Laina analyzed his guarded expression. “Gerty thinks you want to make this your permanent home.”
“Gerty knows me better than anyone.”
“Why here? Why now?”
Kyle waited a long time before responding. “The other ones weren’t for me. This is the only club designed with my permanent residence in mind. There’s something about the woods, the wild. Plus, it’s the place I can practice my hobby.” He turned down an even smaller branch of the trail, then came to a stop at the base of a clearing. Milo sat and waited as they’d trained him to do.
“Good boy,” Laina said, ruffling the dog’s ears. When she looked up from the mastiff, she followed the exposed roots of an enormous oak tree, to its trunk, up to a rustic tree house intimately designed within its branches. Intimate because the craftsmanship gave the illusion the house was a natural extension of the tree, the walls designed from interwoven branches, some of which were still alive, still growing.
“Who made this? It’s beautiful. The artistry is incredible.”
When he didn’t answer, she looked at him. “Me,” he said simply. “You asked what my thing was. It’s this. When I’m not being the boss of people, I build tree houses.”
Eyes wide, she shook her head. “It’s impossible. It’s like something out of a fairy tale.”
“Come on. I’ll show you inside.”
“What about Milo?”
“He can come too. There’s a ramp.” He walked around to the back of the tree where a selection of cleverly placed shrubs concealed a plank bridge that sloped to the bottom of the structure. As the three approached the door, she inhaled deeply. Cedar and pine—the source of Kyle’s unique scent.
Kyle pushed open the rounded door, which reminded her more than a little of a Hobbit hole, and ushered her and Milo inside. Although less wild than the exterior, the interior was equally charming. Maple floors melded into rough-hewn log walls, the bark preserved in places to continue the illusion that the tree had bloomed a house rather than simply supported one. The only furniture was a small daybed and a driftwood end table with a battery-powered lantern.
“It’s possible to build these with modern amenities, but I’d need help for that. It would be too hard to hide the crew.”
“Why do you need to hide the crew?”
“Like I said, this is my dirty little secret. When my father was alive, he’d call it wasting time. My brother would say it was a distraction.”
“You built this yourself?” She exhaled in amazement. Dropping Milo’s leash, she ran her hands along the sanded wood of the windowsill. The big dog trotted to the daybed and curled up on the multicolored afghan spread.
“Not entirely. Gerty’s husband, Arthur, helped me. He has a passion for it as well. But aside from him and Gerty, you are the only one who has ever seen it.”
She bit her lip. “But why would you keep this a secret? I get that your family might not like you wasting your time, but you’re exceptionally talented. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
The grin that spread across his face told her he appreciated the compliment. “My time is not my own. My father was a businessman, his father was a businessman, and so on, as far back as anyone can remember. If my cave-dwelling ancestors could be tracked down with a time machine, I’m sure we would find Ogg Kingsley peddling flint and slingshots from a rock near the communal watering hole. Nate would flip if he knew the hours I’d put into this, hours that could be earning the family more money.”
Laina smiled faintly. “So, Nate isn’t supportive of your hobby?”
“Nate, the board, our partners. My father might have punched me in the face.”
“I hope you’re joking.”
“He was the type of guy who felt actions spoke louder than words.”
“That’s child abuse.”
He chuckled. “Rich people don’t abuse their children, Laina. Don’t be silly.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, her wolf baring her teeth at the thought of anyone punching Kyle for any reason. “Is part of you glad he’s dead?”
With a visible jerk of his head, Kyle’s eyebrows pinched over his nose.
“I’m sorry. That was completely uncalled for. I don’t know what came over me.” A complete brain hijack by her wild side would be the only explanation. She was mortified.
His face softened. “Laina, this is why I’m drawn to you. You’re honest and genuine, probably the only person in my life who cares to see things for what they are. The truth is that my father was not a nice man. Herbert Kingsley provided for us. He was a talented business partner. But he wasn’t a father to me, not emotionally.”
“I’m sorry.” Running her fingers through the back of his hair, she glanced toward the window as the ping of rain against glass signaled a coming storm. A heavy feeling settled in the space between her heart and her stomach. As genuine as Kyle thought she was, he still didn’t know that she was a werewolf. He could never know. In just ten days, she’d have to shift again. What excuse would she give him to leave? How long could this go on?
“Last night, I noticed the tattoo on your arm. It’s a phoenix, right?”
She nodded.
“The artwork isn’t anything I’ve seen before. Did you design it?”
She tapped her fingers on the windowsill. “I know what it’s like to have a controlling family. It’s like you have no will of your own, like your choices don’t matter.” Her gaze drifted through the window to the rain-tapped shades of green beyond.
“What happened to you, Laina? How did you end up here, really?”
A long, heavy silence settled in the tree house. “You asked once if I was part of the mob.”
“You told me you weren’t.”
“I’m not. No organized crime involved.” She looked down at her trembling hands. This was a delicate truth, fragile as butterfly wings. “My family belongs to a rare culture… a society different from your own. You’ve heard of gypsies?”
“Real gypsies. Like the Romani?”
She nodded. “My culture is similar. Ancient. We have a strong, prescriptive patriarchy. Women and children do what the male leaders of their households say to do. If they don’t, things can get violent. Our family maintains a delicate balance with other families, families of the same culture. There are rules of our society, traditions that might seem silly or meaningless to you but are the glue that holds us together and maintains our family bonds. This tattoo represents my family group.” She tapped her right shoulder.
“So, why are you in hiding?”
“One of our own decided he didn’t want to live within his role anymore. He wanted more power. He wanted power over all the families, to make his own rules and use our society’s resources for his own gain. He wanted it so badly he was willing to kill for it.”
“Kill?”
“The first day I was here, I mentioned my parents were murdered several years ago in a theater.”
“I remember.”
“My parents received an invitation to a production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth from a local animal rights charity. All proceeds were promised to advance the organization’s goals. My mother loved animals almost as much as I do, but I couldn’t go. I was finishing veterinary school and my brothers were busy with their own lives at the time. None of us could attend with our parents.”
She swallowed the lump forming in her throat and tangled her fingers on the windowsill. “When they arrived, other families were there too, families from my… culture, along with others they’d never met before. During the final act, a masked gunman shot and killed everyone in the first four rows, including my parents and my best friend’s parents.”
Kyle winced.
“The police assumed it was an act of terrorism. They never caught the gunman. Over a year later there was another murder, two more elders from my society found dead. This time, they did catch the perpetrator, the son of one of our leaders. He confessed to killing my parents. That’s when we learned the trage
dy wasn’t a random shooting. My parents were murdered by a man named Alex Ravien Bloodright. He wanted to rule my society. The man killed his own parents out of a bottomless thirst for power. Thankfully, the authorities captured him and he was imprisoned.”
“But…”
“Recently, he escaped. My brother, Silas, is a detective. He hunted Alex down and there was a confrontation. Alex was killed. But his supporters have vowed revenge and threatened me directly. Specifically, we think Alex’s right-hand man, Jonah, is targeting my family.” Her voice petered out at the end as though she’d run out of air, and she rested her forehead against the window. She’d told him too much, too close to the truth without revealing the furry details.
Strong hands gripped her upper arms and Kyle’s face reflected in the window over her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Laina,” he said genuinely. “You’re safe here. Hunt Club has the finest security in the world. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She turned within his arms to face him. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll bring a killer into your life? Why would you want this… drama?” she whispered.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
She shook her head weakly.
“From the moment I saw you in Four Paws, I’ve been enamored. You’re enchanting. Beautiful but natural, feminine but brave as hell. You had me when I saw you care for Milo like he was your own. I fell deeper when that asshole clocked you in my club and you took it like a fucking champ. Fuck, you’re made of steel. You own me, Laina. It’s like this magnetic connection, a pull at the center of me that leads only to you. I couldn’t stand to see you working at Monty’s. I had to know you. I had to make you mine.”
Laina’s nostrils flared on an inhale, the warm, heady scent of Kyle’s skin flooding her olfactory lobe. There was a sharp tang of hunger, grit, and sweat; the cotton of his shirt; a hint of Milo; finished wood; and under it all, the faint whiff of arousal, hers and his. The urge to bury her face in his crotch was almost overwhelming. What Kyle had said to her was romantic, but the pull he described could be nothing like the deep, gnawing desire that ached in her core.
When his lips neared hers, his face moving closer, she lost all control. Lifting onto her toes, she slammed her mouth into his. She dug her fingers into his shirt. His hand entwined in her ponytail, tugging her head back. He trailed tiny, nipping teeth down her neck.
“Bite harder,” she said. He obliged. She moaned appreciatively.
“Last night, you said you like it rough,” he whispered.
“Yes,” she rasped. “I won’t break.”
He bent her backward over his arm and trailed his teeth and lips along her collarbone. Releasing her hair, he pulled aside her T-shirt, tugging her breasts from her bra. He took her nipple into his mouth, nibbling softly on the tip. The sucking grew more intense until her nipple stood at attention; he switched to the other, his thumb thrumming her rosy flesh.
“I like them like this,” he said, in a husky voice. “I bet this makes you wet. Let’s see if I’m right.” His hand skimmed down her torso and plunged under her waistband.
Laina inhaled sharply as his fingers brushed over her most sensitive area, his middle finger massaging her opening. “Mmm.”
“You’re wet and ready. Fuck, I love that.” She squirmed on her feet and was forced to steady herself on his shoulders. With one hand bracing her back, he flicked his tongue across her nipple while he massaged inside her in long, languid strokes. Abruptly, he pulled his fingers out and plunged them into his mouth. “Oh, Laina, you taste good.”
She trembled as he dropped to his knees, hitched his fingers in the waistband of her sweats and tugged them south. He buried his nose in her mound and his tongue continued the work of his fingers, eliciting a moan that filled the tree house. With a slight bend of her knees, she spread her legs as far as she could with the sweats around her ankles. His tongue darted inside. His lips sucked her flesh.
Laina didn’t stand a chance. He was her vice, her addiction. The wolf inside was hypersensitive to his every touch. The orgasm plowed into her, her nerve endings lighting up like a thousand blinking fireflies. Her knees gave out, and he popped off the floor to catch her in his arms, his eyes hooded, his breath coming in pants.
“Good girl,” he whispered in her ear.
She collected herself, her fingers kneading his sides. Once she regained control of her limbs, she smiled slowly. “My turn.” Her fingers dug under his waistband, threading into the soft curls of black hair below his belly button. When she wrapped her hand around him, he inhaled sharply through his teeth.
A shrill ring sent Milo into a fit of barking. Kyle grabbed her wrist and cursed, pulling his phone from his back pocket. “He’ll just call back,” he mumbled. “Not a good time,” Kyle shouted into the phone.
There was a long pause, during which Laina played mercilessly with Kyle’s cock, her thumb circling over the bead of moisture at the tip. His face reddened.
“Yeah. Running late. I’ll be there.” He tapped the screen and tossed the phone on the daybed. “Sorry about that,” he whispered.
She couldn’t answer, because she’d taken his sizable member between her lips, drawing him deep into the back of her throat. With long strokes, she worked her tongue over his shaft, gently fondling the heavy weight between his thighs.
“I’m going to come,” he rasped, pushing gently against her shoulders.
She grabbed his hips, opened her throat, and pulled him in deeper. When his body jerked with his orgasm, she swallowed, his scent burning in her nose, her wolf howling in her head, and her own body revving up again at the erotic feel of him against her tongue.
“Jesus Christ, Laina.” He pulled back, stroking the hair from her face. “You are… I can’t find the words…”
“I want to roll in you,” she said. “I want to cover myself in your scent and spend three days with you inside of me.”
A low growl came from deep within him, one she could have easily mistaken for a wolf’s. “Oh yeah, baby.” He shook his head slowly. “We’ll do that, but…”
“But…”
“I hate to leave you, but I’m late for a meeting with some investors from Japan. Nate threatened to have my head.”
She stood and called Milo, who’d fallen asleep, apparently uninterested in what had occurred moments before. He trotted to her side while Kyle collected himself. The rain had stopped. It was time to go.
As the three of them walked back to the mansion, Laina couldn’t help but feel like Kyle and Milo had become her second pack, her home away from home. And, although she wasn’t ready to broach the subject with Silas, she could no longer picture a future without them.
Seventeen
After feeding Milo and having breakfast, Laina found herself wandering the east wing, daydreaming about Kyle. It wasn’t long before sheer boredom drove her to seek out Gerty.
“Someone’s bed didn’t need making this morning.” Gerty grinned like she held a juicy secret.
Laina’s face blazed, blood rushing to the surface of her skin.
“Oh dear, don’t be embarrassed. It’s a suitable match,” she said with a throaty chuckle. “Any fool can see you’re good for him, and I’m willing to bet he’s good for you.”
Laina was formulating a response to Gerty in her head when the door opened without a knock and Jason entered, sliding his sunglasses back on his head. “The driver told me not to bother knocking.”
“Jason! What are you doing here?” Laina rushed to him and tossed her arms around his neck.
“Kyle sent a car for me. The driver insisted I come immediately. Even convinced Monty. He told me to pack a bag.” Jason patted the duffle on his hip.
Gerty smiled and removed the duffle from his shoulder. “You’ll need a room. I’ll go get it ready for you.” She hobbled upstairs, refusing Laina and Jason’s help.
“I thought you were hurt or something,” Jason said.
She shook her head. “No, I’m fine.”
“Th
en why the dramatics.”
“I have no idea why Kyle would send for you. I can’t even ask him. He’s in a meeting.”
The delicate tinkle of a woman’s laugh reached their ears and Jason raised an eyebrow in Laina’s direction. When another laugh filled the space between them, they navigated the house to the pool area and discovered the source. Nickie, the platinum blonde who’d helped Laina the day she’d served at Hunt Club, crossed the pool deck in a plush white robe gaping enough to reveal a sparkling blue bikini underneath. She headed for the hot tub, her laughter courtesy of a conversation via a phone she had pressed to her ear.
“Put your tongue back in your mouth, Jason,” Laina said.
“I think we should go hot tubbing.” He was out the door before she could protest.
“Anna!” Nickie called when she saw her, jogging across the pool deck in a way that caused her massive breasts to bob like buoys beneath the robe. They turned out to be quite firm when they pressed into Laina’s chest as the woman embraced her. “I ran into Kyle and he said I could come over for a soak. The west wing pool is being cleaned.” She eyed Jason. “And you! I thought you were going to call me?”
“I thought you were going back to New York.”
“They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.” Nickie bit her lip as she pulled him into a hug that lasted ten seconds longer than a hug between strangers should last. Laina drilled Jason with a stare, then realized that Nickie must be the model he’d spent the night with when they’d first arrived in Sable Creek.
“Come, soak with me,” Nickie said. She threaded her fingers into Jason’s and led him to the hot tub. Jason raised an eyebrow at Laina before shedding his jacket and lifting his shirt to expose his lean but underwhelming torso. When it was obvious he intended to go in sans swimsuit she glanced away until they were both obscured by the bubbling water.
Laina kicked off her shoes and rolled up her pants. She’d settle for soaking her feet. She plopped down on the edge opposite Nickie.
“Oh, how cute. You two have matching tattoos.” Nickie eyed the phoenix on Jason’s shoulder.
Vice (Fireborn Wolves Book 1) Page 13
