by Piper Fox
He swallowed roughly, trying to fight back the urge to take a deeper whiff.
“If you don’t want space in my building, how can I help?”
“It would help if you could stop showing up and stinking up my bakery table with your dog scent.” Her lips just barely curled up into a smile. “I really am going to do this, Dominick. On my own.”
Dom held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. I’ll drop it. But you’ll have to let me carry these things inside.”
Nichole shook her head and grabbed the front of his shirt, tugging him down closer. “You’ve got to stop trying to help me all the time, Dominick.”
“Or what?” He licked his lips, trying to fight the urge to just lean in and kiss her. She was too close, she smelled too delectable, and all he wanted was a taste.
He expected a snarky response. Even a slap or a punch wouldn’t have surprised him.
But the soft brush of her lips against his was almost more than he could bear.
It was so gentle Dom almost wasn’t sure it happened. His wolf, though, knew exactly what was happening.
Even just the softest of touches drove the beast inside crazy, and before Dom really thought about it, he had her up on the tailgate of the truck, her legs wrapped around his waist, as his mouth devoured hers.
His tongue slicked into her mouth, his hands groped her ass, and he ground against her as his body gave in to thoughts and desires he never let himself pursue.
Nichole groaned into his mouth and pushed him back, even though her legs tightened around his waist. “What the fuck was that?”
“You started it.” Dom smirked, reaching up to brush a lock of her chestnut brown hair back from her cheek. “Did you… I mean…” He shook his head. “I should get your pastries back in the house.”
“Leave them. I’ll put the truck in the garage.” She looked up at him and licked her lips. “Dominick, tell me you felt it too. That it wasn’t just in my head.”
Gods, did he love it when she called him by his full name. Almost no one else in town bothered, but it practically sounded like a purr on her lips.
“I didn’t think kissing you would feel like that.” He let out a low groan and shook his head. “Your brother’s going to kill me for kissing you like that.”
Nichole let out a husky laugh. “It’s a good thing Paul doesn’t get to decide who I kiss then, isn’t it?” She pulled him close again, but this time her kiss wasn’t timid or gentle. Her teeth scraped along his lower lip as her tongue slipped into his hungry mouth and her hands reached up to scratch across the back of his head. The heels of her Chuck Taylors dug into his ass and she rocked into him, as if she wanted so much more than just a kiss.
Dom groaned as he buried his face in her neck. “If you keep kissing me like that, you temptress, and I won’t be held responsible for what happens next.”
She bit her lip, looking up at him with a wicked glint in her eye. “I could put on a red cloak if it would help. Carry a basket of treats to tempt the big, bad wolf?”
“What would be under that cloak?” Dom’s fingers dug into the soft curves of her ass.
Nichole smirked and shrugged. “I guess you’d just have to catch me to find out. Lure me into bed.”
Dom groaned, his cock already straining against the front of his jeans. “Fuck it.” He scooped her into his arms, carrying her to the front door. “Where are your keys?”
“My purse. In the truck.” She chuckled and kissed his cheek. “Let me get the car in the garage, and then we can pick this right back up here.” Nichole squirmed from his arms and looked up at Dom. “Not that I’m complaining, or anything, but are you sure about this?”
He cupped her cheek and ran his thumb over her lower lip. “You started it, Nic. Don’t get coy on me now.” He leaned down and gave her another soft kiss. He couldn’t seem to stop kissing her, couldn’t deny what his wolf was certain of. Nichole was his mate.
Nichole. His best friend’s little sister. The only human who’d ever tempted him or his wolf. And that damned kiss sealed his fate like a brand.
But even though his wolf was already salivating at the idea of biting her, claiming her, Dom knew he couldn’t just throw her down on the first flat surface and fuck her until she screamed and wore his bite all over her body.
Nichole was the kind of woman who deserved to be wooed, to be cherished. She deserved to be treated like the most delicate pastries she made. And Dom had no doubt she was sweeter than anything that came out of her oven.
“I just… you’ve never looked at me like you’re looking at me now.” She chewed on her lower lip, her big brown eyes watching him nervously. “Why are you suddenly interested in taking me upstairs?”
Dom shrugged. “Maybe you’ve just never really been looking. You’re Paul’s sister.”
“And human.” She looked down, scuffing her Chuck Taylor on the concrete. “I get it, Dominick, if you’re just trying to smooth over this morning or whatever. But you don’t have to give me a pity fuck. It doesn’t make losing out on sales any easier. It doesn’t make being treated like I need a babysitter better.”
Dom pulled her against him, his hands sliding down over her ass again. “Nic, I don’t give pity fucks. If we go upstairs, if I take you to your room, make no mistakes about it, I’m doing it because I want to. Because I want you.”
Kisses and Claws
Nichole watched as Dominick insisted on pulling the truck into her garage.
The way he looked at her made her toes curl in her shoes, and the feel of his lips on hers? Good god, she could’ve come just kissing the man.
When Dominick had the car parked, he stalked around the hood, looking almost more wolf than man, and any fear, and worry she had about him wanting her went by the wayside.
“Did you know that you smell like sugar cookies and cherry Danishes all the time? Like you bathe in sweets.” He growled playfully just before he chased her into the house, through her roomy kitchen, toward the staircase.
Nichole laughed as she purposefully slowed down at the foot of the stairs, crooking her finger at Dominick as she turned.
He scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder, making her feel lighter than a feather and off-kilter, like her stomach was in her toes.
“Dominick!” She tried to reach down and smack him in the ass, but he was just so damn big, she couldn’t really get a good handful.
That didn’t stop from Dominick though, as his big, calloused hand not only grabbed, but he groped, squeezing, massaging. His hand was so big, it covered almost half of her ass, and the grip was so possessive, so rough, she was sure he would probably leave bruises.
Nichole had wondered so many times what sort of lover Dominick would be, she’d lost track. And now that she was about to find out, it was like a “greatest hits” of her daydreams were running through her head, and none of them even started to live up to the power he put into his kiss.
When he got to her closed bedroom door, Dominick didn’t bother letting go of her. Instead, he kicked hard, making the whole frame shake as the door swung forward.
“Dominick! Don’t destroy my house. I still have to live here.” Nichole didn’t really care about the door, or anything else he might break, but she didn’t want to have to rely on him to fix it again later.
He chuckled and dropped her on the bed, looking down at her with such a heat in his eyes that Nichole pressed her thighs together, almost nervous.
That didn’t stop Dominick, though, as he grabbed her knees and pulled her closer to the edge of the bed. “Are you going to get naked, or should I destroy your clothes too?” He raised an eyebrow at her as his fingers traced over the waistband of her leggings.
As much as Nichole wanted to see just what the wolf could do, she pushed his hand away, looking around at her room, full of afternoon sun. The idea of sex sounded incredible, but there would be no hiding from his eyes, no hiding from being completely exposed.
What if Dominick changed his mind on
ce she was naked?
“I’m not waiting much longer, Nic.” He was pacing, almost like a caged animal, as he pulled off his own shirt.
Nichole had seen his chest before plenty of times swimming at the lake or when he and Paul would play basketball, but seeing it here, in her bedroom, was something completely different. She wanted to reach out and run her hands over his pecs, trace the lines of the wolf tattoo on his shoulder. With her tongue.
With a deep breath, Nichole took off her extra-long tank top, and then shimmied out of her leggings, trying to not think about how things jiggled as she pulled them down her legs.
Any nerves she had went out the window when Dominick let out a deep, rumbling groan.
Chancing a look up at him, her mouth went dry at the sight of him, completely naked. He was huge. Everywhere.
“You going to join me on the bed, or…?”
Dominick smirked. “You’re not naked yet. I’m not opposed to ripping that lacy underwear off you, but I want to watch you take it off.” He leaned back against her bedroom wall, his cock standing at attention for her. But his eyes were locked on her.
Holding her breath, she popped the clasp on her bra, and then let it slide down to the floor. Next went her panties.
And the low growl from across the room was so potent, she swore she got wetter.
He moved slowly, watching her, and when he crooked his finger for her to scoot closer to the foot of the bed, Nichole quickly obeyed.
Scooping her back up into his arms, he carried her over to the wall, pressing her against it as he shifted her so that her legs were wrapped around his waist.
And his cock was almost where she wanted it to be.
“Dominick, quit toying with me.”
He chuckled, rotating his hips, teasing her. “I’ve got all afternoon. I’m going to make good use of this curvy, sexy body. And you’re going to come so hard you won’t be able to stand.”
She reached between them and positioned him at her core. “Then I think you’d better get started.”
Dominick’s lips claimed hers, a fiery, needy kiss that she felt all the way to her toes.
As she moaned into his mouth, he thrust into her, filling her deep with one long stroke.
Nichole’s eyes flew open, surprised at how full she felt, how incredibly big he was inside her. She was stretched so wide, she almost ached.
And then, he pulled back and thrust in again.
The noise she made surprised them both, and as Nichole’s fingernails bit into Dominick’s bare shoulders, she rocked with him, trying to keep him deep, as if her body craved the feel of his dick inside her.
“Gods, you’re tight, Nic.” He kissed along her neck, soft, sweet pecks that were such a contrast to the hard, rough thrusts that kept slamming her against her bedroom wall. “Your body is incredible.”
She groaned, gripping his shoulders harder the closer she got to climax. She couldn’t understand how he was forming words, speaking in sentences, when every stroke of his cock inside her made her feel like she could forget everything but the feel of him. She wanted to stay wrapped around him forever, keep this connection forever.
Dominick, though, seemed intent on fucking her harder, pushing her closer and closer to that edge, as his grip on her ass tightened and he rocked them together with such force she was almost worried they were going to go straight through the drywall. His lips claimed hers again, hungrily kissing her, his tongue filling her mouth.
The power of his kiss, being completely filled by Dominick, made Nichole cry out as her orgasm ripped through her, as rough and needy as their fucking was. She clung to him, holding on with everything she had, as if she could float away if he wasn’t there anchoring her.
And he wasn’t done.
He was still hard inside of her as he carried her back to the bed, and they tumbled onto the soft surface together. He kissed her and nuzzled her neck before murmuring, “You’re so fucking gorgeous when you come.”
She clenched around him as she rocked her hips into his. “You didn’t come.”
“I told you, I’m making good use of this curvy body.” He kissed her and rolled them, so that she was straddling him, and he could reach up and cup her breasts. “And I want to watch these tits bounce.”
Nichole lost track of the number of times he made her come. In bed, in the shower, on her kitchen island when she was supposed to be getting them something for dinner.
She’d heard wolves had more stamina than human men, but the ache between her thighs and the hickeys she’d have to figure out how to cover up for day two of the farmer’s market were more than she could’ve ever expected.
But no matter how many times he filled her, Dominick didn’t claim her. Somehow, she’d let herself believe that finally, after all these years of orbiting each other, that this was a real change in their relationship. That he’d wanted her as badly as she wanted him, but he never gave into it fully, because of a stupid, antiquated pack law.
Now, in the early light of morning, with Dominick still passed out across her bed, she felt empty.
They’d kissed so many times, and the sex was explosive, but clearly it wasn’t enough.
Nichole snuck out with Paul’s truck still loaded with all her baked goods, trying to figure out how to move on from a crush she’d had longer than she had boobs.
The morning was gloomy at the farmer’s market and just got drearier the longer she was away from Dominick.
“If it isn’t the thick girl from Ironhaven. I think you owe us some of your cookies.” Luka leaned over the table, leering at Nichole. “Although, it smells like maybe you’ve given all your cookies to another wolf.”
The other punk, Sean, licked his lips in a way that made Nichole’s skin crawl. “If she’ll give ‘em up that easy, maybe we should get a sample.”
Nichole’s heart was in her throat, and for the first time in the many months since she’d started selling her pastries, she didn’t feel safe in the Bellemare farmer’s market.
“Where’s your hottie today, Nicki? These guys just don’t quite have the same bite.” Angela sauntered over with a smoothie in each hand. “How’s business?”
“Picking up.” She glanced at the guys still lingering. “But some of the crowd today leaves something to be desired.”
Angela smirked. “Oh, these two are harmless. Freeloaders, but harmless.”
Nichole looked at them warily. “Still, I’d rather there were more paying customers hanging around.”
“Angie, baby, tell your friend she should give out samples. We’re very influential in Bellemare.” Sean smiled with too many teeth at her. “We could make or break this little stand.”
Nichole crossed her arms over her chest, scowling. “My stand does just fine, without assholes harassing me. Take your business elsewhere.”
Angela shook her head. “I think you’d better head on down the line. The churro guy’s a few booths down.”
They left, and Nichole let out a sigh. “Maybe Dominick was right. Maybe I shouldn’t be coming down here.”
“Oh, Sean and Luka talk a big game, but that’s all they are. Not like your lumberjack.”
“Cop, actually.” Nichole smiled softly. “And he’s not mine. He’s just… a friend.”
Angela shrugged. “Then why are you taking his advice?”
Nichole watched her friend walk away, thinking about her question. She wanted to claim it had nothing to do with Dominick, that it was all about the way Sean and Luka looked at her.
But the thing that really bothered her was that they somehow knew about her and Dominick. Was it written across her forehead? One-night stand with a wolf.
After Angela left, Nichole was alone with her thoughts, which kept boomeranging back to Dominick. Distraught and depressed thinking about what could’ve been and what will never be, she didn’t hear the rustling of leaves behind her. She didn’t notice until Luka was practically pressed against her.
“No one disrespects a Bellemare
wolf like that, you little baker whore.” His grip on her arms was tight, his fingers digging in as he dragged her backwards away from her table.
“I’ll scream.”
“If you were going to scream, you would’ve done it already.” He licked her neck as he stopped in a small opening in the trees. “You like having wolf scent all over you, don’t you? Have you seen one, up close? Not just a man playing at being a wolf, but a real one?”
The snarl that followed sent shivers down her spine.
“I’ve got to get back to my stand.” She tried to pull away, but Luka’s grasp was too much to break free from.
And then, that snarling voice came out from behind the trees.
She’d seen plenty of wolves in Ironhaven. The moment she learned about Dominick, she pestered him until he shifted. But that was nothing compared to the gnashing teeth and mangy looking fur of the dark grey beast in front of her.
“Okay, this is enough. I get it. You can have all the damn pastries you want.” She tensed, not knowing what they’d do.
The wolf stalked closer, but before he got close enough to touch her, it shifted. Or, half-shifted, as the wolf’s face shortened and he stood tall on two legs, but the teeth and claws stayed. And those eyes. Sean’s eyes didn’t look human, and they didn’t have the warmth of Dominick’s.
She squeezed her eyes shut, her body tense. All she could think about was Dominick. How safe she felt in his arms, how this wouldn’t have happened if he were here.
Nichole braced herself as Sean’s hot breath hit her in the face, reeking of cigarettes. He was so close, she could almost feel him pressed to her chest, and with Luka right behind her, she felt like she was being squeezed in a vise. She could hardly breathe, even as she tried to shove Sean away. If only Luka’s grip were a little looser, she could go for those dead wolfy eyes.
And then, the claws hit. Sharp knives of pain ripped into her abdomen, curving upward, pulling her closer to Sean. The garbled, muffled sound that came from her mouth as she tried to keep her lips pressed firmly together reminded her of a dying creature, something not even human.
