Seducing the Wolf (26 page)

“Get in the car, Taylor.”

She hated that she felt a surge of arousal at his authoritative tone. “I told you I don’t need a ride.”

He removed his sunglasses and pinned her with those dark, piercing eyes. “We need to talk.”

She swallowed hard. “We have nothing to talk about.”

The slow, deliberate way he straightened from the car reminded her of a sleekly powerful panther about to pounce.

She took a step backward.

He searched her face. “You know she’s never meant a damn thing to me.”

Taylor smirked. “Who? Your fuck buddy Caitlyn?”

His face hardened, eyes narrowing dangerously.

“It doesn’t matter,” Taylor continued dismissively. “You don’t owe me an explanation. We don’t mean anything to each other—”

“
THE HELL WE DON’T!
”

She trembled, casting a glance toward the front of the Bentley. Though she couldn’t see Mr. Haley through the dark tinted windows, she knew he was listening to every word.

Manning obviously didn’t care. “How the hell are you gonna stand there and tell me that bold-faced lie? Are you out of your damn mind?”

“I have a boyfriend—”

“That you don’t fucking love.”

Taylor snapped her mouth shut, staring at him. She wanted to refute what he’d said, but her heart was pounding too hard and she was breathing too fast to draw sufficient air into her lungs.

“And for the record,” he snarled, “I’ve only slept with Caitlyn twice over the past twenty years.
Twice
. That hardly qualifies her to be my fuck buddy. She was a warm, available body and I was lonely. I’ve
been
lonely ever since you left me—”

“Since
I
left
you
?” Taylor cried in disbelief.

Manning looked at her. His gaze was searingly intense, his jaw tight and hard.

As he started purposefully toward her, the cab she’d been waiting for suddenly rumbled up to the curb.

She and Manning stared at each other over the roof of the car.

“Taylor—”

She opened the cab door and jumped into the backseat, rattling off the name and address of her hotel. As the taxi pulled off, she sagged back against the seat and exhaled a deep, shuddering breath.

“Everything all right, miss?” the cabbie asked in concern.

“Yes,” she mumbled shakily. “I’m fine.”

She stared out the window, but all she saw was the look on Manning’s face when she’d left him standing outside the building. He’d looked furious. Furious enough to let her know she hadn’t seen the last of him.

But when she hazarded a glance out the rear window, she saw no sign of the Bentley moving through traffic. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed that Manning wasn’t following her.

Shaking her head at herself, she took out her cell phone to call Aidan. She needed to talk to him. Maybe hearing his voice would help steer her back onto the path from which she’d strayed.

Aidan answered on the third ring. “Hey, there,” he said, sounding distracted.

“Hi,” Taylor murmured. “How are you?”

“Good, good. Busy as hell.”

“I know. I haven’t heard from you since Sunday.”
And so much has changed between us since then. More than you can imagine.

She closed her eyes as guilt crawled up her throat, choking her. She had to tell Aidan the truth. She couldn’t keep deceiving him. Betraying him.

She swallowed tightly. “How’d your interview with Condoleezza Rice go?”

“Awesome,” Aidan enthused. “I knew she’d be a great resource for my book. She’s absolutely brilliant.”

“You sound smitten,” Taylor teased. “Should I be jealous?”

“Maybe.” Aidan chuckled. “But if it makes you feel any better, she’s a huge fan of yours.”

“You mentioned me to the secretary of state?”

“I didn’t have to. Your mom had already told her that we’re dating, so during the interview she made a point of telling me how much she enjoys and admires your work. You know she’s an accomplished concert pianist. She saw you perform at the Kennedy Center several years ago and was very impressed. She’s been a fan ever since.”

Taylor smiled. “I appreciate that.”

Aidan chuckled. “Doesn’t it make you regret criticizing her behavior during Hurricane Katrina?”

“Not at all. She went shopping for Ferragamo pumps while people were dying and losing their homes. Sorry, but my criticisms were valid.”

Aidan sighed. He knew there was no changing her mind. They rarely ever agreed on anything pertaining to politics and political leaders. It was the one area where their compatibility meter went askew.

“I’m really enjoying the summer residency,” Taylor told him.

“That’s good.” Aidan sounded distracted again.

When he didn’t ask any follow-up questions, she continued, “Today was the second day. This morning we started working on—” She broke off at the sound of a woman’s voice in the background.

She could hear Aidan speaking on the other end. His voice was low and muffled, as if he’d covered the phone with his hand.

Taylor waited tensely.

A few moments later, he came back on the line and mumbled, “Sorry about that.”

“Who was that?” Taylor asked calmly.

He paused. “It was a saleswoman.”

“A saleswoman? You’re out shopping?”

“Yeah. I’m in Georgetown. I wanted to buy a new pair of shoes to wear to your mother’s dinner party this weekend. I’m so glad you’re coming. I’m sorry I won’t be able to catch up with you until Friday evening, but I can’t wait to see you again. I wish you could stay more than a couple days.” He was talking fast. Too fast.

Taylor stared out the window without speaking.

“Sweetheart?”

“I’m still here.”
But for how long?

“You got quiet,” Aidan said nervously.

“I’m…thinking.” She’d made up her mind. She would come clean to him, confess her sins. But not over the phone. They’d been together for three years. She owed him the truth face to face. And she deserved an explanation for why he’d been lying to her since last fall.

“Did you find something you liked?” she asked quietly.

The question caught him off guard. “What?”

“Shoes,” she clarified. “Did you find a pair you liked?”

“Uh, no. Not here. I think I’ll try one more store before I head out to dinner.”

“Alone?”

He faltered. “What?”

“Are you dining alone?”

“Of course,” he said quickly.

Another lie.

“I’ll call you later tonight,” he promised.

“All right,” she murmured. “Enjoy your dinner.”

“Thanks, sweetheart. I love—”

She disconnected before he could complete the sentiment. She didn’t want to hear it. Not tonight.

Ten minutes later, she was back in her hotel suite. After kicking off her wedge sandals and dumping her handbag on the table, she padded to the minibar. She needed something stronger than wine, so she poured herself a glass of whiskey.

She had just taken a sip when she heard a rough knock on her door.

Her pulse jumped, and her stomach clenched. She took another gulp of her drink, then set the glass down and went to answer the door.

Though she’d been expecting him, her heart vaulted into her throat when she saw Manning standing there.

They stared at each other for several electric moments.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Taylor whispered.

“Give me one damn reason why.”

“I have a boyfriend.”

Manning’s jaw tightened.

“His name is Aidan,” she continued, using his name as if it were a talisman that could ward off the devil.

“Aidan Loring,” she reiterated. “And I
do
love him.”

Manning made a feral sound deep in his throat, like the warning growl issued by an alpha wolf before he attacks his prey.

Before Taylor could retreat to safety, he lunged forward, caught her face between his hands and slammed his mouth down on hers.

She should have pushed him away. She should have ordered him to leave. But she didn’t. Couldn’t. Because she wanted him, craved him with a ferocity that scared the living hell out of her.

He kissed her hard and voraciously, stealing her breath and making her head spin. She shivered as he pushed his tongue between her lips and licked the inside of her mouth. Her nipples tightened and her pussy throbbed.

He roughly palmed her buttocks and hauled her closer, letting her feel how hard he was for her, how dangerously aroused. She made a token sound of protest when he picked her up and carried her through the door, kicking it shut behind him.

He reached under her dress, and she felt a snap as he tore her bikini panties away.

“Wrap your legs around my waist,” he ordered, and she obeyed without hesitation.

He held her up with one hand curved underneath her bare bottom while the other hand deftly unbuckled his belt. Her heart thundered when she heard the urgent hiss of his zipper and then felt the wide crest of his penis nudging her cleft. He shoved into her, making her cry out as he impaled her with the thick, bruising column of his shaft.

A convulsive shudder wracked his body, and he made a sound so erotic her pussy spasmed with pleasure.

She locked her arms around his neck and hooked her ankles behind his back as he began thrusting upward, powerful lunges that stroked every part of her. Gasping, she clung desperately to him, consumed by the primal need to mate with him, to be fucked as only
he
could fuck her.

His big hands cupped her buttocks as he drove into her, hitting the end of her with each pounding stroke. She arched her back and sobbed in ecstasy as her ass bounced up and down his strong upper thighs.

The scent of their lust was hot and thick in the air, fueling the blind urgency of their coupling. Sweat dotted Manning’s forehead, his eyes were blazing and the tendons in his neck strained as he pumped furiously into Taylor. He looked raw and animalistic, as savagely beautiful as a sex god.

As her orgasm exploded through her, she flung back her head and wailed, “
Manning!
”

“Ah, fuck,” he groaned as her muscles violently contracted, milking and squeezing his thrusting cock. She felt him shudder against her, then felt a rush of scalding heat as he came inside her, gasping her name into her arched throat as he clutched her tight.

Her body was still convulsing when he dragged his pants up and carried her across the suite and through the open doorway of the bedroom. She stared up at him as he lowered her to the bed and slid wetly out of her, dripping milky beads of cum onto her thigh. When she sat up, he tore off her dress and unhooked her bra, his nostrils flaring as her aching breasts bounced free. He pushed them together, then leaned down and sucked her engorged nipples until she moaned with pleasure.

Pulling away, he tugged off his polo shirt and made quick work of removing the rest of his clothes and shoes. As he lowered his magnificently naked body to the bed, she reached for him, caressing the ridges of muscle that tumbled down his abdomen before she wrapped her hand around his still-hard erection.

Perched on his knees, he shuddered as she slowly stroked him, her fingers lubricated by their mingled cum. Lifting her eyes to his, she whispered, “Let me suck you.”

He groaned, watching intently as she lowered her head to his raging cock. His heady, masculine musk went straight to her head, a pheromone-laden aphrodisiac that inflamed her senses. Gripping his shaft, she slowly eased him into her mouth, her lips gliding past the big crown to sheath him as fully as she could.

He swore hoarsely, growing even thicker and harder. She slid her mouth up and down his steely length, loving the taste and texture of him. He shivered as she licked the smooth underside of his shaft, tracing a bulging vein with her tongue. His guttural moan of pleasure thrilled and aroused her, making her clit throb intensely.

Fisting the base of his cock, she cupped his heavy balls and swirled her tongue over the head, catching a hot burst of precum. She sucked him deep and hard, enjoying the way the thick muscles in his thighs clenched in time with her movements. He shoved his hands into her hair, tugging at the roots as her head bobbed over him.

“
Baby
,” he moaned, a sound of raw agony that turned her on even more. “You’re gonna make me come so fucking hard.”

“I want you to,” she whispered. “I want you to come in my mouth so I can swallow you.”

He shuddered deeply.

“Next time,” he promised, pulling out of her and pressing her back onto the bed.

He levered himself over her, pushed her thighs apart and filled her with one long, powerful stroke. She cried out, her back arching off the mattress.

As he began thrusting into her, she wrapped her legs around his plunging hips and grabbed his flexing buttocks.

He stared down at her, his gaze scorchingly possessive. “Look me in the eye and tell me that lie again,” he commanded, daring her. “Look me in the eye and tell me you love your fucking boyfriend.”

Taylor whimpered. She could do no such thing, and they both damn well knew it.

“You belong to me, Taylor,” he whispered fiercely as he drove the hard length of his shaft into her. “Your heart, your soul, your beautiful body. You’re mine.
All
of you. Don’t you ever forget that. You hear me? Don’t you
ever
forget that.”

Oh, God,
Taylor thought as tears rushed into her eyes. How could she deny the truth of what he was telling her? How could she pretend that she belonged anywhere but right here, lying beneath him, her hips surging against his ferocious thrusts? She’d never needed anyone as badly as she needed Manning Wolf. She was completely lost to him, lost in the powerful connection they shared.

Sliding his hands under her hips to cup her bottom, he pulled out to the tip, held her aloft for a moment and then slammed back into her. She climaxed in a violent rush that had her screaming his name as her body quaked beneath him and tears coursed down her temples.

Eyes glittering with fierce masculine triumph, Manning shoved his hips at her, banging the headboard against the wall as he rammed into her, his heavy balls slapping rhythmically against her ass. She grasped his wide shoulders, watching his face contort with savage ecstasy. Then he threw back his head and came long and hard, his cock jerking as he shot spurts of thick, scorching semen inside her.