“Will you come with me?” he whispered against her ear.
“Where?” God, was that her voice?
“Home with me. Come home with me tonight.” He ran his tongue along the corner of her mouth.
As much as she wanted to say no, her body over ruled her and she found herself saying, “Yes.”
“Now.”
“Dana,” she managed to say through the lust clogging her throat.
“We’ll find her and you can give her your keys.” He drew back, searching her eyes.
She wanted to take a step back and clear her head of the rush – to think. Instead, Cassy nodded and he ushered her to the edge of the dance floor. Taking her hand, he drew her around until they located Dana in a booth and all over golden boy.
“Dana.” She held her hands up when her friend growled at her. “Sorry, I’m leaving and wanted to give you my keys.”
Cassy pulled them out of her pocket and scooted them across the table with one finger before stepping back. Dana was near her heat and you didn’t interrupt a female wolf when she was making out that close to the heat.
“Good.” She stared at Phillip and then turned back to Cassy. “Be careful.” Then she attacked her wolf with a serious growl.
“Shit, she must be close to heat to snap at you.” Phillip kept her close to him as they strode towards the door.
“Yeah. She has a partner. He might be on the way out though.”
“Does he know it yet?”
They stepped out into the cool night air. It sobered her and she balked for a minute at what she’d agreed to do. “Uh, no. I doubt it.” Hanging back just a little, she fought to clear her head. “Did you force me?”
“What?” His face held genuine surprise.
“Did you control me to get me to go home with you?” Her common sense finally kicked in. She took a step back and then another.
“No, I didn’t. I don’t play games.” His eyes searched hers. She didn’t know what for. “We’re both alphas in our own right. We react strongly to each other because of the sexual chemistry. I wouldn’t force my will on any female unless it was to save her life.”
“I can’t think when you touch me. I want to make my decisions without feeling smothered.” Cassy shivered as the sweat soaking her body cooled in the night air.
“Fine. I can respect that. I’m not touching you.” He held his hands out to his side. “Will you go home with me tonight?”
She still wanted to. He wasn’t touching her and she didn’t feel an overwhelming urge to please him. It had to be her decision, not his.
“Yes, I’ll go with you – tonight.” She’d all but told him this wouldn’t be as a partner. He looked at her, his jaw working as he thought about it and then nodded yes.
Chapter Four
He kept his hand in hers on the ride to his apartment. Just that innocent touch raised goose bumps along her arms. She couldn’t resist taking a peek at his jeans and smothered a groan at the way he strained against them. They could ride with the windows down and nothing would cool her off now. She’d come this far and her wolf would never let her back down.
The apartment surprised her. No dirty clothes lying around the couch. No empty pizza boxes stacked on the coffee table. Either he cleaned house or he had someone come in for him. She could appreciate someone who kept their home clean. Most of the males she’d gone home with had never learned to pick up after themselves. Not her problem except when she was expected to roll around on dirty sheets or an even dirtier floor.
“Nice place.”
He drew her into his arms. “Thanks.” His hands rubbed lightly up and down her back as he stared down into her eyes. “I have wine if you want some and food if you’re hungry.”
“No, no thanks. I’m good.” Her hands smoothed the wrinkles from his shirt as they made their way to rest on his shoulders.
When he picked her up and carried her past the kitchen and into a huge master suite, she didn’t bat an eye, until she looked around. Cream-colored walls with chocolate brown curtains eased into dark mahogany wood floors polished to a warm glow. The massive king size sleigh bed sat in the center of the far wall where a dark spread of thick fur turned back to reveal brown and gold pillows and sheets. A fireplace made of rough-hewn stones took up part of one wall, its hearth glowing from gas logs.
Phillip laid her across the fur spread before backing away and slowly removing his shirt. His chest gleamed in the firelight, muscled and broad with a sprinkling of chest hair that thickened as it disappeared into the waistband of his jeans. Her breath caught at the sight of him framed by the flickering light of the fire. When he joined her on the bed, she expected him to pull off her blouse and jeans, but he kissed her instead. His tongue sparring with hers before he moved down to her jaw line where he licked his way down her neck and to the V of her blouse at her cleavage.
A hand curled around her waist dipping beneath her blouse to stroke bare skin. Heat trailed along the line he made with his mouth, and Cassy moaned as his lips met the rise of her breast. His other hand played in her hair, stroking it then lacing his fingers through it. The feel of his hand in her hair awakened her wolf and she felt the first stirrings of warmth under her skin.
“I love the taste of you. You smell of cinnamon and taste like honey.” His mouth nipped its way along her breast through the thin silk of her shirt.
He licked at her breast; the material of her blouse, wet from his tongue, slid sensually over her nipple until it peaked with need. “Your skin is like silk… soft and hot under my hands.”
He crossed to her other breast and treated it to the same attention before dropping to her waist. The hand stroking her back ran under her top, lifting it with one hand while the other pressed her against him. Liquid heat burned through her veins as he licked and kissed his way across her belly and above her navel until she squirmed beneath him.
“Stop. God, stop. I need you naked,” she gasped grabbing handfuls of his hair to pull him back to her.
“I’m not ready yet. I want to taste every part of you first.” He lifted his mouth from her skin and unbuttoned her blouse. “I can smell you ready for me. But I want to know every inch of you before we join.”
“I can’t wait. Please, don’t make me wait.” She couldn’t believe she’d just begged him to take her. This couldn’t be her. Phillip had to be controlling her. Anger changed her arousal to lust, and she grabbed at his jeans. She’d take back the control. No one made her do anything.
He let her unbutton them and struggle to push them down over his hips before he finally backed off the bed and did it for her. He didn’t wear anything underneath and the sight of him drove her past wanting into demanding. She peeled her blouse off and would have done the same with her jeans, but his hand stopped hers and gently pushed them aside. He unzipped them and inched them down until she thought she would scream in frustration. Once he had them off, she reached up to pull him down to her.
She lost her breath and then panted it back as he moved over her, sliding one knee between her legs. Phillip took her breast into his mouth, licking and nipping at her nipple until she groaned in pleasure. He switched breasts and used his fingers on the other one. It sent chills racing along her skin and when he raised his eyes to watch her, time stood still. He drew his tongue slowly across one nipple and then the other, watching her reaction each time. One ragged breath after another squeezed between trembling lips. She wanted him inside her. She wanted him to fill her. She was tired of the foreplay.
Cassy pushed against him until he drew back, a puzzled expression marring the earlier passion filled gaze. Then she took him by surprise, rolling out from under him and pushing him back to the bed to straddle him. He smiled up at her and grasped her hips, his cock caught between them. She struggled to move and take him inside her, but he kept her tight against him.
“Now. I want you now.” She leaned over him grabbing his hair with her hands and pulled his mouth towards her.
He held her
tight as he rolled her beneath him, reversing their positions. “Now is good.”
He took her mouth, devouring it as his hand pressed between them to guide himself inside her. The first push stilled her. The second one vibrated along her body like a stringed instrument. She pushed against him, trying to swallow his cock inside her. He didn’t hold back this time, but buried himself deep within her. When he hit that spot at the end of her, she growled with relief and wrapped her legs around his waist.
He stroked himself with her body as her hips rose to meet him thrust for thrust. The pleasure, building deep inside her, threatened to explode as she held on with her legs. The thick length of him stretched her, leaving her with a burning ache each time he withdrew, and each time, she fought with her legs to pull him back to her.
His breathing grew harder as he rammed himself inside her over and over. And when she didn’t think she would have the strength to draw in even one more breath, he brought her with one final thrust, and she dug her nails into his back and screamed.
* * * *
Phillip came filling her with his seed, groaning at the sheer pleasure of being inside her. She filled him with her essence as surely as he filled her with his flesh. They fit like puzzle pieces and he knew in that moment she was his mate. He would have to convince her, but first, he needed her to choose him as her partner. When she screamed, satisfaction curled his lips into a smile, but he wisely used her body to hide it until he could control his expression.
She lay panting beneath him, her body flushed with their lovemaking. He rolled off her and pulled her against his side. When she didn’t resist, he harbored a faint hope she had made her decision.
“Once you get started, you’re damn good.” She murmured against his shoulder.
“I think I misjudged you. I expected to woo you before fucking your brains out. Somehow that didn’t work.” He’d gotten past panting and was working on breathing at a normal rate.
“I don’t need wooing or seducing. I need filling.”
“I can do that.”
“You sure as hell can.” She bit him. “But can you do it more than one time in a night?”
He laughed and pulled her hand down to feel him already growing hard for her.
“Maybe you can.”
* * * *
“So.” Dana jumped on the edge of the bed as Cassy rolled over. “Tell me.”
“What the hell time is it?”
“It’s three. You’ve been asleep all day. I want to talk.” Dana bounced once and Cassy growled, wanting to throw the pillow at her but she didn’t have the energy.
“He’s hot. You were right.” She pulled the cover over her head. “Can I go back to sleep for another hour at least?”
“Details, girl. Details.”
“We had sex – several times.”
“How many times?”
“Dammit, Dana.” But she couldn’t be angry with her friend. Resigned to being awake, she rolled out of the bed and rubbed her face. “I like him. He’s different. I’m still not so sure he’s a good bet for a partner though.” Yawning, she leaned back against the headboard.
“Why not? The sex was good, what more do you need?”
“I can’t think around him. He touches me and I’m like wasted or something. All I can think about is getting him inside me.”
“I guess I don’t get it. What’s wrong with that? I mean when you’re in heat all you think about is getting him inside you, so what’s the big deal?” Dana twirled to face her sitting cross-legged on the bed.
“If this is how I am without the heat, what about when I am in heat? Will I be able to back away if I need to? Will I let him do anything to me and not stop him? You have to trust your partner, Dana. I’m not sure I can trust him.”
“Yeah, I guess I never thought about it that way. I can think enough to stop something I don’t want when I’m in heat, but it’s hard.”
“How much harder will it be if I’m already this overwhelmed? I’m not sure I want to find out.”
“So maybe he could be a playmate outside the heat?” She suggested with a smile, wagging her brows.
Laughing, Cassy threw a pillow at her. “Somehow I don’t see him settling for seconds. He is an alpha.”
“Hey, what could it hurt to try?”
“Did you see the other guy I was dancing with? His name is Gregory and he’s an alpha but he isn’t so intense.”
“Yeah, but does he turn you on?” Dana laughed and threw the pillow back at her.
“I didn’t get the chance to find out. Phillip crashed our dance.” She stretched and ran her hands through her tangled hair. “Maybe I’ll see him again tonight. You only have another day, maybe two, so we have to make them count.”
“I’m all for that. Golden boy is really hot. I might have to rethink Lance.” She sighed and then narrowed her eyes. “Race you for the bathroom.”
* * * *
For a Friday night, the club looked empty. Cassy glanced around as they entered and wondered where everyone was. Leaning over the bar she caught the bartender’s attention to order their drinks.
“Hey, where is everyone tonight?” The music sounded even louder with fewer people to dampen the noise.
“New band over at Rockers.” He mixed their drinks and smiled. “They’ll show up once the band stops at midnight.”
Cassy paid for the drinks and followed Dana to a booth in the middle of the wall. “Gives us the chance to choose seats. Works for me.” She scooted onto the bench and took a sip of her drink. “Hope things heat up some soon though.” Cassy wiggled her eyebrows.
“They will. I see that DJ we like taking the stairs to the box. That should make you smile.” Dana grinned and gave her a thumbs up.
Dana and Cassy joined the first brave souls on the dance floor to start the night out with a head banger tune. Stopping only to drink between songs, they danced with each other, no one in particular and everyone in their path. Dana found her groove with a cute Hispanic wolf, leaving Cassy to fend for herself among the growing crowd.
Someone called her name and when she turned around, she saw Gregory. He smiled at her nod and joined her for the dance. He kept his hands to himself and when the dance was over nodded towards the booths to see if she wanted to sit the next one out.
“Sure. I’m parched.” Laughing, she followed him through the bodies to her table. He sat across from her as she sipped her drink.
“It’s great to see you here tonight. I missed you after our short dance last night.”
“I was sort of hoping to see you tonight. We didn’t get a chance to talk much.”
“I have to ask.” He looked almost apologetic. “Do you belong to Phillip? We are pack mates and I don’t want to step on toes.”
“Like I said before, I don’t belong to anyone.” Cassy frowned. She really didn’t like the idea Phillip had laid claim on her.
“So you two are not – um – an item?” He leaned in towards her some.
“Well, we see each other.” Why did she say that? They’d only seen each other once so far.
“I will take that as you are open to seeing me then.” He smiled and leaned back.
“I see who I want to see.” Something about him bugged her again.
“You’ve only been here a few months you said. Do you have a partner yet?”
She stiffened. Was that all this was… another wolf looking for a female in heat?
“I’ve got two I’m considering, but I haven’t made my mind up yet. I take it you’re not mated since you’re at the club.”
“No, I’m unattached and I’m a partner for someone already. I’m more interested in fun, dancing, dining. You like to dance.” He made it a statement and she relaxed. If he had a partner already, he wouldn’t be hell bent on being her partner as well.
“I love to dance. My friend and I usually hit the clubs most nights we’re off work.”
“We’ve evidently just missed each other among the clubs. My loss.” He reached
across and lightly touched her hand. “I hope to catch up with you more often though. I like dancing with you.”
She heard the sexual innuendo underneath the careful flirt and wasn’t sure how to take it. He’d said he already had a partner, so was he looking to add her as an occasional bedmate? Alphas did like their harems. She didn’t usually do casual, though she did have long-term casual acquaintances.
“That’s one of my favorite songs.” She smiled and stood up. “Let’s dance.”
Gregory smiled and followed her to the dance floor, but this time he kept a light hold of her wrist as they squeezed through the bodies. She wasn’t sure why, but it bothered her. Then she got caught up in the music and dancing. Gregory was a good dancer and they moved well together. He touched her more than he had before, but he didn’t overwhelm her like Phillip. And why did she keep comparing him to Phillip?
“Hey, Cassy?” Dana bounced over to them pulling golden boy behind her. “We’re going. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Be careful. Don’t forget.” Cassy cocked one eye and watched Dana screw her face up in a pucker. Then she pulled her wolf boy behind her towards the door.
“I take it you will need a ride home tonight?” He leaned in to yell in her ear.
“Maybe. Depends on if she took the car or not. She might have gone with him.” She knew Dana took the car since they’d come in hers tonight. She didn’t want to commit to letting Gregory take her home. She knew enough people at the club she could catch a ride home without him. She didn’t know him very well. But, she reminded herself, you didn’t know Phillip that well and you went home with him last night.
“If you need a ride, I’ll be glad to see you safely home. Just let me know.” He didn’t press her and some of the worry faded.
Burning Heat Page 3
