Simple, she thought, lifting her head to meet those hot cat eyes on her. She wasn't asking because she was afraid of the answers. After two long plane rides and now this awkward long drive in the truck that had been waiting for them when they landed, she could finally admit that she was indeed a coward.
"You going to talk to me Duchess, or keep living in that head of yours, stewing?"
"Keep your eyes on the road," she said by way of answer and he laughed at her but turned his eyes back to the winding mountain road he seemed to be having no trouble navigating. Maggie had tried to pay attention to the scenery passing but knew that with evening having already fallen, and the long winding drive that went on forever, if she had been driving, they would have been hopelessly lost. Considering how long they had been driving, she wasn't sure he had not driven on past his "mountain cabin," and they were going to end up, eventually in Canada. "Are you sure you know where we are going?"
He laughed at her again. "This road goes exactly one place, and it’s mine. Trust me Maggie, I'll get you there. In fact," he said bringing the car to a halt before a long metal cattle fence. And pushing the shift into park. "We're here."
Maggie looked around as he got out and unlocked the gate shoving it open so they could drive through. She tried to see what was beyond him and the gate, but all she saw was dark forest and more road.
Maggie had never camped in her life, so she was more than a little nervous about what Eli would consider a habitable cabin. They were so far from any kind of civilization she would not be surprised to find his mountain cabin was a mountain shack. Even the closest town they had passed through was little more than a blip they had driven by in a blink. Certainly not the usual cosmopolitan travels she was used to. Should she be so worried about indoor plumbing?
When Eli got back into the truck he laughed at the look on her face.
She was forced to glare at him. "What is so funny?"
"You are. When you aren't trying to tell a joke."
She rolled her eyes and set her sights on the road as they pulled through the gate and drove on. She looked behind them. "You aren't closing the gate?"
"No need. I can hear someone coming long before they get close enough to be a problem. I just close the gate when I am gone to discourage trespassers, when I'm not around to encourage their absence another way."
"Do you get many?"
"Nope," He grinned at her. "There is nothing else on this road but my land, and most people around here who would know about it already know better than to come around."
"That sociable, are you?" She raised her brow at him in question, but he just grinned at her.
"This is my territory. I don't come up here to socialize."
"What do you come up here for?" She looked around trying to see where they were headed but it was useless in the dark. "And how is it that even your pack has never been here?"
He shrugged. "I'm a cat, a black panther if you want to be technical. We don't hang out in packs or prides as a rule. We are solitary creatures for the most part. I am a part of Lionsgate because they became my family, but I still need a place to be away from everything and everyone at least some of the time. This is that place for me."
She licked her lips and studied the relaxed look on his face. "Is having me here going to be strange for you?"
He laughed and stopped the car, turning off the lights before she could see yet more trees. Capturing her gaze and holding it as he turned part way in his seat to face her.
"A mate is an entirely different thing. I have wanted to bring you here since I marked you as mine. I fucking love the idea of having you all to myself in my territory." He shrugged with what he knew was a self-satisfied smile. "I think it has to do with having you trapped at my mercy far from civilization."
Maggie was almost positive he was teasing her, but she could not stop the thrill of heat that tweaked all her hot spots at his words. Being at Eli's mercy was not exactly a bad place to be. She cleared her throat and tried for casual. "You are such a guy."
He laughed, and she was moved by the relaxed way he did it. Eli, she knew could find the humor in almost any situation, but it was obvious to her that as much as he liked his pack and his job with Lionsgate, he had not lied when he told her he needed time away from everyone. He was, for want of a better word, entirely relaxed, for possibly the first time since she had met him. "You love it up here in the middle of nowhere, don't you?"
"I do. Not to mention it is fucking hilarious watching you worry and stew about what you have walked into mating with me."
Maggie cleared her throat and looked out the front window that showed nothing but darkness. "I am beginning to think you are dragging this out just to torment me," she finally said with a sigh.
He grinned wider, then reached over and clicked off her seat belt and pulled her closer so that he could lean down and kiss her. "Maybe a little, but you are so cute trying not to show how worried you are about where we will be living."
She huffed before he kissed her again. In the dark of the night, enclosed as she was in the cab of the truck with Eli's heat keeping her warm and making her feel like no one else in the world did exist, she finally had to admit the truth.
"I'm a little worried we will be living in a shack with no bathroom and no running water." She smacked him when he laughed at her. "Don't laugh. I know it's a silly thing to be worried about in the scheme of things, but I have never," she struggled to find the right words. "Camped. I'm not sure how I will handle it." When he laughed and kissed her again she glared at him. "Stop laughing at me. I don't want to disappoint you or myself. I will try," she assured him. "To love it like you do." She cleared her throat. "But you might need to cut me some slack for the foreseeable future. And if it gets to be too much we will have to come to compromise. Like a few months here, a few months at a spa resort. That sort of thing."
This time when Eli kissed her, he put his back into it, as if suddenly he couldn't hold himself from her. When he finally pulled away her lips were swollen with his kisses, and her body was on overdrive. "Or you can keep kissing me like that and I'll be perfectly fine grubbing it with you."
"Duchess, I fucking love you." He said, and she could hear the happiness, and strength of those words. It took what breath she had left. Before she could respond or think beyond what he had said he turned the truck lights back on and motioned with his hands. "What do you think?"
What? They had been sitting here the whole time, his house right there?
Then she got a good look at the home he called a mountain cabin, even with just the truck lights highlighting it she could see the home she had been fretting and stewing over and almost growled herself.
She turned and glared hotly at Eli. "You are such a bastard!"
He laughed so hard at her reaction he did not even notice when she hit his shoulder. Twice
CHAPTER TWENTY
Before Maggie could hit him again he pulled her into his chest again. He was still laughing but now he was doing it into her neck. She slapped the back of his head. "Your sense of humor is twisted. Why would you let me stew when you lived in a perfectly lovely home, that obviously was built recent enough to have a bathroom on the inside?"
"You were being so stoic about it, all set to endure for my sake."
She slapped at him again, but he caught her hand with another laugh and kissed her.
Maggie struggled to hold back her own laughter. She did not want him to think she found him at all funny, but the relief she was feeling was making her a smidge giddy. "You are a..." she began only to be interrupted by Eli once again, as he placed her on her feet outside the suddenly open driver side truck door and followed her out. The smack on the ass was going entirely too far in Maggie’s opinion.
"Do you want to see it or not?" he asked, and then didn't wait for an answer just kissed her again, grabbed her hand and began unceremoniously hauling her to the house.
Maggie let it all go with one final glare he ignored anyway. S
he really did want to see the house, at least, she did now that she knew she was not going to hate it. Even if there was not a single stick of furniture besides a recliner and a tv it was still an improvement over what she had imagined.
The cabin was a two-story made of glass and roughhewn wood that looked more impressive the closer they got to it. The porch was wide, also natural wood, and gleamed even in the motion lights that came on at their approach. There were three wide stairs up to the porch and then another landing where the two double doors stood. The closer they got to those double doors, the bigger and more daunting they seemed.
If she was not mistaken the things had been carved out of one solid piece of oak tree. The carvings along the edges became a language of wild images that went up and around the doors. The doors themselves had to be twelve feet tall at the tallest part of the arch, and eight feet wide. She let her eyes travel the giant doors that reminded her of something out of a Tolkien book.
She turned to give questioning eyes to Eli. "Is Gandalf The Grey going to step out if I open these doors?" She pursed her lips. "Can I open these doors? Or do we need to solve the elven riddle first?"
Eli chuckled, and then without a word unlocked the door, and grabbing the massive black iron handle he shoved them open without too much effort. "Milady," he said gesturing with a sweep of his arms. "Welcome to our home."
Maggie took in the warm wood floors and the rustic beams across the high ceilings. Even from that one spot she could see a great room with a floor to ceiling rock fireplace, two leather sectionals and a stainless steel and marble kitchen complete with what had to be a twelve-foot-long island with leather bar chairs all along the back of it. It was one giant great room, and beyond that nearly wall to ceiling windows seemed to make up all four walls.
The iron and wood stairs in the center of the place lead up to another floor where she assumed the bedroom or bedrooms, if there was more than one, which she assumed from the size of the first floor there was. She took a step in and a closet and powder room were to her right with open doors. Everything else on the first floor at least was completely open, with sightlines from the big chef's kitchen to the family room, and the dining area, where a solid wood table sat with two benches along each side looked to be able to seat ten depending on their size. Everything was rustic, clean, and brought the outdoors inside. What colors there were, beside natural wood tones, rock and black iron, were dark greens and navy blues.
Maggie took another step into the house and turned to gawk at Eli. “Did you order this house from an architectural digest magazine?"
He laughed again, looking pleased by her reaction. One might even say he was preening. Big cat that he was. "You could say that. I hired a company that Logan recommended to come in and build it and decorate. The Bruce's are in high demand these days, so I was lucky I got them in when I did. They are working on Logan's ranch house now, but if you want anything changed they assured me they could work something out in the next few months."
Maggie looked around again and shook her head. "I can't image what that would be. The place is amazing."
This time Eli's grin turned to a full on bold smile, and the fire that lit his eyes told her he liked her answer. A lot.
Maggie started to back away from him, even before he closed the door and started stalking her. "Eli?"
"I like that you like my home," he said his eyes growing liquid and gold as his cat came out to play.
"I can see that you do," she said clearing her dry throat. Good lord her nipples were already tingling. "But shouldn't we bring in the luggage before it gets too late?"
"Too late for what?" he asked, stalking her in such a way he was leading her to the big comfy looking sectionals.
"It's cold in here Eli," she said in warning. "We need to bring in our bags, start the fire, or turn on the heat or something before you try to remove my clothes."
"I'll warm you right up." He stalked closer. "Then when you are passed out from the pleasure I force on you, I'll brave the cold and dark with my superior shifter abilities and bring in all your many, many, many bags." He drew out that last many a little too long in her opinion.
"Hey," she warned. Trying again not to laugh, or panic as he moved her closer to the buttery leather sectional behind her. "Just because I don't travel with a single military pack everywhere I go does not mean I'm the one with the issue."
"You were on a Caribbean island, why would you need more than a bikini?"
She scoffed. "I had moved there with all my luggage remember? It was not exactly a normal vacation pack. Not to mention," she added warming to her rant. "I could hardly bring a single bikini to the backwoods of Washington State when I had no idea what to expect when I arrived. Could I?"
Eli moved fast, and she was suddenly pressed against the back of the sectional, his arms on either side of her stopping her from escaping him. His smile turned wicked and Maggie will admit, that pressed as she was between the hard-leather back and a harder Eli when he was up close and smiling that smile? Yes, she was most assuredly in trouble. Mostly because she was no longer sure why she wanted to get away.
It occurred to her that for the first time, probably since he had claimed her in that hot spring, they were completely and totally alone. No pack just outside the door. No hotel staff with issues that could come find her at any moment. While it had been exciting in its own way to find stolen moments with Eli as often as possible there had been drawbacks.
To have him all to herself where there was no one to hear her honest reactions to him? Hmm.
The man could make her crazy but there was always a little embarrassment that went along with the sounds he managed to wring out of her, just because she knew others not only could but would have heard. Being alone in the dark house with just the light of the moon and a single glowing light from the entry way keeping them company? The idea was titillating. And freeing.
Maggie licked her suddenly dry lips and knew from the way that Eli's eyes lit up a bit brighter that he had detected her sudden wicked thoughts.
"What put that look in your eyes?" he asked, his voice turning all growly and warm as he studied her.
She cleared her throat and leaned just a bit into him so that she could nudge the skin of his neck with her nose. Lord the man smelled good, all hot male and wild things.
"It occurred to me that this is the first time we've been really alone since the hot spring, that's all." She peaked up at him through her lashes and smiled her own version of a wicked grin. His was better, she knew, but from the way his breath caught, and he made that little growly sound deep in his throat, hers was not bad. "I guess I'm wondering what you can do without the worry of interruptions or listening ears." She laid a kiss on the skin of his neck, just beneath his chin. "No one to hear me scream your name."
The snarl he made was almost as disturbing as how fast he had her over the couch and laid out under his big body. His eyes, she noted with some satisfaction, were pure cat gold and smoldering with the heat she had put there. Talk about hot. The man had not even touched her naked skin yet, and she was ready to combust.
"Eli," she breathed.
He growled again, kissed her hard with tongue and teeth, claiming her with sheer sexy brute force before she opened to him, and he gentled just enough to ignite her fire higher. "Not nearly enough depth and volume to my name in that one Duchess, but we have all night. You'll get it right, eventually."
Maggie was not sure if that was a warning or a promise, but she had no doubt to the veracity of the statement. Considering one of his big hard hands was trapping hers high over her head. His other was trailing up warm skin beneath her sweater. With just that she was close to begging for more of him.
Still, she had no intention of making it easy on him. "You sure..." She gasped in a breath when his big hot hand wrapped around her naked breast under the tight confines of her bra. "You can handle it?"
He laughed, all sexy and hot against the sensitive skin of her neck and spoke direct
ly into her ear, making nerves directly attached to all her hot spots ping. "I'd say I already got a handle on this," he mused. Squeezing his hand around her breast almost but not quite enough to hurt.
Her back arched up in reaction, shoving her hard pebble of a nipple into his gripping hand.
"But I think what I really want right now," he said pulling his hand out and letting her straining arms go so that he could grip her sweater and rip it up and over her head. "Is a taste."
Her bra went next, the cold air making them bead harder than she thought possible before the hot wet feel of his mouth replaced the cold on her skin. He sucked her nipple, holding her in his hand right where he wanted her until he had lapped and sucked and bit her into a squirming, writhing mess.
He moved to the other breast and gave it the same treatment while Maggie mindlessly fisted his hair and tried to pull him even closer. Her legs wrapped around him, and her undulating lower body worked to get as close to him as she could. She could only hold him as long as he let her though, because when he was ready, and not a moment sooner if the hard warning look he flashed her was any indication, he moved down, taking her clothes down and off, and shifting around until he had the very heat and wetness of her literally at his fingertips.
Maggie bucked, and growled herself, trying to get him to move with more purpose where she needed him most. By the time his mouth had trailed the flesh of her belly and hips to find the core of her, all it took was one swipe of his tongue and she went off like a rocket.
Of course, that did not stop him from continuing to torture her sexually. Eli, she had to admit was good with that wicked rough tongue of his and knew exactly what to do to make her scream his name. Which she did, repeatedly, until he finally moved back up her body and plunged the full hard hot length of his cock inside her. And made her scream his name again.
Shielding Her Page 15
