He finished half his plate before he spoke. “I’m a skeptic. Always have been. But what I saw you do today, and what you apparently did before…I can’t explain it.” He looked into her eyes with a gaze so intense it pulled the breath from her lungs. “I also can’t explain the way I feel about you. The way you make me feel. But just because I can’t explain it, that doesn’t make it any less real.”
He smiled and reached for her hand across the table. “You’ve got magical powers. I can live with that.”
If he only knew the half of it. She smiled tentatively and gave his hand a squeeze.
“Since Macey has her own abilities, I take it this runs in the family?” He went back to eating like they were having the most normal conversation in the world.
“Something like that. You know Chase’s wife, Rain?”
He nodded. “The witch.”
“Her sister thinks we might be related, so that could be where it comes from.”
He shrugged. “Makes sense.”
“Does it?”
“Not really, but if I keep pretending it does, then maybe one day it will.”
He’d taken it so much better than she’d thought he would. The way Macey had made it sound, she’d expected him to put his hands over his ears and refuse to listen the moment the idea of magic got tossed into the conversation. Maybe learning about the werewolves wouldn’t turn his life completely upside down.
They finished dinner and walked hand-in-hand to Bryce’s apartment, making a wide berth around Karen’s front porch. She was nowhere to be seen. Thank God. That was another issue she’d have to address with him, but she’d save it for another day.
Once inside, they settled on the sofa, and she snuggled into his side as he draped his arm across her shoulders. She could get used to this feeling of belonging. Of finally being home.
He kissed the top of her head and held her tighter. “Are you really planning on leaving town tomorrow?”
She sat up to look at him, and the worry in his eyes tore at her heart. “Actually, I was planning on sticking around for a while, if that’s okay with you.”
The tension in his shoulders eased. “I’d like that very much.”
“I will be out of your hair soon, though. Luke offered me a job on his construction team, and his sister has a spare room she’s going to rent me.”
“You’re welcome to stay with me as long as you need to.” He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers. “As long as you want to. What made you decide to stay?”
A warm shiver raced up her spine at the tenderness in his eyes, in his touch. “I’m staying for you, Bryce. I…” She looked at their entwined fingers as her heart beat at a hummingbird’s pace. “Now that I’ve gotten to know you, I think I kinda like you.”
A look of confliction furrowed his brow, and he let out a slow breath. “You don’t really know me. Not the real me.”
“I think I do. You’re not the asshole I first thought you were.” She sighed. “Actually, I never really thought you were an asshole. Most assholes have game, and you’ve got none.” She winked and poked a finger at his stomach.
He shook his head. “There’s a lot you don’t know.”
Not the reaction she was expecting. She leaned away, narrowing her gaze. “Then tell me. Tell me everything I need to know…to know the real you.” She grinned slyly. “Because I’d like to know every inch of you.”
“Come with me.” His tone serious, he took her hand and pulled her off the sofa.
She followed him down the hall, past his bedroom, to a closed door. His hand rested on the knob. “You haven’t looked in this room, have you?”
She shook her head. “You keep it locked.”
“So you have tried?” He reached above the door and took a key from the trim.
Her pulse thrummed. Was it a sex dungeon? Or maybe a storage closet for his homemade taxidermy? She shivered. “I might have given the knob a twist the first time I was here alone. I figured it was an office or a home gym or something.”
“It is my office, but no one has been in this room but me. No one knows about this side of me but my mom, and she rarely remembers who I am anymore.” He squeezed her hand and pushed open the door.
Alexis held her breath as she stepped into the room. A large oak desk sat against the far wall beneath a window overlooking the back yard. Stacks of Sudoku puzzle books lay on either side of the laptop computer.
No torture devices. No dead animals. She released her breath.
Bookcases overflowing with paperbacks lined the walls to the right and left. He must’ve had more than a thousand books crammed into the small space. She fought the grin that tugged at her lips. Who would’ve guessed this sexy cop was really a nerd? “I was expecting whips and chains. Why do you keep it locked?”
He shrugged. “Karen and Michael come in to bring me food and take care of Sam. Even they don’t know this side of me.”
She ran her hand along the spines and stopped on a copy of George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones. “I’ve seen this show. It’s good.”
“The book is better.” He stepped behind her, so close his breath warmed the back of her neck.
She closed her eyes for a moment, the close proximity of his body making her nerves tingle. If he thought she wouldn’t like him anymore after showing her his intellectual side, he was dead wrong. “Have you read all these?”
“Every one.”
The wall opposite the desk held two large shelving units. Every type of Star Trek toy imaginable occupied the space. She stepped toward the toys, his heated gaze following her every move, and she pulled one from the shelf. “Why are the dolls still in boxes?”
He took the package from her hands and gently set it in its place. “They’re action figures, and they’re collectibles. They’re worth more in the box.”
“Why are you showing this to me?”
“If you’re going to stay in New Orleans for me, you need to know what you’re getting.” He gestured to the room. “This is me. No matter how cool and tough I try to be, this is who I really am inside. I’m a fake.” He dropped into the chair and rubbed his forehead.
“So you like to read. Big deal. I don’t understand why you think you have to hide it. And lots of people like Star Trek, obviously, or they wouldn’t make the toys to begin with. Why are you ashamed?”
Why wouldn’t he be ashamed? Why was he even telling her this? “It’s not just the books and the toys. I’m a certifiable nerd. Always have been. I’d rather stay home and work math puzzles than watch a football game at a sports bar. Everyone thought I’d end up being a computer programmer or a rocket scientist or something. Hell, I probably should’ve been.”
Her eyes held an emotion he couldn’t read. Pity maybe? “Then why did you decide to become a cop?”
He’d told her this much. He might as well go all in. “Believe it or not, I was bullied in school. A lot.”
“You? I don’t believe it. Look at you. You’re hot, and I know you know it.”
He fished his wallet out of his pocket and pulled out the photograph. “I didn’t always look this good.” He passed her the picture.
Her brow furrowed as she looked at it. “This isn’t you, is it?”
“I’m afraid it is.”
She examined the photograph more closely, a tiny smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Huh. Once you see past the braces, glasses, and acne, you’ve got the same sweet eyes. You were kinda cute.”
Yeah, right. He took the picture and slipped it into his wallet. “You wouldn’t have thought so in high school.”
“I never went to high school. You don’t know what I would’ve thought. Why do you carry it around?”
“To remind me of who I was and why I do what I do. This was my junior year. The lowest point in my life. I had to do the football team’s homework every week to avoid getting my ass kicked.”
She grimaced. “That’s awful.”
“Tell me about it. I can’t
stand football. I made it through high school and decided I had two options: I could be a victim or I could do something about it.”
“So you became a cop.”
“I started working out. I went away to college and got a criminal justice degree. I decided to dedicate my life to fighting bullies. I changed the way I look. I changed the way I act. But no matter what I do or how hard I try, I can’t seem to change the person I am on the inside. This.” He gestured to his body. “This isn’t really me. I will always be the kid in that photo.”
She knelt by the chair and laced her fingers through his. The warmth of her touch tempered the chill running through his heart. Aside from his confession to Michael on the ledge, he’d never told anyone about his past. He did his job, followed the rules, enforced the law, and that was all anyone needed to know about him. But not Alexis. For some reason, he wanted her to know him. Everything about him.
Blonde lashes shielded her emerald eyes from his view as she stared at their entwined hands. How could she even want to touch him now that she knew his whole persona was nothing more than a mask?
She lifted her gaze to meet his. “You did change. I think this really is you. You’re the kid in that picture, and you’re the tough, sexy cop.”
He shook his head.
“Why can’t you be both?” She moved to the front of the chair, keeping a firm grip on his hand and situating herself between his knees.
“When I’m Bryce the cop, I feel like I’ve got Bryce the nerd locked away somewhere inside me, and he’s screaming to get out. It’s almost like this persona is invading my body and taking over, but it’s fake. You can’t be two people. It doesn’t work that way.”
Her eyes tightened. “Sure it does. The bullied kid in that picture is the reason you’re the person you are today. And this person you are on the inside…” She rested her other hand on his chest. “That you so desperately try to hide from the world. This is exactly who you should be. This is the part of you I’ve been getting to know. The part of you I’m falling for.”
His heart slammed into his sternum. “So, you’re okay with all this?”
“Well…” She leaned into his lap and traced the outline of his pecs with her finger. “It’s a little intimidating, seeing as how I never finished eighth grade. But brains and brawn? You’re the complete package. Incredibly sexy.”
He took her hand and pulled her into his lap. “Why did you run away when you were so young?”
“That’s a conversation for another day, but I will say this: I’ve been running my entire life because I’ve been scared. Now, I can’t remember exactly what it was that I was afraid of.”
He could live with that answer. She’d already opened up to him about her impossible ability, and she hadn’t run away when he’d confessed to being a fake. But how could she find him attractive? “For some reason, it’s easier to believe that you have magic powers than that you’re falling for me after seeing all this.”
“I’ve shown you my powers. Apparently, I’m not doing a good job of showing you how I feel about you. Let’s change that.” She leaned in and pressed her velvet lips to his mouth. His heart seemed to stop for a moment, then stuttered to restart. Gliding her hands up his chest, she hooked them behind his neck and slipped her tongue into his mouth. A moan rumbled from his chest to his throat, and he took her face in his hands as he kissed her. Her skin smelled like his soap, and she fit in his arms like she was made for him to hold.
Shifting from his lap, she turned to straddle him, pressing her soft curves into his chest. His core tightened, his dick hardening beneath her, and he wrapped his arms around her, crushing her body to his. Kissing her here, in the room where he kept his true self locked away, in the midst of everything he hid from the world, was enough to send him over the edge.
This part of him…the real him…had never been with anyone before. He’d always donned his mask of machismo before he’d hopped in the sack. No one ever bothered to look beneath it.
But Alexis did.
Her hips rocked, sending a jolt of electricity from his dick to his heart.
He groaned.
She found the hem of his shirt and yanked it over his head. Her tongue slipped out to lick her lips as she trailed her fingers down his chest, over his stomach, to grip his cock through his jeans. Holy shit. She fumbled with his belt, and he reached out to still her hands.
She looked at him with uncertainty in her eyes. “You want me to stop?”
He laced his fingers through hers. “Oh, no. I want to keep going, but are you sure you want to do this?”
She rose to her feet, pulling him with her. “This is exactly what I want.”
“Well, then.” He cupped her face in his hand, rubbing his thumb across her smooth skin. “Let’s slow down and do this right.” Lifting her in his arms, he carried her to the bedroom.
Alexis lay on the bed, and Bryce climbed to his knees on the mattress. Soft moonlight filtered through the blinds, washing the room in a silvery glow. Mischief danced in his hazel eyes as a slow smile turned up the corners of his mouth, and anticipation tightened her stomach.
He shifted to the end of the bed and unlaced her boots. “It’s kinda unfair, you know?” He slipped off her shoes and socks and dropped them on the floor.
“What is?”
He took her foot in his hands, massaging the sole. “That you know so much about me now.”
“And I like everything I know.” She started to sit up, so she could talk to him face to face, but his firm hold on her foot kept her in place. He rubbed his thumbs in circles on her arch, sending tingling warmth shooting up her legs.
“But I know so little about you.” He stood on his hands and knees above her, his gaze traveling from her eyes to her lips. He kissed her mouth then trailed his lips along her jaw to nip at her earlobe. “And I want to know all of you.”
He sat back on his heels and slipped her shirt over her head. She tried to sit up again to undo his pants, but he caught her hands in his. He kissed each palm and gently laid her back.
“You first,” he said. “It’s only fair.” His gaze roamed over her body. “Where to start?”
He bent down and pressed his lips to her stomach. Her breath hitched as warmth spread below her navel, and he roamed his hands up her body to cup her breasts. He continued to kiss, working his way up her stomach, stopping at the clasp on the front of her bra. Tracing his fingers along the edge of the material, he grinned.
“This needs to go.” He unclasped the garment and laid it open. “Much better.” He took his time, tasting every inch of her body, his tongue slipping out to tease her nipples into tight pearls. Then he pressed his body to hers, trailing kisses up her neck to find her mouth once more.
His warmth enveloped her, his tender touch sending shivers from the base of her neck down to her toes. Never in her life had she been touched this gently. This unselfishly. Pressure built in the back of her eyes as she finally gave in to her wolf’s demands. Bryce was the one. Her soulmate. Her fate-bound.
She squeezed her eyes shut and willed the tears away. She would not ruin this moment by crying.
“Now for the fun part.” He shifted to the end of the bed and unbuttoned her jeans, slipping them over her hips. When he pulled her panties off, she sucked in a shuddering breath.
He paused. “Are we okay? Do you want to keep going?”
She nodded, swallowing the dryness in her throat. “Yes. God, yes.”
He grinned and slipped out of his clothes. His body was lean and firm, his defined muscles sculpted to perfection. He stood beside the bed, and his dick, thick and rock-hard, had her mouth watering to taste it, her fingers twitching to touch it. She reached for him, but he caught her hand and brought it to his lips.
“Not yet. I’m getting to know you right now.”
Good God. Who knew selflessness could be this hot?
Crawling onto the mattress, he trailed more kisses below her navel as he settled between her legs. Massaging
her inner thighs, he explored her body with his tongue, kissing up one hip and down the other. His mouth hovered above her center, his warm breath teasing her skin. Anticipation knotted in her core as she gripped the bedsheets, and she arched her back, raising herself closer to his lips.
He slipped out his tongue and tasted her. Warm wetness enveloped her clit, and she gasped as he slid a finger inside her. Fiery electricity shot through her veins, setting every nerve on edge.
She knotted her fingers in his hair. Dear lord, the sensation was maddening. Her hips rocked involuntarily, and he dared to slip a second finger inside. Her core tightened, the orgasm coiling inside her as he continued the tortuous pleasure. She cried out as the climax ripped through her body, wave after wave of uncontrollable ecstasy rocketing through her core.
Panting, she tried desperately to catch her breath as the elation subsided into a tranquil hum. As her breathing finally slowed, Bryce looked up at her and grinned.
She sucked in a shaky breath. “I take back what I said about you not having game.”
He chuckled and lay beside her, the length of his body warming more than her skin. This man lit her soul ablaze.
She gazed into his eyes, mesmerized as the tiny flecks of green and brown seemed to dance in his irises. He looked at her with an intensity that made her heart flutter, and a deep feeling of possessiveness stirred in her core. Her wolf had claimed him, and now it was the woman’s turn.
Rolling toward him, she took his length in her hand and stroked him. He inhaled deeply, and his lids fluttered shut as he let out an aroused mmm. She pressed her lips to his, and he opened his eyes.
“Make love to me, Bryce.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “My pleasure.”
As he started to move, he let his head fall onto the pillow and rolled onto his back. “Okay, you win. I’ve got no game.”
Bound by Blood (Crescent City Wolf Pack Book 3) Page 14
