by Wood, Vivian
“There are worse places to be,” Ella said, her smile fading as her own words sunk in. Much, much worse places.
“Hey,” Aurelia said, putting comforting a hand on her arm. “Don’t get sad. You’re free now.”
“No, I’m not free,” Ella said, flinging her arms wide to indicate the house. “I’m just locked in a much lovelier cage.”
“This place is not the least bit like… wherever you were. I heard Walker on the phone telling Lucas about how he found you. Who knows what the hell they were going to do with you?” Aurelia shivered.
“Who knows what Walker is going to do with me?” Ella retorted.
Aurelia stiffened, looking offended.
“Look, Walker’s not exactly the chattiest guy. He’s not even that nice to me, honestly. But he’s not some fucking rapist or human trafficker,” she said.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” Ella said, flapping a hand. “I meant more… what the hell am I here for? He dragged me here, no explanations other than saying it’s for my protection. I have no timeline for this little protection project, and I’m not allowed to contact my family or coworkers. I can’t stay here much longer.”
“You’re in a hurry to get back to the place where you were kidnapped?” Aurelia asked, crossing her arms.
“No. I may not even go back to Gulf Shores. There’s really nothing there for me anymore.”
“So what’s the problem?” Aurelia asked, her penetrating violet gaze assessing, probing. To Ella’s consternation, she found that Aurelia was just too easy to talk to, and too smart to believe anything other than the truth.
“I’m in heat, and my wolf is obsessed. With sex, mostly, but she’s crazy for Walker himself too. It’s infuriating,” Ella admitted.
“Ahhh,” Aurelia said, nodding. “Yeah, that’s the worst. I was lucky enough to be deep in the Himalayan mountains, visiting Nepalese and Tibetan monasteries, the last time I was in heat. Thousands of miles of nothingness, and a lot of swimming in icy lakes… really took care of the problem. Mostly.”
“If only,” Ella sighed. “But no. I get kidnapped, then saved by this big, muscular, manly billionaire, and then I go into heat on his lap when he’s saving me.”
“You didn’t!” Aurelia said, eyes going wide. She looked like she was trying to suppress a grin.
“Of course I did. I got naked on his lap, and all but begged him for sex. But…”
Ella dropped her gaze to her lap, heat suffusing her cheeks.
“You called it off at the last second?” Aurelia guessed.
“No, he did. It was mortifying,” Ella mumbled.
“Interesting,” Aurelia said, cocking her head.
“I’m glad you think so,” Ella said, rolling her eyes.
“It’s just that, you know, I’ve only known Walker for a couple of weeks, so I’m still figuring him out. Ben told me that Walker was kind of a man whore until a few months ago.”
“Who is Ben? I thought this was Lucas’s house?” Ella asked, confused.
Aurelia went beet red at the simple question.
“It’s complicated,” she muttered. “Ben lives here, too. Ben, Lucas, and Walker all own this place together. They’re thick as thieves. They share everything, and I do mean everything.”
Ella’s head snapped up.
“Everything, like bed mates?” Ella asked.
“It’s definitely on the table between the three of them. I’m still not 100% sure where the line is, honestly.”
“I can’t believe that three dominant males are friends, much less close enough to be sharing females. How do they do it without jealousy ripping them apart?”
Aurelia’s gaze wandered to the window, contemplative. She was silent for several long moments before changing the topic.
“I think we were talking about you, Ella. About how you’ve got a fire lit under your ass to get out of this place,” Aurelia reminded her.
“I’m going into heat again. The second cycle is supposed to be way worse, I heard. I’m worried that I’m going to do something desperate,” Ella said.
Aurelia nodded.
“The second cycle is way worse. By the third, you’re out of your mind with sex hormones.”
A loud crash sounded in the hallway, making both of them jump.
“What the hell?” Aurelia asked, opening the door to the hallway and sticking her head out.
Shaking her head, she retreated back into the room.
“That was weird,” Aurelia said, sinking back onto the love seat. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. You were saying?”
“I can’t beg Walker for sex again. I just… I can’t do it,” Ella moaned. “My poor ego can’t handle the rejection.”
Aurelia’s face screwed up thoughtfully.
“Well…” she said, hesitant. “There’s always Ben.”
There was a quiet, unhappy tone to her words that Ella didn’t understand. Walker had been very clear that Aurelia was with Lucas, and yet Aurelia didn’t seem to like the idea of Ella and Ben together. Between the redhead’s tone, and her earlier comment about the males sharing bed mates…
Ella opened her mouth to tell Aurelia that she wasn’t stepping on the other female’s territory, but before she could get a word out Aurelia’s bathroom door burst open with a bang.
Walker loomed in the doorway, anger contorting his beautiful features. His hands were knotted into fists, veins standing out in his forearms, neck, and forehead.
Aurelia shot to her feet, alarm. Ella was frozen in place, drinking in every tall inch of Walker’s frame. His tall, tautly muscular body was readily apparent through the tight white tee shirt and gray sweat pants he wore. His eyes were nearly black with fury, and he flashed straight, white teeth when he growled at her.
“Walker, what the hell are you doing?” Aurelia asked, visibly bristling. Aurelia was no tiny thing; she certainly had several inches and a few pounds on Ella, but she was hardly up to fighting someone Walker’s size.
Walker completely ignored her, striding over to tower over Ella.
“You are not fucking Ben,” he hissed, grabbing Ella’s wrist and pulling her up off the couch.
Ella yelped when Walker scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder, caveman-style.
“Walker!” Ella and Aurelia cried at the same time.
A tall, dark-haired male appeared in the doorway. One glance between Walker and Aurelia, and the male scowled.
This must be the famous Ben, then, Ella thought. Come to rescue Aurelia, she supposed.
Walker turned, pushing past the other male as he carried Ella into the hallway.
“Ben!” Aurelia protested. Ella twisted to see them, and found Ben holding Aurelia’s wrists to gently restrain her from following. The other male was watching Walker with a bemused expression, shaking his head. Ben slipped an arm around Aurelia’s waist, pulling her close. Walker took a corner, heading for the stairs, and the others vanished from view.
“Walker…” Ella said, thumping her fists on his back. “Let me down!”
Walker’s big hand came down hard on her ass, surprising her. He’d spanked her, like some naughty child!
“Walker!” she screeched, kicking her legs.
In the same smooth motion, he slapped her ass again. Her breath caught; he’d spanked her a lot harder this time.
“You can’t just-” she started, only to end her sentence with a strangled gasp when he spanked her a third time. This time, he hadn’t held back in the least. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, and her ass cheek burned like hell.
She lifted her head, noticing that they were passing by her bedroom. She opened her mouth to protest, then stopped. Walker barreled through the door to his own bedroom, not stopping until he tossed her down onto the massive bed.
Ella blinked, looking around. His room was all dark wood and white silk, just like hers but with a much bigger bed. That was the last thought she could summon about the room, because Walker grabbed her ankle and yanked her to the edge of the bed.
“Hey!” she protested, kicking her foot.
He didn’t release her, or even react to her movement. He stared down at her, struggling to control his breathing. His night-black stare pierced her like a thousand swords, making her heart beat faster.
With obvious effort, Walker ripped his hand from her ankle. He brought his hands up to cover his face for several moments, some kind of calming tactic.
When he dropped his hands, he seemed to have gained some bit of control over himself. He scowled down at Ella, leaning close enough that his scent and heat teased her senses.
“There is nothing that Ben can give you that I can’t,” he finally said.
“Walker-” she began.
“No,” he growled. He pushed her knees apart with his hands, and knelt on the edge of the mattress between her legs.
“No?” Ella asked.
She bit her lip to keep back a groan of pleasure at the feel him against her inner thighs. Was her skin always this sensitive, her whole body so flushed with warmth?
Walker slowly leaned down to cover her body with his, shoulders and biceps flexing under his shirt as he propped himself on his elbows to spare her his weight. The breath whooshed out of Ella’s body when he pressed his erection fully against her belly.
“Wait,” she whispered, hands fluttering to his shoulders.
“No,” Walker said, lips already seeking hers.
Ella gasped against his mouth, squeezing her eyes closed. There was a reason they shouldn’t be doing this, and she needed to remember that.
“You don’t even want me,” she mumbled, the words falling against his lips.
Walker froze. His deadly certainty, his dominance, his controlling persistence were all stripped away for a moment.
In the very next beat, he grasped her hand and dragged it down between them. He curled her fingers around his cock, thrusting into her hand.
“Look at me, Ella,” Walker commanded.
His voice was tense with need, and she couldn’t help but obey. Opening her eyes, she looked deep into Walker’s raven-black gaze. He thrust into her hand again, mouth tightening with hunger.
“Tell me again that I don’t want you,” he challenged.
“But you turned me down. Before, in the helicopter,” Ella said, blushing when her words came out all wrong.
“I was trying to exercise restraint. You were coming out of a terrible ordeal, and you were in heat. I couldn’t, in good conscience, fuck you. No matter how badly I wanted to. And believe me, I fucking wanted you so bad. Shit, not wanted. Want, present tense,” he said.
Walker pulled her hand away from his cock. He dragged both of her hands up above her head, locking her wrists in place with the strong fingers of one hand. With his other hand he pulled the hem of her tee shirt up to her chin, exposing her lacy black bra. He tugged at the bra, bringing it down just enough to free her nipples.
Leaning down, he tongued and sucked at first one nipple, then the other. He caught one sensitive bud between his teeth, watching her face as he gently bit down.
Her back arched, a moan of both pleasure and pain escaping her lips. Each tug created ripples of sensation, an erotic pulse of pleasure beginning between her thighs.
Walker pushed down her pajama pants and panties, and Ella writhed to help kick them off. He released her wrists in order to strip off her shirt and bra. Ella’s hands flew to him, pulling at his shirt, at the fly of his jeans. Walker growled and stood, removing his clothing in two smooth movements.
Ella’s eyes widened as she drank him in. All tense, rippling muscle, not a soft spot to be found. His eyes were black as night, flickering with the unmistakable fire of carnal hunger. Her eyes dropped down, and she blinked hard when she saw his jutting erection. Long, thick, and insistent, looking at it made her whole body flush with warmth.
When he reached down and fisted his cock, looking right in her eyes as he pumped his fist up and down, Ella shivered.
“I need you,” she said, licking her lips.
Walker gave her a knowing smirk, then turned to the bedside table. Ella admired the perfection of his bare ass as he maneuvered, listening to the sound of crinkling plastic.
When he turned back to her, he was rolling a condom on.
“I want to be careful with you,” he said, giving a little shrug as if the gesture meant nothing.
“Thank you,” Ella breathed. A part of her was floored that he was so thoughtful. Her wolf disliked the idea of the condom, of even that thin boundary between them, but Ella’s human half knew better and appreciated Walker’s decision.
He pushed her knees up, spreading her thighs wide. Two fingers brushed her core, came away glistening.
“Fuck, Ella. You’re already so wet for me,” he said, pumping his fist down his cock again.
He grabbed her hips and pulled her right to the edge of the bed, putting him at just the right height to fuck her standing up. Ella instantly realized that he wanted to keep a little physical and emotional distance between them, despite the intimacy of the moment. She hated it, opening her mouth to protest, but Walker chose that moment to run the tip of his cock up and down her aching slit.
Ella sucked in a breath, pressing against him.
“Walker, now!” she urged.
“Touch your breasts,” he urged.
When she cupped her breasts, he gave another smirk, a flash of that killer dimple, and pressed into her entrance. She gasped, throwing her head back.
“Yes!” she cried. He drove home, gripping her hips hard to hold her in place. He withdrew and plunged, setting a quick tempo.
“Rub your clit, Ella,” he said, intently watching her bouncing breasts.
As she licked her fingertips and sought her clit, moaning, she watched him. His stormy gaze flicked from her bouncing tits down to her naughty fingers, watching the smooth slap of flesh as he thrust against her over and over.
“Fuck,” he said, pulling out of her suddenly.
At first she thought he was trying to stop himself from coming too soon, but then he pushed her further back onto the bed and sprawled over her body.
“Need to touch you more,” he grunted, reaching down and positioning himself. He pressed his lips to her mouth as he thrust into her once more. He groaned into her mouth, sending electric tingles racing across every inch of her skin.
One big hand came up to squeeze her breast, his thumb finding her nipple. The simple touch made her clit pulse, made her inner muscles clench. The spiral of her desire heightened, and she lost herself in his touch.
She knew only his lips, his thumb abrading her nipple, the long strokes of his cock as he worked her body hard.
Suddenly he reared back a little, cupping and lifting her ass just so. His quick, deep strokes hit a spot inside her body that made her vision go white.
“Oh!” she cried, surprised at the intensity of the sensation.
Walker grabbed her hand, wetting her fingertips in his mouth, and pushed her fingers down to her clit.
“I want to feel you come on me,” he growled.
“I’m close,” Ella whispered, her eyes fluttering closed as she tried to concentrate.
“Look at me,” Walker demanded, his hands tightening on her hips until she cried out.
“Walker,” she murmured, shaking her head.
“I want you to rub your clit and look at me. I want you to come while you look at me, while I fuck your tight little pussy. Just be glad that I’m not fucking your ass, Ella,” he warned.
At the thought of him taking her ass, Ella moaned. She rubbed her clit, imagining Walker pushing his big cock into her tight, virgin ass.
“Oh, you like that idea?” Walker asked, gritting his teeth as he pumped into her body. “Next time, that ass is mine. Now come for me, bad girl. Come all over my cock.”
Ella’s breath caught, a hot gush of pleasure erupting inside her body. She cried out, muscles spasming hard as she came. Walker’s encouraging groans spurred her even higher, and she rod
e the orgasm as long as she could.
When her body went lax, Walker’s thrusts grew wild. In moments he was crying out, hammering her hard as he jetted his release. His thrusts slowed, and his grip softened on her body, turning into more of a caress.
He withdrew and rolled to his side, dropping a kiss to her lips. She was still dazed, her eyes tracking across his gorgeous face.
Neither of them spoke for a long time. They lay on the bed, catching their breath. Ella’s head spun as she tried to understand the taut line of connection between them, tried to figure out what he wanted from her. How could she know that if she didn’t know what she, in turn, wanted?
Ella looked at Walker, sensing that he, too, felt turmoil.
“Walker…” she began, reaching out and running her fingertips down his chest.
“Listen, Ella,” he started, sounding uncertain. The discomfort in his tone struck like a physical blow.
He was, even now, looking for a way to tell her nicely to go sleep in her own bed. Once again, this had all been about servicing a need. She was in heat, he’d found her passingly attractive, and that was that.Stiffening, she withdrew her touch. She sat up, trying to climb off the bed in as dignified a manner as possible.
She squeaked when Walker’s arms came around her stomach, pulling her back onto the bed and into his arms.
“You don’t have to do this,” she protested. When he pressed up against her back, spooning her, she sighed.
“Honestly, Walker-” she said, only to be cut off.
“I was just going to ask if we could save the talking for later. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t slept much in the last few days.”
“Oh.”
“Stress, from trying to figure out what I’m supposed to do with you.”
“Umm…”
“Ella?”
“Yes, Walker?”
“I’ll make you breakfast in the morning if we can just go to sleep now. I’m nice and relaxed, which is not normal for me.”
“Y-yes? Okay, I mean.”
“Wake me up if I snore,” he ordered, settling down against her back.
With his big, warm arms wrapped around her waist and his scent filling her senses, it was impossible for Ella to make a fuss. She was warm, comfortable, and protected.
