He chuckled and wiggled his eyebrows as if that answered anything. The man had secrets, and he was keeping them to himself. She wondered whether he would tell all if she opened her legs to him. For that matter, what would it mean for her to give herself to him?
“What’s the man’s name who told me you want me? The blond one.”
“Why?” Marcus was jealous.
“Just wondering.”
He frowned. “Your only concern regarding men is me. None other. Do not try to have sex with any man before you share a bed with me. Is that clear?”
“Actually, no. It’s crazy.” She stopped walking. “I don’t know what’s come over you, Marcus. Is it because Halloween is next month, that it’s a blue moon then, or what? I know people start to act nutty, but it’s all psychological. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you own me. You’re my sister’s boss, nothing more.”
He took her by her arms and pushed her up against a brick wall, firm but not painful in any way. He bent his knees and pressed his erection, tented big in his pants, between her legs. She moaned so loud one would think it had gone inside her. Her powder-blue panties were soaked, that was for sure.
The rumble was back in his throat. She thought she saw a flash of sharp teeth in the dim light around them but couldn’t be sure. He ran a hot tongue along her neck, up her cheek, and dipped it into her ear before he bit her a little too painfully. Then he licked the aching spot, but he hadn’t broken the skin.
“Come to my party.” The words were a demand.
“Renee says—”
“I don’t give a damn what Renee says. She has blocked me from you too long.”
She gasped. “You won’t fire her, will you? If I deny you?”
He laughed. “You can’t deny me.” He pumped against her. She screamed, and to her embarrassment, she came. Right there in public, fully dressed and with a single grind. Marcus’s eyes never left her face as she fought against the waves of pleasure taking hold of her body. She shook her head back and forth. Corkscrew curls blocked her vision, and Marcus brushed them back.
After a long time, she gained control and he moved back to release her. She didn’t say a word. She just stared at the ground and refused to meet his eyes.
“Well, Tami?”
Her heart skittered. “I’ll come. I have no choice.”
“Why?”
He knows why! “Because my body needs you.”
Tempting a Wolf
Chapter Five
Tameca tugged at the rear of her cat costume and heard the rip of the Velcro that kept the tail in place. She already knew she’d be fighting with it all night. What had she been thinking wearing a silky, black, form-fitting outfit like this with her paunchy stomach? As it was, she expected Marcus to laugh her out of the party.
Pat glanced over at her, looking just as uncomfortable in a matching tiger outfit. She grimaced. “You’re yanking on the butt when you should be worried your boobs will pop out.” Pat laid a hand over her exposed cleavage. Tameca didn’t think the poor girl had enough to be concerned about, but Pat was right about her.
The bodice of her costume cut all the way to her navel with a wide V, and strips of material netted over the opening. When she had stood looking in the mirror at the shop, she’d thought she never looked sexier, but here at Marcus’s door, she wasn’t so sure. The line down the back of her sheer pantyhose wouldn’t stay straight, and the spiked heels she wore were too high.
“Well, we better just do it. We were brave enough to get this far,” she told Pat. “Even if we are wallflowers, we can feast our eyes on the male candy that’s sure to be here. All of the men with Marcus that night he ran Vic off were sexy as hell.”
Pat licked her lips. “Think that one guy will be here?”
“Which one?”
Her friend groaned in anticipation. “The blond one. I’ve had dreams about him ever since.”
“Dreams!” Tameca screeched.
Pat laughed. “Okay, I was fantasizing while Ray and I were going at it.”
“That’s so low, Pat.”
“I know, and I feel guilty, but men do it all the time, I bet. And Ray and I aren’t in love. I’m pretty sure we’ll never get to the dating level. Movie night was a joke.”
“True.” Tameca reached out to press the bell. A look over her shoulder revealed the limo Marcus had sent for them pulling off. “At least we came in style, huh?”
Pat’s agreement was lost in the night air when the door opened and a burst of music seemed to come out and suck them inside. A servant took their jackets and ushered them into a ballroom, or what Tameca liked to think of as a ballroom. The lights were dimmed, the music loud. Real-looking cobwebs hung from every corner of the ceiling and, in spots, even formed nice little alcoves that almost completely obscured anyone who slipped into one. As she and Pat scanned the room, Tameca was sure she’d glimpsed snatches of bared skin through the slits in these semiprivate recesses.
“Like they couldn’t find a room in this joint?” Pat whispered with her lips pressed close to Tameca’s ear.
“They probably like the public feel of it. Only a gauzy strip keeping them from total exposure.”
Tameca had been right about the men. They swayed on the dance floor, leaned against the wall, came and went everywhere. There seemed to be no limit, and as far as she could tell, they were all fine. She stretched and lifted her chin to see over the heads in an attempt to spot Marcus. He was nowhere in sight.
The blond god walked up to Pat and took her hand without a word. Transfixed by his beauty, she tripped off after him and left Tameca to fret against the wall. She crossed her arms. If the man who claimed she tempted him just by her mere existence wanted her so much, why the hell wasn’t he around?
She glanced down at herself. Damn it, she looked pretty good, even with her extra curves. If Marcus wanted to play games, whatever! She scanned the floor and found a man watching her. He grinned. She took a step in his direction, realized she would not be able to dance in her shoes, and then slipped them off.
She rocked her hips to the music as she sidled up to him. “Hi. I’m Tameca.”
He howled. “Tameca! Yum!”
She laughed. They danced close, and feeling brave in the uninhibited atmosphere, she moved in before she swung around with her back to him. Glancing back, she saw his eyes focused on her ass. Her fake tail brushed the erection he sported.
“I’m Laramie.” His lips teased her ear. “Do you want to go inside the cobwebs with me?”
Was he serious? “Uh, we just met.”
He shrugged. “So?”
She was about to tell him “Hell, no” when she spotted Marcus. He strolled into the room with a woman on his arm who looked a little too satisfied with herself. Jealousy rocked Tameca. She tore her eyes away from Marcus’s sexy vampire costume, turned around, and placed her hand on her dance partner’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”
He snatched up her hand like there was a fire and pushed through the crowd. At the edge of the entrance to the alcove, she wanted to look back to see if Marcus was watching, but she resisted the urge. This was about a fun night for her, not him. He could kiss her ass. He had made demands of her and then ignored her as soon as she gave in to him.
The alcove was tighter than she imagined. One soft chair furnished it, and the delicate walls forced those occupying the space to be pressed up against each other or risk destroying it.
Laramie towered above her, and her lips brushed his wide chest. With lust in his eyes, he reached a hand up to touch her hair. Inches from her head, he cried out and, with wide eyes, drew back. “I didn’t know!”
She frowned. “Didn’t know what?”
“I was out of town!” he shrieked.
Feeling like this guy might not be all there, Tameca considered scooting sideways to the exit. Strong, thick fingers tore the cobwebs away before she could move. She stared in horror at Marcus’s angry face.
“Get lost!” he snarled at Laramie
. The man didn’t ask questions. He bolted, and at the intense look Marcus displayed, she wished she could have joined him. Marcus encircled her waist and hauled her out. All eyes, including the woman who had been on his arm earlier and who was now pouting, were on them as they moved across the room.
Once outside the room, she jerked out of his hold. “You didn’t have to rip in there like I was your girlfriend cheating on you, Marcus! And why did Laramie start acting crazy like that?”
He didn’t answer. His eyes were so dark they looked black. He lifted a hand to her neck and pushed her as if in slow motion toward the wall. Pinned there, she gasped when he lined her body with his. “You still deny me, Tami? We’re here on Halloween. I have little patience and a lot of . . . ”
“A lot of what?”
He kissed her. He moved his mouth greedily over hers, sucked at her lips, dipped his tongue inside, and uttered angry growls. By the time he drew back, her lips were numb and there was a small cut in the corner. She didn’t remember biting down and wouldn’t have during a kiss.
Marcus took another step back and released her neck. He examined her outfit and chuckled. “A cat, of all things.” His fingernail, sharp and long, cut through the strips of cloth that covered the V. The swell of her breasts was more pronounced. “That’s better.”
He guided her down the hall and into an office. Sniffing the air, Tameca hoped he hadn’t just come from doing the blonde girl in here. He looked at her with a curious gaze then moved over to a counter where drinks were set up. As he dropped ice in two glasses, he kept his back to her. She took in the long, black cape and the black boots and remembered the all-black clothing he wore. It matched his natural coloring, but he wasn’t vampirish-looking. The man had a bronze quality to his skin, maybe spent a good amount of time in the sun getting his color just right. She wondered what it would be like licking every part of that skin.
“Despite the noise, Laramie could hear me when I told him that you belong to me, that he would surely be killed by my own hands if he laid one finger on you,” he explained.
Planting a hand on her hip, she struck a pose. “So, what are you all? Vampires or something?”
When he turned to face her with a raised eyebrow, he was holding drinks. He hadn’t asked her if she drank alcohol or, if so, what she was in the mood for. “Or something.”
While she lifted the glass to her lips, she considered whether to throw a fit at his high-handed way. He seemed close to talking, so she let it go. The liquid burned going down and reminded her of why she didn’t drink often. “Care to explain?”
“We are one race, one family.”
“Impossible. I saw black guys out there. Unless they were just friends? Do you mean only some of you are brothers or what?”
“We’re all brothers and sisters, in a manner of speaking. We sometimes seek a mate outside our family.” He cast an accusatory look in her direction. “That has caused trouble more times than I can count. Outsiders who don’t understand our ways. But we must go as our fate leads. If it has chosen an outsider, we have no choice but to obey.”
She moved to a brown leather sofa, then sat down and put her drink on the table in front of it. “Funny, I had the distinct impression that you were the leader of your group, that you made the rules. I know all the others killed themselves to be sure they didn’t offend you.” She crossed her arms. “I thought this would be fun, Marcus, but Renee was right. This isn’t the place for me. Maybe I’m too . . . I don’t know, ordinary, I guess, for this type of thing. Can you have someone take me home?”
He sighed, threw off his cape, and then swiped away the fake blood from around his mouth, which was already smeared from their earlier kissing. She thought he would take out the sharp teeth, but he made no move to do it. A shiver ran over her body.
“Tami, I told you tonight, especially, I don’t have a lot of patience.” He glanced out the window at the moon and then back at her. “Tonight, I will have you.”
“Kiss my ass, Marcus.” She stood, not at all intimated by him. Her patience had also run its course, and she walked toward the door.
With her hand on the doorknob and ready to walk out, she felt him press up behind her. “If that’s what you like. Actually, it’s what I like as well.” He ripped her tail off and tossed it away. She gasped.
With a palm flattened on the door at either side of her head, he gave her only a few inches of space. “Turn around, Tami, and take off your clothes.”
A million thoughts rampaged through her mind, none of which included ignoring his bold command.
Tempting a Wolf
Chapter Six
“I should be kinder, more patient with you,” he muttered against her neck as he trailed kisses along it. “Everything is heightened tonight, and I find your scent alone is driving me out of my head. Tami, let me fill you.”
She moaned. He pulled away the last shred of ruined fabric from her body, and she wondered just what she’d wear home later.
His hands shook as they moved along her form. “Kindness later. Your body now!”
He flipped her around to face him. She bit down hard on her lip and turned her head so she wouldn’t see him seeing her naked. She wanted to cross her arms over herself, but she clenched her hands at her sides instead.
“How can I stare at your body and taste it at the same time,” he said, seeming to wonder aloud. He ran his hands down the outsides of her thighs until he was on his knees. Without warning, he dipped his tongue between her legs to taste her juices. Long and broad, his tongue pushed a short way inside her, and she cried out. He drew back.
Changing his tactics, he nibbled along her thighs and squeezed her ass. She virtually mewled like the cat she pretended to be. Her body came alive under his lips and tongue. She lusted for so much more but tried to hold on to the little self-control she had left after one touch.
“Marcus,” she moaned.
He looked up at her with intense eyes that terrified her. Somehow she knew he wanted her to watch while he tucked his head between her legs again. His stiff tongue swiped at her bud. Her legs gave out.
He carried her with such ease to the middle of the carpeted floor and laid her down. “Finally,” he said, dropping to her side, “I get to have what I’ve dreamed about for years.”
She gasped. “Years? Not me.”
“You.” He cupped one of her breasts, lifted it toward his mouth and circled the pebbled nipple with his tongue. She arched her back to drive it closer. “Sweet chocolate.” He worked down her body and bit her belly just above her navel. “I’m going to eat all of you, Tami.”
Excited and terrified at the same time, she shook from head to toe. He bit her again, and the rumble rose in his throat. A micro orgasm shot up from her depths. She cried out, and he waited until it passed to continue his explorations.
Positioned over her snatch, he twisted his head to look into her eyes again and drew a deep breath. “Your scent. We have sensitive noses, can smell for miles. Tami, do you know that your scent blinds me with lust? I need . . . ”
He demonstrated by thrusting her legs apart in a rough move, then by eating. This time, when he drove his tongue inside her, he didn’t draw back at her scream. He held her down while she wriggled beneath him. The noise of his hunger drove her over the top. He sucked hard to gather her cream into his mouth, swallowed, then went back for more. Cruel and sweet torment rocked her when he parted her folds to give himself a better view and easier entrance. She screamed again.
“Marcus, it feels . . .” Pain and pleasure combined. He lifted one of her thighs and rolled her forward to his greedy mouth. He licked from the front to the back, nibbled and sucked her nether lips. Tears splashed down her cheeks as she came for the umpteenth time. Still, he hadn’t entered her or removed his clothes. “Marcus, please,” she begged. For what, she wasn’t sure.
“I cannot enter you yet,” he told her.
“Why? Don’t you want to?”
“Woman, are you insane
?” He sat up and leaned back so she could see the bulging mass in his pants. She imagined that he had nothing to be ashamed of if compared to the blond god. “Come here,” he commanded. “See what I have for you.”
She considered telling him that he didn’t command her, but sort of liked it, to her shame. At least here in the bedroom, so to speak. As she rolled over to her knees, she licked her lips and wondered how he tasted. She had once nearly given a man a blow job when she was twenty, but out of nowhere, some guy had burst in on them; he yelled about the guy cheating on him. He had been just as shocked as she was, and by the time it was all over, she refused to believe he didn’t know the man. Now that she looked back on it, she wondered whether Marcus had instigated the incident.
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