Rogue Wolf (17 page)

One by one he opened all the windows in the house, then the door thumped as he returned to the porch. They could just sleep in their fur beneath the stars. They didn’t need to go inside.

“Margo.” Salvatore called her and she closed her eyes. She could feign sleep. It would be easy. But the call pulled everything about her, and she didn’t want to pretend, not anymore.

Rising, she faced him. He was on the bottom step. Where he’d gleamed in the sun, he looked perfectly carved under the half-light of the stars and moon. His skin bore a fine sheen of sweat, and his muscles were pronounced. She catalogued every inch of him. The wolf and the man were perfect, proud and would make excellent…

Snapping, she backed off the thought before it could take root.

“Don’t run, Margo.” The order laced his words and held her in place. Her wolf acknowledged what the woman struggled against. “Come here. Come to me.”

She whined, shaking her head. Mating was forbidden and broke the laws. She couldn’t give into him, no matter how tempting.

Patience filled his expression. “Come to me,
bella
.” Yes, she tasted the power in the words, but the command rippled over her and around. He could control her, he could order her wolf—had been able to all along. The knowledge sank into her bones. Every night she’d shifted in an attempt to keep the smoldering passion between them banked and every night he’d
allowed
her the distance.

Frolicking together was one thing, but if she went to him…

“I’m already at the end of my patience,” he said, the warning sparking a hint of rebellion in her soul. “But I will not take you to bed till you invite me, and I will never force you to choose me, no matter how tempting.”

The echo of her earlier thought stumped her.

“But if you run, I
will
catch you.”

Dramatic, but effective. Trembling, she took a step toward him. The first was the most difficult, the second came swifter and then she rushed him and leapt. He caught her easily and lifted her from the ground. He nipped her nose, and brought her head to his eye level.

“Better. Since you conceded to my point,
bella
, I shall give you the next decision. Where will we sleep tonight?”

Still shaking, she nuzzled his jaw then struggled to get down. He accepted her cue and set her on her feet. Trotting inside, she paused at the entryway and sneezed. The freshly opened windows thinned the burning odor, but not enough. Turning, she found Salvatore watching her. Retreating from the entryway, she brushed against his leg on her way down the stairs. The grass in the yard was nice enough and she had blankets in the car.

Troubled, she glanced over her shoulder to find Salvatore a pace behind her. Despite his patience, his desire cloaked him in a tantalizing musk. Another whine worked its way up her throat, but she snapped her teeth rather than give into it. Mating required a choice, and the worst of it was—she
wanted
to choose. The law said she couldn’t, and she enforced those laws.

Her wolf didn’t give a damn about the laws or the rules. All it understood was the male gazing at them, waiting for them. This male was a fine, wonderful man and they could have him. All they had to do was act. If they acted, they violated the law and signed her death warrant.

Some choices were worth making. Releasing her wolf, she let the fur slide away and the transformation take her, utterly confident in Salvatore’s protection. Her shift took far longer than his, but when she finally knelt before him, she had her answer.

Raising her chin, she met his gaze. “Outside, would work for me.”

The corner of his mouth kicked a little higher, though a trace of disappointment slipped over his expression.

“Asshole.”

No sooner did the word leave her lips than he pounced and she was in his arms. His mouth slammed onto hers. Possession stamped every motion of his lips on hers. When his tongue swept across the seam of her lips, demanding entrance she opened to him. Every defense she possessed shattered under the onslaught.

He’d warned her all she had to do was say the word, and he’d meant it. His fingers dug into her hips and lifted her so his thick cock could rub against her sex. Exquisitely sensitive from her shift, she wanted to arch a little higher and take him in one wild thrust—to hell with play. When she attempted to put thought to action, however, Salvatore broke the kiss and unwound her from him.

Setting her on her feet, he wrapped his arm around her middle and pulled her back to his chest. His teeth grazed her ear and then his trail of kisses went to her throat. The hard press of his cock against her ass and his teeth on her throat—panic fluttered in her belly and her heart hammered until she thought it might slam its way free from her chest.

Every glide of his tongue against her skin sent another wave of heat to her sex. She gripped his forearm, but he stroked his fingers over her belly before gliding up to cup her breast. Her nipples tightened, the ache unfurling with electric speed.

“I want to sink my cock into you,” Salvatore murmured against her throat, his tone dark and sensual. “I want to thrust into you until your body comes apart around me, and you are blind to all but the feel of me taking you.”

His hips bumped forward and the stiff length of his cock rubbed against her ass. She parted her lips and all that came out was a groan. Her pussy clenched, imagining the heated length of him filling her. Catching her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, he gave her a little twist and she trembled. Liquid heat rushed between her thighs.

“I want to be gentle, but you don’t want gentle do you,
bella
?” His teeth scraped against her skin, and she leaned into him, rubbing against the cock she longed to have inside of her. “No, you are a fierce, vibrant wolf who needs to know she is taken, aren’t you?”

Her mouth watered at the images he painted. His dominance wasn’t in question. She was only on her feet because he held her there. A part of her wanted to take her time, explore the gentle offer he intimated. The rest of her wanted him, swift and furious, while he pounded his scent into her skin.

The nip of his teeth to her shoulder combined with his fingers massaging her breast threatened to drive her mad. “Nothing to say,
bella
?” He teased her and his free hand smoothed over her hip. He’d already stroked her sex once, caressed her to orgasm with his fingers alone.

Swallowing hard she raised her arms, reaching behind her to slide her fingers into his hair and arching her head to bare her throat. “Stop teasing me…” The words came out broken. “Please, Salvatore.”

Hooking his fingers against her sex, he gave her clit a hard pinch and pleasure welled up at the harsh touch. “Anything you want,
bella
.” The last words he whispered before he nipped her shoulder. The teeth sank into her but didn’t draw blood, and she ground her ass against his cock, almost desperate. Everything was so sensitized. Even the skin of his chest against her back was like an erotic caress. He continued to circle her clit until she didn’t know whether to writhe or scream. Captive to his carnal torture, she wasn’t prepared for the first orgasm to crash over her or the second.

When his hands fell away from her, she was bereft. Then she went to her knees as the arm around her middle lowered her. Turning, she wanted to show him the same affection, but his hand fisted her hair. She glanced up and saw pure gold in his silver-ringed eyes, all wild predator and powerful Alpha.

“Not this time,” he all but growled. She understood the demand. He kept her back to him for his control, not hers. He needed it as much as he needed her surrender. Obedience wasn’t in her nature nor was submission. She never felt the urge to give into another wolf, not even the more powerful ones. They could wield their power, force her to obey, but he’d earned her willingness.

Dropping her gaze she went to her hands and knees and arched her hips toward him in invitation. For Salvatore, she could give him every inch he needed. Awareness of him swept aside every other instinct. Bowing her head, she curved her spine, utterly vulnerable to him.

He released her hair then glided his fingers down her spine. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on his scent, his actions, his touch, and the harsh sound of his breathing. He was a wolf on the edge, and she’d driven him there—she and the wild craving between them. The soft weight of his knees hitting the grass reverberated through her. He gripped her hips and she fought the call to raise her head. Utter submission, it was all she could offer him if he wouldn’t allow her to return his caresses with her own.

The tip of his cock brushed her entrance, and a moan slipped free. An unfamiliar quivering began at the base of her spine. Another stroke as he rubbed the head of his cock from her too sensitive clit to her entrance, so slick with need she wanted to thrust backward and take him inside. His fingers dug into her hip, halting her action. He pulled away then she felt his teeth on her ass and she cried out.

Power shimmered over her, he wanted her to stay still and though he didn’t say the words, he didn’t have to. She’d tried to take what she wanted, and he denied her. His lips massaged the spot he’d bitten and her core went pure molten. The scent of their desire bloomed under the night sky, filling her lungs with pure animal heat and musk. All she could scent was him.

Kissing a trail along the base of her spine, he slid his hand between her legs and began toy with her. Another whimper left her throat and he chuckled. “So stubborn,
bella
. So hungry.”

Her teeth snapped together.

“
Bella, bella, bella.”
The rawness in his voice combined with his fingers dancing against her clit, stroking her, threatened to tear apart her control. Her claws broke free and she dug them into the earth in her fight to stay still, to not thrust against the finger he eased into her.

She didn’t want his hand. She wanted…

“Enough,” he whispered, his lips so close to her ear. “No more teasing,
bella
. I promise.” Then his cock slammed into her and she loosed a howl, the thickness of his dick stretched her to the point of pain and yet she came with a shuddering jolt, her orgasm ripping from her without any semblance of control.

Good to his word, he stopped teasing her. He thrust with force and demand, every glide in and out of her a wicked reminder of his ownership. She half-expected to feel his teeth at her throat, his bite to take her even as his body drilled into her over and over. When the next orgasm crashed down, she didn’t fight it and threw her head back to howl. His fingers tangled in her hair and his mouth took hers in a kiss as he growled his release.

The world shattered and she went to pieces, collapsing back in on herself only to feel him wrapped around her, inside of her and with her. Shaking from the force of it, she clung to him as he stroked her hair and murmured to her in Italian. She didn’t know the words or what they meant. All she knew was Salvatore had her and she didn’t want him to let her go.

She was so screwed.

Chapter Ten

Only when the quivering in her muscles slowed did his beast calm. Her howl had punched through the night sky and all he’d wanted was to sink his teeth into the sweet spot at her neck and shoulder—claiming her. It took every ounce of his power to cage the primitive urge to claim. His wolf raged within him, clawing at his skin in desperation to be free. The woman in their arms belonged to them.

Closing his eyes, he concentrated on exerting his will, his dominance. She’d responded to him from the beginning, and when she’d gone to all fours in utter surrender, he managed to leash his response.
She has not chosen us yet.
The animal side of him didn’t give a damn. They could claim her then earn her forgiveness later, after she was well and truly tied to them.

The very basic requirement for a mate was as much a part of them as their teeth, their claws, and their fur. The taking of a mate, however, required more than sensual pleasure and conquering will. A true taking required being taken in return. She surrendered to him, surrendered to the very real passion between them, but his stubborn wolf would hate him if he took away her choice. His mate would have few choices, and he’d be blind to deny the concept that life in Seven Hills would be radically different for his freedom loving American wolf.

His wolf huffed. So they would change for her. Change was not always bad. His wolves would adapt. They had survived the centuries and all the wars. Her breath feathered over his arm. The night air brushing against his skin helped to cool the sticky sweat. He needed to carry her upstairs, run a shower, but he was loath to end the intimate moment.

Though spent, his cock still rested in her slick channel, and he didn’t want to ease away from her, so he stayed. She wore his scent, had for the past couple of days. Was she even aware of it?

Only the knowledge she did helped him keep his beast in check each time she defied him to shift into her wolf at night. After the first night, however, she came and settled at his side or let him tug her to him. Burying his face against her neck, he inhaled the scent of their shared pleasure. No sweeter ambrosia existed.

Margo adjusted her hips. The stretch eased him from her body and she gasped. Her eyes opened and the dazzling gold of her wolf shone up at him. Allowing her to roll over, he kept her enclosed in the circle of his arms. Nuzzling the corner of her mouth, he kissed her slowly. Unlike the wild fusion every other time their lips came together, he fought to keep the contact sweet and loving.

Loving.

His heart constricted in his chest. Salvatore loved this proud, fierce wolf. Though it had been long enough since he’d experienced even infatuation, he tasted the difference. He craved her pleasure, her safety. More, he craved her trust. Their tongues tangled together in a sensuous dance and, while he didn’t seek dominance in the action, she curved her tongue around his, allowing him greater access.