Temptation's Hold [Temptation, Wyoming 4]

by Zoey Marcel

  Her pussy gushed and her breasts felt swollen and heavy as they savored the erotic feel of his pleasing digits.

  She heard Lucius growling in her mind as he started to shift. “Tell him to get his fucking hands off you.”

  “Brad,” she breathed, gaping when his other hand wiggled down into her tight jeans.

  Brad couldn’t get his big hand all the way down into her snug pants, so he pulled it out and tugged her open jeans and underwear down her ass, leaving them hanging around her thighs.

  “For god’s sake, what if someone comes?”

  “I don’t care. Undo my pants and pull my cock out so I can fuck you.”

  He didn’t have to tell her twice. Her hands were at his fly the moment he claimed her mouth with his.

  Lucius’s resonant snapping and snarling in her head sounded savage and deadly as he completely shifted into his wolf form, baring his teeth. “You are mine, you two-faced harlot! No man touches you but me!”

  “Go to hell, Lucius. You don’t own me anymore. You have no power over me.”

  “You will eat those words, slave.”

  Brad fondled her cunt, groaning his horny approval when she reached into his underwear and caressed the hard, silken heat of his erection. His lips covered her face and neck with moist, tender kisses.

  “Put me inside you, Chanel.”

  Chanel moaned and slowly pulled his cock out, feeling both nervous and secretly thrilled that someone might walk down the hall and see them.

  Her mating mark burned suddenly as though it was on fire, and a strangled cry slipped from her at the pain scourging her.

  “Do you feel that pain, bitch? The power you say I don’t have over you?”

  Images of their past together flooded her mind and she felt a sudden rush of hormones surge through her as something primitive and animalistic took over. The urge to kill was suddenly ignited in her, as was the desire to mate, but this time she hungered for a different man.

  “What are you doing to me?”

  “Showing you how weak you really are. Do you feel the mating heat, Chanel? Can you feel the urge to shift? You can’t fight either and I won’t let you.”

  “Damn you, you have no control over me.”

  The desires grew stronger and the magnitude of Lucius’s power over her scared her.

  “I own you completely, fool. You will never be theirs.”

  “I can’t wait to be inside you,” Brad whispered, matching his genitals to hers.

  Lucius’s growl was feral and deadly. “If his penis enters you, I’ll kill Dawson Taylor.”

  Chanel pulled free of Brad, eyes burning with moisture and fear. “Stop! We’re not doing this! We can’t!”

  She roughly jerked her pants and undies back on, relieved that Brad put his dick away so she was no longer tempted to go against Lucius.

  “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

  “Tell him not to call you sweetheart.”

  “Please don’t call me that,” she pleaded, trying to get away from him before he saw her cry.

  “I didn’t tell you to say please,” Lucius rebuked her.

  Brad followed her. “Chanel, wait.”

  “Stay away from me, Brad. For the love of god, just stay the fuck away from me.”

  Brad took her by the arm and made her look at him. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but I want to start over. I love you, Chanel, with all my heart.”

  The floodgates opened and she choked on a sob. “Don’t say that, please. Just let me go. I have to leave before this gets any worse.”

  “Before what gets worse?”

  “God, just let me go.”

  “Do you love me?”

  Her eyes squeezed shut, milking the tears from her. She wanted to tell him the truth so badly, but she had a feeling it wouldn’t end well for Dawson if she did. “No.”

  Brad pulled her closer. “I don’t believe you. Tell me the truth. Tell me how you really feel about me.”

  Why in god’s name couldn’t he just let her go so she could spare him the pain of whatever Lucius would require her to tell him?

  “Tell him you hate him and look into his eyes while you say it. Be convincing.”

  Chanel’s heart ached as she searched Brad’s eyes, wishing more than anything that she had with him the bond she shared with Lucius. If Brad was able to read her mind, he could save her. But alas, he couldn’t.

  “To disobey me would be a grave mistake on your part. Remember what happened the last time you defied your Master?”

  The tears came faster as she held Brad’s expectant, soul-searching gaze and whispered, “I hate you.”

  She didn’t know if he believed her or not, but the anguish in his eyes seemed to eclipse the skepticism.

  “I’m sorry,” she wept almost uncontrollably. “I’m so very sorry.”

  Chanel stepped away and he let go of her, breaking her heart as she had undoubtedly just broken his. She hurried down the hall, praying he didn’t follow her.

  “Such compelling tragedy. Don’t cry, slave. The sorrow will only last a short while before the mating heat erases it. Don’t fight the wolf within you, Chanel. Let it out. Let the mating heat consume you.”

  * * * *

  Lucius stood on a hill in the cold darkness, waiting for her in his wolf form. Chanel would come. She was destined to. He could feel her fighting the urge to shift, but it was a battle she quickly lost. She couldn’t fight the hold he had on her, nor would she be able to put a lid on her newly acquired lycan instincts.

  After all these years he couldn’t stay away anymore. They’d suffered enough. It was time to bond with her again. He’d missed the passion they shared and even the simple things like her smile and her laugh. He wanted to relive the empowering rush of owning her and the overwhelming pleasure of her touch.

  He let out a long summoning howl to call her and listened for her response. Her beautiful, mournful cry seemed to echo in the still, frigid night air as she answered the sound of his voice. He saw her making her way toward him across the dark, frozen landscape. She was lovely in her wolf form. He knew she would be. Her human form was even more breathtaking.

  He loped toward her, pleased that her speed accelerated with his as they drew nearer each other. They sniffed one another and she kept her ears pinned back and her tail tucked between her legs while she nuzzled his face and licked his muzzle and underneath his chin, displaying her submission.

  Her surrender drove the beast in him wild and he had to have her. He walked around her, coaxing her down by biting the scruff of her neck and she lowered to the ground for him.

  Her coat was a lovely shade of light gray and she looked and smelled so perfect crouched down in the snow for him, waiting for his move. He could smell Brad Taylor on her and it made him furious. She would be punished for betraying him tonight.

  But not now. Now all he wanted was to lose himself in her body. He mounted her, reclaiming what was his, and entered her, savoring her soft whimpers. He moved inside of her, thrilling at the feel of her body and the helpless sounds of pleasure she made. She delighted in every thrust and the way he held her against him as he made them one in flesh again.

  He had absolute power over her, no matter what she told herself. Chanel was still very much his slave. His mate.

  Chapter Twelve:

  Confrontation

  The morning light seemed especially bright to Chanel as it reflected off the blanket of snow. But why the hell was she outside? Why was she naked? The man lying next to her wore no clothes, either. Who was he? What the hell happened last night?

  Images of two wolves humping in the darkness ran through her memory and it all came back to her when she sat up and beheld the man’s face with a horrified gasp. “Lucius.”

  His shameless grin matched the carnal glimmer in his eyes. “Chanel.”

  “Oh my god!” She scooted over a couple of inches in the snow, gaping at him.

  Her bare ass wasn’t freezing where it sat in the
snow, so she supposed the lycan genes she’d acquired from Lucius’s bite must have granted her the propensity to regulate her body temperature in conditions of extreme cold.

  He sat up with her, looking far better than he should to her given the disturbing knowledge she possessed about his true character, or lack of it.

  “What happened?”

  He winked at her, dragging a finger lightly up her arm. “Oh, I think you already know the answer to that.”

  “Don’t touch me!” She flew to her feet, burying her face in her hands. Oh, this was bad. “Oh, god! How did this happen?”

  “Would you like me to explain it to you?” he sassed with traces of amusement in his tone.

  “No. This isn’t happening. We’re not doing this. You had your chance with me and you lost it. What the hell are you even doing here?” She prayed to God that no one had seen them together last night or this morning.

  “I came here to be with you. I’ve missed you, princess.”

  The look in his pale blue eyes seemed to harbor sincerity, though he was a skilled con artist. She shook her head frantically, refusing to acknowledge that this had really happened between them. “No. It doesn’t work like that, Lucius. You ripped my heart out and destroyed my life. Do you have any idea how long it took to get over what you did to me? I spent years of my life feeling dead inside because of you. I’ve finally healed and have peace and now you want me back? Fuck you. You don’t get to get me back.”

  “You say you’ve healed and moved on, but you haven’t. I inherited some of your memories, Chanel, as I’m sure you will become familiar with mine as well. I know you’re pregnant.”

  Chanel froze and stared at him, feeling sick inside. His threatening eyes and sadistic smile made her nauseated.

  “Oh, yes. I know you’re trying desperately to replace the son you lost, but you can’t, Chanel. No matter how many children you have to try and fill that void Trevor left inside of you, they’ll never be him. And no matter how experienced Brad may be as a Dom, he’ll never own you the way I do.”

  Her eyes narrowed and she stomped toward him, partly to retrieve the pile of her clothes and shoes which were lying next to him, and partially to slap him across his smug, arrogant face. “You unconscionable son of a bitch. Who do you think you are?”

  He looked at her seriously. “I’m your Master, Chanel.”

  “Not anymore.” Her heart quickened when he caught her by the arms and pulled her onto his lap, straddling him. The feel of his body against hers proved stirring and it pissed her off that she wanted him even as she hated him. It had to be the confounded mating heat. She would never take him back or let him touch her if she wasn’t under this damned shifter curse.

  “Your tongue may deny me, but your body never will. I could flip you over on your back in a heartbeat and I’d have you hot and ready and begging me to fuck you.”

  “Yeah, and it only took a mind-altering bite to get me that way,” she quipped.

  Lucius smiled, smoothing his palms up and down her arms as he admired her exposed body. “The supernatural ties we now share are a godsend, but the effects are enhanced all the more when the claimed individual has residual feelings for their mate.”

  Chanel pried herself away from his light grasp on her. “I don’t have any residual feelings for you.”

  He handed her clothes to her and watched her dress with apparent desire. “You might want to stay away from the Taylors for a while.”

  “Are you threatening me?”

  His smile looked sinister. “Not at all. It’s just that one of them might have been out walking a little while ago and happened across us lying naked together while you were sleeping.”

  Her jaw dropped in shock and she tried to sift through his eyes for the truth. “I don’t believe you.”

  Lucius grinned. “That’s your choice, but once you see how devastated he is over seeing you with another man, you’ll believe me.”

  Her heart felt heavy and her eyes closed. “Which brother was it?”

  His countenance was aglow with amusement and victory. “Do you really want to know?”

  She didn’t. She would hate herself no matter which of them she ended up hurting. Chanel finished dressing with haste. “Tell me.”

  His expression became evil and smug. “Dawson Taylor.”

  A spasm of unbearable pain ruptured in her heart and her eyes burned with self-loathing and regret. Dawson was the sweetest of the Taylor brothers and certainly the most tender and sensitive. He was her first love and she was his. The thought of him suffering because of her was unthinkable.

  “God damn you. So help me if I ever see your face again, I swear to God I will kill you,” she vowed tearfully before turning and trudging away through the snow as best as she could in her stilettos.

  * * * *

  Cory walked through the large house, emptying the waste baskets into a trash bag. His thoughts were on Chanel. They never should’ve sent her away. He missed her terribly and couldn’t sleep at night, knowing they’d probably hurt her feelings.

  She was theirs regardless of whatever little mishap occurred between her and some shape-shifter in Vegas. She was meant to be with them. There had to be some loophole for an accidental mating to a man she was never meant to be with. They would find a way around it. They had to. He couldn’t live without her and he damned sure couldn’t bear the thought of her with someone else.

  Brad came down the hall, having apparently just woken up.

  “You’re up early,” Cory told him, heading into the bathroom to empty the waste basket in there.

  “I couldn’t sleep. I keep thinking about Chanel. We made a mistake in sending her away.”

  “Yeah, I know what you mean. I can’t get her off my mind, either.”

  “She came into the club last night.”

  Cory raised his brows at this as he reached for the waste basket. “Seriously?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What did she do?”

  “Danced and flirted with a bunch of men to piss me off.”

  Cory chuckled. “Vindictive little spitfire. I guess it serves us right after the way we treated her.”

  “She went into one of the private rooms with Judah Shaughnessy and Logan Weston.”

  “What?” Cory dumped the contents of the basket onto the floor. “What the crap was she doing with them? If she can’t handle what we want from her, she damned sure can’t take their insane kink. And why the fuck was she messing around with them? Tell me you killed them before they touched her.”

  “They didn’t touch her. She changed her mind and ran out of the room before they undressed.”

  “She better have. I’m gonna give those deviant bastards a piece of my mind the next time I see them.”

  “They handcuffed her and she freaked out.”

  “She did that when you tied her up, too. What’s her problem with bondage? She acts like she’s about to be murdered whenever anyone tries to bind her.”

  “That’s what I’d like to know. I think she’s dabbled into BDSM before. I think somebody hurt her once, possibly a Dom, or some psycho posing as one.”

  “Well, that would explain her fear of the lifestyle, but it still doesn’t explain her aversion to shape-shifters.”

  “I’m still working on that one.”

  Cory heard the front door slam and assumed Dawson was home. “How was church, bro?”

  “You!” Dawson’s voice drew nearer as he approached the hall and he seemed to be speaking to Brad. “It’s all your fault.”

  Brad looked confused. “Excuse me?”

  “I had her first and she was sweet and innocent. Then I agreed to share her with you two and you had the nerve to slur her and throw her out.” Dawson sounded pissed.

  “It was a mistake, but I’m going over to reconcile with her later,” Brad assured him.

  “Don’t bother. She’s already moved on.”

  Cory paused from picking up used Kleenexes off the floor and glanc
ed up at his brothers. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean she’s found a new lover.”

  Brad’s eyes flashed with rage. “What?”

  “Was it Judah and Logan?” Cory clenched his fists.

  “No. I found her naked with some man I’ve never seen before in the woods this morning. She was asleep in his arms, but the man was awake. The asshole looked pretty darned happy that I’d happened across them.”

  Brad shook his head in disbelief, appearing angry and devastated. “I told her last night I wanted to start over.”

  Dawson shot him a look of disgust. “Oh, shut up. I can’t believe God gave me another chance with her and you ruined it for me. Thanks a lot.”

  “Where are you going?” Cory called after him.

  “To the gym,” he barked, slamming the front door behind him.

  “The gym. He must really be hurting.” Brad shook his head. “I don’t know whether to be pissed off at her for being a little skank after I tried to apologize, or to be disgusted with myself for driving her to it. This is all my fault.”

  “It’s my fault, too,” Cory admitted sadly, blinking back the strange wetness gathering in his eyes. “She said the mating was an accident and I never gave her a chance to explain. I was just so jealous, you know.”

  Brad dragged his hand down his face in frustration. “This situation gets uglier and uglier the longer it drags on.”

  Cory thought for sure he must be seeing things when he picked up what looked like a pregnancy test off the floor amidst the trash he’d spilled. “Holy shit.”

  Brad seemed to be in his own little bubble. “I’m so tired of fighting the woman I was meant to be with. I just want to put a ring on her and make a life with her.”

  “Well, you’re halfway there,” Cory said, staring down at the results window on the test.

  “Is that what I think it is?”

  “It’s a pregnancy test.” He looked up at Brad, who appeared just as caught off guard as he was. “It’s positive.”

  * * * *

  Chanel climbed the stairs to her apartment, feeling sick to her stomach. She’d blamed her men for screwing up their chance for happiness by spurning her when they saw her bite mark, but now she was the one who’d blown it.