“No.” She straightened her shoulders. “There are some things you don’t need to know.” Before he could protest, she hurried on. “Anyway, I got away and ran. I found a job about a month later and that’s where James found me.” That was all she was telling them, all they needed to know.
Steve Macmillan pulled his SUV off the road and onto a rutted path. From here, it couldn’t be seen from the road. And even if it was, who cared? It was just a bunch of good ol’ boys out hunting. Why, they were practically performing a public service, keeping the world safe for the human sheep who were unaware that monsters really existed. The fact it happened to be fun was a bonus.
He killed the ignition and climbed out. Jessup was waiting right where he said he’d be. Quinn angled his truck off the road and quickly joined him.
“What have you got?” Steve was impatient to get moving. He hated these fucking wolves with his entire being. They were nothing but animals. Hadn’t that she-bitch killed his father?
Jessup held up his cell phone. “Got a couple of pictures. They’re not the greatest because I couldn’t get close, but they’re better than nothing.”
Steve took the phone and started scanning the photos. He recognized the big male from the gas station. But it was the photo of the woman that stopped him cold. It was grainy and a little blurry, but that didn’t matter. He might not have seen her in a few years, but he’d recognize that bitch anywhere. Shelley.
The fates had smiled on him. What were the odds of her falling right into his lap? After the debacle of the past few months it looked like the gods were smiling on him.
“Well, well, well.” Quinn and Jessup both tensed. “Look what we have here.” He tossed the phone to Quinn, who looked at the picture.
“A woman?”
“Not just any woman.” Steve rubbed his hands together. He couldn’t wait to recapture that bitch and make her pay for his father’s death. “That’s Shelley.”
Quinn took a second look at the photo while Jessup whistled almost soundlessly between his teeth. “You’ve been looking for her for months, boss.”
“That I have, Jessup.” Only a handful of men knew about Shelley’s existence and he planned to keep it that way. For the time being anyway. He clapped the man on the shoulder. “Red and the boys will be here soon. Then we’ll do some recon.”
Steve walked a few feet away from the other two and pulled out his cell phone.
Red answered on the first ring. “We’ll be there in a couple of hours.”
“That’s good.” He glanced over at Jessup and Quinn but they were quietly talking. “Who else knows where we’re going?”
“No one. You said you wanted to keep things quiet. Why?”
“It’s her, Red.”
“You sure?”
“Jessup has a picture.” Steve still couldn’t quite believe his luck. “I’m gonna tranq the bitch and take her to your cabin for a spell.”
“You sure that’s wise?”
“I’m not my father, Red. I won’t make the mistake of treating her like a pet, forgetting what she really is. But she has to pay for what she’s done.”
“It’s your call.”
“Yes, it is. See you when you get here.” Steve closed his phone and tucked it away.
The house was quiet now. The wind pushed at the windows and the wood creaked as the structure cooled. Shelley lay in bed and stared up at the ceiling.
Her brothers had asked more questions, but she hadn’t given any answers. Her pounding headache had gotten too bad to ignore. She couldn’t tell if it was from all the tension or from her suppressed memories. Either way, her head hurt and her stomach churned. James had sensed her discomfort and called a halt to the questions.
It surprised her that her brothers had obeyed him. But then she remembered that James was alpha of this pack. And from the little she did know about wolves, she knew that meant what he said was law.
Then had come the debate over her accommodations. Joshua had assumed she’d be going home with him and Alex. James had told her it was her choice. She’d chosen to stay with him.
She’d hurt Joshua and the others even though she hadn’t meant to. But he was a stranger to her. They all were. As much as she wanted to, she felt no attachment to them. Had no real memories.
She actually experienced pangs of guilt for not feeling something more for them. Obviously, they’d loved their sister. But she wasn’t that young girl.
She needed some space, time to think. The past two days had been crazy.
A long, hot bath had eased some of her aches. A simple meal of soup and fresh bread had done the rest. Her headache was down to a manageable level and her stomach was settled.
A good night’s sleep was exactly what she needed.
Problem was, her mind wouldn’t stop working. She kept replaying the conversation with her brothers over and over in her head and matching what they’d told her to faint memories of her own.
Her body also ached. Her skin was so sensitive she hadn’t been able to bring herself to pull on her old dress as a nightgown. Instead, she decided to sleep naked. But even the sheets were proving too much for her to bear.
Sighing, she rolled over onto her side and stared out the window. She liked that the windows were low enough for her to see the woods beyond. She’d spent too many years unable to see anything at night, locked in a windowless room and shackled to the floor.
The mattress was firm, but comfortable. The sheets fresh. She didn’t take those things for granted. Not after decades of sleeping on a thin pallet on the floor. She should have been asleep two seconds after her head hit the pillow.
Instead, she was lying here thinking. Maybe she should count sheep.
There was no sound, more of a stirring in the air. She didn’t hear him, but she could smell him. Shelley turned onto her back and stared at the door, willing it to open.
The handle turned and James was there. “Can’t sleep?”
She sat up in bed, tugging the covers around her. “No.”
Without hesitation, James closed the door, walked to the bed and sat on the corner of the mattress. His nearness set her on edge, made every cell in her body sit up and take notice.
“Want to talk about it?”
Did she want to talk? No. She was tired of talking. Tired of thinking. What she wanted was something to take her mind off everything that had happened. She knew she couldn’t run from her problems. That she would have to deal with them in the morning. But she wanted a break. God knows she deserved one.
“No.”
James placed his hand on her leg. Granted, the blankets covered her, but she could still feel his touch through them, and it branded her.
“What do you want?” His voice was low, seductive. He ran his hand up and down her leg, the action both soothing and arousing.
Her body was responding to his nearness. It remembered the pleasure he’d given her last night and longed for a repeat performance. Her breasts felt swollen and tight and she knew her nipples were puckered. Her belly quivered and she was wet between her thighs.
Shelley pressed her legs together to try to ease the throbbing ache in her sex. It didn’t work.
James’s nostrils quivered and she knew he could smell her arousal. She couldn’t hide her reaction to him. Yet, he made no move to press her for more. His hand continued to stroke up and down her leg from thigh to calf.
“Shelley?”
She closed her eyes briefly and gathered her courage. If life had taught her one thing, it was to take advantage of the good things that came her way because they were fleeting. James was one of those good things. She’d never met a male she’d wanted before. She wasn’t in heat, wasn’t being forced. She simply wanted him.
What a treasure it would be to be able to touch him the way he’d touched her last night. To feel his hard muscles beneath her hand. To discover what gave him pleasure and what made him gasp.
She still had no idea where her future might lead her. But she
knew she couldn’t stay here. She might not know her brothers, but there was no way she was going to remain here and perhaps bring the wrath of the hunters down on them.
Seeing Steve Macmillan had been a sharp reminder that her life was not her own. She’d spend the rest of her years looking over her shoulder.
No, she couldn’t stay. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t take some good memories with her. Ones that would have to last a lifetime.
Shelley might not have much experience with life, but she knew she’d never meet another male like James. Never feel the way he made her feel. What was between them was special. She’d never forgive herself if she didn’t reach out and experience the magic between them.
She licked her lips. “I don’t know if I’m ready to go all the way.” She felt stupid saying it, but knew James understood.
His hand paused on her leg. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.” He stood and she was afraid he was leaving.
She held out her hand. “No, you don’t understand.”
James took her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing her palm. “What do you want, Shelley? Tell me, and if I can do it, it’s yours.”
Taking the final plunge, she blurted, “I want to touch you.”
Chapter Twelve
James wasn’t certain he’d heard Shelley correctly. “You want to touch me?”
She nodded and his cock immediately sprang to attention. He narrowed his gaze, studying her. Shelley had been through a lot today. Discovering she had a family, brothers who loved her, had shaken her. James still couldn’t believe she was Rachel Striker. He barely remembered her. She’d been little more than a baby when he’d left the pack and set out on his own all those years ago.
As much as he wanted Shelley, he didn’t want to take advantage of her. “Are you sure?”
“Only if you want me too.” She nibbled on her bottom lip, looking uncertain and uncomfortable. He hadn’t meant to make her feel that way. He wanted her to feel free to ask for what she wanted in bed. That’s what a relationship was all about.
James rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip. Her tongue touched his skin, making his scalp tighten. “I’d love for you to touch me.” His voice was thick with need.
He stood, pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside. Taking his time, he shucked his jeans, glad he was already barefoot so he didn’t have to worry about boots and socks. Naked and aroused, he stood before her, letting her look her fill.
His cock was jutting toward her. The thick shaft pulsed as blood pumped to it. The mushroom-shaped head was red and moist.
Her eyes widened and her lips parted. He thought he might come then and there.
Then Shelley reached out her hand and touched him.
He clenched his teeth together but was unable to keep in the hiss of pleasure as she stroked her fingers up and down his shaft from base to tip.
“Your skin is so soft. Like velvet.” He could hear the arousal in her voice and it kicked up his own another notch.
Standing next to the bed not touching her was one of the hardest things he’d ever done. But it was exciting too. Her eyes devoured him, her body shifting, as if yearning to be closer.
The night air was cool against his heated flesh, but where she touched him, he was on fire.
“So hard underneath.” Shelley wrapped her fingers around him and stroked his erection.
He growled, loving the way her hand felt on his cock. The fact that she wanted to touch him, was doing so of her own accord, almost pushed him over the edge.
And when her thumb rubbed over the bulbous head, collecting and spreading the clear liquid that seeped from the tip, James had to take a step back.
Shelley gave him a questioning look. “I’m close to the edge,” he warned her. She was making a mockery of his usual cool control that he was known for.
Not giving her too much time to think about what he was doing, he stretched out on the bed beside her and rolled onto his back. He stacked his hand behind his head and laced his fingers together to keep from touching her. “Go ahead.” This was what she wanted, so this was what he’d give her, not matter what it cost him. “Touch me.”
Shelley’s hands were still trembling. Touching James was like trying to capture the power of a lightning storm—wild and electric. His skin was so smooth, yet very hard. And he was hot. Heavens, the man radiated heat like no one she’d ever known.
She’d enjoyed touching his cock, feeling the way it jumped and jerked beneath her fingers. It helped her to know she wasn’t the only one affected by whatever it was between them. Sexual attraction, for sure, but it was so much more than that.
Disappointment had hit her hard when he’d pulled away. But excitement quickly returned when he stretched out beside her seconds later and offered himself up to her like some pagan sacrifice.
She licked her lips, not quite knowing where to touch him first. His chest was wide and roped with muscles, his skin tanned. He had a thick smattering of chest hair, which tapered down to a thin line bisecting his torso. It spread out again when it reached his groin. He was so masculine.
A magnificent male animal.
James groaned and her gaze flew to his. He was watching her, his golden eyes slightly hooded. Excitement speared through her. She really was in charge of whatever happened between them.
She smiled and licked her lips. James’s chest heaved slightly. A light sheen of perspiration coated his torso. Shelley reached out and laid her hands on his shoulders. The sheet slipped down to her waist, leaving her naked from the waist up. Leaning forward, she brushed her lips over his. His mouth parted and his tongue brushed against hers.
Her sex pulsed. Cream slipped from her core. She ached to feel his hands on her. But first, she wanted to touch him the way he’d touched her last night.
Sitting back, she smiled and ran her hands over the undersides of his arms. His biceps flexed. Delighted, she measured the wide expanse of his chest. He really was quite incredible. He looked long and lean, but there was no hiding his strength.
Feeling quite daring, she flicked her thumbs over his flat brown nipples. James jerked and groaned. His entire body tensed and his chest heaved.
She was watching for his reaction and noted the flare of heat in his eyes. She did it again.
His jaw tightened and a muscle jumped beneath his eye.
Bending down, Shelley licked one of the tiny nubs and was rewarded with a guttural groan. His arousal was feeding hers. Never before had touching a man made her hot.
She rubbed her breasts against his chest, loving the way the wiry hairs abraded her tender nipples. It helped. Momentarily. But the ache between her thighs just seemed to grow more intense with each passing second.
Moaning, she worked her way down his torso, kissing his ribs, licking and nipping at his supple flesh. His thighs were like tree trunks, long and hard. But it was what was standing up between them that really interested her. She sat back on her heels and studied his cock.
It was so dark and the head was almost purple it was so engorged. Fluid seeped from the tip. The sight of it made her sex clutch with need.
“Shelley.” James’s voice was little more than a harsh growl. His face was taut and he looked as though he was in pain. She didn’t want that.
She didn’t give herself time to think about what she was about to do. The only other times in her life she’d given oral sex it had been forced. She’d never done it of her own free will.
This time she wanted to. James’s scent wafted around her. Musky, woodsy and all male, it enticed her to touch, to taste, to claim. Leaning down, she licked over the slit at the tip of his cock. His hips came off the bed and the head of his shaft bumped against her lips, demanding entrance.
Shelley parted her lips and took him into her mouth. He tasted salty and hot. She swirled her tongue around the mushroom-shaped head. His hips jerked again, driving him deeper.
Panic threatened and she wrapped her hand around his sha
ft to keep him from going too far. As if sensing her discomfort, he stilled.
“God, you can stop if you want, but I’m praying you won’t.” His honestly made her smile and she gently sucked on the top of his shaft. He groaned and she could sense his struggle to control himself, to keep from moving.
Her breathing was getting labored as she continued to stroke her hand up and down his cock. Using her tongue, lips and mouth, she licked and sucked and kissed his hard length.
She felt as though she was running a fever. Her skin was damp and her breath was coming in short, hard puffs. Her sex was swollen and wet. Her channel was slick and throbbing.
James’s erection pulsed against her hands and lips. She wanted to keep touching him, but she needed him to touch her too.
She drew back and rested her face against his thigh. “James.” She didn’t quite know what to ask for.
“What? Tell me what you need from me.”
“Touch me.” She was desperate to feel his hands on her body, to once again experience the unique connection that seemed to exist between them. She plain wanted to feel.
James grabbed her hips and maneuvered her so that she was straddling his chest but facing away from him. She froze. He would be able to see her swollen pussy. She was completely open to him.
He stilled, his hands resting on her hips. “It’s up to you, Shelley. But I want to eat you until you scream with pleasure. I want to taste your cream on my lips and feel it running down my face.”
“Yes.” That’s what she wanted to. Her breasts swelled and her core spasmed at his words.
He tugged her hips closer and she felt his thumbs spread her folds wide. Hot breath caressed her skin. Then his mouth covered her.
James moaned at his first taste of Shelley. It was even better than he remembered. Sweet. Succulent. And all his.
He lapped at her slick folds, finding her swollen clit. When he pressed down on it with his tongue, she moaned and pressed closer to his face.
He loved it. Loved her acceptance, her trust.
There was only the two of them in the house. The night was dark with few stars in the sky. Still, there was more than enough light to allow him to see every creamy inch of her naked skin.
Legacy Found: Legacy, Book 3 Page 14
