Tristan's Lyceum Wolves (25 page)

“We’re home? Oh my, now this is service,” she teased with a yawn.

“I like the sound of that,” Tristan replied, growing accustomed to the space in his heart she’d taken.

“What?”

“The sound of your voice calling my condo home. And don’t tell Logan I said that. He’ll call me soft.”

“My Alpha, there is nothing soft about you,” Kalli flirted, running the palm of her hand down his abs.

“You’re insatiable, and I do like it.” He softly kissed her warm lips, gently, in stark contrast to their kiss in the hotel.

Slowly separating from their embrace, they held each other’s hands, both in awe of the emerging connection. The attraction wasn’t just physical, as perhaps Tristan had hoped; it was more than that. Both Kalli and Tristan stood in the foyer, unable to articulate the visceral gravitation drawing them together. Cognizant of the overwhelming emotion brewing, Tristan broke contact and waved for Kalli to follow him down the hallway.

“Come with me,” he grinned, gesturing her toward the guest room she’d previously occupied. “I’ve had your things moved back in while we were at the gala. Of course, I’d much rather have you in my bed from now on.”

Kalli could hardly believe that he’d done this while they’d been away. The man was a force of nature.

“Confident, much? How did you know I’d want to come back?” she teased.

“Confident is my middle name, baby. And of course you’d come back. What girl can resist my southern charm?” he drawled.

“Charm? Is that what you call what happened on that dance floor, huh?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“What happened between us…” He instantly came up behind her, running the palms of his hands up her belly to rest just under her breasts until he heard her release a small gasp. “That, my little wolf, is raw sexual energy between a man and a woman. It’s unstoppable, you know. A crime to even try. And there’s more where that came from. Much, much more.”

Kalli felt her head fall backwards onto his shoulder. His sexy voice, laced with pure seduction, sent her reeling. But before she could completely set herself at ease, he stepped back toward the door. Damn, the man was unsettling. Yet again, he had her so excited she felt as if she was walking a high wire.

“Go ahead and freshen up. I’m gonna go get a bottle of wine. Meet you in my room.” He wagged his eyebrows at her.

Kalli released a deep breath that she wasn’t even aware she’d been holding. She was beginning to realize what it meant to be Alpha. It was as if he could do almost anything. He was so sure of himself and everything he did. Yet instead of being overtly overbearing, Tristan’s flair for humor sparkled through the dominance. And like a cat drawn to a Christmas tree, she simply couldn’t resist playing with the ornaments.

After going to the bathroom and brushing her hair, she removed her shoes with a groan.

“Sore? Why don’t you let me kiss it all better?” Tristan leaned on the doorjamb.

Kalli nearly fell off the bed in surprise. He was fast and stealthy.
Sneaky wolf.

“I think I might need to put a bell on you,” she teased as she struggled to stand up without looking terribly clumsy. It was the best she could hope for; graceful was no longer an option.

“Sorry chérie, wolves don’t do bells. ’Fraid you’ll have to use those wolf senses that the Goddess gave you, but we’ll discuss that later. Come with me. I’ve got something for you.”

The master bedroom wasn’t exactly how Kalli had imagined it would be. In contrast to his uber-masculine, sometimes bad boy image, his bedroom was warm and inviting. Blonde bamboo flooring contrasting with Tuscan tanned walls, contributed to the sensation of a wide open space, conjuring thoughts of running through a moonlit, golden wheat field. A king sized, antiqued mahogany four poster bed with white linens commanded attention; intricate carvings adorned its long pillars. Fire danced in the gas fireplace, apparently appreciative of the soft zydeco music filtering throughout the room.

“Wow. This is just…it’s beautiful. Like it belongs in Homes and Gardens beautiful.”

“Thanks. Luckily since it was a new building, I was able to customize everything to my liking before we moved in.”

“You designed this?”

“Why yes. There’s more to me than my smooth dance skills, you know.” He winked.

“Hmmm…dance skills, huh? Is that what public seduction at a charity event is called these days?”

“Baby, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Come,” he directed.

As they entered the master bath, Kalli let out a sigh of amazement. Another gas fireplace blazed to life with the flick of a switch. It gave light to the spectacular bathroom. Floor to ceiling windows exposed the night sky, which enhanced the subtle lighting. The oversized Jacuzzi nestled in the corner, awaiting them.

Tristan walked over and started the water. Sprinkling in soft lavender flakes, he continued preparing the space by lighting large pillar candles which surrounded the tub.

Kalli stood speechless. She’d never known a man like him in her entire life. “Alpha, you are something else,” she managed, having lost all ability to articulate her astonishment.

“Well of course I am, chérie,” he joked as he proceeded to pour two glasses of wine and set them on a restored trunk that served as a table. “You expect less?”

“I’ve just never…never…well no one has ever done this kind of thing for me,” she croaked, unable to finish. Struggling to conceal the bubbling emotion surging in her throat, she wiped away a single tear.

Tristan regarded her. So strong and beautiful, yet she was incredibly fragile. The knowledge that someone had once abused her enraged him. It was no wonder that she tried so hard to swallow her feelings. He couldn’t imagine that she’d never had someone treat her with kindness, the sort of kindness that was done out of a person’s heart, unconditionally, without anything expected in return.

“Come over here, Kalli,” he ordered in a soft voice.

She complied, still taking in her surroundings.

“You’re way overdressed, do you know that?”

“As are you,” she countered.

“Well, then,” Giving her a closed grin, he silently indicated his intent. He reached over to her side, finding the hidden zipper he’d made himself familiar with earlier in the evening, and pulled downward. As her dress dropped to her ankles, she reached for his collar.

Stark naked, she slowly pulled at the silken fabric of his tie, taking care to unknot it, and then tossed it on the floor. She gave him a sizzling smile as she unbuttoned each tiny shirt button. His cufflinks clanked to the floor just before she removed his jacket and shirt. The man looked like a Greek god, she thought as she placed butterfly kisses on his bared abs.

Keeping her spine perfectly straight while maintaining his eye contact, she knelt to the floor, unbuckling and unzipping. His erection sprang forth as his trousers fell to the floor. Without touching his newly exposed skin, she continued undressing him, removing his shoes and socks.

Tristan tensed in arousal, watching Kalli slink down his body, slowly stripping him. Her warm breath teased his rigid thick cock. But he was mostly fascinated by the clouds of passion that lurked within her eyes. While most people didn’t dare look him directly in the eyes, she did so with reckless abandon, challenging him to come to her.

As much as he wanted her warm lips wrapped around the length of him, he first needed her to feel loved. After the rough way he’d taken her earlier, in an alcove of a ballroom, nonetheless there was nothing he desired more at the moment than to simply care for her.

“Come, Kalli,” he breathed, ignoring his pulsing need. Content with her compliance, he led her to the steaming water, and shut off the spigot.

Kalli allowed him to help her into the bath. She’d been so close to swallowing him whole, while kneeling before him. The scent of his masculinity enticed her, driving her craving to lick every inch of his body. But at his words, she acquiesced, allowing him to lead her into the heavenly vessel that awaited them. He always seemed to know what was best.
Was he ever wrong?
The question spun through her head as she relaxed, submerging into the sublime paradise. It was just what she needed, and he knew it. She found herself staring at him, wondering how he knew just about everything.

He quickly followed her into the bubbles, but lounged into the opposite side. As if sensing her impending protest at the lack of contact, he tugged on her feet, as his feet rested on either side of her hips.

Kalli gasped, slipping deeper into the tub.

“Give me those pretty feet.” He began to inspect her perfectly pedicured, metallic blue painted toes. “You think too much.”

“What?” she muttered.

“I can see you thinking, chérie. Whatever it is, you just need to accept it.” He smiled knowingly. Rubbing her insoles, he was rewarded with a grateful moan. “You ladies with those high heels. As much as I enjoyed taking you from behind with you wearing nothing but stilettos, and damn you were hot by the way, I wouldn’t last five minutes in those torture chambers.”

Kalli laughed. “Hmm…somehow I think you’d manage it. After the past couple of days, I’m wondering what exactly you can’t do?”

“I’ll be happy to teach you my tricks.”

“I just bet you would. Something tells me that I’d enjoy your lessons.” She brushed one foot over his thigh playfully.

“The secret is taking advantage of all life gives you,” he mused.

“Work hard. Play even harder?”

“Something like that. But it’s more. Take you, for instance. I’ve thought long and hard about why you took those pills. But it’s deprived you of your nature.”

She quietly listened.

“Tell me about South Carolina, Kalli.”

“I told you most of it. You know how it is in a pack. You’re not just raised by your parents. My mom, she’d somehow managed to live in that hellhole. My Dad was verbally abusive from as far back as I can remember, but Mom was the one who protected me. When she died…I was alone. The Alpha, Gerald, he was nothing more than a bully. And by the time I was sixteen, my body was starting to look less like a child’s. So I guess that was his cue to send for me one night. Of course, I went, because who says no to the Alpha?” Kalli quieted, as if she was reliving the horrifying experience.

“Did he rape you?”

“No, thankfully. He grabbed for me, ripped my shirt off, tried to maul me…but I fought him. I managed to grab one of those old-fashioned phones he had sitting on his desk; smacked him in the head with it. Of course, that earned me a good backhand. And that’s when he informed me of my ‘role’ in the pack. Guess he didn’t want me tainting his precious bloodlines. A few days later, I took off for New York City. Hid out. Got through college. You know the rest.” She absentmindedly ran her hands up and down the tops of his calves.

Tristan forced every muscle in his body to relax as he listened to her recount what had happened to her. Strung out in anger, he tried to focus on her and not his own feelings.

“You know, I’ve been alive for a long time, watching the way most packs have progressed. These days we welcome hybrids, outlaw forced pairings and matings, et cetera. I can’t take away the pain, but I’ll promise you this,” Tristan said, a serious expression washing over his face. “If this Gerald is still alive, he won’t be for long.”

As Kalli listened, she didn’t bother telling him no. She wanted Gerald dead; the wolf in her screamed for his throat.

“When did you first shift?” He changed the line of questioning while still staying on the topic he wanted to learn about the most; her past.

“Not until my sophomore year in college.”

“How’d you manage that?” Most wolves had shifted by their early teen years.

Kalli bit her lip, embarrassed to tell him what she’d done to thwart it. “I starved myself.”

“What?” Tristan asked incredulously.

“I know, it’s awful. I ate barely enough to sustain myself. But if I’d let myself change while in the pack, you know I’d have been raped within a full moon. Whatever… it worked. Of course as soon as I left, I started eating normally again. Still, it took a couple of years for my system to recover. And then one day, I just couldn’t stop her.”

“And?”

“And I found a safe, isolated place for me to shift in upstate New York. I’d shift alone,” she admitted, knowing he’d ask her if she wasn’t forthcoming. “But when I started taking the CLI about two years ago, it was the first time in my life that I could really stop hiding. Well, I guess I was still hiding, but it was in plain sight. People could sniff me all they wanted, and for all intents and purposes, I was human. No wolf to be found.”

“Well now you can stop hiding. I mean it, Kalli; I won’t let anything happen to you. You can stop taking the pills,” he stated flatly.

“I don’t know about that, Tristan.”

“You need to learn to trust me. Do we need another lesson?”

“I think your lessons could be addicting,” she smiled. “Seriously, I know you’re there for me. It’s just that, my wolf, she scares me. Well maybe not her exactly as much as the actual shifting. I’ve only shifted by myself…alone. Believe me when I tell you that it has unequivocally sucked, for lack of a better term.”

“Maybe you just need a good teacher.”