by Sax, Cynthia
Big City Wolf
Cynthia Sax
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2012 Cynthia Sax
BIN: 05706-01828
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Changeling Press LLC
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www.ChangelingPress.com
Editor: Maryam Salim
Cover Artist: Bryan Keller
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Big City Wolf
Cynthia Sax
He was a wolf without a pack, a stray living on the street. She was the pack princess, pampered and perfect. Half a century ago, their love was torn apart by a controlling alpha and a sadistic enforcer.
Unable to live without her wolf, Ember meets with North. He’s angry, determined to find out answers she doesn’t want him to hear. She has a secret she knows will destroy his love forever.
If the enforcer doesn’t kill them first.
Chapter One
God. Ember stared out of the limousine’s tinted windows, not seeing the houses and shops lining the streets. Let me get through this.
“You’re looking a little pale, Em.” Hailey peered at her, her brow wrinkled with concern. “Are you feeling okay? You could skip this party. Perla and Frey would understand.”
But North wouldn’t. Ember flexed her fingers. He knows I’m on the guest list. “I’ll be fine.” I can’t delay fate forever.
“I want to skip this.” Oro, Ember’s dragon-shifter boss and Hailey’s mate, huffed, smoke curling around his nostrils. “A dragon tea party.” He rolled his golden eyes. “Why didn’t Frey nix this when he had the chance?”
“It was his idea.” Hailey gazed up at her mate, her face softening. “And you’re not skipping this.” She patted his thigh. “It’ll be fun.”
It’ll be hell. Ember chewed on her bottom lip, her anxiety rising as the car slowed. Father’s dead. He can’t hurt North. And I can survive anything. I’ve proven that.
As though sensing her unrest, Killer, her tiny Chihuahua, poked his head out of his tote and licked Ember’s fingers. She smiled, touching his nose with hers. “You’re all the pack I have now, Killer. I’m counting on you.”
The door swung open and a wave of potent, virile male scent hit her. Ember sucked in her breath, her nipples tightening and her body pulsing with desire, her wolf aroused for the first time in fifty-three years.
North, her mate and the love of her life, stood before her. She swung her stiletto-clad feet to the street, clasping Killer’s tote protectively in her hand, and looked up and up and up.
Her gaze lingered on the revealing ridge in his dress pants before lifting over muscles barely contained by a black T-shirt to finally settle on the face she’d seen every night in her dreams. His chin was strong and defined, his nose flattened as though broken too many times to repair, and a scar sliced his right eyebrow rakishly into two, drawing attention to his smoldering, dark chocolate eyes.
“Miss,” he rumbled, feigning detachment. He extended his big paw of a hand, and Ember’s fingers trembled as she reached for him. They touched, his palm warm and rough, and a shimmer of awareness, of rightness, rushed through her.
“North.” She swallowed, her mouth dry. Hailey scooted to her emptied seat, and Ember stepped to the side, reluctantly releasing his hand.
“You know each other.” Hailey beamed at them as North helped her exit the limousine. “That’s great because --”
“Hailey!” A black-haired woman launched into the air and clasped Ember’s friend. The two women hugged as though they hadn’t seen each other for years, their dragon mates looking on bemused.
Ember glanced up at North. He watched her, his expression guarded and unreadable. Once he allowed me to see his feelings. She took a deep breath, counted to five, and released it. “Why didn’t you come after me?” She asked the question that had haunted her for years.
“Come after you, miss?” North’s cool voice shredded her carefully manufactured composure, his indifference hurting her more than any silver chain ever could.
Except he isn’t completely indifferent. “You can act like you don’t know me all you want, but your body doesn’t lie.” Ember gazed pointedly at his groin.
Rage contorted his handsome face, raw and intense, and she stepped back, fear coursing through her. Then as suddenly as his anger had appeared, it was hidden from her, his expression clearing.
“You’re a hot chick. I’m horny.” He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Maybe after this damn tea party is done, we’ll fuck.”
Ember winced at his crassness. In the past, he would have never talked to her like that.
In the past. She lifted her chin. When I was beautiful. But I’m not beautiful any longer, and I want him one last time. I’ll take his anger over his pity.
The dragon shifters moved toward the door to the Lair, the Bronx dragon’s club, and Hailey beckoned to her. Ember shook her head, unable to sit quietly at the same table as North and pretend nothing was wrong. “Why wait until after the party?” She met North’s gaze squarely, challenging him as only a mate of an alpha could. “Unless you have to work?”
“Bruiser, you’re in charge,” North barked, and a man’s head snapped up.
No, not a man. A wolf. They were surrounded by wolves. Strange. North must have built himself another pack. It is for the best. No reminders. Ember hugged the tote containing her little dog closer, feeling agonizingly alone.
“Come with me.” North took her arm, pulling her into the empty club. “Unless you’ve changed your mind.” His lips twisted. “Again.”
“I never change my mind.” Her stilettos clicked on the tile floor. Laughter echoed through the space, originating from a spot too far away for her to embrace.
North snorted. “You said you’d love me forever.” He held a door open.
She brushed against him as she passed, needing to touch him, and he jerked away, proving he wasn’t immune to her. “I never changed my mind.”
Ember set down Killer’s tote, her small dog yipping his discontent, and she gazed around her with dismay. Restraints dangled from a black padded wall. A punishment bench dominated the room. Displayed on a table was a collection of whips and floggers. No chains. No silver. She relaxed. I can do this. “Is there anywhere else we can --”
“No.” North crossed his arms, standing in front of the closed door. “Don’t worry, beautiful. I should whip you, but I won’t… not this time.” He tugged his shirt over his head, revealing a che
st covered with muscles and a mat of brown hair.
There won’t be a next time. She stared at the five deep scars crossing his tanned skin from his right shoulder to his left hip. “Where did you get those?”
“From your father.” North spat the words. “Fool that I was, I didn’t believe him when he said you had left.”
Oh, God. He fought that sadistic alpha wolf for me. “Did you hurt him?”
“Mauled him from eye to chin before they tore me off him.” He unbuckled his belt.
“Good.” That’s something, at least. Ember bent over the punishment bench and hiked her bubblegum pink skirt upward, the air cool on her heated skin. “Is that why you didn’t come after me?” She shimmied out of her matching panties.
“That wouldn’t have stopped me.” North punctuated his point with the rasp of his zipper. “They locked me up for three months. For three months, I was chained to the wall like an animal. And when I got out, you had been mated to the alpha from another pack… or so they told me.”
Lying bastards. “Did he scar?”
“Yeah.” North placed his rough hands on her hips and prodded against her wetness with his broad tip, finding her entrance. “Enough with the reminiscing. It’s time to fuck.”
It’s been so long. She curled her fingers around the leather seat of the bench.
He thrust, burying himself up to his base, and she screamed, filled to the point of pain. “Have you only been fucking humans, beautiful? You’re so damn tight.” He pulled out and pushed back in, his movements shallow.
“Only you,” she confessed. Her wolf would not allow her to touch another male, human or wolf.
North chuckled. “I haven’t seen you in fifty-three years, seven months, and eighteen days. Save your lies for your other suckers.” He rocked deeper, harder.
Fifty-three years, seven months, and eighteen days. He’s been keeping track. Ember smiled into the leather and swayed back into him, needing more of him, needing to feel this for the next fifty-three years, possibly forever. She squelched the ache in her heart, concentrating on his musky scent, his calloused hands, his big cock sliding in and out of her.
“Fuck, wolf,” he rumbled. “You feel so good.” He rammed into her harder and harder, his hips slapping against her ass, warming, burning her skin.
“North.” She bucked into his thrusts, her wolf struggling to free herself. Can’t happen. Ember gritted her teeth. Can’t shift. Not in front of him. Never again in front of him.
“This is what you’ve missed, Ember.” He lowered his chest to her rounded spine, caging her between his muscular arms, her clothes preventing skin-on-skin contact. “This is what you left.” He licked along her nape, her hair ruthlessly contained in a neat chignon. “What you threw away.” He bit down on her earlobe, sending a sharp jab of sweet pain along her neck.
“Missed.” She panted, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Missed… you… so badly.”
“Yes.” He reached around her body, threaded his fingers through her hair, and rubbed her clit in slow circles, spiraling her need even higher. “No one can fuck you like this. Only me.” His voice deepened, hair covered his arms, and his cock grew larger inside her, stretching her unbearably, as he partially shifted.
“Only you.” Her voice rose to a high-pitched whine. “North, please,” she pleaded.
“Come for your big bad wolf, beautiful.” He grazed his sharp teeth over her neck, and he smacked her clit hard with his clawed finger, the dual pain breaking her.
Ember threw back her head and howled, an intense wave of ecstasy rolling over her. He thrust deep and added his low voice to her song, his release setting off another wave. For that moment, they were in synch, two wild creatures finding temporary shelter from their solitude.
Ember collapsed on the bench, her body limp and her heart full. I love him so much. If only…
“Why the hatred toward your father, Ember?” North pulled away from her, and the loneliness returned. “I have cause to loathe him, but not you. He loved you, protected you, and you didn’t even return for his funeral. He was your father! Our alpha!”
“Your alpha.” She straightened and pulled down her skirt. “He was no longer my anything.”
“You had everything, Ember.” North tucked himself in and zipped up. “Everything any wolf could possibly want. A family, a pack. I don’t understand how you could walk away from all that.” He yanked his T-shirt over his head, covering up his gorgeous chest.
“I didn’t.” I was carried away and dumped in a ditch, left to die. Ember crouched before Killer’s tote, focusing all of her love, the love she couldn’t give North, on the small dog.
“What do you mean, you didn’t?” North crossed his arms defensively.
This was a dumb idea. Ember didn’t feel closure. All she felt was more pain. “It was good seeing you, North.” She gave him a small smile, ignoring his question. “Be happy.”
“Seeing me?” He stared at her, his face dark. “You’re leaving… again?”
She flinched at the anger in his voice. “I was the hot chick. You were horny.” Ember picked up the tote. “We fucked. Please let Oro and Hailey know I’ve gone home.”
She’d leave a note for Hailey at the office. They’d been friends for decades. Hailey knew she never stayed very long in one place.
“No.” North stood in front of the door, blocking her exit.
“Okay, then don’t.” She shrugged away her agony. “I’ll send Hailey a text. If you’ll excuse me…”
“No,” he repeated. “I won’t excuse you, and I won’t make excuses for you. I won’t tell myself you’ll return. I won’t wait for you anymore.”
“I never asked you to wait.” This is it. This is the end. She scanned his rugged face, memorizing it. I’ll never see him again. “Let me pass, North.”
“You’re mine, Ember.” He picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. She shrieked, clutching her tote, Killer yipping excitedly as he swung in the air. “I’ve waited long enough for you to come to your senses.” He smacked her ass, the arousing pain silencing her. “Now, if I have to, I’ll beat some sense into you.”
“Not possible.” My father tried. Ember struggled to right herself. “You don’t want me, North. I’m not the same wolf you remember.”
“And I’m not the same wolf you remember, beautiful.” He walked out the door, carrying her as though she weighed nothing. “Keep that in mind.”
Chapter Two
“Be still.” North plunked his wiggling mate down into the passenger seat of his truck. She clasped her tote with that ridiculous dog and glared at him with big brown eyes full of anger and pain. He ached to gaze into them. Why does she carry the Chihuahua everywhere? Lazy excuse for a dog. North bit back his irritation and buckled Ember’s seat belt. “I expect I’ll have to chain you.”
“No.” She stiffened, her eyes widening. Ember, his carefree wolf of the woods, wore a prim, high-necked skirt suit, all of her soft, perfect skin concealed.
“Yes.” He took a length of chain out from behind the seat, determined to lock her up until he heard the truth from her lying lips. She had left him once, and she’d threatened to leave him again. He wanted to know why. After what he’d gone through, he deserved to know why. “I use this to subdue the wolves when they drink too much.” North looped the shielded chain around her tiny wrists. “There’s silver inside.”
Her breath hitched. “S-s-silver?”
“Yeah, and that burns like a son-of-a-bitch so I suggest you don’t move.” He closed the door and rounded the hood to the driver’s side.
He slid into his own seat. She sat frozen in place, her hands held at the same uncomfortable angle. “I was joking, Ember. You can move.”
She didn’t respond. “Did you hear me? It was a joke. The chains aren’t that strong. Hell, I handled them without gloves, didn’t I?” He grinned at her.
She stared straight ahead, her face deathly pale, and panic coursed through him, decimating his anger a
nd his pain. His wolf paced anxiously as he focused completely on her, forgetting everything else.
North cupped Ember’s chin, forcing her to face him. A sheen covered her eyes, teardrops dangling on her long eyelashes. Fuck. He’d made his tough she-wolf cry. How? “Talk to me, mate. What did I do?”
“H… h… hurts,” Ember whimpered, the sound pulling at his heart, a heart only she could ever touch. Her small, perfect chest rose and fell rapidly.
“Shit. I made them too tight.” He slid his fingers between the chain and her wrists and he frowned. They had plenty of give, yet her pulse raced like a wild thing under his fingertips. “Ember, what’s going on?” The scent of her fear made his wolf’s hackles rise. Protect mate.
“H… h… hurts,” she repeated, her teeth chattering. Her slender shoulders shook.
I can’t do this. He covered her hands with his, her fingers icy cold. Fuck restraining her. “Hold on, beautiful.” North fumbled with the chain, freeing her. “There. That’s it.” He tossed the chain behind the seat, hiding it from her view. His dramatic gesture didn’t help. Her tremors increased. “No chain. See.” He caressed her skin.
She held her hands in the same position, her eyes blank and unseeing. “H… h… hurts.” Big, juicy tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Oh, Ember.” He rubbed her hands, forcing them apart. “Don’t cry. You know I can’t stand to see you cry.”
Her lips moved without forming words, and she stared at him, her beautiful face twisted with an expression he’d go to his grave remembering. An animalistic whine of pain came from deep in her throat.
Protect mate! His wolf pushed against his controls. “Beautiful, don’t do that, please.” He unbuckled her seat belt, set the dog-filled tote by her feet, and pulled her over the console into his arms. “There’s nothing to fear. I have you. I’ll protect you.” He pushed her face into his chest and stroked her back as she convulsed, wetting his T-shirt with her silent tears.
