Lucas’ gaze lingered on that deep cleavage, hardening as he saw down into her shirt. He forgot for a moment that he was supposed to be holding back a little to make sure that she wasn’t afraid of him. Then he caught sight of her face. She was smirking.
The little minx! Was sleep-deprivation and coffee the mix he needed to get her to stop fearing him?
“Did you do that on purpose?” he asked, continually distracted as she adjusted the little vest she wore.
“Do what?” she purred in a way that was not at all innocent. She stood, grasping both her breasts and plumping them up. “This?”
“Fuck,” Lucas breathed, nearly dropping the coffee pot. “What happened to you being afraid of me?”
“Maybe I’m too hyped up on getting my book nearly finished and not sleeping all night and more coffee than I should be drinking to think about all the reasons why I should be afraid.” Miriam laughed, a light sound that made Lucas’ wolf trip over its own feet as it circled wildly in his chest. She sauntered forward, undulating her hips, and he could not stop staring. Was this a dream? She took the pot from him and set it on the counter. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah. Sure.” Lucas couldn’t help himself. He reached for her, letting his hands roam her form. She wasn’t wearing any underwear beneath those loose, billowing pants.
“Why did Sly insist that Sandra and her mates go with Wanda, Jamie and the boys? Sandra’s pregnant; it can’t be comfortable for her to go on a road trip like that.” Miriam cocked her head to one side, her big eyes staring up at him with innocent curiosity.
She was just so damn fuckable. Everything about her screamed at Lucas to bend her over the table and take her right here. To make her body explode with fireworks and throbbing pleasure. He licked his lips, his hands moving to her breasts. With a groan, he lowered the fabric, taking a good look at them. Her nipples hardened as he passed his thumbs over them.
“Sly… Sandra on the road trip,” he muttered, trying to remind himself. “Oh, that. He’s just thinking that it would be… nice.”
Miriam grabbed his wrists, pulled him from her breasts, and covered herself up. Lucas’ wolf whimpered, sounding pathetically weak. Enough so that he growled, angry at himself for being so disappointed. He was the one who was supposed to be doing the seducing here, not her! Since when did he let anybody have this sort of power over him?
“What are you doing?” he asked when she pressed up against him, grinding slowly into his hips. “Are you high? Or drunk?”
Miriam nuzzled his neck. “Is it really so strange?”
“Considering last week you were afraid I was going to rape you, yeah.”
Miriam paused. She rested her chin on his chest as she frowned. “Well… that’s because I don’t get what you’re doing and why. But you said it was just a game. You were upset because you realized I really was afraid. And I like that. I don’t think you’re going to try to make me do anything I don’t want to do. It’s not your style. So… yeah, I was afraid of you. But I’m not anymore. Not in that way, at least.”
“What way then?” Lucas’ voice grew husky as the desire swelled through him. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her so tight against him that she was sure to feel his erection. Her soft, warm body against his flooded him with such raging hormones that he had to kiss her.
But as he bent his head to capture her lips, she slipped out from his embrace. His wolf pushed him forward and he reached for her again, but she skirted around the table, so quickly that he had to stop. Her eyes were wide. Fear in them again. Dammit!
“What did I do wrong?” he demanded.
Miriam folded her arms over her chest to hide her cleavage now. She opened her mouth, then shut it again and fled down the hall. Lucas stared after her, utterly flummoxed. What was that about? She comes onto me and then runs away as though I attacked her?
“Fucking hell!” he kicked the wall.
It was daylight, so that meant that the vampire was no longer a threat. Growling even louder now, Lucas turned off his security system and left, slamming the door to make sure Miriam knew he was gone. Soon enough, he’d made his way through the forest to Kristoff’s cabin.
“Women!” he exclaimed angrily as he shifted, grabbing the boxers from Kristoff’s hand. He yanked them on, grumbling. Kristoff had been running patrols for the night shift, but Lucas didn’t care. “What the hell is in their brains? They’re afraid of you so you back the fuck off, and then they fucking undress in front of you and then when you touch them they freak out and run the fuck away! What is with Miriam, Kristoff? What is in her head? Why can’t she make up her mind about whether she wants me or is afraid of me?”
Kristoff yawned as he retrieved a second pair of boxers. “Ever consider that she’s afraid of you because she wants you?”
Lucas grunted. “Ever consider that you’re a dick?”
“Wow. Really?” Kristoff rolled his eyes. “Your problem is that you’re trying to sleep with someone you care about.”
“I don’t care about her!”
“Then why are you protecting her? You care, even if it’s just a caring about whether she lives or dies.” The look on Kristoff’s face clearly showed he believed it was more, but Lucas only grunted and continued to scowl at him. He didn’t want to engage in a pointless argument. “I’m telling you, that’s the problem. You’re letting yourself get too attached… we both are.” Kristoff paused and shook his head. “We need a party. Get laid so we can start thinking with our heads instead of our cocks.”
Lucas’ wolf bristled. It snarled and growled, not at all happy about the thought of a ‘party’. And Lucas found that he didn’t even want to think about touching another woman. Not after his hands had been able to feel the velvet of Miriam’s skin. He wanted her. Nobody else.
But Kristoff was right. He was getting too attached. And he had to break that attachment before it got any worse. Grunting under his breath and unhappy with the whole situation, he nodded. Yeah, this was the best thing they could do. He had to make up his mind, too. And Miriam? Well… she wasn’t worth losing his heart over.
No woman was.
Chapter Nine
It took some convincing for Sly to allow Kristoff to throw a party, the likes of which only Tyler and Max had ever thrown before they got together with Angela. There was a reason why Kristoff had always liked going to them. Nameless women there for the same thing that the men were. To have as much sex with as many partners as possible. To release inhibitions and just do whatever they wanted.
Kristoff preferred that. Anything else and things got too personal. You started learning about their families. Their childhoods. Their damage. And then you were stuck in a situation where you had to choose whether to try to help or be a dick and walk away.
No, it was best to have no personal interactions at all. Just smushing body parts together in a mutually satisfying way.
He stood on the porch, his arms folded as he looked at their partiers. Lucas had managed to scrounge up quite a few women, and all the wolves who didn’t have mates were present, too. A decent-sized bunch. Kristoff was impressed. The wine was already flowing—Kristoff was certain that was going to hurt his pocketbook, but he wanted to keep this a little classier—and he grinned.
He needed this. Even if his wolf was pouting.
“Right, so our first rules are that there is to be no wandering in the woods,” he called. “We’ve had a bear lurking around and don’t want any trouble from it. Stay inside the electric fence and you’ll be fine.” There was only one small opening in the fence, left for people to slip in from where they’d left their cars. “If you decide you’re done for the night, we’ve got cots set up in the house. We don’t want anybody leaving before dawn. The bear has been somewhat aggressive at night, although we’re certain that the music and lights will keep it away.”
A few of the women tittered and a couple looked concerned, but none of them looked like they were going to bolt.
Lucas
clapped Kristoff on the back. “If for whatever reason you absolutely must go home, let one of us wolf shifters know, and we’ll walk you down to your vehicle. Now, we got protection on the porch and a bottle of lube for everyone. Are any of you new to this kind of party?”
One of the women rose her hand, giggling and blushing.
“Right, so here’s how this works. Condoms are worn for everything and they’re to be changed every time. I don’t care if it seems like a waste or annoying. If anybody is found not using a condom, then they will be evicted.”
The woman giggled some more. “What about between us girls?”
“Good question.” Kristoff nodded to the basket beside the condoms. “Dental dams are also available. As you can see, there are several tents set up for those of you who are shy. Everyone must be consenting. If you change your mind, say so. If your partner changes their mind, respect that. Now. Let’s get the party started!”
He flicked on the music, having said all that needed to be said. Stretching, he grabbed a cup and headed to the wine, pouring himself some. He needed this. So then why was his wolf growling at him as though he was about to jump off a cliff? Why were his muscles tense enough to cause him a headache? Sex wasn’t just a want for a wolf like him. It was a need.
But when he looked at the women, trying to pick out which one he wanted, all he could think was that he wished Miriam was here.
Omar sidled up next to him, looking over the partygoers with a disinterested expression. He hadn’t been to many parties like this so Kristoff was surprised he’d shown up to this one.
Omar knocked him in the elbow. “Hey, aren’t you afraid that with us all distracted the vampire will be able to slip in and lure off some of these women?”
“He’s not after any woman, he’s after Miriam. And he’s going to be getting desperate by now. So if he does think that he can sneak in, we’ll get him.” Kristoff drank his wine too quickly, but he didn’t really care. That woman with the bubble butt was a knockout. He could just imagine digging his hands into her silky hair and listening to her moan his name while her pink harem pants were down around her ankles.
Except she wasn’t wearing pink at all.
And he was thinking about Miriam again.
Kristoff let out a curse as he refilled his glass. He was thinking too much. That was all there was to it. He just needed to get a little drunk and turn off his brain. Then it would be fine.
Omar scratched his head, looking out at the women again. On the other side of the fenced yard, Roman was prowling, searching the crowd too. Kristoff frowned at the two of them. Neither of them were normal partygoers. So why were they here? Had Sly sent them, thinking that the vampire would attack and that Kristoff, Lucas, Shawn, and Adrian would be too distracted to notice?
“Are you looking for someone specific?” he asked, arching a brow.
Omar jumped. “What?”
Kristoff rolled his eyes. “What are you two doing here?”
“Oh. Well… We thought since you’ve got Miriam out here, she would have brought her friends. But I don’t even see her let alone that one with the mahogany hair and ginger eyes.” Omar leaned back on the porch, frowning in disappointment. “That girl there’s pretty hot, though.”
Kristoff snorted. “Mahogany hair and ginger eyes? If you’re talking about Wanda or Jamie, neither of them are in town, remember? They went on that road trip.”
Omar’s shoulders slumped. “Whatever. There are plenty of hot women here anyway.”
He signaled to Roman and they both headed for the same woman. She looked suspiciously like Miriam’s friend Wanda, down to the ginger eyes. She’d been the one who’d said she hadn’t been to one of these parties before. As Omar and Roman cornered her, she flushed and giggled and pulled her friend a little closer.
Kristoff watched for a long moment, jealousy rising in him. Why was it so easy for some people? They could just see what they wanted and go for it. They didn’t have to deal with all this crap, wanting to have the sex but not wanting the small talk to make sure everyone was interested, without disliking how close the other person was before getting to the actual sex.
But he enjoyed talking with Miriam, didn’t he? And he liked holding her, even when they weren’t having sex. Even before they’d kissed.
He met the eyes of a blonde beauty, and she crooked a finger at him. He made to step forward, but his wolf instantly was growling and snapping and gnawing on his ribs. It never acted like this—and didn’t calm until he turned away.
Fuck. What was wrong with him? Why was there this drive for him to find one specific person? Even with Lucas, it tolerated his presence usually. So why was there this massive drive for him to be near Miriam? It couldn’t have gone that far already… could it?
The front door to the cabin opened. And Miriam stepped out.
Ice flooded Kristoff’s veins. He sprang forward, reaching to pull her back inside, but it was too late. She saw the basket of condoms next to the box of dental dams next to the box of plastic-wrapped dildos. She saw the bottles of lube and the couples and trios already making out, already pulling their clothes off.
“What the…?” Her eyes were as wide as dinner plates. She wore her housecoat, indicating that she had just gotten out of bed.
“What are you doing here?” Lucas snapped, following them into the cabin. He smacked Kristoff. “You were supposed to take her to Sly’s place!”
Kristoff responded by socking Lucas in the arm. “No, you were!”
Miriam swallowed, drawing back from the two of them. “You’re… having a sex party?”
Kristoff scowled deeply. It was none of her business what they did! And his wolf was an idiot, pawing at him and whining for him to take her into his arms and kiss her breath away. To forget about the rules and the condoms out there and just lay her down on one of these cots and make love to her, to fill her with his seed.
It wasn’t like she could get pregnant anyway.
“You’re having a sex party?” Miriam repeated, louder.
Kristoff winced at his own callous thoughts. She was trembling and he didn’t know how to comfort her. How did people talk to each other when they were upset? His wolf whined, and he didn’t know what to do. So, he remained silent, waiting for Lucas to tell her what was going on.
Miriam drew back from them. Spots of red appeared in her cheeks as her trembling increased. Her hands clenched at her sides and she actually stomped her foot at them. “So the plan was to just throw me out the door and have your wild sex party, was it? This was the real reason why you were so happy for the boys to go on that trip! Because you wanted to be disgusting animals!”
Her eyes widened and she slapped her hands over her mouth, but it was too late. The damage was already done.
Kristoff’s wolf let out a low, plaintive howl. But he didn’t care. He didn’t know if it was mourning or warning or what. He’d been called an animal too often in his life to take it from anybody! “You have no right to be mad at us, Miriam Potter. We don’t owe you anything.”
Miriam made a noise in her throat, but Kristoff didn’t care what she was thinking or feeling. He didn’t care about any of it!
“Kristoff,” Lucas said, his tone weird.
Kristoff brushed him off. “You’ve ruined everything,” he seethed at Miriam. “I don’t want attachments. I don’t want to worry about what people are saying or thinking. I don’t want to worry about anybody! And then you come in and you act like you have a right to my life? I don’t want things to change! How are they supposed to stay the same if you make me feel things for you?”
Miriam fell back another step. Her eyes were as big as dinner plates. The red flush was gone from her cheeks, leaving her looking deathly pale.
“What do you want?” Kristoff shouted, not caring about what anybody outside thought. “What do you want from me?”
“Yeah, so this is happening,” Lucas muttered. And like a coward, he spun on his heel and marched out.
Or not like a coward at all. He was ending the party, kicking everybody out. Because Miriam had gone and ruined it. How was Kristoff supposed to convince his wolf that Miriam meant nothing when he wasn’t even going to be able to sleep with some random woman to get his needs fulfilled?
“I don’t know,” Miriam whispered.
Kristoff scoffed as he marched to the sink, running the water cold. “How can you not know what you want?”
“Because all my dreams have been taken from me.”
Kristoff paused. He hated how his heart twisted hearing those words.
“I wanted to get married and get pregnant and have kids running around and to help people, but I can’t get pregnant. Nobody wants to marry me. So I wanted to adopt, but I don’t earn enough for that and I don’t know if I’m ever going to earn enough. I can’t go back to school without incurring massive amounts of debt, and I can’t go back to midwifery when it hurts this much. And I love my nephews more than anything, but my brother is their legal guardian. He’s going to come back, and he’s going to take them away like he always does.”
Like he always does? He’d done this before?
“I can’t afford a lawyer to challenge him for custody and even if I could, I can’t hold a job long enough for the courts to decide that an aunt would be better for those boys than their own father. And if I tried, he’d cut me out and I’d never be able to see them again.”
Kristoff turned, unwilling but at the same time unable to stop his wolf, pawing all the more desperately at him.
“And now I guess I’m just useless at everything. Not even good enough to be a sex slave,” Miriam muttered, her hands even tighter at her sides.
Kristoff pulled in a deep breath, forcing himself to calm. “Do you want to be a sex slave or are you afraid of us making you our sex slave? You can’t have both.”
“I… no… I don’t know!” Miriam collapsed onto one of the cots, digging her hands into her hair. “I don’t know anything anymore! I just want things to be normal again!” Tears streaked down her cheeks even as she tried to hide them. “What is wrong with me?”
Enslaved by the Wolves Page 6
