by Susan Bliler
Hillary pulled the sheet to her chest and sat up listening as Brooke spoke.
“It’ll take me a few days to get the proofs up. I’ll send you a private link so you can pick the ones you want right off the computer and then I’ll work on those and get them printed up in the size you choose, or in a book if you’d prefer. After that, you can order prints at anytime so if you give copies to your boyfriend and then end up breaking up, I can print you more.” She crinkled her nose. “I would recommend saving them for your mate though. One of the girls here had her photos done and gave them to one of the enforcers. His best friend ended up being her mate and it’s still a point of contention that his friend has seen the photos. It got weird.”
She didn’t need to be told that though. She had no intention of showing the photos to anyone…ever!
“Alright! I’m gonna pack up and head over to do Simone’s shoot.”
Hillary scrambled off the bed, sheet still wrapped around her. She stopped at the door. “I’ll change and help.” But Brooke already had her camera and tripod in their hard case and was taking down the reflective umbrellas.
“No need. It only takes me a sec. I’ve got tons of practice setting up and taking down.” She worked while she talked.
Hillary was surprised at how efficiently everything came down and fit into the cases Brooke had laying open.
“Well, just wait and I’ll help you carry everything down.”
She turned for the door, but Brooke said, “Look!”
She turned back and saw the black looking suitcase that held the reflective umbrellas and their stands had wheels on the bottom. A handle extended and Brooke placed the second case that held her camera and tripod on top and secured it with a Velcro strap. “See? All done.”
Hillary stepped to the side as Brooke rolled her gear out the door. She followed.
“Can’t keep Simone waiting. Wanda’s gotta be done with her hair and make-up by now.”
The urgency with which Brooke was moving was a little odd though. Maybe she really didn’t want to keep Simone waiting, or maybe she just wanted to hurry because none of them were really sure when Bull and Modess would be back.
At the bottom of the stairs, Brooke tossed a wave over her shoulder and hollered, “I’ll be in touch. Thanks again!”
Hillary waved and then padded to the bathroom in the hallway where she’d left her clothes. Dropping the sheet, she quickly picked up all her makeup that had been left out. Her mind kept going back to the image of Modess watching her as she posed, the image of male satisfaction on his face had liquid heat pooling between her legs.
“Christ,” she hissed. She zipped up her makeup bag before turning and reaching in to blast on the shower. An ice cold drenching was definitely in order after all the steamy thoughts that had been running through her head, but she’d need to hurry because she still had to hide her lingerie and to remake the bed.
Long minutes later, arms braced on the sink, body dripping from her cold shower, Hillary’s legs trembled and her arms shook as she stared at her own pale reflection. In the shower, the images of Modess hadn’t left and she’d resorted to touching herself, bringing herself to climax in hopes of slaking her lust before Modess returned. Head tossed back while images of Modess’ big body over hers filled her head, she’d come so hard in the shower her legs had nearly buckled. It hadn’t helped. Now, as she stood staring at her own stark image, she knew she was in trouble. Her body’s tremors weren’t from the cold of still being wet or the frigid shower she’d just taken. They weren’t even residual from the pleasure she’d just given herself. No, the tremors were from realization. Nipples sensitive, the folds between her legs swelling while her clit throbbed, Hillary knew what was happening the second she’d gotten off and her desire heightened instead of lessened. It had to have been the sexy lingerie and all those naughty thoughts of Modess. Shit! Shit, shit, SHIIIIIIIIT!
Hillary was in heat.
Chapter 19
Jerking his chin at Bull by way of salutation, Modess made his way up the front steps to his house. Even from outside he could smell Hillary’s baking and it had his belly grumbling in eager anticipation. The woman was a damn sorceress when it came to cooking. He grinned at that stupid saying about the way to a man’s heart being through his stomach because since she’d come to stay with him, he’d been really excited to return home every day. He told himself it was simply due to her culinary abilities. His wolf snorted.
Shoving the front door open, the scent of sweet decadent chocolate hit him so hard he nearly moaned. Typically, he wasn’t a fan of chocolate, but something about the smell of this had his mouth salivating and his gut clenching. Tossing his keys into the bowl on the table behind the door, he strode to the kitchen, ears straining to pick up the sounds of Hillary working. There were none and when he got to the kitchen, it was empty. He checked the oven and the fridge and there was no dessert to be seen. He wondered if maybe she’d made something for Simone and had taken it to her, but a crashing upstairs had his head jerking around before he hurried out the kitchen and hustled upstairs.
The scent of the dessert increased with each step he took and now his heart was racing, his palms sweating, and his brows spearing down as worry seized him. His nose led him to the bathroom in the hallway. He tried the door, but it was locked. “Hillary?”
She didn’t answer, but he could hear her inside now. It sounded like she was…crying?
Turning, he threw his shoulder into the door and it crashed open. Hillary sat on the edge of the tub wrapped in a sheet. Her shoulders were bare and so were her legs that peeked out telling him she was naked underneath. Her hair was damp like she’d just taken a shower, but she wouldn’t look at him. “Hillary?”
He took a step toward her and his feet crunched on the broken glass of what used to be a vase that Wanda had painted, which previously sat in the window sill. The window was wide open and a breeze was wafting in, sending goose bumps blasting across Hillary’s wet skin.
“Hillary!” he snapped. “Are you okay? What’s going on?” Something was going on! The second he stepped into the bathroom, his wolf lunged for the surface. He thought it had been a protective instinct, but even now his wolf was shredding his insides. His beast wanted free.
He crunched across the glass and stopped in front of her. “Are you hurt?”
She still refused to look at him, but he could see her body trembling.
“Hillary!” He crouched in front of her.
“I-I was trying to get fresh air.”
She motioned toward the broken glass, but he didn’t give two fucks about the vase. It bothered him that she still wouldn’t look at him.
“Why are you wrapped in a sheet?” He looked toward the door, anger seizing him as the scent of her release overpowered the sweet dessert scent and wafted to him. She’d been trying to hide it by opening the window. “Was someone here?”
She shook her head but kept her chin down. Forcefully, he collared her throat and her lips parted on a gasp. His wolf was raging inside him and it was a struggle to stay in control. “What’s. Wrong?” He didn’t mean for his voice to come out so harsh or for his grip to be so firm, but he had to know what the fuck was happening before his wolf broke free.
“I’m…” She pinched her eyes closed and a tear tracked down her cheek. “I’m in heat.”
Just the words had his balls drawing up tight as his cock instantly hardened. That scent, that sweet decadence was her in heat. He had to swallow hard as his nostrils flared, involuntarily drinking her in. His gut clenched with need and inside his wolf was baying. He understood now. Where before her wolf had simply called to his, the she-wolf was now howling for him too.
It took several moments to get himself under control and another few to convince himself to release her throat. Slowly, he got to his feet while his mind raced for soothing words.
“It’s alright, we’ll…”
“I need to go back to Shadow Wolf,” she cut him off. “I hav
e a friend there. Blake. He sees to my needs when this happens.”
Blake! Rage engulfed him. Even the thought of another man touching her right now had his back teeth gnashing together. The thought of taking her home so some other man could sate her sexual needs. He was shaking his head. “Not fucking happening, Cupcake!” God her nickname made so much sense now. Her scent had always called to him, but this, her in heat, it was overpowering.
“He’s just a friend,” she snapped. “He only touches me when I ask him to…when he has to. He helps ease the ache. That’s all.”
Her explanation was only serving to piss him off more because one, what the fuck did she mean this fuck only touches her when he has to? Was this Blake fucker blind and dumb? And two, he didn’t want to hear about any other male easing her ache. His wolf liked hearing it even less.
Finally, Hillary looked up at him. Eyes full of tears, lower lip trembling, she shook her head as her hands fisted the sheet at her breasts. “I have to go home, Modess. I can’t stay here like this! It’s too hard, too painful!”
No. No fucking way! Bending, he scooped her up off the edge of the tub and carried her out of the bathroom. In the hall, her arms went around his neck and she moaned at the skin to skin contact. He understood the sound she made because just touching her was calming his inner wolf too.
“This is wrong.” Her words were muffled though because her face was buried against his chest.
“It’s natural,” he countered but cringed when her shoulders started shaking. Wetness soaked through his shirt to his chest as she silently sobbed.
At the entrance to his room, he stalled. The bed was disheveled. Surveying the space, he let his nostrils flare as he drank in scents trying to decipher what had happened. There was a faint hint of Wanda and…Brooke? He didn’t dwell on those too long, though. They were buried by the overwhelming scent of Hillary’s pheromones. She’d been aroused in his room and he wondered what in the hell that had to do with Wanda and Brooke. Perhaps she called the women to help with suggestions regarding her heat? When he thought on how Hillary could have asked Wanda to take her back to Shadow Wolf, his mouth went dry. She could be gone right now. She could be racing back to her pack so another male could ease her heat. The knowledge made him queasy.
Hillary sniffed and unsure what exactly to do with her, he toed off his shoes and padded barefoot to the bed where he gently set her down.
“Stop crying,” he soothed. “Here.” He reached into his pocket hoping to distract her from her current dilemma. “I got you something in town today.”
Her head lifted as she stared at the shiny silver chain in his hand with red-rimmed eyes. Her small hand lifted and grabbed the oddly shaped white stone that hung on the necklace. Fingers smoothing over it, it took her a second to realize what it was. “I-is this an elk ivory?”
“Yeah,” he dipped his chin in a nod. “Went to get mine put on a chain and…well, they come in pairs and I didn’t need two, so…”
Lifting her chin, she looked at his throat where a thicker chain rested with the matching ivory.
“Is this your kill?” she asked.
“Yeah. Took him last year mid-winter.”
“No.” She shook her head. “You should give this one to whoever helped you take him down.”
She tried to hand it back, but his closed his fingers over hers. “I took him alone, Cupcake.”
Eyes rounding, they dipped back to her hand. “You took down a bull elk by yourself?”
He grinned, pride in his eyes. “Well, I am Alpha.”
“Still,” her face morphed back into a frown. “That’s dangerous!”
She was right, it was, and he’d had to fight long and hard to get the beast down, but it’d been worth it. That bull had fed the pack for a week while the roads had been too snowed over for the trucks to get into town to resupply. Not wanting to brag, he shrugged casually and pulled the necklace from her hand before clasping it around her throat. “My kill, my ivories. I’ll do with ‘em as I please.” The necklace looked good on her. Something about her wearing his gift filled him with satisfaction and some other emotion he didn’t want to scrutinize right now.
Reaching over his head, he pulled his shirt off in one quick movement, drawing Hillary’s attention.
“What…what are you doing?” Her eyes rounded and a blush took her cheeks as she planted a hand by her hip and scooted away from him.
“Easy,” he crooned. “Not trying to take advantage of you. Just gonna hold you until the ache goes away.” He placed a knee on the bed and stopped holding up his hands. “Is that alright?”
Hillary eyed him like he was a poisonous snake before her expression finally crumpled and she nodded.
He climbed fully onto the bed and rolled to his back before holding out an arm. “Come here.”
She hesitated a moment before slowly lowering herself down to tuck in at his side. Because of Wanda and her penchant for the divulgence of too much information, he knew all about females going into heat, the ache that accompanied it, and how it was soothed. Because Hillary wouldn’t let him take her, she’d have to settle for skin to skin contact. It’s why he’d ripped off his shirt. His jeans would stay on though, because while he was trying to be a good guy here, he was no fucking saint.
Hillary’s shoulders went back to shaking as she wept against him. “Shhhhh,” he soothed, running small circles over the bare skin just above the sheet at her back. She smelled remarkable and while his one hand on her was gentle, the other was fisted into a white knuckled fist. This could very well be the longest night of his goddamn life!
Chapter 20
Modess held Hillary to his chest. She’d cried herself into an exhausted sleep and it was a damn good thing because her plea to go back home coupled with the scent of her heat was gutting him. Even now, his balls were so swollen that they ached. He sighed heavily as he stared up at the ceiling, one arm bent behind his head while the other was curled around Hillary’s shoulders. She was half-laying on his chest, her soft breasts pressed into him with only the sheet separating their skin. He stifled a growl. He was trying to figure out exactly how he was supposed to handle this scent of hers without just taking her when Hillary stirred and mumbled in her sleep, “Please don’t.”
He tensed, wondering who she was talking to. Please don’t what?
Her hand flexed on his chest and her nails scraped his skin when she curled her fingers into a fist. The feel was erotic and had blood flooding his already hard dick.
“Modess,” Hillary breathed in her sleep and he swore he was going to blow his load just from listening to her moan his name. If that didn’t do it, the way she slid her hand down his abs was definitely going to be the end of him.
Hillary’s hand flattened on his lower abs and he sucked in a breath, his muscles flexing with the motion as his eyes rolled to her face. Still asleep. Her hand stayed splayed across him as she pressed her body more fully to him, her mouth brushing the skin just below his ear. Modess tensed, his body going rock hard with the strain it was taking to keep from rolling over her and taking charge. As it was, there wasn’t anything for him to take charge of. Hillary was asleep and him taking advantage of her wasn’t going to happen.
He choked on the thought when her tongue peeked out and swiped at his throat. Ffffuck! Pinching his eyes tight, Modess was talking himself into being the good guy when Hillary’s mouth opened. She sucked his skin into his mouth, hard enough he knew it’d leave a mark. He swore he felt the tugs all the way to his balls. His cock jerked, threatening release as Hillary writhed against him still sucking on his neck. Inside, his beast roared at the mark she was leaving on him. Goddamn!
Finally, mercifully, she pulled back. “Mmm,” she moaned and then her hand was sliding down the front of his pants.
Gritting his teeth, Modess’ eyes snapped open and he drew in a ragged breath as he fought to keep control. He was literally seconds away from rolling Hillary over and burying himself inside her, and if she didn�
��t stop touching him soon, that’s exactly what was going to happen.
Her hand buried further into his jeans and when her fingers brushed the tip of his cock, his body jerked. Hillary muttered something and he knew she was still asleep. She tried to force her hand further, but the material around his hips wouldn’t allow it, so being the gentlemen he was, Modess pulled the arm from behind his head and unsnapped his jeans before pulling his zipper down.
Hillary groaned and pressed tighter into him as her hand closed around him. He hissed when she pulled a long stroke before her hand started working on him. Pre-cum dripped from the head of his cock and helped lubricate her hand and Hillary moaned long and low before throwing a leg over him.
Unsure what to do, Modess lay still while Hillary climbed up on his body. Her eyes were still closed and she kept making moaning noises, but when she was fully atop him, her thighs spread wide to accommodate his big body, his control nearly snapped. Taking deep breaths, he was trying to convince himself to be the good guy, but just then Hillary slid just slightly down his body until his iron hard cock slipped into her wet, silken, slit.
Her eyes were still closed, her head was tossed back as an almost grin took her lips.
Hands fisted on either side of him, and limbs shaking, Modess gave up when Hillary rolled her hips. He hadn’t rolled her over and shoved himself into her like he’d been aching to do. No, she’d taken him, so that was good enough for his conscience.
He pushed Hillary into a sitting position and she made this sexiest sound ever when he drove into her further. Strong hands fisted the material of the sheet around her and it was ripped off her body in a blink. His hands slid up to cup her breasts, breasts that were more exquisite than he’d even imagined, all creamy delight tipped with budded pink nipples. They were large and his tongue actually peeked out to wet his lips with his desire to suckle them.
