Escaping Love (10 page)

He grunted, happy because he could cover more ground with her and her bitable ass sat
inches from his face.

“Did you just grunt at me? You’ve gone caveman on me. I’ll have you know I’m not the type of girl to sit here and take this. This is a fair warning. Put me down.”

Clint’s favorite spot came into view, making him ignore the protesting female dangling from his back. Underestimating her proved to be his first mistake when pain shot through his butt cheek. He stumbled a little but still kept going.

“Did you just bite my ass?”

“Of course not.”

His ass was throbbing
, and she had the nerve to sound offended.

“I clawed it.”

She clawed it. The little harpy knew he wouldn’t believe that excuse. They couldn’t shift only part of their body. It was all or nothing.

As soon as he disarmed her he would feed her, bathe her, and then have her for dessert. Finally, he made it. Deciding to torture himself further, he slid her down his body then placed her on the ground. Her brows knit together and she kept searching his face as though she couldn’t figure him out. He made sure she couldn’t see what unfolded behind her.

She placed her hands on her hips. “Well you’ve got me here.
Now what?”

“We eat, but first turn around.”

He wished he could read her thoughts when she saw his favorite place for the first time. When he found it while exploring in his youth he kept it for himself, private place for him to escape to. It helped a lot during his teens when Jesse got on his nerves or he nursed a broken heart. But he never shared it with anyone until today.

Her sudden intake of breath clued him in on her reaction.

“It’s like something from a dream.”

He tried to see her through her eyes.
Cottonwoods formed a large fence to one side while steep cliffs rose up from the other. A waterfall from a natural spring seemed to come from the face of the rock as if brought by magic. The mist from the water often caught the rays from the sun, forming rainbows.

The banks of the crystal clear pool of water had smooth black boulders forming a nice area to sit and
bask in the sun. He removed the lunch from the basket while she stood completely mesmerized by the sight. He took his time, giving her a visual massage while she seemed to memorize everything from the sound of the birds in the trees to the chirping of the squirrels, and the sweet smell of wildflowers mixed with sage.

Some would call her view captivati
ng, but his was downright hypnotizing.

“I’m starving
, darlin’. If we don’t start eating soon, I’m gonna have to find something else to keep me occupied.”

She turned
, a smile knocking his whole world off-balance.

She’d never met a man quite like Clint. His eyes held a hunger like nothing she’d ever witnessed. It scared her but thrilled her in a way she couldn’t comprehend. A shiver ran through her body.

Her clothes were still damp from her earlier swim in the water trough. Clint’s clothes still molded to his body
, giving him the appearance of a sexy wet dog. She tried to hide her snort. Her gaze left him and drifted to the lunch spread out before her.

He really outdid himself. Fresh strawberries, grapes, and sliced apples sat in plastic containers on the left side of the blanket. On the right, several meaty sandwiches formed a pyramid of deliciousness. What surprised her most proved to be the bottle of white wine. He lifted a pair of plastic cups and grinned at her.

Closing the distance between them, she sat down beside him, unable to hide her amusement while he poured the wine into the flimsy red cup. It couldn’t be more perfect.

“It looks like today’s
gonna be a scorcher.”

“Yeah, I’m glad since I’m a little chilled.”

She couldn’t believe they were talking about the weather. She took the offered cup of wine and sipped it, hoping she wouldn’t be greeted by bitterness. Pleasantly surprised by the sweetness, she drank more eagerly.

“I wasn’t sure what you’d like to eat
.”

“Everything looks good. You did well.”

He seemed to bask in her praise. She plucked a grape from the bowl and loved the way the juices quelled her thirst. He just kept staring at her as if he couldn’t wait to see what she would do next.

“I’ve never brought anyone here before. It’s my sanctuary. I’m glad you like it.”

“Like is an understatement. I think it’s beautiful. I love it.”

He finished two sandwiches while she worked her way through the apple slices. She finished her cup of wine and gazed longingly at the water of the pool. Even though her c
lothes were only a little damp, she started to feel a little uncomfortable. The sun rested high in the sky beating warm rays down on them.

Reaching for a strawberry, she stopped when he placed his hand on hers.

“I would like to feed you, Alexandria. Will you allow it?”

The request seemed odd to her and a bit intimate. She knew male
predators took great pride in providing nourishment for their females, but she didn’t fall under the category of his.

He must have taken her silence as acceptance because he found the reddest, most perfect strawberry in the bowl and raised it to her lips.

“Close your eyes.”

Deciding to trust him, she did as he wanted. Waiting proved to be the hardest with temptation begging her to peek, but she resisted.

The scent of the fruit drifted closer. Then the tip of the berry traced a seductive path along her bottom lip. Her tongue slipped out to taste it, eliciting a growl from him.

“Open.”

Immediately she complied, lost in the sound of his drawl. She bit down, and the nectar filled her mouth. Never had anything tasted so decadent.

“
Mmm… thank you.”

Opening
her eyes, she found him finishing the remainder of his torture device. She wanted him to kiss her. Her breaths quickened while she fought her desire.

“You’re welcome. You have a little something on your lip.”

She’d heard of the trick before but if it meant he would kiss her, she’d play along.

“Here
?” Tracing her lip with her finger, she feigned innocence. “No, let me help you.”

She wanted to shout in triumph but stayed still.
Instead of his lips as she hoped, he brought his thumb up and brushed it against the corner of her mouth.

Frowning, she bit her lip to stop the sensation of his touch from re
aping any more havoc on her muddled mind.

“What’s the matter
, Little Cat?”

“I wanted—never mind.”

“Tell me what you want.”

Did she dare tell him the truth? Would it shock him? A little hurt by his rejection, she decided to let the proverbial cat out of the bag.

“Fine, you want to know what I want? I’ll tell you. I want you to quit playing games. I want to taste you on my lips after I make you come with only my mouth. I want you to fuck me so hard I forget my own name. I want to tremble while you tell me how good it feels to be inside me. I want to be yours, even if it’s just for little while.”

There
—she did it, surprising even herself. It felt good to have it all out in the open. But he said nothing. He didn’t do anything. He just sat there, fisting the blanket.

Done being humiliated, she shifted and ran. The way the earth felt beneath her paws made everything
seem okay. Like the world belonged to her. Nothing could catch her or hurt her. Being at the top of the food chain had its perks.

She came to a fork on the trail
. One way would lead back to main house but the other had too many unexplored possibilities.  So she took the path less traveled.

Letting her panther take the lead
, she lost herself to her senses. The smells were crisp and soothing, the sounds of the birds and little creatures scurrying around the plains floor made her feel at peace. They could tell she wasn’t hunting. So they carried on about their business and she hers.

The path led to a cabin with a porch swing.
She recognized it from the photo of a younger Jesse and Clint. It looked small and wholesome a lot like the one Kane blew up. It called to her. She shifted and sat down, giving a little push to send it in motion. Bringing her legs to her chest, she rested her chin on her knees, feeling sorry for herself.

She could smell Clint all over the swing. The scent was old
, but he probably came here often. Curiosity got the best of her. She got up and went to the front door. She knocked, trying to be polite, but just as she suspected it was empty. Opening the door, she smiled at the simplicity of the space.

A stone fireplace filled almost one whole side of the room
, a galley kitchen with just the basics sat on the other. No TV, just books served as the only entertainment. She passed through the room and opened the door to what she expected to be a bedroom. She was right. A king-sized bed with a simple quilt filled the small bedroom.

Emotionally
chilled to the bone, she desperately wanted a shower. Hopefully the little shack would prove to answer her silent plea. Opening one last door, she found her treasure.  A shower complete with clean, fluffy towels. She stripped without thinking and jumped in. The water proved to be hot and plentiful. Her thoughts stilled as she let the water wash away her worries.

Stepping out of the shower, Clint’s scent hit her hard. A strong spice mixed with the normal essence. She didn’t know what she
smelled until she opened the door and practically passed out from naked-sexy-wolf overload.

A fully erect male specimen covered half of the king
-sized bed. She had half the mind to drop her towel and make him howl at the moon, but her pride wouldn’t let her.

Recovering from the sight of his corded muscle
, washboard abs, and sex tattoos proved to be a daunting task. She managed, barely. She pretended he wasn’t there, no matter how much her mouth salivated from hunger or how her pussy wept for him. She would not give in. She told him what she wanted, and he didn’t say anything. Now he expected her to just be ready and willing like some horny goat for breeding. Not likely.

She dug through the dresser
, careful to keep her towel firmly in place. It formed a shield between them no matter how ridiculous it seemed. If she lost it she’d humiliate herself and beg him to take her over and over again.

She found a flannel shirt long enough to serve as a dress. If she hung up her cloth
es, they would dry, and she could leave.

“Alexandria.”

The way he said her name made her toes curl. She fisted the shirt in her hands and spun, retreating to the bathroom. She wanted to cry from frustration. Confusion reared its ugly head, pissing her off even more. Why the hell couldn’t thing be simple? People could meet. Express their interest and then part ways like a business arrangement, both getting something out of the deal with all the boundaries firmly drawn.

But real life wasn’t like that. It was complicated to the extreme. A woman’s mind would say one thing while her heart would say another. She hated that. She braced herself against the door
, trying to wade through all of her feelings.

She shouldn’t even be having feeling
s for Clint. They could never be anything permanent, not unless the queen showed up to save the day. That was another reason real life sucked. Happy endings were never given—they had to be earned through blood, sweat, and tears. Disney probably wouldn’t have sold so many movies if they used that as a slogan instead of Happily Ever After.

The best anyone could hope for w
as the fleeting moment of bliss, something temporary and precious. Her moment waited on a bed, outside her door. So she made a choice. The practical girl she pictured as her mind just got gagged, tied up with duct tape, and shoved in the trunk of a car by the irrational girl she thought of as her heart.

She opened the door and dropped her shield.

“This is how this is going to go. We both are going to get our itch scratched in many ways, but then we are done. I can’t worry about us when I have no idea where I am. Okay?”

His gaze trailed over her body
, lingering on the apex of her thighs. She sauntered closer to the bed easily within his reach and waited.

“Fine, but you will learn
who’s in control here, darlin’. One way or the other.”

She gasped whe
n he pulled her onto the bed. He flipped her onto her back and pinned her beneath him.  Leaning his head forward, he brushed his lips over hers. The touch was soft and gentle, but it shattered her. She dug her fingers into his sandy blond hair and pulled him closer. Her tongue forged its way past his lips to duel with his. She moaned at his addictive taste.

Her breasts pressed against his chest
, creating a delicious friction and making her nipples form hard peaks. She molded to his hardness. His hand explored the curve of her side while he ran one from her ribs to her hips around to her bottom. He pulled her up into him, rubbing his erection against her swollen clit.