by Silver James
“General principles.” She shimmied to the edge of the booth and stood up. “I have to pee again. You pay.”
“I’m not done.”
“Oh yeah, you are.”
A new scent wafted in, and it wasn’t bacon. I stood up so I could get closer. Vinegar? What the hell? Was she jealous? I tossed a couple of crumpled twenties on the table and followed Sam out, totally intrigued now. My wolf was all happy dancing.
Sam didn’t like me looking at other women.
I followed her to the ladies room, and after she entered, ducked into the men’s to take care of my own business. I was waiting for her when she emerged, still all pissy. She glowered at me and headed toward the convenience store part of the truck stop. Filling the biggest cup they had with Diet Coke, she arched a brow until I dug out the money to pay for it. I grabbed a couple bottles of water, followed her to the checkout, paid, and escorted her to the Hummer.
Staring out the windshield, I pointed the Hummer north toward Cheyenne. We’d follow the Rockies Front Range up I-25 until it was time to head west again on I-80. Sam stared out her window, pointedly ignoring me. That was fine. My wolf was enjoying all the conflicting scents she gave off. My dick was a happy camper too. She wanted us. And fuck if we weren’t going to get in her pants before this trip was over. Maybe this wasn’t the road trip from hell after all.
BESIDES CHECKING THE CLOCK, the only way I knew dawn was coming was the faint graying of the clouds in my rear view mirror. We made damn good time, despite some heavy rain between Cheyenne and Rock Springs. The Great Basin area was almost as flat as eastern Colorado. Sam sat scrunched up against the door of the Hummer. She’d been awake about an hour. I could tell by the way her breathing changed, though she kept her face turned away from me.
I focused on the asphalt interstate winding through the Utah mountains. We’d left the rain behind, but I expected snow to start falling any minute now that we were making the climb toward Salt Lake. Sam hadn’t said a word since a stop in Rawlins, and, as she’d been asleep, I left things quiet. Problem was, I hated silence. Always had. Reaching for the radio, I punched the button for the CD. Duran Duran filled the air.
“Turn it off.” Sam’s voice sounded like she’d been chewing rocks.
“It speaks.”
“Shut up.”
“Make me.”
“What? Are you like…six?”
“I’m not the one acting like a spoiled brat.”
“You don’t know a damn thing about me.”
I turned down the sound. “Then tell me about you.”
“You loved her.”
“Who?”
“Sarah.”
I had to think a minute. I didn’t know Sarah’s name until after her murder and Sam showed up to claim the kids. She was Pretty Woman in my head, not Sarah. “Why would you say that?”
More silence. She shifted in the seat, and I glanced at her. Were those tears she blinked away? Shit. Tears totally sucked and messed up every man I knew. Including me. Aw hell, especially me.
“Everybody did.”
“Did what?”
“Loved Sarah.”
“Seems more like she loved the wrong people. And just FYI? I didn’t love her. Didn’t know her that well. She saved my life. I owed her. That’s all.” No need to mention I’d wanted to fuck her. Hell, I pretty much wanted to fuck every woman, but some still-functioning part of my brain warned me it would be a mistake to mention that to Sam. Then again, after meeting Sam, I knew which twin I’d pick so previous thoughts didn’t count.
“Maybe so, but everyone still loved her. She was…soft. Sweet. Nice.”
I considered my first impressions of both women. Honeysuckle and sweet tea versus steel magnolia. I wasn’t any sort of psychologist but I got the sense Sam felt like she was somehow less lovable than her twin. Not by me, that was for damn sure.
“Hasn’t anyone ever loved you, babe?”
Her left shoulder rolled up into a little hunch and she wouldn’t look at me. “Sure.”
“Well, for your information, I like my women to be something more than soft, sweet, and nice.” I glanced at her. She was listening even if she wasn’t looking at me. “Hell on wheels. Steel magnolia.” I grinned. “Honeysuckle and gunpowder.”
She huffed out a breath and ruffled her bangs. “What does that even mean?”
“You, babe. I like my women just like you.”
Folding her arms across her chest, Sam tucked her feet up into the seat and went back to staring out the window. Everything was gray, and the first snowflakes splattered against the windshield. Occasional headlights glowed on the eastbound side of the highway, but we might as well have been driving through an endless gray tunnel. Sam was quiet for so long I figured she’d gone back to sleep so her question caught me by surprise.
“What’s going happen to me and the kids?” Her voice was flat, unemotional, but she was tight, like she was all wound up inside.
“You’re under the Russian’s protection. You’ll be safe.”
“From you?”
Was that interest in her voice? “Babe, you’ll never be safe from me.”
Sam was mine. I’m not sure exactly when I figured it out. Maybe it was the first time I saw her, standing there outside the gate stinking of ammonia and pepper sauce. Fear and determination. She couldn’t fight what we were, what we would be—mates. Me? I was going to fuck her comin’ and goin’, and I was going to do it damn soon before my dick broke off. I’d been hard since the moment I saw her.
“What the hell am I going to do?”
She sounded defeated. I glanced over again, but she was staring out the side window, and I only caught a glimpse of her profile. “Whatever it takes, Sam.” I reached over and stroked her thigh. I had to touch her, but cringed when the muscles under her jeans jumped under my hand. She was skittish, scared. I guess she had every right to be given the circumstances. But she hadn’t figured out the one truth between us. I wouldn’t hurt her. I couldn’t. She was mine. I wanted to mark her, roll her in my scent so every Wolf in the gawddamned country knew she was my mate. Moonstruck. That’s our word for what was happening. The mating heat was coming, and it would hit me hard. I’d be a snarly beast until I claimed her. Until she admitted she belonged to me. Fuck. She didn’t even know what I was.
To Sam, I’d be the Big Bad Wolf. Most humans freaked when they found out about us. The human Nightriders didn’t know that some of us could shift into wolves. And it’s not like we could bite them to give them the lupi DNA. Hell, a mated couple could have a dozen kids if they were lucky, and only one child might carry the dominant gene. If the fetus survived. Odds were stacked against us. Losing babies ripped us apart—everyone in the pack. When a Wolf mated, his woman became the pack’s to protect.
I had to touch her so I shifted in my seat. The move let my hand brush against her thigh again. When she sat still, I left my fingers there. My wolf settled immediately. He was a patient hunter. I needed to follow his lead. I reminded my dick of that.
Taking a chance, I stroked one finger along Sam’s thigh. She shivered but in a good way. Progress. I continued to pet her, and a few minutes later, she surprised me with a little snorting snore. She’d dozed off. She had to be exhausted. I know she didn’t get but a couple hours of sleep at the clubhouse. I could hear her breathing and moving in the room next to mine. She’d been going for forty-eight hours with very little sleep in the middle.
She slept through the mountains. I kept my hand on her thigh, the heat of her searing my palm. I wanted to avoid Salt Lake City, but this was snow season, and the “Pass Closed” warning signs were up. I didn’t have a choice. We had real snow now, but the Hummer ate that shit for breakfast.
When we hit the edge of Brighton, I squeezed her thigh. Sam dragged her fingers through her hair, and it stood up in tired spikes. The skin around her eyes still looked bruised, and she wouldn’t meet my gaze straight on. She mumbled something about killing for some caffeine so
I looked for a place. She pointed out a little store up ahead and promised they made good coffee.
I drank mine standing up out in the parking lot. Sam was huddled in her goosedown jacket. I wore my leather. The local Barney Fife drove by slow and gave me the once over. I saluted him with my coffee cup and a raised middle finger. The nearest brothers were in Layton, which was about halfway between Salt Lake City and Ogden. They’d come bail my ass out if I got busted.
“Wow, you really know how to win friends and make enemies.”
“Yup. It’s a gift.”
Sam rolled her eyes as she set her coffee cup on the hood of the Hummer. Placing her hands on the back of her neck, Sam arched her back until her perky little tits were visible even under that thick coat she wore. My dick did the downward dog, sat up, and fucking begged. I even whimpered. I swear she knew what she was doing to me. She raised her hands above her head, twisted left then right, and bent over. Her sweet ass was just begging for me to rip her jeans over the curve and sink into her sweet pussy. That was the plan and both my wolf and my dick were on board.
“Easy?” She watched me from between her knees. Damn but she was flexible.
I wanted to check my chin for drool, but I’d have to surrender my man card if I found some. “Yeah?”
She straightened up and glanced at me over her shoulder. “You coming?”
Chapter 9
SAM
MY LIBIDO OBVIOUSLY wasn’t paying attention to my common sense. Dang. Where the hell had that line come from? I mean seriously, could I open my mouth and spit out a more explicit innuendo? Which made me want to laugh because I’d bet my very expensive carbon snow skis Easy was so not my type. I wanted to stick my fingers in my ears and sing “La la la la” until my libido found an earworm to listen to—preferably a song not sung by some sexy-voiced rock star—so that slut would stop whispering sexy ideas in my ear.
I laughed at the expression on the dude’s face. I couldn’t help myself. His impressive erection was a millimeter away from popping all the buttons on his fly, and sweat beaded up on his forehead. Oh, yeah. Easy lived up to his name. Problem was, I felt more than a little squirmy in my pants, too. Why did this guy turn me on? He was rough. Crude. Should have the words “bad boy” all in caps tattooed to his forehead. And I hoped he closed his gaping mouth long enough to put me up against the Hummer and fuck me until I couldn’t breathe.
Just the thought had my thighs tensing and pressing together. I wasn’t a one-night-stand sort of girl, but for Easy? I might just make an exception. He was bad news of the worst sort. He’d love me and leave me without a backward glance, and that so wasn’t going to work. No telling how long I’d be stuck with the Nightriders. The guy they called the Russian was not a man you said no to. Well, maybe once. Then your family would be lucky if your body was ever found.
Licking my lips because my mouth had gone dry, I glanced up. I was in so much trouble now. And damn if my libido didn’t have the freaking pompoms out doing cheers.
EASY
HOLY FUCK. The bitch knew exactly what she was doing to me. And she was laughing. At. Me. Pissed me right the hell off. Any other female, I’d have had her legs spread within five minutes of walking her inside the clubhouse. Or on her knees sucking me off. My wolf brushed up against my insides and whined happily. He liked that idea. So did I. If the cops hadn’t already driven by once, I’d just rip her jeans off and put her up against the Hummer. Fuck her right here. I shouldn’t care.
But I did. And that’s why I hadn’t taken her at the clubhouse. Or on the trip. Or standing right here. Dammit, didn’t she know I was trying to be a…fuck. What was I trying to be? Not myself, that’s for damn sure. Well enough of that shit.
She stopped laughing, and her eyes were glued to my hard on. When she looked up and licked her lips, that was it. Any control I might have had snapped.
“Get in the fucking Hummer.”
She stared at me, eyes narrowing and fists clenching at her sides. “Excuse me? What did you just say?”
I pushed up against her, backing her against the driver’s door. “You heard me. You have about five minutes to get me where we’re going, get inside, and get fuckin’ naked.”
She arched a brow like she was one of those society bitches. “What if I say no?”
I leaned in, sniffed her right behind the ear. Not that I needed to. If I reached down and grabbed her crotch, she’d be wet. The ripe scent of her lust—a richer, lusher version of her normal scent—filled my lungs. Honeysuckle and gunpowder. I grabbed her hand and pressed it against my dick. “I’m fuckin’ tired of blue balls, babe. Get in the gawddamned Hummer before I strip you right here. I don’t give a fuck if we both end up in jail for indecent exposure and lewd acts. My dick is gonna be inside your pussy in five minutes or else.”
Thank God she took me seriously. She climbed through my door and bounced across the console to the passenger seat. She was panting, her nostrils flared as she stared at me. “Start driving.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Finally! We were finally on the same fucking page of this program.
She gave short, terse directions, and I slammed on the brakes, sending gravel flying as I stopped in front of one of those A-frame ski chalet cabin places. She was out and headed toward the door while I was still slamming the transmission into Park. I had enough sense to grab the keys and lock the Hummer before I caught up to her at the door. I grabbed her, lifted her feet off the decking, and braced her against the wall. Her long, muscular legs wrapped around my waist as her arms hugged my neck.
“Too late. It’s been six minutes.” I kicked in the door.
“Upstairs,” she panted, slamming the door behind us.
I found the stairs and all but ran up them.
“Left.”
Another door, another kick. A bed.
When I tumbled her to the mattress, she kept her legs and arms hooked around me. As I followed her down, she twisted, using the momentum to roll on top of me. I could deal with this just as long as she got my fucking dick inside her now. Mouth. Pussy. I wasn’t choosy.
“It’s going to be fast,” she warned me.
“I can live with that.”
Sam pushed the cut off my shoulders with one hand and tugged on my tee shirt with the other. I sat up, jerked both of them off and peeled her shirt over her head. Sam used both hands to push me back down on the bed. As soon as my head hit the pillow, she ran her hands in one hard sweep over my chest then lowered her head to scrape teeth over my flesh. My dick throbbed in time to each nibble she took.
I cupped her tits in my hands, raised up to suck her nipple after teasing it with my tongue. I tweaked her other nipple between my thumb and forefinger, twisting and pulling. She gasped, lifted her head, and stared at me. Her eyes had gone darker, from sky to ocean. She wanted this fast? I was ready. Flipping her, I dragged her jeans off, but had forgotten about her boots. She sat up to help while I stripped out of my own. Then I just stood there. Looking. She was so fucking beautiful. I muttered that thought out loud, then repeated it louder.
“Fucking beautiful.” I dropped to my knees, spread her thighs. Her pink folds were slick, plump. Waiting for my mouth. The taste of her burst on my tongue. Sweet. Smoky. Like her scent. While I nipped and sucked on her clit, I slipped my thumb into her. Greedy muscles tugged against my invasion, wanting me deeper. I pushed a finger in, then two. She rode my hand, bucking as I used my teeth on her. Her muscles clenched around me, and I pumped harder, faster, felt her inner muscles flutter, and then she gasped. Her muscles locked, and she hung there, suspended, for what felt like minutes. When she fell, her muscles turned liquid, her eyes deeper than the midnight sky.
“Damn, baby.” My voice was husky, my throat dry. Her skin flushed as heat drenched her. It pumped from her, fueled my need, pulsing through my whole system like a hit of adrenaline. I was fucking greedy now. I wanted all of her. I dragged her back on the mattress, climbed on beside her, and spread her legs wider.
&nb
sp; I teased her folds with the head of my dick just long enough to get it slick, and then I plunged into her. She screamed as her inner muscles stretched.
“Too much. Too much.” She beat on my back with her fists, and I captured her protests in my mouth, kissing her hard and deep, a wet kiss meant to imprint her on my soul with a promise of leaving a bit of me clinging in her heart.
Mine. My brain screamed it, and my wolf howled. Fuck. There was no doubt. As soon as my dick sank in all the way, when my balls teased the sweet curve of her ass, I knew. She was mine. Moonstruck. I’d fucking found my mate, and she had no clue what the hell I was. I wasn’t human. Not entirely. Lupi versi pellis. Literally translated, it meant the man who wears the skin of a wolf. Wolf shifter. And everyone knows Wolves mate for life.
It was too late to turn back, to stop what was happening between us. I wore her scent on my skin, her taste already a part of me, a living, breathing thing inside me. Stunned, I lay there, braced on my hands.
She arched up, her mouth seeking my mouth. Her lips fused on mine, her tongue pushed in, slicked along the side of mine. Greedy, she fed on my lips. The kiss spiked her temperature. Her need. I pushed her away, back against the pillows. I wanted her. All of her. And I would take what I wanted. I bent to kiss her again. I left her lips slick and wet, and my dick throbbed. It fucking loved her pussy, but it wanted to slide into her sweet mouth, too. I dragged teeth over her jawline, her collar bone. Found her tit. I nipped and then kissed to soothe the bite of pain. Her heart hammered under my seeking mouth. Her muscles tensed again as my hips dragged away from her and then surged deep.
“Too slow,” she complained and twisting hard, she flipped our positions. Her impatient hands pressed my shoulders against the bed as her knees squeezed my flanks and ribs. She tugged my nipples, and her eyes glittered. “Two can play that game.”
I groaned and she laughed. Rising on her knees, my dick slid out of her. I grabbed her hips to force her back down, but she beat me to it. Laughter, sharp and bright, changed, became a growl of pure pleasure locked in her throat as she rose and fell again. She clenched around me, drove me mad with her teasing. Rearing up, I clamped my mouth on her tit, sucking her in until I felt her heart beat against my tongue. This. Her. She was the flavor, the heat, the scent of mate. She arched, letting me fill her. I dropped my hands to her hips, held her as I drove up into her depths. She met me, thrust for thrust, until she drove me back against the bed. Bracing her hands on either side of my head, she rocked her hips and pistoned off her knees, setting a furious pace.
