey when he asked her like that, all gentle and husky? She did, unable to keep from staring. While she had kept her eyes closed, he’d taken off his clothes and now stood naked and proud before her. Without pants, there was nothing to hide the protruding erection from view. The huge cock, thick and straining with veins along the wide shaft, towered from his thighs above the soft globes of his balls.
Her sex wept with the memory of how deeply he could penetrate her and her mouth watered to take him in. James walked toward her, causing her to back up until she was near the bed. Not touching her, he leaned forward. Claudia fell back, shivering at the intensity in him. He’d never proceeded this slowly, never looked at her with such penetrating eyes. It was as if he could read her very soul.
He took the back of his hand and ran it down her flesh, tracing a light trail down the valley of her breasts, over her navel, to rest above her slick pussy. Instinctively her legs parted and her head rolled back on the bed while she arched, offering herself to him. Turning his hand toward her, he cupped her sex and parted the wet folds with a probing finger. It wasn’t long before he discovered her clit and rubbed it mercilessly. She moaned and writhed. Her hands gripped tight over her head as she held on to the stiff coverlet beneath her.
James let loose an animalistic noise of pleasure. The finger became more insistent, delving inside the damp heat of her cavern. The look of him above her, each muscle pulled tight, caused her to moan. “I need you, James, please. I want to feel you inside me. I want you to kiss me.”
“How can I deny such a pretty plea?” He stared at her mouth in a way that made her weak.
Parting her lips, she watched him crawl completely over her, his legs slipping between her thighs to keep them open. He brushed his mouth to hers, teasing mercilessly several times before finally taking her fully. James groaned and she swallowed the sound. Their lips warred, moving at a more frantic pace with each second. She sucked his tongue hard, pulling it deep into her mouth. Finally, needing breath, she pulled back and gasped for air.
James grabbed her by the hip and pushed her thighs wider as he drew himself up between them. His confident movements made the ache for him all that much worse. His heat burnt into her sensitive thighs as he rocked forward, using her leg as a guide to reach her ready sex.
She couldn’t take it anymore. Claudia had to touch him. She ran her hands down his chest, scratching and kneading as she begged, “Yes, please, James. Do it. Fuck me. I need you so badly it hurts. Please…”
Her words became a mumbling mass of pleas as she squirmed. A warm palm grabbed her breast, pinching an already-tight nipple. The jolt of pleasure rocketing to her pussy made her gasp. She lurched forward, unable to take any more as she flipped him onto his back with a strength she didn’t know she possessed. The soft hairs on his legs grazed her sensitive thighs and she could tell he fought his body’s shifting. He’d teased her to the point of madness and she needed the torment to end.
His nostrils flared as she moved above him, as if he could smell her arousal. He grabbed on to her hips, holding her steady. The thick length of his cock heaved in excitement as she brought herself down on him. Pushing up, he met her movement, filling her much faster and deeper than she had expected.
Claudia held still, enjoying the feel of his cock as her flexing muscles formed around him, accepting him, molding her tightened, silk depths to fit only him. The animal growing inside her took over. She lifted up only to slam down hard, taking his
turgid shaft with her tight sex. Her body hummed with passion. She had never wanted anyone or anything as badly as she wanted him.
She dug her fingers into his chest, using them as leverage as she rode him hard, their bodies banging together. His eyes glowed with supernatural force. Claudia drew a deeply ragged breath. She saw her own breasts thrust forward, bobbing wantonly with each pounding thrust. She cried out, desperate for completion, and she thought she might explode with the need for climax.
Suddenly James grunted. Her pussy convulsed, gripping his cock tight. The tension was more than she could take. Her orgasm hit her and she released so hard she jerked violently on top of him. Only his hands on her hips kept her from falling over. James’ body answered her call, jutting the hot stream of his cum deep inside her willing pussy. Claudia collapsed on his chest, sliding to the side, so weak she couldn’t move. They held each other close in stunned silence.
As the tiny, remaining spasms slowly subsided, she opened her mouth to speak. But all words of love left her as a sudden, intense pain shot through her head. Claudia screamed, grabbing her temples on both sides. She squeezed hard, pushing in to get the sensation to stop. Her mother and grandmother had never experienced such pain when they had a vision. The blinding headache spread, turning her vision to a bright white until everything was blocked out by it. “Argh!”
“What do you see?” James demanded, pushing up on the bed. His arms wrapped around her, trying to give comfort.
“I see her,” Claudia said, getting a clear vision of the woman from the Block Island beach. Even though her eyes were open, her sight was replaced by the image in her mind. It was as if she watched through someone else’s eyes. “She’s watching dancers. A show. Red costumes. Sparkles. Feathers. Smoke. I smell liquor.”
“What else?”
“She’s in the hotel. Her napkin reads Lavette Spa and Casino. A man is with her. Long brown hair, firelight in his eyes.” Claudia sensed the evil in the lycan woman, the taste for blood, the deep craving for it—so much so that she felt sick after experiencing the secondhand feelings. She shook her head back and forth, trying to get rid of the picture. It worked. The scene faded, replaced by what was actually in front of her eyes. “You had better hurry. I have the sense that they will be leaving soon.”
Call of the Lycan Trilogy Bundle Page 22
