“Turn around,” he said. She did and he removed the towel. Lindsey stifled her gasp of surprise and went to cover herself but stopped. His body heat washed over her backside as he drew her closer. “Get on the bed and I’ll rub your back next,” he purred low in her ear.
Now she started to shake and her nerves surfaced. Lindsey crawled up on the bed, then lay down face first She didn’t look over her shoulder at him. Only waited to see what he would do next.
He pushed her hair to the right shoulder and cold lotion touched her bare back. Hot, skillful, hands began to rub the lotion into her skin, and every muscle relaxed. Again she closed her eyes, enjoying the sensations and his touch.
At her lower back his hands moved both left and right, then thumbs pressed into her spine and moved up to her shoulders. Lindsey couldn’t help herself and let out a moan of pure pleasure. Back down his hands went and when they reached her lower back she felt a light kiss touch the curve of her ass. Her eyes snapped open and this time she glanced behind her.
Fox watched her watching him. He rubbed his hands over her ass, fingers kneading the flesh. She lost the power to breathe when his mouth opened and his tongue came out, then touched her, followed by his sensuous lips. He kissed her backside, then licked up her spine. At the same time he kept his hands at her hips and pulled her back, up to her hands and knees.
Lindsey hung her head down. It felt like he’d cast a spell over her and she no longer had control of herself. She felt him behind her. His legs parted her own, his lips still kissing her back. She even felt the heat of his cock touching a spot that without a doubt woke up. He hadn’t touched her between the legs, yet she could feel the wetness there. Her clit throbbed in need—she needed him.
Words were no longer needed between them. He hovered over her, hands on the bed next to her own, his hot breath touching her shoulder, his tongue swiping that mark. His body rubbed against hers, yet he still didn’t enter her.
From the corner of her eye she saw the arm at her left move. He still hovered over her body, then he touched her between her legs and Lindsey gasped. He touched her clit, teased the swollen lips for a moment, then started to tease her with the head of his cock. Up and down he rubbed it, stopping every so often as if he might enter her, only he didn’t. He drove her crazy with need that she couldn’t put to words.
“Are you ready, Linds?” His voice dropped in tempo. It sounded thick, deeper. “Ready for what I’m about to do?”
Words! She needed to get the words to tell him. But what would she tell him? Should she say don’t we have a deal? Or should she scream at him to finish what he just started? Either one, Lindsey just couldn’t speak at the moment. It almost felt like she didn’t know how to.
“I’m going to show you a touch of kinky baby, so hold on tight.”
He rose up hand fisted into her hair and he pulled her head back. The same moment her head went back he thrust hard into her, stealing her breath. He moved fast, hard. All she could do right then was fist her hands into the sheet and hold on.
When he let go of her hair her head dropped down to the sheets on its own. Her body belonged to him right now and she knew it. Deep down she knew that he owned her and most likely could do anything he wanted to do.
The slap that landed on her rear surprised her. She jerked, looked over her shoulder at him, and gasped. His eyes were red, face intense looking as he watched her. His hand rose again and her eyes widened on it as it came down in a stinging blow, warming her in more ways than she’d care to admit. Two more hard slaps and tears were in her eyes, her ass burned, but he stopped. He tightened his hands on her hips, slammed hard into her and she lost control, climaxing around him.
But that didn’t seem to stop or slow him down any.
A slap landed on the other cheek just as hard. Pain mixed with the pleasure and Lindsey couldn’t tell which was which.
“Again!” he demanded, the pace picking up. “Scream.”
Still unable to put a voice to her thoughts, Lindsey only shook her head, trembling all over as she fought with her body to hold back the orgasm.
“Oh you will scream for me.”
He stopped all and once and pressed his body down on top of hers. He kept her up on her hands and knees however, and this time he started a slow, almost torture pace. Out, in, so slowly with a little bit of grind that she did want to scream—for him to move faster.
She jumped when he touched her clit. Lindsey pushed her back against him and was rewarded this time with a slap to her clit. The pain-pleasure mix almost caused her to lose her control and he must’ve known that. Fox again rose above her, his hand still between her legs and started to tap on the clit with each inward thrust.
It was her undoing.
The faster he took her the faster he tapped on her clit, and that scream he wanted, demanded of her, slipped from her lips before she could think of holding it back.
Her orgasm hit hard. Tears came to her eyes, her body convulsed around him as she lost control. Behind her she could hear Fox growl or was it a moan? She didn’t know or care. Weakness hit and she dropped face down to the bed, spent, wasted. Strength to hold herself up gone. Exhaustion gripped her and she was unable to open her eyes, unable to move...think.
“Now that was kinky,” he said, kissing her shoulder before dropping down next to her.
“We had a deal.” Her own voice rasped when she spoke finally, yet she didn’t have the strength to open her eyes and look at him.
“Yep, and think I said I play dirty.”
If she wasn’t mistaken, Lindsey could swear she could hear the smile in his voice. “You’re a shit.”
“Yes I am,” he kissed her shoulder again then moved from the bed.
“Where you going?” she yawned.
“To clean you up and put you to bed.”
“Okay.” Lindsey snuggled more into the bed, not caring if she was a mess and still naked, too tired to do a thing.
Chapter Fifteen
“Do you have it?” Ben walked into a hunting store where he’d placed an order right after his initiation into the new Cabinet. An order that in his hands would change the rules to the game he played with Laswell.
“You know, son, I’ve made many different things in my long years, but this is a first.” The old man behind the counter brought out a box and placed it on top of the counter. When he opened it, showing Ben the treasure inside, Ben smiled big. A copper whip.
“Perfect.” Ben reached into his pocket and brought out the cash. He tossed it on the counter and picked up the box, not taking his eyes off of the whip.
He left the shop, got into his car, and set the box on the seat bedside him. Oh he wanted to touch it, to see if it would burn like he knew it would and was just about to reach for it when his phone went off.
“Yes,” he sighed into his phone, irate at being interrupted.
“Where are you?” His father’s demanding voice had Ben sitting up in his seat.
“Picking up something special for Laswell.”
“Well, you need to get your ass in gear fast then.” Ben could tell his father was in another one of his pissed off mood. “He’s going to marry her now, a human marriage.”
That statement had Ben biting the inside of his mouth. Bad enough the son of a bitch put his mark on the bitch, now he meant to marry her? What a waste. “Did you get me what I needed then? I want to test stuff out first to make sure it all works like I want.”
“You’ll have them by the time you get home. Couple of our boys have already picked up the packages and are just waiting for you.”
“I’ll be there in fifteen.” Ben hung up the phone, closed the box, and started the engine. He peeled out of the drive and headed to the place where his father set up a meeting for him.
True to his word he pulled up to two parked cars waiting for him, one being his father. Thomas Fallen got out of his car, fixed his tie, and strolled over to Ben. They nodded at each other and then went towards the other car. The
trunk opened and inside were one shifter and one human. The female was shifter, the male human and both tied, drugged, gagged, and waiting for Ben.
“Perfect.” Ben smiled.
“Make sure they’re found on Laswell’s property,” Thomas said.
“With pleasure,” Ben said, slamming the door closed once more.
* * * *
“What the hell!” Fox bolted straight up or more like jumped up and stood in the middle of the bed, ice cold water dripping from his body, shock waking him up in an instant.
“You are a shit!” Lindsey yelled at him. She stood at the foot of the bed, dressed, an empty pitcher in her hand and another full in the other.
“What the hell did I do?” Fox asked.
“We had a deal and you broke it.”
It took his still sleeping brain to process what she was talking about and when it did he smiled big. “Ohhhh.” The other pitcher of water landed on his face. “Shit!”
“Someone needs to spank your ass!” she huffed.
Fox shook the water from his head, the grin still in place. “Oh, I’ve got an even better idea.”
Silence filled the room for a moment, then Lindsey picked up the hint. She shook her head. “Oh no. You’re not doing that to me again.”
“Wanna bet?”
They had a small stare off, then the pitchers went flying in the air, and she turned and ran. Fox loved it. He jumped from the bed and went after her. The chase ended in the living room where he caught her, had his arms around her and her feet off the ground. He intended to carry her back to the bedroom, strip her, and do the same thing he had last night. Only a knock on the door ended it all.
“I swear we never get a moment to ourselves,” Fox growled, letting her go. He went over to the door and pulled it open much harder than he should’ve. It came off the track. “Damnit!”
“Mr. Laswell?”
Fox looked up from the track to a police officer. “Yes.”
It happened to be the same cop he talked to last time. A shifter cop. The man glanced over at Lindsey then back at Fox. “Can we talk?”
“I’ll be up at your parents,” Lindsey said. “I finished the books for Dominic.” She gave Fox a smile then grabbed her books and out the door she went.
“This a bad time?” the officer asked.
“Good as any,” Fox said. “Come in. just give me a moment.” Fox turned and quickly went back to the bedroom to dress. When he came back out the officer was standing in the middle of the living room, looking around and sniffing. “Something wrong?”
“Did you pick up a scent that isn’t yours or your mates?”
“Outside I did.”
“It’s been in here as well,” The officer brushed past Fox and kept right on sniffing to the back of the boat. Right into his bedroom. “You’ve had a visitor.”
The hair on the back of Fox’s neck stood up and his beast woke up. “Who?” Fox growled out.
“I imagine the same male that took this.” The officer pulled out a bloody shirt from the inside of his jacket—a shirt that looked like one Fox had. “I found this under the body of a human male. Your scent is all over it as well as a trace of another.”
“A human?”
“One human and one shifter were found in the woods this morning. A man and a woman. The woman was shifter.”
The way the male looked at him, Fox thought he might be sick and had to sit down on the bed. He jumped when the cold water touched him, but didn’t get back up. “Dead?”
“Yes.”
Now Fox had to swallow hard to keep himself from being sick. “What the hell is going on here?”
“Another male is trying to frame you for some brutal attacks, Mr. Laswell. If I didn’t find this shirt and the others did then you would be talking to them at the station.”
“You don’t think I did this then?”
“Not when there’s another scent on this. Mr. Laswell, I’m an officer of the law, but I’m also a shifter. I do protect my kind and after what we just found in the woods today, and talking to you and your family, I know without a doubt you didn’t do what I just saw. We have a rabid male on our hands that is tearing humans apart.” The bile was back in Fox’s throat. “I’m asking for your help here to find the male that’s doing this so I can stop him. He’s getting worse in his kill.”
“What do you want me to do?”
* * * *
Lindsey stood between the docks and the house, watching several policemen, two ambulances, and others walk around, some going in and coming from the woods. Her gut screamed at her that this wasn’t good, that whatever might be going on in there was worse than the last attack. Hell just the idea that a shifter was hurting and killing humans had her shivering in fear.
“Hey.” Lindsey jumped and turned around fast, almost falling to the ground. Darian smiled. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”
“What’s going on around here?” Lindsey gasped.
“Come on.” Darian put her arm around Lindsey’s shoulders. “Let’s go up to the house and I’ll tell you.”
Together they headed for the house. Lindsey glanced once more over her shoulder and saw two men take a long black bag into the woods with them. When they reached the house it was quiet. Not even Dominica sat at the table going over the books like had had been for days now.
“Where’s everyone at?” Lindsey asked.
“Mom got a call for one of the caterers so she headed to town for that. Alex is down at the shop with Nick, dealing with the unpaid bills, and dad in in the woods talking to the sheriff. Once more what they found is on our property.”
“Another girl dead?”
Darian’s face changed. She was all serious. “A couple. I don’t know all the details, only what I overheard and the girl is, um, in pieces.”
“Oh, god!” Lindsey covered her mouth with her hand, praying silently that she wouldn’t get sick. “Who would do that?” she muffled the question.
“Don’t know, but I heard my dad say something about letting the Cabinet know about it and let them take over. He’s calling this murderer a rabid dog.”
Slowly Lindsey lowered her hand from her mouth. “Maybe we should hold off on this wedding thing.”
“Forget it!” Fox’s voice had Lindsey jumping once more. “I’m not going to let some crazy dog spoil your dream. No way.”
“But someone is killing on your family’s land, Fox. That’s close to home,” Lindsey said.
“And he’ll get caught and dealt with. While that hunt is taking place you’re to keep planning the wedding.” He closed the distance between them and took her in his arms. The strength of his hold eased the tension and fear she had inside. “Besides,” he lowered his voice, spoke low in her ear. “I’ve got plans for that night, remember?” Instantly she felt heat spread across her face.
“Okay, knock it off you two. I need to get Lindsey back to the store for a fitting to make sure the dress is perfect,” Darian said.
Lindsey smiled and pressed her face into Fox’s chest. He gave her a squeeze then a kiss to the forehead before she pulled away from him.
“Okay go some spend money,” Fox said. “I want to have a nice debt that I have to wonder about how to pay later and I mean it,” Lindsey laughed at that statement.
Another quick kiss from him and she was out the door with Darian. They drove to the store, and she ended up spending almost two hours with fittings and changes to the dress. She didn’t even want to think about what it all cost. Once they finally finished and the store assured them the dress would be ready by the end of the week, they left for lunch. It felt good being with Darian again like this. Felt like the old days, in a way.
“I’ve got to ask,” Lindsey said, getting Darian’s full attention. “What happens when you find this guy?”
Darian put her fork down and met Lindsey’s eyes. “Well for one thing that is totally up to our Cabinet. They will decide his fate. But from what he’s doing they will look at him as a rabid
dog needing to be put down.”
Lindsey gasped, “You mean they’d kill him?”
“Shhh!” Darian looked around the café, making sure no one might be listening. “Keep your voice down.”
“Sorry.”
“Yes, they’d have him killed. This guy is hunting humans, Lindsey. That’s totally forbidden. You don’t do that ever. If we are discovered then we become hunted animals. Keeping what we are is our number one secret.”
“Then why did you tell me?”
“Because I knew I could trust you.” Darian smiled. “We mate with humans, but until that moment we don’t really let anyone know what we are. It’s how we’ve made it so long living with humans.”
“You have any idea who it might be?”
Darian shook her head. “Nope, but I think dad has some kind of idea.”
“Who?”
Again Darian shook her head. “Nope, not going there. We are on a mission today and flowers is our next stop, so we best get to it. I think Nick wants to grill steaks tonight with the whole family, so we best get this shopping done.”
Lindsey sighed, tossed her napkin down on the table, and pushed away. “You guys are going to drain me.”
Ordering flowers took another good hour. Dominic called right when they were about done to let Darian know he was starting to grill and she needed to pick up some wine. Lindsey didn’t even think she was hungry until they made it back to the house and the smell of cooking meat hit her. Fox greeted them both, hugging Lindsey tight the moment he saw her. It felt so good, so right to be in his arms.
Skyler had fixed a large bowl of potato salad, there was also corn on the cob, and some baked beans. Out of everyone there Lindsey was the only one to ask for her steak to be well done. They ate outside, the whole family. Lindsey could tell that Lyssa was still in one of her funky moods but didn’t let it get her down tonight. Tonight she just wanted to enjoy things and try to relax, only relaxing wasn’t in her cards.
Reluctant Heat Page 15
