Wolf Bite (5 page)

Cutting the thought off, he drew his hands behind his head and watched her as she continued to explore his body. When her fingers brushed his cock, he kept his hands gripped together, lest he reach for her. She wanted to play with him.

“You broke my bed.” She didn’t sound like it bothered her.

“Yes,
we
did.” Because she was just as much to blame, with her luscious passion.

Cupping his balls, Lexi shocked him by bending down to press a kiss to the tip of his cock. The ends of her hair trailed against his stomach and he concentrated on not thrusting up against her lips even as his cock began to stiffen once more. “Do you like the way this feels?” The innocence in the question punched through the lazy haze of lust misting his vision.

“Yes,” he wasn’t shy. “I’m not fragile, grip me in your hand.”

When she obeyed, stroked him from base to tip, he hissed out a breath. “I can smell me on you. That doesn’t sound weird to you, does it?”

“Not at all.” He wanted her scent on him and his on her. “Does it bother you?”

“I should probably say yes because people don’t talk about that kind of thing.” Another stroke of her soft hand on him and he stiffened further. “We just finished. How are you getting so hard again so fast?”

She’d never had a wolf lover. Smugness curled through him. If she’d ever been with another wolf, she would know how quickly a male could recover. It pleased the ever-loving fuck out of him to know no one else tasted what belonged to him.

No. She doesn’t belong to me.
His body wasn’t interested in the denial. When she wrapped her mouth around him, he reached for the broken headboard and seized the wood. Inexpert and tentative, she worked to take all of him into her mouth and when he bumped up against the back of her throat he forced himself to be still—to cede the control to her.

An impossible task and sweat dribbled down him as she continued to suck at him. Her tongue glided against the underside of his cock with every bob of her head, tracing the vein. At the end of every draw, she swirled the tip before taking him deeper into her throat.

When his balls drew tight, he fought off his orgasm and the remaining piece of headboard he held onto split into two. At the sound, she lifted her head and gave him a dazed look. Taking advantage of her distraction, he seized her and flipped her onto her back. “I wanted to taste you,” she protested.

“Later,” he promised. With a thumb and forefinger, he began to tease her clit as he took her mouth in a kiss. She softened and clung to him. He eased a finger between her swollen folds. Wet and soft, he tested her for soreness but her low groan was needy and not pained. Satisfied, he sank into her and began to rock their hips together. Holding off his orgasm took every ounce of his concentration and he was aware of everything—the way her nipples tightened and slid against his chest, how her inner muscles spasmed and flexed, her nails digging into his back and her long, low cries. Still, he held out for her orgasm before letting go of his own.

Collapsing against her, he sighed and her laughter filled his ears with her music.

“Hmm?” He lifted his head to see what made her so happy. Feathers drifted around them.

“You killed my pillow.” And she giggled all over again. The sound had her flexing around him and he grinned. He’d kill a hundred pillows to earn such naked joy.

Twice more in the night she tried to debauch him and twice more he held off coming down her throat because he wasn’t done with the rest of her. Her little growls of frustration tickled him. He shredded all but one of her pillows and the mattress went last, partially gutted after he’d dug his claws into it when she locked her mouth around him. He flipped it over so they could sleep and, though he wanted to promise her he would replace it, pragmatism stilled his tongue.

He wouldn’t be with her in the morning. Life didn’t allow him to be. There couldn’t be a next time, either. Lexi slept on her stomach, sprawled naked and boneless on the bed. Seated on a chair in her room, he watched her sleep. Exhausted and spent, she failed to rouse when he rose to shower. She’d still not moved when he’d come back into the room and allowed himself the final indulgence of stroking a hand down her smooth back.

His own was littered with scratches. They’d stung in the shower and he would wear her marks for a day or two more. If he didn’t shift, perhaps he could make them last longer, but they would heal too quickly. Then his night with her would become only a memory.

Shoes on and dressed, he had no more excuses to delay leaving her. Yet he lingered, watching over her as she slept. Only when morning light teased around the edges of the bedroom blinds did he force himself to his feet.

Instead of the living room, however, he walked to the bed. Dragging a sheet up to cover her, he leaned down to press a kiss to her shoulder. She didn’t stir. “Goodbye, Lexi,” he whispered. “Thank you.” One last deep breath—he wanted to hold it forever—to keep her scent inside of him.

In the other room, a phone buzzed and he pivoted.
Time to go
. If she woke and looked at him, he would stay—and that would endanger her life. Silently, he stalked out of her apartment. He knew the code, having seen her use it the night before. He unarmed then rearmed her system before stepping out. With an extra key he’d found in her kitchen, he locked the door behind himself.

Kneeling, he lifted the vinyl door flap at the base of her door and shoved the key under it. She would need a little sealant to make sure the flap stayed down in the future.

He could return and repair it when she wasn’t home. His wolf growled, disliking the idea of leaving the key, of leaving period. Ignoring his beast, Mason rode the elevator to the ground floor. The longer he stayed in her building, the more likely he would give into the wolf’s desire to return to her. Without the key, it would be harder, but not impossible.

Outside, he crossed the street and glanced up to the corner of the building, his gaze tracking to the fifteenth floor. With little effort, he could use the other balconies to ascend.

No, better to cut it clean. She would wake and maybe she would hate him. Clearly, no one explained to her why he’d gone Lone Wolf, why he didn’t have a choice. Maybe that was for the best.

Preoccupied, he nearly missed the arrival of a familiar scent and his wolf’s contentment faded away in a blaze of territorial fury. Pivoting, he found the Enforcer leaning against an old metal newspaper stand. She hadn’t been there when he’d exited Alexis’ building.

He knew she hadn’t been.

“Morning, Mason.” Margo, the she-bitch smiled. “Buy me a cup of a coffee.”

“Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.” She knew better. Hell, the last time she had a one-night stand had been never. Adding insult to injury, she’d abandoned all caution and common sense to bed—repeatedly—the man she’d been in love with for years, without any discussion or thought for the consequences. Worse, he’d left, she’d slept through work, and a dozen messages accumulated on her phone while she lay dead to the world…including one from her father.

Alexis braced her hands against the tile wall of the shower, half to hold herself upright and half to keep from banging her head against the shower wall. Hot water pounded her head and shoulders, sluicing over the rest of her. She was one long, delicious ache. At least the pleasant soreness distracted her from the ache In her knee. Impossible as it seemed, she found herself wishing Mason was there for more than just cuddling. Wolves were touchy-feely usually. Him leaving the morning after hurt.

It hurt like hell.

She’d been practically celibate, determined to focus on her career and carving out a life for herself beyond the pack. At first, she’d wanted to prove her independence to her parents and all her friends who didn’t think she’d be able to make it. Now, she only longed to prove it to herself. Then Mason dropped into her life out of nowhere and turned her world upside down.

Tilting her face toward the water, she repeated her earlier assessment. “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.”

Fifteen minutes later, she stood in the kitchen and stared at her cell phone. She had no good excuse to give her boss and lying—as much as she hated to admit it—didn’t come easily to her. She hadn’t even managed to pull off tweaking Mason about having a boyfriend the night before. Too many years among the wolves made telling outright untruths anathema. Bending the truth, however, was acceptable.

Before she pulled together the willpower to call her boss back, the phone rang again. Ryan’s contact information appeared on the screen.
Crap.
If she avoided his calls, he’d show up. No way could she clean Mason’s scent—or the scents of sex—well enough to disguise who she’d spent time with. Answering the phone was her only option.

“Hi, Dad.” Emboldened by her voice’s steadiness, she smiled and poured a cup of coffee. She could do this.

“You didn’t go to work today. Your mother was worried.” No she wasn’t, but Ryan always phrased everything to involve Tiffany.

“Tell Mom I’m fine. I overslept.” Not a lie. “I am going to call Carter in a few minutes to apologize and ask for the rest of the day off. I haven’t used any vacation time in four years. I’m pretty sure he’ll say yes.” Especially after ratting her out to Ryan. Carter Mills hired her on Ryan’s recommendation, since the attorney did a lot of work with Ryan. He didn’t know about wolves or packs or that he did business with them. Nepotism, however, he understood. Carter wasn’t a friend. Hiring her earned him points with Ryan Huston and that meant business.

“You don’t oversleep.”
Crap
. If anything, her blithe dismissal earned her more suspicion.

“No, I don’t. I also don’t get mugged.” She winced and waited for it.

“What?” A single syllable powered by a growl.

Fuck it. In for a penny, in for a howl.
“I was mugged on my way home last night. Actually, let me rephrase that…a guy
tried
to mug me on my way home last night. But I broke his nose and the cops arrested him.” All true, minus one pertinent little piece of data.

“Are you all right? I can be there in three hours. I already have standby on a flight waiting.” Of course he did. She hadn’t answered her phone or shown up for work. Ryan would have contingency plans in place—hell, he probably called an Enforcer and had one waiting to swoop in, scoop her up and hustle her back to Willow Bend.

“I’m fine. Don’t turn this into a ‘come home’ lecture.”
Firm
. She had to be firm and resolute. Ryan objected to her moving in the first place and found increasingly creative ways to keep her home. If she hadn’t gone over his head to Toman, she’d probably still be living with her parents in Willow Bend.

“Getting mugged is not okay. If you were
here
…”

“Stop.” Punctuating the order by banging her fist on the counter, she fought her own temper. “The guy tried to mug me. He didn’t succeed. I still have my purse and I’m in one piece. He has a broken nose, is facing assault charges and jail time.”

“That you were able to fend him off is admirable.” For the barest moment, pride filled his voice, but he wasn’t done. “It’s not safe out there, Alexis. If you want to work in a law office, you can work for me. Here, where I can protect you.”

Mentally counting to ten, she bit back every swear word she knew. In a straight fight for dominance, she would never win against Ryan. Losing her temper made her sound juvenile or, worse, vindictive. She’d made that mistake with him—once. Screaming he wasn’t her father hadn’t won the argument; she’d only hurt him.

“Dad, I didn’t want to work in a law office. I work in a law office because that was the job you found for me and told me I had to take so you could be assured of where I was working.” Sucking in a deep breath, she blew it out. “I’m grateful you gave me the opportunity, but I didn’t leave Willow Bend for you to keep taking care of me or making decisions for me. I’m an adult. I get to make choices for myself.”
No matter how stupid I feel the morning after.

“Alexis, we worry.” At least he included himself that time, and his growl tapered into a sigh. “I don’t like being out of reach if you need me. Protecting you—”

“It’s what dominants do, I know.”

“It’s what
fathers
do.” He corrected her and she bowed her head. Even from a thousand miles away, her father could still inspire her obedience.

“I’m sorry. I should have called you last night, but truth be told—all I wanted was to come home, lick my wounds, eat some ice cream and sleep.” Seriously, all true. Having wild sex all night hadn’t been in her plans. She didn’t think it had been in Mason’s plans either.
Maybe that’s why he left…
Sure, he left because he was ashamed of their choices. Wolves were intensely sexual creatures; he had no reason to feel shame.

She had simply been a way to scratch an itch, right?

Yes, anger was better than hurt. She preferred it.

“Did you get hurt?”

“Yeah,” she admitted, conceding to his softening tone. “Skinned my knee.”
Probably sprained my vagina, too, in an unrelated incident.
 

“Are you in pain today?” His voice dropped to a low note. It soothed and asked her to let him take care of her, even just a little bit. He’d done the same thing when she was little, when she’d begun to have nightmares about all the wolves eating her. He’d sat in the doorway to her bedroom every night and talked to her until she’d gone to sleep. In the morning, he’d still be there guarding her, keeping her safe. A few weeks later, he’d done it in his wolf form and the last of her nightmares had gone away.

“Yeah, but no worse than when I slid on the gravel outside Me-maw’s house.” Ryan’s mother, her adopted grandmother, was a tough old lady. She’d taken one look at Alexis and decided they would be best friends. Friends meant she let Alexis make stupid mistakes, then patched her up afterward. It caused a fair number of arguments between mother and son—disagreements, amazingly enough, Ryan never won. Me-maw would always wink at her during the fight, then launch back into her son.