Player's Ultimatum (12 page)

*****

Unlike the movies, real time didn’t slow to a crawl while plunging to your death. Feeling a panic at ack knocking at her back door, Yvonne squeezed her eyes shut.

The floor seemed to materialize a lot faster than she expected. A second later, she landed in her rescuer’s arms. Instinctively, Yvonne wrapped hers tightly around his neck.

Holding on tightly, she al owed him to walk her through the crowd and out of the bal room. Once outside, she opened her eyes and sucked in as much fresh air as her body could muster.

She regained a semblance of normalcy then opened her eyes, gaining her fist good look at her savior. His mask bordered on menacing, the muzzle curled upward in a snarl, exposing sharp teeth. Stil light headed from her fal , Yvonne chuckled, drawing the wolf’s regard. Her toes curled in her boots.
Blessed be, his lips were downright sexy!

Yvonne reached out and touched one of the mask’s sharp canines. “Lit le Bo Peep being saved by the big bad wolf,” she whispered when he final y stopped in front of a pair of double doors. “End of the road?” She asked.

Nodding, he pressed his shoulder against one of the doors and shoved. Stepping inside, he kicked the door behind them. It slammed shut with a resounding thud as he walked over to a set of windows and he placed her on her feet.

Standing a lit le over six feet her wolf wore nothing more than a mask and a pair of brown silk pajama bot oms, hanging low on his hips. So low she could see the v-cuts she loved so much on men. In the moonlight streaming through the window, his tanned skin appeared darker, richer and a perfect accent to the lean muscle fil ing out his washboard abs and wel -defined chest.

Final y remembering her manners, Yvonne said, “Thank you for saving me. I-I guess I looked pret y stupid up there?”

“
Il mio piacere,”
the wolf replied in Italian.

Yvonne searched her brain for the translation. “Your pleasure?”

Her wolf nodded. Then to Yvonne’s surprise, he reached out and brushed the side of her face. Instinctively, she turned her head toward his touch, al owing him to cup her cheek. Yvonne sighed as a tingly sensation shot down her spine. She was so caught up in his touch she didn’t move when he stepped closer.

Yvonne knew he was going to kiss her, but he didn’t aim for her lips like she thought he would. Instead, he placed a kiss on each cheek. Nothing more than a gentle caress of his lips, he moved slow and easy as if he didn’t want to scare her.

Highly unlikely, Yvonne mused. How could she be afraid of someone who saved her life?

Yvonne edged closer, inviting more intimacy. He responded in kind by trailing kisses across her cheek toward the sensitive spot just below her ear lobe, triggering a bucket of hormones. With a moan, Yvonne’s head fel to the side, giving him better access.

Why hold back?
The satin mask preserved her anonymity. Plus, she loved the way he nipped, sucked and drew slow circles against her skin with his tongue.

Already imagining his tongue and mouth doing the same thing to her clit, goose bumps ran down her arms.

Yvonne placed her hands on his shoulders and drew him closer. Obviously liking her initiative, he growled and pressed his warm, soft lips against hers.

He swiped his tongue across her lips. The abrasive texture made Yvonne’s entire body tingle. Needing more contact, she curled her fingers curl in his hair.
What did this guy use?
His inky black curls slipped through her fingers like silk.

As his kiss became more insistent, his mouth coaxing hers open to his plundering tongue, his tongue swirled inside her mouth and touched off pressure points connected to her nipples, heart rate and even her sex. He stroked the roof of her mouth and her nipples puckered. He drew semi-circles against her bot om lip and her pussy throbbed.

Man, oh man, this guy was a pro
! She’d kissed plenty of frogs in her life, but none of them made her want to strip them naked, climb al over them and have her way with him.

Ready to give up her amateur status, Yvonne reached between them and grasped his drawstring. Her body trembling, she tugged on the neat knot and the string unraveled slowly. In a matter of minutes, he could be inside her. She couldn’t wait.

She’d built up several weeks of sexual frustration fighting off Paolo Saito advances.

And hopeful y another man could temper her desire for him. But as the fastening around his waist became slack, he startled her by pul ing back as if regretted what they were doing

Yvonne reached out to him, but he evaded her. He crossed the room and yanked a book from a bookshelf above his head.

Yvonne placed her hands on her hips and tapped her foot.

He was so not going to read a book right now!

Shocked, Yvonne’s arms dropped to her sides as the shelf swung outward, spilling light across the wood floors. Her wolf hesitated on the threshold, but then slipped through the narrow gap in the wall and disappeared.

Instead of feeling dejected she found she only wanted him more. So much so a sil y idea formed in her head. Horny and confused, Yvonne started to pace.

“What you’re thinking about doing is total y insane. You don’t know this guy from a hil of beans. Not once in your adult life have you ever indulged in sex with a stranger.”

Of course al the guys she’d dated weren’t half as fine as her wolf. And she so wanted to get down and dirty, she could practical y taste his skin on her tongue.

That damn, Paolo Saito! His constant advances had opened a Pandora’s Box filled with lustful thoughts and perverted desires.

And now her every waking moment seemed to be filled with thoughts about Paolo Saito and sex or sex with Paolo Saito.

This very morning she’d masturbated in the shower. She was so long overdue!

Shelving her reservations, Yvonne marched across the room and in short order pulled several books from the shelf. The wal didn’t budge. Seeing her opportunity slipping away with her resolve, Yvonne frantical y pulled al the books off the shelf, creating a tiny heap at her feet.

Undeterred, she reached up on her tip-toes and started working on the shelf above her head. One by the one books plummeted to the floor, leaving a burgundy leather bound book that tilted outward in an odd angle. Shifting her weight to her heels, Yvonne pulled on the book.

Bingo! The book creaked, reverberated slightly and then she heard a click fol owed by artificial light spil ing into the room.

Yvonne poked her head around the bookcase and discovered a stone staircase il uminated by floodlights. Without a backward glance at the room behind her she climbed the stairs as fast as her stiletto heels would al ow.

She climbed stair after stair with no end in sight nor hide or hair of her wolf. Exhausted, Yvonne leaned against the wal . The next time Robbie asked her to go to the gym she needed to sleep in the trunk. She could barely breathe!

Put ing on her game face, Yvonne pushed away from the wal and continued to climb. Just when she was tempted to turn back around, she turned the corner and came to a door standing ajar.

Drawn by the pop and crackle of a fire, Yvonne peered inside. A leather couch sat in front of a fireplace and an ornate mirror hung on the far wal near the bedroom door. Silently praying she hadn’t intruded on a couple getting freaky, she craned her head around the door frame to better see the other half of the room.

As al of her focus centered on the room’s sole occupant, the painful throb in her instep dissipated and her heart quickened.

Her wolf, mask still in place, sat at the foot of a four post antique bed.

Yvonne opened and closed her hands from wanting him. Images of her gripping his rock hard ass while he fucked her, danced in her head. And with each passing second the images grew more explicit and so frighteningly real. Moisture soaked the crotch of her hot pants.

There was no way she could go to bed alone. She’d just end up playing with herself until sunrise. Yvonne squared her shoulders and pushed the door inward. Her eyes still on the bed, she watched him. Despite the shadows cast by the partially askew counterpane, she noticed the way his eyes tracked her every movement.

Coming to stand in the center of the room, Yvonne cleared her throat. “I know this may sound forward and absolutely crazy, but I don’t want to go to bed alone, not tonight.”

There she had gotten it al out in the open. There would be no mixed signals, no miscommunication between them.

The only indication he gave that he heard her was a slight cock of his head. Other than that, her speech had been met by silence. Wel not total silence the clock ticked loudly on the mantel behind her.

Losing her bravado, Yvonne crossed one foot over the other ready to turn tail, but then she remembered he’d responded to her in Italian downstairs. Well there was one language al humans could understa Like a shock to her system, the heat licked over her, heightening her senses and making her more aware of all the clothes she had on.

More than ready to rectify the situation, she reached behind her and unhooked the crinoline skirt to her costume. As it fel at her feet, she paused at the satin ribbons fronting her dress. She’d heard the bed creak behind her. Chancing a glance over her shoulder, he leaned toward, his elbows resting on his legs. Yvonne smiled.

So he wanted a show?
She’d give it to him nice and slow if that meant being able to share his bed tonight. Empowered, Yvonne took her time unlacing the ribbons fastening her corset.

Knowing her but cheeks spilled from the bot om of her hot pants, Yvonne made sure she enunciated her movements so her bot om jiggled. From behind her, she heard the bed move again. Yvonne smiled to herself. Round yet firm, her backside was one of her best assets.

Her corset final y came undone, she bent over slightly and proceeded to shimmy the garment down her torso, over her ample hips and thighs until it rested beside the discarded skirt.

Yvonne hooked her thumbs in the waistband of her hot pants. She would be too glad to chuck these! The crotch was so wet, they’d started to chafe. Yvonne slowly inched the scrap of material over her hips. Bending over again, so he could get a good look at her exposed pussy, she stepped out of them.

With no other garments left to discard except for the white thigh boots and her mask, Yvonne turned back around. She’d considered wrapping her arms across her upper torso out of modesty, but that flew out the window the minute she propositioned him for sex. Instead, Yvonne lifted her chin, rested her arms at her side and returned his gaze.

At that moment she almost wished he’d removed his mask. With it she couldn’t read his expression. But of course without it that might have made her strip tease unlikely for the shared anonymity gave her courage.

Unsure of how to proceed, but turned on beyond measure, Yvonne approached the foot of the bed and rested her thigh against the edge for balance. She started unzipping her boots but only got as far as mid-calf when a strong arm grabbed her around the waist and hauled her onto the bed.

Before she could react, he reached past her and pulled the counter pane closed, enveloping them in complete darkness.

Returning to her side, he pressed his body against hers. Yvonne responded with a heartfelt groan. His body so rocked!

Stil maintaining his silence, her wolf trailed his hands and mouth down her forearm. He seemed to know exactly where to place his sensual artillery in order to get a rise out of her. Wherever he touched felt like an open flame against her skin. Like when he drew lazy circles on the outside of her thigh with his tongue, her body temperature skyrocketed. His hand grazed the sensitive area above her knee, her clit jumped.

“Do you want me to take my boots off?” Yvonne rolled her eyes. Why would she ask such a stupid question at a time like this?

“No,” he whispered.

Yvonne stiffened. So he did speak English. Why the sly wolf! He could have squashed al of her reservations with a simple yes or no. But oh no, her wolf had to manipulate the entire situation and force her hand. So that out of pure sexual frustration she’d become the seductress.

And you loved every minute of it, her conscience jeered.

He brought her back to the task at hand by sliding up her body and set ling between her thighs. Al owing bygones to be bygones, Yvonne opened her mouth to his searching lips.

Like his kiss, he commanded her body. One hand slipped around her neck, the other slid around her body gripped her but and pulled her into him. His mouth devoured hers like he couldn’t wait to fuck her.

Yvonne needed him to be like this—wild and out of control. If he were to take his time, her common sense would kick in.

She’d tel him to stop or she’d start thinking about a certain Brazilian footballer she couldn’t get her mind off of late.

Wanting neither outcome, Yvonne returned his kiss, her tongue sparring with his for dominance. The intensity between them grew and she strained against him.

Desperate for him. Desperate for more.

As if he read her mind, his hand slid from her neck to set le on her breast. Yvonne gasped and arched into his hand. Her unknown lover massaged and molded her flesh. Strong fingers played with her nipple until it peaked and grew ripe. That’s when he stopped kissing her. Fol owing the same path as his hand, he kissed a wet trail from her col ar bone to nipple.

Not wanting him to stop, Yvonne fisted her hands in his hair and held on tight. “Please, don’t stop,” she moaned. “Please don’t stop.”

Her wolf answered with a deep throated growl against her breast that reverberated through her entire body, setting her on fire.

As if he had al the time in the world, he sucked and licked one nipple then the other. The more his caresses grew more demanding, she became more restless.

Yvonne wondered just how much more she could take. His mouth was nothing more than a teaser!

Ready for something, anything, she twined her legs around his, then she surged up, bucking her hips into him as though she was starving for him. She was al but pleading for him to make love to her!