“I thought you were going to pass out.” His tongue flicked over her throat. “Tell me what you’re feeling.”
What kind of question was that? Wasn’t that going to slow things down, kill the mood? She started to protest that this wasn’t him dominating her, but he cut her off by inserting a finger inside of her again. This time, he flicked his thumb over her clit and her whole body arched, a cry bursting from her throat. Philip kept that up, making her legs shake and that delicious tightness wind so deep she thought she might snap before stopping entirely.
“Don’t,” she panted, reaching for him.
“Then answer the question.”
Lizzie stared at him. “Question?”
“How are you feeling?”
“I feel…” she didn’t have words for it. “Amazing.”
Philip nodded, as though that was what he wanted to hear. He slid his fingers in and out of her again, then nodded again. “I’m going to take you now.”
Her stomach clenched with anticipation, and she moaned in reply.
He moved her to her belly, the rough planks biting into her soft skin. She might end up with splinters in the morning, but she really didn’t care. Right now, all she cared about was one of his arms coming beneath her hips, lifting her slightly, while the other pressed between her shoulders, keeping her down.
Her heart pounded and she turned, trying to watch, but she couldn’t twist far enough. His thumb returned to her clit, making her tremble again, already far beyond the point she had ever been able to get herself. She cried out as he pushed into her, slowly, stretching her with every inch. There was a sting, but nothing like she had imagined. It was more pressure than anything else.
The sound of the waves breaking against the dock blended with Philip’s pants and her own cries. She rocked her hips, trying to get closer and pull away, while his thrusts grew in strength and depth. There was pain now, true pain, but it only served to heighten the pleasure coursing through her as his thumb moved over her clit. The moon became a silver blur in the sky.
Everything faded away except for her and him, their bodies joined. His hand tightened on her shoulder as she pushed herself from the dock, and he pushed her back down. Then he was over her, still thrusting into her as his mouth moved over her shoulders, her neck, his teeth marking her pale skin. Everything inside of her seemed like it was on fire as she cried out, again and again, begging for release.
When he finally gave it to her, all the strength seemed to leave her body. She lay on the dock, panting, breathless, her lips parted slightly as she sucked in great lungfuls of air. So that was it, was it? That was what an orgasm was?
As he slowly withdrew from her, his exit more painful than his entry, Lizzie dug her fingers into the dock. She ached all over but the only thought that went through her mind was a question—when could she do that again?
Chapter Five
When Lizzie woke in her own bed, sunlight streaming onto her face, the only thing she had to remind her of what happened the previous night was her memories—and the aches throbbing in her body. Philip was nowhere to be seen.
At first, she was confused about how she had even gotten back to her room. Then she remembered; after their time on the dock, Philip had carried her to the side of the lake, to lay her down among the grass and softer dirt there. He had checked her over for splinters, then retrieved her ruined bikini and used it to clean her up the best he could. He’d then taken her into the lake, so the cool water could soothe her battered body, and talked gently as she floated in his arms.
He hadn’t taken her again, even when she asked him to. “That was plenty for your first time. I don’t want to have to take you to the hospital because we went overboard.”
The ache between her legs had convinced her he was right. So she had laid her head on his shoulder, and let herself drift off. She had woken briefly when he carried her into the cabin but had quickly gone back to sleep.
Now as she lay in her bed, naked and feeling exposed to the whole world for what she had done the previous night, she couldn’t stop a sense of… was it shame?... welling in her.
Bethany’s clear, high voice rang through the door. “But go fish is boring. I want to play poker! We can use chocolate chips instead of the poker circles.”
Lizzie sat up, grimacing as the movement informed her that she had been bruised in more places than one, and glanced around, hoping there might be some clothing on the floor waiting for her. Her nightgown was on the chair she had left it on, but right now that seemed like scant protection. As she remembered Philip pounding into her, heat swelled in her throbbing parts, and shame built so tight in her chest she could hardly breathe.
So that was it. After all these years of holding back, waiting for the right man, she threw it all away. What was she supposed to feel now? The previous night there had been nothing but satisfaction and desire. What had seemed so hot beneath the silver moon had now cooled beneath the golden sun. What had she been thinking?
Moving carefully, to avoid straining her hurting limbs, Lizzie dressed. Her bra rubbed against her breasts, reminding her of how Philip had squeezed them with his hands. The straps bit into the mark left behind as he had bit into her shoulder. Her hands began to tremble as every action came back to her. She had wanted it so badly. And it had been everything that she dreamed of.
Dreams were different from reality, though. What she had done couldn’t be erased by turning over and going to sleep. It was real. She wasn’t a virgin. She had given herself to Philip King, and now he owned that bit of her. Were the memories worth it?
Her breathing started to grow shallow as she pressed a hand to her chest, every image from the previous night burning into her mind. That shame was there, but why was she ashamed? That was what she couldn’t figure out. Whether it was because she thought she ought to have done it differently, or if she was ashamed of herself for not feeling ashamed—at least, not ashamed the previous night; not ashamed for what she had done.
“You’re too young for poker,” Philip was saying, and she remembered Bethany’s declaration.
A frantic giggle started to build in Lizzie’s chest. What if Bethany had woken up the previous night? What if she had seen that? They should have been more careful. What if some paparazzi had somehow managed to find out where they were? She was always so careful, always making sure that nobody could accuse her of wrongdoing, always making sure that she did the right thing. Always in control.
So why had she lost control so badly last night? Why had she let herself get so carried away? And not with just any random man, either… it was Philip King! A member of the mafia. The man she was trying to eject from her dating agency. A criminal. Just yesterday she had told him that he was a murderer, a drug pusher, and who knew what else. All she had was his word that the man that had been at his house when she walked in to find a dead body had been there to kill him.
Lizzie sucked in a deep breath, forcing her racing thoughts to stop. She panicked like this after she had first moved to New York, too. It was just what she did; after making such a big change, taking such a big step, she panicked and thought about all the things she ought to have done differently. Usually, she distracted herself by working. Getting things under control and in their proper place. Lacing up those strings nice and tight.
Only today, she had nothing to do, except think.
“Don’t be stupid,” she scolded herself. “There is plenty to do. I just have to find it. We’ve got acres of forest around here; maybe I ought to start cleaning up the scrub brush. Take out the dead stuff to reduce the risk of fires.”
Yeah. And if that wasn’t good enough, she could move all the appliances in the house and give the floors and walls a good, solid scrub. Her hands stopped shaking as she finished dressing, then smirked as she remembered the desperation that had come over her the previous night. Boy, had she been needy! If she didn’t know better, having grown up with shifters and being part shifter herself, she would have thought there w
as truth in the stereotype that they give off pheromones that are impossible to resist. That was certainly how she had felt the previous night. That if she didn’t have King, she was going to shrivel up and die.
He was very persuasive when he wanted to be. She could hear from the kitchen that he had already convinced Bethany that Go Fish was a perfectly reasonable alternative to poker—how had the little girl learned poker in the first place?
Calmer now, Lizzie brushed her fingers through her hair and strode into the kitchen. Bethany greeted her with a giant smile and a wave as she bounced over to her. “Guess what?”
“What?”
“I am going to go swimming today!” Bethany puffed herself up as though she hadn’t been going swimming every day since they had arrived. “And then Daddy and I are going into town, and we’re going to get some new books. These books are boring, and he won’t let me play poker. We have to play go fish and if I win, then I can stay up alllll night tonight and eat ice cream.”
“Going into town?” Lizzie’s smile faded slightly. After the big fuss he’d made over her going into town?
She lifted her gaze to Philip, who smiled in a cocky way. When he winked, heat swelled through her; her lady parts throbbed, and not just from pain. She pushed that aside, though, focusing on Philip. She couldn’t ask outright, not with Bethany right here, but why was he risking going into town over books? It’s not like they even read the ones that were here… Bethany was always so exhausted after running around all day that she was out after only one story.
“I’ll come with you,” Lizzie said, stepping toward the stove where a dirty pan sat.
“We’ll pick up whatever you need, too,” Philip told her. “Don’t worry about it, we’ll be back soon. You haven’t even had breakfast yet.”
Her heart started beating faster. Her shoulders tensed, even though she tried to keep her expression smooth and without any sort of suspicion there. Philip’s gaze remained on her face, and from the way his smile stiffened, he knew.
He was going to leave. He was going to strand her here, leave her to either wait and hope someone found her—which they wouldn’t because nobody knew about this place—or make her way through the forest back to civilization. It was a four-hour drive through utter wilderness, almost three hundred miles. She could average about 3.2 miles per hour. That was just under a hundred hours to go three hundred miles. Even if she started first thing in the morning and walked to dusk, she would have to sleep outside. Where the bears and wolves and cougars would be waiting to pounce on her and tear her limb from limb… or for any number of his associates to make her disappear.
She should have called Varton and Melodi. She should have refused to come out here and went straight to the police. She could have hired that dragon shifter, Dane Hemmerick, to protect her—if he wasn’t too busy trying to track down that vampire that had made the news lately. What was his name? Isaac Fisher? But that wasn’t worth thinking about. Right now, she had to make sure Philip didn’t abandon her out here.
But for Bethany’s sake, she said none of it aloud.
“I can be ready in five minutes.” She grinned, wider than necessary, and looked down at Bethany. If Philip could use her to ensure that Lizzie didn’t cause trouble or talk too much about what she had seen, then she could use her to make sure she didn’t get left behind. “I think it would be wonderful if the three of us went to dinner. Where do you want to go, Bethany? I’ll take you anywhere you want.”
“Yay!” Bethany clapped her hands and danced on the spot, a satisfied smirk on her face. “See?” she turned to Philip. “Lizzie does want to come. And I want to go for dinner!”
Philip’s smile didn’t seem nearly so charming now. His eyes seemed to glitter as he stared at Lizzie. When Bethany tugged his arm, though, he turned his gaze back to his daughter. Lizzie held her breath, wondering what he was going to do now. If he tried to keep her here, she could kick up quite a bit of fuss, or even tell Bethany exactly what was going to happen…
Only she wouldn’t do that. Make a fuss, yes, refuse to be left behind, yes. But tell Bethany? No. That would only hurt her, and Lizzie wasn’t going to do anything to hurt the little girl. The world was a scary place already, and the last thing Bethany needed was to start being afraid of her father.
“I guess we can wait for you to grab your things,” Philip said, his smile softening again. “And dinner out does sound good.”
“Yay!” Bethany clapped her hands and rushed for the mudroom. “I’ll put on my shoes.”
As soon as she was gone, Lizzie stepped closer to Philip. Her voice pitched lower as she snapped out, harsh and accusing, “You were going to leave me here!”
Philip opened his mouth, his brow furrowed. Then understanding lit his eyes and they widened. “Not like that!” He was so shocked that Lizzie felt some of her own certainty that he was going to leave her behind to starve or get killed starting to trickle away. He shook his head, stepping a little closer. “I thought that after last night, you were going to need some time to recover. I wanted to take Bethany out so that we could talk about… well…”
Lizzie nodded, prompting him to go on. Then dread filled her. “She didn’t see anything, did she?”
“No,” Philip assured her swiftly. “But this morning she asked me why I smelled so much like you. Her senses are starting to get really sharp. I need to be able to discuss this with her. But I can do that later. It’s actually good for you to come with us. I’ve got to make a phone call and—”
“Dad,” Bethany shouted as she raced back into the kitchen. One shoe was on and she danced on the spot, a wide smile on her face. “Uncle Kavan is here!”
A nameless dread filled Lizzie at that. Nobody was supposed to know where they were. Nobody was supposed to be able to find this place… Philip looked alarmed as he followed Bethany out. Lizzie came last, her heart slamming against her ribs. And when she stepped out onto the porch, she saw him. The man that Philip claimed had been trying to kill him.
He was walking toward the house, a blue Malibu behind him. The door was still open. A grim expression was on his face, but it broke into a big smile as Bethany rushed down the well-worn path and threw herself into his arms. Uncle Kavan.
Her neck prickled as she turned to look at Philip. His gaze was straight ahead, brow furrowed. She couldn’t breathe, fear and betrayal stealing the air from her lungs.
***
It was plain to see what Lizzie thought.
If Philip had had more time, he would have explained to her that it wasn’t what she was thinking. That this wasn’t a setup, he hadn’t brought her out here just so it would be easier to kill her. He understood why she would think that, especially in the current circumstances, but he didn’t have the time to reassure her. Especially when he didn’t know what it was that Kavan had come here to say… and if he might be turned into a liar, since he had promised Lizzie safety. Right now, telling her the truth seemed very important. He didn’t know why.
“Go back inside,” he told her softly. When she didn’t move, still staring at him with that accusation in her eyes, he sighed. “Take Bethany back inside. Please.”
Lizzie jumped, as though just remembering about Bethany. Even though her face was paler than Philip had ever seen it, she nodded and called out, “Bethany, sweetheart, I can’t find my purse. Can you come help me?”
Her voice shook despite a valiant effort. Philip strode to meet Kavan and Bethany reluctantly tore herself away to bound back into the cabin to help Lizzie. Philip only hoped that Bethany would stay interested in the search long enough for him and Kavan to have a proper talk. As soon as his daughter was gone, Philip let out a soft snarl. He hadn’t told Kavan where they were going; they had cellphones for when they needed to contact each other. So what was so damn important that he’d come all the way out here instead of just calling?
Kavan’s expression became grim again, and he stopped where he was, waiting for Philip to join him. He lifted his hands at Philip�
�s furious expression. To his surprise, Philip felt his wolf growling and pacing in his chest. The way it did when there was a chance that Bethany was in danger. Was it picking up on something that he wasn’t?
“I’ve brought a message for you,” Kavan said, glancing over Philip’s shoulder at the cabin. “The Godfather knows what you’re doing. He’s nervous about how much time you’re spending with a cop’s friend and isn’t happy with how you decided to deal with this.”
Philip bristled. “And how did he find out about it in the first place?”
“I was called before him,” Kavan hissed under his breath. “I was asked directly. Was I supposed to lie? I’ll do a lot of things for a friend but dying ain’t one of them. I told him what you said, that you were going to figure out a different way. But he’s not happy. He says you should have gone to him yourself, before you came up with this harebrained scheme.”
Philip’s hands clenched and unclenched as he waited for what he knew was to come. His wolf snarled in his chest.
“He says that if you’re not back in the city by tonight and the broad taken care of—”
“She’s Lizzie Hendrix,” Philip interrupted with an audible snarl this time. “Like you said, a cop’s friend. If we ice her, we’ll be bringing hell down on our heads.”
“I know!” Kavan ran a hand through his dark hair, agitation shining in his dark eyes. “I know, and I told him that. I explained everything, saying that you were only thinking about the family and keeping Varton Kirk off our backs. But that’s not good enough for him.”
Philip snarled as he stepped closer, raising a fist.
“You think I like this?” Kavan glowered at him. A growl rose in his own throat. “You think I like the idea of having to kill an innocent woman? It’s against my creed, too… you know it is. But when it comes down to it… if we don’t obey a direct order like this, we’re both dead. And what about Bethany?”
The mention of his daughter made Philip flinch. He dug his hands in his hair, his mind whirling. How could he get out of this one? He thought of last night, of how sweet and submissive Lizzie had been, and how loudly she had cried out for him. The way she had given him all she was, how she’d held nothing back. That pleased smile on her face as her head rested on his shoulder.
The Wolf’s Surprise Babies Page 6
