Dances with Wolves

by Dances

  Jada gritted her teeth when she saw the smile bloom on Larissa's face.

  "Darling, do you think I would befriend axe murderers and ex-convicts? I can assure you that all my guests are perfectly sane and are legally free to be here! The man beside you is perfectly respectable, even for your high ideals!" she muttered pointedly. "If you find him attractive, which I assume you do because the last time you asked me about a guy was when we were in our sophomore year at high-school when you wanted to know how to get Danny Flint to fancy you, then you've found yourself a prospective partner for the night. It really is as simple as that, hon."

  "I'll kill you for this, Scarlett, you wait! I'll get you back," Jada warned moodily, gracing her friend with another sour look when Larissa just laughed. "I'm terrified here. I almost ran from the damned room when he sat down!"

  Larissa scowled. "What on earth for? There's nothing wrong with him!"

  "How the hell should I know? That's what I'm asking you for!"

  "Well, like I said, he's a nice guy. There's no need to feel like you have to escape him, for God's sake."

  "Did I say that?" Jada whispered impatiently, "No, I think you'll find that I didn't. I said that when he sat down my instincts screamed at me to run away. I just wondered what the hell for. I have no idea why I should react that way. I don't know even know him, haven't even looked at him yet, and yet I recognized him from earlier. That's not normal, Scarlett. I know I'm not usually perceptive but this is just too weird. This is more than perceptive, it's just plain bizarre."

  "And you said you don't know his name?" Larissa asked.

  "No, I don't know his name, obviously, and you won't tell me it either, you bitch, but he's the guy who passed us in the hall earlier on the way to my room."

  "We passed lots of people in the hall," she said dismissively.

  "Yeah, well this one stuck out in my mind! Let me guess, he's wearing a wolf mask, white with red paint on it. Gold eyes, yes gold, not brown, not amber, gold! Plus the best lips you've ever seen in your damned life!" Jada whispered gloomily before she sighed in remembrance. Just thinking about his lips raised more goose flesh on her arms and shoulders.

  With a small tender smile, Larissa whispered softly, "Yes, it's him. He has a white mask and gold eyes. Honey, I have to say that I've never seen any guy affect you like this. I mean you've actually noticed his existence! Even your exes didn't inspire that much in you. Hell, I remember that time we went on a double date and you actually ignored your own date and spent the whole time talking to me and mine! That you know this guy is even here must mean something to you," she teased gently then reached out for her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Go for him. Take the plunge. Stop holding back and allow yourself this experience. You deserve it, you know you do, plus I just know you'll have a wonderful time."

  Jada raised shocked eyes to Larissa's. "Please tell me you haven't fucked him!"

  With an amused grin, Larissa whispered, "No, you're in luck, he's yet to feel my poisonous touch!"

  "Thank God for that! I love you like a sister, but no way am I sharing your past or present lovers!" Jada said softly. "Saying that, God only knows how many you haven't slept with here."

  Larissa laughed at the blush on Jada's cheeks as she realized what she'd just said, "Don't worry, love, I'm not offended. Talk to him! Enjoy him and yourself."

  Clenching her eyes shut, Jada vowed to do just that.

  Chapter Three

  Still facing Larissa, Jada raised a hand to her face, feeling the need to ensure that her mask was still there, covering everything it should. She reassured herself with the fact that he wouldn't know her from Eve, that there was a possibility he wasn't even interested in her. But even as she thought the words, she knew that to be a lie, she just had a feeling that he was as aware of her as she was of him. It was as simple and terrifying as that.

  With a deep breath for courage, she turned her head and realized that he must've been looking at her the whole time she'd been whispering with Larissa about him. She felt a flush burn her cheeks crimson, and discomfort invaded her, tensing her limbs and unsettling a flurry of nerves in the pit of her belly.

  "Good evening," he said, his voice thick with the sound of Scotland, making her insides quiver and tremble. She was such a sucker for an accent. His brogue rasped along nerve endings she'd never even known about. She felt like sighing as that husky voice echoed in her mind and transmuted into his cries of pleasure as he climaxed in her ear. She could practically hear his grunts and groans as he pumped into her, his ass flexing as he thrust deep, leaving no inch of her free from his touch. Feeling the buzz of arousal from that thought alone, she knew he'd seen it in her eyes, too, when his own gold orbs burned brightly in response.

  Her eyes flickered over his lips, thick and full. She imagined biting them, marking him as hers. Shocked at her primitive thoughts, she gulped in trepidation then sighed weakly and focused on his eyes once more, saw that he felt the same, that he'd reacted as she had. Suddenly she didn't feel so bad, so crazy. Possessive thoughts about a stranger seemed positively ludicrous, but that was how she felt. She couldn't deny it, not to herself.

  His jaw was tense, perfectly sculpted, a delicious frame for his luscious lips. His mask covered his nose and cheeks, but she could see faint stubble grace his chin. Her eyes flared as they ran over his, the thick dark lashes veiling the golden orbs that burned scandalously into hers. In that moment, she felt supremely feminine next to his heightened masculinity. Never had she felt so sexy, so right, yet so Jada.

  "Good evening," she answered huskily, watching his golden orbs sizzle as her voice washed over him.

  As he tilted his head, she couldn't help but think of that wolf documentary she'd once watched, but her concentration wavered when he asked, "What's your name?"

  She shivered as his Scottish brogue deepened. Instead of concentrating on his question, she focused on her reaction to him. After a minute, she realized he was waiting for an answer. She'd been so caught up examining him, she'd forgotten completely that he'd asked her a question. Thinking quick, she remembered what it was, he'd asked her name.

  "Jada," she blurted out then bit her tongue as reality came to the fore immediately. Why hadn't she chosen an alias like Larissa and Alex had. Dammit! she swore mentally then consoled herself. He would probably believe it to be a false name anyway, seeing as no one else would be stupid enough to reveal their real name. Talk about foot in mouth syndrome! With a small sigh, she recognized that it would be easier for her to answer to her real name. She was so strung up that had anyone used her alias she wouldn't have realized it anyway.

  "Is this your first masquerade, Jada?"

  With a shaky breath, she literally felt her position on terra firma wobble as he said her name. It sounded so damn right coming from his lips!

  Although Larissa had said that they hadn't slept together, perhaps if this wasn't his first, he recognized her dress and subsequently the acts Larissa had engaged in! Mumbling in disgust under her breath, she realized once more she had to tell the truth. She didn't want him to associate Larissa with herself. Dammit! She was so honest and truthful in her ordinary life that it was quite boring, and now she had to stick to the truth again! What was the point in being someone else if you told the damned truth all the time? She stopped herself from grimacing, only just, then admitted, "Yes, this is my first masquerade." What did it matter? She was a terrible liar anyway.

  At her words, the smile literally shone from his face. She felt dazzled from the feral, wolfish grin that stared back at her. Again there was that word, wolfish. Why did he remind her so of a wolf? He inspired animalistic emotions in her that was for damned sure! She should have been frightened, but she wasn't, anything but. Excitement reigned, not fear or nerves. She felt empowered and strong, ready for this equally strong man. It was a wonderful feeling for someone who had spent the majority of their adulthood insecure, sure that she was less of a woman because she couldn't conceive. She craved his touch
and his body more than she needed her next breath.

  At his continued silence, she whispered, "Is this your first?"

  "No. I've been to a few."

  With a hesitant hand, she raised it to his mask, stroked the bottom-edge and trailed her fingers over his jaw, closing her eyes at the sensations that felt like butterflies in her stomach. She jumped in shock as a server came and coughed to make her aware of his presence.

  Jada dropped her hand from his face without much ado as mortification replaced the heady empowerment of before. She straightened in her chair and faced forward as the server placed a dish of soup in front of her. She inhaled as she reached for her spoon and took a small sip of the broth.

  God, Caden thought, she was beautiful and her scent was driving him crazy. His cock was hard and literally throbbing with need for this woman. For the first time he resented the masks, resented the anonymity they allowed her. He wanted to know her. Intimately. He wanted to know everything about her, every little detail that, wanted to possess all of her.

  The mask gave him teasing glimpses of her face and the cluster of feathers mingled with her long chestnut hair, which enhanced her loveliness, but he wanted to see her. He wanted it with a passion that should have made him pause because he already knew she was not for him. But although he knew she couldn't be his, his body, his inner beast, screamed that she was. All of his life he'd listened to his instincts, had been raised to live by them, raised to trust them implicitly. All of his life he'd been taught by his parents that they wouldn't let him down the way real emotions could and would. So how could he very well ignore them now? Just one look at her and his entire being screamed at him to claim her, screamed one thing above all of other thoughts. Mine! Other men in the room stared at her, caressed her body with their gaze and he wanted to kick their asses for their insolence. The strength of his feelings spoke of one thing, and it was that very thing he knew he shouldn't even begin to contemplate.

  Grimacing in dismay at the storm of troublesome thoughts running through his head, Caden focused again on the cause of them, the unique woman who had managed to ignite unbelievable feelings in him. Her body made him fight the urge to drool like a newborn pup. The red silk number she wore highlighted her curves, skimmed each and every inch of her delicious body, encasing and displaying her breasts to perfection. His hands itched to curve around them, to play with them, to tease them. Her dress placed them on display, making it easy to see that they were a lush handful, that they were plump and delicious as they were on the verge of practically bouncing their way out of the dress. He wanted to take them in his hands, drizzle lube over the sleek skin, and thrust his cock between them. He longed to feel the silken satin of her skin glide against his cock, burned with the need to see his cum splash over her bountiful breasts, marking her with his scent as they both rubbed it into her breasts.

  He recalled when he'd seen her earlier in the day in one of the castle's hallways. He'd been struck by her scent before he'd even managed to catch a glimpse of her. But that sweet scent, God, something inside of him had recognized her as someone he needed to get to know. Quickly. He didn't know what it was or would be to him, but that scent ratcheted up his need and drove him crazy. Despite the sexual abandon these masquerades inspired and encouraged, he knew instinctively that she wasn't used to that kind of behavior. He could tell it by her body language and, yes, that delicious scent of hers that she was relatively untouched, unlike most of the other women in attendance. For some reason that made him growl, both in anger and in satisfaction. He wanted no other man to have touched her, yet at the same time, recognized that for the injustice it was. He wasn't a virgin, why should he expect her to be? The wolfen side of him, however, didn't care for equality, it demanded that she be his and his alone. When he eventually got his hands on her, he'd have to mark her repeatedly with his scent just to get rid of any sign of any other man she'd ever slept with, otherwise it would drive his beast insane. Caden was sure he'd enjoy himself during the process, but it was more imperative to the well being of his beast. Just thinking of men looking at her, seeing the other men in the room look at her, made him angry, to imagine another man touching her sexually would raise blood lust, something he just couldn't allow, no matter how pleasing the thought.

  When he'd entered the dining hall, he'd purposely searched for her elusive scent among the throng of masqueraders seated at the dining table, knowing that it meant that he could seat himself beside her to study her. And he'd seen her reaction to his presence, like prey to his predator. Jada managed to raise his hackles both figuratively and as a wolfen. That unease caused his body to produce hormones and Jada, who was at the very center of those feelings, received the full blast of those chemicals. He'd seen her fight the need to escape, had known it for what it was and his beast was pleased that she'd managed to stay put, that despite her fear she'd fought her instincts, battled them into submission and had won. This woman was strong, strong enough to handle him. As both man, wolfen, and Alpha, that was extremely vital. She was in no danger from him, but her body and instincts wouldn't be able to recognize that.

  He was also pleased that she'd told him her real name. It had been rather comical when he'd seen the desperate desire in her to bite her own tongue and turn back the time to before she'd disclosed her true name. He'd managed to keep from smiling, but it had been hard. Even wearing a mask that partially covered her face, she was an open book. He had to admit that he liked that about her. Her honesty and lack of guile was refreshing. And with an accent that was as delicious as she was, low and throaty with a pleasing drawl to it, it acted like a cooling tonic to his red-hot senses. The soothing cadence of her voice merely reminded him of her truthfulness, for no lie could pass that tongue without both her body and her voice betraying it.

  Caden had to admit she was a pleasing combination, and he was glad he'd found her before his cousins had, because he had no doubt that she would appeal to the wolfen in them as well. Her glossy brown hair caressed shoulders he longed to kiss. He imagined grabbing a handful of the chestnut locks, tugging her head back to bare her throat, and lathing his tongue over the long graceful arch. Repressing a groan, he thought about dragging his teeth between her neck and shoulder, nipping her, marking her as his and his alone. Her lips were full and a deep inviting pink. They weren't tainted by gloss or paint. They were her natural color. The thought of those luscious pink lips surrounding his cock made that appendage throb anxiously. Every inch of his body longed for her touch. As he studied her, he discovered it was easy to imagine holding her head as she formed a perfect O with those lips and worked his cock with her mouth. In that position she'd be able to look straight into his eyes. Those hazel eyes of hers would flicker and change color as her arousal grew and grew. He thought about climaxing in her mouth, or pulling out and fucking her until she screamed his name. His name. His.

  Perhaps it was the mixture of her goods looks and intoxicating scent that made her appeal to him, but he there was no doubt in his mind that she was fine-tuned to his body, that something about her called to the darker side of his nature, a nature he'd long ago developed an ease to hide from the rest of the world. His wolfen.

  Although Jada didn't pointedly ignore him, she was aware that as she spoke to Larissa, he would occasionally glance at her then continue talking to the woman beside him. Despite herself, jealousy burned deep in her gut as she watched him from the corner of her eye. Both horrified that she could feel so strongly for a complete stranger and anxious as the emotions he stirred in her were immensely powerful, she ate little over the course of the meal. She did justice to her friend, tried everything and complimented Larissa on her choice of dishes, but her heart wasn't really in it. The delicious food settled like ash in her stomach because her body and mind were focused on the man seated beside her.

  God, what was happening to her? How could she be having these feelings? She hadn't even spoken to the man for all that long. As a matter of fact, the woman who was stirring up all h
er jealous emotions had spoken to him longer than she had. She had no idea why she was feeling the way she did, but she knew one thing for certain, she didn't like it one little bit.

  It was with some relief that the butler announced at the end of the meal that everyone should head over to the ballroom. At his words, there was a mass exodus, and she managed to lose herself in the crowd of people. She didn't want either Larissa or the wolf man to find her. She didn't want him to find her because she wanted to both kick and kiss him. She didn't want Larissa to find her because, although she'd kept up the talk at dinner, the pointed looks had started to piss her off. Just because Larissa wanted her to talk to the guy did not automatically mean that she was going to do it! She was her own woman. She made her own decisions, and whether they were wrong or right, she stood by them.

  She walked around the perimeter of the room rather than diving into the dancing crowd. It wasn't that she couldn't dance. Her mother had insisted on lessons as a child and she'd hated every moment of it. It had been a real pain in the butt for her mother because her instructor had insisted that she had the talent and natural rhythm to dance competitively. But she had put a stop to that then and there. So dancing in front of a group of strangers wasn't exactly on the top of her list of things to do during this break.

  With her head down, she tried to dissect the feelings and emotions the mysterious man at dinner had inspired in her. She didn't even know his name. How could he inspire anything on so short an acquaintance? But he had and that was that. She just had to analyze how she was going to cope with feeling so strongly about a man she didn't even really know.

  Sighing heavily, lost in thought, she didn't see the man in front of her until she practically walked into him. His hands came up to her arms and steadied her. His callused palms slid over her warm skin, sending a cascade of sensation over her body. She looked up and nearly jumped when she realized that this man was wearing a similar wolf mask to the one worn by her dinner companion, but this time the markings weren't in red but gold. He looked fierce and dangerous.