by J C Gordon
If that wasn’t bad enough, she refused all his calls until he was acting like some mad stalker, even calling her at her workplace so she couldn’t scream at him and slam down the phone. A proud smile crossed his lips. She had one fabulous temper on her, his woman. A true Alpha if ever he’d seen one. She would make a glorious wolf and a strong ruler at his side, when he finally managed to get her to submit to him.
He hesitated briefly at the apartment door and looked at his watch. Damn, it was barely seven am on a Sunday morning. If he woke her up, she would be really pissed at him. Pissed and off balance, just the right combination he wanted. Smiling broadly, he knocked loudly on her door.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” Millicent Cooper groaned, as she heard the loud knocking on the front door. She pulled her head out from underneath the covers and squinted tiredly at the clock. Five past seven! Who the hell was knocking on the door at this obscene hour in the morning?
“Annie!” she yelled, and then, cursed when she remembered her friend wasn’t in. She had stayed overnight at Caleb’s. Cursing when the knock sounded again, Millie grabbed her robe, pulled it on over her teddy bear pyjamas and scrubbed a hand through her tangled curls. She was going to kill whoever was at her door.
She threw it open, a torrent of abuse ready to tumble from her lips, and found herself staring up at the most gorgeous man on the entire planet. Deep blue eyes raked over her swiftly, and she felt her heart start pounding loudly even as she tried to slam the door shut in his face.
Jared threw a hand out and stopped the door from closing, a smile tugging at his lips at the furious glare on his woman’s face. Fuck, she looked so beautiful all tousled and rumpled from sleep. Was she really wearing pyjamas with little teddy bears on them? They were the cutest things ever and made her look as sexy as hell.
“Go away, Hanlon,” she growled at him, and his smile just broadened. Most definitely not a morning person, but he would teach her just how pleasurable mornings could be.
“You won’t take my calls, so I’ve come in person, Millie.” He smiled. She gasped in outrage, as he pushed his way into the apartment and let the door close behind him. His wolf was crowing gleefully, as it scented his mate. He was sending his human side mental imagines of ripping Millie’s clothes off and mating roughly with her, until she screamed her pleasure.
“Get out,” Millie hissed at him. “I don’t want you here. If I wanted you here, I would have answered your calls. So just get out, or I’m going to call the police and have you charged with breaking and entering.” She couldn’t believe the arrogance of the ass. Barging into her apartment and smiling his stupid smile at her, as if he wasn’t a mad stalker type person.
Her dire threat had him pausing for a moment. She was perfectly justified, his behaviour was appalling, and yet, he couldn’t walk away and leave her. His wolf wouldn’t let him and he knew once she stopped being so stubborn she would see they were meant to be together. She was fighting the mating pull with everything in her and she would only end up hurting not only him but herself too. “Now, you know you’re not going to do that, Millie.” His smile never faltered as he slowly started to stalk her.
She instinctively backed away and his wolf sat up, its attention caught. Was she going to run from him? He’d really enjoy it if she did. There was nothing quite like a good chase to get the blood pumping for what was to come when he finally caught her. His wolf would really enjoy it if she ran.
Jared stifled down a groan and had a stern word with his wolf. He was way too close to the surface and almost ready to grab control. He did not intend to let his wolf mate with Millie. Not yet. Not until she knew everything about him and exactly what it would mean to be mated to a Were. But, that wasn’t going to stop his human side from taking her. He had waited far too long for her. He barely ate or slept anymore. All he could think about was his Millie, and how he longed to be with her.
Millie felt a little frisson of fear course through her, as she watched the various emotions crossing Jared’s face. They ranged from almost feral to deeply tender, but the most dominant was determined. This man had come here for a reason, and he did not intend to leave until he’d fulfilled his goal. She had a good idea what that goal was. A deep stab of desire coursed through her, as she reacted to his overt sexuality, the blatant sensual expression that was now crossing his face.
“Jared,” she said, shakily putting a hand out to ward him off, not believing he would pay one blind bit of notice of her. The man was an alpha to his core, which was one of the reasons she’d been ignoring him. Despite the perception she gave, her experience was pretty limited with the opposite sex. She’d always had trust issues because of her unorthodox childhood, so any dates she’d chosen had been with men who weren’t a threat.
She was surprised when Jared did pay attention. He stopped moving forward and watched her intently for a moment before he pushed his hands into his tight, very sexy blue jeans. “Millie, why are you fighting this? You know you want it as much as I do. Can’t you feel the sexual tension in the room?”
She shook her head at him, silky black curls tumbling around her head. “I don’t even know you.”
“I can quickly rectify that,” he drawled wickedly, taking another step closer and causing her to back up again until she found her back pressed against the far wall. She couldn’t take her eyes from his as he took another two steps until she could feel his body heat so tantalisingly close to hers. Her heart thundered in her chest and a shiver of pleasure ran down her spine as she watched his nostrils flare and saw his eyes darken.
“I can smell you, Millie,” he whispered. “I can smell how much you want this.” His voice was so deep and husky, so sensual that she could only stare at him in shock, as she felt the liquid heat pool between her legs. Oh God, he could smell her arousal? He was just saying that to knock her off balance. Wasn’t he? He couldn’t really smell her? Her face flushed scarlet, and she moaned as he leaned closer, his hot breath sliding down the side of her face and down to her neck.
“Peaches and cream,” he murmured, “and that wonderful musky aroma of a woman in heat. What a heady combination.” His lips whispered across her neck, and she moaned again and swayed towards him. Her movement seemed to strike something within him, because he was suddenly pressing his big powerful body against hers, and his lips were crushing hers hard as his hot tongue sought entrance into her mouth.
Fuck, she tasted so amazing, so hot and sweet and tangy. Jared ravished her mouth, as he pressed her body hard against the wall. The first taste of his mate was so heady he thought he was going to lose control. His Millie. His woman. “You are mine, Millie. You were mine from the very first second I saw you, and you always will be mine. There’s no point fighting it, baby. Just surrender to the inevitable.”
“No,” Millie gasped, tearing her mouth from his and pushing at his hard chest. His certainty infuriated her. His blatant possessiveness made her want to deny him. She wasn’t some kind of possession for him to own. This exact thing was what had sent her running from him in the first place. His lips were sucking at her neck, and she pushed against his chest again.
“Jared, stop!”
He groaned his displeasure and raised his passion-filled face to look down at her. “Why?” His voice was thick with desire. “You know you want me, Millie, and I want you too. I want you so badly I can’t sleep at nights. You’re all I think about.”
“So I want you,” she admitted, but her tone was anything but loving. It sounded as if she was angry about it. “What sane woman wouldn’t want you, Jared? You’re gorgeous, have a great body, and you’re sexy as hell. You’re also arrogant, cocky and way too sure of yourself. Just because I want you doesn’t mean I’m going to act on it.” She wriggled out of his arms, as he gaped open mouthed at her. She pulled her robe securely around her body and headed into the kitchen.
“Millie…” Jared sighed and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. Maybe, he was going about this in the
wrong way. He watched her across the room as she calmly made herself a cup of coffee, pointedly not making him a cup. “Do you want to take it slower?” he asked, as he crossed into the kitchen area. “I was willing to take it slower, go on dates and stuff, but you wouldn’t answer my calls.”
“Jared, you’re not getting the message,” she answered with a more than a hint of irritation in her eyes. She pointed from him to her and back again. “I. Don’t. Want. This. I don’t know how to be any plainer with you about it. I don’t care how attracted I find you. I do not want to be with you.”
He folded his arms over his chest and frowned at her, his displeasure etched plainly across his face. “I’m sorry to hear that, Millie. I’m also sorry to tell you I don’t give a damn about it either. You are mine, and there is nothing you can do to change it.”
Millie stared at him open mouthed and contemplated throwing her mug at his head, and then decided it would be a waste of a perfectly good cup of coffee. She sipped at the bitter liquid and rolled her eyes. “Are you listening to yourself?” she finally said, her tone icy. “Does that Neanderthal type behaviour normally work for you with women? I can assure you, it is not going to work with me.”
Jared grinned a very wicked grin, before he stepped closer to her. “Usually women can’t wait to get into my bed,” he told her with all the confidence of an Alpha male who was used to getting what he wanted. “They’re usually very disappointed when I kick them out of my bed, too.” She didn’t like hearing that. He could see the spark of jealousy in her eyes, which she quickly tried to hide.
“You are fucking unbelievable,” Millie cursed him.
He frowned. “Did you want me to lie to you?” Honesty meant everything to him but he had to consider that his mate might need something else from him. “I will, if you really want me to, but I’d much rather tell you the truth, Millie. I’ve had a lot of women. I have a very healthy sexual appetite, and I like to indulge it. I’m not going to apologise for my past. I’ve loved every moment of it, and so have my women.”
Millie blinked at him in total disbelief. The arrogant ass was standing in her kitchen telling her about all the other women he’d been with? He really thought this was the right way to go about getting her into bed? Was he completely insane, or just so cocksure of himself he truly believed she was ready to be just another woman in his long line of women?
“You seriously need to work on your pickup lines, Hanlon,” she laughed, harshly.
He frowned and pursed his lips, running a hand through his hair. “This isn’t a pickup line, Millie; I’m just telling you how it is.” Jared sighed. “How it used to be,” he amended with a rueful smile. “I haven’t been with another woman, since the day we met. Oh, I did try once, but the moment I closed my eyes all I could see was your beautiful face, those stunning cobalt eyes, your soft black curls tumbling around your head. You’re the only one I want now.”
Millie was surprised to feel a hint of satisfaction he hadn’t been with anyone. She didn’t know why she believed him when he said it. Yet, she did. He had told her honestly about his previous lifestyle, even though it didn’t say much about his character. If he was honest about that, then he must be honest about what he’d said since then. Still, she wasn’t giving in to the arrogant ass.
“I’m so sorry to hear about your impotency issues, Jared,” she said with a saccharine sweet smile on her face. “You do know you can talk to your doctor about it or buy some Viagra?”
His face turned thunderous for a moment, and then he threw back his head and burst out laughing. She watched warily, as he laughed until tears rolled down his face. Laughter was not the reaction she had been expecting, and it made her feel a little uneasy.
He finally stopped laughing and wiped at his face, his deep blue eyes glinting with humour. “Or, I could just fuck you, Millie,” he said, suavely, as the humour died from his expression and hot lust appeared in its place. “I’d much prefer that option.”
Jared knew he was being totally outrageous with her, but he couldn’t help himself. She had one hell of a mouth on her, and he was enjoying their battle of wills. He had almost let her get the upper hand there for a moment, but he’d managed to deftly turn it around on her. Her shocked expression was priceless to look at, and he prepared himself for getting slapped or something thrown at him. She looked like the type to throw things when she got pissed.
“I want you to get out of my apartment, right now,” Millie hissed furiously at him. “How dare you walk in here, treat me like I’m a piece of meat, and then talk to me like that. You have no fucking respect for women at all, do you, Hanlon?” She was livid at him and close to bashing him on the head with something hard. She didn’t care what it was, as long as it wiped the smug smile off his face.
“On the contrary, I have a lot of respect for women,” he smiled, wickedly. “Especially, when they’re lying beneath me moaning my name in ecstasy, as I ravish their beautiful bodies.” He saw immediately he’d pushed her too far when her face turned red with anger, and she picked up her coffee mug and threw it at him. He ducked in time, and it hit the wall behind him and shattered.
“Get out!” she screamed at him, but he ignored her, closing the final distance between them and catching her in his embrace, as she struggled furiously against him. He pinned her against the kitchen counter and let her struggle, keeping a firm grip on her, but only just hard enough to make sure she couldn’t hurt him or herself with her struggles.
“Shhhh, baby,” he whispered, soothingly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have teased you like that. Take some deep breaths, and try to calm down. I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
“Let go of me,” she cried mutinously, as she felt his hardness pressing against her, and her own body starting to react to his closeness. Dear God, she seriously couldn’t be finding this macho crap a turn on! “You arrogant fucking ass. Who do you think you are?”
He silenced her with a hard kiss, fisting a hand into her hair to hold her still, so he could ravish her soft lips with his. She fought against him, but he kept up the pressure on her mouth, nipping at her bottom lip, until she finally opened up to him and he could slide his tongue into her moist heat and taste her thoroughly. Her struggles started to decrease, and then, she was kissing him back with a passion that startled him at first.
Her sudden capitulation was unexpected, and he still held her tightly just in case it was a ruse, so she could knee him in the groin or something. She was a feisty one, and he wouldn’t put it past her to do just that. She moaned deeply and the hot scent of her arousal assaulted his nostrils, and he knew she was lost in his kisses as much as he was, and he growled and deepened the kiss further, his tongue duelling erotically with hers.
He finally lifted his head and looked down into her passion-filled face. She took his breath away, she was so goddamned beautiful. Her cheeks were flushed with colour, and her lips were swollen and puffy. Her cobalt eyes fluttered opened, and they were dazed and so sexy looking. He smiled slowly and ran his fingers through her gorgeous curls.
“Who do I think I am?” he sighed, softly. “I’m yours, Millie, don’t you know that? I’m yours, just as much as you are mine. There is no other woman for me now I’ve met you. You’re all I think about, all I dream about. I’m yours, baby. All you have to do is let me in.”
“Jared,” she groaned, closing her eyes and trying to get away from the heated look in his. His body was so hard against hers, his words sounded so sincere. He scared the living daylights out of her. She just knew if she surrendered to him, her life would never be the same again.
“Millie, don’t fight it,” he whispered against her lips. “Don’t think, baby, just feel.”
His mouth slanted across hers and liquid fire shot through her veins. His tongue licked along her bottom lip and then slowly over her top lip. She was moaning into his mouth, as he teased her slowly and relentlessly. She wanted, no, she needed to feel his tongue in her mouth. Hands that had previously tried
to push him away were now pulling him closer, as she stood on her tiptoes and thrust her tongue into his mouth.
He growled, and his mouth became more demanding. His tongue duelling with hers, as his hands moved beneath her pyjama top and slowly began to make their way up to her aching breasts, which were swollen and desperate for his touch. He cupped the soft orbs, almost reverently, before his thumbs rubbed over her hard nipples, and she cried out in pleasure, his mouth sucking in the sound, as she pressed against him.
It was as if she had given him the green light to continue. She had, hadn’t she? He was suddenly scooping her up into his powerful arms and striding from the kitchen. She’d left her bedroom door open, and he could see the mussed up bed, so he had fair idea this were her room and not Rhianna’s. He laid her on the bed and followed her down, not wanting to break the kiss to give her the opportunity to over think things.
Millie could feel her bed beneath her, feel Jared’s body pressing against hers, and she knew she should stop this now, but his kisses were like a drug, sweeping her under his potent spell. She wanted this so badly. There was no point in denying it. She’d wanted Jared Hanlon the moment she’d met him, and her reaction to him had scared her witless.
It just seemed so inevitable that they would end up like this, no matter how hard she tried to avoid it. He was stripping off her pyjamas with strong, confident hands. The hands of a man who had stripped many women in his life. That thought made her feel a strong wave of jealousy and also very vulnerable at the same time, and she stilled under him.
“Millie?” he said thickly, raising his head to look into her eyes, his expression heated and yet concerned at the same time. “What’s wrong, baby? If you really don’t want this right now, tell me before I reach the point of no return.” He would die, if she said no to him. He just knew he would. He wanted her so badly, but she had to want him back.
