Chasing Love (7 page)

Before her thoughts could circle back and she could start worrying all over again, she heard muffled footfalls behind her. If she hadn’t been listening so keenly for it, she would never have heard him.

Christiana berated herself. She should have realized his uncanny quietness should have been an indicator to his true identity. No real
human
could walk that quietly and sneak up on
her
.

She watched him come closer, still dressed as her pirate, still masked, but his curls once again left free and wild. His hair had grown since she had seen him at Christmas, yet she should never have forgotten those wild curls. She squashed the feeling of being incredibly stupid.

Might as well dive right in and go for the balls of the matter.

Before he could even open his mouth in greeting or draw her to him, she spoke right up.

“Hey there, Edward. Been a while, hasn’t it? What’s new?”

More than twenty years of studying the man came in good stead. She noticed the very slight tremor along his jaw as a muscle flexed. She also noticed the very faint hitch in his step. However, to practically anyone else, he would not have seemed to falter in the slightest.

“Not a lot, Christi-girl. It’s only been since Christmas so I thought I’d spice up your Graduation Ball. You were rather insistent on the desire for romance and passion. I thought I did rather well.”

“Oh, you did fantastically well. It was the merest fluke I recognized you late last night. You do make a brilliant pirate.”

He bowed, an elegant, courtly gesture that had her heart fluttering madly.

Frowning, Christiana tried to hide her reaction. It took her a moment to realize he was practically on top of her when he straightened up.

He held her arm and pulled her closer before she could even reorient herself.

Leaning forward, he kissed her, hard. This was no courtly peck. This was the pirate, plundering and taking all he could get. Moaning, Christiana opened her mouth and let him in. She couldn’t fight herself and him. She might as well let him win the small battles and save herself for the war.

Or that’s what she convinced herself, anyway.

Breathing deeply, he finally pulled himself away. “Now
that
was more the sort of welcome I was expecting.”

Christiana smiled a little sadly. “Well, you still got it. Let’s walk and we can work this out.”

Determined not to seem at a disadvantage by pacing, Christiana set out at a brisk walk across the gardens and into the much larger college grounds. Edward kept pace with her easily, as he always had.

“What’s there to work out, Christi-girl? We’re going to have a grand old time together, thoroughly get each other out of our systems and move on.”

She shook her head, unable to believe the stupidity of men.

“That never works, even
you
have to realize that. And I certainly am not going to change my beliefs and morals just for you. We’re going to set ground rules and stick to them.”

Even behind the mask, Christiana could see Edward raising an eyebrow at her in that mocking way he had.

“Oh really. You don’t think I could seduce you?”

“I don’t think you could get into my pants, no. Many guys here have tried and I’ve managed to resist them all. I doubt you’re any better.”

She rushed on before he could contradict her.

“Besides, my rules are what count here. If you want to play so badly, I don’t think you’ll feel very cheated. My only rule is no penetration.”

Edward came to a halt, forcing her to stop as well. He looked her over very, very carefully.

“That’s your
only
rule,” he repeated slowly, “no penetration?”

Christiana rolled her eyes.

“I’m not an idiot. Just like every other horny girl alive I’ve had cravings and desires. There is such a thing as masturbation and other assorted
methods
of relief. I’m not some ignorant virgin. I’m merely saving my virginity for someone who will truly appreciate it,” she hurried on,
knowing
what he was about to say in that way both of them  had. “I mean my True Mate. Some hormonal man who has had the hots for me for a while, no offense to you, simply doesn’t count in my book anymore.”

She felt the weight of his stare for a minute, and then it dragged out to two. She resisted the impulse to babble in the silence.

“No penetration,” he finally spoke.

Christiana nodded. “No penetration,” she confirmed, all her stubbornness and belief behind her long-ago decision holding firm and showing in her simple statement.

“Anything else goes?”

Christiana thought. She didn’t mind experimenting. She was, in fact, wet with anticipation. She simply wanted to keep her hymen intact and make sure the first and only cock to ever enter her was her destined mate. A ”no penetration” rule amply covered that.

She nodded again, more slowly.

“As long as you don’t count this as a technicality. You know what I mean—what the spirit of my deal is. I want to stay chaste, just not necessarily pure. But as long as you’re following the spirit of my deal, anything else goes.”

Edward grinned at her, a feral, wild grin she had never seen from him. It was lustful and truly wild. She swallowed, suddenly wondering why he was so desperate to seduce her. It wasn’t like he didn’t have a million other women throwing themselves all over him.

Before she could think, or even attempt to articulate the questions buzzing around her mind, he stuck out his hand.

“We have a deal, Christi-girl.”

Chapter Nine

Edward felt triumph unlike anything else when Christiana placed her smaller hand in his and began to shake it. The trap was set; the bait had been taken. Now all he needed was patience and luck, just like any other hunter.

When Christiana had unmasked him, he had known his plans weren’t crumbling, merely being brought to a head faster than expected. He had fully expected to unmask himself to her tonight, after attempting to seduce her.

His masking had, in fact, lasted longer than he had hoped. He
knew
deep in his soul that he would have recognized Christiana in any mask, any costume, anywhere in the world. Her eyes, her curls and her beautiful, rounded body called to him on some instinctive level that he finally had given up fighting.

He didn’t want to delve into his subconscious and discover if they really were True Mates. While the thought itself held some appeal, the reality of finding himself tied for eternity to not only his childhood playmate, but also the future leader of the Pack, was incredibly daunting.

He didn’t believe himself to be some egotistical man but his ego was certainly masculine enough that, in front of the Pack,
always
having to let Christiana have the last word and power rankled a bit.

He knew her well enough to know she’d never lord it over him, in any sense. He had found himself surprised four years ago to not know her well enough if she was the sort of woman who would let
him
be dominant in the bedroom, or if her power needed to extend into her whole life.

They were damn close and the oldest of buddies. For a fling, for an affair, that was more than enough for him for now. The point was, he would have known her in any disguise and it had been a minor blow to his ego to realize
she
didn’t instantly recognize
him
.

The fact that some minor gesture had given him away gave him hope. If she knew his body language, knew his gestures and impulses, then there was some hope left for his battered ego—no matter how fun it had been to seduce her and prove her instinctual reaction to him was there.

On a totally different level, her “no penetration” clause was even
more
enthralling. What better seduction tactic for either of them to know there was a point to which they both must stop? Christiana would feel safe, knowing that they could do anything except technically have sex, and he could try to rise to the challenge.

According to
her
rule of no penetration, he would play the gentleman and adhere to it. Yet he knew himself, and her, well enough to know that eventually their passionate play would come to a peak. He snickered at the thought.

Having Christiana beg him to fuck her senseless was a particularly pleasant fantasy he had been indulging in for more months than he cared to admit. And if she
did
plead such to him, he would be more than happy to make her eat her “no penetration” clause, and give them both the satisfaction they craved.

He tried to suppress his chuckle. Oh yeah, he couldn’t have planned it better himself. The added bonus of having Christiana feel as if she were in control was just gravy. She was always that much more mischievous and daring when she felt in control of a situation, had been like that since she was two or three years old and determined to rule the world.

“What are you grinning at?”

Edward paused, realizing he had been grinning like a maniac the last few minutes over his devilish thoughts. Christiana, obviously seeing his joy and interest in her challenge, had halted a few paces behind.

“Just thinking, Christi-girl. So where is the one place on this campus you’ve fantasized about seducing some poor unsuspecting man?”

For a long moment, she simply stared at him. Edward worried she was about to back down, call off their deal. She cocked her head in the same manner when thinking as she had since she was a child. Edward relaxed. She was just mulling over everything, scheming in her own manner.

He smiled. He welcomed her pitting her will against his own. They had both been butting heads for years. Being both stubborn and pigheaded had its down sides. It meant they often became too involved in their games of chess and competitions. Why not carry it over into their sexual games? It added life and fun and that little something that was uniquely theirs.

Instead of answering, Christiana took his hand and began to lead him off into a shadowy section of the gardens where large trees had been planted. Edward rolled his eyes, certain she couldn’t see him. Trust his Christi not to answer him, but
show
him!

Playing along for the moment—his turn to take the lead would come soon enough—he let her lead him into the lightly wooded section of the grounds. It was nothing compared to their grounds at home but, in a pinch, it would do. The air was scented with pine and fir, smells that reminded him of his home. Like a flash of light, he realized this was Christiana’s special place—special in more than just a sexual fantasy place. It was where she came when she felt homesick.

In that instant, Edward made a resolution. No matter how out-of-control everything became, he would make this fantasy of hers special and memorable. If she wanted to be in control, he gritted his teeth in suppressed desire, then he would let her stay in control.

Even if it killed him.

Chapter Ten

Christiana looked around the parkland. She would never admit it but this area had helped save her sanity on more than one occasion. In those first few months, when she was more homesick than she cared to remember, when the ache of not being near her forest, her parents and large family burned like a hole in her chest, she had come here.

It was nothing compared to her forest at home—but then nowhere could replace
her
forest in her heart. Sure, she might be the great-big leader of the Pack one day but, just like her mom was strong enough to stand by her father and help him, so too had she always desired a friend and True Mate strong enough to let her lead.

A part of her mind had always known Naomi had been more than just a fuck-buddy, or even a True Mate, for her Grandfather. She had been his Helpmate, his Companion, his strength when he had needed it.

Men didn’t seem to understand that being the voice of power, the leader, wasn’t just about leading. Their support network, their friends and family and, most importantly of all, their Mate was just as important as anything else.

Without that special, personal bond from a helpmate, a leader was nothing more than the strongest person, the biggest bully, in the group.

Christiana smiled. It was one of the many, many realizations she had found here in the woods at college.

The soft grass underfoot grounded her, the scent of pine filled her nostrils and, if she closed her eyes and concentrated
really
hard, she could imagine she was home and meditating in her own backyard.

From the silent, reverent way Edward followed her and didn’t make teasing comments, she guessed he had worked out how special this place was to her.

Funny how she had driven away all fantasies of them both together here—yet now, here they were. When she had decided to take the offer at this college, she had decided to finally pack away all the childish fantasies of her and Edward.

She knew they couldn’t possibly be True Mates—the hurt, the pain he had caused her when he had spurned her offer just before
he
went to college was the start of her knowledge. Since then, she had tried and tried to get him out of her head.

After finally graduating high school, she had decided to get him out of her head and heart. That was a large part of her wanting to get away during college, so she could grow up apart from him and become her own person.