“I promise, Mom,” Cydney said with a laugh.
After taking the spare key from Maggie’s mother when she returned, Cydney finished her muffin, then went upstairs to get her sketchpad. As she came down the stairs, the doorbell rang. The closest one to the door, she answered it to find Wulfric standing on the other side.
He pulled her into his arms and gave her a thorough kiss until her toes curled inside her shoes. Her heart thundered in her ears and her legs went like jelly. Wulfric lifted his head and gave her a smile that said he knew exactly what he did to her.
“Hello,” he said in his deep, accented voice.
“Hi, yourself.”
“Are you all set?”
“Yes. I just need to let them know I’m leaving.”
“No need,” Maggie said behind her.
Cydney turned to her friend. “Then I’m off.”
“Have fun.”
“I will.”
That said, Cydney walked through the door and followed Wulfric to his car.
Once they were inside and on the road, she turned her head to watch him. God, he was gorgeous. She didn’t think she’d ever get sick of looking at him. And seeing him again made her realize how much she’d missed him.
“Are you going to keep staring at me like that the entire ride to my place?”
Wulfric asked with a grin.
“Maybe.”
He shook his head, then jerked it toward the sketchpad on her lap. “Is that the plans you have for my room?”
“Yes. And don’t worry, there isn’t any pink. I’m not that cruel.”
“I thought I told you to design it as if it were your bedroom.”
“I did. I’m not a big fan of pink bedrooms, anyway. It reminds me too much of the one I had when I was small. Everything was pink, right down to the carpeting. I’m into darker colors these days.”
“Will you be able to get started today?”
“If you like what I’ve come up with, then yes. You’ll have to take me out furniture shopping at some point. But I want to start with the painting, and getting a look under that shag carpet. If there’s a hardwood floor under it, depending on the condition of it, I’m throwing around the idea of refinishing it and not putting any new carpet down.”
“There’s hardwood under it. Most of the floors in the manor were originally just hardwood before carpet was put on top of it.”
“Perfect. In that case, I’ll want to rip up the carpet after I paint.”
“Sounds as if you have it all planned out.” Wulfric put his hand on her knee and squeezed. “But before you start any work, I get to say hello to you properly.”
“I thought you did just fine when you came to the door.”
“That was just a taste to tie me over until I could get you to the manor.”
Cydney swallowed. “Then I suggest you hurry up and get us there. I’m definitely in the mood for a proper greeting.”
The rest of the ride to Wulfric’s place seemed to not take very long at all.
Considering he drove over the speed limit, it wasn’t much of a surprise. By the time they made it upstairs to Wulfric’s bedroom, Cydney was well on her way to being aroused. Just the idea of making love to him again was a huge turn-on.
He took the sketchpad from her and put it on the dresser before he wrapped her in his embrace. Cydney leaned against him, pushing as close as she could get. The hard ridge of his cock pressed against her stomach, showing her he was as turned-on as she.
While he kissed her hungrily, she put her arms around Wulfric’s waist, then dropped her hands to his muscled ass. He moaned against her mouth as she squeezed the firm flesh in her grasp and rubbed herself against him. An ache built deep inside her pussy and wetness pooled between her legs. God, how she wanted him. Her need for him heated her blood and caused her heart to thud against her ribs.
Wulfric tore his mouth from hers. “I have to be inside you, Cydney. All night I could do nothing but think of having you again. You make me ache.”
“I couldn’t stop thinking about you, either. I’m more than ready for you, Wulfric.”
With their gazes on each other, they both hurriedly stripped out of their clothes.
Once they stood naked, Wulfric pulled her to him again. His cock trapped between their bodies, he ground against her, making wetness leak from her pussy and onto her thighs. His hands lifted and covered her breasts, kneading them. Cydney felt the sharp brush of his fingernails against her skin when she arched her back.
In a sudden move, Wulfric lifted her off her feet and placed her on the edge of the bed. He gave her a gentle push, so she laid flat on her back with her legs hanging over the mattress. He then knelt between her spread thighs.
“I have to taste you,” he said, his voice rough with passion.
He didn’t wait for her to answer. Wulfric lifted her legs and hooked them over his broad shoulders. The first brush of his tongue along her pussy had Cydney moaning with pleasure. She spread her legs wider and lifted her hips as he licked her, stiffening his tongue to push it inside her. A finger stroked her clit while he fucked her with his tongue. She whimpered, wanting more.
“Wulfric,” she panted. “Enough. I want you inside me. Now.”
He gave her one last lick, then stood. “Get on your hands and knees and I’ll give you what you want.”
Cydney quickly complied. She rolled over, crawled to the center of the bed and lifted herself on her hands and knees. She let her head fall forward when Wulfric climbed up behind her and put his hands on her hips. The tip of his cock brushed against her wet opening as he bent over her. She felt his lips brush a spot high up on her back near her right shoulder. He did it a second time, the sensation almost reverent feeling, the way he did it.
Straightening, Wulfric sheathed himself balls-deep and held himself there. His grip on her hips didn’t allow her to move. “You’re mine, Cydney,” he said in a strained voice. “Mine.”
Before she could respond, he pulled back only to slam into her. She moaned.
With him taking her from behind, she seemed able to take more of his cock. His thrusts were so powerful he rocked the bed into the wall. In and out he moved. Her body coiled tighter as an orgasm built. She clamped her inner muscles around his shaft, loving the feel of his cock plunging into her pussy.
Wulfric increased his pace, his thrusts coming faster and harder. “Fuck,” he groaned. “I can’t hold back much longer. Come for me, Cydney.”
He wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her, so she leaned back against his chest. Her head rested on his shoulder. He continued to piston inside her, his cock swelling. With his last thrust, Wulfric reached around her and used a finger to stimulate her clit. It was all she needed to follow him into release.
Their cries of passion filled the room. Wulfric kept his arm around her, easily supporting her. His cock had swelled to the point where they were locked together. He lowered them to their sides on the mattress and tucked her head under his chin.
Cydney felt his shaft pulse as another splash of cum filled her.
She relaxed against him, in no hurry to move away. It was then she remembered what Wulfric has said right after he’d entered her, that she was his. Not wanting to spoil the mood, Cydney decided not bring that particular subject up. Even though a thrill had gone through her at his declaration, the fun-loving-not-needing-a-man part of her wanted to turn tail and run very far away. But the rest of her wondered if Wulfric and she could work out. Then she thought about what her parents’ marriage had been like. She didn’t think she’d ever be able to trust a man that much to allow him permanently in her life.
Chapter Seven
Wulfric and Cyndey were now dressed and beside each other on the bed as she showed him the design plan she’d done for his bedroom. While she talked, he found himself watching her rather than paying attention to what she said. He couldn’t seem to get enough of her, especially after he’d seen her back.
High up by her right s
houlder there was the faint beginnings of Tiw’s mark. It only looked like a bruise, barely marring her skin, but it was there all the same. Cyndey was his. It was just the last bit of proof he needed. Now he just had the hard part of trying to explain what he was without sending her running. He couldn’t lose her. He’d already fallen for her and couldn’t picture his life without her in it.
“You’re not paying attention to a single word I’m saying,” Cydney said, bringing him out of his thoughts.
He gave her a crooked grin. “Can I help it if I can’t stop thinking about all the ways I want to make love to you?”
She shook her head. “Stop that right now. If you keep it up I’ll never get started on your room.”
“Oh, I can keep it up for you. That won’t be a problem at all.”
Cydney gave him a stern look, but it soon slipped and she laughed. “You’re worse than I am with the innuendos. But seriously, we have to get down to business. I promised Maggie I wouldn’t spend our entire holiday working. I’m only here for a month.”
Wulfric didn’t need the reminder that she had no plans to stay in Norwich. It also meant he didn’t have the luxury of taking his time with her. And once Tiw’s mark fully showed, there would be no getting around explaining how that just suddenly appeared on her skin.
She elbowed him in the ribs. “You’re doing it again.”
“Sorry.”
“Do you like it or not?” she asked and shoved her sketchpad onto his lap.
Wulfric looked down at it. As Cydney had said earlier, there wasn’t any pink.
The walls were a tan color that wasn’t too light or too dark. The headboard and dresser appeared to be dark, heavy pieces. She’d made a notation next to each saying they could change depending on what she found in the furniture stores. The floors, as she’d said, were drawn to look like hardwood. The curtains on the window were black, and she’d made another notation about finding them in faux suede.
“Now I know the furniture and curtains are just rudimentary representations of what I’m thinking of, but until I can get into the stores this is the best I can do,” she said.
“I guess the main thing is, do you like the color scheme? I picked the heavy, dark curtains, since you work late at night and sleep longer in the mornings.”
“I like it all. And since you want to get started, I’ll even go out and buy the paint today. You just have to tell me how many cans you think you’ll need.”
“All right. And while we’re on the subject, I’ve been meaning to run something by you.”
“What’s on your mind?”
“To make the work go faster, I think it would be better if I worked in the evening as well when you’re at work. That is if you don’t mind me being here without you.”
He brushed a kiss across her lips. “If I had my way, you’d be staying here instead of your friend’s place.”
And he truly did. Tiw had put a form of protection around the manor, almost like an invisible shield. It kept all of Fenris’ get from being able to set foot on the property. After the run-in they’d had with some of the werewolves—right here—
shortly after Raed had met Lexi—Tiw had made sure nothing like that would ever happen again. Their home was supposed to be a safe haven for all his warriors and their mates.
Cydney blinked. “You’re serious? You’d really want me to stay here for the rest of my holiday?”
“Yes. That way you can work whenever you want and you don’t have to wait for me to pick you up. Plus I like the idea of you being in my bed, waiting for me when I come home each night.”
Her face grew serious as she appeared to think it over. After almost a minute, she said, “I don’t know, Wulfric. I’m not sure how Maggie will take to that idea. And you are moving a little fast here. I am going back to Toronto. Besides, I’m practically gutting your room. Even you aren’t going to be able to sleep here until I get the painting and the floor done.”
He stopped himself from grinding his teeth at the mention of her going back to Canada. Now that she was his, the thought of her leaving had his wolf’s hackles rising.
“Talk it over with Maggie first then. And there is a spare bedroom. That’s where I planned to sleep. As for you going back to Toronto, I’m going to do my damnedest to get you to change your mind.”
Much to his surprise, Cydney paled. She shook her head. He swore he saw what looked like extreme uneasiness flash across her face. Did she dislike the thought of staying with him that much?
“Don’t push, Wulfric. I want to enjoy what time I have with you. Please don’t ruin it. What we have now is nice, really nice, but I’m not looking for a long-term commitment. I’m not wired that way.”
Wulfric bit his tongue to stop himself from saying that last statement was utter bullshit. She was wired that way. If she wasn’t Tiw would never have marked her as his mate.
He took a deep breath in through his nose, her scent calming him with its presence. “Fine, I’ll let it go for now.” He changed the subject. “I’ll go get the paint, and I’ll take your design plan with me to match the color you want with the paint chips at the store.”
Cydney seemed to relax with relief. “Just make sure you get latex, not oil. While you’re gone I want to haul this butt-ugly dresser out of the room. Will one of the guys help me with it?”
“You’ll have to take out my clothes first. Before I go I’ll grab some bin bags for you to put them in. As for moving the dresser, since you hate it so much, you can take an axe to it.”
She smiled. “Really? You’d let me chop it up into bits with an axe?”
He grinned back. “It’ll make it easier to move and dispose of. When you’re ready, the axe is outside in the garage, and I think there’s a pair of safety glasses somewhere in there as well.”
Cydney hugged him. Seeing how happy it made her to be able to destroy his dresser, Wulfric wished he had more than one for her to go at. After giving her the bin bags and finding out how many cans of paint she wanted, he left her to get started.
* * *
Once Wulfric went to buy the paint, Cydeny got to work emptying his dresser.
The two garbage bags he’d given her would be more than enough, considering he didn’t have a ton of clothes. The drawers were filled with t-shirts and long-sleeved t-
shirts, along with a few shorts and sweaters. In the top drawer, she found his socks.
What was glaringly absent was any kind of underwear. The lack of such garments meant Wulfric went commando every day. And there also appeared to be no pajamas at all. The man must sleep nude. Just the idea made her shiver as a wave of arousal shot through her.
The drawers now empty, she pulled them out and tugged the rest of the dresser to the middle of the room. As a second thought, Cydney also pushed the bed farther away. Luckily, Wulfric didn’t have anything stored underneath it. She put the bags of clothes inside the large walk-in closet.
Ready for the axe, she walked out of the room and down the stairs. She didn’t hear anyone else around, but given how large the manor was, it didn’t surprise her. She headed out the front door and went to the detached garage next to the house. Using the regular door set in the side of the building, she stepped through it.
Cydney found a light switch on the wall and flipped it on. The light flashed off the three expensive cars that sat inside. After a quick glance at them, she turned her attention to the back wall where a number of tools hung. She spotted the axe and crossed over to it. She lifted it off the pegs that held it, then used her gaze to search for the safety glasses on the shelf just under the tools. They ended up being under a couple of clean rags.
As she turned to leave, the garage door slowly lifted. Thinking it could be Wulfric already returning, Cydney stayed where she was. It wasn’t his Mercedes that pulled inside. A silver Lexus drove in and parked. The man who got out was a couple of inches shorter than Wulfric, but he more than made up for it in having a larger muscle mass. He flipped his long, black hair o
ver his shoulder. This had to be Brand, the only resident of the manor she hadn’t met. His dark blue-eyed gaze took her in as he walked toward her.
Once he stood in front of her, she stuck out her hand. “Hi, I’m Cydney. You must be Brand.”
He gave her hand a quick shake, then nodded. “Yes.”
Wulfric had warned her Brand was a man of very little words. He only spoke when he had something to say, and kept it as short and to the point as he could make it.
He definitely came across as the strong, silent type.
Feeling a bit uncomfortable with the silence that stretched between them, she hoisted the axe higher, and said, “I just came to get this.”
His brows furrowed. “Why?”
“Wulfric said I could use it on his puke-green dresser. The damn thing is just way too ugly to foist off onto someone else. That would be cruel and unusual punishment to inflict on a stranger.”
Brand grinned and let out a short chuckle. Cydney blinked at the change it made in his appearance. He no longer looked quite so stern and forbidding. And he was actually really good-looking. If Maggie didn’t like Dolf, there was always Brand.
“That thing is ugly,” he said. “If you’re going to use the axe, I’ll supervise.”
“It isn’t necessary.”
“I’ll watch.”
“I don’t want to keep you from anything. And Wulfric should be back soon from the paint store.”
“You’re not doing it alone.”
He turned and stepped out of the garage, then faced in her direction with an impatient look. Cydney had a feeling he’d wait there until she followed him out. With a sigh, she stepped outside with the axe and safety glasses.
She waited for him to punch in the code on the keypad on the brick wall to close the door, then walked beside him back to the manor. Inside, he stayed with her as she went up the stairs. Lexi, holding Petra, was at the top. So was Nika. Both women’s eyes widened when they saw the axe she carried.
“What’s that for?” Lexi asked.
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