by Susan Arden
“New beginnings?” she asked.
“And journeys. A step we’ve taken coming up here.” He entwined her fingers in his and pulled her toward the bar. A wine cooler with a glass door was stationed behind the counter. “Champagne is in order.”
“Candles, champagne. What other weaponry should I expect?”
“Your friend merely mentioned what you liked. She obviously cares for you.”
“What else did Sonya say?” Mari shook her head and disentangled her fingers. “I hope this isn’t some random act of kindness on your part.”
He closed the distance between them, placing his hands on her shoulders, and gently shook her. “You already admitted we can’t fight our primal instincts. Same city. Chances are some day we’d find one another when you were in heat. Don’t go back to square one. I will claim you. Fuck you so hard and for so long you’ll know this isn’t an act. Baby, you’re a heartbeat away from wearing my scent. Only mine. The only thing you need to decide is, can you handle that I’m not into sharing? I want you for my mate. You can work, travel, do your own thing, but you’re mine. I’m a one-woman man, and I expect my mate to sleep in my bed.”
She pushed her hands against his chest. “Laying it on thick. How is that supposed to work when you travel to destinations that I can’t even pronounce the name of?”
“Been there. Done that. I was searching. I found who I was looking for.”
“Don’t lie to score.”
“Honestly, sweetheart, if I wanted strictly sex, that’s a phone call.”
“How’s that boot taste?” Her face reddened. “Ever been told less is more?”
“Don’t shut down on me.” He pulled her into his arms. “I didn’t mean that, love. Point is, there won’t be any more trekking. I’m putting away my traveling pants. From now on, the only photographs I plan on taking will be exotic and in the form of your face and body. For my eyes only.”
She nodded and rolled her eyes. “Good comeback.”
“This is going to be an arduously slow, intoxicating journey where I plan on memorizing all points along the terrain of your amazing body.”
“How are you so certain?” She looked up at him. Their gazes locked, a hit to his heart.
“Just am. Completely.” He kissed the side of her head, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair and skin.
Mari pressed her soft body into him. “Conrad, please.”
“God, I want you like no other. Ever.” He lifted her face and crushed his mouth down upon her lips.
He pulled Mari to him, tasting her. Opening his mouth, he swept his tongue across her lips. A wildfire spread through his body. She held back at first, but he teased her, sucking on her lower lip until she moaned and softened under him.
Mari parted her lips, inviting him to partake of her sweet mouth and slide his tongue against hers. She tasted of ripe berries and cream, a hint of lime prompting him to kiss her deeper, longer. The flavor of her mouth completed her erotic scent. Perfection. The essence swam in his blood. Marking him in ways impossible to describe or erase. His wolf craved her entirely. A primitive growl formed in his chest and expanded.
He prolonged the kiss, running his hands down her body, encircling her waist with his arm and drawing her up to him. It wasn’t enough. His cock pulsed inside his pants. Painfully ached each time she bumped against his shaft. He groaned at the fragrance of her perfume, her wolf scent, and he’d be on his knees if he didn’t find a way to control the urge to claim her. He towered over her, this fragile woman—his mate.
Conrad desired that she come willingly to him, for all he’d tricked, forced, and cajoled her presence. From this point on, he hoped that she desired this bond as much as he did. “I must have you. She-wolf and woman.”
“We hardly know each other,” she said when he relaxed his hold.
“Isn’t it enough we both hunger for this? Unbreakable. Unshakable force.”
“Yes. And no,” she whispered, pulling back and licking her lips. Her mouth tingled from his tantalizing kiss. “You’ve changed from when we first spoke about the Den. You’ve suddenly done a one-eighty. What gives?” She smiled up at him, but inside was dead serious. Sonya couldn’t have convinced him. This wasn’t a man who was swayed unless it suited him.
“One of the reasons we’re so good together—your instincts do you justice. For all my blockhead ways, you’re sharp, baby. I do listen. And after what I’ve seen, this place isn’t exactly a shack where sex is delivered down and dirty on a corner.”
“You’re a man accustomed to luxury, so none of the outer trappings mean much. Something changed your mind.” The devil was most assuredly in the details and she wasn’t about to accept his change in position lightly.
“I sympathize with the problems plaguing shifters. It might have been me coming here if I didn’t have an escape route. My family, for all I avoid them, still gave me the financial means to make sense of my life, but now they’re out for blood.” His eyes beguiled her in wanting to reach out to him.
She stopped to consider whether or not to tell him the truth about her experience with his family. “You, or rather your life is well-known.” She knew she had to admit she was one of the press involved. The words stuck in her throat.
“This isn’t just about me. I get that other shifters need help. I’ve been searching a lifetime for something meaningful to do. No sense in letting my experience, connections, and understanding go to waste when I’ve finally found a place to build a life. I’m ready to pitch in and do my part. I don’t expect it to be easy.”
Conrad’s admission hit home within her. “You impress me,” she whispered.
“I want to come clean. There isn’t any room for lies between us. You’re too important to me.” He pulled out the bottle of champagne.
“Can we skip the champagne?” she asked, leaning over the counter.
He twirled the bottle in his hand, showing her the label. “Not even a sip? I would gladly drink from your slipper.”
“No, you won’t. These shoes were worn by Elizabeth Woodville. Please, please. I’d end up in prison or worse.”
“I’d never let anyone take you away.” He laughed. “Just my luck…”
“That you’re attracted to a woman wearing a queen’s clothing.”
“That I’m attracted to a princess worried about clothing.”
“Oh. I’m being foolish.”
“Hardly. You’re irresistible, and I intend on keeping you naked. No need for a stitch of clothing.”
He set the bottle on the counter before stalking around the bar. He took hold of her arms, tracing his hands downward. Bending his head, he brushed his scorching lips over her mouth. Instead of pulling away, he grazed the surface again, pressing his mouth hard against hers. He released a possessive growl. The sound reverberated deep in his throat and sent white-hot tingles racing around her body, spreading fire under her skin.
“Mmm,” she groaned, rubbing against his body. The electrical feeling sent waves of undulating pleasure throughout her, ending up in rippling heat between her legs.
His mouth blazed over hers, commanding as he devoured her plea. His hand tangled in her hair. Angling her face, he deepened the kiss. The power he exuded shattered her trepidation. He wrecked her ability to think with the roll of her bottom lip between this teeth. She rubbed her hands up the hard contours forming his chest, over the curved muscles of his shoulders. Unyielding rock beneath her fingertips.
He released her lip, only to recapture her mouth. His hands caressed her skin, taking hold of her by the waist, and he ground his hips into her. Their bodies melded. Lust coiled low in her belly, a wild hunger feeding a firestorm of ache growing for him. His erection pushed against her belly, hard and ready.
Conrad walked her backward toward the center of the room. “Which way is the bedroom?” he asked against her lips.
“I think that way.” She pointed, discombobulated, and he swung her around. Now, he was the one walking backward, tugging her to
ward the open doorway, where a microwave came into view. “Kitchen. Abort. Opposite direction.”
“You’re an excellent dancer. If my family weren’t such backstabbers, I’d ask you to come with me this weekend. After meeting you, I don’t think either of us should put up with them. Mari, I’m sorry for whatever you’ve gone through on my account.”
They pivoted again, slowly this time. A dance of seduction. His hands roamed over her body, lifting up the silk slip.
“More Sonya?” she asked, unable to believe how life behaved. Her crazy life bursting apart. Kismet in meeting him.
“A little bird.”
“Doesn’t matter. Kiss me.” She felt sexy in his arms, and savored the way he kept her body close to his as he tried to remove her slip. He laughed and took possession of her mouth again. She lashed her tongue around his, nipping his lip with her own possessive nature.
“I’m not afraid of your family, just so you know. I just won’t consider employment in their ranks,” she whispered against this mouth.
“Too soon to think about them,” he said, staring down into her face, slipping the strap off her shoulder.
“Careful, darling.” She smiled, tracing the outline of his full lips.
“That’s the last thing I feel around you.”
“Please. The lingerie. It’s part of the royal getup.”
He stopped moving, his gaze lingering on her breasts pushed upward by the corset. “I can’t image how you came in contact with this costume. All night you’ve mesmerized me. Temptress.”
“Dumb luck. Kinda like how families are formed. Thinking about your family, they can’t be worse than mine.” She half pouted, then remembered he had a shirt that required confiscating. She pulled the bottom of his shirt free from his jeans, moving her hands underneath where she encountered his hard stomach. He groaned as she slid her palms up over miles of warm, muscled skin. His body was pure pleasure to touch.
“We’re tabling talk about families. Now, for my first trick of the evening.” He lightly pulled up the hem of her slip with both his hands. “Hold still.”
In one swift movement, he swept the lingerie off her body and over her head. “Do you have an encore?” she asked, her skin blushing warmer from his heated stare.
“I’ve not even started yet,” Conrad growled softly as he held her gaze. He leaned in closer and brushed his mouth against her cheek. His beard stubble grazed her skin as he rubbed his cheek over her face, dragging his open mouth down to meet her lips. His mouth hovered over hers. “This is what I want to think about. Your beautiful body.”
He finished the kiss. The warm, sensual slide of his mouth over hers melted all thought. This kiss unfurled sweeter than warm taffy. She glided her hands over the warm skin of his arms, up to his shoulders.
“I want you,” she murmured, snaking her arms until she clasped her hands in back of his neck. This close, her breasts crushed into his chest and her nipples peaked. The groan he released against her mouth made the space between her legs throb unmercifully.
His hands moved to her hips, then rubbed down the cheeks of her ass, squeezing her bottom before he hauled her up against his erection straining his jeans. This sexual journey was about to liquefy her bones. A flare of fire rose from her belly, shooting into her arms and legs, and leaving her lightheaded.
She moaned his name. Falling, falling, so fast.
“You’re driving me crazy,” she said, pressing her hips against his.
“Sweetheart. I want to sink into you. Deep. Until you cry my name, scratch my skin. Until night turns to day. Not resting until we share the same scent.”
Catching her breath, she let go of Conrad’s neck, pulled at his shirt. She stared into his glowing eyes, arousal coloring his chiseled features.
“Your turn,” she whispered, steeling herself to refrain from shifting. Her wolf desired to roam free, rub up against him, and lick his face. Something made her want to escape him. Force him into a chase.
She peeled his shirt off his frame, inch by hard inch. She’d never seen this much muscle. His chest was made up of bands of tight rippling waves, contracting as he moved. His dark brown hair matched the diamond of hair on his pecs. Below a hollowed groove carved his six-pack abs, disappearing behind his jeans. She traced the space downward with her finger. His smooth muscled torso riveted her attention, and she couldn’t resist swiping her tongue across one of his nipples.
He groaned and captured her face. “Love, I’m so close to throwing you across the bed.”
She growled in response. The sound new to her ears. “Excuse me.” She laughed at her wolf self. “That’s a first.”
“You don’t growl?”
“Not like that. Ever.”
“Sexy.” Conrad kissed her shoulder, his hands tracing over her breasts, down the curves of her body. “I want to hear more.”
“Make me,” she challenged him.
His large hands captured her, bracketing her waist. “Is that what you wish? Painstakingly, I can deliver.” Her nipples tightened at the twitch of muscle in his jaw.
“I’m not going to be a pushover. Even if the conclusion is spelled out.”
He arched a brow. “Oh, baby,” he said, picking her up and gently tossing her onto the bed. He landed right next to her. “I’m crazy you’re right here. But if you need a steady hand, I can oblige. I want you to crave this as I do.”
“I do. So much. My skin is on fire.” She moved back along the mattress, insane with lust and hungry to feel his body. But she wasn’t about to throw herself at him. Her wolf sense ached for him in so many primal ways.
“Give yourself to me, Mari. Tonight.”
“Plans for removing the rest of my clothing?”
“I’ve got MacGyver moves.” He plucked her wrist, thumbing a caress over her skin before he brought her palm to his face and kissed her skin.
He settled her hand on his chest. The strong thud of his heart pumped under her fingers. She traced a swirling design over the spot, tweaking the brown disk of his nipple, and enjoying his reaction. He groaned and sucked in his gut, tightening sinewy crisscrossing abs that beckoned her to touch, trace, and lick. She crept closer, bent her head over his chest, and lapped her tongue across one of his nipples. The flat disc pebbled under her flicking tongue and Conrad’s wolf growl filled the air. The vibration shaking her lips as she sucked his other nipple. She shuddered in pleasure, releasing her hold on him, and skimmed her palm down his rigid belly. A low hiss escaped his mouth.
She glanced up at him as her fingers unbuttoned his jeans. One zipper stood between her and a man who threatened to fuck her senseless. He might say it was lovemaking, but an alpha and sex came in a solid flavor—hard. Rough. Alphas didn’t know how to hold back. Question was, could she give him what he desired…hunger was the word he used. Her gaze traveled up over his incredible smooth-skinned body until she met his gleaming eyes.
“Baby, I’m so close,” he whispered, as though he’d read her thoughts.
“I don’t want to stop.”
“Time for me to show you what it means to be claimed.” He torqued his body, then pushed upward. The corded muscles banded together over his shoulders, arms, and abs. Conrad decadently tempted her without a word. He moved her back against the pillows. His hands roved over her thighs, down her calves, unleashing shivers through her body. He found her shoes, untied the ribbons, and deposited each shoe on the side of the bed. “Front or back snap?”
“What…?” she gasped.
His hands curved over her breasts. “Your bra or corset. Ribbons on the front and back. Tell me where I should start.”
“Front. Maybe I—” He pressed his finger against her lips. She pulled on the bow at the bottom.
“Mine.” Conrad brushed her fingers aside. “All mine to enjoy. Let me.” His fingers ran over the tops of her breasts toward the center where the ribbons lay. Waves of aching pleasure moved over her skin, settling between her legs, and leaving her wet and trembling.
/> Nimbly, he unlaced the ribbons from her lingerie. On the last hook and eye, her wild desire fueled a scorching heat ablaze in her body. Each sweep of his fingers trailed lines of electrical fire over her skin. The lace popped from the tiny metal rung, and her breasts were exposed to him. He spread the corset open, pushing it wider, and his expression turned feral. His lips were parted, the sharp tips of his teeth revealed.
“You’re beautiful.” He captured her breasts, squeezing and caressing her nipples. She arched against his palms. “Stunning. I could get lost in your amazing tits.”
His fingers stroked across her hard nipples, driving her crazy. He lowered his head, his warm mouth closed around her sensitive nipple. “God, please,” she moaned under the onslaught.
He sucked until the tip formed a swollen peak that had her moaning and pulling on his hair. Conrad flicked his tongue over and around her nipple. Her body clenched and she cried out from the exquisite intensity of his mouth. His hands moved down her body, igniting her completely.
She held onto his face, biting her lip. “Please, darling.”
Her stomach muscles quivered, and he raised his head. “Am I too rough?”
“No. You set me on fire. Burning.” She pushed her hands down her stomach until she touched the space between her legs.
Conrad groaned. “It’s time.” He sat back, pulling off his boots and socks, and then he stood away from the bed. He lowered his jeans, his stare pinning her to the mattress. Never had a man looked at her as though he might consume her from top to bottom. A shiver broke free, accompanied by a she-wolf growl.
* * *
He steadied himself. His heart hammered inside his chest at the sight of her dark hair fanned over the pillows. Her enticing tits had filled his hands and mouth and now he couldn’t wait to feel her satin-smooth skin naked against his body. The texture had him ready to burst apart.
“Beauty,” he murmured, lowering his zipper.
