Brink Of Passion (Alpine Woods Shifters) (12 page)

Ignoring the two closed doors on either side, Laurie stepped into the bathroom and into another world. The bedroom had been decorated in a mint green, but everything here was dark. Black marble covered the floor and surrounded the colossal bathtub. A glass shower decorated with the same black marble on the walls stood kitty-corner to the tub.

Wait. Were there two showerheads? She looked again at the massive shower at the dual showerheads.

Two sinks were inlaid into opposite ends of a large counter that spanned the corner of two walls. Wait. Where was the toilet? Opening the door to the right, Laurie saw a toilet and bidet in a smaller closet-like room. A separate room for the toilet. And a bidet? Really? Shelves lined the walls inside with clean towels and washcloths.

Anxiety welled inside her. She didn’t belong here. A rip in the knee of her jeans snagged her attention. Three weeks ago she’d snagged it moving furniture around the bookstore and hadn’t thought twice about it since. Her ratty t-shirt which read
you say potato, I say wine
complemented the look. But not the apartment.

Was she supposed to mold herself into the woman who belonged here? One who wore expensive jewelry and ate caviar with a glass of champagne? Could she, even if she tried? A useless effort to be sure. That wasn’t her. She was a beer and nachos kind of girl. So what was she doing here?

Laurie took a breath to steady herself. Max must understand that. After all, he’d seen where she lived. He’d met her family, and ate greasy diner food with her. He fit in with her family, who had been loud and boisterous during the meals they’d shared. He’d seen enough of her to know she was brash and sarcastic, right? Surely he didn’t expect her to change?

But would his attitude change, seeing her in this environment?

Well, he’d just have to get used to it. She was who she was and had never wanted to be anyone different. She’d do her best to make this place her home, and worry about what Max might or might not think when the time came.

Besides, that dual-head shower proved enticing. Later, after a shower, she’d have time to worry about everything else.

Chapter 6

Tension beat a perpetual rhythm against his temples as Max stepped off the elevator into his suite. How had the world turned to shit in so short a time? It had only been a week since he left with Ryan for the convention in Tucson. One week and everything had changed.

Faint traces of Laurie’s scent flittered around the apartment. There was no trace of Leah, so he surmised she’d taken a solo tour around the place. He followed the trail up the stairs, the scent soothing away some of his stress. He needed to see her. Needed to pull her into his arms.

He just needed her. Holding Laurie would go a long way toward calming his anxious heart. Not all of the changes the past week had brought were bad.

He staggered on the stairs as Tyler and Colin’s words slammed into him.

Ryan.

His brother.

He’d have to visit tomorrow. According to Colin, Ryan was still unconscious, but both cousins had assured Max the doctors were hopeful for a full recovery.

Hopeful
. What did that even mean? Hope was supposed to be bright and happy. But this hope filled him with dread, the difference between life and death.
Hope
wasn’t a guarantee. The thought of never talking to his brother again staggered him.

An assault, they’d said. They hadn’t seen who. Someone had hit his brother over the head hard enough to put him in a coma. And it had happened in the leap’s compound, a fact that chilled him to the bone. Almost as much as the thought of his brother never waking. Almost.

Whoever had done this to his brother, his family, had been a member of the leap. Not only a member, but one trusted enough to know the blind spots in the security cameras.

Try as he might, he couldn’t picture it. Sure, some people were less than thrilled about his brother ordering them around due to his less dominant nature. Some took advantage of the fact that those orders came out more as suggestions than actual commands. As a beta, Ryan literally could not order the more dominant members around. But beta or not, Ryan was part of the ruling Family. For the past six generations, the Premiers of the leap had come from his bloodlines. Everyone in the leap respected that.

At least he’d thought they did. Now, he wasn’t so sure.

Laurie’s voice drifted toward him, easing the anxiety tightening his muscles. His smile turned to a wince as she tried to hit a particularly high note. What was she singing? At least he assumed that was what she tried to do. She certainly wouldn’t be winning any Grammys.

He saw her reflection in the mirror through the double glass doors as soon as he stepped into the bedroom. She stood in the midst of a cloud of steam, her back arched to keep the showerheads from washing the suds out of her hair.

He paused for a moment, drinking in the view of her like a parched man drank water. How could the mere sight of her affect him? Yet, there was no denying it. His worries felt lighter in her presence. Already she held a piece of him.

A smile curled his lips as he watched the suds slide down her shoulder and over her breasts. Bet he knew something that would make him feel even better.

Quietly stripping off his clothes, Max joined her in the shower.

*****

Laurie jumped as Max slid his hands around her waist and his lips brushed against the back of her neck. How had she not sensed him? The scent of the shampoo might have masked his scent, but shouldn’t she have heard the shower door open?

Her thoughts scattered as his lips brushed the mating scar on her shoulder. Pleasure zinged through her, spiraling downward from the mark.

A knot of need tightened low in her belly. How did he have such power over her? Wanting to touch him, she tried to turn, but his hands stroked down until they gripped her hips, preventing her from moving. Both thumbs slid along the top of her butt.

The alpha in her wanted to push back, to take charge. Laurie had always been the dominant person in relationships. No one had the power to match her before. And maybe that had been the problem, she thought as Max’s aura of strength surrounded her, trampling her own desire to fight until she finally gave herself over to a world of pure sensation.

Shivers wracked her as his hands skimmed upward. He placed her hands on the wall of the shower, pausing until the unspoken command to leave them filtered through. Inserting his foot between hers, he pressed on the inside of her calf until she stepped out, opening herself to him.

Water pounded on their heads from above, but did nothing to quench the fire building inside her. In her wildest dreams she’d never imagined feeling so exposed and vulnerable could feel so right. Max’s hands stroked her arms, triggering little darts of pleasure wherever he touched. His lips had moved to her ear, nibbling at the lobe until she felt weak in the knees.

Anticipation pulsed in her chest as his hands slid over her back, then skimmed the sides of her breasts. Her nipples puckered, eager for his touch. But he didn’t so much as pause, continuing his descent to once again grip her hips. His tongue swirled over her jaw and downward until his mouth hovered over the mating mark. She’d known the mark would stay with her forever, but had never imagined it would become such an erogenous zone.

Impatient, Laurie arched her back, bringing her shoulder closer to his lips. Max chuckled. The low deep sound, barely heard over the pounding shower, shot straight to her gut.

“Patience is a virtue,” he murmured.

“Everyone has their flaws.”

If he didn’t get on with it, Laurie would kill him. Or push him down and ride him to her heart’s content. She opened her mouth to tell him just that, when he scraped his teeth over the mark. Not hard enough to break the skin, but enough for Laurie to see stars. She gasped as sparks of light floated in the corner of her vision. Holy freaking hell. It felt as if he’d done that to her clit.

“Do that again,” she demanded.

“Bossy.” But even as he said it, she could feel his teeth grazing her shoulder.

Laurie’s hands clenched on the wall, her lungs gasping for air as pleasure shot through her. She needed something to grip, something to ground her in the here and now, but found nothing against the cold marble. If he kept this up, she would break apart.

He sucked on the mark left by his teeth and every muscle inside her tightened. She felt herself rushing toward a peak and knew any moment she would fly over it. Not yet. She tightened against the pleasure, wanting more time before losing herself.

Water cascaded over them, adding to the feeling of drowning in sensation. Despite her efforts, her muscles clenched in preparation for release. His lips glided downward, blazing a trail of pleasure down her back.

He pulled back until only his fingertips touched her. Her growl of frustration turned to a gasp as he placed a quick kiss at the top of her spine. Then downward, placing light pecks along the way.

Tremors skittered through her the lower his lips grazed. Slowly. Making sure she felt each butterfly brush of lips and hands along her spine.

He squeezed her butt at the same time he sucked at the small of her back. Laurie didn’t know where to focus. She was one giant ball of need, the orgasm she’d stalled until now frustratingly out of reach.

“Max, please.” On some level, she rebelled at the idea of begging. But she’d passed that level a long time ago. Sensation and need ruled her now.

“Not done, yet.”

Laurie groaned, part frustration, part pleasure, and pure lust. In front of her, the black marble tiling left nothing to distract her from the feel of his hands shifting toward her most sensitive places. Of his teeth scraping over the curve of her ass. His hands slid lower as he pressed both thumbs inside her, his other fingers tickling her clit. She screamed as she came, her body jolting as she was thrown into ecstasy.

Laurie floated on a sea of pleasure as wave after wave assailed her. All sense of time and place disappeared as Max sawed his thumbs in and out. She was lost. Helpless against his assault. Another wave hit and she could do nothing but ride it until it receded, gasping for air.

Eagerness thrummed through her veins as he stood. She wanted him. All of him. Nothing less would completely satisfy her. Already her body had begun to tense again, seeking the satisfaction both her and her wolf knew only he could provide.

His body surrounded her, tilting her hips backward as he positioned her where he wanted. Yes. She needed this more than her next breath.

“Please.” Later, she’d be embarrassed for having begged not once, but twice. But all she wanted was him inside her. How he got there didn’t matter.

“Patience, little rabbit,” he whispered against her ear.

Laurie thrust her hips back against him, bumping into his erection. Behind her, a breath hissed out between clenched teeth. Even through the haze of passion, she smiled.

“Not a rabbit. Not prey. Together.” She hoped her message got across, because she couldn’t manage more. If he didn’t enter her soon, she would take matters into her own hands and use him until they were both spent. She needed him like a druggie needed the next fix.

“Won’t let me have anything, will you?” The words were so low she suspected he hadn’t meant them for her. Confusion slid through her pleasure-soaked mind, but hunger for him burned too hot and fast for it to grab hold.

He gripped her hips, positioning himself, and Laurie held her breath while struggling to still her squirming. Her muscles ached, desperate to writhe against the firm chest behind her. Then she felt him press against her and the fight died. Here was what she wanted. What she needed.

Her nails sharpened to points, and her gums ached, a sure sign her fangs had dropped. How could he bring her so close to the brink after only one week? But never before had she experienced such wild abandon. Such soul-shattering pleasure.

Her groan rent the air as he sank inside her. He paused for a moment, and she wanted to turn around and claw him until he moved, but his hands held her hips prisoner, and his front covered her back.

More. She needed more.

When she thought she would scream in frustration, he began moving. Pulling out until only the tip remained, then thrusting to the root once more. Hard. She straightened her arms, pushing against the wall and angling her hips to take him deeper. Her head thrown back to rest on his shoulder as he moved.

He plunged deep, followed by two shallow thrusts that had her aching for more. Deep, then shallow, continuing the rhythm. Her body moving to match his. With each deep thrust, her pleasure jumped, coiling the aching knot in her gut tighter. Each shallow thrust seemed to temper the hunger without lessening it until she was wound so tight she thought she might break.

She arched against a shallow thrust, pushing her hips backward in a silent demand. A demand he ignored, continuing to relentlessly build her pleasure. She raced toward a peak that kept moving further and further away. A sob of frustration caught in her throat.

His hands slid around to her front, dragging a trail of suds over her skin. When had he soaped them? He cupped her breasts, rubbing his thumbs over her aching nipples. His lips teased his mark on her shoulder, a newly acquired erotic zone.

She tried to tell him to stop. It was too much. Too fast. Too consuming. But then he slid deep. Once. Twice. Three times. And Laurie shattered around him.

She hung her head, forcing air into her lungs as the world around her blurred. She heard Max roar behind her, a sound so primal and penetrating she quivered around him even though she was already finished.

Laurie rested her forehead on the tile in front of her as the world slowly came back into focus. Water sluiced over her shoulders and down her back, somehow finding a path between her and Max. His body surrounded her, heating her far deeper than the hot water or the steam floating in the air around them.

His hand rubbed a continuous path up and down, from hip to the side of her breast. If she hadn’t been so exhausted, she would have arched into his touch like a cat being pet. But she was spent. Utterly and completely.