“She does.”
It took a moment for Lizzie to recover from the blast of guilt that accompanied a shiver of fear at Philip’s snarl. She swallowed hard and jutted her chin out, shoving her emotions to the side. If she was going to be stuck here with him, then the least she could do was speak her mind. Right? “If that was true, you wouldn’t be her father.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” The warning was clear in Philip’s eyes.
Lizzie ignored it. “If you really cared about her more than anything else, you would have given her up long ago. Rather than keeping her in such a dangerous life when people could go after her to get to you at any moment.”
She expected the increased anger in his eyes. She didn’t expect the flash of pain as he stepped back. At first, she thought he was going to turn on his heel and walk away. And maybe he would have, if not for the challenging look on her face still. He stared at her hard for a second before he stepped in close again, pressing his hands to either side of the table as he backed her into it, and glared down at her.
“Don’t presume to know me, Lizzie Hendrix. All you have is your judgment from the outside looking in. Bethany means more to me than anything else. She is my life. She is my sanity and my humanity.”
Lizzie opened her mouth to say he wasn’t human, he was a shifter, but he didn’t let her.
“Don’t you dare think that because I kept her, because I didn’t give her up even though everybody was telling me to, that means I don’t love her. You think I don’t know that she’d be better off without me? If she had parents who owned some giant ranch where she could work hard and play hard and have so much room to run around in that she couldn’t imagine any other life?”
A haunted look came to his face as he spoke. He still pressed her against the table, their bodies inches from each other. Her heart hammered wildly, her skin starting to tingle again. What the hell was wrong with her? As she stared up in his face, she could hardly hear his words, her mind stubbornly returning to that kiss again… and again… and again…
“If I had given her up for adoption, I knew exactly where she’d end up. The family has its fingers in every pie, even adoption agencies. They’d have snatched her up in a heartbeat. Her mother was a strong wolf shifter, too, one of the favorites in the family. They would have taken her daughter and made her raise her, even though she wanted nothing to do with our child.”
Lizzie’s throat ran dry as the implications settled in her mind. “Is she… still alive?”
Philip’s jaw clenched. “Yes. She doesn’t want anything to do with us. She didn’t want anything to do with me before, either. But she was ordered. I was trying to leave the family and was still valuable enough for them to want to keep. So, she did as she was commanded, and it was only after I had Bethany and couldn’t leave without risking her that I found out the truth. You see, that’s what happens. We’re born belonging to them and we belong to them, body, mind, and soul until we die. All I can do is try to stop that from happening to Bethany. Right now, I’m valuable enough… or at least I was…”
What could she say to that? Lizzie pressed a hand to his chest again, trying to think of something comforting to say.
“And you,” he said, his gaze burning into her eyes again. “What were you doing at my house that day?”
What was she…? Oh. “I was… about the agency.”
“Agency?”
“The dating agency. I was going to ask you to withdraw.”
Anger flared in his eyes. What was he so angry about? She had made it clear in the week since they’d been here that she wanted him out of her agency. She had even talked to him about it, seeing nothing else to talk about. He’d already agreed to pull his membership, although with such an eye-roll it had made her blood boil. Now here he was, furious at her for going to his house for that same thing?
The anger twisted his face into a supercilious smile, a leer that made her stomach twist. “Ah, I see. So, you’re weeding out the undesirables. The people who would give your little agency a less than perfect reputation.”
Her cheeks flared. That was completely unfair! She shoved him away again, fighting to keep her voice low. When was Bethany going to grow bored waiting for her father and come in looking for the promised stories? They needed to put a stop to this. But Lizzie found herself not wanting to back down. With all the fear she had been feeling for the past week, it was a relief to finally have anger that she could throw into his face, too. Something to feel besides that gut-wrenching fear.
“What if I am? What if I don’t want criminals to be in my dating agency? You lied on your application; I could sue you for infringing the terms of use. I was hoping that it could be taken care of quietly.”
“Oh, it’s quiet all right. Don’t want to ruin the reputation of your agency and prevent shifters from finding their true loves.” He sneered. “How many dates have you been on through it?”
Her jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”
“I’m guessing… ten?” he grinned cruelly at her. “All first dates, I’d wager.”
She glowered at him. “Are you saying this because of my weight?”
“Weight?” He let his gaze trail down her body. “If you mean curves, those would earn you at least three days. No. I’m talking about your personality.”
“You don’t know anything about me!”
“And you don’t know anything about me.”
Without warning, he had seized her wrist. He spun her around effortlessly and had her bent over the table before she knew what was happening. Her heart leapt, her skin tingled and her stomach tightened. As he pressed her there, like a shoplifter about to be frisked by a cop, she knew she should be afraid. Maybe some small part of her was. But she knew he wasn’t going to do anything—and perhaps some part of her was disappointed at that. Perhaps the larger part of her hoped he would, and that was why she didn’t fight his grip.
“You don’t know anything about me,” Philip repeated. “If I’m such a terrible, terrible person, then why did I bring you out here with us? Why did I promise you that I wasn’t going to let any harm come to you? If I’m the sort of person you think I am, it would be far wiser to give you cement shoes and toss you in the lake. Or perhaps you think that’s too cliché. Maybe you’d rather I just—"
Lizzie bucked, belatedly trying to free herself. All that it accomplished was that her ass pushed against him; his size made her gasp, but he was soft, not threatening. Philip gripped her wrist tighter and his second hand wrapped around her throat.
What would he think if he knew about the tingling that swept through her? The desire?
God, what is wrong with me?
“You think the worst of me, don’t you? A criminal. You don’t think I’m just some person who breaks the law. You think I break the worst of them. Don’t you?”
It was true. When she pictured the worst of the worst in the mafia, she saw his face. At least, she had until about a week ago.
“You think I’m a murderer, a drug pusher, a kidnapper, a sex trafficker, and a rapist.”
“Sex traffickers are rapists, in a way.” Her voice came out hoarse and trembling.
He must have thought it was from fear because he released her. Lizzie straightened, rubbing her wrist, which was a little sore though she hadn’t noticed that when he was holding her. Her pulse beat in her neck as she turned. Could he see the desire in her eyes? She was more embarrassed about that than anything else. Ever since she first started discovering sex, she had had the fantasy to be physically dominated. To be taken rough, like a wild animal.
Maybe that was one of the reasons why she had always refused to have sex before this.
Philip stared down at her for another long moment, something warring in his gaze. Was that regret? Lust? Was her own reaction to his actions confusing him? Or did he think she was afraid? She wished she could ask him, but to admit such frailty aloud… Surely she didn’t really want this, right? It was just the situation, her body goi
ng into overdrive, the desire to feel something other than fear.
“That’s what you think I am, isn’t it?” There was a tremble in his voice. “You think I’m a rapist.”
“I… I never thought that… exactly.” She flinched at her own answer. “I mean… I mean I was nervous when we first came here. But that’s not because of you, it’s just that… well… a girl can’t be too careful.”
“If I was the man you thought I was, you wouldn’t be a virgin anymore.” He stepped back from her, disappointment in his eyes.
Had he really hoped she would say that she didn’t think the worse of him? He was a criminal, for crying out loud! Was she supposed to think that he was some saintly person when she knew he was part of the mafia? Anger welled in her again. What right did he have to judge her for not wanting anything to do with a known criminal?
“I just said I didn’t think that you were a rapist,” she snapped back. “But the rest of it? Yeah. Yeah, you are. A murderer. A thief. A drug pusher. Why would I think any differently?”
He seized her again, pressing her into the counter as he snarled. And heat swelled through her body, making her nearly wild with desire.
Chapter Three
Her fist pounded into the counter, a cry of frustration bursting from her throat. Philip jumped, panting. As he pressed against her now, she could feel the swelling in his pants. She knew that this should be terrifying. That she should find it all off-putting. Not want him to bend her over again and fuck her right there in the kitchen without any buildup or foreplay. Not even a kiss to get things started.
Or maybe that was her problem. Because she had gotten a kiss, and it had gotten things started far too well.
Philip’s gaze had darkened. The anger that had filled them had filtered away, leaving pure desire behind. How he could go from being so angry with her to being so desirous, she didn’t know. Or maybe it was still just herself that she wasn’t understanding. She shook her head as Philip’s grip on her hips softened. He ground himself against her, bending closer. But he didn’t kiss her. Not this time.
“Step back,” Lizzie ordered, but the order sounded more like a plea. And no wonder. If he didn’t step back, then chances were she wasn’t going to have the strength to push him away. “I can’t do this. We can’t do this.”
“I’m already halfway there. We could—”
“No.”
Philip made a grunting noise as he pulled back a little. He moved slowly, as though waiting for her to change her mind. Lizzie bit her lip hard enough that it hurt, holding in the words she longed to say.
It wasn’t as though she had never had the opportunity before. Lizzie had had plenty of boyfriends. Or at least, dates. Actual boyfriends never seemed to last longer than a couple months, and sex was always at the heart of the issues between them. She just wanted to make sure that she actually cared before giving into hormones.
She had never had a battle this strong before—maybe she needed to adjust who she dated—but that didn’t mean she was going to give in. She was a grown woman, not a pile of hormones, and she wasn’t going to give her first time to someone she didn’t even like, for God’s sake!
“I don’t want you near me like this,” she told him, making her voice firmer.
Philip grasped her wrists again and pressed them to the counter. “Like this, then? Or you’d rather be on the floor?”
Okay, that was just getting annoying. Lizzie shook her head, trying to dredge up some outrage. “Don’t split hairs. I said no. That means no.”
“Alright.” Philip sounded doubtful as he released her hands. When he took a step back, Lizzie couldn’t stop a moan of disappointment, and she found herself leaning forward, her gaze flickering to his mouth. He paused and rose an eyebrow at her. “What were you just saying about no?”
She glared at him. “I still mean no. Bethany could come back in here at any moment. Is this something you want her to see?”
Philip stepped back again, an extra-long step to put even more distance between them. A chill rose on Lizzie’s arms, as though those extra few inches were why she was so much colder now. Her gaze flickered once more to that perfect mouth and the promises that his lips kept in. This was going to be more difficult than she thought. But, with effort, she pulled herself away from gazing at his mouth and glanced at the salad she had been making.
Right now, even with the chill on her arms, what sounded nice was a good, cold plunge into the lake. To shake out these feelings and the thoughts lingering under her skin. She trembled as she turned back, grabbing the knife and roughly cutting the cucumber.
Was this symbolic? The thought made her stifle a giggle. Philip was still right there as he made himself a sandwich. Neither of them said anything, both trying to concentrate on their task and ignore the electricity still pulsing in the room.
Philip washed the silverware he’d been using and picked up his sandwich. Before he left, though, he turned back to her. Her hand stilled, looking up at him with breathless anticipation even as she scolded herself for being so taken in. She didn’t want the agency to be all about sex, and yet here she was, on fire for a man she barely knew.
Not that she was the agency, but sometimes it was hard to make that distinction.
“Listen,” he said, his voice low as he met her gaze. “I know I said that I wanted sex and that’s why I signed up with your agency. But it’s not like I went out of my way to find women looking for their forever mates and deliberately fucked them over.”
Lizzie’s cheeks went red at his language and a protesting squeak emitted from her throat. He ignored her protest, though. His knuckles whitened on the plate he was holding as he glared at the floor. Why was he even telling her this? He’d already agreed to withdraw, and his behavior with the agency wasn’t half as damning as his criminal background.
“I just gave them what they wanted,” he continued, his voice low. “And maybe that’s not what I was looking for. Maybe I want to be more than a breeding stud to them… but with my life, it’s not like I can offer anything else.”
Lizzie opened her mouth but didn’t speak. What was there to say after a confession like that? She didn’t even know if he was telling the truth or trying to make up for the embarrassment of her rejecting him. It sounded sincere, though, and so she couldn’t accuse him of lying. And didn’t she want to build the agency in part because of the over-sexualization of shifters in media? It wasn’t just Hollywood’s problem. Lots of people on the street thought the same thing.
And his final comment… that it was all he could offer women… that wasn’t what he really thought, was it?
“Sometimes,” he continued, and this time his gaze slowly moved down her body in a way that made her cheeks flush and her core tighten again. “Sometimes I like to get what I want, too. Sometimes I like to be the one calling all the shots.”
“Only sometimes?” she managed to choke out. She meant to sound scornful, but it came out breathless.
A smirk crossed his face. “Alright. Most times. So… when you change your mind—”
“I won’t,” she exploded on instinct, even before her brain registered his words.
“When you change your mind,” he repeated, lowering his voice into a soft, seductive lilt that threatened to break her resolve, “I’ll be waiting to kiss every one of curves. Because I think you’ve got a kink that you need worked out. You might find you don’t like it when it gets into actual practice, and there aren’t a lot of men who would let you figure that out in a safe environment… But I have some experience in these matters and can assure you that you’d enjoy every inch.”
Lizzie’s hand tightened on the knife. Good God, why didn’t he just walk out the door already? She had already reminded him that he had a five-year-old daughter that could walk in on them. “Bethany is going to be getting bored,” she blurted. “You promised to read to her. You better get out of here and go find her before she gets into trouble.”
“Bethany is sleeping. Bet she
didn’t even finish her sandwich.”
“And how do you know that?”
“I can hear her snores.” He winked at her. “We did a lot of running earlier… she’s exhausted. And let me tell you, she sleeps like the dead. As long as we stayed in here—”
Lizzie made a choked noise of protest in her throat. “Just get out of here already.”
He grinned, and whatever softening she had during his confession hardened back and she waved the knife at him threateningly. That only seemed to amuse him, though, and it was no wonder why. After all, he was part of the mafia and she was still wearing the torn pantyhose that she’d been wearing when he saved her life from that man who was trying to kill him.
“When you change your mind,” he stated for the third time, and the repetition could have been a spell because her annoyance faded as desire flared again. Of course, that only made her more annoyed again, but more at herself than at him. He seemed to understand because his grin widened even further. “Let me know. You’re just the kind of sweet curvy virgin I’ve been craving lately.”
Her jaw dropped and her face turned so red that it was a wonder that her nose didn’t start bleeding. “What? How did you know?”
“That you’re a virgin?”
Lizzie couldn’t even confirm.
He laughed and winked. The insufferable, sexy asshole! “Lucky guess. But let me know when you decide to let that freak fly, Lizzie. I’ll be waiting.”
He was gone before she could formulate a proper response. She was left standing there, the knife loose in her hand and a mix of embarrassment and desire warring within her. Oh, if only she could have come up with some snappy response that would have put him in his place right then and there! But of course, she had just stood there, gaping like a schoolgirl that had just seen her first nude man. Even now she was just standing there, not able to form a fully-developed thought.
The Wolf’s Surprise Babies Page 3
