In a Dark Embrace (3 page)

Jeremy stirred and she put a hand on his bare shoulder. The sleep suggestion would not hold him if he really was ready to wake up but it would smooth out the disturbance caused by her getting out of bed. She didn’t want to wake him. There were some things she needed to do before she greeted him this morning. Lee looked at the sun pouring in through the crack between the curtains. More likely it was afternoon already. Jeremy had taken his promise to fuck her all night very seriously. The darkness had definitely been lifting by the time they’d curled around each other and fallen asleep.

She slipped out of bed and padded naked to the washroom down the hall. Lee saw the wet towels lying on the bathroom floor and smiled. They’d taken a shower together and it had been wonderful, slippery fun. Being fucked under a stream of hot water by a tall, incredibly gorgeous guy was one of her favorite sexual fantasies. Jeremy had fulfilled that particular wet dream and then some.

After using the facilities and cleaning her teeth as best she could with only toothpaste and her finger, Lee found her way to the kitchen. She didn’t bother with any of the appliances, not even the coffeemaker. The kitchen door led into the backyard. She was about to step outside when she remembered that she was naked. Jeremy lived in a fairly rural area and the houses were far apart but still, it probably wouldn’t be the best way to meet any neighbors. She went back down the hallway and found the linen closet. A big blue towel made a decent wrap.

There was a concrete patio with a white plastic table and four chairs. A barbeque was tucked up against the house. She walked off the edge of the patio and her bare feet touched the soil. She stopped and closed her eyes. Centering herself, she cast a line of will into the ground.

“Mother Earth, make my body as strong as your mountains, my mind as clear as your waters, my spirit as light as your air.”

It was a simple spell meant to ease a tired or overworked body. As usual, however, Lee felt a strong pulse of power flow into her. It wiped her clean—the aches, the tiredness and any traces of a bad mood were all gone in a flash. Earth magic was her core power and when she called it answered, sometimes with more force than was absolutely necessary. Spirit was her secondary power. Which was why she needed to touch a person before delving into their minds. A true spirit witch, like her mother, could do that at a distance. Lee preferred her set of talents. She really didn’t like to hear other people’s thoughts, reading their emotions was generally enough and it left them with some privacy.

She took in a breath and let it out slowly, allowing herself to merge with the deep, ponderous beat of the world. Whenever she rested there Lee felt like an elemental power. The ability to open the ground in gaping cracks, to pull down mountains or heave up rock lay within her. She’d never done anything so dramatic but knew in her bones that she could. If there was ever a need the talent and strength were there.

Lee couldn’t imagine being called on to use her full power. The minor spellwork was enough—statue spell, healing spell, soil enrichment, search spells, things like that. Search spells were particularly useful. She could find anything buried in the ground. If she ever got tired of the counseling gig Lee figured she’d become a geologist. Finding gold or oil under solid rock was child’s play for her.

Opening her eyes and drawing her senses back into herself, Lee took an appreciative look around. The lawn surrounding the small house was neatly mowed and trimmed. Jeremy’s property stretched back in a long rectangle. The majority of the backyard was untamed—trees, brush and blackberry bushes. It suited him. She could see him sneaking out at night and hiding in the trees to strip and change into his wolf form. Thinking about Jeremy naked sent a tremor of excitement through her body. He was still in bed, waiting for her. Lee smirked and went inside.

She leaned on the bedroom door and just watched him sleep. He’d rolled onto his back and the blanket had slipped down around his hips. She admired the well-muscled arms. His shoulders were nice but he wasn’t as broad across the chest as some of the men she’d dated. Jeremy was long and lean, sinewy rather than beefy. He was probably six-two, a good foot taller than she was. A dark shadow had grown around his chin and mouth. The stubble added a rough edge to otherwise too-perfect good looks.

How did a gorgeous hunk like this not have a girlfriend? Lee looked curiously around the bedroom. There had been no signs of another woman in his bathroom, no second toothbrush, no stray blonde hairs. There hadn’t been any pangs of guilt last night either, nothing which indicated he was cheating on someone. Of course some guys were capable of two-timing without it even registering. Still, it really looked like he was unclaimed territory.

She walked over to the bed and knelt on the mattress next to him. Then she leaned over and, holding her mouth just over his left nipple, sent a puff of hot breath onto his skin. Her tongue flicked out and traced the ridges that were already forming. She brought down the pressure of her lips and teeth, sucked and tongued the nipple for a few seconds. Her hands ran down his chest and stopped at his hipbones. His breathing had accelerated but he still seemed to be asleep. She began to track kisses downward. By the time she got to his cock it was swelling but not yet fully rigid. It hardened under her hot breath and teasing licks. When she took one of his balls in her mouth he groaned and a hand reached up to cup the back of her head.

Lee took her time, playing with his balls then nuzzling the sensitive spot under his penis. A long, wet lick up to the tip of his shaft and she took him inside her mouth. She swirled her tongue around the swollen cap and heard him make a strangled sound. Lee lifted her head and smiled up at him.

“Did I wake you? So sorry, darling.” Her voice dripped with insincere solicitousness.

“The hell you are,” he snarled and pulled her up to his side. “And neither am I. Anytime you want to wake me by sucking on my cock you go right ahead.” He rolled onto her, pining her to the bed and kissed her fiercely. Then eased off and playfully teased her lips as he talked. “You have a fantastic mouth. Lips that drive a man to distraction just wanting to nibble on them. An acrobatic tongue that should be labeled a dangerous weapon. And you taste like honeyed wine, sweet and heady. Intoxicating. I could kiss you all day.”

“As long as you’re prepared to let the rest of your body in on the act I might just let you.” She was already hot and wet for him, wanting him inside her.

Jeremy shifted. “Roll over,” he commanded and flipped her onto her stomach. “I love this perfect ass of yours.” He squeezed her buttocks with a strong hand then slid long fingers down between her thighs and drove into her cunt. She could feel his excitement at the welcome her body offered him. “So wet already. You want this bad, don’t you?”

“Hell yes. I want you. Your cock, not your fingers.”

“You’re not sore from last night? I thought I’d left more than one bruise on your body and scraped you pretty raw inside.”

“I’m a witch. I healed myself. Please, Jeremy. Now. I know how much you want to fuck me.” She moved her legs farther apart and tilted her ass up slightly, inviting him in.

He laughed and mounted her from behind, pushing her down into the mattress. She grunted with the force of his thrust. Jeremy did not like to go in slowly. She slipped her fists under her hips to brace them up. The sheets pressed against her open mouth as she panted and moaned under him. He kept most of his weight on his arms, like he was doing pushups over her body. Each lowering was combined with a powerful drive of his hips, plunging deep into her and then pulling out. She was losing control, slipping into the blackness of raving ecstasy. Lee knew she sounded like a wild animal when she climaxed, knew that Jeremy was thrilled by the noise. She let herself go and screamed into the sheets.

Jeremy stopped moving. His breathing was ragged but he held on to control. He pulled out and she whimpered at the loss. He lay down on his side next to her. She rolled over and fit herself tightly up against his chest, throwing one leg over his hips and trying to take him into her again. His hands cupped her face and he kissed her deeply.

“Give me a minute, little witch. Or I’ll come and it will all be over.”

“For about twenty minutes. I know that by now,” she said.

“I don’t want to wait twenty minutes. I want to go on fucking you for an hour.”

“You won’t last an hour.”

Jeremy sighed but there was a smile in his eyes. “No. I won’t. Not with you.”

He lifted up his hips and let her leg slide underneath him. Now she could bring herself properly over his cock and force him inside again. She shuddered as the length of him filled her and gazed hungrily into his piercing blue eyes. An answering hunger transformed his smile into a snarling mask of barely restrained lust. Lying side by side as they were restricted their movements somewhat but made the experience more intimate.

“That feels so good.” Lee leaned back and braced herself against the headboard. “Do what you want to do, my sexy wolf. Fuck me hard.”

He started to move with deliberate slowness but couldn’t hold on to the restraint as she writhed against him. With a growl he grabbed her hips and stabbed his throbbing cock into her.

“Damn impatient witch. You deserve this. I’ll fuck you ‘til you break apart.”

His swirled with angry passion. The grip of his hands tightened and his deep, penetrating thrusts sent jabs of pleasure tinged with pain into her. She felt his thrill at being able to unleash the fury of his rabid sexual appetite on her. She liked it rough. Sweet, thoughtful men didn’t last long in her bed. Jeremy’s wildness, his hunger and power, created an inferno of panting desire in her. She responded to his physical and emotional storm by joining her voice to his escalating cries. They climaxed together in noisy dissonance.

Lee shook out her hands, loosening the tight wrists that had been banging into the headboard. “Good thing you don’t have neighbors close by. We couldn’t do that at my place. One side would be phoning the police and the other would be calling the filmmakers.”

His eyebrows shot up. “You mean you can be quiet?”

“Well…quieter,” she admitted ruefully.

“Fine. Noisy sex at my place or out in the woods and I’ll bring a gag when I visit your place.”

She chuckled. “Bring your handcuffs too and we can do the bondage thing properly.”

His eyes lit up and she suddenly wondered how smart it was to have offered that. The idea of letting him handcuff her to the big four-poster bed sent a shiver of both fear and desire through her.

“You’re full of surprises,” he murmured and casually wrapped his hands around her throat. His thumbs caressed the soft skin under her chin. “It usually takes weeks before a woman trusts me enough to let me tie her up. If they ever trust me that much…” He bent his head and she felt his teeth gripping her throat.

Her breath caught. Just when she started to treat him like a normal guy he did something that forcefully reminded her how dangerous he was. It wasn’t just the feeling of his strong hands and teeth on her throat either. It was the demanding possessiveness that roared inside him. He wanted to mark her as his. Lee wasn’t used to being overpowered nor did she like being thought of as some guy’s possession. A spark of anger ignited in her and she sent a tiny zap of panic into him. Jeremy pulled back as if he’d been burned. He stared at her. His eyes narrowed.

“You did that,” he accused.

“One menacing act deserves another,” she said levelly and held his gaze.

Slowly, he smiled. “I’ll remember that.”

Other than the mild surprise her show of power didn’t seem to bother him at all. He was pleased about it actually. Her back stiffened. She should have hit him with more than the merest whisper of her power. Touching as they were, she could invade his mind and unleash the terror of his own worst nightmares. Physically she was no match for him but in other ways she was the stronger. As long as he gave her enough time to marshal her mental forces she was sure she could win any contest. But he was fast and her desire made her vulnerable in his presence. The truth was that they were both playing a risky game with a stranger. At least she knew of her danger.

“You have no idea what I can do, Jeremy. Test me and you’ll get more than a quick shot of fear.”

It wasn’t meant as a threat, just a friendly warning but a subvocal growl came from him. The hairs on the back of her neck lifted. She shifted away from him and sat up in the bed.

He glared at her. “I won’t jump in surprise next time, little witch.”

“And I won’t lob you a softball next time, my pretty werewolf,” she shot back at him. Then she sighed and put on her serious but nonconfrontational therapist expression. “Look. I know you can kill me. What you don’t seem to get is that I can kill you as well. Although I’m much more likely to make you wish you were dead. Understand? I’m not like anyone you’ve ever met. I won’t be cowed. You can’t dominate me. Don’t try or you’ll regret it.”

He sat up as well and looked intently at her for a long minute. “I know you’re not like anyone I’ve ever met. Do you have any idea how wonderful that is…how fucking glorious it feels to be with someone who isn’t afraid of me? No one has ever responded to my growl by looking me in the eyes and telling me off. Except another werewolf. But they’re all men so I don’t get the same kick out of it. You…are amazing.”

“Thank you.” She was surprised by the smug satisfaction she got out of hearing his praise. No other woman could accept the dark side of him the way she could. That certainly was true. “I imagine you have to rein yourself in pretty tight with other women. Just like I do with other men.” She felt him tense up at the mention of other men. “And even then they probably bare their throats to you and go all submissive in response to your domineering presence.”

Jeremy snorted. “I attract two types—those who want me to step on them and those who dare me to but then run away as soon as they get a glimpse of what I can be.” He studied her carefully. “I used to go for the second type and try hard to make their defiance last as long as possible. Eight months. The longest lasted eight months.” He paused and his face hardened. “Lately I’ve been following my dad’s advice. Fuck ‘em and leave ‘em. Plenty of women waiting in the dark.”