by R. J. Blain
I wanted her, but my fear of losing her due to my haste and lust froze me in place.
“Keep your eyes closed,” she ordered, grabbing hold of my hands. She tugged.
My wolf’s curiosity melded with my own. Sliding my feet across the floor, I obeyed her. Part of me tensed, expecting her to run me into a wall in punishment for one of my many misdeeds.
She stopped me with a hand to my chest, and I sucked in a breath when she dug her hand into my pants to pull out my keys. “I took the liberty of borrowing your keys last night and exploring the entire floor, Mr. Murphy.”
“Sneaky little thief,” I murmured, wondering what she was up to. “You’re going to make me check every little thing I own, aren’t you?”
“Every little thing I own,” she corrected, her tone amused. Keys jangled, followed by the click of a door unlocking. “Don’t you dare open your eyes.”
I considered it, smirking, but then decided to play her game and find out exactly what she was up to. When she was finished with me, I suspected I would enjoy every moment of it, but would end up very frustrated as a result. She pressed her hand to my back and pushed me forward. I obeyed, keeping my eyes closed as ordered.
The door clicked closed behind me.
“Your house is very, very interesting,” my mate murmured.
“I’m glad you think so. But, you can’t steal my—”
Nicolina locked her hands behind my neck, pulled me down, and pressed her lips to mine. It was a quick, hard kiss, and she pulled away, clicking her tongue. “Quiet.”
My heart raced. I took a deep breath so I could catch her scent.
My mate wanted me.
“I like this room in particular. I think I’ll steal it, too. That leaves the problem of the owner.” Nicolina’s voice was breathless and shaky. I shifted my weight, flexing my hands.
With one nip, she’d truly be mine. I tensed, my breath catching in my throat. “The owner is the big, bad wolf,” I reminded her, my voice rough with my need for her.
“Yet your eyes are still closed. The big, bad wolf is obedient.” Her hands tugged at my shirt, and she flicked her nail against a button. “I picked this room because it’s soundproofed,” she informed me. “You had your chance to run. Now you’re mine to do with as I please.”
The only room soundproofed in my house was my private office, a room no one entered without my permission. I didn’t even let Frank in my office, although I kept it unlocked for Alex when I was away. With a startled intake of breath, I remembered the keys had been in my pocket when I had fallen asleep last night. “You sneaky little bitch. You stole my keys out of my pants while I was wearing them. I’m not sure whether I’m grateful or disappointed you didn’t steal my pants along with my keys. Should I ask what else you were doing in my pants while I was sleeping?”
My wolf approved of my mate’s curiosity and resourcefulness, not caring why she had gone through the trouble of finding out my office was soundproofed. We had her attention.
“My keys,” she retorted. “I considered the pants while I was taking them, but they look better on you than they would on me.”
With her teasing me as she was, I couldn’t keep my hands to myself. I reached for her, and, with a few seeking strokes of my hands, took hold of her waist and yanked her to me. Without opening my eyes, I ducked my head, brushing my lips against her cheek. “You haven’t stolen the owner yet, Miss Desmond. Maybe I’ll just make the thief mine. My thief, my pool, my hot tub, my shirt, my ties, my bathrobe. I might, because I’m such a gentlemen, permit my thief to keep her bikini, but only because she makes it look so nice.”
“Obedient, but hard of hearing. I said you’re mine to do with as I please. I called it. You also fell asleep first last night, so you’ll simply have to suffer. Remember, I demanded your obedience.”
I growled my frustration but stood still, struggling against my desire to sink my teeth into her throat. “I obeyed.”
“Let go,” she ordered.
Unable to silence my wolf’s whine, I released her waist. After a moment, she pressed her hand to my back and gave a gentle push. I tensed, aware of the obstacles in my office, including the couch, coffee table, armchair, and reading table in addition to the oak desk and office chair facing the wall to wall window.
“Open your eyes and go to the couch. Once you’re there, close your eyes again and sit.”
Huffing, I did as she ordered, flopping down onto the couch. In an effort to force myself to relax, I stretched out on it.
Nicolina pounced, driving the air out of my lungs as her weight hit my stomach and chest. I opened my eyes in surprise, wheezing for air. Taking advantage of my weakness and surprise, she bit me in the throat.
I gasped, arching beneath her as pleasuring heat spread from where her teeth sank into my skin to engulf me.
Making a sound suspiciously like a cat’s purr, she released me, exposing her neck in invitation. Unable to resist her, I pulled her close so she wouldn’t escape me, nipping her in acceptance of all she offered.
The Value of a Life
With the full moon on the rise, Nicolina has more than thralled wolves to worry about. Fearing what her father will do if he ever learns she has staked her claim on Yellowknife’s Alpha, she hides her love and affection for Richard in the only way she knows how. To mask their mingling scents, she unleashes a cologne apocalypse in his bedroom.
With her new mate hunting with his wolves, she takes the opportunity to get to know his brother. But when a jealous wolf bent on destroying what Richard holds dear comes calling, Nicolina must decide for herself the true value of a life—and whether or not she is willing to kill to protect those her mate loves.
~~*~~
I underestimated the strength of Richard’s cologne. One squirt I liked; the scent reminded me of my lilac perfume, subtle and floral with a vanilla undertone. The complexity of it matched him, which had compelled me to select it.
After the fifth spray in his dresser, my head was spinning. Determined to douse all of his clothes before I succumbed to a chemical high, I gulped a deep breath of air and held it, blitzing through his drawers.
When he woke up, if he wanted to wear clothes, he’d burn the noses of any Fenerec who tried sniffing out anything about him. If my scent on him was a real concern, all they’d smell was his cologne.
If they wondered why I reeked of his cologne, my pranking would provide excuse enough.
Richard was mine.
If someone discovered I wanted him and had no intentions of allowing anyone else near him, I would deal with them one way or another. However, with Richard worried about our scents and my father’s typical overprotective tendencies, I would do everything I could to minimize the risk, including suffocate in the attempt to mask the presence of my scent on him.
My t-shirt and jeans would likely forever carry the scent of his cologne as a result, but it was a small price to pay.
I wasn’t even sure what he meant when he talked about our scents, except it posed a problem for him. I would ask him about it later. Maybe waiting would have been better, but my fear of what the Fenerec bitches would do during the full moon drove me.
Richard was mine.
My lungs burned with the need for air. Retreating to the hallway, I stuck my head out of his bedroom and gasped. One spray I liked.
Thirty choked me. Coughing, I scrambled in the direction of the kitchen.
If the cologne apocalypse in Richard’s bedroom wasn’t enough to throw obnoxious Fenerec off our trail, nothing would. I slumped against the counter, setting the bottle on the granite and sliding it away. My head throbbed in time with my heartbeat. Groaning, I pulled a stool to me and climbed on.
The phone mounted on the kitchen wall rang. Tumbling off the stool, I snatched it up before the noise woke Richard, uncertain the phone in his office would ring. “Hello?”
“Hello, Nicolina. It’s Frank. Do you know when Richard left the house?”
I grimaced, twisti
ng to stare in the direction of Richard’s office. “He hasn’t. He’s in his office, I think,” I replied, wondering if I should have woken him up. I snorted. “Probably napping, the lazy rat. It’s been silent in there.”
When I had left him almost two hours ago, he had been smiling in his sleep.
Frank laughed. “That’s because it’s soundproofed. Alex had called saying Richard would be on his way a while ago, so we were getting worried. I should have known. Mind knocking? If you can’t get him up, Alex’ll have to get the keys out of the master safe, and that’s a bit of an ordeal.”
“He’s the only one with the key?”
“Unless he leaves it unlocked, like he will sometimes if Alex is home alone, yes. First thing he did when he got in was probably lock it up. He’s like that. That’s his private space. Anyway, can you have him give me a call?”
I grinned, even more pleased with my choice of rooms for my claiming of Richard. “Sure. On your cell?”
“The lodge phone is fine.”
“Okay.”
“Does he seem okay?”
At the worry in Frank’s voice, I sighed. “He was rubbing his neck, but otherwise seemed fine. Tired, I guess. I wasn’t aware I was his nurse.”
If I had anything to do with it, Frank wouldn’t learn why his Alpha was tired—ever. I flushed at the memory of Richard’s enthusiasm. It had been tempting to snuggle with him on the couch when he had fallen asleep, but my worries had driven me out of his office so I could eliminate his concerns from last night.
I hoped they all lost their sensitive sense of smell after exposure to the cologne apocalypse.
“Just make sure he’s out of there within the next three or four hours, okay? It’s getting close to the full moon, and it’s not wise for him to be around you and the other Normals.”
Clenching my teeth, I drew a deep, hissing breath so I wouldn’t snap at Richard’s Second. “Don’t worry, Frank. I have his Beretta and it’s loaded with silver.”
“I will bribe you, just please don’t shoot him.”
Carrying the phone around the island, I dumped out the old coffee to start a new pot. “A bribe, is it? What sort of bribe?”
Frank cried out, followed by a yelp. The phone clattered against something. Faint laughter in the background heralded my father’s snort. “You are not blackmailing Frank, Nicolina.”
“Oh. Hi, Father,” I said, pressing the button on the coffee maker. “Not fair. You ruined my business deal.”
“Illegal business deal,” he countered. “Where’s Richard really?”
“Hiding in his office, probably sleeping. When I saw him earlier, he looked pretty tired. Anyway, he hasn’t suffered sufficiently for his crimes yet.”
I loved hating Richard, and I looked forward to continuing my war with him. Hopefully, he would let down his guard, allowing me to get the better of him. If I could have my way, I’d keep him throughout the entire full moon.
“I don’t suppose you will take a raincheck on your revenge, would you? Just this once.”
“What are you paying me?” I giggled, pulling down a mug from the cabinet. “If I can’t get bribes from Frank, perhaps I can get them from you.”
My father snorted. “Keep dreaming. Is everything fine? Richard hasn’t done anything, has he?”
Maybe Richard was right about my father, judging by the hard edge in his tone. I sighed. “It’s fine. Richard’s done nothing but sleep since we’ve been here, pretty much. I don’t suppose the SUV will fit a swimming pool, a hot tub, and a huge television, will it? I have some things I’m stealing when we head home.”
“No.”
“Unacceptable,” I complained, digging out cream from the fridge before going on a hunt for the sugar. “What the hell does that rat take in his coffee? If I have to try to wake that lazy ass up, I’ll need coffee. He really was mostly comatose earlier. I’m not his nurse, damn it!”
I heard my father ask Frank about the coffee before he replied, “Half a spoonful of sugar and a splash of cream. He’ll also take it black if he’s that tired. Frank seems to think if it’s coffee, he won’t care.”
“Is it as effective if I just dump the pot on him?”
“No.”
“You’re so lame. Bribes, Father. What are you giving me for delaying my revenge?”
My father sighed. “What do you want?”
“I’ll take a necklace. A nice one. Yellow stones,” I murmured. Perhaps I could find one matching Richard’s eyes when he was at his wildest. “I could get revenge on Richard at the same time, forcing him to serve as my personal slave while I pick it out, spending all of your money in the process.”
“Your cruelty knows no boundaries, does it? Very well. If my little girl wants a new necklace as payment for not killing Richard, she shall have it. But that’s a six month no-killing agreement, young lady. You also will not spend all of my money. You will have a budget, one I will decide later. You may prank, you may torture, but you may not attempt to kill him. No silver, no cobras, nothing poisonous or venomous. Your pranks will remain civil. Am I understood?”
I scowled. “I make no promises. He does something stupid, and I reserve the right to slap him with my jewelry. However, I will promise I will not rearrange his internal organs with my dagger.”
Keeping Richard alive was my top priority.
“You already promised me that when I let you keep that knife. I’m warning you now, if he doesn’t deserve it, I’m lighting your ass on fire,” he warned. “If he does, I will deal with him. Understood?”
The threat in my father’s tone worried me—as did Richard’s concerns about our scents. If my understanding was correct, I wanted his scent on me. Until I found a way to protect Richard from my father, no one could know.
Would his cologne and my perfume be enough?
I snorted, wondering how I had gotten myself into such a mess. In my father’s opinion, Richard already deserved it, even though I had been the initiator of our morning tryst. “Understood. I’ll have him call the lodge when he’s getting ready to leave. He did mention having some work he needed to do before he left, but I’m pretty sure he went back to sleep.”
“Just be careful around him, okay? If he gives you any problems, call for Alex.”
“I can take care of myself,” I snapped, hanging up on him.
~~*~~
When I was positive Alex wasn’t on the fourth floor, I unlocked Richard’s office and slipped inside, bringing a mug of coffee for him. He was sprawled on the couch where I had left him, covered with a crocheted blanket. I closed my eyes, enjoying the steady, rumbling purrs of his breathing.
If anyone found out I enjoyed watching—and listening—to Richard sleep, they would humiliate me until the day I died. Opening my eyes and sighing, I crossed the room and set his mug on a coaster on his desk, safely out of the way.
While I likely could have knocked on the door to wake Richard, I fully intended to enjoy him again at least once more before I let him return to his pack. The hot tub was too risky, but the jacuzzi in Richard’s bedroom would more than suffice, assuming the air had cleared out from the cologne apocalypse.
How would Richard react if I woke him up by nibbling on his neck? If earlier was any indication, we wouldn’t make it to his bedroom, let alone to his jacuzzi. I circled the coffee table to stand over him.
Richard reached for me, his eyes still closed and his breathing steady. Letting him wrap his arm around me, I perched on the edge of the cushion. “Richard, you’re going to sleep your life away.”
He mumbled, making contented noises.
Nipping at him wouldn’t accomplish my goals, but perhaps stroking his throat would. I twisted around, worming my hand beneath the blanket, sliding my fingers over his bared chest. While it was unbuttoned, he was still wearing his shirt, though I had my doubts it had survived our enthusiasm. I ran a finger along the length of his throat.
Richard tilted his head away to give me easier access to his neck.
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“Shameless. Wake up, Richard. You have a date with the jacuzzi, and you have work to do. My father bribed me to ensure you’d leave for the lodge intact.”
“Maybe I don’t want to wake up. Maybe I have you right where I want you,” he murmured, holding me tighter.
“How’s your neck?”
“Stiff. I’ll live. I won’t if you run away,” he whined.
“If I run away, I can’t figure out how to steal your things,” I pointed out, poking his shoulder. “I made you coffee.”
“Why do you reek of my cologne?” Richard grabbed my arm, pulling me to him so he could sniff. “Did you bathe in it?”
“No, but your clothes did.”
Richard shot upright, and without releasing me, he twisted around, yanking me onto the couch with him. I sprawled over his lap, squeaking from surprise.
“You did what to my clothes?” he demanded.
“I almost suffocated to death spraying them down, but that scent problem is fixed. If it burns my nose, no one will be the wiser about my conquest.” I squirmed in my effort to free myself from his hold. “I was doing you a favor.”
“With my cologne?” Richard groaned, bowing his head. “Now everyone is going to ask what I’m hiding.”
“As if I would waste my perfume on you,” I huffed, rolling over so I was lying on my back. “Maybe I’ll waste some of it on you. There were some other nice colognes in there. I’ll use them all. It’ll be obvious I was pranking you, then. But I like that cologne. Father said I had to take a raincheck on my revenge. I told him he had to buy me a necklace. He also sold you out. You’re my slave now.”
If he didn’t ask the conditions of his slavery, I wasn’t going to complain.
“You’re incorrigible.” Richard chuckled, running his hands along my throat. I shivered in anticipation. “You’re surprisingly forward, Miss Desmond. And to think I was preparing to spend years hunting you down. Now I have you exactly where I want you.”
