“Grubby?” She splashed water at him, even though it was true. “How hard can it be to give tigers a bath? They like water.”
“But they don’t like soap.”
“I like both.”
She relaxed in the deep, warm water as Jason’s deft hands worked magic on her with sensual touches and creamy, flower-scented lather from her toes to the top of her head. His fingers skimmed along her skin and kneaded away all the soreness in her muscles. His gentle care both soothed and stimulated. When his fingers moved between her thighs, and then inside her, she shuddered with an orgasm at this first intimate touch.
He kissed her throat, nibbled on her ear, and whispered, “If I make love to you now, I’ll just have to wash you all over again.”
She pressed against him. “I can live with that.” She closed her hand around the cock pressing against her belly, stroked the length of it, then guided him inside her. She wrapped her legs around his hips in the buoyant water and he positioned her against the side of the tub.
He made love to her then in long, slow strokes that took her up and over the edge many times, before he joined her in a final explosive orgasm.
Chapter Thirty-seven
W hen she first stepped into the courtyard and saw Mike playing with the wolves, Cathy paused and smiled. He was a pain in the ass, but she couldn’t help but like the big man when she caught him not acting all dour and dangerous.
The moment didn’t last long, of course. He sensed her presence and waved the animals away. Turning a frown on her, he said, “You shouldn’t be here.”
“We’re living under vampire rules right now.” She snorted. “I now understand what you meant when you said being around vampires plugs up your psychic nose. I don’t exactly have a headache, but I don’t exactly not have one, either. And our hosts won’t let me see my cousin. I was informed that ‘the bonding pair needs privacy’—as if we don’t have more important things to deal with than Sofia’s sex life! Since I couldn’t see her, I decided to work things out with you.”
“We have nothing to work out.” His look dared her to approach.
She took the dare.
The wolves, being sensible creatures, slunk away from a confrontation of two werewolves.
When they were standing toe to toe in front of the garden’s central fountain, Cathy pointed up at the clear blue sky. “There’s a full moon hidden up there,” she told him. “You will note that I’m not wearing a fur coat.”
He said nothing.
“Come with me,” she said.
She turned around and walked to the entrance of the room she’d been given. She knew he tried hard not to follow her, to be stern and unbending. She also didn’t doubt for a moment that he would give in. When he grudgingly came inside, she closed the patio door and drew the curtains.
“Now that we’re alone…” Cathy pulled her dress over her head. She wasn’t wearing anything underneath.
Mike stared.
He was looking at her as a man, which pleased her, but that wasn’t what she aimed for at the moment.
“I’ve been practicing this all day,” she told him, and changed into a wolf.
Mike tensed as though he expected her to attack. It took all of her newfound control not to snarl at the insult. She took a step back and sat, carefully not looking into his eyes. She wasn’t here to play dominance games, at least not of the traditional kind. She didn’t want to be more alpha than Mike Bleythin.
“I’m trying to prove a point,” she told him when she turned back to human, and he continued to stare.
“Prove whatever it is to the council,” he answered, his voice rough.
“Don’t you want to know?”
“It won’t matter.”
She wanted to grow claws and rake them across the stubborn fool’s chest. But full moon or not, she was in control of her volatile werewolf emotions. She stomped one bare foot into the thick carpet to vent her frustration. “This is between you and me, and it matters.”
“There isn’t anything betw—”
“Then why are you looking at me like that?”
“You’re gorgeous, and you’re naked. What else am I supposed to do?”
She put her hands on her hips and thrust her breasts out. “You could make love to me. It’s all I’ve wanted since the day we met. You’ve never told me you love me or that you even care, but I know you do.”
“I can’t,” he said. “I won’t.”
He started to turn toward the door but Cathy grabbed his hand and pulled him closer. He gasped as their thighs brushed together.
“It’s just lust,” he said. “Ordinary, healthy lust. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“It could. It will. We can be together now, Mike.” His eyes closed when she pressed her body against his. “I feel how hard you are. I can smell how much you want me. Stop fighting what you want, what you need. You’re a lonely man, Michael Bleythin, but I’m here for you.”
“I’m not a man,” he ground out. “And you’re a feral.” His hands grasped her shoulders; she could feel them shaking. “I will not mate with someone I may have to kill.”
“You won’t have to kill me.”
“Are you trying to seduce me to go against the council?”
“Oh, screw the council! This is about you. I know you, and I know exactly what will happen if you kill me.”
“What?”
“The guilt and grief will drive you crazy. And when you go crazy, you fall off the wagon. There’s nothing more dangerous than a drunken werewolf. This time, you won’t make it into rehab—you’ll go feral. Then your poor brothers will have to hunt you down and kill you. Since I am very fond of your brothers, I intend to spare them that.”
“How kind.”
“Not to mention the fact that I have too much to do to let you kill me.” She grinned. “Oh, yeah—and I love you.”
He stroked the back of his hand across her cheek. She grabbed it and kissed his palm, then placed his hand on her breast.
“Woman…” he growled.
“Mate,” she answered. “I’m no feral. I’m no danger to werefolk. I am what you want and who you need, and it’s time you faced up to it and took me to bed.”
She put her hand behind his head and brought his mouth down to hers. The kiss they shared was eager, fierce, and hungry, just the way it should be between alpha mates.
I love you, I love you, I love you, he told her.
I know.
He drew away to look at her. “What about the council? What about what happened to you? What about your fam—”
“Later.” She began to unbutton his shirt. “I’ll explain everything and take care of the council later. Right now, let us take care of each other.”
All the fight went out of him; only the desire remained. “All right.”
Cathy whooped with joy when he finally picked her up and carried her to the bed.
Chapter Thirty-eight
S ofia smiled at herself in the mirror as she brushed out her damp curls.
“You look like a cat that’s been into the cream,” Jason said.
He stood framed by the doorway, once again dressed in the black plush robe. She had a huge towel wrapped around her.
“I feel like one, too.” Their gazes met in the glass, making her tingle inside and out all over again.
“Speaking of cream,” he went on. “Are you hungry?”
“Yes,” she answered promptly. “In more ways than one, and you know it.”
He grinned. “Me, too. But I was thinking of breakfast right now.” He glanced into the bedroom. “And some very kind person has left us a tray of goodies. Do you by any chance like baklava?”
“Baklava,” she said eagerly, and abandoned her hair without another thought.
“I see you can be seduced by honey and rosewater.”
She smiled at him. “Dip yourself in honey sometime and see what happens.”
“I’ll do that.”
The tray of food sat on a
small table near the patio doors. She surveyed the selection of pastries, glasses of orange juice, and a carafe of coffee, and rubbed her hands together in delight. “I like vampire room service.”
Jason held out a chair for her before taking the chair on the other side of the table. “A peaceful citadel does have a five-star-hotel quality to it.” He gestured toward another door. “In there will be a closet full of clothes in many styles and sizes. A Matri never knows who is going to drop in, why, or for how long, so she prepares for all sorts of guests. We’re trained quite strictly as children that courtesy and hospitality are part of the glue that holds a civilized culture together.”
“Why ‘quite strictly’?”
“Because vampire babies are spoiled rotten little savages.” He poured her a cup of coffee. At the same time he ran a bare foot up the length of her calf.
She clasped the fine china cup in her hands as a shiver of desire ran through her. Sofia gave Jason a firm look. “Breakfast first. Then I intend to have my way with you.”
“Eat faster,” he suggested. He glanced at her throat and his lips uncovered fangs. “But eat a lot. I need you to keep up your strength.”
She stuck her tongue out, far more turned on than daunted by the idea of a vampire longing to taste her. Her insides tightened and her nipples hardened at the very thought of it.
Everything was fresh and delicious. The texture of the delicate china dishes alone made her feel like she was going to be caught out at any moment and sent to the kitchen to do the dishes.
“Think of yourself as a lost princess who’s been found,” Jason said, catching her thoughts.
“The luxury is almost overwhelming,” she said as she looked around.
“As children, we are also taught to invest wisely. If you’re going to live a long time, it’s best to live well.”
That made a great deal of sense. Then again, she was so attracted to this man that just about anything he did or said was fine with her. She stood, let the towel drop to a blue puddle around her feet, and held out her hand.
He took it without a word and followed her to the bed, where she took off his robe and they lay down together.
Then he made her feel like far more than a princess. He made her feel like a goddess, worshipped, adored, and satisfied.
“Satiated?” he asked after he’d brought her to orgasm more times than she could count.
Sofia gazed up at the ceiling and let out a long breath. “Hell, no,” she answered.
Jason rolled onto his side and patted her hip. “That’s what I like to hear.”
She looked at him through half-closed eyes. “Though I think I’ve had more sex today than in all the rest of my life combined.” She yawned and stroked a hand up his thigh. “I bet the same cannot be said for you.”
Jason gave an unapologetic shrug. “Sex with you makes me forget every other time, place, and person.”
Sofia was willing to go with that romantic explanation. A memory of the conversation she’d overheard between Jason and Sid Wolf returned—but she might well have dreamed that, so she let it go.
Jason pulled the sheet up over her. “Excuse me a moment.”
He got up and opened the patio door. The wolves came bounding in and jumped up on the end of the bed. Sofia considered shooing them off, but decided it wasn’t worth the effort. How her world had changed. She not only had a family and a purpose and a lover, but not very long ago she hated and feared every canine in the world. Now she was becoming fond of George and Gracie.
“Remember that they aren’t pets,” Jason said, getting back into bed beside her.
She turned to face him. “What are they, then?”
“Friends.” He glanced at the animals and smiled. “A reminder.”
There was sadness in his words, a hint of loneliness and old pain in his eyes. Sofia began to suspect why wolves were so important to Jason Cage, and she moved closer to him. His arm came around her shoulders.
Sofia rested against him for a while, basking in the heat of his body and the masculine scent of him. It would kill her if she had to leave him. Take this time for yourself, he had said. For us.
“It’s good to just be together,” Jason said.
Sofia was certain that he hadn’t read her thoughts, yet he seemed to know her, body, mind, and soul. There were too many things about him she didn’t know.
“Are some things too painful to talk about?” she asked.
“Yes. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have the right to know about me. All you have to do is ask.”
Awed by Jason’s emotional generosity, Sofia almost remained silent, but curiosity finally got the better of her. “What’s it like? Being in a vampire prison?”
He gave her a gentle, lingering kiss, letting her know that lack of physical contact had been a devastating part of his punishment.
“They took my name from me,” he said, then brushed his lips across hers again. “Belonging to our Family, our Clan, or our Tribe is very important to us. Exile can be permanent, but my Family took me back after I’d learned my lesson. I spent much of my time alone. It nearly drove me crazy.”
“You are the farthest thing from crazy that I’ve ever met.”
He caressed her cheek. “Thank you, even if you didn’t think so at first.”
“Having learned that every crazy thing is true, I now know that I’m nuts and you’re the lucid one.”
“But you didn’t know me in my youth, not after the glimpses of the past I’ve shown you. Maybe if you’d been born all those decades ago, I would have found you when I first went hunting.”
“Hunting for what?”
“I don’t know if it was something my guards allowed me to do, or something I got away with. But when I couldn’t take solitary confinement anymore, I sent my spirit out of my body. My people are all telepathic, but I’ve always been more psychic than most. Though I couldn’t physically leave my prison, I learned how to psychically be free—at least for a little while. I think the mortal term for what I did is astral projection. To me it was my only means of escape. I’d learned my lesson and stayed away from mortal minds, but I’d always been comfortable with wolves, so I telepathically found the pack I used to play with as a child and ran with them whenever I could. I became a wolf. It was very good for me: I learned a great deal about cooperation and leadership; when to run and hide and when to stand and fight.” He looked at George and Gracie. “I owe the wolves a lot.”
Sofia rolled over to lean on his chest and look down at him. “So I guess running with the wolves helped you learn how to tame the Wolf Tamer.”
A sly smile lifted his lips. “Are you tame?”
“Want to find out?” she asked, and straddled his hips.
She leaned forward to kiss him, and his hands cupped her breasts.
But a knock sounded on the door before they could do anything else. “Excuse me,” a voice called. “But you have half an hour until dinner.”
Resisting the urge to scream in frustration, Sofia called back, “Thank you.”
Jason continued to caress her breasts. “Do you think half an hour’s enough time?” he asked with a wicked smile.
She smiled back as she positioned herself over his erection. “Let’s find out.”
Chapter Thirty-nine
I ’ve never seen a more beautiful night.” Sofia lowered her gaze from the magnificent full moon to Jason’s face, which she found even more magnificent.
“Neither have I,” he said. “And I’ve seen a lot of nights.”
“I could howl at a moon like that.”
“The werewolves might think it rude,” he warned. “I’d prefer laying you down in the jasmine and making love to you.”
“I’d like that, too. Though I still might howl with passion if we did.”
He sighed. “If only we had time to find out.”
They were standing in the courtyard garden with their arms around each other’s waist. Dinner was over and they were waiting to be called
inside to the meeting. The air was scented with night-blooming flowers, and the murmur of the central fountain added its soothing sound. Peace permeated her senses out here.
“You see this differently than I do, don’t you?” she asked the vampire. “This place is arranged to be at its best in the dark.”
“Yes,” he said. “Lady Juanita doesn’t take the daylight drugs, so darkness is her world.”
“Why not?” Sofia asked.
She dreaded the upcoming meeting with werewolves and vampires, with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse playing bridge in the corner, for all she knew. She welcomed any knowledge she could get and appreciated any distraction.
Dinner had been friendly enough. Their hostess had been gracious, everyone had flirted with everyone, there had been no serious conversation. She’d been able to tell which ones were werewolves, but she still couldn’t tell the differences between vampires and mortals. Everyone had seemed normal. Almost everyone present had been wearing black, but since she’d picked a black dress out of a multicolored selection in the closet for herself, she couldn’t even count that as odd.
“At dinner,” she said, “I kept expecting unicorns or house elves to show up to clear the dishes.”
“Were you disappointed? Maybe Lady Juanita’s chef is named Igor. Shall we ask?”
“No. But do you know why she doesn’t take medicine so she can go out in the daylight? Is she allergic?”
“Some of us are allergic,” Jason said. “But taking the drugs is a personal choice. Lady Juanita believes in living a natural, unenhanced life. She doesn’t forbid the rest of her Clan from benefiting from modern science, but she doesn’t encourage it, either. Since we don’t know the long-term effects of—”
“Excuse me, but you are wanted inside now,” a young man said, stepping silently out of the darkness. He gave Sofia a quick once-over and an inviting smile, and disappeared just as quickly.
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