McQuade: The Lone Wolf Takes A Mate (14 page)

The burning inside her grew,
beginning low in her belly and spreading out to each limb with every tug of his mouth. His mouth increased its pace, lathing and sucking each nipple in turn then nipping the hardened nubs with his sharp teeth. The pleasure and the pain combined to take her closer and closer to the edge. She needed to come.

“Fuck me, McQuade.” Her hands pulled at him.
Her earthy words should have shocked her. His harsh laugh at her crude words excited her even more. “I need you inside of me now.”

He entered her in a single
, deep thrust. “I could fuck you for an eternity and not get enough.”

Her heart tripped at his words and s
he wrapped her legs around his waist, silently asking for everything he had to give. It was a heady feeling to know his fever burned as hot as hers.

Their joining was not leisurely as his kisses had been. Instead, it was dominating, almost brutal as he banged her relentlessly. The wildness in him, the out-of-control animalist taking called to something primitive in her. She rose to meet each thrust, relishing every stroke, each brush of his hard body against her softness. With a mewling cry, she fell over the edge, clinging to him, riding his dick as her orgasm went on and on.

“Yeah, baby, oh yeah. Fuck my big dick.” McQuade rammed himself into her several more times, spurting his seed in a jaw-clenching climax.

They lay together, spent, their breathing heavy and limbs shaking. After several minutes, McQuade kissed the top of her head, moving away from her reluctantl
y. “I’ve got to get up, baby. I need to get a shower. I’d ask you to join me but then I’d be even later than I already am.”

When she heard the shower come on,
Rose got up too, even though she wanted nothing more than to lie in the big bed, snuggling in the torn sheets that held McQuade’s scent. Their scent. Since the amount of sexy underwear  she owned was limited–try didn’t have any at all– she opted to borrow one of McQuade’s many t-shirts. Even though she was big, his shirt covered her ample curves with room to spare.

Padding barefoot to the
window, she looked out at the scene below. She couldn’t imagine a lovelier setting. The same granite topped mountain peaks she’d seen on the way here seemed closer viewed from McQuade’s second story bedroom. They’d be beautiful in the winter, capped with a layer of snow. Straggly pines crept up the lower ridges to form a thick timberline below the jutting peaks. She thought she saw a ribbon of water winking in the fading light of the sun but it could be just a reflection. There was a small clearing around the house, but not much. The rest of the area was thick forest with a mixture of several species of trees, maple, oak, and pine being the most abundant. What would it feel like to be able to run through the dense forest as fast as McQuade and Briggs? To lose yourself in the wildness of your surroundings yet know you could always find your way home?

“Why didn’t you stay in bed?”

Again, he’d managed to come up behind her silently. She could feel his heat against her back even though several inches separated them. She knew it was a wolf thing. When she’d been chilled to the bone from the drenching rain the night he rescued her from the bar, he’d proven better than an electric blanket at warming her up.

Of course, from the moment she’d laid eyes on him, she’d known h
e was one hot wolf.

A grin curled up the corners of her mouth. He was hot in
so many ways.

His large calloused hands settled on her shoulders pulling her back against him. Eve
n though they had just had sex—and great sex it had been—his shaft was still semi-hard. Could he possibly want her that much? That often?

“I’ve called Briggs and he’ll be over as soon as he can.
” He rested his chin on top of her head. “I would stay, love, but I really need to go.”

Rose could tell he was torn between fulfilling his
responsibilities and staying here with her. It warmed her heart to know he was concerned about her safety. No one had looked after her since her parents had passed away. She turned around in his arms, snaking her hands up his bare chest, his well-formed pectoral muscles, trailing her fingers across the tattoo that started on his left shoulder and ended right above his elbow. She’d never been attracted to men with tattoos, but the spiraling ink that formed the wolf pack chasing up his arm only made him hotter.

The towel-dried
hair on his head was still damp, falling in thick strands over his forehead. The sides were cut short, high and tight she’d heard someone once describe the military cut. She brushed the longer strands away from his eyes, breathing in the clean, fresh scent of the man and the heavier, woodsy scent of the wolf. Under both was the faint essence of pure, basic lust. A scent no doubt rolling off her in waves. She wanted him again. Oh, how she wanted.

He lowered his head to kiss her, presenting his tongue at the parted opening of her mouth. She gave him permission to enter,
eagerly accepting the slide of his tongue over hers. They both groaned as the kiss deepened. Rose’s heart pounded so hard she half expected it to burst through her chest. The familiar weakness invaded her limbs and her breasts grew heavy. Her hunger for him was out of control. She didn’t think she would ever get enough of this man. This wolf.

He pulled back, breaking the kiss and
cool air floated across her wet lips, making them tingle. There was a look of worry in his eyes as his gaze ran over her, from her uncombed hair to the flash of bare leg below the hem of his shirt. She knew she didn’t look her best, wasn’t the fashionably thin woman most men wanted, but the worried look in his eyes made her feel special just the same.

“I’
ll be fine,” she said, her hands caressing the taunt skin and soft chest hair beneath her fingertips. “How much safer could I be? I’m in the middle of pack territory and no one knows I’m here.”

McQuade
hoped that was true. He didn’t think any of the shifters at the bar that night had known what pack he belonged to, but they only had to ask around, ask about the Crater Moon pack. They were the biggest around. And the lion shifter was beyond bold. Every shifter in that bar had known McQuade was making a claim but the shit had dared to come after Rose anyway. Damn. He didn’t like leaving her for a minute even with Briggs nearby. No one messed with his mate. No one.

Sliding his
hands down her sides, he relished the feel of her lush curves under his palms. He stroked higher, finding the undersides of her breasts. He had made her come using only his mouth on those perfect peaks.

He gathered her close, pinning her against the
length of his erection. One hand fanned along the curve of her hips, the tips of his strong fingers grazing the bare skin of her left buttock under the tail of his shirt. He wanted her here, in his bedroom, wearing his clothes. Or nothing at all. And he wanted her…

Forever
. The word whispered through his mind and his wolf howled in agreement.

He grasped the back of her head, pulling at
her hair to arch her closer. “One more taste, Rose,” he rasped. She opened for him willingly, welcoming him inside. He stroked his tongue along the edges of her teeth before plunging into her deeply. She sucked hard at his tongue, using every lesson she’d learned at his hands. His kiss was neither sweet nor gentle. It was as hot as a branding iron and equally as hard.

When their lips parted they both struggled to bring their
rapid breathing under control.

“I need to leave.”

“So you say,” she whispered from the crook of his arm as his gaze ran slowly over her long, loose hair before returning to her eyes. They were half closed, slumberous with a desire she couldn’t hide.

“You’re making this incredibly hard.”

“I know,” she giggled, pressing against his rather impressive erection.

Smiling, h
e kissed her forehead than stepped back, holding her a second until he was sure she could stand on her own. His felt like Briggs had just knocked his knees out from under him in a training session.

“
Briggs will be here soon. I’ve got to get ready.”

Walking a
way from her, not giving into the urge—the savage need—to throw her on the bed and have her one more time, was one of the hardest things he had ever done in his life. He’d never wanted like this before. She was a fever in his blood.

Pulling
a shirt from the same drawer she’d grabbed hers, he tugged it over his head then combed his hair back with his fingers.

“He’ll be coming in wolf form so
I’ll leave a change of clothes for him on the porch. Do not, and I repeat, do not open that door until he is fully dressed.” He glared at her in warning.

She smiled her beautiful smile and his heart turned over
as his wolf sat up and grinned back.

“Are you afraid I migh
t make a comparison, mister lone wolf? Of course, in my apartment I really didn’t get to see his–”

In two swift strides, he was in front of her, his mouth covering hers as he took the rest of her words. T
he pressure of her abundant curves against him produced a sweet ache that was becoming painfully familiar. He lifted his head, staring at her kiss-swollen lips. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Okay,” she smiled against his lips as he continued to press kisses against her mouth, appearing as reluctant to leave as she was to have him leave.

McQuade turned, grabbing the change of clothes he’d pulled out for Briggs and strode out of the bedroom. Away from temptation. Away from Rose.

*****

The night was interminable. This was the beginning of her three days off and the first day she’d been alone in the evening without McQuade. For the past four days she’d worked every day, driving herself back and forth to work in McQuade’s huge SUV. She’d been terrified to drive it, almost opting to have him pick her up on his Harley after work every day. It was the first time she’d been alone since the attack by the lion. Well, she wasn’t truly alone. Briggs was here. She’d had someone watching her twenty-four/seven since the attack. McQuade probably thought she hadn’t spotted the wolves running alongside her vehicle every morning and every evening. Nor, that she’d quickly figured out he’d spoken to the janitor and guards at the hospital about walking her to her car after each of her shifts.

Rose jumped when her phone made a sound she had never heard. “What the heck is that?”

“I changed your ringtone,” Briggs said from his seat at the kitchen counter. He was enjoying the last of the chocolate cake. She’d never seen two men who could eat so much and still look so damn sexy. What she wouldn’t give for a wolf’s metabolism.

“Do you like it?”

Her phone now played
L'il Red Riding Hood
by Sam The Sham and The Pharaohs.

“You’ve got a weird sense of humor, Briggs.” She still didn’t know his first name. McQuade had just laughed when she’d asked.
She opened her phone to discover Alice was calling. She sighed; she really didn’t want to talk to her.

“Where are you?
” her sister demanded as soon as she answered the phone.

“Hello
to you, too, Alice. How are you?”

“Listen Rose, I don’t have time for chit chat. I need your necklace and I need it now.”

Rose winched at the strident sound of Alice’s voice and glanced quickly at Briggs. How well did shifters hear? He didn’t appear to be paying any attention to her phone call, concentrating on consuming the last few crumbs of the chocolate cake.

“I’ve told you before Alice,
I’m not giving you the necklace. I don’t even know why you want it. It’s just a gold chain with a prism.”

“
You silly bitch, that prism you’ve always fawned over is a diamond. I’m tired of trying to get it. Give it to me.”

Rose
was shocked at what Alice had revealed. Was the necklace really that valuable? Rose really didn’t care about its monetary value. It was the last thing she had that connected her with her parents. Her childhood might not have been the greatest with a bitchy older sister, but she knew her parents had loved her. Did she need a diamond and piece of gold to help her remember? She knew when she walked out of McQuade’s live she’d have nothing tangible to take with her and her memories of her time with him would be as a strong in fifty years as they were at this very moment.

“Okay. You can have it.”

Alice laughed. “I knew you’d give it to me. Now be a good girl and bring it to the bar.”

“What!” Her
exclamation had Briggs’ head lifting from his treat. Rose turned her back and lowered her voice. “I’m never going to the bar again, Alice. One of those shifters attacked me the other day.”

She heard what she thought was shuffling in the background. Was Alice carrying on this conversation on the dance floor?

“Oh, come on, Rose. I’m sure that’s not what happened. I’m sure the lion just made a pass at you. Why I don’t know, but some shifters have no standards.”

Rose froze, th
e hurt at her sister’s jab overridden by a more treacherous thought. How had her sister known it was a lion shifter?