NocC 023 - The Ancients 05 - Bonnie Vanak - Incubus Wolf - Harlequin 2012-09 (5 page)

Chapter 7

For the next two days, Alex managed to avoid Dominic as
she carefully planned his capture. He’d given her free rein of the lodge. So she
inventoried all the knives, tucking one into a homemade sheath strapped to her
arm inside her long-sleeved shirt.

It was already the fourth day and she was no closer to bringing
him in than before.

He’d promised to return with her after they had sex, and broke
that promise. Like he’d broken his promise to return for her. He’d always break
promises.

She couldn’t trust him.

It was nearly dinner. She had to act now, before the pack came
in from tending to the livestock and the garden.

Alex went into the kitchen, rubbing her cheeks. A chill ran
through her at the coldness of what she planned.

Alive… or dead.

Bringing him in alive to the wizard proved impossible. He was
too clever and powerful.

She could not kill him either. But if she disabled him, enough
to drag him out of here…

In the kitchen, she bit into an apple, relishing the hard
crunch, the juice on her tongue. She moaned loudly in sheer enjoyment.

Knowing he listened.

A hand removed the apple from her grasp and set it down.
Dressed in a tight black shirt that molded to his muscular chest and jeans that
hugged his taut ass and cupped his sex, Dominic looked sexy enough to eat.

Alex’s heart skipped a beat at his smoldering look.

“Tempting me with an apple, my lovely Alexandra?”

Licking her lips, she watched his eyes widen as he tracked each
movement of her tongue. “I was hungry… perhaps you have something else in
mind?”

Alex unfastened the two top buttons of her shirt, feeling the
heat flare between them.

Dominic unbuttoned the plain navy flannel shirt and slowly drew
it off her. His eyes widened.

Beneath the shirt she wore the pink silk camisole.

“Sweet. I do adore the color pink,” he murmured.

He moved closer, his gaze intent on her mouth. Alex shivered.
Now. She could not allow this wolf to seduce her. He’d gain all the power and
she’d be left… crippled. Emotionally and physically.

The thought gave her strength as he lowered his head, his mouth
on hers. The kiss was warm, authoritative and demanding. Alex’s fingers glided
over the smooth handle of the knife tucked into her sleeve.

Got it.

He cupped her face, kissing her with avid hunger, his tongue
sweeping inside her mouth. Long, slow strokes that aroused every nerve ending.
Oh, this was bad, she wanted him all over again, craved his touch. Alex fought
to maintain her composure, her wits, in the sensual tide of pleasure. Sliding
the knife into her hand, she raised it.

I’m sorry, she thought, in a moment of pure sorrow. Her hand
quivered in the air.

I can’t do this.

Dominic seized her hand, never breaking the kiss. He drew back,
his mouth red and wet. Oh hell. His savage expression warned payback was going
to be a real bitch.

Sunlight winked on the shiny blade as he forced her to drop the
knife on the counter.

“You like to play dangerously, Alex. A knife in the back is not
fair.”

Her heart pounded hard, loud enough for his sensitive wolf’s
hearing. “You’d heal, after I brought you in. And nothing in life is fair.”

A faint vulnerability shadowed his eyes. He cupped her face,
his blue gaze intent and fierce. “Yes, you’re right. But you will learn that
some, like me, aren’t out to hurt you.”

But he could. Dominic Farrell could hurt her, badly, even worse
than others had. “You have an eloquent tongue, wolf. In more ways than one.”

Cocking his head, he considered her. “I’ve got a better game in
mind. A much fairer game. Winner takes all.” His eyes narrowed at her. “Or are
you afraid of the challenge and that I’ll beat you?”

“I always win.” Her heart pounded, and she wished she could
calm the frantic beat. She always won after what her stepfather had done,
because she wouldn’t ever put herself in a position to lose again.

He picked up the knife and clasped her wrist. “Come.”

“Where are we going?” Fear stroked her spine as he led her out
of the kitchen to a small landing and touched a light switch. He tugged her down
a set of steep stairs.

Oh no. Not this place—a place where she would lose her very
self.

The basement…

She tried to yank free, but his grip was iron. At the bottom
step, he turned and commented. “The den of my inequity. I know you’ve heard
about the rumors.”

Alex stared in bemusement.

The basement was lined with dark-paneled wood and looked
ordinary, with comfortable furniture arranged around a large, flat-screen
television. A polished mahogany bar with a rack of wineglasses sat in the
corner.

The only unusual display was a wall covered with gilt framed
photographs. She went to examine them and reeled back with a horrified gasp.
Michael, with his torn eye socket. A terrified Carla, thin and desperate. And
all the others looked wretched and thin. Some were scary. Others simply
haunted.

Dominic stood next to her.

“It’s my people, all of them, as they came to me. I framed
their photos so they would see themselves as they once were and not be ashamed.
Because there is nothing to be ashamed of.” With the knife’s tip, he tapped the
photograph of Carla. “I did it as a means to honor them and their scars, and
what strength those scars represent.”

Alex touched her cheeks with trembling fingers. “Did it
work?”

He watched her with a hooded gaze. “For some, yes. A few left,
unable to bear the sight of themselves.”

He gestured to a row of framed photographs of women. Some were
breathtakingly lovely, a few others homely and scarred. “These women all left…
even though I tried to convince them to stay.”

It was as if he pointed to a photo of her, and her own internal
longings were reflected in the haunted eyes of each woman in the photographs. A
heartbeat of silence passed. She wanted to trust him, and open to him as she’d
never done before.

She could not.

“What’s this all about, wolf? Why did you really bring me down
here?”

At her blunt tone, Dominic’s expression shifted. For a moment
she thought she’d seen fleeting hope there. Then it vanished.

Beneath her bare feet, the soft wool carpeting felt lush and
seductive. Dominic pointed to the floor with the knife and went behind the
bar.

“There. I challenge you to a wrestling match. If you win, you
march me back to the Society in triumph, in these…”

He reached behind the bar and set a pair of steel handcuffs on
the counter.

“So that’s where you keep all the toys. And what do you get if
you win?”

“I get to tie you to the bed and do whatever I please.” A
wicked smile, filled with promise.

“Fine.” She could deal. Alex had bested the Society’s strongest
hunter. “When do we start?”

“Now.”

With a graceful move, he vaulted over the bar. Dominic moved so
swiftly that he pinned her beneath him before she drew her next breath.

Lying limp, she waited for him to react. Then she brought her
knees up and slammed them into his butt. He rolled gracefully, freeing her.

The hot look in his eyes warned her. He was toying with
her.

Anger became a hot blade. Alex spied the knife lying on the
counter, grabbed it and rushed him. He sidestepped and tackled her, pinning her
yet again.

This time, his muscled weight held her down and he forced the
knife out of her hand.

Panic clogged her throat. She hated being helpless. Memories
surged of Edwards, her stepfather, tying her to the table, the flaring pain as
she slowly gained consciousness and saw the colony’s Enforcer with the needle
hovering over her face.

“You don’t like to lose control, do you?” he asked softly. “But
you will learn with me that surrender doesn’t mean giving up. It only means
giving in to your greatest desires. I would never hurt you, Alex, not in a way
that would cause you anything but pleasure.”

“I can best you, wolf.”

“Perhaps. But I’m not returning to prison, not at your hands or
anyone else’s.”

“I had sex with you.” Panting, she tried to free herself.

“Sex,” he agreed. “I said making love and there’s a difference.
Making love is with your heart and emotions, not merely giving me your body. I
want all of you, Alex. Including that part you hide from the world.”

He rose off her body. “Two minutes. I win.”

Shaken, she stood, wondering what he wanted. She watched as he
went to the far wall. He pressed a button and a dark panel slid back.

His gaze glittered fiercely as he turned to her. “It’s
time.”

A huge bed dominated the space. White candles lined a mirrored
credenza by the far wall. She expected whips, chains, leather hanging from pegs
on the walls, but instead she saw only mirrors.

“Kinky,” she murmured in appreciation as he took a box of
matches and began lighting the candles. Alex glanced up at the mirrored ceiling.
“Seems like a little too much vanity, even for you, wolf.”

“It’s not for me.”

Dominic opened a drawer and withdrew four pink velvet ropes. He
gave a small smile. “I told you, my favorite color. Get undressed and lie on the
bed.”

Memories lashed her with cruel vividness. Tied up and helpless
to the table as Edwards had watched the artist slice her tender flesh… Alex
shook her head, fear cutting through her as she gazed around the room, half
expecting a tray of sharp instruments.

“I can’t do this.”

“You will. I won’t hurt you.” His gaze turned fierce. “I know
trusting me is hard. So trust yourself, your instincts.”

Alex closed her eyes, using all her honed hunting instincts.
The scent of cinnamon, honey and sex. The quiet flicker of candles. A taste of
wild pleasure and abandonment. Nothing cruel or evil or painful.

Her eyes flew open to regard Dominic, still standing quietly
with the ropes in hand. Gone was the sensual cruelty she’d witnessed earlier.
Instead he looked watchful.

Trust your instincts. Alex undressed, climbed onto the bed and
lay on her back.

He bound her wrists with rope and tied them to the bedposts,
doing the same to her feet. She was outstretched, her limbs spread wide open,
her sex exposed.

His to do with whatever he pleased. Alex fought against the
tiny fear prodding the edges of her mind.

Dominic shed his clothing and stood before her, muscles
gleaming in the candlelight. Sensual anticipation chased away fear as he
remained motionless, allowing her to look her fill.

She studied the bristles shadowing his jaw, muscles rippling
beneath his flawless skin, the hard curve of his shoulder, the muscled contour
of his long limbs.

A pulse jumped madly at his throat. He smelled of sex and long,
dark nights spent tangled in passion, where he’d made women moan and cry with
pleasure.

Expression fierce with intent, he joined her. Dominic knelt
between her outstretched thighs. Never had she felt more vulnerable and exposed.
But his gaze gleamed with appreciation as he studied her.

He slid down her body, kissing her belly, laving his tongue
inside the indent of her navel. The sweep of his tongue felt like wet, rough
velvet. Then he settled between her thighs.

“Relax,” he murmured. “Let go of all your fears and
inhibitions. Trust me.”

He parted her soaked folds and then dipped his head. A hot
stroke of wet velvet between her legs. The first lick of his wicked tongue made
her gasp. And then she started to moan.

Each seductive sweep over her folds had her writhing, helpless
to resist the carnal pleasure. When he swept his tongue over her clit, she cried
out.

Then he bit very lightly.

She screamed.

He suckled and licked, coaxing out the rich scent of her own
salty arousal.

Dominic slid a finger inside her, very slowly, testing her
inner passage. The delicate tissues clenched around him. He lifted his head.
Fire danced inside his irises, turning them dark as sin. Alex squirmed,
desperately needing his mouth again.

“One finger,” he said softly. “You’re very tight. You’re almost
ready for me, sweetheart. Ready for my cock. I’m going to drive hard and fast
into you until you beg me to stop. Or not.”

The sweep of his tongue once more, licking and suckling her as
he slid a second finger inside her, stretching her open.

Alex arched back, her body taut at the ropes holding her
prisoner. Moisture wept from her as his fingers moved deep into her passage.
Pleasure built higher and higher. A loud sob wrenched from her throat as he
found a spot and stroked. She screamed.

“Yes,” he murmured with satisfaction.

Dominic pressed down. Hot pleasure exploded in her loins. The
orgasm wrung tears from her eyes, her inner tissues squeezing him tightly as she
writhed.

“Good girl,” he crooned.

She watched, eyes heavy-lidded as he brought his fingers to his
mouth, licked them slowly. “You taste delicious. I think you’re ready for my
cock now.”

A smile curved his mouth. “Or not. Let’s try for two.”

The beast. He slid two fingers deep inside her again,
withdrawing them slowly. Circling her clit with his thumb. Her body jerked
against the rope.

He leaned closer, his eyes blazing. “How bad do you want
it?”

Wordlessly, she gulped air as she closed her eyes. Tension
coiled inside her until she wanted to beg. She, who had remained mute during her
tribal tattooing, was ready to beg this man to take her.

“Please,” she begged, her hips pumping. Desire became a
relentless master, driving her to wild excess.

“I smell your arousal, Alexandra. I want to lick and suck you
again and make you come again and again.”

Squirming as his fingers stroked harder, she dug her heels into
the soft mattress.