Saving a Wolf: Moonbound Series, Book Six (4 page)

Images of his first hiring meeting flickered through Luther’s mind. Something Owen had said…
We won’t make the same mistakes again. We need professionals
. Inferences to some kind of coup among the island staff. Was that what Maggie meant?

“Adrian is a psychopath.” Luther looked around for his gun. He couldn’t remember putting it… There. He felt plastic butt and the snap of the holster. He had put it back. “Something has to be done.”

Maggie’s eyes brightened. “Yes. We have a plan.”

“Fuck the plan.” He pulled his gun. “I’ll handle this myself.” He turned on his heel and stalked out of the apartment.

Maggie called after him, but he didn’t care. At least she was naked and wouldn’t run out into the street after him.

He had to fix this—it was all his fault.

If he’d been smarter, if he’d spoken up… None of his friends would be dead. These girls wouldn’t be undergoing torture at the hands of a madman.

It was time to do something about Adrian Rossi.

For fucking good.

“
L
uther
!” Maggie snatched one of Hannah’s maxi dresses off the back of the couch, slipped it on, then ran to the kitchenette area and slid her feet into her all-terrain hikers. It wasn’t an Andrea approved outfit, but it was faster than trying to get all the buttons done up on her clothes.

She darted out of the apartment and down the stairs, her footsteps pounding on the rickety steps.
Damn.
For as big a guy as he was, he could move fast. He couldn’t be that far. He’d been on foot.

Maggie glanced up the alley and down. Several people were trudging along the sidewalk. The one old guy who always sat and smoked was in his regular spot.

“Mr. Ray, did you see a big man leave?” She held up her hands, trying to convey Luther’s size. Between her choppy Spanish and that, she hoped he got the gist.

“
Si
,” he replied and point to the left.

“
Gracias
.” She hiked her dress up to her knees and took off running, weaving in and out between street vendors and slowly moving taxicabs.

He was headed for the docks. She had to catch him before he got on that boat and took off half-cocked.

There was a plan.
Dammit.
He couldn’t do this by himself, no matter how guilty he felt.

She made the ten-minute run to the docks, pushing herself until her lungs burned.
He can’t leave. He can’t do this alone. Adrian will kill him.
She didn’t want to lose him. They’d only just met, but he was already part of her. Losing him would tear out a piece of her soul.

When she turned onto the wooden planks, she spotted him a dozen yards ahead.

Maggie put her head down and ran harder. The dock flew beneath her feet and she hurled her smaller body into Luther’s massive frame just as he was turning to cross the gangway up to the boat. She wrapped her body around his shoulders and her momentum took them both over the edge and into the warm water.

She surfaced first and gasped for a breath.

Luther’s head popped up a second later. “What the fuck was that?” He shook his head and water sprayed into her face.

She sputtered and wiped her face. The long knit dress was wrapping around her legs and her sneakers were full of water, slowing her ability to tread effectively. Her head slipped under and salt water filled her mouth. She pumped her arms vigorously and pushed herself above the surface again, coughing water and gasping for air.

He was next to her a moment later, wrapping an arm around her waist. “I’ve got you.” Luther held her close to his body and easily kept her above the surface as he swam the length of the boat.

He grabbed the ladder railing on the platform at the back of the yacht and halfway pushed her up out of the water.

Still caught in the long dress, Maggie stumbled twice before managing to find footing and make it all the way on board. She tugged at the top of the dress, but the weight of the wet knit kept sliding down her chest until her breasts were all but completely exposed. Her boobs weren’t big enough to hold it up. Nearly an extra foot of fabric pooled on the floor around her feet.

“Do you not know how to swim? You could’ve died!” Luther roared, climbing onto the platform. “What the fuck?” His hands were on her shoulders, rubbing up and down. Then he cupped her face, tipping it upward until their gaze met. Genuine worry filled his soft brown eyes.

He cares.
About me.
At least it wasn’t one-sided.

“I can swim fine. Just not in a dress and sneakers.” She widened her stance and crossed her arms over her very barely covered chest. “If you hadn’t run off all commando-on-a-mission, I wouldn’t have had to chase you.”

“So you almost drowning was
my
fault? Even though both of us could’ve been killed if we’d hit the dock or the side of the boat the wrong way?”

“I assumed you had a thick skull similar to mine,” Maggie snapped. “Am I wrong?”

A rumble of frustration vibrated from his throat and suddenly his mouth was covering hers. Magick flared between them and she sighed with relief into his mouth. His lips were hard and demanding, his tongue devoured her mouth.

The taste of saltwater mixed with his natural scent and she growled, sliding her hands beneath his shirt and up the wet skin of his chest as far as she could reach.

Her body ached, needing his to fill the void in her body and her heart. She’d never considered that her mate might be a human, but now with everything going on, she wanted him safely linked and bonded to her as fast as possible. Anything could happen.

“Stop thinking,” he muttered against her mouth. Luther untied the halter strap and yanked on the wet dress, until she was bare from the waist up. One more hard pull bared her completely.

She slipped her feet out of the squishy hiking shoes and he lifted her so she could wrap her legs around him. One hand cupped her ass and he whirled, carrying her up to the covered deck of the yacht, never once moving his mouth from hers.

The magick pulled hard at him too. Maggie could feel it coming off him in waves. Her skin was warming, and the dampness of the harbor air sent a shiver across her.

Luther pressed her into a leathery couch that sat against the edge of the upper deck, still refusing to break their kiss. By the gods, he was as hungry for her as she was for him. Maggie moaned into his mouth. She ached in a way she never had before.

“Naked,” she mumbled against his lips and tugged at his shirt.

He pushed her arms away and pressed her harder into the cushions of the couch, moving his mouth along her collarbone and down to her nipples. Fire spread through her belly and her clit throbbed, threatening to overwhelm what little sense she still retained control over.

She grabbed for the button on his pants, and got one hand inside and around his hard dick.

He sucked in a quick breath and snatched her wrist, moving her hand away. “Not so fast.”

“Need you.” The words came out in a whisper. “Now.”

His hand dropped hers and he palmed her small breasts, rolling her erect nipples between his thumbs and forefingers until she arched her back off the couch. She was going to come before he got anywhere near her clit at this rate. “Luther, please.”

He stood and yanked off his holster before removing his wet shirt. He dropped his pants next, revealing a cock Maggie couldn’t wait to get inside her. She sat up on the couch and he sat down next to her. Before she could say a word, he’d grabbed her beneath her arms and set her down across his lap.

His slid into her slick sex and she let her head drop back as a shudder of pure pleasure rocked through her. She squeezed his hips with her knees and relaxed, allowing him to go even deeper. A whimper slipped between her lips as he began lifting and pulling her up and down his length. Slowly at first. Gently allowing her body to stretch and adjust to the intrusion. Then harder and harder, looking for the same release she needed.

Since she’d met him, her body had longed for his moment. This singular point in time where everything was perfect.

There were no worries. No mission. Nothing existed except Luther and the magick that wound itself around their hearts.

She ran her palms over his slick skin, reveling in his strength and size. She was so small in comparison, but it didn’t matter. They were a perfect match. Fate never made mistakes. She trusted that truth implicitly.

Maggie caressed his face, pulling him closer. He tipped his head, and she slanted her mouth over his, tasting him slowly as he pumped up and down, stroking her until the orgasm was so tightly coiled the slightest movement against her clit would set her off.

She moaned into his mouth, a growl rumbling from deep inside her chest. Sex had never been like this before. She’d never been able to feel every stroke. Every nudge. Each of his thrusts grew stronger than the last.

They drove each other toward a mutual release. When it hit, Maggie gasped as air fled her lungs. She fisted her hands in his hair and pulled her mouth away from his. Every muscle in her body contracted. He continued to drive deep, taking her higher and higher. She cried out as a second climax crashed over her.

He slammed her down on top of him and groaned as he shuddered deep and long. Luther buried his face in her shoulder, his breath warm and ragged.

She stayed still on his lap. Content to be held in his arms and sated for the time being. Her mind wandered in its post-orgasmic bliss and she inhaled deeply, focusing on the sound of his racing heartbeat slowing a little with each succeeding breath and exhalation.

L
uther took in a long breath
. The salt water and the sex mixed in his nose until he couldn’t smell anything but Maggie. Her skin still tasted of the ocean.

Fuck
.

He hadn’t just had mad, hurried sex with her, had he? His mind spun. There was a moment, after he pulled her out of the water, when he could have sworn he saw red. The sound of her gasping for breath and choking had almost stopped his heart. How could he care so much about a woman he’d known for hours when he had slept with other women on and off for years and could barely remember where they lived?

Somehow, though, with Maggie, it’d been different. Luther found himself grinding his teeth and stopped, setting his jaw.
It wasn’t different. It was just sex.

He couldn’t move his legs, and it wasn’t the sprite sitting on him. His eyes felt heavy and tired. Except it was three in the afternoon. He shouldn’t be this tired.

Nope. It was just sex.

“You…are…unbelievable,” Maggie panted into his hair.

Luther tried to push her back, off him, but he didn’t have the strength. He lay against the couch; his face buried in her skin, her arms around him, and tried to catch his breath.

If he hadn’t just felt the rush of adrenaline, he would’ve assumed she’d drugged him again. But had all that stuff with the wolf been real?

He wouldn’t be able to feel everything he felt if she had really drugged him. It wouldn’t all seem so lucid.

Maybe he was going crazy. Given his life, he wouldn’t doubt it was possible.

Maggie rolled off him and squished onto the couch with a contented sigh. “That was exactly what I needed.”

Luther sucked in a long, slow breath, hoping the scent of sex would stop enveloping him, now that her skin was away from his senses, but all he could smell or taste was Maggie. And the horrible thing was, he wanted more.

But her nakedness reminded him of the apartment floor and the wolf…and the images he’d seen on the tablet.

Horrific. True.

Which meant the wolf stuff was true, too. He’d seen enough of the crazy world to be unsurprised by any truth, but it still squeezed at his heart.

I have to do something about Adrian
.

She sat up and glanced around the deck, pushing at the edge of the low table in front of them with graceful toes. “You have a nice, secluded spot here. I don’t even think anyone saw us.”

Shit
. Luther followed her gaze, covering every visible spot. No faces. No eyes. And his one requirement when he’d taken the job had been no cameras on his boat. They had practically told him he’d have to live on the boat, but he made Owen promise. No cameras.

At least Brooks wouldn’t be watching him have sex with the strange little American, whacking off in the beach house on the island. That would’ve been the last straw.

When he’d agreed to work for Adrian, he gave up his life for the protection he could only get from a kingpin like Rossi. But he wouldn’t give up his dignity.

“So, are you going to say something?” She pushed on his still-wet calf with one of her toes. “Or was I just…that…good?” Maggie leaned across his body and pressed a kiss on him.

Luther spread her lips with his tongue, delving into her mouth with the same hunger he’d felt before. He could feel it building again, threatening to overtake him like it just had. He pulled back. Stopped it.

“I didn’t mean for that to happen.” He settled Maggie onto the couch and looked around for her wet dress.
Where had they left it?

“You don’t have to apologize.” A smile spread across her face. “It was fantastic.”

“I wasn’t apologizing for the quality of the sex.” He jumped up from the couch and fixed his clothes so they covered all the important parts of him. “You should go back to your apartment.”

Maggie scoffed and stood. “Go back to my apartment? After
that
? I don’t think so.” She advanced on him, sticking out one finger. “You were on a rampage. You’re ready to join us, and we need you.”

“I’m not joining anyone.” He put his hands on his hips and took a wide stance, gazing out across the bay, toward the island. “I’ve got my own beef with Rossi and I’ll settle it my own way.”

“Beef?” She stalked around him and stood between Luther and the door to the main interior of the boat. “You make it sound like a misunderstanding or something. He is
abusing
and
trafficking
girls…and probably boys, for all we know. That’s not a beef. That’s a crime, Luther.”

He worked his jaw and tried to ignore her. “There’s enough
crime
to go around on this boat,
Maggie
. I seem to remember you telling me that you were the ones who killed my friends.”