“No.” Her back stiffened as she spoke. “I mean, I never want to be here. I don’t feel comfortable here. Not at all. My sister needs me so I’ll stay.”
Soothe. Soothe. Soothe. Her wolf wanted to make Gee feel better. She placed her hand on his arm. “This has to be hard for you. Seeing what was finally coming together fall apart.”
“Mags.” Gee groaned. “I have not been making eye contact with you because I didn’t want you to go and use all your omega heart on my sorry ass. I don’t need fixing. The pain I have endured isn’t ever going to go away no matter how many omegas come running in here and try. As for watching what was finally fixed getting worse? I don’t have words.”
Gee stood. “Clayton, the door to the apartment is right through the kitchen. You’ll find your way. I’m going to go check on Ryker. I’ll lock up behind me. Dim the lights. Be careful. So far, our murderer has only killed females, since Drew isn’t dead. I don’t want to see that change.”
They both watched as the huge man walked out the door of his bar, locking it behind him. A clock on the wall ticked, marking time in the endless day. Having Clayton with her made things both better and worse. His presence strengthened her, made her feel whole. His humanness caused anxiety. He could just as easily die as any of the others who believed themselves safe with the shifters in her brother-in-law’s pack.
Was Drew going to live through the night?
“He’s a character.” Clayton set down his drink and took her hand, lacing their fingers together in the way he had done a few times. She loved the ease of his reaching for her, as though to do so was the most natural thing in the world.
“Gee lived here when my great-grandmother mated my great-grandfather. I have no earthly idea how old he is.”
“Shifters.” Clayton squeezed her hand. “Should we go look at the apartment over the bar?”
She got off her seat. “You’re taking this very well.”
“I’m…fixated on you. Have been for weeks. If this is what you are, then I’d better figure out how to make it be fine, don’t you think? I mean, do most humans have trouble? Am I taking it less well than the others?”
Mags shrugged. “I don’t spend time here. I don’t know how everyone else’s humans took the news.”
They walked together up the stairs. She hadn’t been to the top of Gee’s bar since she was a little girl. She’d chased Drew, Betty, Colt, and some of the young dominants up one day when they’d been playing tag. Gee hadn’t been happy to find any of them up there. She’d gotten a good scolding, and Betty had blamed her for their getting caught.
He didn’t seem to have changed the apartment much. Very sparsely decorated, the room had a double bed with sheets that smelled clean. An empty chest of drawers and a closet with half a dozen wire hangers swinging gently from the breeze of the air conditioning.
Clayton put his hands on his hips. “This will be great.”
It would? She wanted to leave the room immediately and come back with some colored paint and decoration. Was that a wolf thing or a man-versus-woman thing?
“You can leave. You can go home and….”
He shook his head cutting off what she would have said. “You told the others I was yours. Did you mean that or were you trying to save my life?”
“I meant it.” She touched the soft flannel of his plaid shirt. “You don’t have to feel the same way. You’re human. You aren’t moved by smell the same way we are, as you pointed out in the clearing where Drew was shot.” The human had died…. She had to push that thought away. All the death around her could close in on her heart, could make it hard to breathe, if she let it. “You’re it for me. I knew you were mine when I bumped into you on the street.”
Clay closed the distance between them. “You think I’m not moved by your scent?” He touched the top of her head with his nose and took a deep breath. The scent, the moment traveled through her veins. To be scented deeply, for a wolf, was nothing but a loving gesture, a gift you saved for those you could not do without. “The smell of your shampoo, a touch of coconut. Not too overpowering. It makes total sense you don’t wear any scents that would come on too strongly. Must drive you crazy to pass a perfume counter.”
She closed her eyes and breathed him as he did her. Pine cones. Oak trees. Cinnamon sticks. The breeze. “First time I went to a mall after we left here, I almost fainted.”
“You never have to go to one again.”
“That would be such a dream.”
Clayton ran his finger down the side of her face, stopping to stroke her neck. “No perfume. But moisturizer. I can feel it on your skin. The faintest bit of…lavender. Mixes with the coconut, so gently.”
Mags’s insides trembled. “You can’t know what you’re doing to me. The language of smell. It’s important.”
“You think I don’t know? You said I was yours? That makes you mine. I’ve never had a mine before, never wanted one. No one’s gaze turned my insides warm. No one’s laugh lit up the night. Forty-five years is a long time for a human. I’d given up. I basically hate most people. I guess that’s because I was waiting for my shifter to come along.” He cupped her face, and she backed up to stare into his dark eyes. “I know what you need. I get you.”
He kissed her, and she melted against him, her insides flaming to life. Like before, his mouth was not gentle on hers. Clayton’s kiss was as much a claim as a caress. He pressed deeper and, when his tongue pushed at her lips, she opened her mouth to let him in.
Their mouths danced, a movement of lips, teeth, and tongue coming together until she couldn’t tell where he began and she ended.
“Tell me to stop if you don’t want this.” He pulled back but didn’t let her go, placing small kisses on her temple, on her brow, each one a jolt of pure pleasure through her body.
She moaned her answer, her voice breathier than she’d known it could be. “Why would you think I wanted you to stop?”
“Because sometimes you’re timid, and I don’t want you fleeing from me. I’d rather go no further and keep you in my arms.”
Evidence of his desire for her pressed against her stomach, and she smiled. “I’m not skittish. Or timid. Or even nervous or afraid. I ran because I thought this couldn’t be. I’m still not sure it’s a good idea. I just don’t give a shit.”
He grinned. “Look at you cursing.”
“Sometimes it fucking happens.”
Clayton bit her ear, and her knees buckled from the pure sexual impact of his teeth on her body. He caught her with one arm and then carried her over to the bed.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought his head down to kiss her again. She could addict to kissing her mate. Clayton seemed perfectly content to kiss her. She lost track of time, sometimes she forgot to breathe. Who needed air when she had Clayton?
He roamed her body with his hands, touching her through her clothing, squeezing, shaping her. “Never like this.” He whispered in her ear. “Nothing has ever mattered before.”
She knew what he meant. Life had been one endless day and then there was Clayton. He tugged at her sweater until he got it over her head and then threw it to the side. His smile as he stared down at her from above was crooked. “I really like your bra.”
Mags didn’t even remember which one she’d put on. Glancing at it, she realized it was nothing more than plain white cotton. “It’s pretty simple.”
“You make it look like a million dollars.”
He wasn’t going to require a lot of fancy-schmancy, and that was good because, outside of the store where she sold clothing, she really didn’t care a hoot about what she put on. Simple was better. He smoothed the skin around her brassiere before he unhooked it and discarded the device as he had her shirt.
Mags had never given a thought to her breasts—they weren’t big, they weren’t small, they were there. Clayton stared at them like they were a feast laid out before him. “I’ve been imagining them. A lot.”
<
br /> Her cheeks heated up. “You’ve been thinking about me naked?”
“I’m a guy, sweetheart. We think about the women we want, nude, about every three minutes or so. Maybe more.”
He massaged her breast before leaning down to suck on her nipple. Shivers traveled up and down her spine. She moaned before she grabbed the back of his head to hold on.
“Yes.” She’d had no idea she wanted her nipples sucked. She really did. By the spirits, she really, really did.
He sucked deeper, nibbling on the peak, which made her gasp. Her insides were hot. Was she going to explode from the experience? She really had no idea. It might be okay to burn to death this way.
She wanted skin to skin, and she wanted it right then. “Shirt off.”
“Right.” He pulled back and stripped himself, taking off his pants, too, while he was at it. She took off her bottoms and they both were completely naked.
Mags reached out and stroked his cock, needing to see if it felt as hard in her hand as it looked from a distance. He hissed out his breath and closed his eyes for a second.
A smile crossed her face as she realized something she hadn’t before. This was power. As much as she wanted him, he craved her just as much. Mags had never been the kind of woman who brought strong men to the brink.
“You like that?” Was her voice so low? Did she actually sound husky?
He breathed in sharply. “Too much of that and I’m going to come in your hand like a teenage boy. Your soft hand on my cock? Yeah, I’d say I like it.”
Clayton shook. The little woman made him more out of control than he’d ever been in his life. All he wanted to do was give her pleasure. He had to hold off, had to make this good. Dammit, she had to stop stroking him before he shot his wad.
He thrust down, moving her hand until he could breathe again.
The warmth of her pussy begged to be stroked. He pressed a finger inside her. She was so tight, his mouth watered at the thought of getting his erection into her soft wetness. He needed her more than he ever had anything in the whole universe.
She hissed, “Clay.”
He loved his name in her voice. “Say it again.”
Her eyes were hooded when she gazed at him. “Clayton.”
“Good girl.” One finger then two. Her muscles spasmed around him, and he knew it wouldn’t take much to get her off. Ego was a funny thing. He’d never been proud of himself. Getting to see her react to him was better than any book release had ever been.
Clay found her clit. He stroked. Once. Twice. A third time, harder. Her beautiful body gave him clues, what she needed, what she wanted, how much pressure she did and didn’t like.
“I’m…I’m close.” Her throat clenched. “Soon.”
“Good, sweetheart. Come on my hand. Then on my cock.” Then, for the rest of his life, over and over and over and over…. He’d never get enough.
Her back arched off the bed, and she sighed his name. Watching Mags come was the sweetest sight ever.
She didn’t explode in a loud bang but a small, slow whimper. Like in every other way he’d seen, his lady was gentle.
Her eyes fluttered open. “Wow.”
“Like that?”
She reached up to pinch him. “Don’t fish for compliments.”
He kissed her because to not do so might kill him. “I need to be in you,.”
Mags spread her legs open, which had to be the most provocative, sexiest, hottest thing he’d ever seen. “What are you waiting for?”
Seeing as that was the best invitation he was ever going to get in his entire life, he pressed himself against her and pushed inside. Her muscles loosened to let him in, and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt he’d found where he was always supposed to be.
She stroked the side of his face. “You can’t hurt me, my human. Don’t be gentle if you want to be rough.”
Clay kissed her and pushed in one more time before he pulled back out. In. Out. Yes, each thrust bringing him closer to an end he knew would be earth-shattering.
“I’m not going to last long.” Dammit, but he wanted to. Clayton clenched his teeth, held his breath, anything for Mags. She needed to come again like he required air to breathe. He would not disappoint her their first time together.
Reaching between them, he stroked her clit again. Her eyes got huge, and she called out his name, this time shattering in an explosion of beauty he’d never forget.
Finally, when he was sure she was ready, he gave in to the sweet bliss of coming between Mags’s thighs.
Later, with her wrapped in his arms, he drifted. Time moved slowly, like they’d picked up another clock, another existence where everything could be easy for a while. An illusion, but he didn’t care.
“So.” He kissed her shoulder. “You’re not an aggressive wolf, are you? Your sister is. Ryker, for sure. You don’t have the same…energy.”
“They’re dominants and beta wolves. I’m an omega. We take care of the heart of the pack. Bad packs try to harm us.”
So that was what Gee had meant by not using her omega gifts on him. It made sense. “You are my gentle girl. I love that about you.”
She snuggled closer. “Don’t be fooled. I can be deadly if I have to be.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He had a hard time picturing Mags harming a fly. Although she didn’t strike him as a person who would lie about violence. If she said she could be lethal, he’d believe her.
Her small snore alerted him to her falling asleep. Then a second, louder rumble followed. He covered her mouth to not disturb her. For such a dainty woman, she snored. Loud.
He closed his eyes. When they woke up, he was going to have to figure out what to do about food….
Noise downstairs had him coming to fast. Shouting. People were hollering at the top of their voices. He reached over to Mags but found her side of the bed empty.
“Mags....” he called into the room.
“I’m here.” She stood by the door, looking downstairs.
“What’s going on?”
“I hoped you would sleep through it. There’s an impromptu meeting going on downstairs. Lots of opinions. Mostly about wanting to oust Ryker.”
He sat up and rubbed at his eyes. “What asshole suggested that?”
She turned to look at him before she walked to the bed and sat next to him. “Are you some kind of immediate Ryker fan?”
“In a word, yes.”
“Really?” Her tone suggested her disbelief. “Why is that? He is the nightmare from my childhood.”
“For exactly that reason, sweetheart.” He stood. If they had an angry crowd downstairs, he didn’t want to be naked upstairs. Angry mobs could start to roam.
“Ugh. I hate that you’re getting dressed. I liked looking over and seeing your naked chest.”
He grinned. No way was he giving up the weights and the cardio, ever. She had gotten dressed. How had he slept through the whole thing?
“Why do you think Ryker being my nightmare is why I should want him leading?”
Wolves were different than humans. She’d lived among them, yet her heart would never be able to go to the dark places he sometimes visited. That’s what he could protect her from ever knowing.
Even with all the death around her, she didn’t really get it.
“The real nightmare is out there. He shot your alpha. He’s strangling your human pack mates. He’s a monster of the dark variety. When you’re hunting a nightmare, you want the person leading the charge to be willing to visit that darkness.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “After five minutes of knowing him, you can tell Ryker is that person?”
“He’s the main character here, sweetheart. The man who goes dark, but isn’t. Probably because of the woman who busted into Betty’s house and started screaming. He’s your main character. He’s the hero who takes down the evil.”
Or died at the hands of…depending on what typ
e of book they were all living in. Comedy was out. Tragedy was possible. He hoped they fell more into hero fiction. One thing was for sure. Clayton had never been the heroic star.
His only job was to protect Mags. If he could help in the meantime, he would. Otherwise, he was taking his girl, and they were running for his cabin.
She didn’t need the pack. He’d take care of her.
Although the niggling voice in the back of his head kept reminding him she was a wolf. The same way she wouldn’t get the sociopath, she was always going to need her pack.
“I need to get back to my sister.”
He waved at her. “Go. I’ll eavesdrop and make some notes for my book.”
Mags scratched her nose. “I don’t know if I should leave you here.”
“There is a bar full of wolves arguing downstairs. I don’t think the crazy human killer is going to come up here to kill me with the room filled there. I’m safe. I’m also hard to kill.” He rubbed at his arm. “Trust me. I can take care of myself.”
She leaned over to kiss the spot he rubbed. His heart melted into a puddle. If he’d doubted he was in love, or, maybe more honestly doubted the existence of it completely, the idea fled. He. Loved. His. Woman.
“Someday will you tell me about how you got shot?”
“No.” He kissed the edge of her nose. “I probably never will.”
It was better if he never remembered.
To Mags’s credit, she didn’t argue or seem put off by his answer. “I’ll be at Betty and Drew’s. Any wolf can direct you there if you get lost.”
“I don’t plan on going anywhere.”
“See you soon.”
She walked out the door, and he let his mind wander to his current project. His hero had gotten lost to the bottle again. Vodka was his choice of poison. He had to be pulled out. In six books, Clay had never considered bringing a woman into the picture to drag him back. It always seemed unfair. Deus ex woman….
Maybe the right girl could bring him back from the loneliness.
Maybe it was time to introduce a woman to the scene.
Not that he’d turn it into a romance. Just a touch….
Scent of His Woman Page 4
