by A C Warneke
When she was around, he was not himself; not only did he fail to get her to hand in her resignation, he had failed to keep his paws off her. It didn’t matter that it had been the most explosive, most satisfying sex of his life, he shouldn’t have given in.
If you don’t want her, let me have her, my master and slave, his wolf said, its voice drowsy with sexual repletion. She was delicious and I want her again.
Duncan closed his eyes in self-disgust; his beast had never participated in his sexual encounters before; he had been able to control the beast, keep him caged. As long as it was allowed to run with the wolves and rut with Ashley on occasion, the beast behaved, abiding by the rules Duncan had set down all of those years ago. Unless he could figure out a way to keep his wolf caged when Lexi was near, he couldn’t afford to be around her. Her presence made him do things – want things – which he couldn’t, shouldn’t, want.
Sitting down at the computer, he addressed another email to her. He wasn’t going to apologize again; he couldn’t, he wasn’t sorry. Typing the quick message, he reread it and prayed he had the strength to resist tracking her down and absconding with her, taking her back to his lair to savor whenever he pleased.
Miss Darling:
I think it would be best if I keep my distance from you; whenever I am around you, I forget myself. Please continue your work on 'The Scene;' if you need to communicate with me, please feel free to email me. I will try to keep my distance.
D. Tremain.
Clicking send, he leaned back in his chair and stared out the window at the world beyond, still feeling the lingering effects of being inside Lexi’s body. It had been the height of stupidity to lose control in such a spectacular fashion but he couldn’t regret it; he just had to figure out a way to get her out of his system so that he no longer craved her more than the air he needed to breathe.
Chapter 12 (Saturday)
Duncan swung the club, sending the golf ball flying through the air, grateful that they were on the final hole. It was difficult trying to concentrate on his game when memories of having sex with Lexi kept replaying themselves in his head, Lexi’s seductive scent, her mindless moans; the way her body welcomed him…. It had been nearly a week and she still invaded his thoughts. Swearing about the distance his ball went, or rather, the lack of distance, Duncan waited for his brother, Senator Philip Carson, to swing.
“What’s up with you today?” Philip asked, lining up his shot, glancing at the hole and then adjusting his grip. “You’re eight above par and that never happens. With your wolf vision, you should be well below.”
“Nothing’s up,” Duncan clipped out, tightening his jaw and watching his older brother with a dark scowl. Despite the nearly ten year age difference and having two different fathers, the two men were surprisingly close. Because Philip’s father had been a human there had never been a question of whether or not he would be the Alpha and so he decided to take the world of politics by storm instead. Philip had the power and intelligence of a wolf but he did not shift and being a half-breed gave him the strength to persevere against almost any obstacle, including the dog-eat-shit world of politics. “Take your damn shot.”
Philip chuckled, “Yes, sir.”
“There’s a woman,” Duncan blurted, unable to keep the words to himself. As his brother paused and looked at him, waiting for more, Duncan sighed, “She’s unlike anything I’ve ever known, Phil; she drives me insane and I think I like it.”
“Then what’s the problem?” he asked, swinging and sending the little white ball soaring. Smiling when he saw it land next to the hole, he turned to Duncan, "Well?”
“She’s human.”
“Ah, I see.” And he did. As the product of a human-wolf relationship, he was in the very unique position of understanding, perhaps one of the only two people to understand. “Have you talked to mom about this yet?”
“Are you crazy?” Duncan huffed a laugh at the thought. “She would freak out and I wouldn’t hear the end of it. Besides, I’ve already told Le… the girl that we can’t be together.”
“Why don’t you just enjoy her for the moment?” Philip asked with bewilderment as they moved closer to the hole. “You’ve had human lovers before.”
“I’ve had one human lover, Philip,” Duncan clarified. “And it was a disaster. No, this girl is… she is dangerous. I lose control around her and she makes me want things….”
“Are you taking measures to prevent pregnancy?” Phil asked casually even though Duncan knew how important the answer was to him.
“Of course,” Duncan assured him, seeing his brother's shoulders relax slightly. "But I would get her pregnant in a heartbeat if it meant I could keep her.”
Philip ground to a halt and stared at him in dismay, “You know what happened to my father, Duncan; don’t even joke about such a thing.”
“Forgive me,” Duncan murmured, letting the matter drop; he wasn’t going to burden Philip with his demons because the story of Philip’s father had been used as a cautionary tale for as long as he could remember: the dangers of falling in love with a human.
When she had been very young, Isabel, their mother, had fallen madly in love with a human and she had told him about her nature and he still loved her. Miraculously she fell pregnant with his child, with Philip, and they foolishly believed Philip Senior was destined to be her mate, that he would survive, and she had bit him.
At first everything seemed to be okay and they were overjoyed, since they were going to be bringing a little half-human, half-wolf into the world. And they were going to be able to raise the little cub together, as wolves. But then, within a day everything had changed and it all started when he came down with a fever that burned out of control. Within a few hours, the pain overtook him until he was clawing at his skin to make it stop. The venom had killed him quickly after that, leaving their mom pregnant and alone.
Devastated by her loss and overwhelmed with guilt and grief, she had returned to the pack only to be mocked and shunned for daring to fall in love with a human, for having the audacity to bring a half-breed abomination into their midst. She was an omega wolf and they rest of the pack never let her forget.
Until the day the Alpha returned home from an extended hunt and took one look at the shattered woman and knew that she was meant to be his. It had taken a lot of time for her to deal with her loss and heartbreak but Julian had been patient, giving her what she needed, the time to heal, while always being a presence in her life. He had been a father to Philip from the moment the child was born, even when Isabel wanted nothing to do with the Alpha.
Eventually, she realized that she while she would always love Philip Senior, she madly and passionately loved Julian, that he had returned her love a thousand fold. Nine months after he finally claimed her, Duncan was born, the first of many children they were to have.
Philip and Duncan walked the rest of the green in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. In the end, Philip managed to just make par on the course, making Duncan’s ten above that much worse. As a wolf, his score shouldn’t have been that dismal and Duncan couldn’t help but shake his head. Laughing as they entered the dining room of the club house, Philip clapped his brother on the back, “Rounds are finally on you. Are you sure there isn’t anything else eating you up?”
The image of Lexi’s lips taking the length of his erection into her mouth flashed into Duncan’s head and his body responded immediately and painfully. Almost allowing the groan to escape, Duncan managed to covertly adjust while sitting down on the veranda.
“There’s nothing else. No, wait; I take that back.” He glared at his Philip, though the amusement in his voice ruined the effect, “You announced your decision to run for president to a gossip columnist?”
“You’re talking about Lexi Darling?” Philip asked, leaning back and sipping the water the efficient waiter placed in front of him. At Duncan’s grunted yes, he smiled, “Yeah, I seem to recall mentioning it to her when she fried my brain with that
luscious body of hers.”
Duncan ground his molars for a moment, as jealous rage rampaged through him. Trying to act as if his brain wasn’t going to explode, he asked, “Doesn’t it bother you that your presidential plans were announced so… imprudently?”
“Don’t you own lavish now?” Philip asked, crunching an ice cube, an amused look on his face as he studied his younger brother.
“That’s not the point,” Duncan bit out, trying to get his thoughts away from wrapping his hands around his brother’s throat for daring to ogle the body of the woman he lusted after. It would be in very poor form to murder him when he loved him. “If you wanted to announce it in the magazine, why didn’t you choose a more… respectable column?”
The corner of Philips lips curved upwards in a crooked smile, “Have you ever seen Miss Darling in a bikini? I swear that woman has the body of a goddess.”
He had to agree; it was a body made to be worshiped, by tongues and teeth if necessary. Looking away, Duncan was startled by Philip’s raucous laughter, “My God, Duncan, you’re actually blushing. I take it you’ve met the exceptional Lexi Darling.”
“I have,” Duncan admitted, still not quite meeting Philip’s eyes, wondering if his brother was going to put two and two together and figure out why the conversation was making him so uncomfortable. He busied himself with drinking his water. “She’s very… unique.”
“Yeah,” Philip agreed, the one word making Duncan’s description sound woefully lacking. “When she called for an interview I had no idea who she was even though I recognized the name because my wife reads her column all the time. I agreed to answer a few of her questions over the phone and I was impressed as hell by her intelligence, her enthusiasm.”
“I’m sure that’s not all that impressed you,” Duncan grunted.
Philip’s smile widened, “I admit, when she adjusted her bikini top, I nearly split the seam in my trunks even though I’m a happily mated wolf, but I digress. I had no idea what she looked like during my interview – and I had no intention of announcing anything. But somehow she had discovered I like to wind surf and asked if I’d like to do a quick, informal follow-up, something that would make it more… interesting.”
“I see,” Duncan grumbled, tightening his grip on his glass until he was sure it was going to shatter. Forcing his hand to relax, he concentrated on breathing and not smashing his fist into his brother’s face.
“Did you even read the article?” Philip asked, sitting forwards in his chair. “Lexi is someone I would like to have on my team.”
“I bet you would.” Duncan actually snorted.
Philip laughed outright at his younger brother’s obvious irritation. “Tell me then, if you’re so smart, what do you make of the girl?”
“Disturbing,” Duncan answered without thinking, making Philip laugh even harder than before. He glared at Philip. “What?”
“She’s gotten to you,” he smirked matter-of-factly. “She had that effect on me as well.”
“So you’ve lost control and fucked her, too, huh?” Duncan asked, acid eating away at his stomach. It didn’t matter how much he loved his brother, he was going to slam his fist into Philip’s smug face….
“WHAT?!” Philip nearly fell out of his chair, his eyes widening in disbelief, in shock. “You… slept with her? Wow, Duncan, you don’t do casual sex; you’re practically a monk with the number of women you’ve been with. What’s the number? Four? Five?”
“There was nothing casual about it,” Duncan huffed out, surprising himself with his frankness. Knowing that Philip hadn’t slept with Lexi left Duncan feeling rather charitable towards his older brother. Of course Philip hadn’t slept with Lexi; he was completely devoted to his wife Stacey. More importantly, he was a happily mated wolf; he couldn’t sleep with Lexi even if he wanted to; and if he wanted to, Duncan was going to…. With a wry smile, he added, “Besides, I’ve learned quality trumps quantity every time. What I lack in numbers I make up for in performance. Even the human I bedded walked away happy.”
Philip threw his head back and laughed, “You are so full of it, Duncan; I’m surprised you allowed yourself to be lured to the dark side. And with a girl that exudes sex.” He let out a low whistle, “Ashley is going to be furious.”
“I don’t know about that; Ashley adores her.” Seeing the expression of horror on his brother’s face, not quite understanding it, Duncan paused, “Don’t look at me like that.”
“I can’t believe you would introduce your girlfriend, your prospective mate, to your mistress,” Philip shook his head.
“Ashley is not nor has she ever been my girlfriend,” Duncan ground out, irritated with his brother’s assumptions, knowing that the entire pack had the same assumptions.
“But, under the full moon, the two of you….”
“She was the only one I could tolerate and you know what the wolf is like when the moon is full.” Even if Philip didn't shift, he still felt the driving, animalistic need to fuck beneath the full moon. Duncan didn’t know why he was making excuses; it was his life and Ashley was not his girlfriend. He didn’t owe her or Philip an explanation.
“Wow, I never thought I’d see the day where you would let your beast take over completely,” he let out a low whistle, leaning back in his chair as he stared at Duncan in awe. “Did you lose your mind, Duncan? Go insane? What?”
“There may have been some madness involved,” Duncan admitted, downplaying the extent of their combustible attraction. “I don’t know; there’s just something about her.
“I agree,” Philip said, still a little stunned over his brother’s behavior. A low growl came from the back of Duncan’s throat and Philip held up his hands and chuckled, “Whoa, there, Duncan, I’m just agreeing with you. After all, she got me to announce my plans in a gossip column and she made Duncan Tremain lose his infamous iron-control. What does your wolf think about Lexi?”
“He won’t shut up about her,” Duncan shook his head; hell, he was jealous of his own bloody wolf. Looking out across the manicured lawns, he admitted something that he had never told another person, “I haven’t bonded with my wolf, Philip; and yet when she’s near me I can feel him straining against the leash to get to her.”
When Philip didn’t say anything, Duncan turned his head and saw that his brother was staring at him with his jaw hanging to his chest, his eyes wide in astonishment. “How is that even possible, Duncan?”
“I don’t know,” he shook his head as he thought about Lexi’s effect on him and on the wolf. “He wants her as badly as I do….”
“Not that, you idiot,’ Philip growled, his gray eyes glowing with the wolf that was inside. “How can you be the Alpha of the Prentiss clan, the Alpha prime of ours, and yet you haven’t bonded with your wolf?!”
“No, I haven’t,” Duncan said through clenched teeth, grateful that the veranda was empty. “You may want to keep your voice down, Philip; I don’t think the country is ready to have a wolf for their next president.”
“But you run with the wolves on the nights of the full moon,” Philip blurted, still stuck on Duncan’s admission, disregarding the fact that they were in a public place, albeit one completely void of patrons other than themselves. “You rut in your wolf form.”
“And afterwards I regain control,” Duncan said calmly. “It is a bargain we have, he and I. But that is not the point, he’s struggling to break free and I cannot allow that.”
“I think you’re problems are much bigger than that,” Philip shook his head in confusion. “You talk to him, you transform into him; how can you not be bonded?”
Duncan sighed, knowing he just didn’t have time to explain his choices to his brother, or how he was able to be the Alpha when, technically, he shouldn’t be. It wasn’t his fault that he was powerful enough to control not one but two clans, at least when his father needed to get away, without being bonded with his wolf. Glancing at his watch, he stood up, “Look, I’ve got to go; I’m meeting Ashley for dinner and
….”
“I thought you said she wasn’t your girlfriend.”
“She’s not; it’s something to do with the pack.” Throwing some cash down on the table, he faced his brother; “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention this conversation to anyone; it could make things… problematic.”
“Of course not,” Philip said quickly as he came to his feet. Holding out his hand, “You’re my brother.”
Duncan accepted the hand and the two men shook. When he met his brother’s eyes, he saw sympathy and concern; there was no condemnation and he appreciated that more than Philip could ever possibly know. “Thank you.”
“Take care, little brother,” Philip said softly, concern underlying the amusement. “You wouldn’t want your empire taken down by a mere human.”
Duncan smiled slightly, knowing that he was going to have to read Lexi’s work since her e-mails had proven to be vastly entertaining, making him chuckle when he should have been serious. He had been putting it off because he knew he couldn’t afford to see Lexi’s depths; she was already creating havoc in his life and it was tearing him up inside. Any more havoc was damn near going to destroy the hold he had over the wolf and if that happened…. He wasn’t sure what would happen if the wolf got free.
Let’s find out, shall we, Duncan?
*****
At an upscale restaurant that evening, Lexi sat with Cole, across the table from Ashley and Dima, who were so madly in love – at least deeply in lust – it was absurd. Dima and Cole were wearing tight, black leather pants; Dima in a white t-shirt that stretched across his broad shoulders, delineating his muscled chest, and Cole in some sort of artsy-fartsy poet’s shirt. He still looked entirely too-masculine, despite the ruffles. Of course, with the front gaping open, the laces loosely tied, he resembled a model on the front of a romance novel.
Ashley was also sporting a pair of leather pants, pairing them with a cropped t-shirt that showcased her flat stomach and intricate tattoo on her lower back. Her red hair was loose and her makeup minimal but she glowed. Rounding out the group, Lexi wore an almost-Renaissance get-up: a flowing, white shirt beneath a tight, low-cut bodice of black brocade that pushed her breasts up. Of course, she had on the requisite leather pants as well, with stiletto boots. Her elaborate wig was black, the hair piled on her head in braids and curls, almost haphazard in manner, with a few more braids woven throughout; it was very gothic. Any other quartet would have looked ridiculous; together they looked purely amazing.
