Stolen Kisses

by Merryn Dexter

  Chapter Eight

  Between the punishing schedule of too many part-time jobs and the frantic preparations for the Solstice celebrations, it seemed like he couldn’t snatch more than five minutes alone with Sadie over the next few days. She’d been subdued after her brief talk to Miss Kathy and had brushed off his attempts to talk about it. Not wanting to waste precious moments arguing, he stuck a pin in it. The pile of pinned topics between them was growing steadily, but there would be time enough to deal with them.

  And deal with them, they would.

  His wolf had made up its mind. Sadie was theirs, and nothing would change that. He loved Los Lobos, loved his pack and his friends, but she took precedence over everything. Sadie might not realize it yet, but if the King bloodline proved strongest, then so be it. If she roamed, he had every intention of going with her.

  Easton kicked his toes against the porch step to loosen the worst of the snow from his boots and mounted the steps to the Burrows’ back door. The sweet and savory scents perfuming the air set his mouth watering, and his stomach growled loud enough to wake the dead as a flour-dusted Sadie tugged the door open with a smile. Cheeks flushed, eyes bright with pleasure at his surprise visit, she looked drop-dead gorgeous. “Hey, beautiful.”

  She popped onto her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Hello, ooh you’re cold.”

  Grabbing her around the waist, he lifted her into him. “Feeling warmer all the time, though.” The easy way her legs wrapped around his hips sent blood rushing to his cock, and he carried her out on the porch, tugging the door shut to afford them a semblance of privacy. He tucked her against the wall into the deep shadows cast by the overhanging roof. She pulled the edges of his coat aside and snuggled closer to his body.

  Her soft curves molded perfectly around him, filling his head with carnal thoughts. His detour would make him late for work at the restaurant, but both man and wolf had needed to see her. He trailed a line of kisses along her cheek, and she tilted her head with a soft sigh of welcome. Her skin tasted of flour, sugar, and a hint of fresh sweat, the perfect ingredients to coax a groan of appreciation from his throat. “I missed you.”

  “Mmm, me, too.” She crossed her legs higher on his back, pressing his cock into the notch between her legs. The thin material of her colorful leggings provided little barrier between them, and the heat of her core soaked into him.

  “Damn it, Sadie. I shouldn’t have started something I don’t have time to finish.” He rocked his pelvis forward, and she buried her face into his shoulder to muffle a gasp of pleasure. Fuck it. Will would just have to dock his pay.

  Easton dragged his coat off and bundled it on the floor. He unhooked Sadie’s legs from around his hips and made sure her bare feet rested firmly on the thick down comforter. A hasty tug had her leggings and panties around her ankles, and he dropped to his knees. Vanilla and spice curled around his senses as he buried his face between her legs, pressing his tongue deep into the heat of her sex.

  “Oh my god.” Sadie raised a hand to cover her mouth and buried the other one in the thick strands at the nape of his neck. He let her tugs and pulls on his hair direct him, clamping his hands on her ass to hold her in place when she tried to squirm away. Tangy and sweet, the taste of her invaded every pore as he worked his mouth over her pussy.

  The little nub of her clit practically sat up and begged for the tip of his tongue, and he bent all his focus on her most sensitive spot. A telltale quiver started in her thigh muscle against his cheek, and Easton switched from flicks to long, slow licks. Her cream flowed, soaking his chin, marking his skin with her scent.

  He pressed deeper, needing her essence imprinted so deep he could carry it with him for the next few hours. “Come for me, Sadie.” He growled, and the vibration against her clit pushed her over the edge. Her thighs squeezed the sides of his head, and his scalp burned from the harsh pull of her fingers, but he didn’t stop lapping the sweet juices filling his mouth.

  “No more, no more,” she whimpered, and he relented with one last slow lick.

  Sitting back on his heels, Easton swiped his thumb over his chin and held her burning gaze as he deliberately sucked her arousal from the tip. A shudder ran through her delicate frame, and he wanted nothing more than to drag her into his lap and bury his cock to the hilt in her heat. Another shiver chased down her spine, and gooseflesh rose on naked skin. His mind finally registered the cold soaking into his knees from the damp boards of the porch.

  Pushing to his feet, he helped Sadie pull up her leggings then hauled her into his arms. “Sorry, I got a little carried away.”

  She nuzzled his neck and sighed. “You have my permission to get carried away anytime you like.”

  “I hate to play and run, but Will is going to have my hide. Can you come over later?”

  Sadie leaned back to meet his eyes. “I’m sorry, but Hannah isn’t feeling too great this evening so I said I would take care of the kids tonight. Jessie and I are having a sleepover in my bed and Caleb has moved Micah’s crib into my room, too, so I can give him his late feeding.”

  As sorry as he felt for his aching cock, Easton was pleased at this latest sign of her integration with the family. “Tomorrow, then? Lara is playing at The Den. I can introduce you to Gee’s specialty dish—fried pickles.”

  “Mmm.” She laughed. “How can I possibly resist?”

  “And slow dancing, too.” He swayed with her in his arms, moving them closer to the back door.

  “It’s a date, then.” She reached behind her to open the door and a wave of heat and the scents of food washed over them.

  Not quite ready to let her go, he claimed her mouth in a slow tangle of tongues. “And you’ll stay the night with me?” He asked when he came up for air.

  She slid down his body, letting her hands linger at his waist. “Try and stop me. I owe you for just now.”

  His eyes crossed. He hadn’t been keeping score, but if his Sadie wanted to put her mouth on him, who was he to say no?

  Running through the snow would have been difficult enough without the throb of his half-hard cock jammed against his fly. He skidded to a halt near the back door of the restaurant and bent over to catch his breath. He couldn’t walk in there with his mind still full of Sadie, not when every wolf would take one sniff and know what they’d been up to. He stuffed his gloves into his pockets and gathered a double handful of snow. Taking a deep breath, he rubbed the freezing stuff all over his face, cooling his ardor and cleaning the intimate scent of her away at the same time. In better control of his body and emotions, he hurried into the kitchen with a flurry of apologies.

  “There you are! Is everything okay?” Will looked more concerned than angry.

  “Fine, fine. Sorry, I got distracted.” Easton hung up his coat and rolled his sleeves above the elbow.

  Will gave him a wink. “We’ve all been distracted in our day, son. There’s a houseful out there, so wash up quick and get out front to give Bridie a hand.”

  He wasn’t kidding. It seemed like half the pack had turned out for dinner, and Easton spent the next couple of hours switching between the kitchen and the dining area depending on where the Saunders needed him most. One of the things he loved most about working at the restaurant was observing the seamless flow between the two humans. They complimented each other perfectly, finishing each other’s thoughts in a way only years spent side by side could achieve.

  He’d heard from Caleb about Bridie’s brush with cancer, how Hannah had used her healing gift to help her recovery from the surgery. She’d been gravely ill and, without that miracle, the vibrant woman who served as the heart of Dottie’s restaurant might never have made the journey to Los Lobos. Easton watched Bridie work the room, petting and teasing the wolves who sat at her tables. She lit up the place, and the pack flocked to eat there for the warmth and caring both she and Will offered as much as for a slice of her legendary apple pie. Everyone in that room had a reason to be thankfu
l for Hannah’s gift.

  “Earth to Easton.” A teasing voice drew him from his musings, and he turned with a smile to the family-packed table. Miss Fern watched him with a twinkle in her brown eyes. “You were miles away, dear.”

  “Sorry. Just counting a few blessings. What can I get for you?”

  “Henry’s having a slice of pie, of course.” She cast a fond look at her mate. “If I was the jealous type, I’d think he preferred Bridie’s baking to mine.” Miss Fern and her best friend Claire baked all kinds of treats for the bookshop and café in town.

  “Never that, my love.” The older wolf lifted her hand to his lips for a kiss.

  Doubting he’d find a better opening, Easton crouched down beside the woman. “I was going to come and see you tomorrow, but as you’re here, I hope you won’t mind. I have a favor to ask.”

  “Anything I can do for you, you know I’ll be happy to help.” It was true. Miss Fern’s heart was as kind as her smile.

  He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “You know I’ve been seeing Sadie, right?” She nodded, eyes gleaming at the thought of a bit of gossip. “Well, I wanted to court her right, but I’ve been rushed off my feet. I was hoping you might have some of those special chocolate kisses you make.”

  Easton gave her the full force of his puppy-dog eyes, and she patted his cheek. “I don’t have any in the freezer, but Claire and I are baking tomorrow so I can whip you up a batch, no problem.”

  “If you’re sure you don’t mind? I wouldn’t want to put you to any trouble.”

  She shook her head. “It will be my pleasure, dear. You know how I like to aid the path of true love whenever I can.”

  Easton ducked his head, more to hide the glint of triumph than out of shyness. “It might be a bit early to talk about love, Miss Fern, but she’s very special to me.”

  “Nonsense, child. Anyone with eyes in their head can see you’re sold on that girl. Woo her right and we’ll all help you make this a holiday celebration she won’t forget. A box of my chocolate kisses has won many a heart.”

  “You are an angel, Miss Fern. Let me grab Henry his slice of pie, and how about one of those fancy coffees for you? I’ll add an extra dollop of cream.” Easton hurried toward the kitchen. He couldn’t wait to tell Sadie he’d moved them a step closer on their scavenger hunt. Two down, two to go.

  ***

  The pearl-gray suede dress skimmed the top half of her body before flaring out at the waist to flow around her ankles. With long sleeves and a high neckline, it appeared modest until Sadie turned away to grab her clutch, revealing the expanse of her naked back. He swallowed hard. The butter-soft material swirled around her legs, flashing a glimpse of shiny black boots with spike heels. There was no way she’d be able to walk through the ice and snow in those, not even just the few feet from his truck to the bar and back. He’d have to carry her. Shame.

  “Are you ready to go?” He coughed to clear the huskiness from his dry throat.

  She nodded. “I just need to grab my jacket from the cloakroom.”

  Being a gentleman, it was his duty to help her into it, and if his fingers skimmed the bare skin at the base of her spine, it was purely an accident. Easton grinned to himself. If the bulge in his pants grew any bigger, he’d be forced to untuck his shirt to conceal the evidence. Her long hair hung in soft waves over her shoulders, and he scooped it to one side to press a kiss on the pulse point in her neck. “You look stunning.”

  She turned her head to meet his gaze, and he could see the subtle shading and highlighting around her eyes and a faint pink shimmer on her cheekbones. Her lips pursed; the deep red she’d painted on them drew him like a magnet. He brushed a softer kiss than he wanted to across them, not wanting to mar the efforts she’d put into her makeup. Not yet anyway. He’d only ever seen her fresh-faced, and he had to admit, sophisticated and sultry looked good on her. “You didn’t have to go to all this effort for me, you know.” It was true, but it pleased him nonetheless that she had.

  A wide grin split her face, and she looked like a young girl. “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you! Caitlyn and I were in the store earlier looking at the makeup, and guess who we ran into?” She didn’t pause long enough to let him answer, the words bubbling out of her like champagne. “Miss Claire! Talk about perfect timing! I started asking her all these questions—what colors would suit me, did she have a favorite lipstick brand to recommend—and before I knew it, she was giving me a tutorial!”

  “That’s nice….” He wasn’t sure what else to say to be honest.

  She clapped her hands together. “It was more than nice, it was inspired!” Rummaging in her clutch she drew out a carefully folded piece of tissue. “I asked her to show me how to put on lipstick, how to blot it correctly, that kind of thing. Honestly, I made myself sound like such a hick-from-the-sticks, and look!” Sadie waved the tissue at him, displaying the perfect outline of a pair of lips.

  Realization dawned. “A kiss!”

  “Exactly!” Excitement glowed in her eyes, and Easton, quite forgetting his vow not to mess up her makeup, swooped in for a kiss of his own.

  “Clever little wolf,” he praised her, and she laughed again.

  “Two down, two to go!”

  It was his turn to gloat. “Make that three down, one to go.” He pointed at the white square box on the hall table. “Chocolate kisses, care of Miss Fern.”

  She threw her arms around his neck, filling his nose with her vanilla-and-spice scent. “We might actually get this scavenger hunt completed in time.”

  He hugged her close. They just might do it. There were a couple more days before the pack would gather beneath the tree for their winter run, and the results of the hunt would be announced then. Only Miss Kathy stood between them and victory. No problem, right? His wolf whined in sympathy.

  Chapter Nine

  The smooth, sexy voice of the wolf on stage wrapped around the audience, sending them swaying to the rhythm of her song. Wrapped in Easton’s arms, Sadie let the music wash over her, through her, as they rocked together in the small space cleared for use as a dance floor. Wolves packed The Den, spilling out of booths, standing three deep at the bar, each one silent as Lara wove her magic spell. Musk and pine filled the air, interlaced with the distinctive scents of each individual to create a unique fragrance she was beginning to identify as one word—pack.

  Heat rose from the mass of bodies as well as the radiators lining the walls, relieved only now and then by a blast of freezing air when someone passed through the front entrance to the bar. With Lara onstage, no one had been willing to leave for a while and the temperature rose steadily. Easton pressed his lips to her neck, kissing the sensitive pulse point there, and a different kind of heat bloomed within her. Plastered to the front of his body, she couldn’t have been any closer to him, not while still clothed anyway, but it didn’t feel like enough. She wanted to melt inside his skin, pull him around her until there was no Easton, no Sadie, just them.

  His hands glided over the bare skin of her back to rest on her hips, the heavy weight of his cock notched against her belly. Her wolf stirred, a brush of dark fur through her mind, her teeth ached, and the tips of her fingers tingled. She wanted to call her fangs and claws, to bite him and mark him so every she-wolf in the room would know he belonged to her. A loud noise startled her, and she raised her head from his shoulder. Everyone around them were on their feet, applauding. Lara had finished her set, and they hadn’t even noticed.

  Need turned her veins molten, and panic chased after it. Too much, too exposed. If any of the wolves so much as looked her way, they would see her desperation. She couldn’t breathe. It was too hot. She needed some air.

  Tugging free from Easton’s arms, Sadie staggered a little on her heels but evaded his hand when he would have pulled her back into him. The crowd made it easier to slip away, and she wove her way toward the door, fighting the tight fist gripping her chest. Outside. If she could just make it
outside, she could clear her head and catch her breath.

  She hit the door, tugged at the handle, her panic rising when it refused to budge. Her nails scrabbled on the surface and dark spots filled her vision. Her knees wobbled, and familiar, strong hands caught her as she crumpled.

  “She’s fine. I think the heat got to her. If you could give me a hand with the door, though…thanks, man.” Easton’s voice sounded flat and muffled, as though he spoke from a distance, even though she rested against his chest. Cold air washed over her fevered skin, a welcome relief.

  She tried to turn her head to catch the chilly air on her burning cheeks, but it wasn’t enough. “Hot. Too hot,” she mumbled.

  “Shh. It’ll be okay, honey,” Easton crooned in her ear. The noise and lights of the bar faded as he carried her into the night. He kept his arms around her until they reached the truck where she managed to sit up enough for him to get her settled into the vehicle and secure the belt around her. Warm air blew into her face when he started the engine, and she stabbed for the window mechanism, sucking in a deep breath.

  Musk, pine, and the scent of dozens of strange wolves seemed to cling to her skin. Waves of panic rippled in her belly, and she struggled against the pull of the seat belt across her chest. Out. Her wolf raked its claws, a sharp slash of pain down her spine. “Easton.” She forced his name around the extending teeth in her mouth.

  He cursed sharply, wrenching the truck so hard toward the side of the road they skidded for a moment before he wrestled it back under control and they slid to a standstill. “Hold onto it, baby. Don’t shift yet. You’ll hurt yourself.”

  Easton threw himself out of the truck and raced to her side, yanking open the door. There was a moment of blessed relief as the constraining hold of her belt vanished then blinding agony when her wolf surged again.