Beast Untamed: Beasts of Bodmin Moor, Book 3

by Faye Avalon

  Withdrawing her hand, Erin smoothed her hair. She was still not totally used to the lost length. Probably not unnatural, seeing as it had brushed past her shoulder blades for longer than she could remember. Justin had preferred it long. Which was one of the reasons she’d cut it.

  “It’s not that short.”

  He swept his gaze over the top of her pixie cut and down the sides, before meeting her eyes again. “It’s pretty enough.”

  Her heart started hammering.

  “So are you, Erin.”

  Oh God.

  He turned to the side, put his hand beneath her chair and tugged it—and her—closer to him. “You smell good too.”

  She was in danger of turning to mush with him this close, and saying things that were obviously meant to arouse her. He was succeeding.

  “Want to dance?”

  His eyes still on hers, he nodded toward the dance floor where other couples had joined the bride and groom.

  “I…I’m not sure.”

  “It’s a dance,” he said, already standing. “Come on, sugar. I’ll be gentle with you.”

  With more than a little reluctance, Erin stood and let him lead her out to the floor. His hand on the small of her back was bad enough to set her nerves screaming with awareness. But she tried to calm herself with the realization that despite Nathan’s gentle teasing, he wasn’t interested in her that way. He was simply a blatant flirt and enjoyed keeping women on their back feet.

  It became difficult to continue her deliberations when she found herself enveloped in his confident hold. The chest she stared at was broad and hard, and he was so amazingly tall. Since Justin had been a mere inch taller than her, to be held by such an imposing and sexually attractive man was daunting to say the least.

  His fingers curled around her hand, his grip solid and his palm tight to hers. Since he drew her close, she had no option but to place her free hand on his shoulder. Solid there too, she thought. Wide and unyielding.

  He drew her even closer, crushing her breasts against his rock-hard chest. His hand rested on her lower back, his hold felt proprietary and controlling.

  Despite the initial panic that trembled through her, she didn’t feel especially anxious or intimidated. She felt…aroused.

  After what had happened to her, she had never anticipated feeling this way about a man like Nathan. If she’d ever expected to feel attracted to a man with his innate power and sense of entitlement, she would have questioned her sanity.

  She looked up at him and caught the slight smile on his beautiful mouth.

  “You scared of me, Erin?”

  “No, of course not.” Her cheeks heated and her pulse hammered. “I wouldn’t be here if I was.” She’d be running, like she had with Justin.

  “Then why do you look like you expect me to strip you naked and perform lewd and depraved sexual acts right here in the middle of the dance floor?”

  She froze for a second, then a laugh bubbled up and dissolved some of the pent-up tension in her chest. “For some reason, I wouldn’t put it past you.”

  His smile deepened, taking its time to get where it was going. “And if I did? What would you do, I wonder?”

  Right then? Swaying in his powerful arms while the sensual music wafted around them and the heady effects of too much champagne sparkled through her? “I might just surprise you.”

  God. Had she actually said that?

  His grin was full out sexy, and his hold on her tightened. She might have missed it had she not been quite so tuned into him.

  “I’ve got no doubt of that,” he said, sliding his hand sensuously up and down her back. “You’re just full of surprises, sugar.”

  Erin bit down hard on her lower lip and tilted her head. “What are you doing, Nathan?”

  “Dancing with the prettiest woman in the room.”

  She huffed a laugh. “You can’t help yourself, can you?”

  “It’s in my DNA to flirt with women. Especially the sexy ones.”

  Just as she’d suspected. And he really was good at it. Flirting. Making a woman believe what he told her. She doubted she was the prettiest woman in the room, or the sexiest. But right then, she felt like she was. It was hard not to, the way he was looking at her. It was a dangerous game to be playing.

  “You’ve gone all quiet on me,” he said ducking his head to get her attention back. “Don’t you like hearing that you’re sexy?”

  “Every woman likes to hear that.”

  He pulled her tighter still, and she felt the distinct telltale bulge in his pants against her stomach. Reaction shot between her legs, making her core muscles clench and her pussy throb.

  “There’s something about you, Erin,” he said, his gaze traveling over her face. “Damned if I know what it is, but it’s turning me the hell on.”

  Erin’s stomach revolved, but she reminded herself it was a game to him. She drew in a breath. “It’s not really appropriate, is it, this not being a date and all.”

  “Let’s make it one.”

  “So we can have sex?”

  Bloody hell. What was making her talk like this? Could it be because she was changing the habits of a lifetime? Becoming the woman she wanted to be? Turning herself into someone who wanted to fulfill her sexual needs? Maybe. And she wanted to do it with the man currently gazing down at her like he wanted to eat her all the way to Sunday.

  “I’m game if you are,” Nathan said tightening his hold until Erin could barely scrape air into her lungs.

  To anyone watching them, it might seem as if she and Nathan were carrying on a perfectly normal conversation about the weather or something. How could they know that she was currently in danger of pooling at his feet in a puddle of shimmering need and expectancy?

  Was she game? Could she go through with it?

  When Nathan nudged himself against her, and she felt the rock-hard press of his erection, she knew she could. Oh, how she could.

  “Erin?”

  The tempo changed with the next song, but only slightly, and Caleb and Talia swung by. “How about you and me get some of the guys together and do our thing?” Caleb said to Nathan. “Looks to me like those two will soon be saying their good-byes.”

  Erin glanced over to where Caleb indicated the newlyweds, who were in a tight clinch, all moony-eyed and perhaps a little drunk.

  Nathan had barely loosened his hold on Erin and seemed reluctant to do so. “They’ll be a while yet.”

  “Not from where I’m standing,” Talia said, taking up her husband’s suggestion. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of Erin while you men do your thing.”

  She smiled, reached on tiptoe and kissed Caleb’s cheek. “Don’t be too long. And don’t go overboard. It’ll embarrass Naomi.”

  Caleb only grinned and tugged his wife closer to plant a slow and very sexy kiss on her mouth. Erin glanced up at Nathan, who gave her an equally slow and very sexy wink.

  It set everything inside her off like fireworks. How could a simple wink do that?

  She really had to get a grip on the situation. If it hadn’t been for Caleb and Talia’s timely intervention she might have agreed to heaven knew what.

  Casting Erin a meaningful look, Nathan made his way to the exit with Caleb.

  “What are they going to do?” Erin asked, as they headed to the ladies’ room.

  Talia huffed and slipped her arm through Erin’s. “Something infantile, knowing those two. On my wedding night, Nathan and Tynan strung cans to the back of the car and banners across it declaring us just married, which would have been okay and traditional, but then they filled Caleb’s wallet with condoms, so that when he opened it at the hotel reception desk, they flew out all over the desk and floor. They put loads of condoms in our cases too, in between each layer of clothes. And they had a box of adult toys delivered to our room and laid out
for anyone to see. It was so embarrassing.”

  Since she was laughing, Erin thought Talia had weathered the embarrassment just fine. “Do you think they’re about to do something similar?”

  “If anything, it’ll be worse.”

  When she hesitated, Erin felt compelled to tell her not to temper her words for her benefit. “I know that Nathan and Naomi were involved before she got together with Tynan.”

  Talia nodded. “It was a casual thing.”

  “So Nathan said. Was he really okay when Naomi chose Tynan?”

  In the cloakroom, Talia popped her bag on the counter and pulled out lip gloss. “It wasn’t really like that. Like I said, it was casual.”

  “Friends with benefits. He told me,” Erin confirmed, noticing Talia’s circumspect expression as the women faced each other’s reflection in the mirror. “I just wondered if he really was as flippant about their relationship as he makes out.”

  Lip gloss headed toward her mouth, Talia’s sharp eyes narrowed. “Is that the enquiry of an interested party, or the enquiry of an interested party?”

  Color shot into Erin’s cheeks, and she delved for her own lipstick.

  “Nathan isn’t one to get too serious,” Talia said gently, lowering her hand. She turned and leaned back against the counter. “He’s sexy as hell, but he can break a woman’s heart. And something tells me yours has been bruised enough.”

  “I’m not looking for serious,” Erin said, tapping her lipstick tube against the counter. “I’m not really looking for anything, apart from a quiet life.”

  “You wouldn’t get that with Nathan. He’s a good guy, but not one I’d recommend to a friend.”

  Erin smiled and applied her lipstick. “Point taken. I’ll keep my distance.”

  “That’s the smart thing to do.”

  Erin glanced at Talia as her friend touched up her makeup and their eyes met in the mirror. They exchanged smiles, but Erin had the clear impression that Talia’s warning held a whole other layer of meaning. She couldn’t begin to imagine what, but Erin renewed her vow to keep Nathan Quinn at a very safe distance.

  Right now she had enough to keep her occupied without the complication of sex with a virile but downright mysterious man. The thing was she didn’t know if she could resist him if he touched her again.

  When the men returned thirty minutes later, and Nathan made a beeline straight for where she sat chatting with Talia and two other women, Erin knew her resolve was in desperate danger of disintegrating before her eyes.

  Nathan had a look about him that exuded raw power, and again that word popped into her head—predator. Strength, command, potency…domination. All those words applied to him, but it was the last that sent shockwaves of reaction thundering through her. He was the very last man she should want. The very last she should consider having sex with. Did she have some sort of self-destruct button when it came to dominant and powerful men?

  Maybe. But the thought didn’t stop her body from going on full alert. She had to squeeze her legs together to stop the throb between them, wrap her arms across her breasts to stop the ache in her tender flesh. Damn it, but she really wanted the man. And if she didn’t do something pretty damn quick, she knew she was in danger of getting him.

  Chapter Five

  Nathan didn’t mind a woman questioning her decision to have sex with him. He didn’t mind the game of chase and retreat. What he did mind was the reason behind the uncertainty he sensed in Erin. Watching her, he knew that he’d do just about anything to convince her that sharing a bed with him for the night was all good. But he wanted the decision to be hers, and hers alone.

  That didn’t mean he wasn’t up for a little persuasion, and to be honest, he needed her in his arms again, if only for another dance as the evening drew to a close.

  The bride and groom had long since made their departure and were at this moment likely enjoying the fruits of his earlier activities with Caleb and the guys. He wondered if Erin was the type of woman who’d enjoy watching porno flicks before indulging in some light BDSM. Shit. Right now, he’d settle for vanilla as long as he had Erin beneath him.

  Since his cock pressed uncomfortably against his pants, Nathan stood and held out his hand. “Dance?” he said when Erin looked up at him. “Why don’t we take up where we left off?”

  With hesitation, and a cautious look in her eyes, Erin took his hand and let him lead her onto the dance floor again.

  He drew her close, determined to do everything in his power to change her mind back to where he’d left it two hours ago. Since then, she’d done her best not to be alone with him, dancing with Caleb and even Naomi’s grandfather. Enoch was entirely smitten with her, and it seemed the feeling was reciprocated.

  “What happened?”

  Erin met his gaze and didn’t even try to pretend she didn’t know what he meant. That was one of the things he liked about her. Straight as an arrow. “I’m not sure I can go through with it. I thought I could, but maybe it’s not a good idea.”

  “From where I’m standing, it’s the best idea I’ve had in a long time.”

  She smiled as they swayed. “I’ll bet you’re not used to having a woman hesitate. You’re used to them falling at your feet. That’s probably why you’re still here trying to get me to agree. So you can keep your record intact.”

  “A man doesn’t like to be turned down, especially when he really wants a woman.”

  “Why?” she asked suddenly. “Why me, Nathan?”

  She wasn’t the only one who could be straight as an arrow. He thought he owed it to her. “Because you’re hot as fucking Hades. Because since the first damn moment I looked at you, I wanted you.”

  She laughed softly. “That’s not true. We didn’t exactly hit it off. I didn’t think you even liked me.”

  “A man doesn’t have to like a woman to want to fuck her. Shit. That didn’t come out right.”

  She laughed again, and he felt her relax in his arms. She actually moved closer of her own accord. Since he was never a man to let an opportunity pass him by, he tightened his hold around her, feeling those delicious breasts press against his chest.

  “To be honest, I didn’t like you much either,” she said with an impish smile. “But it didn’t stop me from wondering.”

  “Wondering?”

  “I’m having this battle with myself,” she confessed. “I really want to ask you to take me home and…stay.”

  Shit. His cock liked the idea of that. “Then why don’t we get out of here?”

  She shook her head, that smile still in place. “It’s not that simple. I don’t really know you, and I think I do need to know a man first, however much I’ve been trying to convince myself that I could do a one-night thing.”

  “What do you need to know?” He didn’t think he’d ever felt so desperate to converse with a female before. To let her ask questions and be prepared to answer them.

  She swallowed, her eyes fixed on his. He ran his hand across her back, keeping the movement slow, easy, as much for himself as for her. He didn’t want to spook her, but he wouldn’t risk her slipping from his grasp without a goddamn fight.

  “That’s a typical male response. The quickest way from point A to point B.”

  Now she was confusing him. He frowned, and she laughed. He liked to hear her laugh, it had an earthy quality about it, and it went straight to his loins. “What happens between point A and B?”

  He knew well enough, but wasn’t going to spell it out and risk her backing away from the place where he thought she currently teetered—on the edge of agreement.

  “That’s the question. What I really meant was that I need to know something about a man before I go to bed with him, and you come straight back and ask me what I want to know. Like you’d actually tell me.”

  “Why don’t you try me?”

  “It’s n
ot that simple, is it? I could ask you a question and you could give me the answer you think I want to hear. That’s not getting to know someone. It takes time and the space to find out organically.”

  Damned if he knew what she was talking about. Probably because his erection was becoming painful. He must have uttered something, because she smiled. “Right now, you’re probably thinking I’m not worth the trouble.”

  “What I’m thinking is that I’ve never had to work quite so hard with a female before, but I wouldn’t say you’re not worth the trouble.”

  Their gazes clashed, and he increased the pressure on her back, drawing her closer still. With her breasts crushed to his chest, he could feel her heart beating, the almost rapid thump of it. It matched his own.

  Before he could fully complete the thought, he released her but tightened his grip on her hand. Without a word, he led her from the dance floor and threaded their way through to the nearest exit. The night had turned chilly but he was currently on fire.

  Turning, he pressed her back against the wall and placed his palms flat beside her shoulders. He leaned in, his mouth a whisper from hers. He wanted to take, to plunder those ripe, full lips, but instead of a brutal devouring, he forced himself to keep it light.

  She tasted sweet, ridiculously tempting, and he had the weird feeling that something was off, out of sync. But it wasn’t her, it was him. Just the touch of her mouth to his made his chest tighten, his head pound, his cock throb.

  Shit. What the hell was happening to him? It seemed taking it slow wasn’t good for his bloody health.

  Irritated and off-center, he increased the pressure, manipulating her mouth until she opened for him. He pressed his tongue between her lips and rolled it around hers. Flames licked up his groin, along his spine, his solar plexus and into his chest.

  To hell with slow. He pulled her tight against him, all the time subjecting her to his kiss, a fierce possession that only served to fire him up faster, harder.

  Erin kept up with him, and somewhere beneath the rabid need to take, he knew that she wanted him with the same ferocious need that he wanted her. Her hands were all over his back, her fingers pressing into him, her hips tilting up toward his erection, seeking. He kissed her harder, all that lush ripeness calling to him with a lure he’d never known before.