The Ring Bearer (13 page)

He resisted the temptation to repeat their passed encounters, and laid her down beneath him. Her body seemed even smaller beneath him. He pulled her top off and pinned her arms, while he explored her breasts with his mouth. He wasn’t one for bondage play, but this particular encounter was bringing out her claws, as it were.

He kissed down her stomach and released her to remove her pants. He was tempted to offer her another check mark on her sexual experiences, but he decided to save that for a special occasion like a fine bottle of wine.  

She frantically assisted him in removing his pants. He intentionally made her wait to slow down the experience. The first two times were over much too fast, even by a man’s standards. He wanted more than a quick fix. He never wanted more than that, but this time he did. None of it made sense to him in his head, but everything about it made sense to his body.

By the time he took her, a gasp of pleasure and relief was shared between them. He wondered if she had been hoping for this despite her trepidations about being in a relationship with him.

Contrary to her shyness about kissing, she had no qualms about asking for what she wanted. He kept a slow rhythm, letting her beg for the speed that she thought she wanted. She had let him hang on her hook for three months without a release in sight. He didn’t feel the least bit guilty about the pleasure he received from hearing her plead for him to alleviate
her
hunger. 

Her hands grappled at him demanding more. She dug her fingernails into his back and he made a mental note to clip them before round two. Finally, obliging her request he pushed her over the edge with ease, and he followed just behind her.

Panting against her he almost wanted to cry. It was a strange feeling, out of place and unwanted, but somehow he knew he really did need her, not just want her. He could feel himself shaking, as he endeavored not to be overcome with sentiment. Nevia touched his shoulder either questioning his state of mind, or simply willing him to dismount, but he didn’t respond to either. Instead he pushed against her short and quick, sending her already primed body into another climax.

When he had calmed enough to look at her, he found the same impending doom mirrored in her eyes. In another twenty minutes he would have her again, and maybe even twenty minutes after that, but it wouldn’t be enough. He wasn’t going to tire of her, and somewhere in the middle of the afternoon, wet with sex, she would give up fighting her attraction to him and give herself to him completely. That offering alone scared the crap out of him, because he knew it meant that he would offer himself right back. They would be in a relationship.

They were so screwed.

19

Cori was surprised at how quickly the day had gone by. She could already see the dimming light outside the high windows. If she weren’t currently being held against her will, she might have been heading home to make supper.

When she heard footsteps in the hall, she rejoiced with the hope that Ethan had come by to update her and give her a good night kiss before heading home himself. Her disappointment could not have been higher when she reached the door and found Leona approaching.

“Leona,” she said with her mixed feelings bleeding into her voice.

“Cori,” she said with a wink as she approached. She was alone. Her children were no doubt with their auntie Frederique or one of the other fem-wolves.

The guards blocked her approach and informed her that she was too late for their preferred visiting hours. Cori shrank back thinking that Ethan may not be down to see her after all. Leona smiled demurely at the guards. “Oh merde, surely you could make an exception for me.” Leona batted her eyes at the men. If she didn’t have spit up on her left shoulder and a fish cracker in her hair, they might have been prone to keel to her flirtation, but as she was, one of the guards wrinkled his nose at her, while the other shook his head.

“She’s a fem-wolf you idiots,” Cori said exasperated. “Just move or she’ll rip your heads off.” Cori thought that would be enough to make the men understand the gravity of what they faced, but apparently Clark’s men didn’t keep up on werewolf protocols.

“Oh, really,” Idiot one said approaching her. “I’ve heard a lot about fem-wolves.”

“What did you hear?” Leona’s French accent came out strong.

“I heard they’re good in bed,” he said huskily.

Cori couldn’t help but sigh as she leaned against the side wall to watch what was probably going to be the most exciting part of her night. Too bad she didn’t have popcorn.

“We are animals in the bedroom,” Leona offered.

“Yeah,” Idiot one drawled, “What do you say you and I slip into a cell down the way and you can prove it to me?”

“Actually,” Cori called out, “can you just start right here? I’d really like to see her rip your tongue out when you try to kiss her.”

“Shut-up!” Idiot two smacked the bars with his gun. Cori resisted the urge to see if she could duplicate her experience the Clark and freeze his hands to his gun. 

Idiot one caressed Leona’s cheek. Cori chortled at his stupidity. Idiot two gave her a stern look, but it only made her laugh more.

“Did you hear anything else about fem-wolves?” Leona asked.

“Like what?” Idiot one said as he leaned in to kiss her neck.

“Did you hear that we don’t screw men below our intelligence level?”

Idiot one’s head flew back and he glared aghast at Leona. “You bitch!” He shoved her back and she moved back with the push, but Cori suspected she was playing the part of a light weight human female just a little longer. “Get out of here!”

“No,” her flirtatious smile faded as if she was suddenly bored with the game. “You get out of here. I want to speak with my
friend.
” Cori could hear the way she said friend. She was repulsed by the label. Had it not been for Nevia, she might have missed the subtle inflection.

“I said get out of here!” Idiot one went back at her and shoved her, or at least tried to shove her. His feet slipped back as he pressed against her body, like he was trying to push a tree while wearing roller skates. He regained his balance, but none of his composure. Leona eyed him with curiosity, like she was drinking up his illumination. “What the hell are you?”

“What part of female werewolf don’t you get?” Cori yelled from the cheap seats.

Idiot one didn’t fully turn around to glare at her, but only because he didn’t want to take his eyes off Leona. She walked toward him, but he pulled his rifle and aimed it at her. “Stay where you are or I’ll shoot.”

“Just shoot,” Cori said, “It will speed things up.”

Leona leaned around idiot one to look at her. “Thank you for the vote of confidence darling, but it does sting like the devil to get shot.”

Cori grimaced, she hadn’t really thought about the bruising impact a bullet might have on a fem-wolf—like getting punch with a very strong, very tiny fist. “Sorry.”

Leona ducked back behind idiot one just in time for his attempt to thrust the butt of his gun in her face. She blocked him and tossed him…across the entire section. Cori whistled and clapped as idiot one flew. “Home run, Leona.”

“Are you quite enjoying yourself, Cori?” Leona scolded. Cori was going to make a comment about not having cable, but idiot two shot at Leona and interrupted the banter. Despite the suggestion of pain to bullets, Leona had virtually no recovery time, before she leapt onto idiot two and ripped his gun out of his hand. She tossed the gun behind her and growled with hidden vocal depth. “I’m not supposed to kill humans. Don’t make me break my streak.”

Idiot two flew across the room with just as much ease as idiot one. He landed near his partner with the same thunk that encouraged unconscious meditation. Leona smoothed out her clothing before raising her gaze to Cori. The smile she held for her seemed so obviously forced to her now. She wondered if that was all due to Nevia’s enlightenment, or if Cleos’s blocker was keeping her instincts on track.

“Cori, my pet,” Leona started.

“I’m not your pet,” Cori snapped before she had cause to.

Leona sloughed off the indignation. “I thought I smelled you around here when I came in for the trial.”

“Oh yeah, how’s that going?” Cori pretended to be interested to keep the conversation off of her current predicament.

Leona smiled for real. “Very well,” she said linking her hands through the bars to touch her hands. Cori tried not to flinch at her touch, but she found the woman more threatening without her hypnotic abilities. “Aren’t you going to share with me your woes?” Leona’s eyes circled the room within.

“You mean the cage?” Cori looked around as if she was noticing it for the first time as well. “Oh, you know me. I like to push the envelope.”

“Yes, you do push people’s buttons.” Cori could see a sparkle of honest amusement in her eyes. “Whose buttons did you push this time?”

Cori wondered if there was any reason not to tell her about the incident, but since she didn’t want to outright sever their semi-friendly interaction, she decided to continue the conversation civilly. “I helped three prisoners escape and pissed off…everyone.”

Leona laughed. “You really are fearless aren’t you?”

Cori shook her head. “No, I just don’t always think before I leap.”

“What do say we get you out of here?” Before Cori could respond, Leona ripped the door to the cell open, breaking the formerly solid iron lock. Considering it was designed to withstand the strength of a male werewolf, it was no small feat. Cori suspected it was less a gesture of generosity, and more a display of her strength.

The lack of bars between them made her more concerned than she was prepared for. The time it took her to respond made her fear that the block on her psyche hadn’t worked. “Well?” Leona asked again.

“Well, what? I can’t leave. Danato hasn’t given me permission to.”

Leona stepped close to her. Cori closed her eyes and took in the suffocating scent of perfume and werewolf musk. “Let’s not worry about Danato right now. Let’s just take a walk.”

Cori could feel the pressure of Leona’s words begging her to do what she was asking, but unlike before, she didn’t feel petrified with fear. Leona leaned in to kiss her, but Cori turned her head to avoid her petroleum based lipstick. “Seriously, Leona, I am so not into the girl on girl stuff. Do you mind if we keep this a little less friendly?”

Cori had expected Leona to be annoyed by her lack of control. What she didn’t expect was the shock on her face, and udder disappointment that followed. “What is this?” She looked over her eyes for the familiar glaze that her seduction usually inspired. “What did you do?” She seethed with undue repulsion.

“I got a mental block so you can’t hypnotize me,” Cori answered taking a step back to alleviate her sinuses from the assaulting perfume.

“Who told you I was hypnotizing you?” she asked with eyes narrowed.

“Jordan told me you and…”

“That mixed breed stuck her nose in my business!” Cori instantly regretted releasing her informant’s identity. She didn’t suspect that Leona would even remember her.

“I would have found out eventually,” Cori lied hoping to detract from Jordan’s blame.

“You wouldn’t have figured it out! You’re as much a simpleton as those two.” Leona tossed her head toward the two guards who were passed out on the other side of the section.

“I am not a simpleton!” Cori knew she was playing with fire to start a shouting match with Leona, but the truth was she was still kind of irked that Leona didn’t respect her like she thought she did.

“You think because you have a slightly more informed view of the world than the rest of the human race that you are smart? You’re just a well-trained rat in a maze!”

“Yeah, well this rat bested your ass!” That fire she was just playing with suddenly turned into a forest fire.

“Bested me!” Leona stuttered as she came at her full force. Cori put up her hands in self-defense and hoped against hope that Leona still didn’t want to break her streak.

When Leona grabbed her throat she felt her feet lift like she was a rag doll. She squeezed her throat tight, but Cori could still breathe—sort of. She grappled with her arms, but resisted the urge claw into her skin, since she knew it wouldn’t do any good. “Leona,” she chocked before she could apologize.

“You never bested me! You got in a lucky shot! You are nothing, but a play thing to me.”

Cori didn’t have many female friends, maybe none, unless it wasn’t too soon to count Jordan as one. Leona had been a woman she admired for her strength and confidence. She was someone she thought she could have gotten along with if it hadn’t been for Vince. Hearing her express her true opinion of her wasn’t nearly as painful as she expected, but it did make her angry.

Cori wanted to say several choice words to her, starting at the high spectrum of profanity and ending with words irreconcilable with the English language. However, since her neck was currently in a vise, she settled for a stress relieving scream that would at least be an objection to her treatment.

Cori could feel the temperature rise as she closed her eyes, but she ignored it. Her scream came out low and muffled until Leona’s grip released. She opened her eyes as she fell back to the ground. Leona’s body flew out of the cell ushered by a fire ball disseminating across her chest.