Tall, Silent and Lethal

by R. L. Mathewson

  “Where is she?” Aidan asked, not bothering to look away from his computer as he double-checked last night’s figures.

  “We’re not sure yet,” Brock admitted on a heavy sigh as he walked around the large mahogany desk that they shared. “Did your balance match mine?” Brock asked, nodding towards the computer screen.

  “Yes, but we’ll handle that in a minute,” Aidan said, pushing back from the desk and turning the chair around so that he could face his beta. “Were you able to cut off her support?”

  Brock nodded, not looking particularly happy about it. Then again, none of his pack was happy about this, but he didn’t care. He wanted his property back and until he got it, they would continue to do whatever was necessary to ensure that happened.

  Of course this time he wasn’t demanding that his pack uproot their lives again and move across country. This time he was done chasing after his property, watching her from afar, especially after he’d so freely been allowed to taste her. This would be the very last time that she would run away from him.

  “We’ve hacked into her bank accounts and froze them. We also have someone trying to get information from the nursing company that she works for. We should have something within the week if not sooner,” Brock explained, making Aidan smile for the first time in a week since he’d discovered that the bitch that he’d claimed as his own had taken off sometime during the night.

  “Good,” Aidan said, nodding approvingly as he looked back at the computer screen and the small problem that needed his attention. “Are you keeping track of her bank and credit card activity?” he asked as he opened up the file for last week’s sales figures.

  “So far she hasn’t tried to use her ATM card or credit cards. According to her bank records, she took out a thousand dollars the morning that she left. So-”

  “It’s only a matter of time before she tries to use her bankcard,” Aidan finished for him as he headed towards the thick black door that he’d had specially installed two years ago when he bought the restaurant.

  “What if she calls someone to ask for money or a place to stay?” Brock asked as he waited for Aidan to unlock the door and open it.

  Aidan, smiling more than he had in years, simply shook his head. “She cuts everyone out of her life as soon as she moves on. When she realizes that she has no income or money in the bank, she’ll have no choice but to accept what I’m willing to offer her.”

  Her place in his Pack and in his bed.

  His cock hardened painfully at the memory of the last time that he’d had her. Her wet, willing pussy clenching tightly around him as he took her from behind while he’d licked the marks that he’d left on her all those years ago. He’d waited a long time for her to ripen and it had been worth it.

  The only thing that he regretted was not being the one who’d taken her virginity, but he’d known then that if he had, he wouldn’t have been able to hold back. He would have marked her again as he forced his blood down her throat, forcing her into his Pack and making her able to take him without the risk of breaking her fragile human body before she was ready. She’d been too young then and would have fought him, and as much as he loved a good fight, he didn’t want to take the risk of ruining that beautiful body of hers any more than was necessary.

  Soon she’d be able to take him, all of him, and he would finally be able to let go and enjoy her without holding back, he promised himself as he opened the door and headed down the dimly lit staircase, absently adjusting the tent in his pants as he went. The sounds of muttered whimpering met his ears as he stepped into the large room that he’d had specially made for those nights when his Pack couldn’t get out of the city and away from the watchful eyes of the Sentinels.

  “Please!” the young woman he’d had his men chain to the wall only a few hours ago pleaded around her gag.

  Sighing in annoyance, Aidan reached over and yanked the gag out the woman’s mouth since the muttered noises would only irritate him. True, his men could have removed the gag and allowed the woman to scream her head off without worry that she would alert the customers dining above them, but then they would have chanced her screaming until her throat was raw and she was unable to answer his questions.

  Not that he had many, not after he’d gone through his records for the past three weeks since she’d been hired to wait tables. The only thing that he didn’t know, and cared about, was where his money was. He wasn’t poor, far from it, but that didn’t mean that he was willing to look the other way when someone stole from him.

  He couldn’t afford to show weakness, not with his Pack watching his every move, looking for a sign of weakness. Like most Alphas, he was very strict with his Pack. He didn’t tolerate defiance on any level, because that would only lead to chaos among his Pack. It would give them ideas that they didn’t need him, could ignore his commands, or worse, that they should get rid of him and welcome another Alpha to lead his Pack.

  Since he had a low tolerance for bullshit and had no intentions of allowing another shifter to take over his Pack, he ruled with an iron fist. He had a three-strike system, one that his Pack understood and followed. Unless they severely pissed him off, he gave them three chances to stay on his good side.

  The first time they fucked up, he forced them to spend the three nights of the full moon in a small metal box, just big enough for them to shift. It was pure hell for any shifter not to be able to run and hunt on the nights of the full moon, but not being able to do anything more than breathe was a form of hell that he made damn sure that all of his Pack experienced at least once.

  The second time they fucked up, he had them placed in a box, much smaller than the first so that when they shifted, their bones would dislocate and as they continued to expand, they would break, one by one, leaving the shifter in agonizing pain. They’d suffer the same torment for three nights until the third morning when they shifted back to human for the last time.

  Then he, still in shifted form, would drag the offender out by using his fangs. While the rest of the pack was still experiencing the high of a shift, he would teach them a new lesson that they would never forget. If they earned a third strike…..

  Well, not many earned a third strike and those that did never lived to regret it.

  “Please let me go!” the young woman pleaded between choked sobs as she yanked at her chains.

  “Where’s my money?” he simply asked as he reached down and pulled off one shoe.

  “I-I d-don’t know what you’re talking about!” she cried, but the way that she yanked at her chains and her tone became panicked said otherwise.

  “Where’s my money?” he asked again as he reached down and pulled off the other shoe. He scented the air, noting the scent of adrenaline pouring into her bloodstream. It awakened the beast inside of him, making him hunger for a taste.

  “I-I don’t have it!” she cried, the scent of her fear tripling as he pulled off his socks and pants.

  “Where is it?” he asked, taking his shirt off and leaving him in a pair of boxer shorts that encased the evidence of his thoughts about Cloe.

  The young woman’s eyes landed on his drawers and stayed there only to shift to his erection when he yanked the boxers down low enough so that he could kick them off.

  “I-I spent it all, but I can pay you back! I swear that I’ll pay you back! Please just let me go!” she begged, sobbing hysterically.

  Aidan gave her a small smile as he walked over to where she sat on the metal floor. He crouched down in front of her, tilting his head to the side as he reached out and ran a finger down her jaw. She flinched back as though he’d struck her, which was pretty fucking insulting since he’d never hit a woman in his life. Tearing one apart with his fangs and claws…..

  Well, that was an entirely different story altogether.

  “Now, what kind of message would that send to my Pack if I let you go?” he asked with a tsk as he allowed his eyes to shift silver and his fangs to descend.

  She opened her mouth,
probably to beg him for another chance only to release a blood chilling scream as the finger that he was tracing down her jaw suddenly sprouted a claw, leaving a trail of blood behind as he moved his hand down to her throat.

  “Now,” he said, pausing as his hand shifted into something out of a horror movie, “you were telling me where my money was?”

  Chapter 17

  “Oh my God, you’re insane,” Cloe said, sounding frustrated as she rubbed her hands down her face.

  “Most likely,” he agreed, not because he really thought that he was insane, but because arguing with her right now wasn’t possible, not with her straddling his lap.

  He’d be the first one to admit that this hadn’t been one of his best ideas, but he hadn’t been left with much of a choice, not with the damn woman trying to leave every other second. When he’d picked her up to stop her from leaving, he’d considered tossing her in his closet or in his bathroom. He’d planned on keeping her there until he was able to talk some damn sense into her, but the reminder that she didn’t like enclosed spaces or feeling trapped had him making a last second adjustment to his plan.

  “Let me go,” she demanded.

  “I’m not holding you,” he pointed out, technically not lying since he wasn’t holding her.

  Granted, he did have his arms resting along her thighs and his hands on her hips, ready to stop her if she tried to climb off his lap, again, but he really didn’t think that counted as holding her. She’d be flipping out a hell of a lot more if she really thought that he was holding her in place. So, since she was only straddling his lap and glaring at him, she clearly didn’t feel trapped.

  “Really?” she asked, cocking a brow in disbelief as she tried to move off his lap only to have his hold tighten on her hips, keeping her in place before she could do more than lift her ass.

  “Really,” he said, settling back on the love seat, relaxing even as he tightened his grip on her hips.

  “You do realize that this is considered kidnapping in most states,” she pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest as she narrowed her eyes to slits on him, no doubt trying to come up with a way to escape his hold and get out of the house before he found another way to stop her.

  “You’re the one that has me trapped on this couch,” he explained innocently with a shrug, knowing that it would piss her off.

  So, when she closed her eyes and took several deep breaths in an obvious attempt to calm down, he couldn’t help but smile. She definitely made his normally tedious life interesting, he thought as he leaned in and fucked up his plans to convince her to stay without having to resort to chaining her to the house.

  He kissed her stubborn little chin and nearly groaned from the contact. It was such a simple, innocent kiss, but it had him wanting more, wanting her. She felt so good in his arms, too damn good. Christ, he wanted her, he realized with a pained groan. He’d do anything to have her, to touch her, to hold her, to have her in his life…..

  Hell, he just wanted her.

  Knowing that he was close to fucking this up and making her want to leave for good, he pulled back and-

  Somehow found himself leaning forward and kissing the tip of her nose. As he pulled back, admittedly not to do the right thing, he realized that she was watching him through half hooded eyes and that her breaths were coming a little faster than normal. Releasing his hold on her hips, he raised his hands and gently cupped her face, barely aware that his hands were trembling as he lightly caressed her cheeks.

  “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?” he whispered as he ran his thumb over her bottom lip.

  “Is this another attempt to get me to stay?” she asked, sounding breathless as she leaned into his touch as though she couldn’t help herself.

  “God yes,” he whispered, gently pulling her closer as he moved in and pressed a soft kiss against the corner of her mouth.

  “What if I don’t want to stay?” she asked, reaching up and placing one of her hands over his, curling her fingers around his palm and holding it where it was.

  “Do you?” he asked, leaning in and pressing a kiss against her bottom lip, loving the way she shifted on his lap, but loving the little startled gasp she released when she realized that he was hard, even more.

  “Want to stay?” she clarified on a sexy little whisper that had his cock straining against his jeans to get inside her. Reaching up with her free hand, she ran her fingers through his hair until she had the back of his head cupped in her hand and was able to keep him right where she wanted him. Licking her lips, she leaned in closer until their lips were barely touching and said, “Not on your life, Hoodie.”

  “Little liar,” he said with a chuckle as he dropped his hands away from her face, letting them trail down her sides and hips until he was cupping her bottom.

  Leaning back just enough so that he could watch her reaction, he used his hold on her and pulled her closer. The movement caused her to gently grind against his erection. Her lips parted on a soft moan, her hold on him tightened as she arched her back slightly, putting more pressure in that one move that had him running his tongue over his teeth to stop his fangs from dropping.

  The scent of her arousal had him biting back a groan even as he gripped her ass and ground her more forcefully against his erection. She was so damn wet, he could smell it, could hear it and it was driving him out of his fucking mind. Every time she moved against him, more of her juices rushed to coat her core, preparing her for his invasion and he’d never smelled anything sweeter.

  He groaned long and loud when Cloe took over, hesitantly grinding herself against him at first as though she wasn’t quite sure how they’d got to this point, but seemingly helpless to stop. Every time she rubbed against him, her movements became less stiff and more sensual, making his cock swell to the point of pain and his breaths come faster.

  Cloe wrapped her free arm around his shoulders as she cupped the back of his neck with the other hand, using her hold on him to grind herself against him harder. With each flex of her hips, the scent of her arousal became stronger, her breaths became soft pants as little moans and needy whimpers escaped her. When she licked her lips invitingly, he leaned in and finally covered her lips with his.

  The kiss turned hungry and out of control within seconds. He sucked and licked her tongue, not caring that he was probably fucking this up and should be taking this slower to seduce her properly, to make this good for her. It had been over fifty years since the last time that he’d tried to seduce a woman and it showed.

  He couldn’t get enough of her, of the way that she tasted, the way she moved against him, the sweet smell of her sex, the feel of her hand running over his bare chest or the way that she held his hair in a death grip as she returned his kiss just as desperately, like she’d die if he didn’t fuck her soon. When she moaned his name, his hips shot up against her, earning a strangled gasp as her head dropped back and she licked her lips in pure pleasure even as she continued to grind against him.

  Struggling not to come, he wrapped his arms around her and gritted his teeth as he pressed his forehead against her chest. This was too much. It felt too fucking good, too fucking good to have any hopes of staying in control, he realized with a touch of fear. She wrapped her arms around his head, holding him where he was as she continued to ride him, continued to drive him out of his fucking mind and unfortunately for her, awakening another hunger that he had no hope of controlling……..

  Not with her.

  Her scent was so much stronger now, thicker, causing his breaths to come a little faster as he desperately searched for a breath of untainted air so that he could clear his head and gain some semblance of control, but with each breath, her scent saturated his lungs. He was losing control, so fucking fast and heaven help him, but he didn’t want to stop it.

  *-*-*-*

  “Christofer,” she gasped on a strangled moan as she felt her body clamp down, searching for something, anything to hold onto as-

  Christofer sudden
ly stood up, which wouldn’t have been a problem, except for the fact that as he did it, he shoved her away, causing her to fall back and land on her ass. Dazed, she sat there trying to figure out what just happened as Christofer finally said the one thing that she’d been waiting all day to hear as he stumbled past her.

  “Get the hell out of here.”

  “What are you-”

  “Get the fuck out of here!” he roared, taking her by surprise and causing her to jump back as she struggled to get to her feet to do just that when he suddenly grabbed his stomach.

  “Fuck!” he snarled as he stumbled forward a few feet and dropped down on his knees.

  Forcing herself to ignore the way that her body still trembled from his touch and the painful ache between her legs, she rushed over to his side as her training kicked in. He was sick, most likely from the diner food that he shouldn’t have eaten and he was embarrassed, not that she could blame him. Losing your lunch during a heavy make out session was probably a life-altering event, one that she was secretly relieved that she hadn’t been forced to experience.