Wolf Among Sheep: A Paranormal Werewolf Romance (Roadside Angels Motorcycle Club Book 1) (7 page)

“I remember the movie. You’re fortunate to get a job right out of college. So many don’t and end up asking if you’d like fries with that.”

“It wasn’t luck at all,” she demurred. “I worked my a...butt off for that job!” At his amused chuckle, she smiled and continued, “I broke a scandal in the school and got the notice of the editor of
The Courier
.” At his raised eyebrows, she gave him the low down on the grade scandals in the teams, and he shook his head when she talked about how she got Garth Crosby to help her to get the entry she needed.

He put down his knife and fork and regarded her earnestly over the rim of his wine glass.

“This Garth... was he your boyfriend?” His voice was carefully neutral, but something in his eyes gave away his intense interest in her answer. Her heart rate kicked up at the possibility that he might be feeling a little bit jealous, and she wished she could say an unqualified yes to his query. A part of her also wondered why he had put Garth in her past.

“What makes you think he isn’t still?” she asked without thinking it through, wanting him to think she was more experienced than she was.

He quirked a brow at her and then leaned forward, saying quietly, “After today, I would find it hard to believe that he is still in the game!”

Tammie had the good grace to blush. She had momentarily forgotten the heated kisses she had exchanged with Lex earlier, kisses that had left her wet and aching and that added to the tingling she had been feeling all evening in his company.

“I don’t share,” he informed her, a growl in his voice, “and I assumed any man who was with you would feel the same way.”

Struggling to keep the warmth from flooding her skin further and determined to regain her footing as a woman of the world, she said, “I’ll take that as a compliment. Thank you.” She raised her glass and took a heartening sip of her drink before finally admitting, “Garth wanted to be my boyfriend. But it didn’t work out that way.”

“Your choice or his?” He refilled his glass and sipped.

Tammie hesitated then plunged ahead and told him the whole story. She held her head high and met his gaze, as she admitted that she had never intended to sleep with Garth. She stopped short of the damning admission of her inexperience. It wasn’t as though Lex showed any interest in doing more than kissing her. Despite the way he made her feel, she didn’t hold out any hope that she would get what she had been wishing for with him.

“But enough about me,” she said, hoping he would let her get some of her curiosity satisfied, as well. “You promised to answer some questions for me.”

“Work on a date, Ms. Gibbs?”

She wasn’t sure whether or not he was teasing until she looked into his eyes. There was a light in them she couldn’t read, but his lips twitched with suppressed mirth, and she could see mischief lurking there. She laughed. “I’ll only ask personal questions,” she promised, “like you’ve done.”

When he nodded, she asked him if he was a native.  He told her that he had only been living in the area for twelve years, that he was born up north, and that he had also been raised by relatives, but that they were all dead now. Her heart broke a little bit for him, especially when she thought about her own grandparents. She couldn’t imagine being without them—though logic told her they wouldn’t be around forever.

“When did you learn to ride?” she asked next.

“A very, very long time ago. I fell in love with a vintage machine that a friend had and bought my first bike as soon as I got my license.”

“And have you always been part of a biker gang?”

He chuckled. “The boys would be very upset to hear you call our club a gang. That word has connotations of criminality, and we aren’t criminals.”

He raised his hand for the waiter, asking Tammie what she’d like for dessert. She refused any, preferring to have another glass of wine instead. He ordered something that sounded downright sinful, which she assumed would be ridiculously large. Then, while they waited, he told her how he had become involved in wildlife preservation. His two dogs were rescue dogs, and he was something of an expert in canine behavior.

“Is that why you were able to save Toby?”

He paused, giving her a considering look, before answering. “I was able to save him because I was there, Tamara. The animal was on him. I called it off by yelling and getting its attention. Just enough so Toby could get into the truck. That seemed to enrage it, and it threw itself at the closed window anyway, trying to get him. I charged it with the hunting knife I had and managed to wing it before it ran off.”

He spoke so nonchalantly, as though engaging with a wild animal as fearsome as a wolf was an everyday occurrence for him.

“Rojo Arroyo’s wolf whisperer, eh? Now there’s a story my boss might enjoy!” She laughed as she spoke, but he didn’t immediately respond. She looked at him questioningly and still he didn’t react for another long moment. Then, he smiled, and the tension that had begun to creep up her spine eased. She was enjoying this evening too much to spoil it with anything he might object to.

“Your boss sounds like an interesting man,” he remarked, thanking the waiter who brought his dessert. The young man also brought a small pot of coffee and two cups.

“He is,” she said and watched him eye his dessert. “Shall I pour?” she asked as he dived into the decadent-looking chocolate cake before him.

“Thanks,” he answered and then took a teaspoon and scooped a bit from the uneaten side of the confection and offered it to her. “Taste this.”

She reached for the spoon, but he avoided her hand and put it to her lips. She opened for him, and as he placed the spoon on her tongue, she hazarded a glance at him. His eyes were dark, and she wished she knew how to read his thoughts through them. She closed her lips around the spoon instead and let the delicious creaminess of the dessert seduce her taste buds. She couldn’t keep the moan of pleasure from her throat, and he smiled at her and asked, “More?” He stared at her mouth as he spoke, and she knew what he was thinking then.

Her belly clenched, and she put down the coffee pot for fear of spilling any, because she was suddenly trembling uncontrollably. She wanted to say yes but knew she wouldn’t be talking about dessert. And she knew he would know it, too.
Am I ready to go there with this man who pushes all my buttons?

“No, thanks! Have to watch my waistline!” she quipped, making a joke to hide the sudden case of nerves that assailed her.

He stared at her a moment longer, letting his eyes rest fleetingly on her mouth before returning his attention to his plate. She poured them both coffee, sipped hers black, and wondered how the evening would end. He cleaned his plate, drank two cups of coffee, and then asked if she wanted anything more.

“Good grief, no! I’m so full, you could roll me down the hill and I wouldn’t bruise!”

He laughed at her silliness and called for the check. Tammie excused herself and went to the ladies room. It was blessedly empty, and she took the time to examine her face keenly. She looked the same. Nothing gave away the hunger that had been building in her for a stranger whom she had let kiss her to within an inch of her life. Her awareness of him had abated somewhat as they talked, but now it was back full force. She was all aflutter. The last thing she needed was to have him know how far under his spell she had fallen. Powdering her nose and cheeks, she went back to find him collecting his credit card.

“Ready?”

She nodded, and he escorted her out into the warm night air. He helped her into the truck again, sending electricity shooting through her, and she was still trembling when he drove out of the parking lot. She had to get a grip. He didn’t seem to be in the least affected, which probably meant he wasn’t in the least bit interested in more than a few kisses. Disappointment laid its heavy hand on her chest, and she struggled to breathe calmly over the sudden urge to weep.
This is ridiculous
, she thought, and said the first thing that came into her head to uproot the creeping emotions. “What sort of ranch do you own?”

“It’s a horse ranch,” he answered. “I have a thing about riding.”

Something about the way he said those innocuous words made her cheeks heat, and she was glad for the darkness, as it hid her response from him.
I really need to get a grip
, she thought. Then, she asked him about the number of horses he owned, what he did with them, and how many people worked for him. Anything was better than this growing awareness of his scent, his presence, and the way he made her skin tingle and her heart race.

By the time they got back to her hotel, she was tied up in knots. She almost dreaded having his hands on her as he helped her down from the truck. She inhaled deeply and held her breath till her feet were on the ground. She stepped away immediately, taking calming breaths and hoping he didn’t notice.

CHAPTER SIX

“The only gift is a portion of thyself.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lex walked Tammie up to her door, and she realized that she had come to expect such gentlemanly behavior from him. When they stopped before her door, she turned to face him. “I’m glad we’re not fighting any more, Lex,” she said, smiling at him as she retrieved her key card. “It was nice of you to invite me out for a meal, and I enjoyed the conversation and the company.”

Lex’s eyes searched her face, and then he smiled slowly, as if he had just made an important discovery. “My pleasure, Tamara,” he answered, his deep voice welling around them in the hallway.

“Maybe someday, after I’ve scored the big scoop, I can come back and visit, and you can teach me to ride,” she added with a mischievous grin. “After all, I do need to redeem my big city, Connecticut Yankee self in your eyes.”

He chuckled at the reference to their first conversation and bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment. “I’d better get going, then,” he said when she opened the door to her room.

“Goodnight,” she said and turned her face up to his. It seemed the natural thing to do— after such a pleasant evening and the intimacies they had shared in his truck earlier in the day—for her to tiptoe up to kiss his cheek.

Lex leaned down and turned his face at the last second, letting his lips touch hers. The flame that had not gone out between them flared higher, and she opened her mouth to him. That was all the invitation he needed. Their first kiss, only hours earlier, had all been on him, and this time she wanted to show that she was equally involved.

He kissed her deeply, pushing her up against the wall and invading her mouth with his tongue, lifting her up to his mouth to accommodate their differing heights. When he pulled back, staring into her gray eyes, she saw the same hunger she was feeling reflected in his own, but he said nothing.

“Would you like to come in?” she asked, her eyes gleaming with need. She hoped he realized that she hadn’t suggested that the invitation had anything to do with coffee or a nightcap. She was inviting him, not just her into her room, but into her body. And she hoped he wanted into her body as much as she wanted him there.

For answer, he picked her up and walked into the room, shutting the door with his heel before letting her slide down his very aroused body to just where his hardness could catch her between her thighs. Then, he turned with her, leaned her up against the door, and dry-humped her, as he resumed the drugging kisses that opened her up to him the more he sucked on her. Their breaths were coming in pants when he let go of her mouth.

“Do you really want this, Tamara?” he asked, letting her slide down his body to the floor. “Because if you’re not sure, now is the time to say so. No is no, but it would be kinder if you told me no now, baby.”

He held her at arms’ length, looking gravely at her, his body hard against her aching one.

“I invited you in, didn’t I?” Tammie asked him, turning her face up to his, stroking his cheek with a trembling hand.

“Then, why are you so nervous?” he asked in his turn, taking deep breaths and letting go of her completely.

“Who says I’m nervous?” she retorted, pulling her hand away and walking over to the bed.

“You’re trembling, Tamara,” he said, walking up behind her, crowding her without touching her. “And your breathing just sped up. I’m sure if I took your pulse right now, it would be racing.” He stepped away from her again and added, “And you’re not looking me in the eye.”

She turned around immediately and regarded the cleft in his chin solemnly. His lips twitched, and she realized he was fighting not to show amusement. Instead, he went and sat in the armchair in the corner and watched her, waiting for her to speak.

“I...” she hesitated, then plunged on, “I’ve never done this before.”

She looked at him apologetically, and he smiled. He beckoned her to come to him and watched as she came to stand right in front of him.

“You rang, master?” she drawled, her pseudo-Frankenstein accent obviously amusing him.

“I did,” he said. “Kneel before me and hear your fate!” He took up the game and pulled her to her knees before him, widening his own so she could slide into his body.

She went willingly, and he bent to brush her lips with his again. “You have such sweet lips, Tamara. I find myself unable and unwilling stop tasting them.”

He blew on them as he spoke and then captured them again, beginning to undress her. When his hands touched the skin above her breasts, he bent lower and licked one soft mound.

“So soft,
ma petite
. So inviting.”

His whispered words, as he slid a hand beneath the lace of her bra, turned her on as much as the way he rolled her nipple beneath a calloused fingertip. She hissed when he pinched it between his thumb and forefinger. He was sending her temperature higher with each touch of his hands.

“Finish undressing for me. I want to see you!”

His hoarse command shook her to her core, and as he helped her stand again, she wondered how she would manage to comply without falling flat on her face. He obviously hadn’t figured out as yet that she had no idea what she was doing, and she hoped the illusion would last till it would no longer matter.

She stepped away from him and bent over to remove the sandals, kicking them to the side before pulling the silk shell over her head and dropping it at her feet. She removed her skirt next, shimmying it down over her wide hips, stepping out of it, and kicking it to the side, as well. She watched his face, as she reached behind her to unfasten the lacy bra. When she slid the straps down her arms and the cups fell away from her full and now aching breasts, she saw his eyes darken. He licked his lips but didn’t move, except to beckon her closer with his finger.

When she stepped closer, he cleared his throat and said, his eyes on her matching panties, “You saved the best for last. Take it off, now.”

She reached down and pushed the panties slowly off her hips down her trembling legs to the floor. He watched her, his nostrils flaring, and she wondered if her scent was as arousing to him as his was to her. He was still fully clothed, but she could smell the flavor of him beneath the sexy cologne he wore, and it made her dizzy with longing. Kicking aside the panties, she stood before him and fought to keep her hands at her side. She wanted nothing more than to hide her body, but she remembered that he thought she was experienced, and she was not willing to shatter that myth before anything important happened. She bore his scrutiny, though she could not stop her cheeks from heating. She felt the rush of blood in her arms and legs, and up her torso.

“You are a beautiful woman, Tamara,” he said, pulling her across his lap. He pulled her to his face and kissed her ravenously. His tongue sent desire racing through her like quicksilver, and she was wild for him in a heartbeat. She mewled like a kitten when he caressed her with his wide palms.

The touch of his roughened skin on her tender breasts and down her thighs to her hungry pussy, kept her completely off balance. She was incoherent by the time his fingers slid over her turgid clitoris, and mindless by the time he stroked two fingers inside her weeping sex. She could hear his harsh breaths as he worked her, and when his lips crashed down on hers again, she understood the depth of his urgency.

Trembling uncontrollably, Tammie gave herself over to Lex’s caresses, his kisses, and his passion. Her first orgasm by a hand other than her own roared up on her, obliterating any sense she had of where she was, or even, for a second,
who
she was. All she knew was the sensation of bursting into flames, of flying off the edge of a high peak, nothing below her but heated air and fire. And even as she descended, she burned with a deep-seated ache that she could not explain. When he removed his fingers, she dragged her eyes open to protest and saw him inhale deeply, taking the scent of her into his lungs, before sucking them clean. The fire that had swallowed her a moment before rose again, swelling and burning her where she lay on his lap.

She found herself wanting to touch him back, to feel his flesh beneath her fingertips. She sat up and immediately began trying to unbutton his shirt, but her hands trembled so much, she couldn’t perform that simple function.

“I want to touch you too, Lex,” she whispered desperately, growing frustrated at how long it was taking her to get his shirt off his back.

He worked with her, guiding her fingers down his shirt front, but leaving her to push it and his suit jacket off his shoulders. When she slid off his lap and pulled him to his feet, he shrugged the garments off his arms and helped her unbuckle his belt. All the while he was kissing her cheeks, caressing her back and bottom, and pulling her into his very aroused body. She finally managed to unzip his pants and free his heavy cock from the white boxer briefs he wore beneath his slacks.

He was trembling too, and the electric jolts of power that zapped her wherever her skin touched his made her giddy with lust. She was so fiercely aroused that she could barely think. His cock rode briefly between her parting thighs before she moaned a hungry protest and pulled away to push his pants and boxers down his legs. He stepped out of them and reached for her again, and she went willingly, parting her lips to take him into the warmth of her mouth, as she parted her legs and let him drag her fully into his arms.

“You’re a fever in my blood, Tamara,” he said hoarsely and picked her up. “Put your legs around me, honey.”

Tammie had never been agile, just managing to pass her gym classes. Although she had a gym membership, she could count on the fingers of one hand how often she had made use of it in the last six months. However, she swung her legs around him like a professional ballerina used to doing her stretches at the bar. His cock sat neatly at her opening, and the feeling of it just there, not penetrating, but pulsing with power and promise, made her moan deeply and take his mouth in a hungry kiss. She was demanding, something she hadn’t known she would be till he woke the wildness inside her.

“I promise to be gentle next time,
ma petite
,” he rasped at her before nudging her entrance with his steely cock and pushing in. When he hit her maidenhead, they both stilled. She felt power surging out of him, lighting her up, but she was too far gone to do more than wonder in a vague sort of way what was happening to them.

“Jesus, Tamara, you’re a virgin!”

His voice was strained with the effort he was clearly exerting to stay just where he was until her body adjusted to his size. She protested when he pulled out of her and slid one leg off his waist, then the other. His breathing was labored, and he held her in his arms, hugging her so tightly she couldn’t breathe. She wanted him, and she wasn’t going to let a little thing like virginity get in the way.

“Lex, please…” She was prepared to beg if she had to, but nothing would keep her from this. She knew instinctively that this was the man to give her precious gift to, and she didn’t want him to worry about any pain she might feel because, if all the stories she had heard were to be believed, the pleasure would more than make up for it.

“Are you very sure, honey?” he asked, searching her face, as though to make sure she was being totally honest with him. “I’ll stop if you’re not sure.” He inhaled deeply as he spoke, and she wondered how hard it would be for him to stop now. She didn’t intend for either of them to find out.

“I’m sure, Lex. Please, I’ve never wanted anything more than I want this... with you.” She looked him square in the eyes, hoping he would see her resolve, as well as her desire.

He picked her up in his arms and took her to the bed, laying her across it tenderly and coming down over her. He sucked her breasts as he did, winding her up again with his mouth and busy fingers. She felt him penetrate her where his cock had been and sink deep inside her, over and over, scissoring his fingers inside as he fucked her. He opened her up, stroking her g-spot till she was mindless again and tumbling over the fall of emotion and sensation.

“I can’t wait any longer,
chérie
,” he said, as he stroked her down from the heights of her second orgasm and kissed her deeply. Then, he plunged in with one heavy stroke. She opened her eyes at the pain and thought she saw him glowing, as though he were lit from the inside out. He stopped moving, and she heard him fighting to breathe, as she willed the pain away. She closed her eyes and prayed that it would ease, swallowing the tears that sprang up uninvited. Then, she relaxed completely, letting herself go. When the sharp pain became a dull ache, after a few moments of breathless silence, she opened her eyes again to look at him. He was watching her, his breathing still hard, his arms holding him off her body.